text:
Serves 6
This is a great spin on Caesar salad. Don't be afraid of the spices; it's not too spicy and can be adjusted for taste.
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 peeled garlic cloves
1-1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce leaves
2 cooked salmon fillets, broken up into 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 cup seasoned croutons
In a blender or food processor, combine lemon juice, oil, Parmesan, garlic, anchovy paste, chili powder, cayenne, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Arrange lettuce leaves on a serving platter and top with salmon and croutons. Pour dressing over and serve.


text:
YORK, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign is making contrarian appeals in the most unusual places, trying to win over Hispanic voters in states not known for them, like Pennsylvania.
His second campaign, far better financed and organized than his first, is pressing every potential tactical advantage, including trying to capture even small slivers of the Hispanic vote, hoping it adds up to the narrowest of winning margins.
"I think that you win campaigns with what we call 'tajaditos.' Little bits. You have to have a little bit of this and a little bit of that," said Bertica Cabrera Morris, a Cuba native and "Latinos For Trump" advisory board member. "You don't need everyone from every group, but you have to have a little bit of everything."
For many reasons, not the least of which is the president's hostility toward immigrants, it will be a difficult sell.
That was clear on a recent evening in York, Pennsylvania, when Karyme Navarro, 18, was filling out her first voter registration form but stopped on a question about party affiliation.
Mirna Orellana, a community organizer with the nonpartisan nonprofit "We Are Casa," who brought the form to Navarro's door, isn't allowed to advocate for any party. Still, she's seen the scenario enough to have an answer ready: "If you're Democrat, you're for Obama," she said in Spanish. "If you're Republican, you're for Trump."
Navarro nodded, then handed back the completed form. She had checked "Democratic."
Such exchanges are what Democrats are counting on — Hispanics so enraged by Trump's policies and anti-immigrant rhetoric that they'll turn out in force to deny him a second term.
Those on the front lines of Trump's effort concede that the president's anti-Hispanic fervor doesn't help. Still, they say many Hispanics will be won over by a strong economy and conservative social values. Similarly, Democratic activists say simply criticizing Trump often isn't enough to attract Hispanic support.
The reelection campaign's efforts are understandably focused on key swing states like Florida and Nevada and could also shore up Trump's hold on Arizona and Texas. Increased outreach may also have an effect in less obvious areas where Trump eked out a 2016 victory, though, like parts of Pennsylvania where the Latino population is booming and where his margin for error is slender.
"Latinos are moving out of the urban centers, moving away from the stronghold of the Democrats," said Jose Fuentes, a former attorney general of Puerto Rico who is advising the president's reelection effort and called Pennsylvania "a perfect example." ″We're microtargeting those areas that can be successful for us."
That means locales like York, a city in the southern part of the state with a population around 45,000 famous for its York Barbells. It is nearly a third Hispanic, many with roots in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. The city, heavily Democratic, is surrounded by solidly Trump country.
Fuentes said party officials have identified about a dozen areas nationwide to woo Hispanic, black and Asian voters and funded the training of 500-plus staffers who increased their recruiting efforts at local events.
Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump 66% to 28% among Hispanics nationally, but that was lower than the 71% Barack Obama won in 2012. President George W. Bush also captured more than 40% of the Hispanic vote in 2004, but his message was far more inclusive than Trump's.
Hispanics make up only about 8% of Pennsylvania's population. Trump won the state — home to about 12.8 million people — by around 44,000 votes, or less than 1% of those cast, in 2016. Nearly 1 million Hispanics now live in Pennsylvania and the Pew Research Center estimated that, for the 2018 midterms, 501,000 statewide were eligible to vote — 10th largest in the nation.
AP's VoteCast data showed that 38% of Pennsylvania's Hispanics voted Republican in 2018 congressional races, but Democrats still easily won the Senate and governor's races.
Fuentes said a key to winning Hispanic support is tailoring messages to people who have ancestral roots in different parts of Latin America. Cubans are chiefly interested in U.S. relations with the island and with Venezuela, he said. For Puerto Ricans, it's recovery after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017 and U.S. statehood questions. Mexicans tend to be most motivated by commercial relations, as are people from most of South America. Central Americans tend to be most focused on immigration policy.
Messages targeting those types of voters in specific areas can resonate, Fuentes added, even if the president's rhetoric sometimes doesn't.
"This president has his own style," Fuentes said. "But my line is he's been successful with it."
Trump seized on a coming "caravan" of Central American immigrants before Election Day 2018 and saw Democrats flip 41 House seats. But a Gallup poll released in July found that 27% of Americans named immigration the most important problem facing the U.S. — the highest ever measured for the issue. The Trump campaign highlighted that in emails to supporters, saying the president's "leadership and determination" can "Keep America Safe."
"We came legally and so did our forefathers. That means a lot to us, the rule of law," said Republican Texas state Sen. Pete Flores, a retired game warden of Mexican ancestry who represents a district that includes 460-plus miles (740-plus kilometers) of U.S.-Mexico border. In heavily Hispanic South Texas, Flores said Trump "has more support among regular folks than most people are letting on" because unemployment is so low.
Back in Pennsylvania, the same themes are playing out, said former Republican Rep. Lou Barletta, who lost last year's Senate race. As mayor of Hazelton in 2006, Barletta championed one of the nation's first ordinances forbidding landlords and employers from dealing with people in the country illegally — which was later blocked in federal court.
"I think when the president talks about securing the border, about how people who are here illegally need to go home (because) they committed crimes, they understand what he is talking about," Barletta said of the state's Hispanic voters.
The Democratic National Committee also has begun staffing up in key battleground states. Its chairman, Tom Perez, the son of Dominican immigrants, visited Pennsylvania last summer.
"It's important to expose that racism and hate, and it's a motivating factor, but it is not enough in a lot of cases," said Lizet Ocampo, political director for People For the American Way, a Washington-based progressive organization. She said, "Being good at immigration gets you in the door and then being good on all the other issues gets across the finish line."
A recent poll of eligible Hispanic voters nationwide by the Democratic polling firm Latino Decisions found that only 13% said they'd "definitely" vote for Trump in 2020, but there's also an enthusiasm gap for the other side: Less than 60% of respondents said they planned to participate in Democratic primaries.
Orellana, the organizer for "We Are Casa," which advocates for immigrant rights and has 100,000 members in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania, says despite York being so heavily Hispanic, she still sees plenty of people in "Make America Great" hats.
"I can't even look them in the face," Orellana said. "It's like, 'How can you do that to your people?'"

subset: commoncrawl


text: Insurance What is a Carrier? Carrier[kar-ee-er]noun1.The Carrier is the insurance company that provides a specific Policy and is the company that a policyholder will pay Premiums to. The Carrier is ultimately responsible to pay out Claims. Share | Have A Question About This Topic? Name Email Address Question Thank you! Oops!


text:
Warning: This IS long. Partly because I tend to ramble, and partly because this is a post that has been in the workings for six months, and a difficult post to write. There is also no pretty picture. I did consider including an X-ray image of my uterus but figured Hubster might get miffed it he saw I was posting pictures of my womanly parts online.
About six months ago, after several days of waking up and immediately wanting to puke I realised, with a fairly abrupt shock, that I was late. Now, I'm never late for work, I'm never late for deadlines, I'm never late for social engagements, and I'm sure as hell never, you know, late. So this could only mean one thing.
I hot footed it down to the shops and grabbed the first test I could see. When I got home I knew what the result would be before it even showed up. When the two lines appeared I burst into tears and then promptly had a panic attack.
An hour later I tested again, just in case I had gotten some weird designed-to-really-freak-you-out bum test. Yep. Still positive. I think the word that first came out of my mouth started with "F" and sounded a lot like "Duck".
Totally unexpected. Totally not the plan.
Because of all my health problems any pregnancy I have will be high risk and will need to be closely monitored. Because of the medication I am on I have been told to go straight to a doctor if I ever find out I"m pregnant. There is absolutely no playing it cool, and just seeing what happens with me. It's a giant pain in the posterior.
