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The Amazon: The Future of the Forest / The Economist
The future of the forest
Jun 11th 2009 | MANAUS
From The Economist print edition
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13824446
Brazil's government hopes that land reform in the Amazon will slow deforestation. Greens doubt it
Still Pictures
THE tiny village, where naked Ticuna Indians live in wooden houses
raised on stilts, looks out over one of the rivers that becomes the
Amazon. No place seems farther removed from the ups and downs of the
world economy. But this is misleading. The Ticuna, who now have a large
reservation at Novo Paraíso near Brazil's borders with Colombia and
Peru, took their first steps towards globalisation when they had the
misfortune to encounter Portuguese raiders several centuries ago.
Later, rubber drew the Amazon into the list of hinterlands that could
be tapped if supplies were tight elsewhere, allowing growth to
accelerate in much of the world from the 19th century onwards. And
today new demands on the Amazon's riches will determine the future of
the forest.
About 900 miles (1,500km) downriver to the east, in Amazonas state,
stands Manaus. Rubber barons built the city from the 1860s onwards. Its
early residents made up for their distance from the European centres of
fashion by trying to outdo Paris during the belle époque in
drinking and debauchery. Now Manaus's Zona Franca is the workshop for
most of the televisions, washing machines and other white goods sold in
Brazil. Special arrangements allow firms such as Sony and LG to import
parts tax-free from elsewhere in the world and assemble them there.
Despite being surrounded on all sides by thick forest, Manaus hums with
manufacturing.
Some 350 miles to the south-east, in Pará state, the high gold price has encouraged a few hundred garimpeiros,
or wildcat miners, to follow rumours of a strike and trek for days
through the forest to a place, not far from Itaituba, which they have
optimistically named "Bom Jesus". They live in shacks with tarpaulins
to keep off the rain, digging square holes and sifting through the red
soil in the hope of finding a seam of gold. Malaria lurks there, and
the men say there is cyanide in the water. Apart from a visiting
government minister and some other dignitaries and journalists who have
come for the day by helicopter, there is nothing to indicate that the
Brazilian state exists. Its place has been taken by a local boss who
claims to own the land (though it actually belongs to the federal
government) and takes a percentage of any gold found, while charging
the workers exorbitant prices for supplies that are dropped off by
small planes.
South by 400 miles, in Mato Grosso state, the Amazon meets the
agricultural frontier. Much of the world's growing demand for protein
is satisfied here. The state, which was once thought to have poor
farmland, has been transformed over the past few decades and is now the
country's biggest producer of soyabeans for vegetable oils and
cattle-feed. Mato Grosso is also home to an unproductive kind of
agriculture, which involves ranching small numbers of cattle on newly
deforested land. The forest in the state shrank by 105 square miles in
the three months from November to January, according to the Brazilian
Space Research Institute, which uses satellites to monitor
deforestation.
All these places are part of the Amazon rainforest, an area
one-and-a-half times the size of India, or nearly eight times the size
of Texas. Most of it lies within Brazil. It is home to 20m Brazilians,
or 10% of the country's population. Many of them live a hardscrabble
existence in places that are hot, wet, often disease-ridden and
sometimes dangerous. These people have gone from being heroes who
answered the government's call to populate and subdue an empty region,
to environmental criminals who are wrecking the planet, all the while
standing on the same spot and doing what they have done for decades.
No government would think of condemning so many voters to persistent
poverty in the name of saving trees. Moving them is impractical and
would be unjust, since the state moved them in the first place, under a
policy that began in the 1960s and lasted for 20 years. (Other
institutions helped too; the World Bank provided a loan that financed a
large migration from the south of the country to Rondônia state in the
days before it cared about greenery.) A vast migration was accomplished
with promises of free land, subsidies and a slightly menacing marketing
campaign that exhorted people to ocupar para não entregar
("occupy it or lose it"). Parts of Brazil's government still fret that
covetous foreign powers may try to annexe the Amazon forest unless the
country can find something useful to do with it.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government has often seemed to
sympathise more with these voters than with environmentalists, who are
anyway politically weak in Brazil. His first environment minister,
Marina Silva, resigned in frustration last year. This pleased the bancada ruralista,
an informal block of representatives who defend agricultural interests.
They were glad to see the back of Ms Silva, the daughter of
rubber-tappers who grew up in the forest and became the most eloquent
spokesman for the need to preserve it. This agricultural lobby makes up
20-25% of Congress, according to João Augusto de Castro Neves, a
political consultant.
Fires, grass, cattle
To improve the lives of Brazilians living in the Amazon, the
government has devised a set of policies known as Plano Amazônia. They
envisage an expansion of road-building in the forest, as well as some
big hydroelectric projects. Both are loathed by people who want to
preserve the trees. Plano Amazônia also contains measures to slow
deforestation, but these will be hard to enforce. Money is short, the
area to be policed is vast, and the folk who make money when the trees
are cut down are endlessly ingenious.
Many people derive their income from deforestation. In Tailândia, a
town in Pará surrounded by sawmills, some 70% of the population depends
on logging in some way, according to local officials in the state's
finance ministry. The loggers work in tandem with cattle farmers: once
the loggers take the best trees from an area, the rest is cleared and
burnt. The farmers then sow grass and raise cattle. The land is quickly
exhausted as pasture, but it then passes to another type of farming,
while the loggers and cattle move farther into the forest and begin all
over again.
This pattern helps to explain why the rate of deforestation tends to
move with prices for beef and soya, with a lag of about a year. Yet it
is a wasteful way of using land. A recent study of some 300
municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon, published in the latest edition
of Science, shows that deforested areas enjoy a short
economic boom, then quickly fall back to previous levels of development
and productivity as the frontier moves on. Deforestation also, of
course, reduces the rainfall on which Brazil's agriculture depends.
Consumers in America and western Europe who mind about deforestation
may think they have some influence over all this. A recent study by
Greenpeace encouraged them, by trying to show that bits of Amazonian
cow were finding their way on to supermarket shelves in the rich world.
They are wrong, however. The five leading markets for Brazil's enormous
beef exports (the country ships more of it than the total of the three
next-largest exporters, Australia, Argentina and Uruguay) are Russia,
Iran, China, Venezuela and Egypt, according to Roberto Giannetti da
Fonseca of the Association of Brazilian Meat Exporters. And in any case
the beef produced in the Amazon is mostly eaten by Brazilians in
neighbouring states.
Even so, Mr da Fonseca says his association would like to see
cattle-ranching removed from the Amazon, because of the damage it does
to the reputation of exporters. The big soyabean exporters have already
pledged not to buy from growers in the Amazon. Greenpeace, which helped
to design the agreement, counts it as a success. This just leaves an
internal market for cheap soyabeans and beef, which supports 30m head
of cattle in the Amazon out of a total of 200m in the country.
Given the hardships that farmers in the Amazon face, it may seem
surprising that they do not just give up. One reason is that clearance
and cattle bring in extra money from other sources. The farmers are
also property developers of a kind. Jungle land can be grabbed for
nothing, avoiding what is normally a huge outlay in farming. And
ranchers often sell the land they have deforested to another user, even
though they do not legally own it. Most people who study deforestation
reckon this creates an incentive for farmers to push farther into the
forest, rather than staying where they are, spending money on improving
their land and raising productivity.
Ending this cycle is one aim of a land-reform bill that was recently
approved in Congress, though not without controversy. This law is now
with the president, who has the power to veto some of it. The
government claims that the legislation will at last enable it to
discover which farmers are operating on illegal land and in the
informal economy, and in the future will make it possible to work out
who is committing environmental crimes. Many environmentalists,
however, think the law merely rewards criminal behaviour. Ms Silva has
appealed to Lula to use his veto.
Get off my land
Holdings in America's Great Plains, impressively neat and
rectilinear from the air, were laid out in various early land laws and
then parcelled out among pioneers. Brazil's frontier has never
benefited from such an elegant application of geometry. A study from
Imazon, a non-profit research outfit, suggests that just 14% of
privately owned land in the Amazon is backed by a secure title deed.
The rest is covered by fake documents (usually lovingly antiqued) or
simply by right of settlement.
In the most contested parts of the forest, in Pará state, conflicts
over who owns what are sometimes settled with a gun. In 2005 the murder
of Dorothy Mae Stang, an American nun and environmental campaigner who
lived in Pará, brought this to the attention of a wider public. In his
trial, the man who pulled the trigger said he had been paid 50 reais
($20) for the job.
Eyevine Tranquillity on the river
There are still gunmen for hire in Pará, according to the police in
Tailândia, a town of 25,000 people. Rosenildo Modesta Lima, the local
police commander, says that when he arrived there a couple of years ago
there were seven murders over one weekend; now there are two or three a
week. The police are on edge. Just the other day a heavily armed gang
attacked a police station in a neighbouring town in an attempt to get
more weapons. Two gang members were killed and a third injured.
The new law will interpose the Brazilian state into this mess,
judging between competing claims, handing smaller plots of land to
their apparent owners and reclaiming very large ones (in excess of
1,500 hectares or 3,700 acres) for the state. This will undoubtedly
entrench some old injustices. "It's very hard to know who killed
someone 20 years ago to get a piece of land and who just arrived
recently," says Denis Minev, the planning secretary for Amazonas state
(which has a good record on deforestation). Even so, in the long run
the measure may prove useful. "Land regularisation is of fundamental
importance for halting deforestation," says Carlos Minc, Brazil's
environment minister.
Enforcing the new regime will be as difficult as ever. IBAMA, the
federal agency charged with this task, collects less than 1% of the
fines it imposes during operations in the Amazon. "This is not
something that is feared as a serious threat by people who break the
