text:
Of Humanism and Religious Freedom
Can a creed that claims to be non-religious be itself a religion? Is the professed irreligion of the leading social elites not only a religion but America's state religion, reinforced by Federal, state, and local governments?
Consider a typical school commencement ceremony, whether college or high school. A speaker declares that we must leave all talk of God behind, toss into the dustbin the dogmas of religion that divide us, and embrace a view of life that brings people together in a common cause of humanity, a village of fellow passengers on this tiny planet as it wends its course through the universe. At another similar commencement ceremony a different speaker declares that we should rise above the hates and lusts of mankind and embrace the love of God, join together in our common heritage as children of the family of God, learning to live with each other here that we may all the better live with our Heavenly Father in the eternities. Which of these, today, is likely to receive the greater applause and public commendation? Which of these speakers, on the other hand, is more likely to be censored and not even permitted to present his views, perhaps under threat of a lawsuit? Or, to make the question easier to answer, which is more likely to receive favorable coverage in the media?
Expressions of skepticism about God and His existence are embraced, praised, and rewarded in contemporary American society. Declarations of faith in God meet anything from patronizing smiles, to hostility, to punitive sanctions under the prevailing culture. The predominant American society, while professing to be neutral about religion, has some very strong opinions about religion and its expression.
In a land of constitutional free speech, that allows no state religion, this should seem an odd discussion, a throwback to history. Cursory familiarity with the historical chronicle would bring to mind other places and times when an incautious word on religion could earn a speaker severe punishment, not excluding cruel execution. Deviation from the local religion was certainly risky business anciently. We also may recall tales of the Spanish Inquisition and the bloody controversies of the Protestant Reformation, as well as the perennial anti-Semitism that has followed the House of Israel throughout its Diaspora. Social revolutions have dealt harshly with religion, from the French revolution to every communist regime, while clumsily endeavoring to create new secular religions (that failed miserably to engage adherents).
The malodorous plant of state religion followed the colonists to America, but it had trouble taking root, particularly among the English colonies. The freedom of wide open spaces, and the need for an armed populace, made oppressive government difficult to maintain. Thomas Jefferson considered the establishment of legal guaranties of religious freedom in Virginia to be among his life's most important achievements (the other being the founding of the University of Virginia). The principle of that law was later made a part of the United States Constitution with the adoption of the First Amendment.
The public outcry from media and politicians (with little echo from the general populace) over recent efforts of states to reinforce freedom of religion against encroachments by regulatory dicta and court edicts strongly suggests that there is one—and only one—protected national religion in the United States today. It needs no protection offered by these state laws, because its tenets are the motivating heart of the government actions threatening all of the other religions. It goes by many names—as do many broad religions—and includes a variety of sects, also not uncommon among religions. For facility of discussion, I will refer to just one of its appellations, Humanism.
The religion of Humanism has a core belief—shared by all of its sects and denominations—that man is the measure of everything. Man decides what is truth, what is good, what is real. Yes, that is more than a bit narcissistic, which is probably the key to its attraction, particularly among the intelligentsia and the elites. The chief corollary to this main tenet is that God does not matter, whether you believe in Him or not (some Humanist sects tolerate a belief in God or some sort of Supreme Being for reasons of nostalgia and to broaden popular acceptance).
Humanism has an elaborate set of dogmas, commandments, taboos, and rituals. It has its own liturgical language, which is required to be used, for example, in all doctoral dissertations—especially those in the social sciences, though its linguistic hegemony is now reaching to hard sciences as well—and in more colloquial versions observed by all media outlets, especially broadcast journalism. Humanism has its sacred texts along with its college of revered and beatified Humanists of yore.
I was going to write that Humanism has its own seminaries, but, frankly, that includes nearly all colleges and universities in the nation. The clergy of Humanism is largely self-appointed, though it has intricate, Byzantine hierarchies, with no one at the top for long, though all presume to speak for everyone. The clergy are supported by varieties of orders of acolytes and sycophants, the gathering of disciples a key method of rising in Humanism's hierarchy, and the loss of disciples a sure path to disfavor and obscurity.
While most religions preach exceptionalism, exclusivity, or preeminence, whether in faith or favor with God, Humanism may be the most intolerant of all. Being the state religion, it uses the full power of legislatures, regulators, law enforcement agencies, and the courts to advance its cause and bring in to line people who disagree with its tenets and prescriptions, who violate any of its taboos—particularly who utter any of its taboo words—or who remark on the foibles of its revered demigods. Significantly, any practice by any other religion that interferes with Humanism must yield to Humanist demands, not excluding the profligate use of federal, state, and local moneys to fund its projects, prescriptions, and priests.
Therein lies the explanation for both the desire of various state legislatures to reaffirm religious freedom and the inveterate and fierce hostility to these efforts from the media and a bevy of national celebrities. Freedom of religious belief and practice is a threat only to an established national religion, erecting obstacles to forced conformity with the state church. Failure of efforts to reaffirm the protections of the First Amendment will result in an increasingly intimidating society, constraining intellectual freedom and unauthorized religious observance to a degree unseen in the United States since 1787.
In a letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." Those words are the most prominent inscription in the Jefferson Memorial. Jefferson might get into trouble saying such a thing at a modern commencement ceremony at the University of Virginia.
Filed under academia, atheism, communism, Constitution, courts, federalism, free speech, freedom, God, heresy, humanism, media, organized religion, religious freedom, statism, tyranny Tagged with Constitution, federalism, free speech, freedom, God, heresy, humanism, media, organized religion, religious freedom, tyranny
Of What We Know and What We Are
Recently, while reading in Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, I thought back to when my two oldest daughters attended nursery during Sunday School hours at church. We were then members of a congregation with many young families. There were so many children that they divided the nursery into Senior Nursery and Junior Nursery. The dividing line was between those who had turned two by the start of the year and those who had not yet reached that august age. My older daughter—who is a real sweetheart and has since become the mother of daughters herself—was very proud that she was in Senior Nursery, while her sister was in Junior Nursery.
The mysterious relationship between my reading of the Romans and those events of not so long ago is that both emphasize how brief and transitory this life is. Whether our mortal life is allocated more than 70 years or fewer than 7, the time all told is rather short, and I dare say mercifully so.
This life is filled with the rich, the beautiful, as well as what is poor and ugly, and mostly what is very much temporary and does not matter. The emperors of Rome came and went so quickly, few living to die of natural causes. They scraped and fought and intrigued and connived to possess what they could not hold for long and which at the end left them nothing. The royal purple for the emperors at last was little more important than whether my daughters were in Senior or Junior Nursery. It all mattered about the same.
Some things do matter, greatly. While they can involve tangible things, all that in this life of lasting value is intangible and survives the universal tomb. Now I am watching my children cope with the mighty challenges that life concentrates into the years of transition from adolescence to adulthood. Life's calling, personal dedication, education, careers, marriage, family, truly life-changing decisions come at these young people inexorably in relentless and rapid succession. They have tangible elements of mortality to employ as tools to aid and markers to help measure the evaluating and making of these important decisions. They wade into deep problems when these material tools are mistaken for the real things.
As parents we watch, support, counsel, encourage, but the decisions are no longer ours. With no small amount of concern, and with generous measures of satisfaction, we can witness these whom we love the most exercise their own free will to lay out the remaining course of their mortality. For Mom and Dad, this period of life has been rich, sometimes painful, and frequently joyful. It is for us a harvesting time, even while for our children it is mostly a time of planting.
I am reminded that, with each graduation, one proceeds from the top of a staircase onto the bottom step of a new one. When my daughter left Senior Nursery, she was at the bottom of the classes of Primary. The seniors in high school become the freshmen in college. The college graduate becomes the "newbie" at work. In my employment I frequently am called upon to consider candidates for jobs. Shall I tell you how little impressed I would be to learn that a particular applicant had been student council president or editor of the yearbook?
I believe that so it goes in the heavens. We eternally progress from stage to stage, with Jesus Christ as our Guide, Leader, and Teacher, each stage well done qualifying us to begin the next, bringing us ever closer to become more like our Father in Heaven. The value is in this very real becoming. Our greatest worldly achievements of rank and fame have in heaven as little weight as our grade school awards convey into adulthood. With much concern God watches how we make our decisions, how we develop our character, with satisfaction and joy as we choose what is good and act well. Like wise parents, God cannot and will not choose for us, our choices at planting being part of His joy in the harvest.
