Life is hard in Lagos.
I am certain that this could be said of life in many places in Africa, and the world. But, on day five in Lagos, the grinding frustration of everyday life has seeped into my bones just as the humid air has coated my skin. If we set up a chart with the balance of cost of living vs. quality of life and plotted points for the various places Dave and I have been over recent months, Lagos would be an outlier far off the curve – double or triple the prices of anywhere else with only a flickering of the amenities of daily life.
Blackouts: Energy shortages may be expected in a city of 20 million in a developing country, and certainly we have become used to blackouts sprinkled throughout our travels, as well as being completely off the grid. But, over our stay here in Lagos, we have seen at best 6 or 7 hours of intermittent electricity a day – thankfully, often during the night. Now, day five, we are currently going on 30 hours uninterrupted "without light." As an energy-dependent American, and a spoiled and impatient one at that, I feel a tide of entitlement, helplessness, and empathy rising in a confusing – and yes, hot and bothered – mix.
I have never had to ration my electricity use. During all my growing up, if you had more gadgets than outlets, you just pulled in a power strip. Rationing electricity in my life has been a matter of thrift (oh, those ComEd bills during the summer fan season or the winter space heater season!) and sound environmentalism. It has never been a matter of pure unavailability. Now, I write this post from my laptop, staring uneasily at the red battery in the upper right hand corner that warns me I have one hour left of juice. I have turned off my headlamp, which has been eating two batteries a day, to conserve it for later, when the computer goes out. I will soon duck out to the street in search of another candle. It is too hot to sleep – no fan or A.C. and barely a cross-breeze. Although, I must brag that I am getting better at attuning my schedule to the daylight hours – going to bed earlier and rising at dawn with the call to prayer and the roosters.
The trouble with blackouts, I am finding, is that they get all of us living or lodging in the surrounding area at once. So, just as my pressure is rising to explosion and I would kill for an ice-cold coke, I circle the areas vendors and each has only lukewarm bottles on offer. I decline the bottle, sheepishly and apologetically, and both vendor and customer offer a sympathetic shrug – "no light." We both know just how long it has been, but when the light will return is a mystery.
Scene: It is night in Dave and my $30 hotel room above the market (note that we pay a `10% service charge, presumably for buckets of water brought up to our room on a daily basis but no Value Added Tax or VAT, since the owner explains that the city is not providing services so he refuses to charge/pay this fee). We lie still as we can, sweating into our sheets and waiting for a breeze. We take turns bucket-showering throughout the night. Suddenly, the light springs on and our window A.C. unit sputters and rattles. I jump to close the windows, Dave pulls a mattress off one of the beds and shimmies it into place on the floor directly in front of the unit. As he wrestles with the mattress and sheets, I play with the plug and adapter (got to have the right angle) to siphon a little juice into the laptop – and then we haggle over the relative importance of using charging slot number two for my camera or his ipod.
Fast-forward five minutes or three hours or however long we are blessed with light – and suddenly we wake to find that the A.C. is off and our gadgets are half charged. All arrangements described above go into reverse – windows open, mattress back on bed frame in hopes of a passing breeze – until the next coming of the light. Speaking of electricity and technology, I like to picture the above scene in comic glory of the Charlie Chaplin silent movie era, with Dave and I clumsily tripping over each other and elbowing each other in eagerness to take advantage of each moment of god-given energy.
The careful reader will have gathered from foreshadowing the subject of my next rant: water. How does a city of 20 million provide running water and plumbing to its citizens? Answer, apparently: it doesn't. As far as we can tell, the city and most dwellings are outfitted with complete plumbing for running water. We are in hotel number three and each has had a sink, a flushing toilet, a shower and/or bathtub and…buckets of water, carried up by hand from unknown origin. I don't have many complaints about this system, since we are not hauling the water up three stories (except that one time) and a bucket shower (when desperately needed) is just as refreshing as its running water equivalent. But, we do wonder about those living here everyday.
On the other end of the water cycle, let's just say that everyone knows where the water goes when it has been used. An open sewer system runs through the city. In the nicer areas, the open sewers are cemented and about five or six feet down, running between the sidewalk and the street. In our neighborhood, the sewers run along the edge of each narrow street of packed mud or patchy brick, only about an inch below street level. They pass in front of houses and occasionally cross the street, making walking quite a treacherous negotiation. I learned the hard way – no light in the nighttime streets plus rampant sewage makes for bad experiences.
The thing about sewers like these, clogged with as much trash as sewage and open for evaporation, is that they don't exactly "run," as one would hope or imagine. As we learned a few days back, and Dave quipped, "Saturday is sludge day." Each household or neighborhood or some level or organization clears the sludge out of its section of sewer and leaves it in piles to dry and be collected. We learned from our hotel operator (the one who is not collecting the required VAT from us) that the sludge collection is another private expense paid for by each household rather than a service provided by the city.
Please note, dear readers, that there is an escape from this lifestyle in Lagos, if you can afford it. Just an island away – from Lagos Island to Ikoyi or Victoria Island – there is a network of air conditioned, 24-hour generator-operated, private security-guarded shops, malls, and hotels, where a ticket to a Hollywood blockbuster costs $14 and a second hand hardcover book costs $45. Dave and I have flitted in and out of this world, blessed by the presumption of wealth that goes with our whiteness (though not our outfits or cheapskate attitudes). It makes for quite a contrast in extremes.
Which brings me to the third rant, which I will keep short since this overlaps with the news you can read from many better sources: Corruption. Our trip from the Benin border to Lagos (no more than 50 kilometers) included: one Beninese border guard asking for $5 to give us a departure stamp on the same day we paid $25 for our transit visa through the country (I pointed this out and he waved us through); no fewer than six separate negotiations with Nigerian border officials, each of which could most likely have been speeded by a twenty naira bribe; and five road stops by well-armed police or customs officials, who blustered about small (invisible to the un-uniformed eye) irregularities until the our bus driver or his assistant slid a bill out the window. Never before have I seen police doing so much to disrupt rather than control traffic flow (picture five armed men taking one lane of two on a road notorious for heavy traffic and randomly waving every third car down with their AK-47 or akin).
A last word, as my battery heads down to reserves and warns five minutes left – despite all, the disparity of wealth and wellbeing more than anything, Lagos has not impressed us as dangerous. People are friendly (sometimes too friendly, i.e. "How are you? I love you; I want to marry you," all in one breath before I turn the corner), curious about us ("Hello, my friend, where you going?"), and regularly give us smiles, greetings, and hugs on the street. The more days that we remained in our market neighborhood (four, including an extra day for Dave's first major Africa illness), the friendlier life has become.
This post was good food for thought on a Sunday morning in Chicago. The sun came out here finally! I recently read _Half a Yellow Sun_ a fictional account of the Biafran struggle in Nigeria for an independent state in the 1960s, so it was interesting to read about where Nigeria is now.
Eye opening post Megan. Let's get you two in some cooler climes!
Last night I fell asleep watching Lost on the internet, and when I woke up THIS blog post was open on the screen.
Pretty sure Buddy clicked to it with his paw while we were sleeping. Accident or a much needed change of perspective?
Hope you're feeling better, shu!


