text:
Trump's Evangelical Base Is Cracking Over Syria. Now He's Scrambling to Keep His "Mandate of Heaven."
The White House is arraying itself in godliness to stay in their good graces.
Marianne Szegedy Maszak
When President Donald Trump appeared on Saturday night at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC, he was speaking to an audience of his most loyal supporters. But for the first time in his administration, he had done something that had awakened the long slumbering consciences of prominent evangelical leaders and their flocks. The week before the annual confab of conservative Christians, Trump impulsively decided to abandon the Kurds in Syria, and by the time the faithful had gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, the Turks had already invaded and embarked on the slaughter of our one-time allies.
Throughout his tenure, white, evangelical Protestants have stood firm with the president; he secured 80 percent of their vote in 2016, and their approval of his presidency has hovered between 69 and 78 percent according to the Pew Research Center. In this relationship, the quid pro quo has been pretty obvious: They vote for him and ignore scandals about hush money for porn stars and children in cages. In return, he gives them conservative judges (and not just on the Supreme Court), an assault on abortion rights, jobs for many of their own in key government positions, a move of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and clarion calls to safeguard a selective and weaponized idea of religious freedom whenever he can—even at the UN.
The first signs of evangelical distress began with 89-year-old Pat Robertson, the Southern Baptist minister, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, and evangelical superstar, who appeared on his syndicated program, the 700 Club, the morning after Trump's announcement. He said he was "appalled" by the decision, concluding "I believe…the president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen."
Soon after Robertson's admonition, and condemnations from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Trump acolyte and golfing partner Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the hallelujah chorus of others chimed in. Rev. Franklin Graham, who has been one of the most crawlingly obsequious of Trump's ministers and had embarked on a thinly disguised political tour dubbed "Decision America" to further solidify support of the president, took to Twitter a few days later:
TODAY I ask that you join me in praying for the lives affected by the White House decision to pull US troops out of northern Syria. Both Democrat & Republican leaders are deeply concerned bc this would be, in essence, abandoning our closest allies there—the Kurdish people. 1/2
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) October 9, 2019
The backlash has led to a series of quiet moves by the Trump administration to mollify the religious right, reversing the usual dynamic between the two groups. Instead of Christians being put in the position of rationalizing Trump's behavior, here was an instance of the Trump White House arraying itself in godliness to stay in their good graces.
So what happened? Why would the fate of a beleaguered minority thousands of miles away embolden right wing evangelicals in a way that the president's innumerable other transgressions haven't?
One reason could be found praying over President Trump at the Values Voters meeting on Saturday night. Rev. Andrew Brunson was pastor with the Izmir Resurrection Church in Turkey and has been a cause célèbre for the religious right ever since he was arrested in October 2016 and told that his missionary work was a violation of Turkish national security. He was accused of being a spy for the ethnic Kurds, tried, and initially sentenced to 35 years in prison.
The evangelical community was outraged. One of its own had been persecuted for his religion by Muslims and turned into a geopolitical pawn. After he became president, Trump, with an able assist from his evangelical vice president Mike Pence pushed for Brunson's release and, eventually, after White House pressure, Brunson was moved out of prison to house arrest. In 2018, Brunson was resentenced to three years in prison, which amounted to time served.
The pastor's first stop upon his return to the United States was a visit with President Trump, with whom he prayed in the White House. Southern Baptist minister Robert Jeffress—who recently appeared on a Sunday edition of Fox & Friends warning of "a Civil War–like fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal" should the impeachment inquiry be successful—praised the president's accomplishment: "I join all Americans in sincere thanks to President Donald J. Trump and his administration for their relentless dedication to religious freedom and tough negotiations with Turkey to secure Pastor Brunson's release today. Yet another example of 'promise made, promise kept' by the Trump administration. Praise God!"
But now the promise that was made became the promise that was broken. Certainly, Brunson's ordeal illustrated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was no friend of evangelical Christians. At the same time, there are many Christians among the vulnerable Kurdish communities in Syria.
"I think it gets to a loyalty and betrayal factor. The celebrity/large cash generating, influential, affinity organizational types place a real premium on loyalty—and often severely punish disloyalty."
There is another factor at work though, one that is perhaps more difficult for non-evangelicals to fully appreciate. I reached out to an evangelical minister friend of mine and asked what he made of the unexpected criticisms from these leaders. "I think it gets to a loyalty and betrayal factor," he texted. "The celebrity/large cash generating, influential, affinity organizational types place a real premium on loyalty—and often severely punish disloyalty." He explained that this occurs within their organizations—not surprising given their authoritarian set up—and has been essential to maintaining their success and prosperity. Indeed it explains their previously unquestioning loyalty to Trump, "because he has delivered on his promises to us: on abortion, pounding on the evil secular, anti-Christian media, elevating our own to cabinet posts."
But when it comes to the Kurds, "they are known to have helped us win the war in Iraq and succeed in vanquishing ISIS in Syria," he continued, "so people like Robertson would hold that they deserve our undying loyalty." An unusual interplay was catalyzed in which Trump sided with Erdoğan, a persecutor of Christians, against the Kurds. He had convinced some of the evangelical leaders that the unsavory world leaders whom Trump has embraced—Putin and Kim most obviously—weren't really so bad. But Erdoğan was different.
So Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were deployed to Turkey to try and fix a mess that had clearly gotten out of hand. Again, the choice of these two to carry out the work was intended for both foreign and domestic consumption. They were the highest–ranking members of the administration, so they demonstrated respect to the Turkish president and a capacity to make a deal. At the same time, they are two of the truest believers, themselves prominent evangelical Christians, whose presence was another reminder that the religious right was in good hands with the Trump administration.
There were other reminders too. The homepage of the State Department website, for instance, when the Values Voters were gathering in DC, highlighted Pompeo's speech to the American Association of Christian Counselors in Nashville, Tennessee. The title? "Being a Christian Leader."
SOURCEMother Jones
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In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth..


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Robert Bruce Stuart, Duke of Kintyre and Lorne (* 18. Januar 1602 in Dunfermline Palace; † 27. Mai 1602 in Dunfermline Palace) war ein schottischer Prinz.

Leben
Er war der dritte Sohn von König Jakob VI. und Anna von Dänemark. Anlässlich seiner Taufe am 2. Mai 1602 ließ sein Vater verkünden, dass er die erblichen schottischen Adelstitel Duke of Kintyre and Lorne, Marquess of Wigtown, Earl of Carrick und Lord of Annandale tragen solle. Er starb bereits 25 Tage später an einer Krankheit und wurde in Dunfermline Abbey begraben.

Literatur
 Alison Weir: Britain's Royal Families. The Complete Genealogy. Random House, 2011, ISBN 1446449114, S. 252.
 James Balfour Paul (Hrsg.): The Scots Peerage. Band 1, David Douglas, Edinburgh 1910, S. 28.
 George Edward Cokayne, Vicary Gibbs (Hrsg.): The Complete Peerage. Band 7, St. Catherine Press, London 1929, S. 332.

