text:
The French/American Divide on Religion
There are few subjects over which Americans and French are more divided than religion. Some of it has to do with their two very different religious traditions: France is still very Roman Catholic while the United States is predominantly Protestant. But the mutual incomprehension goes far beyond the rivalry between Christian sects and has more to do with the fundamental question about the role religion should play in each country's political and social life. To summarize the arguments of my French friends, they see religion playing too great a role in public life in the U.S. and they feel there should be more separation between the two. It is not appropriate, in their view, that American presidents should call upon their deity to bless the activities of the government or that political parties should publicly use their faith to justify their support/rejection of public policy. As for the role of religion in France, Americans seems to have this vision of the Hexagon as a secular paradise (or a godless Socialist hell).
Neither of these visions is entirely true. On Easter Sunday my French bishop is more than happy to advise his flock on how they should vote and the Catholic church in France is doing well and is still very powerful in a discreet way. And while Americans are accustomed to their presidents and political leaders using biblical references and asking that "God bless America" in their speeches, not everyone is happy about that. How well this rhetoric translates into votes depends greatly on the region.
Both countries see religion through very different lenses and came to the separation of church and state by very different paths. In France it was about curbing the power of one establishment religion, Catholicism, and allowing for "la liberté de conscience." It was a 1905 law that got the French government out of the religion business and the church out of the government while guaranteeing freedom of conscience. It was a subject of enormous debate at the time and Pope Pius X was firmly against it. It is still being debated. This article from Le Monde argues that this law is being used today to limit the religious freedom of some (mostly immigrants and their descendants) by attempting to entirely eliminate the visibility of religion in the public sphere - something the author of the piece says it was never intended to do. He also points out (and I did not know this) that there is one region in France where the national law concerning the separation of church and state does not apply. Alsace-Moselle is exempt from both the 1905 and the Jules Ferry law. The region has four official approved sects, their pastors/priests/rabbis are paid by the local government, and the public schools include religion in their curriculum. This is an exception but an important one.
That is not the only issue. As France enters the 21st century, it is becoming more and more religiously diverse: not only more Moslems but also the missionary activities of other sects like the Jehovah's Witnesses. Some French may be uncomfortable with Islam but they are even more so with sects that are disturbing to them because they are so very far from the mainstream: Mormons or Pentacostals. But I would argue that these debates do not demonstrate that the French are against religion. On the contrary, it is alive and well here and the churches I've been to are very well attended. But religion is not part of the language of politics. Even the most conservative political parties like the Front National support the principle of "laïcité."
From the founding of the United States the situation was entirely different - it was about accommodating many sects and the founders didn't have much choice in the matter. In the Colonial era (pre-independence) alone there was already a lot of variety: Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, Anglicans, Deists and so on. Many of the colonies were, in fact, founded by religious people whose goals were not in any way shape or form to create secular societies. As Andrew Preston says in his superb book, Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith, about religion in America and its influence on foreign policy, "Crucially, colonial America was established as a Reformation society, founded by Protestant radicals who took refuge from the religious wars and economic crises of Europe." Today the religious realm is even more chaotic, a "deregulated marketplace of faith." This site lists the top 25 denominations in the U.S. and Canada (out of 217) and says that in addition to that, in 2010 there were at least 35,000 independent (non-denominational) churches serving more than 12 million people. And while the focus is all too often on the religious political and social conservatives, one could argue that there are just as many churches and parishioners that swing to the Left of the political spectrum.
Preston points out that whatever the opinion of the elites in the U.S. (from the founding of the nation to the present day) they cannot ignore the fact that so many Americans do believe and find it perfectly normal that their views, informed by their faith, are included in national debates. They in turn expect their political leaders to answer back using terms and references that respect those beliefs. It is a top-down, bottom-up dialogue that is very disconcerting to many outside the U.S. (and to some Americans as well). I think it is fair to say that the majority of Americans simply do not believe that separation of church and state means that faith has no place in the public sphere. Religion in the U.S. is a part of the language of politics.
Is this a good or a bad thing? I find that I don't much care for the question. Context is everything. Traditions and histories differ. What makes sense in one world makes no sense at all in another. I find there is some merit to the purging of religion from public discourse in worlds that have known incredibly strife because of it. If we can't agree (and are willing at times to kill each other over it) perhaps it's best that we not discuss it at all. On the other hand, where would the U.S. be today without the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr? Or for that matter does anyone really think that France would be a better place today if l'abbé Pierre had been told to take his person and his beliefs back to the monastery? I cannot speak for anyone but myself but I personally would not like to have been deprived of the pleasure of reading these words addressed to the American public by the president in 1865:
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.
Berliniquais said...
Of course it's very different on both sides of the pond. Although I'm a (more or less) practising Catholic, I'm quite proud of this French law of laïcité of 1905. As far as our national history is concerned, it's quite obvious that religion belongs to the private sphere. Sectarianism was a disaster and brought only suffering in France since the Reformation: with the 40-odd years of "Guerres de Religion" in the 16th century, the persecution of Huguenots at the hand of our fanatically Catholic "Roi Soleil" Louis XIV which drove many of them to go on exile (notably in Berlin), all the strife in the 19th century... Actually the suffering started much before the Reformation (think "Albigeois Crusade" in the 13th century, and the infamous "tuez-les tous, Dieu reconnaîtra les siens" - "kill them all, God shall recognise his own" at the siege of Béziers). So really, enough bloodshed "thanks" to religion as a political tool.
In the French context, it's a sensible compromise to keep religion private, although I don't agree with those people who "worship" this century-old compromise and contend it should not be amended in any possible way. Pragmaticism should always prevail over ideology.
I admire the way the US managed to avoid open religious conflicts the way we had them in Europe.
Hi JM, The U.S. has not always been an oasis of religious tolerance. During the colonial era the wars of religion in Europe were brought over with the colonists. There was one area where the protestants burned down all the Catholic churches. Since then there's been anti-Catholic and anti-semitic discrimination but never all out war between faiths. I predict Islam will be integrated in exactly the same way as the Catholics and Jews were - just give it time.
What I do wish (and I think the French are much more realistic than the Americans in this respect) is for Americans to be a little more careful about using religion in the public sphere. It is not always benign or a positive force and the fact that it hasn't erupted into sectarian warfare in the past does not mean that it would not be a problem in the future. I'd also like to see a bit more tolerance of those who are atheists/agnostics. Liberty of conscience means having the right not to choose any faith at all and to be left alone. In France you can be an atheist and no one will hassle you. In the U.S. not so much outside of the big cities.
the fly in the web said...
The position in Alsace being a relic of the period 1870 to 1918....I can remember another relic - the train platforms being high, not low, but have no idea if that is still the case.
And as for the Abbe Pierre, it was the church that sent him back to a monastery if I recall...
@Fly, Good point about Abbe Pierre. The Church has not always loved some of the politically active members of the clergy. When I was in Seattle many year ago our Archbishop was Raymond Hunthausen who was actually relieved of his duties for a time because of his radical anti-nuclear weapon activities. It was reversed which was great for me because he was then available for our confirmation mass. I'm rather proud to have had him confirm me since he was someone I greatly admired as did the sisters and monks at my school. For fun here is the report on Hunthausen written by Ratzinger (the present pope) in 1985 at the close of the investigation enumerating his errors:
http://www.seattlecatholic.com/misc_20040105.html
If you want to understand America, then you have to understand the role of religion in America's history. I recommend you watch the excellent Frontline/This American Experience collaboration called "God in America". I am not religious, but I was totally fascinated with this presentation. It explained at lot to me about my up bringing that I had not understood before, like why did we go to Camp meetings and Revivals?
Here is the link..
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/programs/info/GIAM102.html
and then, if you want to really understand Mormonism, Frontline had a excellent program on that too.
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/
@Just Me, great links. Thanks for posting them. Yes, I think it's fair to say that it's not possible to understand the US without talking about religion but I'd argue that exactly the same thing is true of France. Right now I'm looking for good titles that we held me to understand both better. It's not an easy topic and I find that I have to fight my own prejudices and preferences when I research it. I am, for example, rather fond of the Mormons - my aunt is one and I met a number of her co-religionists at her house and found them to be interesting and thoughtful people.
FATCA: Backpedaling on Reciprocity
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The Path to French Citizenship: Policy Change?
Finding those Pesky U.S. Persons - a Training Video
New French Law on Sexual Harassment
A View from the International Space Station
Ordinary Swiss Bank Accounts
Flophouse Garden - late July
Evaluating U.S. Presidential Candidates
Chemo Round Three
More Stuff from the Flophouse Archives
Neighbors I have Known
St. John's Night in Poznan
Evaluating U.S. Politicians from Abroad
Meet My Escargots
Diaspora Engagement Policies
French Bac 2012
François Hollande - the Voice of Sanity
Why Americans Abroad Should Vote
Committee on Space Reseach
Tax the Foreigners
Chemo Cocktail Round Two


Adjust-A-Wings are made from exotic materials of the highest quality, including glass coated flexible aluminium (95% reflective) and colour bonded spring steel (indestructible). These reflectors are precision tools designed to provide years of diligent service. They are supplied unassembled in discreet, space efficient packaging that is resistant to damage. The Adjustable Light Spread allows growers to create ideal lighting conditions across all stages of plant growth for increased vitality, health & yield. Super-Spreader heat dissipater's are available for all reflectors. Available from Plant Lighting Hydroponics at a very low price.


