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By Fr. George Morelli
"Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy." (1Cor 4: 2)
"The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." (Pv 31: 11)
Developmental psychologist Eric Erickson (1964a) conjectures that during infancy the continuity of comforting sensory experiences with adults promotes a sense of trust that serves as a root for the resolution of the successive challenges the individual will confront over a lifespan. Erickson goes on to suggest that the appropriate proportion of trust over mistrust produces hope. He states, "Hope is both the earliest and the most indispensible virtue inherent in the state of being alive." (Erickson, 1964b).
Erickson's understanding is also very descriptive of a functional marriage. Beck (1988), for example, considers trust one of the three major components of a functional relationship - commitment and loyalty being the others. Beck considers them "a force for stability" that, once developed, "protect[s] the closeness, intimacy, and security of the loving bond."
Beck (1988) goes on to give examples of attitudes or beliefs that indicate basic trust:
"I can depend on my spouse to guard my best interests."
"I know that my spouse would not intentionally hurt me."
"I know that I can depend on my spouse for help in ordinary situations or in an emergency."
"I know my spouse will be available when I need him or her."
I can assume good will on the part of my spouse."
I would like to somewhat modify Beck's (1988) model. I suggest that commitment and loyalty, certainly as Beck suggests, are foundational to a good marriage. But they are actually more than that. They themselves are the building blocks, the foundation upon which trust itself is engendered and constructed and, if necessary, re-established. Trust is the cornerstone of this foundation.
If a betrayal has occurred, the couple will eventually have to reassess the reliability of trustworthiness being re-established. Gottman (2011) suggests five criteria that can be used in making this evaluation. I will discuss these criteria later in this article.
The Witness of God's Covenant with His People: The Spiritual Foundation
God's First Great Commitment: The First Covenant
Consider God's commitment to Abram. ". . . I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves." (Gen 13: 2-4) Following this commitment by God to Abram and his people, Abram departed to the land of Canaan as God had instructed. When Abram and his family reached Canaan, God made another commitment to Abram:
Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Gen 18: 7-8)
Later, God made an overwhelming commitment to Abram and the Hebrew people:
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly."
Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, "Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come forth from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. (Gen 17: 1-7)
God's loyalty to His word can be seen in His interaction with Noah, which preceded even His encounter with Abraham. Because God "saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth." (Gen 6:5) He planned a great flood to destroy all on earth: "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them." (Gen 6:5) However, God saw that Noah and his family were righteous. God saved them and, true to His word, God told Noah:
"Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.
"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth."
And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
"I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds,
"I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will look upon it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen 9: 9-16)
Many other exchanges and events occurred between God and his people as recorded by Moses in the Book of Genesis. But God's loyalty was attested to by a Philistine, the traditional enemy of the Hebrew people: "Abimelech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham, 'God is with you in all that you do; now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity, but as I have dealt loyally with you, you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned.' And Abraham said, 'I will swear.' (Gen 21: 21-24). God's commitment and loyalty to His people would lead to one of the most dramatic examples of trust in the history of mankind.
Consider a man and his wife who are 100 years of age, well beyond childbearing age; God tells them they will have a son. The man, Abraham, named his son Isaac. Although he had a previous son by his slave, he truly loved the son, Isaac, born to him by his wife Sarah. Some years later "...God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.' (Gen 22: 1-2) How much trust in God must Abraham have had to obey His command! As the writer of Genesis tells us: "When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son." (Gen 22: 9-10) Abraham has proved his trust in God, under almost unimaginable circumstances: willingness to obey God and sacrifice his beloved son. God being the good God, however, speaking to Abraham through an angel, intervened at the last moment: "'Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.'" (Gen 22: 12)
God's Second Great Commitment: The New Covenant
The Prophet Isaiah tells us of God's commitment to His people of a new covenant:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.
For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. . . .(Is 7: 14-16)
. . . .For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. (Is 9: 6-7)
Morelli (2010) summarizes what other Old Testament Holy Spirit inspired writers told us about the God's commitment to send the Messiah:i
The righteous prophets of the Old Covenant tell us that the Messiah will come from the house of David. Ezekiel, during the days of the fall of Jerusalem, spoke of the abiding presence of God. He tells of the coming of the Messiah to protect His people for all ages: "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken." (Ez 34: 23-24) Ezekiel (37: 24) goes on to say: "My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes." Several hundred years later Ezra prophesizes: "this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David, and will come and speak to them; he will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will cast up before them their contemptuous dealings." (4 Ezra 12: 32)
God's loyalty
God's loyalty in sending His Son, Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ, the Messiah, precisely as prophesied by Isaiah, quoted above, was attested to by St. Matthew:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way..."you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). (Mt 1: 18 21-23)
Of which the angels sang: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!" (Lk 2: 14) God was not only true to his commitment, that is to say loyal, He also confirmed the great gift of Divinity that He was giving to mankind.
God testifies by His own Word
St. Luke tells us of the Theophany, the first manifestation of the Divinity of the Messiah, the God-Man: "...when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, 'Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.'" (2: 21-22) God's loyalty is so beautifully expressed liturgically by the Apolytikion of the Feast of the Theophany:
When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan, worship of the Trinity wast made manifest; for the voice of the Father bore witness to Thee, calling Thee His beloved Son. And the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ our God, Who hath appeared and enlightened the world, glory to Thee.
Jesus proclaims who He truly is
However, Jesus Himself proclaims that He is the promised and expected savior of the Hebrew people. It was to the Samaritan woman, the traditional enemy of the Jews,ii that Jesus, Himself, revealed Himself as the expected Messiah.
But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."
The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." (Jn 4: 23-26)
The Apostles attest to God's loyalty
That God was true to his Word and sent His Son was attested to by Simon-Peter and the Apostles:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." (Mt 16: 13, 15-17)
The implications of God's loyalty
The depth of Christ's loyalty to His people is a model for the backbone of an Orthodox Christian Marriage. In this regard we can consider the words of St. Paul.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. . . . (Phil 2: 5-10)
Christ's emptying Himself of His Divinity for our salvation is described in the imagery used by St. John the Baptist as that of the bridegroom and his bride: "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full." (Jn 3: 29)
It can easily be seen that God Himself, as even His people of both the Old and New Covenants, esteemed very highly that commitment and loyalty which engender trust.
Marital Infidelity: the greatest threat to Loyalty, Commitment and Trust
Infidelity-adultery is the greatest threat to the relationship between husband and wife in the blessed marriage by the Holy Mystery of Matrimony in the Orthodox Church. It undermines the very foundation of marriage itself, the loyalty and commitment of the spouses to each other, in emulation of God's action with His people, as well as the ensuing trust that must emerge between them. Beck (1988) points out that, psychologically, "infidelity is a direct attack on the relationship itself and a mockery of the supposed marital commitment." It should be noted that infidelity-adultery need not be limited to a sexual liaison. Many couples perceive a close personal relationship between their spouse and a member of the opposite sex to be 'adulterous.' However, even infidelity need not be a marriage breaker if trust can be cultivated and reestablished (Snyder, Baucom & Gordon, 2008). As Gottman (2011) points out, trust allows a marital relationship to be safe and thereby fosters "mutual nurturance and moral responsibility for building a life together." This might be phrased as fostering mutual interdependence.
Psychological Interventions for Trust Building
Emotional Attunement
Cognitive psychologists have emphasized the importance of interpretation and perception of events in activating our emotional reactions to them, such as anger, anxiety, depression or happiness (Morelli, 2006a). In an interpersonal relationship such as marriage, correct interpretation of the motives, thinking and feelings of one's spouse is critical. Frequently, however, our own cognitive distortions, that is to say thinking errors prevent accuracy. An outline of these cognitive distortions includes (Beck, 1995):
Selective Abstraction
is focusing on one event while excluding others. "Jack," an engineer, selectively focuses on a reprimand he just received from his wife, while ignoring the praise he received the previous week from a project he did that she appreciated as "Well done." This irrational perception led him to an angry response.
