We acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we stand. We pay our respects to them and for their care of the land.
May we walk gently on this land.
We acknowledge the traditional custodians and occupiers of the land where we are now gathered, (N…. ) and recognise that it continues to be sacred to them.
R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.
Christ Jesus, you have loved us and given us everlasting hope. Jesus, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you have encouraged and strengthened us in every good deed and word. Christ, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you have called us to people of the resurrection, who raise up the downcast and downtrodden. Jesus, have mercy.
which even death cannot destroy.
May we live that life and joy for you and one another.
we are renewed by your love.
through the hope we give to others.
Introduction: As people of hope we pray to God, who is God of the living – not of the dead. We pray in response: God of life, hear our prayer.
1. As people of the resurrection, we pray that God will bless all relationships in the church and in our communities that are faithful, loving and life-giving. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
2. As people of the resurrection, we pray that we may continue to struggle against all forms of dehumanisation – in the workplace, in the suppression of freedom and in whatever creates fear in others. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
3. As people of the resurrection, may we work with others to put an end to war and violence, seek a world where everyone has sufficient food to eat and access to education, where asylum seekers and people who are homeless are cared for and Christians speak up for justice for everyone. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
As people of the resurrection, we remember our earth, and pray for the wisdom and creativity to address the damage we do each day as well as the assaults on the environment by armed conflict. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
6. As people of the resurrection, we pray that we may recognise that every person is created in God's image and likeness with dignity, value and worth regardless of race, gender and class. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
7. As people of the resurrection, we pray that we may recognise that salvation is found in Jesus through being part of a new humanity, a new community. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
8. As people of the resurrection, we remember the 60 ethnic Rohingya fleeing persecution and violence in western Myanmar feared dead recently after their boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
10. As people of the resurrection, we pray that we may remember all the dead, known and unknown to us, and that the good that they have done may inspire us in our lives and in our hope. We pray: God of life, hear our prayer.
Concluding Prayer: Loving and faithful God, hear the prayers of your people. May we be confident in your care for us and each moment as people who believe in your promises.
Introduction: As we call to mind the need for compassion and care for those in prison in Australia, we offer our prayer to God.
We pray for our Church leaders who in following Christ's example, may be compassionate, welcoming, and hospitable to prisoners, bringing them comfort and assurance. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for all our political leaders, especially those responsible for prisoners and detainees; May they clearly see their needs and provide for those needs with justice and compassion. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for all who are in prison or detention: that even though surrounded by bars and many restrictions, they receive your grace to know and understand true freedom of spirit. (Pause) Hear us, O God..
We pray for all who are in prison or detention: May they understand that they are loved, and on release, find a fulfilling and rewarding life, helped by family, friends and the community. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for the families of prisoners: that they have the strength, patience and care to support their loved ones while in prison, and one day to receive them back into their lives and their homes with love and forgiveness. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for those who work in the prison system, particularly chaplains and pastoral visitors. May they have the clarity of vision and purpose to always put the needs of prisoners first. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We especially pray for those held in juvenile detention: May they experience guidance and loving correction through the care and support of those who are responsible for their well-being. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for ourselves that we don't forget those who are shut away from us and that we always remain aware of our own weakness and be thankful for the guidance and protection we have received. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
We pray for the victims of crime that through a spirit of forgiveness, they will find healing and comfort in their distress. (Pause) Hear us, O God.
Conclusion: Loving God, your own Son was a prisoner even in his innocence. Grant these prayers through your divine mercy and compassion as we present them in faith to you in the power of the Spirit and the name of Jesus.
and original owners of this land.
live in their personal prisons.
who seek to change difficult life stories.
for the victims of crime on the outside.
for the countless victims of crime on the inside.
as a God of Mercy and forgiveness.
Good and Gracious God, we come to you to pray for the victims of Hurricane Matthew. Our hearts are heavy with sorrow for their losses of life, shelter, employment and hope. Quiet our minds and voices so that we may be able to hear, speak and do your will, but only after we have lifted these victims up in prayer.
For those who must be evacuated and relocated. Let us cry for help.
For those who are already vulnerable, who are usually the most affected by any disaster. Let us cry for help.
For those thirsting for drink, hungering for food, seeking shelter and in need of medical care. Let us cry for help.
For those relying on governments and relief agencies to provide assistance and ensure their basic rights. Let us cry for help.
We turn to You, O God, and cry for those in the midst of this disaster. We ask all this in Your Name. Amen.
At the beginning of Creation, You calmed the chaos of the world. Be present now to those whose lives are suddenly filled with chaos. Grant them the grace of calm in the midst of confusion. We pray to the Lord.
You have always shown us the way from darkness into the light. For those struggling now to see the light, we ask that You shine it a bit brighter in our world. Grant us all the grace to see a way forward through the present darkness. We pray to the Lord.
Throughout history You have raised up leaders to care for your people. May those who are called upon to lead now in this time of despair be given the grace to do so with conviction and compassion. We pray to the Lord.
You are truly a God of abundance. Open our eyes so that we may see how our ministries can use the abundance with which we have been blessed to help those in need. Grant us the grace to move with humility and prudence in all that we do. We pray to the Lord.
You are also a God of wonders. We have often struggled to imagine the breadth and depth of what is possible with You at our side. Grant us all – those directly affected and those holding them in prayer – the grace of creativity in our response to this event. We pray to the Lord.
The Psalmist sings, 'Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.' Let it also be our song this day. May we, and those we pray for, truly hope in the Lord. And may that hope give us all the strength and heart we need to move from darkness into light.
When people decry civilian deaths caused by the U.S government, they're aiding propaganda efforts. In sharp contrast, when civilian deaths are caused by bombers who hate America, the perpetrators are evil and those deaths are tragedies. When they put bombs in cars and kill people, they're uncivilized killers. When we put bombs on missiles and kill people, we're upholding civilized values. When they kill, they're terrorists. When we kill, we're striking against terror.
The more there are suffering, then, the more natural their sufferings appear. Who wants to prevent the fishes in the sea from getting wet? And the suffering themselves share this callousness towards themselves and are lacking in kindness toward themselves. It is terrible that human beings so easily put up with existing conditions, not only with the sufferings of strangers but also with their own. All those who have thought about the bad state of things refuse to appeal to the compassion of one group of people for another. But the compassion of the oppressed for the oppressed is indispensable. It is the world's one hope.
We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties.
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
Humor and laughter are not necessarily the same thing. Humor permits us to see into life from a fresh and gracious perspective. We learn to take ourselves more lightly in the presence of good humor. Humor gives us the strength to bear what cannot be changed, and the sight to see the human under the pompous.
Activism is my rent for living on this planet.
Movements are like this. They are grassroots, often underground, and they start with crazy people who are willing to believe in the impossible. Movements never start in corporate offices with executives drawing up a master plan...if we truly want to see the world changed, we must begin as a band of madmen, welcoming other crazy people who want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
A man with a briefcase can steal more money than any man with a gun.
When a man has so far corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind, as to subscribe his professional belief to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of every other crime.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
[In] Democratic societies ... the state can't control behavior by force. It can to some extent, but it's much more limited in its capacity to control by force. Therefore, it has to control what you think. ... One of the ways you control what people think is by creating the illusion that there's a debate going on, but making sure that that debate stays within very narrow margins. Namely, you have to make sure that both sides in the debate accept certain assumptions, and those assumptions turn out to be the propaganda system. As long as everyone accepts the propaganda system, then you can have a debate.
There is a growing awareness of the sublime dignity of human persons, who stand above all things and whose rights and duties are universal and inviolable. They ought, therefore, to have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life: for example, food, clothing, housing, ... the right to education, and work.
….. we offer once again a simple image - a table. Who has a place at the table of life? …. How can we secure a place at the table for the hungry and those who lack health care in our own land and around the world? Where is the place at the table for those in our world who lack the freedom to practice their faith or stand up for what they believe? How do we ensure that families in our inner cities and rural communities, in barrios in Latin America and villages in Africa and Asia have a place at the table-enough to eat, decent work and wages, education for their children, adequate health care and housing, and most of all, hope for the future? We remember especially the people who are now missing at the table of life - those lost in the terror of September 11, in the service of our nation, and in the bloody conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa. A table is also a place where important decisions are made in our communities, nation, and world. How can the poorest people on Earth and those who are vulnerable in our land, including immigrants and those who suffer discrimination, have a real place at the tables where policies and priorities are set?
Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are?
We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move.
You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.
Response to each part of the litany can be a simple 'pray for us'' or 'Grant us peace and justice' One can also add local people in this litany.
I suffer I more from the humiliations inflicted by my country than from those inflicted on her.
'Those who attain the resurrection do not marry or are given in marriage'.
to vows that might disable.
at just one kitchen table.
to be the only friend.
who links the one to all.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, may I look with love on all.
For if every [man] were to regard the persons of others as [his] own person, who would inflict pain and injury on others? If they regarded the homes of others as their own homes, would they rob the homes of others? Thus in that case there would be no brigands and robbers. If the princes regarded other countries as their own, who would wage war on other countries? This in that case there would be no more war.
beyond accents, gender, or skin color.
Protest that endures...is moved by a hope far more modest than that of public success: namely, the hope of preserving qualities in one's own heart and spirit that would be destroyed by acquiescence.
And share 'this' world again.
Genuine forgiveness is not an easily cultivated art. Especially when we have been gravely wounded by another person, our basic human dignity affronted, it is no simple task to forgive. Nor should it be done lightly. For we need also to recognize and affirm the anger, the pain, the betrayal, or the sense of injustice that we feel when genuinely hurt.
Unfortunately, though we often talk about forgiveness within the church, very often by the way we deal with things—attempting to suppress conflict, not making judgments, keeping things secret, not enforcing the ethical conditions we talk about, not holding the powerful accountable—we actually create a situation that stops people from being able to forgive.
Your life, O God, ignores limits.
in every person, every moment and every space.
and patience for those who are not ready to face and embrace change.
across barriers of time and difference.
Jesus confrontation with the Sadducees about life after death, gives him the opening to deal with the implicit violence perpetrated against the woman in the story. She is nothing but a servant and not having any children is not even that to her dead husbands.
We know various examples of stories depicting violence against women in the Bible from the rapes of Tamar and Dinah to the abandonment of Hagar with her child in the desert. In today's gospel there is the violence of anonymity, as the woman is brought forward as a trump card against eternal life in an attempt to entrap Jesus in a debate about the preposterous notion of resurrection. As a barren woman, she is held up as a conundrum in an argument having been married to seven brothers and then widowed without children. There is the shame and embarrassment at being exposed as barren, and worthless, seven times over.
Is this not the 'game' played by the church when it held up women solely as child bearers and unable to imagine any other roles for them. Unlike some of the prophets, Jesus is not seen making a barren woman fertile and never praised childbearing or motherhood. He imagined other roles for women: 'Mary has chosen the good portion and it will not be taken away from her' when she chose to sit among the disciples and learn, rather than work in the kitchen. And in the discussion with the Sadducees over the barren woman, Jesus reveals that in the resurrection, life is not about servitude (for women), or being owned or possessed by another, but being a child of God. Jesus repeatedly made clear that he embraces barren women, promiscuous women, fallen women, prostitutes – women who suffer social stigma still, and women who are not defined by belonging to a husband.. 'All who hear my words and do them are my family.' There is no family when only the males are the subjects of history, and the woman an object - 'the wife.' There is no family when the agenda is offspring for a male husband and father with a concern to maintain a patriarchal design. There is no family when dominant males have their names passed on to children, and who only have significance when the father's name and memory is bestowed upon them. Jesus shifted the discussion by countering the view that a woman can be shunted around carrying the burden of patriarchal luggage. We are children of the Resurrection, not heirs of a defunct patriarchy. The resurrected life is not giving and taking in marriage, but about 'being alive' and doing life differently. What we do does matter. Every act of mercy, compassion and solidarity with the most vulnerable manifest God's life. What we do is seen through the lens of God's reign. It is about a long haul rather than immediate outcomes. It takes courage and faith to live an alternative set of values and practices from the people around us as we strive for a better world even though we may never see the final outcome of justice and peace. Former playwright and Czech president, the late Vaclav Havel said that 'Hope …….is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out.' Thomas Merton, writing to a friend said 'Do not depend on the hope of results . . .you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. . . .you gradually struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people . . . .In the end, it is the reality of personal relationship that saves everything.' Whilst we are together and feel some others supporting, perseverance is possible. Irrespective of violence and hard times, joy is still available, not from the circumstances, but from our relationships. We don't need specific outcomes. We need each other.
The Sadducees, wanted to keep their privileges by collaborating with the Romans and Jesus' teaching threatened that. They needed to demonise him: show him to be crazy, irrelevant, a threat to authority and disrespectful of Moses' teachings and traditions. If the ordinary people had their eyes opened and could be excited by the possibility of social change and a new quality of life then their powerful influence would be threatened.
A selective reading of the scriptures always provide excuses from living the 'resurrection' now by heeding the prophetic call to justice, to hospitality, to engaging effectively with people living at the margins. We do not have to wait for death to experience heaven and hell. They begin each day by our choices either to love others or to isolate ourselves. Material comfort can numb our consciences and blind us to 'Lazarus at the gate' or those at the walls created by our Border Force. They also cut us off from the real sources of life: telling the truth, giving and receiving mercy and sharing our joys and needs with others. Jesus' confrontation with the Sadducees as with other power groups is really an attempt to liberate them from assumptions that imprisoned them. They were becoming dead men instead of being open to the living God as revealed by Jesus.
Resurrection is about doing life differently for ourselves and for others. Its power is utterly new and overwhelmingly transforming. It is a about committing ourselves to God and living in such a way that this relationship surpasses any other relationship and infuses every relationship that we have. 'God is not God of the dead but of the living'. This is the central focus and challenge of the Gospel – the call to peace, to justice. Resurrection is more than a feel-good belief about seeing loved ones again. A biblical sense of the resurrection of the dead should focus on the indomitable power and faithfulness of God in the face of every negation, including death. Resurrection is to be lived now. It involves justice. It involves action to overcome the oppressive forces and structures in society. It means that that our eyes are opened, to have our hearts broken open to allow in our sisters and brothers, particularly the poor and neglected, the anonymous and voiceless ones.
Jesus' vision is of a new community, a new humanity and a new way of relating. We see this confirmed in Paul's letter to the Thessalonians where God intends the liberation of the whole human community, all of Creation in a new Peace, SHALOM. The woman in the story is not going to be anybody's wife where she will be owned or possessed. God is doing things differently. In whatever change or loss we experience we must believe, as did Job, that 'my Redeemer lives'. We must not let our pain blind us to the pain of others. We need to overcome the tendency to see ourselves as exception and seeing ourselves as the only victim. It is easy to do. We might see it quicker in others than in ourselves.
As we ponder Jesus' confrontation with the Sadducees regarding life, we must ask ourselves, 'Do I believe in resurrection?' 'Do I really believe in resurrection?' Our response points to how we live today. It is not so much answered intellectually as in the ordering of our loves. Who or what is our true love? Do we find our loves fulfilled in the living God or in the promises of this world? Does this include those that others shun? Vilify? Demonise? Neglect? So, as we have focused this year on effectively engaging in our world, we show by our relationships, our solidarity, our respect that God is God of the living and not of the dead; the God of living people who continually engage in faithful actions for a just, loving, compassion and sustainable world.


