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Annual rewards are being distributed this time of year at Microsoft, which also marks the time when many people switch teams. As I cover in A change would do you good, switching teams in late summer and early fall has advantages: You don't risk impact to your past year's rewards, and you give yourself time to learn about your new team and produce results for the following year's rewards. However, I didn't talk about the other side of people switching teams: the loss to the departed team.
People leave teams for a variety of reasons. Sometimes people want a healthy career change or have to consider a family obligation, and sometimes their exit is involuntary (read The toughest job–Poor performers). Regardless of the cause, or even how much the employee was valued, leaving a team creates a hole where that person used to be. As a manager and a team, what do you do to fill that hole?
Naturally, managers backfill vacated positions (see Permissible poaching, Hire's remorse, and Out of the interview loop), but that takes time and doesn't really fill the hole, since every individual's contribution is unique. This dilemma introduces a bunch of questions for managers: How will I transfer the knowledge of the departing employee? What transition duration should I request before the person starts with his new team? Who should fill the open position? How do I talk about the loss to my team? Should I have a farewell party or not? You've got questions, I've got answers.
Hello goodbye
As I describe in Go with the flow, teams should be thought of as rivers, not lakes. People flow through teams over time, and that movement is far better than stagnation. You need fresh ideas and perspectives to keep your products and engineering vibrant. Thinking of your team as a river means expecting and embracing transitions. That means every function, schema, tool, configuration, and protocol must be understood by at least two team members (typically, an owner and a backup). Those two or more people are on each associated pull request, and they cover for one another when someone's away. This redundancy builds team capability and resiliency, which is particularly helpful when someone leaves.
If you've treated your team like a river, knowledge transfer is relatively easy. A two-week transition time should be more than enough to fill any remaining knowledge gaps.
If you've treated your team like a lake, or if a bunch of folks leave at once, you'll want to focus on documentation rather than cross-training. (Cross-training is quickly forgotten and adds even more stress to remaining team members.) Whether it's a OneNote notebook, a wiki, or generated in-code markup, you'll want your departing team members to document their areas to the satisfaction of their coworkers and leave their contact information—you'll likely need it. Try to get as much transition time as possible; four weeks is the maximum Microsoft allows.
Someone's taking my place
A manager's inclination may be to find a replacement with similar experience and skills to the person leaving. While there are times it's necessary to do this, usually it's a mistake. When someone leaves, it creates growth opportunities for less experienced team members. Even when no single individual can cover every vacated responsibility (a common case), the responsibilities can be spread across the remaining team members who'd appreciate the challenge.
When other team members take on the vacated responsibilities, they often need help covering their prior work. However, it's work that less experienced team members were doing, so you can now hire an entry-level candidate to diversify your team and add fresh perspective.
Eric Aside
Read more about diverse hires in Growth mindset and diversity.
Nothing compares 2U
When a teammate leaves, the remaining team members often feel concern and a sense of loss. What was a stable situation now seems tenuous. Why did the teammate leave? Should I leave too? Often managers must keep the reason a person left private, leading to speculation and further unease. Even when a person has a wonderful reason for leaving that they gladly share, coworkers still grieve the loss. As a manager, how do you make room for that grief, yet reassure your team?
A key idea for managers to keep in mind is that it's not about the person who left—it's about the people remaining. Many may miss the departing teammate, but their concerns are about their own position within the team.
When you talk to individuals, answer their questions with a focus on their own situation and career growth. When you talk to your team, highlight the positive contributions the departing individual made to the team, acknowledge the difficulties of losing a teammate, and then focus on the opportunity this presents to the team. Say that you look forward to the next review cycle and people discussion where you'll proudly describe how the team came together, overcame adversity, gained new skills, expanded responsibilities, and continued to deliver great value for our customers. Your acknowledgment of loss coupled with a compelling vision of future success provides room for grief while motivating your team to embrace the challenge.
It's my party
Managers debate whether it's appropriate to host a farewell party for the departing individual. Some argue that you shouldn't reward an employee for leaving. They're thinking about it from the wrong perspective. The party is for the people remaining. If the departing individual was a leader, mentor, or long-time collaborator, her teammates need a chance to say goodbye, celebrate their relationship, and gain the closure necessary to move forward.
A great farewell party for a leader, mentor, or long-time collaborator has the following elements:
- Time for everyone to say goodbye. I like to host a farewell lunch in a conference room, with the departing employee choosing the food. The flexibility of the space and seating provides a chance to socialize with many teammates.
- A personalized farewell gift and/or card. My favorite gift is a poster featuring the departing individual, the projects she worked on, and/or images that uniquely identify her. The blank space on the poster is perfect for personal messages and signatures. The result is a valued personal keepsake that's easy and inexpensive to produce.
- Some kind words celebrating the individual leaving. I like to wait until people are almost done with their meals—it's quiet and gives the person leaving a chance to finish eating before making some remarks. I then relate a story about the person that reflects her unique personality and contribution. I conclude by saying how much we appreciated the person's years of service, how much we'll miss her, and how there's a line of people waiting for her desk (or some other humorous remark to break the tension).
- A grateful departing speech. At this point, the person departing is usually touched and has a few words of thanks to share. A positive experience like this creates closure for the team, while maintaining a positive relationship with the person leaving—a relationship that will be valuable if you need to reconnect.
Eric Aside
For making posters, I choose an ordinary poster print, 24″ – 30″ wide, with matte finish and no lamination. A variety of printing services will produce these for under $50 in the US, and the matte finish and lack of lamination make the poster friendly to signatures and messages.
It's only natural
Everybody leaves a team at some point. Rather than avoiding or dreading the moment, you can embrace it. Treat your team like a river, ensuring every area has a primary owner and a backup who provide each other feedback on pull requests and cover for one another when one's away. When people leave, transfer their responsibilities to other team members as growth opportunities, and then have an entry-level hire cover the gaps that arise. Reassure your team members that this change can be a positive force to bring a team together, provide valuable skills and experience, and drive future success. Finally, for departing employees that have been team leaders, mentors, or long-time collaborators, host a great farewell party that gives everyone a chance to say goodbye and creates the closure needed to move forward.
Effective managers welcome constructive turnover on their teams. It adds a diversity of fresh ideas and perspectives that drive innovation, customer value, and business results. By giving your team members space to grieve the loss of a teammate along with the chance to expand their knowledge and scope, you show you care for all of them. You also demonstrate that teamwork and camaraderie create opportunity and success.


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The Enneagram — which is ostensibly a personality framework that categorizes humans into nine "types" — has been rising in popularity for a while now, especially in Christian circles, and it exploded in the last two or three years to the point that it's everywhere now. If you haven't at least heard of it (and I'm sorry to say that some of you reading this might have heard about it from me), then you're probably leading an even more low-tech and secluded lifestyle than I am.
I first heard of it several years ago when a certain Christian writer I used to follow and her circle of online friends (the same circle of people, by the way, who led me to sign up to that Yoga with Adrienne challenge) began gushing over how great it is and how much it changed their lives and improved their relationships. I checked into it back then, mainly because I was a Myers-Briggs fan and have always been a sucker for a good personality test, and honestly, at the time I didn't get it. The website I looked at struck me as incredibly new agey, and the types all seemed so vague that I could see myself in all of them. It really seemed odd to me that these Christian women were so in love with it and actively promoting it, but I shrugged it off and moved on.
But then 2018 happened, a year that started with the rug getting pulled out from under me in a big way. Certain events and revelations shook the foundations on which I'd built my life and my identity. I mean, I knew that ultimately my identity was found in Christ, but I guess that was still head-knowledge more than heart-knowledge. And in everything I researched and studied trying to understand my family, the more I realized I didn't really even know myself.
In other words, I was vulnerable, and vulnerable people tend to be suggestible. And there's also the thing — I'm sure there's probably a word for it, but I can't think of one — where repeated exposure to something wears down your resistance. The Enneagram explosion was beginning in a big way, and it seemed like everyone, everywhere, including people I respected and trusted, was talking about their type.
I was still skeptical about it, mainly because every time I'd looked into it I had such a hard time pinning down my own type. And then I read a book on personality tests by Anne Bogel, a.k.a The Modern Mrs. Darcy. I found I had a lot in common with her, and she turned out to have the same Myers-Briggs type as me. In the chapter on the Enneagram, she described her own tendencies and how they fit this certain type, and for the first time something clicked.
From there I immediately checked out The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile, the book that undoubtedly served as the gateway to this thing for many unsuspecting Christians. It paints a much different picture of the Enneagram than that new-agey website that first introduced me to it. According to Cron and Stabile, the Enneagram was actually invented by the early Catholic church and used in training priests. There's a whole thing about the types corresponding to the Seven Deadly Sins (plus two more that got added later), and it's all about identifying your core sin and learning how to overcome it — in Enneagram parlance, progressing from unhealthy to healthy.
By the time I finished the book, I had unquestionably identified myself as a type Nine, and I felt like I understood myself in a way I never had before. So much about my behavior and tendencies made sense. What's more, I'd also pegged my husband's type and felt I understood him on a whole new level.
