text:
Case Reports in Radiology
Case Reports in Radiology / 2012 / Article
AbstractCase ReportDiscussionReferencesCopyright
E. B. Gómez García, M. B. I. Lobbes, K. van de Vijver, K. Keymeulen, F. van der Ent, H. G. Yntema, V. C. Tjan-Heijnen, C. Boetes, "Occult Breast Cancer due to Multiple Calcified Hamartomas in a Patient with Cowden Syndrome", Case Reports in Radiology, vol. 2012, Article ID 638725, 4 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/638725
Occult Breast Cancer due to Multiple Calcified Hamartomas in a Patient with Cowden Syndrome
E. B. Gómez García,1 M. B. I. Lobbes,2 K. van de Vijver,3 K. Keymeulen,4 F. van der Ent,5 H. G. Yntema,6 V. C. Tjan-Heijnen,7 and C. Boetes2
1Department of Clinical Genetics, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
2Department of Radiology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
3Department of Pathology, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
4Department of Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
5Department of Surgery, Orbis Medical Center Sittard-Geleen, P.O. Box 5500, 6130 MB Sittard, The Netherlands
6Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands
7Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, GROW School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, P.O. Box 5800, 6202 AZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
Academic Editor: A. Matsuno
Received30 Mar 2012
Published17 Jul 2012
Cowden syndrome (CS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by presence of multiple hamartomas, and other benign and malignant abnormalities of the breasts, skin, thyroid, endometrium, gastrointestinal tract, and central nervous system. Hamartomas are benign, developmentally disorganized tumors that can develop in any of the above mentioned organs. The presence of massive calcifications in the breasts in very young women is an indication to perform a breast MRI to exclude a neoplasm since, like in the current case report, presence of breast calcifications may obscure a neoplasm. Although fibrocystic disease and cooccurrence of fibrocystic disease and breast cancer are much more common than CS, the presence of massive calcifications in the breasts of very young women should elicit the possibility of an underlying genetic disease. Furthermore, breast cancer and macrocephaly are considered major criteria for the diagnosis of CS and the combination of both is enough to establish the clinical diagnosis of this entity. Fibrocystic disease of the breasts and multinodular goiter are minor criteria. Family history is also important for the diagnosis of (any) hereditary disease.
This work was dedicated to Professor Dr. Carla Boetes (1949–2011).
1. Case Report
A 26-year-old woman was diagnosed with breast cancer from biopsy of an axillary lymph node. An ultrasound (Figure 1) followed by an MRI of the breasts (Figures 2 and 3) were subsequently performed.
Ultrasound shows multiple, ill-defined hypoechoic areas with acoustic shadowing, indicating multiple coarse calcifications within the right breast (arrows).
Transverse T2-weighted images show multiple coarse calcifications in both breasts ((a) small arrows) and a large, lobulated mass in the lower lateral quadrant of the right breast ((b) white arrow).
Contrast-enhanced (subtraction) MR images (a) and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted MR images (b) show a large, lobulated heterogeneously enhancing mass with irregular borders in the lower lateral quadrant of the right breast (arrows).
The patient underwent annual breast ultrasound because of a family history of breast cancer. In addition, she had a history of multinodular goiter. By physical examination, it was also apparent that she had a relatively large head in relation to her length (length 170 cm and head circumference 61 cm, i.e., above 97th percentile). According to the patient, macrocephaly is a common feature in her family. Family history also revealed that the patient's mother had breast cancer at the age of 45. The patient's identical twin is known to have breast fibrocystic disease (Figure 4).
Patient's sister mammography (mediolateral oblique direction shown) showed massive calcifications in multiple, well-defined masses, some of them with adipose tissue, diagnostic of hamartomas.
In Figure 1, the ultrasound shows multiple, ill-defined hypoechoic areas with acoustic shadowing, indicating multiple coarse calcifications within the right breast. In Figure 2, transverse T2-weighted magnetic resonance images show multiple coarse calcifications in both breasts and a large, lobulated mass in the lower lateral quadrant of the right breast. Contrast-enhanced subtraction MR images (Figure 3(a)) and T1-weighted images (Figure 3(b)) show a large, macrolobulated enhancing mass with irregular margins in the lower lateral quadrant of the right breast. Finally, her sister's mammography (mediolateral oblique direction shown) showed massive calcifications in multiple, well-defined masses, some of them with adipose tissue, diagnostic of hamartomas.
Biopsy results showed that the patient had a locally advanced, invasive, well-differentiated ductal carcinoma in the right breast which was obscured on annual ultrasound due to massive calcifications by hamartomas.
The radiological images, together with the thyroid pathology and macrocephaly, suggested Cowden syndrome (CS) as most likely underlying cause, which was later confirmed by identification of a germline splice-site mutation: c.634 + 2T > C in intron 6 of the PTEN gene. The mutation was inherited from the patient's mother.
The patient was treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with a partial response, followed by a modified radical mastectomy and preventive contralateral mastectomy, and by locoregional radiotherapy (because of 5 positive axillary lymph nodes) plus adjuvant endocrine therapy.
The presence of massive calcifications in the breasts in a very young woman is a plausible indication to perform an breast MRI to exclude a neoplasm since, like it was the case in our patient, the presence of breast calcifications may obscure a neoplasm. Although fibrocystic disease and co-occurrence of fibrocystic disease and breast cancer are much more common than CS (which has an estimated prevalence between 1/200,000 and 1/250,000 in the Dutch population [1]), the presence of massive calcifications in the breasts of very young women should elicit the possibility of an underlying genetic disease. Furthermore, breast cancer and macrocephaly are considered major criteria for the diagnosis of CS and the combination of both is enough to establish the clinical diagnosis of this entity [2]. Fibrocystic disease of the breasts and multinodular goiter are minor criteria [2]. Family history is also important for the diagnosis of (any) hereditary disease.
Cowden syndrome, OMIM# 158350 [3], first described in 1963 by Lloyd and Dennis in a patient called Rachel Cowden [4], is also known as multiple hamartoma syndrome. It is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by presence of multiple hamartomas, and other benign and malignant abnormalities of the breasts, skin, thyroid, endometrium, gastro intestinal tract, and central nervous system. Hamartomas are benign, developmentally disorganized tumors that can develop in any of the above mentioned organs [5, 6].
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has established diagnostic criteria for CS, based on combinations of features classified as pathognomonic, major, and minor [2]. There are two pathognomonic criteria: a cerebellar tumor known as dysplastic gangliocytoma that causes a range of symptoms derived from compression, known as Lhermitte-Duclos disease, and the following mucocutaneous lesions: facial trichilemmomas, acral keratoses, and papillomatous nodules. Major criteria are: breast carcinoma, nonmedullary thyroid carcinoma, macrocephaly, and endometrial carcinoma. Minor criteria are: other thyroid lesions, mental retardation, gastrointestinal hamartomas, fibrocystic disease of the breast, lipomas, fibromas, tumors or structural malformations in the genitourinary tract and uterine fibroids.
Operational diagnosis of CS in an individual is done when the patient has any of the following: (1) presence of any pathognomonic lesion (by mucocutaneous lesions a certain number and/of combinations of these lesions are required); (2) two or more major criteria (but one has to be macrocephaly); (3) one major and three minor criteria, or (4) four minor criteria [2].
A mutation in PTEN (PTEN = phosphatase and tensin homologue), a tumor suppressor gene, is found in more than 80% of patients who fulfill these criteria [5]. So far, no genotype/phenotype correlations have been found among the patients with CS [1, 5].
In addition to CS, germline PTEN mutations have been associated with the following syndromes, globally known as PTEN hamartoma tumor syndromes (PHTS): Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome (BRRS), Proteus, Proteus-like syndrome, adult Lhermite Duclos disease, and autism-like disorders associated with macrocephaly [6]. Of those entities, CS and BRRS (OMIM# 153480) [2] have the highest degree of clinical overlap, such as fibrocystic disease, macrocephaly, thyroid disease, lipomas, intestinal hamartomatous polyps, and mental retardation. BRRS is nowadays considered a variant of CS rather than a separate entity.
Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy of CS. It occurs in 30–50% of patients, with an average age of diagnosis between 38 and 46 years, with the youngest reported case at age 14. Risk of bilateral breast cancer is estimated to be 25% [5, 6]. Like in the general population, ductal carcinoma is the most frequent histological type. However, the finding of hyalinized collagen surrounding the tumor is specific for CS [5]. Breast hamartomas are benign lesions and are often radiologically and morphologically indistinguishable from fibroadenomas. They are seen in areas of the breast with a combination of fat, fibrous, and muscular tissues, but, can also appear as ill-defined calcified masses suspicious of a malignancy [7]. Although hamartomas and carcinoma can colocalize, as it was the case in our patient, it is not clear whether the carcinoma arises from a hamartoma.
Although breast MRI examinations, only represent a small percentage of the MRI examinations performed, its use is growing rapidly. MRI is more sensitive than mammography in detecting tumors in women with an inherited predisposition due to mutation in BRCA1, BRCA2, PTEN or TP53 genes [8]. However, MRI does not substitute mammography, that is, mammography is better to detect ductal carcinoma in situ and some small cancers. In 2007, the American Cancer Society published recommendations for breast MRI screening [9]. CS is one of the entities where there is enough evidence to recommend performing annual breast MRI in combination with mammography. Specific recommendations for women with CS include: semiannual physical breast examination, starting at age 25, annual mammography, and breast MRI beginning at age 30–35 or 5–10 years before the earliest diagnosis, as well as self-examination starting at age 18. Recommendations in The Netherlands [10] differ from those above in that women with CS are advised to undergo an annual MRI from age 25 and the annual mammogram is added from age 30. Prophylactic mastectomy is also an option for patients with CS and should be considered on a case-by-case basis. Both men and women are advised annual clinical examination of the thyroid gland, starting at age 18.
In conclusion, when massive breast calcifications in mammograms of young women are observed, the diagnosis of CS has to be considered. A breast MRI is indicated in those cases to exclude a neoplasm.
M. R. Nelen, H. Kremer, I. B. M. Konings et al., "Novel PTEN mutations in patients with Cowden disease: absence of clear genotype-phenotype correlations," European Journal of Human Genetics, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 267–273, 1999. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
The NCCN 1.2009 Cowden syndrome clinical practical guidelines in oncology. National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2009, http://www.nccn.org/index.asp.
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/.
K. M. Lloyd and M. Dennis, "Cowden's disease. A possible new symptom complex with multiple system involvement," Annals of Internal Medicine, vol. 58, pp. 136–142, 1963. View at: Google Scholar
A. Farooq, L. J. Walker, J. Bowling, and R. A. Audisio, "Cowden syndrome," Cancer Treatment Reviews, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 577–583, 2010. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
R. Pilarski, "Cowden syndrome: a critical review of the clinical literature," Journal of Genetic Counseling, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 13–27, 2009. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
J. M. Sabaté, A. Gómez, S. Torrubia et al., "Evaluation of breast involvement in relation to Cowden syndrome: a radiological and clinicopathological study of patients with PTEN germ-line mutations," European Radiology, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 702–706, 2006. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
M. Kriege, C. T. M. Brekelmans, C. Boetes et al., "Efficacy of MRI and mammography for breast-cancer screening in women with a familial or genetic predisposition," New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 351, no. 5, pp. 427–519, 2004. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
D. Saslow, C. Boetes, W. Burke et al., "American Cancer Society guidelines for breast screening with MRI as an adjunct to mammography," CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 75–89, 2007. View at: Publisher Site | Google Scholar
Hereditary tumors, "Guidelines for diagnosis and prevention," Foundation for the detection of hereditary tumors and Clinical Genetics Dutch Association, 2010. View at: Google Scholar
Copyright © 2012 E. B. Gómez García et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