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MLB Preview: Young Marlins focused on using surprising 2020 playoff run as stepping stone to something greater
MIAMI (AP) The Miami Marlins were beginning to arrive at camp for the start of spring training when left-hander Daniel Castano ran into Don Mattingly, the 2020 National League manager of the year.
First thing when I saw Skip, I congratulated him on his award, Castano says. "And he said, That was last year.
That set the tone: Last year was awesome, but we have a lot more up our sleeve.
With a young roster and refurbished farm system, the Marlins appear to be on the rise. A surprising 2020 run to their first playoff berth since 2003 suggested the Marlins are ahead of schedule three seasons into their rebuild under CEO Derek Jeter.
But after going 31-29 and then being swept by the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, they're eager to do better.
Last year was great, but obviously we know thats not where we want to end up, Mattingly says. We just have to get back to work, take last year as a steppingstone and keep moving forward.
An abundance of young starting pitchers gives the Marlins a solid foundation.
Among the top eight arms, the oldest is the 26-year-old Castano. The group doesn't even include right-hander Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft, who could make the majors later this year.
Right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Pablo López begin the season as Miami's top two pitchers, but hard-throwing prospects Sixto Sánchez and Edward Cabrera are considered potential future aces.
The pitching depth we have in this organization is scary," left-hander Trevor Rogers says.
The question is how soon the Marlins' young hitters will catch up with their pitchers in development. Miami ranked 23rd in OPS last year, partly because prospects Jazz Chisholm, Monte Harrison, Jesús Sánchez and Lewis Diaz went a combined 24 for 167 (.144) with 68 strikeouts.
Many projections have the Marlins finishing under .500 this year, but they could exceed expectations again if one or more of their young hitters breaks out.
Were not a club thats old, and this is what were going to be, Mattingly says. This is a club that has a chance to constantly improve.
ROOKIES TO WATCH
Sánchez made his major league debut on his 22nd birthday last year and went 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in his first five starts. He tailed off after that but threw five shutout innings against the Chicago Cubs in the playoffs.
The dynamic Chisholm is contending for the second base job this spring and is projected as a potential successor to veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas.
The Marlins' most notable newcomer is Kim Ng, hired in November as the first female general manager in Major League Baseball.
She was hamstrung in the offseason by the Marlins' perennially tight budget. Most of their deals involved modest bullpen upgrades, but Ng did acquire one everyday starter right fielder Adam Duvall. He hit 16 homers last year for the Braves, including three in one game against Miami.
BRAVES GAP
The Marlins are much improved since 2018-19, when they lost 203 games, but it's unclear whether they've gained much ground on the Braves.
Miami is 13-38 against Atlanta over the past three seasons, including 4-9 last year. In the playoffs the Braves shut out the Marlins over the final 19 innings.
Atlanta has been at the top of the division for the last few years, Jeter says. If you want to be the best, you have to ultimately beat the best.
TASTE OF SUCCESS?
The Marlins are hoping first baseman Jesús Aguilar can return to his All-Star form of 2018, when he hit 35 homers for the Brewers. The 275-pound Venezuelan revived his career last year in Miami after a dismal 2019, and he credits a healthier diet that includes more salads and fewer arepas.
His favorite salad?
I dont really like it, Aguilar says with a smile, but I have to do it.
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Resort Hotels Network
independent travel resource
Dining - Food
Beyond Phuket
Phuket Photos
Phuket Maps
White sandy beaches, warm aquamarine waters, balmy weather, an easy pace of life and sumptuous seafood are some of the things that entice visitors to this near-perfect idyllic escape. Lesser known but just as attractive are its lush forests and the many nearby islands which offer spectacular scenery and some of the best reef diving in the world. From a small island inhabited by tin miners, rubber planters and fishermen 20 years ago, Phuket has blossomed into Asias premier beach resort, far outstripping its sister resort of Pattaya on the western shore of the Gulf of Thailand only an hour away from Bangkok.
The word Phuket was formerly belived to have come from the Malayan word Bukit, which means a mountain. However, it has recently been discovered that Phuket is actually a Thai word meaning a mountain (phu) of jewel (ket). The name is recorded in a Thai chronicle, though the spelling of the second syllable has been changed.
Formerly known as Ko (island) Thalang, Phuket was only noted for its rich tin ores, from which its wealth was derived. Today, it is better known as a tourist paradise, a most rewarding place for holiday makers. With its magnificent long white beaches, its luxuriant vegetation, its crystal blue sea water, its fantastic under-sea scenery, its calm and relaxing tropical atmosphere, and its fresh prawns, lobsters and other kinds of seafood, Phuket - the Pearl of the South - entices many travellers to visit her again and again.
After the first tidal wave ever hit phuket, the island has recovered very quickly, for those of you who might have cancelled your holiday plans, or is planing your holiday. Don't worry phuket is back in shape, and there is no chance of a second wave for another hundred of years. The beaches are now crowded with toruists again, enjoying their holiday, at very good deals, as you can expect to get a deal this high season at low season rates, it is an amazing opertunity for many of you to stay in a more luxurious enviorment, at a great rate, do not miss this oppertunity. Almost all of the affected hotels is back in bussiness so there is plenty of good places to stay, we would recommend surin beach, karon beach or kata beach for the family, and patong beach for the bachelors...
Phuket Events
Short news on upcomming and yearly events in phuket.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Events
Phuket Beaches, Thailand
Phuket has more than a handful of beaches, each one unique on its own and well worth a days visit or two. Even if the water on some beaches is not as crystal clear as on the small nearby islands they are still in the world class, one of the top 10 destinations in the beach search by Discovery Travel. With patong as the most crowded beach, and when the sun sets turns into a haven for the night-owl, none of the wild party animals will be disappointed here.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Beaches, Thailand
Phuket Activities
When most visitors arrive in Phuket they go to Patong and end up feeling that the whole island is like that. Not true. While Patong fairly buzzes with people and activity, there are many other beaches to which one can escape and discover blissful solitude.
Phuket offer a large sellection of activites, to easily overview we have divided them into six sub pages, featuring watersports, snorkelling, scuba diving, deap-sea fishing, cruising and land sports.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Activities
Phuket Attractions, Thailand
The numerous places of attraction is Phuket can be conveniently grouped into the following routes: in town, nothern route, beach route, southern route, and nearby islands.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Attractions, Thailand
Phuket Dining
One of the joys of a holiday in Phuket is the chance to savour its superb cuisine. Its waters are rich with crabs, tiger prawns, shrimp, mussels, squid and half a dozen varities of fish, and its land abounds with fresh vegetables and fruits. Seafood, fresh from trawlers, and vegetables from the countryside are sped to kitchens to be turned into unforgettable dishes.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Dining
Phuket Nightlife, Thailand
Until recently, Phuket has been better known for its daytime than its nighttime activities, but this is slowly begining to change. Phuket town has always offered Thai-style nightclubs which are more appealing to local than foreign tastes, but it does have world class cinemas and a night market. As might be expected, Patong, the most developed of the resorts, offers the widest nightlife opportunities. Kata and Karon are now beginning to open up as well.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Nightlife, Thailand
Phuket Shopping
By comparison with Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Phuket offers the serious shopper a rather narrow selection and too few shops to build up a head of steam. But for the past years there has been quite a development in the local shopping industry. With more and more vendors in patong offering a very wide range of oppertunities, and with the shopping mall at Lotus and Big-C, and soon the new Central available it is to say that you will not leave phuket empty haded, you will more or less find everything you need.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Shopping
Phuket Festivals
Plan your visit to coincide with one of these Thai festivals. Thais celebrate even their religious holidays with gusto and invite the visitor to join in. Precise dates for many of the festivals and holidays may vary from year to year.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Festivals
Some information and history of phuket is provided to make sure your stay will be as plesent as possible, avoiding most of the comon tourist traps.
click here for more info and photos on Phuket Information
In the nearby Phuket area there are plenty of sites well worth visiting, we have tried to provide information guides on some of the ones not to be missed.
click here for more info and photos on Beyond Phuket
Copyright © 2022 C.H.E. All rights reserved - Content Policy


