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Friday 31 January 2014
What influence does Britain have?
Dean Acheson once described Britain as a country which [Speech at West Point (5 December 1962)] "has lost an Empire" but which "has not yet found a role". During the 1960s and 1970s it sought to find a role within Europe. The story of that search is well described in "Britain and European Unity".
(my apologies if you can't see the link to Amazon & John Young's book - I've had some problems getting it to display - but it is there!)
The course he led while I was studying for my MA at Leicester University (1995-7), allowed me to look at the background to Britain's applications to join what is now the EU. British politicians had been very dismissive of European efforts to rebuild the continent together after the Second World War. We didn't think it would last - we thought that we could continue to dominate the world stage alone. By 1962 many at the height of government had concluded that we needed to adapt - and Acheson's comments just rubbed in the fact of our loss of influence. So Britain sought to regain influence and economic power through close cooperation in Europe.
It didn't do too badly. Instead of falling behind and losing markets as we had in the 1950s and 1960s - Britain began to trade more with Europe. We did what we were best at - and Britain made a comeback (Ireland also profited from her membership). Local government in Britain, working with funding from Europe, saw cities rebuilt. (I remember Birmingham in the late 1960s - it was a decaying mess. I particularly remember the gloomy, run down area by the canal basins - which were spectacularly transformed with European funding). My MA dissertation looked at Labour MPs who backed the "No" campaign in 1975 - to find out whether & why their views had changed by the mid 1990s. Interestingly, those who recovered their political careers after losing in 1979 & returning to local government, had been impressed by how productive working with "Brussels" was, compared to working with Whitehall. European work was transforming & building for the future. Communities had better access to decision makers in Brussels than in London.
The growth of the Eurosceptics (or more accurately "Europhobes") has been the big political story of the past quarter century. Aided by a mainly anti-EU press, ordinary British people have gained the impression that Britain loses through its membership of the EU.
The pro-European "British Influence" has researched & produced a report on British Influence in Europe today. It is worth reading, and I hope it will inform the debate about our future.
It is available at https://s3.amazonaws.com/Britishinfluence/British_Influence_Scorecard.pdf
Posted by J David Morgan at 08:24
Labels: Britain and Europe, British Influence, Dean Acheson, EU, UK
Thursday 30 January 2014
A Bill of Rights for Britain
For as long as I can remember exams for both UK Constitutional Law & British Politics have often included questions inviting the student to discuss the merits and disadvantages of establishing a Bill of Rights specifically for the UK system. It's a super exam question - because it enables the student to demonstrate their understanding of "rights"; to discuss how far a piece of paper can actually protect them; the relationships between elected legislatures and governments and the Judiciary; and the problems caused for such a Bill due to the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty.
The Political & Constitutional Reform Committee - one of the House of Common's Select Committee has been looking at the issue - and a debate has been held in Westminster Hall. It's worth having a look at the debate - It can be accessed directly here or the PDF of Hansard can be downloaded - You'll find the debate about a third of the way through, starting at Column 216 WH. That can be downloaded from here.
Wednesday 29 January 2014
Defamation Act 2013
This post won't be of immediate interest to my new OU students - but former students (and other law students studying Tort) may find the House of Library paper on the Defamation Act 2013 of use.
The Act has been in effect since the beginning of 2014.
The report is available here.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: Defamation, House of Commons Library, tort
Tuesday 28 January 2014
Happy Birthday!
Birthday greetings go to Tom Downey, the youngest of the so-called "Watergate Babies" - the freshmen (and women) elected to Congress in the immediate aftermath of Watergate. He is Sixty Five today. He had only been eligible to be elected to the House for nine months when he won the seat for the second district of New York. (Just two years previously the long serving Republican, James Gover had won with 66% of the vote - and Nixon won 72% of the district's votes!).
The term "Watergate Babies" is certainly no longer appropriate now - and wasn't then. Many had previous elected experience - Downey himself had been a member of the Suffolk County, [New York] legislature since 1971. Joseph Fisher (VA10) was sixty, and almost a third had been born in the 1920s or before.
As previous posts have noted - this year is the 40th anniversary of the 1974 landslide election.
Downey was a law student when first elected. He served in Congress until 1993 (18 years - 9 Congresses). He then founded a lobbying group, the Downey-McGrath Group, of which he is Chairman.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: Tom Downey, Watergate Babies
Monday 27 January 2014
Stop & Search
The House of Commons Library has produced (yet again! - and I have to say, they regularly produce reports of high quality which are VERY useful!) - a report on Stop & Search powers. It's a useful briefing paper for anyone interested in the topic - and relevant to Law Students (especially OU W201 & W200)
The full paper is available at http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/sn03878.pdf. The summary states:
The police have a range of powers to stop and search people. The most widely used of these is under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) which accounts for over one million stops and searches per year. This allows the police to stop people or vehicles in public places and search them for stolen goods and other articles. However, like most stop and search powers, this only applies where the constable has "reasonable suspicion" that these articles will be found.
There are two powers which do not require the police to have "reasonable suspicion" of the individual being stopped and searched:
• The police can authorise stops and searches under the Terrorism Act 2000. The rules governing these have recently been reformed following a judgement by the European Court of Human Rights that they violated article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to privacy).A separate Library Standard Note (SN/HA/6742) deals with Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (stop and search at airports etc)
• Under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, a senior officer can authorise such stops and searches in a particular area if he or she reasonably believes that serious violence may take place or that people are carrying offensive weapons. This provision has also recently been subject to a legal challenge.
Both these have proved particularly controversial, but stop and search powers generally have long been at the centre of tensions between Black people and the police. Overall, Black people are stopped and searched around seven times more than White people. In 2010 the Equality and Human Rights Commission published a report examining some of the explanations which have been given for this disproportionality. Stops and searches were cited in a number of reports on the August 2011 riots in England as being a cause of resentment.
A Metropolitan Police review has resulted in recent changes to policy in London, including a more intelligence-led and targeted approach. In July 2013, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, announced a public consultation into the use of stop and search powers. Responses are currently being analysed. There were media reports in January 2014 that the Prime Minister was blocking plans by the Home Secretary to restrict the use of stop and search.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: House of Commons Library, Police Powers, Stop & Search, W200, W201
Sunday 26 January 2014
The Matignon
This interesting presentation - available in French - is available to view on a PC or on a tablet. Well worth a look.
It is available ici.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: French Politics, Matignon
Friday 24 January 2014
The Sausage Machine
Otto von Bismarck is credited with the comment - ""Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."
Perhaps that comment is understandable - making laws can be messy. As different views are expressed, it can look like endless argument. That is one of the reasons that many voters are put off politics. But it is necessary. In a democracy laws should not be handed down from on high. Members of legislatures are there to express the (very often) quite differing views of citizens. As a consumer I want my rights protected; "sharp" practices outlawed; dangerous products prohibited; and redress if my person or my property is injured by someone else's actions. A business wants "red tape" to be minimised or abolished. A right for me may limit your rights.
These things need to be discussed. Experience and "common sense" may need to be applied to an idea that a policy maker has come up with. Different perspectives need to be applied so that the danger of the "law of unintended consequences" is lessened.
The legislative process may be messy - it may be long - but it is vital. Citizens need to know how law is made - so that they can - when they need to - become involved in the process. They can ask their representative to support or oppose a particular measure - or advise of the consequences which the legislator may not realise. Often citizens only find out about a measure when it is too late to do anything. They might not know how or when to make their views.
Our democracy is enhanced when citizens know how it works.
