text:
Hubble Catches Jupiter Changing Its Stripes
Massive Jupiter is undergoing dramatic atmospheric changes that have never been seen before with the keen "eye" of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Jupiter's turbulent clouds are always changing as they encounter atmospheric disturbances while sweeping around the planet at hundreds of miles per hour. But these Hubble images reveal a rapid transformation in the shape and color of Jupiter's clouds near the equator, marking an entire face of the globe.
The planet is wrapped in bands of yellows, browns, and whites. These bands are produced by air flowing in different directions at various latitudes. Lighter-hued areas where the atmosphere rises are called zones. Darker regions where air falls are called belts. When these opposing flows interact, storms and turbulence appear.
Between March 25 and June 5, Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 captured entire bands of clouds changing color. Zones have darkened into belts and belts have lightened and transformed into zones. Cloud features have rapidly altered in shape and size.
The image at left shows a thin band of white clouds above Jupiter's equator. The white color indicates clouds at higher altitudes in Jupiter's atmosphere. In the image at right, the band's white hue has turned brown, showing clouds deep within the planet's atmosphere. The whole band appears to have merged with the one below it.
In the same cloud band above the equator, the small swirls in the left-hand image have morphed into larger wave-like features in the right-hand photo. Dominating the band is a dark streak that resembles a snake. This serpent-shaped structure is actually a small tear in the cloud deck, which gives astronomers a view deep within the atmosphere.
Below the equatorial region, the brownish upside-down shark fin in the left-hand image disappears in the photo at right. Appearing instead are brownish tongue-shaped clouds with a stream of white swirls below them.
These global upheavals have been seen before, but not with Hubble's sharp resolution. Astronomers using ground-based telescopes first spied drastic atmospheric transformation in the 1980s. Another major disturbance was seen in the early 1990s, after Hubble was launched into space. The telescope, however, did not have the resolution to view the upheaval in fine detail. These higher-quality Hubble images may help astronomers understand how such global upheavals develop on Jupiter. Image credits: NASA; ESA; A. Simon-Miller (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt); A. Sánchez-Lavega, R. Hueso, S. Pérez-Hoyos (University of the Basque Country, Spain); E. García-Melendo (Esteve Duran Observatory Foundation, Spain); and G. Orton (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
Source: Donna Weaver/Ray Villard, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.


text:
Fowles, John
Fowles, John, 1926–2005, English writer, b. Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, grad. Oxford, 1950. A complex, cerebral writer and a superb storyteller, Fowles was interested in manipulating the novel as a genre. His central philosophical proccupation involved the conflict between free will and determinism. His first published novel, The Collector (1963; film 1965), is a study of a clerk who is psychologically impelled to kidnap and murder—that is,
collect—a girl to whom he is attracted. The Magus (1966, film 1968, rev. ed. 1977) tells of its young protagonist's struggle with the powerful and mysterious title character, the ruler of a Greek island who has garnered a cult following. His best-known work, The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969; film 1981) is a multilayered
Victoriannovel that has three alternate endings; it reflects a modern self-consciousness about 19th-century England and the form of the novel itself. Fowles also wrote The Aristos: A Self-Portrait in Ideas (1964) and other nonfiction works; The Ebony Tower (1974), a collection of stories; and the novels Daniel Martin (1977), Mantissa (1982), and A Maggot (1985).
See his The Journals, Vol. I, 1949–1965 (2005), Vol. II, 1966–1990 (2006); biography by E. Warburton (2004); D. L. Vipond, ed., Conversations with John Fowles (1999); studies by P. Wolf (1979), D. Pifer, ed. (1986), C. M. Barnum (1988), K. Tarbox (1989), P. Cooper (1991), T. C. Foster (1994), J. Acheson (1998), and W. Stephenson (2003).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present: Biographies

subset: commoncrawl


text:
免费足球预测(www.hgbbs.vip):PM says govt views seriously engineers\u2019 low starting salary
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says low starting salaries for engineers could affect the country's development and economy. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, August 20, 2022.a55555彩票网(www.a55555.net)是澳洲幸运5彩票官方网站,开放澳洲幸运5彩票会员开户、澳洲幸运5彩票代理开户、澳洲幸运5彩票线上投注、澳洲幸运5实时开奖等服务的平台。
THE government takes the issue of the low starting salary of engineers seriously as it can affect youth interest in the profession, Prime Minister Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.
He said this could affect the country's development and economy as the ratio of engineers to the population of Malaysia is much lower when compared to Japan and Germany.
"Salaries and remuneration in the Civil Service Engineering scheme need to be reviewed, taking into account factors such as engineering expertise and cost of living," he said at the Board of Engineers Malaysia's (BEM) 50th anniversary dinner tonight.
Ismail also suggested that more serious efforts be made to appoint engineers to fill strategic and policymaking positions in the public service.
He added that government-linked companies are also urged to appoint engineers to senior management positions, including members of their boards of directors and chief executives.
To enhance the profession, Ismail said Malaysian engineers should be more aggressive to innovate and produce products and technology with high market value.,
"The government always encourages research and development efforts to ensure Malaysia is not only a technology user but also creators and technology producers. This is what we hope for," he said.
He hopes the amendment to the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 that BEM is currently working on will be expedited so that it can function as an effective and professional supervisory body for the profession to ensure the interests and safety of the public.
Ismail said the celebrations, with the slogan Committed to Engineering Excellence, shows the maturity of not only BEM, but the entire field of engineering.
He added that the field requires efficiency, research and the ability to solve complex problems, which would form the main basis for the success of its leaders.
He said the engineering profession contributes significantly to the country, and Malaysia is now enjoying great progress in the field of engineering technology.
"The expertise of local engineers allows the infrastructure, manufacturing, telecommunications, petroleum and power generation sectors to be developed to attract foreign direct investment to this country," he said.
He said the role played by BEM as the regulator of the profession has helped drive the economy and improve the quality of life of Malaysians, comparable with other countries. – Bernama, August 20, 2022.


text:
Thank you for visiting Pearson today. We would like your opinions on how we can make your website experience better. When you have completed your visit please take a few minutes to provide your feedback.
Everyone who completes a survey will be entered into a prize draw for a chance to win one (1) of 10 Amazon Gift Cards given away every quarter!


text:
OK – we have become used to the slogan "You can be good without God." Versions of it have popped up all around the world over the last few years.
Even in little old New Zealand.
It's really only stating the obvious – being a non-theist doesn't make you a bad person. In principle most Christians probably agree – or say they do. However it hasn't stopped many of them from finding such slogans offensive.* Because alongside these campaigns to put up such billboards, there have been campaigns to prevent them – or remove them.
Mind you – perhaps there is poetic justice. An Ohio church happened to own the land on which a Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) billboard was. The advertising firm was unaware of the ownership – they just rented the site. The Christ Cathedral Church in Columbus, Ohio had the billboard removed back in June.
Problem (for the church) is this bought to public notice the fact they owned the land, that they were earning an income from the land – but they were not paying tax on that income. (One wonders how much this sort of tax evasion goes on in New Zealand where religion can also earn a tax-free and local body rate free charity status – just because they are religious!)
The FFRF looked into this, found the church owned several commercial properties which they evaded taxation on by declaring them as "places of worship!" (see Columbus Church must "render unto Caesar").
I guess they were worshiping the almighty dollar!
FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor commented:
"Apparently this church doesn't heed the scriptural advice in Matthew 22:21 'Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's,'
"Has this church, that was so offended that a grad student could be 'good without God,' been good with God?"
Can you be good with God?
I like that question "can you be good with God?" I guess some people might be asking that these days – there seem to be many cases of priests and religious ministers caught with the hand in the till (or in other places they shouldn't be). So it's natural to wonder.
However, I would like to assure Christians and other believers that there is no reason that their beliefs will necessarily stop them from being good. I say that with some confidence because over recent years there has been a lot of progress in the scientific understanding of human morality. And this overwhelmingly indicates that human morality is actually a secular activity. It's involved with the real world, the non-"sacred" world. Just like accountancy, scientific research, plumbing, etc., it is a secular activity we can all indulge in – whatever our beliefs about a supposed "supernatural" world.
So it doesn't matter if you believe in a god or not. These beliefs are irrelevant. You can still be an accountant, a scientific researcher, or a plumber. Just as you can sill do morality.
Because morality is a secular activity – its got nothing to do with gods or other supernatural beliefs.
*This hostility is interesting – perhaps at heart many Christians actually don't think you can be good unless you hold the same supernatural beliefs they do. After all, their holy book says in Psalm 14.1:
The fool says in his heart,
'There is no God.'
They are corrupt, they do
Abominable deeds,
There is none who does good."
Perhaps they think that atheists are supposed to be immoral (after all this is the "word of their god")
Related articles
- Approaching morality scientifically (openparachute.wordpress.com)


text:
Pete GilbertSports Anchor/Reporter
Life has come full circle for Pete Gilbert. He started at WBAL-TV 11 in 1995 as an intern and has since returned to anchor weekends and report during the week.
As part of the Ravens Broadcast Team, Pete reports during pregame and postgame shows for the Ravens preseason football games on WBAL-TV 11, WBAL Plus, WBAL 1090 AM and 98 Rock.
The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association honored Pete by bestowing upon him the "Maryland Sportscaster of the Year Award" in 2011, 2016 and 2019.
During his time away from Maryland, Pete covered sports for KECI-TV in Missoula, Mont., and WBAL's sister stations KHBS/KHOG-TV in Fayetteville, Ark., and WGAL-TV in Lancaster, Pa.
Pete grew up in Damascus, Md., and he attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
Pete, his wife Megan, three children -- Lilly, Devin and Madeleine -- and dog Seamus live in south central Pennsylvania.