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Dead State
Dead State Release and Official Wiki
By brilovely Dec 4, 2014
Category IconNews
Surviving a zombie apocalypse is more than hacking and slashing your way to victory. You need to create alliances, build a shelter, and gather supplies. Dead State, which released today from DoubleBear Productions, is a turn-based RPG that effectively captures the perils you'll face in a zombie takeover. The game is available today on Steam for $30. Gamepedia has partnered with DoubleBear to present the Official Dead State Wiki.
Tags steam Official Wiki Dead State Release
The Official Dead State Wiki!
By Vendolyn Apr 4, 2014
We're excited that one of the wikis here at Gamepedia that has an incredible and dedicated community is now the Official Dead State Wiki! Dead State, a high tension RPG available for PC through Steam Early Access, is set at the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. The walking dead are taking over the living as a deadly illness is spreading and turning survivors into infected humans. Your goals are simple: survive and do not get infected! In this single player game, you work on teaming up with other survivors, scavenging for food, shelter and water, and fighting off those who have turned.
Dead State takes place in the fictional town of Splendid, in central Texas. While you're not certain, you're pretty sure that civilization has collapsed on a global scale. Through the story, you find others to team up with you so you can build not just shelter, but a defendable fortress. Developer Double Bear gives you a world full of slow, shuffling zombies more akin to classic zombie thrillers, turn based squad combat, exploration and survival. Dead State is also a sandbox with plenty of objectives to come across. There is also the fact that you will not encounter all of your possible allies in a single game and future games have the possibility that your interactions will be completely different, allowing for plenty of replayability.
For more information on the world, head over to the Official Dead State Wiki to see what all there is for you to discover! If you want to join the fantastic community of editors and contributors for this wiki or any others, know that there is always room for you and we encourage you to start contributing! Take a look at the Help Wiki for ideas on how you can get started.
Tags Official Wiki Dead State Double Bear Productions