(There are some excellent online materials available -
Parliament has a webpage dedicated to explaining the UK's legislative process - http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/laws/passage-bill/.
The classic, "How Our Laws Are Made" for the US Congress is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc49/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc49.pdf.
There is an informative video about the EU legislative process at http://youtu.be/2OQuvbOAb0o.
The French legislative process is explained on the Assemblee nationale (English) website.)
Wednesday 22 January 2014
On Monday I wrote about the excellent material available from the House of Commons Library. The US equivalent is the Congressional Research Service. I am in awe of their output. It would be possible to become a high level expert on the workings of Congress, or many policy matters - just by reading CRS publications.
Like the House of Commons Library and British MPs - CRS exists to provide research material - and supply answers to questions posed by members of Congress. It doesn't directly publish its material to the public - but many of the publications find their way online. Individual members may publish the material on their official websites - and the House & Senate use CRS material on theirs. I find OpenCRS a useful site to visit. Many CRS publications are available there. The FAS (Federation of American Scientists) site is another useful place to look. The Annual Report of CRS gives an insight to the extent of work that they have undertaken. It is available here.
Do note that the material is regularly updated by CRS - so make sure that you use the latest version.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: CRS, Research, study aids
Monday 20 January 2014
Second Reading
The of Commons Library now has its own blog. It is well worth taking a look. There's always something interesting which will improve your understanding of the information which MPs and other decision makers need (but sadly don't always use) for their work.
The blog is available at http://commonslibraryblog.com/
If you don't yet use the services of the House of Commons Library - then take a look at what they have to offer. High quality material is prepared for MPs - and much of it is available to the public. Of course non-MPs aren't able to make specific inquiries or borrow books from their extensive stock - but as a student, researcher, teacher and citizen, I have found their publications invaluable. You can find them at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/research/
Research Papers are more detailed documents - often on a specific subject or on a bill before Parliament; whilst Standard Notes are shorter.
Posted by J David Morgan at 10:40
Labels: HoC Library, Research, study aids
Sunday 19 January 2014
The France Show
I travelled down to London on Friday and Saturday to visit "The French Show". This is my third year - and it has become a highlight of mid January. (Last year we had heavy snow - so it wasn't as crowded on the Friday).
Really there are two exhibitions running together in Earls Court. One is for property owners and prospective property owners. Lots of Estate Agents; Lawyers; Removal Companies; Banks etc. A second home in France would be nice - but a little beyond my budget - and anyway, living in Milton Keynes has a lot of attractions which I never had living elsewhere in England. So I had only a cursory look round that part of the show.
Much of my time was spent at the "Flavours of France" Theatre. There were cookery presentations - which have given me lots of ideas for cooking in the months ahead. Christine Vidal of "Made in Provence" made a superb "Risotto de Petit Epeautre de Haute-Provence". I tasted in - and have bought some "Petit Epeautre" to make some at home. Guy Wolley acted as host for the events in the theatre and also gave his own presentation. Chicken with Fennel Chorizo is going on my "to do list".
I enjoyed Clotilde Dusoulier's demonstration - her recipes for vegetarian French meals can be found in her latest book - and I look forward to making some avocado & radish mini tartines. She was one of the first cookery bloggers - at Chocolate & Zucchini. Worth a visit.
Jean-Christophe Novelli gave an inspiring demonstration. He (being of a similar age to me) has become more and more concerned with healthy eating. He gave tips on how to reduce saturated far; salt and sugar - whilst maintaining superb taste.
The cookery demonstrations were just a part of the Show – I will write more about the Show soon!
Thursday 16 January 2014
The Role of the Judiciary
The Political & Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons is taking evidence about the likely role the judiciary would play if Britain were to have a Written Constitution.
They have now published the evidence received from Professor John Bell; Dr Patrick O'Brien and Professor Dawn Oliver. (Law students may recognise the names from textbooks and journal articles).
The written and oral evidence - and a link to the video of the session can be found here.
The inquiry itself is worth following - whether you are a citizen or a law student doing Constitutional Law - see the committee's page dedicated to this inquiry.
Wednesday 15 January 2014
APG - The American Politics Group
The APG (see http://washminster.blogspot.com/2014/01/apg-conference.html and http://washminster.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/american-politics-group.html) now has a new website.
It's worth checking out. There are links to a number of blogs run by leading members of the APG; Links to other sites of interest to academics and students of the USA (from history to politics to culture - and beyond!); Details of forthcoming events and Information about the group.
APG is a Political Studies Association sub-group and the major professional organization for researchers and lecturers in the UK whose work concentrates on the government and politics of the USA. If you are working in this field - whether as a lecturer, researcher or student (or if you are interested in American Politics) it is worth joining.
The new website can be found at http://www.american-politics-group-uk.net/
Tuesday 14 January 2014
Procedure or Policy?
Not unreasonably, many politicians think that policy is more important than procedure. Procedure is for the "geeks", the (slightly) obsessed individuals who take great pleasure in things that bore the rest of us rigid.
But smart politicians (or students of the legislative process) don't think that way. As John Dingell once said "I'll let you write the substance . . . and you let me write the procedure, and I'll screw you every time." The outcomes of any policy process is often determined by the procedure that is followed. Understand the procedure - and you can be alerted to the ploys of your opponents - and how to defeat them. (See my post of October 2009)
Rules matter - and so today I am posting the C-SPAN video of the debate that was held at the start of the current Congress on the House of Representatives rules. In coming weeks, I'll be looking at some of those rules - and their significance.
But smart politicians (or students of the legislative process) don't think that way. As John Dingell once said "I'll let you write the substance . . . and you let me write the procedure, and I'll screw you every time." The outcomes of any policy process is often determined by the procedure that is followed. Understand the procedure - and you can be alerted to the ploys of your opponents - and how to defeat them. (See my post of October 2009)
Rules matter - and so today I am posting the C-SPAN video of the debate that was held at the start of the current Congress on the House of Representatives rules. In coming weeks, I'll be looking at some of those rules - and their significance.
Monday 13 January 2014
Randall Woods on LBJ
I was very disappointed last year that I was unable to attend the lecture given by Randall Woods on "Avatar of Reform: LBJ and the Great Society". Woods has written the superb - "LBJ: Architect of American Ambition". I have become increasingly fascinated by LBJ over recent years. He was of course one of key whips in the history of the Senate - and Robert Caro has written a compelling series of large books on his life.
The good news is that the lecture is available on a podcast from the Rothermere American Institute of the University of Oxford. It was there that the lecture was delivered. I have been listening to it - and I thoroughly recommend it.
The podcast can be accessed here.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Thursday 9 January 2014
APG Conference
I have returned from an excellent conference held in Oxford. The American Politics Group has its annual conference early in January each year. Last year we met in Leicester; and in 2012 in Manchester. (Previous posts here, here, and here.)
This year's conference theme was " The 50th Anniversary of Lyndon B Johnson's 'Great Society'". Professor Richard Blackett got the conference to a great start on Sunday with a lecture on "The Long Struggle". It give a fascinating insight to the 19th Century struggles for racial equality.
Many papers dealt with LBJ, but there were also papers on other areas of American politics and political history. I gave a paper on the 1974 Election at which the Democrats made sizeable gains in the wake of the Watergate Affair. While I dealt with the short term context and the details of the results - I also looked at how the policies of LBJ had set in train events which has had an effect on the election 10 years later.