text:
Our religious community meets together every Wednesday morning following lauds to read the coming Sunday's readings together, and to share and comment how those readings can be applied in our life, both in our community as well as in our various ministries. Here's a bit of the fruit of our discussion.
This coming Sunday we celebrate the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Our readings are:
Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10: Ezra the scribe reads aloud to the people old enough to understand from the Book of the Law of Moses. The people show much reverence for the Law as the word of God, and their hearts wept when they heard the Law, but are encouraged to be people of joy in the celebration of the day of the Lord.
Psalm 19: 8, 9, 10, 15: Describes the beauty of God's Law as perfect, trustworthy, wisdom, clear, true and just. We respond to the Psalm with "Your words, Lord, are spirit and life." (John 6:63c)
1 Corinthians 12:12-30: Saint Paul reflects how the Body of Christ is diverse in its call to unity. It begins, "As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ." All parts of the Body of Christ are necessary, he explains, and we cannot have disdain for one because we don't recognize its value.
Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21: Our reading includes the beginning of chapter 1, the prologue, as was commonly used in Greek and Roman writing of Luke's day (and, that was Luke's intended audience). The writing is addressed to Theophilus (meaning 'Friend of God'), with the purpose of affirming the teachings he has already received as true. After the prologue, our reading skips to chapter 4, at the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. This passage follows on the heals of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan, and temptation in the desert. So, in Luke's account, it is the first contact Jesus had with people following those two events and sets the stage for his public ministry.
When Jesus is handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, he finds the passage he wants and reads:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
He proclaims to the people that the passage from Isaiah was fulfilled in their hearing it.
The passage Jesus reads, taken from the prophet Isaiah was understood by the Jews to point to the coming restoration of Zion. Jesus takes this passage and uses it as his personal "Mission Statement", outlining the purpose for His coming into the world. He has come to restore all things, and specifies three particular signs:
– by preaching;
– free people from their slavery (whatever kind that is involved); and
– give sight to the blind.
In retrospect, we can see clearly how these signs were hallmarks of Jesus' earthly ministry. In very literal – and miraculous ways – Jesus did these things, and in doing them, restored people to their right dignity as children of God.
The challenge for us becomes one in the sequela Christi – in our own call to follow Christ. By baptism we are called to witness to Christ and our faith in Him, through our actions and words. The question then is:
"How am I called to preach, free and enlighten others in a way that gives a compelling witness of Christ?"
Enthusiasm. The enthusiasm found by the people in hearing the Word of God proclaimed to them in the reading from Nehemiah gives example of right attitude. They 'listened attentively'. They responded to the word – with hands raised high (enthusiasm!) – Amen! (I believe!). There is a sense of excitement in their readiness to hear and live by the statutes of God. How much more should we have such enthusiasm having heard the Good News of our Lord Jesus who has come as the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of a Savior? Do we listen attentively to the Word of God? To we respond with our hands (and hearts) raised high? Do we respond "Amen!"?
Use our Gifts. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians reminds us that as the body of Christ is made up of many members, our ways and gifts are different, and our expressions and means of serving will also be so. It is true, sometimes there are people in our communities (religious and parishes) that are gifted, and it seems that they have all that is needed to do the work. Yet, Paul warns that it is the weakest that are most necessary (this sentence alone is enough for another post!).
Therefore, if we are strong, let us be mindful of the weaker members, and find ways in which to appreciate their contribution to building up the body of Christ. They too are called to preach, liberate and enlighten as a witness of Christ in their lives (perhaps to us directly?). If we are weak, let us take hope in the Lord, we are called to be patient witnesses and to do the best with what we've been given.
Paul also challenges us to ask ourselves:
"What gift have I been given to help alleviate the burden and/or suffering of others?"
Our society is so burdened by many different things. Finances. Illness. War. Feuding. Fear of death and dying. Hatred and Violence. Concerns for the future for her children. Retirement. Unemployment. Injustice. Debt. The list seems endless.
Do I recognize their burden? how can I help lift it from their shoulders?
A more difficult question for us to answer is, "Am I, in some way, a burden for my sister, brother or friend?" Do I cause them to fall in some way?
Let us imagine ourselves standing before those we've encountered during our week, and hear us reading the same passage from the prophet Isaiah that Jesus read above. Are the words fulfilled in their hearing you speaking the Word of God to them? Can they recognize your sequela Christi by the way you live your life?
Lesson from Saint Francis
Saint Francis is my Patron Saint this year, and so I would like to share his prayer as a model of how we can help lighten the load for those we encounter. I chose to use the version adapted by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, used when addressing the United Nations in 1985:
Make us worthy Lord to serve our fellow men throughout the world,
who live and die in poverty and hunger.
Give them through our hands, this day, their daily bread
and by our understanding love give peace and joy.
Lord, make me a channel of thy peace.
That where there is hatred I may bring love,
That where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness,
That where there is discord, I may bring harmony,
That where there is error I may bring truth,
That where there is doubt I may bring faith,
That where there is despair I may bring hope,
That where there are shadows I may bring light,
That where there is sadness I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted,
To understand than to be understood,
To love than to be loved.
For it is by forgetting self that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven,
it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life.


text:
January 11th, 2013
Hobby Lobby finds way around $1.3-million-a-day Obamacare hit - for now
By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Editor
Washington (CNN) - By Friday, Hobby Lobby would have racked up $14.3 million in fines from the Internal Revenue Service for bucking Obamacare. But in keeping with the great American tax tradition, they may have found a loophole.
The company is facing $1.3 million a day in fines for each day it chooses not to comply with a piece of the Affordable Care Act that was set to trigger for them on January 1. The craft store chain announced in December that, because of religious objections, they would face the fines for not providing certain types of birth control through their company health insurance.
The penalty was set to go into effect on the day the company's new health care plan went into effect for the year.
Peter M. Dobelbower, general counsel for Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. said in a statement released through the Becket Fund that, "Hobby Lobby discovered a way to shift the plan year for its employee health insurance, thus postponing the effective date of the mandate for several months."
The statement continued that "Hobby Lobby does not provide coverage for abortion-inducing drugs in its health care plan. Hobby Lobby will continue to vigorously defend its religious liberty and oppose the mandate and any penalties."
Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter
Last month Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor rejected the company's appeal for a temporary relief from the steep fines while their case made its way through the lower courts.
Hobby Lobby announced a day after the ruling that it "will continue to provide health insurance to all qualified employees. To remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs."
In September, Hobby Lobby and affiliate Mardel, a Christian bookstore chain, sued the federal government for violating their owners' religious freedom and ability to freely exercise their religion.
The lawsuit says the companies' religious beliefs prohibit them from providing insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs. As of August 2012, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, requires employer-provided health care plans to provide "all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity," according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Churches and houses of worship are exempt from the regulation and a narrow exemption was added for nonprofit religious employers whose employees "primarily share its religious tenets" and who "primarily serve persons who share its religious tenets."
The Internal Revenue Service regulations now say that a group health care plan that "fails to comply" with the Affordable Care Act is subject to an "excise tax" of "$100 per day per individual for each day the plan does not comply with the requirement." It remains unclear how the IRS would implement and collect the excise tax.
A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the high court's move last month.
White House officials have long said they believe they have struck an appropriate compromise between religious exemptions and women's health. The White House has not commented specifically on the Hobby Lobby case.
CNN's Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories
The Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby chain has more than 500 stores that employ 13,000 employees across 42 states, and takes in $2.6 billion in sales. It is still privately held by CEO and founder David Green and members of his family.
"The foundation of our business has been, and will continue to be strong values, and honoring the Lord in a manner consistent with biblical principles," a statement on the Hobby Lobby website reads, adding that one outgrowth of that is the store is closed on Sundays to give its employees a day of rest.
MORE BACKGROUND: Hobby Lobby faces millions in fines for bucking Obamacare
The Hobby Lobby case is just one of many before the courts over the religious exemption aspects of the law. The case represents by far the biggest for-profit group challenging the health care mandate.
Part of the reason Sotomayor rejected their appeal to the Supreme Court she wrote was because their case is still pending in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
A spokesperson for the Becket Fund said on Friday a date has yet to be set for the case to be heard in the 10th Circuit.
soundoff (4,609 Responses)
About this blog
The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.


