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You are hereThe Cult of HIV Denialism
Scientists around the world have isolated HIV, photographed it with electron microscopes, and sequenced the genomes of its different subtypes. There are now highly accurate tests for HIV antibodies and the virus itself, and increasingly effective and tolerable antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for its treatment. Science is a gradual process, and there is still much that is not fully understood about HIV, but the evidence that HIV exists, is transmissible by blood, semen, and vaginal fluids -- and that it causes AIDS -- is vast and thorough.
The Denialists and Their Cult
And yet there are thousands of people who persistently reject these facts. They believe that HIV is harmless or doesn't exist. Some argue that AIDS has other underlying causes, such as drugs, depression, "dirty" sex, stress, malnutrition, or conventional medicine. Others say that AIDS is just an artificial clustering of familiar diseases. Those who reject HIV/AIDS science call themselves "AIDS dissidents," but others usually refer them to as "HIV denialists" because they elevate personal denial into an ideology.
Most people are astonished by the existence of HIV denialism. "I had no idea there were 'AIDS deniers,' and I still don't understand why someone would believe such a thing," a blogger wrote upon reading of the deaths of denialist Christine Maggiore and her young daughter, both from AIDS. What is most baffling is the persistence of irrational beliefs, held firmly despite the evidence, despite the terrible deaths, and despite the absence of a coherent alternative theory. How can people ignore both scientific evidence and their own failing health? How could Maggiore do nothing to prevent HIV transmission to her children? How could she allow her child and herself to die needlessly? And how could her admirers, initially frightened, go on to rebuild the wall of denial?
HIV denialism can be understood if we view the movement as a kind of cult. Denialists refer to HIV medicine and science as "the orthodoxy," giving the field a religious framework, and imagine themselves in an oppositional, visionary role.
The persistence of the HIV denialism can be understood if we view the movement as a kind of cult. Denialists refer to HIV medicine and science as "the orthodoxy," giving the field a religious framework, and imagine themselves in an oppositional, visionary role. Many of the features that social scientists find typical of cults characterize the denialists. Most fundamentally, they maintain an intense "us-versus-them" worldview. Those inside belong to an exalted and secretive group -- they feel superior but persecuted for knowing a hidden truth. They believe that the pharmaceutical industry, governments, researchers, clinicians, the United Nations, AIDS activists, foundations, and HIV organizations are united in an elaborate global plot, which ex-traffic cop Clark Baker calls "the most significant criminal conspiracy I have ever imagined" to kill healthy people with toxic drugs for profit.
Doctrine and Indoctrination
Many HIV denialists adopt alternative health and spiritual beliefs, including consciousness-altering practices that are typical of cults. The use of hypnosis by HEAL-New York stands out. Members believe that simply being told that they are HIV-positive makes people sicken and die. HEAL's leader, Michael Ellner, uses hypnosis to extract people from the deadly mental "AIDS Zone" and to make them feel "at peace with testing positive."
Ellner is not alone in thinking that words kill but viruses don't. Cult scholars call this "mystical manipulation." Denialist Matt Irwin developed the theory in AIDS and the Voodoo Hex: "The severe, acute psychological stress of being diagnosed 'HIV Positive' is quickly transformed into a severe, chronic psychological stress of living with a prediction of a horrifying decline that could start at any time. This causes a suppression of the immune system, with selective depletion of CD4 T-cells. ... These factors have been studied in healthy people where they create the very same immunosuppression and immune dysregulation that may later be called 'AIDS.'"
Denialist Michael Geiger is another proponent of "dangerous" thoughts, and even accused another dissident of helping to kill Christine Maggiore by worrying about her. "Have we as yet learned nothing ... of how easy it is to plant projections of sickness and death onto our own selves, as well as our friends, acquaintances or even onto our children and thereby help to create those fears into our realities?" Ironically, Celia Farber regularly "projects" in just this way: "I feared for [Maggiore's] life, always. I feared the battle would kill her, as I have felt it could kill me, if I couldn't find enough beauty to offset the malevolence. This is a deeply occult battle, and Christine got caught in its darkest shadows." Farber also blames the "AIDS orthodoxy" for long-distance mental homicide: "This is voodoo, what they are doing to [South Africa's denialist Health Minister] Manto. It is heartbreaking. I sometimes think they killed [Maggiore's daughter] EJ with their voodoo, too. What did EJ die of? Can anybody explain it and does it look like anything anybody has ever seen?" (EJ died of PCP.)
Cults often manipulate feelings of shame and guilt to control their members. Because both AIDS and the activities associated with HIV transmission are stigmatized, the HIV-negative denialist leadership often degrades those who have HIV, even if they are dissidents themselves. Peter Duesberg has always blamed AIDS in gay men on poppers and promiscuity; he dismisses those who say they didn't engage in either behavior as liars. Clark Baker says that AIDS was invented because "a small group of promiscuous, addicted, nitrite-huffing, gonorrheal and syphilitic bath house veterans began to get sick" and "refused to accept blame for their self-destructive behavior." A poster on a denialist forum attributes AIDS to "premature aging" from "snorting poppers, doing meth, drinking heavily, smoking heavily, eating poorly, not sleeping, having unprotected sex and taking the various pathogens of hundreds of sexual partners into your body."
HIV-positive denialists who get sick are blamed for lacking commitment: "Given a choice between the opposing ideas of dying from the deadly HIV product or living a long healthy life based on the dissident belief that the HIV product is nothing more than a baseless commodity being sold by junk merchants, chosing [sic] the dissident dream is the far better choice. A pseudo dissident ... will use the dissident view as a survival coping device ... When ordinary illness strikes and they run to RX drugs and suffer the very types of health decline that the dissident model predicts, they attack the dissident message."
Denialists who die from AIDS are often posthumously smeared as liars and secret addicts. When Raphael Lombardo died, Peter Duesberg wrote, "In hindsight, I think his letter was almost too good to be true. I am afraid now, he described the man he wanted to be and his Italian family expected him to be, but not the one he really was." (Duesberg meant that Lombardo lied about drug use.) Liam Scheff rolled the reputation of Mark Griffiths down a slippery slope of innuendo into the gutter: "I knew Mark; he was cogent when I worked with him -- never anything but. Almost. Sometimes he was -- once or twice he'd been -- a bit groggy. But he told me that it was alcohol. In fact he told me that he did consume alcohol -- perhaps more than he should." Scheff said drinking, not AIDS, killed Griffiths.
Creating Pariahs
Like those leaving a cult, former denialists are treated with extraordinary hostility. Dr. Joseph Sonnabend was one of the first physicians to treat people with AIDS. He insisted on a very high threshold of evidence that HIV causes AIDS, was cautious in prescribing unproven treatments, and recognized that co-factors, such as drug use and frequent STDs, influence an individual's risk of infection upon exposure and how fast HIV disease progresses. Denialists have often claimed Sonnabend as one of their own. When clips of him were used in the denialist film "House of Numbers" to support the denialist perspective, Sonnabend responded with a scathing blog at Poz.com, repudiating the film's message and affirming that HIV causes AIDS and that ARVs save lives. He wrote: "It is hard to adequately convey the feelings of a physician who was able to finally help his patients in the mid-1990s, having lost hundreds to this disease before that time. By the time these drugs became available about 400 of my patients had succumbed to AIDS, a dreadful rate of mortality. The effect of these drugs was life saving to those with advanced disease whose survival had been limited before. The portrayal of these drugs as in effect only toxic is so unfair."
Sonnabend was immediately savaged by denialists for betraying the cult. In one forum, "Ellis" wrote: "[Y]ou're a disgusting fraud, in my opinion, having once bravely stood apart from the racket, now pointing fingers and calling names of those who still have the decency to not be bought and sold for dollars and popularity contests. Who cares if HIV causes AIDS, or ten thousand things cause AIDS? ... Are you attempting to denigrate the film because of your own outlandish, humiliating lack of composure on camera? Because you sound like the old boozy floozy you really might be, not so deep down? Because you sold out to corporate pseudo-science a long time ago, do you now pour hatred onto those who still aren't satisfied with the one-size-fits-none industrial diagnosis? Shame on you, deep, deep, deep shame. You absurd old sell-out."
Celia Farber similarly attacked Sonnabend on the Spectator's website, accusing him of personal and medical treachery: "I have countless hours of tapes from the ever shifting but consistently indignant Joe Sonnabend dating as far back at 1988 ... through 2001, if not longer. After that, he became impossibly sycophantic to the orthodoxy. ... As for me, like everybody else under Joe's Bus, I forgave him because he seemed so abashed. I even invited him to my wedding. But he is a weak, dishonest man without any integrity, who loves the sensation of throwing everybody under the bus." Sonnabend's sin was to continue to evaluate the evidence, until the proof that HIV causes AIDS and that HAART is an effective treatment was conclusive.
Controlling the Flock
Peter Duesberg has always blamed AIDS in gay men on poppers and promiscuity; he dismisses those who say they didn't engage in either behavior as liars.
Within cults, the milieu is controlled and members are isolated. For denialists, who have no ashram, this happens online and in small groups. People worried about HIV are urged not to take the antibody test, to avoid mainstream information about AIDS, and to "stay as far away from allopathic doctors as possible."
Robert Lifton, a scholar of cults, identified the "principle of doctrine over person" as a characteristic feature. This doctrine "is invoked when cult members sense a conflict between what they are experiencing and what dogma says they should experience. The internalized message ... is that one must negate that personal experience on behalf of the truth of the dogma. Contradictions become associated with guilt: doubt indicates one's own deficiency or evil." Many HIV-positive denialists struggle with the reality of failing immune systems, which undermines their belief that HIV is irrelevant. The long list of denialists who have died from AIDS (posted on AIDStruth.org) contrasts with the fact that not one of the HIV-negative denialist leaders has died young, let alone with multiple strange infections that happen to be AIDS-defining illnesses.
Some HIV-positive denialists defy the prohibition on HIV treatment when they develop AIDS; they start ARVs and experience a rapid return to health. But instead of abandoning denial, many struggle to frame an alternative explanation for the success of the meds. Noreen Martin insists that her AIDS is not viral: "My own experience with AIDS was due to a lifetime of negative health issues. When extremely sick, I took the medicines, ate healthy, took over 50 supplements a day, and had a good attitude. So, within a few months I was as good as new." She stopped ARVs for three years. "During this time," she wrote, "my fatigue slowly came back, my CD4s dipped and my viral load increased to over 3 million. Nevertheless, I never placed much stock in either of these numbers because after extensive research, I realized that neither were [sic] related to health. It was other conditions that caused the problems and the ARVs were powerful enough to keep them at bay. ... Last fall, I became extremely tired again after being anemic for almost a year and fighting lymphedema for months, I took the ARVs, as I could barely get off the couch and could not function in life." Her health again improved.
Another denialist said, "I have seen many friends get better on ARVs, but my understanding has always been that these drugs are broad spectrum in their efficacy -- that they serve to kill virtually all pathogens, but also all the 'good stuff' in our bodies." Another, a thoughtful woman struggling to reconcile her recurrent illness with dogma, wrote: "All I can say is that I'm doing what seems to be working at the time. If it stops working, I'll make a new plan. And just because they call them antiretrovirals doesn't mean that's what they are." The only way they can remain alive and in the dissident camp is to pretend that ARVs, so precisely designed to target the ways that HIV infects T-cells, are a supercharged all-purpose germicide.
Deprogramming
Some denialists with HIV are unable to ignore their own experience, and are pushing back against the cult rhetoric. One weary man, positive since 1996, wrote, "Frankly, I'm sick of the questions at this point. Some of us here are experiencing strangely similar symptoms. Some well known people have died just like the orthodoxy said they would. At what point are dissidents going to start asking the important questions, rather than repeat the words 'AIDS ZONE' over and over? I'm not in any AIDS zone, but something is happening beyond my control. I have never been closer to taking Atripla than I am today. I hate to type that ... but it's true."
The denialist movement is also deeply split by conflicting theories of AIDS causality, different schools of quackery, and the basic question of whether the virus exists or not. Their unity is only maintained by their ritual invocation of long-disproved claims and their refusal to engage with scientific evidence. The most successful denialist propaganda avoids making direct claims and persuades only by innuendo and inference, because clear and specific statements generate hostility within the movement and can be easily disproven by evidence.
Still, it is very difficult for believers to break free of HIV denialism. Dissidents build their worldviews, their sense of themselves as heroic and embattled, their careers in journalism and alternative medicine, and their webs of social relationships around their rejection of HIV science and medicine. They have a lot to lose if they acknowledge that they are simply wrong. But as HIV treatments get better and better, and people with HIV live long and healthy lives using them, the psychological impulse to refuse to accept what was once a terrible diagnosis is diminished. Perhaps soon the only AIDS denialists will be HIV-negative people far removed from the communities most affected by the epidemic, and their cult won't matter at all.
Jeanne Bergman is a veteran AIDS and human rights activist in New York City.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Here's how to use Liberator Explorer to examine Liberator's data and to send (contribute) data to the Liberator.
Liberator Explorer runs in a new browser tab and connects (via StreamLink JS) to the Liberator that hosts it.
If the Liberator's configured to use simple username+password authentication (the default for a newly installed Liberator), select Basic Authentication and enter a username and password that are valid for that Liberator. For a newly installed Liberator, the username is admin and the password is admin.
Select Save to add the new connection. Liberator Explorer will attempt to connect to the additional Liberator.
Or you can select Cancel to discard your changes.
You'll be given some information about the connection, the statuses of the DataSource applications connected to the Liberator (typically Integration Adapters), and the state of the Liberator's data services (if you have permission to view that information).
To subscribe to a different subject, just change the subject name in the grid.
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If you can't open a directory, it's most likely because you don't have permission to view its items.
Double click on a child item to subscribe to its subject in the grid. The subject is added to the list of subjects.
In Liberator Explorer contributions are called "contribs".
Add the subject of the contribution and the fields you want to send in it.
The fields must be in the format <field>=<value> and each field must be on a new line in the Data box.
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Or select Cancel to discard your changes.
To send the contribution to the Liberator, select it from the drop-down list and select the Play button.
Change the logging level by selecting from the dropdown list.
Use the bin (trashcan) icon to clear the logs.
Select the down-arrow icon to download the logs to a text file.
Select the lock icon to scroll the page to the end of the log so you can see each new log entry as it's added. The log will stay in that position until you manually scroll it back up or you add some filter text.
Use the filter text box to select just those log lines that contain the text you enter.