law," says Roberto Smeraldi of Amigos da Terra, an NGO. The sporadic
weakness of the Brazilian state is partly to blame for this. But any
government would struggle to police the frontier between forest and
farmland, which is far longer than America's border with Mexico.
This is why many environmentalists now argue that the only way to
fix the problem is to give people who live at the frontier something
more profitable to do. The government has begun to change the region's
economies. Since July last year farmers without titles to their land
are supposed to be denied access to subsidised credit, though this too
is hard to enforce.
Efforts to commercialise forest products, from Amazon river fish to
oils for use in cosmetics, are also under way. Amigos da Terra, in a
study of these businesses, finds them to be profitable when they form
clusters and turn out finished products. "I am convinced that in 20
years we will have a viable forest economy," says Mr Smeraldi. "Only by
then we will have lost a lot of forest."
Speeding up this process is one of the motives behind the $1
billion donation for the Amazon announced in September by Norway's
government. The Brazilian government has set up an Amazon Fund for this
money and any future donations. Norway will have no say in how it is
used, but the amount of money it releases from the fund will be linked
to Brazil's success in slowing deforestation. Germany will give
something to the fund too. Turid Rodrigues Eusébio, Norway's ambassador
to Brasília, says lots of other countries are watching Norway to see
how the experiment goes, and will chip in if it is a success.
Google Earth Depredation from space
Amazon states hope to acquire another stream of money, in the form
of payments for not cutting down trees, from the UN initiative known as
REDD, which will be discussed in Copenhagen in December (see article).
Payments of this kind are already being made in Amazonas state: $8.1m
from private companies such as Marriott hotels and Bradesco, a big
bank, is being handed over by the state government to 6,000 families in
exchange for not cutting down any more trees. The challenge is to
extend such schemes to the trees on the edge of the farmland, which are
most at risk.
Still, argues Ms Rodrigues Eusébio, it will take more than changing
cattle-ranchers into nut-gatherers to put a stop to deforestation. To
bring a more elevated form of economic development to the region,
Brazil's government is convinced that it needs to build more roads in
the forest. This too is controversial. Some 80% of deforestation
happens within 30 miles of a road. Seen from Google Earth, the southern
part of Pará state looks as if someone has dropped large fish skeletons
on the jungle, as spines of deforestation push into the trees from
either side of the roads. Deforestation is more severe where a road is
good, which is why the proposed asphalting of the BR-163, from Cuiabá
in Mato Grosso to Santarém in Pará, is held up by a legal wrangle.
However unpalatable road-building is, it may be needed if the people
who live in the Amazon are to lead a better life. "The Everglades are
very beautiful, but America did rule out building roads through them to
connect Miami with other parts of Florida," says Mr Minev of Amazonas
state. The government now knows how to build roads without unleashing
the loggers, he argues. Amazonas has recently signed an agreement
creating nature reserves on either side of the BR-319, which runs from
Manaus to Porto Velho. The road will help to integrate Manaus into the
rest of the country's economy. When the Zona Franca was established in
1967, it took 15-20 days to get goods to consumers in São Paulo, in the
country's south-east. It takes the same amount of time today.
In this vision of the Amazon, the forest will be preserved as a
large national park with sprinklings of industry added to enrich its
inhabitants. The agriculture at its edge will be more productive than
it is today, making use of abandoned land and raising yields to meet
domestic and foreign demand without encroaching farther into the
jungle. This is aim is plausible, as well as commendable, but it will
take decades to accomplish. In the meantime, the forest will continue
to shrink. The fight today is over how fast that happens.
Categoria: Serviços Ambientais
Anderson June 22, 2009 at 5:31 PM
É de lamentar apenas a pequena, ou quase nenhuma, salvo raras exceções, mobilização dos povos amazônidas a respeito de tal assunto. Toda discussão que ressoa se faz apartir de suas bordas e quase nunca na sociedade incentivada, inicialmente, a viver ali.
EARN GLOBAL MONEY shows you different earning programs from all over the globe and help people to earn money from different earning program owned by different organizations. click here .
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Who is Ruth Browne?
Awards & Appointments
Contact Ruth
Ruth C. Browne, SD, MPP, MPH
Awards Events and Appearances
Crain's New York Business: 2016 Heritage Healthcare Innovation Awards
by webmaster|Published May 23, 2016
Heritage Healthcare Organizational Leadership Award (Nominated)
Honoring an organization that has fundamentally changed how healthcare is delivered
The Heritage Healthcare Innovation Awards honor health care leaders whose cutting-edge approach to health care is making a difference for patients. The awards showcase 25 innovators who are moving the needle in a big way by improving access to affordable health care in the communities they serve in the Greater New York area and upgrading the quality of care.
Ruth Browne Receives the President's Award at SUNY Downstate Medical Center 2017 Commencement
Ruth C. Browne, SD, president and chief executive officer of Ronald McDonald House New York, received the SUNY Downstate Medical Center President's Award.
Ruth Browne Honored at the 2018 Care for Kids Gala
Ruth was an honoree at the Care For Kids Gala, benefiting Future of America Learning Center (FALC) and the 1199SEIU/Employer Child Care Corporation.
Ruth C. Browne, SD honored at the 2019 Women in Development, New York Woman of Achievement Award Luncheon
Ruth Browne was the 2019 honoree at the Woman of Achievement Award Luncheon is Women in Development (WiD), New York's highest profile, signature event. Its purpose is to recognize and promote the achievements of a distinguished colleague who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the field of development and philanthropy, to celebrate the profession and its contributions to the nonprofit sector and society.
Ruth C. Browne Named One Of Crain's Notable Women in Health Care
New York, NY – August 6, 2018 – Crain's Custom, a division of Crain's New York Business, today announced the inaugural Notable […]
HIV Prevention for Black Heterosexual Men: The Barbershop Talk with Brothers Cluster Randomized Trial
Adjournment in Community HIV Prevention: Exploring Transitions in Community-Academic Partnerships
Lessons Learned from the Implementation of a Shared Community-Academic HIV Prevention Intervention
Perceptions of HIV Risk and Explanations of Sexual Risk Behavior Offered by Heterosexual Black Male Barbershop Patrons in Brooklyn, NY
Using the Delphi and snow card techniques to build consensus among diverse community and academic stakeholders.
Building Bridges: Exploring Social Determinants of Health
Lessons learned from building an infrastructure for community-engaged research
Engaging minority high school students as health disparities interns: findings and policy implications of a summer youth pipeline program.
20 Year Anniversary Report. Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health
Healthy families Brooklyn: working with health advocates to develop a health promotion program for residents living in New York City housing authority developments.
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Employee of Seattle chocolate shop fired after refusing to serve police officers
| TheBL 05/04/21, 18:03
Image of chocolates on Mar. 27, 2021. (Source: Chocolati facebook)
An employee of a chocolate shop in Seattle was sacked after refusing to serve police officers, the shop owner announced in a statement last week.
"We work to advance diversity and inclusion at our business, and for our team members to follow their passions and to be engaged in the critical issues we face as a city, and a nation," Christian Wong, the owner of Chocolati, said. "However, our team members cannot decide which customers to serve based on their own personal political beliefs. This simply is not an acceptable practice at our business."
"It was in the best interests of both parties to part ways with the team member," he added.
The announcement came after the Seattle Police Department members said they were refused service when they tried to buy things from the store.
"No, I won't serve you," an employee informed one of the uniformed police officers, who was accompanied by a trainee, after they attempted to make a purchase at Chocolati, according to the Post Millennial.
A third officer informed the news outlet that he had been treated similarly at another Chocolati location.
A Chocolati employee swore at and abused a Post Millennial reporter after being approached.
Chocolati's website stated that the company's mission is to "grow at a steady pace without compromising the quality and the personal attention we give to our customers and to our chocolates."
The company also used social media to support the Black Lives Matter campaign, encouraging consumers to participate in Blackout Day 2020 and only spend money at companies owned by black people.
Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, said the officers were greeted with "a bit of hostility," but praised the public's support for officers following the incidents.
"But based upon the amount of pushback that company has received from the public and across the nation is that people are still really supportive of the police," Solan stated.
In his statement, Wong also said that he intends to meet with an officer who was refused service to "personally apologize—just as I would apologize to any customer who was refused service on the basis of an employee's personal views."
There is a growing anti-police atmosphere following the recent police killings of black people.
According to interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz, the Seattle Police Department is currently experiencing a "staffing crisis beyond mitigation." In response to demands from Black Lives Matter activists, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan signed a city budget in December that cuts police spending by 20%.
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Littlehampton Coastguard Tower fails to sell at Savills Auctions on 9th May 2018.
The tower which was sold previously by Arun District Council has fallen into considerable disrepair under private ownership, which is a real shame.
Prior to it being sold, I had offered Arun District Council an attractive business proposition – I would lease the tower from the council, thus generating revenue for what was an unused building and turn into a 'News & Views' seafront shop. I also planned open the tower to the public as a viewing tower.
My offer was rejected. I was told there was no way that Arun's councillors would agree and approve my plans as it would potentially impact on an existing, long-established seafront business.
The tower was then sold at auction and has since remained in private ownership since with little or no visible maintenance or upkeep until it being advertised for auction on 9th May 2018 where it was auctioned again, but failed to find a buyer.
Littlehampton's Coastguard Tower has planning permission to convert it into holiday accommodation. It is available at £95,000 for any interested parties via Savills Auctions.
Littlehampton's Action Boat will not be running this Season.


