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Who's crazy for COCONUTS?
I know i'm literally addicted to everything that is coconut.
Everything from shampoos, cleansers, lotions, make up, and to food! Anything COCONUT I am in!
Coconut lately has been getting a lot of attention. Coconut's are just simply beautiful. They are filled with so many nutritious benefits.
Coconuts are Vegan.
They are also Paleo, Keto friendly, vegetarian, dairy-free and naturally gluten-free. That is why I love my coconut in everything. I love using it for recipe creations, baking, cooking and snacks.
Buddha Brand Company
I love the brand, Buddha Brand Company. All their products are something out of all natural Coconuts! I love how clean their ingredients are in all their products. Buddha Brand Company uses coconut in a very sustainable way and maximize it's uses to using the coconut fully without any waste. To add, they support the 1% for the planet in giving back to community.
Buddha Brand Company sent me a beautiful package ( as you can see below)!
I got to try some of their best-sellers and I was impressed!
I already have tried their Coconut Chips, which I love so much! Taste good, nutritious and super clean ingredients.
Also, for the first time I got to try their Dark Chocolate + Cranberry Coconut Chips which are my NEW favourite, especially during this festive holiday months! They make the perfect snack and a the perfect appetizer tray to have when you have family and/or friends over.
OMG, I got to try their COCONUT JERKY (flavour: Jalapeño Lime Coconut)! I'm in love. Enough said. Boy my taste buds are off the roof 🙂 Must try guys!
Also, this is my fist time trying the Sparkling Coconut Water (flavour: Watermelon). Literally, made me feel so good. Such a refreshing drink almost like a kool-aid! #perfectsnack on the go! #thirstybuddha
Check out more of @buddhabranco ! I love how they inspire to eat healthy and feel good about ourselves. They also care for the community and the environment! Their products are super clean and to add they are "vegan, Non-GMO, naturally gluten-free, free from trans fats and paleo-friendly, you've found your sweet spot".
Check out their Instagram here @buddhabrandco!
At least give their Coconut Chips a try! Find it at your local grocery store!
Let me know how you enjoy it!
Love you all,


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We prepared some basic information about requirements to arrive to Czech Republic from foreign country (eg. visa, alien police), how to get from Prague airport to České Budějovice and University of South Bohemia, information how the campus looks like and what services are available. We also include some tips how you can spend your free time (e.g. cultural, sport activities).
Transportation in Czech Republic
Accomodation in České Budějovice
Tips what you can do in your free time
Important information for arriving students to our University: click here

subset: commoncrawl


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Marie has been consulting in the dental industry since 2003. She specializes in coaching doctors through major career transitions such as: buying a dental practice, starting one from scratch or finding a dental associate position. Marie received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Marketing from Brigham Young University. Her graduate work and research at Regis University was focused specifically on the business start-ups process (examples: market and demographic research, business plan development, effective marketing strategies, real estate negotiations, and legal issues with hiring and retaining employees).
Marie has been surrounded by the dental industry most of her life. Her father, Larry M. Chatterley has brokered dental practices for over 24 years. Her older brother, Daniel Chatterley is an oral maxillofacial surgeon currently stationed with the military in Germany. Marie's younger brother, Eric Chatterley is a General Dentist practicing in Highlands Ranch, CO.
While an undergrad, Marie began her research in dental practice management (link to Dental Practice Management page). She has worked full time in a number of offices, allowing her to implement various strategies and measure their success. Marie enjoys the process of seeing a new business owner succeed! She is constantly researching and implementing new strategies to meet this goal.
Growing up in the Rocky Mountains, Marie grew very passionate about the outdoors. She spends her free time snowboarding, skiing, river rafting, kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering, fishing, backpacking, wake boarding and snowshoeing. She was a competitive dancer in high school and college. She still enjoys dancing and coaching dance teams.
"Marie has consistently provided quality consultations and coaching with opening and growing my practice and establishing my practice in the community. Each time I work with Marie, she shows a great amount of knowledge, has always been readily available, and is personable and very professional. Marie is very detail-oriented and has always been very thorough each time I have worked with her. I would highly recommend anyone who is looking to open, purchase, transition or better manage their practice to work with Marie." - Dr. Eric Anderson
Read about trends within the dental industry, tips, secrets to success and more.
© Copyright 2015-2020 Pro Dental Designs. | Dental Websites | Dental Marketing | All Rights Reserved.


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This practice with Bernie Clark is great for people who are short of time and need a deep rest mentally, but also want to work to open the hips and lower back. It can also be done before a more active, energetic practice.
Note: People with sacroiliac issues (or sciatica) may wish to go very gently and not hold the poses so long. Anyone with bulging or herniated discs should skip the twists and forward folds.


text: My book is now listed on Amazon. Drones will be delivering it to your door before you know it! I have a favor to ask for those who have read it. Consider taking a few minutes to review it on the site. People actually read them and make their purchases based on them. That's why I haven't read the Twilight series.


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Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and hard-wired at a deeper, finer-grained molecular scale.
In an article in the March 8 issue of the journal PLoS Computational Biology, physicists Travis Craddock and Jack Tuszynski of the University of Alberta, and anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff of the University of Arizona demonstrate a plausible mechanism for encoding synaptic memory in microtubules, major components of the structural cytoskeleton within neurons.