Again, as I recall my children in nursery, and my grandchildren there today, I reflect that there is so much that I would tell them but which they would not begin to understand. There is a treasury of what I have learned in over 5 decades that I would share but that would be completely incomprehensible to a granddaughter or grandson in primary school.
Then I reflect that compared to my Heavenly Father, my treasury is the knowledge of an infant, that I even today am such a little child in terms of what I know. Indeed, were I to know all that there is available to know in this life, it would still be so very little compared with what our Father in the eternal worlds knows and has for us to learn when we once again live with Him. A modern Apostle, Dallin H. Oaks (a former university president), once remarked that an omniscient God is not all that impressed with our Ph.Ds.
But if I do well with what He has given and taught me, I have received the living hope from His Son that I may come step by step in the presence of the Father to know all that He would share, which is everything. That is humbling and exhilarating. I am glad that I have not really very long to wait, and that I can learn my first lessons even now.
Filed under abundant life, academia, children, choice, death, education, eternal life, family, freedom, God, Heavenly Father, humility, Jesus Christ, joy, knowledge, life, mortality, Rome, time, vanity Tagged with abundant life, academia, children, choice, death, education, eternal life, family, freedom, God, Heavenly Father, humility, Jesus Christ, joy, knowledge, life, mortality, Rome, time, vanity
Of Recording Life and Saving Life
Congratulations to Cornell University's Macaulay Library, "the world's largest and oldest scientific archive of biodiversity audio and video recordings." It is an expansive effort to capture and preserve the sounds of life of the entire animal kingdom, an important part of preserving life itself.
It really is wondrous to find the recorded sounds, and in many cases recorded videos, of so many species of animal life. This ongoing effort has been decades in the making, to save—and to make available—the sounds and sights of what has been in the making since before time. The goal is to record it all, the entire encyclopedia of animal life. The task is daunting, and may never be finished, but these busy "recordists" are ever getting more and progressing closer to their unreachable completion. You can wander through what they have done so far here:
http://macaulaylibrary.org/
It reminds me of another effort that I learned about a few years ago to collect and save seeds from every species of plant life. Again, that is another effort that may never be finished but which is ever getting closer and more complete.
Each of these works is a powerful reminder of how much variety the Lord has created for us all, how complex and intricate and diverse life is. It is also one more source of awe for the work of the Lord of Life and the magnificence of God's creation.
Considering this wondrous variety and the greatness of life in all of its many forms, I do not find it credible to assume that among the galaxies—or even within our own galaxy—this is the only world where life is to be found. Why would God create all the rest of the numberless worlds? The answer is, to do there much of what He is doing here, to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)
In a modern-day revelation the Lord confirmed what the Apostle John taught, that Jesus Christ is not only the Creator of this world but of the many worlds (see John 1:1-3). The Lord added, that Christ is also God of people on those many worlds, "That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (Doctrine and Covenants 76:24) Note from this revelation that God's eternal work, too, is still going on and will never be finished.
Returning to the Macaulay Library project, there is pleasure and wonder in wandering through the recordings. Below is a link to just one inspiring example, recorded nearly 50 years ago. It saves for us the sound of an ostrich, still in the egg, shortly before it emerges—not into life since it is clearly already alive, an appropriate part of the recorded history of living things—but shortly before it emerges into the open:
http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/793/struthio-camelus-ostrich-united-states-new-york-william-dilger
You have to be patient and listen through the chatter of the recordists. The wait is worth it, and of course the people doing the work merit remembrance in sound, too, as no less active and valuable members of the society of the living.
Therefore, a concluding thought I would leave you with: it would be a tragedy to lose recordings like these, as much as it is a treasure to have and preserve them. Consider the greater tragedy if rather than recording these sounds the recordists crushed the egg and the life within it. What a loss, a waste, and a sin. What if the recordists recorded such wanton destruction and shared that with the world. We and many others would be disgusted, in fact we would be right to be outraged. Would those same people be outraged when a human life, still encased and protected in his or her mother's womb, is wantonly destroyed, its life crushed and ended? I do not know if there are any sound or video recordings of such destruction. Would it continue at the rate of millions of destructive acts each year if there were? I wonder.
(First published January 27, 2013)
Filed under abortion, abundant life, academia, conservation, creation, environmentalism, eternal life, Jesus Christ, life, revelation Tagged with abortion, abundant life, academia, conservation, creation, environmentalism, eternal life, Jesus Christ, life, revelation
Of Self Determination and Carving Up the World
Woodrow Wilson unleashed some nasty asps of public policy on the world, the venom of which continues to work its misery on mankind. Professor Wilson as President pushed into practice the idea that American governance should be shifted from the people who elect Senators and representatives and entrusted instead to a cadre of wise men in the executive branch. Experts like himself, elite college professors and their best students, would know better how to manage the affairs of others than would the teaming masses of the nation left to make their own decisions.
Today, thousands of regulations, uncounted yards of red tape, and millions of bureaucrats later, we all live within a shrinking sphere of personal liberty, with diminishing control of our lives, permitted to make few decisions without someone we do not know having a major say in so much of what we have and do. Increasing numbers of our neighbors have effectively been rendered wards of the state, unable to manage their own lives without dependence upon a myriad of government programs that punish individual initiative and grind up families. Today, the most reliable predictor of poverty in America is being a single mother. Lured into the web of sweet-sounding sticky federal, state, and even local programs that promise help, these government victims are rarely delivered from poverty, and neither are their children or their grandchildren. This is surely not what Woodrow Wilson intended, but it is surely what his model of governance by experts has delivered. Obamacare is one of the most recent and obvious examples of this machinery of misery.
Yet it can be argued that nothing that Woodrow Wilson bequeathed has worked more harm than the destructive principle of "self determination," imposed by Wilson and his international experimenters at the negotiations to rearrange the world after World War I. Of course, he did not act alone, but Wilson did much to make the world safe for World War II. Self determination worked its evil by institutionalizing perpetual turmoil in eastern Europe and the Balkans, as bickering and unstable micro-states created a power vacuum tempting for fuehrers and commissars to fill.
The concept of self determination can seem appealing as long as you do not pause long enough to consider how it might actually play out in practice and over time. The basic idea—and it does not go very far past this basic idea—is that every group of people has the right to find its own place in the sun, either with its own government or subject to another, whichever the group might wish.
It was this idea that Russian boss Vladimir Putin invoked to cloak his grab of Crimea. The people of Crimea had a vote (carefully monitored by Russian troops) in which over 95% said that they wanted to break away from Ukraine. And then they decided, almost the next day, that they wanted to become a part of Russia. According to the Russian Government, this was all very legal and in keeping with international law. It was self determination. Who could object? It was more than faintly reminiscent of the nearly unanimous votes in the nations of eastern Europe a generation ago—when occupied by the Red Army—in favor of communist regimes closely allied with the old Soviet Union. More self determination.
I wonder whether Professor/President Woodrow Wilson thought of how his principle of self determination would have worked in American history? What if Wilson instead of Lincoln had been President in 1861? Did self determination apply to the people of the southern states who wished to leave the Union?
I also wonder how dedicated Vladimir Putin really is to the principle of self determination? If it applies to Crimea, does it also apply to the people of Chechnya, who seem to be eager to be out of Russia? Are there other minority populations in Russia yearning to breathe free?
How about elsewhere in the world? Is self determination a universal principle worthy of universal application? Are Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran ready to let the Kurdish minorities carve up their countries and realize their dream of a new Kurdistan? How about Muslim minorities in southern islands of the Philippines? The Tamil populated northern Sri Lanka? The Sunni-majority communities in Shiite majority Iraq? The multitude of tribal groupings in virtually every country of sub-Saharan Africa? Are all of the many minorities of China content with being governed by Beijing?
When would the bloodletting of self determination ever end? It has not ended yet, whether used as a justification for aggression or as a means of sustaining discontent. It is a ponderous legacy.
Filed under Abraham Lincoln, academia, Civil War, communism, freedom, healthcare, progressives, Russia, self determination, statism, Woodrow Wilson


