Are you pregnant? And still smoking cigarettes?
Even though, I quit smoking during pregnancy, my journey has not been easy. I think of smoking on a daily basis. Sometimes, I even can't wait not to be pregnant….just to have 1 smoke or even just a drag.


BDO Foundation, NU Bring Financial Literacy to Farmers | BDO Unibank, Inc.
2019 January - BDO Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of BDO, has partnered with National University (NU) to bring financial education to Filipino farmers.
NU, in a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with BDO Foundation, has agreed to develop simple accounting and bookkeeping modules for farmers nationwide. NU faculty members will then use these modules to train the farmers in communities to be identified by the Foundation.
"Countless farmers still experience financial hardship partly because they lack financial education. They are skilled in crop production but they are not able to grow their business because they don't know much about the financial side of farming. They do not know how to budget or differentiate between disposable income and what should be plowed back to production. Because of this, they are always in need of fresh funds and become victims of predatory lending," BDO Foundation president Mario A. Deriquito said.
Through this partnership, BDO Foundation hopes to give local farmers the opportunity to grow their business, alleviate themselves from poverty, and most of all, improve financial literacy and inclusion in the country.


text:
Camera Restricta & Public Service, eh?
"Camera Restricta" by Philipp Schmitt.
Policy makers & content creators take heed, regardless of where you live.
Because this nifty, 3D generated, clunky speculative design camera has the power to restrict your taking a picture – just when you want to.
Because its impact is far reaching.
First, it throws a curve ball into the world of social, technology and culture.
Second, it adds to the philosophical dilemma policy makers face on how to 'properly' use/regulate/etc. technology for the public good.
Third, and even more importantly, it challenges the freedom of the content creator to create.
Schmitt admits that: "Camera Restricta could be a controversial tech product, promising unique pictures by preventing the user from contributing to the overflow of generic digital imagery."
And he sites that: "The European Parliament recently voted against a controversial proposal that threatened to restrict the photography of copyrighted buildings and sculptures from public places. The camera could be funded or subsidized by public and private sector institutions with an interest in regulating photography in certain places. It's censorship that doesn't happen after, but before a picture was taken. Think of it like trying to scan a bank note with your flatbed scanner at home: it doesn't work, software prevents it. Shouldn't this be just a tool?"
I connected with Philipp this past week after seeing Camera Restricta on one of my social media walls.
Putting on my public policy hat, I asked him whether he had thought about the policy impact of his little speculative design.
Not in depth, was the response, in part, because he's so busy dealing with the global reaction to his little project.
But he wants to have the conversation and contribute to it.
Which is exactly what I plan to do in the coming weeks. And what the Institute on Governance (IOG), Public Policy Forum (PPF), Conference Board of Canada, and many other public policy groups and governments should consider.
But what I hadn't asked yet, putting on my documentary photography hat, is even more compelling.
In a hyper visualized world, what is the impact of this little camera (not designed on a smartphone, by the way) on the process of content creation & freedom of the content creator to create.
Sorting that out in my head.
Camera Restricta. Camera Obscura.
See what the world says below about to Camera Restricta…
CNN – Camera Restricta
Camera Restricta

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
<?php

namespace CfdiUtilsTests\Validate\Cfdi33\RecepcionPagos\Pagos\DoctoRelacionado;

use CfdiUtils\Elements\Pagos10\DoctoRelacionado;
use CfdiUtils\Validate\Cfdi33\RecepcionPagos\Pagos\DoctoRelacionado\Moneda;
use CfdiUtils\Validate\Cfdi33\RecepcionPagos\Pagos\DoctoRelacionado\ValidateDoctoException;
use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

final class MonedaTest extends TestCase
{
    /**
     * @param string|null $input
     * @testWith ["MXN"]
     *           ["USD"]
     *           [""]
     *           [null]
     */
    public function testValid(?string $input)
    {
        $docto = new DoctoRelacionado([
            'MonedaDR' => $input,
        ]);
        $validator = new Moneda();
        $validator->setIndex(0);

        $this->assertTrue($validator->validateDoctoRelacionado($docto));
    }

    /**
     * @param string $input
     * @testWith ["XXX"]
     */
    public function testInvalid(string $input)
    {
        $docto = new DoctoRelacionado([
            'MonedaDR' => $input,
        ]);
        $validator = new Moneda();
        $validator->setIndex(0);

        $this->expectException(ValidateDoctoException::class);
        $validator->validateDoctoRelacionado($docto);
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Valerie Arioto est une joueuse américaine de softball née le  à Pleasanton. Avec l'équipe des États-Unis, elle a remporté la médaille d'argent aux Jeux olympiques d'été de 2020 à Tokyo.

Elle est championne du monde de softball en 2016 et 2018, vice-championne du monde en 2012 et 2014, médaillée d'or aux Jeux panaméricains de 2019 et finaliste de la Coupe du monde de softball en 2017.

Liens externes

Joueuse américaine de softball
Joueuse de softball aux Jeux olympiques d'été de 2020
Médaillée d'argent olympique américaine
Médaillé d'or aux Jeux panaméricains
Naissance à Pleasanton (Californie)
Naissance en avril 1989
Étudiant de l'université de Californie à Berkeley

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Twitter said Wednesday it would revamp user timelines as part of an effort to deliver more news and personalized content, the latest effort to attract more users to the platform.
The new features shift further away from Twitter's original chronological feed and represent a stepped-up effort to be a destination to find news, especially breaking news.
"We are announcing a wide set of changes to make it easier to find and discover what is 'happening now' on Twitter—be it breaking news or events," said consumer product team member Sriram Krishnan in a tweet.
"The goal is to make it easy to quickly find and follow the events and breaking news you care about on Twitter. Especially if you already don't have a well-curated timeline."
The redesign builds on a feature called "Happening now" introduced last year to allow people to follow their favorite sports teams.
"We're now expanding this to include Tweets about breaking and personalized news," said Twitter vice president Keith Coleman in a blog post.
"At the top of your timeline, you'll see news that's relevant to you along with the surrounding tweets and videos."
Coleman said Twitter is also expanding news notifications for smartphone user who choose this.
"We've been sending breaking news notifications to keep people in the know, in the moment," he said.
"Now we're experimenting with sending notifications to you based on your interests (like who you follow and what you tweet about), so you won't miss a beat."
Twitter's news feature called Moments will be redesigned as well as a vertical feed instead of a horizontal one that requires swiping.
"In our tests of this new look, we saw significantly more people using and returning to Moments. So, we're starting to introduce this new vertical timeline experience for Moments," Coleman said.
Twitter has developed a core base of celebrities, journalists and politicians but user growth has been sluggish compared with rival social networks.
In the first quarter it added a modest six million monthly active users to boost its total to 336 million, as it reported its second consecutive quarterly profit.
The move by Twitter follows actions by other internet platforms to more actively curate news and curb the spread of misinformation that proliferated, notably during the 2016 US election.
Chief executive Jack Dorsey said of the latest redesign: "This is happening. And really gets closer to what Twitter wants to be."