text:
• sycophant •
sik-ê-fênt • Hear it!
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A toady, a servile lickspittle who curries the favor of prominent people with obsequious praise and flattery.
Notes: This word comes with the full panoply of derivatives, including an adjective sycophantic(al) and adverb sycophantically, and two nouns, sycophantism and the more playful sycophancy. Remember that the first vowel is a Y, not I (i), and that the [f] sound is spelled PH.
In Play: It is important to distinguish the opinions of sycophants from those of minds more objective: "Sue Persilius got her conceitedness from the sycophants she hires to manage her affairs." We all love to be praised for what we do, but we should be careful about whom we listen to: "After ten years of worldwide concerts Nick O'Lodian's music became so bad that even the entourage of sycophants that follows his every footstep ran out of encouraging things to say about it."
Word History: Today's Good Word began as Greek sykophantes "false accuser, informer", a compound from the phrase sykon phainein "to expose a fig". It probably originally applied to people who exposed the illegal trade in figs in Attic Greece. However, by the time it reached Rome its meaning was changing, as reflected in the Latin verb derived from it, sykophantor "to trick or cheat someone". Somewhere between Latin and French the meaning moved on to "slanderer" (French sycophante) and entered English with that sense. Then, in the 1570s, according to etymonline.com, the meaning drifted to where it reposes today. (I hope you don't think me a sycophant for congratulating Patty Cadroy on her excellent choice of a Good Word for today; I seek naught in return.)
P.S. - Register for the Daily Good Word E-Mail! - You can get our daily Good Word sent directly to you via e-mail in either HTML or Text format. Go to our Registration Page to sign up today!
Come visit our website at <http://www.alphadictionary.com> for more Good Words and other language resources!


text:
When we pack our children off to school, we envision them embarking on a lifelong career of learning. Yet one thing they typically never study is the art of studying itself. Our intuitions, it turns out, do not always map to reality. In "Psychologists Identify the Best Ways to Study" by John Dunlosky et al. we comb through the vast scientific literature on learning techniques to identify the two methods that work best.
In an increasingly digital world, one shift in learning has gone largely unremarked: the decline of handwriting. Different brain activity accompanies a hand scribbling on paper or typing, with the former invoking neuronal circuits of movement and spatial processing. As we abandon our pens and pencils in favor of the keyboard, is our engagement with words becoming more superficial? "The Science of Handwriting," by Brandon Keim investigates this question.
Yet we need not fear change: as education data illustrate all too well, the number of degrees in mathematics, science and engineering is not keeping pace with demand. To better prepare students for the world they will one day encounter, a dramatic rethinking of how math and science are taught may be in order. "New Techniques Make Math Fun for All" by John Mighton describes one popular approach that has helped struggling students discover an untapped aptitude.
Strong foundations can nurture exploration at all ages. Had it not been for an abiding love of learning, the 49-year-old Julia Child would not have published the cookbook that then launched her culinary career. Grandma Moses would not have taken up painting in her late 70s. And two octogenarians would not have spent 2013 vying to become the oldest climber to summit Everest. Whatever your quest, the science of learning can help you reach it.
Psychologists Identify the Best Ways to Study
Some study techniques accelerate learning, whereas others are just a waste of time—but which ones are which? An unprecedented review maps out the best pathways to knowledge
The Science of Handwriting
As we jettison the pen and pencil in a digital world, we are changing the way our brain thinks about writing
New Techniques Make Math Fun for All
With the right lesson plan, teachers can turn struggling students into budding mathematicians. The secret is carefully guiding their adventure in numbers


text:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Monetary policy faces"significant limitations" as a tool to counter financial stability risks, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday, adding that heading off the U.S. housing bubble with higher interest rates would have caused major economic damage.
Weighing in on a global debate, she reiterated her view that regulation - not rate policy - needs to play the lead role in combating excessive financial risk-taking.
"The potential cost ... is likely to be too great to give financial stability risks a central role in monetary policy discussions," Ms Yellen said at an event sponsored by the International Monetary Fund. She didn't close the door entirely, however, and she cited some areas that bore monitoring with an eye toward a possible tightening of regulation.
Analysts said Ms Yellen was pushing back against some Fed officials who believe financial stability should be given a more prominent place in formulating monetary policy.
Mr Jeremy Stein, who stepped down as a Fed governor in May, had sparked the debate by arguing higher rates should at least be considered to help stamp out possible asset bubbles, and a number of regional Fed bank presidents have warned of the dangers of keeping rates near zero for too long. But Yellen made clear she did not see a need for the U.S. central bank to alter its current course.
"I do not presently see a need for monetary policy to deviate from a primary focus on attaining price stability and maximum employment," she said.
The U.S. stock and bond markets have soared on the back of the Fed's money-printing and near-zero rates, prompting warnings from some economists that new bubbles are forming. The IMF said last month a prolonged period of ultra-low U.S. rates - they have been near zero since late-2008 - had prompted a weakening in lending standards and risky behaviour by investors.
For her part, Ms Yellen pointed to unusually narrow corporate bond spreads, a lack of financial volatility and weak lending standards in the leveraged-loan market as areas of concern. "It is critical for regulators to complete their efforts at implementing a macroprudential approach to enhance resilience within the financial system," she said.
Ms Yellen said building a stronger system was all the more important because economies around the globe could be in need of historically low rates for some time to come, whether due to scars from the financial crisis or deeper underlying economic shifts. Because of that, central banks could run out of room to cut rates more frequently when financial shocks hit, she warned.
Ms Yellen cited a number of steps the United States had taken to strengthen its financial sector, including setting higher capital requirements for banks.
In making her case that regulation should be in the forefront of fighting financial stability risks, she harkened back to the mid-2000s, when U.S. housing prices were soaring. She argued a "very significant tightening" of monetary policy would have been needed to stop the housing bubble from building, and that the cost would have been a very large increase in unemployment.


text:
During nearly 4 years of work, this initiative has achieved a profound change in the relationship between the human community and the nesting turtles:
- Thanks to the educational campaigns, the Junquillal inhabitants have switched from being nest poachers to promoting their active conservation.
- A group of community youngsters, the "Baula Boys", trained by the CBP, are engaged in the nightly monitoring of the beach, the operation of a sea turtle hatchery, where high-risk eggs are brought in to be protected until the release of the baby turtles, and in the outreach with lessons learnt to neighboring communities.
- Each year, egg poaching has decreased and 2008 had a record hatching percentage for Leatherback nests of 62%, which is extraordinary in times of climate variability and compared to records from other main nesting beaches. Poaching switched from being generalized up to 2004, to only 4% of the Leatherback nests during the last season.
- 41,000 hatchlings of three marine turtle species have meanwhile crawled to the sea at this site.
- Artificial light incidence from public and private lighting has been reduced in over 75%, due to a participative process that involved the Coopeguanacaste Electricity Distibution Company, local organizations, owners and the community at large.
- Youngsters and children from Junquillal and the neighboring communities of Pargos and Paraíso have benefited from the Ecological Education Program of CBP. This program, among other achievements, allowed that two groups of local students from Primary School and High School could develop research projects on marine turtle conservation and be national finalists at the Costa Rica Scientific Fair.
- Junquillal has become the first beach in which a general nesting beach temperature monitoring process has been initiated. A palliative measures design is expected from this work, in order to attenuate the effects of climate change, as are global warming and sea level increase, for Junquillal as well as for other beaches. The community initiated a forest restoration plan headed by the CBP project, as a result of the first results from this study.


text:
Dolphins seem to be all over the news these days. Just last week we told you about a pod of sperm whales who adopted a malformed bottlenose dolphin, and how a dolphin tangled up on a fishing hook asked a deep sea diver for help. Now, according to a study published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, a group of dolphins were seen trying to prevent an ailing companion from drowning by teaming up and propping it up to the surface with their bodies. It's the first time this sort of behavior has ever been documented in dolphins.
Just as a warning, the video above is quite sad, as it does show a dying, drowning dolphin who eventually succumbs to the elements. You may want to avoid the video if you're particularly sensitive to this sort of stuff.
There are many documented accounts of dolphins coming to the rescue of humans, so it really shouldn't be a surprise to hear that they also work to help each other out during a crisis situation. And indeed, since the 1960s marine biologists have known about care-giving behavior of dolphins, but only so-called 'nurturance behavior' when a mother tries to help a stillborn calf to the surface by using her back.
But in this unprecedented case, a group of Korean researchers observed the dolphins conducting a rescue attempt on a dying adult member. They did so while surveying a large group of long-beaked common dolphins off the South Korean coast back in 2008. Kyum J. Park of the Cetacean Research Institute in Ulsan, Korea and colleagues were observing a group of hundreds of dolphins when they noticed that a small group of 12 had separated from the larger pod and were splashing near the boat.
On closer inspection, the marine biologists noticed that a female member of the pod was not doing so well. It had red marks on its belly, and its flippers appeared to be paralyzed — an indication of a severe and life-threatening injury. It was splashing its tail, its body constantly tipping over to one side, leaving its abdomen often visible to the researchers.
To prevent it from drowning, the group of dolphins took turns to support it from below, nudging it and correcting its balance. But after 30 minutes of this, they had to resort to more desperate measures: They formed a kind of raft by joining their bodies together. The biologists observed that five dolphins worked at a time, lining up horizontally so that the ailing dolphin could ride on their backs. The dolphins also used their beaks to keep the dying dolphin's head up.
But the rescue attempt was not to be. After a few minutes of this desperation measure, the ailing dolphin died, its body hanging vertically in the water. Several dolphins continued to interact with the corpse, frequently rubbing and touching it, swimming underneath, and blowing bubbles on it. Eventually, however, it sank to the bottom, and they moved on.
Now, as Michael Marshall of New Scientist is eager to point out, "The act does not necessarily mean dolphins are selfless or can empathise with the pain of their kin." He quotes biologist Karen McComb who suggests that the simple act of working together could bond the group more strongly, or that the effort could help maintain the group, and thus better control their territory.
That's all fine and well, and even plausible. But scientists shouldn't dismiss the possibility that dolphins are truly empathetic and acting out of a sense of compassion. In fact, cetaceans are one of only a few species, like humans, who possess mirror neurons — a cognitive attribute that endows animals with the ability to form a mental conception of another mind, a biological prerequisite for compassion. And in fact, genetic studies are showing that dolphins have a brain that's remarkably human-like in its capacities.
At any rate, more research needs to be done to prove that dolphins have the capacity for empathy. But if their actions are of any indication, it may be a mistake for us to withhold judgment on the matter.
You can read the entire study here.
Supplementary sources: BBC and New Scientist.