There was a host of excellent papers. The trouble with conference like that, is that there is so much that it is impossible to get to hear all the papers and the following discussion. Hence I was at another session when Ursula Hackett delivered her paper, which won the Neustadt Postgraduate Paper Prize. I have subsequently read the paper - and it provides an excellent analysis of the different meanings which have been attached to LBJ's phrase.
There were for me many highlights. As a law lecturer I enjoyed the panel on law issues - which ranged from a discussion of the approach taken by Supreme Court Justice Kennedy in the recent ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act in US v Windsor (Helen Knowles); though the thwarted Bork nomination to the Supreme Court (Joe Ryan-Hume, who is doing a Ph.D. at Glasgow University and who will soon be taking up a Library of Congress research fellowship)) and the idea of the "lost constitution" in the philosophy of the Tea Party in the USA and Britain's UKIP (Jamie Fletcher).
Kevin Baron presented a very good paper on Presidential vetoes - which has prompted me to think about the issue for my own research. Patrick Andelic also gave a paper on the Watergate Babies - and I look forward to attending the conference at the Rothermere American Institute which he is organising about Watergate. Tom Packer gave a fascinating presentation about Jesse Helms and his response to the Great Society measures.
...and there was so much more! A great way to start the year!!!!
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: American Politics Group, Helen Knowles, Jamie Fletcher, Joe Ryan-Hume, Kevin Baron, LBJ, Oxford, Patrick Andelic, Richard Blackett, Tom Packer, Ursula Hackett, US v Windsor, Watergate
Wednesday 8 January 2014
Death of a whip
I am close to the end of my studies of US and UK whips. One of the most interesting part of the research involved looking at the lives of the individuals who served as whips in either the US Congress and UK Parliament. I met many whips, and read about many more. There were some very interesting characters. The study covered 1974 to 2010, though I went further back for some whips of particular significance (Lyndon Johnson, Carl Albert, Tip O'Neill and, from the UK, Ted Short for example). As a result some of them have passed away - and time continues to take its toll.
Robert Boscawen passed away just after Christmas. He came from what was once the ideal background for a Tory whip, having served in a leadership role in the army. [He was awarded the Military Cross]. However, unlike many whips, he was associated with a particular wing of the party. He served in the whips office for the greater part of Mrs Thatcher's premiership.
His obituary was published in the Daily Telegraph and can be accessed here.
Posted by J David Morgan at 11:21
Labels: Carl Albert, Lyndon Johnson, Robert Boscawen, Ted Short, Tip O'Neill, Whips
Tuesday 7 January 2014
Keeping an eye on Congress and Parliament
When I was younger - the only way to follow Parliament was through reports in newspapers or by buying Hansard. Radio, then TV broadcasting from the chambers, only arrived later. Live coverage from inside Congress came earlier - and the Watergate hearings were televised - but it remained difficult even in the early part of the 21st century to follow Congress.
However thanks to the internet, it's now easy to follow events in Congress; the British Parliament; the European Parliament; and the French Assemblee nationale.
C-SPAN came first, then we had the Parliamentary Channel. Now the websites offer not just live coverage from the chambers, but other programming about history and current affairs.
C-SPAN covers the House of Representatives when it is in session. C-SPAN 2 does the same for the Senate. When the Chambers are not sitting (which can be for the major part even of a sitting day, there are other programmes. C-SPAN 3 also covers external events. If you haven't already, it is worth exploring the C-SPAN website. You may never need to watch TV again. (This is my wife's worry with me). There is also C-SPAN Radio. I often listen to this during the night, or when cooking/washing up via the C-SPAN app on my iPad.
BBC Parliament is available online as well as via Freeview in the UK. There is a wider "Democracy Live" website which includes live feeds form the House of Lords; Committees; and the legislatures in Scotland; Wales & Northern Ireland. There is also a section for the EU.
Europarl TV covers the European Parliament - and gives access to live debates as well as producing a number of excellent videos on specific issues.
The French Assemblee nationale is covered by LCP.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: BBC Democracy Live, BBC Parliament, C-SPAN, EuroParl TV, LCP
Sunday 5 January 2014
Fifty Years Ago
If the latter part of 2013 was dominated by the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of JFK - This year marks the half century of an extraordinary year in US Politics. LBJ put his mark on American history - with an incredible period of (successful) legislative action - and a landslide victory in the Presidential Election.
I am currently reading, and prepping for a conference which has at its heart the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson's `Great Society' speech.
Over the next few weeks I'll be posting about some of the events, and the issues which will be addressed at the conference. But it's worth looking at the speech itself, which was delivered on 22nd May 1964 in Ann Arbor Michigan. He was at the University of Michigan to receive an honorary degree and deliver the commencement address at the Spring graduation ceremony.
He looks forward to "50 years from now" - that time has come. It is worth reflecting on the vision he set out - and what has been achieved.
President Hatcher, Governor Romney, Senators McNamara and Hart, Congressmen Meader and Staebler, and other members of the fine Michigan delegation, members of the graduating class, my fellow Americans:
It is a great pleasure to be here today. This university has been coeducational since 1870, but I do not believe it was on the basis of your accomplishments that a Detroit high school girl said (and I quote), "In choosing a college, you first have to decide whether you want a coeducational school or an educational school." Well, we can find both here at Michigan, although perhaps at different hours. I came out here today very anxious to meet the Michigan student whose father told a friend of mine that his son's education had been a real value. It stopped his mother from bragging about him.
I have come today from the turmoil of your capital to the tranquility of your campus to speak about the future of your country. The purpose of protecting the life of our Nation and preserving the liberty of our citizens is to pursue the happiness of our people. Our success in that pursuit is the test of our success as a Nation.
For a century we labored to settle and to subdue a continent. For half a century we called upon unbounded invention and untiring industry to create an order of plenty for all of our people. The challenge of the next half century is whether we have the wisdom to use that wealth to enrich and elevate our national life, and to advance the quality of our American civilization.
Your imagination and your initiative and your indignation will determine whether we build a society where progress is the servant of our needs, or a society where old values and new visions are buried under unbridled growth. For in your time we have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.
The Great Society rests on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.
The Great Society is a place where every child can find knowledge to enrich his mind and to enlarge his talents. It is a place where leisure is a welcome chance to build and reflect, not a feared cause of boredom and restlessness. It is a place where the city of man serves not only the needs of the body and the demands of commerce but the desire for beauty and the hunger for community. It is a place where man can renew contact with nature. It is a place which honors creation for its own sake and for what is adds to the understanding of the race. It is a place where men are more concerned with the quality of their goals than the quantity of their goods.
But most of all, the Great Society is not a safe harbor, a resting place, a final objective, a finished work. It is a challenge constantly renewed, beckoning us toward a destiny where the meaning of our lives matches the marvelous products of our labor.
So I want to talk to you today about three places where we begin to build the Great Society -- in our cities, in our countryside, and in our classrooms.
Many of you will live to see the day, perhaps 50 years from now, when there will be 400 million Americans -- four-fifths of them in urban areas. In the remainder of this century urban population will double, city land will double, and we will have to build homes and highways and facilities equal to all those built since this country was first settled. So in the next 40 years we must re-build the entire urban United States.
Aristotle said: "Men come together in cities in order to live, but they remain together in order to live the good life." It is harder and harder to live the good life in American cities today. The catalog of ills is long: there is the decay of the centers and the despoiling of the suburbs. There is not enough housing for our people or transportation for our traffic. Open land is vanishing and old landmarks are violated. Worst of all expansion is eroding these precious and time honored values of community with neighbors and communion with nature. The loss of these values breeds loneliness and boredom and indifference.
