text:
After the flood: Colorado making tough decisions about how to rebuild
Torrential flooding in northern Colorado destroyed homes, damaged highways, and rerouted rivers. Many of the issues now facing residents and communities have come into sharp focus in the small town of Lyons.
| Lyons, Colo.
When the waters of the St. Vrain came pouring over its banks one night last month, they ripped out huge trees, tore through homes along Apple Valley Road, cut new channels through parks and yards, and rushed through some downtown neighborhoods in Lyons, Colo., with particular force.
At David Tiller's small bungalow on Park Street, the "river" – normally a lightly flowing creek – overflowed its banks and gushed into the recording studio he had built in his backyard. Shortly after he, his wife, and their 5-year-old son escaped to higher ground in their van, the river ripped through their house with enough force to blow out the front walls, churn furniture as though it were in a washing machine, and wash the neighbor's house off its foundation and into theirs. Two weeks later, as Mr. Tiller and his sister picked through the wreckage, both the home and recording studio were half full of a toxic mix of mud, sewage, and river debris.
The flooding that hit northern Colorado between Sept. 11 and 15 affected 20 counties and an area of nearly 2,000 square miles, but it hit certain towns and neighborhoods with unusual severity. Now, towns like Lyons, one of the worst hit, are having to make tough decisions – whether to reroute rivers back to their former channels, whether to allow rebuilding in all the areas that flooded, and how to make the towns more flood-resistant in the future. At the same time, residents like Tiller are wrestling with agonizing decisions of their own. About 2,000 homes were destroyed in the region hit by the flood.
The state of Colorado faces an even larger task – restoring access to isolated communities. Some 200 miles of state highways and about 50 state-maintained bridges have been severely damaged or wiped out, many in challenging mountain terrain. It's a daunting undertaking that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and will involve competing goals of speed, economy, and disaster mitigation and planning.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), who has said he wants to rebuild "stronger," has set a Dec. 1 deadline for rebuilding as much as possible, before winter sets in. Overall, though, the process will take years.
No doubt many decisions will be tough, although there could be an upside.
"The silver lining with events like this is you do have the opportunity to redo things differently – the layout of roads, the layout of towns," says Michael Gooseff, a professor of hydroecologic science and engineering at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. "Mother Nature has reset the playing field for us."
In many ways, Colorado's task is similar to the one Vermont grappled with after the storm Irene hit two years ago.
Like Colorado, Vermont is a mountainous state, and the deluge of rain poured into narrow valleys, washing away roads and bridges. The state lost some 500 miles of roadway and more than 30 bridges.
"The kind of flooding we had, and that Colorado is experiencing, [caused] erosion, tremendous erosion. The power of the water just ripped apart roads, bridges, and many, many homes and businesses," says Sue Minter, deputy secretary at Vermont's Agency of Transportation.
As in Colorado, Vermont was up against a looming winter season, when construction is largely forced to halt.
Ms. Minter was part of a delegation from Vermont that flew to Colorado shortly after the flood to share some of what they've learned with their Colorado counterparts.
Among the suggestions, according to Minter: Restructure agencies to become regional command centers, redeploy employees to best address the mission of rebuilding infrastructure, and put an "incident command system" in place – suggestions Colorado has largely adopted.
In Vermont, rebuilding and permitting were expedited in the immediate aftermath of the flooding. But that goal of speed, Minter notes, doesn't have to be at odds with careful planning.
Her advice to Colorado officials: Do everything possible in the short term to get roads passable. Then, once winter has passed, take a closer look at all the projects with an eye toward rebuilding for resilience to withstand potential disasters.
"In this moment, they need to get those roads up," Minter says. "But then they need to go back and think long term."
Once winter had passed in Vermont, a team that included transportation agency officials, natural resource experts, and geomorphologists revisited more than 600 sites to evaluate them. The team ultimately concluded that about half needed more rebuilding or repositioning to make them stronger.
Some of the questions looming for Colorado communities include just how much risk to take on and what sort of future disasters to plan for.
Weather experts are calling the storm that hit, in terms of the amount and timing of rainfall, a "thousand-year storm" – meaning it has a 0.1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. The flooding, on the other hand, was more in line with a 100- or even 50-year flood, depending on the spot.
But as extreme weather events occur with more frequency around the globe, some geologists say the accuracy of relying on past data to predict future events is in doubt.
