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Ten photos of resilience in 2019
Ezra Millstein, senior content producer, captures Mercy Corps' impact on people and communities with his camera. Here, he photographs herders in Altan-Ovoo, Mongolia, working with us to keep their cattle, sheep and other animals free of insects and disease. PHOTO: Sean Sheridan for Mercy Corps
In 2019, Mercy Corps helped improve nearly 29 million lives in over 40 countries. In the communities I visited last year, I have seen how our efforts have helped people adapt and thrive amidst today's rising challenges and crises. We continue to evolve and innovate to increase our impact for those who need help, and our top ten photos of the year reflect how we are growing and changing.
From sharing stories of people in need, responding to natural disasters or conflict, to lighthearted moments of laughter and joy, our photography aims to capture the range of emotion in our work and the continuum of resiliency. These photos from 2019 weave together moments that represent the diversity of the world's challenges. They also highlight some of our most crucial, innovative and breakthrough programs in communities around the globe.
Joy prevails in Guatemala
PHOTO: Ezra Millstein/Mercy Corps
Sofia, 2, plays on a swing in a park Mercy Corps built in her community. These infrastructure projects — playgrounds, exercise areas, community centers — are part of Mercy Corps' CONVIVIMOS program, which is working in Guatemala City's most violent areas to promote cohesion and help people reclaim their communities. The spaces offer families important neutral territory in places otherwise driven by territory-based gang violence, presenting them the opportunity to experience and feel rooted in their communities in a more positive way.
This is probably my favorite photo of 2019. Sofia's expression of utter bliss demonstrates what a positive escape these playgrounds offer to children in Guatemala City. The bright colors create an uplifting tableau, while the composition is divided into slightly uneven thirds, with happy cartoon children flanking Sofia, building on that theme.
The spirit of community in Ethiopia
Farhan, 12, holds a goat in front of his family's house. His mother Safiya, 45, is a community leader in Hartasheik, Ethiopia. Mercy Corps trained her and several others to help strengthen women's health and natural resource management efforts in their community. Now the community is connected to health services and protecting the vital land that provides for them.
Who doesn't love baby goats? There were so many photos of the children in this family hugging their goats it was hard to choose just one, but this angle, shooting up at Farhan in a hero pose, shows off his strength and warm smile.
The weight of tragedy in Zimbabwe
Anthony, 52, and his son Leonard, 15, sit on a boulder inside their damaged home. On March 16th, rains from Cyclone Idai unleashed mudslides from the hills surrounding Ngangu, which crushed the front wall of his home and exited out a side wall, leaving 4 feet of mud and unmovable boulders throughout his home. He and his three sons all survived, but he is concerned about how he will be able to afford to feed them and pay their school fees. Mercy Corps helped the families recovering from Cyclone Idai by distributing jerrycans, water purification tablets, water storage buckets and soap.
When Cyclone Idai struck, I was already on assignment in Ethiopia and quickly pivoted to jump on a plane, get down to Harare and support the emergency response. What I found reinforced my admiration for our field teams – staff were working 20-hour days, sleeping in muddy trucks, with little food or water, and doing anything they could to deliver relief. Anthony and Leonard's expressions of anxiety, resolve and exhaustion really reflect the mood of that time.
Boundless love in the Democratic Republic of Congo
PHOTO: Rudy Nkombo/Mercy Corps
A woman and her son attended a ceremony for the certification of Lead Mothers – women who go door to door in their villages to teach their neighbors to promote important family practices, such as antenatal care and nutrition.
Rudy Nkombo's image bears all the hallmarks of a well-composed photo. The colors, soft light and lines fading into the foreground draw our eyes to the intimate moment between a mother and son, perfectly highlighting the subject matter. Rudy has worked as a photographer, editor and videographer for Mercy Corps in DRC since 2015.
Tenderness and determination in Colombia
Eduard, 6, with his father Jose, in front of their family's home. Eduard's family withstood the crisis in Venezuela for as long as they could, but when their situation grew desperate they sought safety in Colombia. His mom, Ana Maria was pregnant when the family received an emergency cash disbursement from Mercy Corps, and the money allowed her to get medical care for the birth. Eduard's parents say they would have had no way to go to the hospital without the assistance. Mercy Corps is distributing emergency cash to help vulnerable Venezuelan refugees meet their urgent needs, including food, medicine and shelter.
The intimate gesture of Jose placing his hand on his son Eduard's head suggests a moment of tenderness in the midst of tense and tumultuous times. Eduard's piercing gaze reminds us of what he's been through during his family's cross-border journey. Most of the time we were talking with Jose, his children were on his lap or at his side. The challenges of fleeing oppression had clearly failed to weaken their family bond, and had likely strengthened it.
Sisterly support in Palestine
Rawan (left) attends the Mercy Corps coding academy in Hebron. Her sister Orjwan (right) is a graduate. At the Hebron Youth Development Resource Center, Mercy Corps helps to provide young people with a place to learn key skills for career development, like coding and computer programming. In addition to coding, the center also provides classes in cooking, photography, dancing and other hobbies. More importantly, it gives young people in Gaza a safe space to go, which is especially important during the summer months.
This lighthearted moment between sisters belies the complex and dangerous situation that surrounds them. Hebron is a hotbed of conflict in the West Bank, but the sisters manage to support each other and find a way to laugh through the challenges it presents. Genuine, intimate interaction is something I strive to capture, and this photograph is a strong example of that.
A portrait of progress in Kenya
Patricia holds a basket of pigeon peas that she grew on her farm. Like many people in rural Kenya, Patricia relies on rain-fed agriculture to support her family, a livelihood that has become increasingly fragile with the growing effects of climate change. Through the AgriFin program, Mercy Corps and local partners are using a mobile platform to provide comprehensive support that is traditionally unavailable or too expensive for farmers to obtain. This includes soil testing, quality seeds for in-demand cash crops, insurance, input loans, digital learning and commercial markets to sell the crops — all through their mobile phones. Patricia has been using the program for two years and says it has helped her a lot. She got her soil tested, has access to better seeds, and might eventually use the digital lessons on raising poultry to build a business raising chickens.
This image is an example of chiaroscuro, a technique of using strong contrasts between light and dark, usually affecting a whole composition. I shot several portraits of Patricia outside, with her chickens and in her garden, but when she held up this basket of peas, the light was streaming in through the doorway and lighting her but leaving the rest of the room dark, which proved much more dramatic, really highlighting her smile.
A splash of hope in the Bahamas
PHOTO: Mission Resolve
Hurricane Dorian, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, hit the Bahamas on September 1 as a Category 5 storm. It left 50 dead, thousands missing and over 2,000 people in need of immediate support. Over 200 wells across Grand Bahama Island were flooded with seawater due to the storm surge, making water from the local aquifer unsafe. That's why we teamed up with Mission Resolve Foundation to provide clean water to communities and a local health clinic in Freeport by installing a water treatment plant. Not only does treating locally-sourced water make it suitable for drinking, cooking, bathing and other uses, it also decreases plastic waste and frees up valuable space on vehicles delivering aid.
In this context, James Brantley of Mission Resolve Foundation deftly illustrates the importance of fresh water through this image. He uses depth of field and blown out background highlights to isolate the water as the key subject, and freezes the splash in a way that truly makes us thirsty.
The generosity of a neighbor in Syria
This is not one of the more dramatic photos from Syria you have seen, but it is one of the few recent images we can show you. In some of the more stable pockets of Syria, Mercy Corps has been helping people move toward recovery with training, grants and agricultural supplies to build marketable livelihoods and boost agriculture. This man received a grant for an irrigation system, which enabled him to keep his kitchen garden and grow a higher quantity and diversity of food for his family. He grew so many crops that he regularly had a surplus that he gave to his neighbors for free, because he knew they were struggling and it's in his nature to help people.
During our recent content gathering visit to Northeast Syria, conflict broke out and we were forced to evacuate to Iraq. For security reasons we aren't able to show the faces of those who have been benefiting from our projects in the area, but this image shows the bounty that the man has been able to harvest from his garden and share with his neighbors.