And our society will never be great until our cities are great. Today the frontier of imagination and innovation is inside those cities and not beyond their borders. New experiments are already going on. It will be the task of your generation to make the American city a place where future generations will come, not only to live, but to live the good life. And I understand that if I stayed here tonight I would see that Michigan students are really doing their best to live the good life.
This is the place where the Peace Corps was started.
It is inspiring to see how all of you, while you are in this country, are trying so hard to live at the level of the people.
A second place where we begin to build the Great Society is in our countryside. We have always prided ourselves on being not only America the strong and America the free, but America the beautiful. Today that beauty is in danger. The water we drink, the food we eat, the very air that we breathe, are threatened with pollution. Our parks are overcrowded, our seashores overburdened. Green fields and dense forests are disappearing.
A few years ago we were greatly concerned about the "Ugly American." Today we must act to prevent an ugly America. For once the battle is lost, once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted.
A third place to build the Great Society is in the classrooms of America. There your children's lives will be shaped. Our society will not be great until every young mind is set free to scan the farthest reaches of thought and imagination. We are still far from that goal. Today, 8 million adult Americans, more than the entire population of Michigan, have not finished 5 years of school. Nearly 20 million have not finished 8 years of school. Nearly 54 million -- more than one quarter of all America -- have not even finished high school.
Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot educate today's youth, what will we do in 1970 when elementary school enrollment will be 5 million greater than 1960? And high school enrollment will rise by 5 million. And college enrollment will increase by more than 3 million.
In many places, classrooms are overcrowded and curricula are outdated. Most of our qualified teachers are underpaid and many of our paid teachers are unqualified. So we must give every child a place to sit and a teacher to learn from. Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty.
But more classrooms and more teachers are not enough. We must seek an educational system which grows in excellence as it grows in size. This means better training for our teachers. It means preparing youth to enjoy their hours of leisure as well as their hours of labor. It means exploring new techniques of teaching, to find new ways to stimulate the love of learning and the capacity for creation.
These are three of the central issues of the Great Society. While our Government has many programs directed at those issues, I do not pretend that we have the full answer to those problems. But I do promise this: We are going to assemble the best thought and the broadest knowledge from all over the world to find those answers for America.
I intend to establish working groups to prepare a series of White House conferences and meetings -- on the cities, on natural beauty, on the quality of education, and on other emerging challenges. And from these meetings and from this inspiration and from these studies we will begin to set our course toward the Great Society.
The solution to these problems does not rest on a massive program in Washington, nor can it rely solely on the strained resources of local authority. They require us to create new concepts of cooperation, a creative federalism, between the National Capital and the leaders of local communities.
Woodrow Wilson once wrote: "Every man sent out from his university should be a man of his Nation as well as a man of his time."
Within your lifetime powerful forces, already loosed, will take us toward a way of life beyond the realm of our experience, almost beyond the bounds of our imagination.
For better or for worse, your generation has been appointed by history to deal with those problems and to lead America toward a new age. You have the chance never before afforded to any people in any age. You can help build a society where the demands of morality, and the needs of the spirit, can be realized in the life of the Nation.
So, will you join in the battle to give every citizen the full equality which God enjoins and the law requires, whatever his belief, or race, or the color of his skin?
Will you join in the battle to give every citizen an escape from the crushing weight of poverty?
Will you join in the battle to make it possible for all nations to live in enduring peace -- as neighbors and not as mortal enemies?
Will you join in the battle to build the Great Society, to prove that our material progress is only the foundation on which we will build a richer life of mind and spirit?
There are those timid souls that say this battle cannot be won; that we are condemned to a soulless wealth. I do not agree. We have the power to shape the civilization that we want. But we need your will and your labor and your hearts, if we are to build that kind of society.
Those who came to this land sought to build more than just a new country. They sought a new world. So I have come here today to your campus to say that you can make their vision our reality. So let us from this moment begin our work so that in the future men will look back and say: It was then, after a long and weary way, that man turned the exploits of his genius to the full enrichment of his life.
Thank you. Good-bye.
Posted by J David Morgan at 05:30
Labels: Great Society, LBJ, Michigan
Friday 3 January 2014
The Congressional Record
It's no longer necessary to travel great distances to read the Congressional Record. [The US equivalent of 'Hansard'].
The British Library holds a large collection (for full details of the British Library's holding of US documents download the PDF from http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/offpubs/guides/usgov/unitedstates.pdf. ) - and it is available in many libraries in the USA. However the costs of talking a train to London have just gone up again - and flying to Washington DC - is a little expensive (however much I would love to do that on a more frequent basis!)
There is now an app for your iPad (the link to iTunes is here), which allows access to the full Congressional Record from January 1995 - the 104th Congress onwards. Also, PDFs are available online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=CREC
The 19th Century "Congressional Globe" can also be accessed online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwcglink.html
There is still a need for a comprehensive online archive of the Congressional Record to cover the period prior to 1994. However a google search can occasionally bring up a specific date or debate.
Wednesday 1 January 2014
Happy New Year
A very special New Year greeting from Washminster.
Due to various computing problems and other demands on my time - 2013 saw the absence of this blog for long periods of time. The last included five week lack of access to the internet from my office at home - so no C-SPAN; streaming BBC Parliament & the downloading of CRS & House of Commons Library Research papers - :(
But the good news that we have a new internet provider (BT), and an exciting year ahead - next week I am giving the first of what I hope will be a series of academic papers on the 94th Congress; there will be mid-term elections for the US Congress; European Parliament elections; and the run-up to the much awaited General Election in 2015.
After eight years as a blog (do use the search box - or look at the archive), I'm planning a new look for Washminster. The original idea of daily posts may well disappear - but I hope to incorporate shorter pieces with audio pieces and videos. For my law students I will be giving new insights into the working of English law - and comparing with different legal solutions in use in other jurisdictions.
For followers of British; American and French politics - I'll be analysing and commenting upon developments. I'm planning an ambitious survey of key districts for the congressional elections in November. I'll also be putting a greater emphasis on history. This won't just be about Washington DC and Westminster, but the events which led to - and provide lessons - for contemporary politics.
French politics will also be covered - and my French language skills have been improving thanks to both an excellent conversation class in Milton Keynes - and a full set of Rosetta Stone courses (and other material).
I hope that you will enjoy the goodies to come from Washminster - and have a happy and prosperous New Year.
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text:
Sale Adopted
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I will never cease to experiment with art. I just can't stay still on one medium with so many things to try! This time I have been experimenting with monoprinting again, but using a different technique than the one I used on The Cats Collection.
I just love painting the female portrait. No matter what I do, I always end up painting faces. I love it!
An original ink monoprint by Idania Salcido (Danita Art), this painting measures 7 x 11 inches on a very special paper. It is very fancy paper with mechanography exercises, made by my mother when she was at school. It is really, very, very special to me.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I am so proud to report that BC held its second equity conference on April 23rd. Let's hear from a few key individuals who made this happen
Bryan Hirayama, BC's EODAC Faculty Co-chair:
The 2nd Annual Equity Conference was a smashing success. Bakersfield College welcomed visitors from up and down the state, including attendees from San Joaquin Delta College, Porterville College, Taft College, Grossmont and Mira Costa College.
With both a streaming feed and ASL interpreters on site, the Equity Conference moved to practice a central tenet of BC's equity agenda: meeting people where they are.
This year's line-up included two amazing speakers, meaningful and challenging breakout sessions and a moving student panel with representatives from some of our most vulnerable and underrepresented student groups. Thank you to all who helped plan and those who attended. We look forward to seeing you back next year.