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Freaking News
Rat - 19 pictures
Apprentice Photoshop Contest - 19 entries
Contest Options
all entries
all comments
high resolution view
contest gallery
Contest Info
1/1/2008 06:00
1/5/2008 06:00
Contest Directions:
Photoshop this
rat image (CLICK HERE to download)
any way you wish. Examples may include merging this rat with some other animal or object, including the rat in paintings. These are just some ideas.
Many thanks to foxiq of Stock Exchange for providing the source image.
Contest Info
1/1/2008 06:00
1/5/2008 06:00
19 pictures
View All
Rat Building a Cheese Wall
0 comments
full view
Score: 5.256
Views: 330221
Rat in Pain From a Trap
0 comments
full view
Score: 5.233
Views: 351044
Le' Real Rat
0 comments
full view
Score: 5.231
Views: 330349
Rat with a Tyre
0 comments
full view
Score: 5.094
Views: 329551
Rat in a Faucet Watched by a Cat
0 comments
full view
Score: 5.046
Views: 328988
Radioactive Rat
1 comments
full view
A little more attention to the masking would improve this image tons. Really great idea!
Score: 4.852
Views: 327807
E.T and a Rat
i don't know about the moon and the cheese..maybe i should just leave the moon as it was? meh
1 comments
full view
I like the idea of the cheese moon, a crisper source image would really bump this up. Good job making it match though!
Score: 4.844
Views: 329537
Rat Being Washed
1 comments
full view
Really good idea and nice touch with the color change. The rat looks a bit stretched, though.
Score: 4.712
Views: 329123
Rat Snack
Not my best work, but I like it.
0 comments
full view
Score: 4.39
Views: 329442
19 image entries
View All
to post comments and participate in contests.
This contest is fueled by the following news: The rat is a type of mammal of the mouse family. The length of the body is 8-30cm, the tail also has the same length and the weight generally does not exceed 500 grams. There are in total about 70 types living in the forests of tropical and sub tropical countries. Gray (R. norvegicus) and black (Rattus rattus) rats after human beings have settled widely. Rats harm the human being by eating and damaging food items. Rats are also carriers of helminthic and other lot of infection diseases. At present there are so many rat lovers (rat-farmers), which hold domestic cats at their houses. Domestic rats are generally descendants of domesticated gray (stepsons) or rarely black rats. The average life is 2-4 years; the maximum-recorded life is 7 years 4 months. Male rats generally weigh on average 400 to 800 grams and female rats, 250 to 450 grams. Female rats are generally calm and affectionate, female rats are more active and sportive. Domestic rats are classified to several types, sections and grades. Part of the names of the wool covering and coloring of rats is borrowed from cats and dogs. Houses of rats Special beautiful cages or multi level cages are very much suitable for polecats or chinchillas. Generally, cages for polecats are very small and wheels with small dimensions are very dangerous for rats and may damage their tails. Such may be the cage for rats. It is necessary to fence the rats from droughts and direct solar rays. As feeders, it is better to use cellulose, corn or cellulose-mineral fillers. Hay badly absorbs the smell, and saw dust may serve as a tick source. Feeders from coniferous wood have a negative effect on rats, as their resins are extremely harmful for their respiratory system. Rats are social and it is better to keep them as single gender pairs. In this case, rats generally interact with human beings and go for walk. The mating of rats: The basic rule during the introduction of old and new rats is that it should take place in neutral territory. Before keeping the animals in a single cage, it is necessary to clean thoroughly to remove the existing smell. The mating of adult male rats takes time and is a difficult process. The adult male rats are generally loyal to the young generation, where they do not anticipate competitors. The co-existence of rats and other domestic animals * Dogs and cats may co-exist with rats under the condition of observance due to precautionary conditions, and in the absence of clearly expressed hunting sources of later ones. * Rats and birds are not compatible. Big birds are harmful for rats and serve as food for them. And also, it is not recommended to allow joint strolls of tortoises and rats. * Rabbits and sea pigs - there are examples of the successful handling of rats with these animals, but for preventing any unfortunate cases, better to keep them in different cages, and allow joint strolls under supervision. * Mice, hamsters and other small rodents - the keeping of rats with mice and hamsters is dangerous for the latter ones. Dangers lie in wait for rats during a walk in living areas. Many rats like the wires very much, especially in a soft shell. That's why, it is extremely not recommended to keep them in freely accessible places. Boxes and crimps generally help with this problem. Rats also may bite any objects of furniture and household items. The specific weaknesses entirely depend on the individuality of the rat and may vary from being completely harmless to total destruction. For a rat, always there is a danger of getting an accidental injury by a human being, that's why while stepping or sitting, it is necessary to take care to avoid the injury of rats. Some individuals may be very curious and may try to go out of the quarter, into walls or underground. The behavior of rats in darkness is almost the same as in illuminated conditions as the sight plays a secondary role for rats. Rats not trained for being in cages may find other housing within the quarter. Trained ones generally come back to their cages on their own any time. You can cheat the rat by offering a delicacy. If the shelter is known, then you can try to spray non-toxic spray or water from a spray gun. Jumps and climbing: Rats may jump to enough height and enough length. It is necessary to consider, that rats may climb on curtains, jump to one-meter length and down. Generally rats like to climb on human beings and to avoid scratches, it is better to carry them with full hands while handling them. Diet The normal diet of rats may contain cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits, boiled meat and eggs. Though rats may consume less water in a balanced diet, it is necessary to keep water in the cage desirably in nipple bottles. The following products give side effects to the rats: gaseous drinks, bean stuff, chocolate, raw potato, raw red and Brussels cabbage, raw artichoke, green banana and spinach. Breeding On average, one female rat may give birth up to 20 rats every 1.5 months. In connection with this, it is not desirable to hold the rats of different sex in one place. Sterilization is possible, but it may result in different consequences and that's why it is used predominately as per medical check up results and for controlling the aggressiveness of male rats. The duration of pregnancy for rats is 20 to 25 days. After giving birth, small rats should be with their mother for 4 to 5 weeks, as during this period, immunity will be formed and training takes place. After this, it is necessary to divide the male rats from their mother and sisters to avoid unplanned descendants. In zoo-shops, very frequently this is not considered, which results in the purchasing of already pregnant rats. Mating of domestic rats with wild rats: The mating of domestic rats, with wild gray color rats and getting descendants is possible. Mating with black rats is not possible. In case of artificial fertilization, the pregnancy ends with abortion. The character and habits of descendants of domestic and wild rats are less predictable. There is a requirement of high alertness and aggressiveness in relation to human beings. And also, equally take care to improve the health and heredity. Diseases and old age" The average duration of life of a decorative rat is about 2 years. Some rats in rare cases live up to 3.5 years. So many factors effect the life duration, including heredity, care, balanced diet and preventive health care. Among rat-farmers, there is an opinion that a decorative rat may live up to 5-7 years under respective care. But experience accumulated in many years by rat-farmers shows that this is incorrect.
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You are here
NCCEH eJournal Club - Water Quality Survey of Splash Pads After a Waterborne Salmonellosis Outbreak
Topics: Contaminants and Hazards, Infectious Diseases, Recreational Water, Water Location: General, Canada
The NCCEH eJournal Club is a series of informal hour-long sessions discussing and appraising articles relating to environmental health. Active participation is encouraged. Although these sessions are directed at public health inspectors, anyone interested in a given topic is more than welcome to take part. Remote viewing instructions are available on the Eventbrite registration page.
Title of paper: Water Quality Survey of Splash Pads After a Waterborne Salmonellosis Outbreak--Tennessee, 2014 (Clayton et al., 2017).
- Dr. Angela Eykelbosh, Environmental Health Scientist, NCCEH
- Chris Russell, Specialist Environmental Health Officer, Interior Health
Continuing education credits: 2 CIPHI PDHs
|Event Date
|Sep 28, 2017
12:00 to 13:00PDT
|Posted by NCCEH
|Sep 14, 2017
|Location Type


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Tools & Resources
ERI Data Platform
Goals: Create a suite of interactive data visualization tools that can combine the many kinds of data about the state of Indiana produced by ERI to develop novel solutions to problems posed by environmental change.
Hoosier Environmental Forecast Matrix
Goals: Incorporate data from all the modeling projects to generate predictions of rainfall, flooding and water supply, and their effects on Indiana's ecosystems.
Hoosier Resilience Index
Goals: Create a tool for Indiana communities and regions to measure their readiness to respond to long-term changes and immediate challenges, and to track their progress over time.
Images of Change
Goals: Produce the largest online archive ever assembled of historical representations of Indiana nature from early years to the present, drawing on materials from the IU Lilly and Wells libraries, and to create an anthology of texts.
Urban Green Inventory
Goals: Create a spatially-explicit inventory of community natural assets to inform design and policy that will promote Indiana as the "Silicon Valley of Urban Green Infrastructure."
Vector Shield
Goals: Develop a statewide early warning system to map the invading front of vector-borne human diseases, such as Zika virus and Lyme disease, that will be available as a website with real-time data.
Wildlife Migration Dynamic Mapping
Goals: Predict organisms' capacity to adapt to change by studying their physiology and behavior and their levels of genetic variation in key traits that may allow effective responses to environmental change.


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Friday 10th we braved the weather to drive down to Wangaratta for a very special weekend.
The flooding in Wangaratta peaked on the Wednesday, so had gone down alot by Friday when we arrived. Still it wasn't down to normal levels yet.
This is the Ovens River near the caravan park were we stayed. The river should be on the other side of the trees that you can see in the water.
This guy was totally cut off. As you can see his yard is very small at the moment. Good for getting out of mowing.
This shows how much high the water was only 2 days ago. This bit of wood has been wedged inbetween 2 tree as it was hurled along by the raging waters.
Saturday 11th
As the weekend was a surprise for Nan and Pop we chose to make ourselves disappear on Sabbath. What better way than going out to Bright.
Here we are playing follow the leader. Uncle B was our fearless leader. As he was the local we all hoped he knew where he was going, cause we didn't. Brother S and his family were 2nd in charge. Mum and Dad 3rd and we followed up the end.
After having a great BBQ at Bright we called back into the Red Stag, a deer farm, for the kids to feed the local. We got to admire the views. Look at all that snow.
This is a very rare sight. Sister M with no tongue.
Sunday 12th, 2010.
The Big day. Nan & Pop's 60th Wedding aniversary.
It was only a half surprise as someone let the cat out of the bag. But it was still a surprise as to who was actually coming. Nan and Pop walked into the church hall to the wedding March played by me.
After a very yummy lunch of soup and sticky date puddings, it was time to cut the cake.
Then it was family photo time.
You will notice the Master J isn't exactly happy on the floor. He was feeling rather overwelmed by all the girl germs.
Thats all folks.


text: Today is the Birthday of the Ace video director "DIRECTOR ABD". CEO/FOUNDER/DIRECTOR Abd ClearTones Abd Filmz The video guru has over the years metamorphosed into an engine block of the south south music/entertainment industry with series of jaw dropping visuals. the director has finally drop his first ever short movie #MASUN As A Gift To his fan to expressed how important it is for him to delve into the movie industry in order to set up a standard for other directors and movie producers to follow. He has chosen to drop a teaser of #MASUN today to mark his birthday. Director ABD has been the success behind so many artists and videos from the south south, including, SLIZZY E, PC DRE ZIK MARFI Jacky sula etc.


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Teens who have been sexually traumatized benefit more from therapy that includes recounting the assault than from supportive counseling, a study suggests.
Teens who have been sexually traumatized benefit more from therapy that includes recounting the assault than from supportive counseling, a study suggests.
Such exposure treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder has had some success among adults. But it has not found favor for treatment of teens because of fear that it could exacerbate symptoms for young adults who have not developed robust coping skills.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine studied a modified form of the therapy tailored for adolescents. Over the course of six years, they randomly assigned 61 adolescent girls, ages 13 to 18, either to counseling or exposure therapy.
All received 14 counseling sessions of 60 to 90 minutes, and were evaluated at three months' and six months' time, then underwent a 12-month follow-up. Those who received the prolonged exposure showed a greater decline in PTSD and depression symptom severity during the treatment period, and greater improvement in overall function, according to the study, published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The improvements were sustained over the one-year period, according to the study.
Most studies of PTSD among adolescents have examined youth who were at risk, such as those living in violent circumstances. But a 2003 study found that the six-month prevalence for PTSD was 3.7 percent for boys and 6.3 percent for girls.