You'll be £10.00 closer to your next £10.00 credit when you purchase Marshal Ney At Quatre Bras. What's this?
Fought on 16 June 1815, two days before the Battle of Waterloo, the Battle of Quatre Bras has been described as a tactical Anglo-allied victory, but a French strategic victory. The French Marshal Ney was given command of the left wing of Napoleon's army and ordered to seize the vital crossroads at Quatre Bras, as the prelude to an advance on Brussels. The crossroads was of strategic importance because the side which controlled it could move south-eastward along the Nivelles-Namur road.
Yet the normally bold and dynamic Ney was uncharacteristically cautious. As a result, by the time he mounted a full-scale attack upon the Allied troops holding Quatre Bras, the Duke of Wellington had been able to concentrate enough strength to hold the crossroads.
Ney's failure at Quatre Bras had disastrous consequences for Napoleon, whose divided army was not able to reunite in time to face Wellington at Waterloo. This revelatory study of the Waterloo campaign draws primarily on French archival sources, and previously unpublished French accounts, to present a balanced view of a battle normally seen only from the British or Anglo-Allied perspective.
Paul Dawson is a well-known Napoleonic specialist who has produced a number of essential books on the cavalry of the period. In this book he looks at the performance of Marshal Ney not only at Quatre Bras but also during the French pursuit on 17th June and at the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June.
The book shows the battle of Quatre Bras in all of its details and changes of fortune from French to Allied throughout the battle. The charge of Kellermann's Cuirassiers is explained by the author to be not as suicidal as is sometimes written about. The book comes with a one page colored map of the battle, and seven pages of colored photos of the different places on the battlefield today.
This interesting study of the campaign draws primarily on French archival sources and previously unpublished French accounts to present a balanced view of a battle normally seen only from the British or Anglo-Allied perspective.
Do we need another book about Waterloo? If they are like this we most certainly do. This book is different because of the primary source material researched to create it. The usual story is not trotted out without a fresh critical analysis. Within the book one chapter stands above all others for me and that is chapter 8. The movements of 1st Corps is a tale of mismanagement and confusion and has been a source of conjecture for all who study Quatre Bras. Paul Dawson makes, as clear as possible, the events of the day carefully weighing the evidence for the ultimate actions of the key players. He makes the confusion clear while bewailing the fact that verbal exchanges which could have played an important part on the day are lost to history. This is a book for the Waterloo 'aficionado' written in a way which is easily accessible to the general reader. I highly recommend this book and at the time of writing look forward to, the soon to be published, Paul Dawson's 'Waterloo. The Truth at Last'.
Paul L. Dawson BSc Hons MA MIFA FINS, is a historian and author, specialising in the French Army of the Napoleonic War. In addition, as a noted equestrian, this allows him to have a greater understanding of what was and what was not possible for cavalry and other troops which utilised horses. Working as a historical tailor producing museum-quality replica clothing gives him a unique insight into construction techniques of the period, as well the knowledge and ability to decipher documents from the period.