Let me attempt to postulate some of my beliefs about God's sovereignty. I have been called by some as a borderline heretic for my views.
For me, God's sovereignty is directly linked to God's love. We often see the cross of Jesus Christ and the sacrament of communion as beautiful expressions of God's love and while it's hard to argue against those powerful truths, I would contend for another possibility as the ultimate sign of God's love.
Creation is a beautiful reflection of God's character. And in that creation, he gives to humanity what I often interpret as the greatest expressions of His love: Freedom or Free will.
What's even more amazing is that God gives us the gift of freedom knowing the possibility that humanity could sin and rebel. For me, this is stunning.
In giving the gift of Free Will, I believe God actually chooses to "relinquish" power. He still remains in control because power or authority isn't stripped away from him but in His love, benevolence, and grace, God chooses to give the gift of 'free will' to humanity.
In essence, I believe that God is the one True God and sovereign over the entire cosmos and all that is within it. God creates man and woman and gives them this profound gift of free will & freedom and in so doing, chooses to place Himself within the framework that honors the true integrity of free will. In as much as he doesn't violate the integrity of free will, God exercises his now "self-limited sovereignty" to work in, for, and through circumstances and situations as He pleases – for His Glory, purposes, and plans.
Question: "Can God do anything?
My answer: "Because while God can do all things and can create a stone – philosophically speaking – He can't move, He can then create (or send) Someone that can move the stone…" In the end, God will accomplish His purposes and plans.
In our human finitude, how can we possibly understand the infinitude of God? We simply marvel and worship the Loving Creator.
This post was originally written as a contribution to Tyler's series on the Sovereignty of God.
Next how do we respond to the prosperity gospel?
"What's even more amazing is that God gives us the gift of freedom knowing the possibility that humanity could sin and rebel. For me, this is stunning".
An statement I myself wrote too in my last post. I agree with all you say, but I have to say too that I believe anything God creates He can destroy too, so therefore there is no stone, mountain or planet which He can't move, alter or eliminate. There are no limits to what God can do because He is all powerful. One only has to read the Old Testament to see dozens of examples where God's power is displayed.
I think this is what Eugene is saying. God can do anything but he chooses not to in regards to certain situations.
And how about Noah's flood and the covenant.
makes me want to read barth.
thank Eugene… nicely put… i also see how God if having ultimate power, can limit himself from his own sovereignty, that he can also, having ultimate knowledge, choose to limit himself from all knowledge, meaning that he can keep himself from knowing, for the sake of allowing things to play out 'naturally' (i.e. Jesus in the Garden, ) I believe this belief is called 'open theism'… not sure how you feel about that, but would love to hear your perspective.
How do you explain verses that people do not have free will?
Eugene – Thank you for this post. I am so weary of the pat answers that Christians so often offer up in difficult situations… "God is in control" "It must have been his/her time" and such things. After many years of being immersed in such a culture I began to realize those answers don't make sense because if they did then we would have to say that God means for people to be starving, to be homeless, to be abused, to be murdered, to be raped etc. etc. etc. I find it offensive to paint God in such a light and I find it incompatible with his nature and character. I think that kind of interpretation can cause people to reject God.
I remember once when my son who was in college had an auto accident and the car was totaled and we were trying to figure out how we were going to replace the car a Christian said to me "maybe God doesn't want him to have a car". I was thinking that they probably wouldn't say that if they were without a car or a home or food? It didn't affect my faith in a negative manner but it could have if I had been in a different place or time in my life.
I also want to say that I dislike the old "can God make a stone he can't move" sort of argument because it sets up more of a debate than a conversation. I find that most people want to understand how a God who loves them would make them lose their job, or cause their infant to die, or their daughter to be raped, or their loved one to have cancer and on and on. I think you do a good job of explaining that although God is in control of everything he does not choose to control everything because out of love he has chosen to give us the gift of free will.
The question that often comes up in conversations like this is about why God would choose to heal one person and not "my loved one" or save someone from dying but not "my loved one"? Which leads me to ask what you think about us proclaiming in a small group or bible study about how grateful we are for God doing this or that in our lives (giving us a job, healing someone, and such)? Is it insensitive to those who may be sitting in our midst who have been out of work for a long time, or haven't been healed etc? What should we do? We want to be thankful but at the same time sensitive. Do you have any thoughts or guidance to offer?
this reminds me of how responsable we are – as humans of faith (or not) – for whatever miracle or destruction.
@katie: i hope i don't get struck down by lightning either. i'll let you know if i do – or someone will.
@DK: i don't have the energy to respond to the good questions that were raised via the dialogue here but want to comment on the God hardened Pharoah's heart bit. Mainly because it's one of the most common verses used to support God stripping free will.
in my reading, i have to remind myself not to isolate a verse outside the larger meta narrative – both of the narrative of the entire Scriptures but also of that specific context.
and thus, God hardened his heart.
Thanks Eugene. You've very clearly and simply (and bravely) articulated something that I've been wrestling with, generally believe myself, but have been afraid to express as strait forwardly as you have here.
Perhaps one thing I could add to the conversation as I see it is that I still do believe God can reasonably in love exercise His sovereignty over our free will from time to time. One of the most compelling images of election I've heard (given actually by Mark Driscoll) is that of a father pulling his young daughter out of a traffic filled road she unknowingly ran into. In other words, a father with "sovereignty" over his young daughter in a moment like this should and will exercise his authority over the will of his daughter to rescue her. It would be silly to tell this father that the greatest act of love he could extend her is to let her run freely into traffic. You see this reality play out time and time again both in scriptures and real life where God seems to come out of the silence and intervene with our sometimes crazy and destructive behaviors and plans (perhaps Paul riding to Damascus is a perfect example).
On the other hand, there are many other times in my experiences with relationships where the extension of free will truly does seem like the most loving gesture one could give. I think of a time when I was talking to my dad about my decision to go into full time ministry. As much as he hated the idea and thought I was throwing my life away (rightfully so in his worldview), he blessed me and allowed me my freedom (as best as a non-believing father could). This in my mind will always be one of the greatest acts of love extended to me by my earthly father. And so in this way, I completely agree with your general principals of God's "self limited sovereignty" for the sake of love.
So then, when does God exercise His sovereignty and when does He not? Well, I would imagine it being sort of like parenting a teenager. There are times that in the life a teenager that it is still in the parent's reasonable right to exercise his or her authority over a teenager's free will to protect them or even rescue them from danger. Yet at the same time, a good parent to help their child enter adulthood will also extend love to their teenager by beginning to bless and flame their sense of freedom and responsibility over their actions. If you run into a parent who can perfectly balance between the two, you would call him or her extremely wise. With that said, I would imagine that God in His infinite wisdom can perfectly play the role of balancing having "self limited sovereignty" and complete control over our lives and in this tension emerge as a perfectly loving God. This, I believe, is the reality that we currently live in (at least currently in my faith journey) where our sovereign God extends true free will in love, but also at times elects to rescue us out of that same love. Why God chooses one over the other in a particular situation? That I think just gets lost in the infinitely mysterious nature of God and His ability to ensure the full arrival of His Kingdom in the midst of protecting man's freedom.
Anyways, thanks for your post. It's really helped me solidify my thoughts along with this response… haha, still, perhaps my thought of it being both is a cop out answer.
great post Eugene. we might be on a similar wavelength because you keep writing about stuff that I have been planning to write about myself.
I guess I believe everything you said (and yes, I've been to seminary too and had to write papers on this stuff just as you did and yes, like you, I still wrestle with it from time to time!) but would like to respond to the comment someone made about "God's timing", etc.
God's gift of free will means that yes, there are kids starving in Africa-there are many things "wrong" in our world. But He allows them, but isn't caught off guard by them. He is working through others and redeeming things too… He is working good amidst the bad that the enemy seeks to destroy. Yes, God is in those things. we don't see it but we aren't privy to His perspective. We simply need to be available and when we see needs, meet them. In this way, His gift of free will truly becomes a gift that keeps on giving.
I understand that Christians have all too often defined what God means or doesn't mean amidst circumstances (like the man who said "Maybe God doesn't want your son to have a car"). petty. stupid, even. But I do believe that saying God is in control, etc is an accurate depiction of the nature and character of God. Sometimes His ways are confusing and we may not understand them, but our response is to be obedient to what it is that He asks us to do.
I'm tired. That all may have been a ramble and senseless, I'll look tomorrow. Good words from all.
free will – the ultimate gift, the capacity for failure, loss, pain, emptiness, poor choices, loneliness… and all by my own hand.
Just finished reading a book called "God of the Possible" by Gregory A Boyd. Really recommend it as it delves into this exact subject. He gives biblical examples of this "open" view of God's sovereignty and explains how the Church has been influenced by Plato's view of an unchanging God.
Man bro! I love this blog and frequent it often but I have to whole heartily disagree with this idea of open theism or open sovereignty or what ever the word is for it.
I really don't think scripture just throws out a "few" verses that leads one to think that God is sovereign over our wills but all of scripture seems to bend towards that… Especially Romans 9!
But I would say God's sovereignly choosing Israel apart from their rebellion, His choice of Jacob before he was even born and His pursuit of fulfilling His covenant in spite of how Jacob ran for the better part of his life, and many other text in the scriptures that seem to suggest that at the end of the day even our salvation is pre ordained before the foundations of the world.
I want to believe at times that God is somewhat not in control because of the AIDS epidemic, child trafficking, etc. but at the end of the day scripture from start to finish suggests that God is using all things for His purposes and nothing or no one is going to thwart His plans and He knows the beginning from the end.
As a pastor I take great comfort in God's control over my life and the affairs of this world.
The only free will I believe man has is which sin are they going to do. Yes we can walk an elderly lady across the street but even this as Martin Luther would say has "self" at the root of it.
Free will is only present after regeneration because then you actually have two "wills" to choose from but before then we are just dead in our trespasses unable to choose life because we are well… dead.
When I became a Christian (by grace alone) I then was able to "battle" but before then I was lost and a enemy to God who didn't want anything to do with God.
Anyway I know I am the "minority" in this discussion but I just thought I would throw it out there.
Keep being courageous for the Kingdom Homie!
thanks for the comments and good questions.
while holding to my beliefs, i don't think they contradict – in the slightest big – god's power, control, and sovereignty.
he's in full control. and as i shared, God's will (trajectory)… will be done.
@jeff greer: i'm open to open theism. in fact, i am a quasi open-theist – depending on how one defines open theism.
we have free will and ability to determine/impact/influence the future – which is unknown to us – but i believe that is it not an uncertainty to God. while God still maintains the integrity of freedom, the past, present, and future does not surprise Him. in fact, he is a transcendent God who is not only everywhere in physical space but also in the continuum of time.
The premise that God cannot make a stone so large he cannot move it is not about God's sovreignty or omnipotency. It's a premise that violates principles of logic and reason. God will not violate the law of non-contradiction, and question itself contains a contradiction. It premises that nothing lies in the "God can't" category and then asks if anything fits in the category. There is no reasonable answer. It's a nonsense question, similar to asking a bachelor "Do you beat your wife?" Nonsense. Game playing.
But Eugene, there are definitely somethings that God cannot do!?
I'm not trying to fit God into the puny human categories of epistemology and logic, but I'm just saying, according to human understanding, certain things are impossible for God…there I said it!
Good point wasabicoated. God cannot contradict Himself. If he created a stone he couldn't move or an evil he couldn't stop, he would cease to be God.
Sometimes, I fear that we are so desperate to create God in our image (weak, frustrated, limited etc.) that we have a negative view toward his sovereignty, the dreaded S-word.
This is tragic because I believe God's control over everything should be a tremendous source of comfort and hope. After all He alone is truly good, loving and just. Instead of re-defining Him as a frustrated liberal mortal like us, we should rejoice and be thankful for God's merciful omnipotence that never fails.
I agree with what you're saying, but the idea that God cannot do something bothers me (in your heading). What I believe is that He will not move a certain stone to honor our free will, but He will always possess the power to do so.
But why does that bother us?
As Christians, do we wonder why Jesus had to go to the cross as the Sacrificial Pascal Lamb?
I agree with Hannah on this one. To answer Eugene's question, Jesus had to die because God cannot contradict his just and holy nature. For reconciliation to occur, someone had to suffer on our behalf.
If God is not all-powerful, how can we be assured that He will keep His promises or that He will triumph over the power of sin/evil/death/Satan in the end.
If God is not omnipotent, how do we know if His plans will succeed or if they can be thwarted despite His best efforts?
@hannah @dan s. – i agree with you both.
when folks ask me this kind of question, they approach it from a very linear perspective of absolutes. but the beauty of the Gospel – as I read it – is that while I believe in Propositional Truth, God reveals himself as Personal Truth through the Personhood of Jesus Christ.
It sounds like we agree, Eugene. There is no conflict between God's "propositional" Truth as recorded in Scripture and God's "personal" Truth as revealed in Christ.
Our understanding of the Gospel's beauty is only enhanced when we know Christ both personally (through a living relationship with him) AND factually (through study and knowledge of who he is).
There is no reasonable answer for a question so posed. The logic of the phrasing is flawed, not the underlying concept. Not every question can be answered. How big is yellow? How many is occasionally? This is one of those questions.