I'm not gonna lie. I got a lot of benefits from this new knowledge. I recognized that I still carried a lot of pent-up rage from my chaotic and dysfunctional childhood, and that I needed to find healthy ways to get that out of my system. I recognized my tendency to "merge" with others — to not always know where I end and they begin, which can make me easily influenced and can also make it hard to know what I actually think or want without getting away and spending time by myself to figure it out. I recognized that my tendency to go along to get along was often laziness, and sometimes passive-aggression, and that not speaking my mind or standing up for myself was only adding to my pent-up rage. I recognized my "core sin" of Sloth and how I'd sleep-walked through so much of my life, avoiding conflict like the plague and always taking the path of least resistance.
And that new level of self-awareness really did help me confront and grow out of these unhealthy tendencies.
I also felt like I understood my husband better, and as a result was able to love him better. That's actually how this system gets sold in churches, as a tool to become more compassionate and to better understand and love your neighbor.
That all sounds wonderful, right? So then, what's the problem?
For me, initially, the problem soon became that the Enneagram (and not the Bible) became the lens through which I viewed everything and everyone. Instead of simply seeing other people as fellow humans made in God's image, I began trying to type everyone I knew. Every time my husband did something that irritated me, I'd shake my head quietly to myself and mutter, "[type] is gonna [type]" — effectively reducing him from a fearfully and wonderfully made man who was given to be my leader and protector to a number on a chart, and telling myself in the process that I was being more understanding and loving by doing so.
Worse, I became overly-focused on myself and my personal growth and development. I also became more confrontational, which sometimes was indeed healthier, but sometimes it was just giving free reign to my flesh under the guise of "personal growth." On this supposed journey to being a healthier person, I spent more time reading about the Enneagram, scrolling Enneagram accounts on Instagram, listening to Enneagram podcasts, etc. than I spent reading my Bible. I evangelized about the Enneagram and its benefits more than I think I had ever actively evangelized about Jesus.
In short, it became itself an idol, as well as a pathway to making myself an idol.
I began to see this and feel convicted about it around the same time last year that God convicted me for my involvement in yoga. But it didn't stop there. As I began to repent and step back and take a second look at the Enneagram and whether it truly belonged in my life as a Christian, God revealed some things to me about this supposed Christian personality framework. And once again, he used ex-New Age guru turned Christian Doreen Virtue to do so. Thanks to her, here's what I learned:
- That my original impressions about the Enneagram being New Age were correct. There's nothing Christian or ancient about its origins. Everything in The Road Back to You about its Catholic background is false. The authors may or may not know this. I don't believe they set out purposefully to deceive, but that they themselves are deceived.
- G.I. Gurdjieff, a Greek-Armenian mystic and spiritual guru, first came up with the Enneagram diagram, the weird nine-poined star within a circle, in the late 1800s. He saw it as the eye through which all the secret laws of the universe could be seen. This was later expanded on by his students and disciples, although none of them came up with the nine types that characterize the modern Enneagram.
- In the middle of the last century, these concepts surrounding this symbol were further developed and expanded by Oscar Ichazo, a Chilean shaman and occultist whose new additions to the Enneagram came through tripping out on psychedelic drugs and contacting a spirit identifying itself as Metatron.
- It was one of his students, fellow occultist and psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo, who invented the nine types and popularized the Enneagram. Here is a video of him freely admitting that he fabricated the ancient origins of the Enneagram for marketing purposes, and also that he received the nine types through automatic writing (if you don't know what that is, it's where someone sits down with a pen and paper and then channels a demon to take over their body and write a message):
- The Enneagram has been introduced into the Church by Richard Rohr. Richard Rohr is an excommunicated priest as well as a heretical false teacher who teaches, among other blatant heresies, universalism (i.e. that all roads lead to God and Heaven) and Christ consciousness (the teaching that Jesus was not God, but he was simply a man who had accessed this new age concept of "the mind of Christ" that is a universal force that we can all connect with if we become enlightened enough, and therefore we can all become Christ).
- Both Ian Cron and Suzanne Stabile are devotees and disciples of Richard Rohr (a long and growing list of prominent progressive and "exvangelical" church leaders that also includes people like Henri Nouwen, Dallas Willard, Jen Hatmaker, Sarah Bessey and, sadly and most recently, Kevin Max of DC Talk fame).
You can read more about the occult origins of the Enneagram here, as well as watch the full interview with Claudio Naranjo. And here is the Doreen Virtue video that got me to looking into this stuff in the first place.
Once I learned all of this, I repented for my involvement in the Enneagram and immediately ceased having anything to do with it. I quietly unsubbed from all Enneagram-related content and accounts. I shared the above video in my Instagram stories, but my following there is so small and the number of followers who actually look at my stories is a tiny, tiny subset, so that hardly counts as a public denunciation.
So I'm officially denouncing it here, and I am truly, deeply sorry to anyone who was led into this occult, New Age deception by my own enthusiasm about the Enneagram. I can only pray that God will forgive me for leading anyone astray, and I hope that you'll turn back and forgive me, too.
Sadly, there are a lot of Christians out there who are so hooked on the Enneagram that despite being made aware of this information, they simply don't care. I've heard and seen claims that God can redeem it for good, but that's not how this works. God tells us to shun the occult and flee from evil. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that he'll redeem it and use it to bless and minister to his people. Covering it in a Christian veneer is simply wrapping it in sheep's clothing. It's a trap. Ultimately it's going to do far more harm than good.
But what about all the good, all the growth and healing and marital improvement that came from it?
For one thing, the good was far outweighed by the bad. If you read my yoga post, then you saw how much benefit I got out of doing yoga, right up until it opened a door for a poltergeist to invade my home and harass us. As a self-help tool, it can certainly help you identify areas you need to work on, but I promise you you'll get far, far more inner healing and effective, lasting transformation from taking all that time you spend studying the Enneagram and instead spend it studying and meditating on God's word.
Recently I saw someone refer to the Enneagram as "Horoscopes for Christians" and I think I agree with that assessment. I believe it's a Trojan horse that's getting Christians to focus on themselves and their relationships instead of on growing in sanctification and the knowledge of Jesus and his word. It's also introducing a lot of vulnerable believers to the teachings of Richard Rohr and leading them down this whole road of "deconstructing" their faith and ultimately falling away from it.
The Enneagram is a trap. Please stay away from it.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Winter of 2009 - Vote Denied
Well the weather liars got the forecast wrong and instead of a dusting to a inch of snow, we got 8" all during the rush hour. It took me over 2+ hours to get home last night in white out conditions. I was wanting to get home to vote on a local bond issue and did not think I would make it, but I got in the door before 7:30. I was told I was to late. The law is you have to be there in the door before 7:30 but the poll workers wanted to get home and started to close up the polling places before 7:30. I told them I wanted to vote, I was told they were closed. I should have called the board of elections right then, but I was so tired and frustrated I just went home. I called Judy at the board and lodged a complaint but by then my only option was to drive to Batavia and vote. Not something I wanted to do in bumper to bumper traffic. She said they should have called her and asked and it was not right what happened, she was nice as could be, and will tell the poll workers how they had failed to perform their duties that snowy day. I know working the voting poll locations is a thankless job, my Mother did it for well over 30 years. I guess we chalk it up to "White Death Syndrome" ... so it goes.
Posted by TyMax at 6:42 AM
Labels: bumper, Cincinnati Ohio, clermont county, snow covered, stopped traffic, storm, vote, voting, winter 2009
2 comments:
You Americans are of stronger stock than us Brits. We get 2 inches of snow and the entire country grinds to a halt.ReplyDelete
England: the laughing stock of the world :-)
"England: the laughing stock of the world :-)" rubbish. Our news media and other sources already tell us we are the problem of the world, hated and disliked. *grin ... soReplyDelete
Brits are good people, the few I have known were very well manor fellows. My Mom's side of the family is all UK ..
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Cow Sticker
$ 6.00
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There are many approaches for those seeking high-dividend-paying investments. Some people might want high or rising dividend opportunities specifically, while others may choose investments that also are likely to appreciate in share price.
For those who crave direct payouts, iShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income ETF (IYLD) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that generates income with added stability.
This fund does not tend to fluctuate much in value because it invests about 60% of its assets in bond ETFs. Another 20% of its assets go into high-dividend-paying ETFs and the last part is invested in "alternative assets," which currently consist primarily of a real estate/mortgage fund. The inclusion of all these asset classes in one investment is part of this fund's appeal. Another plus is its 5.08% yield, which is paid out as a monthly dividend.
This is not a tremendously large fund, with $286 million in assets managed, though many of the ETFs it invests in are much larger. This fund's year-to-date, per-share pullback of 2.19% does not include its dividend payments. Although the chart below looks bumpy, the price trajectory now appears to be on the rise again.
This fund's holdings consist of nine other ETFs. The five largest are iShares iBoxx USD High-Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG), 20.19%; iShares iBoxx USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond Fund (LQD), 15.02%; iShares Mortgage Real Estate Capped ETF (REM), 14.81%; iShares International Select Dividend ETF (IDV), 10.13%; and iShares Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF (LEMB), 10.08%.
If you think this mixture of asset classes would enhance your portfolio, you may want to explore a potential investment in iShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income ETF (IYLD).