Would you ever consider putting sugar water in the gas tank of your car? Then why do you suppose, do many people today not consider the appropriate"gas" our body needs to fuel itself?
Variety means it is important to include many different foods from each level of the Food Pyramid because no one single food can supply all the nutrients our bodies need on a daily basis.
Balance means that you must eat the right amounts of foods from the variety of levels of the Food Pyramid daily. This ensures getting the caloric intake and nutrients you need for growth, development and body system function.
We have many exciting products in stock at our office and available online to help us achieve maximum good health.
AR-ENCAP is a comprehensive joint support formula that goes beyond simple glucosamine supplementation. This formula supplies the recommended daily dose of glucosamine in combination with joint-supporting nutrients and botanicals.
We also carry CURAMIN, which is a natural response to end inflammation pain. We live in an age where painkillers are prescribed regularly, but are they always the best option? Curamin is a natural and nutritive supplement that helps defeat pain. It is much safer than drugs because it has no known side effects. It has also been found to help people suffering from various pain types of pain, such as arthritis, migraines, bursitis, and pain conditions resulting from injuries or accidents. It does more than just alleviate pain. It actually works with your body to boost it's own anti-inflammatory response, enabling your body to respond to stressors naturally.
The importance of diet to overall health is not a news. 2,400 years ago Hippocrates said "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." With people living longer, poor nutrition and diet now account for at least 4 of the top 10 leading causes for death in the United States. The top offenders are heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes, all directly linked to our food. The fact is with proper diet, these and many other associated conditions can be avoided. A healthy diet is essential for proper health.
Eating right can be challenging, but is all about proper variety, moderation and balance. Many times we think we are eating right when in fact we are pushing our balance of carbs, proteins and fats in the wrong direction, or entirely missing essential vitamins and minerals. For a variety of health reasons, it's critical to avoid caffeine, sugar, tobacco and alcohol.
Equally important is getting the proper amount of sleep. When you sleep, your body releases certain hormones that assist in growth, repair and immunity. This is also a time for your mind to relax and rejuvenate. Getting a good night's sleep is essential to proper health, and may require adequate positioning to ensure reduced strain on your neck and back. Lombardo Chiropractic can help.
We often find it helpful to "coach" our patients on certain activities they should avoid or do differently to avoid aggravating their particular health challenge. Our goal is to help every patient achieve a fulfilling and happy lifestyle full of the activities they enjoy most.