Weblinks

Kintyre and Lorne
Prinz (Schottland)
Robert Stuart, Duke of Kintyre and Lorne
Jakob I. (England)
Geboren 1602
Gestorben 1602
Kind
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
These Angels Have Running Shoes Instead of Wings
Lisa Staples has been a wellness consultant with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for the past 25 years. The Grand Rapids resident began running to get back in shape after her last child was born 19 years ago. A running injury forced her to jump in the pool to keep up her conditioning while she was healing, which soon led to her competing in her first triathlon at the age of 45.
The relationships she built in the running community while staying so active led her to become a founding board member of myTEAM TRIUMPH, a program that helps people with disabilities participate in athletic endurance events, where she coordinates athlete registration as angels director.
I recently interviewed Staples about this organization to learn more about what they do, why they got started and how you can get involved.
A Healthier Michigan: Please tell me about MyTeam Triumph. How did it get started? Why did it get started? What is it exactly? What is the motivation behind it?
Lisa Staples: myTEAM TRIUMPH is an athletic ride-along program founded to enable children, teens, adults and veterans with disabilities to participate in endurance events such as triathlons or road races.
In January 2008, a small group of Grand Rapids-area endurance athletes started meeting to explore the idea of creating an organization inspired by Team Hoyt – the father/son racing team. We all came from various business backgrounds, and by March of 2008 we had formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, were raising funds and researching, testing and purchasing equipment. We fielded two teams in our first race, the Tri del Sol, in July of that year!
We structured the organization to accommodate expansion nationally and currently have six other chapters across the U.S.
Our teams consist of a Captain (our participant with disabilities) who is pulled and pushed in special equipment by a team of Angels (the athletes). Our Captains are the registered race participants, wear the racing bib and timing chip, and it's their name that appears in the race results. The Angels' role is to provide their Captain with the experience of a lifetime and cross a finish line never thought imaginable.
AHM: How do you find people to participate? Do Captains and Angels train together? Do they keep in touch after a race?
Staples: All of our board members are active endurance athletes who belong to various running and training clubs. Our original Angels were athletes we knew who were up for a new challenge. But after our first race, we had numerous athletes ask us how they could participate.
We recruited our first Captains from friends and neighbors. Since then, we have developed relationships with the Conductive Learning Center (which serves children with motor disorders related to complications of prematurity, cerebral palsy, spina bifida or brain injury) and Harbor House Ministies (which provides housing for adults with severe multiple impairments). We also have several families who now participate with us regularly — a brother running his Down's syndrome sister through a 25k, dad and aunt taking a son with cerebral palsy through a triathlon, to name a couple.
Our network of Captains and Angels continues to grow simply through word of mouth, our visibility at area races and some nice media exposure we've received in recent years, both local and national.
AHM: Do you have any particular heartwarming or interesting stories about the participants? How do they feel about the experience? Have you been an Angel before and can you tell us about your experience?
Staples: Everyone who has participated with mTT — Captains, Angels, family members, volunteers — comes away touched in some way. Check out the video on www.mttwestmichigan.org (but have your tissues handy!).
As for sample stories:
We've had a volunteer who was inspired to start running after helping at a race ("I have two good legs — I ought to use them!") and subsequently Angel-ed for us the following year.
I've seen parents let their disabled child out of their sight for the first time in his life and been overwhelmed by the joy that child expressed at the thrill of finishing a 15-mile bike ride in a triathlon.
We've had a 14 year-old Captain challenge his team of Angels to break the 2 hour mark at a 25k. (He now gets to wear the prestigious 2 Hour Club racing bib at that event.)
One family created a personalized photo book for each Angel who took their son through a triathlon — they were so grateful for the relationship their son developed with those men.
Tri del Sol allows our teams to start first. One mom commented that it was the first time her son was ever first for anything. Because he requires physical assistance, his "abled" classmates always go ahead of him — in line, getting on a bus for a field trip, etc. Going first was a really big deal that we didn't anticipate.
In general, I've noticed that our Captains exude a new confidence following a race. Their families view them with renewed pride and respect. Our Angels are so touched by the experience that you'll often see tears well up in their eyes (even the guys!). And our volunteers come away knowing they've helped make a difference in someone's life.
Personally, I've had the privilege of being an Angel for a 14 year old girl with neurofibromatosis. And yes, pushing a jogger through a 25k (even with other Angels to trade off with) is a physical challenge. However, there is nothing more rewarding than giving a young girl a "rock star" experience for a day. The attention our Captains get from other race participants is so heartwarming. Our equipment is always labeled with the Captain's names — so you'll hear other racers call out "way to go, Captain Jen!" or "Nice job, Captain Mike!" And to see our Captain's overwhelming joy in crossing a finish line and receiving a race medal makes it all worth while. It is also humbling to consider that we (Angels) have to stretch our physical abilities for just a few hours in order to provide a once-in-a-lifetime experience for someone who struggles physically 24/7.
AHM: How do you choose which races or events you participate in? What are the upcoming ones you are participating in?
Staples: Our board members are also active on numerous race committees in the Grand Rapids area. We first work with race directors who are willing to allow us to participate in their events (our teams and equipment take up quite a bit of room!) We've had great cooperation and support from Fifth Third Riverbank Run, Tri del Sol and the MetroHealth Grand Rapids Marathon among others. We've added races each year based on requests from Captains/Angels.
Our schedule for the 2012 racing season includes:
Fifth Third River Bank Run (May 12)
Huntington & Fox Motors 2012 Grand Rapids Triathlon (June 10)
MetroWay 5k (July 15)
Tri del Sol (July 21)
Chemical Bank 5k (July 28)
Ludington Lighthouse Triathlon (August 19)
Rhoades McKee Reeds Lake Triathlon (Sept 8)
Rungr.com Bridge Run (Sept 16)
Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon (October 21)
AHM: How does someone get involved in participating/working with (or donating to) My Team Triumph?
Staples: Interested Captains, Angels or donors can either email or register to participate with us at www.mttwestmichigan.org. Once registered, Captains/Angels can log in, go into our Events page and reserve a spot for the race(s) they're interested in.
Because we are a 100% volunteer-run organization, donations help us purchase and replace our equipment (a running jogger costs $900). And because we strive to provide the experience of a lifetime not only for our Captains but their families as well, we provide hospitality/refreshments while family members wait out the race. We also provide post-race refreshments for our Angels as a small token of our appreciation.
A big thank you to Lisa for sharing her experiences and all the great things they are doing with myTeamTriumph.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of myTeamTriumph
TAGS: Tags Running
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Don't Let Blisters Get in the Way of Your Running Plans
Food, nutrition, recipes and more for healthy living.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Как передать два одинаковых props'a одному компоненту React? У меня есть компонент, в который я передаю два компонента с иконкой, label и input, затем, когда я буду вызывать компонент InputComp в другом месте, я хочу видеть input с двумя разными иконками.
Как это сделать правильно?
export default function InputComp() {
  return (

      <Icon glyph={glyph} viewBox={viewBox}/>
      <Input name="Password" placeholder="Your Password" type="password" />
      <Icon glyph={glyph} viewBox={viewBox} />

  );
}

A: А что мешает их пропсами в InputCompglyph1 передавать?
<InputComp glyph1={glyph1} glyph2={glyph2}/>

И потом использовать:
export default function InputComp() {
  return (

      <Icon glyph={this.props.glyph1} viewBox={viewBox}/>
      <Input name="Password" placeholder="Your Password" type="password" />
      <Icon glyph={this.props.glyph2} viewBox={viewBox} />

  );
}

Ну или массивом:
<InputComp glyphs={glyphsArray}/>

И потом использовать:
export default function InputComp() {
  return (

      <Icon glyph={this.props.glyphs[0]} viewBox={viewBox}/>
      <Input name="Password" placeholder="Your Password" type="password" />
      <Icon glyph={this.props.glyphs[1]} viewBox={viewBox} />

  );
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Editorial & Opinion
Express Week
PDF Volume 27 (2013)
You are here: Home Business & Economy Toyota bares auto parts localization program for 40% local content
Toyota bares auto parts localization program for 40% local content
Published on Saturday, 13 July 2013 17:58
Written by Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) yesterday announced a parts localization program that would double its local content for its best selling model Vios to 40 percent in 2014 with over 300 locally-sourced parts and substantially improve the capacity utilization of its highly underutilized press plant.
TMP President Michinobu Sugata revealed this at yesterday's ceremonial roll-off of the all-new Vios at its plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna. The Philippines is the second ASEAN country to introduce the full model change of Vios, the first being Thailand in March this year.
Sugata, who noted the local workers' dedication in close collaboration with the Motomachi plant engineers in Japan to come up with the left-hand drive Vios model for the Philippine market, said that Toyota will further enhance the localization ratio of this third generation Vios by utilizing TMP's press plant to localize the stamping of 15 auto parts by July 2014. As of this month, Vios has 265 local auto parts from only 230 when it started completely knocked down assembly in 2007.
"This will bring improved press technology into the country and allow us to realize our vision of invigorating Philippine manufacturing, which is very important in terms of its great potential for investments, employment and technology," Sugata said.
The parts local program is a welcomed news as the country's automotive leader is now selling more completely built up models than completely-knocked down (CKD) models. CBU sales account for 60 percent of its total sales while CKD sales contribution has gone down to 40 percent given the fact that it has only two CKD models Vios and Innova out of its 18auto model line up being sold locally.
The parts localization program was also made possible with TMP's P1.757 billion investments for the full model change of Vios that was approved by the Board of Investments with income tax incentives in July 2012.
TMP vice-president Rommel Gutierrez told reporters at the sidelines of the event that they are looking at localizing "bulky parts" to boost local value added to 40 percent from the current 20 percent. The localization of the "bulky" auto parts is aimed at reducing its logistics cost since these parts are being imported from Thailand and Indonesia.
This will also improve the capacity utilization of its press plant, which is now at a low of 30 percent. Gutierrez, however, refused to say how much the localization program would improve the press plant's capacity utilization and what are these "bulky parts".
In his speech, Sugata said that these improvements would result in a faster production line as the company expects to increase capacity from 30,500 units to 33,300 vehicles per year.
Sugata, however, said they expect to sell more than that so they actually plan to build 36,300 units of Vios and Innova by the end of this year, which is 18 percent more than year last year, by rendering overtime work and holiday work. Under this higher production target, Sugata said Vios will account for 14,594 units to be built from July to December. "We will take the market by storm with this model. We have already jump started the motorization of the Philippines. With the all-new Vios which is proudly made by Filipinos for Filipinos, we will make the auto industry fire on all cylinders. You can bet on it," Sugata said.
Gutierrez added that the company may have to expand its facility once they hit the 40,000 unit production capacity.
Meantime, the all-new Vios will be sold at a price higher than the second-generation model. It is already available at P23,000 higher than the previous model.
TMP expects sales of the all-new Vios to hit 2,000 units a month from the current level of 1,400 units. Vios accounts for 60 percent of the company's total CKD model sales, the remaining 40 percent is accounted for by its other CKD model Innova, an Asian utility vehicle.
The two CKD models of TMP account for 40 percent of its total sales as the country's leading car player has given into more importation of completely built-up models to account for the bulk of 60 percent of total sales. The company expects overall sales to reach at least 70,000 units this year from over 50,000 units last year.
For his part, TMP vice-chairman Alfred Ty expressed optimism they will be able to set new sales record with the new Vios, which only started with less than 500 units in monthly sales in 2003 to 1,000 units in 2007, this has expanded to 1,700 in March this year.
"With the all-new Vios, we are optimistic that this new model will break new sales record," Ty said.
He further noted that through the past 25 years, the company has sold 816,396 vehicles and infused P35 billion in investments and in the process, remitted P136 billion pesos in taxes and customs duties since it began operations in 1988. Through TMP's active existence, we are able to generate over 40,000 jobs in the upstream and downstream value-chain linkages. (Manila Bulletin) (BCM)
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Print Edition Media Kit
North Korea set to reach out for talks - Seoul
DFA denies PH has plan to move embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
The most controversial cases that stunned the nation in 2017
Lawmakers raise 'shabu' case vs Paolo Duterte
As his 'life's mission,' Trillanes vows to hold Duterte family accountable for acts
The Duterte Gov't Just Lost PH Passport Data
Challenge of sustainability and inclusive growth
Trump's Jerusalem stunt
US bills and policies that could harm immigrant families
Jitters over Hanjin debt lead PH shares lower
Long-term investment inflows weaken
Gov't allocates 5% of VAT collections for refund claims
Ex-Navy chief sounds alarm on possible Chinese takeover of Subic shipyard
Vegchon, lactation cookies and other vegan options
Expressweek
PH Festivals: Oct. 8-14, 2017
Anilao photo tilt to draw more than 200 divers from all over
Quezon celebrates beauty and agricultural bounty in Niyogyugan
Laguna's hidden waterfalls
'Bagnet,' 'longganisa,' 'empanada,' lobster?
Helping strangers can help teens have more confidence
Mayweather challenges Kobe: 'I'm ready to play you one on one for $1M'
Climate change hits Winter Olympic preparation
PH wins 2023 Fiba World Cup hosting
Russia says its athletes want to compete at the Olympics
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Vice Ganda for senator?
Miss Universe 2017 Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters gets engaged to Tim Tebow
Loveless Julie Anne wants to focus on self this 2019
Saab Magalona irked with LTO experience
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RusAutoNews.Com NEWSLETTER
Market Figures
Tesla electric cars sales have grown by a quarter in Russia
Autostat – According to Autostat data, 15 Tesla electric cars have been sold in Russia within the first five months of 2017, which is equivalent to a 25% year-on-year rise (up from 12 units).
Russian clients have purchased 11 Tesla Model X crossovers and 4 Model S sedans during the aforementioned period. The American electric cars have been sold mostly in the city of Moscow and the capital region, with a total share of approximately 75% (11 units). The remaining four vehicles have found buyers in St. Petersburg, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don and Khabarovsk.
Tesla electric cars currently remains the most popular electric car in the Russia, according to Autostat analysts. The model has more than 70% share of the market in the country.
Tesla may start the production of Model 3 electric vehicle on 7 July. The relevant statement has been made by the head of the company Elon Mask on Twitter. The price of the model is expected to start from $35,000 and the first party formed of 30 vehicles will be delivered to the suppliers at the end of July.
Tags:	tesla electric cars, tesla sales, Tesla X
German EFA-S starts production of electric vans based on GAZelle Next
Russian new bus market has grown by 11% in 2018
KIA sales have increased 30% in Russia within the first half of the year
St.Petersburg car market has shrunk by 24% in August
Busworld – Central Asia 2019: the Silk Road for buses and coaches
The passenger car prices have risen by 16% in Russia during the year
KAMAZ and GAZ have announced their participations in Busworld Russia
Volvo Vostok manufactured 6000 and sold 7000 vehicles in Russia in 2012
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The Reggae Legends show - You Book Entertainment - Hire Quality Entertainment For Any Event, Wedding, Party or Venue. Get your listing now too.
Welcome to the UK's number one solo reggae tribute show. If it's reggae you are looking for then you have just stumbled across a reggae gold mine. The Reggae Legends Show has been running since 2005 and has travelled across the UK and Europe with it's popularity & reputation continuing to grow with every performance. Shaun.e.b has put this show together as a tribute to some of the greatest reggae artistes and bands that ever lived . The Show consists of songs by Reggae artistes such as : UB40, Dandy Livingstone, Eddie Grant, Ken Boothe, John Holt, Aswad, Bob Marley, 10cc, Maxi Priest, Johnny Nash and many more. Much time and expense has gone in to selecting the audio equipment used in the show to ensure the best sound possible is created for any size venue from a small pub to a large sized marquee or function room.


