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For transgender women, the pay equity gap is even wider
Male-to-female transgender workers can see their earnings drop by nearly a third but activists are working to change that
By Ishani Nath February 8, 2018
Clayre Sessoms at her home in Vancouver, BC. (Photograph by Jackie Dives)
Clayre Sessoms's career was on track. After earning a bachelor's degree in communications, she worked as a freelance copywriter for more than a decade, with a stint at New York's renowned WNYC radio station as well as at marketing firms and advertising agencies. Between her strong portfolio and network of satisfied clients, she rarely had to seek out work. "I was successful," says Sessoms, now 40 and living in Vancouver. "It was a great situation—until I started to come out."
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Sessoms is transgender and began identifying and presenting herself as a woman in 2013. Shortly thereafter, she experienced changes in her career. "First, things were great. Then, as I interacted with clients, I noticed a new distance from one agency and then another. I used to make a lot during our busiest months, but after coming out? Nothing," says Sessoms. Over the past five years, the copywriter says her once-comfortable freelance career has been "slowly evaporating."
"There have been times I've been perfectly aligned with the job description and capable, but they cite my 'skills' as a reason for 'going in another direction,' " says Sessoms.
READ: Why the gender pay gap is worse for women of colour
Losing work after transitioning is just one challenge affecting the ability of trans women to earn a fair wage. Women overall are paid 87 cents on the dollar compared to men on an hourly basis. But the gap is more severe for trans women like Sessoms, according to Sarah Kaplan, the director for University of Toronto's Institute for Gender and the Economy. "When we think about the gender wage gap, we tend to think on the gender binary of male and female," she says. "But there's an increasing awareness that gender isn't binary, and we're not really including the experiences of, for example, trans and queer people when calculating these measures."
She adds that "female-presenting people tend to experience all the discrimination that cis women [non-transgender women] experience"—plus the discrimination they face as transgender individuals.
WATCH: Canadian women on the gender pay gap, and how we can fix it
Ample evidence demonstrates a clear reduction in the earning power of the transgender community. About half of transgender individuals earn $15,000 or less per year, even though 71 per cent have some level of post-secondary education, according to the widely cited 2011 Trans PULSE survey conducted by Toronto's Sherbourne Health Centre. The same survey found only 37 per cent of respondents were employed full-time, while the National Transgender Discrimination Survey in the U.S. found that trans people experience double the rate of unemployment compared to the general population. And while some female-to-male transgender workers earn more after their transition, male-to-female transgender workers can see their earnings drop by nearly a third, says research published in the B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy.
"I never had a problem getting a job interview when I presented as a male," says Mya Hicks, a 29-year-old from Guelph, Ont. With a strong track record in retail and customer service, Hicks says she would easily land at least one or two interviews after handing out 10 resumés to store managers. But like Sessoms, that all changed after she began transitioning in 2015. "You know when you walk in somewhere and you're being looked at and judged for not being the same as everyone else? It was like that," she says.
Transgender individuals struggle to find work even when they aren't meeting face-to-face with potential employers, says Carleton University associate professor Dan Irving, who is researching the subject. While trans women apply to jobs under their chosen name, their background records and references may use their birth name or incorrect pronouns, indirectly "outing" them. Participants in Irving's study feel employers often do not "want the hassle" of hiring a trans person when they could easily hire a non-trans person. And just as there's evidence of ethnic minorities and women struggling to get past the resumé stage, employers also seem to approach applications from gender-non-conforming individuals differently as well. The very mention of being involved with LGBTQ organizations on a woman's resumé made employers significantly less likely to respond compared to applicants who were perceived to be heterosexual, a New York University study found.
READ: Why Maclean's is asking men to pay 26% more for our latest issue
These issues can limit a person's career even before it begins. Scarlett Jodha began presenting as a woman at 16, and has wrestled with workplace challenges even before she had her first "real" job. She recalls the inappropriate questions from colleagues during a youth employment program. "I was asked about my genitals and if [transitioning] was something that I was doing because I wanted to be like my sister," she says. "They're trying to get some form of knowledge since I'm in their face. But that's not what we're here for, it's not the time and it's not appropriate," she says.
Hicks, too, is early in her career, but she's already facing setbacks. She works part-time at a bar in Guelph where she knew the manager, supplementing that income with Ontario Disability Support, which she began receiving before her transition. But since she started presenting as a woman, she has not had a single job interview. "All a trans person wants is to be respected like everyone else and to be given the same opportunities as everyone else," says Hicks. "If someone is qualified and the right fit for the job, their identity shouldn't be a factor. It's discrimination."
Even after they find employment, significant barriers prevent trans individuals from advancing at the same rate as their cisgender colleagues—further widening the wage gap. A recent Ontario-wide study entitled "Transforming Justice," which will officially release a series of reports over the next few months, found that at least one in five transgender respondents experienced setbacks over the past three years, including improper employment terminations, unfair disciplinary procedures, persistent harassment and unpaid wages.
Nadia, who asked that her real name not be used, landed a job after years of searching, only to face new problems. She first came to Canada from the Middle East, looking for a fresh start. An engineer in her home country, she knew she would have to start over, learning French and completing an apprenticeship to be employable in Quebec where she was living. She eventually managed to secure a short-term contract in her field. On her first day, someone emailed her new employers and sent a fax to the company informing them that Nadia was a "shemale" and raised concerns about the image of the company. Nadia is convinced the email came from one of her colleagues, but says the company insisted that no one in their office would act in that fashion. They instead accused Nadia of bringing problems to the workplace. She stayed at the company, but was eventually let go after four months of her contract. She resorted to freelancing online and social assistance to sustain herself.
Stories like this are all too familiar for advocate and public educator Dalia Tourki, a trans rights advocate and public educator at the Centre for Gender Advocacy, an organization affiliated with Concordia University. "This is a community that even though it is basically protected by the law, in more day-to-day realities, people are still experiencing discrimination and transphobia, which leads them sometimes to quitting their job or living through this harassment just to be able to have a minimal kind of income," she says. This struggle affects more than just a trans woman's bank account. Numerous studies, including the Trans PULSE survey, found that chronic unemployment and underemployment contributed to high rates of depression in the trans community.
Tourki says there are things companies can do to start closing the transgender wage gap, like allowing employees to have an email address with their chosen name rather than the one that appears on their original birth certificate. Other measures include encouraging hiring managers to learn more about the trans community, creating specific policies that include gender identity and gender expression as protected grounds, and allowing these people to access the washrooms they choose.
Biko Beauttah poses for a portrait in Toronto, on Saturday, November 11, 2017. (Christopher Katsarov/CP)
While structural and social change is slowly happening, grassroots advocates are taking action to help open more job opportunities to trans individuals. In November, Biko Beauttah, a trans woman who moved to Canada from Kenya, launched Trans Workforce, the nation's first job fair held specifically for transgender job seekers. Beauttah, who has struggled with unemployment herself and turned to sex work for a number of years, calls the event a "transolution"—a solution by trans people for trans people. The event, held in Toronto, hosted 23 companies including TD Bank, the Durham District School Board, the City of Toronto, Apple Canada and various arms of the Ontario government. "It was very surreal," says Beauttah, now working on a second Trans Workforce fair this June. "I'm having a hard time describing it because I have never seen anything like it before. I have never seen a job fair full of trans people with employers eagerly there to hire them."
Beauttah says the event wasn't just an attempt to give trans individuals the same opportunities as other job seekers, but also to increase their representation throughout the labour force. "You need to not only give us opportunities but also give us chances to advance ourselves, so that we can see the same diversity reflected at the top," she says.
Among the more than 250 trans individuals who attended the job fair was 19-year-old Jodha, who served as the event's emcee. Looking around the room, Jodha realized she was "seeing a few hundred people who were all in the same boat as me."
While excited by the event's success, Beauttah says she hopes her creation will soon become obsolete. "Trans Workforce is great," Beauttah says. "But my goal through this job fair is to normalize the trans experience to the point where we won't need Trans Workforce to exist anymore because we'll be living in a world where trans people are seen as equal in the workforce."
MORE ABOUT PAY EQUITY:
Why do men make more money than women?
Why Maclean's is asking men to pay 26% more for our latest issue
Nearly three quarters of Canadians want pay transparency
For women of colour, there's a gap within the pay gap
Glad you asked: Why your justification for the pay gap is bunk
These are the key numbers that explain the wage gap for women
The Australian bake sale that inspired our pay equity issue
On pay equity, this is how men can step up in the workplace
How 'Indspire' supports Indigenous education—and works for change
After the 'reckoning' comes damning proof Hollywood values women less than men
Celebrity wage gaps where women are paid shockingly less than men
One way to close the pay gap: More women-owned businesses
James Damore doesn't understand women in STEM—or even STEM itself
Why the gender pay gap is everyone's problem
FILED UNDER: #PayEquity Editor's Picks gender gender wage gap pay equity pay gap transgender people Transgender rights wage gap


Loss For Words: Too unhip for the Facebook and Myspace "Mashup"?
Too unhip for the Facebook and Myspace "Mashup"?
I got an email about the happy new union between Facebook and Myspace (see below). As a copywriter, I've definitely cranked out this type of marketing copy in the past, but something about it sounded like it was trying a little too hard to define a hip new brand personality. Then again, maybe I'm just not the demo they're talking too. Great, now I feel old. And unhip. Thanks, Myspace.
It's true, the new Myspace and Facebook are friends. And now, the new Myspace comes with Facebook Mashup!
Along with our sweet new logo and layout, Mashup turns your Likes into real content on Myspace, creating a personalized entertainment stream full of videos, music, and more just for you.
Mashup with your current Myspace account or start fresh with a new one. We think you'll dig it.


