Jerusalem as a site was populated long before the flood, and re-built by the Jebusites after the people spread across the land. When the land was divided by Joshua, part of Jerusalem fell in the territory drawn by lot for the family of Judah, and a sliver of the northern part fell to the tribe of Benjamin. The tribal line fell along the base of the great altar such that the fire pit was in Judah, but the flange along the northern base fell inside the tribe of Benjamin.
When David became king and captured the area known as Mount Zion, later to be called the City of David, the temple mount area was still in Jebusite hands. It was only when the meteor landed on the threshing floor of Ornan marking the end of the slaughter gendered by David's numbering the men fit for war that David went to Ornan and bought that threshing floor to build a temple there.Notice that the original writings said David looked up to see the meteorite land. That defines that the temple was built on a level higher than the City of David. Calling the temple location the site of the Roman camp is in disagreement with the writings that Titus was in his place in the camp on Mt. Scopius when he looked out and saw the temple burning, indicating that the main Roman camp on its 36 acres was on Mt. Scopius, not Mt. Moriah where the temple was located. A second indication was that the rock under the Dome of the Rock on the temple mount was used as a place to announce found articles during the second temple period. It was the location of Solomon's personal dwelling during the first temple period, and it caused a lot of animosity between the priests who knew better and Solomon, who is still hated to this day by the Jews for the abominations that he committed during his reign, including sleeping with his mother on the temple mount, a double abomination in the sight of the priests.
That threshing floor is on Mount Moriah, and David had Solomon build the the temple in such a way that the Ark of the Covenant sat directly on the meteorite, grounding it so it would be harmless. The reason the grounding was necessary was that the Ark had a reputation for throwing its carriers around like rag dolls when they picked it up. There are switches under the carrier rings that hold the staves, and when those switches are activated by being lifted up by the carriers, all four switches have to be engaged at exactly the same time, or the electrical charge of the electrical capacitor, for that is what the ark is, an enormous electrical capacitor, would buck like a wild horse trying to equalize the charge between switches. When the Ark was set on the meteorite, the staves with their gold plating were heavy enough to press the switches down into the "off" position, but the grounding was necessary to drain the static charge. The defining item that identifies the ark as a capacitor is that the priests who carried it had to be free of sweat that transmits electricity, wear linen that is electrically neutral, and go barefoot so that they are grounded themselves so as to not get electrocuted.
The need to ground the ark on a meteor is the defining reason that the Dome of the Rock is NOT the site of the temple. The rock under the Dome is just that, a common rock that Solomon built his house over, and that he dug a tunnel from to the meteorite so that he could go into the temple unobserved whenever he wanted to. That tunnel is not defined on any map that is available to the public today, but has been seen by several persons who took their lives into their hands to go down into the well inside the Dome to see where it went. They never got past the guards down there.
But back to David. His mother was a member of the family of Zadoc, the high priest, which gave him the authority to both build the temple and move the Ark, but he was not permitted to do the actual building because while he and his men were living in Ziklag under King Achish, the land of the enemies of Saul, he fed his people by attacking Achish's villages and killing every man, woman and child so there would be no witnesses, then taking all their flocks and herds. He was an astute politician as well, arranging for the raids to be blamed on Saul. The result of those slaughters was that God called him "a bloody man" and refused to allow him to built the temple, rather appointing Solomon to do it. David was permitted to make preparations for the temple, however, including stock-piling metals and cedar wood, drawing the plans and setting the rotation of priests serving in it according to the sun-based calendar (there is no provision for either the temple and its priesthood or the laws of Moses under the moon-based calendar), both imported directly from lower Egypt and the priesthood of the God Amen, the unseen creator, as evidenced by all of his prayers ending in "Amen", which we still do today.
But Solomon was his father's son, and he abused the kingship so badly that the kingdom was taken from his son, leaving only two tribes, Judah and Simeon, whose land portion was completely surrounded by Judah such that they eventually merged into one people, for the sake of the promise given to David that his son would sit on the throne after him, but the kingship would be taken away if his heirs strayed from the appointed ways.
The name of "Israel" went to the 10 northern tribes ruled by the descendants of Joseph, led by the half-tribe of Ephraim. Judah and Simeon became the kingdom of Judah. They were never called Israel until May of 1949, when they declared their independence as a free nation.
Jerusalem and the bulk of the temple was in Judah, not Israel. Jerusalem was only the capital of Israel during the lifetimes of David and Solomon, after that the capital of Israel was Samaria. After Israel was removed from the land, their conquerors moved other nationalities in that were never called Israel, but took the name Samaritans from the capital city of Samaria.
Jerusalem is, today, the capital of the former Judea, but it is a legitimate name from the history of that area. The 10 tribes of Israel were regathered into the land they inherited through Abraham, Issac and Jacob, a large, well-watered land in the part of the earth that is part hot and part cold, that is nowhere near the Middle East, and that happened in the five years straddling the year 1800 AD/CE (do the math for the time of their exile in 702-701 BCE, which was doubled as Moses was told on the mountain). Israel exists today under another name as they have lost the memory of their origins. The current name is simply a place-holder for when their remnant returns, for the entire population is to large to fit into the land.
Judah is not a healed nation yet. Israel doesn't know who they are, yet they are fulfilling prophecy as though they understood what they are doing. They don't. And they won't until the remnant returns to the Middle East and establishes residency there, healing both halves of the nation under one king from the tribe of Ephraim, according to prophecy that says, "Until Shiloh comes". The proper translation of "Shiloh" is Liberty or Freedom. "Until Shiloh comes" indicates the freedom for southern Judah and (the statue of) liberty for northern Israel. Both have come, and Jerusalem is once again the official capital of a land promised to the people of Israel through Abraham's drawing of lots during the days of Noah over 2,500 years ago.
The next event is the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets when the remnant of the 10 tribes will be called home to the Middle East by the blowing of the trumpets as instituted by Moses during the sojourn in the wilderness. They will have a king over them from the tribe of Ephraim, and he will be accepted by Judah, bringing the entire prophecy cycle of the reunification of all 12 tribes to completion.
Why does it take so long for a Zodiac sign to change?


text:
60 Unknown Black Achievers: The Stories of Black Excellence Across the African Diaspora, Africa, Europe and America
By Douglas Wavamunno
The stories of Black excellence across three continents: Europe, the U.S., and Africa.
"I am not a professional writer. But out of curiosity, I started collecting information and articles about black inventors, teachers, activists, etc., whilst at university in Scotland. More
"I am not a professional writer. But out of curiosity, I started collecting information and articles about black inventors, teachers, activists, etc., whilst at university in Scotland. It became apparent there was a canon of information to be read and shared, especially about Black people who helped shape the world we live in. We live in a world with a myriad of ideas and achievements. These 'Men and Women' are part of the development of modern society, past and present, across Africa, Europe, and the United States."
– Douglas Wavamunno
www.60unknownblackachievers.com
Category: Nonfiction » Art, Architecture, Photography » Architecture » History » Contemporary (1945–)
Published by Tellwell Talent
Published: Nov. 25, 2022
Tags: education history family inventors innovators
About Douglas Wavamunno
Born in Uganda, raised in the United Kingdom, educated from an early age in Scotland, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in marketing. Having spent over 20 years working and traversing Europe as an executive for some of the world's leading IT publishing brands, the old saying 'there is a book in all of us' kicked in. This is his first book written, and it is a passion project based on scraps of paper collected since university days. The objective being to share the information to anyone who enjoys finding out unknowns, and ideally enlist the expression 'I didn't know that', and hopefully go on to share with friends and family.
Having a passion for rugby, food and wine, there might be another book in there too.
Learn more about Douglas Wavamunno
Reviews of 60 Unknown Black Achievers: The Stories of Black Excellence Across the African Diaspora, Africa, Europe and America by Douglas Wavamunno
You have subscribed to Smashwords Alerts new release notifications for Douglas Wavamunno.
Would you like to favorite Douglas Wavamunno?
Yes, add Douglas Wavamunno to my Favorites
You have been added to Douglas Wavamunno's favorite list.
You can also sign-up to receive email notifications whenever Douglas Wavamunno releases a new book.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Orlando airport is located 9 mile southeast of downtown Orlando, at the junction of state road 436 and state road 528.
To travel to Lake Buena Vista take the Northeast exit road to state road 528 from Orlando airport. Head west on this road till you reach Interstate 4. Take the Interstate 4 till you reach Lake Buena Vista in total approximately 20 miles.