text:
Analysis of the ASEAN Charter
Solidarity for Asian Peoples' Advocacies (SAPA)
http://www.asiasapa.org
The Charter has not been officially made public, but copies were leaked to the media on November 7th. It is expected to be signed by the ASEAN leaders during their 13th Summit in Singapore on November 20th.
When the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) announced that it will embark on a process of building a Charter to formalize its agreements and establish its legal framework, civil society groups paid attention. While ASEAN has been generally inaccessible and non-transparent, national and regional CSOs and social movements saw the strategic value of engaging the Charter process. We saw it as a space to stake claims on ASEAN and to demand accountability for its actions. We saw the Charter building process as an anchor for discussing ASEAN and generating interest on what the Association does. By engaging the process, CSOs and social movements hoped to pry open possibilities for transforming ASEAN into a rules-based organization that would work for the mutual benefit not only of ASEAN states but of ASEAN peoples and communities as well.
The Solidarity for Asian Peoples' Advocacies (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN invested time and energy to engage the ASEAN Charter building process. SAPA WG on ASEAN made three formal submissions to the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) – on the Political-Security Pillar (EPG consultation, Ubud, Bali/April 2006), on the Economic Pillar (EPG consultation, Singapore/June 2006), and on the Socio-Cultural Pillar and Institutional Mechanisms (Meeting with Ambassador Rosario Manalo, Special Adviser to Mr. Fidel V. Ramos, EPG Member for the Philippines, Manila/November 2006). The WG also participated in the only regional consultation held by the High Level Task Force (HLTF) on the drafting of the ASEAN Charter in March 2007 in Manila, and reiterated the main points of its submissions. Aside from the regional consultations that the SAPA WG on ASEAN worked hard to intervene in, the different network members also initiated national processes in 2006 and 2007 to help introduce ASEAN to civil society and inform them of the Charter that was being drafted.
The Charter drafting had been kept away from public access and scrutiny, making difficult any engagement in the process. The Charter will be signed on November 20th during the 13th Leaders Summit, but it was only on November 7th, when a copy of the final draft adopted by the High Level Task Force on the drafting of the ASEAN Charter was leaked to the media, that the Charter finally became known to the public.
The Charter is a disappointment. It is a document that falls short of what is needed to establish a "people-centered" and "people-empowered" ASEAN. It succeeds in codifying past ASEAN agreements, and consolidating the legal framework that would define the Association. However, it fails to put people at the center, much less empower them. The Charter is all about how Governments will interact with each other, but not about how they also should interact with the people. There are no clear spaces created or procedures established to institutionalize the role of citizens and civil society organizations in regional community-building. And where the Charter is able to protect sovereign interest of Governments, and enshrine confidence building though consensus, it lacks the necessary details for the settlement of disputes, dealing with internal conflicts, and disciplining or sanctioning Members who are remiss in their obligations.
The market-oriented language of the Charter expresses its bias for the economic project in the region, without recognition that this may be in conflict with the social and economic justice that the Charter is also supposed to uphold. The centrality of redistribution and economic solidarity to the goals of poverty eradication, social justice and lasting peace, is not acknowledged. Furthermore, the market orientation betrays the preference for a "one-size fits all" economic policy of trade and financial liberalization, failing to recognize the heterodox economic thinking that formed the basis of economic successes in the region in the past.
The Charter is gender blind and does not recognize the primacy of the regional environment.
Finally, the landmark inclusion of human rights in the Preamble and in the statement of Principles is belied by the lack of detail in the long-awaited human rights body.
Following are the SAPA WG on ASEAN's specific comments on the Charter:
1. The opening paragraph sets the tone for the entire Charter, highlighting the priority of the government over the individual citizen. A truly people-centered ASEAN should establish that governments are there to serve the needs and interests of citizens, and governments who fail in their duties and responsibilities should not be protected by ASEAN. A braver opening line should read, "WE, THE PEOPLES of ASEAN", rather than "WE, THE PEOPLES of the Member States of ASEAN".
2. Human rights are overarching and should form the basic principle of ASEAN from which all other principles flow. In this sense, human rights should be integral in all the work of ASEAN. Instead, human rights is placed low down on the list as a specific issue in Articles 1 and 2), and, symbolically, placed beneath the principles of sovereignty and non-interference.
3. While the Preamble and Chapter 1 uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms, the draft Charter only explicitly states adherence to the UN Charter, International Law and international humanitarian law, but does not explicitly recognize universally accepted human rights principles, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recently signed international agreements that expand on human rights, norms and standards. The reference to adherence to the "rule of law, good governance and the principles of democracy and constitutional government" in Article 2h, however, may be a good handle to demand for the implementation of these principles in every member-state, especially in the case of Burma.
4. No mention is made of the role of ASEAN in the protection of the environment.
Chapters 1: Purposes and Principles
5. Article 1.5 and Article 2n, related to market and trade, are the most bothersome. These provisions explicitly talk only about "facilitating the movement of business persons and professionals", "the free-flow of capital", and "the elimination of all barriers to market-driven economy", but do not provide at all for the promotion of redistributive justice, poverty eradication and growth with equity – ideals equally important to advance in a regional set-up, nor do they recognize social dialogue and core labor standards. These also fail to give importance to the role state instruments and cooperation in achieving social goals.
6. The same paragraph mentions the movement of "business persons, professional, talents, labour" but does not make explicit reference to migrant workers who make up a significant part of regional labor flows. There is also no reference to the movement of other people such as asylum seekers.
7. Article 1.7 qualifies the promotion and protection of human rights "with due regard to the rights and responsibilities of the Member States of ASEAN". This wording is dangerous, because it undermines the fundamental elements of the universality and inalienability of human rights. It is not made clear what these "rights and responsibilities" of member states are, leaving the way open for governments to violate human rights in the pursuit of their self-defined "national interest".
8. The provision on sustainable development, protection of the region's environment and sustainability of natural resources in Article 1.9 was put in the same plane as the reference to "high quality of life of its people", clearly reinforcing the dominance of the economic agenda of the ASEAN over environmentally sustainable development.
9. Most of the statements are mother/parenthood statements and much is left to further interpretation and how it is going to be concretely operationalized in the ASEAN. Does the language in Article 1.4 referring to "just, democratic, harmonious environment" and Article 1.11 on "…providing them with equitable access to opportunities for….justice" translate to agrarian reform/access and control over natural resources? Will the language in Article 9 on "sustainable development" mean the upliftment of the lives of small-scale farmers, fishers, and the rest of the rural poor and the promotion of sustainable agriculture and the non-promotion of the chemical intensive, bio-technology/GMO agriculture? Does Article 1.13 on "people-oriented ASEAN" include all sectors, including organizations of the rural and urban poor, as well as semi-skilled workers, including migrant workers?
10. While Article 1.13 states that participation of all peoples is encouraged, nowhere in the Chapter does it explicitly state how this will be actualized. The Charter does not create consultative and advisory mechanisms comprised of non-state actors and civil society groups, with adequate representation from all sectors. Neither does it create a mechanism for regularly engaging citizens within the region.
11. Article 1.14 needs to make specific reference to indigenous peoples, rather than simply referring to "diverse culture" which is too general.
12. Article 2.2e needs to establish that states also have a "responsibility to protect", that is, the responsibility to protect people from gross violations of human rights. All ASEAN heads of state and government accepted this concept of the "responsibility to protect" at the UN World Summit in September 2005.
13. Article 2.2h/i makes no mention as to what happens, such as sanctions, if states do not adhere "to the rule of law, good governance, the principles of democracy and constitutional government" or "respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights, and the promotion of social justice."
Chapter 3: Membership
14. The principle of non-interference (Preamble, Chapter 1, Article 2e/f) that characterizes the "ASEAN Way" is further reaffirmed in the Charter. However, we believe that exceptions must be made for clearly defined regional standards for state behavior, particularly on human rights and environment, serious breaches of which may carry ASEAN-imposed sanctions.
15. While on the whole we agree that there should be equality of rights and obligations among Members, there should also be a socializing factor whereby better resourced members are able to contribute to special funds to assist other members in the spirit of solidarity, cooperation, and regional redistribution.
Chapter 4: Organs
16. The Charter provides for the establishment of a human rights body, committing all member states to its creation. However, no further details are included regarding the setting up of the body, its roles and responsibilities, or the timeframe for its creation. Considering the more than a decade of work many sectors have put into the creation of an ASEAN human rights mechanism, the Charter should have had more details in it, and not run the risk of making this landmark provision inconsequential in operation.
17. There will be more meetings (of the ASEAN Leaders and the Foreign Ministers, and of the new organs created in the Charter), but it is unclear how these additional meetings and new organs will bring about a people-centered ASEAN. Almost all of the organs remain state- or government-oriented.
18. Article 15 redefines the role of the ASEAN Foundation as a collaborator with the different ASEAN bodies in support of "community-building'. It is only under this article that "civil society" is mentioned. This redefinition seems to imply that the ASEAN Foundation now becomes captured by purely official ASEAN agenda. Whereas before CSOs could apply for support without getting ASEAN accreditation or approval (and the ASEAN Secretariat sits only ex-officio in the Board), the ASEAN Foundation now becomes an internal entity to serve official ASEAN agenda.
19. In outlining the main decision making organs within ASEAN, there is not a single mention of engagement with citizens and civil society (except in the context of the ASEAN Foundation), or the means by which citizens and civil society can influence decisions and processes of the ASEAN.
20. Gender equality in the choice of officials in the ASEAN bodies is only mentioned under the provisions on the Secretary General, but is absent everywhere else.
Chapter 5: Entities Associated with ASEAN
21. Unfortunately we are unable to obtain a copy of the annexes, including Annex 2 which supposedly lists the entities associated with ASEAN. The expectation is that this is where citizens and civil society participation is institutionalized in the ASEAN, but even this is not certain. Like a few other bodies created in the Charter, the entities mentioned here are yet undefined, with rules and criteria for engagement still to be determined by the yet to be formed Committee of Permanent Representatives.
Chapter 7: Decision-Making
22. Chapter 7 still puts premium on consensus as the institutional and the preferred mode of decision-making. The affirmation of consultation and consensus actually encourages unanimity based on the least common denominator, and leaves much room for recalcitrant members to sabotage any consensus building processes around democratic values and the principles of the rule of law and good governance. Furthermore, to leave it to the ASEAN Summit to decide on a specific decision making process should consensus not be achieved allows for even greater leeway for political accommodation for which the ASEAN is historically known.
23. The Charter does not specify any space for citizens and civil society groups in policy-and decision-making, detracting from the essence of consultation and consensus-building by not affirming the people-centered principle of building regional identity through people's participation.
24. Chapter 7 Article 21 leaves the prescription of each ASEAN Community Council's rules of procedure to each council. There should be a mechanism to standardize the procedures for all councils.
Chapter 8: Settlement of Disputes
25. Disputes implied in the Charter only cover conflicts between and among ASEAN states, and do not address internal conflicts which are also significant in the region.
26. Except for disputes concerning economic agreements, for which the ASEAN Protocol for Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism shall govern, the Charter provides for the establishment of dispute settlement mechanisms but for which no process or timeframe has been prescribed.
27. The issue of compliance is not addressed organically, except for cases to be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision, limiting the efficacy of the to-be-established DSMs because the Summit by practice would yield to political exigencies.
28. The Charter does not recognize the need to establish conflict prevention and early warning mechanisms at the regional level with the involvement of citizens and civil society with demonstrated capacity to assist in conflict situations.
Chapter 9: Budget and Finance
29. Aside from provisions on "internal and external audit", the Charter does not provide clear mechanisms for how the budget and finance of the Association can be made transparent and accessible to the public.
Chapter 10: Administration and Procedure
30. The ASEAN Charter does not mention how Chairmanship by countries whose leadership faces legitimacy questions shall be dealt with.
31. The choice of English as the working language of ASEAN, without reference to the use of regional languages for at least some purposes, leaves a big gap in terms of the need to promote national languages as a means to promote and protect the cultural heritage of the region.
32. The Charter does not provide for clear mechanisms for transparency and access to official information, and official processes, in the ASEAN.
Chapter 12: External Relations
33. Article 41.4 states that "in the conduct of external relations of ASEAN, Member States shall, on the basis of unity and solidarity, coordinate and Endeavour a common position and pursue joint actions". This is a bold statement that affirms the centrality of ASEAN. Considering the less-than-unified positions espoused by individual Member Countries in multilateral fora (e.g. the WTO) in the past, it is interesting to know how the ASEAN would go about crafting common positions after the Charter is signed.
34. Consistent with the overall absence of the role of citizens and civil society in ASEAN, the Charter does not say anything about their role in helping ASEAN to develop and to determine its foreign policy, and in determining the status of external partners of ASEAN.
35. Considering the importance of migrant workers and their families in the conduct of ASEAN's external relations, the absence of any mention about labor mobility as an issue to be discussed with external partners is glaring.
Chapter 13: General and Final Provisions
36. It is provided that the "Charter shall be subject to ratification by all ASEAN member states in accordance with their respective internal procedure". This is short of what the Second and Third ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC-II and III) called for, which is ratification by popular referendum.
37. The provision on Review (Article 50) only gives the requisite timeline (of five years after the Charter enters into force) but no clear procedures for its conduct, including who will be involved and how extensive such involvement would be.
The Solidarity for Asian Peoples' Advocacies (SAPA) is an open platform for consultation, cooperation and coordination among and between Asian social movements and civil society organizations including NGOs, people organizations and trade unions who are engaged in action, advocacy and lobbying at the level of inter-governmental processes and organizations. The SAPA WG-ASEAN is a common platform for collective action on ASEAN advocacy