And then sound cOMES as SonG..
to keep A DANCE of creation going…..
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Birth of Dance. Bookmark the permalink.
But in somethings IN LIFE only one word CAN do and if i could tell the world in one word what it means to live it WILL be..
In fact.. i tell the world THAT with no words at all THROUGHOUT MY METRO AREA as i dance the walk of life.. and SHOW FOLKS HOW i FEEL ABOUT LIFE AN AVERAGE of around 7 TO 8 miles a day wherever i go..
The rhythms of nature are always echoed in the dance. As nature dances around us, within us is born the music that we hear to create our own unique song. Thank you for the fine poem. Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a happy new year.
And then in the little trailer we live in there is a road in the distance.. a few hundred yards away..
And the first time i escape the trailer my mother takes her eyes off of me for a split second and next thing she knows..
A man with disgusted eyes stops his car to pick me up and carries me back to her..
AS i am dancing down the road before i can speak at age 3….
And yes.. i love your play on word as the gain of sand is what we are.. AT CORE OF BEING.. tRuly..
the dance of life goes on…. and on…..
FOR who and or i…..
oh I imagine creation was a feast for the senses….silent void…light….and then an emplosion of light and sound….and movement….very much like a dance….
A feast for the senses is a life OF deLIGHT and i suppose the darkness was a lonely enough place to MOTIVATE THAT dance of SOUND AND LIGHT…!
GOD BLESS ya Brian for all ya do.. and i too hope you too.. will have a wonderful Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.. with yours.. too..:)!
To be born from that grain of sand.. and just to swirl in dance.. that's the wonder of creation..
LOL… just knew Bjorn was a secret dance instructor .
Love all your pics party boy ! Merry Christmas.!
Haha! yes i party on in dance..!
Merry Christmas to you as well… Cressida de Nova.. a super cool poetic expressed sounding name too.. :)!
Perhaps you are the true LORD OF THE DANCE; so incredible how you improvise steps which can be watched but not taught. i am sure that you keep angels & spirit guides dancing with you. How cool to find we both have the earthy intellectual Gemini spark between us. I do not, cannot dance anymore (balance issues), but I used to dance as you do; great spiritual joy & connection to AllThatIs.
in yes.. the dance of ALLONE instead of going solo alone….
Dance is such a gift…as is, of course, music. There is a beat to all creation and a certain sense of abandon when we are tuned into it. Have a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.
And that's how it became known as, a song and dance routine. It can never be better expressed otherwise. Great pics, very generous fare Katiemia!
Yes.. maybe dance and song is a religion that everyone can agree on.. but nah.. diversity is great.. AND ALWAYS HUMAN REALITY.. tHere wILL still be country song tribal folks and rap song tribal folks as well as the polka against break dancing.. tribes….
AND THE WILD AND CRAZY DANCE OF GOD AKA MOTHER NATURE TRUE….
LOUDLY MOVES, DANCES, AND SINGS ON..


Handling Terminal Supervisor: Harvey, LA – Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals, INC.
Kinder Morgan is now hiring a Handling Terminal Supervisor in Harvey, LA.
Primary Purpose: Supervise day to day shift operations of a liquid storage terminal consisting of a tank farm, dock, truck transfer rack, and rail car loading yard as well as monitor pipeline operations.
Safely, effectively and accurately direct the efforts of the hourly workforce to efficiently perform.
Interface with various customers, suppliers and terminal personnel to ensure customer requirements are satisfied by the terminal.
Train workforce on various operations and safety topics.
Achieve and maintain a basic understanding of how all operating systems function/interact and perform effective troubleshooting during equipment malfunctions independent of maintenance department assistance.
Maintain adherence to DOT, OSHA and BASF regulations as well as various other guidelines, standards and company operating procedures.
Supervise day to day operations of liquid storage tanks and a DOT regulated pipeline.
Monitor SCADA computer and troubleshoot problems as they arise.
Record gauges, temperature readings, and take samples from liquid storage tanks.
Supervise product transfer alignments including piping, pumps, & associated valves.
Perform daily inspections of pipelines and valves.
Responsible for the safe and efficient loading and unloading of rail cars and tank trucks.
Inspect all containers before loading and after loading to ensure that the container meets Department of Transportation regulations and standards.
Ensure that proper documentation is completed on all shipments including but not limited to: proper shipping weights, seal numbers are recorded, and logs are completed.
Complete all required safety training and monthly refresher training.
Ensure operations are performed in accordance with approved procedures and company policy.
Supervise personnel performing duties as the Dock Watchman / Person in Charge.
Maintain a clean and safe work environment including but not limited to: proper storage of tools, hoses, and acid suits, cleanliness of work area, proper wear of all personal protective equipment, immediately containing and reporting any spills or unsafe conditions.
Lead daily, weekly and monthly safety meetings.
Report all accidents, incidents and near misses to management.
Maintain a positive and professional atmosphere for all employees and visitors.
Perform all job duties in accordance with Federal, State, and Local Regulations.
Follow all Kinder Morgan Policies and Procedures.
Perform all job duties focusing in on Good Manufacturing Practices.
High School Diploma or G.E.D, plus 5-7 years of progressive operations experience.
Previous chemical, refining, or terminal experience is preferred.
O.S.H.A. Certification not required, but a plus.
Prior experience in dock operations and river barge discharging operations a plus but not required.
Must possess a strong work ethic with a minimum two (3) years demonstrated work experience as a Supervisor/Manager.
Must possess leadership and personnel management skills with superior work ethic and dependability.
Experience training and instructing employees.
Must be able to withstand extreme weather conditions as this position will require working outside at times.
Ability to take initiative, exhibit self-direction and work with co-workers to accomplish defined goals in a fast paced, challenging environment.
Maintain a regular, dependable attendance and a high level of performance.
Must be willing to shift and/or work overtime hours during the week, weekends and/or holidays as dictated by operations.
Must be able to work with a team, give direction to subordinates, keep required work schedule, focus on attention to details, and follow work rules.
Ability to attain TWIC (Transportation Work Identification Credential) as issued by TSA.
Successful completion and passing of company drug screen, background check and respirator fit test.
Must possess leadership and the ability to effectively manage personnel.
Must demonstrate competent ability to effectively manage the work of the terminal.
Ability to become a member of the facility Emergency Response Team, including successfully complete and pass required training and certification courses in regards to Industrial Firefighting School and Confined Space Rescue Training.
Must be able to perform the physical requirements including but not limited to working over water, walking up and down stairs/ladders, negotiated uneven surfaces and carry up to 50 lbs.
Able to perform tasks while wearing a full face respirator or supplied air.
Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license and a driving record satisfactory to company and insurers.
Able and willing to perform tasks while wearing a full-face respirator or supplied air.
Must be able and willing to work nights/weekends/holidays and in inclement weather to include heat/cold/rain out of doors and in-doors on a regular basis.


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Orrin "Bob" R. Ormson, 73, Sartell
WJON Staff
WJON Staff Published: June 25, 2021
March 9, 1948 - June 24, 2021
attachment-orrin Ormson
Private family services will be for Orrin "Bob" R. Ormson, 73, of Sartell, who passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 24, 2021 at his home. Arrangements have been entrusted to Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes, St. Cloud.
Bob was born on March 9, 1948 to Clayton and Lucille (Jelinick) Waldorf in Bayfield, WI. He was later adopted by Oscar and Ruth Ormson. Bob graduated from Park Rapids High School. He served in the Vietnam War from 1967-1970 as a helicopter crew chief. He married Joyce Potts on April 7, 1973. Bob enjoyed working at Graco Inc. in Rogers where he was a tool and die maker for many years. He was very proud of the products he was able to produce during his career. Bob enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time with his miniature Poodle, Sophie. He was an outspoken person who had a tough exterior but a kind inside. Bob was able to have a conversation with anyone and was a bright person who was very good with numbers. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce Ormson; children, Sean (Ronda) Ormson of Forest Lake, Karen (Jake) McAllister of Sandstone and Renee Ormson of St. Cloud; 5 grandchildren; 7 great grandchildren; and siblings, Sally, Elizabeth, and Jeff.
He is preceded in death by his biological and adoptive parents.
Filed Under: Williams Dingmann Funeral Home
Categories: Obituaries