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Artificial intelligence must be stopped from 'hurting, destroying or deceiving' humans
Jasper HamillMonday 16 Apr 2018 9:07 am
Could machines like this end up annihilating our species? (Source: Rex Features)
Westminster is doing its bit to make sure artificial intelligence doesn't wipe out our species.
AI must never be given autonomous power to hurt, destroy or deceive humans, a new parliamentary report exploring the development of this planet-changing technology has advised.
Ethics need to be put at the centre of the development of the emerging technology, according to the House of Lords Artificial Intelligence Committee.
With Britain poised to become a world leader in the controversial technological field international safeguards need to be set in place, the study said.
Peers state that AI needs to be developed for the common good and that the 'autonomous power to hurt, destroy or deceive human beings should never be vested in artificial intelligence'.
The report also stressed that AI should also not be used to diminish the data rights of individuals, and people 'should have the right to be educated to enable them to flourish mentally, emotionally and economically alongside artificial intelligence'.
The report stated: 'Many jobs will be enhanced by AI, many will disappear and many new, as yet unknown jobs, will be created.
'Significant Government investment in skills and training will be necessary to mitigate the negative effects of AI. Retraining will become a lifelong necessity.'
Committee chairman Lord Clement-Jones said: 'The UK has a unique opportunity to shape AI positively for the public's benefit and to lead the international community in AI's ethical development, rather than passively accept its consequences.
'The UK contains leading AI companies, a dynamic academic research culture, and a vigorous start-up ecosystem as well as a host of legal, ethical, financial and linguistic strengths. We should make the most of this environment, but it is essential that ethics take centre stage in AI's development and use.
It's not entirely clear that humans would win a war against robots (Source: Rex Features)
'AI is not without its risks and the adoption of the principles proposed by the committee will help to mitigate these. An ethical approach ensures the public trusts this technology and sees the benefits of using it. It will also prepare them to challenge its misuse.'
The report said transparency in the technology was needed, and the AI Council should establish a voluntary mechanism to inform consumers when AI is being used to make significant or sensitive decisions.
The study said: 'It is not currently clear whether existing liability law will be sufficient when AI systems malfunction or cause harm to users, and clarity in this area is needed.
'The committee recommend that the Law Commission investigate this issue.'
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10 Times Humans Were Total Morons Around Animals in 2018
By Kimberly Hickok 2018-12-26T13:59:18Z
Are we really the most intelligent species?
Judging by the way some people behave around animals, it's a wonder how humans have made it so long on this planet. From breaking into animal enclosures at zoos to thinking it's a good idea to hand-feed a shark, there are plenty of reasons to question the intelligence of Homo sapiens.
This list includes a few of our favorite stories of humans being idiots around animals in 2018. Fair warning: there's a lot of face palming and shaking your head required here.
The whale in the parking lot
(Image credit: Dave McAleavy/Shutterstock)
When disposing of an enormous, stinky, dead whale, it's important to make sure that whatever you're putting it in is big enough to hold the massive beast — an unfortunate lesson for the city of Rye, New Hampshire.
In a video posted on Twitter by a local reporter, the giant carcass of a minke whale flops off a forklift and onto the pavement as it very clearly doesn't fit in the small dumpster the forklift driver was aiming for. City authorities had planned to put the giant marine mammal in the dumpster so they could then carry it to another location where the whale could be properly necropsied. They eventually moved the whale in a much bigger dumpster. [Read more about how to dispose of big, dead whale]
The time raptor eggs hatched in the airport
(Image credit: Border Force)
At the beginning of the summer, a man was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London for trying to smuggle 19 raptor eggs tucked into his waistband. It's absurd to try to carry that many illegal large eggs through an international airport, but what made this attempt stand out was that two of the eggs had just hatched, revealing fuzzy, white vulture chicks.
Vultures and birds of prey don't make good pets and are illegal to have, but they can fetch a pretty penny in pet markets in Thailand and places in the Middle East, according to Raptor Aid, an English charity dedicated to protecting birds of prey.
The man was arrested, and the case is under investigation by the National Crime Agency in the U.K. All eggs and chicks were safely handed over to specialists. [Read more about the rescued raptor eggs]
The shark stolen in a baby stroller
A 2-foot-long (0.6 meters) gray horn shark named Miss Helen was just cruising around in her warm tank in the San Antonio Aquarium one afternoon when a man reportedly yanked her out of the water by her tail, stuffed her into a bucket and rolled her out of there … in a baby stroller.
An aquarium employee spotted the team of indiscreet shark-nappers, two men and a woman, and called management, KSAT12 News reported. Jen Spellman, the aquarium's general manager, confronted the thieves in the parking lot, but they refused to let her look in their trunk.
Fortunately, police were able to track the car and they apprehended the criminals later that evening, after discovering Miss Helen and other marine animals at their home. Miss Helen was returned to the aquarium unharmed. [Read more about the ridiculous shark theft]
The hippo-butt slap
(Image credit: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
This summer, a man broke into the hippopotamus enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo and slapped one of the hippos on the butt, before running and jumping back out of the enclosure. Of course, the hippos noticed, but their reaction was mild considering they're 3,000-pound wild animals with teeth that are more than a foot long.
Hippos are considered the world's deadliest large land mammal, and harassing them (or any animal, really) is never a good idea. Remarkably, the foolish man escaped unscathed and, as far as we know, he's still on the run. [Watch the video of the hippo-butt slapper]
When squirrel monkeys fought back
While the hippos' reaction to their intruder was shockingly mild, squirrel monkeys at a New Zealand zoo weren't so chill when a man broke into their enclosure and tried to steal one (as a gift for his girlfriend, he said). The man escaped with a broken leg, sprained ankle, fractured teeth and no pet monkey.
The man's actions resulted in physical and psychological injuries for the monkeys, which were still showing signs of trauma months after the ordeal.
The man, who described himself as "high as a kite" during his attempted monkey heist, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison for attempted burglary and other unrelated violent crimes. [Read more about the monkeys that fought their intruder]
When rhino poachers were killed by lions
(Image credit: iStock/Getty Images Plus)
In South Africa this summer, a pride of lions saved a herd of rhinos from poachers. The illegal hunters entered the Sibuya Game Reserve in the middle of the night and apparently hiked right into a group of six lions. The big cats mauled and killed at least two of the poachers, maybe three, as evidenced by the bloody human body parts found by field guides the next morning.
It was unclear if any of the poachers escaped, but local police opened a criminal investigation. Whether or not all the poachers survived, the event should give pause to any poachers looking to trespass a predator's territory in search of illegal bounty. [Read more about the rhinos saved by lions]
The woman bitten by a shark when she fed it by hand
(Image credit: Luca Oddone/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0)
A woman who decided to feed a shark with her bare hand was — surprise — bitten by the shark, and she's pretty lucky she still has her hand.
Melissa Brunning was on a holiday yacht cruise in Dugong Bay on Australia's coast, when she tried to feed a tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) by hand. As the shark snatched the food, its jaws closed on her finger, and it yanked her into the water — a terrifying moment that one of her friends captured on video.
Unlike several of the senseless humans on this list, Brunning adamantly affirmed that it was entirely her fault that the shark bit her, and said she realized how fortunate she was that her injury wasn't a lot worse. She also said her future interactions with marine wildlife would be at a much safer and respectful distance. [Read more about the predictable shark bite]
The trapper knocked out cold by a tied-up alligator
Also on the list of creatures-you-really-shouldn't-torment are alligators. With their sharp teeth and muscular tails, these living dinosaurs shouldn't be messed with — even when their arms, legs and jaws are tied down, as one trapper in Florida learned this year.
A video posted on Twitter shows the trapper and two police officers hoisting the enormous gator into a truck bed. But before the gator is all the way in, it whips its large head back and whacks the trapper in the head, knocking him out cold. One of the police officers also toppled over as the gator slapped him with its tail. The gator slithered off of the tail bed and back onto the ground, daring the men to try again, maybe a bit more carefully next time. [Watch the gator get revenge on the trapper]
The chicken costume scare
(Image credit: Catherine Falls Commercial/Getty Images)
In October, headlines proclaimed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had issued a warning against dressing up domestic chickens for Halloween. Here at Live Science, we wondered, first of all, are there really that many people who dress up their chickens? And second, why does the CDC not want them to?
We were sad and confused, but the warning was a false alarm. The CDC never issued such a statement, although they suggest, for anyone with such a proclivity, washing the chicken's costume and your hands thoroughly in order to avoid infection with Salmonella, a bacteria that chickens can carry. The agency also felt it was important to remind people to make sure the chicken can breathe and walk normally while wearing its costume. [Read more about dressing chickens up for Halloween]
When rotting fish exploded in an art gallery
Earlier this year, employees at an art gallery in London thought it was a good idea to display an art installation that consisted of rotting fish (yes, real rotting fish). Hours before the exhibit opened to the public, the exhibit blew up, spewing smelly fish guts and starting a fire that damaged part of the gallery.
The installation — a piece called "Majestic Splendor" by Lee Bul — consisted of dozens of small, transparent bags fixed to a wall, each containing a dead fish decorated with stitched-on sequins and beads. The work represents Bul's view on the fleeting nature of beauty for highly ornamented women.
Experts suspected that the explosion was caused by pressure buildup from trapped gases released by the rotting fish, similar to the effect that causes beached and bloated dead whales to explode. And, as fish decay, they produce amines — compounds of carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen — which are not only distinctively "fishy" but are also potentially explosive.
So, while the art was certainly edgy and original, perhaps the artist will rethink including dead animals in her future designs. [Read more about the rotting fish explosion]