I never intended to jump on the "Monday hater" bandwagon. In fact, Mondays used to be my FAVORITE day of the week. I love where I live, I enjoy my commute to my office in Palm Desert where I spend all day doing what I do best – creating stuff! And marketing stuff - ha!
However, the last two seasons at work have been very intense and without proper rest time for almost 2 years, I'm feeling pretty burnt out. Waking up to an alarm clock on a Monday morning is not necessarily my favorite part of the work week. But you know what's my favorite part about Monday? When it's over, 'cause Friday, here I come!
NOTE: Artwork created on the iPad Pro in the Procreate App with the Apple Pencil.


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Q: Accurately compare dates from different timezones with zeroed time I'm trying to check if two things happen on the same date but am having a small bit of trouble.
Using the Xero API, I get a list of payroll calendars which each have a start time and an end time, and those times are returned as Y-m-d with hours/minutes/seconds zeroed out, with Timezone Australia/Sydney as follows:
DateTime Object ( [date] => 2018-05-01 00:00:00.000000 [timezone_type] => 3 [timezone] => Australia/Sydney )

I get a list of recent Timesheets for an employee, and they have a start and end date that should match up with the payroll calendar period - but they're returning as timezone Z (Zulu?) and again with the time zeroed, as such:
DateTime Object ( [date] => 2018-04-30 00:00:00.000000 [timezone_type] => 2 [timezone] => Z )

I swear I googled around before I asked here but I'll ask anyway:
How can I compare these two dates? I tried creating a new DateTime from startDate->format('Y-m-d'), I tried setting the timezone to Zulu (was out by obviously 10 hours), tried creating a new DateTime from a clone of the Zulu time where I set the timezone and then got just the Y-m-d part of it... Something that "works" is to clone the date, set the timezone, then set the time to 0...
Like this:
$startDate = DateTime::createFromFormat('Y-m-d', $calendar->getStartDate()->format('Y-m-d'), new DateTimeZone("Australia/Sydney"))->setTime(0,0);

Is there a better and neater way of doing this?

A: I may have misunderstood your question, but I'll assume that you just want to determine whether the two dates are the same, after they have been adjusted for the timezone offset.
Using the two DateTime objects simply call DateTime::diff. If the number of days difference is zero, the two dates are the same (ignoring the time).
// Payroll date
$p = new DateTime('2018-05-01 00:00:00.000000', new DateTimeZone('Australia/Sydney'));

// Timesheet date
$t = new DateTime('2018-04-30 00:00:00.000000', new DateTimeZone('UTC'));