Michele Bresso, Dean of Instruction:
Director and Chief Executive of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Dr. Dan Arvizu served as keynote speaker. Dr. Arvizu, who holds a PhD in mechanical engineering, is the first Hispanic to be named director of the National Science Board. As you'd expect from a scientist of Dr Arvizu's caliber, his message touted the value of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education as an investment in our future, offering high returns to students, the community and to the nation if we can increase the number of STEM workers throughout America.
But according to Dr. Arvizu, STEM faces an equity challenge. As you can see in the graph below, white workers make up a disproportionate number of STEM workers.
So increasing the minority representation in those critical fields, particularly in the upper management end, is critical not only in elevating the quality of the work being done, but opening up new areas of opportunity for students who may not think they were cut out for a future in STEM industries.
Odella Johnson, Director of Equity and Inclusion:
Meanwhile, fellow keynote speaker Dr. J. Goosby Smith posited how community colleges are uniquely poised to transform the lives of students through diversity and inclusion. Using a garden as a metaphor, she distinguished these two distinct concepts. Inclusion refers to the "soil": the college's culture, policies, and practices. Diversity refers to giving each flower what it needs to thrive. Some need shade, others sun.
Consequently, Goosby Smith believes equity does not refer to equal treatment, but rather identical opportunity to thrive. She then applied her evidence-based model of inclusion to the community college culture and classroom.
The day closed with frank presentations from a handful of BC students, all from various walks of life, sharing their personal stories of getting to where they are today and how BC can do better to address their needs.
It was an eye-opening and ultimately very satisfying and encouraging day.
Tagged: Dan Arvizu, Equity, Equity Conference, J. Goosby Smith, Mira Costa College, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Science Board, NREL, Porterville College, San Joaquin Delta College, STEM, Taft College


text: In celebration of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Annual "Kick Butts Day" on March 20th, 7th graders from Inman Middle School in Atlanta joined youth advocates across the U.S. to warn their peers about the dangers of E-cigarettes, for example, JUULs. Leading up to the event Tar Wars presentations were held in schools across Georgia. To schedule a presentation in your community contact Kara Sinkule at firstname.lastname@example.com or call (800) 392-3841.


text:
Chemistry, Department of
Preparation and Characterization of Biomimetic Hydroxyapatite-Resorbable Polymer Composites for Hard Tissue Repair
Date of this Version
A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Chemistry, Under the Supervision of Professor Jody G. Redepenning. Lincoln, Nebraska: December 2011
Copyright (c) 2011 Kristopher Robert Hiebner
Autografts are the orthopedic "gold standard" for repairing bone voids. Autografts are osteoconductive and do not elicit an immune response, but they are in short supply and require a second surgery to harvest the bone graft. Allografts are currently the most common materials used for the repair of segmental defects in hard tissue. Unlike autografts, allografts can cause an undesirable immune response and the possibility of disease transmission is a major concern. As an alternative to the above approaches, recent research efforts have focused on the use of composite materials made from hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioresorbable polymers, such as poly-L-lactide (PLLA). Recent results have shown that the surface hydroxides on HA can initiate the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide and other lactones creating a composite with superior interfacial strength.
This thesis demonstrates that the surface of porous biologically derived HA substrates, such as coralline HA and trabecular bone, can be used to initiate the ROP of L-lactide and other lactones from the vapor phase. This process increases the strength of the porous scaffold through the deposition of a thin, uniform polymer coating, while maintaining the porous structure. The kinetics of the chemical vapor deposition polymerization (CVDP) are described using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The reaction temperature and monomer vapor pressure are found to affect the rate of the polymerization. Also described in this thesis is the preparation of a porous polymer scaffold that mimics the structure of demineralized bone matrix (DBM). This demineralized bone matrix simulant (DBMS) is created using anorganic bovine bone as a template to initiate the polymerization of various lactones, followed by the removal of the HA scaffold. This material retained its shape and exhibits mechanical properties superior to DBM. Finally it is shown that HA can be used to initiate the ROP of ε-caprolactam and the biocompatibility of various HA/bioresorbable polymer composites are described through the use of cell cultures run in collaboration with a research group specializing in immunology.
Advisor: Jody G. Redepenning


text:
We live in a society where almost everyone can claim victim status. A humorous T-shirt pokes fun at this. It pictures a huge auditorium with a convention banner welcoming "Adult Children of Normal Parents." Two people are in the audience.
It's not far off the mark. Recovery movement guru John Bradshaw has said that 96 percent of us come from dysfunctional families. Americans are flocking to a variety of specialized self-help groups where they focus on how the traumas from their pasts have impaired their lives. Every sort of problem and even criminal behavior is being excused because the person was a helpless victim of something or other.
A jury acquitted Mrs. Bobbitt from emasculating her husband because she was a victim of his abusive and selfish behavior. Another jury can't decide to convict two brothers who admit to blowing their parents into oblivion with a shotgun, because they were abused as children. The guy who shot the abortion doctor is claiming that the pro-life propaganda made him do it. A robber in New York was beating a 71-year-old man senseless when two police officers heard the screams and responded. In the ensuing scuffle, the mugger was shot and the bullet cut his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed. He sued the city of New York and a jury awarded him $4.3 million in damages (in Reader's Digest [6/90], p. 196)!
Thankfully the world is waking up to the stupidity of this nonsense. Atlanta psychiatrist Frank Pittman observed that "the adult child movement, by declaring practically everyone to be a victim of imperfect parenting and therefore eligible for lifelong, self-absorbed irresponsibility, has trivialized real suffering and made psychic invalids of those who once had a bad day" (cited in The Los Angeles Times [11/4/92], p. E10).
But let's suppose you truly are a victim. Maybe a parent or a spouse abuses you verbally and emotionally. Perhaps you suffer racial discrimination. Or, on a lesser scale, maybe you're being treated unfairly at work. Maybe you're a victim of reverse discrimination, where you get passed over for a promotion because you're not classified as a minority. How should a Christian respond when he or she is truly a victim of abusive or unfair treatment?
(Let me clarify from the start that if you are being abused sexually or physically, you should immediately seek outside help so that the situation can be stopped. While you still need to apply the things I'm going to talk about today to your attitude, I do not want you mistakenly to think that God wants you to endure such abuse passively. A sexual offender or a violent person needs to be brought under the law. If your attitude is right before God, there is a proper place for confrontation, as we saw in 1 Tim. 5:1-2.)
How should you deal with it if you are the victim? How should you counsel a victimized person who comes to you for help? Do we have a right to get angry at God for letting this happen? Should we rail at God and get all our rage out? Should we vent our rage toward the ones who abused us by hitting a pillow or yelling, "I hate you"? Or, perhaps we should take a positive approach and build our self-esteem. What a downtrodden person needs is self-respect! So we tell ourselves over and over how wonderful we are.
The world offers all sorts of solutions for those who are victims. Some sound reasonable. Some even sound biblical and are espoused by Christian counselors who quote verses to support their points; but they often mix biblical truth with subtle error. We need to rely on God's Word alone to learn how Christians who are mistreated should respond in their difficult situations.
In the history of the sinful human race, slaves rank among the most victimized people of all. Slaves were literally the property of their owners, who could use them and dispose of them as they saw fit. They were viewed and often treated as animals. This is brought out in Paul's descriptive phrase, "under the yoke." Slaves, like oxen, were under the yoke of their masters, used for the profit and benefit of their owners, with no personal rights. Estimates vary, but anywhere from one-third to over one-half of the Roman population in Paul's day were slaves. Many of them were becoming Christians. How should these victimized people respond to the unjust situations they found themselves in? Should they lead protest marches? Should they revolt? Should they express their rage at God, at society, at their owners? Should they focus on building their self-esteem?