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Sextner cheese specialities were already priced several times at numerous fairs and exhibitions at home and abroad and were awarded, not least because of the excellent taste and the quality. The raw milk is freshly delivered by the local farmers daily and is processed subsequently to fresh milk, fresh cream, butter as well as these delightful cheese specialities. Convince yourselves, get somewhat of the good old cheese manufacturing art South Tirol to Yourselves home.
The single cheese pieces are freshly cut by sales and vakuumiert. With it(Thus) we guarantee for you longer durability (1 - 1 1/2 months) and a sure(safe) transport.


Our goal at St. Anthony Preschool/Daycare is to give our youngest students the best start we can, encouraging the development of the whole child, socially, emotionally, academically and spiritually. Our educational approach focuses on learning through play and exploration. We make parental involvement a priority through regular parent-teacher conferences, school events, and monthly family projects.
Our preschool has been recognized by the Young Star Program with a 5 Star Rating four years in a row!


text:
BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research Online
My Research (Login)
Just-Is: Contingency, Desire and Temporality : An Inquiry on the Relation between Law and Justice
Taillefer, Javier (2017) Just-Is: Contingency, Desire and Temporality : An Inquiry on the Relation between Law and Justice. Doctoral thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
Javier_Taillefer_copy_thesis.pdf - Full Version
Official URL: http://vufind.lib.bbk.ac.uk/vufind/Record/561243
This thesis investigates the formation of subjective understandings of justice in relation to law. Liberal theories of justice and legal theory have frequently addressed this question on a macro scale, respectively approaching justice as a given balance between freedom and equality or focusing their attention on the kind of political and legal reforms that would be necessary in order to provide citizens with higher levels of justice. However, the role of the particular subject who demands justice has not received as much attention as the law-maker or the judge in these studies. Using a psychosocial approach that puts emphasis on the relation between the political and psychic life of the subject, this research aims to fill such lacuna by looking at the way in which particular subjects come to develop diverging understandings of justice as a result of their interactions with the law. This dissertation is organised in five chapters. The first chapter reviews the work done by four different schools of legal thought, locating the particular subject who seeks justice as a common blind-spot to all of them and also as the departing point for this research. Building on this, the second chapter considers normativity and generality as the two basic features that define the relation between law and the subject; pointing to subjectivity, contingency, and justice as the three constituent limits of the law that become visible in the light of the abovementioned features; and positing contingency, desire, and temporality as the three basic dimensions in the study of the emergence of subjective understandings of justice. Focusing on the first of these dimensions, the third chapter focuses the role played by contingency in the law and in the subject's own narrative of justice, considering Walter Benjamin's notions of "fate" and "character" as opposite ways of articulating it. The fourth chapter investigates the role of "desire" and "jouissance" in the production of such narratives and how, in turn, they appear as two possible and diverging ways of understanding justice in view of the shortcomings of the law. Finally, the fifth chapter centres its attention on the temporality of law and justice, considering Heidegger's notions of "expectation" and "anticipation" as opposite ways of conceiving the temporality of the latter. In summary, this research offers a new approach to the study of justice by focusing on the way in which this term comes to be used and understood by particular subjects in their interactions with the law. It addresses the relation between three dimensions in the process of formation of subjective understandings of justice, also suggesting that these processes appear as a response to a structural failure of the law to provide justice.
The copyright of this thesis rests with the author, who asserts his/her right to be known as such according to the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. No dealing with the thesis contrary to the copyright or moral rights of the author is permitted.
Acquisitions And Metadata
https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40213
249Hits
Additional statistics are available via IRStats2.
Archive Staff Only (login required)
Edit/View Item
Statistics|
© Copyright Birkbeck, University of London


text:
I Wore A 'True Love Waits' Ring, And It Caused Me So Much Shame
by Jenn Jones
Scary Mommy and artpartner-images/Getty
The other day, I was searching my jewelry box for a pair of earrings when my fingers stumbled upon a tarnished ring. I retrieved it to find a piece of jewelry I'd long forgotten, though its impact has lasted for decades after wearing it. If you were a child of the eighties who attended a Christian youth group, it's very possible that you also wore a True Love Waits symbol, one that fit around your left ring finger.
I examined the ring, still solid, but the silver was dull. The black letters, spelling out my commitment to stay sexually pure until marriage, were as bold as ever — withstanding the test of time, I guess. The ring didn't bring back any joyful memories. Instead, growing up in purity culture only brought on shame, frustration, anger, and confusion.
The goal of the True Love Waits movement was to honor God with our bodies by abstaining from sex until marriage. Marriage would happen between a Christian young man and young woman. Gay marriage wasn't legal back then, nor was it OK with God. Furthermore, God wanted us to save our gifts — AKA our virginity — until we tied the knot.
After we tied the knot, we could engage in sex non-stop. The purpose of sex was to make babies. Yes, after you got hitched, your new identity wasn't to be newlyweds; rather, it was to become parents as fast as possible.
How we were supposed to know exactly what to do in the bedroom is beyond me. We weren't given any sex, body, or consent information. The message prior to marriage was only: "don't do it." Of course, the biggest fear was getting caught, either by getting pregnant or getting an STD that required you to tell your parents so you could go to the doctor.
The problem isn't waiting until marriage for sex. If that's your cup of tea, that's cool. The problem is that the True Love Waits rhetoric was toxic, full of nothing but guilt and shame. How did those adults in leadership who encouraged us to wait until marriage to have sex expect us to go from zero (unmarried) to sixty (married) with success? Having sex with your spouse after being conditioned for years that sex is dirty, bad, and sinful, isn't as easy as one, two, three. Not even close.
We were teenagers who were taught that our sexual urges were going to send us straight to H-E-double hockey sticks. So we'd fool around with our crushes on Saturdays and then repent on Sundays — on repeat. It was confusing, and for someone like me, a perfectionist, True Love Waits became all consuming. Does God love me anymore? Where is the cut-off in which God won't damn me to hell? And shouldn't I love God more than I want to let my boyfriend feel me up? As you can tell, True Love Waits not only complicated my relationship with myself and with my boyfriend, but also with God.
I was supposed to date to marry. Though we technically didn't call it courtship, that's basically what it was. We shouldn't even think about going on a date (a group date, mind you) with someone unless they were marriage material. Marriage material meant someone who was also a Christian and a virgin.
Sex complicates relationships, we were told. If you have sex with someone, you engage in an emotional union that is sacred. Then we were told about three out-of-context Bible verses. That was it for Sex Ed 101.
The one youth group member who did get pregnant was pressured into marrying her boyfriend: ASAP. They needed to start their life together. The sooner, the better. You don't want to live with your shame for too long, I guess. Marriage seals the deal and makes the baby, and the couple, legit. Of course, divorce was also a sin. So hopefully you chose well. Marriage is for life.
Pushing children (yes, teens are children) to find "the one" as fast as possible is ridiculous. We were pushed that it's "better to marry than burn with passion" (out of context verse). Since we already had the "burning" in us, you know, those typical urges to get our freak on, we might as well do that with our soul mate after we tie the knot.
My biggest issue with True Love Waits is that it brought so much shame on all of us, no matter our future paths. For the ones who had sex before marriage, they were taught some horrible message about God's love and judgement. For those who waited, they spent years trying to undo toxic messages about their bodies, about sex, about marriage. For those who were gay, they were taught they were an abomination.
There are no winners here. For those of us who were fortunate enough to realize that True Love Waits was not purity culture but rather, pure shame, we've worked through that with counseling, with education, with our partners. Some — many, actually — continue to suffer in silence. What's scary is that some may believe that TLW is still the way to go, and they pass that message on to their own kids.
If you were part of the True Love Waits culture like I was, I want you to know this. God loves you, and nothing you did or didn't do changes that. You should also know that Joshua Harris, author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye," which sold 1.2 million copies and urged us to stay sexually pure until marriage, renounced his own book. I also want you to understand that we should not pass on toxic sex messages onto our children. We have the opportunity to raise them better, to understand their bodies, to talk about relationships, sexuality, and consent. We don't have to push damage upon them that they'll have to spend their entire adult lives undoing — if we have the courage to name our own shame and work through it.
I didn't toss my True Love Waits ring, only because it's a powerful reminder of something I endured and am still working to overcome. I am happily married to the man I "waited" for, but I don't think it's because of True Love Waits. Rather, I think it's because I emerged out of the toxic umbrella of shame culture and decided to be authentically me — and he did, too.
TMI?
I Don't Regret Telling My Kids All About My Dating Life