If you want my advice about buying and selling specific ETFs, including appropriate stop losses, please consider subscribing to my Successful ETF Investing newsletter. As always, I am happy to answer any of your questions about ETFs, so do not hesitate to send me an e-mail. You just may see your question answered in a future ETF Talk.
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If Phaedra Parks doesn't endure enough drama during the taping of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, then she certainly made up for any unfulfilled, anticlimactic life moments when she became the target of a bomb threat yesterday morning.
Thirty-four-year-old Terrence Cook, better known by his stage name as rapper Drama, was taken into custody after he allegedly went into Parks' Lenox Plaza office building claiming he had a bomb marked with a special delivery to the Bravo reality star. Police told PEOPLE that Terrence said he was "tired of being treated wrongly."
According to TMZ, Phaedra used to to manage Drama in 2000 when he was an "up-and-coming rapper in Atlanta." Three years later, Parks worked as Cook's lawyer in a robbery case that sent him to prison for 12 years.
Phaedra was removed from the case before her former client was sentenced, but sources say "he blamed Phaedra for his downfall in life … including his long prison term, defunct rap career, and skydiving injury," TMZ reports.
'Everybody Knows…' According to Phaedra Parks
Atlanta CBS news reporter Dante Renzulli posted a picture of Terrence Cook on Twitter after his arrest.
Man arrested in Lenox Plaza offices, Atlanta, looking for reality TV star Phaedra Parks, threatening to set off bomb pic.twitter.com/58ILOg6PIo— Dante Renzulli CBS46 (@renzullicbs46) July 28, 2016
While no actual bomb was found on Terrence or the premises, Cook was charged with terroristic threats and creating a false public alarm.
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13 Classic German Dog Breeds That Make Great Companions
These German dog breeds are so cute and loveable that you're going to want to order matching lederhosen for the next Oktoberfest!
Guten tag, cute German hunds! Or, hello, cute German dogs! We love dogs from all over the world—be it Chinese dog breeds, Japanese dog breeds, Australian dog breeds, Italian dog breeds, or Russian dog breeds, so German dog breeds are in good company. Our list includes dog breeds that originated in Germany or regions that are now known as modern Germany. Learn about the German dog breeds that will steal your heart—and quite possibly your pretzels and sausages.
Alan Tunnicliffe Photography/Getty Images
1. German shepherd
Whether the German shepherd is a family dog, a fellow soldier, or a service dog for the blind, they are undeniably one of the most loyal dog breeds around. They are calm and collected with an unparalleled dedication to love and protect their human or the entire family unit (including kids and feline siblings). That doesn't mean they're always in "work mode." German shepherds love playtime and snuggling with their humans, too, albeit with an ever-watchful eye on their surroundings. There are five main types of German shepherds: American show line, West show line, West working line, East working line DDR, and Czech working line. Show line dogs compete in conformation dog shows, such as Westminster. Working line German Shepherds are bred and trained to work as military, police, or service dogs.
|Breed Overview
|22 to 26 inches, at the shoulder
|50 to 90 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|7 to 10 years
NORRIE3699/Getty Images
2. Dachshund
Over 300 years ago, Dachshund was bred to hunt badgers. ("Dach" means badger and "hund" means dog). They used their narrow, long noses to investigate dens and their sharp claws and powerful short legs to excavate. Dachshunds are tenacious, clever, and never give up whether they're waiting for a squirrel under the deck or going that extra inch to retrieve a toy rabbit under the sofa. They'll keep barking until they successfully capture their "prey." "Weiner dogs" as their affectionately known come in two sizes, miniature, and standard—both ideal sizes for if you're looking for an apartment dog for small spaces.
|Breed Overview
|5 to 6 inches (miniature), 8 to 9 inches (standard)
|11 pounds and under (miniature), 16 to 32 (standard)
|Life expectancy:
|12 to 16 years
Tara Gregg / EyeEm/Getty Images
3. Doberman
We can thank a German man named Louis Dobermann for creating this beautiful and noble dog. As a tax collector in 19th century Germany, Dobermann wasn't well-received when it was time to collect taxes, so he developed a dog that could protect him from a few other breeds. The extra "n" was dropped at some point.) Even though the Doberman is considered a guard dog, it is actually affectionate and sweet with its family (though it usually bonds with just one family member).
|Breed Overview
|24 to 28 inches, at the shoulder
|60 to 100 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|10 to 12 years
dageldog/Getty Images
4. Rottweiler
With their intimating size and powerhouse body, these guard dog breeds hardly seem like the warm and fuzzy type who likes to spend quiet evenings at home cuddled up on the sofa. Yet, they are super affectionate and chummy with their human family unit. Strangers might get a different perspective with a Rottweilers standoffish vibe. It's not that they are mean dogs. They are dedicated and devoted to their family, and being reserved is their way of safeguarding their family. They're also one of the smartest dog breeds.
|Breed Overview
|22 to 27 inches, at the shoulder
|80 to 135 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|9 to 10 years
VladimirCizmar/Getty Images
5. Boxer
The boxer is an intelligent and fun-loving dog who loves to be busy, preferably with its family. It will find home life much more bearable if it isn't left alone. Too much time spent solo, and the boxer will find ways to entertain itself—aka tipping over the garbage, destroying sofa cushions, etc.) Boxer's popularity peaked in the 1950s when a Westminster-winning boxer named Bang Away became a celebrity. Then in 2019 and 2020, a boxer named CinniBon's Bedrock Bombshell wowed judges and spectators taking home first place honors in the working dog class.
|Breed Overview
|21.5 to 25 inches, at the shoulder
|65 to 80 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|10 to 12 years
romaset/Getty Images
6. Weimaraner
Known as the Gray Ghost, mainly from their color, stealth-like hunting skills, and speed, the Weimaraner is no couch potato. Well, at least not until after its exercise is met for the day. They are very active dogs and make great running and hiking partners. They thrive on human companionship so much that "me time" is a foreign concept. Some famous people, including Grace Kelly and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, have been pet parents to Weimaraners.
|Breed Overview
|23 to 27 inches, at the shoulder
|55 to 90 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|10 to 13 years
Denis Ganenko/Getty Images
7. Pomeranian
What could be cuter than a fuzzy-wuzzy pint-size dog breed that looks like a fox? This tiny toy dog breed is ever so perky, friendly, and curious. Their curiosity also drives their desire to learn and perform tricks, as well as making them alert watchdogs. The Pomeranian has kept company with some notable figures of history, including owners Marie Antoinette, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Queen Charlotte, who passed on her love of the breed to her granddaughter, Queen Victoria.
|Breed Overview
|6 to 7 inches, at the shoulder
|3 to 7 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|12 to 16 years
Jim Craigmyle/Getty Images
8. Great Dane
Undeniably the tallest dog breed in the world, the Great Dane towers over four-legged friends and most humans when they stand on their hind legs. While other giant dog breeds might appear big and clumsy, the Great Dane's elegant and regal gait rivals the top models on the catwalk. As gentle giants, this German dog breed's heart is as big as its legs are tall. They are patient and affectionate with the short and tall humans of their family and reserved with strangers.
|Breed Overview
|28 to 32 inches, at the shoulder
|110 to 175 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|7 to 10 years
Steve Clancy Photography/Getty Images
9. Schnauzer
Schnauzers come in three sizes and they're all spirited and lively with a zest for adventure. All schnauzers need to expend their energy and put their keen intelligence to work with daily walks and playtime. Though eager to please, they are also a bit independent and may have their own way of doing things from time to time. Try a dog puzzle toy to keep them mentally engaged (and out of mischief). As family dogs, they are sweet to their family, get along wonderfully with children, and get along with other dogs.
|Breed Overview
|12 to 14 inches (miniature), 17.5 to 19.5 inches (standard), 23.5 to 27.5 (giant), inches at the shoulder.
|11 to 20 pounds (miniature), 30 to 50 pounds (standard), 55 to 85 pounds (giant) pounds
|Life expectancy:
|12 to 15 years (miniature), 13 to 16 (standard), 12 to 15 (giant)
Dmitry Potashkin/Getty Images
10. German Spitz
The German Spitz is a versatile little fireball—it picks up on commands and can learn new tricks quickly. It's truly a happy-go-lucky breed that loves the whole family, including other family dogs. They make great little watchdogs, but their built-in (barking) alarm system can be excessive. Did you notice how much the German Spitz looks like a Pomeranian? They're dog breeds that everyone always gets confused about. Both are Spitz breeds, known for their thick double coats, fox-like faces, and a bushy tail that curls up.
|Breed Overview
|12 to 15 inches, at the shoulder
|24 to 26 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|13 to 15 years
AngelaBuserPhoto/Getty Images
11. Leonberger
If you want a larger-than-life, fluffy dog to hang out and snuggle with, the Leonberger is for you. Granted, at first glance, the Leonberger could pass for a dog breed that looks like a bear or a dog that looks like a lion even, but unlike those two wild animals, the Leonberger is anything but ferocious. They are exceedingly patient, and lovey-dovey with their family and make friends easily with those outside the family circle.
