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HOME : Chinese Art : Neolithic Era : Neolithic Terracotta Vessel
Neolithic Terracotta Vessel - H.883
Dimensions: 5.5" (14.0cm) high
Collection: Chinese
Many thousands of years ago, our earliest ancestors were nomadic tribes that survived by foraging the wild for food and shelter. During the Neolithic era, human groups first began to settle down permanently, establishing villages and communities. However, without new technological innovations, this sedentary culture would not have been possible. Foremost among these discoveries were agriculture and tool-making, both of which enabled humans to transform their natural environment into a sustainable society. Many thousands of years ago, the area presently covered by modern China was made up of distinct regions each with their own unique cultural identity. Archaeologists have been able to discern some of these cultures from each other based upon the burial styles, architecture, and pottery, perhaps the most immediate remnant of this age.
When Neolithic mankind began to settle in areas further removed from sources of water, transportation of this vital fluid became a foremost necessity. After unsuccessful attempts to create water resistant vessel from wicker baskets caked in mud, pottery was invented. The creation of pottery in China dates back as early as 6000 B.C. when villagers first realized that the earth around fires became hard and impervious to liquid. From this realization came the birth of pottery, fulfilling the practical necessity of water transportation and allowing civilization to expand. While pottery was created to answer a need, it soon progressed to be more than functional: it was also beautiful. While Neolithic vessels would have been used to carry water or to store grains, they are also spectacular artistic creations.
While pottery was created to answer a need, it soon progressed to be more than functional: it was also beautiful. While this large, unadorned Neolithic vessel would have been used to carry water or other precious liquids, it is also the creation of an artist with a trained eye. The form of the work, built up from coiled clay, is elegant and refined. The gentle curves of the belly slope upwards into a wide neck and flaring concave rim. A rope would have once been inserted through the two handles, facilitating transportation. While other Neolithic vessels are covered in painted geometric patterns, this pot is left unadorned, allowing the orange hue of the earthenware to speak for itself. Furthermore, the lack of decoration focuses out attention of the form of the vessel. From this simple pot and others like it began the great tradition of ceramics in China, an art form that this country would become famous for. - (H.883)


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Jordan Township is a civil township of Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 992 at the 2010 census.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which  is land and , or 0.41%, is water.

Communities
Chestonia  was a town that once stood near the present-day junction of M-66 and East Old State Road. The town was founded when the Detroit and Charlevoix Railroad built a station at the town site. A post office was built near the depot and continued to operate until the 1960s. Today, Chestonia is but a ghost of its former self. No structures from the original town still stand, and the railroad grade is barely noticeable through the overgrowth of trees and weeds.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 875 people, 323 households, and 240 families residing in the township.  The population density was 24.8 per square mile (9.6/km2).  There were 433 housing units at an average density of 12.3 per square mile (4.7/km2).  The racial makeup of the township was 96.00% White, 0.11% African American, 1.83% Native American, 0.69% Pacific Islander, and 1.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.14% of the population.

There were 323 households, out of which 36.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the township the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.2 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $38,229, and the median income for a family was $41,250. Males had a median income of $29,886 versus $18,875 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,420.  About 10.6% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links
Jordan Township official website

Townships in Antrim County, Michigan
Townships in Michigan

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Khartoum regime continues to arrest, detain, and torture those who press effectively for human rights and reform in Sudan: Mudawi Ibrahim
6 January 2017 | Top News | Author: ereeves | 247 words
RADIO DABANGA: Sudan security stops vigil for detained activist (January 6, 2017 | KHARTOUM) https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/sudan-security-stops-vigil-for-detained-activist
Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, the detained Professor of Engineering at the University of Khartoum and human rights defender
A vigil carried out by the families and supporters of detainees in front of the headquarters of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) in Khartoum was dispersed by the same security forces on Thursday morning.
The protesters demanded the release of prominent human rights activist Dr. Mudawi Ibrahim, his chauffeur Adam El Sheikh and his accountant Nora Obeid, who have been held incommunicado at the NISS headquarters since 7 December 2016. Charges against them are unknown.
Ibrahim's wife, journalist Sabah Mohamed Adam, told Radio Dabanga yesterday that the vigil had lasted for ten minutes when security agents broke up the gathering. "They used force to break us up and tore up the banners, which carried slogangs to demand Mudawi's release. "Their families have not been allowed to visit them and aren't informed about the reasons of their detention."
After the vigil Mohamed Adam submitted a memorandum to the Sudanese Commission on Human Rights about the arrest of her husband. The memo states that the commission has a week to respond before the demonstration against the detention "escalate." "I'm concerned about his health in detention and that he might be tortured."

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Home Politics Single-use plastics phased out in public sector as of Feb. 1, ministry...
Single-use plastics phased out in public sector as of Feb. 1, ministry says
The procurement of single-use plastics will be banned in the public sector as of February 1, 2021, Natural Environment and Waters Secretary General Constantine Aravossis said on Wednesday, in a memo to all state agencies.
The regulation voted by Parliament in October calls for an end to the procurement of 10 specific types of single-use plastics, in line with EU directives.
According to the Environment and Energy Ministry, the public administration ban "is the first significant step toward ending the use of disposable plastics in Greece, expected to be fully implemented as of July 3, 2021."
The February 1 regulation puts an end to purchase orders by state agencies for the following: plastic cutlery, plates, straws and drink stirrers; styrofoam food and drink containers and their lids; and all materials made of non-biodegradable plastic.
The ministry clarified that the above rule does not apply to plastics of state contracts already in process, i.e. prior to February 1.


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BAKEWELL/MATLOCK: G&S Society draft in the Home Guard for Patience
Those masters of reinvention are preparing to unveil their new take on a classic musical creation.
Tuesday, 11th June 2013, 11:00 am
Nic Wilson as Colonel Calverley with the Home Guard platoon in Matlock G & S Society's production of Patience
Matlock Gilbert and Sullivan Society has already worked its magic on The Mikado, which it set in a nightclub, Iolanthe in which the traditional fairies became militant members of the WI and The Gondoliers where the punting boatmen were promoted to cruise ship officers.
Ten years after their production of Patience was set in the world of interior designers, the company have now pitched it against the Second World War, complete with Home Guard.
This week's production at the Medway Centre, which runs from June 20 to 22, is dedicated to the memory of founder member Christine Gilman, who played Patience first time around and who lost her life in a car crash earlier this year.
Performances start at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £10; to book, call Carole Pilkington on 01246 207893 or the venue on 01629 813638.
To read more about this production, see this week's Derbyshire Times out on Thursday, June 13, 2013.
10 memorable photos to take you back to Chesterfield in 2007
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Former Bolsover MP Dennis Skinner inspires new play
Comedies galore at Chesterfield Pomegranate in Rumpus Theatre Company and Tabs Productions spring season of plays
Looking back at Chesterfield's Scarsdale Hospital down the years


Enquire for a fast quote from Advanced Physiotherapy Centre - Herne Hill Centre.
A comprehensive range of physiotherapy services to relive the pain and restore the function of patients suffering from sports injuries and painful musculoskeletal conditions are offered by a skilled team of chartered physiotherapists at this clinic located at herne Hill, within Brockwell Lido. The team aims to treat the underlying cause of problems rather than immediate symptoms to prevent their recurrence. All services are explained to patients before they are performed by the caring team. Services include manual physiotherapy, post injury and post operative rehabilitation, massage therapy, exercise therapy, electrotherapy, taping, strapping, orthopaedic support and acupuncture.
Emma graduated from Kings College London in 2004 with an MSc Physiotherapy. Since specialising in musculoskeletal physiotherapy she has worked as a senior physiotherapist in both the private sector and in one of London's top teaching hospitals.
Working as a senior physiotherapist involves advanced treatment of a range of acute and chronic conditions including joint and spinal problems, sport related injuries and post-op orthopaedic and spinal rehabilitation.
Emma has undertaken extensive specialist post graduate training in musculo-skeletal physiotherapy including Women's Health Physiotherapy. Emma is accredited by the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Women's Health and this allows Emma to treat those who suffer from pregnancy related musculoskeletal problems as well as women suffering bladder and pelvic floor problems. This treatment covers both antenatal and postnatal problems associated with pregnancy and/or childbirth in addition to gynaecological problems such as stress urinary incontinence, overactive bladder and pelvic organ prolapse.
The post-graduate training undertaken by Emma in conjunction with extensive clinical experience results in the provision of a holistic approach to treatment and rehabilitation.
Emma also holds the distinction of having research and case studies published in the Clinical Biomechanics Journal and the Acupuncture in Medicine Journal.
BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy Musculoskeletal & Sports Physiotherapist MCSP & HCPC registered Physiotherapist Adam graduated in 2006 from the University of the West of England with a BSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy. He currently works within the NHS as an extended scope practitioner physiotherapist working with clients with acute and chronic conditions. He also has extensive experience in the management of sporting injuries having worked for Torquay Utd FC and Tabard rugby club and consequently has experience working with clients of varying sporting abilities. He is a member of the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists (AACP). In his spare time, Adam enjoys keeping fit. He plays football and is a keen runner having completed several marathons.