The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate continued to slide over the morning as an increased risk appetite saw investors favour the 'Loonie'.
The pairing is currently trading at an inter-bank rate of CA$1.7061.
Global risk sentiment softened following the news that Republicans and Democrats have reached an agreement over US border security, potentially avoiding a further government shutdown.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump suggested that he was keen to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in the next month, which sparked hope that the US and China could make significant advances in trade discussions.
In the UK, despite PM Theresa May sparking hopes today that there could be a breakthrough in Brussels over the Brexit impasse, the GBP/CAD pairing continued to slide.
Yesterday saw the Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate fall over the course of the day following disappointing UK data releases.
Data showed that the UK had suffered its slowest rate of growth in six years, with the economy only expanding by 1.4% in 2018.
Moreover, the UK manufacturing sector slid into a technical recession, and business investment fell for the fourth consecutive quarter for the first time since the financial crash, further dampening appeal for the Pound.
'But of course there is no doubt that our economy is being overshadowed by the uncertainty created by the Brexit process and the sooner we can resolve that the better and the quicker we can get back to more robust growth in the future.
The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate slipped over the course of Monday due to the weakness in the Pound.
While the 'Loonie' (CAD) made significant gains, the currency was dented by increased global risk sentiment and a fall in oil prices.
There are fears that the US and China will fail to strike a trade deal before 1 March deadline with reports suggesting that the pair had not yet put together a draft agreement.
With anxieties of a slowdown in the global economy, the commodity-sensitive Canadian Dollar suffered.
GBP/CAD Outlook: Will a Dovish Carney see Sterling Fall Further?
The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate could slip further this afternoon following the Governor of the Bank of England (BoE), Mark Carney's speech.
If Carney's tone is dovish, it could see the Pound (GBP) slip further.
Brexit anxieties are also likely to weigh heavy on the Pound as the Prime Minister is due to update the House of Commons on her Brexit negotiations in Brussels, with any significant progress likely to buoy Sterling.
As there is a lack of Canadian economic data releases, the risk-sensitive 'Loonie' (CAD) may see movement as discussions between the US and China continue in Beijing.
If there are further signs that the two will reach an agreement before the March deadline, the Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate is likely to slip.


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Der Heidkopftunnel, auch "Tunnel der Deutschen Einheit", ist ein 1724 m langes Bauwerk der Südharzautobahn A 38 Göttingen–Halle in Niedersachsen und in Thüringen.

Geographische Lage
Der Heidkopftunnel befindet sich im Verlauf der von Westen aus dem Tal der Leine auf die Höhen des Eichsfelds führenden Autobahn. Er liegt mit sanfter Neigung seiner Fahrbahnen in der Nordflanke des Heidkopfs, einer  hohen Erhebung im Dreieck zwischen den Ortschaften Reiffenhausen, Rohrberg und Rustenfelde; die höchste Stelle über dem Tunnel liegt auf . Westlich seines westlichen Portals liegt Reiffenhausen und südlich bzw. nordöstlich des östlichen befinden sich Rohrberg und Rustenfelde.

Geschichte
Der Bau wurde Ende 2003, offiziell am 23. März 2004, begonnen. Im April 2005 wurde die südliche der beiden zweispurigen Röhren durchschlagen, die Nordröhre wenige Wochen später. Die Eröffnung des Tunnels und des Autobahnabschnitts Drammetal–Breitenworbis wurde am 20. Dezember 2006 mit dem damaligen Bundesverkehrsminister Wolfgang Tiefensee, thüringischen Ministerpräsidenten Dieter Althaus und niedersächsischen Verkehrsminister Walter Hirche gefeiert.

Der Tunnelbau hat etwa 63 Mio. € gekostet.

Vom Oktober 2020 bis April 2021 wurde der Tunnel für 7 Mio. € saniert. Dazu wurde jede der beiden Tunnelröhren für jeweils drei Monate gesperrt und die Betonoberfläche der Fahrbahn durch Asphalt ersetzt, sowie Lüftung und Elektrik erneuert. Diese Maßnahme war nötig geworden, nachdem bei einer Überprüfung der Betonfahrbahnteile Schäden in der darunter liegenden Tragschicht festgestellt worden waren.

Sicherheitsvorkehrungen
Der Tunnel verfügt über zahlreiche Sicherheitsanlagen, um bei einem Zwischenfall in einer der beiden Tunnelröhren den Schaden für Menschen und Objekte möglichst gering zu halten. Am West- und Ostportal befindet sich jeweils ein in der Regel unbesetztes Kontrollzentrum, bei denen die Sicherheitsanlagen aufgeschaltet sind. Videokameras überwachen neben den Zufahrten auch die komplette Doppelröhre. Im Normalbetrieb werden die Anlagen über Fernwartung kontrolliert, nur bei Zwischenfällen werden die Kontrollzentren besetzt.

Innerhalb der Doppelröhre befindet sich eine Brandmeldeanlage, welche eingehende Alarme an die Feuerwehr weiterleitet. Zusätzlich dazu sind Sichttrübungsmessgeräte angebracht, welche eine Verschlechterung der Sicht in der Röhre registrieren.

In jeder Fahrtröhre befinden sich zwei 60 Meter lange Nothaltebuchten. Wird dort ein Auto abgestellt, wird dies automatisch registriert. Die beiden Tunnel sind durch fünf Durchbrüche verbunden, zwei davon sind befahrbar. Die Durchgänge sind mit Feuerschutztüren gesichert. An den Außenseiten der Tunnel sind Notrufkabinen untergebracht.