|Breed Overview
|25.5 to 31.5 inches, at the shoulder
|90 to 170 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|7 years
Tara Gregg/Getty Images
12. German shorthaired pointer
If you would rather hike, run, swim, and explore the great outdoors instead of spending your downtime on the couch, the German shorthaired pointer (GSP) is a blue-chip candidate adventure companion worthy of your consideration. As a hunting breed, it's naturally inclined to be a curious and enthusiastic explorer. They form solid bonds with their family and love to scout out the backyard with the kids or spend the day at the lake with the family.
|Breed Overview
|21 to 25 inches, at the shoulder
|45 to 70 pounds
|Life expectancy:
|10 to 12 years
disqis/Getty Images
13. Poodle
You've heard the expression "French poodle" and have probably seen wall art with the quintessential "foo-foo "white poodle with the aristocratic demeanor strolling the streets of Paris. Well, wouldn't you know it, the Poodle is actually one of the 47 dog breeds that hail from Germany and started out as a duck hunter. Poodles are exceptional athletes, especially when it comes to swimming and first-rate loving family dogs. Heck, they love just about everyone they meet and are even one of the dog breeds that get along with cats. On top of that, they are very bright, easy to train, and come in three delightful sizes.
|Breed Overview
|10 inches max (toy), 10 to 15 inches (miniature), over 15 (standard) inches, at the shoulder
|4 to 6 pounds (toy), 10 to 15 pounds (miniature), 40 to 70 pounds (standard)
|Life expectancy:
|10 to 18 years all sizes


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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Miguel Diaz de la Portilla said Tuesday evening a proposal allowing 1.5 million people with concealed weapons permits in Florida to openly carry handguns is officially dead for the 2016 session.
"Open carry is not going to happen; it's done," the Miami Republican senator told reporters.
Diaz de la Portilla had expressed growing reluctance for weeks about holding a hearing on SB 300, saying last week it was "on life support."
It's among three gun bills he's killing this session by not granting them hearings in his committee, a powerful prerogative that committee chairman have.
Last month, Diaz de la Portilla said he wouldn't hear a similarly controversial bill that would allow concealed-weapons permit-holders to carry concealed on public college and university campuses. Also Tuesday, he said he won't hear a bill that would allow concealed weapons to be carried in Florida airport terminals. (It passed its first committee earlier in the day but it won't be heard in the House, so it was essentially dead anyway.)
"On all of these gun bills, I don't believe any of them are necessary," Diaz de la Portilla said. "They could result in unintended consequences. I think we need to prioritize in our committee, as far as what we hear. We can't hear every bill that's referred to us."
Both the campus-carry and open-carry bills passed the Republican-heavy House earlier this month. Diaz de la Portilla's decision to halt both of them has made him the target of praise from gun-control supporters and of anger from gun-rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association. (More here.)
UPDATE: (8:45 p.m.)
The Florida League of Women Voters -- one of the vocal opponents to open carry -- issued a statement this evening applauding Diaz de la Portilla's decision.
"This bill was an assault on public safety and yet another case of the gun lobby trying to force their way into the legislative agenda," league President Pamela Goodman said. "The League of Women Voters of Florida cannot praise Senator Diaz de la Portilla enough for listening to his constituents, listening to law enforcement, and listening to the vast majority of Floridians in opposing open carry."


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Two Chicago police offers face formal reprimand for taking a knee in uniform
Two Chicago police officers are facing a formal reprimand after a photo hit social media showing the pair joining in on the #TakeAKnee movement.
According to a Chicago PD spokesperson, who spoke to CBS, the pair is not in trouble for taking a knee, but rather because they did so while wearing their uniforms, which is against the department's internal policy.
"We are aware of the photo, and we will address it in the same way we have handled previous incidents in which officers have made political statements while in uniform, with a reprimand and a reminder of department policies," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
The photo first appeared on Instagram on Sunday under the account @EnglewoodBarbie, which is owned by Englewood community activist Aleta Clark, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the post Clark wrote in the caption, "That moment when you walk into the police station and ask the men of color are they against police brutality and racism & they say yes ... then you ask them if they support Colin [Kaepernick] ... and they also say yes ... then you ask them to kneel."
As of Monday evening, the post had more than 1,790 likes and dozens of comments.
The take a knee movement most notably began with Colin Kaepernick, who first kneeled during the national anthem in August 2016, while he was still playing as the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Kaepernick continued the silent protest for the rest of his NFL career.
Protesting appeared to die off in the NFL, that is until President Donald Trump went off on an unprovoked rant during a rally in Alabama where he stated that he wished his NFL owner friends would fire any player daring to take a knee, referring to them as a "son of a bitch."
And on Sunday, dozens of players, coaches and even the odd anthem singer made their feelings clear by kneeling or locking arms with their fellow players.
"What you just saw was a variety of responses with the theme of unity. All across the league, owners, coaches and players came together to decide what was best for them," an NFL front office source told CNN. "If Trump thought he could divide the NFL, he was wrong."


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Water-light fluid minimises the appearance of pores and protects skin from the sun.
Mattifies shiny skin
Protects from sun damage
Suitable for breakout-prone skin
This water-light moisturising fluid minimises the appearance of pores and protects skin from the sun's rays to help prevent the early signs of ageing. The non-greasy formula keeps excess shine in check while soothing, plant-based antioxidants work to fade red marks and calm skin.
Because skincare works best when it suits your skin type.
Wash your face with a gentle cleanser and wait 15-30 minutes. Select what you see and how you feel.
Synthetic sunscreen ingredient, provides broad-spectrum sun protection and is one of the most widely used UVA filters in the world.
Green Tea Extract
Possesses potent antioxidant and skin-soothing properties and has impressive research in terms of its many benefits for skin, including anti-ageing properties.
Vitamin E
One of the most researched antioxidants for the body and for skin. Plays a supporting role in helping defend skin from the stress caused by UV light exposure.
Aqua, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate, 7,5%, sunscreen), Glycerin (hydration/skin replenishing), Ethylhexyl Salicylate (Octisalate, 5%, sunscreen), Silica (absorbent agent), Octocrylene (2%, sunscreen), Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (Avobenzone, 2%, sunscreen), Dimethicone (hydration), Benzyl Alcohol (preservative), Tocopherol (vitamin E/antioxidant), Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract (antioxidant), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract (antioxidant), Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract (antioxidant), Camellia Oleifera (Green Tea) Leaf Extract (antioxidant), Peucedanum Graveolens (Dill) Extract (antioxidant), Sambucus Nigra (Black Elderberry) Fruit Extract (antioxidant), Avena Sativa (Oat) Bran Extract (skin-soothing), Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract (antioxidant), Lycium Barbarum (Goij) Fruit Extract (antioxidant), Hydrogenated Lecithin (skin-restoring), Titanium Dioxide (texture-enhancing/texture-enhancing), Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer (hydration), Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate (hydration), Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer (film-forming/suspending agent), Xanthan Gum (texture-enhancing), Sodium Carbomer (texture-enhancing), Sodium Benzoate (stabilizer), Potassium Sorbate (stabilizer), Phenoxyethanol (preservative).
How to use a moisturiser
Apply as the last step in your morning skincare routine. Allow a moment to dry before applying makeup.
Because of the excellent sun protection it provides, it will help fade those lingering marks from past breakouts, especially when used as part of a comprehensive, gentle skincare routine that includes a good exfoliant and serum loaded with anti-ageing ingredients, such as Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum.
If you have extra-sensitive skin, we recommend that you try Calm Redness Relief Moisturizer SPF 30 for normal to oily skin, as it is formulated with gentle mineral-based sunscreens that are non-irritating for extra-sensitive skin.
Our Clear Ultra-Light Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 30+ is identical in terms of ingredients to our Resist Youth-Extending Daily Hydrating Fluid SPF 50, apart from the sun protection.
Seminars in Plastic Surgery, August 2016, issue 3, pages 129-133
Oxidative Medicine Longevity, 2015, volume 2015, 709628
Dermatologic Research and Practice, 2012, volume 2012, 135206
The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, January 2013, issue 1, pages 16-26
Indian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology, March-April 2012, issue 2, pages 142-145
Archives of Dermatology, August 2000, issue 8, pages 989-994
Molecular Medicine Reports, November 2010, issue 6, pages 895-901
International Journal of Toxicology, 2001, supplement 1, pages S21-45
Phytomedicine, January 2005, issue 1-2, pages 131-137
Pharmacognosy Magazine, July 2010, issue 23, pages 198-203
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Chain Conveyor Systems
Chain conveyors are generally recommended when customers are looking to transport heavy unit loads such as pallets, stillages and other industrial containers around site. One of the main benefits of this system is that it's easy to install and requires the minimum of maintenance.
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The chain conveyor solution works by utilising the design of either the single or double strand chain to pull heavy loads from one part of the manufacturing premises or warehouse to another. Chain conveyors are widely used in a multitude of businesses and industries including automotive, white and brown goods manufacture, metal finishing, and various businesses within the supply chain and distribution industry.
Here at Andrews Automation Ltd, we are also able to integrate chain conveyors with additional products and systems within our portfolio including turntables, scissor lifts, strapping machines and pallet wrappers, in order to create a complete turnkey solution for your business.
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Areas of industry where Andrews Automation Ltd have supplied chain conveyor solutions include production line material handling, manufacturing assembly lines in the plant manufacture and automotive industries, pallet handling from production plant to storage facility, pallet handling and distribution to and from warehouse storage facility to vehicle loading bays.