text:
We are amused
July 8, 2010 1:45 PM Subscribe
Yesterday, the Spanish national football squad won its first World Cup semifinal. A distinguished supporter insisted on personally congratulating them in the locker room. (SLYT, but priceless. Watch in particular the hero of the match enter the frame around 1:16).
posted by Skeptic (83 comments total) 14 users marked this as a favorite
It's kind of cool how they scuttle about picking up laundry. In that way it is very similar to when my mother comes to visit. These things, they are not so different.
posted by kbanas at 1:52 PM on July 8, 2010 [9 favorites]
Kind of amazing how small the locker room is for a World Cup semi-final team.
posted by proj at 1:54 PM on July 8, 2010
aw, that was very cute!
posted by sio42 at 1:55 PM on July 8, 2010
Somebody should create a Tumblr feed consisting of photos of naked people with royalty.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:55 PM on July 8, 2010 [9 favorites]
I had my doubts Spain would go the distance after the Swiss game... and am a bit surprised Netherlands has also made it to the finals. Having friends from NED I'll have to support the Orange. Am a bit bummed all the S. American teams bombed out though.
posted by edgeways at 1:55 PM on July 8, 2010
Funny how priceless potentially could have two opposing meanings.
posted by found missing at 2:01 PM on July 8, 2010
Aw, that poor guy. He's taking a shower, enjoying the moment after a hard fought victory, probably just chillin'. He's like, "hey, there's some shouting in the locker room, maybe somebody brought beer? I'll just put on a towel and check it out... Cripes, it's the Queen!" It's like that nightmare where you show up at school naked, except it's real and there's cameras everywhere.
posted by Kevin Street at 2:01 PM on July 8, 2010 [50 favorites]
The Queen of Spain! His groin! It works on so many levels!!
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:06 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Was there someone in the video I was supposed to notice besides the deliciously hot guy in the towel? 'Cause I'd gladly watch the video (or at least that part of it) again. >_>
posted by xedrik at 2:08 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yep - The queen sure timed that visit about right.
posted by 2bucksplus at 2:11 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's kind of cool how they scuttle about picking up laundry. In that way it is very similar to when my mother comes to visit. Right before I leave the World Cup Semifinal I just won, to go back to my extravagant penthouse suite with my supermodel girlfriend. These things, they are not so different.
posted by Threeway Handshake at 2:12 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nobody seems to be particularly aghast here...
posted by Mister_A at 2:13 PM on July 8, 2010
She's as smiley on the wikipedia page as she is on the youtube video! I like this queen.
posted by doobiedoo at 2:13 PM on July 8, 2010
Puyol is gonna be dining out on that moment for the rest of his life. "So, let me tell you about that night I scored the winning goal in a World Cup semi-final and met the Queen wearing nothing but a towel..."
posted by afx237vi at 2:22 PM on July 8, 2010 [22 favorites]
I like the way the team chant his nickname (from the sounds of it "Puyi" for Carlos Puyol) as he does his mini-jog to the end of the changing room.
Lads.
posted by djgh at 2:23 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Bah.
While this was going on, a jockstrap-clad Bastian Schweinsteiger was weeping fat tears into the bosom of Angela Merkel.
posted by felix betachat at 2:27 PM on July 8, 2010 [50 favorites]
Yeah, that Queen is a pretty sharp cookie! I can see her mulling it over as the game ends...then telling her charge d'affairs what she wants...
"Your Majesty....you want to...now? Of course!"
A bit of merry wicked gleam in her eye I think I spotted as well.
posted by Xoebe at 2:30 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've been in the changing rooms at the Ricoh Arena where Coventry City (English 2nd-tier team) play and they're twice the size of those. But less world cup finalists...
posted by i_cola at 2:31 PM on July 8, 2010
That was extremely sweet! Thanks for posting.
posted by sveskemus at 2:31 PM on July 8, 2010
I'm laughing out loud, 'cause I'm the Queen of Spain...
posted by The corpse in the library at 2:34 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Puyol is such a dude. I loved how you barely even saw the guy during the whole match yesterday, and then just when it mattered he came literally flying out of nowhere.
Much like in this video for that matter. Guess that's just his style.
posted by Flashman at 2:35 PM on July 8, 2010 [5 favorites]
It felt weird for a me, as a Dutchman, to cheer for the Germans last night, but I would have loved to see an NL:DE final.
posted by atrazine at 2:38 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
is there any reason that Puyol seems so built in comparison to the other players (or perhaps they look similarly with their clothes off). Asking as one still sadly ignorant of football/soccer.
posted by angrycat at 2:39 PM on July 8, 2010
That kind of made me wish we had a queen! Also, more footage of the World cup locker rooms.
posted by grapesaresour at 2:39 PM on July 8, 2010
posted by Kevin Street at 2:01 PM on July 8
Maybe he was busy shaving his pubes in the shower - I don't think I have ever seen a man so completely smooth and hairless.
posted by helmutdog at 2:42 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Can anyone provide some translations? I know the Queen says something to the effect of "all of Spain is happy / proud." And I think she's saying "Fantastico" when she's shaking hands with each player.
I kind of hope she's saying something like, "Get some rest, because it ain't over yet."
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 2:47 PM on July 8, 2010
She's a cousin of Prince Philip. She might be faking.
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:59 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Where was she when the other two countries she's royalty of were floundering? Probably with all the other fairweather fans who pretend to care about Spain just because the flag is pretty or they married its monarch or whatever.
posted by Copronymus at 3:01 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
First the King asking Hugo Chavez "porque no te callas", now this. The current Borbóns are such excellent royalty, they're like the payoff for the Spanish patience through all the other hopeless Spanish monarchs. "See, compatriotas, we only had to wait eight hundred years for a decent lot".
But they do mumble.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 3:05 PM on July 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
I just can't imagine HRH Brenda going into the England changing room after a semi-final win. then again, I can't imagine England winning a semi-final...
posted by marienbad at 3:06 PM on July 8, 2010 [8 favorites]
is there any reason that Puyol seems so built in comparison to the other players (or perhaps they look similarly with their clothes off).
He's a classic centre back, his job is to stop, tackle or obstruct his opponents. They're usually quite built. When he goes to his locker, the guy in blue next to him is Pique, the other starting centre back.
posted by valdesm at 3:16 PM on July 8, 2010
the deliciously hot guy in the towel
"Deliciously hot"? You must also be a fan of a certain soprano saxophonist.
posted by dersins at 3:17 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
That was cute.
Also, I can't help myself: NOT SLYT!
posted by Salvor Hardin at 3:30 PM on July 8, 2010
Don't forget Clinton and Bocanegra after the US-Algeria game.
posted by inigo2 at 3:30 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'd like to drop my trousers to the Queen
I am a man of means
of slender means
posted by Ratio at 3:44 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
OK, am so not gonna leie, I LOOOOOOVE LA REINA SOFÍA. she always struck me as a really down to earth and humble person --and yes, i grew up reading ¡HOLA! magazines with her face plastered on them :D
love how they are all waiting in front of their lockers like schoolboys and how Puyol comes in "con el rabo entre las patas", half-embarrassed and humbled.
i couldnt hear well what she said at the end but i think it was something about partying in Johannesburg. the audio in my computer is pretty bad :P
posted by liza at 3:49 PM on July 8, 2010
Video: students hang miles of orange streamers between apartment blocks in Utrecht.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:05 PM on July 8, 2010
That was an extremely uninteresting video.
posted by Dr. Wu at 4:05 PM on July 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Nice Lady. You say she's the Queen?
It's Good to be the Queen...
posted by djrock3k at 4:12 PM on July 8, 2010
That was an extremely uninteresting comment. But hey, thanks for playing.
You know what, fuck you. I could be in the World Cup Semifinal if I wanted. I just don't want to.
posted by kbanas at 4:15 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
...same as every Wednesday.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:36 PM on July 8, 2010 [6 favorites]
btw, the proper way to talk about Bocanegra is to call him EL SEXICAN.
I don't get it. Did I miss something? Old lady shakes some hands. Dude wears towel in locker room. Victorious team applauds triumphantly.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 5:28 PM on July 8, 2010
I liked the video, but I feel we could improve it if we would allow the Queen to move all the way past those last two defenders. That, and video replay. The Queen would shake some hands, then we immediately pause the action and take a look at video of the Queen shaking some hands, and the referee determines whether the hand-shaking was kosher. Oh, which reminds me: more referees. More referees in the locker room. Much better that way.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 5:32 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
On which note: take a look at Kill the Referee, if you can get your hands on it. (I saw it on TV, if anyone can find it online I'd like to know where.)
Thanks Skeptic, that made me feel better about Spains (well played) win. Like atrazine I was finding myself (conflicted but) rooting for Germany, just because an Oranje win against Germany in the world cup would mean epic party in the Netherlands and I would have been on the first flight down.
posted by dabitch at 5:50 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Damn, it's only the queen. I was hoping the distinguished guest was Paul the octopus.
posted by grounded at 6:20 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I was personally hoping for the guy who ran onto the pitch, but I think this was better.
posted by Johnny Assay at 7:15 PM on July 8, 2010
Yeah but Spain v the Netherlands? Plenty of historical significance there. I mean, older historical significance sure, but it's at least on the level of the England USA matchup.
posted by Grimgrin at 7:23 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Mario Ferri, the pitch-invading legend!
posted by dabitch at 7:23 PM on July 8, 2010
From the Onion:
World Cup Teams to Watch
Spain: If this talented team of handsome young playboys is able to keep from sleeping with beautiful women long enough to play full 90-minute matches, it should be considered a favorite
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:31 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
I just want to state here that I think it's kind of shitty that you guys are all calling Puyol a queen. He won the freakin' game man!
posted by From Bklyn at 8:04 PM on July 8, 2010
Yes, but it's not like an unexpected opportunity to be naked in the vicinity of Bill Clinton is a rare occurrence.
posted by Dr. Zira at 8:16 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
First the King asking Hugo Chavez "porque no te callas",
My spanish is rusty, but is this basically "Why don't you shut up?"
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:20 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
You know what they say about Carles Puyol? He wasn't born, he was quarried.
Anyway, a cute video. Having supported Spain since I was a kid I'm so happy that Spain are in the final and even happier that the goal was scored by a Catalan. La Furia Roja ¡Sí, podemos!
posted by ob at 8:24 PM on July 8, 2010
For Dr. Wu and Joseph Gurl.
posted by yhbc at 8:34 PM on July 8, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yes, Devils Rancher, your translation is correct. It was lolz, as far as I'm concerned.
As for the last bit, I believe the Queen said something along the lines of "we'll see each other in Johannesburg."
posted by Gilbert at 8:37 PM on July 8, 2010
Yeah, Devil's Rancher, that the King didn't mumble. It was excellent. He's a bit of a grumpy old guy, and I'm not really a pro-monarchist kind of person in general, but anyone who tells Hugo Chavez to shut up to his face gets a thumbs up from me.
I also give a lot of credit to Alfonso XIII for the general monarchical interest in football; the Queen's following a long line of Spanish regal football-backers. When it comes to soccer the British royals are newcomers.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:38 PM on July 8, 2010
Devils Rancher, here is a bit of background on the porque no te callas incident (Wikipedia Link)
posted by bitteroldman at 8:47 PM on July 8, 2010
Ah, excellent. Now I like this king guy, too.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:57 PM on July 8, 2010
Spain v the Netherlands? Plenty of historical significance there.
Yeah, but most Dutch don't experience it that way. For us it's the Germans who are our nemesis.
I'm not sure WWII really comes into that. Maybe it's more the similarity of language and geographical closeness that makes the internecine strife more visceral.
posted by joost de vries at 9:15 PM on July 8, 2010
Grimgrin, joost de vries, after Spain's victory on the 7th, one of my fellow history grad students changed his Facebook status to "It's 1581 all over again!" (see here).
posted by dhens at 9:43 PM on July 8, 2010 [4 favorites]
The audio is not good, but I think she was saying "Enhorabuena!" to the players while shaking their hand.
That roughly translates to "in good times" but mostly, I would translate that from Spain's spanish to Mexican spanish as a regular "felicidades" which is just a regular "congratulations".
posted by CrazyLemonade at 9:58 PM on July 8, 2010
Well, there's another one to add to my list of things the Spanish do exactly right.
So let's see. Now it goes: ham, religious festivals, parties and celebrations generally, red wine, avant-garde architecture, town squares, olives, the logistics of evening meals, sardines, high-speed rail and royalty.
I'm sure I've missed a few, but that's more than enough to earn my lifelong support. Looking forward to Sunday. Vamos Espana!
posted by gompa at 10:05 PM on July 8, 2010
i hope netherlands wins [cuh utrecht] because they have been practising their soccer.
posted by talaitha at 10:41 PM on July 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Oh, Queen eh? Very nice. And how'd you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.
posted by spock at 10:55 PM on July 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Oh my goodness, the video is great and all, but that picture of Clinton and Bocanegra is a true gem.
Mostly for Clinton, who looks a bit amiably soused - a bit red-faced and puffier-eyed than usual. He seems to have been caught at the exact moment before he started to sing "Rock and Roll (Part Two)."
"Come on, Carlos! Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh HEY! Nuh nuh nuh!"
posted by palindromic at 12:06 AM on July 9, 2010
I don't think I have ever seen a man so completely smooth and hairless
I think you mean aerodynamic. Less wind shear allows for better and stronger headers.
(Also, I currently live in Madrid and am having a rather excellent time with all of this. I was in Holland when Spain won the euro, so I'm not entirely sure what this means for the final. Also, Paul the octopus better be careful lest he end up Paul a la gallega...)
posted by slimepuppy at 12:07 AM on July 9, 2010
She says "Congratulations on behalf of the king, the prince and princess […], my grandchildren and the whole [royal] family, and from everyone in Spain".
posted by fonso at 12:55 AM on July 9, 2010
i wish people would stop threatening paul.
also: although i whole-heartedly accept the fact that spain=awesome.hams, i must politely disagree with the concept that spain does royalty.exactly.right.
i do think that the spanish inquisition, my favourite breakfast, and a veritable cornucopia of good films, were all done most brilliantly though.
posted by talaitha at 1:32 AM on July 9, 2010
What do you call an Englishman in the World Cup Final?
Referee.
posted by Electric Dragon at 2:28 AM on July 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Personally I'm in favour of the king of Spain and the crown prince of the Netherlands duking it out in parallel to the match. The 80 yr war of their ancestors 400 yrs ago redux.
I'm inspired by the USA where everyday political decisions are measured by the intentions of politicians at the creation of the country; WWTJD. Suddenly I realise that we've let the religious strife that was the genesis of our country fall by the wayside. We've squandered our Dutchness. William the Silent would seeth with anger in his marble tomb if he knew.
So I propose that all protestants chose the side of the Netherlands in this match and all catholics the side of Spain.
posted by joost de vries at 3:51 AM on July 9, 2010
That story is huge today - splashed over the entire back page of The Times.
It's like people think it compensates for the actual football team being crap.
ENGLAND IN FINAL!!!!
(As referee)
posted by djgh at 5:51 AM on July 9, 2010
That's not really the Dutch way though. We're like that guy who, when he plays CivII, everyone is all "Why is he wasting all his time researching stockmarkets, fiat currency, and religious tolerance" and then 10 minutes later it's "Ay Caramba, Alguien ha robado mi flota de la plata!"
posted by atrazine at 6:39 AM on July 9, 2010 [2 favorites]
it's not like an unexpected opportunity to be naked in the vicinity of Bill Clinton is a rare occurrence.
No, but that's not why it was a special moment. It was the opportunity to drink a beer with him.
posted by nickmark at 7:10 AM on July 9, 2010
Here's an English explanation of what atrazine was referring to.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:41 AM on July 9, 2010
According to Wikipedia, she's 71.
posted by sour cream at 8:48 AM on July 9, 2010
atrazine What does religious tolerance (except with Catholics) have to do with being a bunch of filthy thieving pirates).
posted by Skeptic at 3:19 PM on July 9, 2010
Skeptic, this was being a pirate in state service. Which was a common practice in those days as part of waging war.
So these pirates were filthy thieving just as much as soldiers were filthy murdering.
But I do agree that the religious tolerance wrt catholics was less. They couldn't officially have churches until +/- 1880.
As much as I love watching Spain pass the ball, I think I'm siding with Team Oranje, mainly because I'd like to see a team of guys with receding hairlines win.
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:30 AM on July 10, 2010
I'd like to see a team of guys with receding hairlines win.
Landon Donovan's doing the best he can!
posted by inigo2 at 12:07 PM on July 10, 2010
What is with the pitch invaders recently? In the Netherlands vs Spain game we had Jimmy Jump.
posted by dabitch at 6:39 AM on July 12, 2010
« Older Neoconservation: Conservation Easements | You have 25 minutes to save Moonbase Alpha Newer »
When you play the World Cup, you win....or you go... June 20, 2015
Coupe du Monde Féminine 2015 June 8, 2015
So, soccer.... June 17, 2014
Vuvuzela Time! June 17, 2010
The Economist: The World in 2010 November 14, 2009


