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New way to attack abortion
Jump to Last Post 1-2 of 2 discussions (60 posts)
Sally's Troveposted 9 years ago
If anyone needs the definition of misogyny, look no further than here.
MelissaBarrettposted 9 years agoin reply to this
I don't agree with you often but I do this time.
keirnanhollandposted 9 years agoin reply to this
So denying someone abortion is hatred.. I udnerstand that, but motivating someone to make a choice against abortion is not hatred, it's motivation.. Hatred is like this "want an abortion, that will be $250 dollars.. No don't tell me about the rape, I don't want to hear your life story.. ". If nobody cared what you did, would freedom of choice matter..
I'm the "anti-meh"
I hate indifference, it's like "nobody cares, so why should I"..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQy5vKAaTuA
I can't even explain how wrong that statement is without turning it into a personal attack.
However I will say if you've never been held down and forcibly had another person's penis shoved into one of your orifices then you shouldn't be trying to tell the person who has how something beautiful can come out of it.
That is not only insensitive it's also completely and utterly clueless about that woman's experience. It's also completely reprehensible that you would be trying to influence any decision that woman makes based on your opinion of what she should do with the result of that experience.
Okay so you are saying it's like you were in a nazi death camp and I'm discussing how you could turn that into a good situation.. I know that feels wrong to you, but traumatic events have a way of making one make choices that would seem crazy to others.. Example given, Ayn Rand was traumatized by the effects of socialism, she took on a life of pushing capitalism, somewhere down the road she found that pro-capitalism had its flaws and in effect developed a different perspective about capitalism that you really should not ignore the people who are effected by the choices that are made in the interest of prosperity.. I personally believe that pushing anyone to do something just because you can, is wrong..
I'm not talking about pushing women to not have abortions or otherwise, I'm just wondering how those on either side can be more effective with their communication, but I took it from the Christian perspective.
The trauma in my life is my parents divorce and one really strange one, which feels like rape to me, being given a tool to master (a 3D package that I developed an understanding in, and foresaw a potential of making a living doing) and a software company made the choice to remove that tool from the marketplace because they felt they didn't want to support that software, but the effect on my end is a loss of trust in commercial software.. And don't tell me that is a crazy perspective, because unless you have had it happen to you, you wouldn't understand the perspective.. And I can understand that I don't know what being raped is like.. But I've watched plenty of documentaries on the subject, about the lady that was raped and sent a innocent black man to jail due to a mistake she made in the identification of the black man.. I watch documentaries the way some people read books.. I'm practically addicted, the only time I might not watch a documentary is when it is about some subject that doesn't seem interesting, like a documentary about some species of fish..
Oh and that documentary let me see if I can dig it up...
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5153451n
You still don't get it. I would be just as angry if someone walked in and said "Oh my God you are pregnant by your rapist, get dressed we're going to get you an abortion"
I don't care what traumas you have gone through in your life, you haven't went through the same trauma as the hypothetical woman in this scenario. So you have absolutely no right to have a voiced opinion either way.
I also don't care about your documentary. Not in the least.
You say Meh..
Okay fine.. But I will keep doing what I'm doing.. I have a right to voice my opinion.. Or do you want me to shut up, because that's a form of rape, I don't know if you know it but that is a form of Rape.. What does a rapist do, cover's the mouth so the rape victim can't hear the scream.. What are you doing to me?
Motown2Chitownposted 9 years agoin reply to this
Unfortunately I think he is.
Apparently rape is a good thing that is like being told to shut up. It's almost as bad as your parent's getting divorced and he knows this because he watched a documentary on it.
Oh my goodness!
I honestly think the whole thing borders on (if it isn't actually) hate speech.
I read the thing about forcing someone to shut up and felt myself gag, seriously.
I honestly thinks he equates it to being forced to do something you don't want to do.
I don't think it's hate speech but I do think it's complete lack of empathy and understanding. I seriously think he just doesn't get it. He keeps comparing it to things in his life that have caused him distress. It hasn't occurred to him that it's not the same. Not even close.
I'm reacting far too strongly to it to even be able to form coherent responses, to be honest. I think you're right...I don't believe he gets it at all. There's also the problem of his not really listening to anyone else.
Lucky for you.
I tend to keep talking when pissed off. Being struck dumb has it's advantages
And what's with all the video crap? How is that even vaguely related?
It does indeed - and it doesn't happen to me often. I thank God for it sometimes. But it's not like you're not making sense.
That's good. You do realize that what I'm typing and what I WANT to say are two completely different entities?
Of course, of course. I've known you long enough to know what you're really thinking about this. Oddly enough, I deleted the last sentence of that post I just put up. I was going to congratulate you for having not committed a bannable offense as of yet. If I typed what I thought, I might actually pull down my first forum ban.
*giggles* I was wondering for a second what would happen if I lapsed into Italian. Then someone would just translate it. I'd get banned anyway.
Maybe....but it would sound really pretty when read aloud. My dad used to swear in Italian all the time when I was little. It always sounded so nice...lol If it wasn't for the tone of his voice, I'd have never known the difference!
I use "affanculo" a lot because it's unrepeatable by the small ones. It's also my opinion of this thread. It does sound kinda nice spoken though.
Oh, I'm adding that one to my vocabulary.
I don't speak Italian, unfortunately. My grandparents were both gone by the time I was three and my dad had no reason to speak it in the house. I wish he'd taught me. I actually know more Polish from my time in the convent. Of course, I didn't learn to curse in Polish from any of my sisters.
I don't speak it fluently but I understand it perfectly. I'm sure you can understand how that happens.
Now I have a full German mother-in-law who's teaching me the finer side of German language. She's like Sophia on Golden Girls.
I hope to be like Sophia when I get older. My mother was Dorothy. So much so that I wonder if they didn't spy on our household to write for her character! So funny - I practically live on the Golden Girls. I watch it first thing in the morning, and fall asleep to it almost every night.
I can...I'm that way with Spanish. I heard it spoken all the time while I lived in Chicago and worked for years with several women who spoke Spanish.
That 'c' would be a phonetic 'ch' right?
a tiny bit harder but probably because of the tone it's usually spoken in. Stress is also on the last syllable but again it's probably the tone as well.
Proving that you STILL don't know anything about rape.
Rape isn't being told to shut up. It's not like a divorce. It's not an interesting documentary.
But there is no way I can explain it to you because you keep trying to compare it to the little traumas in your own life. You can't. It's not LIKE anything you've experienced... unless you have been raped.
You can have any opinion you like, please continue saying it.
But you are being incredibly offensive and I'll keep letting you know that until you stop.
You feel so strongly about this issue, I understand.. But you won't be effective at fixing the world with the attitude that nobody has a valid perspective.. I guess youa re saying, only rape victims should talk to victims.. Everyone else should shut up.. I can understand that, but don't say I can't say what I am saying..
I deleted the article because I noticed the forum I put it in hasn't had any topics in months..
But then I deleted it and found all these replies, whoa!!
You have this to say about the Christians, at least they want to care.. Most people wouldn't.. Maybe you can find some, but how many people actually care? Seemed we cared more about Maria Shiavo's condition than actually caring about the person and the family.. That hyper-focus is evil. I'm only trying to make people more effective at the issues they are pushing not stuffing the idea down peoples throats that people shouldn't have the choice of an abortion.. See there is a double standard already, we are against abortion, but it's okay to send a 21 yo kid to war.. Both is wrong, so what is the real point of pushing the abortion issue, it's a lack of focus, killing is wrong, but you can't stop people from killing people, you can only stick up for that fact that you believe killing is wrong.. Christians against killing shouldn't want killing to be "common place".. But they seem to feel okay with sending someone to the electric chair..
I'm saying the act of feeling hatred toward someone is equal to killing.. When you condemn someone like calling me a mysgonist, I feel like you are killing me. You are writing me off.. It's not unlike the indifference of the modern youth, "meh".. *shrug*, Like I care what you think.. I'd wonder if I was a woman, what you would say to me, but that I'm a man,I'm hating women.. That's so typical..
I'm saying that you are so concerned with the product of a rape that it obviously never occurred to you that trying to influence the mother's decision is unethical.
You have no empathy for her. That is obvious in the fact that you are essentially saying:
"You were raped. That's Great!!!! Now you can have a child you didn't want by a man that you hate/fear more than anyone else!!! What a blessing!!!
So yes I have written you off. While your statement might not be actual hatred for women it is completely and utterly disregarding what they have been through. Indifference is almost worse than hate.
I'm not influencing the mother's decision, I'm influencing the Christians approach to influencing the mother's decision.. Which is more effective you think, to say it is killing or to drive the point of possibly giving life to a child?
See you are getting too emotional about this, and I'm only talking about semantics and approaches to motivation. I'll never have the perception that Abortion is good because it's bad from many angles, but from your perception, your world view has built up lots of evidence in favor of it, and so you can't see it as wrong.. So we will never agree on that point, but if you were to help a friend push a point of how to choose life, and ignore the abortion issue altogether, would that be more effective than would the point of "killing".. What would compel someone to keep a baby? Another world view that I don't agree with but could possibly be the stance of a really farout form so fiction, imagine a millionaire who compels women that have been through rape to keep their babies so they can be bought off to be used in science experiements.. Now being a pro-choice advocate, how would you feel about that? That's something that would make a Christian freak out.. It's the world view that gets in the way..
I'm only interested in people being more effective at compelling others to make wise choices.. I just can't imagine making killing/death common place, that's my perspective. But if I detached my emotion from that feeling, I'd have to wonder what other crazy notions people might have against or in support of abortion, and see what I can do with that to bring out what people feel and make it more effective.. It's about being effective communicators, not about discussing the issue at hand.. I really personally don't feel strong about abortion, I feel strong about killing, and I think those pro-abortion and christians that stick up for electric chairs, wars, etc.. It's all bad to me.. Even surgery is pretty bad unless it is really required.. Rape is bad.. There is lots of bad stuff, I don't even have the perspective that I'd want children myself, but it bothers me to sit by and watch someone push an issue without stepping outside of their focus and seeing the issue from other angles.. You seem to have a focus to that is diametrically juxtaposed to that of the Christian view against abortion.. I'm really not there, I'm off on the side sort of laughing and crying at it.. Look this is ineffective it won't work.. People will do what they do, the position one should take if they feel a certain way is to position the argument from the perspective of one who was compelled not to have an abortion and found the benefits of it, rather than to be forcibly pushing with rage against the victim of rape.
That's all.. What bothers me more than anything is systematic indifference.. Choosing to ignore people because you haven't a hope in the world of getting anywhere with anyone.. Let people do what they do.. So what if you want to commit suicide see if I care, hey I know where you can get some really effective shotguns..
How did that make you feel?
If my friend were to become pregnant by rape I would support whatever decision she made WITHOUT GIVING ANY ADVICE AT ALL. I am not qualified to be a rape councilor and you obviously damn sure aren't.
Why do you feel it's any of your business anyway? Why do you feel it's anyone's business but the mothers?
I am a Christian. I don't need you influencing my approach to influencing a mother because I don't want to influence a mother. As a matter of fact I don't want ANYONE of any religion or nonreligion to influence the mother. 1. Because it's nobody's damn business but the mother and 2. Because you are trying to influence someones decision based on your opinion when you have no vested interest in the outcome. In short you are giving "advice" on something that you don't have to live with. You are trying to influence a life that YOU don't have to live.
Thirdly, you really don't see how saying how great it is that a women is pregnant after a rape is so unbelievably stupidly insensitive that there is no word in the English language to adequately describe it?
Ruff Ruff Ruff Ruff..
That's all I got to say..
And it's the most intelligent thing you've said all thread.
It didn't make me feel anything... because if I truly wanted to commit suicide I wouldn't need your input and I would know where to get a better gun for it than a shotgun.
Why on earth would you think I would require or desire your input on it?
Because you replied to my discussion, you seem to be only wanting to rape me by forcing your opinion on me without letting me have an opinion..
Look, I'm sorry about your ordeal, but would it be better that I just ignroe you and reply to other people, you can say what you will I will just not reply..
If you were a women I would chalk it up to pure vileness. As you are a man I am assuming its because you could not begin to comprehend what a rape actually does to a women.
Men get raped in jail all the time, you think you are alone in that experience, everyone goes through traumatic experiences..
Then go ahead and tell those men that they should be happy about it and it's no worse than being told to shut up.
I will bring the video cam to that conversation so I can make a documentary about it.
Divorce is a form of rape on the children, it's forcibly removing one from the arms of those they love, that's the trauma I had.. I guess you could find some argument to communicate how I could see your perspective from the position of one that has been traumatized by divorce.. But that's a pro-choice a attribute is it not, to choose to divorce.. You care not what the repercussions of that experience are, because you probably haven't experienced it.. Everyone has unique experiences, everyone has a say.. Nobody has a right to shut up anyone..
You just choose to ignore..
But when you say "I don't care what you say" that's not the same as ignoring, that is telling one that their opinion is irrelevant it is effectively the same as saying "shut up"..
I assume that that's like a rape too?
Is there anything else trivial that is like having your body penetrated by a foreign object or someone else's reproductive organs? Maybe bowling?
Divorce is not a form of rape.
Rape is forcing a penis or an object into another person's body.
Divorce is a civil proceeding that dissolves a relationship.
They aren't even remotely similar.
Motown2Chitownposted 9 years ago
I don't even know where to start.
First, I find almost nothing as annoying in a forum as when a person talks nonstop by replying to his/her own posts.
Second, I think you're way off the mark here. I think you mean well, but just don't know how your words actually sound - especially to women.
He seems to be under the impression that women who have been raped want the opinion of some random stranger on what to do with the resulting pregnancy... and that it is somehow "help" to tell them that if they think of the baby/embreyo/zygote/ whatever as an unwanted intruder and a constant reminder of being violated that somehow they should change that view point into thinking of the rape as a positive thing.
I would rather have someone calling me a murderer than someone telling me I was wrong to think of a rape as a negative event in my life.
There are so many people who believe that. I just don't think they have any idea how vulnerable, how fragile, how easily destroyed a woman can be in/by a circumstance like this one.
I getcha, honeybun.
No, I have had experiences of being with a Christian mom (she 70+) who believed that all life was worth saving, she raised a infant girl who was born prematurely, she is now in her 20's.. And it was about as hard for me to understand her (the 70+ yo mom) intense need to do away with abortion using the point that its killing a human being, and we had discussions on this point from time to time, and I never was effective at swaying her opinion on the matter. She also had taken care of children with down syndrome and severe birth defects.. If you want a challenge, I can give you her number, you will not get anywhere with her.. When I started this message that's who I was thinking of, not women who have been raped.. A side effect of her intense feeling, where it went strange is she stuck up for the right to own a gun and fight in wars.. It seemed so contradictory.. But when you raise a controversial topic, you get people bashing you from all ends, making you up to be the devil.. It's really wild when it happens too..
Guys keep in mind, text messages are ineffective at communicating emotion.. So you can read all sorts of things into the imperfections in my texts because frankly I didn't speak until I was 5 and have had communication difficulties all my life.. But words cannot communicate effectively as a video can.. That may be why this hubpages is experiencing popularity problems.. ???
The brain is a interesting thing.. You have holes in your vision, it will fill them up, if you lose an arm you will still feel like you have one.. It's also possible that I can say things and your intent to find wrong in me has me saying something else.. So just consider it.. The brain can play tricks on your perception.. BTW, I personally believe that why people commit violent acts in mobs is that they lose accountability and therefore can carry out any fantasy or justify their acts in reference to those they were around.. I once went to a comedy club for a dating function, and mind you nobody in the club was married, everyone was single, the comedians could not get anyone to laugh because all their material relied on the behaviour of mobs and making people feel embarassed about relationships.. But I did take a saddistic pleasure in watching the comedians squirm doing their tag-team attempt to make a crowd of single people laugh, it was like an hour and a half I think they just gave up..
Now I know how they felt..
While I empathize with that situation it has absolutely no bearing at all on the discussion.
Unless your mother also believed it was right to tell a women that had been raped that it was a great opportunity for growth and development.
And by the way her opinions were not a side effect of her experiences with a disabled child. If they were then all women with disabled children would feel the same.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz7_3n7xyDg
Sorry, I said whatever, I really meant.. I didn't understand what you just said, but I'm inured to losing here, so not much point of communicating..
I'm totally ineffective of communicating anything at this point, I'm going to eat my supper and watch some documentaries..
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Creating a brackish aquarium
When it comes to setting up an aquarium, the obvious choice is between freshwater or marine. But in fact, there is a third option - a brackish aquarium. A range of fish have adapted to live in this type of habitat, on the borders between sea water and freshwater, close to the mouths of rivers and in mangrove swamps.
Some suitable choices
An unusual fish which can thrive in brackish water is the glassfish (Parambassis ranga). It has a transparent body, enabling you to see its skeleton very clearly. Unfortunately they are not brightly coloured and this has resulted in an unpleasant and cruel practice of injecting them with dyes which show up through their bodies. Although most reputable stores refuse to stock dyed glassfish, they are still occasionally seen.
Another interesting choice can be the archer fish ( species), so-called because of its ability to shoot down insects into the water, spurting droplets at them from several inches away. In the aquarium, archer fish can be persuaded to display this skill with a high degree of accuracy, aiming at food located on the sides of the tank above the water level.
Some brackish water fish have a much more variable appearance in terms of their coloration. Scats (Scatophagus argus) may range in colour from silver through shades of red to gold, while their markings can vary from spots to stripes. They thrive if kept in small shoals of about five fish. Scats will grow to about 15cm (6in) long in aquarium surroundings.
The mono (Monodactylus argenteus) has a flattened body shape and is silvery,Mono with yellowish fins. Black stripes run through the eyes and also across its gill covers. Various species of boxfish are another possibility to consider for a brackish aquarium, although they can be quite aggressive and are best kept on their own. They have a rather square, box-like shape as their name suggests.
More peaceful by nature is the bumble bee goby (Brachygobius xanthozona), which only grows to about 3.75cm (1.5in) long. It can be shy though and will appreciate somewhere to hide away on occasions. It is so-called because of its black and yellow markings. None of these fish is difficult to look after and they will thrive on the range of foods stocked by aquarist stores. As with all aquarium fish, it is important to feed them two or three times daily rather than just providing one large meal.
The corrosive effects of salt means that it is important to use an all-glass aquarium rather than one of the old style metal frame tanks. Similarly, choose a plastic rather than a metal hood for the aquarium. Covering the tank is important, not just to provide the aquarium with lighting but also to prevent evaporation of water which can occur at a fast rate in centrally heated homes. This in turn will cause the salt content of the remaining volume of water to increase.
It is quite easy to make up the water for a brackish aquarium. You can use one of the special blends of marine salts now available. But it is always advisable to treat the water with a dechlorinator prior to adding the marine salt. This is because these chemicals will often not work as effectively in salt water, which could have fatal consequences for the fish.
Instructions for mixing the salt will be given on the packaging. You will need to stir a specific quantity of the salt in with ordinary tap water, ensuring that it has dissolved completely. Carrying this out in a bucket before adding water to the aquarium is to be recommended.
Measurement of the salt content of the water is carried out using an instrument called a hydrometer, which will give you a specific gravity reading. You can buy a hydrometer from aquarist outlets, along with the sea salts. In the case of a brackish aquarium, a specific gravity figure between 1.005 and 1.015 is required.
It will probably be better to aim for the lower end of this scale if you want to include plants in the aquarium, as most aquatic plants will not grow in salty water. There are a few which can prove sufficiently adaptable for a brackish environment. These include Java fern, which will root on submerged objects including rocks. Tie this plant in place first so as to anchor it down in position until it has established itself on the rockwork. You can then cut off the support later.
Java fern will also grow well on bogwood, which is available from aquarist stores. But it is vital if you use this wood, either in a brackish or freshwater aquarium, to treat it first. Otherwise it will turn the water a dirty shade of yellowish-brown. Soaking the bogwood in a bucket of water and changing the water regularly will help to leach out this unwanted colour over perhaps a week or so.
The other alternative is to paint the bogwood carefully with polyurethane varnish. This will seal the surface but you will need to wait until it has dried thoroughly before submerging the wood in the aquarium. Several coats of varnish may be required to achieve a complete seal.
You may be able to obtain pieces of mangrove roots as well, which can be very effective as decor. It is also possible to obtain mangrove plants which can be incorporated into the tank too, certainly while they are small. These are often advertised on eBay.
Vallisnerias are a more traditional group of aquarium plants prove sufficiently robust to survive in brackish surroundings but they will rarely grow as well here as they would in freshwater. You can of course simply add plastic substitutes as an alternative but including at least some live plants will help to utilise the nitrate produced from the fishes' waste in the aquarium.
The floor covering can be made up using a mixture of gravel and sand. The large pieces of gravel will help to keep the sand from clogging up together, which is especially important if you have an undergravel filter. Otherwise the filter bed will become blocked and the filter will fail to work effectively.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