In grade school catechism class I learned that the early Catholic Church placed Christmas on December 25th to counter the pagan holidays occurring at the Winter Solstice. I repeat this with authority, because on matters such as this, I consider the source to be no less accurate than Wikipedia.
Whether this Fourth Century strategy of declaring December 25 to be Christmas was to co-opt the existing spiritual mindset or to use the wonderful symbolism of the savior born as the darkness begins receding, it is maddeningly inaccurate. Christmas typically misses the solstice by 3 or 4 days, depending on the year.
I know nobody believes that the calendar by a centuries-long committee got much right. I've heard theories placing an actual date to Jesus' birth based on which season the Shepherds would have been tending their flock at night and when an astrological event might have illuminated a celestial beacon to guide wise men to the Christ Child. As far as the year – prevailing thinking has Christ born several years Before Christ.
Now, I don't expect leaders of the Middle Ages to be accurate, but couldn't they have been a bit more consistent? If you're assigning an arbitrary birthday based on the solstice, why not place it on the solstice? When you're establishing a first year based on the birth of Christ, why not start it at your already-established date of the birth of Christ?
So, Year 1 A.D. is the year Jesus was born. With the Little Lord Jesus arriving late in the year, under the established scheme, it was already Year Two of Our Lord by the time Jesus was a week old.
Which brings me to my biggest calendar peeve of all – that the calendar designers started the yearly odometer at 1 instead of 0. As one trained in computer programming – this drives me crazy. Start your iterative loops at zero and you'll avoid a lot of trouble – remember that whole debate whether 2000 or 2001 was the start of the millennium? There are consecutive historical years of 1 B.C. and 1 A.D. That's counting from -1 to 1 while skipping over zero.
It's too late to do anything about it now, of course. And, I guess, like all good fudge factors, this thing works okay in its own way. The calendar gives us three distinct beginnings each winter season — the Winter Solstice, Christmas, and New Year's Day – one natural, one spiritual, one secular. I don't know about you, but I could use all three.
True Love: Honey, guess what I've got for you today? Close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you.
Honey (to herself): Oh, god. Please not more birds. How about some more of those golden rings.
True Love: Okay, you can open your eyes.
Honey (opening eyes): Who are the hayseeds?
True Love: Eight Maids A Milking, my love.
Honey: Humans? I get servants? I'm going to need to hock those rings just to pay for their salaries.
True Love: Dear, just you wait for the rest of the week.
Honey: Well, at least they've got an agriculture background. Maybe they can help take care of all those damn birds.
There were the exorcized Rays and Philly getting a belated championship. There were the Cubs looking like champions but (again) disappointing their increasingly demanding fans. There was Roger Clemens trying to extricate himself from the allegations of his personal trainer and Barry Bonds sitting the whole year. There was Pujols excellence and MannyBeingMannyInLA.
But the biggest story in baseball in 2008 is the biggest story in the nation in 2008 and one that is just beginning to unfold — the It-Might-Be-Great-Yet Depression.
4) corporations paying for the luxury suites and premium seating and advertising and naming rights.
Oddly, I think the revenue source that will dip the least will be the from the fans. Maybe I'm too big of a fan to objectively project my behavioral theory to apply to the casual fans or the family-of-five-on-a-sketchy salary fans, but I love the sport too much to look away.
Regardless, baseball is about to get a financial fastball — high and tight.
Kansas City never hit my radar screen as a place to live. But when I discovered Joe Posnanski's baseball-ish blog, I wished I had been reading his Kansas City sports columns for years. His tales of childhood in Cleveland make me nostalgic for it, though I've never even been in Ohio. He isn't old school, he respects the modern stats, yet he's been around enough to anchor them with necessary caveats and a human basis. His touch is light enough to stay well above the frequent baseball-blog tone of ridicule.
And damn he's funny. I get most of his references and his jokes seem just a more advance and adroit form of humor that I feel I'm almost capable of.
I don't know if he pioneered his use of footnotes, but he's self-promoted his style with the name Posterisk. when he's lost on a subject that I don't have much emotional involvement (such as writing about the KC Chiefs), I'll scan what he's dubbed the Posterisks. It's sort of like David Foster Wallace footnoting, except that you're led to the footnote by an asterisk, the footnoted section is typed in italics and resides just below the paragraph that originates the asterisk*. It's easy to read in computer scroll text. And nothing makes me smile like a good tangent.
*** Okay, here is the Posterisk that first pulled me into the almost daily musings of Joe — much to the loss of my professional productivity. Scroll down to the third italic segment for his imagined pitch to the TV producer for Gilligan's Island.