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Q: Handling MySQL data in iPhone app If I want to take data from a remote MySQL db and want to turn data into a custom objective-c object, can I do this by returning JSON or XML?
Currently I have XML flat-files which I parse using NSXMLParser, which allows me to create custom objects out of my data. Could I go through a similar process with my remote db by retrieving the data through a web-service with returns XML or JSON?
I have currently succeeded in obtaining a connection and retrieving a simple string stored in JSON, and then used JSONTouch to parse the array into an NSArray. Could I somehow modify that approach to parse larger amounts of data into objects?
Is this not a common issue among developers? I'll finally just broaden the question and ask how one typically goes about retrieving data from an external db and dealing with it in an iphone app?
Thanks

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Call (310) 202-1111 or Email Customer Service
Maintaining Watches
Sending Your Watch
#1 – Top 10 Living Legend Watches To Own
1. Rolex Submariner
It was 1954 that Rolex originally released the Submariner, and the watch industry hasn't been the same since. The Submariner was never released as a luxury product, but rather a professional diver's watch that anyone could enjoy. It attained a cult status for being a damn good sports watch and later in the 1980s when the mechanical watch gained a more luxury status and Rolex began its long path to become the world's most desirable luxury timepiece brand. The Submariner is their most popular model for good reason. Durable and legible, its slick style remains timeless, and most importantly – suitable for most any man (and many women) regardless of look, style, or age. It goes without saying that the perennially good design of the Rolex Submariner is alive and well today in its newest renditions featuring 40mm wide cases available in steel, two-tone, or 18k white or yellow gold. Pricey with an average price of about $8,500, but sure to be timeless and retain value. rolex.com
Source: Watch A Blog
AWCI History
The history of AWCI began with the early guilds and watchmaker associations that laid the foundation upon which AWCI is based. America's first watchmakers society was probably the New Yorker Uhrmachers Verein, organized on March 26, 1866, by German immigrant watchmakers located in New York City. In the 1930s it was reorganized as the Horological Society of New York. Next, a group of Chicago watchmakers formed the American Horological Society in June of 1892. On August 13, 1917, the Associated Watchmakers of America was formed. Later, the Horological Institute of America was established on October 20-21, 1921.
In the time when the country was in a devastating economic depression, the United Horological Association of 1960-Merger America was formed in May 1934. This was when the National Recovery Act, with its industry codes on hours and wages, was causing much confusion in the watchmaking industry. Formal discussions of merging UHAA and HIA began in May 1957, culminating with the formation of AWCI in June 1960.
What Is A Quartz Watch?
This watch mechanism uses a quartz crystal to regulate an electronic oscillator which produces a high degree of accuracy in keeping time. Quartz watch dials can have either an LCD (digital) and/or analog (standard) read out.
What is AWCI?
The American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute is the U.S. trade association representing the horology profession. This includes watchmakers, clockmakers and the industries that serve them. The Institute is dedicated to promoting the highest standards of workmanship and professional ethics. We help set the standards for the repair and restoration practices that are taught in North America. Additionally, AWCI supports education for the industry and provides certification services.
How Often Should I Service My Watch?
Although this depends on how the watch has been cared for, it is recommended that you schedule a watch service every 3-5 years. A watch is a precision instrument that must be occasionally serviced to replace specialty oils and to remove dust, moisture and any other contaminants that may have infiltrated the watch case. Over time, old oil and dust may combine to produce an abrasive paste that actually causes wear in precision parts which may result in a broken watch.
Look for the AWCI Logo
Professionals who display the emblem of the AmericanAWCI-logo Watchmakers‑Clockmakers Institute have access to the finest resources for information and specialized training. They are uniquely qualified to provide the best advice and service in areas related to watch and clock repair.
What Is An Automatic Watch?
Mechanical watches that are automatic or self-winding rely on the natural motion of the wearer to keep the watch wound. The watch mechanism has an oscillating weight that turns when the person wearing the watch moves their wrist. The movement of the oscillating weight keeps the mainspring wound. If the watch is not worn for a period, you may turn and/or wind the crown a dozen or so times to start the watch.
What Is A Mechanical Watch?
The mechanical watch movement has a mainspring that must be wound. As the mainspring unwinds, it provides force to a series of gears that power a balance wheel which oscillates back and forth at a constant rate. This oscillation causes the ticking sound that is heard in a mechanical watch.
What Should I Know About Winding My Mechanical Wristwatch?
For best performance, fully wind your mechanical watch once a day around the same time of day. Make sure you fully wind the watch, but do not force the crown past the point where it is taut. For self-winding watches, wear them every day to ensure continued accuracy. If the watch is not worn for a period, turn the crown a dozen or so times before wearing it again.
What Should I Know About Setting The Calendar On My Watch?
When setting the date, check the procedures of the manufacturer. Some watches, for example, must not be set between specific periods (i.e. between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.), because the mechanism positions itself to automatically change the date during this period and parts could be damaged.
2566 Overland Avenue, #680 Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States
West Coast Watch is your factory authorized service center for: Gucci,
Ebel, Movado, Philip Stein, Technomarine, Concord, ESQ, Coach, Xemex and Graham
We repair all fine Swiss watches such as:
Rolex, Breitling, Baum & Mercier, Franck Muller, Hublot, Cartier,
Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, Piaget, Raymond Weil, Omega,
Tag Heuer, Longines, Tissot, Zenith, Rado, Chopard and many more.
Copyright 2012 © West Coast Watch Service Center. All rights reserved.

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The OSHA program
Explain the role of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA). Provide examples of improvements that have been made in
occupational settings as a result of OSHA. What are some of the factors that limit the
effectiveness of these regulations? Are similar regulatory agencies found in other developed
and developing countries?
The OSHA program entails an American regulatory entity created by the Occupation Safety and
Health Act of 1970 to help workers and their employers minimize incidents related to illnesses,
injuries, and mortality rates acquired on the job. Since its inception, OSHA has facilitated the
reduction of occupational injuries and illnesses, while improving employment at different
worksites and organizational settings (OSHA, 2019). As such, OSHA's main role entails the
provision of leadership guidelines in occupational safety and health across the nation. It further
seeks to identify and share advocate the most effective strategies that would facilitate the
prevention of work-related fatalities. Moreover, the promotion of workplace safety and health
drives OSHA towards the encouragement of the employees and the organization, in general, to
minimize hazardous events and further implement management systems or focus on the
improvement of their existing programs (OSHA, 2019).
As a result, some of the improvement that have been made in occupational settings based
on OSHA's role and functions include the promotion of safe and healthful environments through
cooperative programs that include the Voluntary Protection Programs and OSHA's strategic
Alliances and Partnerships (OSHA, 2019). Similarly, OSHA has ensured that employers and
organizations alike establish training programs geared towards the increment of competency with
PUB 560 2
regards to health and well-being in work environments. Nevertheless, some of the factors that
limit the effectiveness of these regulations include failure to cover all aspects related to workers
and their employees (OSHA, 2019). For instance, the OSHA does not incorporate coverage to
self-employed individuals, members of a nuclear family of farmers who fail to include
employees from other communities, and those working for the state and local governments
(Okoye, 2018). Despite these and other hindrances, OSHA has set the pace for other developed
and developing countries through the implementation of similar regulatory agencies that
safeguard the welfare of employees in work environments and settings.
Okoye, P. U. (2018). Occupational Health and Safety Risk Levels of Building Construction
Trades in Nigeria. Construction Economics and Building, 18(2), 92-109.
OSHA. (2019). Department of Industrial Relations Division of Occupational Safety and Health.