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From seafood to dessert: This is exactly how long you can keep your Christmas leftovers.
Video by Mamamia Women's Network.
It's Boxing Day and if you're anything like us, your fridge is right now overflowing with leftover ham, chicken, salads and other festive foods.
While making a mental note to buy less food next year, you might also be wondering what to do with all this food. If you can't eat it all for lunch or dinner today, what will still be fresh – and, more importantly, safe – to eat tomorrow?
To find out, we spoke to food waste expert Amanda Kane, who runs the NSW Environment Protection Authority's Love Food Hate Waste program.
Kane says there are some foods that last better than others, but all can be kept safer for longer is their stored properly.
"It's really about keeping your food as cold as possible, as often as possible… from when you're shopping at the supermarket to when you're packing things away on Christmas Day," she says.
This starts with when you do your Christmas shopping. (A lesson for next year). Kane recommends taking chiller bags or an esky to the supermarket, butcher or fishmonger and even turning down your fridge a degree (to 3 degrees) to compensate for the extra food and the amount of time it will be opened and closed Christmas Day.
So let's get down to it, how can you keep your Christmas leftovers?
Eat within: 2 days max.
Seafood, including oysters, prawns and other shellfish, have a pretty short shelf-life. Kane says prawns are safest eaten within two to three days of purchase. So if you bought them on Christmas Eve, you'll want to be eating them today.
So keep them tasting as fresh as possible, store them in an airtight container and leave the shells on. And if you're looking for a different way to eat them, prawns go great cooked in a curry or stir-fry. You could also freeze them for up to three months if moved there today, just be aware they'll have to be eaten the day you thaw them.
However, Kane has one disclaimer: "If your seafood spent longer than two hours out on Christmas Day, I wouldn't eat it."
LISTEN: Mia Freedman and Amelia Lester deep dive on Melania Trump's bizarre first Christmas in the White House. Post continues after audio.
Lasts up to: 3-5 days.
(Image via Getty.)
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Traditionally, your leg of ham will be stored in the fridge, wrapped in a cotton cloth that has been dampened in a vinegar solution (one cup water to one tablespoon white vinegar).
However, when it comes to your ham post-Christmas, Kane recommends slicing your ham off the bone, then wrapping it in cling wrap and then foil to store in the fridge.
Kane says ham "really doesn't keep for as long as you might think" and recommends eating it within three to five days. (However, New South Wales' food authority says legs of ham can last several weeks in the fridge with proper handling. You can read their guide here.)
If there's too much ham to eat in a few days, portion your sliced ham out into single serves to freeze for up to two months, so that you can take it out as you need it.
There's no need to waste the bone either, as a ham hock with a bit of meat still on it is the perfect base for pea and ham soup. For other recipe ideas for using up your leftovers, check out the Love Food Hate Waste website.
Turkey and chicken.
Eat within: 3 days.
You want to be eating your leftover poultry within three days, says Kane. And chicken and turkey is perfect for sandwiches the next day. However, Kane says to proceed with caution if your chook was left out longer than two hours on Christmas Day.
"After you clear the Christmas table, put things in containers in the fridge and then that's fine, you can relax and go on with the festivities knowing you've got food that is nice and safe for the next day."
Pro tip for next year: Stock up storage containers before Chrissy and sending each person home with a serve of chicken, slice of pavlova and any other leftovers you won't be able to eat by yourself.
Eat within: the next day.
Put your leftovers in the fridge as soon as your clear the table and you'll keep yourself safe.(Image via Getty.)
For salads that taste their best - including egg and potato, you'll want to be eating them today - especially if they have cheese or egg-based dressings in them. However, if you've got leftover salad ingredients, like lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers store them in airtight containers with a sheet or two of paper towel, suggests Kane. The paper towel will absorb excess moisture and you could be making salad for the next fews days.
And if you've got some unused boiled eggs in your fridge, the good news is these will last for up to a week.
Lasts up to: one week.
While Kane recommends eating roast veggies within three to four days, she says lower water content veggies, like sweet potato, could be stretched out to a week.
Looking for ways to eat your leftover veg? They work well thrown into a pan with some beaten eggs to make a tasty omelette or frittata. You could also make bubble and squeak - a handy way to use some ham too.
The key to keeping your cherries fresh, Kane says, is washing them before you eat them, not before you store them.
"That's because washing them makes them soggy. That's a rule for all fruits really."
How long your fruit lasts will depend on the quality and how fresh it was when you bought it, but should last in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.
Custard and creamy desserts
Delicious. But it won't stay that way for long. (Image via iStock.)
Custard, pavlova, chocolate ripple cake and all desserts heavy on the cream are only going to be truly safe to eat today, unfortunately. (But really - how much longer were they going to last in a hungry household anyway?)
As with most of your leftovers, this is dependent on you having returned the desserts to the fridge within two hours.
If you found yourself with too many sweets today, Kane suggests next year stock up on plastic containers and, as with the poultry, give guests a container of sweets to take home with them as they leave.
Fruit mince pies
Lasts up to: a week.
If you've served up the homemade kind (which, let's be honest, most of us haven't) they'll last stored in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to a week. If your fruit mince pies come from the supermarket, take note of the packaging's 'best before' or 'used by' date before you transfer them to an airtight container.
If you really want to, you could also freeze these for up to three months.
Lasts up to 3 months.
Good old Christmas pudding has incredible keeping power and will last up to three months in the fridge and up to six months in the freezer, Kane says.
"Alcohol in the Christmas pudding is a preservative. It's the moisture in fresh foods that causes it to off quickly, so with pudding that moisture has been taken out and it's got sugar and alcohol acting as preservatives."
"Christmas pudding comes from a time years ago, before we even had refrigeration when it was the mid-winter you made things that lasted for a long time. So it's nice that we still have that tradition these days."
And if you have a Lions' Christmas Cake in your cupboard, relax. That thing will still be fine to eat next Christmas.
For more tips on how to save your leftovers from the bin, visit Love Food Hate Waste or download the Love Food Hate Waste app.
food-poisoning
food-safety