So I went to see my GP, brandishing my test and asking her if she thought it was a positive result (because apparently I need a medical doctor with worse eyesight than mine to confirm the presence of a second line). She laughed and said yes. Booked me into the hospital, gave me my due date, lectured me about folic acid, and sent me on my way to have a batch of bloods done (and a rather unexpected pap smear that I wasn't informed about. The fun just never stops).
Then I had to break the news to Hubster. When he came home from work he found me sitting solemnly on the couch.
"I need to tell you something". I started.
"Oh god. What?!" he asked rushing over.
"I can't say it." I told him, covering my eyes.
"Just tell me! What!"
"I'm…pregnant." I whispered.
He looked at me incredulously. "That's not possible."
I handed him the test, and then he was all "What?! How?!" and then "This was not what I was expecting" (apparently he was expecting me to tell him I was dying. Gee thanks Hubster. Let's not get too excited here ;)) And finally, in a rather stern manner, "Rachael. This CANNOT happen."
"Er, well. It's a bit late for that speech."
Then we both looked at each other and burst into laughter. He gave me the biggest hug and told me we would work it out. We would be ok.
And then I was happy. I figured it was pretty much the ONLY real good thing that had happened that year. The baby was due on Hubsters 30th birthday, which has gotta be a good sign right?
Spoiler alert: it wasn't a good sign.
The next morning I tested again. And once again, I knew what the result would say before it did.
Hubster rolled over as I came back in our bedroom and asked how it went. I tossed him the test and told him I wasn't pregnant anymore. I didn't cry. I can't say I was dreadfully upset. I wasn't even surprised. Because it was the eighth time this has happened. I get pregnant easily. I just can't seem to hold on to them.
Although the pregnancy was unplanned the whole event made us reassess our situation. We decided it was the right time to complete our family. I saw a doctor about the strange early losses, I was referred to a fertility specialist. We liked him instantly. Mainly because he looked like Dr. Who (though, sadly, not David Tennant).
This week, after weeks of being poked and prodded, hundreds of dollars worth of investigation and another failed pregnancy we found ourselves back in Dr. Who's office. There are a few issues at play really. My physical health has, clearly, been less than ideal for a long time. But I heard myself being told that my ovarian reserve was diminishing. That at 28 years old I was essentially running out of eggs. What the actual flip? I had imagined all sorts of scenarios that were preventing us from having a viable pregnancy. This was not one of them. I'm not even 30. I thought I had all the time in the world.
So the next few months are make or break for us. We will try two cycles of injections and hormone treatment to try and fall pregnant. If this doesn't work it is on to a round of IVF. The doctor told us that it would be a good idea to freeze some embryos. Because I am running out of time. Awesome. I keep imagining my ovaries as having white perms and zimmerframes. Retiring early. Thanks girls!
So here's the thing. Technically I am diagnosed as having had recurrent miscarriages. But I've never been really able to see them as that. It all happens so incredibly early. I feel I can't compare a late monthly and a few positive tests to the horror of losing a pregnancy at a later stage. After seeing a heartbeat. After feeling movements. After knowingly carrying an unborn child for weeks. We almost lost Master D several times. I know these early losses don't compare.
But I am at the crossroads now. I am beginning to realise that it is quite possible that Hubster and I will not be able to have another child. And that I spent the first year of my Master D's life psychotic, depressed and in hospital. Then the third year of his life, psychotic, vomiting and in hospital. I have missed so much. I will never get that time back again. And I may not get another chance. Master D may grow up without having the experience of a sibling. In a way I wish I had never seen any of those positive tests. I wish I had never been aware that I was pregnant for that very short time. Because I start to feel grief over the babies I never had. Over the life we may not be able to have.
At the end of the day I know I will be ok with whatever happens. I am fortunate enough to have had the experience of being a mother – turbulent though it has been. I DO have a child. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Another child would be an absolute blessing. But my body is tired. The treatment is stressful and invasive (not to mention expensive). I'm not willing to cycle after cycle indefinitely.
I want to give the treatment a go. I know we would regret it if we didn't at least try. But at the same time I need to put my health, and the child I already have before a child I may never have. I have no idea how pumping myself full of medication and hormones is going to affect my mood or my physical wellbeing. Master D has been without me enough. Theres a limit. And at this stage three cycles of treatment is our limit.
I feel strangely relaxed about the whole thing. I have suspected for years that there is something very wrong. There has been so much angst and worry and frustration. But I'm at the end now. This is now largely out of my hands. What will be will be.
In a few months I will be pregnant, or I won't be. And I know I will be at peace with whatever the outcome.


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Historically intact structural architecture promotes the climate of our values & bias. The courageous act of deliberating these conservative and experimental systems takes courage and empathy. To converse with dialogue of the past means that we are confronting aspects of ourselves that may affront the traditional view of our perception. In this interview with poet Tamara J. Madison, we access the structural boundaries of her own past, as well as how this creatively motivates the way she is able to address the post traumatic environment of slavery in America and the ramifications of this volatile attack on the most intimate of humanity, family.
Madison states, "Despite the progress and change, it will obviously take continuous personal, social, spiritual, emotional and creative commitment across cultures, races, for decades, scores, and maybe even centuries to heal and eradicate that ripple effect." This responsibility is personal and public, daily and universal; one that requires continual evaluation of our stories.
Madison accesses her passion for performance and spoken word to extend the conflicting emotional sphere of racism, mother–child relations, violence, and what this means in both the mental health of those who experience the trauma and the way the world is shaded by these warping perspectives. She uses music as a way to break down the emotional urge to reject the uncomfortable. The jazz soaked musicality of her line breaks pause, stretch, and reflect, with syncopation, silence, and melodic lyric. The invitation promotes a communal space for the reader/listener to embody both the message of the idea and the destructuralization of thought. This illuminates the need to address the whiteness of skin, what the visibility of color and trauma means pertaining to the past, and movement to adjust the spectrum of light to restructure our world with empathy.
Tamara J. Madison is an internationally traveled writer, poet, performer, and instructor. Her critical and creative works have been published in various journals, magazines and anthologies including Poetry International, Web del Sol, Tidal Basin Review, Temba Tupu (RedSea Press), and SisterFire (HarperCollins). She has performed and recorded her work for stage, television and studio. She holds a BA from Purdue University and a MFA from New England College and is a former English instructor of Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
From Kentucky Curdled
1.) What were the first inspirations that made you desire to become a writer? Who are your favorite writers and how did they change over time?
Writing seemed to be a pretty natural ability for me early in school. I understood the magic and power of it at an early age. As a teen for community talent shows and local beauty pageants, I often wrote and performed a dramatic poem for my talent. Everyone else was singing, dancing or roller skating. I knew that if I wrote my own piece, it would be unique and attention-grabbing. THAT WAS FUN! I was doing spoken word on stage before I knew there was such a thing as spoken word!
My favorite writers have definitely changed over time. I loved the work of Maya Angelou and Ntozake Shange very early on when I stumbled upon them at my neighborhood library. I later fell in love with the fierceness of Sonia Sanchez and the dense imagery of blues poet, Sterling Plumpp during my years in Chicago. I love the elegance of Poet Gwendolyn Brooks and the wicked risk of Ai. Home is Lucille Clifton for me.
I am absolutely in awe of the work of francophone poet, Aimé Césaire from Martinique. The density and intricacy of his imagery and the commitment of his life to poetry and the culture of Martinique are a continual inspiration to me. I am a big fan of Toni Morrison, Bernice McFadden, Tananarive Due, and Octavia Butler as well.
2.) Who have been the creative inspiration / mentor writers in your career?
Poet Sterling Plumpp of Chicago was a definite mentor in my youth. I related to his southern background and mannerisms and his creative focus on the blues. His intensity of imagery blew me away, and I knew that was something that I wanted to do as a writer.
Music was a very potent influence in my writing in the early years and remains so. During grad school, all of my instructors served as mentors to different dimensions of my being a writer. I know that is rare, but it is so very true for me. Poet Carol Frost challenged me to see observations in poetry as brilliant. Writer/Poet Paula McLain strongly encouraged me to "surprise" myself rather than play it safe. Poet Ilya Kaminsky insisted that I question my feelings about language and be clear about my intimate relationship with it.