text:
Category: Issue 21
10 minute school launches digital English language content library
22 June 2019 Rajesh Das Issue 21, Volume 05
Photo: UNB
10 Minute School (an online school project of Robi) has launched a digital English language content library in collaboration with the British Council. The content covers basic skills like English grammar rules, phrase-idiom, pronunciation, tense, article, common mistake in English, and professional skills like presentation, email communication, IELTS etc. There is also a Language Club Sessions through which learners could join live and learn English with fun. It can be easily accessible through its Android-based mobile app or the website
www.robi10minuteschool.com
British council, digital library, Issue 21, Volume 05
Prize giving ceremony held at Narail District Government Public Library
Rajesh, Noakhali, 23 June 2019
Photo: collected from the Facebook page of Narail District Government Public Library
District government public library Narail organised a book reading competition and prize-giving ceremony on 15 June 2019. The event was organised under the project 'Online Library management and Development' directed by Department of Public Libraries. Mr Mukul Kumar Moitra, UNO, Lohagara, Narail attended the program as the chief guest while the program was presided by Mr Tazmul Islam, Librarian, Narail District Government Public Libraries. A good number of participants participated in that competition and the winners were awarded after the competition on that event.
book reading competition, Issue 21, Narail, Public library, Volume 05
Two-day long 'ULAB Book Fair' held at ULAB
Ahasan, Dhaka, 22 June 2019
Photo: Collected from Facebook
A two-day-long ULAB Book Fair 2019 was held from 14-15 June 2019 at ULAB along with International Conference theme "Rivers and Religion" which is being jointly organized by the South & Southeast Asian Association for the Study of Culture & Religion (SSEASR) and University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). ULAB Vice Chancellor, Professor H. M. Jahirul Haque has inaugurated the book fair. The event was very much lively where 16 publishers participated.
Book fair, Issue 21, ULAB, Volume 05
Jahangir Alam has been promoted to University Librarian at International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC)
22 June 2019 Prodip Roy Issue 21, Volume 05
TLT, 22 June 2019
Mr Md. Jahangir Alam has been promoted to University Librarian at the International Islamic University Chittagong (IIUC) on 15 June 2019. Previously, Mr Jahangir worked at IIUC as Additional Librarian and Librarian (In-charge) for two years. He has a total of thirteen years of professional experiences in different university libraries including IIUC, Eastern University, Manarat International University, and Northern University Bangladesh. He also served as an Adjunct Faculty at Daffodil International University (DIU) and IIUC in the Department of Library and Information Science.


All indications are that the immigration reform legislation currently being drafted in the Senate is going to provide undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. with the opportunity to apply for lawful permanent residency—but with a much more arduous set of requirements than are required by normal green card applicants. Adult education groups are particularly interested in the English language requirement (which I discussed here).
A requirement to learn English in order to qualify for lawful permanent resident status shouldn't penalize or place an unrealistic burden on those with significant learning challenges.
Any requirement to learn English in order to qualify for lawful permanent resident status should address the increased demand for English instruction that would emerge as a result, in a way that leverages the success of adult education programs that already provide these services.
Those with limited education or literacy skills in their native language.
Those who are caregivers of children and therefore may have more limited opportunities to attend English classes. Lack of childcare services is already a significant barrier that prevents many people from attending adult education classes—particularly women.
Those who are elderly or disabled. For citizenship, those who are over a certain age and/or who have a disability may be granted an exemption from completing the English and civics tests. Similar kinds of considerations should be made for undocumented immigrants applying for the permanent resident status who are elderly/disabled.
It seems to me that consideration should be given to scrapping English proficiency altogether as a requirement and using satisfactory completion of some form of legitimate English language instruction over a certain period of time as sufficient to qualify. This would eliminate the problem of having to figure out what level of proficiency is going to count as sufficient, and it would largely (although not entirely) address the problem that the elderly/disabled may struggle to gain proficiency easily or quickly. One would still have to know English at certain level of proficiency to become a citizen (other than those who would be granted exceptions anyway).
While the current capacity of these programs may not be sufficient to meet new demand, it will be cheaper to leverage the existing capacity than to create new entities to provide this instruction.
Moreover, this existing adult education system already has a track record of success in providing individuals with the English skills needed to successfully enter employment, improve their employment prospects, enroll in job training or in postsecondary education. The adult education system also has a track record in many states of providing adults with the opportunity to co-enroll in English language instruction while obtaining technical skills.
Similarly, it doesn't make sense for the English language requirement to establish its own measure(s) for English proficiency that does not align with those measures already in use by the adult education system in local communities.
Finally, while it's probably not realistic to expect a big increase in federal expenditures for these programs to be included in this bill, we ought to at least strengthen what we have. Let's encourage professional and private sector investment in expanded adult English language instruction. One way to do this would be to provide tax credits for businesses that partner with adult education programs to provide English instruction for their employees (or residents of the community)—a variation of an idea was included in the Menendez/Leahy immigration reform bill in 2010.
In addition, I can't think of a good reason why this legislation shouldn't include the authorization of the EL/Civics grant program under Title II of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). (WIA is the primary vehicle for federal investment in adult education in the U.S.) EL/Civics isn't actually authorized by WIA but is a set-aside that has to be approved by Congressional appropriators every year. The lack of authorization leaves the program more vulnerable to elimination than other programs under WIA, at a time when we can least afford for that to happen.


Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit public health and environmental research and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. We focus much of our research on potential health risks from chemical contamination of food, water, consumer products, and the environment. With this letter, we urge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the health and safety gaps in its proposed rule on antimicrobial pesticides in order to protect human and environmental health from excessive exposures to these potent chemicals.
Antimicrobial pesticides and preservatives serve a useful public health function, especially in medical, commercial, and industrial applications. But their increasing and unnecessary use in a wide range of consumer products has been associated with environmental pollution, potential human health risks, and toxicity to ecosystems (Aiello 2007; Focazio 2008; James 2009). With the proposed rule, EPA revises and updates the existing data requirements for information that manufacturers need to submit to the Agency during the pesticide registration process. The new data requirements should allow EPA to make regulatory decisions so as to protect human health and the environment from potentially harmful, unintended effects of antimicrobial pesticide products, many of which are powerful toxicants.
Ensure that aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems are protected from chronic pesticide toxicity.
Details and supporting information for these recommendations are described below.
Research by government scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Geological Survey, independent academic researchers, and public health advocacy groups demonstrated that already, the bodies of people and environment at large have been contaminated with antimicrobial pesticides and related chemicals used as preservatives, such as antibacterial soap ingredients triclosan and triclocarcban, agricultural antimicrobial pesticide ortho-phenylphenol, and wood deck preservative arsenic (Caldwell 2008; CDC 2005; Chu 2007; Coogan 2008; EWG 2008a; Focazio 2008; Halden 2005; Kingsbury 2008; Kolpin 2002). For example, the bodies of nearly 75% of Americans are polluted with triclosan (Calafat 2008). The reason for this extensive contamination is clear: present system of pesticide registration creates an ambiguous and dangerous situation whereby antimicrobial pesticide manufacturers can produce and include these toxic chemicals in a wide variety of consumer products without any scrutiny from EPA. Simply by avoiding the use of the word "pesticide" on the product label, manufacturers can add antimicrobial chemicals to any consumer product they choose. As a result, people may be exposed to multiple sources of antimicrobial pesticides in their own homes, often without their knowledge and without a chance to make an informed decision (EWG 2008b). This loophole must be closed so as to protect the health of American families.
Despite these well-documented risks, the majority of triclosan and triclocarban-containing products, such as household cleaners and hand soaps, completely evade EPA oversight since they officially fall under FDA's jurisdiction. In the case of triclosan, some of its' antimicrobial uses (excluding hand-soaps and cleaners) are reviewed by EPA. In contrast, triclocarban effectively slips under the radar of regulatory agencies. Although previously triclocarban has been registered with EPA for use as a pesticide, triclocarban registration has been later cancelled (NPIRS 2008), but its use in commerce has continued. Triclocarban is still found in numerous antibacterial bar soaps on the market. EWG's Cosmetic Safety database lists 55 different products containing triclocarban, including 51 different bar soaps (EWG 2009) and the actual numbers are likely to be higher (Perencevich 2001).
From both scientific and health perspectives, it is completely irrelevant whether exposure to an antimicrobial pesticide is due to the presence of this chemical in a product that is regulated by EPA, FDA, or any other government agency – what matters is whether or not the overall exposures are safe over life-time. The proposed rule fails to remedy the current regulatory impasse whereby EPA cannot enforce manufacturer responsibility for the full range of antimicrobial pesticide exposures faced by people and the environment. The final EPA rule needs to account for the overall presence of antimicrobial products in commerce, whatever their original mode of registration. So long as potent pesticide compounds appear in consumer products with little or no review from EPA, public health remains at risk.
Antimicrobial pesticides and preservatives serve a useful public health function, especially in medical applications where they can prevent the spread of life-threatening diseases. In contrast, antimicrobials do not bring additional health benefits for residential indoor and consumer product applications; instead, they may contribute to potential development of antimicrobial resistance (Birosova 2009; Cottell 2009; Levy 2001). Increasing and unnecessary use of antimicrobials in a wide range of consumer products raises concerns, because of the prospect of reduced medical usefulness due to antimicrobial resistance. Spread of triclosan- and triclocarban-tolerant bacterial strains could result in these chemicals becoming ineffective in their important medical applications (Aiello 2007). As summarized in a recent review, "of major concern is the possibility that triclosan resistance may contribute to reduced susceptibility to clinically important antimicrobials, due to either cross-resistance or co-resistance mechanisms… Thus, widespread use of triclosan may represent a potential public health risk in regard to development of concomitant resistance to clinically important antimicrobials" (Yazdankhah 2006). Ensuring EPA oversight over the full use of an antimicrobial compound is the first step towards avoiding potential development of antimicrobial resistance in future.
Environmental and human health risks of antimicrobial pesticides should be addressed with a comprehensive health and safety assessment that would not hide behind the artificial separation of pesticide regulation between FDA and EPA. This divided responsibility for the same pesticide between separate government agencies does not serve the public interest since it allows a large percentage of products containing antimicrobial chemicals to be manufactured and used with no effective health and safety controls. The only solution that would protect the health of people and the environment is for EPA to enforce pesticide manufacturers' accountability for all uses of their products in commerce.
EPA would be able to protect public health and the environment from antimicrobials only if the Agency would consider aggregate risks and exposures. Furthermore, since there are so many uses of the same pesticide that EPA currently has no way to track, long-term downstream monitoring of people and the environment is critical.
Assessing human and environmental health risks due to antimicrobial pesticides requires both toxicity and exposure data. The proposed rule includes a solid and reliable panel of tests that would produce information about the pesticide's potential for mammalian toxicity. In contrast, the draft rule has only minimal and woefully insufficient data requirements for monitoring pesticide contamination of people and the environment. As a result, both EPA and the general public would lack information on cumulative pesticide exposures which leaves at risk potentially vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, the developing fetus, and young children, as well as certain groups of workers who may be exposed to high levels of antimicrobial pesticides in their workplace.
While acknowledging the importance of real-life biomonitoring of human and environmental exposure to antimicrobial pesticides, the proposed rule does not actually require manufacturers to conduct these studies as a part of pesticide registration process. For some antimicrobials, such as triclosan, biomonitoring data may be availble thanks to the work of the CDC, government- and university-funded academic scientists, and non-profit organization. These studies clearly demonstrate the widespread triclosan contamination of water, soils, aquatic life and the bodies of people (Calafat 2008; Cha 2009; Coogan 2008; EWG 2008c; Halden 2005). For other pesticides, such as triclocarban, data on environmental contamination are available, but no human biomonitoring studies have been conducted as yet (Cha 2009; Coogan 2007; Coogan 2008; Sapkota 2007)}. Moreover, as new antimicrobial pesticides are developed and introduced into consumer products, the same story repeats itself, with both EPA and public health researchers constantly forced to play catch up and do detective work so as to discover which antimicrobials are becoming new, emergent contaminants and polluting bodies of people and the environment.
To address these glaring data gaps, manufacturers should be responsible for conducting biomonitoring studies on an ongoing basis. Understandably, such data would not be available for a recently discovered antimicrobial going through its first registration at EPA. However, collection of biomonitoring data should be a mandatory condition for a pesticide to remain in commerce. These data must be publicly available, allowing all concerned stakeholders – water utilities, health agencies, researchers, and parents – to make informed, data-driven decisions on risk mitigation.
In the proposed rule, monitoring of representative U.S. waters and monitoring of pesticide body burden in people in residential and occupational settings are both included as a "conditional requirement," meaning that there is less than 50% chance for biomonitoring to be required during a pesticide registration process. This weak condition creates a convenient loophole that allows manufacturers to continue using persistent polluting antimicrobial pesticides in consumer products so long as environmental contamination studies have not been conducted or made publicly available. To resolve this problem and to avoid present and future contamination, EPA should require manufactures to monitor and publicly release all data for pesticide contamination in soils, aquatic life, ambient waters, and wastewater sludge and effluent. EPA should also require mandatory monitoring of antimicrobial pesticide levels in umbilical cord blood, so as to detect any risks to the developing fetus, and in statistically representative samples from other vulnerable populations.
By their very design, antimicrobial pesticides are meant to kill. In most situations, these pesticides provide beneficial features such as decreasing potential spread of infections in medical, food storage and processing, and food-preparation settings; protecting equipment and building materials from mold and rotting; controlling wood degradation; avoiding bacterial growth in public water systems, swimming pools, and aquatic areas as well as many other applications. Yet, whether used in flow-through water systems that flush high volumes of pesticides down the drain or included as preservatives in a material that slowly leaches pesticides over time, a significant portion of antimicrobial pesticides eventually ends up in wastewater plants. Following wastewater treatment, these pesticides pollute sludge, water, sediment, and soils, where they pose direct toxicity to aquatic life, and, with food and water, risks to human health as well.
EWG applauds EPA for working towards a system of tiered toxicology, exposure, and environmental fate studies that, ideally, would provide necessary information for human and ecosystem risk assessment. EWG supports the overall approach of the Agency that ranks the need for test data based on the toxicity and persistence of the antimicrobial pesticide. However, EWG is very concerned that in the proposed rule, ecological toxicity assessments ("nontarget organism data requirements") are primarily based on acute toxicity studies. Although the proposed rule considers a "conditional requirement" for studies that would provide chronic toxicity information, high-production volume pesticides that are used in consumer products would fall outside of this requirement. This would allow environmental contamination to continue and leave aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems unprotected from chronic pesticide toxicity.