text:
Q: Between Two Datetime parameters not working properly SQL Server A particular result is not displaying properly using BETWEEN Statement
where [Column_name] >= @FromDate and [Column_name] <= @ToDate

Below is how I have set the values
DECLARE @Today AS datetime
DECLARE @FromDate AS datetime
DECLARE @ToDate AS datetime

SET @Today = GetDate()
SET @FromDate = @Today
SET @ToDate = DATEADD("dd", 7, @Today)

I found it was not working properly when I changed it from 7 to -7 and it was displaying an extra result which is not being displayed in the current query
Can you tell me where I am going wrong?
Thanks

A: Aaron Bertrand has an extensive blog on why you should not use between with dates (see here).
I am guessing from the names of your variables that you are forgetting about the time component on getdate().  So, try declaring your variables as:
DECLARE @Today date;
DECLARE @FromDate date;
DECLARE @ToDate date;

SET @Today = cast(GetDate() as date);
SET @FromDate = @Today;
SET @ToDate = DATEADD(day, 7, @Today);

If you want to avoid between, you can write the comparison logic as:
where [Column_name] >= @FromDate and [Column_name] < DATEADD(day, 1, @ToDate)

EDIT:
In pre-SQL Server 2008 versions, the following removes the time component:
DECLARE @Today datetime;
DECLARE @FromDate datetime;
DECLARE @ToDate datetime;

SET @Today = DATEADD(day, DATEDIFF(day, 0, getdate()), 0);
SET @FromDate = @Today;
SET @ToDate = DATEADD(day, 7, @Today);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Blessed Sacrament Church 2.8 mi.
St Peter Cathedral 3.8 mi.
Our Lady and St. Rose 4.0 mi.
St. Mary-St. Anthony Catholic Church 4.5 mi.
Sts. Cyril and Methodius 4.7 mi.
Holy Family Church 4.9 mi.
St John Baptist Catholic Church 4.9 mi.
All Saints Parish 4.9 mi.
Our Lady Of Unity 5.1 mi.


This is not my headline, but I wish I had written it. It comes from REBusinessOnline which recently published a story about Ethan Penner and his perspective on the commercial real estate market. Penner's comments are consistent with my view that the stampede into primary markets and core assets is overdone, just like the stampede into the Sunbelt was overdone in 2007. To be sure, San Francisco (where I live) is seeing strong rent growth across the four major food groups, but some investors are paying up for Daly City and Santa Rosa as if they were Pacific Heights and Telegraph Hill.
Today's extremely low interest rates pose a danger to commercial real estate investors, particularly those with billions of dollars to deploy such as pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, warns Ethan Penner, founder and president of CBRE Capital Partners. In order to receive a reasonable rate of return, these investors are being "crowded out" of low-risk investments and forced into high-risk investments.
The 10-year Treasury yield, a benchmark for commercial real estate finance, currently is hovering around 2 percent, not far from its record low.
"There is almost no way to invest large amounts of money in today's market — specifically in today's real estate market — and not be set up for a major disappointment sometime soon," remarked Penner during his keynote address at the Commercial Real Estate Investment & Finance 2012 conference. Law firm Morris, Manning & Martin along with France Media's InterFace Conference Group hosted the day-long event at the Grand Hyatt in Atlanta.
A disconnect among investors only compounds the problem. Some fund investors, for example, seek low-risk properties that generate double-digit returns. But those returns are more representative of value-add or opportunistic deals.
Penner, a pioneer in the commercial mortgage-backed securities industry who served as CEO of the Capital Company of America/Nomura Capital from 1993 to 1998, said the federal government has engaged in a misguided effort the last few years to bail out the banking system. In his view, government has acted on the belief that in an overleveraged world saving creditors is important.


text:
Sonos raising their United Kingdom prices as of February 23
— Feb 15, 2017
Sonos is jacking up prices on a slew of its high-ticket speakers, and says the UK's Brexit-linked currency woes are to blame.
The company on Monday said it would raise prices on February 23, increasing the cost of its music speakers, wireless receivers and home-theater accessories by as much as 25%. "In the United Kingdom, this includes local taxation and import duties, but we pay for everything we make in U.S. dollars", the firm said in a statement. As Sonos told the Graun, "Over recent months, there has been a significant change on the USA dollar to GBP exchange rate".
The reason, unsurprisingly, is Brexit.
The company's Connect:Amp will receive the full 25% increase, with its price rising from £399 to £499, Sonos said.
'Racists out!' Demonstrators block LA street to protest immigration raids
There were anecdotal reports of ICE staging traffic checkpoints and random sweeps of people suspected of being here illegally. The statement even suggests people walk away from agents, calmly, if they're not being detained or arrested.
As a result, the price of Sonos' PLAY: 1 will rise 18% in terms of the pound, while the PLAY: 3 will rise 15%.
If you're after a new Sonos speaker, you're going to need to act fast though, with the price hikes coming into force later this month.
Thankfully, because Sonos has given us all a heads up, it means we can still get its kit for the current prices (perhaps a little cheaper if you shop around).
If you've had your eye on a Sonos speaker, you should probably pick one up now as the price increases will not be put in place until 23 February. Apple has already added as much as £300 to the cost of an iMac, and a wallet-busting £500 to the top of the line Mac Pro.
Ex-Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo to be jailed in Odebrecht bribe case
'La La Land' Wins Best Film at British Academy Film Awards
Storm progresses as expected; snow coming soon
Hitler doppelgänger spotted in Nazi dictator's birthplace
The lookalike had recently moved to the town on the German border, police spokesman David Furtner told the BBC . A man who dresses as Adolf Hitler has been arrested on charges of glorifying the Nazi era.
Left wins presidency in new blow to Merkel
Opposition parties, The Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), also backed Steinmeier as the country's next president. Since Mr Schulz took over the candidacy in late January, the SPD has risen sharply in the opinion polls.
Verizon Unlimited Data Plans Return With Some Fine Print
Existing T-Mobile One customers will automatically be upgraded with the two new features at no extra charge on Friday, Feb. 17. With Verizon unlimited data plans , hotspot tethering is limited to 10GB for 4G, after which speeds drop to 3G.
Braves trade for second baseman Brandon Phillips
Adam Ronis examines how Brandon Phillips' departure from the Cincinnati Reds will impact the Fantasy Baseball landscape in 2017. The deal has yet to be finalized and it is unclear what the Braves will part with in order to get Phillips.
Star Wars: Westworld's Thandie Newton in Talks to Join Han Solo Movie
Variety's exclusive says that the actress and the powers-that-be involved with the Han Solo movie are in negotiations. Newton was recently nominated for a Golden Globe and two SAG awards for her performance in the show's first season.
Yale Renames Calhoun College Over Namesake's Ties To Slavery And White Supremacy
Criminal charges have since been dropped and Yale has rehired Menafee, who had described the image as offensive. Hopper received a master's degree in mathematics and a Ph.D.in mathematics and mathematical physics from Yale.
FEC official wants proof of New Hampshire voter fraud claims
A former attorney general of New Hampshire is disputing President Trump's claim that voter fraud in the state cost former Sen. She said Trump had alleged "an astonishing voter fraud scheme that he claims denied him and former Sen".
Nomura: China's foreign trade to grow at single-digit rate in 2017
Crude oil imports reached 34.03 million metric tons in January, 27.5 percent higher than the same period a year earlier. The surplus was expected to rise to $48.5 billion.
UFC: Anderson Silva interested in Georges St-Pierre 'super fight'
Holm, fighting in a division created as a supposed coronation for Cyborg Justino, can join McGregor, Randy Couture and B.J. However, she would lose her title at the first defence as she was submitted in the final round by veteran Meisha Tate.
Nationwide protests are happening today over Planned Parenthood's funding
As in other MI cities, the Planned Parenthood supporters seemed to far outnumber the Right to Life group in Grand Rapids. We know for a lot of women, we are the only health care that they receive.
Jamie Dornan's new erotic Fifty Shades instalment panned by critics
Full disclaimer: I was one of those girls who read the book, so I was pretty excited to see how the book came to life. What's this? she asks, daintily holding up a restraint, its metal buckles dangling innocently.
PM Modi likes peeking into people's bathroom: Rahul Gandhi
Appealing to the youth, Modi said, "We eliminated interview processes for class III & IV jobs; this has reduced corruption". Is he working towards an alliance between the two parties? He also said that PM is fond of such acts.
6 dead, dozens injured in powerful quake in southern Philippines
At least 30 aftershocks have rattled the surrounding areas in the hours following the quake, the Institute measured. Several buildings including a state college were heavily damaged and a bridge also collapsed.
Billions being spent on Qatar World Cup
As things stand in qualifying, they are the ninth best team in Asia, a confederation that receives 4.5 places at the World Cup. The human rights groups have claimed that the workers have been exploited and forced to work under very risky conditions.
The Toyota RAV4 Gets Adventurous and More Aggressive
Toyota has also chose to offer its active driver safety system - Toyota Safety Sense - as standard equipment on both models. The former is fitted with an automatic limited-slip differential while the latter gets the Dynamic Torque Control system.