text:
Light Direction and Planes – On Location – Video Download
This 11 minute video was filmed along the Cle Elum RIver in the Cascade Mountains of WA. Looking at a complicated rock that has many surfaces, Cathe first breaks it up into a value sketch drawing that has several interior shapes. Noticing the direction of the light, these shapes/planes have different values, depending on how they face the light. This preliminary drawing is used to do a short watercolor painting of the rock, making clear distinctions in different values on each shape, and also the surrounding shapes. A day at the river, what could be better?
Add to cart


text:
If you clicked on the info icon or the "Stats /
Notes / Bio" link, you've reached this page which
contains notes, memories, trivia and more about Wes
Ferrell. If you have anything to add to
this player's information, an interesting bit of trivia
or a personal memory or story about Wes,
please feel free to share it with us by filling out the
form at the bottom of the page. Be sure to include your
name and town.
Show Wes
Ferrell's Uniform Number Progression
View career stats on BaseballReference.com
Trade: August 12, 1938: Wes was released from the Washington Senators. Two days later he was signed by the New York Yankees.
League Leaders: In 1938, Wes finished 8th in the AL in Wins with 15 (2 with the Yankees), 6th in home runs allowed with 18 (6 with the Yankees), 7th in hits allowed with 245 (52 with the Yankees), 4th in earned runs allowed with 125 (27 with the Yankees) and 10th in wild pitches with 5 (2 with the Yankees).
Share with us your memories of Wes Ferrell:


text:
Put up or shut up
It's bad enough to be an individual struggling to make payments on an underwater mortgage. Apparently, some builders are finding that sending that check on time isn't enough for their bankers:
Dave Brown, one of this city's best-known home builders, had kept his head above water through the housing downturn, not missing a single interest payment on his loans.
So he was confounded a few months back when one of his banks, spooked by the decline in his company's revenue, suddenly demanded millions of dollars in additional collateral to continue carrying loans on his projects.He was unable to come up with the money, and in October, JPMorgan Chase foreclosed on five of his developments. Shortly thereafter, Brown Family Communities, 33 years in the business, decided to shut its doors.
Perhaps the details are other than described in the article, but whatever the circumstances, it's hard to see how a bank benefits from foreclosing on a performing loan in this housing market.


text:
Nine Blows to the War on Drugs
Published on 12/8/11
The most influencial acts and movements againist the War on Drugs in 2011. These events have lead us in a positive direction towards medical marijuana and marijuana legalization.
2011 has been a watershed year for the movement working to end our county's disastrous war on drugs. Below are the top stories of the year that exemplify the momentum and give us hope that we can find alternatives to drug war madness.
#1. World Leaders Make International News by Calling for Marijuana Legalization and End to Drug War
This summer, the Global Commission on Drug Policy made worldwide news in more than 3,000 outlets when they released a report calling for a paradigm shift in global drug policy -- including not just alternatives to incarceration and greater emphasis on public health approaches to drug use, but also decriminalization and experiments in legal regulation. The Commission is comprised of former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan; Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group; four former presidents, including the commission's chairman, Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil; George P. Shultz, former U.S. Secretary of State; Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve; and several other distinguished world leaders.
#2. 40-Year Anniversary of Nixon's Launch of Drug War Met with Nationwide Protests
June 17 marked forty years since President Richard Nixon, citing drug abuse as "public enemy No. 1", declared a "war on drugs." A trillion dollars and millions of ruined lives later, a political consensus is emerging that the war on drugs is a counterproductive failure. The Drug Policy Alliance led advocates all across the country in marking the auspicious date with a day of action to raise awareness about the catastrophic failure of drug prohibition and to call for an exit strategy from the failed war on drugs. More than 50 events on the anniversary generated hundreds of local and national stories.
#3. Gallop Poll Shows Historic Support: 50% of Americans Favor Ending Marijuana Prohibition
For the first time a Gallup poll has found that 50% of Americans support making marijuana legal. Public support for making marijuana legal has shifted dramatically in the last two decades, particularly in the last few years. Gallup has been asking Americans since 1970, "Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal, or not?" Forty years ago support registered at 12%, rose to 28% percent by the late '70s, dipped slightly during the 1980s, and then rose gradually to 36% in 2005. The past six years, however, have witnessed a dramatic jump in support, with important implications for state and national marijuana policy. Majorities of men, liberals, 18-29 year-olds, moderates, Independents, Democrats, 30-49 year-olds, and voters in Western, Midwestern and Eastern states now support legalizing cannabis.
#4. NYPD Commissioner Directs Police to Stop Improper Marijuana Arrests
In 2010, the New York City Police Department arrested 50,383 people for low-level marijuana offenses. Arrests for low-level marijuana possession offenses are the number one arrest in New York City, making up 15 percent of all arrests. What makes these record number of arrests even more outrageous is that under 7/8 of an ounce of marijuana is supposed to be decriminalized in New York and a non-arrestable offense. The only reason people should be arrested with under an ounce is if they are smoking it in public or it is in plain view. The NYPD has been stopping and frisking 100,000's of black and Latino youth and then tricking them to emptying out their pockets. Once the person pulls out the joint or small bag of marijuana, the NYPD says it is "in public view" and arrests them. A campaign led by the Drug Policy Alliance, the Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform and Alternatives, and VOCAL pounded away at Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD for the racist enforcement of marijuana arrests – and in October, NYPD Commission Ray Kelly issued an internal order commanding officers to follow existing New York State law by ending arrests for possession of small amounts of marijuana – as long as the marijuana was never in public view.
#5. Thousands in Mexico Take to Street to Protest Drug War
This summer tens of thousands marched across Mexico to protest the drug war and the 50,000 drug prohibition related deaths since President Calderon launched his "surge" against the drug cartels five years ago . The protests were led by journalist and poet Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed in drug prohibition-related violence. Sicilia has galvanized Mexican society and stirred up international debate. Former President Vincente Fox has been passionately calling for an to drug prohibition as the only way to reduce the carnage in Mexico – and even President Calderon has acknowledged that we need to consider legalization.
#6. Colorado and Washington to Vote on Legalizing Marijuana in 2012
In 2010, Californians voted on Proposition 19, the initiative to control and tax marijuana in California. Prop. 19 both elevated and legitimized public discourse about marijuana and marijuana policy. More people knew about Prop. 19 than any other measure on the ballot this year -- not just in California, but nationwide. In the end, Prop. 19 received more than 46% of the vote, more votes than Republican candidates for governor and U.S. Senate, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina. Next year the issue will again be brought to the voters in Colorado and Washington State. Demographics, economics and principle all favor the ultimate demise of marijuana prohibition. Now, the debate is shifting from whether marijuana should be legalized to how.
#7 Portugal Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of Decriminalizing Drugs
Ten years ago Portugal went where no country has gone before and decriminalized not just marijuana, but all drugs including heroin, cocaine and meth. Having small amounts of drugs is no longer a criminal offense. It's a civil offense – like a ticket. Portugal continues to punish sales and trafficking of illicit substances. Ten years later the results are in: decreased youth drug use, falling overdose and HIV/AIDS rates, less crime, reduced criminal justice expenditures, greater access to drug treatment, and safer and healthier communities. The horror scenarios that opponents of drug policy reform predicted never came to be and Portugal is a real life example of what can happen when a country treats substance abuse as a health issue instead of a criminal problem.
#8 Drug War Critique is All Over TV and Popular Culture
The failures of prohibition and the serious debate around marijuana policy have seeped into mainstream, popular culture. Every week HBO viewers can view the failures of alcohol Prohibition by tuning in to Boardwalk Empire. In October Ken Burns and PBS teamed up for a critically acclaimed series called Prohibition that also showed the utter futility of the 18th amendment to ban the sales of alcohol. This week two new national shows will highlight the medical marijuana issue and trade. The Discovery Channel is doing a reality TV like show on Harborside, the largest medical marijuana dispensary in the country. National Geographic Investigates is also airing a documentary called Marijuana Gold Rush. From movies, to TV, to music, there has been an increasingly more sophisticated approach to this issue.
#9 New and Powerful Voices Join Movement to End Failed Drug War
The movement to end the drug war is becoming a bigger and bigger tent that is becoming more diverse in all senses of the word. In November more than 1,200 people attended the Drug Policy Alliance's International Reform Conference. The gathering encompassed people across the political spectrum. Gavin Newsom, the former Democratic Mayor of San Francisco and current Liutenent Governor of California shared the stage with the libertarian former Governor of New Mexico Gary Johnson. Dozens of people who have spent years behind bars for a nonviolent drug offense participated in conversations and panels with dozens of police officers who saw the futility of the drug war and are speaking out against drug prohibition. Students who are just beginning their activism appeared alongside veterans of the movement who have worked for decades against drug war hysteria. The conference was made up of people who love drugs, people who hate drugs and people who don't care about drugs. There are people who enjoy marijuana or other drugs and don't consider themselves criminals just because they like to unwind with a joint instead of a cocktail. There are also people who have seen the horrors of drugs and addiction. Their substance abuse may have led to them going to jail or maybe they lost a loved one to an overdose. There are also people who have never tried illicit drugs, but are outraged at the money and lives wasted due to drug war. What unites all of these people is the belief the war on drugs causes more harm than good.
For all of the progress in 2011, the war on drugs is as vicious as ever. The worst drug war policies remain entrenched, as more than three-quarters of a million people are arrested for marijuana possession every year, and more than half a million people are still behind bars today for nothing more than a drug law violation. The bloodbath in Mexico has taken 50,000 lives in the last five years and shows no signs of slowing down. There is a little-noticed overdose crisis in this country, even though overdose deaths have more than doubled in the last decade. The Obama administration is reversing their past commitments to stop the federal government from interfering with states that have passed medical marijuana laws.
We are at a paradoxical moment in our country. We are clearly moving in the right direction, toward a more rational drug policy based on science, compassion, health and human rights. But we need to step up our efforts, grow our numbers, and continue to win hearts and minds because the casualties from the war continue to mount every day. Please join the movement to the end the war on drugs. If the people lead, the leaders will follow.