text:
Bristol review: Wilsons
"With just Jan and one other chef in the tiny open kitchen, the tersely written menu is kept short and to the point. A chef with a genuine passion to feed people, Jan often brings out dishes himself "
by 26 April 2017
This small but perfectly formed neighbourhood restaurant in Redland manages to make an immediate fan out of Mark Taylor
Bristol restaurant-goers have never had it so good. In the past year alone, the city has seen a raft of top-flight new openings, many of which have already appeared on the national radar. In a year that has seen the likes of Pasta Loco, Adelina Yard, Box-E and Bulrush open, Bristol's quality levels seem to have been cranked up to 11. And Redland restaurant Wilsons is very much part of this vanguard of exceptional new launches.
Squirrelled away down a quiet side street – albeit one that already boasts £1m houses and a Michelin-starred restaurant in Wilks – Wilsons is the first venture for chef Jan Ostle and his wife Mary Wilson, whose family name inspired the restaurant. Mary's parents ran a successful London eatery of the same name in the 1970s and 1980s, and the original stained glass sign hangs proudly in the window here.
A former café, Wilsons is an intimate restaurant with a strikingly simple decor of white walls, black floorboards, unclothed, wooden bistro tables, and lamps with retro Edison lightbulbs. As far as interior design goes, this monochrome simplicity takes its lead from places like St John in London, although a more local reference point might be Birch in Southville, which is similar in many ways.
At Wilsons, there are vintage vases full-to-bursting with wild flowers from the owners' allotment, and Kilner jars of homemade quince vodka and sloe gin on the bar. Indeed, when we arrive for lunch, Mary is deseeding rosehips for another homemade tipple, as Jan prepares pheasants for the day's menu.
Before opening Wilsons, Jan worked briefly at the neighboring Kensington Arms, and prior to that was in London at such high profile places as The Square (working under uber-chef Phil Howard) and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.
A keen hunter-forager, he spends much of his free time in the countryside, specifically Devon, where he and Mary have earmarked land on a friend's farm to grow their own produce next year. This plot-to-plate philosophy is the natural extension of their urban allotment and an exciting development. In the meantime, wild mushrooms and game gathered by Jan on his days off steer the seasonal blackboard menu, which changes frequently.
With just Jan and one other chef in the tiny open kitchen, the tersely written menu is kept short and to the point. A chef with a genuine passion to feed people, Jan often brings out dishes himself with a Jack Nicholson-like grin. We had barely tucked our legs under the table before he was rushing over with cups of warming game broth spiked with dashi. Rich, intense and spicy, it may well have been something Jan had rustled up for his hip flask for the next shooting and foraging trip.
There are just three dishes per course on the menu, so a table of more than two diners can taste everything with ease. As there were only two of us, we had to forego the gravlax starter and vegetarian main course of celeriac, trompette, hen egg and truffle, both of which deserve a return visit.
A starter of pork terrine (£7) was just that – a thick mosaic of piginess (pork belly, shoulder, and back fat) served at the correct temperature (that's to say, not fridge-cold) with a couple of slices of toast and a dab of fruity plum purée. A simple classic perfectly executed.
Across the table, J was making light work of her picture-perfect charred leek and punchy romesco (£7), topped with razor-thin slices of pickled red onion, a few mint leaves and a flurry of colourful edible flowers.
J's arresting starter made way for an equally enjoyable main of hake, roasted carrots, snails and parsley (£16) – the opaque, thick-flaked fillet of fish teamed up with chewy (in a good way) snails and a tangle of different coloured baby carrots, as gnarled as witches' fingers.
My main course of pheasant, chanterelle, onions and chestnut (£16.50) was quite literally early winter on a plate. The tender breast (it had been poached in mead and hay before being cooked in a water bath) was dusted with shaved chestnuts, whilst the more robustly flavoured leg was just visible beneath a bosky carpet of wild mushrooms and roasted onions. It worked especially well with the Villa Saint Croix Pinot Noir from the Languedoc – one of the jewels on a concise, intelligently curated wine list.
To finish, slices of perfectly poached quince (£6) and a delicately floral rose sorbet had been placed on a bed of bee pollen with its uniquely soft and chalky texture. Meanwhile, the intense richness of a classic chocolate mousse (£6.50) was tempered by a clean and fresh almond milk sorbet.
With deceptively simple cooking in an unpretentious, Bohemian setting, and people who care about single every detail of the food and service, Wilsons is a benchmark in neighbourhood bistros, and Bristol is lucky to have it. Drop everything and go now.
WILSONS, 24 Chandos Road, Bristol BS6 6PF; 0117 973 4157
Previous article Devon review: The Church House Inn
Next article Bristol review: Pigsty