Our fun filled, structured day camps will keep your child active, having fun and happy all summer long! Whether they want to learn new skills, maintain skills, get in shape, stay in shape, make new friends, or you just need quality care while you work, you can be sure All Star is the place to be! Your children deserve a quality program with low ratios, cleanliness, safety and qualified, caring coaches.
*Applies to full days only. All 4 weeks must be paid in full and no refunds available. This promotion is per child and cannot be combined between multiple children. Register for all needed extended care online and discounting will be applied after checkout.
PLUS…each additional week is 10% off for each child!
Field Trips are offered on specific Fridays (for full day summer campers only) and are always optional. This gives some kids a chance to do special activities while you work! There is an additional cost for all field trips.There may be age restrictions depending on the outing. A news letter will be available each week explaining the age limits and cost.
Fridays are always pizza days at All Star!
If you are not going on the field trip, for a small fee you may order pizza at the office.
Please order and pay for your pizza before Thursday. No need to pack a lunch on Friday's …woohoo!
Be sure to register early to avoid disappointment! Please register a minimum of 5 days in advance to allow for coordinating staffing.
Register online! It's very easy! You may also register in person or over the phone.
A double combo, themed camp focused on fun, active skills and conditioning. At this age campers want a faster pace, more structure and focus on progressive basic gymnastics skills. The camp consists of exercises that specifically develop flexibility, strength and coordination. In addition, to gymnastics, this camp includes interactive games, team building skills, trampoline, creative art and outdoor activities. Come have fun and get fit!
If you want more than what our regular camps offer, consider our triple combo camp. They will experience half a day of regular camp with a variety of events and activities and a half day in our intense tumbling camp.
The Tumblers will be split into groups: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Beginners will work on walkovers, cartwheels, and round offs. Intermediate tumblers will work on round offs, aerials and handsprings. Advanced Tumblers will work on developing aerials, 2 back handsprings, and layout step.


Fried to a light golden brown and served with a side of pomodoro sauce.
Two homemade crab cakes topped with sauteed mushrooms and peppers, served over roasted red peppers & garlic sauce.
A blend of tomato, fresh basil, and garlic on our homemade bread, topped with melted whole milk mozzarella cheese and balsamic glaze.
Sliced vine ripe tomatoes interlaced with whole milk mozzarella, topped with basil and drizzled with balsamic glaze and our homemade Italian dressing, served with a dollop of pesto and kalamata olives.
Steamed mussels with a white wine lemon garlic & onion sauce and topped with fresh basil.
Homemade daily and stocked with the freshest vegetables.
There's something new and homemade every day, so ask your server!
Mixed field greens topped with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots and your choice of dressing: homemade Italian, homemade honey mustard, ranch or oil & vinegar.
Mixed field greens topped with candied pecans, craisins, goat cheese and fat free raspberry vinaigrette.
A bowl of soup accompanied by a house or Caesar salad. Add chicken for $5 or shrimp for $6.
Mixed greens topped with prosciutto, spicy capicola, Genoa salami, pepperoni, fontina, aged asiago, provolone, gorgonzola, grapes, kalamata olives and sun dried tomatoes, drizzled with our homemade Italian dressing.
Additional toppings are one dollar and fifty cents. No half toppings please.
Additional toppings are two dollars and fifty cents. No half toppings please.
Pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, sausage, peppers and black olives.
Fresh tomato, garlic, fresh basil, feta, gorgonzola.
Fresh tomato slices, whole milk mozzarella, topped with basil.
Pepperoncinis, bell peppers, banana peppers, smoked gouda, jalapenos.
Prosciutto, scallions, garlic & mozzarella on a ricotta base.
Fontina, romano, mozzarella and spinach on a ricotta base.
Chicken, smoked gouda, red onions, scallions on BBQ sauce.
Onions, peppers, mushrooms, garlic and mozzarella cheese.
Spinach, feta, black olives and mushrooms.
Sliced sausage, bacon, and Canadian bacon, with smoked cheddar and mozzarella cheeses on traditional pizza sauce.
All calzones include ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and a side of pomodoro sauce.
Pot roast home cooked with carrots and served with a side of vegetables and garlic smashed red potatoes.
Sauteed fresh shrimp in a lemon butter white wine sauce over your choice of pasta.
Mama Pizzalley's favorite meat lasagna.
Hand rolled pasta stuffed with our ricotta mix and spinach, baked with pomodoro sauce and mozzarella cheese.
Clams in your choice of a white wine lemon cream sauce, or a spicy marinara sauce, served over a bed of fettucini.
A dish of cheese tortellini with your choice of sauce.
Six stuffed raviolis with chunks of Maine lobster, served in a roasted red pepper sauce.
Blackened shrimp served in a spicy marinara, with your choice of pasta.
A combination of mussels, shrimp, and calamari, poached in marinara or white wine sauce with your choice of pasta.
Pan seared tender veal cutlets smothered in a lemon butter caper sauce.
Tender veal cutlets lightly seared and covered in our homemade marsala sauce reduction.
Three homemade crab cakes with sauteed mushrooms and peppers over roasted red pepper sauce.
8 oz. filet grilled to perfection, smothered with our marsala sauce and nested with fried onions.
Pan seared chicken breast smothered with our homemade marsala sauce reduction.
Pan seared chicken covered in a lemon butter caper sauce.
Marinated tender chicken breast on a bed of spinach and topped with a mix of feta cheese, black olives and bruschetta mix.
Ask your server about our seasonal catch!
12oz Rib-eye topped with house made rosemary red wine compound butter, and served with garlic smashed red potatoes, and broccoli.
Tantalize your senses by creating your own pasta dish with your choice of pasta, sauce, and three vegetables. Add more veggies for a dollar fifty and/or add some meats!
Lightly seared in homemade Italian bread crumbs, smothered in our pomodoro sauce, and blanketed with a blend of Romano and mozzarella cheeses.
Choose from spaghetti, penne or cheese tortellini (1.00) and pomodoro, alfredo or butter sauce.
Two mozzarella moons with fries and pomodoro sauce.
Lady fingers dipped in liqueur laced with espresso, layered with sweetened marscarpone, Myer's Rum and chocolate shavings.
Light vanilla custard with caramelized sugar and topped with whipped cream.
Chocolate cake with chocolate mousse covered in a rich toffee and chocolate chip coating.
Giant chocolate encrusted cannoli filled with a sweet ricotta chocolate chip cream and drizzled with chocolate and caramel.