Arbitrary Inference
is drawing a conclusion unwarranted by the facts in an ambiguous situation. Jack, the same patient mentioned above, concludes that his wife will consider his next endeavor to be unsatisfactory. This leads him to depression.
is blaming yourself for an event you are not responsible for, or concluding that it is directed to you personally. Another patient, "Linda," became depressed when, during a family discussion, one of her children said: "Well, one of my parents hates me." She immediately "personalized" the statement with no evidence that her child was directing it at her, nor did she inquire about the events that invited the child's comments.
is perceiving or interpreting events in all-or-nothing terms. "Cynthia," another patient of mine, was told by her daughter, "You don't know how to treat children." She "polarized" events into two categories, good mother/bad mother. Her child's statement fell into the bad-mother pole. She failed to see that all events can be graded on a continuum between two poles. Just because she did not fulfill her child's request surely does not make her a "bad' mother.
is the tendency to see things in always-or-never categories. "Mary" became depressed during marital therapy when she irrationally concluded that her husband will "never" change and will "always" be the same. Her dysphoria led to a self-defeating pattern of behavior which further distanced her and her husband and set her up for the very thing she did not want: a poorer marriage.
Demanding Expectations
are beliefs that there are laws or rules that have to be obeyed. "Kim" came into treatment because she was depressed over her husband disagreeing with her. She irrationally believed that there is a "law in the universe" that says that husbands should always go along with what their wives suggest and, if not, she has the right to get upset. She did not see that God "asks" us to obey Him. He gave us free will. Christ Himself respected the free will of the creatures He created, as shown by the gentleness of His admonitions. Like Christ, spouses should prefer and constructively work toward reasonable understanding of each other's motives. Preferences should be substituted for demands.
is the perception that something is more than 100% bad, terrible or awful. "Kim" erroneously believes her husband's disagreeing with her is the "end of the world." With cognitive intervention she would discover that on a scale of problems she might have with her husband, differing viewpoints would be evaluated as decidedly low, surely not a catastrophe.
Emotional Reasoning
is the judgment that one's feelings are facts. Sandy has a "feeling" that his wife is having an affair. When asked how he knows this, he responds that his "feelings are always right." He fails to distinguish a feeling as real, which it is, versus a feeling proving something, which is impossible. For example, I tell patients, "No matter how strongly some people 'felt' during the time of Christopher Columbus that the world was flat, it did not make it so."
The benefit of the ability to challenge and replace cognitive distortions is that it allows marital relationships to move on to build what Gottman (1999) calls "The Sound Relationship House." However, in a later book (Gottman, 2011) he is very emphatic that an element is missing from the original Sound Relationship House Theory. That element is trust. He points out that ". . . knowing about the processes that control trust and betrayal therefore deepens the levels of the Sound Relationship House Theory."
Attunement Building
Gottman (2011) points out that the big trust question is "Are you there for me." According to this model, the processes to attain trust include being emotionally aware, being able to turn toward the emotion, being tolerant of emotional experience, understanding the emotion, non-defensive listening to the emotion and the thinking processes accompanying the emotion, and empathy.
involves acceptance of emotions without blame or accusation, both for oneself and one's spouse, and adapting to the emotion. Gottman gives the example of a spouse who, being aware of their partner's emotional sensitivity to criticism, would adjust by "softening the way they raised an issue."
Turning toward emotion
involves focusing on the needs of one's spouse and not what they do not need. A 'speaking spouse' may convey to their wife or husband what they are feeling and in behavioral terms what they would like: "I would really like it if we could spend Saturday afternoons doing something together."
involves acceptance of thinking-perception and feeling differences between spouses. This factor is related to the cognitive distortion ofpersonalization mentioned above: concluding that an event is directed to one personally (Morelli, 2005b). Cultivating tolerance means challenging and restructuring personalization cognitions and substituting a rational cognition: "Just because we disagree does not mean either of our viewpoints do not have value."
Non-defensive listening
involves letting one's spouse uninterruptedly tell their feelings and viewpoints before communicating ones' own feelings and viewpoints. Doing this communicates respect for one's spouse and is likely to facilitate reciprocal listening and tolerance of each others differences.
involves thinking and feeling the way one's spouse is thinking and feeling. Being aware of one's spouse's distress, stressors and physical and/or emotional pains fosters understanding and ameliorates anger, and thus promotes fruitful communication.
"...be wise as serpents." (Mt 10: 16)
Intention vs. action
Who has not heard the proverb: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Actually this adage is thought to have originated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who framed it as: "Hell is full of good wishes and desires." (Ammer, 1997) The meaning is clear. At times people have good intentions, but these are never carried out. It has been discussed above how commitment and loyalty are the building blocks of trust. It is one thing to say one is committed and loyal to one's spouse; it is another thing to actually be committed and loyal in heart, mind and behavior.
In my pastoral and clinical experience I have encountered many 'good intentioned' individuals who did not have a metanoia of heart, mind and behavior. Many an adulterer, alcoholic, drug addict, and fornicator have promised, with sincerity (or insincerity) to change their ways, from the "bottom of their hearts," but have unintentionally or intentionally failed at the task. The most egregious example of an intentionally failed marital commitment and loyalty is one I encountered in a clinical-pastoral setting some years ago. A young man came for counseling for a marital problem. He said his wife had discovered he was having an affair and he agreed he would attend counseling. I asked him his psychotherapy goals and objectives. He responded, "As long as I am in 'treatment' my wife will be happy and I can continue to have a girlfriend too." I queried, "You mean you don't want to end the infidelity?" "No," (he answered) "I want to stay married and have my girlfriend."
When trust between spouses cannot be established, a condition of abuse is established. This abuse is a betrayal of the marital promise of commitment, loyalty and fidelity. Abuse categories include withdrawal of affection, displaying disrespect, deception, and sexual infidelity, and can escalate into the psychological (e.g. belittling, name calling, threats of beating), and even, in extreme cases, the actual carrying out of physical violence.iii (c.f. Morelli, 2005c)
The ideals and measure of trust
What is trustworthy behavior? How can trustworthy behavior be described? Gottman (2011) provides a list for evaluating the trustworthiness of one's spouse as I mentioned above. However, I want to point out that these criteria are more than just measures of trust, they can also serve as goals to guide the interpersonal interaction between spouses:
- The spouses do not engage in deceptive behavior, do not lead separate lives. Lies are not told.
- The everyday life of the husband and wife is an "open book" to each other. They do not hold secrets from each other. They know or know about each other's family, friends, acquaintances and co-workers. The couple shares their feelings and needs, especially problems they are confronting and their life-goals. They are spontaneous and forthcoming in answering each other's questions.
- The spouses do all they can to keep the promises they have made to one another. They give their spouse relevant and accurate information regarding important interpersonal and/or financial actions. Vague answers invite suspicion. Behavioral pinpointing (Morelli, 2005a) should guide accountability responses: e.g., what was said, done, when and where.
- Each of the marital couple have witnessed displays of good ethical behavior by their spouse. That is to say, they have witnessed fair, just and even generous actions by their spouse in terms of dealing with others and/or business transactions.
- Each spouse knows the other is on their side, even under social pressure from others. Is not focused on 'self-interest' or pleasing others. and has their interest at heart.
Some behavioral indices of untrustworthiness and trustworthiness.
Tabares (2006) provides some possible behavioral characteristics of those spouses who are trustworthy or untrustworthy. It should be kept in mind, however, that some of these behaviors may occasionally be associated with other factors, such as being distracted, or feeling ill, being momentarily occupied in an important task, rather than being signs of being untrustworthy or trustworthy. In order to avoid making the cognitive distortion of arbitrary inference (also called mind-reading) that I discussed above, the spouse should consider their initial interpretation to be a hypothesis, or guess, that has to be investigated. He or she may ask a question of their partner, such as: "Jack, are you listening to me, my concern is important?" "Jill, my concern is not a laughing matter; it is important to me; please tell me why you are mocking me?" If these patterns continue, however, especially when talking over the
ideals and measures of trust
(as I discussed above), professional counseling from a licensed scientifically trained mental health practitioner should be sought. Ideally, the practitioner should be a committed, devout Orthodox-Catholic Christian. At the very least, the practitioner should respect the values and use the spouses' commitment to Christ in the therapeutic process.(Morelli, 2006a)
Behaviors that may be associated with untrustworthiness in the listening spouse include: lack of eye contact, lack of humor and appropriate laughter, no indication of attending by absence of acknowledgement phonemes such as "hmm," or non-verbal response such as nodding one's head. Behaviors that may be associated with untrustworthiness in the communicating spouse include: speaking while teasing or engaging in mocking humor or sarcasm,' accusing in generalizations (also a cognitive distortion I discussed previously in this paper,) such as using phrases as "you always" or "you will never."
Behaviors that may be associated with trustworthiness on the part of the listener are: maintaining eye contact, using favorable humor, verbal and nonverbal response, being affectionate, animated and energetic.