text:
Q: Help with (somewhat simple) MySQL JOIN Consider I have three tables:

*

*Movies (movie 1, movie 2, etc)

*Categories (action, suspense, etc)

*Movies_Categories (movie 1 -> action, movie 1 -> suspense, movie 2 -> suspense, etc)

How could I select only the movies that belong or don't belong to a specific category using only 1 query?
Thanks!

A: Belongs:
    SELECT m.*
      FROM movies m
INNER JOIN movies_categories mc
        ON m.id = mc.movie_id
INNER JOIN categories c
        ON c.id = mc.category_id
       AND c.name = 'action';

Doesn't belong:
         SELECT m.*
           FROM movies m
LEFT OUTER JOIN (SELECT mc.movie_id
                   FROM movies_categories mc
             INNER JOIN categories c
                     ON c.id = mc.category_id
                    AND c.name = 'action') mcx
             ON m.id = mcx.movie_id
          WHERE mcx.movie_id IS NULL

A:     SELECT m.*,
           IF(mc.movie_id IS NULL, 'doesnt belong', 'belongs')
      FROM Movies m
 LEFT JOIN Movies_Categories mc ON mc.movie_id = m.id
                               AND mc.category_id = (SELECT id
                                                       FROM categories
                                                      WHERE name = 'action')

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Zestawienie spotkań reprezentacji Polski w piłce siatkowej mężczyzn prowadzonej przez Andreę Anastasiego:

Oficjalne mecze międzynarodowe

|-
!colspan="7"| 2011

|-
!colspan="7"| 2012

|-
!colspan="7"| 2013

|}

Mecze z poszczególnymi reprezentacjami

Bilans spotkań według imprezy

Mecze i turnieje towarzyskie

|-
!colspan="7"| 2011

|-
!colspan="7"|2012

|-
!colspan="7"|2013

|}

Bilans:
 zwycięstwa - porażki: 10-11
 sety wygrane - sety przegrane: 40-38

Mecze nieoficjalne

|-
!colspan="7"| 2011

|-
!colspan="7"| 2012

|-
!colspan="7"| 2013

|}

Bilans:
 zwycięstwa - porażki: 4-1
 sety wygrane - sety przegrane: 16-10

Przypisy

Polska
Reprezentacja Polski w piłce siatkowej mężczyzn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Establishes Task Force on Drought Emergency Response as nonlegislative task force.
House Feb 4, 2016: Recommendation: Do pass with amendments, be printed A-Engrossed, and be referred to Ways and Means by prior reference.
House Feb 4, 2016: Referred to Ways and Means by prior reference.
House Feb 17, 2016: Assigned to Subcommittee On Natural Resources.
House Feb 23, 2016: Returned to Full Committee.
House Feb 26, 2016: Third reading. Carried by Hack. Passed.
House Apr 14, 2016: Chapter 80, (2016 Laws): Effective date March 29, 2016.
Third reading. Carried by Hack. Passed.


text:
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam - E3 2015 trailer
D&D new rules takes magic to the modern world
GTA V heist screenshots show off a variety of locations and scenarios
Final Fantasy Record Keeper Review
Game Cafe Ep. 24 (Part 3): PlayStation
Tagged Game Developer Choice Awards
Game Developer Choice Awards
Overwatch wins the game of the year award at this year's GDCA
During this year's Game Developers Choice Awards, Overwatch received the Game of the Year award. Since its release, Blizzard's first person shooter has been received positively by both gamers and critics alike.... Read More...
Game Developers Choice Awards 2017 nominees announced
2017's Game Developers Conference has announced its Game Developers Choice Awards nominees, and some of the selections may come as surprises. With 6th-time host Tim Schafer MC-ing the festivities (as he's done... Read More...
GDC Awards nominees announced, Rocket League up for game of the year
As the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) rapidly approaches, the Game Developers Choice awards do as well. Today the nominees for 2015 have been announced, and while most of the nominations are what you would expect, there are a couple of surprises, name... Read More...


"Is it me you are looking for?"
Upon the arrival of each of my youngest two sons, a gentle custodian who cleaned the office building in which I worked gave me a shiny silver dollar. "This is for your baby," he said. "It's not much, of course, but I hope it travels with him through life. Sometimes 'In God We Trust' is all we can hold on to, but that is all that we really need." Thirty years later, his gift is the only one that remains.
Sometimes I would sit with my friend and listen to his stories—of his young years in the segregated outskirts of Atlanta, of his love for Gospel music and of his beautiful family. One day he told me something that remains dear to my heart. He was training a new custodian at the time, and he wanted me to understand how he was teaching him.
My friend did not give orders; he took time to show others the whole room.
What if all of us took time...to understand those around us, to see the world they carry within? Would we judge less harshly, would we love more deeply?
When I saw this YouTube video, I thought of my custodian friend. Though he lives with the angels now, he teaches still. I watch and listen a little differently because of his sage guidance.
And I wonder, in the recesses of our hearts, do we all sing: Is it me you're looking for?