var_dump($t->diff($p)->days === 0); // same

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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United States Home
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Mexico delivers harsh lessons to the USMNT
Blog - The Match Jul 8, 2019 Jeff Carlisle
Bradley and Morris too slow, get 4/10 as U.S. lose Gold Cup final to Mexico
United States ratings Jul 7, 2019 Jason Davis
Gold Cup final form guide: Improving U.S. looks to Pulisic; Mexico must maintain momentum
Gold Cup Jul 6, 2019 Jeff Carlisle and Tom Marshall
Can the U.S. limit chances for Jimenez, Mexico's talented side in Gold Cup final?
CONCACAF Gold Cup Jul 5, 2019 Arch Bell
Pulisic rises to the occasion as USMNT now prepares for Mexico
United States Jul 3, 2019 Jason Davis
Altidore the attacking spark the U.S. needs in Gold Cup semis vs. Jamaica
United States Jul 2, 2019 Jeff Carlisle
MLS and USMNT Rumor Rater: Liga MX interest in Manotas? Will Sargent leave Bremen on loan?
Major League Soccer Jul 2, 2019 Kristian Dyer
Gold Cup semifinals preview: Predictions, key players and what to watch for
Underwhelming USMNT win over Curacao feels like a step back
U.S. barely bailed out by Pulisic in sorry showing against Curacao
United States Jun 30, 2019 Jason Davis
Gregg Berhalter, USMNT players seek recipe for Gold Cup success
United States Jun 29, 2019 Jeff Carlisle
Gold Cup quarterfinals preview: Predictions, key players and what to watch for
CONCACAF Gold Cup Jun 28, 2019 Arch Bell
Do the U.S. and Mexico care about the Gold Cup anymore?
Gold Cup Jun 27, 2019 Jeff Carlisle and Tom Marshall
U.S. didn't dazzle vs. Panama but squad depth bodes well for deep Gold Cup run
CONCACAF Gold Cup Jun 27, 2019 Jeff Carlisle
Altidore shows flashes of old self as U.S. tops group at Gold Cup
U.S. selection headaches for Berhalter
Pulisic aggressive, intelligent, influential in USMNT's win over Trinidad
U.S. doesn't want revenge vs. Trinidad and Tobago after World Cup woe. It just wants to win the Gold Cup
Boyd sees U.S. past Guyana but tougher tests are to come in Gold Cup
Boyd emerges with 8/10 showing as U.S. stars struggle to victory
By Jeff Carlisle
Arena won't learn more about U.S. player pool by calling in reinforcements
PHILADELPHIA -- From the outset of this Gold Cup, it was the plan of U.S men's national team manager Bruce Arena to add six players to his roster at the conclusion of the group stage. The tournament rules allow it, and Arena took full advantage.
All of which seems kind of a shame.
The U.S. manager has brought in the Toronto FC duo of Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore. He's also added Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe, Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey, Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard and FC Dallas goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez.
The infusion of experience is considerable. Out of those six, four of them -- Bradley, Altidore, Dempsey and Howard -- have more than 100 caps apiece. Nagbe has been a steady presence for the U.S. throughout 2017. Only Gonzalez, who just recently had his one-time switch of affiliation from Mexico to the U.S. approved by FIFA, can be considered a prospect.
The unlucky six who were sent back to their clubs were really an unlucky three. Midfielder Alejandro Bedoya and his partner Beatrice are expecting their second child this week, so his departure was long planned. It was also understood that goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Sean Johnson would be sent back to Atlanta United and New York City FC, respectively. That left Kelyn Rowe, Cristian Roldan and Dom Dwyer to be sent home.
It's peculiar in that Rowe and Dwyer have shown well over the course of the past three weeks, with each player scoring a goal and contributing to the attack in other ways. Roldan's situation is easier to understand, as he had his moments of struggle against Martinique, though he did take good care of the ball. But for these three players, it's clear that their playing time would have been severely limited going forward, considering who was called up. That is true especially for Dwyer given that Dempsey and Altidore will chew up the bulk of the forward minutes, while Juan Agudelo and Jordan Morris have the ability to play out wide if needed.
Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey and four other veterans were called in for the U.S. squad for the Gold Cup knockout rounds.
"All of [the decisions] are difficult because all of the players did well," Arena told reporters. "I thought Dom, Cristian and Kelyn did very well, and I told them that. They're players that we're obviously going to continue to keep an eye on, and continue to obviously have them in the program."
He added, "It's a difficult tournament, and when you play so many less experienced and younger players together, it's difficult. It's not easy. Probably the perfect way to do that is to mix in more veteran players. But we wanted to give everyone an opportunity, and that's the way we decided to do it, and I think they came through with passing grades, all of them."
It's an odd rule to be sure, one that I can't recall being replicated anywhere else in the world. Given how crowded the international calendar tends to get in the summer, as well as the fact that MLS shuts down for only the group stage, it's understandable that CONCACAF would want to allow some flexibility to teams in order to get the best players on display. But at the same time, it seems to undermine the integrity of the competition by allowing such drastic changes.
To be clear, the U.S. isn't doing anything wrong here, but it still seems unfortunate, in a way, for Arena to bring in reinforcements, and not just for the players sent home. With essentially five starters added, it's almost as if a different team will take the field for Wednesday's quarterfinal, and playing time will be much harder to come by for those group-stage players who remain.
Without question, the U.S. looked far from convincing during the group stage. It played poorly in a 1-1 draw with Panama and was given a fright by unheralded Martinique in a 3-2 win, before looking more like its old self in a 3-0 victory over Nicaragua.
But the whole point of this tournament, for the U.S. at any rate, was to give some playing time to some heretofore bit-part -- and, in some cases, no-part -- players. During the group stage, Arena did that and then some, giving starts to 22 out of the 23 players on the roster. So why not let them finish the job? Why not see how these players can do in a knockout game possessing a very different kind of pressure from the group stage?
Despite scoring two goals in three games with the U.S., Dom Dwyer will leave the Gold Cup squad.
Granted, the winner of this Gold Cup gets one foot in the door toward qualifying for the Confederations Cup, but that assumes there will be a Confederations Cup in four years' time. Considering Qatar is hosting the 2022 World Cup in the winter, holding the tournament in December 2021 is a no-go with the game's power brokers in Europe. Ditto for holding it in the searing summer heat. There is talk of using the 2021 Club World Cup as a dry run for the World Cup instead.
So what does the U.S. really gain by bringing in five new starters? Arena highlighted the quintet's experience, and it obviously gives the U.S. a much better chance of winning the tournament. The competition for places will certainly heat up. But it also seems unlikely that Arena will acquire more data about his player pool as opposed to if he had kept his roster the same.
That is precisely the approach Mexico has taken. Certainly, it's not quite an apples-to-apples comparison given that El Tri's participation in this year's Confederations Cup added an extra competition to their calendar. But manager Juan Carlos Osorio is giving his inexperienced side -- which had a stumble of its own in tying Jamaica 0-0 -- the chance to win the tournament, as opposed to making changes.
"I think this group deserves the opportunity to continue [in the Gold Cup] and experience this tournament and the great responsibility that representing Mexico is," said Osorio.
He added, "[I feel] happy, very optimistic about the group. We're continuing to consolidate a very good group of talented, young players that are the future of Mexican football. That factor, for me personally, is the most gratifying and what I enjoy most in life."
As it stands now, a hypothetical U.S. lineup for Wednesday's quarterfinal could consist entirely of players who were on the roster for the World Cup qualifiers last June. So it looks like for Arena, the search for that kind of gratification Osorio referred to has been put on hold.
Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @JeffreyCarlisle.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The word "Trinity" does not occur in Scripture, as reference to any Bible Dictionary or Concordance will show. Nor is there any statement in the Bible that unambiguously sets out the doctrine, as understood by the mainstream Christian churches.
TRINITY: The term "Trinity" is not itself found in the Bible. It was first used by Tertullian at the close of the 2nd century, but received wide currency and formal elucidation only in the 4th and 5th centuries.
The Father, the Son and the Spirit is each a distinct person.
Nowhere does the Bible explicitly teach this combination of assertions. It may, nevertheless, be claimed that the doctrine of the Trinity is a profoundly appropriate interpretation of the Biblical witness to God in the light of the ministry, death and resurrection-exaltation of Jesus – the "Christevent".
Clearly from the above, the 1st century Church knew nothing of this doctrine. It developed out of disputes in the 2nd century over the nature of Christ, which resulted from the encounter of Christian doctrine with Greek philosophy, particularly neo-Platonism. A number of prominent Christian "fathers", such as Justin Martyr, Clement, Irenaeus and Origen, were enthusiastic students of Greek philosophy and expounded Biblical themes using philosophical terms.
When Constantine united the Roman Empire at the end of the 2nd century, and established Christianity as the state religion, he demanded of the bishops a common doctrinal position. This was established at the Council of Nicea (325 AD), when, after fierce debate between supporters of Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, and Arius, an Alexandrian priest, the Nicean Creed was adopted. The disputes continued for another 100 or more years, until the ascendancy of the Roman see, led to the fullest enunciation of the doctrine in the so-called Athanasian Creed.
God is firstly the Creator: Genesis 1: 1; Psalm 33:6,9; 105:5; Jeremiah 10: 10-13.
He is eternal and alone possesses immortality: Psalm 90: 1-2; Isaiah 40:25-28; 1 Timothy 1: 17; 6: 15-16.
In only a handful of OT passages, He is referred to as "Father" of Israel; e.g. Isaiah 63: 16; 64:8; cf. Exodus 4:22; in the promises to David, God prophesies that He will be the Father of the Messiah: 2 Samuel 7: 14.
In the NT, following the divine begettal of Jesus, God is referred to as Father 265 times! e.g. Hebrews 1:5-6; Jesus always refers to God as "Father" (save in the cry from the cross).
God is frequently represented by an angel who speaks in His name (as though he is God): e.g. Exodus 3:2,4, 14-15; Acts 7:30-32. He was similarly represented by the rulers of Israel: Exodus 21:8-9, where the word "judges" (KJV) is elohim, the normal word for "God"; see Psalm 82: 1,6-8 and John 10:34-36. This Biblical feature is summarised by the term God-manifestation: God was displayed or represented by angels, rulers, prophets, who spoke on His behalf.
The coming of Jesus was foretold throughout the OT, both by direct prophecy, e.g. Psalm 2; Isaiah 9:6-7; and also by type and symbol: e.g. the Passover lamb – Exodus 12:5-7; the suffering of Joseph – Genesis 37:23-24, 31.
The work of Jesus was foreknown and planned by God from the beginning: 1 Peter 1: 18- 21; Acts 2:22-24; Acts 13:32-33; Romans 3:23-25; Ephesians 1:9-10.
His conception in a virgin was miraculous, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that he was Son of God: Isaiah 7: 14; Matthew 1: 18-23; Luke 1 :30-35.
Jesus was born from a woman in the normal way and was fully man, sharing our mortal nature: Luke 2:6-7; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 2:9,14; 4: 14-15; 5:5-9. Following his ascension to heaven, he is still man: 1 Tim. 2:5.
Jesus was and is subordinate to his Father: John 14:28; 1 Cor.15:28. He was made, sent, raised, and glorified by Him: Romans 1: 1-4; Acts 2:36; 3: 13-15, 18,26; John 3: 16- 17,34-35; 5:21-24; 8:42; 14:28; 17: 1-5. Jesus has been given all power but will eventually give all to his Father: Matthew 28: 18; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 15: 22-28; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3.
The word spirit in both OT and NT also translates as wind or breath. It is thus a metaphor for an unseen, life-giving force or power. By His power God creates, gives life and sustains it: Genesis 1:1-2; 2:7; Job 33:4; 34:14-15; Acts 17:24-28.
The Spirit of God inspired the prophets: 2 Samuel 23: 1-2; Nehemiah 9:30; 2 Peter 1: 19- 21; 2 Timothy 3: 15-16; it expresses His mind: Isaiah 63: 9-10; Acts 7: 51.
The terms "Spirit", "Spirit of God" and "Holy Spirit (or Ghost)" are interchangeable: 2compare the three records of Jesus' baptism – Matthew 3: 16; Mark 1: 10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32. The prefix "Holy", meaning separated or consecrated, is used principally in the NT for the work of the Spirit in bringing about the salvation of men and women through God's love in Christ.
A number of parallel passages show that the Spirit is essentially the power of God, or, expressed another way, God at work. The phrase "God the Holy Ghost (or Spirit)" does not occur in Scripture. The Spirit is not a person but is said to be "of God", "of the Lord" and "of your Father". Compare: Genesis 1:1; 1:2; 2:7; Job 33:4; Psalm 33:6; Jeremiah 10:12; Matthew 10:20; Luke 1:35.
The angels of heaven operate by the power of the Spirit; hence they are sometimes referred to as "spirits": Psalm 104:4; cf. Exodus 3:2; Hebrews 1:7; Isaiah 63:9-10.
Prophesying, that is declaring the Word of God: e.g. 2 Samuel 23: 1-2; Jeremiah 1:9; John 6:63; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21.
The "Spirit Gifts" granted to the 1st century church, were designed to confirm the authority of the Gospel message and disappeared after the age of the Apostles: Acts 8: 14-18; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10. The words of many who claim today to speak by the Spirit (but believe different things) are refuted when tested against the true words of Scripture.
Since the work of God is performed by His Spirit and is centred in His beloved Son, there are many passages linking them: e.g. Luke 1:35; Matthew 28: 18-20; Acts 2:22; 10:37-38; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; 15:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 4:3-6; 13:4; Colossians 3: 1; cf. Psalm 110: 1; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 John 3.
In John the word "beginning" is almost always used of the start of Jesus' ministry, at his baptism; hence the immediate mention of John the Baptist (v.6). John is describing the start of the New Creation, by the Word of God (cf. Psalm 33:6), which is now revealed in Jesus; John 1: 14,18.
The word "one" is neuter in gender; not "one being" but "one in spirit". So Jesus prays that his isciples will also be: John 14:9; 17:11,21. Jesus "manifested" or revealed his Father's character, as described above.
Thomas exclaims to the risen Lord Jesus: "My Lord and my God". This is an acknowledgement that Jesus had risen from the dead, not that he was the immortal God Himself. Thomas, a Jew, was using a mode of expression common in the OT, that representatives of God are addressed as "God", e.g. Jacob of the angel at Peniel (Genesis 32:30). In the same chapter in John (v. 17), Jesus told Mary that he was to ascend to "my God and your God", clearly distinguishing himself from the Father.
"Jesus … thought it not robbery to be equal with God…" is generally agreed to be a bad translation of the original Greek. The whole sense of the passage is that, although Jesus was Son of God, he did not exalt himself but assumed the lowly position of a servant. RSV translates: "He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped." In this he contrasts strikingly with Adam, who did grasp at equality with God; see Genesis 3:4-6.
Did Jesus exist before his birth?
The idea of Jesus' pre-existence is principally linked with the doctrine of the Trinity dealt with above. However the "Jehovah's Witnesses", although denying the Trinity, believe that Jesus was a "pre-existent spirit", the first created work of God. All of these ideas presuppose that the "spirit" or "soul" of a man can exist separately from his body: that Jesus previously existed as a "spirit being" in heaven, and was then "incarnate" in a body, firstly in the womb of Mary.
Is there any Biblical justification for these ideas and what does the Bible say about the nature of the Son of God?
Adam was formed from the ground; God gave him breath and man became a "living soul" or a living being (Heb. nephesh), Genesis 2:7. In this he was just like the animals, Genesis 1:20,21,30: where "living creature" and "soul"/ "life" are the same word, nephesh. Man is a living creature with body, soul and spirit (or breath): 1 Thessalonians 5:23. Death brings an end to the whole man: Genesis 3: 19; Ezekiel 18:4; Psalm 146:3,4. The Bible nowhere teaches that the soul of man continues to exist apart from the body.
Although his conception was miraculous, his birth was like that of any other man: Galatians 4:4, (and note the similarity to Adam, who was the direct creation of God). Jesus fully shared our physical nature: Hebrews 2:9,14; cf. Psalm 8. He experienced the full range of human emotions and suffering: Hebrews 5:7,8. He also shared our mortality, dying on the cross. Exalted to heaven as our mediator, he remains truly man: 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 10:12.
The value of Jesus' triumph is that he overcame sin in its battleground, human nature, as in the temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4: 1-11). For this victory to be meaningful required that he should be wholly man, and not a divine spirit (incapable of sin) in human flesh; hence the parallels between Adam, who failed, and Christ who triumphed: Romans 5: 4,12-21. However Jesus received the strength to gain the victory and offer a perfect sacrifice for sins because God was his Father: Psalm 2:7-12; 80:17; John 8:28,29; 1 Peter 1:18-19.
The work of Jesus was foretold in many Old Testament prophecies, from Genesis 3: 15 onwards: e.g. Deuteronomy 18: 15,18; 2 Samuel 7: 12-16; Psalm 89:26-29; Isaiah 9:6-7; 42: 1-7. God had planned that he would be the means of man's redemption from the beginning. Thus he was predestined to be the Saviour of the world; but notice that those he would save were also predestined, or "marked out in advance": Ephesians 1:3-6; Roman 8:29,30 (and noone suggests that the believers pre-existed in heaven!). See also: Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15; 2 Timothy 1:9.
In summary, Jesus "pre-existed" only in the mind and purpose of God. He was in every respect a true man, like us, yet equally the true Son of God. His work and ministry was planned by God from the beginning and in the fullness of time he was born into the world (Galatians 4:4) to fulfil all that had been written of him.
"Ye are from beneath; I am from above…" (John 8:23). Notice the humility of: "…not to do mine own will".
Jesus was the subject of the promise made to Abraham of "a seed" who would inherit the Land and already promised to Eve (Genesis 3:15; 12:7; 17:4-8; 22:16-18); this is the topic of the debate in John 8:31-40.
This is taken to mean that Jesus, rather than God the Father, is the Creator, even though he was "sent by God" (John 6:38 above). Yet in v.15, Jesus is "the firstborn of all creation" implying his created beginning; and in v.18 he is "the firstborn from the dead", i.e. in the resurrection. Paul is clearly teaching that the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning of the new Spiritual Creation (see Acts 26:23; Romans 8:29; Revelation 1:5).
In the grace of God, we too can become part of this New Creation, though faith in the Son of God and by sharing in his resurrection.