Speakers' behavior that may be associated with trustworthiness include: being favorable and affectionate in tone and content in speech, couching complaints in a respectful and "softened" tone, using behavioral pinpointing in describing their spouse's favorable characteristics.
The virtue of hope
All Orthodox Christians, by their Holy Baptism, are made members of the Royal Priesthood of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. As St. Peter (1Pt 2: 9-10) tells us:
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.
As God's people we are all to develop virtue. For those crowned in glory and honor in the Orthodox Marriage Service the virtue of hope is especially applicable. Consider the words of St. Maximus the Confessor (Philokalia II):
Faith is the foundation of what comes after it, namely hope and love, since it provides a firm basis for truth. Hope is the strength of the two pre-eminent gifts of love and faith, since hope gives us glimpses both of that in which we believe and of that for which we long, and teaches us to make our way towards our goal.
The married are not wrong to hope for the fulfillment of the ideals of Godly marriage. (Morelli, 2008). During the Marriage Service the priest prays:
. . . remember O Lord our God, thy servants. . .and bless them. Grant them fair children and concord of soul and body; exalt them like the cedars of Lebanon, like a luxuriant vine, that, having sufficiency in all things they may abound in every work that is good and acceptable unto thee.
The virtue of hope can arouse the married couple to actions both psychological and spiritual that will motivate them toward working at fulfilling their marital commitment, being loyal to one another, growing in trust and eventually attaining eternal life in God. The words of St. Peter of Damaskos on the virtue of hope can readily be applied to a couple in a Godly marriage (Philokalia III):
They [both] look forward with hope, laboring with joy. Outwardly they sacrifice immediate advantages, but in reality, even if they forfeit what they sacrifice, through their patient endurance they gain what is of far greater value.
The operative word in St. Peter's teaching is laboring. A Godly marriage, maintaining and if necessary repairing marital commitment and loyalty which is the foundation of trust, requires hard work (labor), prayer, and being united to Christ through sincere, total dedication and participation in His Church. In the popular adage: "Work as if all depends on you, pray as if all depends on God." How important it is for all in Christ to reflect on the words of St. James, the true origin of this proverb:
What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But some one will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith." (Jas 2: 14,17-18)
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Abuse: Some Pastoral And Clinical Considerations
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i For a more complete review of the connection between God's commitment and loyalty to His people of the Old and New Covenant see: Morelli, G. (2010, November 25).
The Ethos of Orthodox Catechesis
ii The Samaritans were a mix of some ancient Hebrew tribes and pagan peoples. The fact that Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan is considered to be His proclaiming that His Messiah-ship, His New and eternal Covenant, is for all mankind, not just the Hebrew people.
iii Abuse falls into four categories:
Physical, (hitting, battering, etc.);
Sexual, (forcible intercourse, inappropriate touching, glancing, language, etc.);
Psychological (calling someone by demeaning terms: "You idiot; loser" [these are actually mild; often it's far worse];
Neglect (legally denying, food, shelter, education, and necessary care.
Spiritually, each of these categories is different in terms of sin, of how they "miss the mark" or of how they indicate an "illness of the soul." Both perpetrator and victim should seek counseling from their parish priest or spiritual father or mother.
Morally, referral to appropriate psychological care is the very least that should be done by all Christians. In the most serious cases, such as a credible death threat, an immediate call to police and/or emergency services would be warranted. Those who are mandated reporters under law, such as physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, marriage and family therapists and others, must follow their state or other governmental laws and report the abuse to the designated authorities (and, under certain circumstances, to the potential victim).
This article appeared on
The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
website, and is posted here, by
, with direct permission.
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The Canton Soccer Club is a full-service soccer club - serving players from 3 years old to over 55, offering different levels of leagues from recreational to select and premier (travel). Recreational Leagues register in January and June. The Fall season is September through October and Spring season is mid-April to mid-June. Select and Premier tryouts are the second weekend in June each year.
In addition, the Canton Soccer Club offers a wide range of programs, camps and clinics throughout the year using both indoor and outdoor facilities. Adult leagues are also available.
All registration for youth leagues and programs are online only. The Canton Soccer Club office is located inside High Velocity Sports on Michigan Avenue.
Contact us at by email or by calling 734/480-7046.
The Canton Cup Memorial Day Soccer Tournament is a community and regional tradition. Beginning in 1982, the Canton Cup quality has consistently grown over the years into what is now one of the largest single-club 3-day soccer tournament in the midwest. To learn more please visit the website or email.


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Disclaimer: None of the people mentioned below are real people, and none of the events described ever happened, blah blah blah.
As cardinals in Rome make final preparations for electing a new pope, the American progressive organization MoveOn.org has taken the unprecedented step of registering several hundred people in the Detroit metropolitan area to vote in the papal conclave.
Chip Stefano, director of grassroots activism for MoveOn.org, explained the move by drawing comparisons to the civil rights era. "Back then it was about race. This time it's about me being mad at rules and the Catholic Church because they are mean about sex. So this is about equality maybe…yeah, and it's about giving a vote and a voice to everyone, not just old Italian guys."
Stefano was undeterred by the fact that none of the people he had registered to vote in the conclave would actually be able to participate in electing the new pope. "That doesn't matter really, does it? This is about raising awareness, and more funds for MoveOn.org. We can't turn tail and run just because these people will never actually have any role in the election, at all, ever."
One of the new "electors" is Martha McGee, a retired school teacher and long time choir member at her church, Sweet Lord Evangelical Church of Alleluia in downtown Detroit. Though not a Catholic, she voiced her excitement at being registered to vote in the conclave, although she did not seem clear on the details of her role. "They didn't really explain that, you know, how I'm supposed to get into this conclave thing," she said. "They just told me to sign on the line and give them the $20, and they gave me this little registration card that says I'm allowed to vote for the pope. I'm excited – and proud too. First one in my family to be allowed to vote for the pope."
Another MoveOn.org volunteer, Nancy Fuller, was explaining to a newly registered group of electors that with this new privilege, they have a responsibility not to the Catholic Church or to God, but to the values of toleration, diversity, gay marriage, openness, green energy, climate change, any change, whey protein smoothies, and Barack Obama.
"This is a privilege, not a right," explained Fuller. "No, wait – it's a right…and it's time to show the Catholic hierarchy that they aren't the ones in charge of the…hierarchy, or, um, the rest of us either. It's time to take a stand for values and…change…so get out there and vote!" Fuller's comments were met mostly with enthusiastic approval among the new electors.
However, as the MoveOn.org volunteers climbed into an orange Honda Element to leave, the electric mood dissipated. Several new electors shared confused looks and milled around on the sidewalk, and several comments were made about needing to get home to start dinner.
Before they left, Stefano and Fuller gave one more rallying cry to the dwindling crowd. "You are strong! Be strong! And diverse! This is just the beginning…we won't rest until women, gays, Jews, and Muslims everywhere have a right to vote for the pope they want! We are church!"
Associated Press


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We study human grasping under a variety of conditions in order to identify and characterize different grasping strategies. Specially, we are interested in strategies that are robust to be performed under different kinds of impairment, e.g. visual. Our final goal, is to transfer those robust strategies to a robot.
In addition to subjects' grasping with their natural hands, we also observe them when they use soft robotic hands such as RBO Hand 2 and Pisa/IIT Hand. Our goal is to leverage their intuition in grasping to understand how robotic hands can be controlled and evaluate the transfer of their strategies to robotic hands.
Soft Manipulation (SoMa) - funded by the European Commission in the Horizon 2020 program, award number 645599, May 2015 - April 2019.
Alexander von Humboldt professorship - awarded by the Alexander von Humboldt foundation and funded through the Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, July 2009 - June 2014


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Posted on 02/17/2003 3:23:19 AM PST by The Lake City Gar
An affirmative action bake sale organized by the Bruin Republicans last week has provoked impassioned responses from a top California Democrat and political student groups on campus.
The sale, held on Bruin Walk on Feb. 3, offered cookies at different prices depending on the customer's race and gender. Black, Latina and American Indian females were charged 25 cents for cookies that cost males of minority descent 50 cents. White females were charged $1, and white males and all Asian Americans were charged $2.
Students selling the cookies were assigned name tags portraying them as "Uncle Tom," "The White Oppressor" and "Self-Hating Hispanic Race Traitor."
Chairman of the California Democratic Party Art Torres voiced his disapproval in a Monday press release.
"I am deeply saddened and disheartened at the activities of the Bruin Republicans," he said.