A life-changing bond in Jordan
Summayya, 6, is a first-grade Jordanian student with Down Syndrome. Because Jordan's school system lacks the resources to support students with disabilities, the majority of school age children with disabilities are unable to attend school. Summayya's parents tried to enroll her in school multiple times, but were consistently refused, leaving her to sit at home. Through Mercy Corps' inclusive education program, Summayya was able to enrol in a school in Zarqa and receives daily support from Asma, who helps her in the classroom. Asma also works with her in one-on-one sessions and in large group activities meant to build acceptance and inclusivity. Since starting school, Asma says Summayya is behaving better, is better able to express herself, has made friends, has improved her physical coordination and is learning her shapes and numbers. Summayya wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
This photo demonstrates a close personal connection, positivity, bright colors and dynamic composition. At Mercy Corps, we believe in building bright, bold and connected futures, and that is all encapsulated here.


Westminster-St. Paul's welcomes you to worship, Sunday mornings at 10.30am. As a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Westminster-St. Paul's (WSP) is a church in the Reformed Tradition, which seeks to nurture people toward the development of a life-transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. The minister, the Rev. Karla Wübbenhorst, is the one regularly involved in the preaching and sacramental ministry at Westminster-St. Paul's. Worship includes songs of praise, in styles both ancient and modern, and a focusing on needs in our community and in the wider world, which needs are taken into the prayers of the People and into the Church's programs of outreach. Worship remains our 'main event' for the committed and the curious of all ages, with a staffed nursery provided year round for children under 4. Sunday school is provided for ages 4 and up. Parents with babies and toddlers are invited to the weekly meeting of 'Toddler, Baby and Me' on Mondays from 9.30-11.30am.
Situated at 206 Victoria Rd N in Guelph, Ontario, Westminster-St Paul's Church is a merchant inside the churches & other places of worship section of Canpages.ca online directory.
Feel free to call 519-824-5221 to contact Westminster-St Paul's Church that is close to your area.


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Diet and Disease: Not What You Think Site Admin 2012-04-14T10:19:11-06:00
Diet and Disease: Not What You Think
by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
Heart disease is America's major killer; it's prevention is our most urgent public health priority. Americans must change their diet, say the experts. Steer clear of traditional foods like butter, cream, cheese, eggs, and meat, they tell us. Rich foods contain cholesterol and saturated fats — "artery clogging substances."
The accumulation of hardened plaque in the arteries, or atherosclerosis, is indeed a major cause of heart disease in Western nations.
The accepted explanation for its prevalence in civilized countries is the lipid hypothesis, namely that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol lead to elevated levels of cholesterol in the blood, and that these elevated levels of cholesterol cause the pathogenic atheromas that block blood vessels.
This theory has been promoted by the American Heart Association since the mid-1960s. It forms the basis of governmental nutritional recommendations, which in turn have spurred consumer acceptance of a vast array of low-fat, cholesterol free food products, most of which contain ingredients that are new to the American diet.
Numerous studies, both national and international, have explored the lipid hypothesis — and consumed the lion's share of research dollars in this area — including three major projects funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The first and best known of these studies was the Framingham Heart Study, carried out in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Although Framingham is often associated with proof of the lipid hypothesis, the results of this 40-year study have been a disappointment to its promoters.
Investigators claimed that there was a 240% increase in "risk" of coronary heart disease, or CHD, between cholesterol levels of 182 and 244. But the actual rate of increase was only .13%.
Between cholesterol levels of 244 and 294, the rate of CHD actually declined.
Thus Framingham investigators found virtually no difference in heart disease for serum cholesterol levels between 182 and 284 the vast majority of the U.S. population.
Nor did they find that diets high in fat and cholesterol predisposed an individual to heart disease.
As Dr. William Castelli, the current director of the Framingham project, admitted as recently as 1992:"In Framingham, Massachusetts, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more lories one ate, the lower people's serum cholesterol… we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active."
The second government-funded study was the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) for 362,000 men.
Researchers found that annual heart disease deaths increased from about 1 per 1,000 for cholesterol levels of 180 to slightly less than 2 per 1,000 for cholesterol levels of 300 — a 100% increase in "risk" but a trivial increase in rate of less that .1%.
A more significant finding was an increase in total deaths for cholesterol levels below 160.
The final major NIH study was the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial (LRC), a project that cost $150 million and received intense media attention.
All subjects in the trial were put on a low-cholesterol, low-saturated fat diet. One group received a cholesterol lowering drug, the other a placebo. Average cholesterol reduction for the drug group was 8.6% which had, according to researchers, a 17% reduction in rate of heart disease.
This led to the oft repeated statement: "For each 1% reduction in cholesterol, we can expect a 2% reduction in CHD events." But when independent researchers tallied the LRC data, they found no difference in CHD between the two groups. An unequivocal but rarely published finding of the LRC was an increase in deaths from cancer, intestinal disease, stroke, violence, and suicide in the group taking the cholesterol-lowering drug.
Both the popular press and medical journals portrayed the LRC as the long-sought proof that animal fats and dietary cholesterol are the cause of heart disease. The 1984 government-sponsored Cholesterol Consensus Conference called for mass cholesterol screening and defined all Americans with cholesterol levels over 200 as "at risk."
Participating scientists recommended the prudent diet for "at risk" Americans, one low in saturated fat and cholesterol. A specific recommendation was the replacement of butter with margarine. The ensuing National Cholesterol Education Program instructed American physicians in techniques for lowering serum cholesterol through diet ant drugs.
The estimated current cost for cholesterol screening and treatment in the United States now exceeds $60 billion annually.
The application of a modicum of common sense could have prevented the massive expenditures lavished on the lipid hypothesis during the past 30 years.
The lipid hypothesis implies that animal fat consumption must have increased significantly since 1920 to correlate with the rise in heart disease, but in fact the consumption of saturated animal fats in America declined steadily during that period, while use of vegetable fats increased dramatically.
Autopsy studies of vegetarians reveal that although they have lower serum cholesterol values than non-vegetarians, they have as much atherosclerosis as non-vegetarians.
In fact, the International Atherosclerosis Project, which analyzed 31,000 autopsies from l5 countries, found no correlation between animal fat intake and degree of atherosclerosis or serum cholesterol level.
Michael DeBakey, the famous heart surgeon, surveyed 1,700 patients with atherosclerosis and found no relation between levels of serum cholesterol and degree of hardening of the arteries. Other U.S. studies — the Veterans Clinical Trial, the Minnesota State Hospital Trial, the Honolulu Heart Program, and the Puerto Rico Heart Health Study — found no significant relation between a diet high in cholesterol and saturated fats with CHD.
Unfortunately, these studies do not receive front page coverage in American newspapers, and dissenting voices must content themselves with publication in obscure medical journals. One of these voices is the eminent researcher Dr. George Mann, who states categorically:
"The diet-heart hypothesis has been repeatedly shown to be wrong, ant yet, for complicated reasons of pride, profit, and prejudice, the hypothesis continues to be exploited by scientists, fund-raising enterprises, food companies, and even governmental agencies. The public is being deceived by the greatest health scam of the century."
Michael Gurr, Ph.D., renowned expert on lipids and author of the authoritative textbook on lipid biochemistry, recently stated that "whatever causes coronary heart disease, it is not primarily a high intake of saturated fat." He criticized "…the degree of self delusion in research workers wedded to a particular hypothesis despite the contrary evidence!"
So if it ain't saturated fats ant cholesterol, what causes heart disease? There are, in fact, a number of dissenting theories, most of which dovetail into a compelling list of dietary and lifestyle factors that are unique to civilized societies. Consider the following:
In the 1940s and 1950s, researchers Yudkin and Lopez discovered a link between consumption of refined sugar and heart disease. Sugar consumption lowers the body's resistance to bacteria, viruses, and yeasts that may cause inflammation in both the heart and the arteries. Excess sugar leads to deficiencies in the entire B-vitamin complex, needed for healthy arteries. Ongoing research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicates that fructose may be even more dangerous than sugar. Fructose, mainly in the form of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), has become the sweetener of choice for soft drinks, condiments and many so-called health foods.