text:
ABOUT HINDUS & HINDUISM
HINDUISM BASICS
HINDUISM 101
THAT'S SO HINDU BLOG
THAT'S SO HINDU PODCAST
ABOUT HAF
ADVISORS & NATIONAL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
1971 BENGALI HINDU GENOCIDE
DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS
HINDU AMERICAN AWARENESS & APPRECIATION MONTH
HINDUPHOBIA
HINDU ROOTS OF YOGA
I AM HINDU AMERICAN
SHAKTI INITIATIVE
ON THE ISSUES
INTL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
REPORTERS GUIDES
HINDU IMAGE USE GUIDE
ADVOCACY FORUM
DHARMA ADVOCATES
DHARMA AMBASSADORS
Why Do Our Textbooks Still Present Hinduism Like We're Still in the Colonial Era?
By Padmavathy Mana August 17, 2017 January 21st, 2021 No Comments
Growing up as a Hindu in America, I've always known that most non-Hindus don't have a good grasp of my faith's beliefs; also, that their concept of what constitutes religious scripture is rooted in their experience with the Abrahamic traditions, turning to one main book to explain the beliefs and doctrines of the faithful.
From this perspective it's easy to see how attempting to grapple with the enormous body of works that make up Hindu sacred knowledge, and that there isn't one single tome that can be called a 'Hindu Bible,' can be daunting. But what I've never understood, though, is how even some of the best trained academics in the West and some of the leading textbook publishers, so often present our most sacred texts in ways that are so dramatically out of touch with how Hindus, Hindu spiritual leaders, and Hindu scholars, themselves interpret them.
You'd think that in the second decade of the twenty-first century, racist, colonial-era misconceptions about Hindu beliefs, practices, and history would have been eliminated from our educational materials. Sadly that's not the case.
To understand just how poor many textbook presentations of Hindu scriptures can be, let me first outline how they are categorized and what they contain.
Hindu scripture encompasses all of the human experience
Hindu scripture is made up of two groups: Shruti and Smriti. Critically important is that while Shruti texts are considered timeless truths, Smriti texts are timely—that is, they are intended to be used and (re)interpreted based on context.
Shruti are those texts which are considered 'revealed' or, more aptly, realized works and are taken to be divinely inspired. In this group are the Vedas. These are the main body of Hindu literature and the foundation for most other Hindu texts. The Vedas are split into four books: the Rig, Yajur, Sama, and Atharva. Each book covers various themes, but all include a Samhita portion, a Brahmana portion, an Aranyaka portion, and Upanishad or Vedanta portion. These explain, interpret, and encapsulate the essence of the text. All are ancient and all were transmitted orally via chanting for generations before being first written down. They are often memorized and chanted in a variety of ritual and devotional contexts to this day.
Smriti are those works which are 'remembered' and include the many other auxiliary texts which are based from the Vedas. The Puranas, Upavedas (study of Ayurveda is included here), Vedangas, Agamas, Darshana Shastras, Dharma Shastras, and Bhakti (devotional) texts are all classified as Smriti. These texts cover a vast range of topics: stories about Gods and Goddesses (often making philosophical teachings more easily comprehensible and entertaining), genealogies of kings and sages, history of holy sites, creation stories, folktales, science, cosmology, astronomy, theology, and philosophy, and more.
This vast body of scripture contains metaphysical and scientific insights side by side in the same category of works. The minutia of statecraft is expounded upon, as is the profound expression of devotion to the Divine. The distinction between religious and secular writing is at best blurry, if acknowledged at all. Some texts are very technical, concerning temple rituals and temple construction, for example, and aren't widely read except by those people who are specialists. Others, such the Bhagavad Gita, have passages that are known by heart by millions of people, from all strata of society. All of these can rightly be called scripture. Individual Hindus and individual Hindu lineages emphasize certain texts and de-emphasize others, complicating the picture.
Just how bad are current textbooks?
How much of that is needed to fully educate middle school students about Hindu religious beliefs, given space constraints in textbooks and the school calendar, is open for debate. But for the poor state of affairs in some textbooks, take a look at these four excerpts of how Hindu scripture is described in some current draft of textbooks for California. Each is a quote from a textbook intended for sixth and seventh graders and is representative of other errors made. The bold emphasis in these is mine.
"In time Brahmanism's rituals and hymns were recorded in sacred texts called the Vedas."
Brahmanism is a very specific term used by some scholars to refer to a period of religious development in ancient India. In that way this passage is understandable. But in contemporary discourse it is a loaded term, most often used to denigrate Hinduism for the pernicious social issues ranging from patriarchy and violence to caste discrimination and oppression. It's not normally used by Hindus, outside of a narrow academic context. Even many academics now question the validity of the term and/or concept. Also, describing the content of the Vedas as "rituals and hymns" without mentioning the metaphysical and philosophical insights contained within them doesn't accurately describe the texts and belittles the importance of them. Is this the best way to present the beliefs of ancient Hindus and the origin of contemporary Hinduism to middle schoolers?
"[The Vedas] include hymns, spells, charms, and descriptions of rituals." [emphasis added]
Here again there is no mention of spiritual insight contained in the Vedas. It makes it seem like the Vedas are some combination of a song book and book of magic, not the foundation of a religion that has made some of the deepest insights into the nature of reality the world has ever known.
"A second collection of Vedic texts describes secret rituals that only certain people could perform. In fact, the rituals were so secret that they had to be done in the forest, far from other people." [emphasis added]
More of the same here, with the added implication that people with knowledge of the Vedas were probably doing something no-good off in the woods.
"They had to memorize the poems and hymns, such as the Vedas, that were important in their culture. Eventually, people figured out how to write it down so they could keep records and write down scriptures, which are the basis for Hinduism."
This passage makes one assumption and one historical error. The assumption that it makes is that oral transmission of a tradition is inferior to written transmission. The error it makes is that it implies that this oral transmission is a thing of the past. In fact oral transmission of the Vedas still goes on to this day, even though written texts are readily available both in the original language and in translation. Young students still memorize and chant the Vedas regularly. This is not an inferior method of transmission of knowledge nor the fidelity of the text.
It's both what's in textbooks and what's left out that's the problem
It's not just what is included in the textbooks and how it's described. It's also what's left out: basic information about how Hindu scripture is classified, and often any mention of any texts beside the Vedas; that the study of architecture, astronomy, ethics, history, and medicine are inherent parts of Hindu scripture, dating back millennia; how Hindus today interpret and use their texts.
All of this perpetuates racist, colonial-era stereotypes about Hinduism being nothing more than superstitious and complex rituals. It fails to present to students a complete and relevant picture of the place of scripture within Hinduism, as well as Hindu beliefs.
Hinduism is the world's third-largest religion, with slightly more than 1 billion people identifying as Hindu. In the United States there are over three million practicing Hindus—of Indian origin, from the Caribbean and other nations of the diaspora, and people with no historical connection to India or South Asia but who have adopted the religion. Hindu children have been studying in American schools for more than five decades. There are second and third generation children who, while identifying as Hindu, have little to no connection to India but a strong one to the United States. Hindus are solidly part of contemporary American society. Our school textbooks have an obligation to present Hindu beliefs accurately.
Our technology today gives each of us access, literally in the palm of the hand, to the sum of all of human intellectual output still extant. The information is available. And given contemporary sensitivity about not perpetuating stereotypes about non-Western peoples originating in the colonial era, you'd think that school textbooks would portray Hindu scriptures and beliefs as accurately and equitably as the other major religions of the world. But too often they do not.
Hindus themselves, academics, and textbook publishers all have a role to play in correcting this
Exoticizing and/or judging cultures is rightly called out and condemned by academics and activists alike across the globe, but when it comes to the study of Hinduism a peculiar exception seems to be made. The views of outsiders are still too often considered superior or more accurate than those from within the tradition. For this to change, the voice of practicing Hindus must become louder and stronger within the academia. Hindu voices and perspectives must be allowed to contribute to the global narrative about Hinduism. Indeed, they must be prioritized.
Moreover, Western academics could also learn from immersing themselves in systematic study in traditional schools where Dharmic religions have historically flourished and have rigorously been studied, lived, and passed on. Gurukulas, for example, would be an ideal place for long-term schooling, understanding, and research in Hinduism. Doing so would likely help remedy many of the misconceptions about Hindu beliefs that are unfortunately mirrored in our textbooks.
Finally, textbook publishers in the United States must themselves work more closely and directly with the Hindu American community while drafting their content. Publishers must be open to getting feedback from their audiences who actively, dynamically practice Hinduism, at the very least to include this perspective in their materials in addition to those of scholars. Doing so would assist in offering non-Hindus a more accurate, nuanced understanding of Hinduism as a religion and of Hindus themselves.
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Everybody has experienced the after-effects of a bad night's sleep, so we created this Puffy mattress review for you. You are grumpy, can't seem to focus or concentrate and just feel downright horrible. This is because sleep is just as important as oxygen, water, and food for the human body. Being deprived of any of these can severely affect your health and may even be fatal, and it is no different with sleep deprivation.
The latest studies have found that the optimal amount of sleep per night per person is 7 hours. If you aren't getting this amount of sleep, there are a few top tips that you can follow to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
It is critical to calm the body and the mind before bedtime. So don't enter into any stimulating activities which means no exercise, physical work and it is also recommended to turn off the television and your other devices that can stimulate the brain to stay awake. Meditation, light yoga or even reading a book are good activities to help encourage sleep.
Your body has its own internal clock which is called the circadian rhythm. This rhythm tells us when it is time to go to sleep and when it is time to be awake over 24 hours. When it starts getting dark, the body releases melatonin which sets the clock to sleep time. Melatonin is the active ingredient in a variety of different sleeping aids and medications. So dim the lights and allow your natural clock to tell your brain and body that it is time to go to sleep.
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If you use these tips consistently, you should be enjoying the recommended 7 hours of sleep every night.


