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Aero Club Awards Dinner 2012
By Cheryl Smit
The Aero Club of SA hosted its annual awards dinner at the Wanderers Club on Saturday the 3rd of November 2012. The evening was well attended and for the aviation enthusiast, the cream of South Africa's aviation fraternity was there to meet. The proceedings were opened by Kevin Storie, the General Manager of the Aero Club who welcomed all the special guests. Jeff Earl, the AeCSA Chairman followed with his address and reported back on the activities and progress of the year. The host of the evening was Karl Jensen, and with his jokes and light hearted stories he directed the flow of the ceremony efficiently but relaxed.
Recognition for achieving national colours was first on the list and started with Elton Bondi, Annie Boon, Patrick Davidson, Pieter Du Preez, Barrie Eeles, Warren Haslam, Johannes (Johnny) Smith, Charles Urban and Glen Warden representing South Africa at the Advanced World Aerobatic Championships - held in Hungary.
Ronnie Beukes, Anthony Gibson, Paul Jackson, Riaan Marais, Robert Mc Fie, Anton Naude, Keith Pickersgill, George Pires Da Naia, Hendrik Theron and Hendrik van Zyl received National Colours when they represented our country during the 7th Para Motor Glider Championships held on Spain.
Percy Attfield, Conrad Cloete, Dirk Meyer and Keith Rennecle earned their national colours during the FAI Control Line Model World Championships in Bulgaria.
Christian Adriaan, Johan Bruwer, Craig Goodrum, Dion Liebenberg, Tshepo Molefe, Ryan Nelson, Alan Smith and Jason Weber were awarded national colours for their participation during the World Model Gliding Championships.
Carol Clifford, Laurens Goudriaan, Oscar Goudriaan, Mark Holliday, Adriaan Jonker and Jacobus Jonker received National Colours during the 32nd FAI World Gliding Championships in the USA while Mary De Klerk, Caroline Eckard, Frank Eckard, Leonard Edwards, Wikus Kritzinger, Rob Kennedy, Adriaan Pilling, Anthony Russel, Hans Schwebel, Ron Stirk and Leon Weideman received theirs for their participation at the World Rally Flying Championships in Spain.
Jan Daniel Minnaar attended the 20th Hot Air Balloon Championships in the USA and therefore also received his National Colours.
For Competing in the World Skydiving Series 2012, a Special Acknowledgement certificate, FAI certificate and gold medal was awarded to Timothy Mace and a Special Acknowledgement certificate awarded for International Judge 18th FAI World Rally Flying Championships in Spain went to Jacques Jacobs and Arddyn Moolman.
National Speed record of 35.6 km/h over a Triangular course of 50 km in a Paraglider Class on 9 Dec 2011 at Pampoenfontein was awarded to Andre Rainsford Alberts.
National Speed record of 38.9 Km/h over an out-and-return course of 100 km in the Paraglider Class on 10 Dec 2011 at Pampoenfontein was again set by Andre Rainsford Alberts.
World record of a Straight line flight of 129.2 Km with limited fuel in the Paramotor Class on 26 June 2011 at Pretoria to Hendrik Johannes Theron.
The Lewis Lang Trophy, awarded for Pilot of the Year for Quality Airmanship was bestowed on Oscar Goudriaan. Runner up Hans Schwebel who he received a special recognition certificate for attaining 2nd Place in the World Landing Championships at the 20th FAI World Precision Flying Championships - Brits, South Africa.
The SA Eagle Trophy, awarded for the Most Meritorious Achievement at an International Event was awarded to the South African Precision Flying Team Mike Cathro, Mary De Klerk and Hans Schwebel placed second at the World Landing Championships at the 20th FAI World Precision Flying Championships - Brits, South Africa, and Jason Weber, Tsepo Molefe, Ryan Nelson who attained a Silver Podium Finnish through struggle and tenacity. They posted incredible scores in poor flying conditions that included an unforeseen snowfall. Their spirits and conduct bore testament to their competitive flying maturity and experience. Their energetic morale coupled with their team charisma had their fellow overseas competitors taking note of South Africa's capabilities. These young men embodied the ethos of team work combined with the teenage �cool factor�
The Don Tilly Trophy, Awarded for the most Significant Contribution to Air Safety was awarded to The Aero Club of South Africa for the development of the National Safety Campaign "Fly Safe Aviator" that was rolled out nationally following on from the 6th Annual South African Civil Aviation Safety Challenge issued in 2011 to General Aviation by the SACAA, a goal of halving the accident rate by the SA CAA Safety Seminar in 2014. Outstanding and real contribution has integrated a culture of safety to the General Recreational and Sport Aviation industry in South Africa. It supported a credo that is tangible and a practical example and information sharing theme to assist new pilots, and refresh existing pilots, by igniting the passion for the wonderful world of flight. The Aero Club of South Africa and its members have contributed to the overall success of this campaign and are set to expand on the safety campaign to achieve the goal as set out.
1st Runner up to Don Tilly Trophy was Walter Doubell. Walter started flying when he retired from his career in the banking industry. He completed his PPL at Heidelberg where he lives and uses every opportunity to pursue his accomplished dream. Walter epitomises volunteerism that is part of the ethos of EAA and in a short period has become the EAA of SA Safety Officer and Treasurer for both EAA National and EAA Chapter 322 Johannesburg. Walter completed the Air Show South Africa Safety Rating Grade C and is on hand to provide assistance in planning and the oversight of fly-ins and other events. He completed a safety course offered at Henley Air and at his own expense went to study the safety oversight of the Duxford Airshow in the UK. Walter assisted with the 2012 SAPFA President's Trophy Air Race as a Safety Officer and also at the World Precision Flying Championships at Brits earlier this year. Walter is part of the management team of the Heidelberg Aviation Association that manages Heidelberg Airfield. He was instrumental in setting up the Manual of Procedures including their safety management system that is required by licensed airfields. Walter Doubell is a worthy recipient of this award as he truly takes safety to heart.
2nd Runner up to the Don Tilly Trophy was Steve Murray for his 4 decades of contribution to safety in the Soaring Society of South Africa, this being his last year as Safety Officer.
The James Gilliland Trophy for the Most Meritorious Feat during the Past Year was awarded to Mike Visagie. Mike lives near a little known dorpie in the NW Province, Makwassie. He learned to fly in 1998 at the Vaal River Gliding Club in Klerksdorp and attained a PPL. When EAA Chapter 1504 was chartered at Klerksdorp in 2011, Mike took on the EAA Young Eagles portfolio to assist with youth development in aviation. He started what will hopefully become an annual tradition, The Makwassie Mid-Winter MoJo, a fly-in to his farm airstrip Swartpan International, is aimed at instilling aviation enthusiasm for the young and old in the Klerksdorp environs. The MoJo is a well-structured day for EAA Young Eagles to show young people how to reach aviation dreams and aspirations. The day includes model aircraft demonstrations, presentations and Young Eagles introductory flights culminating in an evening of fine foods and hospitality. The 2nd MoJo was held in July this year. Mike's dedication and hard work has got many sponsors happily inveigled into supply all manner of goods and services that make this event exceptional in every detail for all taking part. The event has already gained tremendous momentum with the acquisition of a Pietenpol airframe that was ceremonially handed to the headmaster of the Wolmaranstad High School. This airframe is to be used as a training and skills development platform of an EAA Young Eagles initiative at the school. A Johannesburg EAA member Graham Haird has since donated a nearly completed Pietenpol to the Chapter. A target has been set to complete the aircraft by the 3rd MoJo in June 2013. Mike Visagie's on-going dedication and infectious enthusiasm is certainly worthy of this award.
Youth Development most promising Aviation Enthusiast was awarded to Mike Brown. Dr Mike Brown is the EAA of SA National Young Eagles convener and vice chairman of EAA Chapter 322 Johannesburg. He constantly puts in tremendous effort to continue the momentum of the EAA Young Eagles initiative and introduces novel ways to extend and promote the Young Eagles beyond the initial flight experience that candidates receive. Mike freely uses his Beechcraft Debonair and his Globe Swift to allow many Young Eagles to experience the magic of flight and skilfully ensures that each Young Eagles day is vibrant and well organised Mike Brown has now also taken on the role of host at the EAA Flying Legends Talk Shows at the EAA Auditorium at Rand Airport. His superb style at the ever popular event is ideally placed to MC this educational and entertainment forum. He is certainly a worthy recipient of this award.
Certificates of Recognition went out to the Brits Flying, Johan Coetzee, Gordon Dyne, Neville Ferreira, Pierre Jacobs, Paul Lastrucci, Keaton Perkins, Cliff Pike,
After dinner it was time for the African Pilot and Airshow South Africa Awards presented by Athol Franz of African Pilot Magazine and Rikus Erasmus, Chairman of ASSA. The winner of this prestigious award was The Swartkops Airshow with the Grand Rand Airshow and the PE Airshow as runner up.
Silver Wings were bestowed on Claire King, Dirk Venter and Tony Russell.
Gold Wings were bestowed on Nigel Hopkins. Nigel joined EAA at age 14 and SAPFA in 1995. He won Rally Flying titles in '96/98/99/2000/2001/2 and 4. He won Precision rally titles in 99/2000/2002/2/3 and 4. He joined the Sport Aerobatic Club in 2005 and has been Chairman since 2007. In 2009 he won a medal at the World Advanced Aerobatic Championships and 5 more medals in 2010. In 2011 he was placed 25th in the 2010 Unlimited World Championships. Nigel has been awarded the Aero Club Pilot of the Year no less than 3 times.
Helmut Ludwig was another Gold Wing recipient. Helmut started flying aerobatics in 1996. He competed successfully at 4 Advanced World Aerobatic Championships in 1999/2000/2002 and 2004 and also successfully in the 2001 Australian Aerobatic Championships. He has served the Sport Aerobatic Club in the capacity of chairman for a number of years and he wrote the SAC constitution and served on the Aero Club committee.
The guest Speaker of the evening was Wing Commander Bruce Harrison.
Bruce was born in Scotland and raised and educated in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. He worked on several mines and did his National Service in the Royal Rhodesian Air Force. He was selected for pilot training in 1967. He introduced the use of computers into the RRAF. and held several posts including Personal Staff Officer to the Commander of the Air Force and ADC to the President of Rhodesia. On retirement he joined the Edgars group and eventually left as Edcon Group Executive. He now runs his own consultancy in card and payment systems specialising in fraud prevention. Among others, Bruce is active in the local church, the Gideons, and many charitable organisations and NGOs. He is the current Chairman of the Royal Air Force Officers' Club of Johannesburg.
AeCSA
Aero Club of SA
Copyright � 2021 Pilot's Post PTY Ltd
The information, views and opinions by the authors contributing to Pilot�s Post are not necessarily those of the editor or other writers at Pilot�s Post.