It's easy to feel like you don't have control, like you're on a path that not's yours.
The Ego loves to get caught up in a Victim mentality blaming others, your circumstance, your parents, your environment, the political climate etc., but this just gets you in a rut and honestly gets you nowhere. It just keeps you down.
You're in control over your thoughts, feelings and actions. You don't have to be a victim of your circumstances, you don't have to blame others for your situation. You may not like where you're at today, or whom you're with, or how you feel, but you have the power to change.
You are a powerful being. When you feel out of control or lost, go back to this mantra this week: I am in control of my thoughts, feelings and actions. I move with intention.


Agencies looking to share big data analytics across different enterprise platforms as well as in cloud infrastructures can run into a problem: What if data is just too big to move?
That is what is happening to some organizations that store, manage and process the vast amounts of data collected from a variety of sources, according to Sanjay Mehta, Splunk's vice president of marketing.
As a result, Splunk has released a beta version of new software designed to help government agencies and businesses easily visualize and analyze data in Apache's Hadoop open-source framework.
Hunk: Splunk Analytics for Hadoop is a stand-alone software product that lets organizations give broader user groups insight into their data assets without custom development, data modeling or lengthy batch processing iterations, according to Splunk officials. The software provides interactive data exploration, discovery and analytics so users can more easily gain insights from raw data in Hadoop, the say.
Hunk is another addition to Splunk's portfolio of software anchored by the company's flagship platform, Splunk Enterprise, which collects, indexes and harnesses machine data generated by applications, servers and devices, whether they are physical, virtual or in the cloud.
The company has technology to let data analysts move data in and out of Hadoop, but some customers are saying that data is becoming so large they can't move it any more. So they are looking for ways to move data natively within Hadoop, Mehta said in an interview with GCN.
Hunk lets analysts explore data in Hadoop from one place, allowing them to perform interactive data exploration across large, diverse data sets. They do not have to understand the data upfront. Instead, they can simply point Hunk at the Hadoop cluster and start exploring data immediately, Splunk officials said.
Splunk Virtual Index separates the storage of data from the analytics, which helps speed analysis, Mehta said. The virtual index technology links Hunk into the entire Splunk technology stack. For instance, links to Splunk Search Processing Language let users perform interactive exploration, analysis and visualization of data stored anywhere, as if it was stored in a Splunk software index, Mehta said.
After analysts determine what they want to analyze, they will want to do a deeper dive to explore trends and identify patterns of interest, Mehta said. Hunk helps them detect patterns and find anomalies across large volumes of data. They can correlate data to spot trends, identify patterns and gain further insights by connecting data from external relational databases using Splunk DB Connect. Released in March, DB Connect integrates structured data from relational databases with machine data generated by back-end IT systems, networks, applications and even mobile devices, giving analysts insights about the data and helping them make more informed decisions in real-time.
Analysts can use Hunk to build graphs and charts, combining them into customized dashboards that can be shared to laptops, tablets and other mobile devices. Mehta said.
Splunk is looking for beta users among its Fortune 100 and government clients who can apply Hunk to solve problems from vast and complex data sets, leading up to general availability of the software later this year, Mehta said.


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Svitolina destroys Wozniacki in WTA Toronto final
Elina Svitolina of Ukraine with the winners trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark following the final match on Day 9 of the Rogers Cup at Aviva Centre, Toronto, Canada. Photo: AFP
Elina Svitolina crushed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4, 6-0 to win the Toronto WTA trophy on Sunday, capturing her fifth title of 2017 and her second final of the season over the former world number one.
Fifth seed Svitolina, of the Ukraine, needed just 77 minutes to beat Wozniacki, blasting four aces winning the final eight games of the match.
Svitolina's road to the final included wins over four top ten players.
She had a straight-sets demolition of 37-year-old Venus Williams and wins over fourth seeded Garbine Muguruza and second seed Simona Halep.
She has now won all the finals she has played this season, comprising Toronto, Dubai, Istanbul, Taiwan and Rome.
She became the first Ukrainian to reach the Top 10 in the WTA rankings by capturing the Dubai title in February where she beat Wozniacki.
She now has a 9-2 win-loss record in singles finals.
While Svitolina has been perfect in finals this year, Wozniacki has lost six consecutive finals and seven straight dating back to last season.
Svitolina hammered 15 winners and won 63 points compared to just 43 for Wozniacki.
Wozniacki got off to a decent start in the opening set but serving at 4-4 she double faulted at 0-40 to give Svitolina a 5-4 lead.
That proved to be the turning point as Svitolina held served to take the set then cruised through the second set in just 31 minutes.
The 22-year-old Svitolina, who dropped just one set en route to the title, will rise to No. 4 in the world rankings on Monday.
After finishing 2016 at number 19 in the world, Wozniacki put together a string of victories and is back up to No. 6.