Every human being has an energy field around their body. Some people call it the aura, or the luminous energy field, or simply the human energy field. The purpose of this article is not only to prove the existence of the human energy field, but also to explore the function of our DNA, the interaction between DNA and the unified field, and the influence of the human energy field on that relationship.
Ultimately, if the science is indeed correct, this is a first step to health, healing, and possibly human evolution.
In the Western world our doctors go through almost a decade of schooling, and in that time they become masters of human biology, anatomy, and physiology. They become adept at understanding disease, and diagnosing all forms of illness, yet in a large majority of cases, what is their prescription? Drugs or Surgery.
All illness has a spiritual/energetic origin. When you do not cleanse your human energy field your energetic field becomes distorted, stagnant, and impure. It becomes extremely imbalanced and charged with low-energy vibrations which cause disease in mind, and spirit, and eventually in our bodies. But why?
The reason why this occurs is because one of the major functions of our DNA is that it receives and transmits energy. This has been shown to be one of the major functions of 'junk DNA' (which make up about 95% of the human genome) which is what it was called before they understood what it was all about, but now it is beginning to be shown as thean essential component of our biology and DNA.
One of the new discoveries in DNA as Bruce Lipton talks about is epigenetic control, which means literally "above-genetic" control. Thus the new understanding of DNA is that the genes which our DNA codes is dictated as a response to the environment. In essence we are in a perpetual process of adaptation, which means that we have the potential for continuous evolution in our environment, moreover, spontaneous evolution.
More specifically, what is it that our DNA responds to in order to determine the nature of our environment? Our DNA does not have eyes, or ears, so it cannot see or hear what is going on. Instead it determines the environment by 'reading' the energy. It receives energetic signals from the environment and interacts directly with the information and codes encoded within the unified field, reads them, and then our DNA codes and/or activates the appropriate genes suitable for the environment we are in.
What do you think happens to DNA when the human energy field is all polluted by negative energies? To answer this question, we have to look to water.
His tests involve him sending specific thoughts to water (or getting others to do so), and then he flash freezes that water so that he can take a look at the crystal formed, and examine the relationship between the energy/thought/emotion sent to the water, and the crystals that are formed as a result.
Amazingly he found that when positive thoughts, energies, and words were directed to the water, they formed beautiful, highly coherent crystals. Whereas when negative, angry, or hateful thoughts and emotions were directed towards the water, or in some cases with words directly, he found that there was no more coherent structure, and that the crystals froze with no sacred geometrical pattern. In other words, there was no coherence.
This work proves two things: (1) That our thoughts and emotions influence reality directly; and (2) That the type of energy matters.
What is going on with these water crystals is that when an individual thinks a certain thought, speaks a certain word, or feels in a certain way, their energy is oscillating the human energy field which restructures the geometric patterns within space according to that energy.
Then the frequency of our energy radiates throughout space (or it is transmitted non-locally – I truly have no idea) and it restructures the field in accordance with our energy, and this restructures the field – the space – around the water molecules because atoms are 99.9999% empty space. Then when the water is flash frozen, it freezes along the geometric pattern created in the space around its molecules by human thought, emotion, and intention.
As we have seen from the images, the highest emotions of love, kindness, joy, and gratitude create highly coherent geometrical patterns in the field which creates crystals that are truly perfect, beautiful, and harmonic which resonate those emotions within us as we observe them.
Negative energies on the other hand seem to distort the natural structure of the field, vibrating the field in a discordant fashion, which create crystals that radiate a sense of ugliness, imperfection, dis-coherence, and in essence, disease. If it is possible for water crystals to look sick, ill, and literally diseased, it is these ones.
So if our bodies are 75% water, and if our genes are bio-oscillating crystalline structures which read and interpret energy, and if we are 99.999% space, then how do you think the energies within the human energy field are impacting our DNA, and most relevant of all, our health?
As I said before, the latest, and possibly the cutting edge of genetic sciences is working with epi-genetic control, meaning that our DNA and the genes which are coded are determined by the energy of our environment. Well, what determines our environment?
It is not what is out there which has the greatest impact, it is our perception of what is out there. In other words, what we believe, think, and feel to be true about our environment determines how we perceive our environment. So if we think the world is negative, it becomes negative to us. But the opposite is also true. If we live in a state of love, happiness, and inner peace, then we perceive our environment to be the same and thus what we attract is much different.
The human energy field directly informs our DNA and is directly responsible for the genes coded, our health, any illness or disease which may appear in our body, and even our intelligence, memory, and ability to heal is directly affected. All aspects of our lives are determined by the quality of our consciousness.
Another important piece of evidence that helps us to understand really what is going on when our DNA interacts with the unified field and with consciousness is known as the Phantom DNA Effect. It was discovered by Dr. Peter Gariaev who put DNA in a tiny quartz container and zapped it with a mild laser. He then observed the DNA with equipment so sensitive it could detect a single photon. He found the DNA acted like a sponge, and absorbed the photons storing them in a cork-screw shaped spiral.
The structure of the vacuum, the unified field, actually stores information, energy, and light, which in reality are all the same thing.
This strongly suggests that the DNA molecule and structure is resonant with the structure of space-time. In other words its structure is somehow coherent as to cause the field to interact with it in this way once it is charged with energy, in this case a mild laser. Could it be the field responding with the codes necessary for the DNA molecule to adapt to its new environment?
This process infers that to some degree the DNA molecule is like a biological computer chip, an interface between our biology and the unified field. It means that an interesting function of DNA is to store light (which is information), and that this structure leaves a particularly strong energetic imprint onto the fabric of space-time. Maybe even that the process of the DNA storing energy activated an energetic construct already present in the unified field.
The evidence also suggests that there is communication going on between our DNA which stores energy/information/light, but it also seems that our DNA is not just informing the field and leaving an energetic imprint on the human energy field, but that the field is informing our DNA right back.
As a continually growing body of information related to energetically driven evolution is suggesting, all the codes, imprints, and information may very well be stored directly in the energetic field which creation emanates from; in essence, within light itself.
And when we are young or when our energetic fields are pure and unpolluted, our energy resonates most clearly with the universe in this state causing an unobstructed communication between our consciousness and universal consciousness, and between our DNA and the field. When this communication is undistributed, we become the epitome of mental, spiritual, and physical health.
If our emotions were negative or incoherent, that would be disrupting the communication between the field and our DNA, and it is this above all which evidence is suggesting is the source of all disease.
The field of intention, conscious awareness, energy, the universal mind, whatever you choose to call the infinite energy density of the vacuum, the fact remains that the energy of space all around us, is infinite. In other words, it is love, for that is the highest energy that we have a name for.
As Masaru Emoto's work shows, the more positive, loving, and compassionate the person's energy, the higher the degree of coherence in the water crystals. Imagine what these positive energies do to our bodies which are 75% water, and imagine the effect of that highly coherent energy on our DNA. When we align with this energy, with our source, and thus with our higher self, we are embodying this energy which clears all the negativity and energetic disturbance within us manifesting health in mind, body, and spirit.