This was my first attempt with the new ice cream maker, in fact I let my 3 year old make it. It's a small recipe and will make about a half serving, for an adult or in my case, two very small child sized servings. That being said it is very easy to multiply the recipe and it doesn't get easier than this.
Yup, that's it. Like I said it's very simple and just a beginning recipe. I wasn't even going to post it, except it's so yummy I had a smidge today with my lunch! Sometimes simple is the best kind of yummy!


About seven Kenyan firms are cross-listed on the Ugandan exchange out of a total of 15 companies that are traded on the bourse.
Between January and December 2012 the USE's market capitalisation increased by 36 per cent to $5.81 billion from $4.26 billion, driven mainly by the strong performance of Kenyan stocks.
Kenyan firms cross-listed on the Ugandan stock market were the main movers of the neighbouring country's bourse in 2012, trading data up to the end of the year has showed.
The high capital gains of Kenyan firms listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange helped to lift the bourse's valuation, according to a summary report done by the country's Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
"The rise in market capitalisation was driven by an increase in the market capitalisation of five cross-listed counters (Nation Media Group, Kenya Airways, Jubilee Holdings, East African Breweries Limited and Equity Bank Limited), Bank of Baroda Uganda as well as the listing of Umeme shares," says the latest CMA (Uganda) Monthly report.
KCB's share, which is also cross-listed on the USE, was not included in CMA Uganda's report but its stock was the highest performer of all cross-listed shares in 2012, appreciating by 80 per cent in 2012.
KCB's share price closed 2012 at Sh29.75, an 80 per cent increase from the Sh16.80 opening level for 2012.
Nation Media Group's share price rose by 57 per cent to Sh222 from Sh140, EABL rose by 54 per cent (Sh264 from Sh175), Equity Bank 44 per cent (Sh24 from Sh16.75), Jubilee Insurance by 11.61 per cent (Sh173 from sh155).
The other Kenyan firms cross-listed on the Ugandan bourse are Centum and Kenya Airways, which saw their share prices drop over the year.
Centum's share price went down marginally to Sh12.40 from Sh13.50, a 5.34 per cent drop.
Kenya Airways saw its share price slump in 2012 to Sh11.25 from Sh20.50, a 45 per cent drop, but its total market capitalisation has risen due to the addition of one billion shares from the rights issue.
At the beginning of 2012 and before the rights issue Kenya Airways had a Sh9.4 billion market capitalisation, but after the rights issue this rose to Sh16.69 billion despite the price drop.
Ugandan utility provider, Umeme, is cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
Overall Kenyan firms account for around 85 per cent of the USE's market valuation, which makes the capitalisation of the two exchanges move in unison.
Ugandan stockbrokers and investment banks said the lack of seamless trading between Ugandan and Kenyan investors had created inefficiencies between the two bourses.
African Alliance Investment Bank (Uganda) chief executive Ken Kitariko said the lack of a seamless trading platform between the USE and the NSE has limited fund managers and retail investors from active trading in cross-listed stocks.
"Most cross-listings were made on a public relations basis. Quite a number of (Ugandan) firms did not participate in the initial public offers," said Mr Kitariko.
The requirement that a local stockbroker must have a counterpart on the other side to buy and sell on their behalf makes it difficult to trade in a short time.
"Cross-listed stocks still face a challenge in being tradable," said Robert Baldwin, the chief executive of Crested Stocks and Securities, a Ugandan brokerage house.
The NSE and the USE have said that they are working on changes to make trading of cross-listed shares the same as any others.
"A proposal for an inter-depository transfer process awaits approval by our regulators. I wish to assure the shareholders of Umeme Holdings that once the process is approved, investors will trade their Umeme Holdings shares on the NSE, as easily as they are traded at the USE," said NSE chief executive Peter Mwangi at the Umeme cross-listing ceremony early last month.


Wizards at large in the Muggle community may reveal themselves to each other by wearing the colours of purple and green, often in combination. However, this is no more than an unwritten code, and there is no obligation to conform to it. Plenty of members of the magical community prefer to wear their favourite colours when out and about in the Muggle world, or adopt black as a practical colour, especially when travelling by night.
The International Statute of Secrecy laid down clear guidelines on dress for witches and wizards when they are out in public.
When mingling with Muggles, wizards and witches will adopt an entirely Muggle standard of dress, which will conform as closely as possible to the fashion of the day. Clothing must be appropriate to the climate, the geographical region and the occasion. Nothing self-altering or adjusting is to be worn in front of Muggles.
In spite of these clear instructions, clothing misdemeanours have been one of the most common infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy since its inception. Younger generations have always tended to be better informed about Muggle culture in general; as children, they mingle freely with their Muggle counterparts; later, when they enter magical careers, it becomes more difficult to keep in touch with normal Muggle dress. Older witches and wizards are often hopelessly out of touch with how quickly fashions in the Muggle world change; having purchased a pair of psychedelic loon pants in their youth, they are indignant to be hauled up in front of the Wizengamot fifty years later for arousing widespread offence at a Muggle funeral.
adopted as a mark of celebration.
By and large, wizard clothing has remained outside of fashion, although small alterations have been made to such garments as dress robes. Standard wizard clothing comprises plain robes, worn with or without the traditional pointed hat, and will always be worn on such formal occasions as christenings, weddings and funerals. Women's dresses tend to be long. Wizard clothing might be said to be frozen in time, harking back to the seventeenth century, when they went into hiding. Their nostalgic adherence to this old-fashioned form of dress may be seen as a clinging to old ways and old times; a matter of cultural pride.
Day to day, however, even those who detest Muggles wear a version of Muggle clothing, which is undeniably practical compared with robes. Anti-Muggles will often attempt to demonstrate their superiority by adopting a deliberately flamboyant, out-of-date or dandyish style in public.
** To date, they appear to have been taken as cult members by Muggles.
*** These are generally taken by Muggles to be students on a dare.


Two things today. Firstly, I did some wraps using Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe from River Cottage, Veg Every Day.
Hugh's recipe uses what he calls the Magic Bread Dough. Magic because you can use the same recipe to make Pizza, Flatbread, Pitta, Breadsticks and Rolls. He uses ingredients to make 8 flat breads, but I didn't want that many for just me and DP, so I halved it. You could of course, divide up the full amount of Magic Dough into say, 2 pizza, 2 flatbread, 4 pitta and 2 rolls, or any other combination.
put everything in a bowl and add 160ml warm water. Mix everything together and give it all a good knead for about 10 minutes, or if you have a food mixer, use the dough hook for 10 minutes, or you can use a food processor, process for 5 minutes.
when the dough has risen, knock it back by punching it down and for these flatbreads, divide it into 4 equal pieces.
the recipe here says to roll them out to rough circles 2-3mm thick. It was fine rolling them out, but I did find that I needed to dust the worktop with a little flour or they stuck. And having rolled them out, you need to let them rest for 5 minutes. This proved a little difficult as you can't stack them or they will stick together, so I draped one over a plate, one over a baking sheet I had just used, and left two on the worktop. Goodness knows how you do this for 8 of them!
Heat a large frying pan or similar until very hot and place one of the flatbreads in. Let it cook for a minute or two until the top is bubbling and the cooked side has brown patches like a nan bread. Flip it over and do the other side. Put on a plate and cover with a tea towel while you do the other three.
Mine were extremely uneven circles, especially by the time I got them in the pan, so the bits of flatbread that didn't fit the bottom of the pan were stuck to the sides of it, and it seemed to work fine.
They tasted wonderful, especially really fresh. But of course with a recipe that takes a long elapsed time like this one, it would be difficult to time it to a meal time. A gentle warming just before eating refreshed it beautifully.
In the book, the first recipe is shown with garlic butter on it, and that would be extraordinarily good, and like yorkshire puddings, a great, cheap filler, before a main event.
I had one with a chorizo and chick pea filling for lunch today and it was gorgeous. That is the second thing for today.
I used strong flour as in Hugh's recipe because I had some cheap stuff from Approved Foods, but I'm sure they would work fine with all value range flour.
The fillings you can have in a flatbread are as variable as a sandwich. They make a nice change from sandwiches in a lunchbox, and can also be used with curries, like nan, and as a meal accompaniment with anything that you like.
You just can't beat flatbreads for budget-friendly bread! Not to mention they are super yummy too!
They certainly are, I love them!
Is this recipe half of the river cottage one?