The main purpose of the Course is to highlight how important economic concepts, government policies and global trade are to our everyday lives. It will build on learners' own experiences as consumers and, in addition, help them to interpret economic situations through the application of these concepts.
A main feature of this Course is the development of numeracy and thinking skills. Learners will be able to understand and make use of economic information to analyse, interpret, predict and explain the actions of individuals, businesses and governments to various economic situations.


text:
How explainable artificial intelligence can help humans innovate
by Forest Agostinelli, The Conversation
Understanding how artificial intelligence algorithms solve problems like the Rubik's Cube makes AI more useful. Credit: Roland Frisch via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has created computers that can drive cars, synthesize chemical compounds, fold proteins and detect high-energy particles at a superhuman level.
However, these AI algorithms cannot explain the thought processes behind their decisions. A computer that masters protein folding and also tells researchers more about the rules of biology is much more useful than a computer that folds proteins without explanation.
Therefore, AI researchers like me are now turning our efforts toward developing AI algorithms that can explain themselves in a manner that humans can understand. If we can do this, I believe that AI will be able to uncover and teach people new facts about the world that have not yet been discovered, leading to new innovations.
One field of AI, called reinforcement learning, studies how computers can learn from their own experiences. In reinforcement learning, an AI explores the world, receiving positive or negative feedback based on its actions.
This approach has led to algorithms that have independently learned to play chess at a superhuman level and prove mathematical theorems without any human guidance. In my work as an AI researcher, I use reinforcement learning to create AI algorithms that learn how to solve puzzles such as the Rubik's Cube.
Through reinforcement learning, AIs are independently learning to solve problems that even humans struggle to figure out. This has got me and many other researchers thinking less about what AI can learn and more about what humans can learn from AI. A computer that can solve the Rubik's Cube should be able to teach people how to solve it, too.
Peering into the black box
Unfortunately, the minds of superhuman AIs are currently out of reach to us humans. AIs make terrible teachers and are what we in the computer science world call "black boxes."
A step-by-step refinement approach can make it easier for humans to understand why AIs do the things they do. Credit: Forest Agostinelli, CC BY-ND
A black-box AI simply spits out solutions without giving reasons for its solutions. Computer scientists have been trying for decades to open this black box, and recent research has shown that many AI algorithms actually do think in ways that are similar to humans. For example, a computer trained to recognize animals will learn about different types of eyes and ears and will put this information together to correctly identify the animal.
The effort to open up the black box is called explainable AI. My research group at the AI Institute at the University of South Carolina is interested in developing explainable AI. To accomplish this, we work heavily with the Rubik's Cube.
The Rubik's Cube is basically a pathfinding problem: Find a path from point A—a scrambled Rubik's Cube—to point B—a solved Rubik's Cube. Other pathfinding problems include navigation, theorem proving and chemical synthesis.
My lab has set up a website where anyone can see how our AI algorithm solves the Rubik's Cube; however, a person would be hard-pressed to learn how to solve the cube from this website. This is because the computer cannot tell you the logic behind its solutions.
Solutions to the Rubik's Cube can be broken down into a few generalized steps—the first step, for example, could be to form a cross while the second step could be to put the corner pieces in place. While the Rubik's Cube itself has over 10 to the 19th power possible combinations, a generalized step-by-step guide is very easy to remember and is applicable in many different scenarios.
Approaching a problem by breaking it down into steps is often the default manner in which people explain things to one another. The Rubik's Cube naturally fits into this step-by-step framework, which gives us the opportunity to open the black box of our algorithm more easily. Creating AI algorithms that have this ability could allow people to collaborate with AI and break down a wide variety of complex problems into easy-to-understand steps.
Collaboration leads to innovation
Our process starts with using one's own intuition to define a step-by-step plan thought to potentially solve a complex problem. The algorithm then looks at each individual step and gives feedback about which steps are possible, which are impossible and ways the plan could be improved. The human then refines the initial plan using the advice from the AI, and the process repeats until the problem is solved. The hope is that the person and the AI will eventually converge to a kind of mutual understanding.
Currently, our algorithm is able to consider a human plan for solving the Rubik's Cube, suggest improvements to the plan, recognize plans that do not work and find alternatives that do. In doing so, it gives feedback that leads to a step-by-step plan for solving the Rubik's Cube that a person can understand. Our team's next step is to build an intuitive interface that will allow our algorithm to teach people how to solve the Rubik's Cube. Our hope is to generalize this approach to a wide range of pathfinding problems.
People are intuitive in a way unmatched by any AI, but machines are far better in their computational power and algorithmic rigor. This back and forth between man and machine utilizes the strengths from both. I believe this type of collaboration will shed light on previously unsolved problems in everything from chemistry to mathematics, leading to new solutions, intuitions and innovations that may have, otherwise, been out of reach.
Researchers' deep learning algorithm solves Rubik's Cube faster than any human
Provided by The Conversation
Citation: How explainable artificial intelligence can help humans innovate (2021, January 13) retrieved 21 January 2021 from https://techxplore.com/news/2021-01-artificial-intelligence-humans.html
Ever struggle with a Rubik's Cube? Someone has created one that will solve itself
DeepCube solver approach might go beyond cube into other research
Professional speedcuber breaks world record on Rubik's cube
Solving a Rubik's Cube with a dexterous hand
[APRIL FOOLS' DAY!] Researchers create molecular-scale Rubik's Cube
Cyber-evolution: How computer science is harnessing the power of Darwinian transformation
An algorithm for optimizing the cost and efficiency of human-robot collaborative assembly lines


Everything is retro is coming round again, and so on. In that vein, I've dragged some offensive old blog or other from the depths of my spare hard drive. My foreword to the reprint may provide context. Dive in, if that's your thing.