Now "hope" has been a word used almost incessantly this year, usually in decidedly secular, political contexts.
But on this, the holiest of Christian holidays, perhaps we should take a step back and consider the hope - the real meaning of the birth of Jesus in that little manger in Bethlehem - that Christmas represents.
According to Christians, Jesus was sent into to such modest circumstances to live an esthetic life that culminated in a death that was to save mankind - the greatest "hope" of all.
These are indeed troubled times not only for Christians, but also for adherents of all the major religions and even those of no religion at all.
Our county alone is engaged in two distant wars that are slowly draining us of blood and treasure, we are more than a year into a recession of the kind never seen before, and people across the nation are worried about losing their homes and jobs.
Across the globe anxieties are also running at a high not seen perhaps since World War II, another era in which hope was greatly needed but often in short supply.
To even try to name all the hot spots across the globe would be a fruitless task, as new ones seem to crop up each day, but suffice it to say that the Middle East - the very place Christ was born in that manger - is likely to be the focus of tensions for the foreseeable future.
As it appears that the war in Iraq is winding down, there are calls to redouble efforts in Afghanistan, where the first "War on Terror" began after the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, but where many an invading or occupying force has met its match over the past few hundred years.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan also appears to be teetering on the brink of chaos, even as tension between that country and India, its also nuclear-armed neighbor, rise after terrorist attacks by extremist from Pakistan on Mumbai. Meanwhile many of the countries in Africa are in states of anarchy, warfare or starvation with little prospects of improvement.
But in times such as these, the hope - there's that word again - is that men and women of good will can prevail with words and deeds to ameliorate such seemingly overwhelming problems.
Regardless of belief or even lack of it, such leaders would do well to contemplate core and simple messages that Jesus brought to mankind.
Those would include "God is love," "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and loving your neighbor (in the broadest sense) as you love yourself.
And never give up the hope that peace and prosperity are at hand.


NOTE: this article was originally published to NYTimes.com on November 13, 2018. It was written by Jim Robbins.
When he arrived, he found a wolf on the bank of the stream.
"When I saw it, just eight meters away, it was running full-steam into the middle of the creek and then it ran back out," he said. Mr. Gable saw the wolf crunching fish parts, and later found wolf tracks intermingled with fish remnants along the creek.
Researchers set up remote cameras on that section of creek, and discovered the techniques a wolf uses to capture aquatic prey.
The researchers have compiled GPS data from seven packs in the area, but this is the only one that appears to fish. The researchers have seen five wolves from the Bowman's Bay pack fishing, and data show that two of them spent from 43 to 63 percent of their time fishing for spawning suckers along the creek.
"Given the impressive adaptability of wolves to find food, it is not entirely surprising," said Joseph Bump, an associate professor of wildlife research at the University of Minnesota.
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Of course it rained. It was a festival!
THE RAIN was pelting onto the flimsy roof of the tent as a bunch of bedraggled freelances huddled together to talk about what the NUJ meant to them.
Members are sometimes called on to make sacrifices for the NUJ and six LFB members joined other freelances in braving the hazards of an English summer festival over the August bank holiday weekend.
The Byline Festival in Ashdown Forest in Sussex was organised by a radical crowd-funded publishing and campaigning group of London-based journalists. There were hundreds of journalists there and LFB had a stall and ran a union workshop.
This took place in the torrential downpour but still 16 colleagues picked their way through the mud to get to the panel discussion conducted by branch officers and other union reps.
As at all festivals there was music and comedy, but in addition a dozen sessions a day with prominent journalists discussing current themes such as fake news, media regulation, data exploitation by the tech giants, brexit and so on. Much of the discussion focused on the responsibility of journalists to stick to the highest standards - which is where the NUJ comes in.
A highlight was the annual Bad Press Awards at which ironic accolades were heaped mostly on the Daily Mail , but the Mirror and The Times featured as well.
Nicci Talbot, LFB's social media officer, was the initiator of enterprise, who had established contact with Byline at LFB's latest Freelance Salon. She had some NUJ T-shirts printed for the festival.
It has been confirmed that Byline will take place again on 23-26 August next year and preparations will be made for a deeper level of activity. The freelance team has submitted a report to the National Executive Council (NEC) with recommendations for a union presence at national level.
The London Freelance participants along with Nicci were vice-chair Pierre Alozie and secretary Tim Gopsill, with members Federica Tedeschi, Elizabeth Ingrams and Laura Laker. They were joined by Nick McGowan-Lowe, chair of the Freelance Industrial Council, and NEC member Natasha Hirst - both of them freelance photographers.