I hired Pablo and his crew to rebuild my deck. Pros all the way. Clean work. Precise work. On time. Great design. I couldn't be happier with their work, and will hire them again to do more things for us. Amazing team.
Professional, honest, and on time!Creative with the design for my deck which turned out to be beautiful and functional. Thank you to Pablo and his excellent team!
Excellent quality, good communication with customers, showed up on time and went above and beyond!
Pablo and his team did an awesome job on our outdoor painting project. They were meticulous in locating and repairing wood rot and the quality of their workmanship was excellent. We have never had a more polite and tidy contractor on site. Additionally, the amount of value was incredible for the work these guys did. I'd highly recommend Pablo and Romero Quality Construction to anyone looking to do a home remodel!
The crew did an excellent job of removing collapsed deck (37 yrs old) and building a much more substantial one at a reasonable price. Was impressed with their professionalism, materials, and overall result. Would recommend without reservation.
Pablo and his crew remodeled out master bathroom and did a fantastic job! It was a pleasure working with him on this project. They were professional, hard working, dependable, and trustworthy. They were able to work around my schedule and came each day they said they would. The quality of their work is beautiful! I highly recommend them and will definitely use them again.
Pablo and his team removed an old deck and replaced it with a larger screened porch. Could not have more pleased with the process, price, and final product. Every person who was involved was a skilled craftsman, courteous and really cared about what he did and how he did it. Romero's construction is truly a quality company.


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To enable delegates to understand how fires start and the actions required in the event of a fire. On completion of this training course, delegates will be able to understand the hazards and precautions related to industrial fires, and what action to take in the event of a fire.
Employers (and/or building owners or occupiers) must carry out a fire safety risk assessment and keep it up to date. This shares the same approach as health and safety risk assessments and can be carried out either as part of an overall risk assessment or as a separate exercise.
To help prevent fire in the workplace, your risk assessment should identify what could cause a fire to start, ie sources of ignition (heat or sparks) and substances that burn, and the people who may be at risk.
Once you have identified the risks, you can take appropriate action to control them. Consider whether you can avoid them altogether or, if this is not possible, how you can reduce the risks and manage them. Also consider how you will protect people if there is a fire.