So was this really a thousand-year storm? Or could Boulder, Colo., or surrounding communities be hit by even worse flooding in the coming decades?
"If this has a 0.1 percent chance of happening, one could say I'm going to take my chances; it's very unlikely this is going to happen again even in the next 100 years," Professor Gooseff says. "But I'm starting to wonder if ... we're moving into this new regimen, where the next 100 years won't look like the last 100 years, and we can't rely on old records."
Gooseff says that while a lot of the discussion has centered on the speed of rebuilding, he'd like to see more attention paid to doing it wisely – really thinking about the layout of the flood plain.
Many of these issues have come into sharp focus in Lyons, a small community of 2,000 situated between Boulder and Estes Park, Colo., known for bluegrass and folk-music festivals.
The two branches of the St. Vrain meet in Lyons, but in many places, they no longer flow where they did. At one point in town, a bridge now spans a dry riverbed. Just in front of it, the river flows through a stretch of obliterated highway. A new creek cuts through Park Street, hampering access for Tiller and other residents, whose flooded homes lie beyond it.
In other areas, the river is running in its natural channel, but has also split off to run in parallel channels.
Moreover, the creeks cut enormous new channels through normally dry areas that are a concern for future flooding, or even for usual spring runoff, engineers say.
"The obvious thing is to put [the river] back where it was," says Scott Shipley, an engineer from Lyons who designs white-water parks and is helping the town with its current decisions. Leaving the river in its new channels isn't necessarily safer, Mr. Shipley says, and in many cases produces major complications involving water rights, ditch rights, and property rights.
But restoring the river to its former path could be tricky – and expensive. And to the extent that engineers can find places to leave buffers – places where the river can spread out into wetlands and flood plains, alleviating pressure downstream – it will be better for future flooding, Shipley says.
"Part of what we're trying to do is build this town back better than it was," he says.
At this point, essentially the entire town of Lyons is evacuated since all utilities – water, sewage, electricity, gas – were lost in the flood. The town's public works building is in shambles, and weeks after the flood, the city was still trying to locate water mains.
Power and gas have now been restored in some areas, so that some businesses can resume minimal operations, but the town has warned that the businesses assume risk for any fires.
But even as the town struggles to get services back, residents – who have been allowed back in during the day with a pass – are struggling with many of their own questions about how, or if, to rebuild.
On Park Street, one of the worst-hit sections of town, rumors were flying that rebuilding might not even be allowed or that the county might decide to buy residents out and repurpose the land.
"We don't know if we can rebuild, or what the town will decide," Tiller says. "It's the golden question."
Tiller, a gentle man who surveys damage to his property with a Zen-like calm, lost virtually everything in the flood and didn't have flood insurance. He and his wife are musicians in the band Taarka, and they bought their house outright several years ago with a small inheritance.
"Having this house allowed us to make a living as musicians," he says. "Without it, we don't really have that option."
The night of the flood, he rescued a few of their most valuable instruments, some microphones and recording equipment, and his good camera. Everything else – from valuable 17th-century furniture that had belonged to his grandmother to his son's favorite stuffed panda – was swallowed up by mud.
Rebuilding in a place that flooded so badly isn't ideal, but all Tiller and his wife have left is the land they own and whatever can be salvaged from the home. So if rebuilding is allowed, that's what they'll do, he says.
"We might not have a lot of choice," Tiller says. "That's where our money is, and we're not going to get whatever that land is worth back."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been assessing damaged properties, and Tiller says it is offering rent assistance of $1,068 a month for his family. It might also give as much as $32,000 to help repair damage, although Tiller thinks that figure is only about a fifth of what they'll need.
Overall, FEMA has already approved $36.2 million in individual assistance to Colorado homeowners affected by flooding and $34.2 million in housing assistance.
Just up the street from Tiller, Joe Meckle lost not just his home but his business as well, a chiropractic clinic he ran out of his house. Dr. Meckle did have flood insurance, but it won't cover any of the damaged belongings – including expensive X-ray machines and chiropractic tables that were destroyed.
"This town was a Shangri-La, man," he reminisces ruefully, as he swaps stories with neighbors outside his mud-filled home and debates what happens next.
Still, he says, "Don't cry for me. I'm young enough that I can recover."
When some Lyons residents returned to their homes to survey the damage, they were pleasantly surprised it wasn't worse.