I chose my mum over anyone else for so many reasons; her fitness, experience, optimism and the absolute knowledge that if there was any chance of pulling something like this off it was with her. I agree we're not exactly the spring chicken, energy drink chugging, somewhat egotistical athletic types you would expect to undertake such an epic sufferfest, but here we were with a dream and a willingness to try anyway. After a year and a half of mapping, dehydrating food and arranging virtually impossible logistics, we took a step up the first of many, many mountains to come.
My mum is not like most people's mums. She's the toughest and most resilient person I know. I was soon to discover she's also impossibly cheery and positive in horrible situations in a rather annoying and helplessly amusing sort of way. There was the time we spent two miserable days searching for a food cache through a blizzard on a crevasse scattered glacier.
All I could think of was how hungry and dismal I felt, and how bad it would be if we never found the cache – (which we didn't). Meanwhile, she would turn to me and point out how stunningly beautiful the intricate stellar arms of the new snowflakes caught on her sleeve were. Or in the midst of the umpteenth day of bushwhacking through choking stands of alder and baby hemlocks, my sanity at wit's end; she would turn to me with a delighted smile pointing at some adorably fat chickadees tweeting away in a nearby bush. I'd catch her randomly hugging old growth spruce as we skied silently through ancient forests. Farting in the tent was also a source of endless amusement. She's hopeless and hilarious and near damn unbreakable my mother is.
It was this ceaseless positivity, and the steady belief that we could pull this trip off that contributed enormously to our eventual success. When I say success, I don't mean in achieving what we set out to do; a complete ski traverse of the coast mountains. Because we didn't accomplish that. The most significant factor in this being a low snowpack year in the northern latitudes. While we endured insane cold spells and almost non-stop precipitation for months on end in the southern part of the range, northern BC and Alaska were sitting at about a third of their regular snowpack by the time spring rolled around.
In an effort to keep the expedition a ski traverse and not a bushwhack-hike-while-you-carry-your-skis-traverse, we had to skip some low elevation sections. We tallied our true success as doing the very best we could with what we had, every single day – while avoiding any sickness or injury.
For more information about Martina and Tania's epic adventure then visit their website here, and if you've been inspired by this story then keep an eye out for Part 2 going live next week!
Ski patroller at 5 different resorts, catskiing guide, avalanche technician and avid snowmobiler, there's isnt much Martina hasn't accomplished when it comes to the world of winter sports. Martina had to call on all her experience as she and her mother took on a 2300km epic traverse of B.C.'s coastal mountain range.


Ash of Gods is a turn-based role-playing adventure that takes us to a bloody fantasy world where any mistake can kill the lives of our allies. Choose well the path you are going to follow because in this video game of AurumDust every act has consequences and depending on how you act, the story will advance in one direction or another.
With a visual style inspired by classic Disney animated films, or the work of the author of The Lord of the Rings 1978, Ralph Bakshi, in addition to the story mode in Ash of Gods also offers a side of multiplayer game.


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Struggling to Explain the Palestinian Prison Escape to My Child
'Ima, are you happy?' Forat asked me. She wanted me to interpret the prisoners' escape for her, but I didn't know what to say
Umm Forat
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The statue of Nelson Mandela in Ramallah, which was given as a gift by the city of Johannesberg.Credit: Umm Forat
I'm an Israeli-American lawyer, Jewish, married to a Palestinian resident of Ramallah, and author of the Hebrew-language book "Maqluba – Upside-Down Love," which describes how we met and fell in love. This blog is about raising our two children, 7-year-old Forat and 3-year-old Adam, in the West Bank and more recently in the United States, where we're spending a sabbatical year.
We are trying to lead ordinary lives in an extraordinary and unforgiving reality, one that I will share with you. I have changed people's names to protect their privacy. My real name is Sari Bashi, and I've been writing this blog since 2019 under the pen name Umm Forat, which means Mother of Forat in Arabic. I invite you to visit my website: www.ummforat.com.
"Ima, are you happy that they escaped?" Forat asked me. It was a Monday morning, the eve of the Jewish new year. I awoke to the news that six Palestinian prisoners had escaped from Israel's Gilboa prison. When I returned from my morning run, I updated my partner, Osama, who had awoken with our children, seven year-old Forat and three-and-a-half year-old Adam. We compared versions from the Israeli and Palestinian media, each describing a different event: an act of heroism by freedom fighters, according to Palestinian journalists, and a menacing threat by dangerous terrorists, according to Israeli journalists.
Forat knew about prisoners and prisons from the years we lived in Johannesburg. As a toddler, she played in the fountain installed at the feet of a huge statue of Nelson Mandela, among the founders of the African National Congress's military wing, who was convicted of terrorism and spent 27 years in prison. When we returned to the West Bank, a smaller statue of Mandela had been installed in the residential neighborhood of Tireh in Ramallah, a gift from the city of Johannesburg. Forat played there too, riding her scooter and climbing on Mandela's feet. At her school in North Carolina, where we are living temporarily, she learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and the letters he wrote from prisons. And now she's reading a book about Harriet Tubman, a Black woman who escaped slavery in the years preceding the American Civil War and returned to the South multiple times to free other people, constantly on the run from police enforcing the laws of slavery.
Osama and I do not, to say the least, identify with the principles of the Islamic Jihad movement, to which five of the six escaped prisoners belong. I recognize the context in which the movement is operating, of resistance to a violent occupation, under circumstances in which the Israeli authorities suppress all resistance – violent or peaceful. Forat wanted me to interpret the prisoners' escape for her, but I didn't know what to say.
"Ask Baba," I told her.
Harriet Tubman.Credit: H.B. Lindsley,AP
"Baba, are you happy they escaped?" Forat asked.
Heroic myth of the Palestinian escapees could underpin an Israel-Hamas deal
West Bank Palestinians surprised as jailbreakers' manhunt ends in relative ease
Israel captured the Palestinian fugitives without collateral damage. This may quell West Bank violence
Osama hesitated, looked at her and then answered: "Yes. That doesn't mean I agree with what some of them did, but yes. It gives hope."
"What did they do?" Forat asked.
"They did a lot of things, but they resisted the occupation," I told her, and I added the word in Arabic, il-ihtilalal. Still, she asked me what occupation is.
"Those people who don't want to share, the ones who stand at checkpoints and don't let Baba pass," I told her.
"And you don't agree with that, right?"
"Right, sweetheart. And the political prisoners who fled the prison also don't agree and fought against the occupation, even though they used means that Ima and Baba don't agree with."
Osama was riveted to his telephone, reading the news with excitement. "For so many years, we haven't dared, we haven't tried to resist," he said. "And here – they took initiative. They got up and did something. And for a change, there's solidarity, support, because every Palestinian family knows what it's like to lose a son to prison."
"Are you happy, too, Ima?" Forat asked.
"I'm afraid for them," I told Forat, still trying to decipher my feelings. "All the soldiers and police officers are looking for them, and there's nowhere to run."
"Like Harriet Tubman?" Forat asked.
"Yes," I told her. "But there's no safe North for them to reach."
Israeli Border Police searching for the escaped prisoners, earlier this month.Credit: Gil Eliahu
'Do you also oppose the occupation?'
Four days later, I awoke to the news that two of the prisoners had been captured. Osama and Forat joined me in the kitchen. I put a hand on Osama's shoulder and updated him.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart," I said to him.
"Ima, are you sad that they were captured?" Forat asked me.
"I think so, sweetheart."
"Because too few people are willing to put themselves at risk, in order to resist the occupation." I felt the power of Israeli control over Palestinians, and the fragmented, fragile nature of the resistance to that control.
"Baba, do you also oppose the occupation?" Forat asked.
"Yes, habibti," Osama answered. He has never told her about his participation in the First Intifada: The flyers he distributed to coordinate labor and commercial strikes, the baskets of food he brought to families whose livelihoods were interrupted, the classes he taught children, during the periods in which the army closed the schools, and also – the stones he threw in the direction of the soldiers controlling, or trying to control, his refugee camp. Since then, Osama has channeled his resistance into his research and teaching at the university, trying to arouse critical thinking among students who were born after the 1993 Oslo accords, after the Palestine Liberation Organization abandoned its liberation work in favor of local governance and coordination with the Israeli authorities.
I wanted Forat to know all that and to be proud of her father. I wanted her to know that her parents are searching anew for ways to resist the occupation, in the current reality of despair and fragmentation.
A court hearing on extending the remand of the escaped prisoners in Nazareth, last week.Credit: Gil Eliahu
Struggling to write
Days passed, and Israeli security forces caught the other four prisoners, too. I struggled to write this post. I anticipated the reactions of readers who see the prisoners as "terrorists" and nothing more, just as whites in South Africa considered Nelson Mandela to be a terrorist. I also struggled to clarify, for Forat, an explanation of the meaning of their escape, which apparently did not include a plan for what to do after they left prison.
One of the prisoners, Mohammad al-Ardah, who has been in prison for 19 years, since he was 20 years-old, described the escape in simple terms: He sat in a thicket and ate prickly pears, he wanted to get to know the Galilee and maybe reach his mother in the West Bank city of Jenin.
Osama always says he hopes that Forat will grow up to be on the side of the oppressed, whoever they are. I still don't know how to interpret the prisoners' escape for Forat, but at the very least, I hope she'll grow up to identify with their longing for freedom.
Islamic Jihad

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I really hate the word "normal". What is normal? If having an Autistic child is not "normal" then I'm happy our lives are not normal. Alex is the best thing that ever happened to me. He's the sunshine of my life and I'm so blessed to have him. He has taught me to see the world in such a wonderful way. He has taught me patience. He makes me laugh; he makes me cry. His "gears" are always turning and he has amazing creativity. He's not afraid to speak his mind and is so often oblivious to the cruelty that's in our world.
When you're told your child is Autistic, you think "Oh, what will ever become of him?" But as I watch him grow into this beautiful young adult I see he has so much to offer this world. He's caring, out-going, and truly a happy person. I think that the so called "normal" people of the world could learn much from him.