3.) How has your own work changed over time and why?
(Laughing) My first response to that is that my work has changed greatly over time because I have changed greatly! Thank goodness!
In my earlier years, my focus was rhythm, music and the stage. I even traveled with a band was the featured, bilingual (French/English) vocalist and performance poet. Later, I longed for a different type of intimacy in my work. I also realized that I needed other tools to craft certain stories. At that point, I committed myself to the page.
On the page, the focus of craft is different. I began to focus more on line breaks, white space, and intentional imagery with clearer purpose. The music remains ever present, but it is less predictable complimenting stronger imagery in my work.
4.) Have you been influenced by different genres, and if so how?
I have a thing for the paranormal/fantasy, but it has to be rooted in in something earthly and accessible to me. That's why I love Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due. Those fantasy and paranormal elements show up in my writing as well. I have written poems and stories where inanimate objects talk and people fly away and babies sprout from plants.
Musically speaking repetition, call and response, and rhythm patterns of gospel heavily influenced my earlier work. In later years, jazz, juxtaposition, and syncopation became much more of an influence.
5.) What are your plans for the future?
My plans are to publish more and travel much more widely with my work. I have two poetry manuscripts that I want to complete within the next 5 years. I have a companion recording planned for one of them as well. The other project, I would like to do a film adaptation of it. In my travels, I want to share my writing and do workshops with others who feel they have a story to share, whether they are professional writers or not.
I love to inspire "the art of story." I feel that the intimacy, power, and magic of stories are slowly being lost to our culture. Many people feel that their stories are not valid or worthy of sharing without the backing of Hollywood or celebrity bling! NOT TRUE! We come here to experience this life and share our stories with one another whether at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee, in the beauty/barber shop, or across the pillow or pulpit. Our stories uplift, heal, inspire, and encourage us to continue dreaming.
6.) What are your views on writing by women as it has occurred in the past twenty years?
Women are continuing to be more and more adventurous with their own personal writing as well as with the business of their writing and supporting other women writers. Many are no longer waiting for traditional publishing houses and institutions to honor and support them. Women are starting their own networks to grow, support, publish and produce their work. Women's Quarterly Conversation is an example of that. (Thanks, Jillian.)
7.) If you were asked to create a flexible label of yourself as a writer, what would it be?
At the risk of possibly not understanding this question, I am going to say "gypsy/griot/cat-o'-many-lives/adventure-poet"…
8.) Kentucky Curdled grew out of a brutal, tender and gritty story from your true Southern lineage. Can you describe your interview process? How did you poise the illuminative heart of the work: family? How many of these sources are still living and did you find it difficult to unearth non-conflicting concrete sources? How did the research component of this experience evolve your creative process?
I learned the story of Kentucky Curdled (a tragically mother murders her child) as oral history from a relative who shared it with me. The same relative also had a photograph and portrait of the main character. I later researched and found evidence of the life and death of this woman by way of an obituary. There were very few details about her life and the crime other than the dark skin of the child.
I decided at that point to follow the advice of writer/poet, Richard Hugo (The Triggering Town) and his quote, "Knowing can be a limiting thing." I allowed myself to use the little that I did know as a catalyst or starting block. The rest I embraced as an adventure allowing the muse of the poem to chart and oversee the rest of the journey. From there, characters came as visions and voices like puzzle pieces slowly forming and finding their place. Not having "concrete sources" encouraged me to step into very new territory: persona poems, personification of animals and inanimate objects, and even more intricate form.
As far as managing the darkness of the subject matter, the greatest darkness was the lack of compassion in the way that the story was shared with me. When I asked the storyteller/family relation, why the crime, I was told that the elder auntie was merely, "mean, evil." That response felt felt heartless and dismissive to me. It was far too simple.
Illumination came with each new poem in the sequence. Each poem/persona and the journey of its crafting shed light on the subject matter and on me. It lightened the burden of carrying the story, which I had done for many years before writing the first poem. Each new voice, no matter how painful the testimony, lightened the load and carried a bit of the story along with me. The whole process was so new and dynamic for me as a writer that I didn't have the time or need to be lost in the darkness or grieving of it.
From my research I believe the story happened in the late 1800's (post-slavery) yet in the heat of post-traumatic slavery disorder. I also believe that the story relates to oppression, depression, and trauma of all kinds that weaken mental health. Such has existed in various cultures around the world, ancient to the present. We often simply do not know the stories of those who have been traumatized. Because of death, madness, illness, etc., many were/are unable to articulate and record their own histories. Many others have had their history erased or crucially revised.
9.) Kentucky Curdled is a chapbook and spoken recording. I am particularly interested in how the experience shifts from the spoken word to the written word for both the reader and the listener. As a listener, it was easier to digest the emotive spectrum of the work. Was this intentional? What inspired you to create a recording? I am also interested in why you did not choose to add music, only sparse sound effects?
The aural and oral nature of poetry come natural to me and continue to influence in my work. Even when revising poems that I may never read to an audience or record, I read them aloud to see/hear if the music and voice I hear in my head are translated effectively on the page. At various readings, a number of people suggested that Kentucky Curdled would make an interesting performance. Before adapting the poetry for a script or looking at anything on stage, I heard it first, so I wanted a recording or audiobook to be the next stage of development for the work.
When I first heard one of the final stages of the recording, I experienced it differently as well. I have recorded a number of times before and am used to hearing my voice recorded, but this was different. It affected me. This caught me by surprise because I am the writer and was the one in the sound booth. All that I can say is that this project feels to have a life of its own, and I am blessed to be a part of it.
I agree that there is some "ease" in digesting the project audibly. Something about the sound ushers you through the pain. That was not at all intention, but I am most grateful for it. That is part of the magic of poetry for me. It is a multi-dimensional language in whatever language it is spoken or written.
I purposefully chose not to have a lot of music and background in the project. I wanted the sparseness to reflect the time period. I also wanted the raw feel of the project. The final product is reminiscent of an old school radio listen where the family is gathered around and glued to their seats until the story is finished. It is a sacred and powerful space that our culture has lost. I hope that this project revives some of the power and fellowship of those kinds of moments.
10.) The processional unfolding of the character Rachel is at the core of the sequence. Rachel kills her child because he is "too black". We read in "Beulah", an interrogation of "black". How black is "too black": "ass-black", "ink-black"? We are asked to consider what the linguistic focus is actually masking: the invisibility of white. We hear from Rachel. In the poem "Rachel:" we listen to her monologue: "What you 'spect me to say? Sorry? / Sorry was snatched from me the day / the devil yanked me from my mama's bed, / from her arms. // Before I could even see my own blood, / the devil seent it, / snapped my body like a twig / as kindling for his fire. / He broke me, bed me, / come with 12 different faces." How did working the violence of your family history affect you? How do you believe language has to shift in order to illuminate and make visible the "white" dialogue? How much do you think that the linguistic component of racism constructed in language has shifted from Rachel's voice to the present? What steps do you believe we have taken and which ones are we missing?
As a person of color growing up in the United States, "white" is always visible in everything. What you describe as the "'white dialogue" is always loudly audible and remarkable for me as a person of color. Part of the intention behind Kentucky Curdled is that it is not at all matter-of-fact or simple. Such circumstances are never that black and white, right and wrong with regards to the human brain, human behavior, and trauma. Add the intensity of slavery, oppression, and racism on top of that and the "matter" is all the more complex. I don't believe any of us can fully understand such matters, but we have to try.
With centuries of oppressive and violent racial history, the linguistic and other effects of racism are still painfully existent around the world. We see the residue of such all over the media, in conversations, and behavior of people of all races. Even within the Black/African American community there is the term, "color struck" which describes a person of color having color prejudices and not wanting to associate with a person who is too dark or too light-skinned.
Despite the progress and change, it will obviously take continuous personal, social, spiritual, emotional and creative commitment across cultures, races, for decades, scores, and maybe even centuries to heal and eradicate such a ripple effect. I think that understanding is what is missing—the fact that it is ongoing, daily personal, interpersonal, cultural, social, political, etc. work and commitment to change these things. It does not disappear because we have "friends" of a different race or because legislation changes. It takes more work than most of us are willing to imagine.