One level of Parker Johnson's home along Apple Valley Road flooded, but the rest of the house stayed dry. The house smells musty, and Mr. Johnson and his wife have been examining their belongings and purging everything ruined – a process that he says is somewhat of a blessing.
Given what he saw when they evacuated in the middle of the night with their three young children, with the St. Vrain rerouted through their front yard and rising fast, "our particular situation is better than I had feared by a long shot, so I'm feeling kind of overwhelmingly fortunate," he says.
For many of his neighbors, on the other hand, the damage is much worse than they anticipated. Some neighbors – especially those who are older and retired – have told Johnson they're not sure if they have the energy or will to return and rebuild, and they may move elsewhere.
Some of the decisions the town and county will face – especially about where to allow rebuilding – may be tough, Shipley acknowledges. It may not make sense, for instance, to put a trailer park in the same location that was devastated by the flooding.
"In some ways [the flood] was the worst news for the people who can least afford it," Shipley says. But he says he believes that the town is not only committed to making itself less vulnerable to future flooding, but also to finding creative ways, such as land swaps, to help those residents who may be harmed.
"These are tough decisions to make, and private property factors into it, land use factors into it, and you don't want to make decisions that make things worse," Shipley says. "But what I've heard is that we're committed to low-income housing, and we're committed to making this an affordable place to live.... I've heard nothing but smart planning from this town."
Right now, the first order of business is simply to get Lyons's basic services and utilities running again, so residents with less-damaged homes can move back, and local businesses – many of which operate on a narrow margin and are taking an enormous hit with the closure – can reopen.
"What we're seeing is the slow death of our downtown as we wait for the infrastructure to come in," says Shipley, who guesses that about half of those businesses may be gone, or "horribly reeling," by the time they can reopen.
Town officials have resisted giving a date when utility services will be restored, but they say the worst-case scenario is Christmas, and they hope it will be sooner.
Residents like Tiller and Meckle are also in a holding pattern, waiting to hear what will be decided about the land where the worst flooding occurred.
But they and other Lyons residents say the biggest blessing to emerge from the disaster has been the extraordinary sense of community support they've seen.
"It's the only thing that keeps us going," Meckle says.
Tragedy has helped bring people even closer, Johnson says.
"One of the silver linings for our community has been a bonding across socioeconomic and political divides that otherwise kept people to their own tribe," he says.
"Through the bonding of sharing this collective experience together, people are forgetting what their positions were about things that are less important than our shared humanity. I think that's a big deal."


text:
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet the family of Specialist Leslie H. Sabo, Jr., U.S. Army, outside the Oval Office prior to a Medal of Honor ceremony honoring Specialist Sabo, May 16, 2012. Pictured, from left, are: Kathleen Starkey, sister-in-law; Rose Sabo-Brown, widow; Frances Buccelli, mother-in-law. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Washington Post/AP: When Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decried the "prairie fire" of U.S. debt Tuesday, he ignored some of the sparks that set it ablaze.
One was the Great Recession that took hold before Barack Obama became president. That landmark event went unmentioned in Romney's speech. Another was a series of Bush-era tax cuts that Romney wants to follow with even lower rates.
Instead he laid the blame on Obama, a president who has certainly increased the nation's eye-popping debt — but not, as Romney claimed, by nearly as much as all other presidents combined.
A look at some of Romney's assertions and how they compare with the facts:
ROMNEY: "America counted on President Obama to rescue the economy, tame the deficit and help create jobs. Instead, he bailed out the public sector, gave billions of your dollars to the companies of his friends, and added almost as much debt as all the prior presidents combined."
THE FACTS. Hardly. Presidents from George Washington through George W. Bush ran the national debt up to $10.62 trillion, the amount it was on the day Obama took office. Today, it is $15.67 trillion, according to the Treasury Department's Bureau of Public Debt. So it has gone up by $5.05 trillion under Obama. That's roughly half of the amount amassed by all the other presidents combined.
In short, the debt has gone up by about half under Obama. Under Ronald Reagan, it tripled.
More here
'Renewing GOP vows':
Miami Herald: Welcome to FL, Mitt. Now why did Bain Capital lay off so many people in Miami?
As Mitt Romney returns to Florida on Wednesday for two days of campaigning and money-raising, Democrats are trying to ensure Floridians keep two words in mind: Dade Behring.