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Another terrorist PYD/PKK tunnel uncovered in Syria
Tunnel in village of Qestel Cindo was the scene of a firefight in which 2 terrorists were killed
By Said Ibicioglu and Omer Koparan
AZAZ, Syria (AA) – Turkish and Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces have uncovered a terrorist PYD/PKK tunnel six meters (19.6 feet) below a building in a liberated village in Afrin, northwestern Syria.
On Sunday, day nine of the operation, Turkish and FSA forces liberated the village of Qestel Cindo, located south of Mt. Bursaya, according to the FSA sources.
The tunnel was reportedly 50 m long (164 ft.) under a two-story-building, dug toward Aleppo's district of Azaz, according to military sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
A FSA commander told Anadolu Agency that clashes broke out with four terrorists a short while after forces entered the tunnel, and that two of the terrorists were killed.
Four meters (13 ft.) below the same village the forces earlier found a tunnel network reportedly used by terrorists as shelter against counter-terrorist fire.
On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.
According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey's borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.
The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey's rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.
The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and that "utmost importance and sensitivity" is being put on avoiding harming civilians.
Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012, when the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without a fight.
Tags: Afrin, Free Syrian Army (FSA), PKK/PYD, Qestel Cindo, Syria


A Sexual Harassment Policy is not enough. Join the MBA for a discussion focused on practical advice on preventing sexual harassment in the workplace including real world guidance on addressing harassment, responding to complaints, imposing discipline and avoiding claims of retaliation. Our speakers are Anthony Kuchulis, a partner at Barran Liebman LLP and experienced management side employment litigation attorney, and Elizabeth Semler, a partner at Sussman Shank LLP and head of the firm's employment group.


We offer a range of ways you can speak directly to one of our consultants to work through specific digital topics, along with one-to-one training for you or a member of a team.
We will tailor the training and mentoring to your needs on a range of individual topics. These can be done either as an in-person workshop or a webinar.
Improving the effectiveness of your organic social media activity.
Digital analytics and metrics. including Google Analytics.
You might need guidance over the lifetime of a digital project - so we can further mentor you throughout this process.
The workshop Katie delivered was just what we needed – a focused, practical, hands-on guide to social media marketing, delivered by an expert in her field. The format was also flexible enough to talk about our own particular needs/situation which was really useful. We left inspired, with a good sense of what we needed to do to make our digital marketing efforts more effective.


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Mubadala signs deal with Egypt for Red Sea tract
Equinor sells operatorship stake in Bressay oil field to UK's EnQuest
Oil prices slip following rise in US crude inventories
Covid-19 Oil & Gas Influencers trends: Covid-19 leads Twitter mentions in Q4 2020
Everything you need to know about Romania's oil and gas industry
The Norwegian oil and gas projects pulling in investment
Brulpadda and Luiperd have potential to spark an energy transformation in South Africa
Marubeni mulling to divest oil and gas fields in UK North Sea
Canadian oil firms Cenovus and Husky Energy complete merger
Diamondback Energy signs deal to acquire QEP Resources for $2.2bn
Pilgrim International
Detail Design Inc.
Embattled and embrittled: how the offshore industry is tackling hydrogen embrittlement
The future of Venezuela's oil & gas sector: in the new issue of Offshore Technology Focus
In this issue: What government upheaval in Venezuela will mean for oil and gas business, a new exploration drive in Ireland, Shell's real-time environmental impact assessment tool, Baker Hughes' new approach to subsea development, BP's Tamara Holmgren on women in oil & gas, and more.
Offshore Technology Focus is back with a new issue packed with industry insight. Read it here for free in the web browser of any device.
The Irish Offshore Operators' Association has published a report on the potential value of a domestic oil and gas industry to Ireland, putting the value at €11bn in tax revenues, as well as more than 1,500 jobs. We find out more about the benefits and challenges of developing Ireland's offshore sector.
We also look into the falling costs of offshore decommissioning, speak to Baker Hughes, a GE Company, about its new suite of subsea technologies, and consider how economic concerns and government upheaval in Venezuela are impacting the country's oil and gas industry.
Also in this issue, we chart the highs and lows of OPEC through an interactive timeline, hear from BP's Tamara Holmgren about encouraging more women to pursue careers in STEM and the oil and gas industry, and profile a new technology being used by Shell to gather real-time data to evaluate the impact of operations and environmental conditions of FPSOs.
Finally, we take a visual tour around Diamond Offshore's Ocean GreatWhite, the largest semi-submersible drilling rig in the world, which arrived at Kishorn Port in Scotland earlier this year.
If you would like to be notified when future issues of Offshore Techology Focus are available simply sign up for a free subscription.
IOOA's Patrick Shannon on plans to ramp up oil and gas exploration in Ireland
A report by the Irish Offshore Operators' Association (IOOA) and PwC claims the Irish offshore industry could deliver €11bn in tax revenues and create 1,500 jobs a year over a project's lifetime. Julian Turner talks to IOOA chairman Patrick Shannon about Ireland's oil and gas potential.
Read the interview.
Venezuela: a petrostate in peril
As humanitarian turmoil and political tensions continue in Venezuela, the country's oil industry is in near tatters, strangled by US sanctions and embroiled in a row with neighbouring Guyana. As sanctions continue to bite and the industry struggles to find new buyers, Heidi Vella considers what the future might hold.
Read the feature.
Good news: the falling costs of offshore decommissioning
Oil and Gas UK predicts that offshore decommissioning costs will run at around £1.5bn a year over the next decade – 20% lower than forecast in 2017 – good news for an industry that is reported to require more than £24bn in UK taxes for end of life costs in the coming years. Julian Turner reports.
Revamped Kishorn Port hosts an offshore titan
Diamond Offshore's Ocean GreatWhite, the largest semi-submersible drilling rig in the world, arrived at Kishorn Port in northwest Scotland in January. The arrival is a great success for the port, as Chris Lo finds out.
Take a look at our picture feature.
Talking rapid change and 'grey' lines in technology with BHGE
At this year's BHGE annual event, Energy Forward: What the Future Demands, BHGE vice president and CTO John Kerr spoke to Molly Lempriere about how the company's approach works and why this is important for a changing industry.
Real-time environmental impact assessment: a powerful tool for FPSOs
A consortium involving Shell is developing technology to gather real-time data to evaluate the impact of operations and environmental conditions of FPSOs. Molly Lempriere takes a look at how the technology could change the lifespans of platforms and protect their surroundings.
Read our tech profile.
Through time: the highs and lows of OPEC
Qatar's withdrawal from OPEC last year brought an end to its 57-year association with the world's most powerful oil oversight body, the latest disruption to hit an organisation that has dominated the global oil industry for over half a century. JP Casey tracks the highs and lows of OPEC.
Check out the timeline.
BP's Tamara Holmgren on women in oil and gas
Tamara Holmgren is BP's projects and modifications manager for the eastern hemisphere. A passionate advocate of women in the oil and gas industry, she was named the 2015 outstanding woman in oil and gas engineering by the European Women in Construction and Engineering awards. She spoke to Molly Lempriere about her career in oil and gas, and why more women should look for jobs in the industry.
Next issue preview
The Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office is preparing fresh criminal charges against Shell relating to $1.3bn deal in 2011 to buy drilling rights at offshore oil field OPL 245 in Nigeria. In light of these latest allegations, we look at this deal and Shells operations in the country.
We also look at the effect Total SA's recent major discovery will have on South Africa, investigate the motivations behind Norway's decision to divest its sovereign wealth fund from oil and gas and what Ineos' new investment will mean for the Forties Pipeline system.
The UK's Department for International Trade tells us how it's supporting businesses in the subsea and offshore sectors, we profile the start-ups chosen by the Oil & Gas Technology Centre under its TechX Pioneer Accelerator Programme and question whether more needs to be done to protect offshore rigs from underwater mudslides.
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GMB union ramps up the British Gas engineer strike