Kentucky Curdled's process was enlightening and invigorating. The lack of compassion around such stories was/is the most challenging for me. Rachel might have been abused or traumatized, especially given the time period in which she lived. How might that have affected her choices? What about the possibility of post-partum depression or mental illness? For us in this age to not consider such regarding our ancestors and their challenges is absent-minded and irresponsible. We can and should afford to be more thoughtful and informed regarding their histories simply because they survived in order that we might be here.
I had a very prominent literary journal send me a rejection letter telling me how respectfully they read Kentucky Curdled but ultimately refused to publish it because it reminded them too much of Toni Morrison's, Beloved. I was initially offended because it said to me that we should only be allowed one such story when in reality for everyone that we may catch a glimpse of, there are hundreds that we may never know, yet they haunt us. Kentucky Curdled is poetry, not a novel. There are no slave catchers hunting this woman down at the time of this act. There is no jealous or vengeful ghost here. This is not a reminder of Beloved, though it reminds us all of the horror in our collective history. One story is simply not enough. Many thanks to aaduna and And/Or for taking the risk and publishing very generous excerpts of this work.
My intent is to honor those who endured such horror, to give them all a sacred space to come forth without my judgment or anyone else's. I wanted to share and release the story and those haunted by it without exploiting anyone or anything. I also wanted to creatively illustrate how our choices affect the environment (living and inanimate) all around us, thus we must move responsibly.
I hope that somehow the story inspires productive conversation and behavior around the issues of racial/cultural oppression, domestic violence, and mental illness and moves us to greater health and wholesomeness in our human experiences.
Lastly, I pray that it makes the souls of my ancestors smile and the souls of my children enlightened.


text:
Seeing me as the Capital imposition upon Life- it's not a pretty picture considering to what extent we have neglected the lives of the billions that live in this world without even getting to know what having meat on your skin actually feels like, how having food, shelter, water, toilets, and proper health care as the things that we have taken for granted, would be like a heaven that is never really manifested in their lives. How have we created such abuse? Yes, we all have done it, accepted and allowed it through our very "living" of a surrogate – and very limited – experience of 'Life' as an energetic system wherein for some to 'be on top,' abuse must exist to make sure that others remain invalidated within the system, way at the bottom with no ability to stand up. Who has been the 'evil ones' all the way?
Validation is a word that came up today wherein I see that we are always seeking to be validated by others, to con.firm that 'I' exist a a product that is and can be 'valued' in this reality in a lesser or greater position when comparing myself to others that are also existing as Capital-I's impositions on Life. This capital is the surplus as the delirium for power that I have 'granted' myself with as an individual and as this entire physical reality in separation of myself, which exists as ideas, beliefs, perceptions of 'who I am' as the mind that I have accepted and allowed myself to be and become, which translates into knowledge and information in the form of definitions, values and interests that are directly linked to how we have placed a price tag virtually upon everything and everyone in this world. Yes, even You and I have a price as well.
The desire to be validated/ recognized exists in us human beings as a way to keep 'adding' onto ourselves the necessary 'props' for our ego as thoughts, beliefs, memories, opinions and judgments that can 'uplift' our position within this current world-system configuration that is based upon Money. That way, we learn ways to make ourselves 'liked' and 'praised' and 'accepted' as that would ensure our survival within this current world system, within forming and creating relationships of self-interest wherein all bonds are formed just like financial bonds that eventually 'pay off' to our own benefit. That way, we live a life of always seeking to be 'above' others, to finally 'make it' within the current accepted and allowed system of abuse wherein one can only exist 'on top' of another if the ones 'below' are invariably abused. There are no exceptions within that.
The sour truth is we have all created and manifested and maintained this world into the current crisis that it is because of having accepted that initial desire to be 'Capital-I-zed,' to be seen by the eyes of the mind of other human beings as being 'worthy' as being 'great' and 'superior' = seeking validation within the eyes of the mind that functions as this perpetual appraisal of each other as such assessment translates eventually into money, as 'how we sell each other' to the greatest bidder – because money buys and money is the point that we have created as the main point of abuse in this world, the perfect creation of us, human beings in the name of power and self-Capitalized Interest.
The pursuit of happiness begins at a thought level, which is seeking that energy that will allow us to keep existing as that Inflated-idea of ourselves which is and cannot possibly be Real, as it only exists as thoughts, pictures, memories, beliefs, objects fabricated and created in separation of myself through and by the same system of abuse that uses the belief of energy as a requirement to exist, which is Not who I really am as this physical reality wherein I cannot, in any way, make myself 'more' or 'less' in an equality-equation in which life actually exists – yet our world system as the reflection of our very own nature, does Not work that way at the moment. And the consequences are already roaming the Earth as the inevitable facing of ourselves as our creation.
Our economy is founded upon these beliefs around the 'battery' that we have made ourselves dependent-to in order to continue living as Money, along with the added values and 'interest' that we rate ourselves-with, as our entire personality and ego-creation that takes also money to create and sustain. Are we walking bank accounts that seek to be endowed with more and more all the time to get 'wealthier,' to accumulate all capital and get the most interests over time through our inversion?
Have a look at our thoughts and mind experiences: we are always seeking to make ourselves 'worthy' – or the direct opposite which works the exact same way – which cannot possibly exist other than in a mental-delusion of something being able to be 'more' or 'less' in reality. The current separation that has become real is the outflow of these values we have imposed onto life; it's in the current structure and functioning of the money system in which we have delegated our one and equal expression into a system that creates a surrogate experience of life, degrading it into a 'cheap' version of energies as emotions and 'feel good vibes' through a mechanism where loss and gain is made possible, enslaving life to a binary programmed system of self-limitation, which reflects upon our money system: our own power-structure that decides who lives and who dies.
All of this begins by this acceptance and allowance of ourselves seeking validation in separation of who we are as life, as one and equal. We have 'forgotten' – or neglected – the fact that Life is the only value that is here, that is real and as such it is and cannot exist as something 'measurable' within an abstraction such as the money-belief-system that we have accepted and allowed ourselves to create and manifest in separation of life as who we really are.
We have to stop being appraisers of each other through the Capital-Eyes of money that we have created as a survival of the fittest jungle world, which implies that those that are not 'worthy' to the system, those that cannot 'capitalize themselves' because of being born in a readily-existent position of scarcity and lack of money, don't stand a chance to 'make it' within this world. We are so compartmentalized in our own petty experiences that we cannot even fathom the extent of suffering that someone is going through as the result of us accepting and allowing the current world system 'as is' until now.
Hence this survivalism is and has become the current constant competition and strive to live wherein money becomes equal to the appraisal's judgments upon ourselves to remunerate us with creating a positive experience when being valued as 'worthy' and a negative experience when being valued as 'unworthy.
The only Value that can exist is Life itself – that's the value of Money in the Equal Money System -and because it exists in Equality, all value becomes irrelevant, just like a God that cannot exist if all is one and equal. God – as the Capitalized delusional concept and belief of an almighty superior being/ force in existence – can only exist if someone is subordinated and/ or deliberately subjugated to a lesser position = that can only be done through the deliberate imposition of psychopathic systems to create and manifest separation from ourselves as Life, that we have violated into a 'divide and conquer' principle in the name of 'power' which can only come through abuse, wherein every single person is currently living by its rule of thumb in this world.
It is unacceptable, we created this and it's time to Stop.
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to participate in a system of abuse without having ever questioned the 'unreality' that exists as values imposed to life that is here, values created by and through our very own mind, a mind that we are constantly seeking to re-charge to continue Capital-I-zing the idea of ourselves to get to a final state of 'ultimate bliss' and 'fulfillment' and 'completion' as the accumulation of energy as money, as positive judgments and experiences that can only exist if others are abused, subjugated and diminished to a lesser position so that I can stand in full-glory of myself.
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself for having conveniently veiled and diminished my ability to understand this reality as the world system, by delegating life and my self-direction through a mind system that is and has become the surrogate 'living experience' that can only function through and as an energetic system of abuse.