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Without giving the audience characters they can care about or even a sense of real foreboding, "Skyline" is little more than a disappointing 90-minute attack on the human senses.
A strange blue light is the first signal that an alien life form has contacted Earth, yet anyone who looks at it is sucked towards its source. When huge spacecrafts also begin smashing into urban areas, a small group of people suspects these new arrivals may not be human friendly.
Why is Skyline rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Skyline PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content.
It isn't likely that the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau will be showcasing Skyline in their tourism packages, especially after one character in the movie mutters a derisive comment about the town. Aliens, however, seem to feel differently about the City of Angels. For them, it is a destination hotspot for hostile takeovers and human annihilation.
As this movie begins, Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson) touch down in L.A. just in time to attend the decadent birthday bash of his longtime friend Terry (Donald Falson). But after a night of wild drinking and spying on the sexual activities of the neighbors with a high-powered telescope, the partygoers are sprawled around the penthouse in a stupor when an eerie beam pierces the night sky and awakens them.
Looking out the window, the group discovers alien ships descending from the sky, emitting a blue ray that seizes the attention of human beings, causing their eyes to glass over and spidery blood veins to spread across their faces and limbs. When the people are sufficiently entranced, they are sucked inside the spacecraft.
All military efforts to stop the space intruders are pointless, considering that it takes only four or five of the aliens' massive ships to overshadow the entire community. Still despite the herculean odds, troops and fighter planes (that look like gnats in comparison) are deployed, mostly to give the space invaders more fodder to chomp on.
Meanwhile, Jarrod, Elaine, Terry, his lover Candice (Brittany Daniel) and his assistant Denise (Crystal Reed) try to outwit the probes, dashing madly in and out of the apartment building. Later some of them run around the rooftop of the building wildly swinging an ax and bashing a creature over the head with a cinderblock. Of course with a cast this size, it is a sure thing that not all of them will make it. And the most (and maybe only) fun in this cheesy plot comes from guessing who will go first.
The reason for the invasion isn't revealed until the final moments and even then it is a stretch. The ending, clearly designed to give filmmakers plenty of wiggle room for a sequel, is also abruptly short and senseless. Without giving the audience characters they can care about or even a sense of real foreboding, Skyline is little more than a disappointing 90-minute attack on the human senses.
Why is Skyline rated PG-13? Skyline is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some language, and brief sexual content.
Violence: Aliens descend on a city, causing explosions, destroying property and hunting down humans. A man with a gun fires several shots. Humans are sucked up into the alien ship. Characters are decapitated, blown up and thrown from rooftops. Planes engage in midair fighting. A man attacks an alien with an ax. A helicopter crashes into a building. A man sets off an explosion with a gas stovetop and cigarette lighter. Characters are killed and discarded inside the body of the alien ship.
Sexual Content: Women wear sheer or low cut clothing and bikinis. A girl is seen wearing only a towel. There is implied sexual activity between two male characters as well as men and women. A couple kisses. Characters exchange sexual banter. Innuendos are present in the script.
Language: The dialogue includes a strong sexual expletive along with infrequent scatological slang, vulgarities and profanities.
Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters engage in social drinking on numerous occasions in social settings. Characters smoke, sometimes to relieve stress.
Other: Partygoers spy on neighbors with a high-powered telescope.
Why is it important for a director to create characters that the audience cares about? Why do viewers need to become emotionally involved in a story?
Is there ever a sense of real fight when one opponent is significantly larger or more powerful than the other? Does this script offer any hope that the humans will succeed in overcoming the aliens?
Unfriendly aliens have human beings running scared in these films as well: War of the Worlds, Invasion, Independence Day and The Arrival.


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Lissotes vanderschoori es una especie de coleóptero de la familia Lucanidae.

Distribución geográfica
Habita en Tasmania (Australia).

Referencias

Vanderschoori
Coleópteros de Australia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


"Middle-earth" are the fictional lands created by J.R.R. Tolkien and where most of his stories take place. Explore the people, places, creatures, things and events in fascinating Middle-earth with the Tolkien's Middle-Earth Dictionary and its fine collection of entries and literature terminology.


text:
Cosmosoma stibosticta är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Butler 1876. Cosmosoma stibosticta ingår i släktet Cosmosoma och familjen björnspinnare. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Björnspinnare
stibosticta


text:
Cremation & Funeral Service by Gary S. Silvat, Inc.
Donna Ann (Fabian) Stas, Austintown, Ohio
by: MyValleyTributes Staff
AUSTINTOWN, Ohio (MyValleyTributes) – On Thursday, January 5, 2023, Donna Ann Stas, age 73, of Austintown, passed away at home with her family by her side.
She was born on November 15, 1949, in Youngstown, Ohio, to Joseph Anthony and Wilda Mae (Payne) Fabian.
Donna attended East High School.
Youngstown East High School Alumni Tributes
Besides being a full-time wife and mother, Donna tended bars for years at Hollywood Tavern on the south side and Bill's Place in Austintown. She was the "best damn bartender" around!
She loved decorating and was the best gift wrapper, making each present detailed and fancy. Donna enjoyed bowling, the lottery, especially, "Cash Explosion," She was on their televised show but unfortunately was never called upon to play. Donna enjoyed sports but The Ohio State and the Dallas Cowboys were her favorite. She was also very artistic and loved baking cookies and cakes. She used her talents to the delight of everyone who received an individually decorated cake specific to their interest or talent.
Donna is survived by her husband of 30 years, Andrew Michael "Mike" Stas; daughter, Michele L. Fabian of Austintown; grandsons, Gerald R. Moxley of Youngstown and Michael A. Moxley of Austintown; siblings, Vernon (Vickie) Perkins of Girard, Delores M. Zagotti of Youngstown, Joseph Fabian of Boardman and Mary Ellen Silvestri of Austintown and her beloved pets, Morris and T-Rex. A special thank you to her niece, Robin Silvestri of Austintown, who helped to care for Donna over the last few months.
Besides her parents, Donna was preceded in death by bothers-in-law, John Zagotti and Paul Silvestri and pets, Timmy, Molly and Snuggles.
Viewing and calling hours will be held from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at Cremation & Funeral Service by Gary S. Silvat, Inc, 3896 Oakwood Avenue, Austintown, OH 44515.
Share memories and send condolences by visiting cremateohio.com.
A television tribute will air Monday, January 9 at the following approximate times: 5:17 a.m. on WKBN, 8:39 a.m. on FOX, 5:21 p.m. on WYTV and 6:35 p.m. on MyYTV. Video will be posted here the day of airing.
MyValley Tributes (Daily Obituaries)
Austintown News (Weekly)
How accurate is Groundhog Day's prediction in Youngstown?
Approaching a 110-year-old record for January


Beloved wife of Peter (dec). Loved daughter of Eric and Gladys (both dec). Loved sister of Neville and Margaret, John and Lorna, Ken and Frances.
Much loved aunt to 4 nephews and 11 nieces.
"Yvonne embraced life so fully. She was a loving friend and aunt, a mad gardener, traveller and adventurer, and an..."


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HUD's Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records: Where Do We Stand?
A client recently came to me about amending the declaration of the homeowner's association to prohibit certain specific violent felons, and, in particular, sexual predators from residing in the association. The client posed the question as to whether the proposed amendment would be discriminatory since they had heard that the use of criminal background checks was no longer allowed. The client's question rose from HUD's Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records which was issued in April of 2016.
The guidance stated that "[b]ecause of widespread racial and ethnic disparities in the U.S. criminal justice system, criminal history-based restrictions on access to housing are likely disproportionately to burden African Americans and Hispanics. While the Act does not prohibit housing providers from appropriately considering criminal history information when making housing decisions, arbitrary and overbroad criminal history-related bans are likely to lack a legally sufficient justification. Thus, a discriminatory effect resulting from a policy or practice that denies housing to anyone with a prior arrest or any kind of criminal conviction cannot be justified, and therefore such a practice would violate the Fair Housing Act." Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions, https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/HUD_OGCGUIDAPPFHASTANDCR.PDF, April 4, 2016.
It is important to note that the HUD guidance was issued under the Obama administration. Under the current administration, the Department of Justice, which can enforce the Fair Housing Act in court, does not appear to have focused its enforcement efforts on the guidance as evidenced by the lack of any significant number of cases on the issue. It is also important to understand that the guidance is not law. Rather, it is "an interpretive rule" which clarifies how disparate impact claims . . . apply to situations where a housing provider takes an adverse action based on an individual's criminal history." Connecticut Fair Hous. Ctr. v. Corelogic Rental Prop. Sols., LLC, 369 F. Supp. 3d 362, 371 (D. Conn. 2019) citing Jackson v. Tryon Park Apartments, Inc., 2019 WL 331635, (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2019).
In terms of creating occupancy restrictions related to criminal activity, the following excerpt of the guidance is important:
"In most instances, a record of conviction (as opposed to an arrest) will serve as sufficient evidence to prove that an individual engaged in criminal conduct.29 But housing providers that apply a policy or practice that excludes persons with prior convictions must still be able to prove that such policy or practice is necessary to achieve a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. A housing provider that imposes a blanket prohibition on any person with any conviction record – no matter when the conviction occurred, what the underlying conduct entailed, or what the convicted person has done since then – will be unable to meet this burden.
A housing provider with a more tailored policy or practice that excludes individuals with only certain types of convictions must still prove that its policy is necessary to serve a "substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest." To do this, a housing provider must show that its policy accurately distinguishes between criminal conduct that indicates a demonstrable risk to resident safety and/or property and criminal conduct that does not." Id.
In a brief that was filed in October of 2016 in a Fair Housing case, the Department of Justice wrote that "[a]lthough the FHA does not forbid housing providers from considering applicants' criminal records, it does require that providers do so in a way to avoid overbroad generalizations that disproportionately disqualify people based on a characteristic protected by the statute, such as race or national origin. To that end, the FHA bars criminal records bans that have a disparate impact on applicants based on race or national origin unless they are supported by a legally sufficient justification." The DOJ went on the write that "[a]lthough maintaining safety and security at a property is an important duty for housing providers, simply invoking the need to ensure "safety" or "security" cannot justify a screening policy that categorically excludes any tenant who has a criminal conviction. A ban on tenants with convictions without consideration of factors like the conviction's nature, severity, and recency is over-inclusive and lacks any principled way to assess who, if anyone, poses a risk to safety or security in the property." United States of America's Statement of Interest, The Fortune Society, Inc. v. Sandcastle Towers Housing Development Fund Corp. (E.D. N.Y. 2016).
In a recent case involving this topic, the court found that "[t]here is no evidence that the PHA's criminal history policy violates state or federal fair housing laws or the Constitution." The policy at issue in this case was a provision which stated "[a]n applicant would be mandatorily denied if:
Any household member has been convicted of a homicide-related offense, i.e. the killing of one human being by another. This includes murder, manslaughter (voluntary or involuntary), and conspiracy to commit murder. Mandatory denial is required if the homicide related conviction is within the time frames, as described in Appendix D." Hall v. Philadelphia Hous. Auth., 2019 WL 1545183 (E.D. Pa. 2019).
In another case, involving an individual that was convicted of rape, the court found that "[t]he exclusion of applicants with criminal records exhibiting previous violent conduct is rationally related to this goal. Indeed, the Fair Housing Act states that an individual may refuse to rent to an applicant that would pose a health or safety risk. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(9). Talley v. Lane, 13 F.3d 1031 (7th Cir. 1994).
The takeaway from the guidance and cases is that it remains possible to restrict occupancy in associations based on criminal activity but, critically, in order to have an occupancy restriction based on criminal activity, the restriction must only restrict based on criminal convictions, be limited to specific crimes that reasonably bear on the purpose of an association in "promot[ing] the health, happiness, and peace of mind[1]" of the residents of the association and that takes into account the nature, severity and time since the conviction.
" = "3" "" "" ACTIVE 13324691v.1
[1] Hidden Harbour Estates, Inc. v. Norman, 309 So. 2d 180, 182 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975).
Marielle E. Westerman
Community Association Law, Becker
Tampa | bio
criminal background checks, Fair Housing Act, HUD