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A Brief History of the Metric System
From Quartz Obsession, Jul 14, 2018
1215: The Magna Carta declares that there should be national standards for the measurement of wine, beer, and cloth.
1678: Anglican clergyman and philosopher John Wilkins publishes An Essay towards a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language, which proposes a universal language and system of measurement, based on units of 10.
1790: The National Assembly of France drafts a committee to establish a new standard for weights and measures that would be valid "for all people, for all time," in the words of mathematician (and revolutionary) Marquis de Condorcet.
1799: The distance of the meter—named after metron, the Greek word for measure—is fixed at 1/10,000,000 of the length between the North Pole and the Equator, arrived at after two French surveyors spent six years measuring the distance between Dunkirk and Barcelona, which was used to calculate the longer distance. A platinum bar officially one meter long is cast.
1840: The metric system becomes compulsory in France.
1875: Seventeen nations (including the US) sign the Treaty of the Meter, creating international bodies to standardize weights and measurements worldwide, according to the metric system.
1975: US president Gerald Ford signs the Metric Conversion Act, declaring the metric system the preferred (but voluntary) system and establishing the US Metric Board, to speed America's conversion.
1982: US president Ronald Reagan dismantles the Metric Board.
1999: Mars Climate Orbiter, a $328 million satellite, disintegrates over Mars because software produced by Lockheed Martin, the contractor, generated numbers in the English system instead of the metric system, as specified by its agreement with NASA.
Posted by Jon J Anderson at 8:33 AM No comments:


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Axtelera Ray
The Rise of Astrone
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Shocked and Awekword By Christopher T. Pesce
Christopher T. Pesce
Shocked and Awekword
Christopher T. Pesce is a semisedentary homo sapien-sapien. Born on Long Island, New York during the cold war. Third and fourth generation Italian-American. Sports, family, mischief, and comedy. En route to Parris Island, South Carolina, summer of 2004, Pesce began Marine Corps boot camp. As a motor transport marine he was stationed at Twentynine Palms, California, later deploying to Western Al Anbar Province, Iraq, summer of 2006. Pesce moved to Los Angeles to begin college following an honorable discharge, moved to San Francisco to finish college with degrees in U.S. history, social and behavioral sciences, as well as TEFL certifications. Pesce moved to the North Eastern Sierras to contemplate, paint, and write, ending up in Oaxaca, Mexico for a little while to explore, teach and wait for the snows to return. He continues to live, paint, and write in Tahoe; two ladies, both named B.B. keep him happy and healthy and he tries to do the same in return.
Shocked and Awekword: American Vernacular
Author shares handful of thoughts through poetry, art Christopher T. Pesce writes poetry, paint pictures of 'the landscape' in 'Shocked and Awekword: American Vernacular'
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Poetry and art sporadically worked their ways into and out of Pesce's life. As an adult, writing and painting became Pesce's preferred routes towards organizing his thoughts. Slowly overtime, this book curated itself, according to Pesce, resulting in: "Shocked and Awekword: American Vernacular" (published by Xlibris). It is a poetry and art book written by a 30-year-old that lives in the mountains. Pesce is obsessed with his dog, Bora Bora and to describe her, he quotes Madonna in the classic film: "A League of Their Own," by saying: "It's more than just a name, it's an attitude…" He enjoys quiet moments and conversing with creative minds, and he attempts to transcend twice a day. The difference between love and lust are contemplated in the book, the curious nature of a U.S. Marine Corps and Iraq War Veteran living in post-9/11 America is explored.
"There is a renewed interest in poetry. Poetry never went away, but lately I have noticed a renewed interest by would-be-outsiders of the discipline itself. Poetry either tries to make a simple topic difficult, or a difficult topic simple. Much of a Poet's drive is to write concisely and in a truthful manner" Pesce shares. He wanted to put another point of view out into the atmosphere. Some of his most genuine thoughts come from personal experiences, conversations with people known to him, as well as conversations with cigarette smoking stranger "buddies" on streets in various places, usually shivering. He, and rightfully so, questions the "relevancy" of anything in today's society, and doesn't want to put that kind of pressure on the back of his one hundred sixteen page baby. Egalitarianism is explored, being a veteran of arguably the most unpopular war in American history is an underlying theme, American art and culture are celebrated. The take-away for the reader is this: "We are all in this together… That is fact. Both great and terrifying, factual information." This is Pesce's first book to be published, a solid prefacing passage is titled: "Type-T: Predominantly — I think about moving and movement and mountains. Ultimately — I think about moving mountains."
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The computerized modeling of cognitive visual information has been a research field of great interest in the past several decades. The research field is interesting not only from a biological perspective, but also from an engineering point of view when systems are developed that aim to achieve similar goals as biological cognitive systems. This paper introduces a general framework for the extraction and systematic storage of low-level visual features. The applicability of the framework is investigated in both unstructured and highly structured environments. In a first experiment, a linear categorization algorithm originally developed for the classification of text documents is used to classify natural images taken from the Caltech 101 database. In a second experiment, the framework is used to provide an automatically guided vehicle with obstacle detection and auto-positioning functionalities in highly structured environments. Results demonstrate that the model is highly applicable in structured environments, and also shows promising results in certain cases when used in unstructured environments.
At the heart of the proposed concept is a Visual Feature Array (VFA) model, which is a cognitive information processing model that uses the information processing structures defined in the VFA concept. The VFA model obtains information from the environment, performs various operations on it, and then supplies higher-order models of cognitive informatics with its output. The proposed VFA concept allows for the implementation of cognitive functions analogous to those performed in the primary visual cortex (Figure 1).
The information processing structures of the VFA concept describe the units available and their relationships in constructing a VFA model. VFA models can be composed of data arrays and operations that can be performed on them. The models constructed in the VFA concept are functionally similar to the information processing structures in the brain, where a large number of neurons (data arrays in the concept) affect the output of other large numbers of neurons, according to the topology and strength of their connections (operations in the concept).
The data arrays are multidimensional arrays whose values can be of any type. The arrays were conceived to represent the output of individual neurons responsible for visual features in the modeled neural structures. The values contained in data arrays will be subsequently referred to as (artificial) neurons or computational elements.
An operation takes a data array of dimensions as its operand, and places its result in a data array of dimensions. The operations of the VFA concept are of SIMD type, and each of them can have static and / or running parameters. Running parameters assume discrete values taken from a limited interval.
Lateral operations take a data array and output a data array where Furthermore, the input data array is replaced by the output data array. Lateral operations therefore allow for the definition of recurrent functionalities.
Projective operations take a data array and output a data array where Such operations perform the same calculations on all values along the given dimensions of the input data array. The result is stored in an output data array that contains all of the input data array dimensions, except for the dimensions along which the projective operation was performed.