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to accept such diminishment and enlargement of 'who I am' as values, beliefs and perceptions of 'who I am' as my mind, wherein I can see and realize that the 'who I am' is existing as thoughts, experiences, definitions as the energetic personality that I have carried and lived-as within my mind, which separates me from the very physical body and reality that is here as myself, the reality that I have abdicated my responsibility to within the moment that I opted to live within a pursuit of power, happiness, bliss, glory and eternal life as all the positive experiences that I allowed myself to accept as 'what life is,' as 'successful living.'
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to be educated to 'capitalize' the Idea of myself, gaining props and escalating positions to get to a secure point within the world system, wherein money is then assured as a validation, a licensed version of myself as being a 'worthy system of life' within the configuration of this entire world system of energetic abuse that I accepted and allowed myself to exist as.
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to seek validation and being 'worthy of life' at the I's of other capitalized mind systems, feeding off of each other to inflate the idea of ourselves, to create a delusional value that is beyond the physical flesh and bones as the substance that is who we really are in this world and reality.
I forgive myself that I haven't allowed myself to ever question the value systems existing in this world as the projection of the very value-systems that I have created, categorized and schemed within my own mind. This implies that I, as the creator of this system of abuse, is entirely responsible for all forms of separation and degradation of life due to and by the acceptance of a system of energetic abuse to exist as the illusion of living, as the equation of life to experiences generated by and through each participant's mind in this reality.
I forgive myself that I accepted and allowed myself to create an energetic dependency to be constantly seeking validation outside of myself, which means seeking to sip and drain energy from the physical life substance to generate my personal entertainment and surrogate living as thoughts, feelings emotions which I have accepted and allowed myself to 'identify' myself with as 'who I am,' while neglecting the actual reality of suffering that stems from the polarized version of my pleasant experience of 'success.'
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to judge 'economy' as a delusional pseudo-science, without realizing that it has become the very externalization of my own mind as this entire world system, as the study of the relationships of abuse and violation to the equality and oneness that is and has been here as myself. I did this to myself and the only point that is left, is forgiving myself for abdicating life to an experience –
I forgive myself that I have accepted and allowed myself to separate myself from life through the creation and manifestation of Money, from that very energy that I have used to abuse, to have an experience of 'power' over this reality and instead of questioning it further, I con-formed to it and abdicated any questioning towards it, because of wanting to remain in the most 'comfortable' position at all times.
I forgive myself that I accepted and allowed myself to 'accept the system as is' which implies never having even questioned my own mind, my own feelings and emotions and the generation of them as something that can alter 'who I am' at any given moment.
I forgive myself that I accepted and allowed myself to live a surrogate life through the mind, where who I really am as life has been suppressed, contained and enslaved to an energetic system of co-dependency and parasitism that exists as the mind system that we all accepted and allowed ourselves to be and become.
I realize that I am the only one here that is responsible for this – one and equal as all participants are equally here as myself – thus, it is our individual responsibility to Stop this system of energetic dependency of ourselves as our mind, as thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, dreams, pursuits of happiness, bliss, love and validation that can only exist in separation of the recognition of who we really are as life, as one and equal.
I commit myself to become the 'I' that stops all capitalism to exist within and as me, as my very own mind-patterns that seek to be validated, to be augmented in 'value,' that seek to be the 'wealthiest', the 'most valued product' in order to get the most Interest out of that accumulated Capital that I have invested myself with and enslaved my life to.
I breathe and realize that the extent of abuse that has stemmed form a single belief system of us being and existing as 'separate' from life, has deviated into our current reality = we are all responsible for it.
Thus what I can practically and physically do is:
I commit myself to stop all value-systems to exist within me, rating, assessing, appraising and oppressing the very life that I am by my deliberate participation in a limited scope of 'myself' that I have become as a mind consciousness system.
I commit myself to integrate into this physical reality within and as a principle of what's best for all, wherein the actions, words and thoughts that I create are self-directed and self-willed as the volition of Life that can only exist if all is equally considered within every decision made to have an outflow that's best for all.
I commit myself to become part of the individuals that make sure that this world system as it is currently exists, as the reflection of myself as a mind system, ends – this is done through and by Me stopping Capital-i-zing Myself through thoughts, feelings, emotions, desires, future projections of superiority and 'greatness' as self-interest that can only exist and be manifested if I allow myself to participate within such thoughts as desires, wants and needs. Therefore, I realize that the ability to stop participation in any thought, feeling, emotions and pattern that makes me 'more' or 'less' through an experience of the mind is in my hands.
I commit myself to walk my own mind of thoughts, feelings, pictures, emotions, memories, beliefs and any other experience to which I have diminished myself to, as the ego that I have capitalized and rated as a positive or negative experience within my participation in the mind.
I commit myself to get to a point of being equally here as the physical as myself by directing me from here on to do and live that which is best for all life, where no limitation and no excess can exist, where no devaluation and no inflation can exist, as I realize that who I am as the physical is constant and consistent as the very breath that keeps me alive.
I commit myself to live the words I write here and face the consequences that are already here as the outflows of having abdicated all self-responsibility to an automated system of self-abuse that I am still currently existing as within and without. Yet, it is within me that the key exists to become Self-Honest and stop the cycles of abuse for once and for all.
I commit myself to 'validate' myself as the application of the words I write here – I am the only one that is able to do that for myself in Self Honesty and only accumulate that which is Best for All Life
"I commit myself to understand that to bring about a world that is best for life I will have great resistance both from my mind and my body as my body is controlled at the moment by my mind as well as from other people as minds and controlled bodies, but I will walk as I understand just like in my process, the time will come where the physical reminder of what is real will be so clear and shocking that the mind will stop and the person will hear and come to their senses of the physical world to begin their process to re-align with that which is best for all life." Bernard Poolman
I see and realize that the only way we can end 'Capitalism' is by stopping the delusional current money system that stems from our very own minds as a accepted praise to that which is 'superior' which can only exist through abuse.
The world is in reverse, people – we've got a lot of work ahead here, and we will walk this until it is done.
Join us at Desteni
Check out the Forum for further support to walk out of our minds and into the physical.
Educate yourself about the Money System and read the support necessary to start considering beyond our Eyes and dare to live as physical beings that realize that breathing must be easy for all if we all support an Equal Money System that ensures a dignified living for all beings in this reality.
The Inequality of Resource Distribution within All Bodies of Existence
The Heart of Love
Life Review – When Breath is not your Own – A being shares their experience of starvation and extreme poverty,a view that we haven't certainly ever been aware of within our current world where media only shows 'pictures,' yet we are left without having an actual insight and solution the problems that are existent in this world.


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Emulating the style of a French chateau, this grand Victorian residence, built in 1884, occupies a prime location within Westminster. It's worth staying at the Grade I-listed Royal Horseguards Hotel for its fascinating history alone. Politicians of note have met in the stately rooms at One Whitehall Place, adjacent to the hotel while all of its 281 rooms and suites have been upgraded to 5-star luxury - some with river views.
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|Lovely room, great view, convenient location, good breakfast choice, helpful staff, comfy feather pillows. However, noisy fan heater and very hard bed. Both disturbed our sleep.
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|We enjoy our stay at your lovely hotel - the staff were very attentive, the room was just as we expected and the position perfect for the purpose of our visit. Next time we are in London we will be staying at your hotel. Thank you for a fab time
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|Very helpful staff and comfortable, quiet room - just what I was looking for.
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|Room was 1st floor and windows locked for "security". We were not happy with this and went to reception to question " lack of fresh air".our room was changed the same day go one on 2 nd floor ....where windows did open a little .....so well done the hotel !!
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|I find your email updates very useful & updates about particular events happening in London across the weekend we were there (including the Sherlock Holmes exhibition) helped us plan a great trip. The Royal Horseguards proved to be a beautiful venue and nothing was too much trouble for the staff - a fantastic stay!
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Celebrate your faith with a beautiful amber cross that was designed and hand crafted in Central Russia. The pendant was made out of 925 sterling silver and adorn with one large piece of cognac color amber. Own one of these charming pendants today or give it as a very special and meaningful gift to your loved one. The chain is not included. Each pendant comes with a premium red velvet pouch.