It's the name of a former medical equipment manufacturer in Miami that Romney's venture capital firm bought and then closed in the late 1990s, walking away with $242 million in profits.
"Obviously you need to make a profit to be successful," Cindy Hewitt, Dade Behring's former human resources officer, said Tuesday, at a Miami news conference organized by President Barack Obama's campaign. "My concern is when businesses are used to generate wealth for a small number of people and businesses are run to the ground and the lifeblood is sucked out of it and all of their employees lose their jobs."
The case of Dade Behring in Miami, where some 850 jobs were lost while Romney led Bain has been well-documented. But there's a new wrinkle: The company under Bain's leadership sought and received millions of dollars in tax breaks for creating jobs in Puerto Rico — shortly before closing its facilities, costing nearly 300 jobs.
More here
In case anyone missed this today … it's unmissable:
Thursday: The President will attend meetings at the White House.
Friday: PBO will deliver the opening keynote to the Symposium on Global Agriculture and Food Security at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC. Later on Friday, the President will travel to Camp David for the G-8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues. The President will remain overnight at Camp David.
Saturday: PBO will remain at Camp David for the G-8 Summit. Later on Saturday, the President will travel to Chicago, Illinois, where he will welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown for the NATO Summit on May 20-21. The First Lady will travel to Chicago with the President.
Chat away 😉

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Pulse Project recently podcast an informative and entertaining ten-minute discussion of my upcoming Stanford MOOC between Peter Rowlett in the UK and Samuel Hansen in the USA. The part focusing on MOOCs is available here. The full hour-long discussion is available at Math/Maths 95.
A couple of days later, Steve Hargadon interviewed me for an hour in his excellent Web 2.0 series, and MOOCs formed a substantial part of our wide ranging discussion. The complete discussion can be accessed here.
Thanks to Peter, Samuel, and Steve for their interest.


text:
Tell me what you have and I'll tell you
what you can make!
BarBug! shows you how to make a SEX ON THE BEACH (1) Mixed Drink.
BarBug! is now serving up a Sex On The Beach (1)! He shows you his Sex On The Beach (1)
mixed drink
recipe and makes suggestions for spirits, mixers and the proper serving
Sex On The Beach (1) Mixed Drink
Serving Glass: Collins With Ice1 oz Absolut Vodka1/2 oz Hiram Walker Peach Schnapps1/2 Fill Orange Juice1/2 Fill Ocean Spray Cranberry JuiceTop: Hiram Walker Amaretto (1) means there are multiple drinks with this name
What Can I Make? ||
Browse Ingredients ||
Premium Service ||
Contact Us ||
Privacy ||
Pins || Subscribe ||
Website Copyright ©1999-2023
The Wapro Company
All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.


text:
From the fiscal year starting on 1 November 2015 Saga Furs Oyj complies with the Finnish Corporate Governance Code for public limited companies, adopted by the Securities Market Association on 1 October 2015 and entered into force on 1 January 2016.
According to the Finnish Companies Act (734/1978) and to the rules and regulations of the company's Articles of Association, the control and governance of the company is divided between the shareholders represented at the shareholders' meeting, the Board of Directors, and the Managing Director. The directors belonging to the company's Management Group assist the Managing Director.
Updated 4.1.2016


text:
Follow sequences
Comprehend specific instructions
Learn subject specific vocabulary
Become familiar with the language of instruction
Use their body, not just their heads
Be creative and use problem solving
Can encourage reluctant readers to read
'How Machines Work: The Interactive Guide to Simple Machines and Mechanisms' by Nick Arnold & Allan Sanders, published by Quarto Children's Books and distributed in Australia by Walker Books.
'The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science: 50 Experiments for Daring Young Scientists' by Sean Connolly, published by Icon Books and distributed in Australia by Allen & Unwin.
The reader can rediscover the wheel and axle with the ancient Sumerians, or perform an astounding experiment demonstrating the theory of angular momentum. Children can build a simple telescope like Galileo's and find the four moons he discovered orbiting Jupiter. They can experiment safely with electricity and avoid the more risky approach of Ben Franklin with his Lightning experiment. They will also learn how to re-create the Hadron Collider in a microwave with marshmallows, calculator, and a ruler to demonstrate the speed of light. Or they might simply crush a can using Stephenson's steam can experiment. This is a wonderful book for children aged 9-12 years.