text:
Home Theater 101
The Bonus View
BONUS VIEW
Blu-ray: Highly Recommended
3rd Party 14
Release Date: September 22nd, 2015
Movie Release Year: 2014
Release Country: United States
COLLAPSE INFO -
Arrow: The Complete Third Season
Review Date October 14th, 2015 by Bryan Kluger
See Full Rating Breakdown
TECH SPECS & RELEASE DETAILS
Technical Specs: 4 - 50GB Blu-ray Disc Set + Digital Copy
Video Resolution/Codec: 1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Length:976
Release Country:United States
Aspect Ratio(s):1.78:1
English Descriptive Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0
Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles/Captions: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Special Features: Second Skins: Creating The Uniforms of Arrow
Arrow at Comic-Con 2014
Nanda Parbat: Constructing The Villain's Lair
Two Arrow Audio Commentaries
The Man Beneath the Suit - Atom's First Flight
Movie Studio: Warner Brothers
Story Review Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take
'Arrow' has quickly become one of the more popular shows on television in addition to be one of the more-likable superheroes as well. That may be due to the excellent talent of the cast and crew, and their hardworking and talented ideas to bring this character and universe to life, which of course is dark, gritty, and mysterious like most other DC endeavors as of recently. If you're a fan of 'Arrow', you'd be able to see the similarities in some of your favorite films and television shows.
I would venture to say that 'Arrow' has similarities to Batman, with a hint of 'Lost' in the mix as well, pushing the series forward. I know that may sound strange, but we have a very wealthy guy who moonlights as a hero/vigilante, stopping crime wherever and whenever he can, while trying to solve the most vicious crime cases in the city with fancy gadgets. Then there is the 'Lost' aspect, with too many flashbacks to our main character on an island, which I felt took away from the more entertaining moments of this season.
That all being said, this third season of 'Arrow' is quite good, highly entertaining, and plays more like a big set up for the next season or two. As season three begins, we have Oliver/Arrow still fighting crime and solving cases as he revels in how the politicians and civilians perceive him and praise him. Sure, the leaders of the city can't say they want vigilantes running wild, but they acknowledge how well Arrow has kept Starling City safe, well at least for a short minute, that is until the new villain named Werner Zytle (Peter Stormare) shows up and causes chaos and destruction.
Early in the season, there are quite a few shocks with some of the characters, which was a lot of fun to watch and see where the writers took us, which mostly involved Laurel (Katie Cassidy) who becomes her alter ego of Black Canary. But perhaps the best new character is a former Superman, named Brandon Routh who comes into play as Ray Palmer/The Atom. He steals every scene he's in, and his story arc is quite incredible. Season three does a good job of answering some questions we've had about our characters from the past seasons, but like in 'Lost' fashion, each aspect raises even more questions.
There were a few more flashback sequences than I would've liked to see here, but they were almost always necessary to forward the story and set up what's to become an epic fourth season. I wouldn't say this third season was as action-packed as the previous two seasons, as this season focused more on character development and adding even more characters to the show, but almost everything is executed very well. Stephen Amell still owns the 'Arrow' character and was always a delight to see where he'd go next. 'Arrow: Season Three' has all of the right elements that keep this series on top.
The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats
'Arrow: The Complete Third Season' comes from Warner Home Video with 4 - 50GB Blu-ray discs and the digital copy of every episode. The discs are housed in a blue plastic cast with two inserts, one of which gives episode information as well as character names. There is also a cardboard sleeve the set is housed in.
4 - 50GB Blu-ray Disc Set + Digital Copy
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p MPEG-4 AVC
Aspect Ratio(s):
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Second Skins: Creating The Uniforms of Arrow
'Arrow: Season Three' comes with a very good 1080p HD transfer presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. This third season is in line with the past two seasons of the show, which looks great, although there are some minor issues. Detail is almost always vivid and very sharp throughout or when scenes are well lit. Closeups reveal individual hairs, beads of sweat, makeup blemishes, and facial lines quite well. The costumes in the show also look excellent, showing each stitch nicely. Wider shots also look excellent as well, never going soft in the well-lit segments.
That begin said, there is a lot of low-lit scenes in this show, which gives way to some video noise and some slight crush. In these scenes where the CGI effects are in full effect, things can look a bit soft. Other than that, the image looks great. Colors seem to pop off screen when they can and are well-balanced and saturated. Black levels are deep and inky for the most part and the skin tones are natural, although there is some green tint that crops up for obvious reasons here. Overall, this video presentation is quite strong, leaving it with solid marks and free of any major issues.
Audio Review
This release comes with an excellent lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix and is everything want it to be. Sound effects and ambient noises are loud, robust, and pour from the surround speakers quite often, leaving you fully immersed in your viewing room. When the arrows fly through the air, we get some excellent directionality and crossovers in the speakers that will make you feel like something flew over your head. The big action sequences also pack a powerful punch on every level. Each sound is layered and prioritized to give the most realistic and best sound.
The score always adds to the suspense and drama to the show without drowning out any dialogue or sound effects. Speaking of the dialogue, it's always crystal clear and easy to follow, and free of any pops, cracks, hiss, or high shrills. The LFE is excellent and the dynamic range is very wide, with some good rumbles of bass in each episode. This audio presentation has high marks for sure.
Commentaries - There are two commentary tracks here. One is on 'The Climb', the other is on 'The Calm' with some of the show's producers, who talk about setting up the story and production.
Deleted Scenes (HD, 16 Mins.) - There are ten deleted scenes in total, spread across each disc. If you're a fan of the show, these are worth watching.
The Man Beneath the Suit: The Atom's First Flight (HD, 8 Mins.) - This extras centers on Ray or The Atom and looks into his character. There are also some interviews with Brandon Routh himself.
Nanda Parbat: Constructing the Villain's Lair (HD, 23 Mins.) - Here is an in depth look at one of the best sets that was constructed for this season.
Second Skins: Creating the Uniforms of 'Arrow' (HD, 18 Mins.) - Here we look at the wardrobe designed by costume designer Maya Mani for the show.
Gag Reel (HD, 4 Mins.) - Some fun missed cues, flubbed lines, laughter, and mistakes.
'Arrow' at Comic Con 2014 (HD, 29 Mins.) - Here is the Comic Con panel of 'Arrow' from last year with the cast and crew talking about the upcoming season and answering fan's questions.
'Arrow: The Complete Third Season' was a lot of fun, although it wasn't the most action-packed installment we've seen yet. There is a lot of character development here, with some great new characters entering the frame. This season is one big set up for future seasons that should boost ratings and show off new heroes. I can't wait. The video and audio presentations here are both excellent and the extras are informative and entertaining. If you're a fan of the show, this season comes highly recommended!
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text:
Go to Site Index See "Top Stories" main page
COMMENTARY · 9th November 2012
Addicted to oil
Miranda Holmes
Not long after the Defend Our Coast rallies, a pollster phones, wanting to know who I plan to vote for in the provincial election. The first party to unequivocally say NO to tar sands oil in pipelines and tankers through BC land and waters, I tell her.
This causes a bit of confusion, as it clearly isn't one of the options in front of the caller. So, she asks after some hesitation, the NDP?
Given NDP leader Adrian Dix's tough talk on Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline, she might very well think so, but where is he on doubling the capacity of the Kinder Morgan pipeline into Burrard Inlet? The silence is deafening.
Does one conclude that Mr Dix has no intrinsic objection to BC enabling fossil fuel addicts around the world? Because that's my objection to the pipeline proposals.
Yes, I'm worried – as most people in BC are – about the inevitable environmental devastation oil spills will bring. I'm also concerned about the environmental devastation extracting oil from Alberta's tar sands has already caused.
According to federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, the damage isn't just environmental, it is also economic. Back in the spring, he accused the tar sands industry of causing Dutch Disease. And, while Harper & Co spluttered their objections to Mulcair's claim, the OECD supported his assessment.
Mind you, that was then. It seems Mulcair has had an epiphany. Apparently he has now decided tar sands oil is good for the economy – if ¬it travels east from Alberta, not west.
With the Globe and Mail declaring the Northern Gateway pipeline all but dead and the Obama re-election making the future of the Keystone pipeline less certain, it should come as no surprise to learn – as Joyce Nelson reports at length in Watershed Sentinel – that tar sands mules Enbridge and TransCanada Corp have well-advanced plans for converting existing pipelines to transport diluted bitumen from Alberta to refineries in eastern Canada and New England.
According to Nelson, if these plans – which seem to be attracting little mainstream media attention – go ahead, "more than 1.4 million barrels per day of tar sands crude could be piped through southern Ontario and Quebec – the most populated areas of Canada."
Which begs the question: Just how crude do Alberta's exports need to be?
Diluted bitumen is 16 times more likely to leak than conventional crude transported in pipelines and a far greater clean up challenge when spilled, as it was, in the Kalamazoo River.
Appearing on The National recently, fossil fuel dealer Alison Redford smiled patiently and explained to the country that without pipelines through BC to enable Alberta to ship its diluted bitumen to Asia, the province will be condemned to making less than top dollar per barrel from its resources. Really?
If Redford truly wants to maximize the economic benefits from the tar sands, perhaps she should insist, as Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, has suggested, that her province's oily gunk be upgraded to synthetic crude oil before it's exported. (Most dealers know you get less for crack than you do for powdered cocaine.)
Neither Enbridge nor TransCanada care whether their package is diluted bitumen or synthetic crude, but everyone along their proposed pipelines should.
Although there are obvious measures we could and should be taking to aid our withdrawal from fossil fuels, as long as Hopalong Harper is in charge, investment in green energy and electric cars is likely to remain even more of a pipe dream in Canada than in many other countries. And, as beneficial as going cold turkey might be for the health of the planet, it is not a viable option.
So, here's the deal (because apparently someone died and made me king): No new pipelines either heading west or east and henceforth tar sands companies must upgrade their bitumen before it goes anywhere. This won't help with our fossil fuel addiction or with arresting the impacts of climate change, but at least it might reduce the immediate threat of environmental devastation.
That's reduce, of course, not eliminate.
Miranda Holmes is an associate editor of Watershed Sentinel. For the full story on plans to pipe tar sands oil to the Atlantic coast go to: www.watershedsentinel.ca/content/line-9-shipping-tar-sands-crude-east. Photo © Leadnow.ca.
email Miranda Holmes