In order to assure environmental safety of pesticides, EPA should require manufacturers to provide to the Agency data on both environmental exposure and chronic ecotoxicity of antimicrobial pesticides. As discussed in the previous section, EPA needs to have access to up-to-date environmental monitoring results as a key first step for protecting water, soils, and wildlife from toxic pollutants. Second, environmental risk assessment needs to consider chronic exposure of aquatic life to antimicrobial pesticides. For example, triclosan and triclocarban have been shown to accumulate in algae three orders of magnitude above the ambient levels (Coogan 2007). Triclocarban and triclosan also accumulate in snails (Coogan 2008). Bioaccumulation of triclosan metabolites in fish five orders of magnitude above the ambient levels has been reported (Balmer 2004). Triclocarban is even more persistent than triclosan and thus may pose greater chronic toxicity risks (Cha 2009; Heidler 2006; Miller 2008). Triclosan and triclocarban associate with sludge in wastewater treatment plants and with sediment in the water column. Sediment may serve as a constant-release delivery mechanism for high doses of antimicrobials, especially for bottom-dwelling organisms such as worms, mussels and clams, crabs, and some herbivorous fish species (Binelli 2009; Miller 2008). Furthermore, larvae of many aquatic organisms are filter-feeding. Thus, during the early, most sensitive stage of their life cycle, they may be exposed to levels of antimicrobial pesticides that have been associated with embryotoxicity, teratogenic developmental changes, and hatching delay (Oliveira 2009).
Due to their toxicity towards a wide spectrum of microbial and algal species, antimicrobials may disrupt critical ecological processes performed by beneficial microorganisms in nature (Dokianakis 2004; Johnson 2009; Lawrence 2009; Miller 2008; Neumegen 2005; Waller 2009). Especially worrisome are recent reports that indicate significant presence of antimicrobial pesticides in agricultural soils, due to soil application of triclosan- and triclocarban-containing sludge and biosolids from wastewater treatment plants (Cha 2009). EPA's latest Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey found triclosan in 92.4 % of public wastewater treatment plants tested nationwide; triclocarban was found in 100% of wastewater plants (U.S. EPA 2009). In some cases, triclocarban levels in dried wastewater sludge were as high as 441 microgram/kilogram (parts per million, ppm), while triclosan levels reached 133 ppm (U.S. EPA 2009). These findings are of great concern because triclosan and triclocarban can inhibits soil respiration and nitrification processes that are essential for preserving soil fertility (Waller 2009). They can also disrupt oxygen-producing algal communities in waterways and form toxic degradation by-products (Aranami 2007; Lawrence 2009). All of these harmful effects pose chronic toxicity risks. Acute toxicity studies alone are insufficient for addressing the damaging effects of long-term environmental contamination with antibacterial pesticides.
EPA should develop a data-based approach for comprehensive assessment and mitigation of chronic ecotoxicity risks. These studies should be driven by the real-life findings of pesticide levels in the environment and their effects on the ecosystems. Simply carrying chronic toxicity tests on laboratory organisms would not be sufficient to answer this question; instead, ecosystem health monitoring should be used as a key parameter for addressing ecological risks of antimicrobial pesticides. EPA should stand by its mandate as Environmental Protection Agency and ensure that chronic exposures to antimicrobial pesticides would not pose a risk to long-term survival and stability of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and productivity of agricultural soils.
In conclusion, EWG strongly urges EPA to strengthen the proposed data requirements for antimicrobial pesticides so as to address outstanding gaps in key areas such as cumulative human and environmental exposures, potential risks to human health, and chronic ecosystem toxicity. Future decisions on the use of antimicrobial pesticides should be based on extensive research and data collection that would provide necessary information for risk assessment and mitigation. We look forward to working with the Agency on the issues of pesticide safety for humans and the environment and we will be happy to provide our feedback and comments as EPA continues to assess toxicity data for antimicrobial pesticides. We are certain that with concerted effort and involvement of multiple stakeholders, many of the present risks of indoor pesticide use would be avoided and better health protection implemented, while preserving the use of antibacterials in the settings where they are truly needed.
Ahn KC, Zhao B, Chen J, Cherednichenko G, Sanmarti E, Denison MS, et al. 2008. In vitro biologic activities of the antimicrobials triclocarban, its analogs, and triclosan in bioassay screens: receptor-based bioassay screens. Environ Health Perspect 116(9): 1203-10.
Aiello AE, Larson EL, Levy SB. 2007. Consumer antibacterial soaps: effective or just risky? Clin Infect Dis 45 Suppl 2: S137-47. Aranami K, Readman JW. 2007. Photolytic degradation of triclosan in freshwater and seawater. Chemosphere 66(6): 1052-6.
Balmer ME, Poiger T, Droz C, Romanin K, Bergqvist PA, Muller MD, et al. 2004. Occurrence of methyl triclosan, a transformation product of the bactericide triclosan, in fish from various lakes in Switzerland. Environ Sci Technol 38(2): 390-5.
Binelli A, Cogni D, Parolini M, Riva C, Provini A. 2009. Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of in vitro exposure to Triclosan and Trimethoprim on zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) hemocytes. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol.
Caldwell KL, Jones RL, Verdon CP, Jarrett JM, Caudill SP, Osterloh JD. 2008. Levels of urinary total and speciated arsenic in the US population: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol.
CDC. 2005. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. NCEH Pub. No. 05-0570 Available: http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/ [accessed December 17 2008].
Cha J, Cupples AM. 2009. Detection of the antimicrobials triclocarban and triclosan in agricultural soils following land application of municipal biosolids. Water Res.
Chen J, Ahn KC, Gee NA, Ahmed MI, Duleba AJ, Zhao L, et al. 2008. Triclocarban enhances testosterone action: a new type of endocrine disruptor? Endocrinology 149(3): 1173-9.
Chu S, Metcalfe CD. 2007. Simultaneous determination of triclocarban and triclosan in municipal biosolids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr A 1164(1-2): 212-8.
Coogan MA, Edziyie RE, La Point TW, Venables BJ. 2007. Algal bioaccumulation of triclocarban, triclosan, and methyl-triclosan in a North Texas wastewater treatment plant receiving stream. Chemosphere 67(10): 1911-8.
Coogan MA, La Point TW. 2008. Snail bioaccumulation of triclocarban, triclosan, and methyltriclosan in a North Texas, USA, stream affected by wastewater treatment plant runoff. Environ Toxicol Chem 27(8): 1788-93. Cottell A, Denyer SP, Hanlon GW, Ochs D, Maillard JY. 2009. Triclosan-tolerant bacteria: changes in susceptibility to antibiotics. J Hosp Infect.
Dokianakis SN, Kornaros ME, Lyberatos G. 2004. On the effect of pharmaceuticals on bacterial nitrite oxidation. Water Sci Technol 50(5): 341-6.
EWG. 2008a. Environmental Working Group Human Toxome Project: Triclosan. Available: https://www.ewg.org/sites/humantoxome/chemicals/chemical.php?chemid=100376 [accessed December 19 2008]. EWG. 2008b. Pesticide in Soap, Toothpaste and Breast Milk - Is It Kid-Safe? Available: https://www.ewg.org/reports/triclosan [accessed July 23 2008].
EWG. 2008c. Teen Girls' Body Burden of Hormone-Altering Cosmetics Chemicals. Available: https://www.ewg.org/reports/teens [accessed December 18 2008].
EWG. 2009. Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetic safety database. Ingredient report: triclocarban. Available: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=706622 [accessed April 6 2009].
Halden RU, Paull DH. 2005. Co-occurrence of triclocarban and triclosan in U.S. water resources. Environ Sci Technol 39(6): 1420-6.
Heidler J, Sapkota A, Halden RU. 2006. Partitioning, persistence, and accumulation in digested sludge of the topical antiseptic triclocarban during wastewater treatment. Environ Sci Technol 40(11): 3634-9.
James MO, Li W, Summerlot DP, Rowland-Faux L, Wood CE. 2009. Triclosan is a potent inhibitor of estradiol and estrone sulfonation in sheep placenta. Environ Int: in press.
Johnson DR, Czechowska K, Chevre N, van der Meer JR. 2009. Toxicity of triclosan, penconazole and metalaxyl on Caulobacter crescentus and a freshwater microbial community as assessed by flow cytometry. Environ Microbiol.
Kingsbury JA, Delzer GC, Hopple JA. 2008. Anthropogenic Organic Compounds in Source Water of Nine Community Water Systems that Withdraw from Streams, 2002–05. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2008–5208. Available: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2008/5208/ [accessed December 10 2008].
Kumar V, Balomajumder C, Roy P. 2008. Disruption of LH-induced testosterone biosynthesis in testicular Leydig cells by triclosan: probable mechanism of action. Toxicology 250(2-3): 124-31. Lawrence JR, Zhu B, Swerhone GD, Roy J, Wassenaar LI, Topp E, et al. 2009. Comparative microscale analysis of the effects of triclosan and triclocarban on the structure and function of river biofilm communities. Sci Total Environ: in press.
Neumegen RA, Fernandez-Alba AR, Chisti Y. 2005. Toxicities of triclosan, phenol, and copper sulfate in activated sludge. Environ Toxicol 20(2): 160-4.
NPIRS. 2008. National Pesticide Information Retrieval System Available: http://ppis.ceris.purdue.edu/ [accessed June 13 2008]. Oliveira R, Domingues I, Koppe Grisolia C, Soares AM. 2009. Effects of triclosan on zebrafish early-life stages and adults. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int: in press.
Orvos DR, Versteeg DJ, Inauen J, Capdevielle M, Rothenstein A, Cunningham V. 2002. Aquatic toxicity of triclosan. Environ Toxicol Chem 21(7): 1338-49.
Perencevich EN, Wong MT, Harris AD. 2001. National and regional assessment of the antibacterial soap market: a step toward determining the impact of prevalent antibacterial soaps. Am J Infect Control 29(5): 281-3.
Sapkota A, Heidler J, Halden RU. 2007. Detection of triclocarban and two co-contaminating chlorocarbanilides in US aquatic environments using isotope dilution liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Environ Res 103(1): 21-9.
Tatarazako N, Ishibashi H, Teshima K, Kishi K, Arizono K. 2004. Effects of triclosan on various aquatic organisms. Environ Sci 11(2): 133-40. U.S. EPA. 2009. Targeted National Sewage Sludge Survey: Sampling and Analysis Technical Report. Statistical Analysis Report. Available: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/biosolids/tnsss-overview.html#results [accessed February 17, 2009].
Waller NJ, Kookana RS. 2009. Effect of triclosan on microbiological activity in Australian soils. Environ Toxicol Chem: in press.
Yang LH, Ying GG, Su HC, Stauber JL, Adams MS, Binet MT. 2008. Growth-inhibiting effects of 12 antibacterial agents and their mixtures on the freshwater microalga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. Environ Toxicol Chem 27(5): 1201-8.
Young TA, Heidler J, Matos-Perez CR, Sapkota A, Toler T, Gibson KE, et al. 2008. Ab initio and in situ comparison of caffeine, triclosan, and triclocarban as indicators of sewage-derived microbes in surface waters. Environ Sci Technol 42(9): 3335-40.
Zorrilla LM, Gibson EK, Jeffay SC, Crofton KM, Setzer WR, Cooper RL, et al. 2008. The Effects of Triclosan on Puberty and Thyroid Hormones in Male Wistar Rats. Toxicol Sci: in press.