As you know, we've joined The Nester's 31 Days Challenge. Yesterday our 31 Days of Preparation focused on The 7 Daily Do's and today we wanted to expand on that idea and share 11 Preparation Tips to Ensure a Successful Day.
As a creative spirit, I tend to be all over the place. Ideas flow on a continual basis which means I get distracted A LOT! I used believe that procrastination was the challenge, only to later realize it was because I didn't filter my days. By taking little steps of preparation, I quickly learned how to set up my days for success.
' Plan the night before – Do everything you can to make the next day easier.
' Focus your morning – The simple act of centering yourself before the day begins is one of the most important things you can do and sets the tone for the day.
' Eat a Good Breakfast – This sounds like common sense, but many of us skip this crucial part of the day. Feed the body and it feeds your brain. By eating a nutrient dense morning meal, your blood sugar levels with be stable, your brain will work better and your heart will love you.
' Implement The 7 Daily Do's – Keep it simple and make a list of 7 things to do for the day. This is a flexible to-do list that can be altered as priorities change. Don't beat yourself up if all 7 aren't completed. Simply include those unfinished tasks as part of The 7 Daily Do's for the next day...no guilt here!
' Declutter 15 Minutes a Day – When we have cluttered spaces, it clutters our mind. Disorganization distracts and eats up our time. If you have piles of clutter or closets stuffed to the rafters, taking small steps each day will eventually have you seeing the light.
Don't get bogged down in the details. If you're getting frustrated because something isn't quite working they way you thought it would, step away and come back to it later.
' Understand Your Work Style – We all have different ways of moving through life. My style and schedule isn't going to work for someone else. Set up a system that works for you. If you do your best work in the morning, make sure to tackle the hard things first and then end the day with simpler tasks. If you're a slow starter, then begin the day with quick, easy tasks and progress to the more challenging assignments later in the day.
' Let Go of Perfectionism – Perfection cripples and prevents us from moving forward. Embrace where you are, doing your best is more than enough and let go of the internal critical thinking.
' Give a 15 Minute Buffer – If you have appointments and errands, leave 15 minutes earlier to give extra time in case the unexpected happens. This will prevent the "rush-abouts" and you'll feel calm and relaxed for the task ahead.
' Learn How to Say No – If we're feeling overwhelmed and distracted, many times it's because we're taking on too much. Learning to say no can be one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself and those you love. It helps reduce stress levels and gives the time needed for what's really important.
By incorporating these steps of preparation, you'll begin to see more successful days filled with order and balance.
I hope you'll continue to join us for our 31 Days of Preparation journey. Don't miss tomorrow's post where we share how to prepare the day with a morning and evening routine. Enter your email below and each post will automatically be delivered to your inbox. Don't forget to stop by the many other 31 Dayers for additional inspiration!