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THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid said "There is a limited amount of time. Twenty20 cricket is popular now so something has to give. The number of one-day games might get reduced. I hope they don't reduce Test matches, too", when asked about Twenty20 cricket.
Yes. He is absolutely right. T20 matches will upstage ODIs just as ODIs did with test matches before. This is quite natural and normal as people are running out of time. In 1980s, people are impatient with 5 days match and started engaged with one-dayers. Now its further reduced to 5 hours - in future, may be, even, less than that.
Changes are inevitable. Its actually representing Darwin's theory of "survival of the fittest". In fact, Cricket is surviving just by changing its duration (and not form or style) which is actually a good sign. But this can be dealt in a different aspect - an optimist's view on darkness.
Cricket was played as retrospective game in 1900 summer Olympics but ignored in the consecutive years by the committe as one has to wait patiently for 5-days to know the result of the game and hence people were very much bored bored with it.
Now, T20 can bring a change. In near future (or at least in far future), T20 cricket may be included in Olympics and eventually India will get its one and only chance of winning a gold medal.


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The Lawless FBI–A Threat to America's Constitutional Republic
By Larry Johnson
Published August 26, 2022 at 9:40pm
When it comes to attention span, America is like a three year old child. Public attention focused initially on the "BIG" story of Friday–i.e., the release of the affidavit filed with a Florida judge to justify the raid on Donald Trump's Mar A Lago residence. But the document was unreadable because huge swaths of text were blacked out. Got to protect sources and methods, don't you know. Public interest faded.
But don't worry. A new squirrel emerged to attract public attention–Fed Chairman Powell announced an interest rate hike and Wall Street reacted by jumping off the roof–the stock market plunged over 1000 points. Talk about a downer, literally and figuratively.
There is a serious story here, however, that merits the attention of Americans and, frankly, the rest of the world. It is the corruption of the FBI. The FBI is behaving like the East German Stasi or the old Soviet Union's KGB. They are now behaving as political police dedicated to protecting the Democrats and punishing anyone who dares support Donald Trump. The FBI's attempt to smear and discredit Donald Trump stands in sharp contrast to its treatment of Hillary Clinton.
Here are the facts. Donald Trump was the ultimate authority to classify and declassify intelligence when he was President. He declassified the documents in his possession at Mar A Lago before leaving office. That means that even if a document stored at his Florida residence is stamped TOP SECRET or GAMMA or TALENT KEYHOLE, it is no longer classified. There is no grey area here. Trump had the ultimate authority to declassify anything while he was President, including information pertaining to nuclear weapons and intelligence buried in Special Access Programs aka SAPs.
My understanding is that he has CIA/FBI SAPs that detail the 2016 plot to portray him as a toady of Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. Too bad for the CIA and FBI. Trump had the full legal authority to declassify that intelligence product. The CIA and FBI are frantic to protect the identities of the British , Australian and Italian intelligence personnel who helped plant evidence to frame people working for Trump. That is one of the motives behind the decision to raid Trump's Florida residence and try to keep that information from the public.
Hillary Clinton is an un-indicted criminal in my view. When she was Secretary of State under Obama, she removed classified material, stored it on a personal server and then subsequently obstructed justice by ordering the destruction of a subpoenaed hard drive that contained the evidence of her crimes. James Comey admitted that Hillary had TOP SECRET SAP material on an unclassified drive. But Comey lied when he insisted he could not prove that this was a deliberate act. NONSENSE!
TOP SECRET material available to the Secretary of State (Clinton's role at the time) sits on a TOP SECRET server. That server has no connection to SECRET or UNCLASSIFIED computers. To put a TOP SECRET document on an unclassified computer you must either print the document from the TS server and then scan it into the unclass or you must copy it to a thumb drive and then physically transfer it to the unclass system. You cannot do this accidentally. It is a purposeful, deliberate act. PERIOD. No grey area.
I wrote about this a few years back. There were even whistleblowers who went to the FBI to report Hillary's illegal activity.
One year before Jim Comey was immersed in his plot to overthrow Donald Trump, the duly elected President of the United States, a brave Foreign Service Officer at the U.S. Department of State came forward with firsthand information of Hillary Clinton's rampant abuse of Classified material. The man, a senior State Department diplomat who had served as the acting Ambassador (Chargé d'Affaires) in the Asia Pacific region under President Clinton, also was a veteran of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.
The FBI's conduct and actions towards Donald Trump versus how they treated Hillary Clinton show gross bias and lawlessness. There was a meeting at DOJ headquarters in June of 2016 that was attended by a small number of DOJ and FBI officials. The attendees included FBI Director Jim Comey, DOJ's Rod Rosenstein and FBI Special Agent Tim Thibault. It was at that meeting that Comey shut down the investigation of Hillary Clinton's server. He did not want to hurt her Presidential campaign. There is documented evidence of this meeting and the actions taken that currently are in the hands of a judge. In short, rather than follow the law and apply it regardless of the political or socio-economic status of the accused person–Clinton in this case–the FBI and DOJ put their thumb on the scale of justice and did Hillary a favor.
In contrast to the kid glove treatment of Clinton, the FBI and DOJ continue to try to manufacture a crime in order to keep Trump from running for President. It is that simple.
The Constitution of the United States and the rule of law in the United States are now on the chopping block. It is up to the Federal Courts and Federal prosecutors to set this right. I am not optimistic.
Larry Johnson
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New Year, New Gear, Same Ol' Liberal Tears: New TGP Store Opens TODAY – Shop to Support Our Fight to Bring You the UNCENSORED TRUTH


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Q: Discord bot is getting the message content as null message.content isn't working with any of the commands I made. It doesn't see my message's content. It's only working when I use message.content === ""
My code:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Get ready to shelve your disgusting earplugs because this one is a doozy.
Researchers Xin Zhang, Reza Ghaffarivardavagh, Jacob Nikolajczyk, and Stephan Anderson, along with their team of engineers from Boston University recently conducted an experiment which involved blasting a loudspeaker through a standard PVC pipe. But instead of hearing the funneled sounds of dubstep through said pipe, the team heard absolutely nothing. The expected sounds didn't render them deaf but were instead muted by their latest creation: a 3D printed ring which cuts 94% of sounds passing through it.
The "acoustic metamaterial" as they call it, was placed on the open end of the PVC pipe near the loudspeaker and allowed to do its work. The dimensions, shape, and specifications were designed by mathematicians to let air and light to pass through but for sound to bounce back to its originator.
Unlike other soundproof methods which use thick panels, the acoustic metamaterial doesn't turn sound vibrations into heat. This allows users to mold the material based on what they are trying to soundproof; be it a room, motor, or an office cubicle. As an added plus, the mathematical nature of the method doesn't require the outer portion of the metamaterial to be a ring for it to reflect sound.
According to Xin Zhang, this 3D printed ring is just the start. With endless applications for the technology in different fields, the acoustic metamaterial could easily replace the hefty soundproofing equipment we've been using all these years. Coupled with its customizable nature, the tech could even mute sounds which couldn't be muted before (like a leaky faucet, for instance).
Read the group's Physical Review paper detailing this sound-proofing marvel in-full here.


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UK's Extreme Solution to Combat Sex Crimes
September 5, 2016 Joyce M. Short 2 Comments
Cited as "Draconian but necessary," a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was recently issued against 44 year old UK electrician, Geoffrey Ball. Ball had been found guilty of sexual offenses toward women and is no longer allowed to have a relationship of any sort with a woman, without express permission by the police.
Such orders should be available to US authorities in order to prevent repeat offenders such as William Allen Jordan from continued sexual misconduct. Like Ball, Jordan was convicted of multiple offenses. He served sentences in the UK for bigamy and sexual misconduct against a minor. He was subsequently convicted in New Jersey for defrauding a victim of $4,300 in a catfish romance scam.
Ball, whose first conviction dates back to 1989 subsequently served a 4 year sentence in 2010 for grievous bodily harm and was placed on the UK's sex offender list in 2010. Undeterred, he scammed multiple women by charming them with romance. He located his victims through the internet.
Police claimed that during an arrest, Ball said, "When I get out, I'll do it over and over again." The order was issued by District Judge Martin Walker. According to the Mirror, it states:
"The defendant must not have or enter into any friendship, or sexual or physical relationship with any female without first notifying a police at risk management officer within the public protection unit or equivalent."
The order prevents Ball from using any internet dating sites, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter. If you locate him on any such site, report him, immediately, to the authorities in Teesides Magistrates Court.
The SHPO was issued for an indefinite period which could last Ball's entire lifetime, and calls for his name to continue on the sex offender registry, although it was originally slated to be removed in 2017.
#Catfish#GeoffBall#GeoffreyBall#MartinWalker#RapebyFraud#RomanceScam#sexbydeception#SexOffender#SexualAssaultByFraud#SexualHarmPreventionOrder#SHPO#WilliamAllenJordan#WillJordanSexByFraud
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2 thoughts on "UK's Extreme Solution to Combat Sex Crimes"
Marie Cresta says:
Thank you Joyce! I posted this on my John Wilson Fraudulent Acts Of Pure Evil sight. I wrote: Please send this to everyone you know. This is amazing and the only way to stop these unimaginable crimes and the evil vile monster's who put us through HELL. Joyce it's so hard for people in our state of New Jersey to implement something like this because they make too many excuses for these monsters. I am suffering the rest of my life because I did the same thing with making excuses for things I couldn't comprehend and understand. I believe shows like Dr. Phil and other ones like this could educate us instead of sensatonalizing and making a mockery out of these crimes for ratings and greed. God Bless You
Maria-
Could you please contact me off-line at StopRomanceScams@yahoo.com. I'd love to know more regarding your story and am in touch with other victims from NJ. Together, we can make a difference!