text:
No new cases for arrested Alabama federal judge
Mark Fuller is accused of beating his wife
ATLANTA | The wife of a federal judge told emergency dispatchers that she was being beaten and needed an ambulance before authorities arrested her husband and charged him with battery.
The woman identified herself as Kelli Fuller and called 911 on Sunday to report that she was involved in a domestic dispute at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta.
"He's beating on me. Please help me," the woman tells the dispatcher before saying that she needed an ambulance.
The recording was released to The Associated Press on Wednesday in response to an open records request.
Atlanta police arrested U.S. District Court Judge Mark Fuller, 55, early Sunday and charged him with misdemeanor battery. Fuller was released from jail and posted a $5,000 bond after a hearing in Fulton County Magistrate Court. He must appear in court again Aug. 22.
A woman who answered the telephone at the judge's chambers on Wednesday said they had no comment. A notice posted on the 11th Judicial Circuit's website said all cases pending before Fuller will be reassigned to other judges and no new matters would be assigned to him "until further notice."
About a minute into the call, the woman can be heard saying 'I hate you, I hate you." A male voice responds: "I hate you, too" followed by dull noises in the background.
The woman's voice can be heard loudly repeating: "Help me, please. Please help me. He's beating on me."
According to a police report, Kelli Fuller, 41, "answered the door in tears" and had visible cuts on her mouth and forehead when police arrived. She was treated at the hotel by paramedics but refused to be taken to a hospital.
Police say the judge was on the bed when they entered the room, which smelled of alcohol. There was broken glass and hair on the floor and blood was in the bathroom.
Kelli Fuller told police that her husband became violent after she accused him of having an affair with a law clerk in his Montgomery office. She said he pulled her hair, threw her to the ground and dragged her, kicked her and struck her several times in the face.
Mark Fuller told police that his wife became violent as she confronted him with allegations of cheating. The judge told police he was watching television when his wife threw a drink glass at him. He told officers that he grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground to defend himself. Mark Fuller had no visible injuries, the report said.
Mark Fuller indicated in court Monday that he will hire a private attorney. Misdemeanor offenses in Georgia generally are punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
Kelli and Mark Fuller married after the judge and his previous wife, Lisa Boyd Fuller, divorced in 2012.
According to the Middle District's online schedule, Fuller had been scheduled to preside in his own courtroom Monday at 10 a.m. for a hearing. He has two trials, one of them requiring jury selection, scheduled for next week, and he has multiple hearings scheduled for Aug. 22, the day he's due back in Atlanta as a defendant.
Federal judges are confirmed by the Senate to lifetime terms, though the Senate can also remove them from office.


text:
Friends of Padre Steve's World,
Today may be Palm or Passion Sunday, but due to the nature of the of the Christian Liturgical calendar, 154 years ago April 14th was Good Friday, and the most tragic Good Friday in American history.
Good Friday is somber day, and I think that there was none more somber than Good Friday 1865. Shortly after 10 P.M. at Ford's theater a handsome and well known actor walked into the booth occupied by President Lincoln at Washington's Ford's Theater. The President was there with his wife Mary Todd Lincoln and another couple after a very full day of business to watch the play Our American Cousin a farcical look at the visit of an American visiting his English relatives when going to settle the family estate.
Lincoln was looking forward to the play. Though the war continued the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th for all intents and purposes had placed the final nail in the Confederacy's malevolent coffin, and it was if a burden have been removed from Lincoln's shoulders. His task now what the reintegration of the rebellious states back into the Union, a task that he believed needed to be accomplished without malice while still seeking justice. He made this clear in his Second Inaugural Address just over a month before:
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations."
Just three days before Lincoln had given his last public speech at the White House. It was a practical speech dealing with the nuts and bolts reuniting the country including announcing his support for Negro Suffrage. He said:
"By these recent successes the re-inauguration of the national authority — reconstruction — which has had a large share of thought from the first, is pressed much more closely upon our attention. It is fraught with great difficulty. Unlike a case of a war between independent nations, there is no authorized organ for us to treat with. No one man has authority to give up the rebellion for any other man. We simply must begin with, and mould from, disorganized and discordant elements. Nor is it a small additional embarrassment that we, the loyal people, differ among ourselves as to the mode, manner, and means of reconstruction."
In the speech Lincoln discussed the issues related to the new government of Louisiana and its dealings with African Americans, which did not go far enough for Lincoln, who was intent on extending the franchise to vote for all blacks, even if it took time to make it so. John Wilkes Booth was in attendance that day and as he listened he became ever angrier and he vowed to a fellow conspirator Lewis Powell, "That is the last speech he will make" and Booth was going to ensure this himself.
Lincoln had been troubled for some time by terrible insomnia and dreams, both bizarre and ghoulish. A few days before he had told Mary and others sharing dinner with them of a troubling dream which he described in detail, Mary and those at the table so accustomed to Lincoln's customary wit and humor were stunned as Lincoln spoke. He closed the description with these words:
"Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and shocking, I kept on until I entered the East Room, which I entered. There I was met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and a throng of people, some gazing mournfully at the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully: 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers. 'The President' was the answer; 'he was killed by an assassin!' "Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd…"
Mary and the others were so upset, particularly with the large number of death threats Lincoln had received throughout the war. However, Lincoln told them all not to worry as "it was only a dream."
On that Good Friday Lincoln was determined not to mourn, instead of attending Good Friday services or contemplating the war, or reconstruction, he simply wanted to laugh and chose to attend the play, wanting General Grant and his wife to attend. However Grant needed to travel to New Jersey and declined the offer.
Despite this Lincoln was in a cheerful mood, looking forward to the future and discussing all the things that he wanted to see and do after his term in office. Mary was startled by his cheerfulness and Lincoln told her "I have never felt better in my life." Lincoln and his party arrived late to the cheers of the cast and took their seats in the box about 8:30 to the strains of Hail to the Chief. As the play resumed Lincoln's bodyguard slipped away to get a drink and about twelve minutes after ten Booth slipped into the box where Lincoln sat watching the play. As the crowd roared its delight at a particularly funny scene a shot rang out and Lincoln's arm jerked up and he slumped over. Booth then jumped to the stage from the box, injuring his leg and shouting "Sic semper tyrannis" or thus always to tyrants. It was the beginning of a series of attempted assassinations designed to decapitate the Federal government, Secretary of State Seward was badly wounded by Lewis Payne, a third assassin backed out at the last minute and failed to attack Vice President Johnson.
Though physicians sought to save the President the wound was mortal, the bullet having ender the back of his head, and dug deep into his brain, lodging behind his left eye. At 7:22 A.M. Abraham Lincoln was dead. It was a disaster for the nation as the new President, Andrew Johnson was a political enemy of Lincoln and not in line with Lincoln's understanding of reconstruction and reconciliation. A poor Southerner from Tennessee, Johnson hated the Southern plantation aristocracy and would act as a punisher, while radical reconstructionist members of the cabinet and Congress would act in such a way that reconstruction would never achieve all that Lincoln believed that it could.
While radical Confederates rejoiced in Lincoln's death others were more circumspect. Jefferson Davis who was fleeing and hoping to continue the war realized that the South would not fare as well under Johnson as Lincoln. In fact Johnson's lack of understanding of the nuances of northern politics as well as his loathing of blacks, his "beliefs, prejudices, personality traits were a recipe for disaster at a time when an unprecedented national crisis put a premium on the capacity to think in new and creative ways."
The Army of the Potomac learned of Lincoln's assassination on Easter Sunday. Joshua Chamberlain told a woman whose mansion was at the center of his division's camp when she asked what disturbed him "It is bad news for the South." When the woman asked if it was Lee or Davis Chamberlain told her that it was Lincoln and said "The South has lost its best friend, Madam."
Chamberlain ordered chaplain to conduct a field memorial for the fallen President. The division chaplain a Catholic Priest, Father Egan spoke and roused the men, and Egan ended his service "Better so, Better to die glorious, than live infamous. Better to be buried beneath a nation's tears, than to walk the earth guilty of the nation's blood."
During the war Lincoln had endeared himself to his soldiers and they responded with great emotion. One burst into tears and sobbed "He was our best friend. God bless him," another wrote home "What a hold Old Abe had on the hearts of the soldiers of the army could only be told by the way they showed their mourning for him." Admiral David Dixon Porter wrote "The United States has lost the greatest man she ever produced."
The bullet fired by John Wilkes Booth was a disaster for the country. Sadly, there are some today, in particular the White Supremacist group The League of the South are choosing to celebrate the assassination of the man that they so hate, and honor the assassin as a hero. However, I have to agree with Admiral Porter, there has never been a President before or after who was anything like this man, and I dedicate myself to the quest for equality of all people and for a reconciliation. I will continue to work for that "new birth of freedom" that Lincoln so believed in.
Maybe too, they are words our current President reflect should upon and take to heart, but since he has no heart or interest in history he will not. Lincoln died in glory, Trump, will live and die in infamy.
Until tomorrow,
Padre Steve+