Also in the 1960s, a researcher named Annand discovered a correlation between the consumption of heated milk protein and a tendency to thrombosis — the formation of blood clots — and noted that the rise in coronary heart disease began in the 1920s with laws requiring milk pasteurization.
Researcher Kilmer McCulley has found a positive relationship between deficiencies in folic acid, B 6 and B l2 , and severity of hardening or stiffness of the arteries, as well as the buildup of pathogenic plaque. B 6 and B 12 are found almost exclusively in animal products — the very foods that proponents of the lipid hypothesis advise us to avoid. B 6 deficiency is also associated with hardening of the tendons leading to carpal tunnel syndrome. Deficiencies of this heat-sensitive vitamin are widespread in America, partly because B 1 and B 2 added to white flour interfere with its proper use, and partly because it is destroyed during milk pasteurization. (Although pasteurization may help prevent foodborne illness, the process destroys nutrients.) Although McCulley's research has gained widespread, albeit grudging, recognition in the scientific community, it continues to lack appropriate funding and public recognition.
Vitamin C deficiency makes arterial walls more subject to inflammation and tearing. A diet rich in natural vitamin C complex helps maintain the integrity of both blood vessels and heart muscle. Vitamin C also plays a role in collagen synthesis, along with copper, through the enzyme lysyl oxidase. Deficiencies occur in diets that lack fresh fruits and vegetables.
Heart disease has been correlated with mineral deficiencies. Coronary heart disease rates are lower in regions where drinking water is naturally rich in trace minerals, particularly magnesium, which acts as a natural anti-coagulant and aids potassium absorption, thereby preventing heartbeat irregularities. Mineral-rich water and soil also supply iodine, needed for a healthy thyroid gland. People with poor thyroid function are very prone to heart disease. Calcium also plays a role in protecting the heart and arteries. Potassium helps maintain proper blood pressure. Traditional meat broths are rich in magnesium, potassium, calcium, and iodine. In America, these have largely been replaced by imitation broth products containing MSG and hydrolyzed protein.
The most important change in the American diet during the years of CHD increase has been the gradual substitution of vegetable fats for those of animal origin. Hydrogenated fats — in the form of margarine and shortening — have replaced butter and lard, while the consumption of vegetable oils has increased more than 10-fold. Since as early as 1956, a number of researchers have found that consumption of trans-fatty acids in hydrogenated oils contributes to heart disease, including most recently Mensink and Katan in the Netherlands, and Walter Willett at Harvard University.
An excess of vegetable oils, even when not hydrogenated, seems to play a role in causing heart disease because they cause an imbalance in the production of prostaglandins, localized tissue hormones that play a role in all of the body's complex chemical processes; and because industrially processed vegetable oils contain bee radicals that damage the arteries, thereby initiating plaque deposits.
Arterial plaque contains cholesterol because the body actually uses cholesterol to repair injuries, tears, and irritations to artery walls. However, like rancid vegetable oils, cholesterol that has been oxidized by high temperatures and exposure to air can itself irritate the arterial walls and initiate pathological buildup. High temperature spray production of powdered milk and eggs, used as additives in many processed foods, began in the early part of the century. Consumption of both hydrogenated fats and products containing oxidized cholesterol increased greatly after the war.
A recent study found that excess consumption of omega-6 fatty acids, the kind found in commercial vegetable oils made from corn, soy, safflower, and canola, increases the amount of oxidized cholesterol in the arterial plaque. Like sugar and white flour, these vegetable oils, produced by high temperature industrial processing, are new to the human diet. It is the polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids — not saturated fat — that form the major fat component of arterial plaque, yet for many years the American Heart Association and many establishment nutrition writers advocated consumption of polyunsaturated oils for the heart.
The role of vitamin D in protecting against heart disease has been neglected. Vitamin D is essential for the intestinal absorption of many minerals, but particularly calcium and magnesium. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with defective calcification of the bones and pathogenic calcification of the arteries. Synthetic vitamin D added to milk has the same effect as vitamin D deficiency — it causes abnormal calcification of the soft tissues, particularly the blood vessels. Our bodies can manufacture vitamin D from cholesterol by the action of sunlight on the skin, but natural dietary sources give added protection. Vitamin D is found only in animal fats.
Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have anti-microbial effects and protect against the kind of viruses and bacteria that contribute to heart disease. Best sources of these helpful fats are the tropical oils, especially coconut oil, which have largely disappeared from the American food supply due to unfounded assertions that these healthy fats contribute to heart disease.
Caffeine in coffee causes the body to excrete calcium and stresses the adrenal glands, leading in some cases to general exhaustion, including exhaustion of the heart muscle. This theory has been subject to intense criticism. Detractors note that heavy coffee drinkers tent to indulge in a number of habits considered unhealthy by orthodox researchers — such as smoking and lack of exercise — as well as consumption of sugar and processed foods, leading to deficiencies not yet accepted by the medical establishment as being contributors to CHD.
Anti-oxidants such as beta-carotene, selenium, and vitamin E may protect us against damage from highly processed vegetable oils and oxidized cholesterol. Orthodox medicine has ignored or ridiculed vitamin E therapy for heart disease, pioneered by the Shute brothers, physicians in Canada, who found that 100 mg of natural vitamin E from wheat germ oil gave excellent long-term protection from coronary heart disease. Fresh fruits and vegetables supply beta-carotene and hundreds of other carotenoids; butter is a particularly rich source of selenium.
Other theories related to heart disease include lack of exercise, overweight, high blood pressure, smoking, and exposure to carbon monoxide gas.
Heart Disease Has Many Forms
What emerges is a clear association of heart disease with the increased consumption of devitalized, processed, fabricated food items, including sugar and fructose, pasteurized milk, soft drinks, fortified white flour, miller and egg powders, caffeine, imitation broth products, synthetic vitamins, vegetable oils, and hydrogenated fats.
The lipid hypothesis not only clouds this picture, but inhibits necessary research that could illuminate these connections more clearly. Instead of adding to medical and nutritional understanding, it may be undermining public health — promoting the substitution of newfangled, altered, imitation products for nourishing traditional whole foods, including butter, cream, cheese, eggs, and meat.
Although not unknown, heart disease was relatively rare at the turn of the century, accounting for approximately 8% of all deaths in the United States.
Today coronary heart disease, or CHD, accounts for about 45% of all deaths.
Incidence of heart disease rose precipitously between 1920 and 1960. Since that time, mortality rates from CHD have declined somewhat. This means that victims of heart disease are living longer, due most likely to improved surgical techniques and the advent of angioplasty; but morbidity rates — the incidence of heart disease — continue to rise, although at a lower rate than before.
Of greatest concern is the high rate of heart disease in American men between the ages of 45 to 65.
Heart disease is not a single malady, but a complex of disease coming under a single rubric.
Damage to the heart muscle or myocardium may be due to a congenital defect, or result from inflammation and damage associated with any number of viral, bacterial, fungal, rickettsial or parasitic diseases; from rheumatic fever or syphilis; from toxic chemicals such as carbon monoxide or drugs; from auto-immune reactions or genetic disorders in which important cellular proteins in the heart muscle are deranged; or from disruption of enzymes affecting cardiac function.
The heart may also be damaged by an imbalance between the blood supply and the demands of the heart muscle leading to ischemia, a local deficiency of blood supply, and infarction, the death of an area of heart tissue.
Such deficiency may be caused by physical exertion or emotional trauma, increasing the heart's need for blood; or from a drop in blood supply due to excess bleeding, a spasm in an artery, a blood clot (thrombus) or by coronary artery disease, a condition in which the arteries become gradually blocked by the buildup of abnormal plaque (atheromas) and hardened through calcification. Blockage often occurs in the large arteries feeding the heart (the coronary arteries), or in those supplying the brain, increasing the risk of stroke.
In cases of moderate blockage of the coronary arteries, the patient may suffer from angina pectoris, bouts of brief chest pain; moderate blockage combined with increased demands on the heart, due to exertion or trauma; or severe blockage due to arterial plaque, a clot, a spasm, or any combination of these, may lead to a myocardial infarction, the dreaded heart attack, resulting in cardiac dysfunction and often rapid death. Sudden death is often triggered by an acute arrhythmia — disruption in the rhythms of the heart beat — during a heart attack.