Just past three o'clock in the afternoon, when schools across South London were releasing much-adored children by the bucketful, Tabitha Crum was let into the cold as well. Parsnips and carrots, she thought. That's what I'll slip out of the stew for Pemberly. He won't like them, of course, but hidden pets cannot be picky. Now that family supper planning was taken care of, Tabitha walked along with her personal thoughts, which were pleasant enough company considering the unexpected delivery that had come to the classroom minutes before the final bell.
In smallish steps that would delay the passage home, she clutched and pinched and rubbed the pretty envelope that had been delivered to just one other classmate, letting her fingernail scratch at the seam. The glue was of a stubbornly good quality, and Tabitha's nails were of a woefully short length—a poor combination when hoping to surreptitiously open and reseal an object one has been ordered to leave closed.
With only twenty students in her class at St. Augustine's, the smooth rectangles with maroon wax seals had caused a certain amount of attention. The two recipients had been given strict instructions not to open them, but to pass the envelopes to their parents. And so Tabitha, being quite an obedient child, had resisted the temptation to open it. Besides, if there was anything Tabitha loved, it was a mystery—it was best to let this one hauntingly linger before it turned out to be nothing of consequence.
And doubly besides, the beastly thing wouldn't be opened unless by tearing the paper.
It was lovely to look at. Tabitha suddenly had an odd urge to give the paper a kiss and place it in a glass frame, where its possibilities would never be rusted or tarnished.
The cobblestone streets of Village Wiltingshire were made eerie and muted by thick fog. It had been creeping up since morning, irritating everyone but the tea shops, which thrived in such weather. Tabitha peered through it, occasionally testing with her free hand, pressing and flicking at whiteness that always seemed to be just a step ahead.
It's almost like something in a Professor Pensive novel, she mused. And next, a woman will appear in the mist, begging someone to solve the mysterious haunting of her third cousin's potting shed. And this secret note in my fingertips will contain a coded message or veiled threat upon both of us.
Professor Pensive always knew the answers to puzzling questions. 'Every curious situation leaves signs of its origin,Tibbs,' he was known to say to his tubby partner, Timothy Tibbles. Try as Tabitha might, though, there were very few clues pointing to what might have prompted this.
-Whatever the contents, they were only meant for two children, not all of them. This selective nature indicated that she and the other recipient held something in common.
-The quality of the paper and seal was clearly high. Tabitha doubted such nice things would be used to deliver low quality correspondence such as an advertisement for tooth powder or puppies.
-Miss Morrow had seemed pleased to give something so special to Tabitha, but seemed genuinely unaware of its meaning. The envelopes had been hand carried by a city-wide messenger service. The boy, in handing the items to her teacher, had no knowledge of the origin either.
-The wax seal was engraved with a lovely lake scene with two swans.
In short, she had very little to work with. It would be easier to think inside a tea shop. Or anyplace warm. Professor Pensive always did his thinking in a corner booth of his favorite pub, tucked away near the a cheerfully blazing hearth, sipping port and chewing pensively on his pocket watch chain. Tabitha had no desire to drink port and no money to buy a pocket watch, but the basic principle remained. Cold dampened the brain's deduction abilities.
As though placing a mark of approval on the statement, Tabitha's breath sent puffs of white into the fog. Her cheeks were developing a tart ache and matched a crisp, reddened apple in the hand of the local paper seller on the sidewalk ahead. Both cheeks and fruit were a splash of color in the otherwise grey October afternoon.
"What have you got there?" She bobbed her head at the envelope.
"Something's brewing," Mrs. Barrow repeated, frowning until her face looked like a wrinkled apple doll.
Tabitha nodded and moved along, half-wishing the path would disappear so that she could open the envelope, later claiming that it could have been a map or instructions to find emergency provisions.
Scratch, scratch. Scratchity-scratch. "It's as though they sealed it together with spite," Tabitha muttered to herself, earning an offended glance from a passing elderly lady. Whether it was the remark, her outgrown uniform and shabby coat, or a combination, Tabitha couldn't be certain. Perhaps the woman was offended by children as a whole. Rather like her mum and dad.
Scents of lavender from a candle seller and warm bread from a baker reached out to waft sweet hellos in the pillowy air, and she nodded at Mr. Willoughby, who was seated in his usual spot at the front window table of Puddles Confectionary, receiving a cup of tea and two biscuits. Tabitha noted that they were chocolate, which was quite in order. She'd taken note that he allowed himself biscuits no more than twice a week, and only took chocolate ones on Thursdays. He waved back.
Mr. Willoughby had been taking his tea at Puddles for years. Tabitha had no idea if the elderly man had a job or not, but he was always somewhere along her path to and from school—buying a paper or reading on a bench near the school. Last year was when she finally learned his name, and, since then, they had exchanged pleasantries whenever they passed.
Approximately one block down, a scuffle was attracting calls of attention. As Tabitha grew closer, the invisible squirmish turned into a raggedy dog squirming in a butcher's angry arms. Bursting free, the animal bumped and dodged pedestrians, weaved in and out of street lanterns, and stopped for a moment in front of Tabitha. From his mangy jaw dangled half of a fat sausage. His tail wagged madly.
"Why, you naughty boy," she chided in jest. "You've gotten yourself an early supper, haven't you?" The dog whimpered and leaned his head near her leg, waiting to be patted and scratched on the ears.
But she didn't have time. The dog scurried off, and the Butcher turned his glare toward Tabitha.
Hi there! Personally, I think there's a lot to like about this first chapter. An interesting setting. The narrative tone--reminiscent somewhat of Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket. Excellent character names. A mystery to solve.
However, what's missing from all this good stuff is the question of what's at stake. Sure, I'd like to know what's in those maroon envelopes, but I'm not exactly dying to find out. This isn't the attitude you want in a reader; You want me DYING to know what's in that envelope and reading on until I get the answer. To get me to that spot, I have to know what's at stake for Tabitha Crum, and what the envelopes have to do with it. Is there something wrong with her current world that the envelopes are going to remedy? Is her current world absolutely perfect, and the envelopes are going to screw it all up? Give us an indication of this. Also, I'd like to see Tabitha attach an emotion to the envelopes. Curiosity is fine, but it won't bind me emotionally to the character. Does she also feel unease? Dread? Excitement? Anger? Confusion? Showing her emotion will not only help reveal what's at stake, it will also ensure that I feel the emotion with her. THEN, I have a vested interest in sticking around to find out what's inside.
Another small thing I would suggest is including an earlier indication of the weather. Tabitha was walking along and everything was great, then all of a sudden the streets were eerie and muted by fog. If the fog was there in the beginning, it needs to be indicated earlier so it doesn't jar the reader.
Another intriguing start. Can't wait to see what you do with it. Thanks for letting me read!
Your feedback is SO appreciated and spot-on. You're right~ it's not even evident that Tabitha is dying to know what's inside, so why should the reader be invested. Too much time spent with everyday thoughts, I think...I'm excited to revise this!
I like the way you have created mystery and used the weather to build that tone. You have a unique voice and it comes through very nicely in your writing.
I felt as though in this very first chapter, where you really need to hook and hold the reader, action needs to happen a bit sooner. For me, there was just a bit too much narration up front. I would almost consider starting closer to when she sees Mrs. Barrow and working in bits of how she's come to possess the envelope after/during that. Just an idea.
Love your descriptions of the setting and looking forward to reading more!
Absolutely~ action should come a bit faster. Mrs. Barrow, I'm afraid, may be chopped altogether in the revision...I think I'm going to skip ahead to an interaction with the other student who received an envelope. Thanks so much for the feedback!
Well, you certainly know how to build an atmosphere. I felt I was in England and enjoyed my visit there. I didn't care much about what was in the envelope, but felt Tabitha wanted it to be a mystery, rather than feeling that it was a mystery. There was a point of view problem when you described Tabitha's red cheeks, since everything else was in her point of view, but other than that, PoV was fine. The writing is quite lovely, but perhaps too expository to grab young readers. I did enjoy this, though.
Too expository, I agree. I'm going to try to make quite a few cuts on the setting front. Thanks for the comment!
While I do get a sense of place and atmosphere right away, I don't get a sense of time. This says it's an Historical MG, but I'm not sure if it happens in 1980 or 1880. Would love to see more of what Tabitha sees on the streets in regards to cars / carriages / etc.
I also think something more explosive should be happening in these first five pages. Something that tells us exactly what this book is going to be about.
Carriages were coming on the next page, but I'll bump up that particular sentence and try to add something else that shows the time period~good thinking! As for adding something "explosive," I'm not sure what would be appropriate for the tone I'm going for...but you're right, I need SOMETHING that's more punchy. Otherwise I'll lose my audience fast. Okay, great stuff! Thanks so much!
I really like your description of the settings and lines like "a splash of color in an otherwise grey October day." I can visualize what you're telling us quite well which is great. I agree with comments above about wanting to know what's at stake especially given all the time and analysis the MC spends on the envelope. She also thinks that all this mystery will probably be a disappointment but does she really? I found this comment hard to believe especially given the quality of paper, the seal, the fact only two students received envelopes. It must be exciting since you've built it up and so has she.
I wondered if there should maybe be a few tidbits of past information to leave, perhaps, a bit more "breadcrumbs" to hint at what is coming. My biggest question is one about spelling. I've never written anything set in the UK but I wondered if the character is British whether the spelling of her thoughts should be British (e.g. colour vs color) although I'm sure you're reaching out to U.S. agents so perhaps your treatment is fine. I thought best to raise this issue even if it's to reaffirm you're doing everything right; better to be safe and certain.
I'm interested to see how this progresses and really like your descriptions. If you can familiarize us more with what's at stake and hint at what's coming, I think this will be much improved.
Thanks so much for the comment! I really need to rework her perspective and build anticipation~ she DOES want to know what's in the envelope, and really hopes that it's something of substance (which it is). I've spent too much time on descriptions and setting and now it all feels a little flat.
Thanks also for the comment on British vs. American spelling. I think that, because I'd be writing it to submit to American agent who would then submit to American publishers, I'll keep the spelling American for now (the Harry Potter books do that, changing 'colour' to 'color' in the US edition. And I also noticed that in Sorcerer's Stone, Ginny uses the word, "Mom" instead of "Mum." I'm not positiive on the rules, but you've brought to my attention the need to be consistent. Thanks again!
This was fun to read and you have some lovely writing here. My favorite line was "It's as though they sealed it together with spite," that actually made me laugh out loud (I'm sure my husband is trying to figure out what I am doing in my office right now!).
I am a bit curious about how you start this piece with her thinking about feeding her hidden pet. It seems random and a little unbelievable that, given the emphasis that the letter has in the rest of the piece, she would stop and wonder what to feed her pet. It seems as though she is obsessed with the envelope - would her thoughts be consumed by it?
I am curious of the time period as well - though being it is the first five pages I'm not complete thrown by it and assuming a few more details to come will fill that in.
Time period details coming in the revision!
I think you're off to a lovely start. The imagery is evocative and the prose is lyrical without being so literary as to scare off young readers. You've done a nice job showing us Tabitha's curiosity and a bit about her home situation without a lot of info-dumping, and it's clear from the start that this is going to be a mystery.
While the writing is beautiful (it reminds me of some of the classic middle grade stories), it feels a bit too meandering in the opening, with lots of descriptive extra words and not a lot of action or conflict (or even a hint of what's to come). I love that Tabitha mentioned that her parents are offended by children (great phrase!), but she didn't seem particularly concerned about that or about the fact that the contents of the envelope could mean trouble for her (could they? If so, I'd love a stronger hint about that early on). The result is that the opening reads more like a typical day in the life of a fairly content girl without any real trouble brewing on the horizon, and I'm not quite sure the envelope—as it's currently set up—is a strong enough mystery to carry a book-length conflict. After this long wind-up that ends with the dog running away, if something big doesn't happen in Tabitha's world soon, younger readers may lose interest. So, think about how you might amp up the conflict right away – don't be afraid to throw some more rocks at Tabitha!
One challenge particular to historical fiction for young readers is writing with historical (and in your case, geographical) authenticity while still bringing a fresh, relatable voice to the page. Your prose definitely feels historical and weighty (in a good way), but the voice isn't coming through as strongly as it should for a middle grade novel. With the combination of third person narration and the older/classic writing style, I'm not sensing a distinct voice right out of the gate, and that, coupled with the slower pace and lack of conflict in the opening pages, is detracting from what I think is probably a really fun mystery that kids will love if they stick with it.
Since you've made the choice to write in third person and in a more classic literary style, consider amping up the stakes (what Tabitha stands to lose if things go wrong or gain if things go right) and tension (make us worry about her) in the opening immediately. For example, if the envelope is to be the centerpiece of an ongoing mystery, or even the starting point of that mystery, we really need to feel the magic and potential trouble of it from the moment it appears on the page. How does Tabitha feel about it? Is she worried? Excited? Afraid of getting in trouble?
One resource I highly recommend is Donald Maass' THE FIRE IN FICTION, which includes a great section on tension and micro-tension with lots of helpful exercises. Check it out if you have a chance.
Your writing is beautiful, so keep it up! Thanks again for sharing your work with us!