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The Million Parts per Trillion Tour
By: David Swanson
Published: Fri 8 Mar 2019 03:08 PM
By Pat Elder, March 7, 2019
https://worldbeyondwar.org/the-million-parts-per-trillion-tour/
I drove across the country with my daughter Holly last week to draw attention to the reckless behavior of the military as it continues to poison the waters in communities across the country.
We billed our trip, "The Million Parts per Trillion Tour" because we stopped at eight extremely contaminated bases, all with more than a million parts per trillion (ppt) of deadly Per and Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the groundwater.
We worked with The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom-U.S. and Civilian Exposure from Camp Lejeune, NC.
PFAS is found in the aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) the military uses to extinguish massive fires during routine training exercises. The carcinogens are allowed to leach into groundwater and sewer water. PFAS is also found in Teflon products and other consumables. It is known as the "forever chemical" because it never degrades in the environment. It is the poison that poisons forever.
The former England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana was the most severely contaminated place we visited, with 10,970,000 parts per trillion of PFAS in the groundwater. We saw impoverished communities served by well water near that base. The press is silent, and people don't know they're being poisoned. Not a single soul we spoke to during our tour knew of the issue. Just 2 of 200 (mainstream, for profit) news agencies we contacted reached out to us, although they never ran a story.
The most minute traces of PFAS adversely affect women's reproductive health and cause a variety of cancers. More than a third of all Americans may have PFAS-contaminated drinking water. Harvard public health scientist say exposure of 1 ppt of PFAS is detrimental to human health.
Throughout the country, the military is claiming it is free to continue using the foams and poisoning American communities. They say the chemicals are not regulated by the EPA or the Department of Agriculture so it's OK to use them. Generally, the DOD refuses to pay for cleaning up the contamination or providing alternative drinking systems, aside from a few instances where they've provided bottled water to unfortunate souls.
Throughout the country the military claims that individual states lack the "jurisdictional authority" to force compliance with state environmental laws. The DOD claims "sovereign immunity" from state environmental regulations.
The military's potential financial liability is astronomical, and this partially explains the EPA's steadfast refusal to institute a Minimum Contaminant Level (MCL) for the substances. Doing so would unleash a flood of litigation against the military here and around the world, particularly in Germany where the issue is gaining traction.
Curiously, our trip has led us to focus on what we don't know.
The DOD has been testing thousands of individual wells, but in many communities they're not publishing the results. We don't know how far the wells they tested were located from the routine discharges of PFAS on base. We don't know how far the deadly plumes have travelled from bases. We don't know how deep the private wells were. We don't know how deep the military's wells were. We don't know how precise their measurements were. Experts tell us the military is performing tests that are designed to miss small, yet potentially harmful amounts of the contaminants.
We are witnessing a nightmare scenario in which state and federal regulatory agencies are at a standstill while the military, which continues using the toxins, is the lead agency in ascertaining the extent of the contamination and protecting human health.
The age of assuming the water is safe to drink in America is over. Don't drink groundwater and don't drink municipal water until you're satisfied it is not contaminated with PFAS.
World Water Day is March 22nd!
Please see the following summary of each base we visited, including links to brief videos at each site.
Stop # 1 China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station
8,000,000 parts per trillion (ppt.) of PFAS found in the groundwater.
PFAS contaminants were found in the groundwater at the Navy's China Lake site at levels 727,273 times what is considered a safe exposure level.
Officials at China Lake downplay the severity of the problem. They say, "soil remediation technologies including isolation, capping, or excavation have been demonstrated as effective." If it only were so simple. See the conclusions from a report from the state of Michigan PFAS Science Advisory Panel. They've had a lot of experience with PFAS in Michigan.
Officials at China Lake also contend that the Navy phased out PFOS and PFOA and they now use "compounds that are similar but degrade easier, as they are not fully fluorinated." Don't be fooled! The new foams are also carcinogenic. Every PFAS that has been studied is causing problems. Massive amounts of PFAS sampling have been found at Site 43, which is a former firefighting training area on base.
Stop #2 – Cannon AFB, New Mexico 2,600,000 ppt.
The New Mexico Environment Department says Cannon Air Force Base is violating the state's Water Quality Act. The state agency issued a Notice of Violation, which requires the Air Force to create a plan to protect local dairies from contamination and also evaluate the possibility of installing systems to treat contaminated water supplies.
The Air Force had preliminarily agreed to clean up the PFAS contamination at Cannon and entered into discussions with the state over specific remedies, but then suddenly changed course in January 2019, suing New Mexico in federal court.
A ruling against New Mexico would remove the state's authority to compel the Air Force to clean up PFAS under the state permit. The litigation came as a shock to New Mexico authorities. Dairy farmers are concerned for the health of their cows and poisoning of milk near Cannon. All of America should be paying attention to this.
In early February the New Mexico Political Report broke the story that samples at Holloman AFB were as high as 1,294,000 ppt. Like other bases, Holloman was left off the DOD March, 2018 report on PFAS
The contamination at Cannon and Holloman have been traced to pits where Air Force firefighters train to extinguish aircraft fires.
Stop #3 – Former Dallas Naval Air Station, Texas 1,247,000 ppt.
When the Navy closed the base in 1998 it tried to leave without paying hundreds of millions to clean up the soil and groundwater that is heavily contaminated with carcinogenic PFAS and other poisons. The city of Dallas sued and the Navy agreed to pay the city $18.55 million for ignoring environmental laws. But that was then.
In 2002, the Navy agreed to clean up the contamination by 2017 but failed to do so. According to letters between the Navy and the city in 2017, the Navy says it could take15 more years to get the job done. The Navy explained that it had already spent $105 million in clean-up costs, and blamed their refusal to live up to the agreement on "ambitious remedial goals" it agreed to in 2002.
The city says the Navy has not developed a plan to finish the cleanup. The old base is located on the shore of Mountain Creek Lake, a seriously contaminated body of water. Today, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department warns the public not to eat the poisonous fish caught in the lake although locals there say they do anyway.
Stop #4 – Former England Air Force Base, Louisiana 10,970,000 ppt.
Former England Air Force Base near Alexandria, Louisiana is the most contaminated place on our nationwide tour and perhaps, anywhere on earth, with deadly PFAS found in the groundwater at 10,970,000 ppt. The facility was closed as an Air Force base in December 1992, but the poisons are still present. They never break down in nature.
Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Richard Clapp of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, calculated that an approximate safe dose of PFOS and PFOA in drinking water is 1 ppt. These contaminants are with us forever and most of us already have concentrations of these chemicals in our blood.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has set drinking water guidelines of 7 ppt and 11 ppt for PFOS and PFOA, respectively. Meanwhile, the EPA advises that drinking water not exceed 70 ppt. The EPA has refused to set a mandatory Maximum Contaminant Level, (MCL).
There's been nothing in the press about England AFB regarding the DOD Report in March, 2018 detailing the exorbitant level of contamination at the base.
Stop # 5 – Patrick Air Force Base, Florida 4,300,000 ppt
You can't see it and you can't smell it, but the lagoons and the groundwater are contaminated at Cocoa Beach, Florida, near Patrick Air Force Base.
Cancer-causing chemicals linked to firefighting foams in use at Patrick Air Force Base are widespread in Cocoa Beach's groundwater and sewage system. The barrier island's water table is severely contaminated. Groundwater monitoring wells near the city's sewage treatment plant and golf course are contaminated.
More than 400 cancer cases from the past and present have been reported from individuals who live in the greater Satellite Beach, Cocoa Beach, and South Patrick Shores area, according to Florida Today. Some of the reported cases are extremely rare with multiple diagnoses of these in specific areas.
PFAS contamination is spreading throughout Brevard County, tests show. The deadly chemicals are also widespread in Indian River Lagoon. Scientists have found the compounds in alligators at Kennedy Space Center.
The Air Force refuses to comment on the contamination. It unlikely that the DOD will pay for the toxic cleanup or take care of those sickened, considering its refusal to do so in other communities around the country.
Stop #6 – Jacksonville Naval Air Station, Florida 1,397,000 ppt.
According to First Coast ABC News on August 17, 2018, the Navy was preparing to test 24 private groundwater wells. Adrienne Wilson of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) told ABC News that the agency was still in a fact-finding phase. "I wouldn't say 'concerned.' We don't know. So, until we sample those wells and find out some information, we'll find out from there." There's been no mention of PFAS in the local press since then. The Navy has known of the devastating impact of PFAS on people and the environment since 1974.
The Navy says it is not concerned, and they have no reason to be concerned. They have no liability. They're free to poison us.
In August of 2018, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville circulated a Drinking Water Investigation Fact Sheet that informed the public, "The Navy is requesting permission to sample drinking water obtained from private wells within a designated area near Jacksonville Naval Air Station." The Navy only tested areas south of Longbow Rd. and Pirate's Cove Rd. off of Rt 17 north of the base.
Plumes of groundwater PFAS contamination are known to travel much further.
We don't know the results of the Navy's testing at Jacksonville. We generally don't know the results of military testing across the country. The issue typically disappears from public view after the initial press reports of the contamination.
Stop #7 – Myrtle Beach Former AFB 2,640,000 ppt.
In 2010 the Air Force completed the transfer of the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base to the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority. The base shut down in 1993 while it was heavily contaminated with PFAS as a result of the routine use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) that was allowed to leach into the area's groundwater and is still prevalent today. The old base is now the site of a new commercial air terminal, over 1,200 homes, and more than 300,000 square feet of commercial space.
At the time of the final land transfer in 2010, the Air Force had spent $60.1 million to clean up 192 contaminated sites, with 16 hazardous sites remaining open.
According to the Defense Environmental Restoration Program The final cleanup of the fire training area is expected by September, 2021, although the astronomical concentration of these contaminants that never break down in nature is likely to require generations to remediate, if it is ever possible.
Fire Training Area #4, located about a half-mile behind Midway Park off of S. Kings Highway, was used for routine fire training from 1970-1981.The procedure utilized in the fire training areas was to construct an earthen dike approximately 12 to 18 inches high in order to contain the fire and to pour several hundred gallons of contaminated jet fuel onto the soil within the dike and to set the fuel on fire. The carcinogenic foams were used to extinguish the fire in routine drills. The deadly chemicals saturated the soil and were allowed to leach into the ground.
Stop #8 – Langley AFB, VA 2,200,000 ppt
By the end of 2016, Langley had spent $785,000 investigating PFAS contamination, but nothing on mitigation actions. There have been no reports in the press regarding the 2.2 million parts per trillion of PFAS found in Langley's groundwater. It's just not an issue.
Pat Elder ran for US Congress in 2018 in Maryland's 5th District and is a member of the World BEYOND War Coordinating Committee.
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.
Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.
Help support DavidSwanson.org, WarIsACrime.org, and TalkNationRadio.org by clicking here: http://davidswanson.org/donate.
Next in World
More Manus Refugees Fly to US But Hundreds Still in Limbo
By: Refugee Action Coalition
Two planes in the last two weeks have taken 38 refugees from Papua New Guinea to be resettled in the United States. One carrying 15 refugees left on 26 June, another with 23 refugees left Port Moresby on Tuesday, 2 July It takes the total number of ...
African Swine Fever is rapidly spreading
By: Food and Agriculture Organisation
FAO GIEWS Report – 2 July 2019 - East and Southeast Asia Focus African Swine Fever is rapidly spreading in East and Southeast Asia threatening food security and livelihoods of households relying on pig farming (full report: http://www.fao.org/3/ca5273en/ca5273en.pdf ...
New Zealand leadership needed to protect whales
By: Green Party
The Green Party is deeply concerned by Japan's resumption of commercial whaling, Green Party Animal Welfare Spokesperson Gareth Hughes said today.
Gordon Campbell on collective punishment in Venezuela
Yemen, Venezuela, Iran, Gaza… beyond the particulars of their suffering, each of these countries currently share one thing in common: their ordinary citizens are being subjected to collective punishment, in order to bring about regime change. ...
1.4 million refugees set to need urgent resettlement in 2020
By: UN News
More than 1.4 million displaced people in over 60 refugee hosting countries will need resettlement next year, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday , while also supporting a call for far greater protection for vulnerable LGBTI individuals ...
UN rights experts urge more protection for LGBTI refugees
By: UN Special Procedures - Human Rights
GENEVA (1 July 2019) States and other actors involved in refugee protection must recognise the unique vulnerability and specific needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and gender diverse (LGBTI) asylum-seekers and refugees, the UN Independent ...
Manus Crisis Reaching Breaking Point
Conditions are reaching breaking point on Manus Island. This morning, Monday 24 June, two incidents of self-harm within hours have set the scene for another day of the Manus mental health crisis.
Australian Churches Back Medevac
By: ACRT
In the wake of Refugee Week, increases in rates of self harm and distress in Nauru and particularly on Manus Island, PNG, the ACRT is deeply concerned that are still no transparent solutions for safely re-settling all vulnerable people in both locations.
World Refugee Day: Nothing to celebrate on Manus and Nauru
First Person - On this World Refugee Day people throughout the world, from all walks of life are standing beside refugees showing their solidarity and support for their right to live in freedom and safety, writes Manus Island refugee Shaminda Kanipathi ...
Kiwi Pork Needs to Be Protected
By: Harrington's Smallgoods
Wellington, Monday 24 June 2019 - Imports of pork from countries affected by African Swine Fever need to be stopped to protect and support the New Zealand pork industry and smallgoods producers.