This item is about 1.25"H x 0.75"W
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"Even though the US does not rate highly Zardari's leadership qualities, it prefers him to Nawaz because of his willingness to maintain Musharraf's policy of co-operation with the US in its so-called war against terrorism in Afghanistan and his perceived amenability to pressure by the US because of its role in persuading Musharraf, when he was the President, to issue the NRO ( National Reconciliation Ordinance). The US is also hopeful that, unlike Nawaz, Zardari will avoid any humiliation of Musharraf and will let him continue to live in Pakistan without fearing any harassment by the Government. Well-informed PPP sources say that the entire scenario has been proceeding according to a tacit understanding reached with US officials during the visit of Yousef Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister, and Rehman Malik, his Advisor on Internal Security, to Washington DC, in the last week of July, 2008. According to these sources, this understanding provided for: launching of a special land-cum-air operation by the Pakistan military against Al Qaeda and Taliban sanctuaries in the Bajaur Agency, permission to be accorded by the Gilani Government for continuing unmanned Predator strikes by the US intelligence agencies on terrorist hide-outs in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and US pressure on Musharraf to resign thus paving the way for the election of Zardari. The object of the entire exercise was to keep Nawaz out of power, marginalise him and keep up the present level of US-Pakistan co-operation against terrorism."
Extract from my article of August 27,2008, titled "AFTER TRICKY MUSH, TRICKY ZARDARI" at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/papers29/paper2824.html
The same well-informed sources of the Pakistan People's Party cited in the above-mentioned article of August 27,2008, say that it is correct that Prime Minister Yousef Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari had been kept in the picture by officials of the Bush administration, including President George Bush himself, about the new rules of engagement approved by Bush in July before the visit of Gilani to Washington DC. Under these new rules of engagement, the US has been allowed to step up aerial attacks on suspected terrorist hide-outs in Pakistani territory by the Predator pilotless planes and undertake ground operations through special forces within a depth of not more than five kms if warranted by precise intelligence without informing the Pakistan Army beforehand. According to them, these rules of engagement also lay down that ground operations would be undertaken in such a manner as not to involve an accidental confrontation with the Pakistani security forces. As against three Predator strikes and no ground strike during the whole of last year when Pervez Musharraf was the President and the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), there have already been 12 Predator strikes and one ground strike since the Gilani Government came to office on March 18,2008.
2. These sources say that Gen.Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), was also briefed on these new rules of engagement during his meeting with Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, on board a US aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on August 27,2008. However, Kayani has strongly denied this. A press release of the Inter-Services Press Office issued on September 10,2008, quoted Kayani as saying as follows while commenting on media reports: "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all costs and no external force will be allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan. There is no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces whereby they are allowed to conduct operations on our side of the border."
3. Referring to his meeting with senior officers of the US on board USS Abraham Lincoln, the aircraft-carrier, on Aug 27, he said they were informed about the complexity of the issue that required understanding in depth and more patience for evolving a comprehensive solution.He said it was stressed that in such like situations, military action alone would not solve the problem. Political reconciliatory effort was required to get along with the military prong to win the hearts and minds of the people. During the discussions with the US officers, the imperative of public support at large for the military operations also came under focus."Ultimately it is our national interest which would always guide our policy. The trust deficit and misunderstandings (between the US and Pakistan armies) can lead to more complications and increase difficulties for all. The constraints of operating in these areas must never be lost sight of. There are no quick fixes in this war. Falling for short-term gains while ignoring our long-term interest is not the right way forward.To succeed, the coalition would be required to display strategic patience and help the other side the way they want it; rather than adopting a unilateral approach which may be counter productive. It is the multi-pronged approach, fully supported by the people of Pakistan, which will help us defeat the threat of internal terrorism," Kayani said.
4.These sources point out that before her assassination, Benazir Bhutto herself had said in media interviews that if she became the Prime Minister she would allow the US forces to search for Osama bin Laden in Pakistani territory if they had reliable intelligence and allow the interrogation of Dr.A.Q.Khan, the nuclear scientist, by an international team of investigators. She had also said that she would consider the arrest of Dawood Ibrahim, the Indian mafia leader, if he was found in Pakistan and hand him over to India. According to these sources. Zardari is merely following the policies as laid down by her. These sources say that both she and Zardari were concerned over the control established by Al Qaeda and the Taliban over the Pashtun tribal belt and wanted to fully co-operate with the US in neutralising them.
5. According to these sources, Zardari, Gilani and Kayani have been completely taken aback by the leakage of the information about the new rules of engagement to sections of the media by unidentified officials in Washington DC. They are reportedly indignant over this leakage, which, they fear, could worsen the situation in the tribal belt and result in a fresh upsurge of suicide terrorism directed against Pakistani security forces and leaders, including possibly Zardari himself. They say that this was a gentlemen's agreement reached in total secrecy and by leaking it out, the US has made it difficult for Pakistan to step up the co-operation with the US against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. They are unable to understand the motives of the US officials who leaked out this information and whether this leakage had the authorisation of Bush and other senior leaders.
6. Kayani is stated to be indignant over the officially-leaked allegations in sections of the US media that he was aware of the plans of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for a car bomb explosion outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul on July 7,2008. He reportedly feels that what he regards as such reckless media allegations in the US, inspired by unidentified officials, tend to damage his image in the eyes of his soldiers and this could be counter-productive.
7. Zardari and Gilani are in a dilemma due to the media leaks in the US and the strong reactions of Kayani and the Corps Commanders to it. While backing the strong line taken by Kayani without consulting the political leadership, Gilani has been urging that this matter should be left to be handled by the Pakistani Foreign Office through the US State Department and that everyone should refrain from comments or reactions, which might add to the already strong anti-US anger in the public. The "Dawn" of September 13,2008, has quoted Gilani as saying as follows during an Iftar (fast-breaking) party on September 12,2008: "Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ruled out retaliatory action against incursions by US-led coalition forces into Pakistan's territory and said that the Government will instead use diplomatic channels to dissuade the United States and the United Kingdom from taking such actions.Replying to a question about a US missile attack in North Waziristan on Friday morning, the Prime Minister said: "We can take up the issue of these attacks at the diplomatic level but we cannot go to war."He said: "Pakistan is capable of dealing effectively with terrorists and militants on its soil." He reiterated that Pakistan was capable of taking action against terrorism inside the country in an affective way.Mr Gilani said Pakistan had cordial relations with all countries and it could convince them that the situation in its areas was its internal matter. "We will convince both the US and the UK to respect our sovereignty."
8. In the meanwhile, to convince the US of its sincerity in fighting terrorism, the Gilani Government has withdrawn the suspension of its military operations against Al Qaeda and the Taliban elements in the Bajaur Agency. The Frontier Corps (FC) and the Air Force have again started attacking the terrorist strongholds and claim to have already killed over 100 jihadis, many of them allegedly foreigners. (13-9-08)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai. E-mail: email@example.com )


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My DIY Vegan Beauty Products experimenting continues with this newest concoction which I slightly adapted from a new book I scored : 90 recettes de beauté bio à faire soi-même (90 Organic Do-it-Yourself Beauty Recipes) by Sophie Macheteau and Vania Guet. This is my first attempt at something from their gorgeous book, which is really written for the débutante that I am.
90 recettes is some terribly delicious eye-candy : beautifully photographed and edited, I found myself feeling rather soothed just leafing through the recipes. As I glanced at the various possibilities, I found myself wanting to try everything, but the majority of the cosmetics, lotions & potions require ingredients other than what one would find in the common kitchen. I had the vitamin E capsules, as well as the essential oils, but had no jojoba oil or grapefruit seed extract on hand. Maybe you do.
Taking note of what I needed cosmetically-speaking, and what I could make without dropping 40E at the health food store, I decided on the Sérum démaquillant biphasé jojoba-camomille (Double-phase make-up removing serum with chamomile and jojoba). Nearly out of make-up remover, this very easy recipe was worth trying. I adapted it a bit (because I can't leave good enough alone) by adding geranium and chamomile essential oils.