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Maximum pressure on North Korea: humanitarian groups labor under sanctions
According to Women Cross DMZ, North Koreans this winter will continue to struggle with an unprecedented number of sanctions.
Sanctions have been imposed on North Korea (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) since 1950 ostensibly because it is an authoritarian communist regime. However the number of sanctions rose sharply after 2006 for its launching of ballistic missiles and conducting of nuclear tests. But the latest rounds are also impacting foreign aid groups.
Since 2010, nine major sanctions-resolutions have been adopted by the United Nations Security Council which are comprehensive as well as targeted. In addition to these multilateral sanctions, a number of states including the European Union, United States, Australia, Japan, China, and South Korea have imposed their own unilateral sanctions.
Multilateral sanctions recently are specific and target North Korean trade above and beyond nuclear weapons or related manufacturing. They include all kinds of international financial transactions against specific businesses and government officials to general transactions. But the latest sanctions impede the ability of humanitarian groups to conduct charity operations, even well-established ones.
According to Doug Hostetter of Mennonite Central Committee:
"One of the partner organizations I work with wrote to me recently and said, we're now perhaps in the most extreme situation ever within the last 22 years of working with the DPRK with regard to tensions, sanctions, and related restrictions. Beginning in 2017, we've faced the challenges of external tax that affects our everyday transactions, from shipping, banking, purchasing, trading customs accords, travel permissions, etc."
The sanctions are reputed to be designed for maximum pressure because according to Evans J.R. Revere, a former State Department official:
"We must understand and accept that the problem we face is the nature of the North Korean regime itself. Intensifying economic pressure, highlighting the regime's dismal human rights record, and increasing the flow of information to the North Korean people could hasten the transformation of the regime's thinking. So, too, could targeted sanctions and other measures designed to shake the confidence of the elites on which the regime depends."
The Trump administration embraces draconian measures
Revere's policy paper, "Facing the Facts: Towards a New U.S. North Korea Policy," is reflected in Trump Administration foreign policy. Through Congress and by Executive Order, the United States has imposed targeted unilateral sanctions. They include the ability to remotely monitor and surveil all types of North Korean activities and apply an ever greater number of financial penalties based on reported illegal activities including in cyberspace, banking, human rights, or illegal trading of banned exports.
Through hardline administrators such as U.N. Ambassadors Nikki Haley, Security Advisor John R. Bolton, and South Korea Ambassador Harry B. Harris Jr., the Trump Administration has enacted increasingly harsh sanctions. Unilateral sanctions also include Executive Order 13810 which allows the United States to cut from its financial system any companies, businesses, organizations and individuals trading in "goods, services or technology with North Korea." Vice-President Mike Pence has also pursued a hardline approach encouraging Japan and other nations to impose sanctions.
Primary sanctions include all heavy industrial manufactured equipment and weaponry, as well as luxury goods. It includes banning North Korean exchange students from studying sciences that might empower them in science, manufacturing, or nuclear engineering. For instance Security Council Resolution 2321 adopted on November 30, 2016 suspends "scientific and technical cooperation with North Korea except for medical purposes."
Secondary sanctions are designed to induce energy and economic hardship. Specifically under UNSC Resolution 2321 it prohibits export of minerals such as copper, nickel, silver, and zinc. After UNSC Resolution 2371 was adopted on August 5, 2017, an outright ban is placed on export of coal, iron, iron ore, and additionally lead and lead ore from the DPRK.
Tertiary sanctions are placed in sectors that have nothing to do with manufacturing. They are strictly designed to reduce North Korean independence. For instance basic economic livelihoods are impacted in the banning of export of seafood, prohibiting joint ventures between North Korea and other nations, and banning North Korean laborers as detailed in UNSC 2371.
UNSC 2375 adopted on September 11, 2017 following North Korea's sixth nuclear test fully bans textile exports, bans hiring North Korean nationals in U.N. member states, and places energy restriction caps in all types of fossil fuels. Lastly, UNSC 2397 adopted on December 22, 2017 strengthens the ban on North Korean exports to include all food, agricultural products, minerals, machinery and electrical equipment.
Enforcement breaks humanitarian law
These bans are so comprehensive and strict that the effects are crippling despite the disclaimer that the sanctions are "not intended to have humanitarian consequences."
According to Ms. Yehjung Yi, Director for Korean Sharing Movement, South Korea, the impacts of the latest rounds of sanctions are having deleterious effects for humanitarian assistance organizations. Her chart indicates a dramatic drop off in the number of clients helped in North Korea since 2016. Containers bound for North Korea are detained and even small items such as nail clippers, construction materials such as nuts and bolts, and rice planting machines are now confiscated. Financial payments and transfers between banks are stopped or not going through.
Piracy and illegal confiscations are almost inevitable with sanctions that give UN member states the authority to interdict and inspect North Korean cargo within their territory, and subsequently seize and dispose of illicit shipments. Over and over, each new sanction specifically encourages U.N. member states to inspect all DPRK cargo whether transported by air, land, or sea. All around the world, practically any nation can seize containers believed to hold prohibited items: seafood, textiles, technology, minerals, related goods, research materials, industrial items, etc.
Calling on member states to withhold public financial support, refuse loans and credit, monitor private persons or companies, and board any suspected vessels or vehicles or airplanes encourages unfair trade practices against the DPRK. Additional penalties apply if the DPRK is caught resorting to what it must to survive such as reliance on the night market or unreliable proxy business companies.
Mandatory inspections, freezing of assets, maintaining vigilance over North Korean diplomats or travelers also encourages harassment. The official crime, according to UNSC 2270 of March 2, 2016 is that "the North Korean regime has seriously neglected to meet the needs of the North Korean people and has instead prioritized development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs." Never mind that this crime rings a bell of familiarity here in the land of the free: there is a detectable hypocrisy in accusing the DPRK of being obsessed with nuclear weapons research when the U.S. is the paragon of chasing global primacy whatever the national costs.
However, as law scholar Henri Feron of Columbia Law School notes, it's not easy to accuse the lawmaker of being above the law. At the Women Cross DMZ Conference at the United Nations Plaza in February 2018, Feron stated he believed that the economic sanctions imposed on North Korea violate several well recognized human rights treaties, namely, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right to life; while the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights protects the right to an adequate standard of living.
When laws violate human rights treaties must they be obeyed? One perspective is the sanctions appear to violate North and South Korea's right to sovereignty and self determination: the right to work and be paid adequately; the right to liberty of movement; the right to live and adopt a religion or belief of one's choice; the right to be free from fear; and the right to freely dispose of one's natural wealth and resources as one chooses. On the other hand, the continuing outcries, mass media denunciation, and ridicule of North Korea could amount to unlawful war propaganda; advocating and inciting hatred or violence, hostility, or discrimination is prohibited under Article 20 of the treaty.
Dr. Kevin Gray of the University of Sussex told the audience:
"It's interesting that if you look at even the most recent UN resolutions they say that these sanctions are not meant to have humanitarian consequences, but they obviously are aimed at doing precisely that so there is kind of an increasing contradiction."
Dr. Gray deplores the demonization of the DPRK leader by the mainstream media. One may in fact note that even documentaries by respectable journalists tend to poke fun at the backwardness of the country or mock the juche-system of human labor.
Sense of humanitarianism needed not ideological war
Because the Trump administration is packed with war-hawks, it is not likely to give up trying to destroy the Kim regime either economically or otherwise any time soon. The conservative mode is backed by capitalist think tanks and their analysts who churn out framework papers defending the sanctions even when there is evidence of starvation. In "World Food Day: The Challenge of North Korea," expert Roberta Cohen suggests that more extreme measures are needed because of the tendency of the elite in Pyongyang to skim off World Food Programme shipments. Her paper posits that food aid reform must be linked with mandatory economic reform.
"While food aid linked to denuclearization has been seen to undermine humanitarian goals, the linkage of food aid to economic reforms should enhance those goals…Going forward, there should be an understanding that food aid and any additional assistance be reinforced by agricultural policy reforms. 'No reform, no aid' would be the ultimate objective."
Obviously the steps needed to topple a government, step in, and replace it with a government friendly for U.S. globalists are taken from the blueprint of strife in the Middle East, Near East, Africa, and South America. There is no questioning that forced interventionalism awakens fear and defiance among sovereigns still trying to maintain their way of governance.
Evans J.R. Revere in "Facing the Facts":
"We must understand and accept that the problem we face is the nature of the North Korean regime itself. Intensifying economic pressure, highlighting the regime's dismal human rights record, and increasing the flow of information to the North Korean people could hasten the transformation of the regime's thinking. So, too, could targeted sanctions and other measures designed to shake the confidence of the elites on which the regime depends. But all of these measures could also contribute to the regime's demise, even if the goal of U.S. policy is not regime change. Accordingly, Washington should intensify discussions with Seoul and Tokyo (and Beijing, if it is willing) on how to respond to the collapse of the North Korean regime."
The tools in the arsenal listed: increasing the flow of information via pro-free-market propaganda; soft coercion such as via third party nonprofits in the mode of Haiti disaster relief; promoting the sanctions globally; exerting military pressure; and even carrying out special operations.
It is arguable that once the Pentagon identifies an enemy nation, the course can be reversed. However there is still hope for a change in perspective. On how much data needs to be collected to convince the United Nations that sanctions are inhumane, Dr. Kee Park stated:
"Just last month, UNICEF reported that 60,000 NK children face starvation unless aid is restored. There is an oath that doctors take which may apply at this point. In Latin, it's called 'primum non nocere'; it means 'first do no harm.'"
However most likely the UNSC sanctions imposed on the DPRK are designed to remain in place until the DPRK regime collapses, whether before or after they stop their nuclear program; the evidence being that very few waivers are granted.
This is why Women Cross DMZ has made it its mission to raise global awareness about the urgent need for peace in Korea, to convince leaders to reduce militarization, to convince them to establish dialogue, and especially to officially end the Korean War by signing a Treaty for Peace and Reunification. The Conference which took place in February 2018 during the Seoul Olympic Games is called "When Maximum Pressure Hurts Innocent Lives" and is viewable at YouTube (https://youtu.be/wi_5VSuu_Tw).
Women Cross DMZ at the United Nations Plaza on February 9, 2018, Roundtable Discussion on UN Security Council and Bilateral Sanctions Against North Koreans
Guest panelists:
Dr. Kevin Gray, University of Sussex; Yehjung Yi, KSM; Henri Feron, Columbia Law School; Yifat Susskind, MADRE; Doug Hostetter, Mennonite Central Committee; Dr. Kee Park, Harvard Medical School; Christine Ahn, Women Cross DMZ
How to Build a Health Relief Kit by Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee YouTube Channel
To learn more about how to build a relief kit, and if you live in the U.S., visit: https://mcc.org/get-involved/kits/relief
Top photo from Peace, A New Future, 2018 Inter-Korean Summit
Category: Asian American, Human Rights, International, Politics, World War Tags: community, Food Sovereignty, grassroots activism, human rights, human trafficking, integrity, peace education, world bank