The OTvest Weighted Vest Provides Deep Pressure that Help Reduce Tremors and Spasms.
Movement disorders can be debilitating, affecting all areas of everyday life, especially if tremors are common. But the OTvest™ can help treat these tremors, naturally! The OTvest™ weighted vest is a simple, non-invasive intervention that can improve all aspects of everyday life with tremors by reducing how often they occur.
The OTvest™ denim weighted vest can be used as a gentle intervention and natural treatment option for those who suffer from movement disorders such as cerebellar ataxia (spinocerebellar ataxia), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and other degenerative nervous system or muscular conditions, or those that lack of body awareness or with cerebellar damage.
The deep pressure therapy supplied from the weighted vest provides proprioceptive input to the joint receptors, which in turn send messages to the brain about the body's position. Proprioceptive input allows us to know, without looking at our arm, that our arm is behind us, next to our body, or up in the air, for example. Because deep pressure helps provide proprioceptive input, weighted vests can, therefore, help improve coordination through the increased awareness of body positioning. This sense of body position, which includes weight, movements of the muscles, tendons, and joints, is called kinesthesia. The OTvest™, with its strategically positioned weights, helps compress the joints and adds sensory stimuli for co-contraction. This allows the OTvest™ to be beneficial for postural stability and increase the wearer's awareness of where their body is positioned. The added postural stability from the OTvest™ can be used to help naturally treat tremors due to Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, ataxia, and so much more.
If you're looking for a natural treatment option for tremors due to Parkinson's, ataxia, dystonia, or other movement disorders, the deep pressure touch therapy supplied by the OTvest™ weighted vest might be exactly what you need.