These are the words Bobby Petrocelli stressed to the students at Holmes High School earlier this month. Petrocelli's story is one of personal triumph and hope following a devastating tragedy in his life. One night he went to bed in suburban America, a happy man with a loving wife. But when he woke up dazed in his kitchen, his wife was dead and his life forever changed. The pickup truck that crashed through his bedroom wall was driven by a man who was more than twice legally drunk.
"In life pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."


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The German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) is the foremost cancer research institute in Germany with key collaborations to enable personalized medicine for oncology. Illumina has been given access to talk to two of DKFZ's leading experts to discuss the impact next-generation sequencing has had at DKFZ and its partner institute the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT).
Cancer is a disease that poses enormous challenges to research, because every cancer is different and its course can vary immensely even from one patient to the next. DKFZ is tasked with performing cancer research according to its statutes. It is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany and a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. In 90 divisions and research groups, they have more than 1,200 scientists investigating the mechanisms of cancer, identifying cancer risk factors and are trying to find strategies to prevent people from getting cancer.
They are developing novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful, using the high throughput sequencing capabilities of the HiSeq X Ten System.
*Additional video courtesy of DKFZ.


A look at your options for watching the Olympic Trials marathon.
Coverage of the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon is better than it's ever been in 2016. For the first time, both races will air live on network television, in addition to streaming options, through NBC.
NBC will have three hours of live coverage beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 13 (1 p.m. ET). The men's race will start at 10:06 a.m. in Los Angeles, with the women taking off at 10:22 a.m. Tom Hammond will host the broadcast and be joined by Tim Hutchings, Lewis Johnson and Carrie Tollefson.
NBC will also live stream the race via the free NBC Sports Live Extra app. You can download the app for free to your smartphone or tablet, and it's also on platforms like Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. To access the content, you need to provide login credentials from your television provider. On web browsers, the stream is available at nbcsports.com/live-extra.
If you're going to be spectating in Los Angeles, the course setup assures that you'll see a lot of action. You can line up in one spot along the Figueroa Street Corridor and see the runners pass several times in the span of two-plus hours. The start and finish is in downtown next to the LA Convention Center. A bulk of the race is along Figueroa Street between 11th and 34th Street.
Attendance is free. Inside the LA Convention Center is the health & fitness expo for the next day's Los Angeles Marathon. It is free and open to the public as well.


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MDC Baseball Sweeps Broward College to win series
The Miami Dade College baseball team defeated Broward College Saturday afternoon to pick up the series win against the Seahawks. Gabriel Figueroa was the winning pitcher for Miami Dade college Sharks. He lasted six innings, allowing one hit and two runs while striking out five and walking one. Jesus Valoy, Orlando Ribalta, and Blake Baker all put in work in relief out of the bullpen, steering their team towards the victory of Game one.
Miami Dade college Sharks Varsity got things started in the first inning. Micheal Alicea hit a solo homer. Henry Ogando led things off on the pitcher's mound for Miami Dade college Sharks. He surrendered one run on four hits over six innings, striking out three and walking one. Miami Dade college Sharks tallied three runs in the ninth inning. Miami Dade college Sharks scored its runs on an RBI double by Sujel Arias-Auzon in the second game.
Miami Dade college Sharks opened up scoring in the second inning. Raphy Almanzardrove in one when he singled. Nico Martinez would not be denied at the plate on Saturday, picking up four hits and leading Miami Dade college Sharks to a 5-2 win over Broward College. Martinez singled in the second, doubled in the third, homered in the fifth, and singled in the seventh. Blake Baker pitched Miami Dade college Sharks to victory. He lasted six innings, allowing two hits and zero runs while striking out eight. Joseph Sanchez and Orlando Ribalta entered the game out of the bullpen and helped to close out the game in relief. Ribalta recorded the last two outs to earn the save for Miami Dade college Sharks.
UP NEXT: The Sharks will host Indian River State College tomorrow Wednesday, March 13, 2019 @ 3:00 PM
@MDCSHARKS -TWITTER
@MDCSHARKS - INSTAGRAM


The 60th TOPIK Registration Numbers and Venue Confirmation are as below.
TOPIK 1: 9:00AM (the entry is prohibited after 09:10AM).
Please find the attached file for the applicants' registration numbers.
*Test results can be found online on Thursday 29 November 2018.


Various false and specious organic bashing themes over the years have included: organic farms are weedy, if we go organic someone must starve, organic crops are inferior quality, buggy, and small. The sources have been numerous: including farm bureau groups, extension agents, and multi-national corporations; the delivery in multiple forms: newspaper and magazines, radio talk shows, grade school curriculums, even rural billboards in corn fields. Perhaps it's as Gandhi says: ""First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."


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2006 Ei-La
Elizabeth Kostova Biography
Born Elizabeth Johnson in 1964 in New London, CT; daughter of David (a professor of urban planning) and Eleanor (a university employee) Johnson; married Gyorgi Kostov (a computer systems administrator), 1990. Education: Yale University, B.A., 1988; did post-graduate work in Slavonic music; University of Michigan, M.F.A.
Addresses: Agent —Amy Williams, Collins McCormick, 30 Bond St., New York, NY 10012. Home — Ann Arbor, MI. Office —Author Mail, Little, Brown and Co., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
Worked as a writing teacher, and landscaper; writing teacher, University of Michigan; author, 1995—.
Elizabeth Kostova's vampire-lore bestseller, The Historian , earned a fair share of publishing-world attention and media buzz even before it appeared in bookstores in the summer of 2005. Kostova's eerie, elegant, and intricately plotted tale takes its reader on a journey across Europe's capitals and delves deep into folklore and the historical record, and for it she earned a stunning $2 million advance when the manuscript was accepted—an enormous sum for a first-time novelist. She was pleasantly surprised by the bidding war that ensued among publishing houses, as she told Guardian interviewer
Gary Younge. "I thought maybe in six months, " she admitted, "someone would write back and say, 'Sorry, but this is such a strange book we don't know how we would market it but good luck in sending it somewhere else.'"
Kostova was born in Connecticut but lived in various college towns and spent time in Europe during her formative years, thanks to her father's academic career. She graduated from Yale University in 1988, and began post-graduate work in Slavonic music, which took her to Bulgaria just days after its long-time Communist dictatorship fell in 1989. There she met her future husband, Gyorgi Kostov, who became one of the first hundred citizens to be granted a passport to travel abroad in Bulgaria's first days of democratic freedom. They wed in 1990, and settled in the Philadelphia area. There, Kostova held a series of jobs, which included landscaping and teaching business writing.
During this period of her life, Kostova and her husband took a hike through the Appalachians, which made her recall the stories her father used to tell her during their own trips when she was a youngster. They were often creepy vampire tales, steeped in Old-World lore, and as Kostova recalled in an interview with Anne Sanow of Publishers Weekly , "I thought: what if the daughter realizes that Dracula is somehow listening? I think every novel has its moment of genesis, and that was it for me." On that same hike, Kostova wrote down seven pages of notes for a possible novel, and spent the next ten years working on her book.
The Historian begins in 1972, and is narrated by the quiet, studious 16-year-old daughter of an esteemed diplomat. Her mother died when she was young, and she and her father are now living in Amsterdam. One day, she discovers an odd book and packet of letters tucked away in his study; the book is blank except for a center spread that depicts a dragon, and the letters dated back to 1930 and hinted of a tantalizing mystery. "I feel sorrow at bequeathing to another human being my own, perhaps unbelievable, experience of evil, " one of the letters reads. They appear to be from her father's graduate-school days at Oxford University, and when she summons up the courage to ask him about the story, he reluctantly begins to share the tale.
The mystery of The Historian reaches back to the graduate-school advisor of the narrator's father—a man who, her father relates, one day vanished entirely, leaving only bloodstains on the ceiling—and also to her Romanian-born mother. It also stretches back even further to Vlad III Dracul, an actual prince of Wallachia who lived from 1431 to 1476. A ruthless tyrant, Vlad was later dubbed Vlad Tepes ("Vlad the Impaler") after his death because of his favorite method of dealing with his hostile Bulgarian and Turkish neighbors—impaling entire villages on stakes, a practice already common to the area during that time and place. Vlad was the inspiration for the bloodthirsty immortal count created by Bram Stoker in the 1897 novel Dracula , a monster who feeds off human blood, which was the basis for a number of 1930s-era horror movies that starred Bela Lugosi.
Kostova's plot wends its way back to the story of Vlad and his descendants, to whom the narrator may possibly be linked by birth. "No one knows what happened to his body after his death, " Kostova pointed out to Julie Wheelwright in an interview that appeared in the London daily, the Independent. "It's a question that's been examined by archaeologists and historians for centuries, so I took this as the starting point of my speculation." In a Newsweek review of the novel, Malcolm Jones found that "Kostova's vampire is no campy [Bela] Lugosi knockoff but a blend of the cunning, powerful count who debuts in Bram Stoker's 1897 classic novel and the actual Dracula, Vlad the Impaler. Blending history and myth, Kostova has fashioned a version so fresh that when a stake is finally driven through a heart, it inspires the tragic shock of something happening for the very first time."
Kostova was the beneficiary of an immense advance from the Little, Brown publishing house for The Historian. Prior to publication, her book earned comparisons to Dan Brown's 2003 bestseller The DaVinci Code as the next blockbuster historical thriller for its well-crafted tale of an American caught up in a centuries-old mystery. But Kostova's debut went on to outsell The DaVinci Code 's first-day sales, and became the first debut novel to appear on the No. 1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list the same week it was published.
By then, Kostova had settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband, and earned a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan. Some of the proceeds from her $2-million advance check were used to buy a house, and some went back to Gyorgi's mother's house in Bulgaria for the installation of a hot-water heater. The film rights for The Historian were sold to Sony Pictures, which netted her another tidy sum, but Kostova conceded in some interviews that she found the subject of her newfound success a somewhat thorny one to discuss. "I do find it tiresome that people are more interested in the money than in the book, " she told Younge in the Guardian interview, "because I didn't write it angling for an advance. But I think it's a natural interest: it's just so unusual to get that kind of money for a first book. It's just such a freaky thing to have happened."
The Historian , Little, Brown (New York City), 2005.
Kostova, Elizabeth, The Historian , Little, Brown (New York City), 2005.
Entertainment Weekly , May 27, 2005, p. 103; June 24, 2005, p. 166.
Guardian (London, England), July 18, 2005, p. 4.
Independent (London, England), August 5, 2005, p. 20.
Newsweek , June 13, 2005, p. 74.
New York Times , July 10, 2005, p. 16.
Publishers Weekly , April 11, 2005, p. 32; May 23, 2005, p. 10; July 11, 2005, p. 5.
Times (London, England), July 16, 2005, p. 7.
Elizabeth Kostova Biography forum
Heidi Klum Biography Diane Lane Biography