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Thousands of Changchun citizens attended the 2011 Infinitus World Walking Day (China) Changchun station event in World Sculpture Garden on Aug 27th. It is the ninth station of the all year event, and it is also the first time that this event came to Changchun.
The city of Changchun was awarded China Happiest City many times and also one of the famous happy cities in China. World Walking Day event proposes citizens to walk 6000 steps every day, so as to encourage more people to participate in this activity, help them actualize the healthy life, promote home harmony, and make further progress towards happy city.
The ninth radio gymnastic exercise, established on the third National Fitness Day, was shown in the pre-event programs. The sport bureau officers designedly invited some professional gymnastics leaders to teach participants the skills of the exercises, which is trying to popularize these new exercises in Changchun.
The bare foot walking experience zone attracted many citizens. They experienced the relaxing foot massage. All the participants walked with great passion and enjoyed the thousands people walking pageant.


Eventually, I realized that, since teenagers are often expected to stop saying what they mean, and instead say whatever the adults think they should say, most of them just shut up for about five years.
One of the first things we communicate to our young children is that it's sometimes not all right to say what they think. In fact, we teach them that it's more appropriate to tell small lies.
It's a lot for our kids to process, especially since they have a huge need to communicate and to share what they're thinking, which helps develop their speech and language.
And at the same time we're telling them to be and do something other than what they're feeling, it's not working for us either. It's not possible to tell a lie without telling the truth at the same time, so our true intentions always reveal themselves. We'll communicate the truth through our voice, our facial expression or our body language.
That's why, whenever we're communicating with someone, it's important to watch the whole person in order to know the whole message. The secret is in caring about what others want to say and why they want to say it. Taking the time to ask, "What does that mean?" without feeling threatened by what it means.
And it's especially true with children because they've developed a coded language for disguising what they mean when they're afraid to say it. It's called kid-code.
They start out expressing freely, and then we begin to censor them, so they begin turning their message around backwards.
They learn to talk in a code. And if we don't understand the code, we're likely to feel hurt and to react in ways that are not in everyone's best interest. So we need to learn to consider opposites, which is one of the keys to unraveling the code.
We all want to be understood and accepted, especially kids. It's a driving force in our communications and interactions. And understanding occurs more through empathy than through logical thinking.
When we care so much about what our kids want to say that we forget about ourselves, we're able to discover not only what they think and feel, but also why they think the way they do.
It doesn't work if we to try to simplify and make unimportant the problems of our children when what they want is to be understood.
Children want to know why about everything, and that's always the question for us to answer. If they don't understand why something is so, and they can't word their question effectively, they might conduct little experiments. "Here, Mom and Dad, look what I'm doing! What's your response now?" which could mean, "Will you still love me if I go this far? Will you accept me no matter what?" If we miss the kid-code, life can become a chaotic roller coaster ride of trying to control what we believe is inappropriate behavior.
Our children might not even know what they really mean or what they're trying to say. So guiding them, by asking questions, can help us discover their concerns and anxieties, and what they're trying to work out in their minds. Not as an interrogation, but rather, friendly and loving questions, for the purpose of helping our children express themselves honestly, without fear. Then they won't feel the need to come at the truth from the opposite side.
We parents have to be geniuses… because our children are!
This article's featured on The Huffington Post. You can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter.


GETTING married is a major life event which takes months, if not years, of planning with a fair amount of tears and tantrums along the way.
If you're getting engaged or in the middle of planning your dream day, you can probably relate to the top 10 arguments couples have over wedding planning.
Top of the list of stresses is the guest list – with couples clashing over who, or how many people, they should invite.
Next was choosing the venue itself, followed by arranging the catering.
Working out the seating arrangements was the next big argument, then organising a photographer and deciding on decorations.
And finishing up the top ten was the dress, hair and make-up, the invite design and finally flowers.
Overall more than half – 52 per cent – of the 2,000 married adults asked confessed they found planning their wedding 'stressful'.
They study also found on average brides will try on four different wedding dresses, and one in six brides start planning their wedding within six days of their proposal.
More than half confessed their mums had the biggest say in decisions, and while 83 per cent of engaged Brits were heavily involved, the remaining were happy to let someone else take over.
For brides, their biggest issues were the dress, decorations and seating arrangements, while the grooms were more likely to deal with the honeymoon, venue and catering.
One in ten admitted they would do things differently if they got the chance, and 27 per cent said planning the wedding led to arguments with those who were trying to help.
The biggest fall-outs were with the partner, while one in four rowed with their mother-in-law.
And the same amount confessed they made decisions solely to keep other people happy.
Charlotte Hill, Director of Romance at Mercure Hotels, which commissioned the study, said: "Planning a wedding is a huge challenge, and expectations for the big day are understandably sky-high, so it's no surprise Brits want to put the work in to make sure everything goes smoothly.
"However, tackling some of the big choices in plenty of time, such as finding the perfect venue, dress and caterer, can take care of the lion's share of the stress of planning a wedding.
Despite all the stresses associated with planning a wedding, only nine per cent of people hired a wedding planner.
It's not just the bride and groom who find the experience stressful, we also revealed what the top 10 complaints of weddings guests are.
And if you do decide to vent about wedding stress, beware you might end up on a Facebook Wedding Shaming group.
If you needed a fix right now, couples are shaming the worst-behaved guests to attend their weddings.


OnBase includes a set of system icons and bitmap images published in 2006 that you can use to customize objects such as document types, folders, notes, workflow queues and ad hoc tasks. In addition to these default images, Hyland put together an expanded set in 2009 that you can import. If you still find yourself looking for more or different images, you can also create and import your own at any time.


Who did Nicky Hilton marry? Who is Nicky Hilton's husband James Rothschild?
Nicky Hilton is now Mrs. James Rothschild. Earlier today, the pair wed in a fairytale ceremony at Kensington Palace in London. The bride wore a stunning Valentino gown complete with a lace overlay, high neckline, and long sleeves. The price tag? $77,000.
Her sister, Paris, stood alongside Nicky as the maid-of-honor. According to reports, many of Nicky's family members attended the affair, including Kyle Richards, and Kim Richard's daughter Whitney, who sang at the reception.
Kim, however, was absent, due to another stint in rehab.
Other notable guests included Chelsea Clinton and Kate Beckinsale.
So: who is her hubby, James Rothschild?
He's the only son of the mega-rich and super-successful Amschel Mayor James Rothschild. Their family's history dates back centuries, and includes providing gold to the royal family, as well as having a stake in the De Beers (yes, the diamonds) fortune.
The family is worth a reported $350 million dollars.
Nicky first met James at a wedding in 2011 and got engaged in August of 2014 while vacationing in Italy. He proposed with an 8-carat diamond ring.
This is Nicky's second marriage. In 2004, she was briefly married to banker Todd Meister. That ceremony took place in Las Vegas; the only guests were Paris and actress Bijou Phillips.
The pair split just eight weeks later.
Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. James Rothschild!
Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom have a secret wedding! Is a baby on the way?