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Man-Animal conflicts on the rise in Assam: Elephants of India
by Syeda Ambia Zahan | Jan 24, 2018 | Health and Fitness, Home, Wildlife | 1 comment
Hastir Kanya Hastir Kanya
Bamoner Nari
Mathai Niya Kam Kalasio
Haate Sonar Sakhio
(Oh daughter of elephant! You are the wife of a Brahmin. You wear a golden bangle on your wrist and carry your sorrow like those heavy water pots all the time with you)
These are the initial few lines of a folk song that has been sung by generations of mahouts (elephant riders/keepers) of Assam. The folk song is about a Brahmin's wife, who has been deserted by her husband for a rich man's daughter. One day, a big herd of thirsty elephants comes to the river and finds that the river water has turned salty due to the tears of the sobbing woman. The elephants hear out her story and then take her with them to the elephant kingdom in order to make her their queen.
As a matter of fact, Assamese folklore is replete with elephant songs as well as stories which celebrate the bonding between elephants and mankind. However, this beautiful relationship has undergone a big change in the present modern times. Today, elephants and human beings have seen a shift in the roles of a predator and a prey, with man most often being more predatory.
Greenpeace wildlife campaigner Rachel Pearlin says: 'Man–elephant conflict has been on the rise in the past 10 years in both the northeast and central India. We are invading their habitats. It is the same for other animals too.'
In the past decade, hundreds of elephants got killed in Assam. Scores died in accidents. Others were killed due to electrocution. Several died of starvation or due to floods. On the other hand, Assam Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma says that 770 persons were killed due to wild elephants in 22 districts in the period. Once upon a time, Northeast India used to be home to more than 10,000 wild elephants. That is around 25 per cent of the world's entire elephant population. However, over half of elephant habitats of the region have been lost since the year 1950.
Coordinator of WWF India's Elephant Conservation Project Hiten Baishya says that the population of Asian elephants is showing a decline. According to the elephant census of the year 2012, there were 5,620 elephants in the state of Assam. For example, in one such tragic incident, 5 wild elephants got killed when a train hit them near a tea garden in the Sonitpur district. One of the elephants was pregnant, and its dead calf had to be extracted. Such cases of human–animal conflict are increasing in Assam and are a cause of concern for wildlife bodies and conservation lovers alike. Due to large scale deforestation and construction, pachyderms have lost natural habitats and often stray on paths that are prone to dangers.
'Elephants are considered "endangered" as per Wildlife Protection Act (1972)," says Baishya. "Habitat loss fragmentation and degradation and loss and blockage of movement corridors are the main threat(s) for elephant population."
Elephants of India losing their paradise
Can you imagine a golf course in the midst of elephant kingdom? Actually, there is no need to imagine it. It already exists. Built by the Numoligarh Refinery inside the international elephant corridor in the Telgaram area is a golf course which is proving to be the death of elephants.
A 2 kilometer stretch of the golf course 'wall' or fence has razor sharp barbed wire. The golf course is spread over 5 acres in an area that has been marked by the environment ministry as a 'No Development Zone.' In April 2015, four elephants died of starvation, while six were killed as they tried to bulldoze the wall that was built by oil refinery management to cordon off the golf course.
The corridor is home to around 110 elephants. "Earlier, elephant herds used to visit at night looking for food and water and returned to the hills before daylight. Now, the wall blocks their way to the sources of food and water," says a Kaziranga National Park official.
'Assam government needs to intervene and take action," says Dr. Jahan Ahmed of Wildlife Trust of India. The Numaligarh Oil Refinery is not isolated in disturbing the ecosystem of elephants in Assam. Several other entities too have broken the 1972 Wildlife Act.
Here are the other few instances:
* As many as 35 polling stations were put up inside the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary at Dhekiajuli in the Sonitpur district during Assembly polls in 2011 and 2016.
* An Army firing range is being put up in the region.
* Construction of a high wall for a government-supported Bamboo project in the Karbi Anglong on Assam–Nagaland border in an elephant corridor.
* Inside the Kaziranga as well as Manas National Parks, a number of hotels as well as tea gardens are being set up.
* Indian Oil Corporation's oil dispatch terminal is located in the Golai elephant corridor.
* Construction of NH-38 bypass in Assam without mandatory forest clearance.
* Municipal bodies dump waste in Dehing–Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary
Forest Minister Pramila Rani Brahma has no answer whether action would be taken against companies that are violating wildlife laws.
'Man–animal conflict is the result of rampant destruction of forests,' said Brahma. 'Animals have been compelled to stray into human habitations in search of food and space. We are trying to save forests by making them encroachment-free but people should cooperate.'
Elephants of India find themselves in the hotbed of conflict
The Assam Forest Department data shows that a total of 245 humans and 146 elephants were killed between 2001 and 2014 in man–animal conflicts on the border between Assam and Bhutan. Let's tune in to this beautiful story of bonding between man and animal.
On a winter morning in early 2014, Jit Munda was in the jungle and collecting leaves for puja near a tea estate in Badiapara (in north Assam's Udalguri district close to Bhutan border). Suddenly, out of thin air, a wild male elephant appeared and struck Munda with his trunk as it trampled his right leg, breaking the thigh bone. More wild elephants appeared and a female elephant charged and butted away the male attacker from the hapless Munda.
'She tapped on my back with her trunk as she fought, as if signaling me to stay down,' remembers Munda. 'Maybe a human had once been kind to her, given her food or got her out of trouble.'
Munda took 6 months in order to walk again but he just cannot forget his ordeal that day. He is more fortunate than his other 86 fellow human beings, who were killed by wild elephants in the past 5 years in Udalguri. In the same period, poison, electrocution, and pits have killed around 36 elephants.
'Such encounters are increasing day by day because of destruction of elephant corridors on Assam–Bhutan–Arunachal border,' says wildlife conservationist Jayanta Das. 'Small tea gardens of politicians and certain social organizations in forests have posed serious threat to elephant habitats.'
As per the Forest Department data by the year 2014, 50 percent of the reserved forest land on Assam–Bhutan border in the Udalgiri district had been encroached upon, and forests have been cleared. The government is still to pull down the wall constructed on elephant corridor by Numaligarh Refinery and order review of several concerns and notifications on green issues raised by the NGT as well as other environmentalists.
At the recent World Sustainable Development Summit 2016 in New Delhi, Yuri Afanasiev, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India, said: 'We are the first generation to end poverty, but last to save environment.'
Northeast India is quite well endowed as far as natural resources are concerned. However, conflict, insurgency, geographical isolation, and migration have led to lack of opportunity for the government to take up development that is sustainable. As a result, we now see a future when the songs that have been such an integral part of Assamese would sound like stuff of fantasies.
The article was first published on newslaundry.com
About Syeda Ambia Zahan
Greenubuntu Evangelist Syeda Ambia Zahan is a Guwahati-based journalist who has been covering environment, politics, technology, human interest stories and defence for the past five years. She is a State Editor at 101Reporters.com and an erstwhile Journalist with Aaj Tak. She can be reached at twitter @syedaambia
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MASHARRAF HUSSAIN CHOUDHURY	on April 14, 2020 at 10:58 am
VERY GOOD EFFORTS IN THE FIELD OF WILD-LFE


Day 1: Read Philippians 4:8. Is this a habit for you? If not, how can you make it one?
Day 2: Read Galatians 5:22-26. Is peace a fruit of the Spirit in you? Look at the other "fruit of the Spirit," and think of how each of them creates peace.
Day 3: Read Hebrews 12:14. What do you think of when you think of holiness? How does peace go with holiness?
Day 4: Read Romans 12:18. What does it mean to take this instruction seriously? Do you take it seriously?
Day 5: Read Matthew 11:28-30. What kind of attitudes reside in a heart for God?
Day 6: Read Philippians 4:7. Is your heart and mind protected by peace of God? If not, what can you do to step in that direction?
You can Go Deeper this week by reading the books: Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado and A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller.
Day 1: Read Matthew 7:7. Those verbs — ask, seek, knock — can be translated from the original Greek as "Keep on asking; keep on seeking; keep on knocking". It's not a one time request. It's a continual prayer. What prayers do you find yourself persistently praying? What leads you to stop praying about something? What leads you to constantly pray for something?
Day 2: Read Luke 18:38-39. I don't know how much Bartimaeus knew about Jesus...what stories he had heard...but when Jesus came his way he made up his mind that he would not let this opportunity slip away. He immediately began to call on the name of Jesus, and he continued to call on the name of Jesus until Jesus heard him. When do you take opportunity to pray for God? Is there a scheduled time? A continual conversation? Last resort or first option? Why?
Day 3: Read Genesis 24:12-14. How does Abraham's servant give details in his prayer? Why is he so specific? When do you find yourself praying in generalities to God? In detail? How might your prayers today have greater detail?
Day 4: Read Luke 18:41. Picture Jesus asking you, "What do you want me to do for you?" Spend some time pondering your answer. Be specific, not general. Then turn that answer into your prayer.
Day 5: Read Philippians 4:6. The greatest lesson I have learned in prayer is to pray God's Word. Take time this day to personalize this verse into your prayer. Confess your anxieties and turn them over to God. Be specific in requests and petitions -- humble and detailed in your thanksgiving. Then as you turn all this over to God, ask for His peace, His presence and plan at work in your life.
Day 6: Read 1 Peter 5:7. I like that Peter used the word cast. It means to throw. That's a good idea. Intellectually toss your worries as far away from your mind as you can. Drop them into the sea of God's mercy and tender loving care. Perhaps you have 100 things to worry about right now. At least. 100 difficult situations — some of them are nipping at your heels, and maybe some of them have you by the throat. One by one, as these cares present themselves to you, you need to make a spiritual decision to cast them as far as you can into God's direction — He will take care of them for you, because he has promised to take care of you.
You can Go Deeper this week by reading the books: Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado. and A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller.
Day 1: Read Philippians 4:5. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "no gentleness" to 10 being "gentleness evident to all", how would you rate your contagious calm the last 24 hours? With family? While driving? When the lawn mower wouldn't start? When it finally did? Other?
Day 2: Read Proverbs 15:1. The volume and tone of your words can stir people up or calm them down. How have you noticed the impact of the volume and tone of words in what someone has said to you? In what you said to someone else?
Day 3: Read Philippians 4:5. You are not alone. You may feel alone. You may think you are alone. But there is never a moment in which you face life without help. God is near. God repeatedly pledges His proverbial presence to His people. Where have you sensed God being near in the past 24 hours? Where do you need to remind yourself God is near?
Day 6: Read Psalm 118:1. Not "His love endures for a moment", or "His love was present a long time ago", not "His love present when everything is easy". You can trust God because He is good, and His love endures forever. Write down five ways you have seen His goodness and experienced His enduring love this week.