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Beach-East York Neighbourhood Voice: East Toronto groups form community-focused health-care network
Posted on January 8, 2020 January 15, 2020 | Posted in NewsTagged community health, health care, integrated health care, ontario government, ontario health team, primary health
East Toronto Health Partners is one of 24 in Ontario
By Joanna Lavoie, Beach-East York Neighbourhood Voice
A new integrated health-care network is now up and running in East Toronto.
Ontario's Minister of Health and Deputy Premier Christine Elliott officially named the Toronto East Ontario Health Team, East Toronto Health Partners as it's being called, as one of the first of 24 new health teams in Ontario. The announcement was made last month at the future home of the new Thorncliffe Park Community Hub.
According to a release, the new east-end health team is part of the Ontario government's plan to "build a connected and sustainable health-care system centred on the needs of patients."
"This is an exciting time for health care in Ontario as we finally break down the long-standing barriers that have prevented care providers from working directly with each other to support patients through their health-care journey," Elliott said in a release.
"Together with our health-care partners, the Toronto East Ontario Health Team will play an essential role in delivering on our commitment to end hallway health care," she added.
The new team consists of six anchor partners, all of whom have a long track record of working together. They are Michael Garron Hospital, Providence Healthcare, South Riverdale Community Health Centre, VHA Home HealthCare, WoodGreen Community Services and East Toronto Family Practice Network, which is the voice of 260 primary care physicians in East Toronto with the support of a number of organizations with similar offerings.
Some health and social services provided by the new health team include primary to acute care, food security, supportive housing, home-based health care and community support services, long-term care, birth and end-of-life, and settlement and employment.
For the last two years, the community-based groups that make up the new Toronto East Ontario Health Team have worked to develop what they're calling a "Network of Networks" that aims to build a "model of seamless care" for the community. This fall, they combined their resources to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide community-based health-care services during the winter surge.
"We are incredibly proud of our partners and grateful for the collaborative work we are doing together to build a better, more integrated health-care system for patients, clients and families," said Anne Babcock, WoodGreen Community Services' president and CEO, in a release.
"It takes the creativity, flexibility and commitment of everyone involved to transform the delivery of local care to our communities."
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Physical and virtual water transfers for regional water stress alleviation in China
Xu Zhao, Junguo Liu, Qingying Liu, Martin R. Tillotson, Dabo Guan, and Klaus Hubacek
PNAS January 27, 2015 112 (4) 1031-1035; first published January 12, 2015 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1404130112
Xu Zhao
aSchool of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;
Junguo Liu
For correspondence: junguo.liu@gmail.com
Qingying Liu
Martin R. Tillotson
bwater@leeds, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom;
Dabo Guan
cWater Security Research Centre, School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom; and
Klaus Hubacek
dDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
Edited by Peter H. Gleick, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, Oakland, CA, and approved December 19, 2014 (received for review March 4, 2014)
Freshwater resources are unevenly distributed in China. This situation drives a significant amount of water flow both physically and virtually across China. Here, we report on our quantification of China's physical and virtual water flows and associated water stress at the provincial level. In 2007, interprovincial physical water flows amounted to only a small part of China's total water supply, but virtual water flows amounted to over one-third of supply. We found that both physical and virtual water flows exacerbated water stress for the main water-exporting provinces. The results highlight the need for more emphasis to be placed on water demand management rather than the current focus on supply-oriented management.
Water can be redistributed through, in physical terms, water transfer projects and virtually, embodied water for the production of traded products. Here, we explore whether such water redistributions can help mitigate water stress in China. This study, for the first time to our knowledge, both compiles a full inventory for physical water transfers at a provincial level and maps virtual water flows between Chinese provinces in 2007 and 2030. Our results show that, at the national level, physical water flows because of the major water transfer projects amounted to 4.5% of national water supply, whereas virtual water flows accounted for 35% (varies between 11% and 65% at the provincial level) in 2007. Furthermore, our analysis shows that both physical and virtual water flows do not play a major role in mitigating water stress in the water-receiving regions but exacerbate water stress for the water-exporting regions of China. Future water stress in the main water-exporting provinces is likely to increase further based on our analysis of the historical trajectory of the major governing socioeconomic and technical factors and the full implementation of policy initiatives relating to water use and economic development. Improving water use efficiency is key to mitigating water stress, but the efficiency gains will be largely offset by the water demand increase caused by continued economic development. We conclude that much greater attention needs to be paid to water demand management rather than the current focus on supply-oriented management.
virtual water
regional water stress
multiregional input–output analysis
The geographical mismatch between freshwater demand and available freshwater resources is one of the largest threats to sustainable water supply in China (1) and throughout the world. It is well-known that China has a temperate south and an arid north (2). The North China Plain shows the greatest water scarcity, with per capita water availability under 150 m3/y (3⇓–5). At the same time, this area is home to 200 million people and provides more than one-half of China's wheat and one-third of its maize (6). Recognizing such a mismatch, China has been developing over 20 major physical water transfer projects with a total length of over 7,200 km (6), including the world's largest—the South–North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) (7). Three routes are projected in the SNWTP, which will ultimately transfer 44.8 Gm3 water from the Yangtze River Basin to the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin annually, of which 14.8 Gm3 is for the East Route, 13 Gm3 is for the Middle Route, and 17 Gm3 is for the West Route (7). After completion of the three routes, the transferred water is projected to amount to 30.5% of total water withdrawal in the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin in 2012 (the latest available statistic) (8).
Apart from these major physical water transfer projects, there is another solution to remedy regional water scarcity—so-called virtual water (9⇓–11). The virtual water concept, first introduced by Allan (12), is the water required for the production of goods and services along their supply chains (13). Based on this concept, water-scarce regions import water-intensive products instead of producing them locally, thus conserving local water resources (12, 14). Because the SNWTP has proved highly controversial in its potential impacts on both exporting and importing river ecosystems and its huge capital cost (∼$60 US billion), scholars have suggested that the North China Plain should, instead, reduce the export of water-intensive products or even import virtual water from southern China (11, 13, 15⇓–17). An important question is if such redistributions can be effective in mitigating regional water stress in China.
To answer this question, we report here on our quantification of China's physical and virtual water flows at the provincial level for the year 2007. We have used the most recent interregional trade data and evaluated the associated impacts on water stress. To calculate virtual water flows, we have calculated water use throughout the entire supply chain in China. The study focused on 30 provincial-level administrative regions (provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities—for simplicity, they are referred to as provinces) (names are shown in SI Appendix, Fig. S1) in mainland China where data were available. The volume of physical water transfer for each province was acquired through the Water Resources Bulletin of the studied provinces (4). To study virtual water flows, we incorporated the direct water use of 30 economic sectors of each province into an environmental extended multiregion input–output (MRIO) model (18, 19) (Methods). An MRIO model distinguishes production structure, technology, and consumption for each study area and shows flows of goods and services between and within regions; thus, it is ideally suited for measuring interregional virtual water flows (20, 21). The virtual water trade generated by final consumption was evaluated using the emissions embodied in trade method (22). Water stress was evaluated using the water stress index (WSI) (10, 23, 24). Moderate, severe, and extreme water stresses occur when the ratio of the annual freshwater withdrawal to the renewable freshwater resource is 20–40%, 40–100%, and over 100%, respectively.
WSI.
Our results show that 23 of 30 studied Chinese provinces had at least moderate water stress (WSI > 0.2), with 6 provinces showing extreme water stress (WSI > 1; i.e., they consumed more than the available annual renewable amount of freshwater). Fig. 1 shows that water is scarcer in northern China, whereas parts of southern China are also not spared water stress. Six provinces in southern China show levels of moderate water stress, and two provinces show extreme water stress.
Water stress evaluation of China's provinces (2007 baseline). The color coding of the regions distinguishes between moderate water stress, severe water stress, extreme water stress, and no water stress. The size of the dots reflects the amount of physical water transfer, and the color code reflects the extent of water stress. The south–north boundary line for provinces was drawn based on an acknowledged south–north dividing line (35).
Physical and Virtual Water Transfers.
Fig. 1 shows the provinces relying on physical water transfers. In 2007, physical water flows by water transfer projects amounted to 26.3 Gm3, accounting for 4.5% of national water supply in China. The magnitude of virtual water flows was much larger than the physical water transfers. The total volume of virtual water flows was 201 Gm3 in 2007 (i.e., 35% of the national water supply was used for interprovincial virtual water trade). Fig. 2 shows the net virtual water balance and illustrates the major virtual water flows between eight economic regions. Virtual water flowed from the economically poor and less populated west to the more affluent and densely populated coastal areas of the east, where most of China's megacities are located. A small number of provinces was responsible for most of the net virtual water imports and exports. The top five importing provinces (Shandong, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Tianjin, which are all coastal) accounted for 74% of net virtual water imports, whereas 78% of net virtual water exports were from five provinces (Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, and Hunan).
Virtual water balance per economic region and the net direction of virtual water flows (2007 baseline). Only the largest net virtual water flows are shown (>2 Gm3/y).
Impacts on Water Stress Through Virtual and Physical Water Transfers.
Water stress is calculated as the ratio of water withdrawal to renewable freshwater resources within a province. We have distinguished between actual water stress (WSI) and hypothetical water stress (WSI*) (Eq. 2), which refers to the hypothetical water stress on the local hydroecosystem if the importing province was not to have physical and virtual water inflows available to it (i.e., it would be required to withdraw all required water from local sources). Therefore, the difference between WSI* and WSI represents the contribution of net virtual and physical water flows in terms of increasing or ameliorating water stress (Eq. 3). Our results showed that 12 water-stressed provinces benefited from net virtual and physical water imports (WSI* > WSI). The net water imports of these 12 provinces included 80 Gm3 virtual water and 5 Gm3 physical water. Although the water stress caused by final consumption (WSI*) in these provinces was ameliorated, the water stress to local water resources (WSI) was still considerable (Fig. 3), with all 12 provinces remaining at the same category of water stress, despite virtual and physical water imports.
Comparison of WSI and WSI* of 30 Chinese provinces with different levels of water stress. The provinces are arranged in order of decreasing WSI: (A) provinces with extreme water stress, (B) provinces with severe water stress, (C) provinces with moderate water stress, and (D) provinces with no water stress. When WSI* is higher than WSI, the province is a net virtual and physical water importer and has mitigated its water stress through net imports. When WSI* is lower than WSI, the province is a net virtual and physical water exporter and has aggravated its water stress through net export.