text:
Archimedes Circular Podcast 0x01: Co-Chairs of the AAMI Medical Device Security Working Group
May 2, 2016 •
Kevin Fu
Welcome to the inaugural Archimedes Circular Podcast. Today, Dr. Kevin Fu interviews the co-chairs of the AAMI Working Group on Medical Device Security ahead of the release of its Technical Information Report 57 to medical device manufacturers on specific security engineering methods designed to help satisfy regulatory expectations of cybersecurity in the 510(k) and PMA processes.
Ken Hoyme and Geoffrey Pascoe are co-chairs of the AAMI Medical Device Security Working group. AAMI is the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. Founded in 1967, AAMI is a non-profit organization of 7,000 professionals for the development, management, and use of safe and effective healthcare technology. AAMI consists of over 100 technical committees and working groups that produce Standards, Recommended Practices, and Technical Information Reports for medical devices. The medical device security co-chairs are interviewed by Kevin Fu, a professor at the University of Michigan and the Archimedes Center for Medical Device Security.
For several years, the AAMI Medical Device Security Working group has been toiling away tirelessly on the Technical Information Report #57 (Principles for medical device information security risk management). Its members fondly call it TIR 57. The document provides advice to front-line medical device engineers on how to begin integrating security engineering into the design and implementation of medical devices. The TIR 57 is based on the input and consensus vote of medical device manufacturers, health delivery organizations, security engineering experts, and faculty.
Follow Archimedes on social media to keep up-to-date with the latest news.
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Given the increase in ransomware attacks over the...
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The health care industry is falling prey to cyber...
Bill Aerts Joins Archimedes as New Deputy Director
The Archimedes Center for Medical Device Security...
How to Make Medical Devices More Secure
Former Medtronic Director of Product Security Bill...
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St. Jude Merlin Error Indicators Are Not Evidence...
SPQR Lab
MedSec Events
Archimedes is based at the University of Michigan Computer Science & Engineering (c) 2019


text:
HEAVENS ABOVE
The number of serious near-misses by planes has risen by 58 per cent in the last five years
Many of these are down to drones, which are being used more and more, with incidents being blamed on increasingly crowded skies
By Rosie Gizauskas
THE number of serious near-misses by planes has gone up by 58 per cent since 2013.
Accidents numbers have also gone up, from 654 in 2013, to 708 in 2017.
There has been a sharp rise in near-misses with aircraft since 2013
There were 172 reports of near-misses in the skies in 2013, and 272 reports last year, known as "airproxes".
A report by the BBC states that this is due to increasingly busy skies as well as more and more drones being used.
In 2013, there were zero near-misses from drones, but in 2017 there were 93.
Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson Jonathan Nicholson said that incidents around London and the South East are due to crowded skies.
Drones are to blame for many of the near-misses in the skies
However in the north of the country, they are more to do with the air space being less crowded.
Jonathan said: "Pilots in this more open air space tend to relax and think they are in a much freer, more open, sky… [that] can lead to an accident or an airprox".
Hundreds of the incidents involve military aircraft.
A drone was "deliberately" flown towards a plane that was landing at RAF Northolt on order to cause a crash earlier this month, a pilot claimed.
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The man was flying the PA31 aircraft when he saw what he thought was a helium balloon as he approached to land at the airfield in North West London.
But as the object drew nearer he realised it was a remote-control drone, and it was being intentionally flown into the path of his plane.
A report from the UK Airprox Board on the pilot's terrifying experience states: "He lost sight of it under the nose and looked down at the wing root and identified it as a small white drone of the lightweight hobbyist type, it was about 20ft below the aircraft as he passed over it.
"He reported that he had no doubt that it was being deliberately flown under the flight path in an attempt to collide with an aircraft."
In May this year a police drone narrowly missed crashing into an American F-15 fighter jet, which was flying 500 feet above Dartmoor, Devon.
An American fighter jet had a near miss with a police drone in May this year
The Airprox board stated that the F-15 pilot, who was flying at an altitude of 500ft above Dartmoor, Devon, could not see the drone.
The report said: "[The policeman] descended the drone as quickly as possible.
"The jet came into view from right-to-left and seemed to pass by the drone at the same altitude; it looked like the jet was within 200m laterally of the drone.
"Once the jet was in view it started banking to the right and he honestly believed it was going to collide with the drone.
"The jet continued, and was followed a few seconds later by a second jet."
Meanwhile Last October a drone came within five feet of an Airbus A321 when it was flying over Kew, West London.
A drone capable of remaining in the sky for an entire YEAR is being developed by British firms
Beachgoers panic as plane makes emergency landing right in front of them
The three or four-engined white drone was spotted out of the first officer's window as the jet flew at 1,700ft on its approach to Heathrow.
The near miss was classified by watchdogs on the UK Airprox Board as within the highest category of risk.
Sun Online previously reported what the drone laws are in the UK and whether it's legal to use them.
Plane crashes and air disasters


text:
package org.sewas.features.currentleaguetable;

import cucumber.api.java.After;
import cucumber.api.java.Before;
import cucumber.api.java.en.And;
import cucumber.api.java.en.Given;
import cucumber.api.java.en.Then;
import cucumber.api.java.en.When;
import org.sewas.LeagueTableApplication;
import org.sewas.features.ScenarioConfig;
import org.sewas.features.currentleaguetable.steplibs.getCurrentTableStepLib;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootTest;
import org.springframework.cloud.contract.wiremock.AutoConfigureWireMock;
import org.springframework.test.context.ActiveProfiles;

import java.io.IOException;

/**
 * Created by sebastian on 22/05/17.
 */
@ActiveProfiles("wiremock")
@SpringBootTest(webEnvironment = SpringBootTest.WebEnvironment.RANDOM_PORT,
        classes = {LeagueTableApplication.class, ScenarioConfig.class})
@AutoConfigureWireMock(port = 1234)
public class getCurrentTableStepDef {

    @Autowired
    private getCurrentTableStepLib steps;

    @Before
    public void setUp(){}

    @After
    public void tearDown(){
        this.steps.resetPlayedMatches();
    }

    @Given("^League \"([^\"]*)\" exists$")
    public void leagueExists(String leagueId) {
        steps.createLeague(leagueId);
    }

    @When("^Current league is fetched$")
    public void currentLeagueIsFetched() throws IOException {
        steps.initWireMock();
        steps.requestCurrentSeason();
    }

    @Then("^No team available at leaguetable$")
    public void allTeamsHavePoints() throws Throwable {
        steps.verifyThatAllTeamsHaveZeroPints();
    }

    @Given("^\"([^\"]*)\" played against \"([^\"]*)\" (\\d+):(\\d+)$")
    public void playedAgainst(String team1, String team2, int scoreTeam1, int scoreTeam2) {
        this.steps.addMatch(team1, team2, scoreTeam1, scoreTeam2);
    }

    @Then("^\"([^\"]*)\" is on place (\\d+) with (\\d+) (?:point|points)$")
    public void isOnPlaceWithPoints(String teamname, int place, int points) throws Throwable {
        this.steps.verifyThatTeamHasPoints(teamname, place, points);
    }

    @And("^\"([^\"]*)\" has (\\d+) (?:matchday|matchdays) played$")
    public void hasMatchdayPlayed(String teamname, int numberOfMatchdays)  {
        this.steps.verifyNumberOfMatchdaysForTeam(teamname, numberOfMatchdays);
    }

    @And("^\"([^\"]*)\" has (\\d+) (?:victory|victories), (\\d+) (?:tie|ties) and (\\d+) loss$")
    public void hasVictoryTiesAndLoss(String teamname, int victories, int ties, int loss) {
        this.steps.verifyVictoriesForTeamname(teamname, victories);
        this.steps.verifyTiesForTeamname(teamname, ties);
        this.steps.verifyLossForTeamname(teamname, loss);
    }

    @And("^\"([^\"]*)\" has goal difference of (\\d+):(\\d+)$")
    public void hasGoalDifferenceOf(String teamname, int goalsFor, int goalsAgainst) {
        this.steps.verifyGoalDifference(teamname, goalsFor, goalsAgainst);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Grabbing the ID attribute of a selected element within my svg-canvas. SVGEDITOR and Methoddraw I would like to get the id of a selected element within my svg-canvas as a variable to use it within a function.
I would take it that var selected = svgCanvas.getSelectedElems; doesn't pass a particular id.
Any ideas?