JEDDAH — The 7th Annual Gulf Education Conference and Exhibition featuring two days of robust speeches, rousing moments and profound reassurance from the stakeholders to take forward Saudi Arabia's Education Vision 2030 begins today.
The University of Business and Technology (UBT), Jeddah is hosting the event wherein more than 25,000 people are expected to participate. Apart from many leading academics, ministers, private sector representatives, top corporate sector executives, some 150 exhibitors and sponsors including some big names in the education sector are registered for the event.
"The conference will help develop education in a variety of fields, and encourage scientific and research partnerships with international universities inside and outside the Kingdom," Council of Saudi Chambers Secretary-General Dr. Saud Al-Mishari who is also a likely participant, said.
The conference and its associated exhibition have become one of the most important education forums in the region.
The event is being held this year under the patronage of Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa. Education policymakers and experts, as well as students and parents, will be among the visitors.
"It will provide delegates with the most up-to-date information available about the realities of investing in and partnering with Saudi education institutions," Farooq Shah, Media and Communications officer, Gulf Conferences told Saudi Gazette. "Expert speakers on every element of what is required by the Saudi education system, what projects are in place already and what needs to be done for the success of Vision 2030 would be dealt with threadbare," he said.
Shah said the Conference is a key event for universities looking to increase their admission rates, directly meet with students and their parents besides government representatives to establish a relationship for opportunities in enrollment.


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Israel closes vital Gaza-Egypt border crossing
Israel closed Gaza's vital border crossing with Egypt just days before completing its military pullout from the coastal strip but agreed in principle to allow foreign inspectors to take over security of the area.
Sept. 8, 2005, 11:17 PM UTC / Source: The Associated Press
Israel on Thursday closed Gaza's vital border crossing with Egypt just days before completing its military pullout from the coastal strip. Palestinians charged the move blocks Gaza's main link to the outside world, but Israel said it would build a new terminal to allow Palestinians to travel freely without Israeli interference.
Officials close to the negotiations said a breakthrough of sorts had been achieved: Israel agreed in principle to allow foreign inspectors to take over security at the border, though their arrival could be months away.
Israel will complete its military withdrawal from Gaza on Sunday night, defense officials said, setting the stage for what's expected to be an emotional Palestinian takeover of the lands formerly occupied by Jewish settlers. But Israel and the Palestinians have so far failed to finalize arrangements for the Gaza-Egypt crossing — fueling fears that the overcrowded and poverty-stricken Gaza Strip will be cut off after Israel's exit.
A trap or a security measure?
The two sides have widely divergent concepts, both based on near-sacred principles: The Palestinians want elements of sovereignty, meaning no Israeli presence at the border, while the Israelis insist on control of their own security. So the shutting of the Rafah crossing on Thursday appeared to Palestinians as a trap closing on them, while Israel described it as a security measure to ensure a smooth pullout.
About 750 Egyptian troops are expected to deploy along the Gaza border this weekend as part of an Egyptian-Israeli agreement under which Israeli forces will leave the border area.
"Starting from that moment, all the responsibility will devolve onto the Egyptians and also the multinational force, which is supposed to supervise," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom told Army Radio. The force was posted in the Egyptian Sinai desert as part of the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
Synagogues to be destroyed
Two weeks ago Israel completed its evacuation of some 8,500 Jewish settlers in Gaza. One of the final obstacles to the pullout was removed on Thursday when Israel's Supreme Court ruled, over the objections of rabbis, that some 20 synagogues in the abandoned settlements can be destroyed. The Settlers Council denounced the decision, saying, "The remnants of trust in the Supreme Court are being destroyed along with the synagogues of Gush Katif," the main Gaza settlement bloc.
In violence Thursday near the Gaza-Egypt border, a 20-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli troops and a 14-year-old boy was wounded, doctors said. The Israeli military said an army patrol in the area came under fire, then saw three people who had breached the security fence into the Israeli-controlled settlement bloc. The troops fired at the infiltrators.
Israel says it will take up to six months to build a new terminal at Rafah. In the meantime, Palestinians will be able to travel to Egypt through a new crossing at Kerem Shalom, where the borders of Egypt, Gaza and Israel converge, expected to be ready by the middle of next week, an Israeli Ports Authority official said.
A model for future arrangements
Two officials close to the negotiations, who asked that their names not be used because talks are still ongoing, said Israel has agreed in principle to allow international monitors to ensure security at the refurbished Rafah crossing. If that happens, it could serve as a model for arrangements at other facilities desired by the Palestinians, including a harbor and airport.
However, Asaf Shariv, a top adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said no final decision has been made on the foreign inspectors. "There are many options. This is what will be decided in the next six months," he said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said, "We hope ... to see a functioning crossing in Rafah in six months. We won't be there. The Palestinians will be on one side, the Egyptians will be on the other side."
Palestinian officials said Israel unilaterally shut down Rafah and gave no guarantees that it will reopen or that foreign inspectors would be stationed there.
"They want to get out of Rafah, but they don't want to leave us the freedom of movement," said Palestinian Cabinet minister Ghassan Khatib.
'The economy will never recover'
Khatib said this could spell disaster. "Everybody is in agreement that without removing restrictions on people and cargo, the economy will never recover," he said. Under current arrangements, Palestinians apply to Israel for exit permits and have to wait weeks or months.
Several times during the current conflict, Israel closed the crossing in both directions, stranding thousands on the Egyptian side.
For the 1.3 million Palestinian residents who live in this impoverished and densely populated strip of land, freedom to travel is vital. Without it, they say, Israel's withdrawal from Gaza means little.
Gaza resident Ismail Daoud spent most of Thursday on the phone with his daughter, who is visiting relatives in Egypt. After the sudden closure of Rafah, he's not sure when she will make it home.
"We just want to be able to take a trip without going through the misery that we are forced to endure every time we leave Gaza," said Daoud. "As long as Israel is controlling the border, things will never change."
The last time Daoud, 54, left Gaza was in June. He spent two nights in a waiting hall at the crossing, using newspapers and cardboard he had scavenged as a mattress.


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text:
201 E. Adams Street, #1A, Springfield, IL 62701
IMSCA History
IMSCA Members
IMSCA Related Links
S.J. Peters
S.J. Peters has served as Executive Director of the PCA of Greater Chicago & Plumbing Council since 2006. He previously was Communications Director for UFCW Locals 1546 & 881 for 16 years. A graduate of Loyola University Chicago, S.J. worked professionally in broadcasting, publishing and PR before launching a career in non-profits. He also currently serves on the Boards of CISCO and UAC. S.J. and his wife, Carrie, reside in Chicago's western suburbs and are the parents of two grown daughters.
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This collection includes the issue 1-6, released between 2000 and 2017.
An iconic piece of graffiti history with numerous national and international features. A must-have for anyone who enjoys Dortmund writing.