text:
Faculty of Education / News
Faculty of Education News
Children use make-believe aggression and violence to manage bad-tempered peers
Image credit: Woodleywonderworks, via Flickr.
Children are more likely to introduce violent themes into their pretend play, such as imaginary fighting or killing, if they are with playmates whom peers consider bad-tempered, research suggests.
The Faculty of Education-led team who undertook the study believe that the tendency for children to introduce aggressive themes in these situations – which seems to happen whether or not they are personally easy to anger – may be because they are 'rehearsing' strategies to cope with hot-headed friends.
The finding comes from an observational study of more than 100 children at a school in China, who were asked to play with toys in pairs. Children whose play partners were considered bad-tempered by their peers were 45% more likely to introduce aggressive themes into their pretend play than those whose partners were reckoned to be better at controlling their temper.
Importantly, however, a child's own temperament did not predict the level of make-believe aggression. Instead, children often appeared to introduce these themes specifically in response to having an irritable playmate.
This may mean that in certain cases aggressive make-believe play actually helps children's social and emotional development. The paper's authors stress, however, that further research will be needed before they can provide definitive guidance for parents or practitioners.
If children have a friend who is easily angered, it's possible that they will look for ways to explore responses through pretend play
Dr Zhen Rao
Dr Zhen Rao, from the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL), at the Faculty of Education, said: "If children have a friend who is easily angered, and particularly if they haven't coped well with that behaviour, it's possible that they will look for ways to explore it through pretend play. This gives them a safe context in which to try out different ways of handling difficult situations next time they crop up in real life."
Aggressive pretend play has been the subject of considerable wider research, much of which aims to understand whether it predicts similarly aggressive real-life behaviours. Most of these studies, however, tend to focus on whether these associations are linked to the child's own temperament, rather than that of the children they are playing with.
The Cambridge study aimed to understand how far aggressive pretend play is associated with a play partner's anger expression. It also distinguished between aggressive pretend play and its 'non-aggressive, negative' variant: for example, pretend play that involves imagining someone who is sick or unhappy.
The possibility that children might be working out how to handle tricky situations through pretend play suggests that this could actually be a way of developing their social and emotional skills
The research was carried out with 104 children, aged seven to 10, at a school in Guangzhou in China, as part of a wider project that the team were undertaking in that region.
Participants were asked to organise themselves into pairs – many of them therefore picking friends – and were then filmed playing for 20 minutes. The toys they were given was deliberately neutral in character (for example, there were no toy weapons), and the children could play however they wanted.
The researchers then coded 10-minute samples of each pair in 120 five-second segments, earmarking instances of pretend play, aggressive themes, and non-aggressive negative themes.
Separately, they also asked peers to rate the children's tendency to become angry. Each of the 104 children in the study was rated by, on average, 10 others, who were asked to decide whether they were good at keeping their temper, easily angered, or 'somewhere in between'.
The researchers then analysed the data using a statistical model called an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, which is a means of measuring and testing the influence that two individuals have on one another. This allowed them to work out how far children were playing a certain way of their own volition, and how far they were being influenced by their partner.
On average, the children spent only about a fifth of their recorded session participating in pretend play, of which around 10% involved aggressive themes and 8% involved non-aggressive negative themes. Pretend play was observed in all children. More than half (53.5%) showed at least one instance of aggressive pretend play, and 43% of the children showed at least one instance of negative pretend play.
The children's own ability to control their temper, as reported by their peers, did not significantly predict how much their pretend play involved aggressive themes. If they had a play partner who was considered quick to anger, however, they were 45% more likely to create pretend situations that involved some sort of aggressive element. This percentage is to some extent shaped by how the data was segmented, but nonetheless indicates a greater likelihood that children will do this if they are playing with someone peers regard as easy to anger.
There was no evidence to suggest that either child's temperament influenced the frequency of non-aggressive, negative pretend play. The researchers also found that boys were 6.11 times likelier to engage in aggressive pretend play than girls.
The theory that children may introduce these themes to rehearse ways of handling bad-tempered peers is only one possible explanation. For example, it may also represent an attempt to stop playmates becoming angry by giving them a pretend situation in which to 'let off steam', or simply to keep them playing by appealing to their nature.
"Our study highlights the importance of taking into account a social partner's emotional expression when understanding aggressive pretend play," Rao added. "Further research is clearly needed to help us better understand this in different social contexts. The possibility that children might be working out how to handle tricky situations through pretend play suggests that for some children, this could actually be a way of developing their social and emotional skills."
The research is published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology. Dr Rao's research is funded by an ESRC postdoctoral Fellowship.
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November/December 2002 Issue
Water for Profit
Contamination, riots, rate increases, scandals. From Atlanta to Manila, cities are confronting the true cost of water privatization.
Jon R. Luoma
Photo Illustration: Paul Moore
Even before the water turned brown, Gordon Certain had plenty to worry about. With his north Atlanta neighborhood in the middle of a growth boom, the president of the North Buckhead Civic Association had been busy fielding complaints about traffic, a sewer tunnel being built near a nature preserve, and developers razing tidy postwar ranch homes to make room for mansions. But nothing compared to the volume of calls and emails that flooded Certain's home office in May, when Georgia's environmental protection agency issued an alert to North Buckhead residents: Their tap water, the agency warned, wasn't safe to drink unless they boiled it first. Some neighbors, Certain recalls, had just fed formula to their baby when they heard the alert.
"I had parents calling me in tears," he says. "The things that have happened to the water here have sure scared the hell out of a lot of people." A month later, another "boil water" alert came; this time, when Certain turned on his own tap, the liquid that gushed out was the color of rust, with bits of debris floating in it.
Atlanta's water service had never been without its critics; there had always been complaints about slow repairs and erroneous water bills. But the problems intensified three years ago, says Certain, after one of the world's largest private water companies took over the municipal system and promised to turn it into an "international showcase" for public-private partnerships. Instead of ushering in a new era of trouble-free drinking water, Atlanta's experiment with privatization has brought a host of new problems. This year there have been five boil-water alerts, indicating unsafe contaminants might be present. Fire hydrants have been useless for months. Leaking water mains have gone unrepaired for weeks. Despite all of this, the city's contractor — United Water, a subsidiary of French-based multinational Suez — has lobbied the City Council to add millions more to its $21-million-a-year contract.
Atlanta's experience has become Exhibit A in a heated controversy over the push by a rapidly growing global water industry to take over public water systems. At the heart of the debate are two questions: Should water, a basic necessity for human survival, be controlled by for-profit interests? And can multinational companies actually deliver on what they promise — better service and safe, affordable water?
Already, the two largest players in the industry, French-based conglomerates Suez and Vivendi Universal, manage water for 230 million people, mostly in Europe and the developing world. Now they are seeking access to a vast and relatively untapped market: the United States, where 85 percent of people still get their water from public utilities. Private water providers have positioned themselves as the solution to the developing world's water problems, notes Hugh Jackson, a policy analyst at the advocacy group Public Citizen. "But it's a lot harder for them to make the case when here, in the world's center of capitalism, cities are delivering tremendous amounts of high-quality, clean, inexpensive water to people."
Yet over the past decade, hundreds of U.S. cities and counties, including Indianapolis and Milwaukee, have hired private companies to manage their waterworks. Currently New Orleans; Stockton, California; and Laredo, Texas, are in the process of going private, although opposition has sprung up in all three cities. Water companies have been conducting annual "fly ins" to Washington, D.C., to press their legislative agenda, lobbying for laws that would protect companies from lawsuits over contaminated water and block municipalities from taking back troubled privatized systems. Most recently, a bipartisan group in Congress has been pushing a federal waterworks funding bill, advocated by the National Association of Water Companies, which would require cities to "consider" privatization before they can tap federal funds for upgrading or expanding public utilities and would also subsidize such privatization deals.
At the municipal level the lobbying pressure is equally intense, with water companies actively courting local officials (the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Website features a large ad from Vivendi subsidiary U.S. Filter) and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting privatization in local referendums. "It's hard for local guys to turn these companies away," Massachusetts' former water commissioner Douglas MacDonald has said. "They're everywhere, with arms like an octopus."
The argument behind privatization is that only corporate efficiency can rescue the nation's aging waterworks. But if success is measured in terms of delivering an essential commodity to everyone who needs it, then the industry's record is less than encouraging. Around the world, cities with private water-management companies have been plagued by lapses in service, soaring costs, and corruption. In Manila — where the water system is controlled by Suez, San Francisco-based Bechtel, and the prominent Ayala family — water is only reliably available for two hours a day and rates have increased so dramatically that the poorest families must choose each month between either paying for water or two days' worth of food. In the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, rate increases that followed privatization sparked rioting in 2000 that left six people dead. And in Atlanta, city officials are considering canceling United Water's contract as early as this winter.
"Atlanta was going to be the industry's shining example of how great privatization is," says Public Citizen's Jackson. "And now it's turned into our shining example about how it maybe isn't so great an idea after all."
On a cloudy August day that brought a welcome bit of drizzle to drought-parched Atlanta, Mayor Shirley Franklin lugged a seven-pound bound volume off a shelf and heaved it onto a table in her office. The report, prepared by a committee she appointed shortly after taking office last January, contained the city's case against United Water. It detailed violations of federal drinking-water standards, including one instance in which levels of chlorine rose to six times the level the company agreed to in its contract.
The report also listed a string of maintenance problems ranging from broken security cameras and gates to open manholes and water-main leaks that went unrepaired for weeks. Some residents had to wait months for basic repairs, even though the company's contract specifies that some repairs must be made within 15 days. In fact, United failed to complete more than half of all required repairs in 2001, and it allowed rust and debris to build up, so that when the boil-water alerts forced the company to flush the system, brown water flowed from the taps.
Finally, the report noted, instead of improving collections of unpaid water bills as promised, United actually allowed collection rates to drop from 98 to 94 percent, costing the city millions of dollars.
United has succeeded at one thing, according to the city: cutting its own oper-ating costs, chiefly by reducing the water- works staff by 25 percent even as demand for water in burgeoning Atlanta keeps rising. Staff reductions were partly responsible for the company's service troubles, the report indicated, as were higher-than-expected repair expenses: Last year United demanded that the city provide an additional $80 million for unanticipated maintenance costs. The increase was blocked when a lone City Council member refused to sign the revised contract.
In mid-August, Mayor Franklin announced that "United Water has not lived up to its responsibility" and formally notified the company that it had 90 days to fix the problems or the city would terminate its contract. "They keep telling me they are part of a world-class corporation that can bring us world-class service," she says, offering a small smile. "So I'm giving them a chance to prove it." United has offered to spend $1 million on outside inspectors to reassure city officials that it isn't, as Franklin puts it, "cutting any corners."
It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. In 1998, when Atlanta's City Council voted to contract out its water filtration and delivery system, city officials insisted that corporate management would stave off a budget crisis and drastic rate increases, and would lower costs by more than 40 percent while improving service. (Franklin herself, then a management consultant, lobbied for one of the companies bidding on the contract.) It was the largest water-privatization program ever attempted in the United States and was expected to prompt a wave of similar contracts around the country.
Water privatization has been gaining steam since the early 1990s, when market advocates began touting it as the next logical step after deregulating electricity. Many city waterworks that were built or expanded in the 1970s are now decaying, and the cost of needed repairs is staggering. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that U.S. cities will have to spend nearly $151 billion to upgrade or replace pipes, filters, storage tanks, and other infrastructure over the next two decades. Cities will have to spend an additional $460 billion on sewage systems — another area where the corporate water giants are making inroads.
The prospect of skyrocketing infrastructure costs prompted U.S. officials to look overseas, where privatization is already a booming business. Multinational companies now run water systems for 7 percent of the world's population, and analysts say that figure could more than double, to 17 percent, by 2015. Private water management is estimated to be a $200 billion business, and the World Bank — which has encouraged governments to sell off their utilities to reduce public debt — projects it could reach $1 trillion by 2021. Fortune has called water "one of the world's great business opportunities," noting that it "promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th."
The biggest contenders for this emerging market are Suez, a corporate descendant of the company that built the Suez Canal, and the media conglomerate Vivendi Universal, which owns the USA network and Universal Studios. Together, the two companies now control about 70 percent of the world's private water-delivery systems and take in a combined $60 billion in revenues. Both have spent billions in recent years expanding in the United States: In 1999, Suez bought United Water for $1 billion, and Vivendi acquired the then-largest American company, U.S. Filter, for more than $6 billion. RWE/Thames Water, a German/British conglomerate, is currently completing its merger with the biggest remaining domestic company, American Water Works.
The water companies have been expanding even more dramatically in the developing world, where antiquated, often colonial-era, water systems are no match for rapidly increasing populations. More than 1 billion people lack access to clean drinking water, notes Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security; a recent report he co-authored points out that "half the world's people fail to receive the level of water services available in many of the cities of ancient Greece and Rome."
Yet corporate water's record in fixing those problems — or even maintaining the industrialized world's systems — has been mixed at best. In 1989 Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pushed through a program to privatize the United Kingdom's water supply; costs to consumers soared over the following decade, despite billions in government subsidies to the water companies. In some cities, water bills rose by as much as 141 percent in the '90s, while thousands of public-sector jobs were lost. Even the conservative Daily Mail declared that "Britain's top ten water companies have been able to use their position as monopoly suppliers to pull off the greatest act of licensed robbery in our history."
Last year the Ghanaian government agreed to privatize local water systems as a condition for an International Monetary Fund loan. To attract investors, the government doubled water rates, setting off protests in a country where the average annual income is less than $400 a year and the water bill — for those fortunate enough to have running water — can run upwards of $110.
In Bolivia's third-largest city, Cochabamba, water rates shot up 35 percent after a consortium led by Bechtel took over the city's water system in 1999; some residents found themselves paying 20 percent of their income for water. Street protests led to riots in which six people were killed; eventually, the Bolivian government voided Bechtel's contract and told company officials it could not guarantee their safety if they stayed
in town.
Privatization has also spawned protests and, in some cases, dominated elections in several other countries, including Paraguay — where police last summer turned water
cannons on anti-privatization protesters — Panama, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, India, Pakistan, Hungary, and South Africa (see "South Africa's Driest Season," page 38). Here in the United States, some municipalities that initially jumped on the privatization bandwagon are now having second thoughts. In Milwaukee, which turned its sewage system over to United Water in 1998, an audit released in July found that a sewer tunnel was dumping raw sewage into local waterways, including Lake Michigan. Vivendi managed Puerto Rico's water and waste-water treatment for seven years, but after a territorial commission cited inaccurate billing and poor maintenance this year, its contract wasn't renewed.
Companies scrambling for lucrative municipal water contracts have also been caught up in corruption scandals. In June, Katherine Maraldo, a New Orleans Sewer and Water Board member, and Michael Stump, the former president of Professional Services Group, which ran the city's wastewater system, were convicted on bribery charges. PSG is now part of Vivendi, which is bidding to take over New Orleans' drinking-water system. And in 2001, two associates of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayor Joseph Ganim pled guilty to racketeering, mail fraud, and falsifying tax returns in connection with a $806,000 payment from PSG, which was negotiating for the city's $183 million water contract.
Such incidents point to a fundamental problem with allowing private companies to take over public water systems, says the Pacific Institute's Gleick. In attempting to make attractive bids for long-term contracts, companies often underestimate the cost of maintaining a water system, and so are forced to either skimp on staffing or demand more money to keep turning a profit. "At least when you have public utilities, the money they take in stays in the community," Gleick says. "With the private companies, the profits are going to go out of your community, out of your state, and probably out of your country."
Nevertheless, Troy Henry, the southern regional manager of United Water, is convinced that private water providers can do a better job than public utilities. He readily admits that his company and Atlanta city managers have had problems "dealing with the complexities of the system" in Atlanta and says the company is spending "multiple millions of dollars [to] win back the citizens' and mayor's confidence." A biomedical and electrical engineer and former manager at IBM, Henry argues that private companies can do for water delivery what Big Blue did for computing — revolutionize technology and attract "the best and the brightest and most talented people."
Perhaps Henry can mend fences in Atlanta, which he insists is United Water's — and corporate parent Suez's — "No. 1 priority." But Clair Muller, chair of the City Council's utility committee, contends that even if United Water ends up saving its Atlanta contract, it will merely have proved that privatization can work only under tight city supervision. And if tight supervision is possible, why privatize? "If government is run correctly — and that's always a big if — there's no profit motive," she says. "So if this is about saving money, we should always be able to do it cheaper."
In the end, the debate is about more than money. Taking responsibility for a community's water, Muller argues, is simply not the same as running a sports stadium or a cable franchise. "Water is the worst thing to privatize," she says. "It's what we need to live. I think that's key to the whole debate — are we going to lose control over functions that are essential to life?"