Meanwhile, for 11 already water-stressed provinces, the situation was further compounded through net virtual and physical water exports (WSI* < WSI). Some 81 Gm3 water was exported from these provinces. In Fig. 3, we see that net water exports pushed six water-exporting provinces (Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Guangxi, Hunan, and Jiangxi) over their respective water stress thresholds to the next more serious level (e.g., the first three provinces are listed from moderate to severe, and the latter three provinces and listed from no stress to moderate stress). This result implies that these provinces used a large share of local water to produce their exports, despite the water stress situation (SI Appendix, Fig. S4). Furthermore, these water-stressed provinces virtually exported more water (44% of water supply, on average, for virtual water export; ranging from 26% to 74%) compared with the provinces that showed no water stress (30% of water supply for virtual water export at the national level; ranging from 15% to 48% at the provincial level).
Future Water Stress Levels.
Given the current water imbalance and the trend for increased water demand, water management will face even greater challenges in the future. Thus, we developed two simple scenarios to investigate the change of water stress and the possible ways of mitigating it.
A reference scenario was created based on the trajectory of a series of factors that play important roles in determining the level of water stress. These factors included economic development, population growth, water use efficiency, and water transfer projects at the provincial level (SI Appendix). The production and consumption structure and trade flows for 2007 were updated to 2030 based on the projections of future population and changes to per capita income, consumption patterns, and technical and economic structure and in consideration to provincial economic disparities and future water use efficiencies (details in SI Appendix).
In the reference scenario, 21 provinces would continue to increase their WSI. However, the top five net virtual water-importing provinces in 2007 (Shandong, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Tianjin) would decrease their WSI in 2030, whereas the WSI* of these five provinces would show an increase, reflecting an increasing dependence on external water import.
We further proposed a policy scenario to understand the effect of a restrictive water policy in mitigating water stress. This scenario was based on the most significant water-related policy in recent years adopted as the Central Document No. 1 in 2011 (1, 25, 26), which introduces water use caps (so-called water use redlines) for all Chinese provinces for 2030 (SI Appendix, Table S12).
According to the policy scenario, the total water use cap would be 700 Gm3, 3.3% (24 Gm3) lower than the water use projected in the reference scenario. However, at the provincial level, the WSI in 2030 would generally increase from the 2007 level, except in four provinces (Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, and Hebei), where the indicator would show only a minor drop (SI Appendix, Table S13). Compared with the reference scenario, the WSI values of 17 provinces in the policy scenario are even larger. The largest difference is seen for Zhejiang, where the WSI in the policy scenario (0.28) is 87% larger than in the reference scenario (0.15). This result implies that these provinces must be given more stringent water use redline caps to decrease their WSI. Meanwhile, the WSI of the remaining provinces would be smaller in the policy scenario than in the reference scenario, suggesting that these provinces have to introduce stricter water management strategies than in the past to decrease their water use to meet the water use caps in 2030 (SI Appendix, Table S13).
Unsustainable Water Transfer.
Huge physical water transfer projects and virtual water flows through trade activities within China significantly redistribute water among China's provinces. We have studied the extent of these water flows and the resulting impact on water stress.
In 2007, we found that several economically developed provinces (Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Guangdong) had imported large amounts of physical and virtual water to help ameliorate their water stress. In 2030, according to the reference scenario, the dependence on net virtual and physical water flows in terms of ameliorating water stress would be further intensified for these provinces, which was shown through a larger discrepancy between WSI* and WSI (Eq. 3 and SI Appendix, Table S14). At the same time, both virtual and physical water transfers were shown to have exacerbated water stress for several water-exporting provinces in 2007, whereas in the future, the largest virtual and physical water-exporting provinces will continue to suffer from increasing water stress. In 2030, the top three virtual water-exporting provinces (Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia) will have increased their WSI in both the reference and policy scenarios (SI Appendix, Table S13). The SNWTP will have a negative impact on the physical water-exporting provinces Hubei and Jiangsu; water transfer will contribute to a change for Hubei's WSI from moderate (0.25) to severe (0.4) by 2030 and a change for Jiangsu's WSI from 1.13 in 2007 to 1.21 in 2030.
The above analysis raises the question of the sustainability of supply-oriented water management strategies. Supply-side measures help to increase water supply but also, lead to the false perception of unrestricted water availability. Such a perception may encourage water-receiving provinces to further expand water-intensive consumption and production activities, thus exacerbating the water stress of water-exporting provinces (27, 28). To prevent such a situation, more emphasis should be placed on water demand rather than solely relying on supply-orientated management.
Mitigating Water Stress Through Efficiency Improvement.
Given the general increasing trend of WSI among China's provinces by 2030, efficiency gains will be offset by water demand increases caused by economic development. The reference scenario was designed with a particular focus on the potential gains in water use efficiency in the agricultural and industrial sectors.
According to projections in the reference scenario, agricultural irrigation efficiency for the entire country will increase by 23% from 0.48 in 2007 to 0.59 in 2030. At the provincial level, the efficiency gains range between 11% and 59% (SI Appendix, Table S10). Such efficiency gains will help reduce irrigation water demand by 26% (122 Gm3). To achieve this goal, significant investment needs to be made into more water-efficient irrigation infrastructures, turning ∼41% of efficiently irrigated land in 2007 (29) to 75% of efficiently irrigated land by 2030. Initial steps toward this goal have been made, because China's central government has committed investment of 4 trillion Chinese yuan (CNY, ∼$600 US billion) to water infrastructures by 2020 (1, 7).
Industrial water use efficiency can be reflected in industrial water intensity, which is defined as the ratio of industrial water use to industrial output. According to the reference scenario, the industrial water intensity of the whole country is required to decrease by 81% from 2.54 m3/1,000 CNY in 2007 to 0.48 m3/1,000 CNY in 2030. Likewise, the efficiency gains in industry would help to reduce 80% of industrial water demand (949 Gm3). Unlike the large fiscal transfer in promoting water-saving technologies in agricultural irrigation, most effort in reducing industrial water use is currently in pilot projects rather than widespread adaptation. Meanwhile, industrial concerns lack the necessary incentives to save water given the high cost and low returns (30). Incentive mechanisms are urgently required to promote water-saving technologies in industry, such as closing water cycles in industrial production processes (31).
In the policy scenario, 13 provinces, including the top 3 net virtual water exporter provinces in 2007 (Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, and Inner Mongolia), would need to further decrease their total water use by 26% from 449 Gm3 in the reference scenario to 335 Gm3 in the policy scenario (SI Appendix, Table S12). This result means additional investment in efficiency improvements with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector.
The recognition that affluent net virtual water-importing eastern provinces ameliorate their water stress by externalizing water stress to other regions can be used as a basis for designing new mechanisms to finance investments in efficiency improvements. Consumer responsibility (32) could be used as a basis for a compensation mechanism between the top net virtual water importers and exporters and fund such investments based on income from an earmarked water tariff designed to charge for the amount of water consumed throughout the entire production chain. Such compensation would need to be implemented with social considerations, such as distributional effects, in mind (33). Furthermore, institutions should be established to serve as clearinghouses in providing technical support for efficiency improvements as well as balancing the interests among different stakeholders.
The WSI refers to the water stress arising from water withdrawal from local water sources (Q), which is expressed asWSI=WWQ=WU−PWnet,imQ,[1]
where WW refers to provincial water withdrawal, which equals water use (WU) minus net physical water import (PWnet,im). Water use is the quantity of water distributed to users, including water lost in transmission. Q is renewable freshwater availability. The categorization of WSI to evaluate water stress is listed in SI Appendix, Table S1.
Water used for final consumption of a province is the sum of WW plus the net virtual water import (VWnet,im) and physical water import (PWnet,im):WSI*=WU+VWnet,imQ=WW+PWnet,im+VWnet,imQ,[2]
where WSI* represents the water stress indicator that calculates the hypothetical water stress on the local hydroecosystem if the importing region would not have physical and virtual water inflows available and would withdraw the required water entirely from local sources. Thus, the hypothetical WSI* increases through the (net) import of physical and virtual water flows.
According to Eqs. 1 and 2, the difference between WSI* and WSI represents the contribution of net virtual and physical water flows in terms of increasing or ameliorating water stress:WSI*−WSI=PWnet,im+VWnet,imQ.[3]
Calculating Interprovincial Virtual Water Trade with the MRIO Model.
The environmental input–output model used to calculate water use in region r can be written as follows:wr=drxr=dr(I−Ar)−1yr,[4]
where wr is the vector of water use in each sector of region r, xr is the vector of total economic output in region r, dr is the vector of direct water use intensity, which means the direct water use per unit of output in each sector, yr is the vector of final demand, Ar is the matrix of technical coefficients, and I is the unit matrix.
The variable xr can be rewritten asxr=Arrxr+yrr+∑s≠rers,[5]
where Arr refers to domestic technical coefficients, and yrr is domestically produced products to fulfill final demand. The export from region r to region s (er=∑s≠rers) is the total bilateral trade, regardless of how the exports are used (i.e., in final demand or interindustry demand) (34). Therefore, Eq. 4 becomeswr=drxr=dr(I−Arr)−1(yrr+∑s≠rers).[6]
Then, total water use in region r can be decomposed aswr=drxr=dr(I−Arr)−1yrr+dr(I−Arr)−1∑s≠rers=wrr+vwers,[7]
where wrr is the water used to fulfill domestic final demand, and vwers is the total virtual water export from region r to region s.
This study was supported by International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China Grant 2012DFA91530, National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant 41161140353, Beijing Natural Science Foundation Grant 8151002, National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants 91325302 and 51009005, the 1st Youth Excellent Talents Program of the Organization Department of the Central Committee, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities Grant TD-JC-2013-2, the Economic and Social Research Council-funded project "Dynamics of Green Growth in European and Chinese Cities," the Philip Leverhulme Prize, and the Worldwide Universities Network. We also thank the Senior Cheney Fellowship for supporting the visits of J.L. to the University of Leeds.
↵1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: junguo.liu{at}gmail.com.
Author contributions: X.Z., J.L., M.R.T., and D.G. designed research; X.Z., J.L., Q.L., and D.G. performed research; X.Z. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; X.Z., J.L., and Q.L. analyzed data; and X.Z., J.L., M.R.T., and K.H. wrote the paper.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
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You are going to email the following Physical and virtual water transfers for regional water stress alleviation in China
Physical and virtual water transfers within China
Xu Zhao, Junguo Liu, Qingying Liu, Martin R. Tillotson, Dabo Guan, Klaus Hubacek
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jan 2015, 112 (4) 1031-1035; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1404130112


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Nepal Earthquake: One Year Later
A massive 7.8 earthquake rocked Nepal on April 25, 2015. The government effectively shut down just weeks later after lawmakers couldn't agree on the provisions of a new national constitution. The National Reconstruction Authority disbanded as a result, and was recommissioned just recently after the new constitution was adopted.
Meanwhile, India, Nepal's neighbor and strongest trading partner, blocked aid convoys from crossing into Nepal. Depending who you ask, that move was India's attempt to flex some muscle against Nepal for constitutional proposals it disapproved of, or to protect drivers from confrontations with violent protesters across the border. Either way, the embargo lasted for four months, during which truckloads of food, and fuel, and building supplies languished on a highway while people inside Nepal slept in the rain without knowing when they would get their next meal.
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50: number of people who received "compensation grants" to rebuild destroyed homes;
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Reports also say that villagers in the hardest hit remote areas have yet to receive ANY governmental assistance, and still have not been reached by aid groups.
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