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Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier
It's Not About Minyan
"I've lived in my village for many years, unable to daven with a minyan," cried a villager to the holy Reb Meir of Premishlan, whose yahrtzeit is Iyar 29. "Please, can the Rebbe bless me that I should merit to move to the big city?!" Reb Meir replied with a story: The souls of a rov, shochet, and villager came to the heavenly court. The court reviewed the rov's life—his learning, teaching, and halachic rulings. All were impeccable. "What about the children from poor homes?" they asked. "Did you do everything in your power to ensure they received a Jewish education?" Silence. The rov was escorted through a door to the left. Next came the shochet. He was found to be a yirei shomayim. He performed his work honestly and to the highest kosher standards. But then came another question: "What did you do for widows, orphans, and the poor? Did you offer them discounts for Shabbos and yom tov?" He, too, was escorted through the left door. Now it was the villager's turn. Without hesitation, he headed straight for the same door. Was he any better than these two men?!
"Come back!" he was ordered. "But I know I didn't learn as much Torah as I should have," the villager protested. "And I was only able to daven with a minyan twice a year when I traveled to the city." "What about the many Jewish travelers who passed through your village? Did you engage with them at all?" the court inquired. It became clear that the simple villager had been an outstanding host and inspiration to so many Jews throughout his life. He was escorted through a door to the right.
Turning back to the villager before him, Reb Meir reassured him: "You, my dear Yid, were sent into this world to be a villager. Be confident in your place and do your best to fulfill the mission Hashem intended for you." It takes a tzaddik to make such a bold decision on a serious matter. He knew this wasn't simply a matter of choice; minyan or no minyan. It was a question concerning a soul's mission and purpose. Today we're living a roller-coaster life. It's difficult to change routines and habits, especially when so many of these routines (minyan, daily mikveh, weekly chesed activities) are ones we've had mesiras nefesh for in the past. How can we just take on a new life? It becomes easier when we understand and internalize the idea that our predicament isn't a choice or a mishap; it's entirely orchestrated by Hashem. Instead of viewing our current chaos as wasted time, let's open our eyes to the opportunities Hashem is presenting us. It's frustrating not to be able to do what we typically find fulfilling, but let's try finding fulfillment in the many "passersby" Hashem is sending our way. The specific mission may involve our own family, a neighbor, coworker, or student. It's not the same for everyone. But we are all temporarily in the position of tackling a unique mission. Villagers for a day (or many days!). May we merit to serve Hashem under better circumstances, very soon. In fact, under perfect circumstances, with the coming of Moshiach now. Good Shabbos, Rabbi Lipskier
Seth, the high school senior
The very best place for a lulav
©2019 by The Crown Heights Women's Circle.


text:
Näraby är en by i Okome socken,  Falkenbergs kommun. Inom byns gamla gränser ligger Stora Rönnesjön, men även Fagaredssjön, Lilla Maresjö, Lilla Rönnesjön samt Stora och Lilla Angsjön ligger alla fem delvis inom byns ursprungliga ägovidder. Samtliga dessa insjöar ingår i . Grannbyn Pisslebol har under 1900-talet slagits samman med byn och ingår numera (2012) i dess fastigheter.