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HomeFootball ZoneProsecutors Came Up With New Decision On Robert Kraft's Human Trafficking Charges
Prosecutors Came Up With New Decision On Robert Kraft's Human Trafficking Charges
Patriots owner Robert Kraft is getting rid of some of the pressure he was dealing with these weeks. He was caught in the middle of a huge scandal, but it turns out that there isn't really a reason for him to be put into trial. Prosecutors did their best to win the case against Kraft and even humiliate him publicly with the pre-trial deal. However, they can't build a case on human trafficking. There was no such thing.
Prosecutors just admitted at a hearing about the Robert Kraft video they will not charge anyone at Orchids of Asia with human trafficking. Prosecutor: "we have no evidence that there's human trafficking involved."
— Michele Steele (@ESPNMichele) April 12, 2019
Prosecutors ruled that the Orchids of Asia day spa will not be charged with human trafficking. They didn't find any evidence to prove this activity, and this is actually great news for Robert Kraft and his legal team. This may even block the release of the video evidence.
To be clear: the prosecutors said they investigated claims of human trafficking because there was initially a basis for it, which necessitated the installation of the video cameras and other evidence gathering methods.
Prosecutor Greg Kridos spoke up to bring out some details about the charges. "There is no human trafficking that arises out of this investigation," adding that the case "had all the appearances of human trafficking" at the beginning. He then compared it to a traffic stop when someone is suspected of dealing drugs. If none are found, the police lets the suspect go.
Kraft's legal team has viewed the video – his attorney in court today Bill Burck: "It's basically pornography."
"I don't think there's interest the state has, or the media has, in publishing it…there's no need to actually see the video."
Kraft's lawyers used the new plot twist in favor of their client.
"It's basically pornography," said Kraft's lawyer William Burck at a hearing in Palm Beach County Court. "There's no need to see the video unless you actually have a prurient interest in seeing the video. There's no need for that to be released" for the public to understand what Kraft allegedly did. It is alleged to be sexual conduct."
The lawyer also pointed to the fact that Kraft's reputation was harmed to an almost irreversible extent.
"The irreparable harm to Mr. Kraft (if it's released before a judge can rule on its admissibility at trial) … will be absolutely catastrophic, whereas the public's interest in seeing this video is all about prurient interest."
Video cameras were installed in the day spa in order to trap any evidence regarding human trafficking. They came across a lot of activities, and managed to record Kraft.
The video evidence was already in doubt, and Kraft's lawyers claim it was illegally obtained.
Tags:Human Trafficking, Kraft, Prosecutors
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Heavy or irregular periods during the 30s and 40s is common and often disruptive physically, emotionally, and socially. NovaSure is a one-time, five-minute, hormone-free office procedure that can lighten or end your problem periods without hormonal side effects.
NovaSure is designed to remove the uterine lining (the endometrium) which is the part of your body that causes heavy bleeding. The uterus is left intact and there are no incisions required. In terms of the success rate, 9 out of 10 women will find that their heavy periods are dramatically reduced or they've stopped altogether.
NovaSure can be performed at any time during your cycle, even if you are in the middle of your period. The process uses netting to fit the size and shape of your uterus, and then precisely measured radiofrequency energy will be delivered to that area for roughly 90 seconds. After that time, the netting and the wand that was used to implement it will be removed from your uterus. Then we will discuss specific discharge instructions with you.
This procedure is only for women who are absolutely sure that they do not want to give birth to children in the future. Again, the uterine lining will be removed during the procedure, and this is the area in your body where the bleeding originates and it's essential for nurturing the growth of a fetus.
You can still get pregnant after a NovaSure endometrial ablation procedure, but it will be very dangerous for both you and the fetus. Before we carry out this procedure, we will discuss contraception options with you.
If you suffer from problem periods and do not wish to have children in the future, ask Dr. Palacio about NovaSure. Call us at (541) 323-3747 to learn more about treatment for heavy periods and abnormal bleeding or schedule an appointment at your convenience.


President Trump has repeatedly said it would better to "get along" with Russia.
President Donald Trump may finally get his wish – a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin – as his National Security Adviser John Bolton heads to Moscow to discuss a potential meeting between the two leaders, a National Security Council spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
This would be the first formally-arranged meeting between Trump and Putin after they talked on the sidelines of two international summits in 2017, and it comes after the president's repeated calls for stronger ties with Russia and warm words for Putin.
But those calls have unnerved U.S. allies abroad and angered critics at home, who point out Putin's abysmal human rights record; aggression in the U.K., Ukraine, Georgia, Syria, and other countries; and interference in U.S. politics, including Trump's own election in 2016.
(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) New National Security Adviser John Bolton, right, listens to President Donald Trump speak during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 9, 2018. President Trump said that "major decisions" would be made on a Syria response in the next day or two, after warning that Damascus would have a "big price to pay" over an alleged chemical attack on a rebel-held town.
Trump himself floated a possible meeting last Friday when speaking to reporters, saying that it "may" happen and that, "It's much better if we get along with them than if we don't." Now, with Bolton traveling to Moscow, there are reports that the two sides are looking at a July meeting, possibly in a third-party country like Austria, which has a right-leaning populist leader that both Trump and Putin support.
The visit would come around Trump's attendance at an annual major NATO summit, after he attended last year's meeting and blasted the Western military alliance's European members for not spending enough on defense. While supporters say the tough words are needed to galvanize Europe to care about defense, critics see it as undermining trust in the alliance, essential to its success.
It also comes as he continues to call for Russia to be readmitted to the G7 nations. Russia was expelled from the G8 in 2014 for its illegal seizure of Crimea and incursion into eastern Ukraine. But Trump blamed former President Barack Obama for the crisis in Crimea and said it was Obama's personal animus that led to Russia's suspension: "I think President Obama didn't like him," Trump told reporters last Friday.
Now, key allies like Germany, France, and the U.K. – which suffered a Russian chemical weapons attack on its soil earlier in March – are growing alarmed that Trump is disrupting America's traditional alliances in favor of strongmen like Putin and Kim Jong Un, whom Trump has repeatedly praised as "very talented" and capable of "turn[ing] that country into a great, successful country."
Even while Trump's rhetoric has caused concern, he and his supporters argue he is tougher on Russia, taking into account what his administration has done.
That's mostly true, with a series of steps that have pushed back on Russia, including some the Obama administration wouldn't take.
In December, Trump's administration decided to arm Ukraine with lethal weapons, and his State Department has consistently criticized Russia for leading, arming, and supporting separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. While the Obama administration increased aid to Ukraine, and rallied European partners to slap Russia with international sanctions, it never crossed the line into providing lethal support.
The Trump administration has kept those sanctions in place, and senior officials have said they will remain so until Russia withdraws from eastern Ukraine, abides by the peace deals it pledged to support – known as the Minsk agreements – and returns Crimea to Ukraine.
(Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) Leaders of the G7 participate in a working session of the G7 Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, June 8, 2018.
After Russia retaliated for U.S. sanctions by forcing the U.S. to shrink its diplomatic missions in Russia, Trump responded by "thanking" Putin "because we're trying to cut down on payroll," again stoking outrage. But his administration then expelled a number of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian facilities in New York and Washington and the Russian consulate in San Francisco – reportedly a major spy hub for the country.
In March, a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned, allegedly by Russian agents, in Salisbury, U.K., and the administration again expelled Russian diplomats and closed the consulate in Seattle, as other U.S. allies in Europe and elsewhere took similar measures.
But Trump was reportedly upset that the U.S. did the heavy lifting and expelled the most diplomats, and days after the expulsions, Trump called Putin to "congratulate" him on his reelection, despite aides urging him not to do so and the elections being largely seen as fraudulent.
On the world stage, Trump's record is also a mixed bag. He has ordered airstrikes against Russian ally Syrian President Bashar al Assad for chemical weapons use and expanded domestic energy production and the sale of U.S. liquefied natural gas to counter Russia's energy strong-arming of European neighbors. But he's also slapped tariffs on U.S. allies in Europe and Canada and accused them of cheating America, driving the kind of wedge that Russia has long been seeking.
What's at stake in a summit?
Putin and Trump's critics expect the same outcome of a Trump-Putin summit then – that Trump would reverse some of the tougher actions his administration has taken and further damage America's western alliances.
In particular, given Trump's effusive praise of Kim Jong Un after their summit, there's concern that Trump will seek a good personal relationship with Putin, at a price to U.S. national security.
"What I worry about in this particular meeting is the peculiar style of President Trump in meeting with autocratic leaders around the world... [that] he'll seek a good relationship, a friendly relationship and we'll see all kinds of praise for President Putin, like he did with the North Korean leader, without any results, and that to me does not serve American national interests," former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul told France 24 television.
On Russian state television, there was speculation that he could recognize Crimea as part of Russia, something U.S. officials have vociferously denied.
(Jorge Silva/AP) President Donald Trump, right, and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, Nov. 11, 2017.
But there are real issues in the U.S.-Russian relationship that need to be resolved, and some foreign policy hands favor meetings over continued confrontation, including McFaul. When Trump and Putin met in November in Vietnam on the sidelines of the ASEAN conference, they signed an agreement on a ceasefire zone created in southwest Syria, where U.S. and Russia continue to have tensions over the future of the country. The U.S. is also seeking Russian cooperation on continued sanctions implementation against North Korea and steps toward the country dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
Regardless of the meeting's outcome, the president's fiercest critics say that even by meeting with Putin at all, he's undermining the NATO alliance.
"Trump's plan to meet Putin immediately before or after the NATO summit is a slap in the face to the alliance, whose mission centers largely around deterring Russian aggression. And that's probably just as Trump intended," tweeted former National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price.
ABC News's Jordyn Phelps contributed to this report.