text:
Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan are "A Couple of Dic...err Cops"
According to Variety, Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan are set to star in Kevin Smith's new movie that was originally titled A Couple of Dicks, however, the film has been given a clean and shiny new title: A Couple of Cops.
Willis and Morgan will play two LAPD detectives who are enlisted to track down a stolen baseball card, but find their task to be fraught with danger, as they tangle with mobsters, laundered drug money, and a mysterious Mexican beauty.
Cops was scripted by Robb and Marc Cullen, and will not only be the first time Smith directs another man's script, it's also going to be his first major studio film. Smith will be directing Cops for Warner Bros rather than Miramax / The Weinstein Co. All we can say is, HURRAY! Tracy Morgan might actually be put to good use finally.


who have offered their kind words in support of Discovery Arts and our wonderful, incredible children!
and into a world of imagination!
"This program is extremely beneficial to our patients, families, and even staff! They help provide lifelong memories to our patients and families. Discovery Arts volunteers form lasting relationships with our patients by providing craft, music, dance, and dress-up activities. They make each child feel special by saving their favorite costumes and other toys and activities for subsequent admissions. We have many families that will come to visit Discovery Arts even when they have finished treatment, and others who will schedule doctor's appointments or admissions on Thursday so that they can participate in the Discovery Arts program… One parent of a child who recently finished treatment stated that "the only things they miss about the hospital are the playroom and Discovery Arts". If the Discovery Arts program was no longer involved with our hospital, patients, families and staff would definitely feel a huge loss. We cannot even begin to express how much Discovery Arts means to everyone here at Miller Children's Hospital!"
"I am so proud to be a part of this great program. It makes so many children happy. That's a very good thing."
"I want to thank you again for allowing the Teens from our program to share such a wonderful experience with the children at CHOC. I am sending the pictures I promised. I am also submitting pictures to our website and requesting that the Discovery Arts link be placed along side so our visitors can take a look at the wonderful work you all do. The teens were all grateful for the experience and asked that I passed along their gratitude. On a personal note, I just want to tell you and everyone involved with Discovery Arts that the work you do is amazing. As you know my close friend lost her 6 year old daughter on June 16th of this year. She was actually still alive when I first contacted you, but passed just before we came to volunteer. Marlo spent almost 7 straight months living in the hospital. She had no one to play with and not much to do. We all spent time there trying to entertain her. In frustration and sadness she told her parents that she was unhappy. Not because she was dying, but because she was lonely. She had no friends. She wanted so much to be able to play. It was the thing that made me the most sad about her illness. At her funeral her mother sobbed and told us all that she was happy that Marlo was now in heaven and could finally play. Playing with friends and sharing love and affection is all that is important to children. That is their whole world. It is horrible and unjust when it is taken away. There is no doubt that what you do is wonderful, but to those of us who really understand how much a little play time and human touch means to these kids, I hope you know how special each of you are. Thank you and God Bless each of you. You are all angels!"
"I am the mother of Dayanna Macias. My name is Juana Macias. I would like to express my gratitude for the Discovery Arts program. They are here on Thursdays. All the kids enjoy it. They get to pick out a costume and dress-up, and also a lot of fun activities. It's great! My daughter loves to paint, and really enjoys the projects they have for them. She will also pick her costume, and put it on! I can see what a great impact that does on her. I thank you so much and keep up the good job you all do. Thank you also for all the kindness and care that each one of you give to each child."
"My name is Blanca Toro and I am the parent of Valerie. My daughter Valerie has such a wonderful time on Thursdays when the Discovery Arts crew is here. She enjoys it so much that when she is home she wishes she was in the hospital. My daughter Valerie has all the costumes she has gotten from Discovery Arts and I must say she has a great time dressing up in them at home. I would like to thank you so much for having the Discovery Arts program seeing how much joy it gives the children makes my heart go out to each one of you who take so much joy in giving such a great experience to all the children. Thank you for for all your great work and for all your kindness."


Visual Composer – current version 4.5 available for download!
and please tell me if i did not update visual composer, is there any chance of hacking…?
its easy like drink water!
I still have VC 4.1.2 and I tried going straight to 4.5 but site didn;t look good. What do you suggest? I do inceremental update, but the earliest you have here is 4.5?


Business applications, like anything else in life, require maintenance, and preventive maintenance can often be less costly and reduce the overall damage of emergency maintenance. Most people don't think twice about regular oil changes and performance diagnostics on their vehicles, but are quick to neglect the very important systems which maintain their business operations. The belief that once a system is installed and in use it's free from performance degradation over time is flawed.
There are many things that could be contributing to the less than optimal performance of your business applications. Lack of necessary storage, servers taxed by too many users, incorrect settings, customizations that interfere with performance or inappropriately configured SQL server indexes are just some of the potential causes. Whatever the cause, the symptom will manifest the same – your employees will be frustrated, your processes will be inefficient and your customers will suffer the impacts, along with your bottomline.
Business applications are a costly investment, and they are intended to make your operations run more smoothly and effectively. When that is not the case, it can be tempting to consider workarounds or alternate functionality that might not be necessary. Often times, simply undergoing the process of assessing your application and optimizing its performance can make a huge difference and can save you time, money and frustration.
Performance optimization isn't about reinventing the wheel. It's not designed to sell you more services, customizations or functionality. Performance optimization, much like those regular oil changes, is designed to help you get the most out of your business application, and fine tune any issues to deliver optimal performance.
Gather more information: business decisions run on information, and you need access to fast and accurate reports. Poor performance can cause you not to run reports because you don't have the time, or because you don't want to negatively impact others performance while the report is compiling. Without the proper metrics and KPIs, you limit your ability to make sound business decisions. By optimizing your application, you increase access to critical business data so you may better understand your business needs and execute decisions.
Reduce staff frustrations: possibly the most compelling reason to engage in performance optimization is to reduce the level of daily frustration your employees experience. Employees who aren't able to easily and effectively complete their tasks become increasingly unhappy, and that can lead to high attrition rates and have a trickledown effect on your customer service. By optimizing your application, you can better equip your staff to perform their duties, which will allow them more time to focus on critical tasks and result in a better work environment.
Improve application use: underperforming applications mean people can't deliver quickly and are often forced to put in extra time to meet their tasks and deadlines. This causes people to find others ways to complete their work, which reduces their interest in using the application you purchased specifically to reduce this type of productivity drain. By optimizing performance you increase confidence in your business systems, and get better leverage from the technology. Veteran staff will embrace the system, which means new hires will be more inclined to use the tools to their full potential.
Help with future growth: every successful business has growth goals, and business growth requires technology scaling. In order to best plan for the future of your company, you need to determine current state. This will allow you to address today's issues, while contemplating how to avoid them in the future. By optimizing your configuration now, you'll be better able to incorporate a larger number of users into your environment when you need. This will also allow you to budget and plan for expenditures that relate to increasing server size or storage capacity to better handle your applications.
Increase client satisfaction: faster response times and more accurate account details mean your clients feel better about the relationship with your business. When you remove the barriers to employee responsiveness that is driven out of poor application performance, you increase client service levels and improve your client retention rates.
Run faster with SQL Server Optimization services.
Don't neglect your business applications for any reason. Your company only stands to gain from a performance optimization exercise. There are always ways to increase the value in your business applications, and ensuring they run effectively and deliver all the functionality possible is one definite way to ensure you get a compounding return on your investment.