text:
Listen to the album:
Watch our first video on youtube:
Our debut album, Indigo, is finally out! We produced 11 tracks of different genres like progressive house, techno, electro, dubstep, and glitch-hop, trying to cater to different dance floor tastes, because we, as listeners, like several different styles and dynamic albums as well, able to provide different emotional states.
We started working on this album part time on September 2011, using some of our old tracks and remixing them, but most of the album was produced from scratch. It was quite difficult to get the album finished, due to epic system crashes (we love Windows LOL), lack of time and concentration so in late February we had the album finished.
So here it is! You can download "Indigo" in mp3 and wave and all tracks are ready to remix, as you can also download the multitracks.
If you like us and what we do, well, there are several ways to get involved: tell your friends, share our music on social
networks, blogs, and reuse our work. But most important, send us your feedback on what you think of our work in social
networks or even send us an email.
Download Mp3, Wav & Multitracks: http://www.flembaz.com/music
Flembaz's Website: http://www.flembaz.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/flembaz
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flembaz
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/flembaz
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/flembaz
Video for "Empire" by VuAir, check their work at: http://vuair.co.uk/ or http://www.facebook.com/VuAir
Thank You!
Last edited by a moderator:


text:
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard
All Product Details
IT IS 1970 in a small town in California. "Bean" Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who "found something wrong with every place she ever lived," takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that's been in Charlotte's family for generations.
An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town — a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister — inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it's Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.
Jeannette Walls, supremely alert to abuse of adult power, has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices.


text:
In honor of the recent release of the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records here are some fun pop culture questions for you:
1. First film to feature an entirely computer-generated character.
2. Most lucrative filmmaking partnership between an actor and director.
3. First U.S. female to write or co-write every track on a million-selling debut album (hint: It's not Mariah).
4. First high-definition film to be successfully pirated and downloaded online.
5. Show with the largest TV audience ever.
6. The most popular TV show according to public vote.
7. The most-watched current TV show.
8. The first in-flight movie.
9. The highest paid television cast.
10. Shortest music concert ever.
11. Longest-running monthly comic book.
12. The highest-grossing film actor.
13. Actor with the most recorded sword fights in a movie career.
14. Most Oscar-nominated living person.
15. Country that downloads the most singles.
16. Most character voices by an individual actor on a single audiobook.
The answers can be found HERE.


text:
Seated Simple Stretches for everyone
July 26, 2021 @ 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm
Simple seated and standing movement to stretch, reduce pain and improve posture.
This fun and easy-to-follow seated movement class is for everyone – all ages and abilities welcome! You will need a chair and a little space to move around it for the optional standing section (seated variations can be given).
This class will leave you feeling stronger, looser, more aligned, calmer and hopefully happier too! Whether you sit at a desk, have restricted mobility or are postnatal, this class is a great option for you. Fun and informative!
45 mins of movement every Monday at 12.30 on Zoom.
This class is taught by Kerrie-Anne Bradley a pilates teacher who specialises in Pilates for rehabilitation and has experience in working with people with a range of medical conditions. She runs Pilates At Your Desk, a programme of simple exercises to do during the day and has worked with many companies across many different industries (for people with both sitting and standing jobs).
This is a general class for all levels and abilities. The movements in this class are mostly seated with some optional standing (seated variations will be given). They are safe and easy to follow. Any injuries or medical conditions should be disclosed before taking part by emailing email@example.com.
Should you experience any discomfort or pain when doing a particular exercise you should stop and wait until the next exercise to continue.
There will be time at the end of each class to talk to the teacher where you can ask about any particular movement issues. It is Pilates At Your Desk preference that your camera is on so that more detailed cues can be given based on what the teacher sees.That said you can still take part with your camera off.
Zoom meeting details
Meeting ID: 854 3132 6190
Password: PAYD


text:
– Parents should be made aware that their child might develop a fever following simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations
– children who received simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, about a third (37.6 percent) had a fever of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher on the day of or day after vaccination, compared with children who received only the pneumococcal (9.5 percent) or only the influenza (7.5 percent) vaccine.
Findings suggest utility of text messaging to monitor safety
NEW YORK, NY (Jan. 6, 2014) – Giving young children the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines together appears to increase their risk of fever, according to a study led by researchers from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the fever was brief, and medical care was sought for few children, supporting the routine immunization schedule for these vaccines, including the recommendation to administer them simultaneously. The study, which looked at children 6-23 months old, was published online on Jan. 6, 2014, in JAMA Pediatrics.
Public health experts agree that timely immunizations are an important means of protection against serious diseases and infections for people of all ages. The CDC and other medical professional organizations often recommend giving the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines at the same visit, if both are due—both to prevent getting influenza or other infections between visits and to avoid a possible delay in vaccinations due to difficulty returning to the clinic (because of work schedules or other competing priorities).
"While our data suggest that giving children the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines together at the same visit increases the risk of fever, compared with getting only one of the vaccines at the visit, these findings should be viewed in context of the benefit of vaccines to prevent serious illness in young children, as well as the recognized need to increase vaccination rates overall," said study first author Melissa S. Stockwell, MD, MPH, Florence Irving Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Population and Family Health at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, with a joint appointment at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.
"Parents should be made aware that their child might develop a fever following simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations—but that the benefits of these vaccines outweigh the risk of fever and, in most cases, the fever will be brief," said Dr. Stockwell. "For the small group of children who must avoid fever, these findings provide important information for clinicians and parents."
The study followed 530 children recruited during the 2011-2012 influenza season from three community-based clinics affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian /Columbia University Medical Center, who were receiving their usual vaccinations.
Parents received a text message on the night of vaccination and the seven subsequent nights, asking them to report the highest temperature in their child since the temperature had last been taken. Messages were sent in English or Spanish, based on parent preference. More than 90 percent of families who were confirmed to have received a text message on the day of or day after vaccination responded to the message, and 85 percent of parents reported being very satisfied with their participation in the study.
After controlling for age and other factors, among children who received simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccines, about a third (37.6 percent) had a fever of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher on the day of or day after vaccination, compared with children who received only the pneumococcal (9.5 percent) or only the influenza (7.5 percent) vaccine. In other words, children receiving the influenza and pneumococcal vaccine together were about three times as likely to have a fever on the day of or day after vaccination, compared with children who received either vaccine alone. There were no differences among the groups in rates of fever in the 2 days after vaccination.
Overall, for every 100 children there were an additional 20-23 cases of temperatures of 100.4 F (38 C) or higher in children with simultaneous influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, compared with those who received only one of the vaccines. There were also 15 additional cases of temperatures of 102.2 F (39 C) or higher in children who received both vaccines, compared with the influenza vaccine alone, but not compared with the pneumococcal vaccine.
"We are committed to making sure that the safety of vaccines is continuously monitored and to better understanding any potential risks associated with vaccination," said Claudia Vellozzi, MD, MPH, deputy director of the Immunization Safety Office at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the study's senior author. "This study also demonstrates how novel approaches, like text messaging to assess fever following vaccination, can be used to enhance vaccine-safety monitoring."
"Before our study, text messaging had not been used to address a specific vaccine-safety question," said Dr. Stockwell, who is also medical director of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Immunization Registry (EzVac) and a pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. "Unlike conventional surveillance methods, such as paper or phone, in which reporting may be delayed, text messaging appears to enable rapid, large-scale data collection."
"These findings are a first step; the next step is to figure out if there are any measurable biological markers, such as findings in a blood sample, that are associated with increased risk of fever after vaccination," said study co-author Philip S. LaRussa, MD, professor of pediatrics at CUMC and specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.
The paper is titled, "Risk of Fever After Pediatric Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine and 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine." The other contributors are: Karen Broder, MD (CDC); Paige Lewis, MSPH (CDC); Devindra Sharma, MSN, MPH (CDC); Nadira Fernandez, MD (CUMC); Angela Barrett (CUMC); and Jose Sosa, MD (CUMC).
The study was funded by the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Network through a subcontract with America's Health Insurance Plans under contract 200-2002-00732 from the CDC.
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, preclinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest faculty medical practices in the Northeast. For more information, visit cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.
Related links:
Categories: Ineffective Treatments, Lethal or Unintended Side Effects, Vaccine


text: Colorful vector map print template of Djougou, Benin with crazy colors between red, blue and yellow for urban and rural areas. The different shades in the Djougou map do not follow any particular pattern but were created purely for decorative purposes. The pure PDF vector version of this map is fully scalable. Depending on the license, you can also use this map for websites, marketing projects and wall decorations for resale, for example, in printed form or in apps.