The new screen shows estimated train arrival times most of the time. If you watch it long enough, you will see weather information.
A new feature that debuted at the Chicago Transit Authority's Oakton-Skokie station in April and Morgan station in May gives riders better Train Tracker information without a noisy distraction. The brand new digital information screens provide useful countdown times to the next train "at nearly all times" without the chaff offered by existing screens in the CTA system.
These screens are more informative than the loud and large Titan screens seen at more stations; they also rarely display the number of minutes until the next train. When Grid Chicago asked the CTA about its intentions in using the new screens, spokesperson Brian Steele replied, "They're consciously designed to focus on real-time customer information, and don't show ads, agency promotions or PSAs".


text:
It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Brings a Wooden Sword to a Bar Fight
The prison pen is mightier than the sword
By Billy Richling • 04/22/14 3:33pm
Even small brews can lead to a big brawl (Photo: Quinn Dombrowski/Flickr)
Staten Island resident Christopher Matthies was in no mood to mess around early Sunday morning, when he got into an argument with three men at Dugout Pub South in Great Kills.
The argument moved outside, and Mr. Matthies decided fists weren't enough. So he got into his car, drove home, and came back with a wooden sword, according to Gothamist.
It's not clear if Mr. Matthies, 27, was a samurai-in-training, but it is clear that he also brought along a knife, which was a much bigger problem for his enemies. One man was stabbed in the head, ribs, hip, stomach and hand, according to court papers. The others were stabbed in the back and stomach. All three, who were between 22 and 23 years old, are alive, although one is in intensive care.
Mr. Matthies was also injured enough to leave a trail of blood behind him as he walked home, which is how police found and arrested him. When Mr. Matthies appeared in Stapleton Criminal Court to face charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and more, his lawyer, John M. Murphy III, argued that he was the true victim.
"There was a trail of blood leading back to his house because he was bleeding! He was bleeding profusely," Mr. Murphy said, according to the Staten Island Advance. "The wounds that are on his hands and body are entirely consistent with defensive wounds."
Mr. Murphy claimed his client was a part time bouncer at the bar, but owner Rob Renaud said he had no idea who Mr. Matthies was, or why he owns such a strange assortment of weapons.
Mr. Matthies is being held on $100,000 bail until his next court date on Friday. All the samurai training in the world won't help him out of this mess.
Filed Under: Politics, News & Politics, Staten Island, CRIME, bar, fight, wooden sword
SEE ALSO: NXIVM Trial: How to Defend a Sex Cult-Leading, Slave-Owning Monster


Designing a website require not only web developing skills but also a whole lot of practical knowledge and discretion. With so many companies flooding the market and rocking the digital world through websites and social media promotional pages, web designing is facing regular challenges to catch attention of the viewers and stay ahead of competition. Websites indeed play a vital role in creating impressions on the minds of the viewers and thereby the potential customers and they must be catchy enough to help a brand rule the market.
Have a look at the following two crucial tips to keep your web design stay ahead of competition.
Be vigilant about updated web techniques and modern web development ideas: Keeping a track of what others are doing is important in such a context. More flexible you are at accepting others and learning from them, more well versed you will be about the modern web techniques and it will definitely benefit you in designing your own website. Checking out consistently the present day design approaches and encouraging open interactions between the web designers and their fellow companions is very important. To speak about the modern times, keep a track of the changing trends of web designing that rolls in every year.
Focus on the UX that is the user experience: Build the website the way you build your own house. Think about all the pros and cons of the designing strategy that you are following. Be clever to judge how to give the best of information within the limited parameters that the designing allows you to incorporate. The user experience should not be compromised with. Flat structured web designing is in trend nowadays as they don't create much confusion in conveying the message. Keep in mind the website's compatibility with multiple devices.
It is also important on your part to make a comparative study between your website designing with that of others. Encourage others to criticize you, so that you can come to know about new techniques and ideas.
Wheelistic Web Design has an expert web designer in Florida that deserves mention in this context. In case you want professional help to design your website to keep a mark in the global market front, this web designing house would be absolutely the right choice for you. With a firm customer base all across the globe Wheelistic Web Design is a one stop for web development and designing.
"Web Designer In Florida "


He Bei Shun Er Chemical Co., LTD.
1) It is mainly used in green grourd pave paint colorant, smelting metal chromium, chromic carbide and catalyst of organic synthetic chromium. 2) It is used as coloring agent for coloring painting on ceramics and enamelware and imitation leather or building material; 3) It is also used for making sun-proof coating, abrasive, green polishing compound, refractory materials and special printing ink for printing bank note.
25kgs per plastic woven bag, or according buyers' requests.
Friend Links:He Bei Shun Er Chemical Co., LTD.