Källor

Litteratur

Byar i Okome socken

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Wilhelm Hartmann GmbH
Egerstraße 23
D - 58256 Ennepetal
Carsten Hartmann
Werner Hartmann
+49 (0) 23 33 7 26 40
info(at)hartmann-en.de
Registergericht:Hagen
Turnover tax-ID:
References to the used pictures and graphics:
http://www.siepmann-gbr.de
Jan Siepmann
Thomas Siepmann
Origin: Impressumgenerator des Anwaltes Sören Siebert
Liability-exclusion :
Liability for Content
We make every effort to keep the information on our Web site current, but accept no liability whatsoever for the content provided. Pursuant to §7 par. 1 of TMG (German Tele-Media Act), the law limits our responsibility as a service provider to our own content on these Web pages. According to §§8 to 10 of TMG, we are not obligated to monitor third party information provided or stored on our Web site. However, we shall promptly remove any content upon becoming aware that it violates the law. Our liability in such an instance shall commence at the time we become aware of the respective violation.
Our site contains links to third-party Web sites. We have no influence whatsoever on the information on these Web sites and accept no guaranty for its correctness. The content of such third-party sites is the responsibility of the respective owners/providers. At the time third-party Web sites were linked to ours, we found NO GROUNDS WHATSOEVER of any likely contravention of the law. We shall promptly delete a link upon becoming aware that it violates the law.
The content and works provided on these Web pages are governed by the copyright laws of Germany. Duplication, processing, distribution, or any form of commercialization of such material beyond the scope of the copyright law shall require the prior written consent of its respective author or creator.
Please be aware that there are inherent security risks in transmitting data, such as e-mails, via the Internet, because it is impossible to safeguard completely against unauthorized access by third parties. Nevertheless, we shall safeguard your data, subject to this limitation. In particular, personal information will be transmitted via the Internet only if it does not infringe upon third-party rights, unless the respective party has given its prior consent in view of such security risks. Accordingly, as the Web site provider, we shall not be held liable for any damages incurred as a consequence of such security risks or for any related acts of omission on our part.
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Origin: Disclaimer von eRecht24, dem Portal zum Internetrecht von Rechtsanwalt Sören Siebert, Datenschutzerklärung für Google Analytics, eRecht24 Datenschutzerklärung Google Adsense
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Tired of Having Your Favorite Shows Ruined for You? Spoiler Shield is Here.
We all have that one friend who draws some inexplicable, sadistic pleasure from ruining shows, books and movies for other people. With the advent of social media, the number of these pesky people you have to contend with has multiplied exponentially.
You could turn off your phone, go M.I.A from the social-media-verse and refuse any and all kinds of human interaction until you've watched the show for yourself, but thanks to Spoiler Shield, there's a solution that might make you feel and appear a little less insane.
Spoiler Shield is an app that allows users to custom-shield posts relating to a particular show or event from their social media feeds. So the next time you miss something big, remember to whip out your phone and shield yourself from the madness.


text:
Report information
Join the Fakehunters
Join partners
#FakeHunter - Edu
#FakeHunter Challenge - Editions
ChallengeI
ChallengeII - Vaccinations
ChallengeIII - Economy
ChallengeIV - Note! Scammer
ChallengeV - Geopolitics
ChallengeVI - Information War
Revisions of European frontiers – the Kremlin's propaganda bogeyman
In view of the prolonged invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is employing all possible means to discourage the West from supporting Kyiv and force Ukraine to surrender. For this purpose, the Kremlin's propagandists are trying to intimidate the societies and elites of the Western countries, among others, with warnings about supposed plans to revise state frontiers in Europe. In this context, Putin's propagandists have also prepared a narrative concerning Poland's imperial ambitions and plans to seize control of western Ukraine.
"They behave as if it was their territory" - the perception of the Polish people in Russian propaganda
The Russian Investigative Committee has promised to focus on the question of alleged war crimes committed by Polish mercenaries. But Russian media also speak about "good Polish people." These are pro-Russian analysts. Poles are also said to be getting ready to "conquer Lviv" and that they "will freeze to death."
Fake news concerning reports on mercury in the River Odra
For several days after August 11, false information was circulated in the Polish media about an unusually high mercury level in the waters of the River Odra which had apparently caused the death of masses of fish. The fake news about life-threatening mercury in the water was based on information from a single news source in Brandenburg that was published before any official research had been presented in Poland and Germany, and is an incident can certainly serve as a case study for how fake news is spread.
Orlen caught in Moscow's crosshairs
The Polish fuel market is very sensitive to 'information war' activities, such as fake news, for several reasons, the main one being that it is part of the energy sector - a critical element of any economy. That is why it is often the first target of attack and actions to destabilise it are often carried out with great intensity.
Anti-Ukrainian propaganda has replaced much anti-vaccine propaganda, although the sources are often the same and tend to work in the interests of the Kremlin - according to analysis by Fakehunter.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the content of fake news circulating on social media changed almost overnight.Polish sources that had since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic disseminated anti-vaccine content (often inspired by media associated with the Kremlin) now began to publish information falsifying the picture of the war in Ukraine and aiming to set Poles against Ukrainian refugees. Ukrainian crimes against Poles eight decades ago, for example, were dragged into this information war.
Russian disinformation focuses its attack on the Polish economy - current and forecast directions
Raw materials, currency risk, debt and conflict in the EU - this is what the Russians are focusing on. The apparent weakness of the Polish economy in the Russian propaganda war is a main narrative line.
Russia's key disinformation narratives addressed to Poles - Fakehunter analysis
In Russia's ongoing disinformation war, one can already talk of a "dedicated product," that is propaganda messages based on what appears to be comprehensive analysis - taking into account Polish realities of life, fragments from some of the country's tragic history, and Polish society's likes and resentments. The channels used by Russian propagandists aiming to get into the minds of Poles are mainly social platforms, especially Twitter.
FH Rules of Fact Verification


text:
Q: How to get python output and print with php This my python file hi.py:
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np
from sklearn.metrics.pairwise import cosine_similarity
from sklearn.feature_extraction.text import TfidfVectorizer

data = pd.read_csv("C:/xampp/htdocs/product.csv")
data['content'] = data['Brand']+' '+data['Title']+' '+data['Product Type']+'
'+data['Gender']+' '+data['Price'].astype(str)+' '+data['MRP'].astype(str)+'
'+data['Rating'].astype(str)

from sklearn.feature_extraction.text import TfidfVectorizer
vectorizer = TfidfVectorizer(max_features=1000)
product_vectors = vectorizer.fit_transform(data['content'].values)

from sklearn.metrics.pairwise import cosine_similarity
similarity = cosine_similarity(product_vectors)

def recommend(content):

 # find  index from dataset
 content_index = data[data['Title'] == content].index[0]

 # finding cosine similarities
 distances = similarity[content_index]

# sorting cosine similarities
 my_list = sorted(list(enumerate(distances)),reverse=True,key=lambda x:x[1])[1:10]
 dh=[]
#return my_list
 for i in my_list:
    #print(data.iloc[i[0]].Title)
    dh.append(data.loc[i[0]].Title)
     #return dh
print(recommend('Adidas Men Running Shoes'))

I need the list of recommended products to be printed in php localhost.
This is my php file:
<?php
$output=shell_exec('py hi.py');
echo $output;
?>

However when I'm running the php file I'm getting output in VSCode but nothing is printed when I run on localhost.
What might be the problem please help me.

A: The problem is in your PHP code e.g. it's executing the command but it is only returning the standard output stream to you, that's the reason on error you are getting the blank screen because the shell_exec is not redirecting the error stream, to do so modify your code as shown below
<?php
$output=shell_exec('py hi.py 2>&1');
echo $output;
?>

Once the error is shown you will be able to solve your issue.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This deodorant with a light and delicate fragrance is effective yet gentle on the skin and free from aluminium salts. The formula is enriched with aloe juice, which protects and calms the skin, is alcohol-free, and is also ideal for use after hair removal. The handy roll-on format makes application simple¿ for a fresh feeling of wellbeing that lasts all day long.
This deodorant with a light and delicate fragrance is effective yet gentle on the skin and free from aluminium salts and alcohol. A formula with Aloe juice¿ for a fresh feeling of wellbeing that lasts all day long.
Direction for use:Apply following a bath or a shower.
Characteristic:Convenient roll-on deodorant cream. 0% alcohol ¿ No aluminium salts. Choose it if you want a product that contains no parabens or formaldehyde releasers.