Double-Phase Make-up Removing Serum with Chamomille and jojoba adapted from Sérum démaquillant biphasé jojoba-camomille de 90 recettes de beauté bio à faire soi-même par Sophie Macheteau & Vanina Guet. This recipe is for a 100ml container (about 3.4oz). I made it in a 50ml container since this was just a test-run. Don't forget to sterilize your containers & be super-careful about washing hands & such since this is homemade, kids!
- What you need: Jojoba oil, Chamomile Water, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Vitamin E Oil (I used a capsule, pierced with a sterilized needle), optional essential oils with good-for-your-skin properties
- Using your container to measure the doses, pour it 2/3s full of the Jojoba Oil, then top off the remaining 1/3 with the Chamomile Water.
- Add 20 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract
- Add 7 drops of Vitamin E oil
- I added 4 drops each of Essential Oils of Geranium & Chamomile
- Close your container & shake like crazy (you'll need to shake like crazy before using).
I loved it! It smells great, and it works wonderfully. I just dabbed some on a cotton circle and used it not just for the eye make-up, but for my entire face. I don't wear terribly heavy make-up (they days I do wear it), and it's water-based so easier to remove than the water-proof sort. This make-up remover would not have worked for me about 10 years ago when my skin was just out of the teens and still more on the moist side. I don't have dry skin, but now that I've hit the 30s, I do notice I am using more moisturizer than I did back then. After using I just sprayed on a little toner and put on some moisturizer and was good to go. It took me about a week and a half to go through my 50ml bottle, and I'll be making more tonight!


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That's the market!Lady Wu wrote:I find it... interesting that it's selling for a fraction of the cost of the Asian versions.
Lego™ costs a fortune in the United States. You can easily spend around $5 just to get some lego guy and an odd add-on (like a horse or some goofy prop). Larger units range from $30 to $100+. If you to go England, though (as of about six to eight years ago) Lego is a fraction of the price. I actually wanted to buy a whole bunch of it just to bring it back to the States! I guess it is because they aren't as established in the market there. I also noticed that pewter figures were extremely cheap in England (another extremely expensive item in the States).
I think KOEI charges so much for RTK in Asia, in part, because they know they can get away with it. I wonder how the price of RTK compares to other video games, though? Is it more? Or do the poor Asians just have to pay a fortune for games? The $19.99 price-point in the US, though, is crazy-cool! That is usually the price of an old but popular game which still has a cult following.


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Thanks to attention in the mainstream media, the phrase "big data" is becoming well-known, and is beginning to be discussed more frequently among development practitioners and decision-makers. A steady stream of papers are being published, panel discussions and conferences being hosted. Even the recent High Level Panel report on the Post-2015 development agenda notes the need for better integrating and using "new sources of data" to be a priority.
But, beyond the buzz, much confusion still abounds about what the phenomenon of big data really is (and how it is different from ICT4D or Open Data efforts), and what it means for global development (which is very different than what big data means for the private sector).
In an effort to help shed some light on those questions, Global Pulse is pleased to share this new "Big Data for Development Primer" – a brief introductory guide to big data for the development community.
The guide is a user-friendly summary of a lengthier White Paper we published last year. It provides quick definitions, a summary of the main opportunities for global development which big data presents, illustrative case studies, a summary of key challenges to keep in mind when it comes to Big Data, and suggested further reading.


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text:
Facebook's new Graph Search is an exceptionally powerful idea. Here are some searches I'm looking forward to running:
- Bars my friends like in San Francisco
- My friends who like Doctor Who and live near me and like pizza
- Friends that know [insert investor or entrepreneur name here]
Make no mistake: this is a new kind of search that shows the way for more advanced social software, everywhere. There's no doubting that it's an impressive achievement, that has the potential to change the way people use the Internet.
Or it would. You see, Graph Search's Achilles' heel is Facebook itself.
Facebook is a walled garden; a closed box. Information on the service stays on the service, and it's hard to import it in from other places. As a result, the information about your likes, your friendships and your location in Graph Search are needfully based on information you and your friends have explicitly posted to Facebook.
That makes it much less of an achievement than it could have been. To use the above examples, I don't tend to like bars or restaurants on Facebook (although I might on Yelp or Foursquare, or mention them on Twitter); I'm not going to tell Facebook that I like pizza, because why would I; and I'm much more likely to "friend" an investor or an entrepreneur on LinkedIn than Facebook, because the former focuses on my work achievements, and the latter is exponentially more likely to show them a picture of me at some random party next to some guy I don't know wearing one of those beer hats. (Reader, I speak from experience.)
So Facebook is working from an incomplete social graph. What's interesting to me is that if they turn more of their focus to social graph search, it makes more sense for them to start capturing more of the outside world – and become more open in the process. A company that to date has spent most of its energy capturing esoteric information about peoples' personal lives and locking them in a black box will now have to learn to talk to the rest of the web, in order to allow this product to reach its full potential. There's even an opportunity here for crawling and encouraging federated social networks.
Will this happen? It's hard to say. Whether they decide to open up and start consuming and publishing graph information depends on their internal culture. It's also a more complicated problem than, say, implementing a Google-style page search: Facebook has access permissions, which must be obeyed. The search results I see might be very different to the search results you see, based not just on our different social graphs, but what information about themselves our friends have chosen to allow each of us to view. If Graph Search just crawls public information, this is moot, of course, but having this deep level of privacy integration would be an actual reason to use Facebook to store this information. (Or for Facebook to start exporting its access control to third parties via an open API – this was an obvious route for Google+ to take, but they've been surprisingly slow to do so.)
Until Facebook opens up, which given all available information is a bit like saying until hell freezes over and golden rain falls from the sky, there's still everything to play for in social search. Facebook has shown us the way, but while they only use a tiny subset of the information available to them, it's only a proof of concept.


text:
Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, March 12, 2012, 2:28 PM
Town Square
PG&E to provide bills in Spanish, Chinese beginning this year
Original post made on Mar 14, 2012
Read the full story here Web Link posted Monday, March 12, 2012, 2:28 PM
Comments (18)
a resident of San Ramon
on Mar 14, 2012 at 6:39 am
The direction this country is going in, soon we shall have everything in multiple languages to make sure that the country is properly being PC accommodating everyone who comes to this country.
Total falsity. Wrong conclusions. Destructive tendencies.
What do you want to country to do when soon state ballots must be in Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic languages, Korean, etc. Then other forms, texts, and even bus, train stations, tax forms, etc.
Just how far to taxpayers ultimately have to pay for people to arrive to this country and expect the country to cater to them at taxpayers expense.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 14, 2012 at 6:48 am
I have to agree with Frankly. Where does it stop? This is the USA, our language is English we work and speak this language. When I was working and living in Mexico City I had to learn Spanish to survive and get along. Why is this a one way street? This is a very slippery slope we are heading down. Special interests can worm in language, then burka's then ???
a resident of Alamo
on Mar 14, 2012 at 6:50 am
So where are our alternatives?
I strongly, VEHEMENTLY oppose this move by PG&E, but I can 'vote' against it by refusing to buy PGE stock.
Unfortunately, living in Alamo, I have no other company from which I can purchase my electricity or natural gas -- so I am forced to either pay for this nonsense or... what?
When I lived in Santa Clara County it was a true joy and pleasure to deal with Santa Clara Power and Light. Don't have another provider to turn to in Contra Costa.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 14, 2012 at 7:14 am
This is America our language is English. I agree with Frankly too.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 14, 2012 at 9:31 am
I thought we were English only. How are the people that come to live in our wonderful country ever going to learn to speak and learn English if everything is tailored to them! With these two languages when/where will it stop as there are so many more foreign language people living here then Mexican and Chinese.
a resident of Alamo
on Mar 14, 2012 at 10:54 am
Mary -
What made you think CA was an 'English-only' state?
Haven't you ever received a ballot with its attendant materials? All in both Spanish and English. Been that way for years.
PG&E, however, is a PRIVATE company that is heavily regulated by the government. We can choose not to buy their stock or use their product...
unfortunately, it's exceptionally difficult to avoid using their product.