text:
relationalrealities
'relationalrealities' is a recognition that we are relational by design. Only through our relationships can we come to mirror the relational nature of a God self-revealed as a divine community of persons.
The Daily Office – a daily spiritual practice
If I had a Hammer …..(Pete Seeger)
Spiral Dynamics is a tool for the analysis of the stages of societal evolution. The key concept is that human societies evolve through stages of development ranging from primitive subsistence to spiritually progressive systems. This, in itself, is not so remarkable an idea, but Spiral Dynamics offers us a very clear picture of what societal developmental stages, or memes, look like.
Each meme has an associated color and set of characteristics. Don Beck, it's principal inventor draws on Ken Wilber's theory of holographic – integral development. The key concept here is that development occurs in stages with each successive stage and expansion and inclusion of the previous stage. The characteristics of the previous stage or meme remain present in latent, form within the new expansion. By contrast, a hierarchical concept of development relies on each successive stage replacing and leaving behind previous stages.
In contemporary society, we are still largely wedded to hierarchical notions of development. This affects both our views of society as well as how we envisage our own personal social and emotional development at the individual level. This helps explain why we are so surprised to find elements of social and personal development, long since relegated to the past reemerging to ambush us.
Racism is a good example. Since the Civil Rights Movement, we have come to believe that American Society has made huge strides in eradicating the scourge of racism. Consequently, we are deeply shocked to discover that it is alive and still violently, kicking hard.
The Spiral Dynamic analysis helps to show how the characteristics of earlier memes of societal evolution continue to be retained within successive stages that appear to have moved beyond the limits of the previous stages. In fact, the transition to the next stage occurs when the social momentum breaks free of its hitherto constraints. This is not driven by the conscious choice of society members, but by the necessity of meeting new and different challenges.
In 21st America, the legacy of a slave-owning society continues within our national DNA even though we are no longer a slave-owning society. The very notion of owning another human being is incomprehensible and repugnant to us because our society has evolved beyond the key characteristics and values of a society, which at an earlier meme of development was dependent upon slavery as its primary economic mode of production. Yet, the patterns of discrimination and oppression that characterize the distinctions between owned and owner classes remain, latent within our collective unconsious. They continue underground, out of sight as it were, becoming located in subgroups within the larger society that still cling to the values and world views that originate in a slave-owning society.
Discrimination and attitudes based on race are complex. Some of it is an expression of an ethnic fear of those who are different. However, in contemporary America, we are finding that the most intractable racial tensions continue to complicate relations between a majority and the descendants of the formerly, enslaved section of the population. Slavery has gone, yet the systemic hostility remains. Only now, it is enacted through public policing and the criminal justice system. We are awakening to this sorry truth once again, that, that which we thought we had left behind- a hierarchical view of development – continues to remain uncomfortably present even though it remains in tension with the larger direction of our society's development.
In the face of new challenges, as societies are pressured into more evolved social structures designed to better meet those challenges, the previous meme values continue to exercise a destabilizing effect through sub-groups who for whatever reason remain in tension with the necessity for new directions.
I remarked last week that we seem riveted by the unfolding stories that come to us in the lectionary readings from the 1st and 2nd books of Samuel. The book – one book later divided into two – of the prophet Samuel belongs to a genre of literature in the Old Testament known as the historical books, which comprise a major category in the Old Testament, 12 books in all. In Samuel 1 and 2 we see Israelite society hovering around, and finally achieving the transition from a confederation of tribes to that of a nation – from purple/red to blue memes in Spiral Dynamic terms.
Samuel himself, represents the passing of religious authority from priest to prophet giving Samuel an authority not seen since the days of Moses. Yet, politically, Samuel is the last of the Judges, those who since Joshua have loosely presided over the tribal confederation. The people confront Samuel with the demand that he gives them a king like the other nations. The demands of expansion and meeting new challenges require a new and more centrally organized form of government to enable the Israelite tribes to be more effective in war, against neighbors already organized as nations, led by kings.
Saul is the first king, but things don't go well under Saul and in punishment for his disobedience in not slaughtering the whole of the Amalekite people, as God seems to have required, God withdraws his mandate from Saul. God instructs Samuel to anoint the shepherd boy David in place of Saul. Saul does not abdicate immediately and some years pass with Saul, insecurely holding onto power while David is the secretly anointed one to replace him. During these years of tension, when Saul tries a number of times to kill David, Saul's son and heir, Jonathan, gives undying fealty to David, recognizing him as the anointed king in waiting.
David goes on the succeed Saul and becomes the king who unifies the Israelites into a formidable kingdom that becomes a major center of power along the corridor that buffers the great empires of Egypt from Assyria.
In the reading for fifth Sunday of Pentecost, David learns of Saul and Jonathan's deaths. Jonathan is killed in battle against the Philistines and Saul is mortally wounded. The messenger who brings the news to David claims to be the one – incidentally an Amalekite – who at Saul's pleading has dispatched Saul to prevent him being captured alive by the Philistines. David's response to the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan is to compose one of the great love eulogies of all time in the form of a psalm of praise and devotion. David's psalm is an ode to the love between men. Although he seems to equally praise and mourn both Saul his adversary, and Jonathan his friend, it's Jonathan for whom he mourns.
It is clear from the numerous attempts of commentators over the centuries to deny any homosexual inference in the love that David openly declares for Jonathan, that to be Shakespearean about it: me thinks they protest too much! The anxiety has been how to interpret this love poem as merely fraternal and not also, connubial. David makes it clear that his and Jonathan's love is connubial, not in the technical sense of being married, but in the natural sense of the feelings between them -they clearly are an emotionally bonded couple and there is something of carnal passion being given voice to here, alongside that of covenanted friendship.
Contemporary liberal commentators no longer deny outrightly at least, the possibility of a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan. But most continue to take refuge in the suggestion that to say so is an inappropriate reading of contemporary relationality into David's eulogy to the love of his friend. In contrast, Bruce Gerig is indicative of a growing body of commentators who no longer seek to deny the homosexual nature of the love between David and Jonathan.
I take the view that the love between David and Jonathan is homosexual in nature. However, in asserting so I am not reading a modern construction of gayness back in time. That would be an inappropriate anachronism. David and Jonathan were not gay in the sense that I am gay.
Gayness is a contemporary construction of homosexuality that understands this to be a normal and natural position on the continuum of sexual object choice. The love between David and Jonathan is the sexually charged love common in intensely patriarchal-warrior cultures, evidenced in such cultures as diverse as those of Classical Greece and Samurai Japan. Deep blue water separates traditional tribal- warrior cultures, with a discrete tolerance for men having sex with men as an aspect of essential male bonding, and our contemporary construction of gayness. Each belongs to a particular stage or meme of societal evolution and should not become confused.
This week the Supreme Court of the United States recognized something of the distinction I am drawing. I doubt the decision extending same gendered marriage across the Union was informed by a reading of Spiral Dynamics. However, their decision is an implicit endorsement of the notion that societies evolve in an attempt to meet new challenges posed by changing ideas.
In essence, this noninterventionist court has in the course of a couple of days delivered two interventionist decisions as a recognition that the spirit of the law is as important as its letter, and that the face value of words of legislation cannot be used to confound the manifest intention of the legislators. In the separate rulings of on the Affordable Care Act and same gendered marriage, the court has upheld the presumption of equality for all before the law. In the case of the AFCA, the presumption can be inferred not in the letter of the law, but in the clear intention of the legislation as manifest in the Act as a whole. Their ruling on same gendered marriage enunciates a different approach. We know that the Founders did not have black men, or women, or homosexual persons in mind when they enshrined that:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
We know that they could not have conceived of a same gendered marriage or of a natural homosexual state. Yet, the spirit of the statement is clear and cannot be limited by the meme – the stage of societal and cultural evolution of 18th century America.
The integrity of both the Bible and the US Constitution lies in their capacity to remain true within the ever-changing context of a society evolving in the face of new challenges and changing circumstances. Like the Bible, the Constitution (at least until it is replaced by another) exists to guide the nation through the ever changing tides of time. It cannot guide the nation to meet new challenges if its interpretation is enshrined within the understandings of a previous age.
Like Israel in the time of Samuel and David, America faces new and unheralded challenges posed by a revolution in social attitudes in the arena of sexual identity. The privilege of states rights in the area of defining marriage cannot remain an obstacle, to the equal treatment of all across the Union.
Our history reveals that God speaks most clearly to us through the separation of church and state. The gospel of inclusion, freedom from discrimination, and equality of all before the law, often so seldom heard in the church is now ringing loud and clear throughout the land.
Published by relationalrealities
Episcopal Priest currently Rector of St Martin's Providence, RI	View all posts by relationalrealities
The Chasm of the Unrequited
2 thoughts on "If I had a Hammer …..(Pete Seeger)"
Nan Carle Beaureagard says:
Thanks for sharing your intelligent and biblical – historical frame of reference. Wonder what is next in spiral dynamics?
relationalrealities says:
Thanks Nan, I guess what's next will depend on the dictates of the Spirit. Let us know if you are coming this way on your perambulations.
In Memory of Jane Langmuir
Stories of Birth and Adoption
Star of Wonder, Guide Us
That Story Again
God is God and We are Not
Service, Reconciliat… on Modelling Resistance and …
George Murphy on Carefully Taught
George Murphy on "Lord, Teach Us to"
George Murphy on Maundy Thursday: Do This, Beca…
Bill Coleman on Lois Atwood R.I.P.
Musings and Reflections


text:
Author Archives Reuters
Livestock, Reuters
Fictional nation Wakanda removed from USDA trade list
By Reuters December 19, 2019
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it removed the fictional country of Wakanda from an online list of nations that have free trade agreements with the United States on Thursday. The Kingdom of Wakanda is the home of Black Panther, the Marvel superhero, and is portrayed in comic books and the 2018 […] Read more
Livestock, Poultry/Eggs, Reuters
Puerto Rico cries foul over U.S. Congress's cockfighting ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes San Juan | Reuters — An attempt by the U.S. Congress to ban cockfighting in Puerto Rico has set off a debate about animal cruelty, put thousands of jobs at risk and sparked a possible power struggle between the U.S. territory's government and Washington. The 500-year-old tradition of cockfighting in Puerto Rico was due to […] Read more
Crops, Reuters, Weather
Mosaic to cut fertilizer production as weather dampens demand
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Mosaic Co. said Thursday it will reduce fertilizer production until market conditions improve, as a difficult harvest season in North America has led to reduced fertilizer usage. Agricultural companies' profits have been hammered this year due to an unusually cold and wet weather that has delayed planting season in North America, and lower […] Read more
General, Markets, Reuters
U.S. House passes CUSMA
Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday backed a new trade agreement with neighbouring Mexico and Canada in a 385-41 bipartisan vote, sending the NAFTA replacement measure to the Senate for consideration early in 2020. Democrats, who control the House, approved the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (CUSMA) more than a year after […] Read more
Canada could be last to ratify CUSMA deal, Trudeau says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa | Reuters — Canada could be the last of the three North American countries to ratify a new trade deal, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, indicating that his plan to match the U.S. timetable was set to fail. Trudeau's Liberal government said from the start it wanted to work in tandem with […] Read more
General, Machinery, Reuters
Ford recalls Super Duty pickups on post-crash fire risk
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would recall 547,538 of its Ford Super Duty pickup trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, citing the risk of a post-crash interior fire. The second-largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers certain models between the years 2017 and 2019 with carpet flooring that could experience a […] Read more
Farmers hit by trade disputes should be helped faster, Trudeau says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada's agriculture department should move more quickly to help farmers harmed by protectionist measures imposed by other nations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Canadian farmers are caught up in a trade and diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing. In a formal letter of instruction to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Trudeau […] Read more
Crops, Reuters
K+S considering sale of stakes in potash, salt businesses
Reading Time: < 1 minute Frankfurt | Reuters — German potash and salt miner K+S said it was looking into selling stakes in its North American businesses because an ongoing cost cutting push would not yield enough savings to reach its debt reduction target. A company spokesman said K+S was considering selling a stake in its Bethune, Sask. potash mine […] Read more
Livestock, Markets, Reuters
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on technical buying
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures rose on Wednesday, rebounding from Tuesday's downturn, while hog futures eased. Traders said that signs of strength in the cash market added support to the strength in both live and feeder cattle contracts. Technical buyers also helped pushed prices higher after early signs of strength. Chicago Mercantile Exchange […] Read more
Dairy Cattle, Livestock, Reuters
Nestle sells U.S. ice cream brands to Froneri
Reading Time: 2 minutes Zurich | Reuters — Nestle SA has agreed to sell its U.S. ice cream business to Froneri in a deal valued at US$4 billion, moving control of brands including Häagen-Dazs to a joint venture the Swiss group set up in 2016. Froneri was created after Nestle merged its European ice cream business in 20 countries […] Read more


text:
Hos Kofoed paa Amager er en dansk dokumentarfilm fra 1943 med instruktion og manuskript af Theodor Christensen.