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[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ge has been taking a toll of leaders of substance at a critical juncture for Indian democracy, under threat of being overrun by divisive forces led by BJP-RSS. A virulent campaign by them is on for a second term of governance at the Centre to facilitate ushering in a covetous 'Hindu Rashtra' post-2019 Lok Sabha poll.
A combined Opposition alliance is in the works on safeguarding inclusive democracy and protecting the constitutional rights in the face of ongoing assaults on autonomous and academic institutions, intolerance and spread of social disharmony from the activities of extremist outfits of the Sangh parivar. It is in this context the passing away of Muthuvel Karunanidhi (94), aptly characterised as a 'colossus' on national scene, and a 'Titan' of the Dravidian movement, would have far-reaching implications for both Tamil Nadu and national politics over time.
Even though the DMK patriarch had to withdraw from active politics due to age-related ailments and was confined to wheel chair over the last 18 months, that was not seen to detract from his influence and dominance on the national stage he had held for five decades. His assets and acumen were well understood. Karunanidhi was CM five times and had been elected 13 times to TN Assembly. He became CM after the death of another great Tamil writer CN Annadurai, who headed the first DMK government in 1967 ending the Congress rule under K Kamaraj. For Karunanidhi, it was a great accomplishment, building on his reputation as a film script writer and an orator and on his organisational skills in the party.
In Tamil Nadu, the future of Dravidian era had become clouded by 2016 itself after two successive electoral defeats for Karunanidhi's DMK (2011 and 2016) at the hands of AIDMK led by Jayalalithaa. However, 'Amma's second successive term as CM' came to an abrupt end with her demise in December 2016. Her AIDMK, with internal divisions and break-ups, has been struggling to hold on to power with some adroit management by CM EK Palaniswami, who is yet to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
It was about the same time that Karunanidhi's age-related diseases were also coming to the fore. Even before the 2016 Assembly election the DMK patriarch had acknowledged that only a formidable alliance could hope to defeat Jayalalithaa. But, surprisingly, he was not able to involve himself to put together such a strong DMK-led formation in 2016 and seemed to have entrusted the responsibility to his second son M K Stalin. Stalin did an intensive campaigning in 2016 and was at least able to build a strong opposition of 98 members in the Assembly. He was made the working president of DMK and functions as Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, giving no comfort to the Palaniswami government.
Had Karunanidhi been alive for some more time, perhaps he would have been a source of great inspiration for regional and state-level parties getting together for a strong alliance for 2019 Lok Sabha poll and thereafter. National-level leaders have always taken advantage of the genius that Karunanidhi proved to be in earlier alliance buildings during the United Front, NDA and UPA governments.
Karunanidhi had over the years become an elder statesman commanding respect from all parties. He played his cards well to ensure his goals in coalition politics. Broadly, the two Dravidian majors DMK and AIDMK had focused on welfare and social empowerment and less on development of infrastructure or enabling a widening of industrial base and providing jobs.
In evolving his own strategy for success in 2019, PM Narendra Modi is drawing lessons from Dravidian parties. This at a time when the road ahead for his goal of 'New India' is not as smooth the PM and his confidante Amit Shah had assumed till 2017. A string of crucial by-poll losses over the last 18 months had brought them back to earth.
The party, smartly guided by the Modi-Shah duo, now confronts a formidable anti-BJP alliance of regional and state parties with Congress in the lead. The stakes are too high for Modi, who has begun campaigning for 2019 and trying cleverly to cover up failures to fulfil promises of 2014 by a play of words and claiming 'achievements' in certain areas.
Since the election to TN Assembly is not due till 2021, the Dravidian parties have to fight for the Lok Sabha elections first. That would be the first test to know how far DMK and AIDMK are able to draw sustenance from the legacy of DMK icon and Amma respectively. The other smaller parties can and would do nothing until both DMK and AIDMK take the first steps in political alignments for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The politically aspirant super-stars Rajnikanth and Kamal Hasan would be cooling their heels.