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Violinist.com - Violin Blogs - Jonathan Hai - Blog Entry
Violin Maker's Wife: Of Tanning in the Israeli Summer
Post No. 22
There are lots of things I didn't know about violins before my husband became a violin maker. One of the most bizarre of them is that sometimes violins, violas and cellos get tanned before they are varnished. Yes – tanned as in a tanning salon.
But let me take a step back and give you an update on where we are with the Quartet: the bodies (or "casse" in Italian) of all four instruments have been closed, which is an important and exciting step. But as Yonatan explained to me yesterday over dinner, "there are phases in the violin-making process, in which it's hard to see that real progress is made, but nonetheless a lot of work is required".
"OK", I thought to myself, "now he's beginning to sound like a Zen-Buddhist…" out loud I looked at him and said "say WHAT?".
"Well", he said, "for example, after I close the body of an instrument, it would seem that work on it is finished. But actually there is still a lot of work to be done on the finishing touches that really create the perfectly-flowing, curvy lines of the hand-made instrument. I redo the "sguscia" (the indented line above the purfling all around the instrument's contour), and shave very fine slivers off the instrument's borders, rounding them further and making them more symmetrical and perfect still". This, by the way, is not done with sandpaper – oh NO!! As I mentioned in an earlier post, sanding would scratch the surface of the instrument. So the entire, exact work of finishing the last details is done with a special, extremely sharp, gauge and with the scraper – one tenth of a millimeter (or less) at a time.
When the final touches on each instrument were completed, it went into the tanning closet. It's like this – Yonatan had built a special, perfectly light-proof closet in his workshop, and placed extremely powerful ultra-violet lights in it. He hangs each instrument perfectly in mid-air, so that the lights can tan it evenly all around. It takes a number of days, but after tanning like this, the instruments' wood acquires a beautiful golden color. This color will then serve as the background (or "ground") for the varnishing process.
The instruments were placed in the tanning closet one after the other from mid-August onwards - first the cello, then the viola, then the first-violin, and finally, today, the second-violin. If you have ever had the misfortune to be in Israel during that time of year, you know it's over 35 degrees Celsius most of the day, maybe dropping to a low of 30 at night (for all you Americans, that's between 100 and 85 Fahrenheit…) with the sun beating on you like a hammer. So when I was tanning in the summer heat with the kids on the beach, the instruments had the ultra-violet light to tan them :) Actually, this is exactly why the ultra-violet closet is used in the climate-controlled studio – the real sun around here is just too damn hot for the instruments. Boy, do I sympathize…
Here are a few pictures of the instruments tanning in Yonatan's special closet:
Cello and viola ready:
Viola tanning:
Cello tanning:
All four instruments prepared:
Pretty cool, ha?
From Laurie Niles
I love those pictures from the tanning closet, with the blue light!
From Francesca Rizzardi
Hi Avivit. You said "grund". That sounds German, not Italian! Violin makers do talk about the "ground", which I took to mean the colored layer(s) of varnish. Did I misunderstand something (either in your blog or elsewhere)?
I also thought violin makers use a UV closet to speed up the varnish drying. Is that true?
I've never seen blue UV lights. Is that just how the camera interpreted the light's wavelength.
And Lauire is right--those pictures are very cool! They remind me of the tanks of jellyfish at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. (For those who aren't familiar with it, check out the pictures at montereybayaquarium.org)
From Jonathan Hai
thank you both for your compliments regarding the photos - all credit goes to Yonatan:)
Francesca - regarding your first question: yes it's true that the word should be "ground" - and I actually changed it in the blog - but it's pronaunced "grund" in Hebrew and often in other languages as well (a kind of professional jargon, short for "background" probably). In Italian it's often called "sottofondo". It doesn't refer to the varnish itself, though, but rather to a number of preparatory steps that prepare the instrument's wood for the varnishing process.
secondly - yes, oil-based varnishes require UV to dry and so the UV closet is used for that too.
thirdly - you're right that UV is violet - it just appears to be blue as a result of the photo.


The Silver Lining Outdoor Environmental Progam is a non-profit program sponsored by Camp Dixie. Our evironmental education programs are designed to compliment classroom lessons in grades 1-8 by providing direct experiences using an outdoor setting as a learning laboratory.
We offer a multi-disciplinary curriculum that includes non-science subjects, environmental programs, recreational activities as well as a low element challenge course. Our education coordinators work closely with visiting teachers to develop programs tailored toward your students. The Silver Lining Program is unique in it's ability to design a curriculum whose emphasis conforms to your specific classroom profile.
The Silver Lining Program is offered September through May. Visiting classes are given exclusive use of our facilities. Consequently we encourage you to make your reservation as soon as possible.


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This Gender Reveal Started a Massive Fire and the Just-Released Video Is Alarming
Yeah, that did not go well.
Gender reveals have definitely gotten out of hand. From alligator reveals to the ones that leave baby girls screaming when they find out they're getting a baby brother, there's no shortage of questionable videos floating around the internet. But all those pale in comparison to the unwise reveal party that sparked the massive Sawmill Fire in Arizona, which resulted in $8 million worth of damage.
The reveal made headlines in April 2017 when an off-duty Border Patrol agent named Dennis Dickey set up a reveal for his wife using tannerite, a legal explosive. As you have probably already guessed, things didn't go as planned when Dickey shot at his target full of tannerite and a blue powder to show that his wife was having a baby boy. As soon as he fired the shot, the target went up into flames, and Dickey called the police to admit what he had done.
There wasn't a video of how the fire started (which, by the way, ended up burning through 47,000 acres of land) until now—the U.S. Forest Service just released footage because MVP NBC News affiliate KVOA filed a Freedom of Information Act request.
The video is quite alarming and terrifying because you can see the dry field catch fire and spread almost immediately. You can also hear someone shout, "Start packing up!"
During a September 2018 court appearance, Dickey said, "It was a complete accident. I feel absolutely horrible about it. It was probably one of the worst days of my life." After pleading guilty to starting the fire, Dickey was sentenced to five years probation and agreed to pay more than $8.1 million, which he has already started to do in installments.
Geez. Can everyone please agree to stick to chill reveal parties at home from here on out?
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You are generally best staying in the city centre. It is quite small in comparison to other major cities which means that you can walk to and from most visitor attractions.
You may get cheaper accommodation outside the city centre but unless you have your own transport, what you save on the room cost, you will waste on taxis & buses. In addition, Taxis can be difficult to get, particularly if you are coming home late on a Friday or Saturday night!
Temple Bar is on the south side of the river, but we have given it it's own category because so many folks ask for it specifically. Temple Bar is a great spot to visit but it gets noisy at night, hotel accommodation is both expensive and it can be difficult to get availability, particularly at weekends.
Dublin is a small city so we would strongly suggest that you consider hotels outside Temple Bar although still within the city centre. You will save money, get a better nights sleep, find it much easier to get availability & still be within a short walking distance of everything that you want to see. The two areas that we have defined as City Centre South and City Centre North both have a lot of attractions & nice hotels.
Whilst our public transport system leaves a lot to be desired, the service is fairy good on the main arterial routes to and from the city. The hotels that we have selected outside the centre are all accessible either by bus or the DART ( Suburban Rail System). It is a different story late at night, particularly on Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays. Waiting hours for a taxi or having to walk miles to your hotel late at night can be a very sobering experience!
The main hotel district outside the centre is south of the centre around Ballsbridge which is a beautiful part of the city and very accessible by foot or using public transport. It is about 20 minutes walk from Stephen's Green and is a good alternative to the centre if you are looking for somewhere quiet or if you can't get somewhere in the centre itself.
Dublin Airport is on the north side of the city about 25 minutes drive from the centre. We have picked out two hotels that located about 15 minutes by bus coming from the centre to the airport. It can be useful if you are arriving late or leaving area.
If you have a car with you, there is a good selection of hotels outside the centre which can be an option. Outside the city, parking is easier and cheaper. As a general rule, if you are coming to Dublin and don't need the car, leave it at home. We have the most efficient and enthusiastic parking wardens, wheel clampers & tow away merchants in the western world.
If you are here on business or visiting friends / relations, then the location of the folks that you are coming to see may have an impact on your choice of location. In this case, our suggestion is that you give us a call & we will be happy to recommend the best hotel to meet your requirements in terms of accessibility, grade, facilities & budget. If you have come across other hotels that you want to find out about or if you want to check availability, please feel free to contact us on the toll-free numbers below or use the search engine above.