While coronary artery disease is a common cause of heart attack, myocardial infarction may also occur in the absence of arterial blockage, due to a spasm, clot or organic failure of the heart muscle.
Heart disease due to syphilis and infectious disease has been around a long time and probably accounts for a good portion of CHD deaths before 1920. Fatty streaks, lesions, and plaque in the arteries are found in many primitive people, but coronary artery disease, the pathological buildup of hardened plaque leading to partial or total occlusion of major arteries, seems to be a disease of civilization, and probably accounts for a great deal — though not all — of the increase in heart disease between 1920 and 1960, and its continued menace to the present day.
Sally Fallon is the author of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats (NewTrends Publishing 877-707-1776) and Mary G. Enig, Ph.D. is the author ofKnow Your Fats: The Complete Primer for Understanding the Chemistry of Fats, Oils and Cholesterol(Bethesda Press 301-680-8600).
Reprinted with the permission of the authors.
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NBA / NBA Schedule
NBA Summer League Live on ESPN3
by Sports Desk July 12, 2014
(SportingAlert) — The NBA Summer League will continue on Saturday, with ESPN3.com streaming three games live on the day.
Watch Summer League Live Streaming on ESPN3 | Watch All Eight Games Summer League Live
As the big names continue to recover from the long season, teams have taken the opportunity to use low-key tournament to develop their youngsters in attempt to shape them into better NBA players.
The three games streaming live on ESPN3 on Saturday are the Dallas Mavericks against Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls playing Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat playing against Houston Rockets.
A total of eight games are on the schedule for Saturday.
At the Thomas And Mack Center, in Las Vegas, the Mavericks will take on Timberwolves, looking to bounce back from the 76-64 defeat to the New York Knicks.
Then the Bulls and LA Clippers will feature at the Thomas And Mack Center in Las Vegas, at 8:30 pm ET, while at 10:00 pm, at the Cox Pavilion, Houston will come up against Andre Dawkins, Shabazz Napier and Justin Hamilton and Miami, in the battle for the early summer bragging rights.
NBA Summer League
6:30 PM EDT Dallas Mavericks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – ESPN3.com
8:30 PM EDT Chicago Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers – ESPN3.com
10:00 PM EDT Houston Rockets vs. Miami Heat – ESPN3.com
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American Ulysses
A Life of Ulysses S. Grant
By: Ronald C. White
Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Categories: Biographies & Memoirs, Historical
4.8 out of 5 stars 4.8 (3,051 ratings)
By: Lynn Vincent, Sara Vladic
Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd
Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis is sailing alone in the Philippine Sea when she is sunk by two Japanese torpedoes. For the next five nights and four days, almost 300 miles from the nearest land, nearly 900 men battle injuries, sharks, dehydration, insanity, and eventually each other. Only 316 will survive. Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic tell the complete story of the ship, her crew, and their final mission to save one of their own.
As good as In Harm's Way but different
By tru britty on 07-13-18
By: Lynn Vincent, and others
The Passage of Power
The Years of Lyndon Johnson
By: Robert A. Caro
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
The Passage of Power follows Lyndon Johnson through both the most frustrating and the most triumphant periods of his career - 1958 to 1964. It is a time that would see him trade the extraordinary power he had created for himself as Senate Majority Leader for what became the wretched powerlessness of a Vice President in an administration that disdained and distrusted him. Yet it was, as well, the time in which the presidency, the goal he had always pursued, would be thrust upon him in the moment it took an assassin's bullet to reach its mark.
From Powerful to Powerless
By Abdur Abdul-Malik on 05-08-12
American Liberator
By: Marie Arana
Narrated by: David Crommett
It is astonishing that Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of South America, is not better known in the United States. He freed six countries from Spanish rule, traveled more than 75,000 miles on horseback to do so, and became the greatest figure in Latin American history. His life is epic, heroic, straight out of Hollywood: he fought battle after battle in punishing terrain, forged uncertain coalitions of competing forces and races, lost his beautiful wife soon after they married and died relatively young, uncertain whether his achievements would endure.
By Joselo on 08-02-13
His Life and Times
By: William Taubman
Narrated by: Henry Strozier
When Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, the USSR was one of the world's two superpowers. By 1989, his liberal policies of perestroika and glasnost had permanently transformed Soviet Communism and had made enemies of radicals on the right and left. By 1990 he, more than anyone else, had ended the Cold War, and in 1991, after barely escaping from a coup attempt, he unintentionally presided over the collapse of the Soviet Union he had tried to save.
The Man Who Changed The Course Of History
The Wars of the Roses
The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors
Narrated by: John Curless
The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
Fabulous story; but need a scorecard.
By R. on 06-01-15
Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
By: Eleanor Roosevelt
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
The daughter of one of New York's most influential families, niece of Theodore Roosevelt, and wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt witnessed some of the most remarkable decades in modern history, as America transitioned from the Gilded Age, the Progressive Era, and the Depression to World War II and the Cold War. A champion of the downtrodden, Eleanor drew on her experience and used her role as First Lady to help those in need.
What a woman!
By Margaret M. Bell on 11-05-14
By: G. J. Meyer
Narrated by: Enn Reitel
The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
Marvelous !
By Cinders on 08-02-13
The Earth Is Weeping
The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West
By: Peter Cozzens
Narrated by: John Pruden
With the end of the Civil War, the nation recommenced its expansion onto traditional Indian tribal lands, setting off a wide-ranging conflict that would last more than three decades. In an exploration of the wars and negotiations that destroyed tribal ways of life even as they made possible the emergence of the modern United States, Peter Cozzens gives us both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail.
Purposefully Historically Inaccurate .
By Herbert on 03-17-20
The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands
Narrated by: Dan Jones
For more than 1,000 years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious period of conflict between the two religions. Depending on who you ask, the fall of the holy city was either an inspiring legend or the greatest of horrors. In Crusaders, Dan Jones interrogates the many sides of the larger story, charting a deeply human and avowedly pluralist path through the crusading era.
Gripping but not tidy
By Tad Davis on 01-06-20
The Warburgs
The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family
By: Ron Chernow
Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
Bankers, philanthropists, scholars, socialites, artists, and politicians, the Warburgs stood at the pinnacle of German (and, later, German American) Jewry. They forged economic dynasties, built mansions and estates, assembled libraries, endowed charities, and advised a German kaiser and two American presidents. But their very success made the Warburgs lightning rods for anti-Semitism, and their sense of patriotism became increasingly dangerous in a Germany that had declared Jews the enemy.
The Warburg's Dynamic Family History
By Darwin8u on 10-22-18
The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret
By: Stephen L. Moore
Narrated by: Sean Runnette
Uncommon Valor is a look into the formation and operation of an advanced Special Forces recon company during the Vietnam War. Code-named the Studies and Observations Group, SOG was the most covert US military unit in its time and contained only volunteers from such elite units as the Army's Green Berets, Navy SEALs, and Air Force Air Commandos. SOG warriors operated in small teams, going behind enemy lines in Laos and Cambodia and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, tasked with performing special reconnaissance, sabotaging North Vietnamese Army ammunition, and far more.
Pass this one by
By WE Cleghorn on 01-21-21
A Country of Vast Designs
James K. Polk, the Mexican War and the Conquest of the American Continent
By: Robert W. Merry
Narrated by: Michael Prichard
When James K. Polk was elected president in 1844, the United States was locked in a bitter diplomatic struggle with Britain over the rich lands of the Oregon Territory, which included what is now Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Texas, not yet part of the Union, was threatened by a more powerful Mexico. And the territories north and west of Texas---what would become California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and part of Colorado---belonged to Mexico.
By Todd Gangl Usnik on 06-12-12
The Greek Myths Reimagined
By: Stephen Fry
Narrated by: Stephen Fry
In the newest installment of the best-selling series Mythos, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry moves from the exploits of the Olympian gods to the deeds of mortal heroes. Perseus. Jason. Atalanta. Theseus. Heracles. Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths. Whether recounting a tender love affair or a heroic triumph, Fry deftly finds resonance with our own modern minds and hearts.