Torres, a former California state senator, believes UCLA Republicans have been "emboldened" by the recent race-sensitive remarks by various Republican leaders, specifically citing Trent Lott's, R-Miss., comments and Congressman Howard Coble's, R-N.C., praise of internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II.
"It is a shame that Republicans at UCLA have chosen to mimic the extreme views of their Republican leaders," Torres said.
Andrew Jones, president of the Bruin Republicans and a former Daily Bruin Viewpoint columnist, resents the chairman's association of his student group with national Republican controversies.
"This is just Torres being a bully. He doesn't know us. We have never stood behind Trent Lott," Jones said.
The intent of the sale, Jones said, was to "bring the issue (of affirmative action) down to everyday terms. We wanted to show how affirmative action is racial division, not racial reconciliation."
As for the name tags of the vendors, Jones said many people would look at a black or Latino student taking part in a Bruin Republicans anti-affirmative action sale and either think to themselves or say out loud that the student is a traitor to his race. Therefore, the Bruin Republicans decided to "turn it on its head" and use the names themselves, before passers-by had a chance.
Jones asserted his objective was to incite discourse on the issue, not to provoke anger.
"We want people to have an opinion, one way or another," he added.
Though the Bruin Democrats did not protest the event or respond to it publicly, president Kristina Meshelski, a former Daily Bruin contributor, felt the sale served to confuse students.
"They're focusing only on how it can hurt. A diverse student body is something we should strive for, and affirmative action can help," she said.
Kevin Acebo, a press aide for Torres, called the bake sale a clear example of "race-bating."
Juan Carlos-Orellana, president of the Democratic Law Students Association, responded to the event with similar indignation, referring to the bake sale as an "insulting trivialization of the serious issue of race and gender equality."
Orellana sees the effort by the Bruin Republicans as detrimental to the discussion of affirmative action.
"By reducing the complexity of this issue into dollars and cents and cookies they are working to stop discourse," he said.
Add a little more realism and pay these groups 50 cents to eat the cookies.
These democrats are shameless slugs. Double standard is the foundation of their madness.
Ps. Are we supposed to bring our own oppression equipment? My water cannon is currently in for repairs.
Well, that's a good sign. And the Bruin's haven't apologized for it yet; much better than some of the Republican heirarchy.
Personally, I find this hysterical. |
They aren't working to stop discourse.They are working to show the absurdity of the Left's position. It seems the objections come from those who don't want the "issues" reduced to an understandable level. For all their highsounding rhetoric to be reduced to the price of a cookie based on looks is troubling to them....especially when it can't be refuted. They have only ad hominems to answer with. How typical.
That is certainly a top contender for the Orwellian Remark of the Day, isn't it?
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GRINNELL, Iowa — The cornfields are barren now and the wind bites its way across the heartland. The satellite TV trucks have chugged back down Interstate 80 and the Court of Dreams is quiet now.
"I fell back to earth a bit," said Jack Taylor, 22, after scoring a mere 21 points against a sky-high Division 2 William Penn University team Nov. 25. "I am mortal."
Of course, there was zero chance that Taylor, a crew-cut sophomore guard at Division 3 Grinnell College, could match the NCAA single-game record of 138 points he set against Faith Baptist Bible College Nov. 20.
He didn't even get to start against William Penn.
"Starters don't matter in 'The System,' " said Grinnell associate head coach David Arseneault Jr., referring to the 3-point run-and-gun offense and pressing defense that Grinnell lives and dies by.
There would be no 108 shots and 71 3-point attempts against William Penn. Taylor managed just 6 for 21 from the field and 3 for 13 from the 3-point arc. He had five assists and six turnovers in what was a physical game. He hit the hardwood several times.
"We had a game plan and he had a target on his back," said William Penn's Brandon Beasley, a 6-foot-5-inch senior from Indianapolis who had a double-double by halftime. "Jack Taylor is a good player. He can shoot the ball. He can definitely play. We kind of just smothered him. It just lit a fire under us."
The Grinnell Pioneers have led the nation in scoring 17 of the last 19 years. Former Monmouth (Illinois) College coach Terry Glasgow aptly described "The System" as "five mice coming out of a shoebox."
The man who installed "The System," head coach David Arseneault Sr. — part genius, part basketball renegade — knows it is controversial. He and his son Dave Jr. don't care. They don't offer athletics scholarships, they offer a chance at basketball immortality.
"We like to have fun," said Arseneault Sr. "We like to have moments."
Record-breaking moments.
But no one expected 138 points from a kid who can't dunk.
For the first home game of the year, against Faith Baptist, the Pioneers wanted to break the record for points scored in a half. They also wanted to get Taylor going, giving him 15 shots in the first 10 minutes.
Taylor, a 5-10 transfer from Wisconsin-La Crosse, had shot poorly in his first two games.
"He was really frustrated he had such a miserable first weekend shooting," said Arseneault Sr. "If we could force-feed him, maybe we could get him going."
Elizabeth Taylor knew her son was ready to take off like a cat on a hot tin roof. At their home in Black River Falls, Wis., he was always practicing in the old red barn with the plywood backboard. In the summer, he would shoot 300 times in 100-degree heat three times per week. His mother used to get up at 5:30 a.m. to rebound for him.
After the first two games this season, she sent a text message to the coach.
"Don't give up on my kid," she wrote. "By the end of the season, you'll be one happy coach."
Warming up
Nov. 20 was an unseasonably warm day in Grinnell, and Darby Gymnasium was not full at game time. Not a lot happens in Grinnell, which is 55 miles east of Des Moines. There was a Page One story in the Grinnell Herald-Register that day about the Board of Supervisors opposing two new hog confinements because they would add manure to lands already receiving manure.
But inside Darby, the manure was about to hit the fan for Faith Baptist.
Before the game, Faith Baptist coach Brian Fincham knew very little about Jack Taylor.
"The only thing I knew was that he was a transfer," said Fincham, whose team was young and inexperienced, with just one senior and two juniors.
In the locker room, Taylor and two of his teammates read from the Bible. Taylor found religion after tearing an ACL playing in prep school in Pennsylvania. "I realized then there was more to life than basketball," he said.
He read from Matthew 25. "It was Jesus talking about multiplying your talents," said Taylor. "His fingerprints are all over that game in terms of blessing me with the opportunity."
He also benefited from the Christian principles of his opponents. They refused to intentionally foul him or cuff him up.
"They were really nice," said Taylor. "When they would foul me, they would say, 'Are you all right?' "
Faith Baptist would also see a scoring record for its program. David Larson scored 70 of the quietest points of all time, on 77 percent shooting (34 for 44), mostly layups.
"Basically, they put all five guys at the front of the press, and if you can break the press, they'll give you the layup," said Fincham.
After the game, Fincham was not angry about the lopsided score.
"We've never made the national news," said Fincham, whose team plays in the National Christian College Athletic Association team. "Ever."
'I was in the zone'
Taylor started slowly. When he missed his first four shots, it looked like a 10th Avenue Freezeout.
"I was nervous," said Taylor, who as a student of the game likes to wipe the bottom of his sneakers for traction, a la Larry Bird, and do a quick crossover dribble like Allen Iverson.
At one point, the Grinnell coaches thought of going to Plan B, but Taylor started to heat up.
"It was kind of a blur," he said. "I'm not the Ray Allen type coming off screens and catch-and-shoot. I'm a guy who likes to play with the basketball and be creative and try to create my own shot."
He thought he had 30 points at the half.
"When they heard I had 58, they were excited," he said of his teammates. "They told me they were going to get me the ball every time.
"In the second half when I was missing shots, my team would come up to me and say, 'Keep shooting.' "
He does not remember the moment when he broke the record of 113 points by Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College in 1954.
But students in the stands realized that something was going on. They were tweeting each other and chanting his name, and soon the gym was full.
"I think I realized that something was really special when I looked into the crowd and people were having their phones out, recording me," said Taylor.
When the 179-104 trouncing was complete, Taylor had set NCAA records for points (138), field goals (52), and 3-pointers (27).
In a span of less than two minutes late in the game, he hit seven consecutive 3-point attempts while scoring 28 straight points for Grinnell. Finally, Taylor was pulled with 1:33 left. Arseneault Jr. conceded it was late but "he was too hot."
Taylor did not mind.
"I was in the zone, and it felt like anything I tossed up was going in," he said.
Teammate Aaron Levin was ecstatic.
"It was unreal the last stretch," said Levin. "It just felt like a dream. I just felt happy for Jack, he works hard and he deserves it. He's super humble and one of the nicest guys in the world."