In 1 Timothy 6:1-2 Paul gives an answer. It's easy for us to sit in church and say, "Preach it to those slaves, Paul!" But Paul isn't just preaching to slaves in a far away culture that no longer exists. His words apply to every believer today who is a victim of abusive, unfair treatment. He shows us all how to be a good Christian victim. I offer five observations:
You didn't want to hear that, did you? But it's true! Most of the slaves in the Roman world of Paul's day were born that way. It wasn't that they committed a crime or got into debt and ended up as slaves by consequence of their own foolishness. They were born as slaves.
That isn't fair, is it? It isn't fair that some people are born into comfortable homes in America, with plenty to eat and good medical care, while others are born in poverty in countries like Somalia or Afghanistan, where they can barely eke out enough to survive, assuming they don't get shot or step on a land mine. It isn't fair that some people have parents who love them and treat them kindly, while others are neglected and abused by their drug-using mother and her latest boyfriend. Let's face it, life is grossly unfair and the Bible never pretends any differently. Sin and its devastating effects make this evil world a most unfair place.
But may I point out that you don't solve the problem by eliminating God. The Communists thought they could solve the problem of unfairness by creating a classless society where everyone has equal status and opportunity. But it didn't work because they didn't deal with the intractable problem of the selfish, greedy human heart. So those in power abused their position for their own advancement. The haves still clung to what they had, while the have-nots greedily scrambled to take it away from them.
By taking God out of the equation, you extinguish the only true source of hope in an unfair world. If there is no God, then this is just a dog-eat-dog world where the toughest, meanest dogs manage to survive a few more years than the weaker dogs. If you happen to be born as a caged, diseased dog with a cruel master who beats you every day, "Sorry about that!" Determinism, the view that victims are at the mercy of outside forces, offers no hope except to try to get into better circumstances. But even if you succeed, you'll soon die, so what have you accomplished? Taking God out of the picture doesn't solve the problem of unfairness.
The Bible is clear that if we got what was fair, we all would go straight to hell, because we've all rebelled against a holy God. Every one of us has cast off God's rightful rulership over us and has sought to live for self and for pleasure, to the disregard of God and others. When we say, "I don't deserve to be treated as I've been treated," we only reveal our pride that lifts ourselves up against a holy God, as if we have some claim on Him. We all deserve His wrath because of our rebellious, self-willed ways. Any earthly comforts we enjoy are not because we deserve them or have a right to them. They only come from His undeserved kindness.
The good news of the gospel brings hope to those who despair. The gospel can shine into the most rat-infested, foulest prison cell and give instant hope of eternal life to a condemned prisoner. In Paul's day, the good news that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," even the worst of them (1 Tim. 1:15), meant that these people who were treated as human work animals could become gifted members of the body of Christ, with equal status with their masters before God. They became heirs of the hope of eternal life with God in heaven. Slaves were becoming saved through faith in Jesus Christ!
Political or economic solutions offer only superficial hope to the oppressed. Paul could have organized opposition to the institution of slavery. He could have called for a campaign for everyone to write their senator in Rome and protest this awful injustice. Maybe he even could have led an armed slave revolt. It certainly would have been a just cause. Or he could have organized the slaves into trade unions, to give them power to fight for better working conditions, higher wages, health care, and paid vacations.
But even if he had succeeded, what would he have accomplished? Slaves would have lived better and easier lives. But they'd still die and go to hell if they did not repent of their sins and trust in Christ. While I'm not suggesting that Christians should not work for social causes, it is true that comfortable people are the most difficult to reach with the gospel, because they don't sense their need to be right with God before they die.
So Paul preached the gospel to slaves and to slave owners, because it alone is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16). It alone can transform the self-centered, greedy human heart into a new creation who loves God and others. It alone can loosen our grasp on the things of this world and put our focus on the life to come. It alone meets the most basic need of every human heart, to be reconciled to the holy, eternal God. If you're a mistreated victim, God offers the same hope to you today, of having your sins forgiven and knowing the living and true God through His Son Jesus, who died to pay the penalty for all your sins.
But there's a third thing you need to know. Life isn't fair; but, life can have hope, no matter how unfairly you've been treated, if you will believe in the gospel.
These slaves weren't instantly liberated from their slavery the minute they believed in Jesus. Many died as slaves. The next morning they still had to get up and meet the demands of their master. They still had to do difficult, distasteful chores. They still had to work long hours with little time off. Abusive masters weren't suddenly transformed into nice men just because their slaves were now Christians. Circumstances weren't much different for these slaves who had become Christians.
In fact, the demands on them probably increased because of their new faith. Their owners now taunted them with, "If you're such a good Christian, why are you complaining about your work load?" As Christian slaves, they could no longer steal from their masters as they used to do and as all the pagan slaves still did. And then Paul has the nerve to tell them that they need to honor these brutes and work even harder! No griping allowed! Life didn't get easier; it got harder as Christian slaves.
We have to be careful that we don't misrepresent the gospel when we tell people that God has a "wonderful plan" for their lives or that He offers them "abundant life." God's wonderful plan may be that you suffer from a debilitating disease or that you get tortured or martyred for your testimony. It may be that you suffer rejection and slander because you stand for God's truth.
Read Hebrews 11. God's abundant life for some was that they "conquered kingdoms, ... obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, ... put foreign armies to flight, ... received back their dead by resurrection" (vv. 33-35a). We read that and say, "Amen!" Keep reading: "Others were tortured, ... and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, ... they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated ..., wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground" (vv. 35-38). Make sure you include all that in your concept of the "abundant life"!
Someone may be wondering, "If becoming a Christian doesn't promise me the good life and the solution to all my problems, then why do it?"
Your root problem is your selfish rebellion against God that alienates you from His holy presence. If that problem isn't dealt with through the cross of Jesus Christ before you die, you will spend eternity away from God's presence, suffering eternal punishment. Becoming a Christian through faith in Christ takes care of that most basic need.
It also continues to deal with your root problem, which is living to please self rather than living to love God and others. Put yourself in the place of a slave in Ephesus. You're a new Christian and you're suffering under a cruel, insensitive master who treats you like a work animal. Or, perhaps you're blessed to have a Christian master, and you assume that Paul will tell him to treat you decently. But along comes this letter and Paul confronts your attitude and performance as a slave, and he doesn't say anything to slave owners!
To all slaves, but especially to those with pagan masters, Paul says, "Regard them as worthy of all honor ...." "But Paul, don't you realize what abusive tyrants these guys are? They don't care about anyone but themselves! When I'm exhausted, when I've already put in a long day, and they have a need, they don't give any thought about me or my needs. They just say, 'Do this,' and I'm expected to hop to it. What about my needs, Paul?" Paul says, "Your need is to honor these men."
But why, Paul? "So that the name of our God and our doctrine may not be spoken against." There is something higher than our happiness and our rights, namely, God's glory. How we act toward an abusive person bears witness of the God we serve and of the kind of selfless love He calls us to model. We're the only Bible a lot of pagans will ever read. Can they tell by your attitude, by your hard work on the job, by your refusal to retaliate when you're wronged, by your returning a blessing in word or deed when you're insulted, what it means to follow Jesus? By honoring that abusive authority figure (boss, parent, husband, government leader), by serving him all the more because we are Christians, we honor God and the teaching of His Word. And if the authority is a Christian, then rather than slacking off, we owe even better service with proper respect, since they are believers and beloved.