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Rationing and Health Care
Posted on July 27, 2009 by Loquitur Veritatem
Peter Singer — utilitarian extraordinaire , spokesman for involuntary euthanasia, and advocate of infanticide — recently shared with millions of rapt readers his opinions about why and how health care must be rationed: "Why We Must Ration Health Care," The New York Times Magazine, July 15, 2009. Given Singer's penchant for playing God, the "we" of his title could be an imperial one, but — in this instance — it is an authoritarian one.
Singer is among the many "public intellectuals" (some of them Nobelists) who believe in an omniscient, infallible government, provided — of course — that it does things unto the rest of us the way that they (the "intellectuals") would have them done. And, like most of those "intellectuals," Singer is dead wrong in his assertions about how to "solve" the "health care problem," because his underlying premises and "logic" are dead wrong.
I begin with Singer's central thesis:
Health care is a scarce resource, and all scarce resources are rationed in one way or another. In the United States, most health care is privately financed, and so most rationing is by price: you get what you, or your employer, can afford to insure you for.
Those two sentences are replete with inaccuracy and error:
There is no such thing as "health care"; the term is a catch-all for a wide variety of goods and services, ranging from the self-administration of generic aspirin to complex, delicate neurological surgery.
In any event, "health care" is not a "resource," its various forms are economic goods (i.e., products and services), the production of which requires the use of resources (e.g., the time of trained nurses and doctors, the raw materials and production facilities used in drug manufacture).
Economic goods are not rationed by price; price facilitates voluntary transactions between willing buyers and sellers in free markets. Rationing is what happens when a powerful authority (usually a government) steps in to dictate the organization markets, the specifications of goods, and — more extremely — who may but what goods and at what prices (though dictated prices are essentially meaningless because they do not perform the signaling function that they do in free markets).
Much "health care" in the United States is privately financed, to the extent that most Americans buy and self-administer products like aspirin, antihistamines, cough medicine, band-aids, etc., and some (though relatively few) Americans buy medical products and services without the benefit of insurance. But much "health care" is not privately financed, because — as Singer soon notes — there is a substantial taxpayer subsidy for employer-sponsored insurance programs. There are various other taxpayer subsidies and government restraints (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, government-funded research of diseases and medicines, FDA approval of most kinds of medications and personal-care products).
The slipperiest of Singer's facile statements is his characterization of what happens in free markets as "rationing," thus lending back-handed legitimacy to true rationing, which is brute-force interference by government in what is really a personal responsibility: caring for one's health. For it has somehow come to be common currency that "health care" is a "right," something that government ought to do for us, instead of something that we ought to do for ourselves. (After all, we do live in an age of "positive rights," which come at a high cost to everyone, including those who seek them.)
Most Americans are, however, enmeshed in a Catch-22 situation. They have less money to provide for themselves because it has been taken from them by government, to provide for others. But Singer deems the provision inadequate:
In the public sector, primarily Medicare, Medicaid and hospital emergency rooms, health care is rationed by long waits, high patient copayment requirements, low payments to doctors that discourage some from serving public patients and limits on payments to hospitals.
Singer's "solution" is to make things worse:
The case for explicit health care rationing in the United States starts with the difficulty of thinking of any other way in which we can continue to provide adequate health care to people on Medicaid and Medicare, let alone extend coverage to those who do not now have it.
How will outright rationing entice doctors and hospitals to provide services that they are now unwilling to provide? If doctors leave the medical profession, and new doctors enter at reduced rates, what would Singer do? Begin drafting students into medical schools? What about hospitals that refuse to conform? Would they be nationalized, along with their nurses, orderlies, etc.?
What a pretty picture: Soviet-style medicine here in the U.S. of A. Yet that it precisely where outright rationing will lead if the politburo in Washington sees a shrinking supply of doctors, hospitals, and other medical providers — as it will. Most politicians do not know how to do less. When they create a mess, their natural inclination is to do more of what they did to cause the mess in the first place.
Singer, naturally, appeals to the authority of just such a politician:
President Obama has said plainly that America's health care system is broken. It is, he has said, by far the most significant driver of America's long-term debt and deficits. It is hard to see how the nation as a whole can remain competitive if in 26 years we are spending nearly a third of what we earn on health care, while other industrialized nations are spending far less but achieving health outcomes as good as, or better than, ours.
Well, if BO says it, it must be true, n'est-ce pas? The "system" is broken because government established Medicare and Medicaid, back in the days of LBJ's "Great Society." Those two programs have "only" four fatal flaws:
They take money from taxpayers, who therefore are less able to provide for themselves.
They grant beneficiaries "free" or low-cost access to medical services, thus bloating the demand for those services and causing their prices to rise. (The subsidy of employer-sponsored health insurances has the same effect.)
They involve promises of access to medical services that cannot be redeemed by the paltry Medicare tax rate — thus the prospect of balooning deficits, leading to (a) higher interest rates and/or (b) higher taxes on (you guessed it) "the rich."
"The rich," who finance economic growth, will flee these shore (or their money will), and the deficits will grow larger as tax revenues fall.
Another natural inclination of politicians is to deplore the messes caused by other politicians, and then to do something to make the messes worse. In this instance, BO itches to trump LBJ.
But, of course, this time will be different — it will be done right:
Rationing health care means getting value for the billions we are spending by setting limits on which treatments should be paid for from the public purse. If we ration we won't be writing blank checks to pharmaceutical companies for their patented drugs, nor paying for whatever procedures doctors choose to recommend. When public funds subsidize health care or provide it directly, it is crazy not to try to get value for money. The debate over health care reform in the United States should start from the premise that some form of health care rationing is both inescapable and desirable. Then we can ask, What is the best way to do it?
So, instead of insurance companies — which at least compete with each other to offer subscribers affordable and attractive lineups of providers and drug formularies — our choices will be dictated by all-wise bureaucrats. Lovely!
Singer defends the bureaucrats, as long as they do it his way, of course. He begins with NICE:
…Britain's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence…. generally known as NICE, is a government-financed but independently run organization set up to provide national guidance on promoting good health and treating illness…. NICE had set a general limit of £30,000, or about $49,000, on the cost of extending life for a year….
There's no doubt that it's tough — politically, emotionally and ethically — to make a decision that means that someone will die sooner than they would have if the decision had gone the other way….
Governments implicitly place a dollar value on a human life when they decide how much is to be spent on health care programs and how much on other public goods that are not directed toward saving lives. The task of health care bureaucrats is then to get the best value for the resources they have been allocated….
As a first take, we might say that the good achieved by health care is the number of lives saved. But that is too crude. The death of a teenager is a greater tragedy than the death of an 85-year-old, and this should be reflected in our priorities. We can accommodate that difference by calculating the number of life-years saved, rather than simply the number of lives saved. If a teenager can be expected to live another 70 years, saving her life counts as a gain of 70 life-years, whereas if a person of 85 can be expected to live another 5 years, then saving the 85-year-old will count as a gain of only 5 life-years. That suggests that saving one teenager is equivalent to saving 14 85-year-olds. These are, of course, generic teenagers and generic 85-year-olds….
Health care does more than save lives: it also reduces pain and suffering. How can we compare saving a person's life with, say, making it possible for someone who was confined to bed to return to an active life? We can elicit people's values on that too. One common method is to describe medical conditions to people — let's say being a quadriplegic — and tell them that they can choose between 10 years in that condition or some smaller number of years without it. If most would prefer, say, 10 years as a quadriplegic to 4 years of nondisabled life, but would choose 6 years of nondisabled life over 10 with quadriplegia, but have difficulty deciding between 5 years of nondisabled life or 10 years with quadriplegia, then they are, in effect, assessing life with quadriplegia as half as good as nondisabled life. (These are hypothetical figures, chosen to keep the math simple, and not based on any actual surveys.) If that judgment represents a rough average across the population, we might conclude that restoring to nondisabled life two people who would otherwise be quadriplegics is equivalent in value to saving the life of one person, provided the life expectancies of all involved are similar.
This is the basis of the quality-adjusted life-year, or QALY, a unit designed to enable us to compare the benefits achieved by different forms of health care. The QALY has been used by economists working in health care for more than 30 years to compare the cost-effectiveness of a wide variety of medical procedures and, in some countries, as part of the process of deciding which medical treatments will be paid for with public money. If a reformed U.S. health care system explicitly accepted rationing, as I have argued it should, QALYs could play a similar role in the U.S.
Here we have utilitarianism rampant on a field of fascism. Given that (in Singer's mind) "we" must nationalize medicine (i.e., ration "health care"), "we" must do it right. To do it right, "we" must weigh human life on a scale of Singer's devising, and not on the scale of our individual preferences. For Singer knows all! And government knows all, as long as it operates according Singer's calculus of deservingness.
And why must "we" ration health care? Singer invokes a familiar statistic:
In the U.S., some 45 million do not [have health insurance], and nor are they entitled to any health care at all, unless they can get themselves to an emergency room.
Who are those legendary 45 (or 47) million persons? Are they entirely bereft of medical attention? Here are some answers to those questions, from June and Dave O'Neil's "Who are the Uninsured? An Analysis of America's Uninsured Population, Their Characteristics and Their Health":
Each year the Census Bureau reports its estimate of the total number of adults and children in the U.S. who lacked health insurance coverage during the previous calendar year. The number of Americans reported as uninsured in 2006 was 47 million, which was close to 16 percent of the U.S. population… This number has come to have a large impact on the debate over healthcare reform in the United States. However, there is a great deal of confusion about the significance of the uninsured numbers.
Many people believe that the number of uninsured signifies that almost 50 million Americans are without healthcare simply because they cannot afford a health insurance policy and as a consequence, suffer from poor health, and premature death. However this line of reasoning is based on a distorted characterization of the facts….
More careful analysis of the statistics on the uninsured shows that many uninsured individuals and families appear to have enough disposable income to purchase health insurance, yet choose not to do so, and instead self-insure. We call this group the "voluntarily uninsured" and find that they account for 43 percent of the uninsured population. The remaining group—the "involuntarily uninsured"—makes up only 57 percent of the Census count of the uninsured. A second important point is that while the uninsured receive fewer medical services than those with private insurance, they nonetheless receive significant amounts of healthcare from a variety of sources—government programs, private charitable groups, care donated by physicians and hospitals, and care paid for by out-of-pocket expenditures. Third, although the involuntarily uninsured by some estimates appear to have a significantly shorter life expectancy than those who are privately insured or voluntarily uninsured, it is difficult to establish cause and effect. We find that differences in mortality according to insurance status are to a large extent explained by factors other than health insurance coverage—such as education, socioeconomic status, and health-related habits like smoking…..
The results [of a regression analysis] vividly show the importance of controlling for characteristics that are strongly related to health status and health outcomes and are also strongly related to insurance status. The unadjusted gross difference in mortality risk between those with private insurance and the involuntarily uninsured was -0.113 or 11 percentage points. After adding to the model all characteristics, including the variable indicating fair/poor health status (M3), we find that the differential in the mortality risk between those with private insurance and those who are involuntarily uninsured is reduced to -0.029, a 2.9 percentage point difference.
The unadjusted differential between the privately insured and the voluntarily uninsured … was small—only 3.3 percentage points—because the characteristics of the two groups are fairly similar. That differential becomes even smaller after controlling for measurable differences in characteristics. Thus … the mortality rate of the voluntarily uninsured is only 1.7 percentage points below that of the privately insured….
In summary, we find as have others, that lack of health insurance is not likely to be the major factor causing higher mortality rates among the uninsured. The uninsured—particularly the involuntarily uninsured—have multiple
disadvantages that in themselves are associated with poor health.
(See also The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's The Uninsured: A Primer, Supplemental Data Tables, October 2008.)
In summary, the so-called crisis in "health care" is a figment of fevered imaginations. To the extent that medical care and medications are more costly than they "should" be, it is because of government interference: restrictions on the entry of doctors and other providers (thanks to the lobbying efforts of the AMA — the doctors' "union" — and similar organizations; long and often deadly FDA approval procedures for new drugs; subsidies for employer-provided health insurance; and the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid.
The obvious solution to the "crisis" — obvious to anyone who isn't wedded to the religion of big government — is to get government out of medicine. But that won't happen because the "crisis" is yet another excuse for politicians and pundits (like Singer, and worse) to dictate the terms and conditions of our lives. Unfortunately, too many voters are susceptible to the siren call of government action. Such voters are more than ready to elect politicians who promise to "do something" about trumped-up crises — be they crises of "health care," "global warming,"
What will happen with the current "crisis"? The result will be something less destructive than BO's preferred result, which would effectively nationalize medicine in the United States by making all providers and drug companies beholden to a single payer (i.e., government) and leveling the quality of medical care to a mediocre standard through mandatory participation in the nationalized scheme. But the result, whatever it is, will be destructive:
Costs will rise.
Many providers will quit providing, and fewer new providers will replace them, unless they are enticed by tax-funded subsidies.
Drug companies will develop fewer new drugs, unless they are co-opted by tax-funded subsidies.
"The rich" will be forced to bear a disproportionate share of the cost of making things worse. And so, "the rich" will have less wherewithal with which to stimulate economic growth, and less inclinations to do so (in the United States, at least).
Politicians being politicians, the resulting mess will have only one obvious solution: outright nationalization of medicine in the U.S. (The politburo, of course, will enjoy a separate and distinctly superior brand of taxpayer-funded medical care.)
And then we will have become thoroughly European.
This entry was posted in Political Economy & Civil Society and tagged Peter Singer, rationing health care, socialized medicine. Bookmark the permalink.
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Deradicalization programs, upon which the West has placed so much hope, have long been an obvious failure. Such programs are based on the premise that the true teachings of Islam are peaceful, and so all that needs to be done is show the jihadis how they're misunderstanding the Qur'an and overlooking its teachings of peace, and all will be well. But since the Qur'an and Sunnah are full of commands to make war against and subjugate unbelievers, the idea that jihadis can be "deradicalized" by reference to them is just a myth told to Infidel authorities to lull them into complacency.
Jaw-dropper: 25 former Gitmo detainees "return to militancy" despite Saudi rehab program!
The convicted hate preacher Anjem Choudary is among extremists and Islamic State fighters to undergo Britain's first compulsory deradicalisation programme, The Times has learnt.
The course requires him to receive mentoring and theological "advice" and is the government's latest attempt to combat the heightened terrorism threat.