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A lone black cat contrasts against the bright and broken building. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
An Iguana scales ancient Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza. Yucatan, Mexico.
Tourists wait for lunch in the Caribbean after a morning of Whale Shark diving. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Wildflowers and the sunset at Big Sur - California.
People bustle on through Grand Central Station approaching rush hour. New York.
A typically bright and ornate Yucatan building advertises a female presdential candidate. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Shadow and light -
Zion NP, Utah.
A lone red flag stands against a bleak sky. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Swing jumping into the black depths of an isolated Cenote. Valladolid, Mexico.
Flowering Cactus and sunlit peaks in Zion NP, Utah.
The Brooklyn Bridge disappears into the fog looking toward Brooklyn. New York.
Swimming in the Caribbean. Tulum, Mexico.
Looking out into the alien monochrome landscape - Arizona.
I wondered how long this place has been on the market for as it decays. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Red door and a weathered wall. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
A leaky beetle is caught in a monsoon. Valladolid, Mexico.
Twins with matching outfits jog in Central Park, New York.
Two pigeons take a break. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Backlit vines reach toward the sun in a Cenote. Valladolid, Mexico.
The largest temple at Chichen Itza. Yucatan, Mexico.
A pathway leading from Cenote Hacienda. Valladolid, Mexico.
The sun goes down at Zion National Park, Utah.
Black cat against a pink wall bathed in sun. Isla Mujeres, Mexico.
Street vendor wares. Chichen Itza, Mexico.
View from 35,000 feet, on the way across the Atlantic.
A statue looks toward Ground Zero. New York, United States.
A veiwing device on Liberty Island points towards Manhattan. New York, USA.
A jewelery store in the jungle. Yucatan, Mexico.
An Iguana surveys its kingdom from atop a Cenote. Yucatan, Mexico.


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Happy New Year! Kick off the new year by cleaning out your pantries! I spent several hours going through all the spice and herbs in the pantry and tossing out all the expired spices and spices without labels. It was a chore. I found spices that expired in 2012! When food is prepared with spices the spices should taste fresh … Read More
What to do with White Sonora Wheat Berries
I'm always getting unusual things from the Farmers Market, if you know me you know I love new experiences. On a recent visit, I brought back white Sonora White Wheat Berries. Lucky for me my farmer's market friends advised me on what to do. Thanks Eric and Emma! I'm putting everything to good use! Cooking White Sonora Wheat Berries like … Read More
Agritopia CSA: What do with PattyPan Squash
I never had PattyPan Squash before needless to say I was a bit befuddled when it arrived with CSA from The Farm at Agritopia the other day. I Google'd recipes for PattyPan Squash found one I really liked the sound of. This recipe for Stuffed PattyPan Squash comes from Scharko Farms with a couple of modifications. QUINOA-STUFFED PATTYPAN SQUASH 1/2 … Read More
From Farm to Salad
I was at the Gilbert Farmer's Market and picked up fennel from Agritopia and grapefruits from Phil's Farm. I created a fennel, grapefruit and mint salad. It's delicious and refreshing. Here's the very easy recipe: 2 grapefruits peeled and cut slices in half 1 bulb of fennel thinly sliced for bite sizes handful of fresh mint – we grow our … Read More
Lovely Year of Daily Eats at the Gilbert Farmer's Market
I was doing my taxes, upon reviewing my spending in 2013 I discovered I spent $1734.26 at the Gilbert Farmer's Market. Eating farm fresh certainly had a greater impact on my health.
Juicing Beets
Beets may not be your favorite vegetable but they are packed-full of healthy goodness. Juicing beets requires knowing what beets taste best with. When I juice beets I also think of the other vitamins that I may need to get through the day. In the example in the photo I juiced: 1 Beet with beet leaves 4 Celery sticks 1 … Read More
Adding Magic to Pancakes
There is nothing like a good Sunday breakfast that sets the tone for the rest of the week! This morning I decided to do what I love to do – celebrate a memorable Sunday. Yesterday, while at the Gilbert Farmer's Market, I was pleasantly surprised by a new product created by Iss's Magic Mixes, Cranberry Maple Pecan! It only took one … Read More
More Juicing What About Composting?
Over past month I've been exploring juicing with great gusto! Juicing has replaced my breakfast and lunch meals. But after juicing I'm left with wonderful nutrient rich remains. I started a compost bucket. Low and behold my mother, Joyce, decided she would make a garden to and use the compost. Joyce did a terrific job of researching home garden composting. She … Read More
What's Growing in Gilbert?
Twice weekly trips to theGilbert's Farmer's Market make my life in transition to Gilbert AZ a real pleasure. I love farmer's markets, I've been to farm many different farmer's market's in the US, UK and Europe. I love the healthy goodness that come direct from farm to my fork to my body! Mostly I enjoy the honest pride expressed by … Read More
Getting Juiced
What started out as a harmlessness preoccupation, has turned into a ritual! Juicing is my new love – I do mean the healthy juicing. Once I saw the photo Kate Hough posted on Facebook a few weeks ago I knew I had to try it too. Here's Kate's recipe for green juice is inspiring 1 head romaine lettuce with the heart of the lettuce … Read More


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Viewsonic releases its own Netbook.
Profile: Nathan Simon
Well we all know how much I like Netbooks for the portability and usability, and the computer industry always welcomes competition, well here you have it.
Viewsonic will be releasing two Netbooks in the US before the end of the year.
– VNB100 is based on Intel's 1.6GHz Atom N270 chip with 1GB memory, a 160GB hard drive and an ExpressCard slot. It weighs about three pounds and has an estimated battery life of three hours.
– VNB101 is lighter, around 2.4 pounds, comes with the 1.66GHz N280 Atom processor, 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard drive and a slightly smaller battery with about five hours of use time. Both models have a 10-inch displays.


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Spay Your Dog
AILA, (Aliança Internacional do Animal) in Brazil supports the neutering of cats and dogs, as portrayed in this print advertising campaign by Fischer & Friends. Millions of animals are abandoned, get sick and end up dead, raising the chances of zoonosis, inter-species spread of disease. The philanthropic non-governmental non-profit organisation believes that it is possible to avoid this scenario by castrating your pet.
The Spay Your Dog campaign was developed at Fischer & Friends, Sao Paulo, by executive creative director Mario D'Andrea, creative directors Rafael Merel and Marcelo Fedrizzi, art director Breno Balbino, editor Flavio Ferri, art buyer Leo Lopes, account director Alex Isnenghi, media planner Adrian Ferguson, working with AILA marketing director Marta Giraldes.
Filed under: Print
Tagged: Fischer & Friends
Location: Brazil


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Amelia Wall Warner, CEO and Founder, of Global Specimen Solutions, Inc. has been named one of the top Women in Business by the Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) as a recipient of the 2017 Women in Business Awards. She was selected as one of 26 recipients of the award from an elite group of about 100 women who are successful leaders both in their business lives and through their service and commitment to the community. Amelia will be recognized by TBJ at an awards luncheon on April 21st.
As CEO and Founder of Global Specimen Solutions, Inc. (GSS), Amelia first conceived of the novel service offerings provided by GSS just a few years ago, and has since built the company from the ground up. GSS offers innovative software and services that are critical to ensure compliance in the tracking and use of specimens in research. The proprietary GlobalCODE® software comprehensively tracks specimens in research from beginning to end to fill a marketplace gap that has existed since clinical trial outsourcing became more routine in clinical development. The company has created positions in Raleigh and across the US strategically leveraging expertise across the country. GSS provides a niche solution to the research community with the value evident in the fast-paced growth the company has seen just over the last 2 years since the inception.
In addition to her role at GSS, Amelia is an Adjunct Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Pharmacy where she works with local education and training initiatives to build training programs for NC-based professionals in Clinical Trial Data Management. Amelia also serves the community through her active involvement with a non-profit organization called the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF). Alopecia areata results in hair loss due to the immune system of the body mistakenly attacking the hair follicles. At this point in time, researchers know that there is a genetic component to the disease (both parents must pass it on) but they do not yet know what in the environment triggers it. Amelia has been able to support the organization by offering the services available at GSS to support their research efforts, specifically focused on enhancing their clinical data registry and biorepository which was created to give researchers access to biospecimens and clinical data that will help them find the causes and treatments for the condition. Amelia has also been a member of the Junior League for 15 years where she has worked to implement community projects for the benefit of Women and Children including the Cultural Clinic for disadvantaged schools in Philadelphia and serves on the Board of Directors for the Nonprofit Moorestown School of Music for 3 years.
Amelia is honored to be recognized by TBJ as a women business leader in the Triangle, and her fellow colleagues at GSS are proud of her accomplishments and the tireless effort and dedication she puts into ensuring the success of GSS.
The press release from TBJ can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2017/03/08/tbj-reveals-2017-class-of-women-in-business-awards.html