Handling
Film om Kofoeds Skole på Amager, der blev oprettet i 1928 af kordegn Hans Christian Kofoed og hans kone Astrid med et ønske om at hjælpe Københavns mange unge arbejdsløse mænd. Filmen er lavet i håbet om, at den må medvirke til at udbrede kendskabet til skolens samfundsmæssige arbejde.

Omdrejningspunktet er den arbejdsløse Karl Olsen, der brødebetynget og modløs møder op på Kofoeds Skole for at bede om nyt og rent undertøj. Det kan skolen sagtens hjælpe med, men Olsen skal yde noget til gengæld. Han skal lære noget. Om soignering, sundhed og husligt arbejde. Og hvis han vil, kan han også blive undervist i fag som engelsk, geografi, tysk, sløjd og meget andet. Alt dette skal ruste Olsen til at komme ud på arbejdsmarkedet igen og give ham troen tilbage på sig selv, livet og fremtiden.

Referencer

Eksterne henvisninger

Film fra Danmark (administrationskategori)
Film instrueret af Theodor Christensen
Dokumentarfilm fra Danmark
Danske film fra 1943

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Foreign-Born Talent
Young Professionals Connection
Music Mix
Downtown Des Moines
Connect With Locals
Why DSM USA?
Growing Business Here
Agbioscience
Tax Advantages & Incentives
Available Sites & Buildings
Recent Development Projects
Talent Development Resources
Internships 101 Guide
Future Ready DSM
DSM Fellowship Program
Code DSM
Global Business Resources
Mentor Connection
Additional Community Resources
Contact The Partnership
Ex-Offenders/Re-Entered Citizens
LGBTQ & Non-Binary Individuals
Inclusion Awards & Events
Inclusion Summit
Diversity and Inclusion Strategy Toolkit
Diversity Certification
Additional Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources
Plains Angels
Seize the City
Intern Housing
Youth Leadership Initiative
Greater Des Moines Region
Regional Vision Plans
Affiliate Chambers
DMDC
Government & Public Policy Resources
Contact Government Officials
Award Applications & Winners
Regional Testimonials
About The Partnership
Request A Source
DSM USA Ambassadors
DSM USA Ambassadors Sign-Up
New Iowan Youth Leadership Program Kicks Off Today
GREATER DES MOINES, IA – A total of 40 students from countries around the world are enrolled in the New Iowan Youth Leadership Program that today began its third year. The Greater Des Moines Partnership, Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) and Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) are partnering on the program. The program is designed to provide newly-arriving refugee and immigrant youths of diverse backgrounds with exposure to leadership, volunteerism, community resources, career planning and integration to their new home.
The program is intended to provide exposure to newly-arriving refugee and immigrant youths to boost their morale and confidence. It has been instrumental in helping youths understand that there are many career opportunities for them. Program participants are incoming sophomores and juniors in high school who have an interest in developing leadership skills and a desire to learn more about Greater Des Moines (DSM). Students in this year's class are from Bhutan, Burma, Eritrea, Congo and Afghanistan, and all came to the United States as refugees.
The program includes a lecture or class once per week and a field trip once per week. Classes are at the DMACC Urban Campus on Tuesdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The program also includes a service learning project in which participants are divided into teams and devise a specific task or project to accomplish.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for high school students to learn important life success skills as they begin looking for jobs and considering higher education options," said Amy Doyle, Director, Advocacy and Programs at EMBARC. "The combination of classroom learning and business- and education-related field trips is the perfect balance of formal education and hands-on experiences."
About EMBARC
Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center is a grassroots organization founded by refugees from Burma in 2011, with the mission to help refugees expand their world of possibilities through advocacy, education and community development. EMBARC was founded by and for refugees on the belief that sustainable change can only come from within a community that is empowered to help themselves. EMBARC strives to connect refugees in Iowa with resources for life.
About the Greater Des Moines Partnership
The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the economic and community development organization that serves Greater Des Moines (DSM), Iowa. Together with 23 Affiliate Chambers of Commerce and more than 6,000 regional business members, The Partnership drives economic growth with one voice, one mission and as one region. Through innovation, strategic planning and global collaboration, The Partnership grows opportunity, helps create jobs and promotes Des Moines as the best place to build a business, a career and a future.
About DMACC
Des Moines Area Community College, a public institution serving the educational and career training needs of Iowans, is committed to the lifelong success of its students. As Iowa's largest two-year college, DMACC offers 252 programs, certificates and transfer degrees, annually serving more than 70,000 credit and noncredit students on six campuses and six learning centers. Thanks to college-wide innovation, new programs and affordable tuition, DMACC continues to experience solid growth. For more information, please visit dmacc.edu.


If you're starting out in your career or looking for a change in career, you might not know exactly what you want to do yet. But perhaps you do know you want to make a difference. As a large world class organisation we offer a wealth of opportunities to start shaping your professional life.
Whether you're an IT whizz, have a way with words or a head full of fundraising ideas, we'll nurture your talent and show you what it's like to have a job that really matters.
Our Retail Graduate Programme is a 24 month structured scheme aimed at developing retail managers. As the largest and most successful charity retailer in the UK, with over 700 stores and a strong online presence, our programme offers a great opportunity for a talented graduate.
Through hands on training across our fashion and furniture & electrical stores, regular feedback and challenging assignments, our graduates will be well-equipped for an enterprising career in retail.
From running a store and job shadowing to taking on regional projects, graduates will be expected to show initiative by taking on responsibility, sharing their learnings and making the best use of the extensive development opportunities within the BHF.
We're looking for people with great passion for customer service and problem solving. You'll be a great team player with strong networking and communication skills.
So if you're a graduate with ambitions for a career in retail, we can offer you the entrepreneurial environment, hands on training and expert knowledge that will get you on track for success.
We'll provide you with a warm induction to the Retail Team, as well as the wider BHF. You'll have complete access to all of our learning and development opportunities, including Workday, our state of the art online learning portal, as well as a huge range of workshops.
By the end of the first six months, Retail Graduates will be fully equipped with the essentials of store management and demonstrate readiness to take on extra responsibilities. And by the end of 18 months, Graduates will have a more rounded understanding of retail operations in a large, complex organisation.
Throughout the programme you'll be delivering on regional projects and continuously building your skillset, all to prepare you for a future career in retail.
I was attracted to this programme because it sounded like it would provide me with the opportunity to work within an exciting environment in which I would be able to both grow and develop professionally, as well as personally.
The best part for me so far has been learning about different areas of the company and becoming more familiar with how the charity operates.
Our award-winning People and Organisational Development Team are excited to offer a new graduate programme. Over 24 months, graduates will have exposure to several different teams within People & Organisational Development, enabling them to have an immersive introduction to the world of HR & Talent.
Based across central London and Surrey, our HR teams are experts in areas like recruitment & resourcing, learning & development, and digital HR systems.
We're looking for team players with great communication skills, who are confident networking with internal and external stakeholders, and can deliver great customer service to their BHF colleagues.
You'll receive a thorough induction to the People & Organisational Development Team, as well as the wider BHF. All of our learning and development opportunities, including Workday, our state of the art online learning portal, as well as a huge range of workshops, are available to you.
By experiencing the multi-faceted areas of HR, you'll be continuously challenged and given opportunities to develop new skills.
After the 24 months you'll have the experience and knowledge to equip you for a flourishing career in HR.
We're thrilled to welcome motivated and diverse graduates looking for a successful career in HR into our POD family. Our team is undertaking really innovative work and we are excited about the enthusiasm and skills a graduate can bring to our projects and services. HR is a world rapidly evolving thanks to technology, so if you're looking for a cutting-edge career, we want to hear from you!
Together with Macmillan Cancer Support we deliver the Gradunique development programme for graduates who are ambitious to work in the charity sector. The two year programme gives exceptional graduates the opportunity to work, full time, in paid positions for both charities - 12 months in each.
This unique partnership between the BHF and Macmillan Cancer Support provides incredible exposure to the sector. You'll gain hands-on experience across a wide range of functions in two of the UK's leading charities and the chance to make vital connections.
Each year we're looking for four recent graduates. To be successful, you'll need to show us that you are passionate about making a difference and ready to take on responsibility while working with others. We want graduates who are excited by the prospect of making a real impact on others' lives. You'll need to be accountable from day one, and hungry to learn from those around you.
For further details, please visit please visit www.gradunique.org.uk.
I feel so lucky to have been part of Gradunique… I've got to work across teams, directorates and organisations which has meant that I've gained a huge variety of skills and knowledge, and I've got to understand the charity sector in a far more broad sense than what I could have hoped for in any other setting.
Having finished the graduate scheme, I'm now in a management level role at one of the host organisations – I don't think I could have hoped to get this sort of role without Gradunique!