HTC Ocean Harmony runs Android,7.1.1 Nougat and features a 1080 x 2160 pixels 5.9 inches display and a Octa Core Qualcomm MSM8998 Snapdragon 652 processor paired with and 64GB native storage capacity.
The HTC Ocean Harmony boasts of a 12MP main snapper at its rear and an 8MP front-facing selfie shooter. There is a Non-removable Li-Ion 3930 mAh battery powering the phone with support for USB and Dual SIM (Nano SIM).
The HTC Ocean Harmony is said to feature a large 5.99-inch FHD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio.


Keep beverages and other liquids fresh with the Rabbit Wine and Beverage Bottle Stoppers. These wine bottle stoppers provide an air-tight seal to prolong and preserve opened bottles of wine. Designed to fit all bottle types. These stoppers insert easily and remove with a single pull. Constructed of durable rubber and stainless steel that won't rust, crack or fade. Dishwasher-safe for easy cleaning.These wine bottle stoppers provide an air-tight seal to prolong and preserve opened bottles of wine.


text:
Malary (dodatkowa nazwa w j. kaszub. Malarë) - część wsi Kliczkowy w Polsce, położona w województwie pomorskim, w powiecie kościerskim, w gminie Karsin.

Malary leżą na obrzeżach Wdzydzkiego Parku Krajobrazowego w kompleksie leśnym Borów Tucholskich. Malary są częścią składową sołectwa Górki.

W Malarach urodził się Marian Mokwa, polski malarz marynista.

W latach 1975–1998 Malary należały administracyjnie do województwa gdańskiego.

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text:
Islam is no laughing matter
By Mark Sawyer
Updated January 9, 2015 — 2.43pm first published at 2.02pm
When the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini decreed a death sentence against author Salman Rushdie in 1989, to be carried out by any good Muslim, the most common reaction was disbelief. A death sentence? Over a book?
In Australia, at least, there were laughs to be had, and plenty of comedians were ready to mine them. Austen Tayshus predicted Rushdie's next book would be called "And Buddha is a fat little shit." Rob Sitch and his fellow D-Generation talents won an ARIA award for their 1989 album The Satanic Sketches. In 1989, for comedians, all religions were fair game.
But in the 26 years since Khomeini's fatwa was announced, the laughs have withered away. As its engagement with the Muslim world deepens, the West – Australian satirists no exception – has come to understand that Islam is no laughing matter.
And slowly but surely the satirists and comedians have disentangled themselves from anything remotely related to Islam. A good example is provided by arguably the most successful comedy show ever, The Simpsons.
When the show's irascible Krusty the Clown offered seasonal greetings to fans in 1999, he chose his words carefully: "Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, crazy Kwanza, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn, dignified Ramadan".
Very few things have been off-limits in The Simpsons. Certainly the other great religions have had to lie down and take their medicine.
Not Muslims. The few Muslims that the show depicts are generally fine people with the most minor quirks, while serving to shame characters (and viewers) prejudiced enough to see all Muslims as potential terrorists. One such character is Bart's friend Bashir bin Laden, who debuted in 2008. As the Simpsons Wiki (http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Bashir_bin_Laden) puts it: "Bashir is very polite and gentle and always minds his manners. He also seems to be very smart. Bashir never complains in front of people or even behind their backs. He is also very insecure of what people say about him."
What's funny, what's off-limits, is a perennial debate among the practitioners of comedy and their audiences. Complicating that is the nature of Islam's engagement with the entity on which comedy and satire feed - Western society - with its hard-won principle of free speech.
The internet is awash with debate about what is permissible in Islam, and humour is no exception.
The website Islam Question and Answer (islamqa.info/en) offers as its first condition of "permissible joking": It should not involve any element of making fun of Islam.
Khomeini himself put it this way: "Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious."
The atrocity in Paris will certainly not change the habits of most cartoonists and satirists, although many may have long ago sheathed their claws in relation to Islamic-inspired violence.
This year will mark a decade since the "Danish cartoons" furore. It should be remembered that the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad had been commissioned by a Danish newspaper editor in 2005 to "test the limits of free speech". This exercise was very European in its enlightenment premise. The recurring violence provides its own answer, with the atrocity in Paris simply another punctuation point.
After Paris, the idea that Islam and its prophet is a religion that can be mocked is now literally a dangerous one about which there can be no festival.
A solemn and dignified Ramadan indeed. Sometimes it takes a clown to speak the truths that others won't face.


Principals at Government schools should immediately be able to log into the system using their PIN number. There is no need to submit any information first.
Principals at non-Government schools who still use a user name in the form NG999999 should immediately be able to log into the system using that user name. There is no need to submit any information first.
If in doubt, just try to log into the Principal Verification Site (EduWeb name and password required).
Principals not in the above two categories must log into the system using a valid eduWeb user name and password.
To obtain an eduWeb user account click here then once you have created an account complete the details at the bottom of this page and click Submit.
A student's end of year results must be verified by the Principal before the online application is processed. Verification opens on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 and the closing date for the verification process is Friday, 1 March 2019.
Log into the Principal Verification Site (EduWeb name and password required) to access the verification screen.
Click on the student's application reference number in the Student List to view their details and academic results.
Reconcile all the details on the screen with the information that the student has recorded.
Indicate that the student's year level is correct via the Yes/No buttons.
Confirm their school and community activities.
Confirm or reject the online results by clicking on the appropriate button (confirmed correct or rejected incorrect) at the bottom of the screen.
Note that you may see a student's name repeated in the student list, once for each application. You only have to verify their results on any one of their applications.
If you are a non-government Principal, you will need to enter your email address before you are able to confirm or reject the information provided.
Please note: the student will receive an email when you confirm or reject the verification procedure. If the student has not received this email by Friday, 22 February 2019, the student has been advised to check with you whether you have actually received the request.
If you do reject a student's end of year results and click on the rejected/incorrect button, the student will automatically receive an email to request that he/she amends the results. Once the student amends the results, he/she must make you aware that the amended results have been submitted so that you can verify them.
See the note at the top of this page. NOT APPLICABLE to principals at Government schools and Principals with a working NG999999-format user name.
If you are a principal of a non-Government school and do not already have access to this system in order to perform student verification, please enter your edumail user name, your school name and a contact phone number below and click the Submit button.
An email will be sent to the Scholarships Administrator who will verify your request and notify you when access has been arranged.
You must first have a valid eduWeb account.


The Kenya Wildlife Service is worth a visit!
The national park system of Kenya is maintained by the Kenya Wildlife Service. There are two main types of terrestrial protected areas in Kenya: national parks, and national reserves; there are also marine parks and marine reserves.
Safari Ants, Baggy Pants And Elephants: A Kenyan Odyssey Kindle Edition by Susie Kelly 4.6 out of 5 stars 51 customer reviews.
Travel info for travelling to Kenya.
Excellent info! Love the pics!
Absolutely, keep up the good works.
Glad that you like. Yes, the pictures inspire as to go!
Bulgaria is on the bucket list!


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text:
Les misérables from the novel by Victor Hugo.
Les misérables (Motion picture : 1935 & 1952)
Beverly Hills, Calif. : Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, c2013.
1 videodisc (216 min.) : sd., b&w ; 4 3/4 in.
DVD format.
DVD release of the 1935 and 1952 motion pictures.
Based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
Les miserables (1935) special features include: restoration comparison; still gallery.
Les miserables (1952) special features include: The fugitive and the pursuer : Vidocq; restoration comparison; theatrical trailer; behind the scenes gallery; production & poster gallery.
side A. Victor Hugo's Les misÔerables (1935) / 20th Century Fox ; a Darryl Zanuck production ; directed by Richard Boleslawski ; screen play, W.P. Lipscomb -- side B. Victor Hugo's Les miserables (1952) / Twentieth Century-Fox presents ; produced by Fred Kohlmar ; directed by Lewis Milestone ; screen play by Richard Murphy.
In nineteenth century France, a former convict tries to overcome his past and is asked to raise a prostitute's daughter, while being hounded by a policeman who vows to put him back behind bars.
Personal Subject:
Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885-Film adaptations-Video recordings.
Social problems -- France -- 19th century -- Drama -- Video recordings.
Ex-convicts -- Drama -- Video recordings.
Orphans -- Drama -- Video recordings.
Geographic Term:
France -- History -- July Revolution, 1830 -- Drama -- Video recordings.
Paris (France) -- 19th century -- Drama -- Video recordings.
Boleslavsky, Richard, 1889-1937.
Milestone, Lewis, 1895-1980.
Zanuck, Darryl Francis, 1902-1979.
Kohlmar, Fred, 1905-1969.
Lipscomb, W. P. (William Percy), 1887-1958.
Murphy, Richard, 1912-1993.
Newman, Alfred, 1901-1970.
North, Alex.
March, Fredric, 1897-1975.
Laughton, Charles, 1899-1962.
Hardwicke, Cedric, 1893-1964.
Hudson, Rochelle, 1916-1972.
Beal, John, 1909-1997.
Drake, Frances, 1912-2000.
Rennie, Michael.
Paget, Debra, 1933-
Gwenn, Edmund, 1875-1959.
Newton, Robert, 1905-1956.
Hugo, Victor, 1802-1885.
Victor Hugo's Les misérables.
Hildale Branch
Digital Video Disc (DVD) Les Misérables (1935 & 1952)
Digital Video Disc (DVD) Les Mise{0301}rables (1935 & 1952)