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Smart Speakers, Voice Assistants and Location - 07/08/2017
Do you speak to a voice assistant? Perhaps you ask Google Assistant via Google Home to check the local weather or have Alexa via an Amazon Echo tell you a "knock knock" joke. You might request more complex tasks like finding a local restaurant with open tables for tonight. For now, those are about the extent of current assistants' spatial capabilities.
I dug into the Amazon Echo's "skills," the name for the voice-activated apps it runs. The most utilitarian skills related to maps and location offer answers to questions like "How long will a known commuting route take today?" or "Where is a person (who must be sharing their location information via an app on their phone)?" Alexa can also offer a response to "Where is my favourite food truck?" I also found several skills that store the locations of objects. The user announces where something is, "My keys are in the right-hand desk drawer," so it can be recalled later, with "Where are my keys?"
There are some "educational" games offering geographic trivia questions or fun facts. One game challenges the player to identify contiguous states in the U.S. starting from one coast to reach the other coast. Several skills report back the latitude and longitude of a city, though I'm hard-pressed to identify a common use cases for that skill.
Google Home doesn't have skills or apps, but rather depends on the search engine's ability to mine data from the Internet. Queries about traffic, local events and businesses, weather and travel information are fair game. Users can build "recipes" that use location information to trigger an action in a supported device by using the scripting tool IFTTT ("If this, then that"). For example, with supported sensors and connected appliances, it'd be possible to start the oven when a specific vehicle crossed a geofence.
Apple's entry into the smart speaker space, the HomePod, based on the iPhone's Siri, was announced in June and is expected to ship in December of this year. My suspicion is that like Amazon and Google's offerings, it will support only basic location queries at launch.
What's the Advantage?
Why are smart speakers so popular? I'll suggest part of the success relates to location. For Google and Apple, these speakers take the "smarts" of their respective in-phone assistants and bring them into the home for the family to use. For Amazon, the Echo and its progeny, the Dot, Look and the Show, put Alexa's smarts, and an open shopping cart, in every room. If consumers follow the smart speaker vision to its logical conclusion, these devices will be located across a property such that users can get a response to a request from any square inch, inside or outside the house!
The other reason for the speaker's popularity is the interface. Speaking the "wake word", from wherever in the house the user happens to be, prompts a response. That can prevent a lot of wasted time getting out of bed, washing hands or settling children before getting the information of interest!
What's Next?
Perhaps the most valuable products of the widespread use of these assistants, both at home (via smart speakers) and away (via a mobile device), are the data collected about each user. Data on what an individual asks or orders from these locations can lead to incredibly detailed service offerings and marketing opportunities. The future may hold some mix of exceedingly valuable suggestions and endless annoying promotions.
From a geospatial standpoint, I hope these assistants will include more support for spatial queries via voice. I'd like to be able to ask, "When can I expect the 88 bus at the stop at the corner?" and "When should I expect it to start raining in Prague tomorrow night?" The future, I suspect, will not be a quiet one.
This article was published in GIS Professional August 2017Last updated: 22/01/2020


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A rifle cartridge developed in the United States and originally used in the M16 rifle. It is derived from the .223 Remington cartridge.
The 5.56mm Round is a type of cartridge in DayZ Standalone. It is a high velocity small caliber round. In DayZ, it is used in the M4A1, Steyr AUG and AK101 rifles. The rounds can be found in abandoned military bases and other general military locations. They are found individually, packed in 20 round boxes, or loaded in magazines. They can be stacked in groups of 30 to save inventory space.
Weapons using this ammunition:
- M4A1 – which can be fed using one of the following magazines; 30Rnd STANAG standard or coupled magazines or CMAG with capacity of 10, 20, 30, or 40 rounds.
- AK101 – which can be fed using the 30Rnd AK101 mag.
- Steyr AUG – which can be fed using the 30Rnd Steyr AUG mag
The 5.56 round is based on the real world 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge. It was developed for the American AR-15 rifle, later the M16 and several variants, during the Vietnam war in the 1950s, derived from the .223 Remington rifle round. The 5.56x45mm round also replaced the 7.62x51mm round's role as NATO's standard rifle cartridge. While it offers higher muzzle velocity, less weight, and less recoil, it also has a much lower muzzle energy and low penetration than the 7.62x51mm NATO.


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SPEECH TITLES AND/OR TOPICS Click Here for Detailed Description
Customer Service | Diversity | Olympics
Stephen Frost is a globally recognized inclusion, leadership and communications expert. From 2007-2012 Stephen designed, led and implemented the inclusion programs for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games as Head of Diversity and Inclusion for the London Organizing Committee (LOCOG). He was responsible for 22 programs across a 200,000 person workforce, £1.1 billion procurement spend, and 57 delivery functions. These ranged from inclusivity in an 11 million ticket program, to accessibility at 134 separate venues. His team managed a series of recruitment outreach action plans that achieved unprecedented workforce inclusion. The LOCOG Business Charter set new standards in supplier diversity and LOCOG became the first organization in the UK to achieve the Diversity Works for London Gold Standard and Advanced Level of the Equality Standard for Sport.
From 2004-2007 Stephen established and led the workplace team at Stonewall, Europe's largest LGBT equality organization; establishing and growing the Diversity Champions program to over 300 members, launching the UK's first lesbian and gay recruitment guide, establishing the LGBT Leadership program in conjunction with Henley Management College, and developing the Workplace Equality Index which has become a standard across many leading UK and global employers.
Mr. Frost started his career in advertising, where he worked on disability and age awareness campaigns, and has worked in consultancy and communications in the USA, Greece, Tanzania, China and Brazil. He was a Hertford College Scholar at Oxford and a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard. He was elected recipient of the 2010 Peter Robertson Award for Equality and Diversity Champions and in 2011 he was named one of the top 100 influential LGBT people in the UK, and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Stephen Frost is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, advises the Football Association and HM Government on diversity best practice and is Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. He is a Visiting Fellow in the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvards Kennedy School 2012-2013 and a Board Member of MSDUK Supplier Diversity.


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Monday, 19 January 2015
Causes, consequences & solutions: read the article & give your opinion
2 comments:
- Anonymous19 January 2015 at 17:12
it is true that, as Byanyima conjectures, "extreme inequality...is the result of policies; there is a natural dichotomy between policies of austerity that are draconian out of necessity and iniquitous taxation policies that divest the destitute of acceptable incomes. In recent years, American politics has been manipulated by the super-rich, albeit this is expounded by Democrats for pure electoral appeal, in any case, Obama must, in his last term, attempt to redress the inimical inequity that suffuses the statistically ranked richest economy in the world else conditions may worsen. Elsewhere in the world, inequitable livelihoods can not simply subsist on alms; to close the worldwide wealth ruction there must be a collaborative effort coordinated on a multi-national level.ReplyDelete
- Nestor Makhno20 January 2015 at 18:59
I honestly don't think you have to be revolutionary Marxist to see a problem here. Russell Brand argues, quite convincingly in my opinion, that if you just slough off all the media spin and all the layers of societal propaganda heaped on us you can actually just realize how obviously and unjustifiably wrong this is. We all live on a planet which has an amount of wealth and resources more than sufficient to support everyone.Think about it: there are 80 people who are wealthier than 3500000000. There need to be serious steps towards profit caps and redistribution of wealth. How could we not? Why? They've earned the money? Sure, by trekking through a moral wasteland to the top, but more importantly who needs that amount of money? Nobody needs, or should even want more money than, say, £100 million, and that's generous. Do CEOs need that extra million more than a child that is starving to death in its mother's arms? 'Profit caps will put people off and fetter innovation'. Money doesn't motivate people beyond simple manual labor, its only an issue when one doesn't have enough to live comfortably - that's not some potty Leninist theory, that's a fact. The +$3,000,000,000,000 the US spent on bailing out the banks last year could have given every homeless person in America a $50,000 p. a. job. I am honestly eager to hear why this could not happen, as in my opinion it certainly should be happening, people's awareness needs to be raised!ReplyDelete