From our facility in Goole, East Yorkshire, Andrews Automation Ltd have the capability to design, manufacture and test a fully automated system. We can also provide, and have the capability to build and program a PLC solution for customer systems in-house. This allows Andrews Automation Ltd to offer a competitive quote and enables the customer to reduce the number of vendors involved in the tendering and manufacturing processes.
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text: This amazing painting featuring a group of seven of the most well-known Fast Food Mascots at a funeral was spotted by me at an arts and crafts street fair in Chicago. They are clearly serving as pallbearers and you can see that the coffin says "Monsanto," the notorious chemical company. But, what does it all mean? The painting is clearly mounted in an up-cycled window frame, and the rows of towering palm trees in the background indicates that the location is southern California. I neglected to note the artist's name, so if anyone has a clue as to who painted this, and what it is all about, please leave that information in the comments! Thank you, Drive Through!


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The state of Tasmania (in Australia) has a disease free status. Because of this, we can no longer import pickled herrings as this could risk the lucrative farmed Atlantic salmon industry. These 'rollmops – herrings' were a great favourite for the European immigrant community in Tassie. But we can make our own variation with locally caught and imported fish and squid.
1. Freshly caught Trout (pan sized) cut along the length in 2 halves
2. Any white fish scaled & skinned (fresh or frozen) – cut into cubes
3. Squid, octopus cut into 4cm. strips
1 cup of white vinegar
½ cup of water
½ cup of Brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 chopped chilli without seeds
½ a carrot cut into fine strips
1 finely sliced onion
½ teaspoon each of grated horse radish and ginger
½ teaspoon of peppercorns
1 teaspoon of mustard seed
8 whole cloves
Juice of one lemon and the rind sliced into thin strips excluding pith
¼ stick of cinnamon broken into pieces
1 dessert spoon of olive oil
- 1. Combine all brine ingredients together into a saucepan and bring to boil
- 2. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and allow to cool down completely
- 3. Place your fish in a glass casserole dish and pour the brine over, ensuring that the fish is totally immersed. (If you are short of brine, add more white vinegar)
- 4. Place the covered casserole dish in the fridge for 2-3 days to marinate
- 5. Turn fish over in the brine twice a day to ensure even coverage of brine. Add extra vinegar if the level of brine sinks below the top of the fish
The bones of the fish will go soft and the flesh will go white as it "cold cooks" by the acidic brine. Taste test the fish after a day as the flavour becomes stronger, the longer it is left.
Eat cold with other nibbles such as cheese, crackers, celery strips, toast, or in a bagel roll or sandwich.
The pickled fish will keep for a further 3 days in the fridge, stored in a glass jar with the brine covering it.


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I'm honored to be counted as a Changemaker among many of my inspiring peers. You can read about us in the book written by Berkeley Food Institute (BFI).
Here's what BFI has to say about the Hungry for Change project:
BFI announces Hungry for Change, a project featuring California innovators working to transform food and agriculture systems within their community and beyond.
Hungry for Change grew out of BFI's Changemakers project and takes the form of a print publication, written by Sarah Henry, and a 10-minute movie, produced by Fabian Aguirre and Maya Pisciotto of The Understory.
Highlighted are 20 up-and-coming trailblazers who represent a broad range of geographic regions, area of reform, and socio-economic backgrounds. What these leaders have in common: a desire to remake food systems in order to bring about greater equity, justice, sustainability, and health for all.
What motivates these pioneers? What challenges do they face? How do they measure success?
Meet these advocates for reform and remember their names. You're sure to hear more about them in the future.
PS I finally watched this and am tearing up. Agh! I love all these people and their truly inspiring and amazing work.


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The new 2012 SLK is on the loose, revealed at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, but we're still waiting for the AMG variant. From the looks of it, we won't have to wait much longer, as these spy shots add to those captured last summer, bringing the car's shape into sharper focus as it loses some of the previous camouflage.
According to the spy photographers, the engine under the hood sounded like a V-8, tipping the new 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 as a possible power source. That could put power figures as high as 450 horsepower in AMG trim--a leap of 90 horsepower over the current SLK 55 AMG, which gets its power from a naturally-aspirated 5.5-liter V-8. A twin-turbo V-6 or naturally aspirated V-8 could also be tapped for the car, but so far nothing is certain. The C-Class kept the old engine, while the new CLS AMG gets the 5.5-liter turbo, but keeps the 63 badging.
In addition to the new powerplant--whatever it may be--the new SLK AMG's aesthetics are getting a major overhaul as well. Sharing the overall proportions of the revised SLK it's based on, including the new and improved hood/nose shape, the AMG also gets more rectangular quad-tipped tailpipes (despite the still-round ones on this prototype), a new front spoiler and air dam with larger intake inlets, and a full body treatment to point up the car's aggressive performance. Expect large and shiny forged alloy wheels, big brakes, AMG badging, and unique paint color options as well.
Performance should be stunning, particularly if the new 5.5-liter twin-turbo V-8 gets the nod, as the car is expected to drop about 200 pounds from its chassis despite gaining room inside. Speaking of the inside, the car is expected to get some flavor from the new SLS AMG, meaning abundant leather, metal-accented controls, and classic-yet-modern layout. A range of materials and colors are also a given, allowing buyers to customize their vehicles to taste.
Practicality won't be a problem for the new SLK AMG, either, at least in relation to the previous model. Like the base SLK, the AMG version is expected to get a larger trunk with 11.2 cubic feet of space--just a bit smaller than a BMW 3-Series sedan's, by way of comparison.
Look for the SLK AMG to hit the streets later this year.


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Copperworks Whiskey Coming on August 27
Matured to Perfection: Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey Is Coming August 27
SEATTLE – August 16, 2016 – Calling all whiskey aficionados! Copperworks Distilling Company, distiller of small-batch spirits on Seattle's downtown waterfront, is thrilled to announce the first Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey is matured to perfection and will be released on August 27, 2016.
Copperworks Whiskey is a distinctive entrant to the newly emerging category of American Single Malt Whiskey. Copperworks Whiskey Release 001 is made from a high-quality craft beer brewed from 100 percent pale malted barley which is twice-distilled in traditional copper pot stills. These stills were hand-hammered in the highlands of Scotland and designed specifically for making malt whiskey.
As passionate, experienced brewers, Copperworks co-founders Jason Parker and Micah Nutt have partnered with local breweries Pike Brewing Company and Elysian Brewing Company to brew the craft beer used in their whiskey. The beer used for Release 001 was brewed at the Elysian Brewery. Parker and Nutt then fermented the beer at the distillery using a fresh brewer's yeast to get the best possible flavor.
"From the very beginning, our plan has been to use our brewing backgrounds to produce an exquisite whiskey in the newly emerging category of American single malt whiskey," said Jason Parker. "This goal has now come to fruition with Release 001, a whiskey based on the malty sweetness and complexity derived from beer," said Micah Nutt.
Copperworks Whiskey Release 001 has a soft honey and black tea aroma, smooth mouthfeel, and flavors of smoked orange and toffee, giving way to black pepper and leather. Bottled at 104 proof, it is delicious sipped neat and used in classic and modern whiskey cocktails.
Unlike most distillers in the U.S., Copperworks distills its whiskey twice, using two different copper pot stills. "Distilling the whiskey twice enables us to collect more of the beer and malt flavors we want and we're able to eliminate more of the undesirable flavors in the wash than a single distillation would allow," said Micah Nutt.
Release 001 matured for 30 months at Copperworks in full-size charred, new American Oak barrels handmade in Louisville, Kentucky. Under carefully controlled conditions, these top-quality oak barrels produce a balance of flavors from the malt, yeast, and oak. "We create a balance of flavors in our whiskey by matching the malt recipe, yeast selection, and distillation profile with the right cask type, entry proof, and warehouse conditions," said Parker.
Price: $59.89 (not including tax or shipping) for a 750ml bottle.
Availability: Release 001 will initially be available for sale only in Copperworks tasting room. 1,005 limited-edition signed bottles are available. Future releases will be available in the Copperworks Online Store and in select liquor and grocery stores in the Puget Sound area.
Reserve Bottles of Copperworks American Single Malt Whiskey, Release 001
For a limited time, Copperworks is continuing to reserve bottles of Release 001 for whiskey lovers. Customers who buy a Copperworks Gift Card worth at least $75 will get a Copper Ticket that reserves one bottle of Release 001. For more details, go to www.copperworksdistilling.com/reserve-bottle-bat
About Copperworks Distilling Company
Opened in 2013, Copperworks Distilling Company is a distillery, tasting room and retail store located on Seattle's downtown waterfront. Blending traditional methods with innovation and the unexpected, Copperworks produces American Single Malt Whiskey, a series of gins, and vodka, all made from malted barley. The company's owners/distillers are experienced craft beer makers who are further exploring the possibilities of malted barley by distilling high-quality craft beer into fine spirits. Jason Parker was the first brewer at Pike Brewing Company, worked at Redhook Brewery, and worked as Brewmaster at Pyramid Brewing for six years. Micah Nutt is an experienced and talented home brewer. For more information, visit www.CopperworksDistilling.com and connect with Copperworks on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


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Are you aware of your competencies?