Splash and backlash
By the next morning, Taylor was an international star. Grinnell had 300 requests for interviews from around the world, from outlets such as "The Today Show," "Good Morning America," "The Dan Patrick Show," "The Jimmy Kimmel Show," and the Wall Street Journal.
Too excited to sleep, Taylor watched himself on "SportsCenter" with some of his teammates.
"It was really weird, knowing the whole world was watching the same thing I was watching," he said.
He awoke after 1½ hours sleep and went to his classes, calculus and "Intro to Christianity."
"It felt like I woke up in a different world the next morning," said Taylor. "Walking around campus, I got 'the stare.' "
Already Grinnell is Taylortown. Lonnski's Pub and Deli on Main Street has a new special: "The Jack Taylor Burger — it's on fire." The burger is topped with habanero jack cheese, grilled jalapenos, and cayenne pepper mayonnaise. The local Pizza Hut offered a $1.38 mini-pizza. The Grinnell Christian Church Sunday sermon told the story of Jack as David, in David vs. Goliath.
NBA stars chimed in, too.
Carmelo Anthony said it was "like a video game." Kevin Durant tweeted, "Jack Taylor you deserve a shot of Jack Daniels after that performance . . . wow." And Kobe Bryant said, "That's crazy, man." LeBron James anointed Taylor "Sir Jack" and asked to see the tape.
That was hard to arrange, because Grinnell, stung by a backlash of negativity, pulled the tape. A hardwood feel-good story was becoming a national debate: Is this basketball?
The main issues: Taylor had zero assists and took 108 shots. His defense was questioned. So was his playing time. Faith Baptist isn't even an NCAA team.
"I got some Facebook messages that said I was a really selfish player," said Taylor. "They just don't understand that it was a team effort for this record, that I wasn't trying to be selfish to get my stats up. The whole team was behind me, so it was a total team effort.
"It felt like during the game they wanted me to get the record so bad, I would pass it off and they'd give it right back. Lots of the time when they got an offensive rebound off my miss, they could put it right back up; instead they looked back at me for another three, which shows their unselfishness."
Some critics said that if they had 108 shots, they could break the record, too.
"My legs hurt a lot," said Taylor. "My wrist was a little sore. I was tired, but then every time I got the ball back, I wasn't tired."
As to the claims that he didn't play defense? Not so, said Taylor.
"We forced a record number of turnovers," he said.
To Taylor, the record is not tarnished.
"I don't think I'm going to remember this game for how others see it," he said. "I think I'm going to see it as what an amazing game it was. How unselfish my teammates were. I don't think I'm going to remember how the critics viewed the game.''
Looking ahead
What a difference a half-century makes. Virtually all that exists from Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game against the Knicks on March 2, 1962, is a cheesy locker room picture of him holding up a sign that reads "100."
But within minutes of the Grinnell-Faith Baptist game, there were clips of "Mister 138" on YouTube.
"It still hasn't really sunk in yet," he said.
Bevo Francis never played in the NBA. He never bragged about his record. He worked in a steel mill and was more content to be in the Ohio woods hunting. He issued a statement congratulating Taylor.
The NBA may be out of Taylor's reach, too.
"I definitely want to play professionally," he said. "More realistically I'm thinking about playing overseas. I'll keep working hard and see where the dice falls."
He wonders if President Obama knows about his new record. He'd love to play in the White House basketball game. Asked what he would do if he had a wide-open three but Obama was screaming for the ball, Taylor smiled.
"That's a good question," he said. "I think I'd probably have to give him the rock, unless the game was on the line. If the game was on the line, I'd probably take the shot."
Stan Grossfeld can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com


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No. 1 Kentucky dispatches Florida to cap perfect SEC season
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Kentucky coach John Calipari never mentioned perfection to his team before Sunday's game at Florida.
He talked about pride.
The Wildcats ended up with both.
Freshman Anthony Davis had 22 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, Terrence Jones added 19 points and the top-ranked Wildcats capped a perfect season in Southeastern Conference play with a 74-59 victory over Florida (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP).
Kentucky (30-1, 16-0) set a school record for regular-season wins, extended its winning streak to 22 games and secured its hold on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in next week's SEC tournament.
"I told them prior to the game, 'Look, bottom line is if we lose we're still a 1 seed. It doesn't change our seeding. It doesn't do anything. But it's about pride,' " Calipari said. "... That was the message prior to the game: just go have pride and play."
The Wildcats became just the third team since Alabama in 1956 to go unbeaten in SEC play. The other two? Kentucky. The powerhouse program accomplished the feat in 1996 and 2003.
"To be a part of one of them, it's a great honor," Davis said.
Big Blue faced little resistance in the regular-season finale.
The Wildcats used an 8-0 run in the second half to make it a double-digit lead, and then added a 9-0 run later to put the game out of reach.
"The one thing I would say about them is that if you do break down defensively against them, you're going to pay," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "But they also have the ability, when you guard them the way you want to guard them, they can still make a shot. ... I think that's what makes really, really good teams."
Patric Young led Florida (22-9, 10-6) with 21 points while Erik Murphy added 14 points and eight rebounds.
Young and Murphy had few answers for Davis and Jones, who both were 9 of 13 from the field, including a 3-pointer each.
Kentucky shot 53 percent from the field and seemingly scored at will in the paint, finishing with 40 points in the key. And when the Wildcats aren't missing many shots and aren't turning the ball over, they are tough to beat -- maybe even impossible.
"This line of guys they have really good chemistry, they're really together," Young said. "No one's out there trying to score from himself. ... They have a really complete team. It will be really tough to beat them."
The Wildcats took a 28-16 lead in the first half, often abusing the Gators in one-on-one situations. And even when Kentucky did miss, Davis and Jones were there for rebounds and putbacks.
"It was one of those nights that Kentucky's length really caused us some problems," Donovan said.
Florida crawled back in the second half. The Gators cut the lead to 46-44 with about 16 minutes remaining, but couldn't get any closer as Kentucky responded with clutch shots every time the score got close.
Kentucky started pulling away from there.
Florida responded thanks to some inspired play by Young and made it 59-55. But the Cats just dialed it up on both ends of the court.
The Gators made just one basket over the final 9:02, a meaningless shot in the closing minute. Davis, meanwhile, took over. He had a putback, a layup, a dunk and a free throw down the stretch.
"John is now putting him in situations that he did not do a lot of," Donovan said. "When you go through a season, teams start to guard you differently, throw different things at you and it's enabled him to grow as Kentucky's team's grown because he adds a different dimension for them on the perimeter."
Calipari was equally impressed with Jones.
"If Terrence Jones plays that way for us, we're not just good, we're real good," Calipari said. "And that's what he was today. He was phenomenal."
Young was the lone bright spot for the Gators. He made 10 of 15 shots and finished with nine rebounds.
Guards Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker and Bradley Beal had forgettable performances for Florida. Going against bigger defenders, the trio combined for 6-of-29 shooting.
Boynton, benched to start the game because he was late to a team meeting, finished with seven points on 2-of-8 shooting. Walker, recognized before his final home game as the team's lone senior, had eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. Beal had five points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists. He left the game with a sprained ankle, but returned late.
Together, they did little to keep Kentucky from perfection.
"Their talent and ability to make a shot or make a difficult shot was much, much better than our ability to do that," Donovan said.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Tony Greene
- Doug Shows
- Doug Sirmons
2023-24 Southeastern Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
Tennessee | 12-3 | - | 22-6 |
Alabama | 11-3 | 0.5 | 19-8 |
South Carolina | 10-4 | 1.5 | 22-5 |
Auburn | 10-5 | 2 | 21-7 |
Florida | 10-5 | 2 | 20-8 |
Kentucky | 10-5 | 2 | 20-8 |
Mississippi State | 8-7 | 4 | 19-9 |
Ole Miss | 6-8 | 5.5 | 19-8 |
Texas A&M | 6-8 | 5.5 | 15-12 |
Georgia | 5-10 | 7 | 15-13 |
Arkansas | 5-10 | 7 | 14-14 |
Vanderbilt | 3-12 | 9 | 8-20 |
Missouri | 0-15 | 12 | 8-20 |


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April 08, 2005
The Uralic suicide phenomenon
History and geography of suicide: could genetic risk factors account for the variation in suicide rates?
Marusic A.