John Calvin, always an astute observer of human nature, comments (Calvin's Commentaries [Baker reprint], on 1 Timothy, p. 151):
Owing to the false opinion of his own excellence which every person entertains, there is no one who patiently endures that others should rule over him. They who cannot avoid the necessity do, indeed, reluctantly obey those who are above them; but inwardly they fret and rage, because they think that they suffer wrong. The Apostle cuts off, by a single word, all disputes of this kind, by demanding that all who live "under the yoke" shall submit to it willingly.
In other words, our sinful flesh is always quick to defend self, justify self, excuse self, and exalt self by blaming others. "Sure, I did wrong, but I was a victim! I was mistreated! What about the other guy and what he did to me? If he would just treat me decently, I'd treat him decently. You can't expect anybody to put up with the crud I've had to put up with!" But God does expect us who have been redeemed to confront our selfish attitudes so that we honor God and love others, even our enemies, by our attitudes and actions toward them. It is especially when they wrong us that we have the greatest opportunity for testimony.
Becoming a Christian means beginning a life of radical self-denial. Jesus described it as taking up your cross daily to follow Him (Luke 9:23). The cross wasn't a slight irritation a person had to learn to live with; it was a slow, tortuous means of death. Because of the fall, we all come at life with a "me first, I deserve fair treatment, I have my rights" attitude. Even the non-Christian philosopher Allan Bloom saw this when he observed that "everyone loves himself most but wants others to love him more than they love themselves" (The Closing of the American Mind [Simon and Schuster], p. 118).
God confronts us by saying, "No, love Me first; honor My name by your life. And, love others as you do in fact love yourself. Think of them more highly than you do of yourself, even if you're a slave and your owner isn't a nice person. And don't just do it with a self-pitying, martyr complex. You must actually love those who mistreat you and show it by serving them all the more!"
Good grief! That's tough stuff! There's a fifth point:
"Teach and exhort these things" (6:2b). They are present imperatives, implying an ongoing process. This isn't a decision you make once and it's settled forever. It's something we all need to learn and practice every day for the rest of our lives. So we need constant teaching and exhortation to hang in there. Teaching is necessary to counter the false teaching that appeals to the flesh that tells us, "You have a right to be treated fairly! You don't have to take this! Assert yourself!" Exhortation is necessary because we all get weary and are tempted to take the easy way out of tough situations.
Jesus taught that this is a lifelong process for those who follow Him when He said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). To sum up Paul's word on how to be a good Christian victim:
Christian victims must continually confront their selfish attitude and replace it with love for God and for others.
Let me repeat: If you are being abused sexually or physically, this Scripture does not mean that you should silently endure it. A person who violates you sexually or physically is not only breaking God's law, but also the laws of this country. He needs to be confronted and punished for his crimes. Neither does this Scripture mean that we should never confront an abusive authority figure. Love means seeking the highest good of the one loved, which sometimes requires proper confrontation. If you're being sexually or physically abused, seek the help you need to get it stopped now.
But this Scripture does confront our selfish, "I've got my rights," "I don't have to take any mistreatment," "I'm a victim, so I'm not responsible" attitudes. It confronts our disregard for God's honor above all else through the way we conduct ourselves in our homes and in the world. It confronts our love for self over our love for others, including our enemies. It calls us to the radical following of the One who laid aside His rights in order to save us from the judgment of a holy God. Brothers and sisters, let's not be overcome by evil, but let's overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21)!
Copyright 1994, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation


text:
Angara pulls out of Aurora polls; Baby Arenas subs for daughter
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Sen. Edgardo Angara has withdrawn from the gubernatorial race in Aurora and has been substituted by his younger brother, an official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here said.
"It's official. Mayor Arthur Angara of Baler has substituted for Senator Angara for governor," Comelec supervisor Gilbert Almario told the Inquirer by phone on Thursday.
Mayor Angara, who is completing his third and final term, will challenge Gerardo Noveras, the incumbent Aurora vice governor. Senator Angara did not answer text messages inquiring as to why he opted not to run anymore as governor, a position held for the last time by his younger sister, Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo.
Another relative has confirmed Angara's withdrawal.
Angara-Castillo is returning to Congress to run for the lone Aurora congressional seat to be vacated by Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara, the senator's son, who is running for senator under the administration's Liberal Party.
No reason given
At the Senate, neither Senator Angara nor his staff would reveal the reason behind his sudden decision to withdraw from the Aurora gubernatorial race.
But as of late afternoon yesterday, speculations were rife in the Senate that the senator was worried about adverse feedback that could result from the recent protest march held by a group of Casiguran folk protesting alleged abuses by officials of the Aurora Pacific Ecozone and Freeport Authority (Apeco).
Earlier this month, Sen. Sergio Osmeña III presented in a news conference a handful of farmers from Casiguran who alleged that Apeco officials were arbitrarily taking their agricultural lands to extend the Apeco compound.
Pangasinan surprise
When Osmeña took the mic, he blamed Angara squarely for the situation, adding that Angara went ahead with the creation of Apeco through a law when it was clear that putting a freeport in Casiguran was not economically viable.
Osmeña also moved for the reduction of Apeco's P353-million budget for 2013 to only P10 million, colleagues eventually overruled his initiative.
Angara himself could not be reached for comment.
His media officer Rikka Sotto confirmed his withdrawal in the Aurora gubernatorial race but said the senator was still in transit and could not make a comment.
Sotto said Angara made a personal appearance before the local office of the Comelec in Aurora as required by law in case of withdrawal from an electoral race.
In Pangasinan, Rep. Rachel Arenas (3rd District) withdrew her candidacy as a reelectionist on Thursday in favor of her mother, socialite Rosemarie "Baby" Arenas.
Marino Salas, Pangasinan election supervisor, said Arenas, a Liberal Party stalwart who is running unopposed, filed her affidavit of withdrawal of candidacy to allow her mother to apply as her substitute.
Salas said the lawmaker did not cite a reason for her withdrawal. He said election laws do not require candidates to justify their withdrawal from elections.
In a phone interview, Arenas said her mother had been asked to run for Congress. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon, Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon and Cathy Yamsuan


text:
|* Copyright (c) 2012 The WebRTC project authors. All Rights Reserved.
|* Use of this source code is governed by a BSD-style license
|* that can be found in the LICENSE file in the root of the source
|* tree. An additional intellectual property rights grant can be found
|* in the file PATENTS. All contributing project authors may
|* be found in the AUTHORS file in the root of the source tree.
|#ifndef RTC_BASE_COMPILE_ASSERT_C_H_
|#define RTC_BASE_COMPILE_ASSERT_C_H_
|// Use this macro to verify at compile time that certain restrictions are met.
|// The argument is the boolean expression to evaluate.
|// Example:
|// RTC_COMPILE_ASSERT(sizeof(foo) < 128);
|// Note: In C++, use static_assert instead!
|#define RTC_COMPILE_ASSERT(expression) \
|switch (0) { \
|case 0: \
|case expression:; \
|#endif // RTC_BASE_COMPILE_ASSERT_C_H_


text:
Warning message
- Last import of users from Drupal Production environment ran more than 7 days ago. Import users by accessing /admin/config/live-importer/drupal-run
- Last import of nodes from Drupal Production environment ran more than 7 days ago. Import nodes by accessing /admin/config/live-importer/drupal-run
Unpublished Opinions
Journey to Diversity Workplaces is both an experiment and a project.