Fantastical Mr. Fry
By kubro on 05-14-20
The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
By: Thomas Asbridge
Narrated by: Derek Perkins
In The Greatest Knight, renowned historian Thomas Asbridge draws upon the thirteenth-century biography and an array of other contemporary evidence to present a compelling account of William Marshal's life and times. Asbridge charts the unparalleled rise to prominence of a man bound to a code of honor yet driven by unquenchable ambition.
Rare biography of a true knight
By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 04-13-15
By: Evan Thomas
Narrated by: Ray Porter
Traditionally, Robert F. Kennedy has been viewed as either the "Good Bobby", who saw wrong and tried to right it, or the "Bad Bobby" of countless conspiracy theories. Evan Thomas' achievement is to realize RFK as a human being, to bring to life an extraordinarily complex man who was at once kind and cruel, devious and honest, fearful and brave. The portrait that emerges is unvarnished but sympathetic, packed with new details about Kennedy's early life and his behind-the-scenes machinations.
By Donald on 01-11-08
Washington's Crossing
By: David Hackett Fischer
Narrated by: Nelson Runger
This New York Times best seller is a thrilling account of one of the most pivotal moments in United States history. Six months after the Declaration of Independence, America was nearly defeated. Then on Christmas night, George Washington led his men across the Delaware River to destroy the Hessians at Trenton. A week later Americans held off a counterattack, and in a brilliant tactical move, Washington crept behind the British army to win another victory. The momentum had reversed.
Particularly Good Military History
By William on 10-11-04
Charlie Wilson's War
The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History
By: George Crile
Charlie Wilson's War is the untold story behind the last battle of the Cold War and how it fueled the rise of militant Islam. George Crile tells how Charlie Wilson, a maverick congressman from east Texas, conspired with a rogue CIA operative to launch the biggest, meanest, and most successful covert operation in the agency's history.
The Afghan War:Last Nail in the Soviet Coffin
By William Lorenzen on 08-10-04
The Sleepwalkers
How Europe Went to War in 1914
By: Christopher Clark
The Sleepwalkers is historian Christopher Clark's riveting account of the explosive beginnings of World War I. Drawing on new scholarship, Clark offers a fresh look at World War I, focusing not on the battles and atrocities of the war itself but on the complex events and relationships that led a group of well-meaning leaders into brutal conflict.
Reexamining the Causes of WWI
By Christoph L. on 07-13-15
A major new biography of the Civil War general and American president, by the author of the New York Times bestseller A. Lincoln. The dramatic story of one of America's greatest and most misunderstood military leaders and presidents, this is a major new interpretation of Ulysses S. Grant. Based on 7 years of research with primary documents, some of them never tapped before, this is destined to become the Grant biography of our times.
©2016 Ronald C. White. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.
Historical American Civil War Politicians Presidents & Heads of State
Lincoln in Private
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Enlightenment Now
What listeners say about American Ulysses
Michael J. Nardotti, Jr.
An Absolutely Superb Work
This is the most insightful and instructive biography I have ever read. Not only does it give overdue credit to a truly great military leader and president and genuinely kind and humble man of extraordinary accomplishment, but it also provides the reader of a more complete and compelling picture of the monumental challenges faced by the nation and it's leader following the Civil War and it's aftermath. This work is must read history.
Mike From Mesa
Absolutely wonderful.
I was uncertain about buying this book since I had already read all the volumes of Grant's autobiography as well as quite a few books about Grant's and Sherman's campaigns during the Civil War and I feared that purchasing it would be a waste of my time and money. I was wrong.
When I was in public school the history classes that covered the Civil War referred to Grant as a poor commander, someone who wasted human lives and only won because of the overwhelming numbers of Federal troops, and that was a view I carried with me as I became an adult, and it only began to change as I started to read newer books covering the war. Shelby Foote's multi-volume history made me start to believe that perhaps what I had been taught in school was wrong and, as I read more and more books about the campaigns in the West, I became increasingly convinced that my what I thought I knew of Grant and his generalship was wrong, and badly so.
American Ulysses is so well written that in spite of all I had previously read about Grant and his campaigns my interest never flagged and I found it difficult to stop listening. Arthur Morey's narration is so well suited to the material that time flew as I listened to the book and I found myself looking forward to listening to more the next day. The book is more of a biography than a retelling of the battles of the war and the narrative never gets bogged down in military details of how the battle progressed, but still manages to cover what happened and why.
A large part of the book covers Grant's life after Appomattox, his issues with the Johnson administration and his two terms as President and covers his efforts to insure that those freed by the Civil War were able to exercise their rights as citizens. All of this was new to me as it was never covered in my public school classes and was not in any of the Civil War books I read, but Grant was committed to insuring real freedom and citizenship for those freed by the war and his battles to try to insure the former slaves their freedom is covered in detail, as are the reasons for the failure of that effort.
Perhaps the most poignant parts of the book cover the period of his life when this man, so able to sort the wheat from the chaff in his generals, failed to see how he was taken advantage of by those he trusted. Mr White, and history, have shown that although Grant's administration was plagued by financial scandals, he himself was never touched by a hint of those scandals and left office with his honor and honesty intact. The final scandal, which bankrupted him, again involved those he trusted and his actions in trying to repay those debts that fell on him, only again proves how honest a man he was.
This is a wonderful biography, full of information new to me, wonderfully written and wonderfully narrated, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in General Grant and his life.
A True All American
Sadly, the significance of Grant is somewhat shadowed in history by Lincoln. I'm the better for listening to this book. Fantastic book and narrator.
A New Campaign to Reasses Grant
If you could sum up American Ulysses in three words, what would they be?
Compelling, Penetrating, Fair
What did you like best about this story?
White has enough confidence in his research and ultimately his discernment to render the story in a straight-forward manner that might have pleased its subject. White doesn't besiege the reader with footnotes, counterpoints or what-ifs, instead placing the reader in that time and place, with Grant.
Which scene was your favorite?
The breakout towards Jackson during the Vicksburg Campaign. White is able to capture the intensity and pressures bearing down on Grant, and when, at last, Grant's forces move east when their target lay west, the reader gains a sense of Grant's audacity, nerve and will.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I am very familiar with the details of Grant's life and times from other biographies and histories. Yet there is cumulative power in White's writing and his description of Grant's last "campaign" at the close of his life was more moving than any other treatment I had encountered.
Any author attempting a comprehensive biography of such a momentous figure has to make choices about length and depth of detail. White's concentration is on the prominent figures on the Union side, and there is a nutshell quality to his descriptions of Grant's adversaries (even Lee). Ultimately that's a justified treatment of the vanquished. White briefly discusses Grant's long banishment into the historical wilderness, as his reputation declined and languished after his death, but White misses an opportunity to explore the context of the ongoing struggle by many to preserve the most imperfect aspects of the United States that led to the war and which continue to trouble the nation on the low boil. The most eye-opening aspect of the book was the depth of Grant's commitment to the rights and protection of the freedmen. If he was late getting there, his absolute, unshakable resolve on this point caused me to seriously reassess his presidency, and gave me a greater appreciation of his remarkable character.
I feel I have been shielded from an important piece of American history till now
Inspirational, page-turning history
I loved this biography of Ulysses S Grant. Grant came alive as a person in the early chapters, both growing up, and in his West Point years. His life story is fascinating from start to end, through the Civil War, and his presidency in the tumultuous post-war period. The writing in this bio is great, and I never knew what a heroic man Grant was. Grant is best known for his military genius, and this book captures that well. Grant was a man of courage and integrity throughout his life, and he inspired me as a leader who was ahead of his time as a passionate advocate of civil rights. This biography captured his family life well, but I wanted to know more about how he dealt with marrying the daughter of a slave owner from St. Louis. The years of his presidency focused mostly on the politics of the day, which was fascinating but less personal than the other years of his life. This was a long book, but most of it was totally engaging, and all of it was so informative. The connections to politics today jumped from the page. After listening to this, I have a new American hero. This book was emotionally and intellectually engaging - a great combo.