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It's a gripping few minutes of video. Nicholas, a young, bearded man, lies on a raised futon in what looks like a suburban den. He could be anybody's kid home from school, dozing restlessly in a T-shirt and sweat pants, the spidery ends of dark tattoos peeking out of his shirt sleeves. As the camera pans out, we see an older man and woman in chairs on either side of him. There's a discarded eyeshade and headphones near him on the mattress. His eyes flutter as he starts to talk, relating what sounds like a horrifying dream in real time.
The older man's voice rises softly off camera, encouraging him to stay with his distress: "I think what this is, is a wave of something painful that needs processing," he says.
Long back from two tours as a Humvee turret gunner in Iraq, Nicholas is a Marine combat vet in the midst of a mighty struggle with treatment-resistant PTSD. Among the symptoms he's grappling with is uncontrollable anger, causing him to blow up frequently at his wife and other people in his life. With him are psychiatrist Michael Mithoefer, a professor at the University of South Carolina Medical School, and his wife, Annie, a nurse, who together have been leading research into the effects of combining doses of MDMA, a pure form of the club drug Ecstasy, with psychotherapy. They're sitting with Nicholas for a session on the drug, having already prepped him in meetings beforehand to explore his trauma while under its effects.
"It's a really important part of you that doesn't want that," Michael Mithoefer says, but reminds him that we all have parts that carry rage and the potential for violence: they just don't need to be in charge. He suggests it may be time to understand that part of him and help it heal.
Since 2004, when the Mithoefers first started testing MDMA-assisted psychotherapy, more than a hundred vets, cops, firefighters, and sexual assault and abuse survivors have undergone treatment. The approach has proven so successful that the Food and Drug Administration has deemed it a "breakthrough therapy" for PTSD, and is helping the Mithoefers speed along the final phase of trials with hundreds more trauma survivors. More than 20,000 have already signed up to be part of it.
In addition, the Mithoefers have started training more therapists in the work. If all goes well, these therapists could be staffing licensed clinics by 2021. The FDA has even hinted at the possibility of a special dispensation that would allow some treatment to begin before the studies are finished—as early as 2019.
This year, the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy compared MDMA-assisted psychotherapy to talk therapies. The authors found Trauma-Focused CBT and Cognitive Processing Therapy produced clinical improvement in 44 percent of their PTSD subjects. They also found commonly prescribed drugs, like Paxil, Zoloft, and other SSRIs, were effective 20 to 30 percent of the time. But in Mithoefer's original phase-2 study with treatment-resistant PTSD subjects, who averaged 19 years with the disorder, a remarkable 83 percent of participants no longer met the criteria for PTSD after completing treatment.
When they followed up with them 45 months later, 74 percent had held onto improvement. They also reached out to subjects from all six of their phase-2 studies at the one-year mark. When they pooled those results, 68 percent still didn't have PTSD, and one of the trial sites in Colorado says 80 percent of its subjects stayed well.
The neurochemical action of MDMA seems custom-made to treat PTSD. It releases a jumble of feel-good neurotransmitters, including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. It puts oxytocin, the hormone that increases our positive feelings about one another, in play. And it quiets the amygdala, the brain's fear center, while amplifying the higher processing of the prefrontal cortex. The result is an exact reversal of the hyperanxiousness of the PTSD state, and it allows people to process deeply entrenched trauma without the clouding of an overwhelming emotional response.
Like Nicholas, all of Mithoefer's study subjects are coached by therapists in lead-up sessions to try to let go and follow the drug wherever it takes them. This way, the MDMA can help people dive unimpeded into difficult places and break down hardened defenses through a deep, visceral sense of compassion for all aspects of their selves, past and present, before trauma and after. Also, the prosocial effects that have made MDMA a base for the popular club drug Ecstasy accentuate feelings of trust in the therapists and the support they offer. It's an effect that subjects say makes them feel deeply cared for during the experience.
The New York Times recently reported that these early study results have given hope to combat vets, some of whom are so desperate for relief from their PTSD symptoms that they've taken to doing MDMA illegally at home. This is concerning to the Mithoefers and their study funder, the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Science (MAPS), which is providing nearly $30 million for the research. They're emphatic that for the treatment to work, the drug must be paired with therapy.
Preparatory therapy sessions help people feel safer on the drug and set an intention for their trip that can bring them to the heart of what they need to heal. And follow-up therapy sessions are a must, given that the powerful and often painful places MDMA takes them can trigger backlash later on—including flashbacks, heightened anxiety, and in some cases, suicidal ideation. Integrating those destabilizing feelings is critical, but doing this kind of work isn't easy on therapists. While the standard appointment calendar of most trauma therapists revolves around weekly, 50-minute sessions, the kind of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy the Mithoefers envision necessitates a complete overhaul of their ordinary work pattern.
The MDMA protocol requires the drug to be prescribed in a clinic setting with a staff of at least two therapists, an assistant to stay overnight with the client after the trips, and a prescribing doctor. Therapists must commit to long, quiet hours supporting clients as they go inward on the drug. They must also be available afterward for three 90-minute integrative sessions following each of the three trips, which are spaced weeks apart, and for phone contact 24 hours a day for the immediate week after each.
Talking with subjects in the Mithoefer study, one hears again and again how the treatment "saved" them, and gave them back their life. Journalists are hearing similar tales and producing a steady stream of stories, on not only the success of the MDMA trials for PTSD, but the work of research teams focused on the therapeutic potential of psilocybin (the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms"), LSD, ayahuasca, and the psychedelic ibogaine, to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, OCD, eating disorders, and fear of death for cancer patients.
ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, NPR, PBS, Chelsea Handler, The Guardian, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The LA Times, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Scientific American, and Time have all beaten the drum recently about psychedelics being the next big thing in therapy. Even a conservative Fox News host encouraged viewers to have a psychedelic experience before they died.
Bill Richards, a grandfather of psychedelic science who's still associated with Johns Hopkins's psilocybin therapy investigations, likes to remind people that psychedelics have been used to promote healing for thousands of years. Ancient Mesopotamians did them so often that traces of the drugs still cling to their pottery. Cave paintings in northern Algeria showing human figures with psychedelic mushrooms date back to 5000 BCE. And 32 million Americans, including plenty of therapists, have taken these mind-expanding drugs.
I myself wavered at the edge of the psychedelic universe for years as a college student. Long before I knew anything about their potential for therapy, I was at a school awash in psychedelics, but I was too frightened of having a long, bad trip to try any of them. Instead, I fell into the role of "trip sitting" friends on MDMA or LSD, until eventually one begged to return the favor with what he swore would be a mild and short-acting experience on magic mushrooms. He'd stay sober and glued to my side, he promised, for the entire time. On a quiet weekend night, I agreed to a small amount, and we squashed bits of the dry, icky-tasting fungus into Oreo cookies. Like a cheerful suburban parent, he handed them to me on a porcelain plate, along with a tall glass of milk. "Down the hatch, sweetpea!" he giggled.
Once I'd choked them down—even Oreos can disguise only so much of the taste of petrified vegetable rot—I immediately lay down, expecting some head-spinning image parade. But after 10 minutes of ceiling staring and nervous expectation, it never materialized. So we gathered ourselves up and headed out into the warm night to try our luck at a campus party. When we crossed the threshold into a packed dorm room I suddenly felt overcome by a stunning and unfamiliar sensation—utter, unequivocal calm.
At this point in my college career, I'd become accustomed to being around proud geeks, some tortured for their nerdiness in high school, who'd found their intellectual nirvana and could spend hours drunkenly humiliating one another in searing, no-holds-barred debates. I found this practice and these young men, many of whom surrounded me in the room, abjectly cruel. But along with the odd sense of calm, this night I felt something else in their presence that I can still feel palpably as I write—a deep awakening to the profound depths of our mutuality.
It was as if I'd entered a room bathed in acceptance, and each person in it embodied a core of kindness and love that all their verbal battling had previously obscured for me. Now, for the first time, I saw their truth. They were good. I was good. My trip-sitting friend was so good he was glowing like a two-armed Vishnu. They were suffering. I was suffering. And whatever the lot of us had said or done to one another, whatever grandstanding or ignorances or insecurities we'd all acted on in the time we'd been together, were just inessential, fluffy distractions: the blurting of groundless fears. Nothing personal. Nothing substantial. Nothing lastingly true.
Back in that dorm room, I felt myself smiling, softly, at each of the other partygoers. Many smiled back, some fully, some halfheartedly. With the halfhearted smilers, I felt a deep ache arching between us—the pain of having to disguise our essential bond to one another, as some protective part in them pretends at disconnection and difference.
I knew when I started thinking this way that it was the drug. But I didn't discount or disbelieve what was happening. It was like watching an absorbing and hopeful documentary that was speaking to a reality I'd normally failed to see. I'd dug up an unassailable truth, I thought, that was mine now forever. And if I remembered it well enough, once the mushrooms finished their work, it might just reshape, in some significant way, my world view.
I still call up my stirring, dorm-room trip when I have to give a lecture or defend my ideas to a group of overeducated meanies. It's become my version of imagining an audience in their underwear. So you can bet that the idea of going back to the drug these many decades later—now with trained therapists and a real intention to roll back my various irrational fears—has grown exponentially more appealing with each new story of breakthrough or revelation I hear.
It's intriguing, isn't it? The idea of making huge strides in the span of a few trips with a treatment that, rather than requiring daily maintenance on drugs, or emotional sustenance in weekly therapy, might just last a deeply healing decade or two, or maybe even a lifetime.
So why have we left it on ice for so long?
If you're a therapist of a certain age, all this new excitement around psychedelics may feel like déjà vu. From the '50s to the late '60s, researchers and therapists were already working with LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, and seeing the same effects being documented today. That was before their work was shuttered and psychedelics assigned the strictest of drug statuses—Schedule 1—which precludes research without a special license from the FDA.
The word psychedelic is derived from the Greek and translates as "mind manifesting." After 1938, when the Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann synthesized LSD, early researchers were hopeful that the drugs could produce therapeutic breakthroughs and illuminate the neurochemical underpinnings of psychosis. Hofmann, who was working for the chemical company Sandoz at the time, famously absorbed a large dose of the drug by accident and had a terrifying trip involving a nighttime bicycle ride. But soon after, the son of the head of Sandoz's pharmaceutical department discovered that lesser amounts of LSD were useful in psychiatry for helping repressed thoughts and memories bubble up. The CIA took notice, hoping to turn it into a "truth drug" before ultimately finding it too unpredictable. By the 1950s, potential therapeutic uses were already under serious study.
Two Canadians tried scaring their alcoholic patients straight by giving them large doses of LSD, but the trips turned out to be more pleasant than frightening. So they changed their tactic and created homey rooms, in which they'd sit with clients and help elucidate a mystical experience that might be profound enough to loosen alcohol's grip. Soon Stanislav Grof, a Czech psychiatrist, who'd go on to invent holotropic breathwork for attaining different states of consciousness, was taking a similar tack to treat heroin addicts in Prague.
By this time, the '60s counterculture was flourishing, and Harvard psychologist Timothy Leary was encouraging the general public to take LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin, insisting the drugs were safe, and famously advising people to "tune in, turn on, and drop out." The fear began to grow that psychedelics were hastening the decline of cultural values. President Nixon, given to demonizing both the era's countercultural paroxysm, which he labeled "the age of anarchy," and Leary, the person he considered its de facto leader and "the most dangerous man in America," agreed. Soon after, the FDA effectively halted psychedelic research.
MDMA has a different origin story. Though synthesized in the early 20th century by the pharmaceutical giant Merck, it wasn't tested on humans and didn't make it into psychiatric circles until the late '70s and early '80s, when Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, a chemist who'd worked at Dow in the 1950s and synthesized products so profitable he was given free rein to pursue his own interests, set his sights on psychedelics. Shulgin had a curiously good relationship with the DEA, which eventually granted him an investigative license to synthesize his own psychedelic compounds. He designed new psychedelics by manipulating old ones like mescaline, birthing an era of designer drugs—and he reintroduced the empathogen MDMA, which he tested on himself and promptly gave to San Francisco Bay Area psychotherapists.
But much like LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline before it, once MDMA went beyond the therapy community to become widely disseminated at parties and clubs, the government took note, this time under Ronald Reagan; and in 1985 the DEA declared an emergency ban on it, putting it out to Schedule 1 pasture.
Rick Strassman, a psychiatrist and researcher at the University of New Mexico, managed to get the FDA and DEA to release the hallucinogen DMT to him in the '90s for his studies of addiction treatment for alcohol. (DMT is a derivative of one of the plants found in brewed ayahuasca which is also being studied for its therapeutic potential.) Since then, the US psychedelic science scene has come roaring back, thanks in part to some very deliberate messaging by the now careful community of researchers and its funders, like MAPS and the Heffter Research Institute, which underwrites the Hopkins work. The '60s' free-for-all and Leary's calls for everyone to partake have been replaced with a principled stand, asserting that these drugs need to be purposefully used and prescribed as therapy.
Psychedelic research is currently underway at an impressive list of top-rate research universities, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UC San Francisco, UCLA, New York University, Yale, and the Imperial College of London. Practitioners being trained to provide psychedelic therapies are encouraged to follow a protocol common to all the studies: pay careful attention to preparation work with participants, set aside a room that's warm and calming, encourage them to bring in a meaningful memento for the session, refrain from being directive when the participants are tripping, and ask them to don eyeshades and headphones that play instrumental soundtracks to support them going inward.
A participant in one of these carefully designed research studies was Rachael Kaplan. She was 31 at the time, and had been in and out of therapy for almost two decades, trying countless treatments to alleviate her crippling PTSD symptoms. A survivor of childhood abuse, including sexual abuse that had started at age four, she found simple errands, like going to the grocery store, terrifying. She'd wake in the mornings, she says, afraid of existence itself.
Kaplan was painfully aware that other people could feel a sense of ease in their bodies, but not her. Her abuse had started so young that she didn't understand such a feeling, and instead would be driven by her sense of extreme unease to dissociate and hurt herself. Plagued by nightmares and debilitated by flashbacks, she was hospitalized twice for suicidal ideation, and she thought about killing herself daily.
Over the years, she'd tried EMDR, residential treatment, and medications that did little to help her. She'd met with acupuncturists, energy workers, and equine therapists—so many therapists, in fact, that she trails off talking about them. It was a lot of effort with little progress. "I was so terrified from my childhood trauma that my system wouldn't let down its guard enough to allow anything from the outside to affect it," she says. In fact, she started thinking that she might be psychotic. "It was easier to blame myself," she explains, than face the truth of what had happened.
Kaplan couldn't sleep the night before her first session. In the morning, she gathered the meaningful objects she'd been asked to bring—she chose a blanket, candles, photos of her dog and of friends who loved her—and entered a room with peaceful pictures on the walls, a couch made into a soft bed with more blankets, and flowers in vases set nearby. The therapists pulled two chairs up to the couch. Kaplan's blood pressure was taken, and a doctor she'd met in the preparatory sessions came in to give her the pill. She lay back, put on headphones, and tried to relax. It was half an hour before she felt anything at all.
This time, she got her wish.
At first, she hit a wall and couldn't get close to the darkness, but then the drug zoomed her through to a place where previously unspoken, troubling scenes of her childhood trauma took shape. Her therapists leaned closer and held onto her as she gave a second-by-second accounting of the abuse, helping her name it for what it was.
If the horrible memories that were unfolding had been conjured in talk therapy, she says she'd have been too overwhelmed to process them. But floating in the feelings of love and safety that the MDMA was accessing in her, she believed that the memories could no longer overpower her, and she stayed with them. "With trauma, it's so easy to go to self-hate when you're processing this kind of stuff, so to do it while awash in love was really powerful," she says.
This revelatory trip wasn't a silver bullet. In the weeks that followed, she dissociated again and had more flashbacks, even some fleeting suicidal ideation. But she managed to work through it all in the integration sessions, and by letting herself grieve. She'd kept her primary therapist throughout the study trial and further integrated the effects with her. She found the newly arrived-at sense of love and connection held fast.
Kaplan has completed her degree at Naropa and is now trained in transpersonal psychology and wilderness therapy. And her friends have noticed a big change: she talks more. "I'm still fairly quiet, but while I used to be so scared to talk to people, now I want to connect more and do things with them. I even love shopping for my food!" she says.
The psychiatrist Roland Griffiths and a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins are investigating the effects of psilocybin-assisted therapy with cancer patients to help ease anxiety and fear of death. Along with other sites, they're also testing its healing potential with addiction and depression.
But Griffiths, who is a meditator, has an additional interest: understanding the spiritual component that seems to undergird the therapeutic progress most of their study subjects make on the drug. To start, he's looking at what devoted contemplatives who've been mediating for many years might get out of it. Does it bring them new insights, or merely reflect back to them something they already know through their spiritual practices? Are the revelations it provides any different, any deeper?
Jonathan Foust, a meditation teacher, trainer, and former president of the Kripalu Center, a popular Massachusetts yoga and meditation retreat, gave it a go. "While they were exploring the psilocybin experience for those with terminal illness and chronic addiction, they found that virtually everyone who participated had a peak spiritual experience," Foust says. "Now what effects would such an experience have on those who've dedicated a good proportion of their life to meditation? For me, the effect was profound, transformative, and deeply inspiring.
Manish Agrawal, an oncologist affiliated with Johns Hopkins, became interested in incorporating psilocybin in his work after seeing a series of videos of terminally ill patients in a psilocybin study. One features Tony, a middle-aged actor from New York with prostate cancer that spread to his lymph nodes. The diagnosis caused panic attacks and a fatalism that he says was oppressive. He thought about his illness all the time.
Agrawal imagines oncologists like himself becoming prescribers at psilocybin-assisted therapy clinics attached to cancer treatment centers. The experience would closely mirror the MDMA-psychotherapy protocol. But he believes psilocybin delivers a decidedly mystical experience, making it more appropriate for those at the end of life.
What If Clients Get Addicted?
Not everyone is enthused about the rebirth of psychedelic therapies. Some addiction professionals are concerned that their jobs will get harder if drugs like MDMA and psilocybin are relieved of their Schedule 1 status, citing the reasons for which the government affixes that status to drugs in the first place: they're thought to have no true medical use, carry a high risk of abuse, and be unsafe, even under a doctor's supervision. These clinicians also raise concerns that psychedelics and empathogens are too potent, neurochemically messy, and potentially damaging for psychologically fragile addicts who need steady, long-term intervention.
The Fix, an addiction-community magazine, reports that heavy users of MDMA are at risk for high blood pressure, fainting spells, verbal and visual memory impairments, paranoia, sleep and panic disorders, and depression. Colleges like Brown University report that a third of users abuse the drug. Deaths from the drug are rare, but dangerous hyperthermia and brain swelling, exacerbated by the heat of dance clubs, has been reported.
Still, psychedelics and empathogens are rated markedly safer in harm comparisons with drugs like cocaine, heroin, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamines, and benzodiapenes. These comparisons measure whether the drug causes harm to the self or the drug-taker harms others. In fact, MDMA ranks about a tenth as harmful as alcohol. It comes out marginally less safe than LSD and psilocybin, but less risky than anabolic steroids. According to last year's Global Drug Survey, mushrooms containing psilocybin are the safest recreational drug of all. Of 12,000 users in the previous year, a mere two percent required medical intervention.
This question of risk is also on the radar of research institutions around the world looking to psilocybin-assisted therapy as a way to treat drug addiction. Among them is Johns Hopkins, which has been studying its effectiveness with long-term smokers. The University of New Mexico has been looking at its effects with alcohol addiction, the University of Alabama at Birmingham with cocaine, and the Imperial College of London with heroin.
Sara Lappan is working on the trials in Alabama, which are pairing cognitive behavioral therapy with psilocybin to treat cocaine addicts, many of whom are so undone by the cycle of addiction that they're living on the street. Researchers suspect psilocybin may increase insight and motivation in addicts—and decrease their cravings. Lappan says that because it delivers a sense of awe, it can help users feel like a whole and connected being, not the thrown-away, isolated addict the people she sees often feel that they are.
Beyond the psychospiritual effects, Lappan explains that psilocybin has neurochemically important, anti-addictive properties. It's an agonist, and works on serotonin levels in the brain that affect dopamine levels, effectively blocking their uptake. Press-a-lever studies have been undertaken with mice using psychedelics. Those mice, like the ones who famously pushed their levers nonstop for hits of cocaine and heroin, have been given unrestricted access to LSD or psilocybin, but they turn away from their levers after the first experience, showing no interest in tripping again.
Bill Richards quips about the difference between an addictive substance like heroin and a psychedelic by saying "one is for forgetting and one is for realizing." He believes that most adults can handle such a distinction.
So far, a statistically significant number of those receiving psilocybin in the Alabama study have had longer periods of prolonged abstinence than their control group. And like the therapists in the other MDMA and psilocybin trials, Lappan has witnessed subjects undergo profound experiences on the drug. She's held onto some who wept cathartically, one who spoke emotionally to a loved one who'd passed away, another who took an oddly revelatory ride through his intestines. It's a way of working that's satisfyingly faster than the therapy she's done before.
In July, psychiatrist Rick Strassman at the University of New Mexico called for caution in a Scientific American op-ed after a few members of the psychedelic research community had advocated relaxing government restrictions on the drugs. He wrote that outside the structure of specialized treatment settings, "psychedelics are no less abusable, acutely debilitating and liable to result in psychological damage—sometimes severe and unremitting—than they ever were." Strassman is calling for the drugs to be removed from Schedule 1 so they can be administered under medical supervision and studied, but he wants a new schedule number to be implemented, one that will restrict them from sale to the general population, meaning only those with specialized training could administer them.
After seven decades, it seems that psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy will soon be upon us: the cloud of suspicion and disapproval hovering over it has dissipated, as it's being ushered through by generations of government officials and scientists who may well have once taken—and liked—the drugs themselves. Given the right rollout, with clinics that hold up the researchers' strict standards, it has the potential to revolutionize not only how we treat trauma, but eventually other common issues, like depression, anxiety, addiction, OCD, and eating disorders.
It's been nearly 30 years since SSRIs came on the scene, but despite their ubiquity and their pairing with a variety of talk- and body-centered treatments, research shows that trauma, depression, and anxiety rates are soaring, and suicide numbers have dramatically spiked. Could the ineffable insights psychedelic and empathogenic drugs bring—the sense of spiritual grounding, of uber-connectedness, of vaporized defenses, of ultimately being part of something more than the terrible traumas and daily difficulties of our lives—finally deliver clients to the states of self-acceptance and belief in the less onerous world we ache to help them find?