text:
Howard Florey Biography
Howard Florey was an eminent Australian pathologist who is credited for making penicillin available to the world. With this biography, explore about his childhood, life, achievements and timeline.
http://anuthinkingspace.com/faces-of-anu/
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-142297/Howard-Walter-Florey
http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/133/4/950
Nationality: Australian
Famous: Pathologists Pharmacologists
Died At Age: 69
Sun Sign: Libra
Born in: Adelaide, Australia
Famous as: Pathologist and Pharmacologist
Spouse/Ex-: Dr Margaret Jennings (1967–1968), Ethel (1926–1966)
father: John Florey
mother: Bertha Mary Florey
Died on: February 21, 1968
City: Adelaide, Australia
discoveries/inventions: Discovery Of Penicillin's Properties
awards: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1945)
Robin Warren
Salvador Moncada
Ferid Murad
Though Sir Alexander Fleming is credited with the discovery of a mould which developed on some germ culture plates, had it not been for Sir Howard Florey, this discovery would have remained only a scientific idiosyncrasy and nothing else. Florey is credited with taking the discovery further by isolating the active substance of penicillin from it. Together with Ernst B Chain, he developed a way of mass producing penicillin. The discovery of Penicillin came at a critical time and saved millions of lives during World War II and thereafter. It was due to this that he is considered by the Australian scientific and medical community as one of the greatest scientists. He was bestowed with numerous awards and honours in his lifetime including the prestigious Nobel Prize in Medicine. As a human being, he was a loner with few close friends; laboratory research and travel were among the few things that fascinated him. He was concerned about the population explosion due to improvements in the field of medicine.
Australian Men
Libra Scientists
Howard Walter Florey was born on September 24, 1898 at Adelaide, South Australia to Joseph and Bertha Mary Florey. He was the youngest of the eight children born to the couple.
Academically brilliant, he completed his preliminary education from Kyre College Preparatory School before enrolling at the St. Peter's Collegiate School, Adelaide for higher studies.
Following this, he gained admission at the Adelaide University in 1917. After four years of studies, he graduated with a degree in MBBS in 1921. His academic brilliance and strong aptitude for learning earned him a Rhodes scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford. In 1924, he graduated with a degree in BA and MA.
Upon completing his course from Magdalen College, Oxford, he moved to Cambridge enrolling therein as a John Lucas Walker Student. In 1925, he shifted to United States upon gaining a Rockefeller Travelling Fellowship.
Returning to Cambridge in 1926, he studied under Fellowship at Gonville and Caius College and subsequently in 1927, gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge. Meanwhile, he also was bestowed with	the Freedom Research Fellowship at the London Hospital.
Quotes: I
Male Physicians
Australian Physicians
Australian Scientists
Immediately after completing his Doctorate degree, he gained appointment as Huddersfield Lecturer in Special Pathology at Cambridge. He continued in the profile for four years before taking up the Joseph Hunter Chair of Pathology at the University of Sheffield in 1931.
In 1935, he gave up his chair at Sheffield to return to Oxford wherein he filled in the position of the Professor of Pathology and Fellow of Lincoln College.
It was while working with Ernst Boris Chain and Norman Heatley in 1938 that he first read about Alexander Fleming's paper, which gave details about the antibacterial effects of Penicillium notatum mould, which the latter had fortuitously discovered in 1928 when it developed on some germ culture plates.
Working along with Chain and Heatley, he conducted a series of research, investigating the properties of the naturally occurring antibacterial substances.
Initially the duo was interested in Lysozome, an antibacterial substance found in human tears and saliva, but this did not remain for long as they moved to finding out in details about antibiotics.
After months of hardship, he was finally able to produce an effective and safe antibacterial agent from the raw mould, successfully manufacturing the same from the liquid broth in which it sustained.
After the publication of the 1940 report which gave details about the chemotherapeutic agent that penicillin was and its ability to kill sensitive germs in the body, experiments and clinical trials began to be conducted to find out more about its therapeutic properties.
First, penicillin showed promising results when tested on mice infected with streptococci and staphylococci. Due to this, mass production of the antibiotic was encouraged for it to be tested on humans.
In 1941, the first human to undergo treatment penicillin was Albert Alexander. He was suffering from severe facial infection after being scratched from rose thorn. His entire face, eye and scalp had become swollen. Though he recovered after being given penicillin, the illness relapsed as a result of insufficient amount of penicillin and subsequently led to his death.
Eventually, efforts were made by the government for mass production of the antibiotic for it to be made available to the public for use during World War II to treat the war wounds. However, due to the inadequacy of the British industry, USA became the prime producer of the antibiotic.
Penicillin claimed to have miraculous effect. It was discovered at a time when even a small scratch could lead to amputation of a limb or even death, and diseases like pneumonia, syphilis, gonorrhea, diphtheria, and scarlet fever were virtually untreatable.
Interestingly, his original interest in the discovery of Penicillin was to satisfy scientific interest. He barely had envisioned that penicillin would have therapeutic properties. As such, the medical discovery was merely an added bonus that none had originally contemplated.
With the onset of World War II, he was given the position of Honorary Consultant in Pathology to the Army. In 1944, he was appointed Nuffield Visiting Professor to Australia and New Zealand.
In 1946, he was made Honorary Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge and in 1952, an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Meanwhile, in 1949, he contributed to and served as the editor of the paper, 'Antibiotics'. Additionally, he partly authored a book of lectures on general pathology and wrote several papers on physiology and pathology
In 1962, he was appointed as the Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford and chancellor of the Australian National University, Canberra (1965), positions which he held until his death.
In his lifetime, he became honorary member of many learned societies and academies in the field of medicine and biology. In 1941, he was elected as the member of the Royal Society. Seventeen years later, in 1958, he became its president. He was appointed as Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and later Royal Australian College of Physicians.
In 1944, he was bestowed with the honor of being appointed as Knight Bachelor.
In 1945, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine along with Ernst Boris Chain and Alexander Fleming for jointly discovering and developing the antibiotic properties of the mould that makes Penicillin.
In 1962, he took up the position of the Provost of The Queen's College, Oxford. It was during his term as the Provost that the college inaugurated a new residential building in his name.
In 1965, he was appointed as life peer. Subsequently, he became Baron Florey of Adelaide in the State of South Australia and Commonwealth of Australia and of Marston in the County of Oxford. Same year, he was appointed as the Companion of The Order of Merit.
For three years preceding his death, from 1965 to 1968, he chaired the seat of the Chancellor of the Australian National University.
Throughout his career, he was awarded honorary degrees by seventeen universities.
He first met Ethel while the two were studying at the University of Adelaide. The two eventually married in 1926. Ethel studied medicine and went on to become a surgeon and scientist. She assisted her husband in the latter's penicillin research team. The couple was blessed with a daughter and a son.
Following his first wife's death in 1966, he tied the nuptials for a second time with lab assistant Dr Margaret Jennings. Their marital life did not last long as Florey died seven months later.
He breathed his last on February 21, 1968 at Oxford, United Kingdom due to heart attack. He was honoured with a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, London.
Posthumously, his portrait appeared on the Australian $50 note for 22 years.
In 2006, the federal government of Australia renamed the Australian Student Prize as Lord Florey Student Prize. The award is given to outstanding high-school leavers.
Though this Australian pharmacologist and pathologist took pride in the discovery of antibiotic penicillin, he was anxious of the population explosion and blamed himself for the rise in populace due to improving healthcare.
See the events in life of Howard Florey in Chronological Order
Howard Florey Bio As PDF
- Howard Florey Biography
- https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/howard-florey-5362.php
Howard Florey
Identify Actors By Childhood Pics
Identify These Singers
(Australian)
(British, Honduran)
Carl Ferdinand Cori
(American, Czech)
Sir James W. Black
Gertrude B. Elion
Ulf von Euler
19th Century | Celebrity Names With Letter H | 19th Century Physicians | 19th Century Scientists | Male Celebrity Names With Letter H | 19th Century Pharmacologists


text:
Rosanne Cash Gets Deeply Personal for Women's Sake
Rosanne Cash said her son was 5 years old the last time she played Sun Valley. "He's 21 now. So, I'm looking forward to coming back."
BY KAREN BOSSICK
Rosanne Cash couldn't shake the old African proverb from her head.
"Every time an old woman dies, a library burns down."
Eventually, it propelled her to a new song, which became the title song for her latest album, "She Remembers Everything." It asks achingly, "Who knows who she used to be before it all went dark?"
"Women's stories are still not trusted. And I just wanted to say that our stories are trustworthy," said Cash, who is considered one of the country's preeminent singer/songwriters. "All you have to do is look at every single. It always has to do with rising up from some kind of subjugation. She is doubted. Is it getting better? Well, Harvey Weinstein just got convicted so maybe it is getting better."
Cash will perform "She Remembers Everything" when she plays at The Argyros in Ketchum at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. Tickets are $75, available at www.theargyros.org.
She will be accompanied by her husband—guitarist John Leventhal, who collaborated with her on her 2014 album "The River & The Thread," which was the No. 1 album of 2014 on Americana radio.
"The concert will feature just me and my husband. We do this a lot and we really, really love it," said Cash, who has 15 albums, four Grammys and 11 nominations. "It's very musical. It doesn't lack energy. We'll do a lot of songs from my last record, as well as songs from 'The River & the Thread.' "
"The River & the Thread" was written following trips to Johnny Cash's childhood home in Arkansas, Rosanne Cash's own childhood home in Memphis and other landmarks, such as William Faulkner's house. It was, Cash said, a mini-travelogue through the South and the soul.
The album, which snagged three Grammys, proved so successful that industry leaders begged Cash to record another concept album, which would have been her fourth in a row.
But she had a few things to get off her chest and so chose to record a deeply personal album containing songs about trauma and death—subjects that don't get a lot of airplay.
"The album features the most personal songs I've written in a really long time," said Cash. "I felt this deep urgency to write the songs and record them, no matter what happened--even if they just sold five records. I wrote it because I feel women still have a lot to say.
"I wasn't interested in people pleasing, anymore. I wanted to say what was weighing on me and in my heart and talk about really hard subjects--trauma, recovery, loss and mortality and the feminine undertone. I think I would have deeply regretted it if I had come to the end of my life and hadn't written these songs. Committing to a feminine voice, just going deep into whatever madness…madness and power… I think it's meant a lot to certain demographics—say, women my age."
Cash wrote "Crossing to Jerusalem" on the album with her husband. He wrote the music; Cash, the lyrics. It was nominated for Best American Roots Song at the 62nd Grammy Awards.
"That's about being in a long-term relationship, and it's very moving to us. When you're in a long-term relationship, you realize with every passing day that one of you will inevitably leave the other. And, so, you get to the point where there's only one left. And it's sad. It's unspeakably sad. It makes every moment more precious, you know?"
She wrote the song "8 Gods of Harlem" with Kris Kristofferson and Elvis Costello. The song describes the aftermath of a boy who was shot while riding his bicycle--"the son who was a baby but who will never be a man."
Cash wrote one verse from the viewpoint of the boy's mother, while Kristofferson and Costello wrote verses reflecting on the boy's father and brother.
All tied together by the verse, "So we pray to the God of Broken Class. We pray to the God of Gunfire and Regret…"
"I've been against gun violence for 20 years," Cash said. "We each wrote our verses and recorded it and it was kind of amazing."
Despite being the daughter of one of country music's biggest stars, Cash climbed up the ladder of the pop and rock world, beginning with the first of eleven No. 1 singles—"Seven Year Ache"--in the 1980s.
But, when Ken Burns was researching his acclaimed "Country Music" documentary series, he made a detour from Nashville to Cash's New York City home.
"I was involved a few years before they even started filming as one of several consultants who are musicians," said Cash. "Every once in a while, they would call and ask me a few questions. And then they conducted two days of interviews with me—several hours both days—from which they picked out select quotes."
The series included home movies that Cash hadn't seen before.
"It was very, very moving, actually. It's not like they revealed anything I didn't already know about my family, but it was compiled in a way that was deeply moving and satisfying."
Not only does the series constitute "an incredible American document," but it boosted record sales for a lot of country music artists, Cash added.
"I thought they did a magnificent job. They were so comprehensive and respectful and they connected a lot of dots from Appalachian music to Western swing and everything in between. It's part of our national heritage, in our collective consciousness. It's deeply American and it's part of us."