A great man and a great book.
One of the most poignant biographies I have read of a great man, general and presidents.
Tad Davis
A much-needed reassessment
Arthur Morey is the perfect narrator for this fine biography of one of America's least appreciated heroes. Ronald White has followed up his portrait of Abraham Lincoln with a detailed and engaging portrait of the man who made Lincoln's policies a reality.
Grant's excellence as a general has been getting more recognition lately: he defeated Lee (and the other Confederate armies) not simply by overwhelming numbers, but by a clearly thought out strategy - and by a refusal to act like a defeated general.
His presidency is less appreciated, and to some extent it was Grant's fault. He was a man of sterling personal integrity, so much so that he was sometimes unable to recognize corrupt behavior, especially when one of his trusted aides from the war years was involved.
Grant declared his intention to reform "Indian affairs," and he did try, but the results were mixed. He appointed new governors and new agents, yet some of the worst of the massacres happened on his watch. He seemed unable or unwilling to fully wrest the direction of Indian affairs from military hands; and he doesn't seem to have made a serious effort to restrain Philip Sheridan. The end result was more poverty, misery, and death for Native Americans.
His tutor on foreign policy was his Secretary of State Hamilton Fish. Together they managed to produce a treaty with Great Britain that settled all outstanding issues between the two countries, including the vexed question of British-built warships that were owned and operated by the Confederacy. This was a political achievement of no small magnitude, because Charles Sumner, Senate leader, was in complete opposition.
One of Grant's foreign policy goals failed. He wanted to annex Santo Domingo, making it a haven for freed slaves and a beacon of freedom in a slave-dominated Caribbean. In this, he had the support of ardent abolitionists like Frederick Douglass - but not Sumner. Ultimately Grant chose to fold on this because it was interfering with the negotiations with Britain.
One of his major achievements in domestic policy was his fight against the Ku Klux Klan. This terrorist organization had murdered hundreds if not thousands of black citizens, especially those insisting on their right to vote. Grant, perceiving that state and local governments were unwilling to take this on, asked for and received from Congress the authority to suspend habeas corpus and send in troops to enforce the law. Wielding the newly created Department of Justice as a weapon, he began dismantling the Klan and indicting thousands of its members. In this, he was often opposed by a Republican Party more interested in reforming civil service than in enforcing civil rights.
On the strength of his achievements in this first term, Grant was reelected in 1872 with 56 percent of the vote and an overwhelming majority in the Electoral College.
Sadly, there were more scandals. The Whiskey Ring cheated the government out of millions in tax revenue. There was massive corruption in the Interior Department. There was a kickback scheme at the War Department. Through all of this, Grant remained oblivious to the greed and corruption that surrounded him. He did not run for a third term, and the skulduggery surrounding the election of 1876 ended up negating many of the gains Grant had made in the area of civil rights.
Grant's return to private life also turned out badly. He allied himself with an investment banker who turned out to be keeping two sets of books — one for Grant and one for himself. The head of the firm tried to abscond with the funds, and Grant was left with the spare change in his pocket and a humiliating loss of face. To earn money, he began writing articles about the war. This grew into plans for a memoir, and this in turn drew him into the orbit of Mark Twain. Twain negotiated a generous deal with Grant for royalties on the book.
As he was writing his memoirs, in the hope of restoring his family's fortunes, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. It was terminal, and the next few months were a race against time. Grant finished his manuscript just a few days before he died; a few months later, Twain was able to present Grant's wife with the largest royalty check ever written, close to half a million dollars.
Grant's reputation is climbing higher again as the country digs itself out of the "lost cause" mythology. There have been new biographies by Jean Edward Smith and H.W. Brands, and a deeply flawed attempt at reassessing Grant by Geoffrey Perret. As I write this, another Grant biography has just come out, by Ron Chernow, another master biographer. It will be interesting to compare notes.
Hard To Follow Without the Written Book Available
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
You really need the written book available as reference, otherwise it just gets too complicated to follow from listening. The names, dates, and places gets confusing, especially without maps, tables, or diagrams, unless you are already know them by heart. I had the same problem with Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, it was a great audiobook but I constantly needed to refer to the written book which I bought soon after starting the audiobook.
What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
A great history of Grant!
Deborah Jacob
A Spellbinding Biography
Ronald White succeeds admirably well in capturing Grant as a student, general and president. There is nothing more difficult than writing about battles, but white makes every battle of the Civil War exciting. Grant's story is a sad one. All, it seems he ever wanted to do was teach in a university. He ended up serving his country quite selflessly. Unfortunately, many people took advantage of his kind nature. I can't wait to see how Ron Chernow will compete with White when his biography on Grant is released later this year.
Mister Peridot
Full and fair biography
Americans know the key importance of Grant to the USA, not just as the civil war general but as an effective president and as a role model to future generations who have been inspired by his modesty, honesty and courage. The book is very well read by Arthur Morey. And the author, Ronald White, does justice to his subject giving as much coverage to his life before and after the civil war as to his role in the war itself. White clearly admires Grant and his admiration shines through the work, engaging the readers attention. Only in a couple of chapters was it hard to follow who was who and what was going on, one of these being an account of foreign relations during his presidency. The chapters on the civil war are quite easy to follow as the narrative focusses on Grants own experience and his relations with fellow officers rather than detailed descriptions of battles. Very likely there is much in this book that you won't know already. One such story for me was the invitation to dinner that Grant received from Bismark. Grant the famous war hero and ex-president arrives at Bismarks palatial home on foot, on his own and plainly dressed. Not what the great German and his servants were expecting!
Why use several words when one will do - magnificent!!!!!
Highly recommend and that's coming from an Englishman
Old Quaker
Excellent in every respect.
One of the best biographies I've read for many years. A pure joy to listen to!
Omar Shubeilat
My favorite U.S Grant biography
This is one of the best, if not the best, books about US Grant.I got to know more about Ulysses as a noble human being and president with his great initiatives for native indians!.
I think he is underrated and for me, a Jordanian living in Australia, one of the finest Americans who ever lived!
Geoff Alford
Best biography I have ever listened to. Wonderfully accurate and interesting at every turn. Highly recommended.
Steele Walster
Great Man, Great Story, Well Read.
I thoroughly enjoyed this detailed biography of U.S. Grant. It paints vividly a man's traversing of several stages in US history with the nation on his shoulders. Recommend for people with military and political interests, history lovers and those partial to a good story.


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Please Stop Mooncakes Before They Destroy The Earth
If HDB designed houses the way hotels design Mooncake boxes, Singapore would be the happiest country on earth.
No expense is spared when it comes to housing mooncakes. While most of us make do with 2 rooms or three, mooncakes often reside in 6-room bisonettes with high ceilings, spacious verandas and lavish furnishings.
Your clients will be so impressed they need the pen to sign a contract
Last year, for example, I received a box of mooncakes which opened to reveal a vanity mirror.
Two years before, it was a faux-oriental cabinet with a set of tiny doors.
This year, I got a monogrammed trunk with 3 different compartments—one for tea, two for mooncakes. The exterior was finished in aquamarine pleather, while the inside was done up in the sort of expensive felt one often sees in jewellery cases.
However, nothing can compare to Lady M's Jade Rabbit Zoetrope Mooncake box. The box is circular like a carousel, and it glows when you spin it because why not? If mooncake boxes can be briefcases, Ikea bookshelves, and avant-garde night lamps, who are we to stop the box from identifying as a merry-go-round?
Spinning improves the flavor.
Look, I'm not an eco-warrior. I use plastic cutlery, styrofoam cups, and the occasional straw when it's close at hand.
Mooncake packaging, however, is on a whole different circle of hell. It's like giving the environment a middle finger for no discernible reason. Even a climate-apocalypse agnostic like myself is loathe to witness the annual spectacle where we manufacture millions of lavish mooncake boxes only to throw them away barely 3 weeks later.
Never in the history of mankind is so much energy spent on redecorating a landfill.
This is different because most other plastic disposables at least make life easier or more convenient. Modern diapers unshackled young mothers from laundry duty while disposable needles mitigated the spread of AIDS or Hepatitis.