'The Lego Ideas Book' by Daniel Lipkowitz and published by DK Publishing
'Sewing School: Hand-Sewing Projects Kids Will Love' by Amie Plumley & Andria Lisle and published by Storey Publishing.
|Photo courtesy littlerockmamas.com
The 150-page book has 12 chapters that cover basic instructions and foundational sewing skills. It then has a variety of projects arranged in categories. These include items to hug (e.g. blanket, pillow, doll), things to hold (e.g. wallet, tote, apron, pouch), gifts (e.g. coasters, pot holder, toy mouse), things to wear (e.g. hat, dolls dress), repairing clothes (e.g. patches, fixing rips, hems) and repairing soft toys (e.g. sewing eyes back on). Each project has step-by-step instructions at a reading level of about 7 years, photos of every step, and also a photo of the final project. The book also has some full-size patterns and instructions for how grownups can help.
'Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas' by Fiona Watt and published by Usborne
'Children's Quick and Easy Cookbook' by Angela Wilkes and published by DK Publishing.
The book also outlines cooking techniques, good food hygiene, kitchen safety, and step-by-step instructions. Full colour photographs are used throughout the book
The Dangerous Book for Boys. by Conn Iggulden & Hal Iggulden and published by Harper Collins
This book offers a range of ideas for making and doing things. For example, how to make the greatest paper plane in the world, building a tree house, all about dinosaurs, making a G0-cart, how to go fishing, juggling, all about Australian snakes, skimming stones and so on. This isn't a simple book (about grade 4-5 standard) but the content will help boys to 'stretch' themselves. It is also a great book for boys to read and 'do' with an adult. I've reviewed it in more detail here.
'The Daring Book for Girls' by Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz and published by Harper Collins is a companion volume to 'The Dangerous Book for Boys'.
Like its predecessor, it is designed for children aged 7-12 years. It includes a mix of things to make and do, information about things that girls might like to know, biographical material, poetry etc. It has been produced again by Harper Collins and has a similar layout, size and range of contents. Even the cover is similar in design, to build on the success of the previous book. Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz have written the book. The Australian edition was released in 2008 and mirrors the US edition released by Harper Collins in 2007, but it includes some different Australian content.


text:
This is a Christianization of the MOTU-verse, this is not a Christian debate or discussion, so I hope that it can be left here. If you have questions or suggestions, please let me know. I plan to update and add to this as bio's are introduced. The events of this story take place partly in the upper left corner of the Eternia map, during the exile. Please do leave feedback for the story itself (not for your opinion of me or of Christianity, that's relegated to the tar swamp alone).
4/18/12 God save the Queen
Chapter I: Back Story and Setting
As a young girl, Marlena Glenn was raised to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and the only saviour of mankind. However, in her late teens and early twenties, the strong opinions and seemingly endless evidences presented by her teachers and peers against her faith caused her to slowly creep away from it.
Fast forward to her time as a space explorer, Marlena prepares for the inaugural voyage aboard an experimental warp ship. With her bags packed and ready to go, Marlenas mother snuck a copy of the Book of her original faith into her luggage. This voyage ended with her remaining on Eternia to marry captain Randor, who would fast become King of Eternia. Marlena soon discovered the book that her mother had hidden among her things; and though she would have likely thrown it out under normal circumstances, being far from home on another planet left her with a strong desire to cherish all that she had brought from her home world. Queen Marlena soon gave birth to twin children. Princess Adora being kidnapped by the ruthless Hordak left only Prince Adam to remain on Eternia as heir to the throne, until a later reunion would bring them together again.
After Skeletor finally succeeded in his overthrow of the kingdom, and after the masters had been chased into exile, something curious began to stir within Eternias fallen Queen. After receiving a vision through a dream, in which she saw Eternias salvation coming from a Book, and having recognized the Book as the one that her mother had left to her, she desired it fervently, but she kept the vision to herself. Unfortunately, the Book had been lost in the siege, and she wasnt even sure if it had survived the attacks. Meanwhile, the dreams and visions persisted.