text:
"Echoes of My Heart" Album:
Katie's album, Echoes of My Heart, contains a worshipful blend of eight original songs and seven poems to inspire you on your faith journey. Draw near to God's heart as you unwind in His Presence through the music and words of this album. Katie is deeply grateful to all those who helped make this project a reality.
Disclosure: Affiliate links are used on this page. If you choose to purchase through the links, I may be compensated at no additional cost to you. See full disclosure policy.
Available for purchase on Amazon.
"Daughter" Song:
With the help and guidance of talented songwriter, Niki Homan, Katie wrote the single, "Daughter," to commemorate the release of her book, Made Like Martha: Good News for the Woman Who Gets Things Done. It is Katie's prayer that the "Daughter" song reminds the listener how deeply loved she is, as she is.
I carry the world upon my shoulders
I trudge along, a good little solider.
Pressing on to hear you say, "Well done."
Wondering if all I do, is enough.
Purchase "Daughter" here, or on Amazon, iTunes, or Spotify.
Read the backstory about Daughter.
Singing/Songwriting:
Katie will happily perform a song, or spoken word poem, to fit with the theme and feel of your event.
Worship Leading:
Katie leads and assists in worship for: ladies events, conferences/retreats, youth camps and chapels.
Katie often does special music for events and worship services as well.
Contact Katie for worship leading and speaking inquiries.
Katie's vocal style is the perfect blend of classic Gospel and upbeat contemporary. Her sweet voice captures the raw emotions and struggles of a Child of God, desperately longing for the Father's love and intervention. Katie is as talented live as she is in the recoding studio, a true treasure to the Christian music community.
Rachel (Donelson) Cashman, Singer / Songwriter of Heart Like Yours album
Katie M. Reid, Speaker and Singer
https://www.katiemreid.com/testimonials/rachel-donelson-cashman/
Katie sings from the heart, with lyrics that reach people of all ages dealing with all manner of life's trials and joys. Her love for the Lord and others is evident in her lyrics, and her creative style is evident in her blend of music and poetry.
Jessica Drogowski, Director of Guest Services & Marketing at Covenant Heights Camp / Retreat Center
https://www.katiemreid.com/testimonials/jessica-drogowski/


Meriam is the US Head of Public International Law and Investment Disputes. She is also a member of Dentons' Litigation and Dispute Resolution practice group where she focuses on international investment and commercial arbitration and risk management, covering various industries across the globe, including infrastructure, oil and gas, mineral resources, hospitality and real estate.
Her experience includes participation in arbitrations before the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague.
Meriam has served as counsel in disputes and transactions involving parties from Libya, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Romania, Austria, Rwanda, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Meriam also acts as arbitrator on commercial and investor-state disputes primarily involving parties from the Middle East and North Africa.


If you want extra features such as a waterfall or stream, expect to pay an additional amount relevant to the size of the feature. Additionally a bridge or stepping stone pathway that crosses the pond will add to the total cost.
Courtesy of Coral Bay Waterscapes in Richmond, TX.
Courtesy of The Pond Digger in Yucaipa, CA.
Courtesy of Outdoor Magic in Blauvelt, NY.


text:
GM Approval Database
Genome Editing Supplement (March 23, 2022)
Physical Model Maps Cas9 Cutting Behavior
The path to cutting a target: the Cas9 molecule (blue) is progressively matched to its target (green) using a guide-RNA molecule (yellow). This model is derived from single-molecule experiments and structural data. When trained on biochemical data, it helps understand and predict off-targeting in probabilistic terms. (Image Credit: Martin Depken)
Researchers from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have developed a physical-based model that establishes a quantitative framework on how CRISPR-Cas9 works, and allows them to predict where, with what probability, and why targeting errors (off-targets) occur.
A research team led by Martin Depken at TU Delft's Department of Bionanoscience shows how the new, physical-based model greatly improves existing models not only by predicting where the DNA is likely to be cut but also with what probability this will happen. Depken's team used a physics-based approach.
"In gene editing, you want to maximize the probability of cutting at the intended site, while minimizing the amount of cutting in the rest of the genome," Depken said. They created a model that can do this. He added that their model "changes the way in which to describe the gene editing from a binary choice to a complete probabilistic picture."
For more details, read the article on the TU Delft website.
Redesigned Cas9 Makes Gene Editing Safer Without Sacrificing Speed
Cas-CLOVER, an Alternative to CRISPR-Cas9
Pocket K No. 54: Plant Breeding Innovation: CRISPR-Cas9
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text:
/*
 * lowlevel binder for macosx and
 */
#include <time.h>
#if defined __MACH__ && !defined __GNU__
#include <mach/clock.h>
#include <mach/mach.h>
#endif

/* on mac os X, clock_gettime doesn't exists, but
 * http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5167269/clock-gettime-alternative-in-mac-os-x
 *
 * we ignore errors as it's very very unlikely considering the hardcoded ID
 * and the fact that haskell should call this code.
 */
void hourglass_clock_calendar(struct timespec *timespec)
{
#if defined __MACH__ && !defined __GNU__
	clock_serv_t cclock;
	mach_timespec_t mts;

	host_get_clock_service(mach_host_self(), CALENDAR_CLOCK, &cclock);
	clock_get_time(cclock, &mts);
	mach_port_deallocate(mach_task_self(), cclock);