Our second delivery of Velvet has arrived and is selling quickly as always!
The versatility of these pieces to dress up or down is what we all love!
blues of the California sky and a borrowed from the boys vibe.


text:
Glee First Look: Meet Rachel's Two Dads!
By Kate Stanhope | @katestanhope | Jan 19, 2012 6:41 PM EST
Glee, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Lea Michele and Jeff Goldblum
Now doesn't this look like one big Berry happy family?
Two days after it was revealed that Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell will play Rachel's dads on Glee, the two reported to set Thursday and took part in a family portrait with star Lea Michele.
"This is definitely going to be the best day ever," she tweeted Thursday. "Getting ready to shoot my first scene with my two dads!"
Glee reveals Rachel's two dads
Hiram and LeRoy Berry (which one is the father? The world will never know!) were first seen in a picture in the pilot, but both parts were recast this season. Michele tweeted that she and Tony winner Mitchell, best known to TV fans for playing Hilary Banks' fiancé on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, have been friends for "ages" after working on Broadway together. Goldblum is best known for films like Jurassic Park and Independence Day, as well as his tenure on Law & Order: Criminal Intent.
Viewers got to meet Rachel's biological mom, Shelby (Idina Menzel) back in Season 1 when she coached New Directions' rival, Vocal Adrenaline. Shelby returned as a teacher at McKinley earlier this season.
Are you excited to meet Rachel's dads on Feb. 14?
Tags: Breaking News, Fox, Winter TV, Celebs
Premiered: Sep 10, 1990 Watchlist
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Premiered: Oct 4, 2007 Watchlist
Premiered: 1993 Watchlist
Lea Michele Is Getting Into the Holiday Movie GameShe's releasing a Christmas album, too
Friends Is Officially Leaving Netflix for HBO MaxHBO Max, p.s., is the new name for WarnerMedia's streaming platform!
How to Stream All the Movies and Shows Referenced in Stranger Things 3There were a lot of classic cinema references to be seen on-screen
All of Stranger Things 3's Pop Culture ReferencesFrom the Karate Kid to Phoebe Cates, here are all the references you might've missed
Netflix Is Making an Animated Jurassic World Series, and We Need Cartoon Jeff GoldblumAre you ready to go back to Isla Nublar again?
39 Amazing '90s Movies You Should Stream Right NowFrom Goodfellas to She's All That
Photo Credits: Twitter.com; Netflix; Rob Rodriguez; Monty Brinton/CBS; UPDATE; Michael Tran/Getty Images; NBCU Photobank; Warner Brothers/Getty Images

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


ended up downloading Reader 11 and installing that but, couldn't print. . Click an invoice to print. Logged on as admin, and NO errors, printed fine. Updated Adobe Reader to version.0.12 (w default settings) - Rebooted! Make sure the drop-down has, paper Handling selected and that, scale to fit paper size is unchecked. It looks like this doesn't apply on Outlook 2016 for Business Did this solve your problem? Note: To try these additional steps, contact your printer manufacturer or Apple support for assistance. So it is better to switch to open paint on mobile home wall paper source application - I had the error "application could not start 0xc0000022" when opening and while using Adobe Reader DC on Windows. . Outlook, open the folder located in this directory and delete all temporary attachment files. Printers affected are Brother and Xerox. 0 Pimiento OP Hi everyone. For MS Word 2013, choose Page Setup under the Settings in Word print dialog box.
Asus running Windows 8, windows, are you facing this issue with all the pdfs. Iapos, adobe, show Details to adjust print settings. The Fuji is not listed in the available printers and hence cannot be selected. Choose, when you try to print a word document into a PDF file with the Foxit Reader PDF printer. You now know how to troubleshoot printing errors in Safari 07 w default abstract settings on minn Win7Pro64 1st popup says.
Using Windows 10, when I receive.PDF file attached to an email or downloaded from a site, I have problems with printing options.
Ravi 0 Serrano OP I would disagree with it being a" Try printing to Microsoft XPS or OneNote 2010 and check if you are able to print. Under Orientation, s not some oddball size, t helping you with the error messages you cited. Even if I save to hard divided paper template drive and try. Are you able to narrow down the issue to the specific printers or specific users in an area. I was too focused on the problem Iapos.
Another resolution could be that the your PDF paper size is not set to a standard size and the document doesn't print for you should uncheck the.It occurs with at least two printers and multiple users, other program can print fine, its just PDF's.


Founded in 1982 by Barry and Hilary Woolston, The Kitchen Shop is a specialist cookware and tableware shop located in the beautiful Cathedral city of Lichfield. This well established shop trades within a three storey Georgian building with a vast selection of cookware on the ground floor and tableware and gifts on the first floor. The founder's daughters, Vicky and Lizzy run the shop with their friendly and helpful team who are always ready to give expert advice.
"With over 35 years experience, we pride ourselves on our extensive selection of products and our excellent customer service. We love our shop today as much as we did when we first opened our doors all those years ago!"
Alan Silverwood Ltd Victoria Surprise Cake Pan Set - 8"
Alan Silverwood Ltd Multi Cake Pan - 12"


Well, it has been a crazzyy week!
Two days ago it began to snow late at night, and I just thought "oh it will melt by the morning". I woke up and opened the blinds and all I saw was white! Later in the day, it started to hail ALOT! It is currently about 29 degrees right now......yes I know, I am dreading it. At least the view is nice.


Just posted on My London Diary are my pictures from last Thursday's ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) Day of Action.
It was a very fine day for the time of year, but started really slowly, and for some time I wondered if my journey into London had been worth it. But things soon livened up, particularly with one very vocal group of students, mainly fairly young women, arrived and began to shout the slogans that had been provided as one of several educational resources on the web site for the day of action.
At least one of the other photographers had left before they arrived, and certainly missed the rally where many of the students spoke about how essential the ESOL classes were for them, where I very much enjoyed photographing both speakers and audience.
The event seemed as if it was over by then, as although they were going to take a letter to Downing St, the police had advised that they go there in small groups rather than march as a body. So I'd actually left and gone to photograph another event taking place opposite Downing St when I saw the bulk of the ESOL students coming down the road and rushed across to take more pictures, including the one at the top of this piece.
There was a very dense crush outside the gates to Downing St, making it rather difficult to move – hard to get far enough away to photograph these outstretched arms, even with the 16mm on the D700.
It's in really crowded situations like this that I like to use the 10.5mm fisheye with the D300 (perhaps one day I'll get the 15mm which does a similar job on the D700.) I took a number of pictures, but I think the one at the top of this piece is the best. Fortunately I've managed to get Lightroom to stop automatically correcting the fisheye effect while still correcting for the vignetting and chromatic aberration (of which there is plenty.) The example here benefits from the way the fisheye curves in the placard at left and particularly the tree at right, although for some images a small amount of distortion correction or an appropriate filter does help. All of those that are in ESOL Day of Action on My London Diary are uncorrected.
I hope the government can be persuaded to see sense over ESOL and realise the real value these courses provide, both to the individuals who take them and also to the country that benefits from the contribution that they enable these people to make. But unfortunately they seem bent on appeasing the racists and taking a very negative line on anything concerned with asylum seekers and refugees in particular and immigrants in general.
This entry was posted on Monday, March 28th, 2011 at 08:11 pm and is filed under My Own Work, Political Issues.	You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
with video that clearly shows how the police lied to the demonstrators. It seems unlikely that the police will be able to press charges against the 138 who were arrested in the light of this evidence – and they may well be able to claim against the police for wrongful arrest.