The current state of knowledge of genetic predisposition towards the suicidal behavior allows for a question whether genetic risk factors account for the variation in suicide rates through time and space. Accordingly, the presented paper will attempt to tackle the genetics behind suicidal behavior from the perspective of the populational genetics. First, the variability of suicide rates across Europe is discussed. This is followed by a brief discussion of the J curve (on a map of Europe, the countries with a higher suicide rate form a so-called J curve, which starts in Finland and extends down to Slovenia), which maps on to the second principal component identified for European gene distribution, representing the ancestral adaptation to cold climates and the Uralic language dispersion. Furthermore, we will discuss whether the group of people living within the J-curve could share genes, which may not tolerate excessive amounts alcohol, the combination of which is more likely to end in suicidal behavior. Further along we list possible ways in which suicidal behaviour could have been selected for genetically in populations and identify those specific populations in which it may have appeared. Finally, we point at other locations in the world where a similar interplay of genes and environment has probably occurred, Greenland being the best example of the malignant interaction of alcohol consumption and the trait-like characteristics, which might constitute the vulnerability to suicidal behaviour.
Slovenia is a good example to illustrate that such prediction would not be valid. According to environmental predictors, Slovenia should share the same low rate with its Mediterranean neighbours such as Italy. Also about 70 per cent of its population are Roman Catholic; a religion where suicide is strictly forbidden. However, Slovenia has a suicide rate above 30 per 100,000 per year. Also, the annual suicide rate in Slovenia has remained remarkably stable, despite recent profound political and social change. Moreover, high rates of suicide in the native rather than the immigrant population of Slovenia also contradicts the theory that social and ecological risk factors are the major influence on suicide statistics [Marusic and Farmer, [2001]]. Finally, Slovenia does differ from other suicide-prone nations in some environmental predictors. This suggests that factors other than environmental predictors may be implicit in determining national suicide rates in Europe. Such factors could include some shared genetic vulnerability to suicidal behaviour among some European nations.
An example of similar genetic origins could be the Hungarians of central Europe (living in Hungary, Transylvania in Romania and Vojvodina in Serbia) and the Finns and Karelians in the North, who belong to the same (Finno-Ugrian) ethno-lingual group. Among all these groups, suicide is widespread, and we find even higher suicide rates among individuals in the original territory of both ethnic groups, which is in the Urals, specifically between Mari and Udmurts with the suicide rates three times higher than those in Hungary and Finland. Kondrichin [[1995]] was the first to suggest that the high rates, which we see among individuals of Finno-Ugrian ethnicity, extend to the early development of ethnic groups in whom a collection of shared genes contributed to an elevated susceptibility to suicide. It is interesting that in their genetic inheritance, both Finns and Hungarians have approximately the same ratio of European (90 %) and Uralic genes (10 %) [Cavalli-Sforza et al., [1994]]. Mogyorosi [[1996]] claimed that there is no evidence that so-called Finno-Ugrian nations are genetically closer to each other than to their geographical neighbors. Melhus [[1996]] pointed at recent analyses of mitochondrial lineages in European population, which show that the Finnish population belongs to a gene pool common to most other European groups [Sajantila and Paabo, [1995]]. The mitochondrial DNA will, however, only show maternal DNA. Hence, it remains possible that it is the male DNA that discriminates between the Finnu-Ugrians and other Europeans. For example, according to some theories, Hungary was occupied by 100.000-500.000 Magyar invaders, herders who spoke a Uralic language in 862. They formed a fraction of 10-50% of the total population after the invasion; subsequent gene flow from neighbors is likely to have decreased this initial proportion. The current estimate of admixture is 13%. Other Finnu-Ugrians are Finns and Lapps. The Finns have a proportion of 90% European genes and 10% Uralic [Guglielmino et al., [1990]].
A historical review of the traditions associated with wine in Slovenia and the discerning of inheritance and environmental factors can shed some light on this question. Wine-growing, which the Romans first introduced to the area now encompassing Slovenia, nearly died out when the Slavs and Magyars conquered the area. The production of wine was very limited until the 12th century. A theory exists that the members of these tribes, whose inheritance or genetic structure was not compatible with the consumption of alcohol, are the primary ancestors of those whose present suicide rate is among the highest in Europe. Once religious (environmental) factors had led to the re-establishment of vine growing, the region's inhabitants who were genetically unsuited to alcohol consumption, soon developed the highest rates of alcohol related mental disorders. This adverse combination of genetic propensity and high alcohol consumption led to the high rates of suicide noted in the region today. It is worth noting that current suicide rate in the north-east of Slovenia is the same as the Hungarian rates, and about twice as high as those in more western regions of Slovenia [Marusic and Farmer, [2001]].
In the mid-13th century, Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes swept across the Russian plain, seizing Moscow and imposing their rule over much of the country for the next 250 years. Almost eight centuries later, it seems that genetic traces the Mongols left behind are partly to blame for Russia's traditional weakness for alcohol. The gene, known as ADH2-2, is common in Asian countries but almost non-existent among Europeans. Carriers of the gene are more susceptible to the effects of drinking and more likely to become alcoholics. Since alcohol consumption was rare among Asiatic tribes, they evolved differently from Europeans, who have a long tradition of producing and consuming alcohol. The culture of drinking has existed for centuries in Europe, dating back to before the Roman Empire, so Europeans have built up a natural resistance. Scientists have long known that the ADH2-2 gene is common among Russians, but Ogurtsov et al. [[2001]] were the first to test how it affects alcohol consumption. There is a negative correlation between the ADH2-2 allele and alcohol misuse (both alcoholic dependence and alcoholic cirrhosis). This correlation is expressed more in alcoholic dependence. Among many other negative characteristics, it has also been found that those with the gene were more likely to have negative emotional responses (like aggression and depression) and more likely to suffer withdrawal symptoms [Mainville, [2004]].
Further north-east, in Alaska, an average of 130 suicides occurred annually in the last decade [Anonymous, [2003]]. The most recent suicide rate was above 21 per 100.000 per year, which is the highest in the United States and twice the national average. Most striking is the data among Alaskan Natives whose rate of suicide (42.7) is four times the national rate. Furthermore, among Native American males the rate (68.5) is six times the national average [Anonymous, [2003]].
Another population of the Inuit have been faced with high suicide rates, namely the Inuit of Greenland [Bjerregaard and Curtis, [2002]]. This is however a much clearer example of the malignant interaction of alcohol consumption and the trait-like characteristics, which might constitute the vulnerability to suicidal behavior. The majority of the population of Greenland are Inuit, the ancestors of whom migrated from Asia about 20-30 000 years ago. In Greenland, alcohol consumption has recently increased dramatically. In 1950, the estimated average consumption among adults, expressed as litres of alcohol, was 7 litres per year. By 1987 this had increased to a maximum of 22 litres. Accordingly, suicides were uncommon in the 1950s with an estimated rate of 4.6 per 100.000 per year. During the following years, suicides increased dramatically and in the early nineties the suicide rate was 107 per 100.000 per year [Bjerregaard and Curtis, [2002]].
2 comments:
- J said...
Slovenia was part of the AustroHungarian Empire and Hungarian was spoken there a hundred years ago.
- Wednesday, March 16, 2011 5:03:00 pm
- Sarchis Dolmanian said...
Makes sense.
Somehow I have an inkling that this not the whole story.
Durkheim says that suicide has something to do with 'anomie':
"...a mismatch between personal or group standards and wider social standards" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anomie) or "a state where norms (expectations on behaviors) are confused, unclear or not present. It is normlessness, Durkheim felt, that led to deviant behavior. In 1897, Durkheim used the term again in his study on Suicide, referring to a morally deregulated condition. Durkheim was preoccupied with the effects of social change. He best illustrated his concept of anomie not in a discussion of crime but of suicide." (http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/week8.htm).
Now, if you look carefully, that J curve coincides with the watershed between eastern and western Europe so the population inhabiting that area was, psychologically, torn apart between two quite different mindsets. (Huntington, Clash of Civilizations)
As to the Uralic ancestry, well, being able to pull out your roots and settle in a completely different environment means having a rather flexible state of mind and this implies a relative 'normlessness'.
In fever words, being able to survive as a buffer between civilizations/different sets of social norms is a blessing that comes with some strings attached. And if you associate this with a low level of alcohol tolerance in a wine growing region you might have a bigger suicide problem than your neighbors. - Thursday, October 18, 2012 3:14:00 pm


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Israeli company MyHeritage, which operates a huge family-based social network has acquired FamilyLink, the developer behind family history
content sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com.
While financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed, this is MyHeritage's seventh and largest acquisition since 2007. Past acquisitions include Germany's OSN, Poland's Bliscy.pl, Dutch Family Network ZOOOF and most recently BackupMyTree.
MyHeritage has a simple goal: to help people discover who they are related to and help maintain these connections. The company's Smart Matching technology takes data entered in and matches info with other family trees and data that people have entered in to the site to find relatives and explore their family history.
The site also offers a private home on the web for exploring family history and keeping in touch; allowing users to create their own family website, share pictures and videos, organize family events, create family trees and discover ancestors and long-lost relatives.
Backed by Accel and Index Ventures, MyHeritage.com boasts an international registered member base of 60 million users, offers its services in 38 languages, and is home to more than 900 million profiles and 21 million family trees. And the company is profitable.
For the company, Utah-based FamilyLink furthers MyHeritage's presence in the US.>, and boosts MyHeritage's offering to families with the addition of a database of more than 3 billion historical records.
Founded in 2006, both FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com are subscription services which provide access to a huge database of historical content, covering several billion individuals within census, birth, marriage and death records, as well as the web's largest archive of historical newspapers.
With offices and staff in Europe, Australia and Israel; MyHeritage will now be adding its first US-based office in Utah, the home of FamilyLink.com.
As MyHeritage founder and CEO Gilad Japhet says, "We'll be able to find your mother's yearbook, your great- grandfather's will and your ancestor's immigration record…We'll do that on a massive, global scale, as we live in a world
that is smaller and more tightly connected than ever before".
The CEO of FamilyLink.com, Paul Brockbank, previously CEO of Logoworks and GM of Hewlett Packard Web Print Solutions, will later join the MyHeritage advisory board. FamilyLink.com founder Paul Allen, previously a co-founder of Ancestry.com, will not be part of the merger with MyHeritage.
MyHeritage faces competition from the less social Ancestry.com, which is more US focused. But most people's deep family trees span languages and borders. And while MyHeritage has a big global audience, FamilyLink should help the company broaden its user base in the U.S.


text: Energy | 13. December 2010 | posted by Jan Oliver Löfken Energy question of the week: Complete autonomy - is there a way to total energy self-sufficiency? Electricity costs rise every year, as do gas and oil prices. Almost all German citizens are obliged to use the services of gas and electric utility companies to keep their homes warm and supplied with power. Is there no way out of this? More than half of all German citizens live in rented accommodation. For this large group, switching over to autonomous heating and electricity supplies is very difficult, since the initial investment is usually very large. For a rented apartment, building in a fireplace is an option, and a wood fire can contribute to reducing heating expenses. Energy savings are the key Owners of apartments or, even better, houses have many more options. However, the first step is always energy saving – high-efficiency electrical appliances and thermal insulation significantly reduce energy consumption. Many technologies are available for independent power generation; the warmth of the ground a few metres below the surface can be used to heat the home using borehole heat exchangers and heat pumps. Rooftop solar cells with a good exposure to sunlight can generate electricity for sale back to the utility company or to meet one's own needs. If the cost of boring for geothermal heat exchangers is too high, modern wood pellet burners can decouple heating costs from the oil and gas markets. But here too, growing demand for the pellets will inevitably lead to rising prices. For anyone who does not have a large roof area with good exposure to the sun, a fuel cell power station in the basement could be a solution. The first devices of this type are already available and are mostly powered with natural gas. But disconnecting from the electricity company in this case means connecting to the gas company, and they are often just different divisions of the same utility company. EA house that produces energy In principle, rebuilding a house to achieve energy savings is more expensive than a new building. After the passive house, which uses very little energy, and the zero-energy house, which uses no external energy when averaged over an entire year, there are already concepts for the positive energy house. This uses solar cells, fuel cells and heat pumps in combination with extensive insulation to produce more energy than it consumes. A prototype, sponsored by the German federal government, has been developed using a lightweight construction concept, and is touring Germany this year. But the expense means that very few builder-owners will be able to build a positive energy house. However, the touring house suggests numerous ideas for reducing energy consumption or even, to some extent, supplying energy independently. The DLR Energy question of the week in 'The future of energy' Year of Science The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has given the Year of Science 2010 the motto 'The future of energy'. For this reason the science journalist Jan Oliver Löfken will this year answer a question on the subject of energy in his blog each week. Do you have a question about how our energy supply might look in the future? Or do you want to know, for example, how a wave power plant works and how it can efficiently generate electricity? Then send us your question by email. Science journalist Jan Oliver Löfken will investigate the answers and publish them each week in this blog. Image: Positive Energy House, Source: BMVBS / Christoph Vohler.


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Government of Slovakia hosts On-Site Inspection Field Experiment and Equipment Testing Exercise
An agreement signed with the Government of Slovakia in August this year has allowed the CTBTO Preparatory Commission to further develop capabilities in conducting effective on-site inspections (OSIs). OSIs are the final verification measure under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Once the Treaty enters into force, States Parties can request an on-site inspection to establish if a nuclear explosion has been carried out in violation of the Treaty, and to gather facts which might assist in identifying any possible violator.
Inspection experiences of other international organizations have proven that it is necessary to test and develop inspection procedures and their supporting infrastructure through realistic in-field exercises. The CTBTO Preparatory Commission, building on the lessons learned during its first field experiment in Kazakhstan in 1999, is currently testing elements of an OSI. These include the launching of the exercise at Commission headquarters in Vienna, equipment check-out and other functions at a Point of Entry, and testing the ability of certain passive seismometer array configurations to detect low-level, simulated aftershocks.
The current exercise has been launched by Secretariat staff at headquarters in Vienna, undertaking the same OSI launching activities as would be necessary for a genuine OSI. Launching activities include the preparation of multi-source maps to provide inputs to inspection planning. In this particular case, the maps are used to locate placements for the Seismic Aftershock Monitoring System (SAMS) seismometers to assure uninterrupted line-of-sight between each seismometer and the central receiving station. Other activities include issuance of travel tickets o some participants, and obtaining necessary visas and customs documents.
The Government of Slovakia is hosting the field experiment and equipment testing exercise on its territory. Point of Entry (POE) activities - activities which would take place upon entering the territory or jurisdiction of an inspected State Party - are being tested at M.R. Stefanik Airport at Bratislava. In addition, the Slovak hosts will provide equipment storage and checkout facilities at the airport, similar to those that might be encountered during the POE activities of a real inspection team en route to an inspection area.
Seismic Aftershock Monitoring System (SAMS) seismometers procured by the Commission Secretariat will also be field-tested, at a site in the Bratislava-Stupava area. The Slovak Government will detonate a number of small chemical explosions, which will simulate the kind of seismic aftershocks which might follow a nuclear explosion or other OSI-triggering event.
Individuals with extensive experience in either seismic testing or escorting inspection teams have been selected from State nominees to serve as both surrogate inspection team seismologists and Inspected State Party hosts, and as evaluators of the field experiment and seismic testing activities.
Several opportunities will also be provided for some observers from States Signatories to see both the POE and seismic testing phases of the field experiment. Additionally, in cooperation with the Government of Slovakia, some representatives of the press have been invited to observe the seismic testing at Bratislava-Stupava.
This year's field experiment and equipment testing in Slovakia is a logical step in a continuing programme of OSI methodology development - a programme which will help the CTBTO acquire the capability to launch, support and conduct effective On-Site Inspections after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty enters into force.


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Brace for a December Taper? Ex-Fed Official Kohn Sees Early QE Cut
While most of Wall Street is banking on a March taper, former top Federal Reserve official Donald Kohn believes the central bank may dial back monetary stimulus next week.
Kohn, who was a final contender to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chief, represents one of the highest-profile Fed watchers to predict a cut to quantitative easing, the central bank's $85 billion monthly bond-buying program.
On Thursday, Kohn told clients of political consulting firm Potomac Research Group that it's a close call but chances are now 60-40 that the Federal Open Market Committee trims QE on December 18.
The former Fed vice chair said the final piece of the puzzle may have been Thursday's solid retail sales report, which suggests the stronger labor market may finally be producing healthier spending. Kohn also cited the compromise on the budget deal, a sign the political stalemate in Washington is finally breaking.
Kohn, who serves as a senior economic strategist at PRG, acknowledged there is still a case to be made for waiting to dial back QE. He said such a move would likely be accompanied by a stipulation that stronger growth will lead to tapering later this winter.