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Cisco: 9 percent of consumers have high trust in IoT
Consumers' low trust in IoT mirrors their attitudes toward microwaves decades ago.
Brian Buntz | Dec 13, 2017
Consumers may not have trust in IoT, but they value it. They also don't tend to know much about the scope of Internet of Things outside of wearables or devices purchased for the home.
Those are the paradoxical-seeming conclusions of a recent survey from Cisco involving 3,000 adults in North America with at least a basic familiarity of IoT devices. While its core consumer base is in the enterprise realm, Cisco carried out the survey to help it provide guidance to its customers — many of which target the public.
Few of those polled were familiar with public or enterprise IoT technology. A quarter of them were aware of connected street lights. Slightly less, 23 percent, were aware of connected vending machines, while one in five knew that wind turbines could be IoT devices.
Most people don't realize they are surrounded by IoT networks and devices, said Theresa Bui, direct of IoT strategy at Cisco. "They aren't aware of the fact that there are sensors in the road and IP-connected cameras watching traffic intersections or fog monitoring sensors in the middle of nowhere."
Logically, respondents were more familiar with consumer-facing devices such as IoT-enabled health monitors (50 percent), wearables (64 percent) and home security systems (63 percent).
Consumers with personal experience with IoT devices were generally positive. A total of 53 percent of respondents said they believed personal connected devices made their lives easier and 47 percent found the technology made their lives more efficient. More than one-third said the technology either saves them money or enhances value of their possessions in another way. A total of 34 percent reported that personal connected devices "help protect them and their family."
And yet few of those surveyed had trust in IoT devices from a data privacy perspective. Only 9 percent felt highly assured their data is secure, while 14 percent said they felt vendors are diligent in letting them know what data is being collected and how it is used.
[IoT World demonstrates how the next generation of IoT will converge to unlock the intelligence of things in the industrial, enterprise and consumer realms. Get your ticket now.]
Few technologies elicit such a mixed reaction.
"When I first looked at the survey results, I tried to wrap my brain around what other types of popular technology have aroused such suspicion," Bui said. "The first thing that I thought of was microwaves." Although the first countertop microwave debuted in 1967, adoption was slow as consumers were wary of their high cost and the fact they emitted radiation. In 1971, roughly 1 percent of the U.S. public owned a microwave. But by 1986, a quarter of the population did. In 2011, roughly 97 percent of the population were microwave owners.
A combination of convenience, falling costs and a growing amount of information indicating that microwaved food was safe were responsible for the microwave's success.
"I think what the microwave shows is that when a new technology comes out, it gets refined and it evolves," Bui said. "As people understand it more, they get more comfortable with it. Even though they might have concerns about it, that doesn't stop them from using it because it brings so much value."
IoT technology could follow a similar trajectory. "There is suspicion around the implementation and the data collected and how it is collected, but that doesn't mean that IoT won't continue expanding because trust is low because the value of it is so high," Bui said.
The questions of data security and data integrity are likely always going to be relevant in the world of IoT. "It is the responsibility of IoT service providers to be transparent and communicate what they are doing with their consumers to alleviate that [concern]," Bui concluded. "Take a look again at microwaves. There are still fringe websites dedicated to the premise that microwaves are killing you. But people aren't giving them up. I know I am not giving up my microwave."