text:
Meet Ron Finley, the Man Making Gardening Cool
How the "Gangsta Gardener" is transforming food deserts in South Central LA into flourishing edible landscapes.
By Amanda Kohr
Ron Finley, recognized as the world's "Gangsta Gardener," was out tending to his garden a few days after southern California's latest rainfall. This is Mr. Finley's happy place. In addition to providing an amalgamation of fresh produce, it allows him the opportunity to connect with the soil. Mr. Finley tells me that plants aren't the only thing you can find in this version of paradise. As he was working, a small lizard made its way into the crux of his shovel. "How did you get here?" Ron says. "I haven't seen a lizard here [in South Central Los Angeles] in 15 years. I used to see them all the time as a kid." This is just one illustration of how Ron is rebuilding an ecosystem. He considers South Central Los Angeles his home. Before he began his work with LA Green Grounds, a volunteer organization dedicated to helping individuals build edible landscapes and urban farms, the neighborhood was a food desert. Food deserts, which are defined as part of the country where citizens lack access to fresh fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods, and are usually found in impoverished areas. Rather than farmers markets and grocery stores, these areas rely on gas stations and fast food chains. Over 23.5 million people in the United States live in a food desert, and almost half of them are low income. Nearly one million of these people live in California. As a city, Los Angeles is full of extremes. Less than 10 miles from Ron's neighborhood, Hollywood starlets and plastic surgeons sip green juices and eat chicken pâté at farm-to-table restaurants, while the options in South Los Angeles are limited to Del Taco and Doritos. This sort of diet has frightening ramifications. In his famous TED Talk, Ron describes the influx of health-related diseases that were plaguing South Central. He says, "More people are dying from disease than drive-bys." When I spoke to Ron over the phone, I was able to witness his passion firsthand. He's a busy man (in between gardening, public speaking, and volunteering he also finds the time to take an aerial silks class), and seems to thrive off his work in nature. Phone interviews can be tricky, but Mr. Finley's devotion to his cause rang so clearly that it felt as if he were in the room with me. "It's instinctual," he says, referring to his work in the garden. "We share 50 percent of our DNA with bananas. We're energy. We decompose just like everything else. I know it sounds like some hippie shit, but it's real." This is a common thread in Ron's philosophies. Humans are wild things, as much as a part of nature as the plants stemming from his garden. It's natural for us to blossom in the soil and to nourish ourselves with things from the Earth. It feels good. Ron's success within his community (and the rest of the United States) is a prime indicator of the truth behind this theory. Many people have been inspired by his Gangsta Gardening, and are further fueled to start their own relationship with the edible earth. His assistant, Ashleigh, started out as the garden's caretaker, waking up early every morning to water, maintain, and harvest the plants. She tells me that this job came at a fragile time in her life, and she was "looking to be part of something amazing."
"There are two types of things that I learned from Ron," Ashleigh continues. "One was the more superficial stuff: how to plant, how to handle seedlings, how to compost. But more than that, I learned how to look at things through a different lens. How to not accept what you've been given and make it what you want." But creating "what he wanted" was not necessarily an easy process for Ron. He began the project in response to the frustration he felt with the inequality in his neighborhood. The more people got sick with health-related diseases, the more Ron yearned for a change. He was tired of driving 45 minutes to Whole Foods just to get an apple that wasn't "impregnated with pesticides." Then he realized that he was a designer, and it was up to him to shift the design. He noticed that the parkways, the space between a sidewalk and the street, was an empty but viable space for planting. And though it was technically owned by the city, it was the resident's job to maintain the area. He decided to transform this space into something beneficial, and began planting various fruits and vegetables to provide an alternative to the sodium-laden snacks. "A lot of the people were like, 'What the hell? That's outside the box thinking,'" Ron says. "But there is no fucking box. This is just thinking."
"Ron pushes people to be their absolute best."
The idea was smart. It was cost-effective, simple, and added beauty to a neighborhood that needed a little love. But not everyone was on board. The city complained and ordered him to stop. They technically owned the parkways, and though the gardens were benefitting the community, officials weren't keen on turning the parkways into edible landscapes. But Ron saw that this land was too good to give up. (There were 26 miles of vacant lots! This equals out to 20 central parks!) And in a place where kids have to eat yellow powder and puffed corn to satiate their hungry, the idea of stopping was unacceptable. Within a few weeks, Ron had a petition with 900 signatures, and he was able to take control of the project. Since then, Gangsta Gardening has become more than the actual activity of planting and harvesting; it's a movement. When he's not working with LA Green Grounds, Ron is traveling the country for public speaking engagements. A few weeks ago, he was a the University of Denver. The students told Ron that he was inspiration, that he was motivating them. He reveals that he was so choked up, he almost wasn't able to do his presentation. Getting youth involved in gardening not only gives them good things to eat, but it can also provide a sense of self-worth. Ron describes anyone who allows society to make dietary decisions for them is "a food slave." By taking control of their garden, and thus the food that goes into their bodies, children and adults enable themselves to make their own decisions. When I spoke to Ashleigh, she also revealed how her work with nature gave her a sense of self-worth. In her community, and the communities LA Green Grounds is trying to reach, there's a lot of self-doubt. The limitations placed on these communities can make everyone, especially children, feel as if they're limited. "The limitations that are put on you, you adopt as your own." Ashleigh says. "But Ron pushes people to be their absolute best. He taught me to say, 'You're not limited. You're only limited to the point you want to be.'" In order to get more people involved in the movement, Ron tells me what he tells everyone else: "Make gardening cool. Make that shit sexy. Get all the money you can get. And remember you made that money." Did you ever spend your afternoons dancing with Mother Nature, coming home with soil in your nail beds and grass-stained-jeans? While the act of getting outside has fallen out of fashion, Ron is hellbent on making it accessible. Embracing and understanding the origin of food is admired. Digging your hands in the dirt is cool. After all, have you ever looked at someone taking a bite of a raw tomato and thought that they didn't look like a badass? It's fun, downright delightful to imagine gardening a sexy, cool experience. Ron has made his own garden one badass oasis. It's not a neatly plotted, manufactured space; we're talking straight out of The Secret Garden, with spirals and tangles of various colors and fragrances lining the streets. It's a sensual experience. Gardens like this one flood you with appreciation for the wild nature that exists in both yourself and Mother Earth. Most people get involved with Ron through LA Green Grounds. The mission of the company is simple: to empower South LA's communities and beyond, one garden at a time. Residents can host garden "dig-ins" and invite family, friends, and neighbors to come together and convert a regular lawn into an edible landscape. Areas that were previously dried and empty are now bursting with strawberries, pumpkins, kale, tomatoes, sunflowers, and peppers spanning every color of the rainbow. There were now clusters of blueberries where empty Cheetos bags had once blown by like tumbleweeds. Perhaps we all need to reclaim that childlike connection to the Earth. Ron has done so; he's a modern day Thoreau, with the garden as his Walden Pond. He understands the instinctual relationship between humans and the wild. "I want to advocate, see, and show people that they can change their lives," says Ron. "The soil is the catalyst, but it's also the canvas for change." —
Amanda Kohr is a 25-year-old writer and photographer with a penchant for yoga, food, and travel. She prefers to bathe in the moonlight rather than the sun, and enjoys living in a state of the three C's: cozy, creative, and curious. When she's not writing, you can find her driving her VW Bug, looking for the next roadside attraction or family diner. She also roams the internet at amandakohr.com.


Oh look, a 5 min crappy doodle of movie!Sirius.
Has anyone seen any spare talent lying around? I could borrow some.
Also, reminder about submissions to Tangled Woods ezine, we still need art, stories, reviews, articles etc. Don't be shy. Submission details can be found on the site.


John Anton is counting on you feeling a bit sluggish after celebrating one of America's richest culinary traditions this week. His remedy is pisco, a potent palate cleanser from Peru.
Pisco ("peesco") will be the starring ingredient of a special dinner Sunday night at Mandolin restaurant in North Raleigh. Anton, the wine and beverage director, and chef-owner Sean Fowler are collaborating on a four-course meal that will feature Peruvian dishes and paired cocktails, including the classic Pisco Sour.
All beverages will be made with Campo de Encanto Pisco, a premiere label whose product is first fermented into wine and then distilled into a clear brandy. The company's president, Walter Moore, who grew up on the Outer Banks and is a graduate of Duke University, is scheduled to attend.
With Moore's support, Anton has become something of a pisco expert in the two years since he first tasted the white spirit. He's traveled to Peru twice, most recently in September, at Moore's invitation.
"It was an absolute crash course," Anton says of his first trip. "It was a lot of fun, but it also was a lot of workwith copious amounts of pisco consumption thrown in."
Campo de Encanto (Land of Enchantment) brand pisco is made in the Ica Valley of Peru, a bumpy six-hour bus ride from the capital city of Lima. Anton won the chance to learn the ropes there through a cocktail contest, where he was one of eight national winnersand the only representative from the entire East Coast. The following trip in September resulted from an impromptu invitation from Moore, who was impressed by Anton's work ethic and passion.
"The thing I really love about pisco is its sense of place," Anton says. "It's like drinking fine wine and understanding where it comes from, even if you're never been there. I felt that way immediately about pisco, and I feel it even more deeply now that I've experienced the process of blending and distilling it in Peru."
Campo de Encanto is almost entirely handmade using sustainably rustic techniques. Not a drop of water or sugar is added and the product is distilled only once to retain its essential flavors.
The process is not far removed from the method of local villagers who started making it in the 1600s, including stomping sticky grapes with their feet. Pisco's popularity, Anton explains, was rooted in political oppression. Ruling Spaniards taxed local wines to increase consumption of their imported casks. Industrious farm hands discovered they could distill wine and create something that not only skirted the tax but was more potent and appealing.
"It became the drink of a nation," Anton says. "Once you try it, you'll understand why."
Pisco is sometimes confused with grappa, a distillate made from salvaged byproduct of the winemaking process. Compared to pisco's lightly floral note imparted by whole moscatel grapes, grappa can be a bit biting. "It tastes like paint thinner," Anton says dismissively. "It's purely a digestif; not something you'd want to sip."
At around $40 a bottle, Campo de Encanto's top-shelf Grand & Noble is a costly bar pour. Fine pisco is well enjoyed straight, at room temperature, or chilled without ice. Anton believes its clean flavor makes it an ideal cocktail component, such as his winning Mandolin Winter Pisco Punch. Made with pineapple juice, rosemary and a syrup of vanilla beans and charred jalapeños, it is a popular choice among Mandolin regulars.
"Pisco is extremely versatile. You won't make a Pisco Martini, per se, but you could make a Pisco Vesper," Anton says, substituting pisco for gin or vodka in the cocktail spiked with lillet, a type of dry vermouth famously favored by James Bond. "If I didn't firmly believe it was going to be one of the next great white spirits, I wouldn't put this kind of time in it."
The Pisco Sour is unquestionably the king of pisco cocktails. While its origins are contested among Latin Americans, especially Peruvians and Chileans, it is generally credited to an American bartender, Victor Vaughen Morris. Morris owned a bar in Lima in the 1920s that catered to upper-class Peruvians and English-speaking foreigners.
Anton says the drink is a "point of honor among bartenders in Lima," where it is celebrated as a national holiday the first Saturday in February. "It is," Anton adds, "one of life's great treats."
2-3) Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously for roughly 10 seconds (dry shake).
4) Add a small amount of ice to mixture and 5) shake again for roughly 2-3 seconds (wet shake).
6) Double strain mixture into a rocks glass (no ice!). 7) Pour two drops of Angostura Bitters into the bottle lid, then carefully pour into the center of the drink.


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