text:
False Profits
Why cultivate a relationship with the sacred?
Something is drawing me to cultivate a relationship with the sacred – to cast off secular skepticism; to take an interest in the divine order of the world; and to rediscover how interfacing with that order shapes both the soul and the world as we see it. Why should I listen?
Niko Kovacevic
Feb 27, 2022 • 15 min read
One of the Story of Abraham tapestries by Willem Pannemaker, commissioned by Henry VIII circa 1540. Image credit: https://www.rct.uk/
How can I feel I have arrived home in something that is in many ways so foreign to me? And yet beneath the surface it is not foreign at all, but a reversion to the sacred order of things.
Paul Kingsnorth, The Cross and the Machine
I have a confession to make: I recently started attending church for the first time in years. Something is drawing me to cultivate a relationship with the sacred – to cast off secular skepticism; to take an interest in the divine order of the world; and to rediscover how interfacing with that order shapes both the soul and the world as we see it.
As is so often the case, this transformation defies explication. After much reading and conversing and soul searching, there is a kind of opening – the revelation of seeing the world through an enchanted lens that is both novel and ancient. It's interesting, then, to attempt to communicate back across the void separating a secular life from an enchanted one and ask: why cultivate a relationship with the sacred?
Of course, one answer is simple and takes only a sentence, but requires the full faith of someone who need not ask the question in the first place. That answer is that the sacred exists – God exists – and is by definition the highest intrinsic good, so it is our primary moral and spiritual duty to cultivate that sacred relationship. Whether or not one believes that answer, it isn't the one that brought me here.
In fact, this began with a somewhat different line of inquiry: how should one live a good life? While thinking about that topic, I was most compelled to write about the importance of cultivating healthy relationships – with people, of course, but also with the underlying structure of reality. Whatever else can be said about how people should live, we should at least recognize the importance of acting in harmony with the given structure into which we were all born.
Because it is so abstract, it's worth pausing to explore the idea of structure. Structures have the property of imposing constraints in order to permit phenomena. A riverbank constrains the flow of water in order to permit a river. A house constrains interior space in order to permit livable shelter. A marriage constrains choice of sexual partners in order to permit a healthy family. These are only a few examples, of course, but point to the broad idea of structure as "that which permits by means of constraint," where that which is permitted transcends that which is constrained.
The case I aim to make for the importance of attending to the sacred is predicated on the idea that flourishing is permitted by forming responsible relationships with structure. First of all, we should acknowledge that nature and culture inevitably impose structure in the form of constraints against which mankind can struggle, but within which mankind can also flourish given the right wisdom and orientation. We should then understand the project of mankind as acting harmoniously in accordance with such constraints so that transcendence is permitted. Lastly, we should recognize that structure has a foundation upon which everything rests, which is rightly understood as the sacred, and which we must prioritize in order to flourish.
Interfacing with nature
Most people will identify a certain higher order to a beautiful landscape. Mountains triumphantly shoulder the weight of the heavens, while rivers pour through verdant valleys, nourishing the flora and fauna that take refuge there. Plants and animals find their place within nature, interacting in ways that draw on the existing structure and contribute back to it, even without expressing a conscious understanding of their role in the ecosystem. It is a matter of behavior, not belief.
Facing the splendor of harmonic natural order, we should feel a humble appreciation, a fearful respect, and a weighty responsibility to contribute to its conservation. But why are those feelings healthy and natural? Why is it a sign of pathology to not feel that reverence? The answer is simple enough: given that nature imposes the most primordial constraints with which mankind interfaces, we must reconcile our behavior with nature if we are to thrive. We must find our place in the order.
In order to merely survive, people have learned to cope with nature's limits, which include time, geography, temperature, and hunger. But we should seek more than mere survival – we should seek to transcend. Rather than merely scavenging for food, people can cultivate crops and cuisines that produce bounty and brilliance. Rather than merely seeking temporary shelter, people can erect magnificent wonders that last generations and exalt their highest virtues. Rather than merely survive the inevitable decline of aging for as long as possible, people can embed themselves within families and ancestries and heritages – stories that predate bodily existence, and will long outlive any individual.
These technologies – cuisine, architecture, and storytelling – are transcendent precisely because they result in a world that is richer and more meaningful than a counterfactual world in which humans simply did not need to eat or find shelter or worry about death in the first place. Such a world would be inert and meaningless. The fact that nature imposes such constraints allows mankind to flourish beyond what would be possible in the absence of all constraint.
Of course, flourishing should not be confused with brandishing power. Largely due to technological advancement, people can exert forces upon the natural order in dangerous and short-sighted ways. Unsustainable agricultural practices can erode the generational gift of fertile land. Nourishing traditional cuisines can be abandoned in favor of the anti-culture of cheap "fast food" meals. Vibrant historic towns can wither away, while bustling cities erect hideous buildings that cultivate humanity's basest instincts, and eventually collapse into a state of urban decay that corrupts the soul. In this way, people alienated from wisdom – particularly generational wisdom – will work against themselves, and will eventually have to relearn painful lessons.
The domain of structures and technologies that mankind develops to cope with, flourish within, and wield power against nature is the domain of culture. It is a domain full of its own constraints, which are imposed by technology itself, as well as human nature and societal structures. Such constraints are often less physical than they are emotional and moral. Of course, that is not to say they are less important – if anything, the task of permitting emotional and moral flourishing is the most essential role of culture.
Culture as a tool for transcendence
Speaking of culture in the abstract is really to speak of the collection of historically- and geographically-enmeshed cultures that local communities have developed over millennia to deal with the aforementioned natural constraints, but also forces such as sexual desire, addictive appetites, technological advance, and the imperative to find meaning. Again, mankind's challenge goes beyond simply surviving – it is to invent, inherit, and pass down ways of working in harmony with these forces so that transcendence and flourishing is made possible.
Cultures are generally defined by a shared set of norms, stewarded between generations, to which the people of a community adhere. Such norms help people answer questions as broad-ranging as what to eat, when to pray, how to raise a family, and which values to hold above other values – a question that strikes directly at the heart of what is sacred, or what is above all else. Considering the splendor of a healthy and harmonious culture (even if ours is not currently so healthy and harmonious) we should feel the same humble appreciation, fearful respect, and weighty responsibility that we do in the face of the sacred order of nature – a clear signal that cultural order deserves to be recognized as sacred to some extent.
Unfortunately, in the secular West many people are alienated from the idea that culture is genuinely important, that cultural norms should be respected, and that there is a sacred cultural order in the first place. Rather, they might feel that cultural norms are stifling, restricting, and arbitrary. So why should we reaffirm the importance of cultivating sacredness in culture? The answer, again, is simple: faced with immutable constraints, mankind's choice is between either blinding itself and struggling needlessly, or recognizing higher order and fostering paths of transcendence.
As mentioned above, the constraints that culture should address deal with intimate and moral topics including sexual desire, addictive appetites, and yearning for meaning. Rather than merely satiate sexual desire with pornography and one-night stands, people can form healthy marriages that quench desire while permitting loving families to grow. Rather than taking drugs and eating junk food as a fleeting indulgence of appetites, we can nurture good habits of sleep and diet and exercise that yield long-lasting health and growth. Rather than temporarily distracting ourselves from the yearning for meaning with technological novelties, over-consumption of media, or obsessive participation in work and play, we can form meaningful human bonds and we can read and pray and fast, focusing our attention on cultivating relationships with the sacred fonts of wisdom and meaning that humans have cultivated for centuries. In general, we can seek higher and deeper truths that provide a solid foundation for a healthy life.
Cultural and religious norms like marriage, community building, and fasting and prayer are transcendent precisely because they result in a world that is richer and more meaningful than a counterfactual world in which humans simply did not need to satiate sexual desire, raise families, or find meaning in the first place. The constraints permit flourishing, but only if people can behave in accordance with the given structure.
Such norms are developed over millennia and handed down precisely because they deal with aspects of life about which it is inadvisable to reason as a deracinated individual – aspects such as desire and addiction, which are faced most responsibly within the context of generational wisdom. Making hubristic mistakes by violating cultural norms is akin to building a village in the historic path of a volcanic lava flow, just because land is cheap there: people might manage to build a community in the short term, but a disastrous demise is inevitable.
It should come as no surprise, then, that sacred texts like the Bible are largely dedicated to transmitting cultural norms, and to telling stories about communities that succeeded in preserving generational wisdom, or failed to do so and have thus suffered and perished. Because culture is man-made, the constraints with which it grapples are often criticized as arbitrary or needlessly oppressive. But those constraints are both important and likely immutable, given the right frame of reference. As such, the major challenge facing culture is the task of remembering.
In Why Liberalism Failed, Patrick Deneen writes of culture as collective memory:
A better way to understand culture is as a kind of collective trust. Culture is the practice of full temporality, an institution that connects the present to the past and the future. As the Greeks understood, the mother of culture – of the Nine Muses – was Mnemosyne, whose name means "memory." Culture educates us about our generational debts and obligations... It is itself an education in the full dimension of human temporality, meant to abridge our temptation to live within the present, with the attendant dispositions of ingratitude and irresponsibility that [the] narrowing of temporality encourages. (77)
We must first remember so that we can use the tool of culture to learn how to interface responsibly with the underlying structure of nature, morality, and society. But, as with nature, we must be careful not to merely brandish power – lest culture turn tyrannical. Of course, there is not a single "solution" to the temptations of tyranny. It must be incumbent upon each living generation to strike a balance between deep remembrance and judicious stewardship to prevent the sacred structure from becoming forgotten or corrupt. Only through the synthesis of deep remembrance and sound judgment can healthy culture persist.