Even the much-maligned straw gives you a small measure of ease when you're drinking on-the-go.
But what is the point of mooncake packaging?
The answer is fuck-all. Their only job is to look nice, and they manage to cock it up anyway. Disposable furniture or fashion will at least adorn you for half a year before they start gathering dust. Mooncake boxes amuse you for maybe 30 minutes—or one Instagram story—before they are cast aside and forgotten.
It doesn't help that mooncake designers seem to have taken their cues from Empress Cixi. These days, every mooncake box looks like Barbie and Ken's Malibu Dreamhouse. Every last one of them is a matryoshka doll of plastic and more plastic.
Eunuchs not included
Of course, most hotels would argue that their boxes can be reused or recycled, but that's wishful thinking.
According to CNA, most mooncake boxes end up in an incinerator because the glossy laminate they use cannot be recycled.
As for reusing, it sounds like a good idea, but it's utterly impractical in the long term.
The first mooncake box might make a great sewing kit, and you can use the second to store your keys or make-up. But what are you going to do with boxes 3, 15, and 37? Mid-autumn festival comes around every year, but the amount of marginally-useful crap in your house stays constant.
Sooner or later, you will be throwing out your boxes. Only the compulsive hoarders of very tiny objects can find a use for so many containers.
We can protest our innocence but the numbers don't lie. Hong Kong throws away 2 million mooncakes every year because people enjoy giving mooncakes more than they enjoy consuming them. Hence, It's safe to assume that a similar amount will end up in Pulau Semakau this year.
Others might defend mooncakes as 'traditional' and part of 'Chinese culture'. However, I would argue there's nothing 'traditional' or 'chinese' about turning every mooncake into a Drag Race winner. Show me the history text where it is written that mooncake boxes must be thrice-gilded, hand-rubbed by virgins and presented with fireworks.
And isn't that the truth of it? What fuels the decadence of the modern mooncake is not heritage or history, but a pointless corporate circle-jerk which has turned tradition into an obligation as joyless as the half-windsor necktie. Every year, we build palaces for our mooncakes not because anyone enjoys doing so, but because corporate protocol expects it. Somewhere along the line, zhongqiu jie became a custom as insincere and as wasteful as the influencer wedding.
After all, most mooncakes made for family consumption are sensibly packaged. It's only the ones destined for potential clients that defy logic. And what for? There are surely better ways to build business relationships than by throwing pucks of over-dressed lotus paste in their general direction.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy eating mooncakes because I enjoy everything that's bad for me. They contain three of my favourite things—lard, sugar, and an excuse to drink tea.
However, I see no need to destroy the earth whilst I'm destroying my life. There's honestly too many mooncakes and they come with too much needless packaging. If we take all the plastic used during Mid-Autumn festival and melt it down, there's probably enough material to build an elevator to the moon itself.
So here's a hopeful—if doomed—suggestion. Instead of everyone buying and sending mooncakes, why not just buy some in plain, minimal packaging and serve them on nice plates with a cup of tea? When your clients come over for a meeting, they just eat the mooncakes with their hands and judge them by the quality of lotus paste or the crumbliness of the yolk. That way, mooncake exchange is actually about eating mooncakes, and not about hoteliers trying to win a pointless arms race at the environment's expense.
If we can summon the outrage for hipster rainbow food, I'm sure we can do something for mid-autumn's wastefulness. At the very least, we could make mooncake boxes with three layers of packaging instead of six. Chinese culture has survived much and more over the 20th century, I'm sure it can live without a few stupid boxes.
Am I wrong? Tell me why at community@ricemedia.co.
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Can Technology Lessen the Emotional Labour Kindergarten Teachers Endure?


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Home » NEWS - Guide to Disputing a Ticket
NEWS - Guide to Disputing a Ticket
The Provincial Court of British Columbia has released a Guide to Disputing a Ticket. The 16 page PDF document expands the information available on the court's Traffic and Bylaws page and is aimed specifically at provincial violation tickets rather than federal or municipal violation tickets. This is applicable to traffic tickets issued under the Motor Vehicle Act and Commercial Transportation Act.
The Guide is intended to answer common questions about provincial violation ticket procedures and offer information on how to prepare for and conduct a trial. It does not provide legal advice and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a lawyer .
Guide to Disputing a Ticket
CASE LAW - R v Erfani
story | by Dr. Radut


You are here: Home / Why use car magnets for fundraising?
Why? Because they work!!! Budget Cuts? Fill that funding gap with a high profit fundraising magnet! Car Magnets are POWERFUL! Now is the time to have our Art Department create a FREE magnet design specifically for you. If you're looking for a school fundraising idea that will earn money for your school, then a custom magnet is the answer to your fundraising dilemma. Nothing will raise money faster, plus custom magnets generate school spirit!
Take your fundraising to the next level! We understand that car magnets are a very unique item. The design of your magnet is critical to the success of your fundraiser. Car magnets are often small; 5 or 6 inches across usually. Also remember that your magnet will often be seen from a considerable distance; usually several car lengths away. Most people will only get a glimpse of your magnet if they are in another moving car, sometimes at freeway speeds. There is definitely a spatial relationship going on between your logo and the words you want on your magnet. Our designers are experts at creating eye-catching, fast selling magnets.
The actual design will be the most important part of your new magnet. Without a compelling design you are just throwing your money away. Our artists are the best in our industry. Designing magnets is what we do, and nobody does it better. Browse through our design gallery and take a close look at some of our magnets. Now visit the websites of a few other magnet companies. The difference is like night and day… Rembrandt vs. a Finger-Painter. We use the best magnetic material (a few other companies do also, but most don't) and we use the best UV resistant inks (again, a few other companies do, but most don't). But without the right design you might as well just throw your money away. Plus, all artwork is free at ARC Marketing; from your first "Virtual Magnet" design, through multiple revisions, to the final artwork.. all free.
Are you ready to begin on your free magnet design? Just click here get started.


Ready for an adventure? The doors of the Enchanted Forest anticipate the passage of those stimulated by the outlandish and magical. Deliberate and provocative in its inspirational execution, this captivating space will never fail to enamour with its spellbinding surrealism, striking patterns and colours, and intricate props.


So we were stuck in a vicious circle of how to get the Jeep to events, and to satisfy those times we just needed to get out. Now the weather is sort of getting better its come down to a few options: 1) flat tow it behind the truck and either stay in a hotel or bring camping gear 2) leave the Jeep at home and pull an RV 3) pull an RV and the Jeep which is legal here IF you have a doubles and triples endorsement 4) make a redneck RV combination of camper and car hauler 5) say f it and just buy a new race trailer We didn't do any of the above, and thanks to Sundowner we didn't have to choose.! As soon as we pick it up from Sundowner in Durant OK i'll post pictures of the living quarters They sent me a couple pictures of the interior, cant wait to do the PDI... PDI being the "pre delivery inspection"
That orange looks great! Reminds me of a car I used to own that was orange metal flake. All I got to do this weekend was a pile of honey do's and make a new work bench.
I'm sure your aware of the issue Jeeps have with cooling, and with the winch I would strongly suggest you address it. If you really like the "stock" look, one option is swap the hood for one of the anniversary hoods like mine, or, go with a louvered poison spyder vent. the latter of the 2 requires some willingness to get your hands dirty with an angle grinder and cut a couple of holes (template is included"
I apparently need to identify the rest of the images for the build. most are PR videos... So, moar coming soon!


Pound Ridge Golf Club offers tailored, daily fee rates to the public at one of New York's most iconic golf courses.
To cancel an existing time, please click here.
9-hole rates are only available same-day and cannot be booked in advance.
Military rates are available. Contact Us for more details.
Please see Plans to make Pound Ridge Golf your home for the season.
A credit card is required at time of booking to hold reservation (no deposit required).
All reservations are fully refundable up to 24 hours in advance of the scheduled tee time.
Tee times can be canceled from Booking or by calling 914-764-5771.


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Bathrooms and living rooms
We are the good guys.