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Women's Circuit Race Rosters Announced
Published on May 7, 2014
Some of the Sport's Most Decorated Road Racers and Time Trialists Will Compete over Two Days – from Olympians to World and National Champions, 2014 Edition of America's Greatest Race Will Feature Strongest Field of Women Ever
LOS ANGELES (May 7, 2014) – AEG, presenter of the 2014 Amgen Tour of California, is once again proud to host the top women in cycling at its annual event. In 2014, for the first time, the women will be racing for two days, including an opening day circuit race followed by a second day time trial. Both competitions will be presented by SRAM.
Following the start of the men's race May 11, women from the top professional, national and composite teams will face off on the 1.25-mile circuit course around the State Capitol building in Sacramento. Capped at 115 riders, the massive field will include some of the sport's best. Many of the women racing are repeat Olympians, World and National titleholders, and have resumes including victories at top road races around the world.
The field is filled with former and current National Champions including:
- Team Specialized-lululemon's Evelyn Stevens, who also is defending champion of last year's time trial; and Carmen Small, current National Time Trial Champion, as well as a podium finisher at the 2012 National Road Race Championships;
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team's Alison Powers, who has held multiple national titles; and Mara Abbott, two-time National Road Race Champion and two-time winner of the Giro d'Italia Femminile (2010 and 2013);
- FCS|Zngine p/b Mr. Restore's Amber Neben, who has held multiple national and world titles in road racing and time trial;
- DNA Cycling p/b K4's Tina Pic, one of the winningest women of overall race finishes and championship titles in the U.S.;
- SPY GIANT RIDE p/b MRI's Robin Farina, 2011 National Road Race Champion.
Other current National Champions competing in the circuit race will include China's National Champion Ni Man Song, riding for China Chongming-Giant-Champion System Pro Cycling, and New Zealand's two-time National Road Race Champion Rushlee Buchanan, riding for UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. Also featured will be TWENTY16 Pro Cycling p/b Breakaway from Cancer's Greta Neimanas, the first U.S. paracyclist to be signed to a professional team.
"We are committed to advancing women's cycling in the U.S. and providing a powerful platform, and there is no better way to do that than showcasing so many talented athletes in two different yet equally exciting race days," said Kristin Bachochin, executive director of the race and senior vice president of AEG Sports. "We are thrilled fans will have the opportunity to cheer on some of the most decorated women cyclists in the sport at the 2014 Amgen Tour of California."
The invitation-only time trial May 12 in Folsom will use the same fast and flat 12.6-mile course the men will race later in the day. The 20 cyclists announced last month (http://bit.ly/ATOCwomen) will include powerhouse competitors in the sport and riders representing the top three finishing teams in the circuit race.
One of the time-honored aspects of the race is the opportunity for fans to share the excitement of welcoming the riders while interacting with them at the annual Amgen Tour of California Opening Gala. This year's event at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium will include a presentation of the cyclists as well as live music and entertainment, hosted bar and sit-down dinner, and a silent auction featuring a variety of fabulous items. To purchase single tickets or tables, please visit https://2014amgengala.eventbrite.com.
For the most robust cycling fans, VIP Experiences are also available where fans can get behind the scenes of the race, watch the post-race press conference with the day's leaders (closed to the public) and even ride in a team car during the race. For more details, contact firstname.lastname@example.com or 1-877-234-8425.
And, there are plenty of ways to take in the pro action, whether in person on the race course May 11 – 18, via daily broadcasts on NBC Sports Network and NBC Sports (final Sunday), or by downloading the free Tour Tracker app, which features live race updates, rider background and full race results. More information on all of the ways to watch is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
About the Amgen Tour of California
The Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race created and presented by AEG that challenges the world's top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course that traverses hundreds of miles of California's iconic highways, byways and coastlines each spring. The teams chosen to participate have included Olympic medalists, Tour de France contenders and World Champions. More information is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.
About Amgen
Amgen is committed to unlocking the potential of biology for patients suffering from serious illnesses by discovering, developing, manufacturing and delivering innovative human therapeutics. This approach begins by using tools like advanced human genetics to unravel the complexities of disease and understand the fundamentals of human biology.
Amgen focuses on areas of high-unmet medical need and leverages its biologics manufacturing expertise to strive for solutions that improve health outcomes and dramatically improve people's lives. A biotechnology pioneer since 1980, Amgen has grown to be the world's largest independent biotechnology company, has reached millions of patients around the world and is developing a pipeline of medicines with breakaway potential. For more information, visit www.amgen.com and follow us on www.twitter.com/amgen.
About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Anschutz Company, owns or controls a collection of companies including facilities such as STAPLES Center, StubHub Center, Sprint Center, The O2, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE and Best Buy Theater Times Square; sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), two Major League Soccer franchises, two hockey franchises operated in Europe, management of privately held shares of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Amgen Tour of California cycling road race; AEG Live, the organization's live-entertainment division, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring and a variety of programming and multi-media production. For more information, visit AEG today at www.aegworldwide.com.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Michael Roth, AEG
Eileen Tanner, GolinHarris
Diana Valdez, GolinHarris


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|1 tbsp
|(15 mL) Olive oil
|Onion, diced
|Carrot, diced
|Stalk celery, diced
|Cloves garlic, minced
|(800 g) Maple Leaf® Ham Steak, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) pieces
|7 cups
|(1.75 L) Reduced sodium chicken broth
|1 can
|(19 oz) Cannellini beans or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
|1/2 tsp
|(2 mL) Chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
|Dash of hot sauce
|Pepper to taste
|2 cups
|(500 mL) Chopped fresh kale leaves
HEAT olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and ham and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Pour in broth, beans and herbs. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Stir in kale and cook until wilted. Ladle soup into serving bowls.
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Saturday, February 26, 2011
Why I colored outside the lines
In a week or so I'll start to say more about the new Irene Kelly book, Disturbance, so I don't want those of you who've been waiting and waiting for this next entry in the series to fear that you'll have to wait until June to hear anything about it. But since the new edition of The Messenger is out now, I'm going to talk about it first.
Besides, last year Real Life intervened and I did a lot less blogging than I wanted to do, so this allows me to do a bit of catching up.
Why, some of you wonder, did I step outside of writing crime fiction to write a supernatural thriller? Was I trying to jump on the vampire bandwagon? Did I have a sudden urge to "go woo-woo"? Was I sick of writing about Irene? Ending the series?
The Messenger is not my first foray into writing about the supernatural. My short stories "Ghost of a Chance" and "The Abbey Ghosts" have supernatural elements in them. The Messenger was, however, my first attempt to write a novel in that genre.
As for the popularity of vampire novels, that had no influence at all. Some writers are happy doing a lot of market research and deciding what they'll write based on that. I'm not one of them. I've never taken that approach to choosing what I'll write.
I should mention that there are no vampires in The Messenger. I'm not knocking them — I have favorite books among the vampire fiction — especially Anne Rice's powerful Interview With The Vampire, one of those rare books from which I can recall image after image, phrase after phrase, more than ten years after last reading it. And Charlaine Harris's incredibly fresh take on the world of vampires added to my respect for her writing.
I am admittedly not very "woo-woo." I tend to be skeptical and think the vast majority (if not all) of the so-called "reality" shows on television about "paranormal investigators" are ridiculous. At the same time, I have beliefs that I haven't arrived at through rigorous use of the scientific method. I just prefer to keep most of that to myself, so that we all get along a little better.
I have a belief about writing: if I've done it well, you should be able to engage your imagination with what's on the page without having to know a thing about me. Odd thing for a blogger to say, I know, but there you have it.
I'm hoping that the fact that there will be a new Irene Kelly book out in June will put to rest all the anxieties readers seem to have about my being sick of writing about her or ending the series. This is my third time through this — heard the same kind of thing when I wrote Flight and when I wrote Nine. It's okay. I'm fond of Irene, too. Sometimes, the best thing I can to for the next Irene Kelly novel is to stretch in another direction before coming back to the series.
The reasons I wanted to write The Messenger are many, but most of them have to do with observations, questions, and Tyler Hawthorne.
My ideas for books, when not ordered from the Secret Warehouse of Fabulous Ideas for Novels That Only Published Novelists Know About, And How Unfair Is That.com, often evolve out of observations that spark questions. I saw friends freaking out about aging, and mentioning things along the line of, no matter who that old lady was in the mirror, inside, they were still twenty-four. And I heard, especially through my work with the Crime Lab Project, people who wished they had been able to have one last conversation with someone they loved, now deceased. Or had a loved one fall into a coma before dying, and longed to hear that loved one speak, and wondered if the loved one could hear and understand what was being said to him. And taking this from another perspective — as one person said to me, "If any of us were told we only had five minutes to live and could make one last phone call, very few of us would dial the office."
So what if you appeared to be twenty-four forever? Not because you had a wormy portrait in the attic, but as a result of some other supernatural agency.
And what if you had a gift that allowed you, if you took the hand of someone who was dying, to hear that person's thoughts, allowing them say (through you) what they longed to tell their loved ones?
These are not questions that would fit well into an Irene Kelly novel. Nothing in the Irene books up to now have suggested that she inhabits a world in which such things could happen.
These questions led to other questions, and I longed to explore them. So I decided to color outside the lines, and that was how I met Tyler, whom I'll talk about next time.
Posted by Jan Burke at 1:15 AM 2 comments
Labels: books, Disturbance, short stories, The Messenger, writing
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Messenger is out in paperback!
I'm excited to announce that Pocket Books has just published The Messenger in paperback! Get ready for some posts about this book -- I had lots of fun with the research. Yes -- even supernatural thrillers can require research!
Posted by Jan Burke at 2:42 PM 4 comments
Labels: books, The Messenger, titles, writing
Monday, February 07, 2011
Death investigation gets some long needed attention
Most of you know that I am an advocate for the improvement of public forensic science. I just posted something on the Crime Lab Project blog that I hope you will read.
It's a list of stories published/aired in a joint effort by PBS/NPR/ProPublica on the state of death investigation in the United States.
Death investigation in this country is a mess. And it's too important to be left in a mess. Please take the time to become informed about this issue.
To go to the CLP Blog, click here or copy and paste this link into your browser:
Posted by Jan Burke at 10:40 PM 0 comments
Labels: a good thing, blogs, CLP, forensic science, missing persons
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Cheap flights from Minsk, Belarus to Mahe, Seychelles for only €385 round-trip with Turkish Airlines!
The Seychelles are the oldest oceanic islands to be found anywhere on Earth. Sandy, dreamlike beaches with granite boulders, swaying palm trees, coral reefs and underwater wildlife make this country a dream destination. The group of 115 tropical islands in the Indian Ocean with only a few inhabited, is known for rich marine life and nature reserves.
The inner granitic islands of the Seychelles are the only such islands in the world, based on continental rock. There are plenty of places to visit on the second biggest one. Enjoy the stunning white sand beaches, like Anse Volbert, Anse Petit Cour (La Domaine de la Reserve) and Anse Marie Louise. Anse Lazio and Anse Georgette frequently make top ten lists of best beaches worldwide. Anse La Blague is stunningly beautiful but quite remote. The beaches of the south coast are extremely shallow, and from May to October seaweed washes up on the southern shores.
You can explore the lush tropical forests covering the hills. Visit Vallee de Mai Nature Reserve or Fond Ferdinand Nature Reserve. Staying on Praslin is also a good idea if you want to travel to neighbouring islands (La Digue, Curieuse, Felicite, Big Sister Island, Coco). There are various boats leaving from Cote d'Or.
Photo: leoks, Shutterstock
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Find the best prices HERE and don't forget about Car hire excess insurance offered by Icarehireinsurance.com >>


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|| Credit Counselor Directory || Bankruptcy Pitfalls ||
|| Contact Your Lenders || Contact A Credit Counselor ||
Having a serious credit problem is scary. Before you know it, you're dreading receiving the mail or hearing the phone ring. You're losing sleep worrying and wondering what will happen next.
It doesn't have to be that way... there are ways to lift your burden of worry. As members of the credit industry, we want to work with you to help you repay your debt.
The good news is there are some things you can do right now to help solve the problem.
1) Contact your creditors and explain your situation.
2) Call a not-for-profit credit counseling agency.