Chapter II: The Thorn in the Spiders Paw
[This was written the day that Masters of the universe Classics brand manager Scott Neitlich released the Webstor blog entry, but this story was written just before that entry was released. It was not planned; it was just a coincidence.] Being led unknowingly by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness; for what reason, she did not know, Marlena was suddenly discovered by a giant arachnid of the species that Webstors people use as beasts of burden and for warfare. The enormous beast had her cornered and was about to sink its fangs into her, when a name that she had not spoken since her early childhood suddenly leapt into her mind. JESUS!!! she cried with a loud voice! The beast suddenly fell into a deep sleep. The Spirit of God was fast upon the Queen and she stooped to pray and to give God the Glory for saving her. She felt a great sadness for whom she had neglected all these years, and at the same time a tremendous joy that she had rediscovered Him. Or should it be said that He sought her? It was as if all the time between her childhood spent in belief, and this moment had never existed. Suddenly God was real again, and He was right by her side. And now all of the dreams and visions began to make sense.
Unbeknownst to her, Webstor had been setting booby traps in the forest just outside of Skeletors conquest city of Avion. He stumbled onto Marlena before she had her encounter with certain doom, so he had been discretely following her. He waited to kidnap her in order to discover what her purpose was, or to perhaps discover the location of the Masters hiding place. Webstor, knowing the methods of the beast had intended to let the creature deliver one bight in order to temporarily paralyze the Queen, since it bights once to paralyze, in order to wrap up its meals without a fight, to then later inject the diluting venom for digestion. Allowing it to deliver its first bight would make it easier for Webstor to deliver her to Skeletor. After seeing the drama unfold, and watching for a moment as she prayed, he began to see what appeared to be light emanating from her. With the power of the Name that she called upon, and the strange power that seemed to be coming from her, Webstor began to tremble in fear, so he quickly and quietly swung back to Avion. Being convinced that no one would believe his story, and that Skeletor would certainly punish him for passing on a hostage with so much leverage potential, Webstor kept these things to himself, but pondered them with a great intensity.
One day, being heavy with contemplation over these events, Webstor was whipped into frenzy over the bickering among the evil warriors, which made it impossible for him to think. Needing piece and quiet he spun off through the forest to his usual alcove, high atop the Mystic Mountains. As he was contemplating the things that he saw, a sudden and seemingly unprovoked rockslide pinned him under a large pile of heavy rocks, leaving him unable to escape.
Back at the Tundaria stronghold, Marlena received a vision in a dream. She saw someone trapped under rocks in the Mystic Mountains, but she couldnt tell who it was: she had thought it was a friend or perhaps a loved one. Being awakened she immediately assembled a team for mountain reconnaissance, but she didnt explain why. She chose the Palace Guards with the most climbing experience, and Stratos for his ability to secure ropes for the med team to climb. Along with them went a few long-range fighters; Bow, Flipshot and a couple of rifle Guards, as well as some short-range fighters; Fisto, Mossman, Zodak, and some close combat Guards; to secure the base of the mountain where they would be climbing.
It was a long journey to the mountains, and they needed to travel at night, since they would certainly be spotted in the day light, them being so close to Skeletors base at Avion. Since being in isolation has its numbing effects on the mind and body, the team was quite eager to shove off, and so they did. Moving quietly through the night, at the edges of the forest, to avoid stumbling onto dangerous creatures, they made their way toward their destination. As was expected, they ran into a little trouble, in that a rogue Shadow Beast buffeted them. Bow proved to be an excellent choice for the journey, as he drew a knockout arrow from his quiver. Unfortunately, thanks to the darkness of night and a bit of hurriedness due to the fear of being captured, Bow drew a fondness arrow by mistake, and the beast became docile, but also a bit clingy. Luckily it wasnt rutting season for the animal, so she wasnt attracting male Shadow Beasts.
Finally, only an hour from daybreak they reached their destination. Upon arrival, the team realized that they had yet to be told why they were there, or where exactly they were needed, so they asked. Marlena then realized that she didnt know exactly where to go either, so she prayed quickly, and looking up noticed a fire in a high alcove. Pointing to it, she said, Thats where were going. Looking for themselves, the team saw nothing but night, and wondered how Marlena knew all of this. But, trusting their Queen and knowing that they needed to move quickly the fighter teams sought out a good place in the rocks where they could rest during the day, to await their nighttime return journey home, while Stratos secured the rope for the med team to access the injured person. After equipping their ascenders the med team, along with Marlena, made their way to the top of the rope.