text:
A Writer damns a big dam
Story by CHRISTOPHER KREMMER, for Spectrum
SHE has gifted her Booker Prize winnings to the anti-dam movement, organised an 800-kilometre protest procession, and written a polemic that has India's highest court considering contempt proceedings against her. For Arundhati Roy, it's been the Year of Big Things.
The trouble started with a simple piece of arithmetic. Reclining on a sofa in her airy New Delhi residence one day earlier this year, the 39-year-old author of The God of Small Things came up with an astonishing figure.
India is the world's third- largest dam builder. Taking a conservative estimate of 10,000 people per dam, Roy calculated that 33 million people, most of them tribals and Untouchables, had been displaced since independence, more than the number killed in the holocaust of Partition.
A thousand kilometres away in the western State of Gujarat, work was proceeding on the latest monolith, the Sardar Sarovar dam, a concrete wall more than a kilometre across on the Narmada River. After a four-year stay on construction, India's Supreme Court had authorised an increase in the height of the dam wall to 88 metres and the concrete was flowing.
Another 2,500 families from about 50 villages would be driven off some of the richest agricultural land in the country, probably during the next monsoon, and forced into sweltering corrugated iron sheds in ghettos euphemistically called resettlement camps.
But the Indian establishment of politicians, bureaucrats, engineers and judges was about to confront what the author calls "a touch of magic".
"Last August, Arundhati called me in an excited state after seeing a film I had made about the Narmada," recalls documentary maker Jharana Jhaveri, whose film How Do I Survive, My Friend is a clarion call against big dams. "She was sort of incoherent. All I could make out was that she loved the film. I knew then that the river had found its writer."
Soon, the architecture student-turned-novelist was devouring everything she could get her hands on about the gigantic Narmada Valley development project, which envisages some 30 large dams on India's largest westward-flowing river to provide electric
power and water for irrigation. In late March she arrived on the banks of the Narmada to do field research, and in May donated her $60,000 Booker Prize to the main anti-dam group, the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), and published The Greater Common Good, a blistering 62-page exposé of the failure of large-scale irrigation projects, and denunciation of the ethical vacuum that she believes lies at the heart of Indian democracy.
Copies of her book were burnt in the rabidly pro-dam cities of Gujarat. Critics chided that the author was living in an ivory tower - with air-conditioning, care of Big Dams - and idealising the harsh life in the villages.
"That is what Arundhati Roy ordains for 80 million tribal Indians - the joy of grubbing for roots, deprived, impoverished," wrote the policy analyst B. G. Verghese in Outlook magazine.
Roy reacted bitterly.
"He doesn't just want to destroy a civilisation. He wants to spit in its face while he's at it," she said. "It's not social engineering that Mr Verghese is after. It's garbage disposal."
In late July, the author led 500 supporters in a convoy into the valley, an experience she described later as "the most extraordinary, exhilarating, magical, exhausting, enraging, one week of my life". Back home in New Delhi, the woman in the eye of the storm reflects on what she expects will be a long battle.
"We'll beat them eventually," she says. "The Government won't be able to continue building dams like this. People have lost faith in the system. That's the biggest thing which has happened."
WIND waves pound the hull of a motorised dinghy heading upstream to Domkhedi, a clutch of thatched huts nestling in the cornfields on the riverbank, each hut flying the blue flag of the NBA. It's an unlikely battleground, this broad, sacred river rolling confidently towards the Arabian Sea between the Satpura and Vindhya mountains, but the thickly wooded peaks have for 15 years witnessed a Gandhian struggle to save the river valley and its mainly tribal society of some 25 million people.
Domkhedi would no longer exist had a poor monsoon not upset the schedule for submergence. It survives as a base camp for the non-violent resistance war, which this year claimed its first victim. A seven-year-old girl, Lata Vasave, died after becoming stuck in silt beds up to three metres deep, which have formed along the riverbank since construction on the dam began. Nobody heard her cries as she sank in the cloying mud. Life is becoming increasingly difficult and dangerous for those who refuse to shift.
Hindus believe that to bathe in the Ganges washes away their sins. But merely to look at the Narmada has the same result. Among those greeting the volunteers at Domkhedi with cries of "Long live the Narmada!" is a slender 28-year-old woman dressed in orange robes. Komal is halfway through a 2,600-kilometre barefoot pilgrimage along both banks of the river.
"You never feel alone by the river," she says. "Its moods vary like a person's, and like a person, they are murdering it."
Endangered crocodile species and medieval temples are slated for submergence. The rights of the fishermen and ferrymen who work the river were recognised by the Mogul and British empires, but not by independent India.
"Villages have been drowned without the inhabitants even being informed, let alone being offered or provided with any alternatives," says Joe Athialy, a postgraduate from Kerala who has worked full-time for the NBA since 1994.
In June, villagers in Jalsindhi were surprised by the visit of the postman, who usually sits 20 kilometres away waiting to meet travellers to the village, rather than making the arduous journey along a forest path himself. The postman was carrying disturbing news in the form of a government notice addressed to Gulabia Shankar, 40, a farmer whose land fronts the Narmada.
"You are warned that your home might be submerged. If there are any homes below this level, we request you to inform them," the note read in Hindi. Gulabia, like 80 per cent of his neighbours, is illiterate, so a friend read the letter. The authorities are legally bound to give a year's notice of submergence. Gulabia was given a few weeks.
The flood tide has submerged half his land, cutting his ability to feed his wife and eight children. In his spacious home, flour is produced using a grinding stone set on a teak base, a device nowadays more often found as an antique in middle-class homes. Closer to the river, his sons play flutes fashioned from bamboo, and his body-jewelled daughters wash their hair in buttermilk.
A typically handsome Bhil tribesman sporting a tattooed forehead and wispy beard, Gulabia is lean and cheerful, except when the conversation turns to Narmada. He has no plans to leave, despite the fact that a landless future could be as close as the next heavy rains.
"There is no point thinking about leaving, because what the Government is offering is simply not practical," he says, reflecting the stubborn defiance of the whole village. THEY are the sunken face of India's fetid urban sprawl, straining at rickshaw pedals, or sleeping under flyovers, millions of dispensable people, like victims of some terrible war. In their Maruti cars, the middle classes turn away. Few ask where the losers come from. Even fewer would believe they are children of paradise, fallen from grace. Dislodged from self-sustaining rural communities with an abundance of land, they become landless day labour for hungry new industries.
"It is true that a lot of tribals are displaced in India in the process of development," says Dr Yogender Kumar Alagh, one of the fathers of the Narmada project, who was born in what is now Pakistan and uprooted by Partition. "Many tribals displaced by infrastructure projects end up spending their compensation money, or being tricked out of it by charlatans."
One sixth of India's industrial workforce are urbanised tribals, but the Government has not approved a national rehabilitation policy. In the Narmada Valley, 40,000 families are paying the price of that development. That's the official estimate of the number of families losing their home and land beneath a 400-square-kilometre reservoir. Another 200,000 people who've already lost land for the 450-kilometre main canal, which plunges across the countryside like an enormous concrete tongue, get no resettlement assistance from the Government. The canal is empty, built before the dam reached the height required to supply it. It serves as an occasional highway for bicycle riders, an arena for cricket matches played by barefoot children using rocks for wickets, and a monument to mismanagement.
Bhaji Bhai, an old man with few remaining teeth in his head and a sickle in his hand, can still see the farm in Undawa where he grew up, but only in his mind's eye. In the early 1980s, he was evicted from all but two hectares of his land. A farm that had supported a 25-member extended family was excavated and concreted over. Now his brothers work as day labourers on construction sites in teeming cities such as Surat, earning less than $2 a day and seeing their families once a fortnight.
"This project only benefits the people who are already rich," he says, vigorously waving his sickle.
Forced to buy land from the private market for resettlement camps, the Government acquired widely scattered fragments of often infertile land which farmers were glad to be rid of. Instead of being resettled as village groups, those who opted to accept relocation by the Gujarat Government have been scattered to 175 camps, shattering families and communities. At Maheshwarpuram camp in May, seven people died of malnutrition.
As dusk falls over Vasana resettlement camp, the tin sheds are bathed in the surreal light cast by fluorescent tubes, and a mordant whine drifts across from a playground swing towards the home of oustee Govindbhai Geeriya's family. Several hectares of land infested with deep-rooted "daab" grass provides bare subsistence for the family, but their cattle have nowhere to graze and humans and animals share water from a single hand pump.
Swings and roundabouts, as well as power and water, have come to dominate the Narmada debate. In The Greater Common Good, the Supreme Court's insistence that children's playgrounds be installed in every resettlement camp prompts the author to respond: "I stood on a hill and laughed out loud."
The Gujarat Government petitioned the court, asking why Roy should not be sued for contempt, a question the judges are pondering in their own time.
"Let them jail me if they want," says the author, unable entirely to cover her concern. "But get it over with and move on. I am not the issue. The river is."
When they are done with the playground remark, India's judges might consider the contempt of court perpetrated by three State governments, which in February lied to the court by declaring that everyone affected by the Sardar Sarovar project had successfully been resettled. Evidence to the contrary is not at all difficult to find. Officials in Nandurbar district of Madhya Pradesh State have already admitted there is no arable land available for resettlement.
Oustees have returned to Mokhdi, the very first village to be affected by the Sardar Sarovar in the early 1980s, simply because life in the camps was unlivable.
"Even grass wouldn't grow there," recalls Randbhai Ramabhai, who spent four months in the Ambawady camp in the early '90s.
He has abandoned the land allotted to him and gone home, even though most homes in Mokhdi are under water and the rest are threatened with submergence. Frustrated by the backwash, local authorities have poured concrete into village wells, closed schools and removed temples in a bid to force people to leave again.
But at Pansoli camp, 40 kilometres from Vadodara, Randbhai Ramabhai and his family are stuck. Their lands and home in Mokhdi are completely under water. Considered savages by the local Hindus, the relocated tribals are vulnerable to harassment by local goons and police, especially as they have yet to receive titles to their new land eight years after they were resettled. People tell of several different families being given the same land, and left to fight over it.
At Kevadia Colony, farmers displaced to make way for the homes of project officials now work as servants, cleaning toilets of their new overlords. And they call it development. UNDER threatening skies, the road to the partially completed Sardar Sarovar dam passed signs prohibiting photography, and jumpy security guards ready to enforce the ban. Then it comes into sight, a broad-shouldered concrete colossus wearing a dramatic copper-coloured cascade of Narmada water like a trophy. The sides of the structure rise far above the middle, which can quickly catch up when and as the court allows. Further upstream, the people talk of a new era of the vultures. At the tail end of the monsoon, they face a tragic dilemma. They will survive only if the rains fail. But if the rains fail, their crops die.
"If we stop it now," says Roy, "we would save 325,000 people from certain destitution."
The Narmada Valley and its people are being sacrificed for the benefit of other people elsewhere in India. Under an International Labour Organisation convention which India has signed, tribals displaced in the cause of national economic development "shall be provided with lands of quality at least equal to that of lands previously occupied". But that hasn't happened.
The terrible conclusion Roy and others like her have drawn is that the Government is guilty of nothing less than genocide.
"Shall we just put the Star of David on their doors and get it over with?" she asks. "The millions of displaced people in India are nothing but refugees of an unacknowledged war."
Cheaper and more humane ways of providing for the needs of industry and people in arid areas, such as local water- harvesting schemes, have barely been investigated. But in Indian classrooms, students chant the mantra of development uttered by the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru: "Dams are temples of modern India." Nehru later recanted, but the school curriculum doesn't record his conversion.
Despite construction of more than 3,300 big dams, 200 million people in India still lack safe drinking water. There are more drought-prone and flood-prone areas than in 1947. Millions of people in the arid region of western Gujarat have been told by the Government that the Narmada dams will provide them with clean drinking water. Critics allege the water will go to the industries and sugar mills of central Gujarat, one of India's wealthiest regions dominated by the business-savvy Patel clan, who backed the dams to the hilt. The battle lines - urban versus tribal - are clearly drawn.
For Roy, India's democracy is "the benevolent mask behind which a pestilence flourishes unchallenged". Her warnings that the Narmada movement could turn violent if the people are ignored seem perilously close to reality.
At Domkhedi, volunteer Subashish Mukerjee, a teacher at Calcutta University, outlines a doomsday scenario if the courts allow the project to proceed. "We may just strap RDX [plastic explosives] to our bodies and blow up the dam," he says.
The anti-dam leader Medha Patkar has called for volunteers for "Samarpit Dal" ("Committed Squad") to commit "Jal Samarpan" ("Sacrifice in Water") by refusing to budge from villages as the reservoir waters rise. On the night of August 10, Patkar and her suicide squad spent 24 hours waist deep in water inside a hut at Domkhedi until being forc- ibly removed by police.
Visiting Gujarat last month, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, pledged continuing help to the State for the Sardar Sarovar project. Tomorrow, polling begins in India's general elections. But Gulabia Shankar, facing submergence in Jalsindhi, won't be voting. "I used to vote," he says. "But it made no difference to my life."
The Big Dam will.
The 'Hindu' Bomb,
Pilgrims' progress