text:
Cuba's regime could be headed for a violent clash with opponents — just in time for tourism season | CBC News Loaded
Cuba's regime could be headed for a violent clash with opponents — just in time for tourism season
November 15 will see a banned Civic March for Change launch across Cuba — a protest Communist authorities have threatened to repress with force. It's happening on the same day the island reopens to tourists — many of them Canadian.
Communist regime and opposition to face off the same day the island reopens to tourism
Evan Dyer · CBC News · Posted: Nov 08, 2021 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: November 8, 2021
Plainclothes police detain an anti-government protester during a protest in Havana, Cuba, Sunday, July 11, 2021. A nationwide protest is planned for November 15 — the day the island nation reopens for tourism. (Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press)
Manuel Cuesta Morua is used to having police at the door of his home in Havana.
"Sometimes they're there for two days, then they're gone for three, then they're back for three," he told CBC News.
The government also regularly cuts the well-known Cuban dissident's phone and internet service. He's been jailed in the past and the current harassment is not the worst he's suffered. But if the goal is to frighten him, it's working.
"Yes, there's fear," he said. "We try to operate by managing that fear. We have been through so much that we've learned how to control our fears."
Already briefly detained at the end of last month, Cuesta is bracing himself for a possible return to prison as the Civic March for Change, scheduled for November 15, approaches.
"In the case of the organizers, we will probably be detained the day before, or the day of," he said. "They know who we are and where we live, of course. And then we'll probably be put on trial for supposedly violating the constitution."
President Barack Obama meets with Manuel Cuesta Morua (right) and other Cuban dissidents at the U.S. Embassy on March 22, 2016, in Havana, Cuba. To the left are Nelson Alvarez Matute and Miriam Celaya Gonzalez. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated Press)
Never in the six decades since the revolution has the Communist Party faced such an emboldened opposition.
Cuesta's Council for a Democratic Transition has tried to avoid giving Cuba's Communist rulers an excuse to use violence on a day both they and their opponents see as a potential turning point in the island's history.
First, the council asked for permission to demonstrate, citing an article of Cuba's constitution that ostensibly guarantees free expression. Permission was denied by citing another article that forbids any attempt to change Cuba's one-party system.
"In its Article Four, it is stated that 'the socialist system endorsed by this constitution is irrevocable,'" responded government official Alexis Acosta Silva. "Therefore any action taken against it is illicit."
The opposition said the march would proceed without permission on November 20. The Communist Party responded by declaring that day a Day of National Defence and ordering the mobilization of armed forces.
Trying to avoid a showdown with the army, activists moved the date of the march to November 15.
Regime arms neighbourhood committees
But November 15 is also a day loaded with significance for the regime. It's the day Cuba officially reopens for tourism — the mainstay of the island's economy. And Cuba's largest source country for tourists by far is Canada.
"We are aware of the planned demonstrations and continue to monitor the situation closely," a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC) told CBC News.
"We've published manuals on peaceful protest so that citizens don't respond to any provocations either from the state or from its followers," said Cuesta. "That could give them the minimal initial motive they need to unleash violence. We're expecting that it could be a violent day."
Cuba's Communist Party already has stepped up harassment of dissidents, fired members of opposition groups from their jobs and warned the broader population against attending the march.
Cuba has armed its local Committees for the Defence of the Revolution in preparation for the Civic March. This group from the José Valdés Reyes railway industrial plant in Cardenas wear t-shirts bearing the Communist Party slogan "Order me."CBC (Twitter)
The government also has organized its neighbourhood Committees for the Defence of the Revolution for combat, arming them with clubs.
On October 25, Cuba's unelected President Miguel Diaz-Canel warned that marchers should expect to be confronted by "revolutionaries."
"The decision is struggle and victory! Close ranks!" he told the Plenary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party. The protest movement in Cuba was orchestrated by the United States government and think tanks, he claimed.
"The imperialist strategy is to create the maximum of discontent in our country," Diaz-Canel said.
A beaming Miguel Diaz-Canel looks on as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Raul Castro in Havana on Nov. 16, 2016. Castro introduced Trudeau to the man who would replace him as president two years later. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
State media outlets in Cuba have fulminated against the planned march, accusing opponents of being "lackeys" and "mercenaries" of imperialism.
"They have all the machinery of repression," said Michael Lima Cuadra of Niagara Falls, Ont., who represents the Council for a Democratic Transition in Cuba in this country.
"They are Latin America's oldest dictatorship. They have decades of experience in expelling people from university, from school, from work, threatening people with 'acts of repudiation,' with prison, with character assassination on media."
Like many Cuban-Canadians, Lima Cuadra is wary of the Trudeau government's record on Cuba and notes that Canada has not been vocal about the country's human rights abuses or the lack of democracy.
Both the European Parliament and the U.S. Congress have forcefully condemned the rights abuses and bans on free expression that followed widespread protests against the regime on July 11. Canada's government has not.
'Rebellion has awoken'
"There should be a statement from all political parties in Canada that believe in freedom and democracy that they support the right of the Cuban people to demonstrate and take to the streets," said Lima Cuadra.
"If Canada is a friend of the Cuban people, the best way to show it is by supporting them in their right to peaceful protest."
"Canada strongly advocates for freedom of expression, freedom of movement and the right to peaceful assembly free from intimidation, throughout the world, including Cuba," a spokesperson for GAC told CBC News.
The Cuban embassy in Ottawa said it had no comment.
Cuba puts sick Canadian political prisoner on hard labour
Canadian held in 'horrific' Cuban prison being denied consular visits
Lima Cuadra said that even if the protest on November 15 is broken up and its organizers are jailed, the opposition itself won't be broken because it is leaderless and spontaneous.
"The culture of rebellion has been awoken among the population. That's something that has not been seen in decades," he said. "So the people of Cuba now realize they have to unite, they have to demand their rights, and that's the worst nightmare for the Cuban dictatorship."
Welcome back tourists
After a year and a half of pandemic restrictions, Cuba is lifting both quarantine and PCR testing requirements this month as it prepares for a busy schedule of flights from Canada. Cuban officials released a partial list of arrivals by Sunwing and Air Transat.
Already, a few Canadian flights have started arriving in Santa Clara and Holguin, but Havana remains off-limits until November 15. From that point on, said Cuba's Transport Minister Eduardo Rodriguez Davila, Cuba expects over 400 flights a week.
Cuban-Canadians planning to protest here on November 15 say Canadians should stay away.
9 players on Cuba's U-23 baseball team defect in Mexico
How Canadian tourism sustains Cuba's army and one-party state
"If you put a foot in a Cuban resort, you're going to find everything — a buffet full of nutritious food, sandy beaches," said Kirenia Carbonell.
"But if you set foot in the average Cuban's house, or in the local grocery store for Cubans, the disparity between those two scenarios is mind-blowing."
Carbonell grew up without electricity in a rural area of Rafael Freyre, just 7 kilometres from the resort of Guardalavaca, Holguin. Today she's a project manager for the Government of Canada in Gatineau, Quebec.
'The dictatorship is going down'
She said she would prefer to see independent observers travel to the island — not sun-seekers.
"The conditions [Cubans are] living in are deplorable and it's about time the big democracies take a stand against dictatorship and send people to witness what we are talking about," she said.
"I want the Canadian population to know that it's not safe to go to Cuba anymore. The march in Cuba is going to happen. From our side it's going to be a pacific march, however, we know that the regime is not going to answer in a pacific way.
"I think there will be violence. And that is so sad."
Rolando Remedios is arrested during a demonstration against the government of Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, on July 11, 2021. (Yamil Lage/AFP via Getty Images)
Dissident Rolando Remedios, out on parole after weeks in prison following the July 11 protests, said Canadians should stay away.
"Don't come," he told CBC News from Havana. "There is no way you can do tourism here in Cuba and not support the dictatorship.
"The dictatorship is going down. We don't know where, when it's going to happen, but I'm sure it will, because the system cannot be reformed at this point. The people don't trust the political figures that hold the power right now. And on Nov 15, despite the repression, which is terrible, and all the fear that has provoked, the people will come out again.
"I'm really hopeful about what's coming."
Evan Dyer
Evan Dyer has been a journalist with CBC for 25 years, after an early career as a freelancer in Argentina. He works in the Parliamentary Bureau and can be reached at evan.dyer@cbc.ca.