text:
The National Student > Environment
Will the release of the Planetary Health Diet really make a difference?
Matilda Martin at York, University of
A Planetary Health Diet has been released following the EAT-Lancet Commission, outlining the necessary changes that need to be made to the way we produce and consume our food.
The changes would see a huge increase in the consumption of vegetables and nuts, whilst "consumption of foods such as red meat and sugar will have to be reduced by more than 50%".
Image Credit: Jerzy Górecki on Pixabay
It's not news to any of us that our current diets are slowly killing the planet. We as a society have become reliant on the results of mass production, expecting to find the exact product we want when we walk into the supermarket. But this way of life is unsustainable, and will cause irreversible damage to our planet if radical changes are not made soon. The report highlighted that up until now, 'the absence of globally agreed scientific targets for healthy diets and sustainable food production has hindered large-scale and coordinated efforts to transform the global food system'. But will this report really make a difference?
According to PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), 'globally, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world's transportation systems combined'. They attributed such impacts to 'water use... pollution... land use' and effects on the ocean.
According to PETA, of 'all agricultural land in the US, 87 percent is used to raise animals for food'/Image Credit :Ryan McGuire on Pixabay
In 2014, The Guardian published an article which claimed that 'giving up beef [would] reduce carbon footprint more than cars'. This study, conducted by a number of scientists and published in the journal Climatic Change, concluded that the carbon dioxide emissions per day of vegetarian eaters was almost half of those emissions produced by those with a heavy-meat diet.
As well as addressing the benefits a change in diet could have on the environment, the commission also hopes that such changes could help reduce the number of people around the world who suffer from malnutrition. The report states that '"more than 820 million people still lack sufficient food". As such, the report found an "inextricable link between human health and environmental sustainability".
For many, the effects of climate change have already been felt, with the International Red Cross estimating that '"there are more environmental refugees than political refugees". This is the result of either drought or flooding, both extremes of which have been exacerbated by global warming.
Greta Thunberg joins The 1975 on their new album
Recycling your make-up: why being beautiful doesn't have to cost the earth
Reforestation is critical to tackling climate change, research shows
Climate Refugees demonstrate for their Rehabilitation in Khulna, Bangladesh./ Image Credit: The World Wants a Real Deal on Flickr.
In 2013, The Guardian reported that "low-income countries will remain on the frontline of human-induced climate change over the next century". It seems so wrong that third world countries will be the ones to suffer first, or even at all, at the hands of an issue of which the majority of blame lies with the unsustainable practices of the West. To read more about this issue, click here.
Professor Walter Willett claims in the report that "a diet rich in plant-based foods and with fewer animal source foods confers both improved health and environmental benefits".
Despite certain guidelines being set out to achieve these changes, the report does admit that the details will vary as many people around the world rely on protein sourced from animals, as well as many populations still suffering from malnutrition. As a result of this, the report admits that "the role of animal source foods in people's diets must be carefully considered in each context and within local and regional realities."
As well assustainablee diets, the report tackled the issue of sustainable food production, with "global food production...constitut[ing] [as] the single largest driver of environmental degredation and transgression of planetary boundaries."
As well as this, the report highlights 'Five Strategies for a Great Food Transformation'. These include: 'Strategy 1: seek international and national commitment to shift towards healthy diets. Strategy 2: reorient agricultural priorities from producing high quantities of food to producing healthy food. Strategy 3: sustainably intensify food production to increase high-quality output. Strategy 4: strong and coordinated governance of land and oceans. Strategy 5: at least halve food losses and waste, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals'.
You can see more details of the report here.
Although this may seem like a breakthrough, it only confirms what we have known for decades. Our way of life, the way we produce and consume our food, is not sustainable. If we continue to live in such a destructive and damaging way, the effects on the environment will eventually become irreversible. The big question is: what will our governments do with this information? Judging from how little they have done up until now, my guess is nothing.
Lead Image: Konstantin Kolosov on Pixabay
Just how close are we to incorporating insects into our diet?
Our illustrator's take on Boris Johnson and the Heathrow expansion
Meet Birdgirl, the 17-year-old campaigning for equality in environmental activism
ENDANGERED: Antarctica
De Montfort University has planted 1,000 trees
The National Trust announces plans to sell fossil fuel shares
Keeping up with climate change: animals are falling behind
Interview: The Pipettes
Interview: Jawbone: Play Dang Blues
Interview: Forward Russia
Interview: Ash
Interview: Battles
Interview: Akala
Interview: The Grates
Interview: Napoleon IIIrd