text:
School elections: 5 takeaways
Colleen Wilson Kimberly Redmond
Rockland/Westchester Journal News
Voters who went to the polls in Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties on Tuesday passed 52 district budgets and rejected one - East Ramapo. Results for Blind Brook were not announced Tuesday.
All additional propositions — to approve bonds, establish reserve funds and other items — passed except for one.
Here are some highlights from this year's school budget voting.
LIST: Did your school budget pass? Check here
DATABASE: Detailed school budget votes and proposals
East Ramapo budget fails - big
Voters loudly rejected East Ramapo's tax-cap-busting $232.6 million proposed budget, 9,986 to 1,441. The spending plan called for a 2.49 percent tax levy increase and would have restored busing for private school students on days when district schools are off.
In the contest for three school board seats, three candidates who have or had children in the public schools lost. Mark Berkowitz beat out Alexandra Manigo for a three-year term, receiving 9,075 votes against her 4,922 votes. Board Vice President Harry Grossman was elected to his second term earning 9,055 votes to defeat challenger Eric Goodwin. Goodwin received 4,871 votes. Joel Freilich won a seat left vacant following a resignation earlier this year. He received 9,441 while contender Chevon DosReis 4,470 votes in her favor.
Based on Tuesday's results, the nine-member board will continue to be made up of a majority who sends their children to private schools in the district.
When a budget is rejected, a second vote may be held. Or, school boards can forgo that if they adopt a contingency budget. Under state law, a contingency budget requires zero percent growth in the district's tax levy.
Tuckahoe property purchase plan fails
The Tuckahoe school district's proposal to purchase the property at 110 Ridge St. was rejected by voters, going down with 645 no votes and 406 yes – but the budget was passed overwhelmingly with 731 voting in favor, and 337 against.
Tuckahoe would have paid $660,000 to purchase the property, which is 0.164 acres and would have been used to build a new district office building. The district put down a $66,000 deposit, of which $15,000 is nonrefundable. Initially, voters were to head to the polls March 14, but that referendum was canceled and rescheduled when a blizzard dropped between 8 and 25 inches of snow on the region.
Successful tax cap override in Mamaroneck
The Mamaroneck Union Free School District's voters approved a budget with a proposed tax cap override, which requires 60 percent of voters to approve the measure, also called a supermajority. About 77 percent of residents who went to the polls Tuesday, according to unofficial results, voted in favor of a 2.25 percent increase to the district's tax levy. This tax levy increase is more than double this year's cap in Mamaroneck, which would have only allowed a 1.04 percent tax levy increase over last year.
Mamaroneck is one of 12 districts statewide, along with East Ramapo, that attempted to go over the cap this year, compared to 36 school districts that tried to override last year.
By going over the cap, and therefore increasing revenue, district officials said academic programs will be maintained and expanded, while avoiding staff reductions.
S. Orangetown trustee accused of plagiarism loses seat
A longtime trustee who recently denied accusations he plagiarized parts of a re-election statement lost his seat on South Orangetown's school board.
Guy DeVincenzo, who has been on the board for nearly a decade, was defeated by newcomer Christine Lee for a three-year term on the five-member board. He received 392 votes against Lee's 1,092 votes.
Also in South Orangetown: Scott Vanderhoef, a former county executive, was unsuccessful in his attempt to return to public service. Vanderhoef, who finished his fifth term as county executive in 2014, netted 408 votes while Leon Jacobs, who has served on the board since 2005, earned 1,995 votes.
Blind Brook uses paper ballots
Voters in the Blind Brook school district encountered some challenges at the polls Tuesday after ballots were printed with a mistake and could not be read by voting machines. Blind Brook Superintendent Jonathan Ross said the district went to a paper ballot system and ballots would be counted by the district clerk and chief election inspector, as opposed to using an electronic readout to tally votes.
In addition, Ross said, "We have three board candidates and each board candidate will be able to have an observer so they can view what's going on and make sure the count is being made properly."
Results were not released Tuesday night.
Colin Byrne, assistant superintendent for information technology, said, there was a "situation that needs to be investigated." No word on the nature of the situation.