One of the most popular places in the city, Ceresio 7 has a famous interior in retro style and a summer terrace with swimming pool offering panoramic views of the nightlife of Milan. Despite the fact that prices are above the average for the city, you will not find the better place for an evening of champagne with sunset views.
Spend an evening with a cocktail in the company of the powerful instead of looking for a free table in the hammered pubs? The high cost of drinks at the bar Dom Perignon Longe & Raw Bar Bulgari Hotel is compensated for the endless parade of exquisite snacks and a comfortable garden terrace.
Bar Basso can safely be called the homeland of Milan aperitif: here was Negroni Sbagliato invented (second name - "wrong Negroni"), when the bartender adds champagne to a cocktail instead of gin. Since then the bar is famous for its constantly updated collection of over 500 copyright drinks.
Located in the bustling district, Mag Café is a cozy and quiet place where you can relax from the hustle and bustle with a glass of classic Aperol or Negroni cocktail. If you end up in a "happy hour" aperitif, you can count on a good portion of smoked meat and cheese.
To the Fans of classic cocktails we suggest Bar Terrazza12, a recently opened bar on the 10th floor of the shopping center Brian & Barry Building. And although the bar list here is quite simple, a huge covered terrace and views over the city make a great impression on travelers.
If you prefer wine, visit Enoteca Cantina Isola, located in Milan's Chinatown, where the locals gather for a glass of wine. In the evenings this tiny gallery is not crowded, but you can always feel the local flavor and the hotel with a drink in the bar at the entrance.
A very comfortable place: the wall of the wooden wine boxes and bottles from floor to ceiling... The choice of wines is huge – there will be a wine for every meal unthinkable and any unusual taste preferences. The kitchen is gorgeous in its simplicity. This bar is great for dopocena - a quiet drink after a busy and exciting dinner. There is free Wi-Fi, which is not so common in Italy. Meat cutting rooms and a couple of glasses of wine cost around 15-20 euros.


That's warning is actually nothing to worry about, it's a normal alert from PHP. PHP is a pretty chatty language, and often times, these warnings are mostly intended for developers.
Deprecation happens all the time, this is just an alert to let developers know that in future versions, they should use the current term, instead of the deprecated one.
This shouldn't negatively affect your site at all.


Ray-Ban eyeglasses RY1554 Tortoise - Injected - 0RY1554372948 | Ray-Ban® Ireland Shop Ray-Ban eyeglasses RY1554 Tortoise - Injected - 0RY1554372948 at Ray-Ban® Ireland. ???PDP_DISCOVER_TEXT??? Ray-Ban® Ireland ???PDP_WEBSITE_TEXT???


Hayden is employing an ancient literary-political device, in which a man wards off charges of sexism by citing the example of a woman.
I want to do my bit for Obama, so I vowed I would give up attacking Obama-supporting progressives for the duration of the presidential campaign. No circular firing squads for me! Believe me, it hasn't been easy, and now Tom Hayden's "Why Hillary Makes My Wife Scream" has pushed me over the edge. Who cares what Tom Hayden's wife, the peaceful organic Barbara, feels when she watches Hillary on TV? Hayden is employing an ancient literary-political device, in which a man wards off charges of sexism by citing the example of a woman: I'm not averse to votes for women, but my wife, sir, won't hear of it! Barbara is female — so that makes it okay for Hayden quote her comparing Hillary Clinton to "a screech on the blackboard" and Lady Macbeth. Because those are certainly similes that have never been used before! And that have no misogynist connotations, as in a woman who seeks public power is shrill and strident, a would-be despot who'll stop at nothing to achieve her evil ends, and is just so darn unlikeable, too. So bitter! As for Clinton flack "that Kiki person" — when Hayden makes fun of a woman's girly first name and finds her just too ridiculous even to have a last one, that is not at all like rightwingers mocking Lani –Lani! ha ha ha! — Guinier back in the day.
By rummaging in the tired old grabbag of male-chauvinist cliches, Hayden undermines the point he eventually gets around to making: that Clinton's attacks on Obama for guilt-by-association with Rev. Wright and Bill Ayres are vile and low and will come back to haunt her should she win the nomination. Not only is she alienating Obama supporters she'll need for the general election, she's inviting attacks on herself for her own past connections with leftwing figures and causes. Hayden calls on progressives to "send a message" to Hillary to "immediately cease her path of destruction." (Cease her path?) Fair enough.
Well, here's my message to Tom Hayden: Cease your path! Every time you and your fellow progressives write your sexist/nasty/catty garbage about Hillary Clinton — and every time the Nation publishes it, which is far too often — you alienate women whose energy and votes you will need if Obama wins the nomination. When you start talking about "millions" of young voters and black voters refusing to work for Hillary because of her unfair attacks on Obama you invite "millions" of women to say, well, why should I work for a candidate whose prominent supporters call my candidate Lady Macbeth?
Be the one you've been waiting for, Tom person. A man who respects women or if that's too big a stretch, who pretends to, for strategic reasons, at least till the election is over.


text:
Let's Talk Leading Sustainably
A series of 3 conversations around building a culture of sustainability in organisations
connect@hcli.org
By now, most of us know the pressing need for organisations to act decisively for a better, more sustainable world. There are two problems, however, that many of us face. First, we don't have a clear definition of sustainability or a common language to talk about it. Second, we often have a vague idea of what needs to be done, but we don't know where to focus or how to go about implementing ideas.
This three-part series explores the stories of three organisations, each forging ahead in its quest to be a business that is a force for good. They are committed to achieving commercial success while having a positive impact on the environment and society.
Each week, selected leaders from one organisation share how they have crafted a sustainability narrative that is authentic for their organisation, building the mindset and capabilities to embed sustainability into their strategic agenda. They share the leadership challenges they have faced, their views on whether it's possible for organisations to achieve their sustainability aspirations without sacrificing profits, and, their advice for those who are starting this journey.
Business Unit Heads and CHROs / CLOs in Asia who want to deepen their understanding of how to build capability to lead in ways that ensure they thrive for the long term.
Join a group of like-minded leaders to learn from our panel of experts and to share your own experiences.
Seats are limited to facilitate in-depth conversations. Register early to reserve your place.
Session 3 | 8 Oct | Sustainability Leadership for Tomorrow
9.30 - 11 AM | 8 Oct: Sustainability Leadership for Tomorrow
Our third (and final) dialogue focuses on the 'why' of sustainable business and shares practical lessons from leaders who have been instrumental in embedding sustainability into the strategic agenda of their organisations . Join Deborah Ho, Country Head Singapore and Head southeast Asia, Blackrock, Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited (CDL) and Pamela Mar, Executive Vice President, Supply Chain Futures, Fung Group to learn more about the drivers of sustainable and responsible business and the expectations investors have of leaders in driving this agenda. Hear more about what has helped in driving the sustainability agenda and the organisational capability they are developing in order to help their organisations thrive in the longer term.
9 - 10.30 AM | 24 Sep | Sustainability - Whose Job is it Anyway?
Every journey towards sustainability has a different starting point. At Patagonia and Interface sustainability is at the core of their origin story, while at Unilever and Danone the drive and passion of the CEO has catalysed the journey. In this dialogue, Andrew Buay, Head of Sustainability at Singtel shares his view that the journey towards building a better business can begin anywhere.
At Singtel the sustainability agenda gathered momentum by harnessing pockets of the business that were curious about how to create compelling competitive sustainable edge through innovation and by harnessing employee passion to make a difference.
Join Andrew and leaders from across the Singtel business to hear how a top down approach isn't always the starting point. Learn how a multi-pronged "middle out" and "bottom up" approach can provide important proof points for the broader organisation demonstrating how leading for sustainability can help build a stronger business and a more inspired workforce.
9 - 10.30 AM | 30 Sep: Bringing Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan to Life
Ten years ago, Unilever launched its Sustainable Living Plan, a blueprint for achieving their vision to grow the business, whilst decoupling their environmental footprint from growth and increasing positive social impact.
A decade later Unilever is consistently recognised for generating long-term value for the multiple stakeholders they serve. Under Alan Jope's leadership, Unilever is stepping up to ensure that sustainability is completely integrated as part of the business and delivers positive business impact. A key part of their journey has been setting public, measurable targets and holding people accountable to deliver these while also building a culture of engagement, alignment and champions across the business.
In this session, Dave Ingram (Chief Procurement Officer), Deepak Subramanian (Vice-President Homecare, SEAA & Global Head, Fabric Sensations Category) and Amita Chaudhury (former Director SEAA Sustainability for Unilever and currently seconded to UN Global Compact on Sustainability learning for Business), share how sustainability in Unilever is about unequivocal commitment to a multi-stakeholder model of doing business.


History: Breaker (CTW Breakout) is the third dog from the "BR" litter (all pups' names begin with "Br") that TAGS has taken into its system. He joins Broken Angel (Angel) and Brain Game (Braden, now Tully). Both of them have been adopted into their forever homes. Breaker, like some of his littermates, were not for racing, so he has spent his short life on the farm. He had a somewhat traumatic first day, but has settled into his foster home easily. He is in a home with one other Greyhound and two small/medium dogs. He is learning the drill and one of his first lessons was, "If there is a free human hand it should be used for petting me." Visit with Breaker and see if he could be your "forever hound.".
Breaker found his forever pack with the Griffith Family.
March 15, 2019 update: Breaker has found his forever home with 8 people to love on him. Congrats to all!!
January 24, 2019 update: Breaker came to TAGS for a life of retirement and to find his loving lifetime home.