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TikTok Under National Security Review From U.S. Government
Beijing-based ByteDance's $1 billion acquisition of Musical.ly is being investigated, two years after the deal closed
Sean Burch | November 1, 2019 @ 1:07 PM	Last Updated: November 1, 2019 @ 1:12 PM
The U.S. government has opened a national security review into ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of popular short-form video app TikTok, according to multiple reports on Friday.
Reuters was the first outlet to report the news.
The review is focused on ByteDance's billion-dollar acquisition of Musical.ly, a U.S. app that let users create karaoke videos, in 2017, according to Reuters. Musical.ly had about 60 million users at the time, according to The New York Times.
Also Read: Ryan Kavanaugh's Proxima Media Invests $28 Million in TikTok Rival Triller (Exclusive)
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is investigating the deal on "potential national security risks," Reuters reported. The companies did not seek regulatory clearance from the committee in 2017, allowing the committee to now go back and review the deal.
"While we cannot comment on ongoing regulatory processes, TikTok has made clear that we have no higher priority than earning the trust of users and regulators in the U.S. Part of that effort includes working with Congress and we are committed to doing so," a TikTok spokesperson told Reuters.
Earlier this month, Sen. Tom Cotton and Sen. Chuck Schumer called on the Director of National Intelligence to look at security risks related to TikTok. The senators said they were also concerned with TikTok's data collection policy and how Beijing-based ByteDance had censored content critical of the Chinese government on the app.
Also Read: TikTok Hit With Record $5.7 Million FTC Fine for Illegally Collected Child User Data
TikTok regularly sits atop Apple's rankings of the most downloaded free apps. The app, which has become especially popular among Gen Z users, specializes in clips that are 15 seconds or less — an evolutionary step up from Vine's six-second maximum length. Users can style their clips with a myriad of filters, including face filters similar to Instagram and Snapchat. Like Snapchat, videos are also shot vertically on TikTok.
TikTok was hit with a $5.7 million fine from the FTC earlier this year for failing to obtain parental consent of users under the age of 13, putting it in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act,
Ryan Kavanaugh's Proxima Media Invests $28 Million in TikTok Rival Triller (Exclusive)
By Thom Geier | October 23, 2019 @ 8:45 AM
TikTok Hit With Record $5.7 Million FTC Fine for Illegally Collected Child User Data
By Sean Burch | February 27, 2019 @ 11:56 AM
What the Hell Is TikTok? A Look at the Top-Ranked App
By Sean Burch | November 14, 2018 @ 1:05 PM


Celebrate life every single day of your life!!
Hugs and kisses X .You will be pampered and praised , and showered with a lot of gifts!! You might even have a big birthday bash on those special years sweet 16 ,sweet 18, sweet 21 and so on… Yes you made it another year , you survived another year , you have grown!!
But when we really think about it , what are we actually celebrating? Yes we are celebrating life! Because there are enough people who have heard they wouldn´t even make it to an certain age , and you just gained one. Some people might even have heard it is their last couple of weeks and you have just added on to your age. Some people might dream of going back to the day they where your age (because life was so good for them at that period).
Yes that alone is enough reason to celebrate! And not only on your birthday. But celebrate life every single day of your life. Because today you will be the youngest you have ever been and the oldest you will ever be. So why not sit back for a moment , smile , and be glad that you are here , and here is now and it's al good. Because you are alive!!
Don't only celebrate life on your birthday , celebrate life everyday!!
This being said … I would have to leave now! I don't want to miss a moment of this celebration! Join me if you like , so we can celebrate togheter , the more the merrier!Celebration time come on !!