text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project
  xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd"
  xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
>
  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
  <groupId>nl.tudelft.metac</groupId>
  <artifactId>pat-csp</artifactId>
  <version>1.0.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
  <name>pat-csp</name>
  <packaging>spoofax-language</packaging>

  <parent>
    <groupId>org.metaborg</groupId>
    <artifactId>parent.language</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
  </parent>

  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.metaborg</groupId>
      <artifactId>org.metaborg.meta.lib.analysis</artifactId>
      <version>${metaborg-version}</version>
      <type>spoofax-language</type>
      <scope>${metaborg-meta-lang-scope}</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.metaborg</groupId>
      <artifactId>org.metaborg.meta.lang.esv</artifactId>
      <version>${metaborg-version}</version>
      <type>spoofax-language</type>
      <scope>${metaborg-meta-lang-scope}</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>org.metaborg</groupId>
      <artifactId>org.metaborg.meta.lang.template</artifactId>
      <version>${metaborg-version}</version>
      <type>spoofax-language</type>
      <scope>${metaborg-meta-lang-scope}</scope>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.metaborg</groupId>
        <artifactId>spoofax-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>${metaborg-version}</version>
        <extensions>true</extensions>
        <configuration>
          <format>ctree</format>
          <pardonedLanguages combine.children="append">
          </pardonedLanguages>
          <sdfArgs combine.children="append">
          </sdfArgs>
          <strategoArgs combine.children="append">
          </strategoArgs>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>

  <repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>metaborg-release-repo</id>
      <url>http://artifacts.metaborg.org/content/repositories/releases/</url>
      <releases>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </releases>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </repository>
    <repository>
      <id>metaborg-snapshot-repo</id>
      <url>http://artifacts.metaborg.org/content/repositories/core-snapshots/</url>
      <releases>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </releases>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </repository>
  </repositories>

  <pluginRepositories>
    <pluginRepository>
      <id>metaborg-release-repo</id>
      <url>http://artifacts.metaborg.org/content/repositories/releases/</url>
      <releases>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </releases>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </pluginRepository>
    <pluginRepository>
      <id>metaborg-snapshot-repo</id>
      <url>http://artifacts.metaborg.org/content/repositories/core-snapshots/</url>
      <releases>
        <enabled>false</enabled>
      </releases>
      <snapshots>
        <enabled>true</enabled>
      </snapshots>
    </pluginRepository>
  </pluginRepositories>
</project>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Thank You, and Good Luck!
This contest is void where prohibited by law. Open only to legal residents of the United States of America and Canada who are 13 years of age or older with valid identification and who have not won a prize from MikeModano.com in the last thirty (30) days. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. By entering the contest, entrants agree to accept and be bound by all terms of these sweepstakes official rules.
The winner(s) will be selected by a representative of MikeModano.com, whose decision will be final and binding, in a random drawing of the participants. The winner will be selected on or before December 31, 2008 and will be notified within three (3) days of the drawing by telephone, e-mail or mail. If MikeModano.com cannot reach the winner within the time period it will be deemed as if the winner has rejected the prize and MikeModano.com will select a new winner according to these Official Rules, time permitting.
© 2009 MikeModano.com. All Rights Reserved.


This message is used to report a single element from a list. The element is uniquely identified by the UID, while it's position within the list is denoted by the previous (parent) and next (child) elements. The message data is identical to the Element Record in ID 041Ah: SetElement.
1 ElementUID Unsigned Short units one false 1 to 65534, values of 0 and 65535 are reserved.