The natural resource wood is a product that comes from the world's most environmentally friendly factory: the forest. Wood is a carbon-based substance which conserves fossil resources and meets the demands of intelligent circular economies. As a renewable resource, wood is an essential source of energy and material. Future viability is evidence of the outstanding environmental profile. Around 300 years ago, the Prussians made a commitment to sustainable, near-natural cultivation, based on which only as much wood as grows back each year could be taken from the forests. If we do not adhere to this sage rule, large gaps that cannot be repaired will develop in our world's ecosystems. At rockenhausen, we take this to heart and take our responsibility seriously. For the environment, for our customers.
Handmade by heart.
rockenhausen is a manufacturing company in the traditional sense of the word. Derived from the Latin words 'manus' (hand) and 'facere' (to build), it perfectly describes our form of highly specialised and largely handmade product ranges. We have high in-house quality standards, which means that the key steps that make a rockenhausen product so special are pure craftsmanship.
The art is in the detail and is never left to chance. You can feel and see the delicacy, elegance and perfection when you look closely. The precision of our production can be seen in the exquisite profiles and rounded edges of the butt joints, as well as in the multi-layer lacquer structure which is unique to the touch. As we want to serve the individual wishes and desires of our customers, we need to offer a wealth of distinctive variations in our surfaces. Water-based paints, oiled or stained, and food-safe surfaces are part of our customisation concept and are an expression of what we do so well.We also use our creativity and engineering skill for individually developed products for bulk buyers, so we can give them the precise support they need. Good ideas, Made in Germany.
is not a standard.
Good design is like a gift, but this gift needs special quality to have a durable, everlasting value. Great attention to detail and individual standards are required to transform the archaic feel of the wood into a modern, exquisite organisation system.
To ensure that everything ultimately fits together like a new work of art each time, our approach is based on diligence and precision. Every single part is produced by hand to the highest carpentry level. Precise, overlapping, mitred front, back and side panels support our product claim, as well as the optimum, abrasion-resistant, easy-care surface based on a multi-layer coating structure.
Our motto: no compromises, no excuses!
Questions? Write to us.
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Home News Cover Reveal Covers Revealed!
Covers Revealed!
PJ Sharon May 23, 2016 May 22, 2016 Cover Reveal, Novellas, teen romance, Young adult fiction
Welcome Readers,
Thanks for visiting my newly updated website. Feel free to browse around and subscribe to this blog at the bottom of the page to be notified of new content, sales, and upcoming events. Or sign up for my newsletter to get periodic updates, a free novella, and a free short story!
I'm so excited to share my new cover of SAVAGE CINDERELLA and reveal the cover for my upcoming release, FINDING HOPE, Book One in the Savage Cinderella Novella series.
Eighteen-year-old Brinn Hathaway has survived on her own in the Northwest High Country of Georgia since she was left for dead in a shallow grave by the man who kidnapped her as a child. When a young nature photographer, Justin Spencer, catches the wild girl on film and the two form a tentative friendship, Brinn must decide if coming out of hiding is worth the hope—and the danger—that may await her.
Read now, before the release of the Novella "Finding Hope"–set one year after Brinn's return from the wild.
SAVAGE CINDERELLA is available at the following retailers:
AMAZON B&N Kobo I-Books SMASHWORDS
Buy Print version at CreateSpace or AMAZON
Coming June 28th!
FINDING HOPE picks up a year after Brianna Hathaway's return from the wild. As she and Justin struggle to work through her recovery, Brinn must come to terms with who she is and discover her place in this strange new world. When Cody asks for her help in solving a kidnapping case for the FBI, it brings her worst nightmares to the surface. But will it be what she needs to finally put it all behind her and move on? Or will it lead her down a path into a dangerous world? A child is missing…and time is running out.
Follow Brinn, Justin, Cody, and a cast of new characters through a series of novellas. Each story will bring a new adventure, another crime to solve, and more danger for Brinn and company as they delve into the world of human trafficking.
"Like" my Facebook page for teasers, excerpts, and chances to win an advanced reader copy!
Thanks you so much for sticking with me and reading my books. Your reviews and patronage are greatly appreciated.
Watch for an interview I did for the June edition of Woman's World Magazine in their Ask America's Ultimate Experts, where I share ideas for staying fit even if you hate exercise, LOL. More news to come…
Upcoming fun!
Finding Hope is now available for pre-order!


Order your personalized labels online now with our secure website.
We offer FREE packing and postage for ALL orders. No extra to pay at checkout.
Choose from iron on clothing labels (our top seller!), sew on polyester tags for machine sewing, woven embroidered labels, waterproof stickers for personal items, and shoe labels with covers.
For individuals, schools, summer camps, rest homes, hospitals or respite care needs.
We supply labels for uniforms for the military and emergency services.
Office labeling needs, special events and sewing projects.
With our Value Packs you can save up to 40%.
Name It Labels are quality labels to last for years.
we love to hear your feedback or help with any special requests you may have.
From the Team - Sherry, Brendan, Laura and Tim.


Join us on Easter morning for a delicious continental breakfast featuring fresh fruit, hot, homemade cinnamon rolls, and other tasty treats.* This will be a great time for you to gather with friends and family before or after you spend time in worship. If you plan on attending the 10:30 a.m. Easter service, arrive early so you can have time to eat and chat. Attending the 9 a.m. service? Just head downstairs to Fellowship Hall after the service has ended. Help our team prepare for the event by registering below.
*UPDATE - Although the artwork for this event features quiches there will not be any quiches available. Sorry for getting your hopes up!


PAUL ENTERPRISES, LLC is very competitive on its pricing, provided our work is being compared to other companies on a level playing field.
The only way to get a less expensive paint job is to cut corners on preparation, use low-quality hardware brand products or use a company that subcontracts the work to an unqualified labor force. WE DO NOT USE SUBCONTRACTORS.
Do you have a special project that isn't listed here? Contact us today!
Wood Graining -- used to match existing stained wood.
Bill Paul studied under the Master Faux painter, Martin Alan Hirsch - a world renowned expert of the trade. Martin studied abroad for years in Europe, and owns a decorative painting studio in Lexington, KY.
One of the most important aspects of the paint process is the prep work. We spend the time necessary to correctly prepare all surfaces prior to painting. All surfaces are completely cleaned; by hand for interiors or by use of a power washer for exteriors - then carefully sanded, caulked, and fully primed (no shortcut spot priming) prior to painting.
Any rotted surfaces discovered during the prep phase are brought to the homeowner's attention. A mutually agreed upon decision is made to either replace or repair the area prior to painting, all additional charges are agreed upon in advance, and a contract change order is drawn up and signed - No surprises.
We use premium, top of the line products from companies including Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams.
Our company is fully insured and our employees are covered under Connecticut worker's compensation. We hire career painters who have chosen this field, and we routinely train our staff in the painting trade. We do NOT use subcontractors.
Our paint jobs are done the RIGHT way every time. If you are comparing our prices to other companies who take pride in doing the job correctly, you will find we are reasonably priced and competitive.
On interior projects, we clean up and give you back your home at the end of each day.
On exterior projects, all ladders, drop cloths and debris are cleaned up at the end of every day.
Before the job is considered complete, we will inspect every aspect of the job with you, making sure it not only meets all of your standards, but also meets our exacting criterion.
Enjoying a milkshake from Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream!
We have built a solid reputation in Southeastern Connecticut as a company that focuses on high quality craftsmanship, with a professional, polite crew and a service-oriented policy that stresses honesty and integrity. The owner Bill Paul, a master painter and tradesman, along with our trained, skilled and professional crew are committed to serving our customers.
In business locally for over 29 years, Paul Enterprises, LLC has been there for our clients of the past, we are here for you today, and we will still be here to serve you for years to come. Give us a call … We appreciate your business.
Paul Enterprises specializes in fine interior and exterior painting services in: Waterford, East Lyme, The Lymes, Old Saybrook, Essex, Deep River, Madison, Clinton, Mystic, Stonington, Stonington Borough, Montville, Groton, Groton Long Point, Mason's Island, Ledyard, North Stonington, and surrounding shoreline towns in Connecticut (CT).