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7/12/20 COVID information that you likely did not learn about last week from the news
On July 7th, data provided by the Oregon Health Authority reported that the 7-day average for new hospitalizations were 7 new patients per day and 0.7% of the emergency department visits were related to COVID-19 like illnesses for the 60 hospitals reporting in Oregon. This compares favorably to peak hospitalizations of 19 new patients per day in the week ending March 28th and peak emergency department visits of 6.3% with COVID-19 like illness on March 13th. This optimistic trend occurred despite a seven-day average of 272 new cases per day ending July 7th as compared to 75 new cases per day average for 7 days ending April 1st.
Even more encouraging is the disease severity data. Between July 5-11, Oregon hospitals reported 38 non-ICU admissions and 3 ICU admissions. This data compares favorably to 81 patients who were admitted to the hospital and 50 patients admitted to the ICU between March 22-28. In the state of Oregon, there are currently 56 patients with COVID in the ICU and 26 on ventilators. There are 776 available ventilators. The younger population who are testing positive to this virus are asymptomatic or have mild illness.
We almost certainly had many more cases in February and March that were not measured and reported due to our limited testing capacity then. Our public reporting during this pandemic continues to emphasize metrics that are not as important as the actual data noted above. Public health predictive modeling should not be emphasized over actual metrics that matter. Current case counts and testing is creating unnecessary fear about what might happen. To date, those models have repeatedly been incorrect. Perhaps, the models have not factored in fewer susceptible individuals to severe infections as a result of unrecognized acquired immunity.
There have been some very interesting studies recently about COVID-19 that suggests very good news in my view. The study links below are technical, so I have summarized some of the take home points below.
The studies add to a growing body of evidence to confirm that antibody tests significantly underestimate the prevalence of the disease. These studies suggest that we are closer to herd immunity than is currently demonstrated by published antibody studies.
T-cell or natural immunity appears to provide long term protection against SARS-Cov-2.
CV-19 spike protein antigen mutations have resulted in a predominant strain that is highly transmissible since the end of March. The viral loads are higher in the upper respiratory tract of the predominant mutation but have not resulted in increased hospitalizations.
The Sweden study is especially important. It suggested that approximately twice as many people developed CV-19 specific memory T cells than a humoral response. Another reason why antibody tests underestimate the prevalence of this disease.
There is now evidence in blood collected between 2015-2018 that have residual T-cells in approximately half of the samples which will attack the new coronavirus. This would suggest that perhaps only 50% of a population may be fully susceptible to CV-19. This would also suggest that herd immunity may be closer than we thought.
Live well,
John Powell M.D.
A preprint study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is titled: Seroconversion of a city: Longitudinal monitoring of SARS-Cov-2 seroprevalence in New York City. It provides evidence an earlier presence of the virus and suggests that the humoral antibody response does not reflect the true prevalence of the disease.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.28.20142190v1.full.pdf
Accepted 6/26 for publication in Cell. Global transition of Spike protein amino acid D614 to G614. In SARS CoV-2 infected individual 614 is associated with lower PCR thresholds, suggestive of higher upper respiratory tract viral loads but not with increased hospitalizations.
https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(20)30820-5.pdf
La Jolla Institute for immunology team detected residual T-cells who had past Non-COVID-19 coronavirus infections in about half of blood samples collected between 2015-2018 that provided evidence of immunity against novel SARS-Cov-2. This study was published in Cell on June 25,2020.
A small study in France found that six of eight close family contacts of sick patients with SARS-Cov-2 didn't develop antibodies but did develop Covid-19 specific T-cells. A preprint of their article is titled: "Intrafamilial Exposure to SARS-cOv-2 Induces Cellular Immune Response without Seroconversion.
A very significant study performed in Sweden that is waiting for publication is in the link below. The title of the research is: Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.29.174888v1.full.pdf+html
1/5/2021 Contact Tracing and Assigning Blame
The 1970 film, M*A*S*H, includes a scene where Major Frank Burns, a pious surgeon, angrily blames an orderly for the death of one of his patients. He shouts, "You killed him!" The corpsman was devasta
10/26/2020 COVID INFECTION FATALITY RATES
10/11/2020 To Public Health Officials: Focused Protection is Following the Science
Academia has finally arrived and found the courage to remind public health policymakers of fundamental principles essential to protecting the health of all citizens. Ideology and politics have no plac


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BfG News Issue 7 - Editor's Column: Wake up
02 Dec 2007|Added Value
2007 will be famous as the year the world finally woke up to climate change.
Without a shadow of a doubt, this year, more than any other, has seen green issues increasingly driving the business agenda. Findings from our Invoke live session earlier this month supported the consumer shift too with 77% of consumers having actively taken steps to change their behaviour to become more responsible. 80% of consumers also said it was important for brands to behave more responsibly, with issues like reduced or recycled packaging, locally sourced produce and CO2 emission reductions high on their expectations. Price, however, continues to be a key barrier to buying "green".
So what have the challenges, opportunities, solutions & points of view been over 2007 for ethical marketing? We take a look through the window of 'Branding for Good' NEWS to see the key shifts.
In May our view on the UK Climate Change Bill was that it fell short of really driving business to deliver carbon-reducing innovations. Lobbying campaigns like 'I Count' and petitions from NGO's like WWF targeting government to increase the carbon reduction target to 80% by 2050 will continue to drive the urgency to act now. Our expert opinion from Mallen Baker, BITC talked about carbon labelling in the light of the Carbon Trust's launch of their 'Carbon Reduction Label'. At the close of this year, Carbon Trust has 12 partner brands signed up to the pilot scheme.
In June, the European WEEE directive was introduced, forcing consumer electronic brands to behave more responsibly. Our research showed that despite the considerable activity behind the scenes for most technology brands to affect change, it isn't being well communicated with 53% of consumers unable to name a single technology brand that is "pro-actively combating climate change".
Amidst the summer of music festivals, we introduced the 3R's into the marketing mix as a way to define the opportunities a change in perspective can bring. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is starting to come through in brand messaging heralding the new Nokia 3110 handset as an example with "bio-covers" made from more than 50% renewable material, reduced packaging (with 60% recycled content) and Nokia's most energy efficient charger yet, using 94% less energy than the Energy Star requirements.
In September, we explored how the digital influence is enabling consumers, both individually, and as a collective, to hold brands and corporations to account in ways they have never been able to before. Citing the Greenpeace 'Green My Apple' digital campaign as an example of the NGO's power to connect with consumers to affect positive brand behaviour.
Sustainable innovation was our topic in October showing that a responsible marketing strategy can create an excellent springboard for powerful, consumer relevant, 'disruptive' innovation. Relevance, credibility and being different are key tablestakes for green product success. Forum for the Future's senior advisor, Lynne Elvins shared their Ten Top Tips for sustainable innovation.
Looking forward to 2008, the'Branding for Good' team are adding the final touches to the day's line up for the March 6th summit "Green 2.0: Avoid the Greenwash". It will certainly be an inspirational and highly interactive experience. The day will kick off with an interview with Sir Martin Sorrell, one of the key speakers at the recent Leaders in London conference alongside Kofi Anaan and Al Gore.
We'll also hear from Chris Clark, Head of Marketing, HSBC Group, on how cultural complexities can add intrigue and depth to any international marketing strategy; Lucy Calver, Marketing Director, Food & CSR, Marks & Spencer takes us behind the scenes of one of the leading ethical brands with their 'Plan A' initiative; and Keith Fletcher, Propositions Manager, E.ON shows how consumer insight fuelled their 'Go Green' proposition to deliver a strong environmental stance.
Places are limited, so register now online or contact the team.