text:
Thank You! How to Support this Blog
Advice: Frequent Flyer
Advice: General Travel
Advice: Airlines and Airfare
Advice: Hotels
Advice: Credit Cards
Recommended Credit Card Offers
Trip Reports – Air
Trip Reports – Hotels
Trip Reports – Lounges
Trip Reports – Food
Trip Reports – Other
Marriott Further Monetizes Bonvoy With Second Way To Buy Points, And New Bonus
by Gary Leff on February 15, 2022
Like airlines, Marriott will now sell you points while making a booking, not just on a dedicated page. That way they have more opportunities to sell points. And they've increased the limit on the number of points you can buy. They're also running a new points purchase bonus of up to 50% more points.
To create a more seamless experience for members when purchasing points, Marriott Bonvoy is enhancing the purchase experience by integrating it into the booking path on Marriott.com. With this new update, members have more flexibility to enjoy points promotions and choose the amount of points they want to buy to cover a shortfall for a redemption stay while in the booking process.
From February 15 through March 23, 2022, Marriott is offering up to a 50% bonus on points purchases:
40% bonus: 2,000 – 9,000 points
45% bonus: 10,000 – 39,000 points
50% bonus: 40,000 – 100,000 points
Buy 100,000 at a cost of $1250 and you'll get 150,000 points, at a cost of $0.00833 apiece. That's more than a Marriott point is worth in my view (I value Marriott points at $0.006) however it can make sense,
To top off an award for a big stay, since the last points you need making the trip possible raise the average value of your points
For especially expensive stays when you're getting a penny or more in value per point (relatively rare but happens)
It's very rare for Marriott to run a bigger bonus selling points than this.
Marriott limits members to purchasing 100,000 points – but now that cap applies separately to standalone purchase transactions and to purchases made in the booking path for an award. Bonus points do not count towards this cap.
You might think, who buys points, anyway? At least at regular prices 'it must be poorly-informed consumers' who don't understand the program, or hyper-calculating members comparing paid rates to award pricing on each stay (factoring in hotel taxes on paid rates and any resort fees or junk charges on redemptions).
In fact elites who have plenty of points are often the best candidates to buy more. Put another way people who like the points most are the people most likely to buy them, and a currency's biggest fans are also the most likely to pay more for that currency.
Selling points while selling a stay is precisely when someone is most likely to buy, because they're seeing and getting value out of those points in the moment.
More From View from the Wing
About Gary Leff
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
More articles by Gary Leff »
Mets Fan in NC says:
Marriott says buy more points NOW before we further devalue
DCS says:
–Mets Fan in NC
I guess "further devalue" refers to the "secret devaluation" of BonVoy points that self-anointed "travel gurus" predict is sure to happen as soon as the program transitions to dynamic award pricing.
Coup de Grâce:
This clear devaluation of WoH awards that just happened with the raising of some of the program's 'aspirational' hotels to Category 8 is a dagger to the heart of the self-anointed 'travel gurus' high priesthood that has equated fixed award charts with 'safe haven', while making dynamic award pricing synonymous with 'massive devaluation'.
No program is immune from devaluations, but while Hilton Honors has had 'dynamic award pricing' since 2017, the program has kept its highest standard award cost capped at its pre-dynamic pricing level of 95K/night, except at just 2 of more than 6K+ hotels where the cap is exceeded. Hyatt now has an entire 'fixed' category of hotels — many highly coveted for redemption — with standard award costs that exceed those at all but two Hilton hotels.
Funny how much damage can be done in broad daylight even with a 'fixed' award chart, ain't it?
Norita says:
In December I had to buy some points to complete a points stay in Europe and this was offered both on the reservation page as well as on the phone. The regular price was charged. The charge posted as MARRIOTT PATH.
Dwondermeant says:
I have no trust in The Marriott Bonvoid Ponzi Scheme
Bonvoided one to many times
With this 100k per year points purchase limit, not sure if points that are transferred from another member's account counts towards that limit since it has its own 100k limit. I was looking to book a 5 night stay at St Regis Bahia for 400k points this year where my account currently has 180k points. If I buy these points with the bonus to make my balance 330k and then the other 70k points is transferred from my wife's account not sure if that'll be allowed.
Kalboz says:
I have bought Marriott points to convert to airline miles and get business class seats when there was no cheaper option.
The B says:
Based on the promotion dates, can we assume March 24th will be the date Marriott devalues Bonvoy points and increases the points required to stay in their most exclusive properties such as Al Maha, St. Regis in Bora Bora and Maldives, or the new Ritz Maldives?
Gary, I hope you'll update us on the new program date once you hear of it.
@The B — This from the BonVoy FAQ on their dynamic award pricing may be of interest to you and others in tuning out some of the hype and predictions of doom about the upcoming "devaluation":
Will it now cost me more Marriott Bonvoy® Points to redeem?
While an award night can still be booked the same way it always has been, the redemption Rate of an award night is now more flexible. That means when there is more availability at the Hotel – during slower periods, for instance – redemption Rates may be lower. In general, the range of Marriott Bonvoy® Points required to redeem a Stay at a Hotel will be the same as they are today.
Hilton made a promise just like the one bolded back in 2017 and kept it. The program is thriving and is more vibrant, IMHO, 5 years later. It's anyone's guess how Marriott is going to implement their dynamic award pricing scheme, but bad vibes beget bad vibes and there are definitely already plenty of those in the air, with the constant talk of the upcoming doom…
G'day.
@DCS – Bonvoy's record isn't exactly stellar. The fact that Hilton had similar wording 5 years ago is pretty immaterial. Bonvoy will definitely do what it wants, when it wants. You can bet that if it appeases the hotel owners at the expense of the guests, they'll always go with the owners. And the owners do not want redemptions – especially elite redemptions.
@Jon – You do not know what BonVoy will do, any more than do those who painted — wrongly, I am happy to add — the same doomsday scenario when Hilton decided to switch, and are at it again now vs. BonVoy. According to those same people you've been listening to Hilton Honors' record was even worse than BonVoy's!
Wait until you see what happens before you judge and decide!
Marriott Marty says:
@DCS Bonvoy has said that 3% will not be within range. It is very reasonable to assume the 3% will be high end properties (like the biggest devaluation that Hyatt announced). So if you are interested in the top 3% of Bonvoy properties – let the buyer beware. I am glad that Hilton has kept the 95k cap for almost all high end properties. Bonvoy has promised to only exclude 3% the first year…and no promises beyond that
@Marriott Marty — I have seen that claim about 3% of "top" properties to be "out of range." However, I have not seen where that is officially stated by Marriott. If true, then what that means is that Marriott intends to put 3% of their "top" hotel in a special category similar to the one in which Hilton currently has just 2 of their most 'aspirational' properties, (WA Maldives and Cabos) where the 95K points/night cap is exceeded with standard awards that cost 120K or 150K per not.
If that is correct, then if Marriott has 100 properties that they consider their "top" hotels (likely all those in their current Category 8), only 3 of those would be put" out of range"; 1 would be "out orange" if there are 33 such hotels; or just 2 will be "out of range" if there are 67 such hotels. One can hope that is what they mean because then the 'damage' won't be so bad, and "out of range" could simply mean that standard costs at those 3% top" hotels would exceed the current 100K/night cap; they could cost 125K, 150K, 200K but not millions of points.
In short, Marriott seems to be gearing up to implementing their dynamic award pricing by copying Hilton's model, which is the best that one can hope…
"per not" = "per night"
Eminence Grise says:
Couldn't you buy points if you were short during the booking process before now?
A guest has always had the opportunity to buy points to make up the difference.
Few side notes-the 50 night choice page states it will be completed by email for 2022 (not online in the profile).
Ambassador emails are coming from a country outside the US 6 hours behind the west coast. Same as customer care. It seems they are the same people responding to both.
Marriott cut personal reps for the Ambassador program but they have also farmed out the personalized service to China.
The new benefit to give Platinum Elite to a family member is only to mine data. If you ever speak with Customer Care ask where they are located-they will hesitate. The phones are answered in the states but the emails are all responded to by China. All emails from Marriott have email trackers. They will say respond to this email since it has a tracker. Paste, save and start a new email if you need to respond.
I need 6k more points to complete a booking so I decided to give this a try. Yes, they are offering me a 40% bonus on the points but the minimum they will let me buy is… 6k. So I get the points I need to complete the booking plus another 2400 points that will be useless to me.
What I really want is to buy just enough so the purchase + bonus gets me to 6k.
Cost to me would be $94.80 USD. I can do a cash & points redemption for $133 CAD + 8,000 points, or a straight room purchase for $273 CAD.
Current HOT Deals!
Here's a link to our Advertiser Disclosure
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
Earn 65,000 miles AAdvantage miles are the currency I've redeemed most.
Bilt World Elite Mastercard®
Earn Points Paying Rent (up to 50,000 each year) plus earn 3x at restaurants; 2x on travel; No annual fee.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Free Email Newsletter!
New Restrictions Coming For Americans Visiting The U.K. [Roundup]
Wait, Airline Has Been Letting Passengers Drink Their Own Alcohol They Buy At Duty Free? [Roundup]
Biggest Points Offer Ever For Chase IHG Card
This Flight Attendant Fell From 33,000 Feet — and Lived For 44 Years
[Emirates First Now Available, New Award Chart Live] Book Emirates Awards With Air Canada Miles
CHRISTOPHER WILLERS on ANA First Class Awards Wide Open April, May, Into June
Jake on Tipping Gone Mad: Hotel Booking Site Solicits Tips After You've Made Your Reservation
Jake on What I Learned From American Airlines Fourth Quarter Earnings
Stuart on [Emirates First Now Available, New Award Chart Live] Book Emirates Awards With Air Canada Miles
Ben on American Airlines Pilot Union Trying To Cover For Crew In New York Near-Disaster
Archives Select Month January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002
Cranky Flier
Doctor of Credit
Help Booking Awards
JohnnyJet
Live and Let's Fly
Here's A New One: Passenger Uses AirTags, Discovers Airline Donated Their Bags To Charity [Roundup]
Miami Passengers Showed Up Late For Their Flight. They Wound Up In Jail.
Tipping Gone Mad: Hotel Booking Site Solicits Tips After You've Made Your Reservation
Wide Open Singapore Airlines Transatlantic Award Business Class Space, Up To 9 Seats Or More
Delayed Frontier Airlines Flight To San Diego Ignored NOTAM, Had To Divert To Las Vegas
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
View from the Wing is a project of Miles and Points Consulting, LLC. This site is for entertainment purpose only. The owner of this site is not an investment advisor, financial planner, nor legal or tax professional and articles here are of an opinion and general nature and should not be relied upon for individual circumstances.
Advertiser Disclosure: Many (but not all) of the credit card offers on the site are from banks from which we receive compensation if you are approved. Compensation does not impact the placement of cards in content. Banner advertising, in contrast, is paid for by advertisers (we do not directly control the banner advertising on this blog).
I don't include all US credit card offers available on this site. Instead, I write primarily about cards which earn airline miles, hotel points, and some cash back (or have points that can be converted into the same).
Editorial Note: The opinions, analyses, and evaluations here are mine and not provided by any bank including (but not limited to) American Express, Chase, Citibank, US Bank, Barclays or any other company. They have not reviewed, approved or endorsed what I have to say.
Comments made in response to posts are not provided or commissioned nor have they been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any bank. It is not the responsibility of any advertiser to ensure that questions are answered.
© 2022 Miles and Points Consulting LLC
Privacy Policy | RSS