Sollte ein Brand ausbrechen, ist es möglich mit einer Belüftungsanlage den Fluchtweg für Personen im Tunnel rauchfrei zu halten. Pfeile an der Wand zeigen den kürzesten Weg zum Ausgang. Zusätzlich werden Lautsprecherdurchsagen geschaltet, welche auch mit einer eigenen Sendeanlage auf UKW-Frequenzen im Autoradio verbreitet werden.
Für Rettungskräfte werden mit dieser Anlage bestimmte Kanäle im 2-Meter BOS-Funk verstärkt, auch Mobilfunkgeräte können im Tunnel betrieben werden.

Die Löschwasserversorgung wird durch Überflurhydranten im Tunnel sichergestellt, die Zufahrtswege für Rettungskräfte befinden sich in der Nähe beider Portale.

Beim Tunneltest 2008 des ADAC landete der Heidkopftunnel im deutschlandweiten Vergleich auf Platz 1. Im europäischen Vergleich belegte er den zweiten Rang.

Kritik
Wie die gesamte Südharzautobahn war der Tunnel umstritten. Die "Bürgerinitiative Leinebergland Süd" zog gegen den auch den Tunnel enthaltenden Planfeststellungsbeschluss, bis vor den Europäischen Gerichtshof für Menschenrechte. Auch Umweltverbände protestierten.

Der Heidkopftunnel war anfangs, wie der Rennsteigtunnel, für Gefahrguttransporte gesperrt. Dies war die Folge eines durch die DEGES, die für die Planung und die Bauleitung der gesamten A 38 und damit auch für den Tunnel zuständig war, in Auftrag gegebenen Gutachtens. Diese ergab, dass bei einem Unfall im Tunnel mit Toten zu rechnen sei, auf der Umgehung hingegen nicht (Quelle: Göttinger Tageblatt vom 13. Dezember 2006). Dies stieß in der betroffenen Region auf Unverständnis, waren doch die A 38 und der Tunnel auch mit der hohen Unfallgefahr der Ortsdurchfahrten begründet worden.

Am 3. März 2011 wurde von der Niedersächsischen Landesbehörde für Straßenbau und Verkehr bekannt gegeben, dass in einem erneuten Gutachten festgestellt worden ist, dass aufgrund der niedrigen Verkehrsbelastung von etwa 22.000 Fahrzeugen pro Tag kein Verbot für Gefahrguttransporte mehr erforderlich ist. Die Freigabe für Gefahrstofftransporte erfolgte nach kleineren technischen Nachrüstungen schließlich im Januar 2012.

Weblinks

 Bürgerinitiative Leinebergland Süd

Einzelnachweise

Straßentunnel in Niedersachsen
Straßentunnel in Thüringen
Tunnel im Landkreis Eichsfeld
Bundesautobahn 38
Erbaut in den 2000er Jahren
Tunnel in Europa
Tunnel im Landkreis Göttingen
Verkehrsbauwerk im Landkreis Göttingen
Verkehrsbauwerk im Landkreis Eichsfeld
Bauwerk in Friedland (Niedersachsen)
Rustenfelde

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


When you need a quick boost, energy drinks may come in handy but how safe are they?
A group of highly caffeinated products known as energy drinks have grown popular with teenagers and young adults.
These drinks are sometimes sold as "nutritional supplements" or marketed to help concentration, weight loss, increase energy, stamina and metabolism.
Attraction to these beverages results from professional product marketing, influence by friends and lack of knowledge about their negative effects.
Several reports by experts have revealed that the high amounts of caffeine in these energy drinks can mess with your heart.
Cardiac complications such as abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and raised blood pressure have been reported in different studies.
This new report, which is a case study, provides evidence that these changes can cause serious problems and even sudden cardiac death.
The energy drinker is a 28-year-old man who was sent to the emergency room due to arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat) and vomiting with blood.
The patient had a heart-rate of 130 beats per minute which is very fast and he was suffering from an abnormal heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation.
This disorder is a common type of arrhythmia and if it continues can result in severe problems.
The patient said that every day he had two Monster energy drinks –these contain 320 milligrams of caffeine.
An endoscopy showed a tear of the esophagus and stomach, possibly due to forceful vomiting.
This is an illustration of the effect of a high volume intake of energy drinks.
They point out that the caffeine level in a Monster energy drink is 160 mg, about four times more than most caffeinated soft drinks.
Medical research reviews have shown more cases of cardiovascular events associated with energy drinks such as Red Bull or Monster.
Besides high levels of caffeine, several mechanisms could cause cardiovascular events.
These beverages contain other ingredients such as taurine, which might increase the effects of caffeine.
Using energy drinks along with high amounts of stress, alcohol or illegal drugs can also increase the chance of abnormal heart events.
The study was published in Journal of Addiction Medicine (Sattari et al., 2016).


Aishwarya Sakhuja has tied the knot with her longtime beau Rohit Nag on December 5, 2014. They first met when Rohit was auditioning girls for a comedy show on Star One, Gradually they started knowing each other. About Rohit she said, He has a good sense of humor, that's a quality which every woman look for in a guy. He always makes me laugh by doing some or the other thing.


Will the next generation of hot lid please stand up? Let's hear it for the EcoLid® 25, the world's first post-consumer recycled content lid. Until now, most hot lids were made from unsustainable virgin plastic and made up a pretty heafy part of your coffee cups' footprint. Not cool, right? Now you have a better choice, one that uses less virgin plastic and helps divert waste from the landfill. Very cool.
Top off our 20 oz insulated hot cups with this 25% recycled content hot cup lid.


Whenever Spirafix helical anchors are being installed we advise to dial before you dig and to ensure all standard safety measures used in outdoor construction projects are applied. These secure fixings are installed using impact and every precaution should be taken to avoid accidents.
Spirafix Ground Anchors are specifically designed to be driven in to position using impact.
The nature of this type of installation makes it absolutely imperative to ensure you know where any buried services may be.
Should you be in any doubt, STOP and check before you go any further.