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15 Of Nelson Mandela's Most Inspiring Quotes
December 5, 2013 - 10:46 pm by VIBE
Nelson Mandela, human rights icon and first Black president of South Africa, passed away at 95 on Thursday (Dec. 5). After battling serious health complications for the past year and a half, the elder statesman was surrounded by friends and family in his Eastern Cape home. Here, we remember his words that moved nations.
There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.
Read on by clicking the arrow above.
A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed. Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement. There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. Read on by clicking the arrow above.
Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will. In my country we go to prison first and then become President. After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. Read on by clicking the arrow above.
It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. Read on by clicking the arrow above.
There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered. We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. It always seems impossible until its done.
Nelson Mandela,
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This class will be held at Fitness 4 U. We are currently in the process of planning when our next class will be held. Please continue to check back or leave a message with us. During this time Adam, will explain the importance and effects of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. There will be plenty of time to ask questions. There will be refreshments provided as well.
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"It is silly to not assume that when Derrick [White] went down that there wasn't a way of feeling deflated," Mills advised reporters in San Antonio.
"It is fairly uncommon you lose three guys in 5 days. However in a short time we got here collectively as a bunch and mentioned we have got an awesome alternative right here and enterprise nonetheless at hand to handle.
"We needed to make some changes with the beginning group to see how that might go. It has been a really fast pre-season understanding we have got a brand new group and there is numerous stuff to get everybody on the identical web page with.
The Spurs will likely be a considerably unknown amount this 12 months after seasons of stability. Spurs legends Manu Ginobili (retired) and Tony Parker (moved to Charlotte), whereas all star Kawhi Leonard was traded to Toronto.
DeMar DeRozan moved to the Spurs as a part of the Leonard commerce, giving San Antonio some firepower to their roster.
However changing 17-season veteran Parker, who agreed to a $A14 million cope with Charlotte, will show extra of a headache after the person slated to fill his sneakers, Murray, tore his anterior cruciate ligament within the pre-season.
Rookie Lonnie Walker IV, White and Rudy Homosexual have additionally been within the pre-season harm ward, leaving the Spurs scrambling earlier than their first recreation towards the Timberwolves.
Mills, who's beginning his 10th season on this planet's finest league, has developed right into a Spurs chief and performed essentially the most common season video games in his profession final 12 months.
"You all the time need to be a place to begin guard in [any team], that is the objective and the dream," Mills mentioned.
"On this state of affairs it is no matter is finest for the group. I believe I've all the time put that at the start for nonetheless lengthy I have been right here.
The western convention will likely be stacked with expertise once more this 12 months because the Golden State Warriors eye one other title, LeBron James has joined the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder and Houston Rockets are nonetheless stacked with expertise.
"We have all the time had a group of people that can fulfil roles, it makes for a stronger group. It is a problem on all of us to ensure guys are prepared [for the first game]," Mills mentioned.
Chris Dutton is the sports activities editor at The Canberra Occasions.


Black Hills Corporation is showing notable market movement today, up 2.1%, or roughly $83.7 million gain.
The company has made notable gains in 10 of the last 37 trading sessions.
Black Hills holds a market capitalization of $4.1 billion and represents 0.4% of the $953.7 billion NASDAQ/NYSE electric-utilities industry.
The industry overall is down today by -0.2%, which translates to a loss of roughly $-1.8 billion. The industry decreases are led by DTE Energy Company, down -3.98%. DTE Energy represents 2.2% of the industry, with a market capitalization of $20.6 billion.
With a 42stocks weight of 195.5, Black Hills ranks #944 against 4394 symbols tracked, and #27 of 52 within the industry. A lower rank is more favorable, while a lower weight is less favorable.


I've had many an experience from my blog, but meeting a celebrity was something I hadn't done until last week. Simply Be invited me along to their flagship store on Oxford Street to spend the evening with Kelly Brook herself, talking about her fashion line, Kelly Brook for Simply Be.
The concept is that it is a fashion line for all women, rather than just focusing on plus sizes. After all, we want unity with all women, rather than segregating us into "regular" and "large" sizes. With this collection, Kelly has stripped away the connotations that different sizes need to wear different clothes.
When I arrived, all of the bloggers were seated in a corner of the store with nibbles provided like a party buffet. We spent some time chatting amongst ourselves when out walked this vision of beauty. Let me tell you, Kelly Brook is as beautiful in real life as she looks in print. Seriously, she is breathtakingly stunning.
Before sitting down, she said "First things first: Time for a cocktail sausage". At that moment, I knew she was my kind of girl! She greeted each of us personally before taking a seat and beginning a chat. Rather then just talking at us about her collection, she really developed a conversation, showing a real interest in blogging and the plus size community. She even took the time to ask us for input on the kind of items we'd like to see in her next collection.
After our chat, and once she'd filmed a short introduction of the evening, Kelly took the time to take a selfie with every one of us. She was an absolute doll and so easy to talk to. I didn't at all feel intimidated by chatting with a bonafide celebrity.
Huge thanks to Simply Be and, of course, Kelly Brook herself for a wonderful evening. I'll definitely be adding some of her collection to my Christmas list!
Aw she seems like such a lovely lady & it sounds like you had a wonderful time!
Wow, what an opportunity! Also, I kind of love that white dress.
I think she's (unfairly) taken a lot of stick over the years, but I'm so glad she's as lovely in real life as I imagined. She's really done a lot for women here to feel proud of their curves and I know some think it's easy for her because she is originally a model (so obviously gorgeous), but she's never given into pressure and 'slimmed down' as a lot of industry people would have her do. Good on her.
Kelly seems hilarious! I'm so glad she was nice looks like you had an amazing evening!


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Q: Grunt watch with live reload notification I'm currently using grunt-contrib-watch which has livereload built in. This is working fine and on saving a file Chrome reloads page (with the help of live reload browser extension).
However there is sometimes a brief delay in reloading a page. Sometimes I'm left staring at a page not knowing whether it just hasn't reloaded yet or whether a LESS/CSS change hasn't worked. Is it possible to have some kind of notification (like a beep) to tell me when the page has been refreshed?

A: Might want to take a look at Grunt Notify.
This allows you to set specific notifications for each task you are running and allows for a large amount of configuration.
Example task at the top of your grunt file:
grunt.initConfig({
    notify_hooks: {
      options: {
        enabled: true,
        max_js_hint_notifications: 5,
        title: 'Notifications'
      }
    },//other grunt tasks here
  });

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Bought this off CL for $100 with the wrong motor on it and no fence. Found a 1 hp motor and fence for it, it is now my dedicated dado machine. I did learn the hard way that the center locks are NOT the same as the ones used for the full sized unisaw!


text:
Q: Problems in converting an SQL query into vba rowsource So I'm having some problems trying to populate a Listbox in Access with an SQL Query. I'm still learning VBA but this is one problem that has stumped me. I've tried fixing up my code but it the AND-date-BETWEEN part doesn't seem to work with my other AND-columnname-LIKE parts.
I was able to get the BETWEEN part to work by itself and the LIKE parts to work by themselves but not together. Here is the primary vb code that I've been trying to modify. Also DQ is another function that helps with the double quotes for the query.
Me.lstGngSheets.RowSource = _
 "SELECT gangID, fileName, date, crossStreets FROM tblgangSheets " & _
 "WHERE borough LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboBoro.Value) & _
 "*"" AND date BETWEEN #" & txtDtBeg.Value & "# and #" & txtDtEnd.Value & "#" & _
 "*"" AND onStreet LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboOnStr.Value) & _
 "*"" AND yard LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboYrd.Value) & _
 "*"" AND safeStreets LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.chkSenior.Value) & "*"""

Here is an SQL output that I'm trying to aim for to populate my listbox.
SELECT gangID, fileName, date, crossStreets
FROM tblgangSheets
WHERE borough LIKE "Queens"
AND date BETWEEN #01/1/2013# and #1/1/2014#
AND onStreet LIKE "**"
AND yard LIKE "**"
AND safeStreets LIKE "**";

I've been wracking my brain over this for a while, if any of you can give me advice or a solution, I would definitely appreciate it!

A: YOu have some weird spacing in your SQL between the date and the like's.  Try this.
Me.lstGngSheets.RowSource = "SELECT gangID, fileName, date, crossStreets FROM tblgangSheets " & _
 "WHERE borough LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboBoro.Value) & _
 "*"" AND date BETWEEN #" & txtDtBeg.Value & "# and #" & txtDtEnd.Value & "#" & _
 " AND onStreet LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboOnStr.Value) & _
 "*"" AND yard LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.cboYrd.Value) & _
 "*"" AND safeStreets LIKE ""*" & DQ(Me.chkSenior.Value) & "*"""

Note that I removed the "*"" immediately after the # closing your end date.


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text:
Jeff Koons accused of copying Ukrainian artist's work
The installation on show at the Rockefeller Centre Credit: Rex Features
Emma Gatten
American artist Jeff Koons has been forced to acknowledge reproducing the work of a Ukrainian artist for a 45-foot-tall inflatable sculpture on display at New York's Rockefeller Centre.
The original publicity material for the piece, Seated Ballerina, said the work was inspired by a porcelain figure "found at a Russian factory at the turn of the 20th century".
The figurine by Ukrainian sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup
But observers soon noticed that the inflatable sculpture bore a striking resemblance to a piece by well-known Ukrainian sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup, who was born in 1931 and worked for the Kiev Experimental Art Ceramics Factory.
Mr Koons with the scuplture in New York Credit: Getty
After he was approached for comment on the similarities by Artdependence magazine, a spokeswoman for Mr Koon's studio acknowledged that the artist knew about the origin of the work.
"We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup's work and have a license to use it for Mr Koons's work," said the spokeswoman.
Mr Koons, 62, is known for his kitsch, large-scale reproductions of everyday items, including a series reproducing inflatable animals.