text: Analysis N13.2Bn Wasted on Pilgrims- My Perspective By Posted on August 10, 2016 Share Tweet Share Share Email Comments By: Martins Itua Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Related Related Items: Share Tweet Share Share Email Click to comment Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.


text: We believe in the power of ideas. In order for your ideas to become a reality you need powerful tools at the tip of your fingers that are reliable, easy to use, and provide you with enough freedom for your creative mind! This mindset is what led us to become the leaders of free web hosting services and our users are our proof!


text:
The E*thirteen Components XCX ST seat tube-mounted guide is a simple and effective guide for racers and trail riders who want go to a single ring setup, but don't want the weight of a full size chain guide or have ISCG mounts on their frame.
The E*thirteen Components XCX ST chain guide mounts to the seat tube and comes with three shims to fit 28.6, 31.8 and 34.9mm tubes. The shims are eccentric, so you can rotate them to shift the guide into the correct position to get the right chain line. You don't need to break the chain to fit, the front bolt allows the cage to pivot open.
Fitting is really easy, and adjusting for optimum chain clearance is a doddle. There's a stack of vertical adjustment which lets you put the guide in just the right position over the chain ring. Not sure where to fit it? Look at your front mech cage for a guide.
The XCX is compatible with 32 to 44-tooth chain rings. I used it with a 36-tooth ring and it was fine. Okay, so I was over geared on a couple of the steeper ascents in the Surrey Hills, but nothing a bit of grunting and gurning didn't solve. Don't think it's just super strong people who will benefit, as with the right combination of chain ring and cassette, you can scale most hills without too much trouble.
And besides, it seems like everybody is going to a single ring setup these days, from cross-country racers to trail riders, and it's easy to see why. You can save a decent amount of weight in ditching the shifter, front mech and one or two chain rings (depending on your chainset configuration). You also have a new simplicity to your riding, and there's less chain of losing the chain off the front.
In use it worked very well, offering a near silent ride even over ground that gets the chain slapping the chainstays. And the chain never derailed, as there's sufficient overlap of the large guide.
It's a very nicely made bit of kit too, as it should be for £80. That's a lot of money. The mounting bracket and backplate is machined from aluminium so as to be as stiff as possible and the cage is made from polycarbonate. There's some nice detail work with excess material being machined away, including a honeycomb construction on the inner slider.
Weight is 76g on our scales.
If your frame doesn't have ISCG tabs but you want to go 1×10, the E13 XCX offers an easy and reliable way of ditching the inner ring and front mech. A tad pricy though.
Chainguide for frames without ISCG tabs
Simple setup
Quiet in use
A bit pricy
Price: £89.95
UK Importer: Silverfish
More information: E*thirteen Components XCX ST chain guide
What E*thirteen Components says about the XCX ST chain guide
- Primary Uses: XC Race, 1-by set-ups
- Available in both high and low mount clamp backplates
- Includes chainline alignment cams (set of 3)
- Extremely light at 71-75 grams!
- World Championship gold medal-proven top slider design
- Easily change chains and chainrings without removing slider
- Captive gold anodized alloy hardware
- Gear range of 32T – 44T, small enough for the steep Mont Saint Anne climbs and big enough to win Glouchester, Massachusetts
- 7075 aluminium backplate
E Thirteen XCX-ST Chain Guide Specifications:
- Weight: 71-75 Grams
- Chainring size compatibility: 32T – 44T
- Chainline adjustment: 50-53mm
- Seat tube diameter: 28.6, 31.8, 34.9


text:
Over on Whatever, John Scalzi pokes a little fun at the folks who (are? profess to be?) thrown out of the Lord of the Rings by the viscosity of the lava in Mount Doom. He makes an excellent point that the suspension of disbelief is a highly personal thing, subject to much head-scratching by observers (and especially by writers, who may veer into hair-pulling and sobbing). My comment there started to get overlong, so I'm posting it here.
First, I take his point that the fires of Mount Doom are set up as being magical and important, and are presented in a context where trees walk and orcs are born from mud. He is perfectly correct that it would have been reasonable to have magical or otherwise nonstandard lava in Mt. Doom. And if Jackson had made the lava blue or sparkly or put little morphing orc faces in it or otherwise made it obviously magical, I would have bought that without blinking. But a difference of viscosity is a useless, thoughtless difference, especially in comparison to the more overt differences he mentions, like the shrubbery being alive or the landscape giving birth to orcs, that border on the metaphorical. Subtle differences aren't always a bad thing — not at all! But subtle differences are more likely to be mistaken for errors.
Those changes he mentions don't come out of nowhere, either: there are plenty of hints given that we're about to see something weird: spooky forests where orcs disappear, enough cobwebbing to put a Halloween house to shame, the presence of Christopher Lee, etc. When something comes as a surprise, the work is more vulnerable to booting the viewer/reader out of their suspension of disbelief than at other times, and it takes skill and preparation to avoid that, plus the knowledge of the degree to which disbelief needs to be suspended. If Peter Jackson knew how viscous lava really was but still wanted this particular visual effect, surely he is savvy enough to know how to clue in his geologist viewers that this is what he was doing? Because he can do it well, when he fails we suspect a deeper failure.
Anything that can be done well can be done badly, of course: surely you can envision a version of the Lord of the Rings in which the Ents are presented in such a way as to guarantee that the audience bursts out laughing at the sudden appearance of talking trees?
Perhaps a better comparison would be, not to Ents, but to horses. Writers are always getting horses wrong, treating them like hairy motorcycles. Add hay, drive all day, add more hay, drive all night! Most readers will never know the difference, but people who know horses get thrown out of stories by that sort of thing. If a fantasy writer *needs* to treat a horse like a motorcycle, then that writer needs to prep the reader — by, for example, praising this particular breed of horse, or having a set of magic horseshoes, or… well, that's getting a little silly, isn't it? In order to know when it's actually necessary to treat a horse like a motorcycle, the writer needs to know an awful lot about horses, I should think.
Besides, we as readers and viewers can generally tell the difference between "someone thought this through and decided it should be this way" and "someone was lazy or thoughtless." Let's say that I set a fantasy story in rural Ohio and, in among the unicorns and magic wands, describe all the people there as having Southern accents. If all the wonderful folks who know the region then complained that this threw them out of the story, it would be ridiculous of me to counter with, "What, but the unicorns and orange Congressmen were OK?" I could argue until my face turned blue that this was actually a deep philosophical statement about the realignment of culture in a magical world, but would you ever really shake the feeling that I'd just never been to Ohio?


text:
Welcome to the Draft Cross Breeders & Owners Association
The meeting place for Draft Cross breeders, owners and enthusiasts!
"Draft Crosses are the unsung equine heroes of American history. Each time a levelheaded, multipurpose horse with strength and endurance was needed, the Draft Cross seemed to fit the bill" – USDF Connection Magazine


text:
Causation is a basic concept in philosophy and law, and even quantum mechanics in physics. Causation is often confused with correlation; see an explanation.
Under the common law of torts, in order to establish causation, a plaintiff must prove that an actor's conduct "is a substantial factor in bringing about the harm." 2 Restatement (Second) of Torts § 431(a) at 428 (1965). That standard has two dimensions.
First, the evidence must create an inference that the harm would not have occurred in the absence of the actor's conduct. Id. § 431 cmt. a at 429. That showing is commonly referred to as "but-for causation."
Second, the effect of the actor's conduct must not be so insignificant as to make it unreasonable to treat the actor as responsible for the harm. Ibid. The effect of the actor's conduct must be "substantial," rather than "negligible" in producing the harm. Id. § 431 cmt. b at 429. That showing is commonly referred to as "proximate causation."
Thus, both but-for and proximate cause are required to establish causation.