Chances are, if you're a fan of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, you've spotted the royal family of Hollywood chowing down on a salad on more than one occasion. More specifically, they frequently dig into a jumbo-sized salad in a clear plastic container. Seriously, if you don't believe me, go turn on any episode of the past 12 seasons of the series or any of its assorted spin-offs — at some point, you're guaranteed to see a salad lunch eaten by one or more Kardashians, per episode, at minimum. Complex even ran a series of salad-focused KUWTK recaps, which is amazing. Now, thanks to Kim, we know what's in those salads and where they come from.
The Kardashian and Jenner sisters are known for their notoriously large (but super healthy and scrumptious-looking) salads. Kim actually revealed where the sisters get their trademark salads in April of last year, via Twitter. Apparently, it's one of the most common questions she gets from KUWTK fans!
Shirley Choi, the owner of Health Nut, even told the NY Daily News that the Kardashians "order from [Health Nut] pretty much every day, and send someone to pick it up." Basically, the Kardashian clan appears to be single-handedly keeping the place in business. All of those other celebs and fitness experts clientele are just icing on the cake!
Kim K calls the "Chinese Chicken Salad with a mango green-tini to drink" her order of choice. According to the menu, that salad comes with "shredded chicken breast, chow mein noodles, pickled ginger, and carrots with our sesame dressing." BRB, sitting over here drooling.
Fitness inspiration icon of our dreams Khloe is partial to the Chinese Chicken Salad as well, according to her sister Kim, but she substitutes organic chicken and adds avocado to her order. The mango green-tini is her drink of choice, too —I don't know what it is, but it sounds delicious.
Eldest Kardashian and mama of three, Kourtney loves the Chef Salad, customizing it with no cheese, no tomatoes, and no sprouts — so that leaves sliced turkey breast and sunflower seeds on a bed of lettuce, with added avocado. Sparse, but still yummy. She washes it down with an unsweetened green tea. As someone who cannot possibly live without cheese or sugar, I seriously admire her healthy resolve.
The two youngest Jenners both like the Deluxe Salad, which comes with shredded mozzarella, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, sunflower seeds. Kylie is partial to the Deluxe with shredded chicken, no tomatoes and no cheese. The Jenner sibs both love the mango green-tini drink too. Apparently, it's an irresistible nectar to the Kardash/Jenner clan.