A: You can make direct use of selectedElement.id
var elementSel = selectedElement.id;


Our May movie is all about bottled water. Come join us, all welcome!
"Examines the role of the bottled water industry and its effects on our health, climate change, pollution, and our reliance on oil." IMDB score 7.4/10.
This entry was posted in Event, Movies, Plastic Free July, Waste & Recycling and tagged Bottled water, Community movie night, Plastic bottles, Stirling Arms Hotel. Bookmark the permalink.


Put the lentils and turmeric in a deep pot. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cook lentils, gently simmering, partially covered, until cooked but still hold their shape, about 30 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking to ensure the lentils are not sticking to the pan and burning. Add more water if necessary. Add squash, tomatoes, onions and curry powder and mix well. Cook for 10 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are tender. Stir in the nuts and salt; cover and set aside. Heat the ghee or oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until hot. Add cumin and cook until the spice turns several shades darker. Add asafetida and crushed pepper. Let spices sizzle for a minute then put the entire contents of the pan over the lentil-vegetable mixture. Add coriander and stir just a few times to mix lightly. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with deep fried balloon bread.
Heat stick of butter in a small saucepan over low-heat until fully melted, 5 minutes. Increase heat and cook the butter until all its moisture evaporates and the milk solids turn brown, and the clear fat will turn golden amber, about 5 minutes. Strain the clear fat usli ghee into a jar.


text:
Characters, Article stubs, Supporting Characters,
Alive Characters
LGBT Characters
Claire Telesco
Melinda Page Hamilton
"Nobody Else Is Dying"
"Please Say No One Else Is Dead"
7 (see below)
Claire Telesco[1]
Special Agent (formerly)
F.B.I. (formerly)
Tegan Price - One-Night-Stand
Agent Claire Telesco[1] is a supporting character on How to Get Away with Murder. She was the agent who was responsible with investigating the death of Philadelphia's District Attorney Todd Denver and subsequently arrested Jorge Castillo for the crime along with other crimes. She later spearheaded Operation Bonfire until she was subsequently removed from the case and later fired for supposedly not protecting Sandrine Castillo while she was in witness protection.
Following the mysterious death of Philadelphia's District Attorney Todd Denver, Telesco was sent to investigate. After finding that the D.A.'s breaks were tampered with, the agent then followed up on some of the D.A.'s meetings which were held the previous day. She started with Laurel Castillo as she had an unscheduled meeting with the D.A. Laurel turned up with her lawyer, Annalise Keating. Laurel told the agent that she meet with Denver to discuss her coming back to work following her maternity leave. Laurel then went on to say that that wasn't what the conversation was about; she told her that he wanted to talk about her father, Jorge Castillo. Curious, the agent pushes Laurel for more information to which Laurel claims to be unaware that Denver and her father were even acquainted. Laurel brings up the fact that she doesn't know much more as she and her father haven't been communicating due to the custody battle for Christopher Castillo. Following their meeting, she was approached by Tegan Price who offered the F.B.I. illegal information about Antares Technologies and one of its C.E.O.'s Jorge Castillo. Tegan explained that she would only give the evidence if she cooperated anonymously and that she wanted an immunity deal for her going against her non-disclosure agreement which was held between her and Antares. Once Jorge was taken into custody, Telesco thanked Tegan for the assistance and reassured her that it would never link back to her and to go back to Caplan & Gold and pretend as if nothing had happened. ("Nobody Else Is Dying")
This article is a stub. You can help the How to Get Away with Murder Wiki by expanding it.
Agent Telesco was one of the many characters whose name wasn't disclosed in the episode but was found in the transcript of the episode, "Nobody Else Is Dying".[2]
↑ 1.0 1.1 "How to Get Away With Murder - Episode 5.10 - Promotional Photos + Press Release" - SpoilerTV
↑ How To Get Away With Murder (2014) s04e15 Episode Script Nobody Else Is Dying - Springfield! Springfield!
Retrieved from "https://howtogetawaywithmurder.fandom.com/wiki/Claire_Telesco?oldid=24901"


Whether visiting the city regarding business or pleasure, theres an extensive selection involving Hong Kong hotels regarding visitors to select from. If youre seeking cheaper accommodation, you may want to think about finding a motel hotels in louisville ky in the and surrounding suburbs. Many business hotels also feature a number of on-site restaurants and bars, perfect for entertaining complaintant or co-worker, or simply unwinding after a tough days work. The establishments offer the possiblity to tidy up any loose concludes ahead of a crucial meeting or even presentation, as well as allowing for interaction with the place of work and family back home. Being near to attractions isnt 100 % necessary - with thanks to the citys excellent or trains network - when you are close can save even a small amount of time and effort.
Many hotels feature on-site dining establishments, meaning you can eat in the cozy surroundings of ones lodgings, but a trip to among the citys many great restaurants can be heartily recommended. Such functions may include pools, top-end gym establishments, in-room luxury facilities, and extravagant doctor offices, all of which make certain that these particular find here Hong Kong hotels are some of the most comfortable in the world. Hotels in the city are suited to virtually any budget. Many of these feature specialist enterprise centers or even include this kind of amenities in-room. If you are looking for luxury accommodation, youll find that some of Hong Kongs nearly all luxurious involving hotels feature an extensive range of classy facilities.
If youre traveling to Hong Kong on enterprise, there are a multitude of hotels that supply a business-ready environment. When looking at getting down to business proper, many of these hotels are completely located regarding visiting the citys small and big corporations, as well as facilities like the Hong Kong Convention Center. Inexpensive accommodation is available regarding backpackers while others traveling with a restricted finances. Hotels close to the airport will also be useful for these making a brief visit to the city, particularly for enterprise travelers. Those looking to take advantage of the citys nightlife as well as fine delicacies will find there are many Hong Kong hotels that are positioned perfectly regarding such research.


Oreo Cookie Cookies AKA "The Cannibal Cookies"
First of all, let me explain the AKA cookies name. When I got the Oreos for these cookies, I told hubby to try and stay away from them and that I had other plans. He buged me for days, to find out what I was making with the Oreos. I wanted it to be a surprise. Finally, when I was making the cookies he came into the kitchen to watch. When I explained what I was making, he said "Oh no, that's just wrong! These cookies are cannibals!!" I thought it was so funny, so now I call these cookies "cannibal cookies".
I first found these cookies while browsing Pinterest. These cookies were pinned so many times, that I just had to give it a try. Boy was I right! These are probably the best cookies that I've ever made!! Definitely worth a try!
~Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand held mixer), cream together the butter and sugars or a couple of minutes.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until mixed.
3. Sift in the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix the ingredients on low speed until combined.
4. Chop the Oreos into small pieces. Fold in Oreo pieces into the batter.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Cool completely.
Ok you've sold me on these cookies! There's no way I can sit here and not ever try them!! Pinning them and making them:D The name is hilarious… you can only expect a guy to come up with a name like that..LOL! Thanks for sharing!
These sound amazing and look even better! I love Oreo cookies – I'll have to give these a try.
These I will definitely have to try soon!
Why is it that husbands get possessive w their Oreos?! Mine is the same way! Thanks for sharing at Must Try Mondays.
Oh Wow! These look amazing… my two favorites together!! Thanks so much for linking up at Jillify It!
Who knew you could make Oreos even more delicious!? Thanks for sharing at Beautify It Monday! We hope we'll see you again next week!
These sounds so good! Found you by way of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday party.Have a great week!
Must be a guy thing. I recently bought a bag of marshmallows for an Easter cake. My son bugged me about eating those marshmallows for days!
These look super yummy! Pinned! Thanks for sharing at Terrific Tuesdays.
Yummy!!! My husband and I both lve oreo cookies. Will have to give this a try. Thank you for sharing.
Love the name!! Sounds just like something my DH would say. Thanks so much for linking up on Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy. Hope to see you again next week!
Oreos and chocolate chip cookie combined…best of both worlds!!! What a fun and yummy cookie recipe!!!
These cookies look amazing! Can you tell me tho, how much does this recipe make??
Hi, Rachel! I believe this made about a 9-10.
Thank you so much for getting back to me! So many times I leave comments/questions on peoples blogs and I never hear back. It's refreshing to get a reply! 🙂 Thank you again! Loves!
These cookies aren't great……. they were more or less tasteless. Bummer, since I love Oreos.