Create clarity through Coaching.
How can we support you?
We support you in private or business context in your individual further development and see ourselves as a trustworthy sparring partner, who together with you brings out your competencies.
In doing so, we work in a resource- and solution-oriented manner to clarify your issues, expand your scope of possibilities and take unusual paths.
It is important to us that the necessary competence to act remains with you. We support this by working together with you to make existing resources visible, strengthen necessary competencies and thus give you the necessary skills to develop independently.
We support you with empathy, encourage self-reflection and discuss alternatives for action. In doing so, you get to know yourself and your different sides better and can deal with them differently in everyday life.
People we have accompanied ...
Managing Challenges
A divisional manager of a large corporation had to master many challenges simultaneously and initially saw no way out. He wondered how he could possibly overcome these obstacles. Identifying and naming the concrete obstacles and strengthening the resources of the manager helped here. In this way, he was able to gain a "management perspective" and become capable of acting again within a very short time.
Positioning as an Executive
This involved the internal promotion of a manager to the upper management level. This involved the question of how the manager could position himself in relation to the Board of Management, employees and other stakeholders. Here it was systematically determined which competencies and values the manager would like to position and how this can be achieved. Various possibilities for action per stakeholder were derived, which were repeatedly questioned in the further coaching sessions and adjusted in case of difficult or unforeseeable situations. It was important for this process to have a neutral sparring partner who was able to empathize with the needs of the stakeholders and then discuss alternatives with the coachee and strengthen him for implementation.
Adapting the Leadership Style
Let us take your next steps together!
We will accompany you in private or business context in your individual further development on a wide variety of topics and will gladly take the sensible steps together with you.
In our basic understanding we are adopting a balancing attitude and consider the areas of knowledge & insight, trust & togetherness as well as structure & order as balanced as possible. Let us surprise you!
Enable reflection
Combine different school
Make formats visible
Relationship as a basis
Allow and question perspectives
Separate what got mixed
Provide clarification
Allow flexibility
Communicate sustainability
Which possible topics could you have?
All issues where you wouild like to discuss specific (leadership) situations with an independent, neutral an at the same time appreciative sparring partner, who will give you new insights, strengthen you in your interaction with others and apply a systematic approach.
Possible topics
- Establishing visibility in the company
- Dealing with conflicts woth or among your employees
- Strengthening of senior management requirements
- Strengthenign your leadership
- Becoming aware of your competences
- Building confidence
- Strengening your ability to act
- …


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Socio-economic inequalities in mortality are observed at the country level in both North America and Europe. The purpose of this work is to investigate the contribution of specific risk factors to social inequalities in cause-specific mortality using a large multi-country cohort of Europeans.
A total of 3,456,689 person/years follow-up of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) was analysed. Educational level of subjects coming from 9 European countries was recorded as proxy for socio-economic status (SES). Cox proportional hazard model's with a step-wise inclusion of explanatory variables were used to explore the association between SES and mortality; a Relative Index of Inequality (RII) was calculated as measure of relative inequality.
Total mortality among men with the highest education level is reduced by 43% compared to men with the lowest (HR 0.57, 95% C.I. 0.52–0.61); among women by 29% (HR 0.71, 95% C.I. 0.64–0.78). The risk reduction was attenuated by 7% in men and 3% in women by the introduction of smoking and to a lesser extent (2% in men and 3% in women) by introducing body mass index and additional explanatory variables (alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, fruit and vegetable intake) (3% in men and 5% in women). Social inequalities were highly statistically significant for all causes of death examined in men. In women, social inequalities were less strong, but statistically significant for all causes of death except for cancer-related mortality and injuries.
Citation: Gallo V, Mackenbach JP, Ezzati M, Menvielle G, Kunst AE, Rohrmann S, et al. (2012) Social Inequalities and Mortality in Europe – Results from a Large Multi-National Cohort. PLoS ONE 7(7): e39013. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039013
Editor: Thomas Behrens, University of Bochum, Germany
Received: January 31, 2012; Accepted: May 15, 2012; Published: July 25, 2012
Copyright: © Gallo et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This research has been made possible thanks to a grant of the European Community (5th Framework Programme) to PV (grant QLK4CT199900927); and a grant of the Compagnia di San Paolo to the ISI Foundation. All authors are independent form founders. Mortality data from the Netherlands were obtained from "Statistics Netherlands". In addition we would like to thank for their financial support: Europe Against cancer Program of the European Commission (SANCO); ISCIII, Red de Centros RCESP, C03/09; Deutsche Krebshilfe; Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum; German Federal Ministry of Education and Research; Danish Cancer Society; Health Research Fund (FIS) of the Spanish Ministry of Health; Spanish Regional Governments of Andalucia, Asturias, Basque Country, Murcia and Navarra; Cancer Research U.K.; Medical Research Council, United Kingdom; Stroke Association, United Kingdom; British Heart Foundation; Department of Health, United Kingdom; Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom; Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom; Greek Ministry of Health and Social Solidarity; Stavros Niacrchos Foundation; Hellenic Health Foundation; Italian Association for Research on Cancer (AIRC); Italian National Research Council; Dutch Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports; World Cancer Research Fund; Swedish Cancer; Swedish Scientific Council; Regional Government of Skåne, Sweden; Norwegian Cancer Society; Research Council of Norway; French League against Cancer, Inserm, Mutuelle Generale l'Education National and IGR. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing interests: This study was partly funded by a grant of the Compagnia di San Paolo to the ISI Foundation. This does not alter the authors' adherence to all the PLoS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
Reducing health inequalities between and within countries is an important challenge for health policy [1], [2]. Higher mortality rates among subjects with lower socioeconomic position are observed at country level in both North America and Europe [2]–[6]. Such differences have been reported for most causes of death, in particular for cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer. Although some of the differences are due to treatment and survival being unevenly distributed across social classes, differences in incidence rates for the underlying conditions seem to play a major role [7]–[9]. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying these inequalities will help defining the most effective preventive policies. To identify the intermediate (e.g. behavioural, environmental, or biological) factors that explain these inequalities is a first step to uncovering these mechanisms.
A descriptive study, aimed at measuring variations in the magnitude of inequalities in health among 22 European countries and at identifying some of the specific determinants of these variations, was recently published [3]. In almost all countries the rates of death were reported as substantially higher in groups of lower socioeconomic status and the magnitude of the inequalities was much larger in some countries than in others, and this was somewhat greater for cardiovascular diseases than for cancer-related mortality [3]. Although these survey data suggested that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity contributed to these inequalities they do not allow disentangling the association between socioeconomic status, specific determinants, and mortality at the individual level. In order to further investigate this complex interplay, an analysis of a large European prospective study which includes extensive and detailed information on risk factors at the individual level was undertaken with the purpose of investigating the contribution of specific intermediate determinants to social inequalities in cause-specific mortality.
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) is a multicenter prospective cohort recruiting more than 520,000 persons in years 1992–1998, mostly aged 40 to 65 years. In the present analysis, participants recruited in Norway, Sweden (Malmö, Umea), Denmark (Copenhagen, Aarhus), The Netherlands (Utrecht, Bilthoven), Great Britain (Cambridge), Germany (Potsdam, Heidelberg), France, Italy (Florence, Varese, Ragusa, Turin, and Naples), Spain (Asturias, Granada, Murcia, Navarra, and San Sebastian), and Greece were included. In most centres, subjects were recruited from the general population in a given geographic area; some Spanish and Italian centres included blood donors; the Utrecht cohort was based on women participating in a mammography screening program; the cohorts in Norway, Utrecht, and Naples include women only. Although some sub-cohorts were not selected directly from the general population, this does not affect internal comparisons which remain valid. At the time of enrolment, all subjects completed a dietary and lifestyle questionnaire including questions on smoking status and intensity, alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, and fruit and vegetable consumption [10]. Information on fruit, vegetables, and alcohol consumption was obtained via a Food Frequency Questionnaire enquiring about diet and alcoholic beverage consumption in the previous 12 months; this information was calibrated on a 24 h dietary recall interview generating detailed information in food and beverages consumed during the day before the interview resulting in an estimated consumption of fruit, vegetables, and alcohol in g/day 10,11. Information on physical activity was derived by a combination of an index of self-reported physical activity at work (sedentary, standing, manual, heavy manual) and the sum of time spent cycling or performing any other sport (none, ≤3.5 hrs/wk, >3.5 and ≤7 hrs/wk, >7 hrs/wk) [12]. Anthropometric characteristics were also measured at enrolment.
Individuals with missing information on educational level (N = 5,697; 1.5%), smoking status (N = 4,741; 1.2%), and alcohol consumption (N = 4,674; 1.2%) were excluded from the analysis which was based on 371,295 participants. In total, 9,892 men (7.4% of men) and 7,791 women (3.3% of women) died in 3,456,689 person/years follow-up.