First, the typical homeowner has a policy that covers lost, destroyed or stolen personal property based upon (1) a set limited amount, say $15,000, (2) an addendum to the policy in which your art and its value are listed, (3) a "floater" to your policy covering additional losses of personal property beyond the policy's usual limit or (4) a percentage of the replacement value of the destroyed real estate, say up to 50% of the replacement cost of a home. However, just because you have paid for extra insurance does not mean that the typical homeowner insurer will simply cut you a check for what your claim it is worth. They will make you prove that you owned the piece of art before the fire and force you to evidence the artwork's provenance to make sure that it is not a fake or reproduction and establish its current appraised value. The end result is that unless you kept great records and protected them offsite, you may never see a penny for your lost artwork under a traditional homeowner's policy even if you purchased an expensive floater to cover additional personal property losses.
The best way to insure your art investment is by hiring an insurance company that specializes in insuring individual pieces of art. Why? These companies will bind themselves to cover the value of your investment now, relieving you of the unpleasant task of haggling or litigating with your insurance company after the loss. If you have, say, a Salvidor Dali with convincing provenance, these specialty art insurers will pay you the full amount of the appraised value at the time when you procured the insurance. Note, however, if your Salvidor Dali substantially increases in value over the years, it is your obligation to obtain an updated appraisal from a qualified USPAP personal property appraiser in order to properly amend your policy, knowing that the insurance company will raise your premium for that protection.
You should know what you're buying when you contract a specialized art insurer. First, you should be purchasing title insurance for your artwork. You want to be insured against fraud in case your Salvidor Dali is a fake. You also want to make sure that you are not purchasing looted or stolen art. In order to obtain this insurance, the specialized insurer will want to see as many records within and outside your possession evidencing the provenance of the painting. The specialty insurer will want to see your receipt from where you purchased the piece, photographs, and other provenance evidencing its authenticity. Records showing the transfer of the piece from several prior owners is often important. Occasionally, you might be asked to procure the services of an expert who will provide legal documentation in which he opines as to the work's genuineness. You also should provide a record of ownership if the piece has passed through several owners.
Second, you need insurance for the replacement cost of your piece if it is totally destroyed or stolen, and repair cost if it is damaged but not totally destroyed. For example, after a fire an insurance company might decide that the piece can be repaired or restored and that this cost is less than replacing it. In that event, the insurance company pays for the repair or restoration. It may or may not reimburse you for the diminishment in value of the piece because it is no longer in original condition but repaired, and this admeasurement of loss must sometimes be specifically negotiated. If loss of value is included in the policy, then the insurance company will pay for the restoration and the difference between the policy's agreed-upon appraised value and its value as a restored work of art. It is usually better to bargain for the replacement cost of your art instead of purchasing protection just for the original amount of your investment. Great art has been known to appreciate wildly, and you don't want to get reimbursed $100,000 for your Dali that you purchased ten years ago if it was worth $700,000 on the date it was destroyed. In order to maintain this protection, however, it is important to procure regularly the services of companies like Arcadia Art Consultancy to submit regularly updated appraisals to your specialty art insurer. Finally, don't forget that art is most often damaged in transit, so procure your insurance before you accept delivery of your art investment.
Third, a common error made by art investors is to buy the cheapest policy. This is a terrible mistake to make. The number one consideration in purchasing any hazard insurance such as a homeowner's policy or specific policy for your art investment is the creditworthiness of the insurer. Many start-up or fly-by-night insurance companies have sold cheap policies, taken their bonuses and paid their executives' high salaries and then been wiped out by a hurricane or other disaster because of insufficient reserves. When this happens, the policyholder has little or no recourse as to reimbursement of his stolen, lost or damaged art. We recommend A+ and A++ specialty art insurers.


To view how many items your team have left to pick, head to the picking dashboard by going to Dashboard>Picking Dashboard. This refreshed every minute to show new items from orders that are now under the Ready to Ship status.
1. Batches are automatically assigned to picker when they go to accept a batch using the Veeqo Scanner.
2. If a picker is half way through a batch and for any reason has to leave it and come back, (whether that's to update the stock on a product or have a break) they can just go to the picking screen on the menu and carry on their batch where they left off.
At the end of the day, each user's current batches should be completed and not left outstanding for the following day.
3. If an product cannot be picked for any reason, the picker should mark the product as incomplete on the scanner - this will automatically add an internal note to the order saying which item couldn't be picked with the picker's name and date/time.
4. When all batches are complete and there are no items left to pick, on the scanners when trying to accept a batch it will show a message 'cannot retrieve new batch'. As soon as there's enough line items for a batch, the picker will be able to accept it. This could be across multiple order tags if their isn't many line items to pick.
5. To view who has picked a certain order, go to the orders list and find the order and select it. Selecting the order history tab will take you to all the activity for that order and show who picked the items and date/time.


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Trudeau the great divider talks a big game at NYU
Speaking at the New York University graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau talked a big game about political leadership. He told students to reject identity politics, tribalism and ideology, and to embrace people with differing views and opinions.
In real life, Trudeau stokes fear and division at every opportunity. He assumes the worst of his political opponents, especially if they're conservative, and inserts identity politics into every decision made by his government.
That's not an exaggeration. The 2018 budget explained how the feds now require a "gender-based analysis" through the lens of "intersectionality" – the academic word for identity politics – in reviewing every single government policy.
Trudeau's own government was created on the basis of identity politics. He used a quota to ensure that 50% of his cabinet positions were held by women, promoting several ministers beyond their competency and leaving them to fail in positions they were never qualified for in the first place.
Why would he govern our country this way? "Because it's 2015," he said with a smirk.
Trudeau's use of identity politics has been appalling, but that wasn't even the worst contradiction of his 'sunny ways' address.
Trudeau's government is facing a constitutional crisis – a crisis of unity, the rule of law and of Canada's very purpose as an economic union. And yet, our prime minister has prioritized yet another international junket, this time to speak to privileged American students at one of the world's most expensive schools. Forget leadership, it's always about headlines and selfies for Trudeau.
Meanwhile, back on planet earth, Trudeau's finance minister was left to announce a desperate scheme to restore confidence in the Trans Mountain pipeline. After months of inaction and a refusal to stop illegal blockages of the pipeline, the Trudeau government is now resorting to bribing Kinder Morgan with taxpayer dollars.
But Kinder Morgan doesn't want a handout, it wants Canadian laws to be upheld so it can move ahead with its project – the one the Trudeau government already approved.
Under Trudeau's watch, radical ideologues and foreign-funded protesters have set the agenda and derailed the system. They've cancelled two pipelines already, and have their eye set on a third.
A taxpayer handout isn't going to stop the B.C. government's threats to ban tanker ships carrying Alberta bitumen. It isn't going to stop the illegal blockages or foreign-funded zealots who intimidate and threaten pipeline workers.
This is a crisis – and one that Trudeau has no idea how to address.
And rather than standing up for Canadians, especially the hard-working folks who work in the natural resources sector – the backbone of our economy – Trudeau prioritizes his own international junkets and speaking gigs. Everyday Canadians are ignored, taken for granted, and often even mocked and demonized by this government.
In his NYU speech, Trudeau compared so-called "climate deniers" (a slur equating skeptics of his carbon taxes to Holocaust deniers) to those who practice female genital mutilation – a cruel and barbaric practice that Trudeau, ironically, has failed to address.
Trudeau's environment minister said she has "no time for folks" who disagree with her on carbon taxes, and his finance minister called these same people "Neanderthals."
How can Trudeau boast about his leadership when he doesn't have the faintest clue how to lead Canada's energy policy through this crisis?
That's the thing about...(READ MORE)