text:
Diethylstilbestrol DES
Journal of a DES Daughter
Categories, Posts, Tags
DES Daughter
My Journey – Intro
My Journey – Doctors
DES Exposure
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Posted on 21/09/2017 04/11/2017 by DES Daughter
Significant alterations in uterine gene expression following neonatal DES exposure
Developmental Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol Alters Uterine Gene Expression That May Be Associated With Uterine Neoplasia Later in Life
2007 Study Abstract
Previously, we described a mouse model where the well-known reproductive carcinogen with estrogenic activity, diethylstilbestrol (DES), caused uterine adenocarcinoma following neonatal treatment. Tumor incidence was dose-dependent reaching >90% by 18 mo following neonatal treatment with 1000 μg/kg/d of DES. These tumors followed the initiation/promotion model of hormonal carcinogenesis with developmental exposure as initiator, and exposure to ovarian hormones at puberty as the promoter. To identify molecular pathways involved in DES-initiation events, uterine gene expression profiles were examined in prepubertal mice exposed to DES (1, 10, or 1000 μg/kg/d) on days 1–5 and compared to controls. Of more than 20 000 transcripts, approximately 3% were differentially expressed in at least one DES treatment group compared to controls; some transcripts demonstrated dose–responsiveness. Assessment of gene ontology annotation revealed alterations in genes associated with cell growth, differentiation, and adhesion. When expression profiles were compared to published studies of uteri from 5-d-old DES-treated mice, or adult mice treated with 17β estradiol, similarities were seen suggesting persistent differential expression of estrogen responsive genes following developmental DES exposure. Moreover, several altered genes were identified in human uterine adenocarcinomas. Four altered genes [lactotransferrin (Ltf), transforming growth factor beta inducible (Tgfb1), cyclin D1 (Ccnd1), and secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (Sfrp4)], selected for real-time RT-PCR analysis, correlated well with the directionality of the microarray data. These data suggested altered gene expression profiles observed 2 wk after treatment ceased, were established at the time of developmental exposure and maybe related to the initiation events resulting in carcinogenesis.
The results presented in this study showed significant alterations in uterine gene expression following neonatal DES treatment at 1, 10, and 1000 μg/kg/d that occur at least 2 wk after treatment ceased. We have previously reported that neonatal DES exposure at these same doses caused uterine adenocarcinoma at 12 mo of age in 19%, 29%, and 63% of the mice treated with the respective doses; the tumor incidence reached >90 % at 18 mo at the highest DES dose. These tumors were dependent on ovarian hormones at puberty because mice ovariectomized before puberty did not develop uterine tumors. Our current data support the idea that early exposure to DES changes the transcriptional profile of the uterus so that it responds abnormally to ovarian hormones at puberty which may then lead to the development of uterine cancer later in life. The changes in gene expression that we identified in the uterus were consistent with developmental DES exposure being an initiating event in an initiation/promotion model of hormonal carcinogenesis because the alterations were detected before puberty. Gene categories which showed significantly enriched differential expression in ontological biological processes include cell cycle, adhesion, growth and development, as well as cell differentiation. Because multiple gene categories are represented, this suggests complex mechanisms are involved in uterine hormonal carcinogenesis.
We compared our data from 19-d-old prepubertal mice exposed neonatally to DES to previously published data obtained from 5-d-old DES-treated mice. Although we examined changes that occurred in response to three increasing doses of DES, we only compared data from our dose of DES-1000 (2 μg/kg/d) which was the same as that published by Huang et al. There were numerous changes in common between the two studies with 15 genes showing increased expression and 10 genes showing decreased expression. Our findings suggest that these genes may be particularly important because they represent a subset of genes that are permanently altered, not just transiently altered in response to DES immediately following DES treatment. Some of these genes include estrogen-regulated proteins such as Ltf, C3, and Ccnd1 as well as Sprr2f which have been shown to be involved in epithelial cell differentiation. Further, we identified 11 genes that were increased in one study but decreased in the other. These genes probably represent genes that are transiently altered by DES treatment or are differentially regulated by other factors active in uterine differentiation processes. In addition to these genes, Huang et al. described decreased expression of Msx-2, a homoeodomain transcription factor and a member of the Wnt signaling pathway although it was not consistently decreased across all of their samples. In a more recent study, they also reported repression of Msx-2 by DES and a role for the gene in female reproductive tract differentiation . In our study, the expression of the Msx-2 gene was increased in all three DES dose groups. This difference between studies can probably be explained by the time after DES treatment. While it has been shown that Msx-2 is involved in uterine differentiation, the contribution to the etiology of uterine cancer remains to be determined. Previously, we have also shown that other genes and their proteins such as c-fos and p21 were increased during the time of DES treatment but then returned to control levels by puberty supporting the idea that some genes like Ltf, C3, Ccnd1, and Sprr2f are permanently imprinted, but others like Msx-2 are not. This points out that the timing of gene expression is very important and can be altered by exposure to DES resulting in abnormal uterine differentiation whether genes are permanently imprinted or not.
We further compared our data from CD-1 mice to a previous report with C57 Bl/6 mice that examined the direct response of the mature uterus to an estrogenic stimulus . A remarkable similarity was found between the 24-h estradiol treatment and our DES-1 treatment group which was collected 2 wk after neonatal treatment at 19 d of age. Of all the genes that were considered statistically significant, over half were commonly increased or decreased in our lowest DES-treated group (DES-1) and the adult estradiol group. These two groups are probably the most similar because estrogen responsiveness of the uterus can be demonstrated in the DES-1 treatment group whereas, the DES-10 and DES-1000 treated mice often exhibit limited ability to respond to estrogen, as well as, exhibit altered uterine cellular differentiation. The overall similarities between the two studies suggest that a substantial estrogenic component remains present long after the last DES treatment on day 5. From the gene ontology analysis, many of these genes were involved in cell-cycle regulation.
For example, expression of Ccnd1, a cell-cycle regulatory gene important in the G1/S phase of the cell cycle, was decreased in the neonatally DES-treated uterus at 19 d as well as at 5 d directly following treatment and in the mature uterus 4 h following estrogen treatment. Further analysis of Ccnd1 expression with real-time RT-PCR showed the decreased expression of this gene in individual DES-treated animals. The alteration of cell-cycle genes, like Ccnd1, may contribute to abnormal cell division and hormone responses at puberty thus resulting in neoplasia later in life.
Expression of Ltf, an estrogen regulated gene, was increased as expected in the mature estradiol stimulated uterus and the 5-d-old DES-treated uterus as determined by microarray analysis; it was also increased in all three of our DES dose groups. Real-time RT-PCR supported these findings although there were variable responses in individual mice. Several studies have shown that the mRNA for this gene, as well as, the protein were over-expressed during the time of neonatal DES treatment . Further, mice treated developmentally with DES showed high levels of lactotransferrin (also referred to as lactoferrin) protein later in life even in the absence of estrogen stimulation . Our current study is consistent with these findings. In addition, we have previously shown that the promoter region of the Ltf gene has an altered methylation pattern following DES exposure suggesting that DES permanently imprints this gene. Interestingly, our current data show a dose responsive increase in Ltf expression which correlates with a dose responsive increase in uterine cancers seen later in life. Whether lactoferrin plays a direct role in the initiation and/or promotion of uterine cancer is an ongoing investigation but it is interesting that it has been reported to have growth promoter effects in uterine cells.
In addition to Ltf, the expression of another estrogen regulated gene, C3 was increased 1.5-fold in the DES-1000 group. While, our analysis did not identify all estrogen-responsive genes as reported in the mature uterus, this may be due to the age of the tissues, differences in mouse strains, time differential of 2 wk following DES treatment, or the differences in the threshold of our analysis. Estrogen-regulated genes that did not show a significant difference in our study but were reported to be responsive by others include epidermal growth factor (Egf) , EGF receptors (Egfr) , progester-one receptor (Pr) , and heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) . Further, another group of estrogen-regulated genes not found to be significantly changed in our study include c-fos, c-jun, and c-myc but this is most probably because of the transient expression of these genes because they are expressed minutes to hours after estrogen exposure and not likely to be present 2 wk after treatment. Our findings do not lessen the role of these genes in the development of neoplasia but it does suggest that the expression of these genes is not permanently altered in the initiation phase of uterine hormonal carcino-genesis, although the response to hormone stimulation later in life may be altered.
A large category of differentially expressed genes following neonatal DES treatment included genes involved in cell adhesion. Many of the genes and gene products in this category are involved in cell–cell communication which can be disrupted in the progression to cancer. We identified several collagens and integrins found in this category. These genes showed the highest expression level in the highest dose of DES treatment supporting disruption of tissue architecture, which we have previously described . For example, we have previously shown that high doses of DES exhibit alterations in uterine morphology such as squamous metaplasia which indicates abnormal cellular differentiation . Another gene involved in cell adhesion Tgfbi is decreased at the highest dose of DES. Further study of this gene with real-time RT-PCR confirmed the microarray data suggesting that this gene may play an important role in the initiation event.
Cell growth and development as well as cellular differentiation pathways were also altered following neonatal DES treatment. Genes in these categories include those involved in Wnt signaling and Homeo-box (Hox) genes. These have been previously reported to be altered following developmental exposure to DES. These genes are involved in reproductive tract tissue patterning and cellular differentiation. Alterations in Hox gene expression are molecular mechanisms by which DES can affect reproductive tract differentiation. Another interesting gene is Sfrp4 which has been shown to function as a modulator of Wnt signaling through direct interaction with Wnt genes; Sfrp4 is also increased following estrogen treatment. Our data with real-time RT-PCR analysis clearly demonstrates the increased expression of this gene, especially following the highest dose of DES. Alterations in the expression of this gene in the uterus may lead to disruption of the Wnt signaling pathways resulting in tissue dysmorphogenesis such as malformation early in life and/or uterine neoplasia later in life.
A striking overlap in differentially expressed genes was revealed when comparing the murine neonatal DES response with altered genes found in human uterine endometrial cancer. Of the genes found in common, Sfrp4and Igf-1 were particularly interesting because they were also identified in the estrogen-regulated set of genes. The altered expression of these genes in the prepubertal mouse prior to uterine cancer formation and in human uterine cancer implicates their role in hormonal carcinogenesis.
Another interesting observation was the variability in gene expression of individual mice following neonatal DES exposure as seen in the real-time RT-PCR data. As we have previously reported, lactoferrin expression in the uterus of control 19-d-old mice was low and did not vary among animals. However, in this study, the expression of several genes including lactoferrin was quite variable at 19 d of age following neonatal exposure to DES. This was not probably caused by endogenous ovarian hormones of puberty because the controls had very low levels of lactoferrin at this age and none of the mice showed morphological signs of puberty. The varying levels of lactoferrin observed following neonatal DES treatment were probably because of early altered imprinting, therefore some animals would be expected to be more affected than others.
In summary, developmental exposure to DES resulted in altered gene expression pathways which included an estrogen-regulated component. Because uterine tumors do not occur in animals that are ovariectomized before puberty, this implies that the induction of tumors arises from the combination of neonatal exposure to DES and subsequent pubertal exposure to endogenous estrogens. The current data suggest that DES acts during development by altering estrogen-regulated pathways and subsequent tissue response to estrogen signaling later in life, possibly resulting in cancer. It appears that neonatal DES treatment alters uterine cell proliferation and differentiation by controlling genes normally regulated by estrogen. Although the majority of the morphological and pathological effects of DES in the uterus have been shown to be mediated through estrogen receptor (ER)α (Esr1) mechanisms, little is known about the downstream targets of ERα in this process especially those involved in the development of uterine adenocarcinoma. This study identifies some early molecular events that DES alters which may be associated with an abnormal hormonal response resulting in neoplasia later in life.
The mechanisms involved in abnormal cellular responses of the uterus following neonatal DES treatment are not well understood but the information from the current study may prove useful in elucidating the pathways involved in the initiation events of uterine hormonal carcinogenesis. Further, data from this study will help develop a molecular fingerprint that can be used to predict the long-term effects of DES exposure including neoplasia which is transmitted to subsequent generations.
Sources and more information
Full study (free access) : Developmental Exposure to Diethylstilbestrol Alters Uterine Gene Expression That May Be Associated With Uterine Neoplasia Later in Life, Molecular Carcinology, NCBI PubMed PMC2254327, 2007 September.
Global differential gene expression cluster analysis. Panel A: Hierarchical agglomerative clustering (cosine correlation similarity measure) was performed on genes exhibiting a log (ratio) P < 0.001 and fold change of 1.5 between DES-treated uteri featured image credit NCBI PMC2254327/figure/F1.
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Choose one of the gorgeous Yoruba wedding dresses on Jiji!
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