Trauma to the extremities often results in complex soft tissue defects requiring microsurgical reconstruction. The gracilis muscle is an infrequent choice for large soft tissue defects due to its diminutive size, but it can cover significantly large areas when its epimysium is cut and the muscle is "spread out." The muscle has traditionally been used for functional transfers, small soft tissue defects like in the breast or the orbit, and coverage of exposed or osteomyelitic bone. It can also be split longitudinally according to the fascicular distribution of its nerve to suit the peculiar needs of a particular functional defect. It has an added advantage in that it is a Class II muscle with many secondary pedicles. These pedicles can each support a segment of the muscle, and one muscle may therefore yield multiple small flaps when split transversely. These split muscle flaps are of reliable vascularity with the added advantages of a single donor area.
A young man aged 23 years was referred to the plastic surgery department from the orthopaedics department for the treatment of soft tissue defects over both ankles, having sustained trauma to both lower limbs in a motorcycle accident. After external fixator stabilisation of both lower limbs by the orthopaedic colleagues, the patient was referred to the plastic surgery department. On examination, the patient was found to have almost identical wounds over the dorsal aspect of both ankle joints, extending to almost half the circumference of the joint on the right side and from the dorsal midline to the medial malleolar area on the left side. Both the wounds showed exposed extensor tendons and distal tibia in the defect [Figure 1] and [Figure 2].
The patient was undertaken for surgery under epidural anaesthesia and tourniquet control for free flap cover of the wounds. The right gracilis muscle was harvested through a longitudinal incision in the medial thigh after flexing the knee joint and externally rotating the hip joint. The muscle was mobilised completely from its tendinous insertion to its origin from the pubic ramus. It was found to have one dominant and two minor pedicles [Figure 3]. The nerve supply to the muscle was ligated, cut and the proximal end was cauterised. The donor area was lavaged and closed over a suction drain. The harvested muscle was split transversely into two segments, each with a vascular pedicle of its own [Figure 4]. The twin flaps thus obtained were used to cover the identical defects of both legs. The artery of the muscle flap was anastomosed to the anterior tibial artery in an end-to-side fashion and the veins to the vena comitantes of the anterior tibial artery on their respective sides. The muscle flap was covered with a split-skin graft. The whole procedure lasted 4 h. The post operative course was uneventful [Figure 5] and [Figure 6] and the suction drain was removed after 48 hours. The patient was discharged on post op day 10 after removal of all the sutures.
The patient was followed-up in the outpatient department at an interval of 3 weeks. On examination, the authors found a well-settled flap with a good take of the skin graft. There was no wound discharge and no sinuses. The flap had been successful in providing stable and well-vascularised coverage, resulting in quiet wound healing. The donor area scar was soft, supple, painless and well settled, with no tendency to hypertrophy. There was no functional deficit from harvesting of the gracilis muscle.
The gracilis muscle is a long, strap-like muscle, 30-32 cm in length, 5-6 cm in width and 2-3 cm thick. The average muscle fibre length is 24 cm and the tendon of insertion measures an additional 10 cm. The muscle has a dominant vascular pedicle as well as a secondary pedicle or pedicles (Class II), making it suitable for transplantation. The major pedicle is usually the terminal branch of the medial femoral circumflex artery and enters the muscle belly in two or three branches about 6-12 cm inferior to the pubic tubercle. The minor pedicles are usually branches of the femoral artery or the profunda femoris artery and enter the muscle 10-15 cm more distally.  The length of the vascular pedicle from its origin to its end measures 6-7 cm and has an external diameter of 1.2-1.8 mm.  The venae comitantes of the artery have an external diameter of 1.5-2 mm and a length of 6 cm.  Macchi et al. in their computed tomography angiography study of 40 patients in 2008, have found that the principle pedicle enters the gracilis muscle at a mean distance of 10 ± 1 cm from the ischiopubic attachment of the muscle and has a mean diameter of 2.5 ± 0.5 mm. The mean number of distal accessory pedicles was found to be 1.8 (range, 1-4) and the artery of the first of these pedicles showed a mean calibre of 2.0 mm.
The gracilis muscle can be split longitudinally into two functional bundles based on the fascicular distribution of the innervations. The advantages of the gracilis muscle as a donor muscle are that it is expendable without any discernable loss of adductor function, the donor defect on the medial thigh is acceptable, the muscle has a Class II vascular pattern making it suitable for transplantation, it has sufficient cross-sectional area making it suitable for functional transfer and it can be harvested endoscopically leaving minimal donor scar and hastening post operative recovery. Although splitting the gracilis muscle longitudinally along its fascicular innervations pattern has been described, use of the transversely split gracilis flap has few references in the literature.  While performing a review of the relevant literature, we found only one case report from Austria where the gracilis muscle was split transversely into two halves, each with its own vascular pedicle, and used as two free flaps.  Splitting the muscle transversely can be advantageous where there are two small, discontinuous defects that may otherwise require two free flaps for coverage. This technique gives us two small, reliable, well-vascularised free flaps that can be used to cover important structures, fill cavities or increase local vascularity in cases of osteomyelitis. The transversely split muscle, however, cannot be used for functional transfer. The dominant pedicle of the gracilis muscle is reliable and of good calibre, and is almost always found 6-12 cm inferior to the pubic tubercle. A significant correlation between the calibre of the artery of the main pedicle and the volume of the muscle has been found.  The calibre of the dominant pedicle artery is significantly larger when originating directly from the femoral artery (45%) (P < 0.01).  The dominant pedicle of the muscle can support the whole muscle during transfer, but the same cannot be said for the minor pedicles (Class II). However, when the muscle is split transversely, the minor pedicle can reliably support the segment of muscle that it perfuses directly. Thus, one gracilis muscle is turned into twin split-gracilis free flaps by simply splitting it transversely and using the minor vascular pedicle to carry one portion of the muscle.
We have been using the gracilis muscle regularly for small soft tissue defect reconstruction, coverage of small areas of osteomyelitic bone and functional transfer to the palsied hand, with a success rate of 100%. The benefits of gracilis as a donor muscle and its reliable vascular supply have encouraged us to be more liberal in its use in high-velocity trauma of the lower limb for covering vital structures as well as filling soft tissue defects after surgical excision of dead and traumatised tissue. With growing confidence, we are now increasingly using the split gracilis twin free flaps for smaller areas of tissue defects (in lower limb trauma) with gratifying results. It has ensured quick healing and superior results in lower limb trauma and a decreased "down-time" for the patients along with the added benefits of a single donor area and no functional deficit.
We conclude that the transversely split gracilis muscle free flap or the "split gracilis twin flaps" are as reliable as the conventional gracilis free flap and should be considered as a good option where the patient has a need for multiple small free flaps without the need for functional reconstruction. It has the advantages of a "single donor area," yielding a "single muscle" with "multiple vessels," which can yield "multiple free flaps," without the associated co-morbidities of multiple donor areas.
1. Zukowski M, Lord J, Ash K, Shouse B, Getz S, Robb G. The gracilis flap revisited: A review of 25 cases of transfer to traumatic extremity wounds. Ann Plast Surg 1998;40:141-4.
2. Del Frari B, Schoeller T, Wechselberger G. Reconstruction of large head and neck deformities: Experience with free gracilis muscle and myocutaneous flaps. Microsurgery 2010;30:192-8.
3. Vega SJ, Sandeen SN, Bossert RP, Perrone A, Ortiz L, Herrera H. Gracilis myocutaneous free flap in autologous breast reconstruction. Plast Reconstr Surg 2009;124:1400-9.
4. Cordova A, D'Arpa S, Moschella F. Gracilis free muscle transfer for morpho-functional reconstruction of the lower lip. Head Neck 2008;30:684-9.
5. Baker PA, Watson SB. Functional gracilis flap in thenar reconstruction. J Plast Recontr Aesthet Surg 2007;60:828-34.
6. Berger A, Hierner R. Free functional gracilis muscle transplantation for reconstruction of active elbow flexion in posttraumatic brachial plexus lesions. Oper Orthop Traumatol 2009;21:141-56.
7. Manktelow R.T. The gracilis muscle-myocutaneous flap. In: Serafin D, editor. Atlas of microsurgical composite tissue transplantation. 1st ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company; 1996. p. 293-9.
8. Schoeller T, Meire R, Gurunluoglu R, Piza-Katzer H, Wechselberger G. Gracilis muscle split into two flaps. J Reconstr Microsurg 2003;19:295-8.
9. Macchi V, Vigato E, Porzionato A, Tiengo C, Stecco C, Parenti A, et al. The gracilis muscle and its use in clinical reconstruction: An anatomical, embryological and radiological study. Clin Anat 2008;21:696-704.


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