While you were looking down at your iPhone playing Angry Birds, here's what you missed in the Texas sky during the month of April 2014.
A boomerang (or V or triangle) shaped craft has been spotted all over the Lone Star State. Meanwhile, a few UFOs left power outages in their wake.
Going forward, Texas UFO Sightings will feature a weekly recap of all the latest Texas UFO sightings, including sightings not featured in a big fancy blog spot. However, the site is currently sitting on a ginormous backlog of reports and so we'll unload those onto you gradually with a group of monthly "catch up" posts.
Burleson (Fort Worth area): Funky saucer-shaped cloud photographed (photo).
Lake Palestine (near Tyler): Two UFOs behaving differently spotted and reported to TUS: "it came to a stop a few minutes after the first slower one and lower altitude UFO stopped. It was so bright it looked like the sun was shining on it."
Universal City (San Antonio area): Star-like object changes into triangle and speed away.
Lago Vista (Austin area): Flashes and beams of lights in strange patterns.
Austin: Lights travel in V formation.
Justin (near Texas Motor Speedway, Dallas area): Collection of red lights then joined by a variety of objects, including disc shaped. Video exists but as of yet is unavailable.
Houston & Longview area: Very fast fireball.
Round Rock: Boomerang shaped "cloud" spotted.
Allen (Dallas area): Family out grilling see two strange star-like objects in sky, and report it to TUS: "Then one of them split off and moved northeast and was now to the left of the moon. We all watched it do this and then it just light up for about 3 seconds and faded back out."
San Antonio: TUS reader reports seeing a strange circular object hovering over him and seeming to beckon him after a fall from a skateboard.
Paige (Austin area): Black disc flying through air accidentally caught on camera (photo).
Frisco (Dallas area): 3 green and red lights reported to TUS: ""they started to blink and move. the lights then disappeared"
San Antonio: Loud booming sounds heard, but likely caused by a fireworks show.
Shepherd (north of Houston): Silver object hovering.
Austin, Temple, and Dallas: Variety of strange lights and UFOs - in V formation and flying solo - spotted near Blood Moon eclipse (photos). In the Cuero area of Texas (Yorktown), photos of a strange light zooming and morphing around were taken.
Morgan's Point Resort (near Temple): Silver cigar shaped object, flying higher and faster than a typical aircraft.
The Colony (Dallas area): Blue light darting around night sky... Link with video coming soon.
Austin: Triangle craft glides and then hovers over onlookers (video). TUS also received several reports confirming this sighting.
Georgetown: Strange object reported to TUS: ""It had no lights on and looked like a picture when an editor puts pix-elation to hide something. It made no sound. It had to be traveling from 300-400 miles per hour."
Los Fresnos (South Texas): Pulsating triangle light along with annoying buzz.
Austin: Ghostly V-shaped craft spotted by couple, reported to TUS: "when I say ghostly it was more transparent white I thought and had a v shape. approxamitly * to 10 feet in length and made no noise"
Abilene area: Boomerang shaped light flying through clouds (photos).
San Antonio: Lights form triangle or triangle craft hovers (video).
San Antonio: Green light and then loud boom, possibly a meteor.
Burleson (Fort Worth area): Silent boomerang shaped craft spotted.
Spring (Houston area): Silent craft making "impossible" maneuvers reported to TUS: ""3 red lights in a triangle shape flying in a random path, making unpredictable turns."
Denton (Dallas area): White-blue light appears out of nowhere and then disappears, following that there is a loud boom and the electricity goes off.
Mount Enterprise/Shelbyville (East Texas): Ghostly outline of craft witnessed in Mount Enterprise. Barely glowing boomerang or triangle shaped object witnessed in nearby Shelbyville.
Midland (West Texas): Star-like objects moving and then hovering.
Pasadena (Houston area): Multiple lights traveling in multiple directions -- multiple witnesses, too!
Hurst (Dallas area): Strange craft with small lights hovering silently reported to TUS: ""the fireball was a center light and it had smaller lights on either side. It just hovered there seemingly soundless. I was pretty shocked and frightened to be honest"
Austin: Fiery light traveling through sky (video).
San Antonio: UFOs show up in accidental photos of billboard (photos).
San Antonio: Triangle shaped craft.
Plano: Red orb traveling slower than plane reported to TUS.
Uvalde (west of San Antonio): Orange lights in V formation reported to TUS.
In a circular motion everything was as if I was standing alone no sound not even the secadas or crickets that are in aboundonce in lytle tx this time of year I was not scared or emotional affected by this sighting I was in agh.. I could not believe I was actually seeing wut everyone else claims to see. It was impressive and mind blowing to say the least it an experience I'll never forget and it's even more radiant than I every could have imagined.