Island Hopper 8-Rider In-Line Towable Banana Boat is rated 5.0 out of 5 by 2.
Additional Freight charge of $60.00 applies.
Make it a perfect day on the water for family and friends with a Banana Boat. The 8-passenger "Heavy Commercial" sled is built using 9mm 1100-denier mesh-reinforced PVC. All seams and nose cone are heat-welded with additional glued reinforcement for strength and durability. Also features double-reinforced tow connections, extended tow harness, Halkey-Roberts valves, and double reinforced seats, knuckle guards, and foot areas. Comes with a nylon storage bag and foot pump. This 8-person in-line sled handles up to 1,360 lbs. 21'L x 4'5"W.
Rated 5 out of 5 by Jack from Way to much fun! So happy I bought this banana boat. Literally have used it for 20+ hours of fun on the water. Nothing better then pleasing 8 people at a time.


text:
/* Author: Ioan Sucan */

#ifndef OMPL_UTIL_RANDOM_NUMBERS_
#define OMPL_UTIL_RANDOM_NUMBERS_

#include <boost/random/mersenne_twister.hpp>
#include <boost/random/uniform_real.hpp>
#include <boost/random/normal_distribution.hpp>
#include <boost/random/variate_generator.hpp>
#include <cassert>

namespace ompl
{
    /** \brief Random number generation. An instance of this class
        cannot be used by multiple threads at once (member functions
        are not const). However, the constructor is thread safe and
        different instances can be used safely in any number of
        threads. It is also guaranteed that all created instances will
        have a different random seed. */
    class RNG
    {
    public:

        /** \brief Constructor. Always sets a different random seed */
        RNG(void);

        /** \brief Generate a random real between 0 and 1 */
        double uniform01(void)
        {
            return uni_();
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random real within given bounds: [\e lower_bound, \e upper_bound) */
        double uniformReal(double lower_bound, double upper_bound)
        {
            assert(lower_bound <= upper_bound);
            return (upper_bound - lower_bound) * uni_() + lower_bound;
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random integer within given bounds: [\e lower_bound, \e upper_bound] */
        int uniformInt(int lower_bound, int upper_bound)
        {
            int r = (int)floor(uniformReal((double)lower_bound, (double)(upper_bound) + 1.0));
            return (r > upper_bound) ? upper_bound : r;
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random boolean */
        bool uniformBool(void)
        {
            return uni_() <= 0.5;
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random real using a normal distribution with mean 0 and variance 1 */
        double gaussian01(void)
        {
            return normal_();
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random real using a normal distribution with given mean and variance */
        double gaussian(double mean, double stddev)
        {
            return normal_() * stddev + mean;
        }

        /** \brief Generate a random real using a half-normal distribution. The value is within specified bounds [\e
            r_min, \e r_max], but with a bias towards \e r_max. The function is implemended using a Gaussian distribution with
            mean at \e r_max - \e r_min. The distribution is 'folded' around \e r_max axis towards \e r_min.
            The variance of the distribution is (\e r_max - \e r_min) / \e focus. The higher the focus,
            the more probable it is that generated numbers are close to \e r_max. */
        double halfNormalReal(double r_min, double r_max, double focus = 3.0);

        /** \brief Generate a random integer using a half-normal
            distribution. The value is within specified bounds ([\e r_min, \e r_max]), but
            with a bias towards \e r_max. The function is implemented on top of halfNormalReal() */
        int    halfNormalInt(int r_min, int r_max, double focus = 3.0);

        /** \brief Uniform random unit quaternion sampling. The computed value has the order (x,y,z,w) */
        void   quaternion(double value[4]);

        /** \brief Uniform random sampling of Euler roll-pitch-yaw angles, each in the range [-pi, pi). The computed value has the order (roll, pitch, yaw) */
        void   eulerRPY(double value[3]);

        /** \brief Set the seed for random number generation. Use this
            function to ensure the same sequence of random numbers is
            generated. */
        static void setSeed(boost::uint32_t seed);

        /** \brief Get the seed used for random number
            generation. Passing the returned value to setSeed() at a
            subsequent execution of the code will ensure deterministic
            (repeatable) behaviour. Useful for debugging. */
        static boost::uint32_t getSeed(void);

    private:

        boost::mt19937                                                           generator_;
        boost::uniform_real<>                                                    uniDist_;
        boost::normal_distribution<>                                             normalDist_;
        boost::variate_generator<boost::mt19937&, boost::uniform_real<> >        uni_;
        boost::variate_generator<boost::mt19937&, boost::normal_distribution<> > normal_;

    };

}

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Prairie View A&M students ask: If our vote doesn't matter, why do they try to keep us from voting?
Students in voting rights lawsuit recognize their place in a decades-long fight
Up Next From HBCU
Jayla Allen, Prairie View A&M student, (left) at election rally on campus. Michael Barajas/Texas Observer
By Jayla Jones
For nearly a half-century, Prairie View A&M University students have fought for their right to vote. Today, five alumni and students continue the work of those who came before them.
In 2018, students Jayla Allen, Treasure Smith, Damon Johnson, Joshua Muhammad and Raul Sanchez became plaintiffs in the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF) voter suppression lawsuit against Waller County, Texas. Allen, Smith and Johnson testified at the two-week trial held in federal court in Houston in September. They are fighting for the right to vote early on campus after on-campus voting hours were cut drastically by the county elections board. There is no decision yet in the case.
"Even if we don't win this lawsuit, I learned that we are allowed to fight when we see injustice. That we can try and actually attempt to be heard," said alumna Allen. "I hope to take from this that they wouldn't be fighting against us so hard unless the situation was something very important, and voting is something very important to me."
Prairie View A&M at the forefront fighting against voter suppression Read now
On Oct. 13, Allen voted early in her hometown of Mesquite, Texas, and Smith on the 19th voted in Waller. Johnson will be voting soon in his hometown of Houston.
Allen was a Waller County Democratic Party precinct chair whose responsibilities included planning, scheduling programming and event coverage for voting. She said Prairie View A&M students are being left out of decisions by Waller County commissioners and the board of elections that could affect them. Even in her party position, she was uninformed on topics regarding students until final decisions were made.
"I had access to when these decisions were being made, and even I didn't know about them," she said. "Even when the voting schedule was decided on, I still didn't know. I didn't find out until a week before early voting started. We want a seat at the table and we want to know when these decisions are being made.
"We have 8,000 students on campus that call Prairie View home, yet when decisions like when they're going to be able to vote and their access to the polls come about, they're left out of the equation," said Allen. "But it's also not just about having more polling locations. It's about how people of certain backgrounds, of certain colors and of certain communities don't have an advantage when it comes to casting their ballot."
Students ask if their vote doesn't matter, why does Waller County try to take it away from them.
Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, Prairie View A&M students noticed the usual two-week early voting schedule on campus had been shortened to three days, while the early voting schedules in surrounding cities were two weeks long and in some cases, even extended.
Prairie View, Texas, is home to Prairie View A&M University, the state's oldest historically black institution. With more than 8,000 students calling the small city home, it stands as the lone predominantly black city in the small yet predominantly white county of Waller.
"When I was given the early voting schedule, which was two weeks originally, I saw that our polling place for our campus had no days scheduled for the first week," said Allen, 21, who graduated in 2019. "That first week we had no days or hours whatsoever for voting on campus. Students, colleagues and friends eventually became aware of this and we began trying to find ways to change this ahead of the election."
The latest on HBCUs
President of Morehouse School of Medicine has life-and-death message for Black people about the coronavirus vaccine
Black College Football Hall of Fame 2021
Howard, Morehouse among five HBCUs to receive millions in new equipment for COVID-19 testing
As HBCU's first cycling program, Saint Augustine's University sets the bar high
This moment is a reminder about the importance of HBCUs
Tuskegee to play Fort Valley State in new Red Tails Classic football game
The schedule changes, students' busy schedules and lack of transportation made adjusting to the three-day window difficult for many.
Their first attempt at regaining their original early voting schedule landed the students in Waller Commissioners Court, where they filed a motion requesting additional voting days. The motion was denied due to the hearing being so close to the start of the voting period, and for what Waller court officials called a lack of resources.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF) announced it would sue Waller County in 2018 for allegedly violating the Voting Rights Act and the Constitution by not offering an adequate polling location on campus or in the city of Prairie View during the opening week of early voting.
The Waller County elections board contends that limiting early-voting hours does not violate students' rights because students can vote elsewhere in Prairie View, that resources are limited and that the situation does not unduly harm the students.
Why did students get involved?
Senior Smith, 22, is a member of IGNITE, the debate team and the Blackstone Pre-Law Society. She said her busy schedule and inaccessibility to transportation made voting more difficult than usual.
"Students have to vote off campus, but it was a hardship for some students to get off campus," she said. "Personally, I didn't have a car during my freshman, sophomore or junior year. I totally relied on everything on campus. When [the schedule] was reduced, it was kind of a slap in the face because then it was like let me alter my schedule to make this a priority, because I don't have a car and I know I can't necessarily rely on someone to give me a ride to the nearest polling location. Knowing that if I don't get my vote within these three days, I won't be able to exercise my constitutional right to vote, was a hardship."
Smith said regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, she was glad to take part in it.
Senior architect major Johnson, 21, based his decision to join the case on his desire to inspire change. While law is not his main interest, Johnson said, it wasn't until he signed on as a plaintiff that he realized how big an impact he could make.
"I was at an event a while back that pertained to the case and while I was walking to the restroom, a lawyer stopped me and said 'thank you,' and asked to shake my hand," he said. "I said, 'For what? I didn't do anything.' He said, 'You're being honored in a room full of lawyers, you did more than you think.' I wish I would've remembered his name, because him saying that to me plays in my head every day. I say that to say this: Even if you feel like what you are doing is insignificant and is just something small, the impact you can have with that insignificant action can move mountains."
"We have 8,000 students on campus that call Prairie View home, yet when decisions like when they're going to be able to vote and their access to the polls come about, they're left out of the equation." – Jayla Allen
As these students take their place in history, they acknowledge leaning on alumni and community members for advice and wisdom. Johnson said speaking with alumni has made him want to do more and hopes he will pass down knowledge to future generations.
"Talking to alumni and hearing them talk about similar situations like this happening to them while they were students at the university made me want to get out, vote and help better the situation," he said. "I feel talking to mentees and the younger generation about what happened and the power we have would be great. I honestly would do anything to help a younger generation have a better opportunity, especially if it's helping somebody that looks like me. We don't get too many chances for advancement, so for me to not do it would be an injustice to them and myself."
Since joining the lawsuit, these students have been frustrated and disappointed. From denied motions to angry community members, they have learned firsthand that certain people oppose their views and actions.
"I have been approached rudely by someone in the county," Smith said. "They were not pleased that I was on this lawsuit, but I understand that when it comes to making a difference and making change, everyone is not going to agree with you. You can go all the way back to the civil rights movements. With Black activists, not everyone was pleased with what they were doing. It came with backlash. But I'd rather receive backlash for something that is going to make a difference not only for me but for the generations to come."
Jayla Jones, a junior business management major from Chicago is a game and feature writer for the Prairie View A&M athletics department. She has written for the student newspaper, The Panther, and enjoys telling athletes' stories.
This Story Tagged: Prairie View A&M University 2020 Election