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Tender Moments As Bulldog Meets Cow ! When Manfred the Swedish Bulldog crept under the fence to check out some huge noses, he got more than he expected as a group of friendly cows started to lick all over his face, he loved it and stayed for more !! Hilarious fun video.
Original SourceStefan Danielsson
Manfred the Swedish bulldog makes new friends!
Bulldog meets bull!


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SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — On the evening of April 23, the members of the East Ramapo Central School District's board passed, with a unanimous vote and a barely audible mumble of approval, next year's budget. Frustrated parents shook their heads, with weary looks of resignation. "What about the private school cuts," one woman shouted from the audience. One fact obvious to anyone who was there or who is familiar with politics in the western edge of Rockland County, just north of New York City in the Lower Hudson Valley is that the parents were all black and Latino and all but one of the members of the board were white, Orthodox Jewish men.
Nearly everyone in attendance agreed, the budget, even this one that included a fresh round of deep cuts to an already decimated system, was likely going to need fresh hacking by summer's end. A significant chunk of this provisional budget was predicated on longshot money the board hopes to get from the statehouse in Albany. But no one realistically thinks these funds are coming, especially for a town whose mayor is consumed in a statewide corruption scandal and named in a federal indictment. That means fewer teachers, more overburdened administrators, less security, and the elimination of more sports, programs and a wide array of electives and clubs that the students praise.
April's board meeting lacked much of the theater and civic fireworks that have distinguished recent meetings; the protests, the accusations of anti-Semitism, the symbolic show of the board members recusing themselves to the executive suite to outlast angry parents and students delivering fiery speeches to empty chairs. But it did retain one distinctive feature — the furtive, almost clandestine way people talk to one another after the meeting has been gaveled.
Some audience members gathered in small, tight circles in the back of the board room. Others slipped into the hallway and began to talk in hushed tones. Two words whispered like a warning in the hallway that evening were those of a Brooklyn neighborhood.
"Crown Heights," said Robert Forrest, casting a glance down the corridor. "That's what's going to happen here. I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet, honestly. This is little East Ramapo, not Brooklyn, not New York City. We don't want that happening here. But if we keep taking everything from these kids that's what we're going to get. We're waiting for Armageddon."
Like many here active in the fight between those involved in the public schools and the religiously-dominated school board, Forrest, a candidate running in the May 21 school board election, said he does not wish for the violence. But when he looks at the cuts the school board has made — a board of Orthodox Jews who do not mirror the demographics of the children they serve (a mostly black and Latino school district) — he is one among many who worry that a perfect storm is brewing for a public safety catastrophe.
Ramapo, like most school districts in New York, is under tremendous financial strain. Aid has been cut and state and local governments are hamstrung by a 2 percent tax cap implemented by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011. But Ramapo's problems are also unique in the state. Here, a complicated set of circumstances brought about by a demographic split has allowed public money to pour into religious schools. In this community in the Lower Hudson Valley, some 21,000 private school students are from the Ultra Orthodox community, more than double the number of public school children in the district.
To understand how the members of a religious sect took control of the only majority black and Latino school district in all of Rockland County, one has to be aware of local demographics, little known loopholes in the law, and the anti-modernist tradition of the Hasidic community.
Because of state and federal law, if a child needs special education and the school district can not provide it, then public money must pay for the student to attend a different school that can provide those services. In Ramapo, the public schools can provide those services. But the Hasidic community argues that since their religion forbids them from sending their children to public schools (girls and boys cannot attend the same schools, for instance, let alone ride in the same school buses), the local the school board needs to pick up the tab.
Leaders of the Hasidic community here have argued that before they earned a majority on the board, public school advocates were not providing them their fair share. Since the community has taken control of the board support for public schools and other services that serve public school children have been slashed. Leaders of the Hasidic community here argue that their children don't need sports, or arts or music, so why do the public school children?
Legally, the state is only required to provide what is mandated. This includes basics such as math and writing, but does not include sports, arts, music, debate teams, science clubs, African-American studies, and a wide array of electives that focus on various professions.
In practice, providing public support only to the basics and nothing else, is virtually unheard of in the state, or in most public school districts.
Most parents, students and educators say those programs enrich education and attract students to school and, more importantly, keep them off the streets and involved in something where they are supervised. But, using the logic of austerity, the religiously-dominated board have slashed and gutted classes and programs, the last budget being only the most recent. With some students attending as many as five lunch periods or study halls per day because of a dearth of teachers, public school advocates say the cuts are getting down to the bone now.
Yehuda Weissmandl, a Haisdic Jew who assumed leadership of the school board when his predecessor abruptly resigned last month, said the allegations that the religious dominated board redirects the money from public school children to the yeshivas is false.
"The biggest misconception that we have here is that we're sticking our hands into the pockets of the public school kids and putting it in our childrens' pockets," he said. "That is not true and it is offensive. I give away lot of time to these children, time I should be spending with my children because I'm very passionate about these children."
He said the blame lies with the calculation Albany uses to determine state aid. He said 76 percent of the children in East Ramapo qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, more than double the state average. But the state, since it only counts the 9,000 public school children in its calculation, funds them as if they were one of the wealthiest.
"We're not poor," he said. "We are very, very poor. Unfortunately we're in the position where nothing else is left to be cut. We're down to the skin and bone at this point."
Public schools advocates counter that if the district received more state aid the members would simply redirect the additional funds to the private school children and leave the public schools in the same desperate situation they are in now. They say there is no tracking of the money that goes to the the special education teachers — many of whom are members of the Orthodox community. If Weissmandl and the other Haredi board members cared about the public schools, they wouldn't keep the process shrouded in secrecy, and they add, the state wouldn't have said that their circumvention of the process is illegal. A few years ago the board fired the district's lawyer and retained a high-powered firm that specializes in navigating this unusual situation and sued the state for challenging its process. Later, the district sued the state for challenging its process and is spending at least $1.5 million to have the firm pursue the case with district funds.
Last week a federal judge made a significant ruling in a case brought by more than 300 public school parents who claim the board has raided millions of dollars of public money and funneled it to private schools in their community.
An Uncertain Present Haunted by a Violent Past
Crown Heights, a now rapidly gentrifying enclave in central Brooklyn, is a neighborhood whose name became code for ethnic, racial and religious strife in New York City. In August 1991, riots broke out in the streets of Crown Heights when a Guyanese boy Gavin Cato, 7, was killed after an accident involving the motorcade of a Hasidic Rebbe. The accident, the boy's death, and long simmering tensions between the Caribbean and Hasidic communities precipitated in three days of violence, beatings, looting and destruction. An Israeli flag was burned, Hasidic homes were damaged, and hundreds were injured. Yankel Rosenbaum, a Hasidic man, was stabbed and beaten to death by a group of black men.
What people fear here is Crown Heights with a twist. They worry that the teenagers in the public school system, after witnessing their social safety net slashed by a religiously-dominated majority on the school board, will turn to violence as a solution to the problems for which the intractable racially and religiously tainted politics here has had no answer.
This small-town clash of civilizations has been described by many as a "civil war," one where the black and Latino students are the victims. The clash has created an emergency that politicians, advocates, students and their parents worry is imminent. They say that as the board continues to cut the resources for public school children it is creating the conditions for a school-to-prison pipeline, where children and teens without a network of programs, nothing to do, and no one to supervise them, will turn to the streets for answers. Driven out of the school system, they will be funneled into the criminal justice system.
"That's a huge concern for us," said Spring Valley Police Chief Paul Modica. "My biggest fear is that they'll cut all these programs and the kids will have nothing. We're a village of working class families. These parents they're working two, three jobs to make ends meet. You're going to have a situation where these kids are going to have nothing better to do than roam the streets."
Spring Valley is one of 17 police jurisdictions in the state that is responsible for 80 percent of the violent crime that occurs outside of New York City. Most of the children affected by the cuts live in Spring Valley, Modica said.
He says his department stays busy, despite being understaffed. He recently hired 11 officers to bring the total to 58. Among them he has one detective with juvenile training. Modica, a father of four, said his concern began when he took over as chief in 2007 and the first of the cuts were made. Most of the children hurt by the cuts, he said, live in his district. Now, with the remaining programs to be cut to "bare bones" he is worried about a public safety emergency.
"The thing of it is," he said. "Is that everybody sees it's happening, and it's still happening."
Two Sides and No One Is Listening