text:
China's first aircraft carrier: Is it any good?
China entered into service Tuesday its first aircraft carrier, a refitted ship purchased from Ukraine. One expert describes it as 'not cutting edge.'
| Tokyo/Beijing
China sent its first aircraft carrier into formal service on Tuesday amid a tense maritime dispute with Japan in a show of force that could worry its neighbors.
China's Ministry of Defense said the newly named Liaoning aircraft carrier would "raise the overall operational strength of the Chinese navy" and help Beijing to "effectively protect national sovereignty, security, and development interests".
In fact, the aircraft carrier, refitted from a ship bought from Ukraine, will have a limited role, mostly for training and testing ahead of the possible launch of China's first domestically built carriers after 2015, analysts say.
China cast the formal handing over of the carrier to its navy – attended by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao – as a triumphant show of national strength at a time of tensions with Japan over islands claimed by both sides.
"The smooth commissioning of the first aircraft carrier has important and profound meaning for modernizing our navy and for enhancing national defensive power and the country's overall strength," Xinhua news agency cited Wen as saying at the commissioning ceremony in the northern port of Dalian.
Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply this month after Japan bought the East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner, sparking anti-Japan protests across China.
"China will never tolerate any bilateral actions by Japan that harm Chinese territorial sovereignty," Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun told his Japanese counterpart on Tuesday as the two met in a bid to ease tensions.
"Japan must banish illusions, undertake searching reflection, and use concrete actions to amend its errors, returning to the consensus and understandings reached between our two countries' leaders."
In a sign of the tensions, China has postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties with Japan. But an official at the Japan-China Economic Association said Toyota Motor Corp chairman Fujio Cho and Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japanese business lobby Keidanren, and other representatives of Japan-China friendship groups would attend an event on Thursday in Beijing. The risks of military confrontation are scant, but political tensions between Asia's two biggest economies could fester and worries persist about an unintended incident at sea.
"If blood is shed, people would become irrational," Koichi Kato, an opposition lawmaker who heads the Japan-China Friendship Association and will travel to Beijing, told Reuters.
"Not cutting edge"
For the Chinese navy, the addition of carriers has been a priority as it builds a force capable of deploying far from the Chinese mainland.
China this month warned the United States, with President Obama's "pivot" to Asia, not to get involved in separate territorial disputes in the South China Sea between China and US allies such as the Philippines.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in turn urged China and its Southeast Asian neighbors to resolve disputes "without coercion, without intimidation, without threats, and certainly without the use of force".
Narushige Michishita, a security expert at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, said he thought the timing of the launch was unrelated to the islands dispute.
Rather, experts said it might be associated with China's efforts to build up patriotic unity ahead of a Communist Party congress that will install a new generation of top leaders as early as next month.
"China is taking another step to boost its strategic naval capability," Michishita said. "If they come to have an operational aircraft carrier, for the time being we are not super-concerned about the direct implications for the military balance between the US and Japan on the one hand, and China on the other. This is still not cutting edge."
The East China Sea tensions with Japan were complicated on Tuesday by the entry of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing calls an illegitimate breakaway, which also lays claim to the islands.
Japanese Coast Guard vessels fired water cannon to turn away about 40 Taiwan fishing boats and 12 Taiwan Coast Guard vessels. Six Chinese patrol ships were also near the islands but four left, leaving two nearby but not in waters Japan considers its own.
Japan protested to Taiwan, a day after lodging a complaint with China over what it called a similar intrusion by Chinese vessels.
Taiwan has friendly ties with Japan, but the two sides have long squabbled over fishing rights in the area. China and Taiwan both argue they have inherited China's historic sovereignty over the islands.
The flare-up in tension comes at a time when both China and Japan confront domestic political pressures. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government faces an election in months, adding pressure on him not to look weak on China. China's Communist Party is preoccupied with the leadership turnover, with President Hu Jintao due to step down.


text:
2007 Vintage
In 2007, a dry, mild winter brought bud-break by mid-March and our vineyards ran 10-14 days ahead of normal for the entire season. However, a mild September allowed our vineyard crews to wait until October to harvest. We, along with winemaker Cary Gott, immediately knew the vintage was going to be something special. Throughout fermentation and barrel aging, the wine showed a classy elegance of floral and fruit. We were not alone in our high expectations of the vintage. The buzz started early among vintners and consumers alike and has not let up as Robert M. Parker pronounced this the greatest vintage for Bordeaux varietals in Napa since 2001 and 2002.
Your Shopping Cart


text:
|Llewellyn's 2019 Daily Planetary Guide
|Yoga for the Creative Soul
|The Pure Heart of Yoga
Imagine for a moment walking into a home from 3,200 years ago, a home that sits poised on the edge in the middle of a fertile, rain-watered valley between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the deserts to the east. What would you see? What evidence would the family have left behind demonstrating their devotion to their deities? You would run your hands across a stone or mudbrick surface—a bench or a low table that would hold offerings. Atop this surface, you would see a basin, small images of the deities, perhaps an incense stand, astragali—sheep "knucklebones" for divination—and plates of leftover food and bones from meat offerings. We know that homes had domestic worship areas like this because of archaeological remains.
Receiving the deities' blessings requires an open hand and a willing exchange of goodwill. In an effort to open a connection with the Canaanite deities, building a shrine similarly to how it was done in ancient times is a good start. A shrine is a place to establish a relationship with the deities, where you can honor them and make offerings to them. It is important to remember that this place is primarily for them, not for you. This is not an art instillation to beautify the home or to aid you, although a good shrine does indeed do these things. This is a place where you can fall on your knees and revere these powerful beings. In creating a shrine for the deities, you create a special place for them in your life and home, a place where you can make offerings and prayers, a place where you can go for communion with them. Here is the process, step-by-step:
I keep an incense holder on the shrine, too, and I frequently make incense offerings throughout the day. I will sometimes put a beverage on the shrine, or meat. No pork; no pork ever. They have a preference for farmed meats above game meats—beef and lamb are favorites, as is beef liver and some organ meats. Choranu doesn't like goat, but the rest of them seem to like goat. Most of them don't care for beans unless it's in the form of hummus. Ilu loves shawarma and gyros. Most of them love Mediterranean fruits and nuts: pistachios, figs, pomegranates, dates, almonds, candy-coated almonds, carob chips, and so on. They like whole wheat flat bread and olive oil, or even an olive oil infused with spices. They like Mediterranean cooking—from Greek, to Lebanese, to Turkish, to Palestinian. They love wine. Obviously, do not offer "fast food." Food offerings of this sort are often referred to as shalamu (singular) or shalamuma (plural), which literally translate as "peace offerings." These offerings are made to strengthen, restore, heal a being, and to promote wellness and wellbeing. Many of them like honey, especially some of the goddesses.
They also like offerings of "light" in the form of olive oil lamps or beeswax candles. They like scented oils and perfumes: the higher quality the better, and try to avoid artificial and chemical scents as much as possible. Many of them like essential oils dropped in olive oil—this is good both as offering, and as a substance with which to anoint their images. They love olive oil with drops of myrrh essential oil: this is called shamnu moru, myrrh oil. (Shamnu moru is also good for spiritual cleansing and healing purposes.) The simplest prayer to make when giving offering, if you would like to make a prayer, is "yishlam le-kumu," which means, "may there be restoration to you all."
After making offering, it is a good idea to take a step backwards away from the shrine before turning around. They don't like someone turning a back on them, up close. When stepping away from them, it is good to back away left foot first so your right foot is still towards them.
Keep the altar clean. Dispose of offerings by the next day; the Canaanites saw the next day as starting with the dusk. Clean the incense ash off at least once a week and do a little dusting with a clean cloth or paper towel. When you dispose of liquids served in cups, do not overturn the cup. An overturned cup is bad luck. Instead, place the full cup under the faucet and let cool water run into the cup until it pushes out all of the offering liquid; this way the cup is now "empty."
That's really all there is to setting up a Canaanite shrine. Through this practice, you honor the deities, and you honor the polytheistic ancestors by keeping their ways. May your new shrine connect you further with the ancient deities of Canaan.
Tess Dawson (New England) is one of the foremost authorities in the field of Canaanite mysticism and spiritual practices. A devotee as well as scholar of the tradition, Dawson leads the largest online Canaanite polytheist ...


text:
NCAA NC State Wolfpack Queen/Full Comforter and Sham Set
Remember back when you were young how much you LOVED your favorite bedspread or comforter? Well, why not relive that joy as an adult! Our NCAA NC State Wolfpack Queen sized comforter set with 2 included pillow shams lets you do just that! These beautiful queen/full comforters are super cozy, and super soft - and you will not want to get out of bed. The large NC State Wolfpack logos really stand out from the solid team color background on the comforter, and the logo on the pillow shams just POPS! This is a great piece of bedding to start your own NC State Wolfpack themed bedroom.
Comforter size is 86 x 86 inches, and sham size is 24 x 30 inches.
**Leaves Manufacturers Warehouse in 2-3 Business Days**
We Also Recommend


text:
Sunday night's NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 on ESPN – in which Boston defeated Miami in overtime to even their series 2-2 – delivered a 7.9 overnight rating, the highest ever for an NBA playoff game on cable (records back to 2003), according to Nielsen. The game peaked with a 10.7 rating during overtime.
The 7.9 overnight rating is up 39 percent compared to Game 4 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals – Mavericks/Thunder – on ESPN (5.7) and up 30 percent compared to Game 4 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals – Magic/Celtics – on ESPN (6.1).
In Boston, the game generated a 20.7 rating, the highest for an NBA playoff game ever in the market. Additionally, the game posted a 19.8 rating in Miami – the third highest rating for an NBA playoff game on ESPN in the market.
Additionally, Game 4 set new records for an NBA game on ESPN3 and WatchESPN, generating more than 24.5 million minutes, which translates to an average minute audience of more than 128,000. Also, the average for total minutes for the four games of the Eastern Conference Finals is up 105 percent across all platforms, compared to 2011 (five games.)
The Eastern Conference Finals will continue on ESPN with Game 5 on Tuesday, June 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Doris Burke providing commentary. The Finals on ABC will begin Tuesday, June 12.