Trolli & Deadpool 2 Collaboration. Sour Brite Tiny Hands!
Trolli Sour Brite Tiny Hands–yep, you heard us right. Trolli morphed their delicious sour gummy candy in to the shape of Deadpool's Tiny Hands and created three awesome new flavour combinations: Pineapple-Mango, Blueberry-Lime and Strawberry-Berry Punch.
"When Trolli approached me about recreating one of my body parts as a tasty morsel, my hand wasn't what I had in mind. I was thinking something bigger and dirtier - my brain. But they said the size could be a choking hazard. So instead I just gave them a hand, literally." - Deadpool.
Corn Syrup, Sugar, Gelatine, Modified Corn Starch, Acidity Regulators (E297, Citric Acid, E331, E327), Lactic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavour, Colours (E171, E102, E127, E133, E129, E110).
Warnings: May contain milk, egg, almond, coconut, peanuts, and soy. E102, E110, and E129 may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.


Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe – Million dollar pound cake made with silky smooth sweet potatoes and topped with a spiced brown butter glaze. Sweet potato dessert to the max!
Sweet potatoes were an extremely important food throughout my childhood. My mom made sweet potato pie for every Thanksgiving, and now that I'm an adult, I have fallen in love with the super tasty spud. I eat a baked sweet potato for dessert on a regular, especially during the fall months. So, I'm no stranger to sweet potato dessert. This Sweet Potato Pound Cake recipe comes from my love of eating sweet potatoes as a dessert.
I didn't grow up with a sweet potato pound cake recipe, but this recipe is inspired by all the Southern desserts I was raised on (Sweet Potato Pie, Caramel Cake, 7 Up Pound Cake, Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting). I developed this sweet potato pound cake recipe using the pound cake recipes I grew up on (Cream Cheese Pound Cake and Million Dollar Pound Cake) and created something new but still a quintessential Southern dessert; one of the best Southern desserts I've ever made!
I am beyond honored to be featured on Design Sponge in their "In The Kitchen With.." series this week. There are a few iconic websites that I adore and have adored for years. Design Sponge is definitely one of them so this is a very cool moment indeed. Because pound cake was the first recipe I ever learned to bake, this sweet potato pound cake recipe is quite a special one for me. It brings together my fondness of pound cake and also my love and history with sweet potatoes, which were such a big part of my upbringing.
You can find the full Sweet Potato Pound Cake recipe and the gorgeous images of my pound cake by Kristina Gill HERE. Thank you once again Design Sponge. I can't wait to share again!
Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe - Million dollar pound cake made with silky smooth sweet potatoes and topped with a spiced brown butter glaze. Sweet potato dessert to the max!
To the bowl of your mixer, add butter, both sugars and sweet potato. Cream ingredients on high until fluffy and smooth, about 4-5 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time into the mixture.
Next turn mixer speed to slow and slowly add in cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg, beating after each addition.
Lastly, add in vanilla extract and beat on slow speed until mixture is smooth.
Spray loaf pan with non-stick baking spray and pour cake batter into pan.
Begin checking the cake to see if it is done after 35 minutes. Bake for 35-50 minutes, some ovens may take longer. The cake is done when a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. After ten minutes, gently remove cake from its pan and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze, add butter to a small saucepan and carefully melt over medium low heat on your stovetop. Continue to watch until the butter turns a golden brown color and the smell is sort of nutty. Once butter gets to this point, quickly remove and whisk in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and milk until mixture is smooth and pourable.
Drizzle glaze over completely cooled cake and serve.
How do you roast your sweet potato for this recipe? My girlfriend and I have differing ideas of how to start this recipe!
I actually add it to an oven and bake it for about an hour. Making sure to oil it, pierce it and then cover it in foil.
I never would have thought of using sweet potato in cakes! This pound cake looks so delicious – moist, fluffy and I love how easy it is to make.
I didn't see liquid in this recipe. Is that correct.
Wow. I have never seen ANYTHING like this! And I want it, like…now! 🙂 Congrats on the D.S. feature!!!
Thank you so much Averie!!
You are all kinds of awesome, lady!! CONGRATS on the feature!! I looooove Design Sponge!
I hope you enjoy Baby June!
Woohoo! Congrats, Jocelyn! This pound cake looks phenomenal! With a spiced brown butter glaze? Oh yes!
Congrats Jocelyn! Will go and click over – this pound cake looks delicious.
I pretty much have no words. This is gorgeous! And it sounds beyond delicious!
Thank you so much my dear! Love ya lots!
Congratulations! This pound cake looks divine. Sweet potato just brings it to a new level.


(iii) Phanerozoic terranes in British Columbia, Newfoundland, Portugal, Wales, Alaska and the Philippines.
In recent years Ore Systems Consulting has also applied this integrated approach to gold deposits in Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec and Saudi Arabia.
We have produced more than 50 reports for the mining exploration industry. Our objectives are to provide detailed documentation and factually-based interpretations of volcanic-hosted base metal and gold deposits in order to solve geological problems and assist in target generation.


In this lesson you'll learn to order drinks in a café. In addition to building your vocabulary for common drinks in French, you'll also learn the structures used to ask for things. You'll quickly find how easy it is to reuse these structures in other situations, and before long you'll be ready to order a coffee, a mineral water and lots more!
Problem burning Lesson 15 to a CD.
I have downloaded Lessons 1-15 and I'm burning them to CD's to play in my car. (Lesson 10 in not available for some reason.) They all burn ok except Lesson 15 which plays at a very slow speed. I've downloaded it again, burned it to different media but all of them keep playing back at about 1/4 speed.
Anyone have any thoughts as to why this is happening. Also, can lesson 10 be made available? Thanks.
Second request! Last week I sent a query as to why I cannot access bonus materials after paying for a three month subscription. I have not had an answer. If you are going to charge for bonus materials, they should be available.
Al: Not sure why this is the case – sounds very strange as the file was recorded in exactly the same way to the other files. Also, lesson 10 is available in the main feed as far as I'm aware.
Steve: We didn't receive your query unfortunately – I've searched through the email archive. We sent out the activation codes immediately when you signed up I've emailed you again with these codes. Can I suggest that you add mark [at] radiolingua.com and sales [at] radiolingua.com to your address book which should help to avoid any spam problems.
The links are no longer working…. will this be fixed soon?
Today more words I learned.merci.
These are absolutely brilliant. Although not everything has stuck in my head, a lot more has than with any other French course I've tried. I can ask how someone is and reply, I can ask for directions, I can ask for orange juice, or coffee, or coffee with milk, I can ask what someone works as and reply, I can ask for direction and understand basic answers, and I can explain where I'm from and ask where someone else is from.


Dr Keene founded SportsmedSA and is one of, if not, the most experienced knee surgeons in Australia and beyond. He has performed more than 35,000 procedures.
Dr Keene's patients typically have sports injuries, age-related or degenerative osteoarthritis of the hip and knee, and geographically are within Adelaide and Darwin.
The purpose if the website is to position Dr Keene as a leader in knee surgery.
The website needs to fulfill prospective patients concerns that they offer a complete managed service from consultation & diagnosis, suitable treatment and a full care programs.
While a senior surgeon, the website needs to portray a contemporary, confident and professional so younger patients are attracted to his service also.
The website design is for information and marketing so it needs to help convert local patients looking for safe hands in treating knee problems.


with this amazing frosting while I was visiting.
They were so good that I seriously couldn't stop eating them!
Want to impress someone or just treat yourself? Try this.
1. Bring cream to almost boiling....but don't boil it!
pour over the chocolate chips and stir until chips are melted and well blended.
Thanks, Mrs. Bonnie, for sharing!
Beautiful, simple, and thinking of this frosting has left my mouth watering!


My idea of Christmas, whether old- fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?
Until you've seen them, you have no conception of their courage.


Ilse's artwork are very known among the arts circle where some of her earlier works were seen through the 24 etchings of selected historical Malaysian buildings in the 1987 Shell Companies Malaysia's calendar. The artwork was then published in the 'Warisan Nusa Shell Book of Malaysian Heritage' 4 years later while she was also commissioned to etch the Istana Bandar of Selangor by the Sultan of Selangro in 1992.
Her first solo exhibition was held at her hometown Wipperfuerth at the City Hall as well as the Schloss Museum in Hueckeswagen. In 1987, she would hold an exhibition at the National Art Gallery while she would then hold another one 2 years later at the Bonn's Galerie der Kunstbeutel in Germany. Other solo exhibitions that Ilse has been involved in include Gallery WAN & Goethe Institut, Gallery Taksu as well as at the Petronas Gallery.
Apart from that, Ilse has also been involved with group exhibitions where her works have been showcased in shows like the Annual Show at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, the Children's Picture Book Exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, the Three Artists show at Gallery 6, Kuala Lumpur, the 3rd Biennial of Visual Arts 92 in Seychelles, the III International Print Triennial Chamelieres at the Museum Of Gravure in Amadora, Portugal and many more.


Cypress Apartments such as Club at Copperleaf offer residents easy access to major highways making for a short commute to downtown Houston, Galleria Mall shopping, and fine dining. What's most appealing about Cypress apartments is the excellent Cypress Fairbanks School District. Customers who searched Cypress, Texas apartments also expressed interest in Houston Jersey Village Apartments.