As of now, with the two sides incapable of even listening to one another, there is little confidence that anything can be done to avert it. A number of lawsuits — federal, state and local — are wending their way through the legal systems, and other state agency reviews of the situation are underway. Activists have appealed to the state to take emergency action and replace the school board. Those, however, are a long way off from any resolution and the emergency facing the town's children, observers say, is urgent.
"There is no going back and reliving your childhood, you only go around once" said Ed Day, a county legislator who represents the district. "We can't undo this. Our kids are in trouble. It's a ticking time bomb, it really is. I don't see color here, I see families trying to do the best they can. But there is nothing left for them. Nothing."
Rabbi Mayer Schiller, a member of the Hasidic community, said he is keenly aware of how the relations in town have deteriorated as the battle over the school board has coarsened feelings between the Hasidic community and the other residents in the working class villages that make up Ramapo.
"There is so much fear and suspicion on both sides," he said from the doorway of his synagogue, Rachmistrivka, housed in a multi-family dwelling that sits in a cul de sac. "The residents here, they inhabit different worlds. The challenge is to preserve our identity without denying the identity of the other. It is a real conundrum."
Invisible Lines, Palpable Tensions
There are borders that divide the residents of Ramapo that don't correspond to any official municipal registry. They are invisible but penetrate every part of life. There are no signs, nothing to mark the boundaries of these divisions, but they are real, and many here worry they threaten to turn a generation of children eager to pursue the American Dream into prisoners instead of graduates.
"These students, what are they going to do with their time now," asked Olivia Castor, a Spring Valley senior and head of the East Ramapo Student Coalition, an activist organization fighting the board. "Most of them they have nothing to go to school for but study halls. It's a chain of effects. If you are on the streets you are going to get in trouble. If you get in trouble you are going to go to jail. You go to jail you end up in the system. And if things don't change we're going to have a real problem on our hands. If students have nothing to do these kids are going to look for something to alleviate their boredom."
Public Versus Private
The differences between the residents here run deeper than houses of worship, or the study of sacred texts. They are granular and work their way into every aspect of life. Haitian barber shops and Central American markets butt up against Kosher pizzerias and markets. At bus stops, clusters of Hispanic families wait for a bus while 50 yards away, Hasidic families in their conservative garb, wait for a separate bus. Even a glance at the architecture of a health clinic will reveal which residents it serves. The differences are sharp but ubiquitous.
The divisions reveal themselves even in the use of language. Residents use a shorthand of the "public kids" and the "private kids," to demarcate the black and Latino children from the Hasidic children. There are separate newsletters filled with tips for children, one for public school parents and one for non-public school parents.
"We live two separate lives, we live in two separate worlds," Arnold Cruz, a sophomore at Spring Valley High School, said of the Hasidic and Hispanic and black residents in Ramapo. "There's like a boundary that divides us. It's not official, it's not one you'll find on a map, but you can feel it. It's one everyone knows."
They see its teachings as anathema to the values of insularity, unwavering dedication and strict observance of ancient law, and opposition to most modernity. Hasidic children are forbidden from using the Internet, and even when they reach adulthood they use censoring filters to ensure they don't happen upon a site that will undermine what they consider their sacred values. Many communities have bans on reading mainstream newspapers and mingling with anyone outside.
"They have to segregate themselves or else they will lose their community to modernity," said Oscar Cohen describing the Hasidic community. Cohen is a retired school administrator and an activist working with the NAACP to fight the school board's cuts. He says he wants to make sure public school children get all the resources he thinks they're entitled and the quality education they deserve.
What has happened here defies the normal narrative about minorities and majorities. For about the last 15 years, Ramapo and its constituent villages have been populated by different branches of the Haredi community, the most conservative branch of Judaism, also described as Ultra Orthodox Hasidic Jews, and their 20,000 students. The community prizes insularity, and view diversity as a threat to their worldview instead of a pleasant civic buzzword.
"Whether the motivation is religious or ethnic or cultural — in truth they're all melded together. Their sacred beliefs, their food, their customs, their devotion to rabbinical Jewish law, their clothing, suggest that separation is the only way," Cohen said. "They can't assimilate without losing that lifestyle. They must educate their children to achieve those sacred values. And so the yeshiva becomes the most sacred institution aside from the synagogue because it keeps their children separated, and allows them to pass those values on."
Cohen, although a veteran of this decade-long battle with the religiously dominated public school board, said he is sympathetic with the position of the Hasids. He understands the frustration of the fast-growing Hasidic community. They have large families, taking literally God's encouragement in Exodus to be "fruitful and multiply," and they all attend private, religious schools. But, Cohen adds, they pay property taxes which go to fund the public schools.
"I empathize with them, why should I subsidize those children? Our children aren't going to the schools. What difference does it make? Let's give them as little as possible just what's mandated by law — not one penny more. What's mandated by law is rock bottom. That's the nut of the problem. If I'm a Hasid and I can't benefit from the education because I must send my kids to yeshivas, I'm completely invested in the religious school system — there's no reason for me to give a damn about the public education system."
Cohen said on his last visit to the district that Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised to work on finding a solution. But since then, he said, the governor's people have not responded to his calls.
"It's the governor and the legislatures responsibility to come up with something," he said. "I voted for the guy," Cohen said. "I think he's done a lot of good things, but this is not one of them."
The governor's press office did not comment for this story.
Cohen said it is his "worst fear" that there is going to be an increase in the number of young people ending up in the juvenile justice system because of the deep cuts in services.
Separate and Unequal
On the other side are immigrant families and their 9,000 children who see the education system as at the heart of their aspirations to becoming part of the American fabric. This collision of worldviews, one that many on both sides say is irreconcilable, has led to a fight for political control of the local school board, and subsequently for the future of a generation of poor mostly black and Latino children here.
In January of this year the last two remaining non-Orthodox members of the board resigned in protest, citing intimidation from their fellow board members as a reason for their sudden departure. More recently, in a move that shocked many observers, board president Daniel Schwartz resigned without warning or much of an explanation, mid-way through his term. Mr. Schwartz did not return calls for comment on this article.
Willie Trotman, president of the Spring Valley chapter of the NAACP, has worked with Cohen since 2002. They have worked side by side in the effort to remove the board, reform the school system, and restore the programs to the children here. But Trotman does not share his colleagues' empathy for the Hasidic community. He sees the battle for the schools in stark, unequivocal terms.
"This is about segregation," he said. "This about a system that is separate and becoming more and more unequal. I think it's the Hasidic community versus the rest of the world."
Trotman, 65, graduated from Carter-Parramore High School in Quincy, Fla., in 1964. When he attended Carter-Parramore High School he knew when he had hand-me-down textbooks because he would see the white students' names written in the front and the marks they would make on the pages, notes they'd jot in the margins. Although his school was only 20 miles from the state capitol in Tallahassee, Trotman and his black classmates never had the opportunity to visit on a field trip, something students from the white high school would do routinely.
"I came from a place of segregation," he said. "I don't believe in segregation in any form."
Trotman said he worries that what he sees happening in Ramapo is a repeat of the institutional segregation he and his black classmates suffered all those years ago. He said what is happening here in Ramapo, a small northern town is an updated version of what he endured in Quincy, a small southern town. Instead of race driving a wedge between people, it's religion, but with what he said are the same disastrous results.
"If you want to put your kids in a private school fine, but we fight for public education because of Brown versus the Board of Education," he said. "They're unjust to their kids by not allowing them to become part of America. You just can't become part of Monsey," he said referring to the mostly Hasidic village, "and not part of America and then expect America to pay for that. That diversity is what America thrives on."
The Student
Arnold Cruz's memories of his hometown are fuzzy, and growing more vague as he gets older. He left Guatemala City when he was still a child. He remembers playing with his grandparents and the sounds of construction on a new house, but not much else. His mother secured a working visa when Cruz was three and she moved to Spring Valley. Cruz said she came, like many Central American immigrants, for better economic opportunity, but also for an education for him. He said there are a lot of barriers to an education for someone like him back home.
Cruz said the school board, what he described as a takeover of the school board by Ultra Orthodox Jews, has destroyed his mother's dream for him.
Cruz, an only child, lives with his parents in a small but well-kept, one-bedroom basement apartment on South Madison Avenue, not far from the East Ramapo District offices. His mother is a housekeeper for a Hasidic family in the neighboring village of Monsey. His father worked the deli counter at a nearby bodega in Nanuet, but he lost his job when the store made cutbacks.
On a recent Sunday afternoon he was walking to his church, Fraternidad Cristiana Church, housed in the first floor of a low slung strip mall building next to a Dunkin Donuts. He bobbed his head to raucous heavy metal called "I Am Bullet Proof" by the Black Veil Brides on his phone, carrying a Spanish Bible under his arm. He was wearing a T-Shirt that read: Epic Fail.
Now, Cruz, a 15-year old sophomore at Spring Valley High School, said he is worried that his mother's efforts to secure that education for him are imperiled. Cruz, a guitarist in a rock band called Parallel to Perfection, has seen the school board enact deep cuts to the music department, with more likely to come. The cuts have also cut programs for job training that Cruz wanted to take to prepare for studying engineering.