It's worth pausing on the phrase "sacred structure" – because structure and the sacred are not necessarily synonymous, and not inherently bound. The sacred is specifically that which is first or highest in the structural order. So why is it so important to cultivate a relationship with what is first and highest? Why does something have to be first at all?
Determining what is first in an order is a question of priority, which brings to mind the metaphor of a house. Every house is built atop a foundation. The foundation is visible neither to the tenants nor the neighborhood. Superficially, the walls and the roof and even the ornate details seem to matter more. It's likely that, in the course of daily life, nobody even consciously remembers that the whole enterprise rests on the ongoing strength and unity of the foundation. But a wise builder knows that problems with the foundation need to be solved at the level of the foundation. If walls are collapsing due to a crumbling foundation, it would be folly to try to fix the situation by building more walls. The foundation must come first.
Mapping this metaphor onto the cultivation of responsible relationships with structure yields the idea that there is a foundation that must come first – a stable and unifying surface upon which mankind can develop cultural norms, families, agriculture, architecture, medicine, et cetera. Without that foundation, mankind will behave like a foolish builder, trying to erect walls on shifting sands or trying to patch a roof over a split foundation, eventually finding that his frustrated efforts result only in further deterioration. He might even blame "the other" for sabotaging his plans. If only "they" got onboard with all he wanted to build, utopia would surely exist by now. But, of course, the answer lies not across the aisle, but beneath our feet.
Focusing on the sacred as "first" and "foundational" discloses two universal and abstract constraints underpinning all other constraints: complexity and scarcity. At any given moment in time, there are a functionally infinite number of problems worthy of attention, but only a finite number of people and communities to attend to them.
To rely once more on the construction metaphor, we can imagine building or repairing many homes and schools and hospitals, each with walls and roofs; but focusing on only the walls – or even an individial building – will inevitably lead to imbalanced, unstable structures sitting in inappropriate places. After all, the foundation dictates where the buildings and their walls must be built for the structures to stand. In that way, focusing on what is foundational shows us not just where our culture can or should be built, but where it must be built in order to last for generations.
Of course, one can imagine abstract structures that have no "first" element – a pure ring, for example. But in the embodied and temporal world there are always firsts: time – and death, ultimately – constrains us to order and prioritize; gravity constrains us to build up starting from the ground; family and locality make ordered claims upon our attention and care. To an embodied being, moral relativism is no more functionally appropriate than physical relativism would be to a builder, convinced to build the walls first and save the foundation for last.
This points to what I mean by the sacred – a term I've intentionally left undefined. (It would be foolish to try to define it, but it would be lazy to not address the term at all.) The sacred includes those deep and immovable elements to which people return for stability and nourishment: churches and other places of worship, where the architecture calls its inhabitants to cultivate transcendent virtues, and rituals that form the soul have been stewarded for centuries; the Bible and other sacred texts, which transmit stories full of wisdom and paradox, and which have helped people to focus their attention, ground their morality, and order their thoughts for ages; and poetry, hymns, chanting, and great works music that rejoice life, soothe the soul, and provide a solid foundation for moral life as well as a place of refuge from the suffering that everyone will inevitably face.
Thus, identifying and worshiping the sacred is not about pursuing arbitrary "power" that oppresses – quite the opposite, in fact. Nor is it about propagating anachronistic music or irrelevant fairy tales. The worship of the sacred is about interfacing with the deepest wells of wisdom, the most mysterious forms of art, and the most timeless sources of moral truths in ways that prioritize the foundation of culture. It is about glorifying that which we have learned must come first for all else to stand.
Perhaps John Vervaeke said it best in conversation with Jonathan Pageau:
To quote Aristotle, "First things first"... He means that the task is to realize what the first principles are and to prioritize them... I think of that as the virtue of reverence, and I think reverence is to properly realize the relevance of something that should be given a priority, even over yourself, and that's where you start to get notions of sacrifice and worship.
Without putting first things first, culture beings to fail in ways that are, paradoxically, both unexpected and self-fulfilling. People obsessed with maximizing freedom and individual prosperity end up perpetuating a system in which the common good is unachievable for so many. People obsessed with "safety" end up accidentally harming the most vulnerable among us. People obsessed with ending racial disparity end up stoking racial division. The list goes on, and affects movements across political and economic boundaries.
This is exemplified in a recent article entitled Have No Fear – fittingly published in First Things magazine – in which Liel Leibovitz shares a teaching from the Talmud that is a bit of "dry legalese" about what to do if a grave site is unmarked in a field, leading some to imagine that the entire field should be avoided for fear of violating the unmarked grave. But, he explains, the Talmud suggests otherwise:
Don't sweat it too much. You are to place a marker not too far from where you think the grave is likely to be and then go about your business. Their reasoning for this procedure? "So as not to cause a loss of Eretz Yisrael," a loss of the Land of Israel.
The Talmud is famous for cloaking profound teaching in dry legalese. You hardly have to be a rabbinic scholar to know that the Land of Israel, that strip of earth promised to Abraham, is sacred. Thus, by warning us against losing even an inch of holy acreage unnecessarily, the rabbis are delivering a timely reminder. Yes, we need to be sure not to run afoul of death's polluting power. That's the point of all the rules concerning burial, contact with dead bodies, and mourning. But some things are more important, and they take priority. Put simply: Without risk, there can be no life.
Seems obvious enough. The land is sacred, so we should put that first, ordering our concerns about rituals of death as secondary. How could this apply to a contemporary setting? Leibovitz continues:
Only a fool who confuses staying alive with living well would forsake even a small piece of the Promised Land.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what we've been doing. Just look at some of the pandemic countermeasures that seem more symbolic than effective, and you'll see a society in the grip of the cult of zero risk. We mask and test; we card and censure. We deride as heresy any attempts to ask when enough is enough, or whether strictures laid down "in the abundance of caution" amount to too much precaution.
Those with specialized knowledge need to debate the merits of masks, vaccines, and mandates with facts and figures and data. But the rest of us should have a conversation about something much larger, which is the proper balance between safety and risk, between security and adventure. We should—of course!—take reasonable precautions to protect ourselves and those around us. But let us not become inflamed by risk-aversion. Zero risk ensures pretty close to zero life. It causes us to sacrifice too much of what makes life worth living.
Leibovitz's writing perfectly illustrates how, without putting sacred wisdom first, mankind will inevitably struggle to balance the forces of complexity and scarcity within the ordered structure, and will make the wrong sacrifices in a world where sacrifices are not optional.
Weaving the tapestry
Meditating on how to act in accordance with structure by prioritizing what is first according to cultural wisdom in order to flourish has brought to mind the image of weaving a tapestry. A tapestry seems rather simple in one sense: it's just a woven fabric that conveys an image. But in order to craft a durable, orderly, and beautiful tapestry, there are rules that cannot be ignored.
First and foremost, there is the warp, running vertically, which sets the foundation and defines the scale and size and boundaries. Then, there is the weft, which is the medium that the artist weaves into the warp, simultaneously playing into the order, developing the visual pattern, and constructing the whole piece.
The warp, running vertically, is the medium through which the weft is woven to create the full tapestry. Image credit: Getty Museum.
In the final product the warp is not generally visible, but trying to weave a tapestry without cultivating an understanding of the warp and the patterns that it does and does not allow will inevitably lead to calamity. Focusing on the warp, but trying to reason from first principles will also likely lead to a mess. The task, properly understood, requires remembering – learning from the wisdom of old masters – and focusing attention on what the underlying foundation permits. It is also a practice, so it is necessarily embodied. And the result, if done properly, can transcend mere fabric.
We should strive to weave great tapestries. We should strive to build timeless architecture atop firm foundations. We have an obligation to remember all that we've been granted by our ancestors, and to steward that wisdom for our children. We should reject the moral relativism that leads to blindness and suffering, just as we should reject the brandishing of power that leads to tyranny. But that requires deep memory and good judgment – two skills that are earned by cultivating a relationship with the sacred.
Chaidt, Jonathan. "Progressives Must Reckon With the School-Closing Catastrophe." New York Magazine. 17 January 2022. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/progressives-must-reckon-with-the-school-closing-catastrophe.html
Deneen, Patrick. "A Good thatis Common." The Postliberal Order. 8 November 2021. https://postliberalorder.substack.com/p/a-good-that-is-common?utm_source=url
Deneen, Patrick. Why Liberalism Failed. Yale University Press, 2018.
Dzombak, Becca. "The Nation's Corn Belt has Lost a Third of Its Topsoil." Smithsonian Magazine. 14 April 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/scientists-say-nations-corn-belt-has-lost-third-its-topsoil-180977485/
Getty Museum. The Art of Making a Tapestry. 18 November 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIbu-dJuEh0
Hughes, Coleman. "How To Be an Anti-Intellectual." City Journal. 27 October 2019. https://www.city-journal.org/how-to-be-an-antiracist
Kingsnorth, Paul. "The Cross and the Machine." First Things. June 2021. https://www.firstthings.com/article/2021/06/the-cross-and-the-machine
Leibovitz, Liel. "Have No Fear." First Things. March 2022. https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/03/have-no-fear
Matthews-King, Alex. "Western diet now killing more than smoking and high blood pressure, study suggests." The Independent. 4 April 2019. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/western-diet-fat-salt-fruit-veg-fibre-cancer-heart-disease-obesity-diabetes-a8853696.html
Pageau, Jonathan and John Vervaeke. "Collective Intelligence: Angels in Scientific Terms." The Symbolic World. 26 November 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ZaFNIH0co
Pecknold, Chad. "The Religious Nature of the City." The Posliberal Order. 24 January 2022. https://postliberalorder.substack.com/p/the-religious-nature-of-the-city?utm_source=url
"Pruitt-Igoe." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruitt–Igoe
Selected essays, including Galen Peterson on wild fire in the American West; Erik Hoel on why A.I. art is not art; and several authors on the origins and implications of conflict around abortion.
Jun 16, 2022 — 5 min read
Selected essays, including Esme Partridge on a generational rejection of ideals; Nina Power on the family as a bulwark against the tyranny of Left and Right; and pseudonymous lawyer, Techno Fog, on the political power struggle over moral identity in public schools.
May 8, 2022 — 5 min read
Selected articles and essays, including Nina Power and Chad Pecknold on the patriarchy; Ethan Strauss on Gen-Z athletes' mental health paradox; and Paul Kingsnorth on the culture of inversion. Plus, links to four essays on Russia, Ukraine, and the global order.
Apr 10, 2022 — 7 min read
False Profits © 2023


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