Anyone want to start a non-green power company? One that actually provides electricity and gas to homes and businesses at competitive rates?
The current regs and rules in place make it virtually impossible.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 14, 2012 at 11:50 am
We, the paying PGE customers, will now foot the bill for more materials in multiple foreign languages?
How do we protest this?
How do we reach the CPUC drones?
How do we obtain our own "settlement"?
Who represents our interests?
People who don't speak American English in America need to (and can without extreme problem) find other people and other ways to read and understand the literature that they receive--not obtain materials (and TRANSLATORS) in their foreign languages at the expense of the rest of us.
Learn the language. Adapt to the country.
(Most other countries don't supply this fool-hardy and expensive "service".)
a resident of Danville
on Mar 14, 2012 at 1:54 pm
You see, you are all slaves to the corporate system. You are complaining about not having a voice, not having freedom. You do have choices, they are just hard ones to make. You can complain all you want about the absolute power of corporations like PGE, but until you change your ways and attitudes about it, in this case, power consumption, you will remain just another insignificant slave to the corporate system. Occupy! Turn your words into actions! Its not about political party, its about freedom of the people!
a resident of San Ramon
on Mar 15, 2012 at 8:16 am
Shame on PG and E--maybe we should pay bills with pesos to show we embrace the diversity god. As far as speaking English goes---numerous kids in the Redwood City School District---can reach 8th grade and still not understand English---even though BORN here---fools in leadership.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 15, 2012 at 4:07 pm
I am appaled at what P.G.& E. is going to do....I have friend's of different nationalities and all but now doing special billing ? Are you kidding me ? I get frustrated enough when you call a business and it say's " Spanish or English ? " that happens all the time. If a person is blessed enough to live here in the United States of America then they should learn " ENGLISH ".... I think English stay our main language. What about anectors that came here many years ago they worked hard and most learned the language proud to be an American ! Again I am really shocked at the decision P.G.&E. has decided to do !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is wonderful to know different languages, but English shoulr stay the main one !!!!! Lastly I think it is very rude when people know different languages, and use that around folks who cannot understand especially if they in fact know English How Rude ! That happens quite often nowadays. Okay just had to leave a message.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 15, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Sorry about some of the mispelled words in the above article....typed them correctly have no idea why that happened ?
a resident of Diablo
on Mar 15, 2012 at 4:50 pm
Sure, they start with the utility bills, but we all know what they Really want -- it's our wimmen!
Man the barricades, fellow xenophobes, and don't ever surrender until somebody explains to you, in English, how utterly silly you sound!!
a resident of Danville
on Mar 15, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Hey neighbors, according to the 2000 Census, 60.5% of Californians speak only English, while 39.5% speak another language. Don't you remember in second grade social studies when the teacher said that the United States was a melting pot? It still is. It's what makes America America.
a resident of San Ramon
on Mar 15, 2012 at 8:11 pm
Melting pot or not, the land is English; not Hindi, Mandarin, Swahili, Urdi.
Speak language one migrated to to melt into it
a resident of San Ramon
on Mar 15, 2012 at 11:20 pm
The language of our land is English, which is why most of the countries of the world actually teach English in their classrooms. However, this is a busniss issue, so i'll not object. However, I do STRONGLY OBJECT TO TAX dollars being wasted on numberous printings of our ballots. SUPPOSEDLY, English is required to pass the citizenship test ! ! Only citizens are suppose to be allowed to vote. SO??? Why would anybody lacking English skills even be attempting to vote. Is there something wrong with our citizenship testing process ?????? I would assume they are not in fact, citizens. I know my grandparents couldn't wait to learn English...of course they had pride in being fortunate enough to be in America !!! It's all out of whack today.
a resident of Danville
on Mar 16, 2012 at 9:11 am
Frankly folks, if Pro'ly Gonna Explode would only stop immolating and poisoning my fellow Californians, I'd be happy for them to print my bills in petroglyphs.
It would be a good deal, all things considered.
a resident of another community
on Mar 16, 2012 at 10:26 am
Okay, riddle me this.
What IF: PG&E did an internal study of their bill collection practices, and it showed that they could save significant money – say, a net 10% -- by providing billings in the several native languages of its customers – fewer mistakes, less follow-up, fewer disconnections and re-connections, etc.
Wouldn't that be a good business decision? Wouldn't that contribute to lower rates for everyone? Would your bloomers still be all knotted if that was true?
a resident of Rancho Romero Elementary School
on Jun 6, 2017 at 9:03 am
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text:
Shafer powers Hawks to win
Ed Shafer registered a double double and Prairie Central completed the Livingston County sweep of Rantoul for the week with a 73-65 Corn Belt Conference decision Friday night.
Rantoul, who lost to Pontiac earlier in the week, got out to a 17-14 lead after one quarter of play. But The Hawks answered with a 20-8 difference in the second frame for a 34-25 halftime advantage.
"We built up a halftime lead due to our defensive effort and rebounding in the second quarter," PC head coach Rick Schertz noted.
The Eagles seemingly regained momentum in the third period by outscoring PC 24-19 to cut the margin to 53-49. The Hawks put the game away in the final frame by outscoring their guests 20-16.
Shafer was the big man in the middle with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Addison Bounds checked in with 23 points and 5 boards while Lane Maurer and Kyler Hoffman each tallied 10 markers. Kyle Moody scored 6 points. The Hawks shot 53 percent from the field.
Joshua Oliveras had 23 points for the Eagles.


text:
In the Sabbath Recorder, a newspaper of the Seventh Day Baptist Church, the following obituary appeared on September 20, 1860:
WHITE — At the Utica State Asylum, Sept. 4th, 1860, Samuel S. White, of Independence, Allegany County, aged 64 years. Mr. White had been suffering from a partial, and at times, a total mental alienation, since about the 9th of October of last year. In the fore part of November, he was removed to the Asylum, where his last days were spent. After he became an inmate there, his physical health seemed to improve, and with it, his mental; especially was this the case during the past spring. But, in the fore part of August, pulmonary consumption set in, and terminated in his death within a month. Mr. White settled in early life, forty-two years ago last April, in the the town of Independence, earnestly and successfully devoted himself to business, and was prospered beyond the lot of most men.
New York State Lunatic Asylum at Utica
By the 1850s, mental alienation was considered a disease of the brain that was treatable. Its causes and cures were rooted in environmental factors found in food or water and social issues like a stressful work environment. The New York State Asylum at Utica was the institutional home of the American Journal of Insanity, and through its Superintendent, Dr. John Gray, at the forefront in the treatment of mental illness. It was held that insanity was curable, but that the patient had to be totally isolated from family and the stresses of society. An orderly, controlled environment of light work, recreation and rest was essential to the cure. In instances in which a patient was at risk of harming him/herself or others, restraints were used. One such device was the "crib", a box shaped bed with a cover of slats, which was securely locked while the patient was inside.
Samuel White was ill in October 1859. However his mental instability manifested itself, his wife, Nancy Teater White, and children must have been gravely concerned, seeking the counsel of their local physician. The decision to continue treatment at Utica was probably one of hope, with an expectation that this community leader would return home, cured of his mental alienation. Samuel was seen by Dr. Gray, diagnosed as insane and admitted to the men's ward of the great Greek Revival building in early November 1859.
What treatments did Samuel require that winter? Was he permitted to socialize among the other 300 patients; or was he contained in a "crib?" And at the end, as he lay dying of pulmonary consumption or tuberculosis, did Dr. Gray break the rule forbidding contact with family, and allow Nancy and his children to visit, to comfort him as he passed over?
"and he was prospered beyond the lot of most men."
1. Photograph gallery of New York State Insane Asylum at http://www.AsylumProjects.org
2. Era of Asylum. "Overview of Mental Health in New York and Nation." New York State Archives. accessed September 29, 2012.
3. "A visitor to the Utica Insane Asylum." Weekly Wisconsin Patriot. (Madison, Wisconsin). Volume 6: Issue 42: page 2 (Saturday, January 7, 1860). Accessed on GenealogyBank.com September 29, 2012.