"You know besides the language I speak at home and the food I eat," he said as he motioned to a bag of Quesitos he was snacking on, "I am an all-American kid. I want to go to a good school. I want to go to college. I want to have the American Dream that my parents couldn't have. But I don't know if I'll have that now. Not here. With these budget cuts we're going to have to leave."
Part of the frustration of Cruz and other Latino residents is that they have not had the opportunity to influence who is elected to the board because they cannot vote. That has doubled the frustration for the immigrant community here who feel like they have no control of their democratic fate.
"What I feel like is that the politicians don't treat us as equals. It's frustrating. If my mom could vote she would've voted against the budget cuts because she cares about my future. It really gets me angry," Cruz said. "The people from the Spanish culture — the mothers and fathers, the grandparents — they would've all voted to keep our programs. It's what our world revolves around."
He is not alone in his frustration and mounting anger. That sentiment of helplessness and resentment was echoed among both parents and children after the service at his church.
'Why are they doing this?'
Pastor Henry Vega, 32, stood in the glare of the fluorescent lights while parishioners bustled around him stacking chairs and putting away tables after the service. Some
volunteers handed out steaming styrofoam plates of homemade chicken tamales. His 18-month old son, Samuel, kept tugging on his slacks, in a playful attempt to get his father's attention. Older children squealed as they scampered by him in a game of chase. As he spoke, his face turned from a ebullient smile to a stern grimace.
"The parents," he said in Spanish. "When they realized what was going on in the schools, they were angry. They came to me asking, 'why are they doing this?' I feel frustrated. The schools are fundamental to a good life. You are pushing them and pushing them to go to school, to do well in school. And then they go to the schools and they're no good. There's nothing there for them. What do I tell them now?"
He said the cuts to kindergarten and after-school programs have been particularly hard on his congregants, most of whom are working parents who have had to scramble to find child care while they are at work.
"We have immigrants here but we have a lot of people who are citizens in the church. They have to vote — you have to lift up your voice. That's how our values are going to be heard. The only way we can change this is lift up our voices and say, 'We're here!'"
'It's about to happen'
Jorge Ambrocio, a youth pastor at the church, runs a program called Generacion de Fuego — the Generation of Fire — to fill in the gaps left by budget cuts in the school district. He said he goes out into the streets and tries to convince them to come to their meetings on Friday nights. He works with a lot of kids from the sister high schools in the district, Spring Valley and Ramapo, he said, and many have told him that they don't even bother going to school anymore because there's nothing there for them.
Ambrocio, 30, pulls out a photograph of what he was like when he was young and stalking the streets himself. He does not want the same for Cruz's generation.
"It's sad to see that some of these kids might never finish high school," he said. "We encourage them to go back to school. But what is there for them to go back to?"
Katrina Hertzberg, who runs the afterschool program in the East Ramapo school district, said she doesn't know how many children she has saved from the streets in the years she's been in charge. But she is certain she has already lost many since the board started asking for rent. She said many of the children she worked with were already in crisis.
"These kids are already in the school-to-prison pipeline," she said. "It was a problem before these cuts. So what is it going to be now?"
"There are many, many kids who used to be in our program and the parents can't pay for it anymore," she said. "And the reality is we'll be closed in a year or two. And it's not because we want to stop doing what we do. It's not because we suddenly don't love these kids anymore. It's just that we literally can't do it anymore. Our budget is going to be way over."
Hertzberg, echoing the grave concerns of many in town, said she fears the worst.
"It's shocking to me that there hasn't been violence here already," she said. "Young men from the public school community, young men from the non-public, Hasidic community — Pow!" she says, smashing her fists together. "It's about to happen."
Two years ago Modica, the police chief, started a program to help head off the disaster he fears is coming. Named the Youth Police Initiative, the program brings children aged 9 to 18 who he says are "heading down the wrong path" and has them work with police officers on team building.
"We're trying to make that connection between the kids and the officers," he said. "When they're on the street I want them to think, 'I have a good relationship with Officer X, let me reach out to him before I make this bad decision.'"
At the completion of the two-week program officers hand out certificates. Last year one of the children participating got his certificate on his 10th birthday. The officers chipped in and got him a birthday present.
"He had never gotten a birthday present before," he said. "He was crying. The father was crying. I was crying. The officers were crying. The cops can forget that these are just kids growing up in a rough area."
Modica says the program is a success but it can only do so much, and fears what even deeper cuts mean for the stability of his village.
'They're the same amount of American'
Rashelly Palma should have been in a class on a recent Tuesday afternoon. It was just after 1 p.m., but instead of sitting in class she was working in her family's store, a curiosity shop that features an eclectic collection, everything from Christian-themed gifts and DVDs, books including the Bible, to a variety of sundries and cosmetics. She was arranging items on a shelf.
"I had nothing else to do in my 8th period so I came here instead," she said. "But I'm lucky. Not everyone has a job to go to like I do."
Palma is not alone. It has become a fixture at the rallies and meetings by the public school advocates to hand out copies of students' schedules that feature as many as five lunch periods and study halls. It is a consequence of the deep cuts the school has endured, and there are more coming.
Palma, a 17-year-old senior at Spring Valley High School, said she hopes to be a chef or baker when she finishes school. But elective courses like culinary arts have been curtailed in addition to Advanced Placement classes and other courses students say give them an edge when applying for college. That's why she was rearranging tchotchkes instead of taking notes, she said.
"What about me," she asked. "The people who don't want to pursue careers in the maths and sciences? What am I supposed to do?"
Elsa Palma, Rashelly's mother, like many of the parents in Spring Valley wants what's best for her children.
She said many parents here are working two or three jobs to survive. They mean well, but they all can't be on top of their children the way she is. She worries with parents distracted by work, counselors laid off, after-school and clubs nearly wiped out, that it's just a brute reality that there will be children out on the street with nothing to do.
"Their kids, the private kids, and our kids, they're the same amount of American, you know," said Elsa Palma, in Spanish from behind a glass counter filled with cosmetics. "We're in America. Everyone deserves a chance."
She says the two communities need to come together, but in recent years the tension has grown and the resentment has started to harden. Attempts to mediate the two sides have ended with failure. Now communication between the two sides is limited to angry exchanges at the public meetings and little else.
'A Porous Wall'
On the afternoon of April 13, the parking lot of Gracepoint Gospel Fellowship, an evangelical megachurch just off Interstate 87 a few miles from Spring Valley, was filling up. Inside, crowds gathered in the wide lobby. But on this particular Saturday afternoon, the crowds were not drawn here to talk about salvation. The church was hosting a forum on how to save the schools instead of souls.
Clusters of people talked passionately next to "Sacred Grounds," the in-house coffee shop and bookstore. Booths with coffee mugs of pens and clipboards encouraged people to sign petitions.
Among the hundreds of visitors to the church that day were a slate of local politicians there to deliver their well-rehearsed talking points on the crisis in the public schools. They were joined by public school activists, attorneys and parents.
Members of the school board were not invited. Even if they were, Saturday is Shabbat for Ultra Orthodox, so they would not have been able to attend.
Rabbi Schiller said the debate about the future of education in Ramapo is made even more complicated by how religion has seeped into the conversation.
"The wall between church and state …" he said, "the more you look at it here the more you see it is a very porous wall."
The speakers took turns on the stage in the spacious auditorium while parents and concerned residents sat in the stadium seating. An array of lights mounted above cast a theatrical light on the podium, flanked by two massive screens that flashed the words "May 21st Vote!" an advertisement for the next school board election. Although ostensibly a political event, the forum took on the color and cadence of a religious service. A pastor delivered a prayer dedicated to the "little ones" to start the event. There was a call-and-response encouraging people to vote.
A few days after the event some teens, the sons of Haitian immigrants, were hanging out on a corner of Maine Street in Spring Valley. Talk eventually turned to history, recent and distant. And that prompted some boasting about their post-racial feelings. Across the road a mural painted on the side of the cultural center shows Haitian soldiers fighting against their French master, while the phantom of George Washington looked on, giving a magical realist imprimatur on the slaves fight for freedom.
The painting is a warped conflation of history and the American aspirations many immigrants feel so deeply here. In reality President Washington responded to the rebellion by supporting the white government. But many want to believe that the American story is their story, too.
The teens, dressed in hip coats adorned with ironic pins, did not know why exactly they had seen their high school turned into the equivalent of an educational ghost town. The political machinations, they said, were beyond them. They disagreed about how things had turned so desperate. Some blamed themselves for their apathy as well as infighting in their community. But there was no question in their minds that what was happening was unfair and needed to change; and they agreed about what would happen if it didn't.
"Our schools are barren," said Ricardo Laguerre, who graduated from Spring Valley High School last year. "There's nothing left for us. We all know what's going to happen," he said motioning to a Hasidic man walking along the sidewalk. "Idle hands. You have nothing to do. You know the saying. It's the Devil's Playground."


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