There are a lot of hidden gems in this very simple idea of lying on your back with standing legs and lifting your pelvis…give it a try and see if your back doesn't get much longer and easier, your arms lighter and more free, your breathing deeper. Go easy to find those gems!
Based on London Transcript, Lesson 18: http://feldynotebook.wikispaces.com/Head+and+pelvis+LT18.


The Fujifilm X-Pro1 has gathered a lot of attention at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. Its mix of innovative features and high-end prime lenses has set plenty of tongues wagging. Its the new X-mount that's of particular interest, and What Digital Camera has seen the 2012-2013 XF-lens lineup.
Joining the 18mm f/2.0, 35mm f/1.4 and 60mm f/2.0 macro will be a super-wide 14mm and 18-72mm f/4.0 IS zoom lens before 2012 is out. This ought to create an even wider net of interest due to the inclusion of a zoom lens.
But that's not all. Although the lineup is still to be finalised, 2013 will introduce a 28mm f/2.8 pancake lens, followed by a 23mm f/2.0, and a pair of zooms – a 70-200mm f/4.0 IS telephoto and wide 12-24mm f/4.0 IS.
It's interesting to see an X100-style 23mm lens, which may prompt some existing users to hang up their fixed lens compact in favour of the better-designed X-Pro1. But a wait until around mid-2013 for such a lens means the X100 holds plenty of value for the next 18 months.
It seems as though Fujifilm will base the lineup on customer feedback once the Compact System Camera is launched to ensure its customer base receives the kind of glass it wants. This means all the forthcoming lenses are subject to change and we haven't seen as much as a mock-up of any of the abobve listed lenses as yet. More news as and when we receive more information.


…built along the slope, the road seemingly ready to let go at any time.
But down we came alive and were met by this beautiful sight.
Mirror-like water and almost silent. Noone but us here.
But soon we had to let go. There was yet another place to visit this fantastic day.
The rock pools. Here the river passes some beautiful white rocks worn by years of flowing water.
Nice water temperature and a solid rock bottom.
After the swim and a lunch it was time for the Toyota to bring us home.
…and back to the lodge and the end of an adventurous and beautiful day.


text:
Commentary: The Steeple
Published July 22, 2005 at 10:40 AM CDT
By Joan Davidow, KERA 90.1 commentator
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-477666.mp3
The moon hung on a string in the midnight blue sky just to the left of the steeple, as we exited the Meyerson Symphony Center after a summer concert. I told my friend, "This is a terrific moment. It's just the perfect way to see the steeple, in its pure, unadorned state."
I realize it's temporary. We should photograph and celebrate it. It's a magnificent opportunity to see something in this unusual stage of transformation; we can imagine it as a modern tower.
Metal poles brace each of the four corners, holding the newly constructed steeple atop the rising brick tower. It looks like a real life construction of Lego blocks and an Erector Set merged in an elegant, sophisticated way. At this moment in the midst of construction, it hearkens to Russian Constructivism - structured forms influenced by 1920's modernism.
As a way to celebrate its centennial, the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe raised $3 million to complete the bell tower. The goal was to finish the tower as it was envisioned and designed by its architect in 1890, and to give the structure the historic designation it deserves. A peg to our city's history and a cornerstone in the Arts District, its sound, red brick facade holds, and has held the corner proudly for 100 years.
I'm reminded of Biblical times, when the shofar blower, with a ram's horn (that sounds like a trumpet), stood high on a mountaintop calling the Jews to worship the New Year. Chiming bells in the tower serve the same purpose in the modern era - calling parishioners to prayer. The sounds came from on high and the purpose was the same.
Where my imagination takes me, is that the steeple could be the heralding for the church and the welcoming of the 21st century simultaneously. A high tech steeplechase would complement and mark the dynamic new architecture progressing in the Arts District - Norm Foster's rising red drum for the opera house, Rem Koolhaus' reaching tall box for the theater center, Lionel Morrison's white gridded office tower, and Renzo Piano's aerodynamic roof on the Nasher Sculpture Center.
Frank Gehry, the well known architect whose flying metal buttresses caught the world's attention for the museum in Bilbao, Spain, began a movement in architecture called Deconstructivism, taking a structure apart while putting it together. Other contemporary architects today are using metal in graceful ways, such as Herzog and deMeuron's lacy steel roof on a new stadium in Beijing and our friend Renzo Piano's wavelike roof on a museum in Bern, Switzerland. So why not follow the pattern and permit the tower to remain in its structural state?
I see keeping the defined metal shape open as a visual concept. Someone else might see the openness as a symbolic statement. Something happens during construction, when the supporting members are standing in their parallel positions, defining the skeleton the building will follow. Another friend said when she sees a church under construction, the bare framework without its enclosure is the most spiritual way to see a church - as a symbol of religion with its openness to the world.
Right now we can see the past and the present in the same structure. Then soon and forever more, it will be wrapped in its history.
The bells will ring. The Cathedral of Guadalupe will be our historic marker in the Arts District. I wish I could hold the moment a bit longer, with the architecture as a constructivist statement, to tell the world Dallas knows how to blend the old and the new.
In this highly defined, esoteric edge of downtown Dallas, we call our city together to enrich our life with culture and to be a community with spirit.
Tag: Joan Davidow is director of the Dallas Center for Contemporary Art. If you have opinions or questions about this commentary, call (214) 740-9338 or email us.


Our Mission: Meals on Wheels provides a network of services that allow seniors to live in their homes with dignity and independence as long as possible.
When we provide nutritious meals and daily safety checks for homebound seniors, we reduce risks associated with loneliness, depression, and falls.
Our programs fulfill a moral and economic imperative to care for seniors in the most cost-effective way possible. Studies show that by keeping seniors in their homes we remove a costly burden on seniors, their families, and the American taxpayers. One 2009 study found that if every state increased the number of older Americans who received meals by just 1 percent, it would have saved Medicaid more than $109 million a year.
WE'RE MORE THAN MEALS. WE PROVIDE THE SUPPORT SENIORS NEED TO STAY IN THEIR OWN HOMES.
Friendly visitors & good neighbors: volunteers reduce isolation and assist with daily needs.
The cost of living in San Francisco is 62% HIGHER than the national average.
We can provide a senior TWO HOME-DELIVERED MEALS A DAY for an entire year for the same institutional cost as one day in the hospital.
67% of Meals on Wheels seniors LIVE ALONE, without the support of family or friends.
We are the ONLY ORGANIZATION in San Francisco that delivers TWO MEALS a day, 7 DAYS a week that are nutritionally-tailored to meet the dietary needs of seniors.
75% of our clients live BELOW the federal poverty line ($970/month).
We deliver 2 MILLION meals a year to 4,200 homebound seniors in every neighborhood of San Francisco.
The San Francisco Department of Finance estimates there will be 100,000 MORE SENIORS in San Francisco by 2037 than there are today.
We want to be prepared. You can help.
Help ensure no senior is left behind.
Find out how Meals on Wheels offers more than a meal.
Get involved and give back.
© 2019 Meals on Wheels of San Francisco. All Rights Reserved.