A few talented students are about to win a summer Apprenticeship at this year's Ubisoft Toronto NXT Showcase, but winning is just the beginning.
The Ubisoft Toronto NXT Showcase is an annual competition designed to showcase the talents of video game development students in Ontario. It's an exciting event that sees winners awarded with summer Apprenticeships at Ubisoft Toronto, a rare opportunity to kick-start their careers in the industry.
Of course, jumping into the world of a AAA studio right out of school can be daunting—we get that! But fret not: It's the challenge of the Apprenticeship that makes it valuable, and why we hope the advice of past winners can be helpful for this year's finalists.
A big thanks to Lilian and Cody for their insights into the Ubisoft Toronto Apprenticeships—and good luck to this year's finalists! For students looking to apply in the future, check back soon for more information on how you can apply to the Ubisoft Toronto NXT Showcase in 2018.


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The News Roundup – Domestic
Georgia Democratic Senate candidate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) speaks during an election night watch party at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia.
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock won reelection to Congress this week, defeating Republican rival and former football star Herschel Walker in a run-off. Loss of the key Senate seat has some in the GOP renewing their calls to separate the party from former President Donald Trump.
Russia released WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap for arms dealer Victor Bout. Griner was serving a sentence in a penal colony for taking hashish cartridges through a Russian airport in February.
The House passed legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage this week. The bill now moves to President Joe Biden's desk. It doesn't legalize same-sex marriage in all states, but does require a state to recognize a marriage from another state.
We cover all this and more on the domestic hour of the News Roundup.
Copyright 2022 WAMU 88.5


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29 Apr, 2020 08:38
Wanting the UK lockdown to end does not make you a nasty right-wing capitalist
is a journalist, writer, broadcaster and blogger. His award winning blog can be found at www.neilclark66.blogspot.com. He tweets on politics and world affairs @NeilClark66
Local response to Coronavirus is felt on a street by street level as signs in small shops and businesses announce that they are closed for business until restrictions are lifted on 6th April 2020 in Birmingham, England, United Kingdom. © Getty Images/Mike Kemp/In PIctures
Easing the UK's Covid-19 lockdown is being presented as a case of greedy capitalists who want workers to go back to making profits at great risk to themselves. In fact the wealthiest will do best of all from a prolonged shutdown.
It's 'the capitalists' versus 'the people'. Or at least that's how some opponents of an easing or lifting of the UK Covid-19 lockdown are portraying it. If you want the shutdown to come to an end and life to return to 'normal' before a vaccine is found (which could be 2021 or even later), then you're a heartless so-and-so who is willing to sacrifice the lives of potentially hundreds of thousands of workers just to get the economy going again.
Where does one begin deconstructing this extremely flawed analysis? For a start, it treats a lockdown as a zero sum game. On the one side we have a lockdown, which saves people's lives, and on the other we have an end to the lockdown which will kill large numbers of people.
Also on rt.com Eastern Europe beats West in Covid-19 fight, but West can't acknowledge it because of Cold War SUPERIORITY complex
But lockdowns kill too. Isolation is deadly, particularly for the elderly. And what about people who are not getting the proper tests or treatment for serious non-Covid-19 diseases? Death rates rose sharply in early April – and over 2,000 of them were not directly attributed to Covid-19.
The eminent oncologist Professor Karol Sikora says that normally in April around 30,000 people would be diagnosed with cancer and put on the treatment path. This year, he said he'd be surprised if it was more than 5,000. The government's oft-repeated 'Protect the NHS' mantra has led to hospitals being half empty.
In a usual April, we would normally see around 30,000 people diagnosed with cancer. I would be surprised if that number reaches 5,000 this month.We are sleepwalking into a massive crisis and cancer patients will die unnecessarily if we don't act now.https://t.co/mcy4Da1RrN
— Professor Karol Sikora (@ProfKarolSikora) April 22, 2020
Another reason why the 'capitalists versus the people' lockdown analysis is flawed is because 'capitalists' are not a homogenous group. Now, if you own a motor garage, a photographic agency, or a hairdresser's salon then you will be very keen to get back to normal. I spoke to a garage owner last week who told me he'd lost a great amount of work due to cancelled MOT car tests. I know of other small business owners who are really worried about the situation.
But there are other capitalists – the much bigger fish in the sea – for whom a prolonged lockdown is great news.
The power of the banks and finance capital will be even stronger. Many more businesses and individuals will be indebted to them. Last week the Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey warned against lifting the lockdown too early. Some on the left seem to have missed that.
Also on rt.com Here come the Twitter police: British officers publicly shame 'Covidiots' and ENCOURAGE pile-ons, but is it a fair cop?
Let's imagine if the UK lockdown in some shape or form does continue for the rest of the year.
Thousands of small, medium-size and even large companies will go bankrupt. Vulture capitalists will then go on a spending spree, buying up once very valuable assets for next to nothing. Talk about 'Sale of the Century'.
I've also seen it claimed, in relation to easing the lockdown, that the economy is not worth a single life. But the economy sustains life. It's what pays for our hospitals, our roads, our pensions, our jobs. It's what puts bread on the kitchen table. Now we can argue and debate what kind of economy we want: a planned communist one, a mixed economy, combining private and public ownership, or a more 'free market' capitalist one, but the idea we can survive without any type of economy is absurd. Where is the money to keep us at home month after month going to come from?
Estimated to be costing the nation £2.4 billion a day, the longer the lockdown continues, the higher the final bill will be. Make no mistake, the burden of paying this bill won't be placed on the mainly off-shore-based high-ups but on ordinary people. In addition to increased taxes, a new wave of austerity will be unleashed which will be far more severe than anything imposed in the Cameron-Osborne years – and that was tough enough.
Also on rt.com The UK's Covid-19 response is being led by a secretive, incompetent cabal. No wonder our policies have been such a shambles
And the swingeing cuts, which are likely to see local services such as public libraries threatened with closure, will be sold to people as the price to pay for 'protecting the NHS'.
Instead of supporting a prolonged domestic lockdown the left should be noting who benefits most financially from the shutdown and support its easing. There may well be a 'second wave' or a spike in Covid-19 cases in the autumn, which needs to be guarded against but there's solid scientific grounds for thinking that the virus will run its course and infections and deaths (already falling) will decline steeply as the spring/summer progresses and people's immune systems are boosted by being out and about in the sunshine and getting lots of Vitamin D. Closing ports of entry for at least three months (or enforcing strict mandatory quarantine measures) to ensure no new Covid-19 cases are imported into the country would also help the situation.
Of course there are risks involved in lifting the lockdown, but nowhere near as many as continuing with one for several months to come. People, please wake up!
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The British Small Business Awards aim to celebrate and bring attention to the UK's small business sector. The purpose of this awards scheme is to give recognition to outstanding sole traders, micro businesses and small companies in the United Kingdom. There are a number of award categories available.
Nominations must be submitted by 26 May 2018.
Award ceremony takes place on 1 November 2018 in central London.