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These Are the 10 Best and Worst States for Medical Cannabis
Hayley FoxMarch 15, 2017
Etherial sunrise through misty fog with long shadows and sunbeams.
Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the medical cannabis patient advocacy group, recently released its annual report assigning letter grades to states based on the proficiency of their medical cannabis programs. The good news: 39 states improved their medical cannabis laws last year. The bad news: Six states have yet to legalize any form of medical cannabis, including CBD products, and many others still struggle with restrictive laws, limited access or daunting prices.
The good news: 39 states improved their medical cannabis laws last year.
ASA activists were involved in medical cannabis policy improvements in 23 of the 39 states, according to ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer.
"What we're experiencing is the byproduct of a movement of doctors, scientists, patients, their families, and policymakers advocating for a patients' safe access to medical cannabis," she said in a statement. "Every positive change in a law or regulation is the result of thousands of hours of work by these stakeholders."
In the map below, scroll over each state to discover its ASA-rated medical cannabis patient score and grade. States with no form of medical cannabis legality, such as Idaho and Nebraska, are blank.
This year's top state for MMJ patients, according to ASA's criteria, was Illinois. Rounding out the top five were Michigan, California, Oregon, and Maine. The five worst states were Wisconsin, Tennessee, Missouri, Utah, and Wyoming.
Best Ten States for Medical Cannabis Patients
1 Illinois 89.8 B+
2 Michigan 88.75 B+
3 California 87 B+
4 Oregon 86.2 B
5 Maine 86.2 B
6 New Mexico 85.8 B
7 Nevada 84.6 B
8 Montana 83.75 B
9 Ohio 83.75 B
10 New Hampshire 82.6 B-
Worst Ten States for Medical Cannabis Patients
50 Wisconsin 21.4 F-
49 Tennessee 23.8 F-
48 Missouri 24.8 F-
47 Utah 25.8 F-
46 Wyoming 26.8 F-
45 Iowa 26.4 F-
44 North Carolina 28 F-
43 South Carolina 28.8 F-
42 Alabama 30.4 F-
41 Mississippi 30.6 F-
The Leafly Starter Pack: A Comprehensive Guide to Medical Cannabis
The ASA used five main categories to determine a state's grade:
Patient Rights and Civil Protection from Discrimination, which includes arrest and DUI protections
Access to Medicine, which includes availability of edibles and other forms of cannabis
Ease of Navigation, such as reasonable fees and qualifying conditions.
Functionality, which includes fair purchase and possession limits
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements, meaning staff at all levels, from the growers to the dispensary, are thoroughly trained.
States receive a score of 0 to 100 in each section, and were awarded bonus points for making significant changes from the year prior, said Sherer. That may help explain why some seemingly surprising locations—such as Michigan, Ohio, and Montana—made it into the Top 10. Those states, along with Florida, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania, made the most progress from the year prior.
Cannabinoids 101: What Makes Cannabis Medicine?
Still, no state in the country received an "A." More than a dozen received the dismal mark of "F-minus." 19 states received a "B" or above, though. That's eight states more than scored that grade in 2016.
Illinois was ranked number one in the country, clocking in at 89.8 points with a B+ grade, while Colorado, the mother of the marijuana industry and a pioneer on many fronts, didn't even make the top ten.
Least improved: Washington state
Washington state, typically considered one of the most progressive marijuana states, received a C-minus with just 72.6 points, a full letter grade lower than the year before. That dramatic dip was due in large part to the state's forced marriage of its recreational and medical marijuana systems. With hundreds of Washington dispensaries shutting their doors last year and few recreational shops awarded medical endorsements, cannabis is now less accessible to the patients who need it, said Sherer. They must drive further to get it, have less in-store support when choosing a treatment, and must buy their cannabis at recreational shops.
In Washington, patients now stand in line next to someone who may be getting cannabis to go to a concert over the weekend.
"Patients now have to stand in line next to someone who may be getting cannabis to go to a concert over the weekend," said Sherer.
On the other end of the spectrum is Illinois, which ASA scorers awarded the maximum amount of bonus points because of the comprehensive improvements made to its medical marijuana programs.
"Both the legislature and the regulatory system made efforts to improve the law," Sherer said.
What Illinois did well
Bob Morgan, former coordinator of the State of Illinois' medical cannabis program, helped create the system praised in the report. He looked to other states' best practices, a collection of Illinois town hall meetings and more than 10,000 public comments, to shape Illinois' own system.
The state's secret sauce: strong legal protections and clear information.
While Illinois may have scored at the top of its class, the state's program still faces major hurdles, said Morgan. The cost of medicine remains high, and there are a limited number of dispensaries around the state. Illinois is the only state that requires patients to be fingerprinted and pass a criminal background check before receiving a state-issued medical marijuana card. In the ASA report, Illinois received its lowest score in the Access to Medicine section, where it was docked heavily for not allowing delivery and not allowing person cultivation or collective gardening.
"The idea that Illinois it the best in the country to me, raises the question about what the bell curve is [out] there," Morgan said. "It's a really low bar, if Illinois is the best."
How to find the best CBD cannabis product for you
Illinois has implemented some standout strategies though, said Morgan, including comprehensive civil protections for cannabis users, and rigorous standards for product testing, which means patients aren't ingesting contaminated cannabis. The state's regulatory agency also has a sophisticated communications platform to provide Illinois medical marijuana patients with the information they need, such as how-to guides for patient applications and clearly marked locations of nearby dispensaries, said Morgan.
In addition to changing the laws surrounding medical cannabis, ASA's goal is to encourage doctors to recommend cannabis for patients with chronic conditions at the time they are diagnosed, and "not waiting until a patient's kidneys are failing," said Sherer. While some believe that growth of the recreational cannabis market will also improve access for patients, there can be complications when all cannabis consumers are lumped together, she said.
"If somehow an adult use market will bring down the cost for patients, great, but the truth is there has to be a separate program," said Sherer. "I know it's the same plant but we're very different sets of consumers and what we want from this plant is very different."
How to Be a Responsible Medical Marijuana Patient or Adult Consumer
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Hayley Fox
Hayley Fox is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. She writes about cannabis legalization, news, crime, and culture in Southern California and beyond. Her work has been published online and in print for Leafly, Rolling Stone, Playboy, VICE, LA Weekly, and others.
View Hayley Fox's articles
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From September 2020 the College intends to reduce the Published Admissions Number (PAN) to 160 pupils in Year 7. The rationale for the reduction of numbers includes the creation of a Sixth Form, which forms part of this overall proposal.
Platanos has operated with a roll of 180 pupils per year group, this has risen over time. In 2018, the intake was 210 in year 7. This will be unsustainable if a Sixth Form is opened.
Having already consulted on our admissions policy and on the proposed reduction in our Year 7 admissions number between 29th November 2018 and 31st January 2019, we intend to adopt our proposed admissions changes for September 2020.
Be consistent with the intake of other Lambeth schools, as the intakes range from 125-180 in each year group. The proposed figure of 160 sits in-line with these figures.
Become a centre for initial teacher training in the future.
Better engage with the local community. The reduction in numbers will allows us to look at larger scale projects and use staff to work on building these relationships.
- Building the skills of the pupils across the curriculum and focusing on the holistic development of the child.
- Better able to offer our Business & Enterprise specialisms from 11-19+, with a number of 160 in each year group this would give us the capacity to do so.
- Improve the level of pastoral care and continue to nurture the more challenging pupils.
- Continue to be outstanding and move to beyond outstanding by layering the curriculum further with additional music, the arts and drama.
- Develop the pupils' range of skills offering individuals a wider range of development. Streaming from KS3 will become easier and allow pupils to move from one pathway to another, including the possibility of blending pathways.


Size: Human Fibroblast Basal Medium, 500ml. Human Fibroblast Growth Supplement, 10ml. Antibiotic Supplement (Gentamycin/Amphotericin B) 1000x concentrated, 0.5ml. Cellworks Human Fibroblast Basal Medium is a sterile HEPES and bicarbonate buffered medium containing essential and non-essential amino acids, organic compounds, inorganic salts, trace minerals and vitamins. No proteins, hormones, antibiotics or anti-fungal agents are present in the media. When prepared with Cellworks Human Fibroblast Growth Supplement and Antibiotic Supplement, this medium is suitable for the culture of normal human fibroblasts.


1953. 224 pages. No dust jacket. Half bound brown leather to corners and spine with gilt lettering and marble paper covered boards. German language text. Good copy with firm binding and clean pages throughout. Light tanning to endpapers and page edges. Sunning to spine. Mild edge wear to the boards, spine and corners.


Today is November 1st and I'm facing a dilemma... Do I post a photo that is theme day compliant (see here what the other city daily photo bloggers have done for today's theme: "doorways") or do I celebrate All Saints day (that is the day of the dead)? I chose not to choose and to, like you say in English "kill two birds with one stone..." (faire d'une pierre deux coups, in French). I took a photo of two doorways at Le Père Lachaise Cemetery!
I think this is a clever way of meeting both "requirements." Black and white is ideal for this photo. I like being able to see the sunlight and shadows in it.
Beautiful, peaceful, clever. I'm walking back home and i'm passing by a little cemetery just near my home.
The moon is full tonight... C'est Beau.
Great choice and image Eric! Congratulations!
Nicely done, and perfect image for this day, Eric! Love it in b&w.
Carrie -- you absolutely must go to Pere Lachaise the next time you're in Paris.
These are great photos for the All Hallows Eve (yesterdays and todays photos -- what a line in front of that store!). You definitely have the spirit Eric.
Halloween (also written Hallowe'en, literally "holy evening"), also known as All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Eve, is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain.
Wishing Eric and the PDP gang a light-hearted and playful HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I guess you could say it's a doorway to eternity.
A perfect choice, Eric. I love that eerie face peering out of the crypt on the right side of the photo.
Carrie, you'll be astounded by Pere Lachaise. It's one of the most wonderful things we found in Paris. Besides all the famous graves, I was moved by the peace and beauty of it.
Love that photo Eric, for all the same reasons as the others have posted. And the black/white effect is perfect.
I can't get your theme day link to the other daily photo blogs to work.
Good choice, Eric! Also for the b&w.
Bonne fête de la Toussaint à tous !
This was indeed combining the Doors Theme Day with Day of the Dead. My wife, Julie of Scottsdale (Arizona) Daily Photo, could not resolve the dilemma that you faced. She interrupted a series of photos of Dia de los Muertos artwork and Halloween photos with a modern resort doorway, returning to Day of the Dead photos tomorrow.
About:""kill two birds with one stone..." (faire d'une pierre deux coups, in French)"
In Italian, we say: "Prendere due piccioni con una fava".
A very unique cemetery, happy theme day.
Two stone doorways with one bird? Great solution to the Halloween/theme day dilemma. Well composed, love the B&W.
Reminder: I do it for myself by putting a post-it on my calendar that says "theme day," with the theme written under it, so I can be on the look-out for doorways or shadows or whatever the theme is that month. Theme day is always on the first, so it's easy to remember if I've had the post-it on my calendar all month.
I just started laughing to myself as I read that this was a great way to combine the "Doors" theme with Day of the Dead - Pere Lachaise is the only place in the world where you could have walked on to Jim Morrison's grave and gotten the same result! This idea was much, much better, though, in a host of different ways!
Petrea - isn't that face amazing - its not a very unique face, but its an incredibly specific and realistic rendering. I feel as though I'm looking at a photo of him - perhaps its the black background that helps - you don't often a sculpture in that format.
Ohh! Great take on the theme - and a nice photo, too. Happy All Saints Day!
Great pick for theme day, and All Saints.
Makes perfect sense to combine the two!
So Petrea is my go to gal for the reminder. Now what the heck is December's theme Petrea???
Oh Virg, you're worse than I am. The only thing I check the forum for is the theme. You don't check it at all, do you?
The December theme is "waiting."


Racing Stripes by David Schmidt, is a hilarious book! At the beginning of the book, a zebra is rescued by a girl and a farmer. They named him Stripes. They raised him on a farm. He's full of black and white stripes, but the other horses think he's a striped horse, not a zebra. Walsh farm is where Stripes now lives at, is near a racetrack where the farmer Nolan, used to work. The other horses were racing there. They didn't tell him they're racing there because they hate him. Stripes saw them race. He thought he looked like those horses. So one day, Channing, Nolan's daughter, decided to challenge one of them in a race. Unfortunately, they lost that race. But that didn't stop them from quitting! So Channing trained Stripes for the Big Race. While training, Stripes fell in love with a white, female horse named Sandy. Later on, the other horses found out that Stripes likes her. So the other horses kidnapped Sandy to enter him in the Big Race. The race is on! Will Sandy be rescued? Can Stripes believe he can win? Or will he be left behind? Read to find out what he does!
This book is a book that knocked my socks off! One reason is that if you look through this book, you'll find real pictures. Another reason to read this book is because it contains cool words. The last reason you should read this book is for the funny events that take place at an old racetrack at Walsh farm, and at the Big Race. When Stripes is practice- racing, he slips in the mud and gets dirty and muddy. That is just one of the funny events! So you can see, Racing Stripes is a knock your socks off book because it has real pictures, funny words, and cool events!
I recommend this book for people who like to be thrilled and astonished. You'll find words you never heard before! This book will hold you in suspense and have problems on every page. So if you want to be thrilled and astonished, buy this book!