Information about the highest attained educational level was collected using country-specific questionnaires and classified as primary education or less, technical or professional education, secondary education, and college or university. These correspond to the UNESCO Standard Classification of Education-Attainment (ISCED-A) class 0–1 (less than primary, and primary), 2 (lower secondary), 3 (upper secondary), and 4–8 (post-secondary non-tertiary, short-cycle tertiary, Bachelor or equivalent, Master or equivalent, and Doctoral or equivalent) [13]. The analysis is based on education as a proxy for socio-economic status (SES). The study has been approved by the IARC and Imperial College Ethics Committees and by all the local Ethics Committees (The Committee of Bioethics and Deontology of the Hellenic Health Foundation, Athens, Greece; Norwich District Ethics Committee, Cambridge, UK; The National Committee on Health Research Ethic, Denmark; Comité de Protection des Personnes, France; Ethics Committee of the Heidelberg University Medical School, Germany; Comitato Etico Indipendente, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy; Comitato Etico Locale Azienda Sanitaria di Firenze, Florence, Italy; Ethics Committee of Lundst University, Malmo, Sweden; The Medical Ethical Committee (METC = Medisch Ethische Toetsingscommissie) of the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU), Utrecht, the Netherlands; The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, North Norway; Scotland A Research Ethics Committee, Oxford, UK; Ethikkommission der Landesärztekammer Brandenburg Cottbus, Germany; CEIC Comité de Ética de Investigación Clínica, Spain; Human Genetics Foundation Torino: Ethics Committee, Turin, Italy; Umea Regional Ethical Review Board, Sweden); all participants gave their written informed consent to take part in the study.
End points
The follow-up period considered for this analysis ended between December 2002 and December 2006, the mean follow-up period being 9.3 years (SD 2.3). The outcome variable was death from any cause. Causes of death have been coded according to International Classification of Disease- 10th revision (ICD-10); grouping of specific causes of death aimed at maximising consistency with previous works [3], [14]: cancer-related deaths were defined as those deaths whose underlying cause of death was coded ICD-10 C00 to D48 (including breast cancer death – C50, and cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung – C33–C34 and C39); cardiovascular-related deaths as those coded I00–I99 (including ischemic heart disease (IHD) – I20–I25; and cerebrovascular diseases – I60–I69); injuries as those coded V01-Y98 [3], [14].
Statistical analyses
Analyses were conducted separately by gender with Cox regression models stratified by centre and age in one-year age category at baseline, using attained age as main time variable. Because comparisons of socioeconomic gradients based on categorical variables may be biased if the proportionate allocation of subjects across socioeconomic strata differs, a relative index of inequality (RIIs) was also computed, separately for each stratum of sex and centre, as a relative measure of education using the lowest educational level as the referent category (adapted from [7]). This ranked variable was computed as follows: if the lowest educational group is 20% of the population, the ranked variable is assigned a value of 0.20/2 = 0.10. If the next higher educational group is 30% of the population, it is assigned a value of 0.20+0.30/2 = 0.35, etc. We used a Cox regression model with mortality as the outcome variable and the ranked variable as the explanatory variable. The RII corresponds to the estimate obtained for the ranked variable and quantifies the assumed linear effect of the relative level of education on mortality. Thus, the RII expresses inequality within the whole socioeconomic continuum and can be interpreted as the ratio of mortality between the most educated (0th percentile) and the least educated (100th percentile). Because the RII takes into account the size and relative position of each educational group, it is appropriate for comparing populations with different educational distributions. (for more details, see [15]).
The cumulative mortality by sex and educational level in 5-year age bands was plotted for exploring the sex and age-effect of education on mortality within the cohort (each point was calculated by comparing people recruited within the same age-group in the study across educational levels).
Covariates such as gender (where appropriate), smoking status at recruitment (never smoker, former ≥10 years, former <10 years, former unknown, current <15 cigarettes/day, 15–24 cigarettes/day, ≥25 cigarettes/day), Body Mass Index (BMI) in 2.5 kg/m2 categories (<20.0 to ≥37.6), alcohol consumption in deciles of distribution of g/day, leisure physical activity (divided in sex- and centre-specific tertiles of physical activity calculated on the basis of metabolic equivalent – MET – for recreational and household physical activity, plus a category for undetermined) and fruit and vegetable consumption (g/day, as continuous variable) were included into the models in a stepwise manner to estimate the extent of variation in mortality explained by these variables.
The following models were considered (stratified by centre and age): Model 1, crude (including sex if appropriate); Model 2, additionally including smoking status; Model 3, additionally including BMI; Model 4, additionally including alcohol consumption, leisure physical activity, and fruit and vegetable intake. In models investigating lung cancer mortality a more complex set of intermediate variables was used for smoking including smoking status at recruitment, age at the start and duration of smoking (in years) as continuous variables; a linear and a quadratic term for current quantity smoked (number of cigarettes per day); and two interaction terms between duration and quantity and between age at start and duration [7]. Finally, sensitivity analyses restricted to geographical regions (Northern Europe including Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; Central Europe including Netherlands, UK, and Germany; and Southern Europe, including Span, Italy, and Greece), to never smokers (Model 4a and Table S3), and replacing BMI with waist circumference in the subsample for which this information was available were conducted for all endpoints. All statistical tests were two-sided; p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant; the analysis was conducted with STATA statistical software.
Demographic characteristics of the sample and geographic distribution are shown in Tables 1 and 2. Men had a higher level of education compared to women; more educated men were less likely to be ever smokers and the pattern was reversed among women. No clear association between leisure physical activity and education level among men, and an inverse association among women, were evident. BMI was strongly inversely associated with education level among women, and to a lesser extent among men.
The cumulative mortality proportion by sex and RII in 5-year age bands is plotted in Figure 1. Men experienced higher mortality in each age group and for each educational level: 19% of men with no or primary education recruited after age 65 had died at the end of the follow-up period, compared with 7% of women with a university degree recruited at the same age. Differences in mortality by educational level across age groups are more pronounced in men than in women.
In Model 1, the risk of death was significantly lower with increasing educational level; compared to the subjects with no or primary education, those with a technical/professional education had their risk of mortality lowered by about 15% (HR 0.84, 95% C.I. 0.79–0.88); those with a secondary degree lowered by about 20% (HR 0.81, 95%C.I. 0.76–0.85); and those with a university degree lowered by more than 30% (HR 0.69, 95% C.I. 0.66–0.73). These risk reduction estimates were stronger among men than women, but in both cases highly statistically significant (Table 3). When considering the Relative Index of Inequality (RII), mortality among men with the highest education is lowered by 43% compared to men with the least education level (RIIModel I HR = 0.57, 95% C.I. 0.52–0.61); the corresponding figure in women is 29% (RIIModel I HR = 0.71, 95% C.I. 0.64–0.78) (Table 3).
The risk reduction conferred by educational level on total mortality was substantially attenuated by the introduction of smoking into the model (RIIModel 2 HR = 0.69, 95% C.I. 0.65–0.73), and additionally lowered, but to a lesser degree, after the introduction of BMI (RIIModel 3 HR = 0.71, 95% C.I. 0.67–0.76), and additional explanatory variables (RIIModel 4 HR = 0.75, 95% C.I. 0.70–0.80) (Table 3). These effects were consistent in men and women, and when considering absolute educational levels (Table 3, Table S1 and S2). When the same analysis was performed in never smokers, the association between educational level and total mortality among women disappeared, mainly due to the contribution of BMI, while it remained in men with a similar magnitude (Table 3, and Table S3).
Social inequalities were highly statistically significant for all causes of death examined in men except cerebrovascular mortality which was attenuated by alcohol and fruit and vegetable consumption (RIIModel4 HR = 0.72, 95% C.I. 0.47–1.09). Inequalities were particularly high for lung cancer (RIIModel4 HR = 0.47, 95% C.I. 0.31–0.71) and IHD mortality (RIIModel4 HR = 0.58, 95% C.I. 0.46–0.71) (Table 4). In women, social inequalities were less strong compared to men, but statistically significant for all causes of death except for cancer-related mortality (RIIModel4 HR = 0.99, 95% C.I. 0.86–1.14, including lung cancer mortality RIIModel4 HR = 0.86, 95% C.I. 0.53–1.39 and breast cancer mortality RIIModel4 HR = 1.03, 95% C.I. 0.72–1.46); and injuries (RIIModel4 HR = 1.19, 95% C.I. 0.61–2.30) (Table 4). While social inequalities in lung cancer mortality in women seem to be explained away by smoking patterns, total cancer mortality is not associated with social inequalities even in crude models (RIIModel1 HR = 0.93, 95% C.I. 0.80–1.07) The association with cardiovascular mortality was highly significant in both men (RIIModel4 HR = 0.65, 95% C.I. 0.56–0.76) and women (RIIModel4 HR = 0.62, 95% C.I. 0.49–0.78), of comparable magnitude and only partially attenuated by smoking, BMI, and alcohol and fruit and vegetable consumption (Table 4).
Social inequalities were consistent among women across the European regions (RIIModel 4 HR = 0.84, 95% C.I. 0.72–0.97 in Northern, RIIModel 4 HR = 0.84, 95% C.I. 0.71–0.98 in Central, and RIIModel 4 HR = 0.87, 95% C.I. 0.66–1.16 in Southern European regions), while in men they showed an increasing trend going from North to South (RIIModel 4 HR = 0.74, 95% C.I. 0.66–0.84 in Northern, RIIModel 4 HR = 0.68, 95% C.I. 0.59–0.78 in Central, and RIIModel 4 HR = 0.66, 95% C.I. 0.52–0.82 in Southern European regions) (Figure 2).