Having finally reached their target, they were all stunned to find an enemy, and not a friend. Even Marlena was surprised at this, but she was also quite certain that this is who they were sent for, having been given the vision in a dream. As they stood there, they noticed that Webstors many eyes were fixed like stone upon the Queen, and they marveled as he began to quake. Finally he spoke and said, I was there when you put the Arachnid to sleep. She realized now why he seemed to fear her, but she was still unaware that he perceived a powerful light around her, even in this very moment. As the team began to work to free Webstor, Marlena stooped to speak with him. She asked what he was doing there and how he became trapped. He explained that he was heavy with contemplation of the events in the forest, and he described to her the light that he saw.
It was almost daylight and Webstor was finally freed from the rocks, miraculously without injury. He stood at the entrance of the alcove and turned to the Queen. He stared at her in silence for just a moment. After this he turned away from her and said, I wont be burdened with a debt to an enemy. What can I do for you? Ask one thing, but then Im free. As if a bright light had suddenly shined in her mind, the Book was illuminated. She described the book to him, and asked him to find it, and to bring it back to the alcove, since she could not give away the Masters location. Without a word he leapt out, and stopped his descent by shooting a web onto a very high tree branch. This took the ground team by surprise, as they had not even been told who was being rescued, since they were refraining from making unnecessary noise and com-chatter. Every fighter readied his arms, and focused them tightly on the spidearian as he hung from the tree. He glared at them squinting, and then he turned and swung away.
Now it was morning, and the team rested in their secure location until nightfall, at which time they made their way back to base. Stratos was chosen to stay behind and wait for the Book, and all of the provisions were left with him. Several days had passed, giving him time to contemplate things. How did she know Webstor was there? And why did she only ask for a book? Just as the provisions were exhausted, Webstor finally made good on his debt. He entered the rock, and walked slowly nearer to his enemy, with only the slightest hint of uneasiness. Holding onto the Book, he and Stratos stared at each other, contemplating this encounter, as neither of them felt any danger while they thought on what all of this could mean. Receiving the Book, Stratos began to casually make his way to the edge of the rock to fly away. He feels like something needs to be said, but he just cant think of the words, so he leans forward to fly off. Just then, Webstor shoots a web at Stratos back. Stratos, still not on guard, calmly turned his head slightly to the side. Listen to your Queen, said the spider. With a smirk on his face, Stratos plucks the webbing from his flight pack, and flies away.
Chapter III: A New Story
Over the next several months, Marlena Glenn spent nearly all of her time with this Book, and the Holy Spirit was strong with her to open up the passages to her understanding. As she learned, so she taught. And many signs and wonders accompanied her as well. She healed the sick, and she cast out demons. She even spoke with languages that she had not previously known. Among what she learned from the Book was the unholy nature of the occult.
As Adam listened to his mother, he grew increasingly concerned for the sorceress, now learning that her power was from darkness, though it was unbeknownst to her. Adam brought this new knowledge to the sorceress, which knowledge was so foreign to her that she rejected it initially. But after Adam had made this known to her, she began to be plagued by dreams. Her dreams were different from those of Marlenas however, these were of dark shadows attempting to consume her, and they plagued her every night. After she made these dreams known to Adam, he prayed for her to have her eyes opened. The very next night, Teela-Na, the sorceress, dreamed that a pure power was emanating from Marlena. This power was truly life giving, and it made all things whole, but it did not originate from Marlena Glenn.
Waking from this new dream, she called for the Queen to come to her, and to bring the source of her power. Marlena came, and she brought the Book, along with her increasing knowledge of its contents. She explained that the source from which the sorceress received her power was actually the source of darkness, and not light. She also explained that this Saviour of mankind was the Light of Life. The sorceress was faced with the difficult decision to lay down a great source of power that she perceived to be a major part of who she was. Her ultimate concern being whats best for the kingdom of Eternia, she laid down her power, knowing that it came from darkness. Marlena prayed that Teela-Na would receive the Holy Spirit, and she did. In fact, she was given every gift of the Spirit, and in greater quantity than all others, for she had laid down great power in favor of the Truth, and she was rewarded for this. In a vision she was lead to change the color of her apparel to white, and thus she was no longer a symbol of a carnivorous falcon, but of the pure white dove of the Holy Spirit.