I was invited to join the Martin Grant Homes team who were taking on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for a local charity. A member of their original team had dropped out and it took a mere 20 seconds to agree to take part. I was delighted to have been invited. But despite my initial enthusiasm, I had some niggling doubts that the eight weeks available to me from 'Yes I'll do it" to D-day might not be enough time to prepare. However, as a firm believer that it's during tough times that your true character is revealed, I ploughed on in pursuit of the learning and insights I knew I would benefit from. I wasn't disappointed. I learned a lot about myself and my amazing teammates and I've shared the highlights here.
Our mission was the UK National Three Peaks Challenge which involves climbing the three highest mountains in the UK, within a 24 hour period. This meant traversing Ben Nevis (at 4413ft) in Scotland, followed by Scafell Pike (at 3209ft) in England in the evening and Mount Snowdon (at 3560ft) in Wales the following morning. Travel time of 10 hours is allocated which means a total window of 14 hours for completing all 3 mountains. My total climb time was just under 15 hours, and I'm happy with that, especially given the training time constraints. Most importantly, it was all for a really worthy cause, Cherry Trees in Guildford.
Cherry Trees provide home from home respite care for children with a wide range of disabilities and illnesses, allowing them to enjoy a range of experiences whilst providing their usual carers with some much needed rest. Thihttp://www.martingranthomes.co.uk/s charity is very close to the hearts of the Martin Grant Homes team, and as a small charity, they knew the help would make a real difference. It was an honour to help raise money for this cause so may I publicly say a big thank you to Chris Hamilton, Managing Director and the team for inviting me to take part.
I didn't feel prepared at the start of the challenge. I had sourced everything I needed, equipment, information, and I had a great team that I had worked with, but possibly because I was a late joiner, I didn't feel completely prepared. The uncertainty didn't prevent me from starting the event. I'd put in enough preparation and training and I could rely on the expertise of the guides and the shared knowledge gained from the team because I asked a lot of questions. The camaraderie of the team throughout was the glue. More than that, I was confident that every member had each done enough, prepared enough, compared notes enough, so we had a collective confidence about making it happen.
What does this mean for teams? Well, I have often observed managers who want everything to be in order, alphabetised and organised before getting started. The directions are clear but the dialogue goes only one way. The tasks become so important the camaraderie and momentum become lost and the team loses confidence. Achievement is the result of action. Plans are important, resources are too, but a sense of achievement comes from results. So no matter how organised a manager is, if they don't allow the team members to question for themselves, and own their part in the team, they may not feel like they contributed to the best of their ability and where this shows up is in their absence or detachment in the next challenge.
Steeling oneself for an important meeting or difficult discussion is an essential behaviour in business. It's what creates a calm and centred approach where focus and resolve can be deployed to handle whatever challenge you face. But there is no place for tension here. The initial energy boost of adrenalin that tension and edginess bring, are not sustainable outside of tackling immediate problems, and instead sap your energy reserves.
During the ascents, there were times when I needed to dig deep to keep going, and my natural responses were to take larger steps, grit my teeth and keep moving. But I learned that taking smaller steps, relaxing my whole body and breathing steadily ensured I could keep moving consistently. This was particularly important when the weather was colder. It also meant I made better decisions. In this case, it was about where to place my feet for each step (I wasn't the only one, I found out later, that had underestimated how much concentration that would take at times!).
It was when our guide explained that steeling yourself for a challenge is a relaxed motion that I drew the parallels between how I have seen such variation in how people approach difficult situations. Detachment, smaller steps and consistency achieve better results. It affords better decision making to take the next right move, so next time you or someone you know is in that 'I can't stop as it'll all fall apart if I do" place, then a pause and a new decision is likely to be more helpful than continuing the current form.
This has never been more obvious or true for me than in this challenge. I had never traversed a mountain before, let alone three, which meant I had no way of really comprehending what we were really about to do. I'd received guidance and read up on it, yet I still underestimated the agility needed to move around the terrain, and how different it was from walking uphill for a long time. So, I had to place my full trust in the guides to take us up and down the mountain, make use of their advice about when to stop and take in some water and some nourishment and follow their lead. If my part was to keep moving and make good decisions about where to put my feet, so be it – but it was the night climb that showed how important those two things were. I tried to follow where my guide stepped, and on the way down I lost my footing a few times because I was looking at his next step, not my immediate next step. I wonder, how many times when working together we fail to be in the moment, right now, for the current step, judging or paying attention to someone else's moves, when if we avoided that distraction, we would be able to focus fully on making our own contribution more effective.
Our guides on the challenge were very special people, without exception. These guys had grown up climbing mountains from childhood. They knew the terrain, how to navigate it and had fitness and stamina that went way beyond the capabilities of even our strongest team members. Fascinated by their innate ability I asked Sean, our main guide, what it would take to make him tired and for his legs to start aching. He thought about it for a while, and he said "I struggled a bit after the marathon distance across the Italian Alps". Wow! Sean ran up and down the group for the entire challenge, checked where we were, how we were all doing and that we knew the where to go next. We relied on him to get us through safely and on time. At no point did he discuss his abilities unless asked. He demonstrated it and shared his knowledge so we could benefit from it. This was true of every guide we had, each one a true leader in their own right. Not an ego in sight.
I remember arriving at the bottom of Scafell Pike, a bit bruised and very grateful to one particular guide that helped me re-group my thoughts, steel myself and carry on up to the summit. He had my personality pegged from the start, and he knew what to say to help me make my own decisions. There was no "you can do it!" shouting, no threats and most importantly, he didn't say I could definitely do it. He said if I really wanted to, he could show me the way. He was an influencer first and foremost and it worked.
It made me question how many business owners, line managers, team leaders really understand how to connect with their teams so they can assist them through the challenges they face. The compounding impact on team performance across organisational life, when such a core characteristic is missing, is huge.
We were encouraged to take it one mountain at a time, one phase at a time, one zigzag and one step at a time. While obvious when detached from the situation, this became more important once the challenge was underway. There were points when I didn't worry about whether or not there was a summit to reach, I just focused on the next phase, the next zig-zag, the view from where I was. It resonated with me that this dialogue is obvious at the start of say, a big change, or big project, but often once underway, we might forget that a team member may need reminding about why they're working on something and without worrying too much about the big picture sometimes, they may need just a little motivation to do what's needed next. The small achievements that keep us moving forward lead to the big achievements and an achievement mindset won't be developed, without the encouragement that comes from having achieved something. Even if it's just taking the next step.
To tackle the 3 Peaks, a strong core was important and trained legs were essential, but strength in my upper body also made a difference to my ability to cope with some parts of each mountain. I could use my upper body to pull myself up, make good use of my arms to lean on my sticks and jump down the larger steps that my legs weren't long enough to reach (there continue to be references to my little legs!). I had no idea before the challenge that my upper body would be needed in this way. I'd never seen the size of the steps!
When I think about this in a business context, I wonder why we often recruit and train our people to have strength, core skills and high experience but not so much about how someone might be able to adapt when faced with a challenge they haven't come across before. We have agile methods but don't necessarily look for, or develop agile mindsets and attitudes. Then we spend time overcoming resistance to change.
I struggled to keep up with the others. They were all fitter and stronger! In all cases determined and inspiring people. They were a joy to be around, but I just couldn't keep up. As someone who enjoys leading the way, I learned a lot about the discomfort of feeling outside of the group in this situation. I didn't need help to get up the mountains and I had many offers of help, to carry my rucksack, for example. I just needed an extra hour and a half across the 3 mountains in comparison to that group. I also needed to accept that fact and work within it, both for me and for the team. If I stretched myself enough but stayed within what I could do, then we were more likely to complete the challenge, no rescue operations required through over-exertion and no heroics needed. It didn't really matter why that was – that learning could come later. What mattered was that I understood my capabilities at the time, adjusted what I expected of myself, made a new plan and communicated with the team. I kept my own pace and at one point, was accompanied by my own guide as the team went on ahead. We all completed the challenge. I've learned that many teams don't all complete and often someone is left on the bus. My team members never faltered nor did they doubt that I'd deliver. And deliver we did.
We're now collectively thinking about a new challenge. We have bonded as a high performing, agile, resilient and relationship-based team with a strong sense of camaraderie and mutual respect for each other. We also had a lot of fun along the way. So there's an appetite to repeat the experience together.
In organisational life, this was a true representation of what we believe leadership and management is all about. People working together towards a common purpose with a clear vision, a strategy and the right resources are important. But, give people the freedom to be themselves and contribute wholeheartedly based on what they are really capable of delivering and they will begin to grow together and want to deliver again and again.
To find out more about what we do and how we might be able to help you achieve your goals through your people, get in touch or visit our Leadership Development or HR Services pages. You can also receive information, hints and tips direct to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.