Among never smokers, the same associations appear somewhat reduced in magnitude among women and the contribution of BMI explains away the association with total mortality; this is consistent with recently published findings in a cohort of never smoker Scottish women (Table S3) [16]. For cause-specific mortality, although the sensitivity analysis in never smokers was largely underpowered to detect significant associations, in all cases it confirmed the direction of the association observed in the entire cohort with the only exceptions of lung cancer and IHD mortality in women, and injuries. The sensitivity analysis replacing BMI with waist circumference did not substantially change results (data not shown).
The present analysis is based on a large prospective study analysing individual-level socioeconomic positions (defined by education level) and a variety of explanatory variables of subjects residing in 9 European countries, and shows a strong inverse association between socioeconomic position and total mortality. The present data are remarkably consistent with those observed previously in other studies, especially in women [3]. Total mortality would be reduced by 23% in men and 16% in women by levelling the risk pattern associated to the lowest socio-economic strata to that of the highest levels. Notably, 29% of cardiovascular deaths among men and 34% among women could also be saved if everyone would have shared the risk pattern of those who studied beyond primary school.
An interesting phenomenon is suggested: mortality disparities by SES start at a young age and tend to amplify at older ages, in particular in men; this is consistent with a predominant role played by chronic degenerative diseases [17], [18]. Using educational level as proxy of socio-economic status has the double advantage of being stable over the lifespan, and to be easily and accurately recorded allowing cross-countries comparisons. However, patterns observed in 1992–1998 might be different from those observed 10–15 years later; in particular the relative contribution of smoking is likely to have increased over time, given the widening in social inequalities in smoking prevalence observed in particular in women [19]. Also, the relative contribution of obesity might have increased over time due to the obesity epidemic observed in many countries, including the European ones [20].
Educational inequalities among men are associated with all causes of death; among women, cancer-related mortality and breast cancer mortality do not appear to be associated with educational level. Conversely, educational level greatly contributes to predict cardiovascular death among both men and women, after accounting for possible explanatory variables. In some cases the inverse effect of higher educational level on cause-specific mortality is considerably attenuated (although still highly significant) after taking into account specific explanatory variables (i.e. IHD mortality among women). The effect of the absolute education level and that of the ranked educational variable used for computing the RII are consistent in terms of direction across all figures presented, suggesting that the distribution of educational levels in each centre does not affect the main effect of education on each of the outcome measures considered.
A substantial part of the observed inequalities in men and in women is eliminated after removing the effect of smoking and, to a lesser extent, BMI and other variables (alcohol consumption, physical activity and fruit and vegetables intake). Cigarette smoking contributes to health inequalities more markedly in men than in women, and specifically for cancer-related causes of death, in addition to, as one would expect, lung cancer in both genders. Conversely, the other lifestyle risk factors, and particularly alcohol consumption, physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake, greatly contribute in reducing inequalities for all cardiovascular causes of death analysed in both genders. This pattern of contribution of lifestyle factors in health disparities is consistent with some of the previous findings observed in single countries, both in the US [2] and Europe. The Whitehall study [21] found a comparable effect of explanatory variables, although the authors observed that lifestyle risk factors explain away the association with total mortality (but not cardiovascular mortality) if measured more than once during follow-up. The results of the GLOBE study in the Netherlands [22] and of the Hunt Study [23], made on geographically restricted and culturally homogenous populations, are also consistent with the present findings. Conversely, other studies claim that the association between socio-economic status and cardiovascular mortality [8] is explained away by intermediate variables, although the determinants of the unequal distributions of these factors according to socio-economic level within populations remain to be explained [8], [24]. These findings suggest a strong role of lifestyle characteristics in explaining a substantial portion of social inequalities in mortality, although probably not the entire effect, in particular for cardiovascular mortality. This has several potential explanations: a) unmeasured impact of considered variables which may explain the remaining inequalities in mortality (including material factors and health care factors in addition to psychosocial factors); b) non-linear interactions among risk factors; c) additional unmeasured variables, e.g. within a psycho-social causal model. Notably, a significant contribution to social inequalities in mortality could come from occupational factors implying exposure to many different toxicants associated mainly with cancer mortality, as some of us have already shown for lung cancer [25]. The biological pathway linking socio-economic status and mortality could be further explored using selected biomarkers; a recent study showed an inverse association between socio-economic status and age-related telomere attrition, suggesting a process of accelerated ageing among most deprived [26].
Overall, the socio-economic inequalities observed in the EPIC cohort tend to be stronger among men than among women, consistently with previous results [27]. This might be at least partly due to an uneven distribution of residual confounding effect of smoking and physical activity by educational level among men and women [28]. Also, the educational level of women might not always reflect their real SES position: social position of women can differentially impact the extent to which the socio-economic status of women is influenced by that of their husbands. Finally, some of the gender difference observed in cancer-related mortality might be due to the relative contribution of specific cancer sites: breast cancer, the most common cancer among women, tends to be more prevalent among higher social strata [29], [30] (whereas survival after breast cancer is better in advantaged groups [31]–[33]), while lung cancer, the most common cancer among men, is strongly associated with lower educational level in incidence [7], and in survival [17], [31]. The reduction in social inequalities among women from Northern to Sothern European countries suggests that education is a progressively less accurate proxy for socio-economic position going from North to South in Europe.
The sensitivity analysis carried out on never smokers attenuates the corresponding estimates of social inequalities in the whole cohort, with differences more pronounced in women than in men. The reason underlying this phenomenon could be a higher contribution of unmeasured variables which may explain the remaining inequalities in mortality (i.e. material, health care factors in addition to psychosocial factors) in women compared to men, or more simply driven by lower number of cases, in particular in the higher educational categories, among women.
A limitation of this analysis is the use of mortality data which combines the effect of disease incidence, access to treatment, and survival. Some of the observed inequalities might be due, at least in part, to a disparity in survival after disease incidence or to an uneven distribution of more lethal diseases. Although this does not change the final outcome, we should be cautious when transposing these figures to incidence data; determinants of prolonged survival might not be the same for disease incidence, and the distribution of participants in screening programmes is strongly associated with survival and with socioeconomic status [34]. In spite of such limitations, we believe that previous results and the present study should draw attention of policy-makers to the need to seriously address the impact of low SES on total and cause-specific mortality.
In conclusion, this study reports substantial social inequalities in mortality among European men and women which cannot be fully explained away by accounting for known common risk factors for chronic diseases. In particular, social inequalities remain unexplained for cardiovascular disease mortality in both genders and for cancer mortality in men. Unravelling specific factors and mechanisms explaining these associations and thus informing the development of prevention strategies ought to be one of the priorities of the public health sector.
Supporting Information
Table S1.
Cox regression-derived Hazard Ratios (HR) for specific causes of mortality across education levels in men.
Table S2.
Cox regression-derived Hazard Ratios (HR) for specific causes of mortality across education levels in women.
Table S3.
Cox regression-derived Hazard Ratios (HR) for total mortality across educational levels and across Relative Inequality Index (RII) in crude (Model 1) and adjusted (Model 3 and 4) models in never smokers only.
Author Contributions
Conceived and designed the experiments: VG RK HB A. Thrichopuolou KO AA CN ABG KTK TK A. Tjønneland DTG. Menvielle SP RT HBBM PPP GH EL ER PV. Performed the experiments: SR RK BT HB MMB A. Thrichopuolou SOD KO MLR AA AD LA CN ABG KTK NW TK AN A. Tjønneland DT G. Masala SP PC RT HBBM PDS PPP SZ MA SE GH GS TB EL AKI TM ER PV. Analyzed the data: VG JPM ME PV G. Menvielle AEK. Wrote the paper: VG JPM ME G. Menvielle AEK SR RK BT HB MMB A. Thrichopuolou SOD KO MLR AA AD LA CN ABG KTK NW TK AN A. Tjønneland DT G. Masala SP PC RT HBBM PDS PPP SZ MASE GH GS TB EL AKI TM ER PV.
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text:
"Although there have been jumps and dips, average atmospheric temperatures have risen little since 1998, in seeming defiance of projections of climate models and the ever-increasing emissions of greenhouse gases." Jeff Tollefson, January 15, 2014, Nature. [open access]
The eminent science journal Nature has finally acknowledged that global average temperatures have not behaved as predicted by climate models over the last 16 years. [h/t A. Watts]
Note that predictions of future sea ice declines and associated predictions of future polar bear declines are totally dependent on these climate models.
Here's my question: if global temperatures have basically flat-lined since 1998, why has Arctic sea ice continued to decline?
If average global temperatures govern Arctic sea ice behavior, why was 1998 (or the year after) not the lowest September sea ice extent reached over the last 30 years? Oddly, 2012 was the lowest September extent (see graphs below, from NSIDC).
Paradoxically, not only has sea ice continued to decline since 1998 – despite the hiatus in global warming – but since 1998, all but one polar bear populations have either increased in size, not declined, or are doing very well by other measures (see previous summary post, "Polar bears have not been harmed by sea ice declines").