text:
Skewed priorities in Uruguay
Uruguay continues to struggle with its dictatorial past.
Francesca Lessa
Francesca Lessa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Latin American Centre and St Anne's College, University of Oxford.
Pierre-Louis Le Goff
Pierre-Louis Le Goff is a research assistant at the Latin American centre, University of Oxford, and a member of the committee for Crimes Against Humanity at the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Uruguay's judiciary is slow to deliver justice to the victims of its former dictatorship [AP]
"For the time being, nothing seems to threaten the possibilities for progress in the area of justice more than the recent decisions of the Supreme Court of Justice." Such was the conclusion of Pablo de Greiff, the United Nations Independent Expert on transitional justice, at the end of his visit to Uruguay in October 2013, during which he evaluated the country's progress in resolving past human rights violations. During a press conference in Montevideo on October 4, de Greiff, who was invited by the Uruguayan government, strongly criticised the lack of improvement, highlighting how there had been "little" and irregular progress in resolving the pending chapter of the human rights violations committed during Uruguay's period of dictatorship (1973-1985).
Human rights activists and advocates welcomed de Greiff's criticisms, but it is unlikely that they will bring any immediate change. Tensions have been running high throughout 2013 following a string of serious setbacks to the country's recent progress in delivering justice for the dictatorship's crimes. In February, the Supreme Court of Justice issued a decision to transfer Judge Mariana Mota, who had been at the forefront of investigations, and instated a de facto amnesty law with its ruling on the unconstitutionality of Law 18.831. As such, de Greiff's warnings are likely to fall on deaf ears, along with the other calls for justice in Uruguay.
Securing prosecutions: a 'race against time'
The historic Gelman sentence in 2011, when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against the Uruguayan State and condemned its failure to investigate past crimes, ushered in a period of enthusiasm within the human rights community.
During a recent visit to Uruguay, a journalist and human rights activist explained to us during an interview how Uruguay was in a "race against time to stop perpetrators of human rights violations from dying unpunished". He was referring to the large number of offenders who had escaped punishment for three decades owing to the country's 1986 amnesty law [Sp] and who are now likely to see out their days without ever having faced justice for the atrocities committed.
Indeed, despite significant progress in dealing with past human rights violations since 2005, Uruguay is still very much lagging behind its neighbours in terms of accountability. In Argentina and Chile[Sp], thousands of perpetrators are currently facing judicial investigation and numerous sentences have been handed down by the courts; in Argentina 26 trials were completed[Sp] in 2012 and 15 so far in 2013. This is in stark contrast to Uruguay where, with 226 judicial investigations into past atrocities, only 6 percent of them[Sp] have gone to trial and just 1 percent has had a final sentence by the country's highest court.
The historic Gelman sentence in 2011, when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against the Uruguayan State and condemned its failure to investigate past crimes, ushered in a period of enthusiasm within the human rights community. This was buoyed further when shortly after the 1986 amnesty[Sp] law was finally overturned by Parliament, several new cases of abuse – including torture and sexual violence[Sp] – were denounced for the first time in late 2011.
This enthusiasm has been nipped in the bud, however, with the Supreme Court of Justice's construction in 2013 of a "wall of impunity" and its retrograde jurisprudence which applies a statute of limitations to what are effectively international crimes. One of Court's judges Jorge Ruibal Pino[Sp] has gone as far to state that no cases of past human rights violations would prosper in the Supreme Court, thus confirming our assertions on impunity in the wake of Mota's transfer.
Contradictions in the judiciary
While justice for past human rights atrocities remains an aspiration on the horizon for many of the victims waiting for redress for decades, in other instances Uruguayan courts have shown themselves remarkably capable of acting quickly to deal with other crimes. At the beginning of November 2013, criminal Judge Gabriela Merialdo[Sp] began judicial proceedings against seven people for disturbances during February's demonstrations inside the Supreme Court of Justice against the transfer of Judge Mota. The Supreme Court presented a criminal denunciation against the protesters who are already facing trial.
What is happening in the country is very much puzzling, with some steps forward but many more steps back in terms of accountability. While some public prosecutors and judges have distanced themselves from the backward jurisprudence of the Supreme Court on past crimes, others such as judges Fanny Canessa and Roberto Timbal have applied the Court's sentence to archive investigation into past atrocities. Other examples are abundant: After much lobbying from several human rights NGOs, including the Observatorio Luz Ibarburu, a new unit for crimes of state terrorism was established in July 2013 to operate in the Ministry of Interior and to assist judges investigating these complex cases. As of mid-November 2013, the Supreme Court of Justice had not yet informed[Sp] judges about the creation of such important unit. In August 2013, judge Ruben Saravia[Sp] condemned a former military officer to four years in prison for the assassination of a student in 1973 – a rather lenient sentence for a crime of such gravity.
In September excavations in Infantry Battalion 13 resumed the search for missing people, which led to some initial discoveries of human remains currently being examined in the United States.
In 2013, unlike other years, Uruguay has attracted many headlines in international newspapers for its humble President, Jose "Pepe" Mujica, for legalising marijuana, for adopting an abortion law and for allowing gay marriage. Uruguay simultaneously received widespread criticism from a range of international human rights organisations and NGOs for its stance on the past. Most recently, during the 109th session of the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, the Committee labelled the stance of the Supreme Court as "unfortunate", for failing to recognise that crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations are not subject to statutes of limitations. The committee's president, Nigel Rodley[Sp], underscored how Uruguay found itself in a position of non-compliance and actual violation of its international obligations, calling on the judiciary to reconsider its decision.
While some of the serious violations perpetrated against Uruguayans during the dictatorship are being prosecuted abroad in trials in Argentina and in Italy[It] relating to Operation Condor, it seems inappropriate that the victims, who have already endured unjustifiable delays, have to resort to foreign courts to obtain justice.
Not all hope is lost however. Several judges and prosecutors in Uruguay such as Beatriz Larrieu, Maria Helena Mainard, Alberto Reyes, and Ana Maria Tellechea, continue with their criminal investigations, considering the dictatorship's atrocities crimes against humanity and calling on witnesses to give testimony. In September excavations[Sp] in Infantry Battalion 13 resumed the search for missing people, which led to some initial discoveries of human remains currently being examined in the United States.
In the words of Uruguay's poet Mario Benedetti "el cuento no se ha acabado" (this story is far from over).
Dr Francesca Lessa is a postdoctoral researcher at the Latin American Centre and St Anne's College, University of Oxford, specialising on issues of justice and human rights in Uruguay.
Pierre-Louis LeGoff is a research assistant at the Latin American centre, University of Oxford, and a member of the committee for Crimes Against Humanity at the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Follow him on Twitter: @P_LeGoff


Wind farms in the German North Sea have altered the migration paths of these aquatic birds.
A new study published in the Journal of Environmental Management has found that offshore wind turbines in the German North Sea are having an effect on where birds fly and land. As a result, loons have been squeezed into a smaller resting spot along their spring migration route. This could make it harder for these ducks to find food.
Wind turbines kill hundreds of thousands of birds every year.
Wind energy is the quickest growing energy source across the globe. While this renewable form of energy is no doubt beneficial in terms of reducing dependence on fossil fuels and helping to lower our carbon footprint, these benefits are not without drawbacks. Most notably, wind energy's negative effects on wildlife.
Including only the United States, an estimated 140,000 to 328,000 birds are killed annually by wind turbines. These turbines have also been known to kill bats.
In their study, the German researchers – Bettina Mendel at Kiel University in Germany and her colleagues – set out to investigate what impact offshore wind turbines in the German North Sea had on the more than 20,000 loons that use this particular region to forage during spring migration before leaving to breed in summer.
Loons are not known to fly into offshore wind turbines but this doesn't mean they are not negatively impacted by their presence.
Unlike eagles and other birds who tend to be killed by the rotating turbine blades during hunting and migration, loons do not typically collide with the massive structures. The reasons is that they generally fly 10 meters or less above sea level while turbine blades usually spin about 30 meters above the water.
However, the researchers analyzed aerial and ship-based surveys from 2000 to 2017 and learned that since the installation of the wind farms, the loons have lost the use of an estimated 275 square kilometers (approximately 9%) of their 3,135 square kilometers of protected area. This protected area was established by the German government back in 2005 to preserve the loon habitat.
The study authors note that by forcing loons into a smaller space, this could not only lead to more competition for food, but there is also the potential of increased death rates.
Presently, there are 17 wind farms operational in the German North Sea with more offshore wind turbines on their way as 5 more wind farms are currently under construction for the region.
Hydrogen fuel cell forklift launched by Linde Material Handling.