	timespec->tv_sec = mts.tv_sec;
	timespec->tv_nsec = mts.tv_nsec;
#else
	clock_gettime(CLOCK_REALTIME, timespec);
#endif
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Organ Selling
Organ Selling is a website dedicated to ending the organ shortage and the attendant needless suffering and death each year of thousands of prospective organ transplant patients simply by allowing monetary compensation for cadaveric organs, which will greatly increase the supply.
Transplantation Statistics
Documents & articles
List of Endorsers
British Alert!
Legislation and Legislative History
The original, National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (public law 98-507, i.e., 98th Congress, 507th law passed)
excerpts from accompanying U.S. Senate report
list of U.S. Senate sponsors of the 1984 legislation
list of U.S. House sponsors of the 1984 legislation
U.S. House testimony in favor of the ban
U.S. House testimony in opposition to the ban
Pennsylvania's proposed organ-donor funeral reimbursement plan
Journal of Transplant Coordination (1999):"Willingness to donate organs and tissues in Vietnam", by Tran Bac Hai et al.
Issues in Medical Ethics (IX(2): 44-46, April-June, 2001): "The Ethics of Organ Selling: A Libertarian Perspective", by Harold Kyriazi [yours truly]
Journal of Medical Ethics (27: 30-35, Feb. 2001): "Shifting ethics: debating the incentive question in organ transplantation", by Donald Joralemon [Editor's note: this article, available on-line, provides a reasonably unbiased analysis of the debate, and has tons of good references, both pro and con]
David Rothman's "The International Organ Traffic"
Insight magazine's 1992 cover story, "The Organ Brokers"
"Transplanting Life: The Triumphs, The Traps, The Tragedies."
A Five-Part Series by The Plain Dealer
San Diego Union-Tribune article about one donor and her many recipients, "Of death and life"
Dear Abby column
CATO Institute column (this is on an adjacent page)
AMA reconsidering the ban on selling (at June, 2002 meeting)
AMA recommends experimenting with monetary incentives (June 2002)
UCLA law professor recommends monetary incentives for cadaveric donation (October 30, 2005)
ABC News' 20/20, John Stossel report, "Organs for Sale? With So Many People in Need of Organs, Why Can't They Buy Them?" (August 8, 2003)
CBS News' 48 Hours Special ("Your Money or Your Life" -- first aired Monday, Feb. 11, 2002)
An Inspirational Poem (from the mother of a donor)
"Willingness to donate organs and tissues in Vietnam" by Tran Bac Hai, Ted Eastlund, MD, Le Anh Chien, Phan Thi Hong Duc, Tran Huong Giang, Nguyen Thi Nguyen Hoa, Phan Hong Viet, and Duong Quang Trung, MD, Journal of Transplant Coordination 9(1): 57-63 (1999). The following quote is from p. 62: "We observed that many families preferred to receive monetary or other material inducements for donating organs or tissues from deceased family members." [Straight from the horse's mouth! And why shouldn't they receive some compensation, as a small token of gratitude?]
David Rothman's New York Review of Books article, "The International Organ Traffic" (The New York Review, March 26, 1998)
"The market in organs has its defenders. To refuse the sellers a chance to make the money they need, it is said, would be an unjustifiable form of paternalism. Moreover, the sellers may not be at greater risk living with one kidney, at least according to US research. A University of Minnesota transplant team compared seventy-eight kidney donors with their siblings twenty years or more after the surgery took place, and found no significant differences between them in health; indeed, risk-conscious insurance companies do not raise their rates for kidney donors. And why ban the sale of kidneys when the sale of other body parts, including semen, female eggs, hair, and blood, is allowed in many countries? The argument that these are renewable body parts is not persuasive if life without a kidney does not compromise health. Finally, transplant surgeons, nurses, and social workers, as well as transplant retrieval teams and the hospitals, are all paid for their work. Why should only the donor and the donor's family go without compensation?"
From the 1998 David Rothman, NY Review article. Note the long abdominal scar. (It looks a bit like she has a rope around her waist.)
June 8, 1992 Insight magazine cover story.
Body Shops, by Stephen Brookes
Squatting in a dirt alley in the Indian slum of Villivakkam, the slight young man pulls up his shirt and runs his finger along the rough, 8-inch scar that erupts below his rib cage and runs down his abdomen into the folds of his skirt-like lunghi. "This is where they cut me open to get the kidney out," he murmurs, describing the operation he underwent in a Madras hospital three years ago. "They paid me 20,000 rupees (about $800) for it, half before and half after. It's all gone now," he says, laughing self-consciously. "I had a lot of debts, and I drank the rest. I was stupid, and now I'm sick. I can't even work anymore. I'm 27 years old, and if I carry a bucket of water down the street I have to sit down and rest."
It's a story that's becoming increasingly familiar across India, Latin America and other parts of the developing world: poor people recruited from slums and shantytowns to sell parts of their bodies for quick cash. The buyers: wealthy Japanese, Middle Easterners and Europeans who, frustrated with laws against buying organs in their home countries, go abroad to countries where they can check into a hospital, find a middleman to procure a donor, pay for the transplant and return home - all in a matter of weeks. "The practice is apparently widespread, from what we've been hearing," says an official with the World Health Organization in Geneva. "And we're very concerned."
The concern is warranted. With kidneys selling for anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars, the trade has become so lucrative that there have been reports - some substantiated, some questionable - of children in Argentina being stolen and killed for their organs, of Chinese prisoners executed and their kidneys sold, of prisoners in the Philippines being released after donating a kidney, of bodies washing up on Brazilian beaches with their organs surgically removed. At one psychiatric clinic outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, doctors have been accused of murdering lunatics for their body parts. Large, well-organized trafficking rings have even been uncovered: in December, Juan Andres Ramirez, Interior Minister of Uruguay, announced the arrest of 20 persons who were allegedly flying slum dwellers to other countries to "donate" their organs.
While some of the stories are patently untrue - widespread reports in the early 1980s that Latin American children were being stolen and their organs sold to rich Westerners, for example, were later shown to be part of a bizarre Soviet disinformation campaign - there are thriving, well-documented and quite legal markets in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta in India, and in Manila, Cairo and Hong Kong. Many of the buyers are nationals, but much of the trade is fueled with oil money from outside. "Most of the buyers are coming from the Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait," says the World Health Organization official, describing the kidney business in Cairo and Bombay. "Apparently there's a big shortage of kidneys in the Gulf states right now, because of the war."
The growth of this grisly trade has resulted from two related trends over the past two decades. On the one hand, medical and technological developments have raised the success rate of transplants and increased the demand for organs; but as demand has gone up, laws have been implemented in most of the world forbidding people to pay organ donors, thus cutting down the potential supply. That imbalance has spawned a complex network of desperate buyers, shady middlemen, opportunistic doctors, and poor and uneducated donors.
While corneas, lungs and other organs can be transplanted from live donors, most of the trade is in kidneys, since a healthy, well-nourished donor can live reasonably well with only one. Since the first renal transplant was done in 1954 between twin brothers, the survival rate has gone up dramatically, thanks to advances in surgical techniques, the training of large numbers of transplant surgeons and the development of drugs such as cyclosporine that suppress immune system attacks on transplanted organs. For patients who suffer from chronic kidney failure, there is now greater hope that they can be released from the expensive, endless and intrusive mechanical process of dialysis (which cleanses impurities from the blood) and live a normal life with a transplant.
But finding a donor is not easy. Successful transplants rely on a good blood and tissue match between donor and recipient, and the best donors are often members of one's family. But patients who lack a willing family member have only two choices: wait until a properly matched kidney from a cadaver becomes available or go to one of the world's kidney marketplaces.
Until a few years ago it was possible in the United States and Europe to bring donors in from outside. As early as 1985, the World Medical Association noted that "in the recent past a trade of considerable financial gain has developed with live kidneys from underdeveloped countries for transplantation in Europe and the United States."
But as more and more such cases came to light, governments began to respond. Washington outlawed trade in body parts with the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 - sparked by the revelation that a doctor in Virginia had circulated brochures in the Caribbean, offering people a free two-week vacation in the United States if they agreed to leave a kidney behind when they went home.
Other Western governments soon followed suit.
... In one notorious 1988 case, a German company called the Association of Organ Donations and Mutual Human Substitution sifted through public bankruptcy notices to find prospective clients, then sent them a letter that read, "You're broke. You're a social leper, tainted with the legal and social equivalent of AIDS. The most horrid vultures will pursue you. ...In case you don't have the guts for a life of crime, if your courage isn't up to a big break-in, a bank heist or a new life abroad, I offer you a solution founded on logic. Donate your kidney."
The founder of the company, Count Rainer Rene Adelmann von Adelmannsfelden, offered to pay up to $45,000 for kidneys and to arrange operations - including doctor, donor and hospital fees - for $85,000, taking a 10% cut for himself. ...
Nor is Asia spared. Japanese suffering from kidney disorders are said to flock to Manila for transplants, while wealthy residents of Hong Kong and Singapore reportedly cross the Hong Kong border into Guangzhou in southern China.
According to Hong Kong doctors and human rights groups, an organization calling itself the Kidney Transplant Service Center has offered package tours to China for kidney transplants, and a prominent Hong Kong doctor told the British medical journal Lancet recently that customers pay about $20,000 for a kidney transplant.
But there have also been more sinister reports of transplants done at Nanfang Hospital in Guangzhou, in which prisoners were executed and their organs removed for sale to foreigners (at a going rate of $10,000 to $13,000) or high Chinese officials. The details were confirmed by a Chinese police official, who told the International League for Human Rights that "those who were executed would have their organs removed for transplant without prior consent or that of their families. For example, a colleague of mine who was going blind took the eyes of a prisoner who was executed. In order to preserve the eyes, the prisoner was shot in the heart rather than in the head. This is what happens. If they need the heart, the prisoner would be shot in the head instead."
When asked who would actually remove the organs, the police official said a doctor and a nurse would arrive in an ambulance. "Immediately after the execution, the coroner would examine the corpse and certify the death. The corpse would then be taken immediately inside the ambulance, where the necessary organs are removed. The corpse is then taken out of the ambulance and returned to the family. No one has seen the doctor or nurse, and no one is aware of the reason why they were there."
While the trade thrives in China, Hong Kong and the Philippines, it is also strong in the Middle East. ...
While a poor man can make a few thousand dollars, it's the middlemen - the people who bring foreign buyers and sellers together - who really profit. One such middleman, who agreed to talk anonymously about his business, met with Insight late one night on a side street on the outskirts of Cairo. A smooth-talking operator, fluent in English, French and Italian as well as his native Arabic, he wore expensive European clothes, chain-smoked Gauloise cigarettes and sat in the backseat of a gold Mercedes as he described some of the kidney transplants he had arranged. "It's very simple, and it happens all the time," he says. "The first one was in 1987. I was working at the Sheraton el-Gezira, and there was a guest staying there, a Kuwaiti. He'd been asking around about finding someone who would sell their kidney, and I went up to see him. He was about 30. He said he'd made arrangements for the operation, but had to find a donor. And he said he'd pay $9,000.
"So I got in touch with my brother, who's a soldier in the Seqoa Oasis. He had a houseboy there, a Bedouin. He was about 20, I think. He agreed to come up to Cairo, they did the blood tests, and they did the operation a few days later." In all, he says, there were six persons involved: the seller, the donor, himself, the doctor and a couple of nurses. "The Kuwaiti paid $29,000 for everything. I got $7,000. The Bedouin got $2,000, and the rest went to the doctors and the nurses. The Kuwaiti went back home, and about six months later I got a call from a friend of his, another guy who needed a kidney. It's a good business," he says, sitting back in the Mercedes and smiling.