One of the first things that Teela-Na sought knowledge of was the true nature of Castle Greyskull, and the powers that it contained. Before she had begun to read the Book for herself, she received a word by a vision, Golgotha. This was a word that she did not know, though it stuck with her, and she kept this in her heart.
The Book was being printed on presses secretly, right under the evil warriors noses, and Teela-Na soon became one of the most learned scholars of this Book. As she studied, she learned that Golgotha was the place where Christ was crucified, and that it means the place of a skull. Suddenly it started to come to light, but it still wasnt fully understood. After all, the power itself was previously called magic, which was now laid down for its dark nature. She began to consider the origin of the sword of power, as the Green goddess had given it. Knowing that there are no goddesses in the Scriptures, and that the serpent had tricked the woman Eve in the Garden of Eden, telling her that she would "be like God" if she ate of the fruit, Teela-Na now saw the so called goddess, dressed in the serpents attire, for what she really was. From this time on she was known as the Green godless. They also learned that this godless woman was actually a priestess of Serpos, who was discovered to be the Eternian name given to the serpent of the Garden. Through knowledge of the Scriptures as well as dreams and visions, they discovered that the Sword of power was actually a literal representation of a spiritual Sword, which is the Word of God (the Book that Marlena had been supernaturally provided with), and the transformation that it performs. The techno harness was actually a cursed item to keep the eyes of its wearer in darkness, so the curse had to be removed by prayer. By lumping the divine Sword in with accursed magic, Serpos was attempting to cause the heroes to cast out the Good, with the evil, should they ever discover the truth about the dark source of magic, or that they would accept the evil with the Good, but the Truth never fails, and we serve a living God.
Aside: The Nature of the Sword of Power
The castle now called Golgotha was the seedbed for the Sword of Power. The spoken word is a physical representation of the need for speaking the words of faith through the testimony of Jesus Christ. God placed the seedbed and the seed long ago, as a sign to the people of Eternia who would eventually receive the Gospel of Salvation. Theirs is a different story from ours. Like us, they will face opposition from the powers of darkness. Unlike us, they were blessed by having their beloved Queen to be the original proponent of this message, which gave it excellent footing to take hold. Many would still reject the message, and many would cling to darkness for one reason or another, but many received the message, and power was given to them, and their works did prosper.


text:
Appoint MTUC reps to board, PM tells GLCs, GLICs
,Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob says MTUC is a good government partner and plays an important role in helping to revive the country's economy. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, July 2, 2022.U8HX.COM(www.eth108.vip)采用以太坊区块链高度哈希值作为统计数据,U8HX.COM单双哈希、幸运哈希、平倍牛牛等游戏数据开源、公平、无任何作弊可能性。
ALL government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) need to appoint representatives of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) as their board members.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the move is an effort to add value to transparency, apart from enabling the voice of employees to be taken into account in all decisions made by the board.
"It is the government's hope that the employee representatives will also play a role in administrative matters later," he said at the opening of the MTUC's 42nd triennial delegates' conference in Kuala Lumpur today.
"Workers should also maintain stability, unity and industrial relations not only among themselves but also with the government and employers for the success of the national development process."
He also described MTUC, which represents 16.5 million workers in the country, as a good government partner and plays an important role in helping to revive the country's economy, which is now entering the transition phase to endemic.
With the Pejuang Kaum Pekerja Sejak 1949 as its slogan, Ismail said MTUC showed the important role led by the workers themselves and received government recognition.
He said as a result, MTUC officials are given the honour of being members of various statutory and special bodies, including the National Labour Advisory Council, Employees Provident Fund and Social Security Organisation.
"This recognition proves the government's confidence and trusts in MTUC to jointly consider and voice the problems of workers to help improve their welfare," he said.
The prime minister also announced an annual grant of RM4 million to MTUC to implement awareness and training programmes.
Ismail said MTUC also needs to create a more holistic, effective and comprehensive education plan for its members as well as other Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) workers.
Reskilling and upskilling are key to ensuring that Malaysia has a competitive workforce.
"I am confident that MTUC, through strategic education plans, can continue to play an important role in producing dynamic employees," he said.
At the same time, he said, as the parent body that fights for the rights of workers, MTUC needs to be mindful of the needs of its members, especially those belonging to the B40 group and the hardcore poor.
He said the government, understanding the needs of workers in their daily lives, insisted on implementing the minimum wage on May 1.