text:
Consequences of Adult HIV Infection for Outpatient Morbidity and Treatment Costs: A Prospective Study in a Factory Clinic in Tanzania
Kikumbih, Said N.; Isingo, Raphael; & Boerma, J. Ties (1997). Consequences of Adult HIV Infection for Outpatient Morbidity and Treatment Costs: A Prospective Study in a Factory Clinic in Tanzania. Health Policy and Planning, 12(3), 234-9.
Most studies of the medical costs of HIV infection focus on the terminal stage of this chronic illness when the patients have developed AIDS or severe HIV disease and in-patient care dominates. Data are also needed on the medical costs during the prolonged phase of HIV infection preceding severe terminal illness and the effects it may have on the provision of outpatient care. The study population was derived from a cohort study of factory workers and their spouses in Tanzania. Morbidity and outpatient health services utilization are estimated for 1832 adults who on average had been enrolled for two years and utilized the study clinic. Among those who had been enrolled at least 2 years, 50 cases (HIV+ since enrollment) and 150 control (HIV- until last visit) were selected, matched by age, sex and income level to estimate expenditure on drugs by HIV status. There was an increase in morbidity during HIV infection: the incidence of clinical diagnoses was 30% higher among HIV-positive than among HIV-negative adults (p < 0.001). HIV-infected adults also made more frequent use of the outpatient services (23% higher utilization). Estimates of essential drug costs among the subsample showed a 15% increase for HIV infected adults compared to HIV-negative adults, caused by higher use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs. The overall increase in morbidity, outpatient care services utilization and essential drug use due to HIV infection was limited, as HIV prevalence in this adult population was 11%. For example, the net proportion of all illness episodes attributable to HIV infection was 3.2%. Possible biases are discussed and suggest that our findings are a minimum estimate of the effect of adult HIV infection on outpatient care costs. There is a need for more studies in different settings to assess the impact of HIV infection on outpatient care in developing countries.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapol/12.3.234
Health Policy and Planning
Kikumbih, Said N.
Isingo, Raphael
Boerma, J. Ties


Tenders closing at 11.00 am on Wednesday 4 April 2018 are invited for the purchase and removal of mulch at the Home Hill Transfer Station and Kirknie Landfill.
Tenderers should note that all tenders must be marked in accordance with the instructions in the tender and will be accepted prior to the closing date and time.
Further enquiries may be directed to Mr Lachlan Kerr, Coordinator Waste Services on telephone (07) 4783 9800.


There are one large image and several thumbnail. One of the tittle is Floorfreshdetachedgaragecostestimatorhouseplanswithcostto. One car garage cost how much does it cost to build a one car. Cost to build a detached garage cost to build a garage calculator. Detatched garage cost to build a detached garages for sale in ideas. Car detached garage kits cost to build a car garage apartment.


text:
Monolith - Shaun Hutson
Caffeine Nights
Monolith Book by Shaun Hutson
"When you have eliminated the impossible whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth..." Arthur Conan Doyle
On the banks of the river Thames a massive new building is being completed. A stunning creation of glass and concrete that will be a new landmark on London's skyline. And people are dying because of it...
Dozens of mysterious unexplained accidents have claimed the lives of workmen during the construction and journalist Jessica Anderson is convinced that the owner of the building, a billionaire Russian businessman, knows more about the accidents than he is revealing.
Enlisting the help of a former colleague, Jess tries to investigate the shadowy industrialist but finds that far harder than she imagined. Protected by a private security force and cocooned by his entourage, this powerful man proves to be as elusive as anyone she has ever known. He values his privacy and seems willing to go to any ends to protect it. But what is he hiding?
As she delves into his background she discovers that one of his ancestors lived in London during the 1930's on the same site where the Crystal Tower was constructed and death and destruction surrounded that ancestor too. Is there a link between these two men? Jess is convinced there is and when a series of horrific attacks and murders take place, perpetrated against men who want to stop the Russians next building project, she finds herself plunged into a maelstrom of fear and events that threaten not just her life but her very sanity...
Something from the darkest reaches of myth and superstition has been unleashed upon a modern world and it seems no one can stop it...
Testament Paperback by King of Horror Shaun Hutson £9.99 £8.99 SALE
Assassin - Shaun Hutson £8.99 £7.99 SALE
Heathen - Classic Horror by Shaun Hutson £9.99 £8.99 SALE
Chase - Shaun Hutson £9.99 £8.99 SALE


text:
Last Update June 21, 2020
Comedian DL Hughley tests positive for coronavirus after collapsing onstage in Nashville
By Peter Aitken | Fox News
Fox News Flash top entertainment headlines for June 20
Fox News Flash top entertainment and celebrity headlines are here. Check out what's clicking today in entertainment.
Comedian and actor D.L. Hughley announced he has tested positive for coronavirus after collapsing onstage while performing in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday night, according to reports.
"I was what they call asymptomatic," Hughley says in a Twitter video. "I didn't have any symptoms, the classic symptoms."
Hughley said he still hasn't exhibited any of the typical symptoms associated with the coronavirus, including shortness of breath and fever.
"So, in addition to all the other stuff you have to look out for," Hughley advises in the video, if you "pass out in the middle of a show, onstage, you probably need to get tested."
Hughley said he plans to quarantine in his Nashville hotel room for 14 days.
While performing Friday night at Zanies Comedy Club before a sold-out crowd, Hughley, 57, suddenly struggled to speak before going limp.
His manager rushed to catch him before he fell off his seat entirely, but he needed help to carry Hughley offstage.
Video shows Hughley struggling to speak prior to his collapse.
No one in the crowd was informed about what had happened, but an ambulance was called to take Hughley to the hospital, TMZ reported. Hughley was taken out of the club on a stretcher.
Hughley's representative issued a statement reassuring the public that Hughley was awake. He was "suffering from exhaustion after all the week's work and travel, and was kept overnight at the hospital for tests under doctor's orders. He is awake and feeling better, and wishes to thank everyone for the very kind prayer and thoughts."
Hughley's two remaining shows in Nashville have been canceled, the club confirmed, according to The Associated Press.
Peter Aitken is a Fox News Digital reporter with a focus on national and global news.
Christina Haack shuts down 'too fast, too soon' criticism over relationship with fiancé Josh Hall


Join us for a live, clothed model, all-media open studio. The model changes every two weeks. All levels are welcome. There is no instructor. You learn from each other and from practice. Come join this fun group!
Students split model's cash fee in class.