If business is good in Egypt, it's even better in India. ...
Supply & Demand [sidebar]
As the demand for kidneys shoots up, is there any way to increase the supply without legalizing a live donor market? In the United States and other developed countries, the technology exists to remove kidneys from cadavers, freeze them, match them to a potential recipient through a centralized directory and then quickly deliver them. Under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, people can authorize the postmortem donation of their organs, and in most states people can indicate on their driver's licenses if they are willing to let their organs be removed for transplanting.
Yet in spite of encouragement from doctors, the government and some religious leaders, many people simply refuse. There are some 15,000 to 25,000 deaths of healthy people in the United States every year, but only about 20 percent of those result in donations, leaving the supply far short of the 13,000 to 15,000 kidneys needed every year.
"The harsh reality is that, with respect to cadaver donation, you're never going to get enough to meet demand," says Arthur L. Caplan, a medical ethicist at the University of Minnesota.
Caplan and others believe that while the debate on allowing people to sell their organs may heat up in the future, there are so many complex practical and ethical issues involved that the laws are unlikely to change.
The organ shortages of the future will probably be met by other means, they say: Xenografting - or transplanting animal organs into humans - remains a promising solution, and the use of mechanical devices to replace certain organs is also developing.
And as biotechnology develops, it may eventually be possible to grow whole organs from a few cells - making test tubes the organ donors of the future. [end sidebar]
[The article is long, and continues to document the horrors of the trade. I can't help but note the similarity between this and the trade in illegal, recreational drugs, where the government "solution" is a hundred times worse than the perceived problem. Reagan was largely correct when he said, "Government isn't the solution. Government is the problem."]
by Abigail Van Buren
From the San Diego Union-Tribune, Sunday, January 23, 2000
[Responding to a tax attorney who wrote, "I am not in support of the person who suggests that we give incentives to encourage people to become organ donors. The incentive should be that you are doing the right thing for the right reason. There is no other incentive necessary."]
Dear Mr. ___: ... I agree with you that no incentive other than doing the right thing for the right reason should be necessary.
However, at this time 66,717 people are on organ-donor waiting lists, praying for a heart, a kidney or a liver that will save their lives. Last year, 4,800 people died while waiting for that prayer to be answered. Is it more immoral for someone to die because there is a shortage of organs available, or to offer tax incentives to those who would otherwise bury their dear departed, organs and all?
I found this on Dear Abby's web site (2/8/00)
DONOR'S MOTHER FINDS HOPE IN LINKING LIVING WITH DYING
DEAR ABBY: In 1989, my nephew Bryan and his fiancee were killed in an automobile accident. He was only 21 years old. My brother-in-law and sister were faced with that dreaded question, "Is your son an organ donor?" In fact, he was, and had discussed his wishes with his parents some time before the accident. As a result of Bryan's unselfishness, several people's pain was ended and their bodies were mended.
A couple of years later, my sister was asked by a nurse who worked in transplant services to speak to a group of medical professionals who deal with organ donation and donor families. She was told that they never had a problem getting a recipient to come and tell the story from that point of view, but it was rare to find a donor mom or dad who would discuss how being approached for donation had affected their lives and what it meant to them.
Those people wanted to know how she felt about what took place in that drab little room off to the side of the emergency room on the night her son died. They knew they would be faced with asking that question again and again, and wanted to know if she could give them a word of encouragement or correction to make them better equipped to help the next family. How could she refuse?
In the days to follow she wrestled with the thought of standing in front of a group of strangers and pouring out the horrible story. She decided she needed to jot down something that could be read for her in case she fell apart. In the space of an hour, the enclosed poem is what God's grace allowed her to express. Perhaps you will feel it's worth sharing with your readers. -- RON BELSHE, RICHARDSON, TEXAS
DEAR RON: I offer my condolences for the tragedy that took your nephew and his fiancee. Your sister's poem is certainly worthy of space in this column. Read on:
by Becky Hanson
If you can swallow hard enough to push away the fear,
And say yes to the question that no one wants to hear,
Then you will add a ray of hope when there's nothing left but crying,
And become the "gentle link" between the living and the dying.
I believe that you'll find comfort though your heart has been laid raw,
In offering hope to someone else who prays and waits in awe.
Until it's done, you can't know how or whom your words will bless,
But hundreds more will find new life if you will answer "yes."
AMA: Study paying for organ donation
By Bruce Japsen (Chicago Tribune staff reporter)
With 16 people dying every day for lack of a needed organ, the American Medical Association on Tuesday said it would support studies to determine whether money should be used to motivate potential donors and their families.
Although the AMA's decision is only a baby step toward financial payments for organ donation, the vote by the nation's largest doctor group is nevertheless significant, organ banks said. Just six months ago, the AMA's policymaking House of Delegates turned down a similar measure at its winter meeting in San Francisco.
This time, however, supporters of the measure were able to convince enough AMA delegates that the lack of available organs is, indeed, a crisis, and merely studying financial incentives could at least help medical professionals and lawmakers understand what drives donations.
Congress banned such financial incentives in 1984, leaving patients who need organ transplants to a volunteer system the AMA and other medical professionals admit has failed.
Nearly 6,000 Americans--an average of 16 a day--die each year as the waiting list for organs surpasses 75,000, a fivefold increase from the late 1980s.
"In a perfect world, altruism would be the answer, but we are not in a perfect world and all of the things we have tried to do haven't worked," said delegate Dr. Phil Berry, a Dallas orthopedic surgeon who had a liver transplant in 1986.
Berry said he was one of the lucky ones, receiving a liver donated from a woman who had died of a bleeding aneurysm. Berry had contracted hepatitis B from a patient during a 1983 surgery just four months before a vaccine became available for the disease.
"I feel so sorry for the 6,000 people who die every year and we need to look into anything that might help them," Berry said. The studies would only look at payments to the families or estates of patients who are dying. AMA policy forbids financial incentives paid to living donors.
Although the AMA itself wouldn't conduct pilot studies, the organization said it would help guide them so they meet ethical and scientific standards. The AMA said such studies, which don't exist, should be done by organ procurement agencies and transplant centers.
"The AMA is not endorsing the use of financial incentives to increase organ donation; it is simply recommending that this concept be studied," said Dr. Frank Riddick, chairman of the AMA's Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. "Financial incentives should be of modest value."
Among the incentives the AMA debated included tax credits or payments of $500 to $1,000 toward funeral expenses incurred by the donor family. A bill in Congress looking at ways to increase organ donation would provide a tax credit of up to $10,000 to the estate of an organ donor.
But opponents of incentives say paying donors is unethical and could dilute the altruistic motivation of donors.
"Financial incentives have the potential to exploit poor people," said Dr. Michelle Petersen, an Omaha physician from the eight-member Nebraska delegation, which opposed the effort backed by the AMA on Tuesday. "This promotes [selling] of the human body, reducing all of us as parts for sale. This is not ethical."
Doctors say most organ donations today are made at the last minute by families of people who have died unexpectedly. In such instances, many families decline to sign off on a donation.
Organ banks say the AMA's move will at the very least increase attention to the organ donation crisis.
The non-profit Regional Organ Bank of Illinois said it welcomed the AMA's support of the study.
"If this is going to increase organ donation, then it is something we would support," said John Valencia, the organization's spokesman.
"We don't know whether a study is going to be a positive or a negative," Valencia said. "The fact that this has been publicized may motivate people to donate."
Copyright � 2002, Chicago Tribune
Russell Korobkin's Oct. 30, 2005 Los Angeles Times Commentary
"Sell an organ, save a life
Compensation for donations? It's one way to help those on transplant waiting lists. "
RUSSELL KOROBKIN is a UCLA law professor and a faculty associate at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
ACCORDING TO RECENT reports, doctors at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles improperly transplanted a liver into a patient who was not at the top of the applicable waiting list. One person died who should have received the liver and didn't; one person lived by jumping the queue and receiving a liver to which he was not entitled. This is a scandal, but a small one. The far larger scandal is that thousands die every year waiting for transplants in this country because of a misguided government policy.
Nearly 90,000 people are on waiting lists for organs in the United States, most hoping for a kidney or a liver, fewer in need of a heart or a lung or a pancreas. Time runs out for about 6,500 each year.
Only a small percentage of deaths occur in ways that yield organs useful for transplants. Even so, if all those organs were harvested, there would be enough to provide transplants for most of those who die waiting. One important reason for the shortfall is that federal law prohibits donors or their families from receiving any compensation for donations.
The law � the National Organ Transplant Act � is based on the perfectly pleasant idea that organ donations should be altruistic. Unfortunately, the reality is that most of us are not very altruistic. Only a minority of Americans put the tiny "donor" sticker on driver's licenses or otherwise sign up to allow organs to be harvested and transplanted. Absent such prior assent, doctors are often reluctant to ask permission from the next of kin, and, when they do, the next of kin often refuse.
Some who choose not to be donors have a deep personal objection, religious or otherwise, to organ donation. Most people, however, fail to provide assent to donate because they don't want to confront their mortality. And why should they, when there is nothing in it for them or their families? It is much easier just to ignore the issue.
Surely the shortage of organs for transplant could be alleviated if the law were changed to allow modest payments for harvestable organs of the deceased. A system for providing incentives could be organized in many different ways.
The government could give a small tax break, perhaps $20 off driver's license renewal fees, to anyone who agrees to have organs harvested after death. The amount would be small because the organs may not be suitable for transplant. Alternatively, once a person has died, and doctors know that his organs are suitable, the next of kin could be paid a larger amount, perhaps a few thousand dollars, for the right to use those organs. The few who actually object to donating their organs can decline the inducements, while the many who have no strenuous objection will have an incentive to do the right thing.
Where would the money come from? The costs could be passed along to recipients, or more likely their insurance companies, Medicare or Medicaid. Transplant surgeries already cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars (hospitals, doctors and other transplant service providers are legally permitted to make money on organ transplants), so paying for organs and administering such programs would not increase the total cost of transplants appreciably.
Two common objections to permitting payment for organs are that the poor would be disproportionately likely to sell their organs and then suffer ill health effects, and that the rich, who could best afford to pay for organs, would disproportionately benefit. But both of these pitfalls are easily avoided.
First, compensation should be permitted only for organs of the deceased. As long as the living are not paid for a kidney or a portion of a liver, there is no reason to fear a coercive organ market. In fact, such a policy could drastically reduce the number of Americans and other Westerners who, in desperate need of a transplant, travel to Third World countries where they can receive organs sold by living donors.
Second, organ procurement should remain separate from organ allocation. The government or transplant centers should act as the purchasing intermediary and continue to allocate harvested organs according to factors such as medical need, likelihood of a successful transplant and time spent on a waiting list.
Current law pays an unacceptably high price to indulge the moral intuition that human organs should not be bought and sold. The law should be more concerned with saving the lives of thousands who die needlessly.
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Last updated: August 10, 2007.