If the Fed does cut back on QE, economists expect it to highlight that "tapering isn't tightening" by focusing on forward guidance for the fed funds rate. Kohn said the FOMC may even set an inflation floor for when rate hiking would begin.
It's worth noting that Kohn's Fed calls haven't always been accurate.
In August, the former Fed official said QE tapering was still on track for September despite a disappointing July jobs report. Most of Wall Street believed the Fed would still cut back on monetary stimulus, only to be surprised when the FOMC held steady.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said it would be "surprised" by a December taper from the Fed due to low inflation growth.
"Fed officials always have the option of defying market expectations, but we believe they will not want to surprise the markets on the hawkish side with the first tapering move when inflation is as low as it is," Jon Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman, wrote in a note to clients.
A Reuters poll released last week showed that just nine of 63 economists surveyed believe the Fed will taper in December.


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Nonresident Fellow
Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs, George Washington University
Marie Price, a Nonresident Fellow, is an Associate Professor of Geography and International Affairs at the George Washington University, where she has taught since 1990. Formerly the Director of Latin American Studies from 1999-2001, she is Chair of the Department of Geography.
In 2006, Dr. Price was a visiting scholar at the Migration Policy Institute focusing on immigration to world cities and Latin American migration trends. In addition to her research on human migration, she has written about natural resource use, environmental conservation, and the geographical unevenness of globalization.
Among her many publications, she is a co-editor of Migrants to the Metropolis: the Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities (Syracuse University Press, 2008) and a co-author of Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Envrionment and Development (Prentice Hall, 2008). Her research on global urban immigrant destinations has appeared in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Geo-Journal, and the Migration Information Source.
A native of California, she earned her BA in geography from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her Ph.D. in geography from Syracuse University in 1991.


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Biological Sciences Division
Staff Awards & Honors
April 2013
Keqi Tang Named Battelle Distinguished Inventor
Keqi Tang, Battelle Distinguished Inventor
Congratulations to Dr. Keqi Tang at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on being named a Battelle Distinguished Inventor. This annual award is given to Battelle staff who have 14 or more U.S. patents to their credit as a result of their work at Battelle or Battelle-operated national laboratories. He joins more than 60 inventors from Battelle-managed labs, 21 of which have been from PNNL, in receiving this honor.
Tang has been granted 17 U.S. patents and four foreign patents for methods, instruments, and devices in the fields of microfluidics and mass spectrometry. These include the Ion Mobility Spectrometer on a Microchip, which won an R&D 100 Award in 2010 and a Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Technology Transfer Award in 2013. He also won FLC awards for Chemically Etched Emitters for Nanospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry in 2012 and the Electrodynamic Ion Funnel in 2004. Tang has also co-authored 29 disclosure reports and has additional patents in the application process.
Ion Mobility Spectrometer on a Microchip
In the microfluidics area, Tang has worked with colleagues Dr. Richard (Dick) Smith, one of the first Battelle Distinguished Inventors, and Dr. Ryan Kelly to develop high-efficiency sample processing and separations for single-cell analysis, putting the entire process on a microchip. He, Smith, and Dr. Alexandre Shvartsburg have done pioneering research coupling FAIMS (Field Asymmetric waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry) and conventional Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS), developing a broadly useful new technology able to quickly separate, identify, and quantify the components of complex mixtures. Analyses can potentially be done in seconds to minutes rather than hours to tens of hours.
The majority of Tang's patents are for electrospray ionization source and mass spectrometry interface in collaboration with Smith, Kelly, and Dr. Jason Page. This work also led to a 2009 R&D 100 Award for the Ultrasensitive Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry Source & Interface.
Tang, who has been at PNNL since 2000, is quick to credit his colleagues and the Laboratory as essential for helping him receive this latest award.
"If you want to be productive, you have to have great colleagues. Our team works together really well, and we each have a different expertise that complements the others'. That's a good combination," he said. "The environment is also key. In my opinion, PNNL has the best resources for good technology development, including equipment and funding."
Tang was recognized April 19 at PNNL's Recognition & Rewards Banquet, and his name and image will be featured on plaques on the Distinguished Inventors of Battelle displays in Richland and at the Battelle corporate offices in Columbus, Ohio.


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Dickens Charles
A Christmas Carol
"Bah Humbug!" That's how Ebeneezer Scrooge feels about Christmas--until the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future decide to show the crotchety old miser the error of his ways. Together they travel through time, revisiting all the people who have played an important role in Scrooge's life. And as their journey concludes, Scrooge is reminded of what it means to have love in his heart, and what the true spirit of Christmas is all about. A timeless story the whole family will enjoy!
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Tall, with dark-green pointy leaves, the neem tree of India is known as the "village pharmacy." As a child growing up in metropolitan New Delhi, Sonia Arora recalls on visits to rural areas seeing villagers using neem bark to clean their teeth. Arora's childhood memories have developed into a scientific fascination with natural products and their power to cure illnesses.
Now an assistant professor at Kean University in New Jersey, Arora is delving into understanding the curative properties of the neem tree in fighting the virus that causes AIDS. She presented her data at a poster session on April 22, at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego. Her preliminary results seem to indicate that there are compounds in neem extracts that target a protein essential for HIV to replicate. If further studies support her findings, Arora's work may give clinicians and drug developers a new HIV-AIDS therapy to pursue.
Extracts from neem leaves, bark and flowers are used throughout the Indian subcontinent to fight against pathogenic bacteria and fungi. "The farther you go into the villages of India, the more uses of neem you see," says Arora. Tree branches are used instead of toothpaste and toothbrushes to keep teeth and gums healthy, and neem extracts are used to control the spread of malaria.
Practitioners of Ayurvedic medicine, a form of traditional Indian alternative medicine, even prescribe neem extracts, in combination with other herbs, to treat cardiovascular diseases and control diabetes. The neem tree, whose species name is Azadirachta indica and which belongs to the mahogany family, also grows in east Africa.
Arora's scientific training gave her expertise in the cellular biology of cancer, pharmacology, bioinformatics and structural biology. When she established her laboratory with a new research direction at Kean University in 2008, Arora decided to combine her knowledge with her long-time fascination with natural products. The neem tree beckoned.
Arora dived into the scientific literature to see what was known about neem extracts. During the course of her reading, Arora stumbled across two reports that showed that when HIV-AIDS patients in Nigeria and India were given neem extracts, the amount of HIV particles in their blood dropped. Intrigued, Arora decided to see if she could figure out what was in the neem extract that seemed to fight off the virus.
She turned to bioinformatics and structural biology to see what insights could be gleaned from making computer models of HIV proteins with compounds known to be in neem extracts. From the literature, she and her students found 20 compounds present in various types of neem extracts. When they modeled these compounds against the proteins critical for the HIV life-cycle, Arora and her team discovered that most of the neem compounds attacked the HIV protease, a protein essential for making new copies of the virus.
Arora's group is now working on test-tube experiments to see if the computer models hold up with actual samples. If her work bears out, Arora is hopeful that the neem tree will give a cheaper and more accessible way to fight the HIV-AIDS epidemic in developing countries, where current therapies are priced at levels out of reach of many people. "And, of course," she notes, "there is the potential of discovering new drugs based on the molecules present in neem."
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US seeks to reduce cancer-causing chemicals in nation's drinking water
WASHINGTON D.C.: The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced a proposal for the first-ever national drinking water standard covering six substances, which are cancer-causing chemicals.
The announcement is the first time since 1996 that drinking water standards have been proposed for a new chemical under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The proposal is part of the EPA's strategy to address made-made "forever chemicals" in water, air and food, which is suspected in causing tens of thousands of cases of ill health.
"The EPA's proposal to establish a national standard. in drinking water is informed by the best available science, and would help provide states with the guidance they need to make decisions that best protect their communities," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan, as quoted by Reuters.
Under the new standard, public water systems must monitor for six chemicals, inform the public if levels exceed proposed standards in drinking water, and take action to reduce levels of specified chemicals.
These chemicals are used in products ranging from paper to pans to make them stain-resistant, water-repellent and grease-proof. They are also used in industrial processes and discharged into waterways.
Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden administration has allocated $10 billion to help communities reduce these and other toxic chemicals.
Environmental groups welcomed the new standards, but stressed that retailers and chemical companies are responsible for making a difference.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who has for years pressed the EPA to address the chemicals, said, "I am looking forward to hearing from those who will be impacted by this announcement, including local water systems and ratepayers across the country, on how we can provide assistance for implementation," according to Reuters.