Haven't you ever wished you could work somewhere better? Somewhere where they went out of their way to not only appreciate you, but treat you right, and pay you fairly?
We want a different kind of workplace where diversity is championed and so is the worker.
At J2DW, our employees are our members. Period.
Respecting differences ethically, morally, and legally.
We are a member of Volunteer Canada, Charity Village, CIRA, OnGood, and the Ontario Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. We also partner with VolunteerMatch.
How to deal with religious accommodations in the Workplace
This article was contributed by J2DW volunteer blogger Shan Simpson
Freedom of religion, in Canada, is a constitutionally protected right that allows religious believers the freedom to assemble and worship without limitation or interference. Religious discrimination is treating individuals differently in their employment because of their religion, their religious beliefs, and practices, denying their reasonable request for accommodation or a change in a workplace rule or policy that denies employees equal opportunities due to their religious beliefs or practices. Canadian employers are required to accommodate the reasonable needs of religious employees in the workplace.
A workplace accommodation is any change in the working environment that allows a person with limitations in their abilities to do their job. These can include changes to physical workspace, adaptations to the equipment or tools used, flexible work hours or job sharing, relocation of the workspace within the greater workplace, the ability to work from home, reallocation or exchange of some non-essential tasks for others, or time off for medical appointments. Accommodations can be temporary, or long term, depending on the employee's disability or medical issue.
In Canada, the limits to accommodation are described as either a "reasonable" accommodation or an accommodation to the point of "undue hardship." In Ontario, under the Ontario Human Rights Code, three criteria are used to determine whether undue hardship exists which are cost, whether other sources of funding are available or health and safety requirements that may exist. Canadian employers are required to accommodate the Sabbath observance of their employees by permitting employees to take the day off unless doing so would create a hardship for their employers. Each Canadian province and territory has human rights legislation that covers religion protections.
The Ontario Human Rights Code makes religious discrimination illegal. Everyone should have access to the same opportunities and benefits. Religion includes the practices, beliefs, and observances that are part of a faith or religion. Religion does not include personal, moral, ethical or political views. Religion also does not include religions that promote violence or hate towards others, or that violate criminal law. Christianity is the largest religion representing approximately sixty-seven percent of the population while Muslim is the second largest religion accounting for three percent of the Canadian population. However, approximately twenty-four percent of the Canadian population have no religious affiliation. If employees are asked to do something that would violate their religious beliefs, practices or customs, they may be able to get an exemption from these requirements for religious reasons. People should be treated with equal dignity, and respect, regardless of their religion. Workplaces can improve employee satisfaction and productivity by helping employees feel like they can be themselves and not having to hide a part of themselves in the workplace.
Harassment is a form of discrimination. Harassment involves any unwanted physical or verbal behavior that offends or humiliates someone. Harassment is usually behavior that persists over time. However, serious one-time incidents can sometimes be considered as harassment. Bullying is usually seen as acts or verbal comments that could 'mentally' hurt or isolate a person in the workplace. Bullying usually involves repeated incidents or a pattern of behavior that is intended to intimidate, offend, degrade or humiliate a particular person or group of people.
The cost of accommodations for individual employees can be a significant concern as some workplaces lack the resources to effectively meet the needs of their employees. A reasonable accommodation can vary from employer to employer which may not adequately address the needs of the individual employees. Accommodating an employee could cause the unintended consequence of stereotyping the employee which could increase incidents of bullying or harassment. Accommodations for attending religious services increases absenteeism, which can lower workplace productivity, or cause more stress on the other employees. Employers may find it difficult to provide non-religious employees with equal benefits to religious employees when religious accommodations are considered for a specific individual, or group, of employees.
Individuals with disabilities are entitled to be included in the workforce. Treating people equally does not always mean treating them the same. In some situations, equal treatment for employees with disabilities may require different treatment. It is important to remember that disabilities do not fit into a single category. While we all have an idea as to what constitutes a disability, these preconceived ideas are often quite limited. Employers have an obligation to accommodate workers who have a disability. This accommodation must be provided in a manner that respects the dignity of the person. There are no prescribed formulas for accommodations as every case is unique and should be pursued based upon the individual medical and employment realities. The interests of a workplace are best served by retaining people with injuries Retaining them means knowing how to plan and implement workplace accommodations. By effectively accommodating its employees a workplace cultivates a competent, effective, diverse and healthy workplace environment that can benefit everyone in the workplace.
Sources: Benefits Canada
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Statistics Canada


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Military camouflage prints are so cool! I see combat style pants, shirts and jackets year after year and I am not bored, yet. Wore my Abercrombie and Fitch military pants, recently, rolled up with high heel sandals and they felt like new. However, this Yigal Azrouel, one shoulder military print dress has such an elegant, edgy style that it was a no brainer getting it on sale last season at the Rakas fashion bazaar. I wore it with my new trendy discovery. The vintage Prada plexiglass high heel sandals I had for years in my closet in the basement. (You can also see them here.) To add a luxurious and elegant casual tone I carried with me an extra large brown Bottega Veneta tote, a treasure I brought back from my trip to Las Vegas. Bellagio has the most amazing stores!! Can't wait to go back to the states this September.
Just had my hair done, my first twisted braid. Showed to Olympia, my hairdresser, the post Braids…Let's do the twist and she was inspired to do this one. You like?
Dress Yigal Azrouel you can find similar here
Sunglasses Round Pepe jeans
Handbag Bottega Veneta You can find here
Sandals Plexiglass Prada You van find similar here
Have a lovely Day!!!


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Addon:GEDCOM Extensions
This is a Third-party Addon.
Please use carefully on data that is backed up, and help make it better by reporting any comments or problems to the author, or issues to the bug tracker
Available for Gramps 4.x and higher.
This Addon has a collection of unofficial GEDCOM extensions which extend Gramps GedcomWriter to include common non-compliant GEDCOM additions.
If the feature you want is not listed below, then you can either add it yourself, or ask a developer to help you.
Export GEDCOM Extensions
The following GEDCOM Extensions are supported:
- Exports witnesses associated with a family event
- Include media
To run the exporter, select Family Trees > Export.., press Next, on the Choose the output format dialog select "GEDCOM Extensions (GED2)", press Next. On the Export options dialog select the relevant GEDCOM extension option:
- Include witnesses - (checked by default) Exports witnesses associated with a family event
- Include media - (checked by default)
Then press Next, and after selecting the save location and applying the export the data should be exported to a file with the extension ".ged2".
Afterwards, you can change the extension from ".ged2" to ".ged" and treat as a normal GEDCOM file.
There is no associated .ged2 importer in Gramps, so the export is one-way only (out of Gramps). It should be possible for someone to also write an associated GEDCOM importer to handle the extensions to bring them into Gramps as well.
Import GEDCOM Extensions
There are no import extensions currently supported.
See feature request:
- 10550 Refactor Gramps GEDCOM import so as to support GEDCOM extension addons
See also
The code is available from addons-source/blob/master/GedcomExtensions/GedcomExtensions.py.
- Current open Feature request for Gramps
- 6023 Export Family Historian GEDCOM Extensions
- 688 Support for Gedcom 5.5EL (or Gedcom-L the more recent standard)
- 9249 GEDCOM import improvements to support Ancestry.com, FTM 2012/2014 and FTM for MAC 3
- Family Tree Maker to GEDCOM to Other Apps Crosswalk, by Keith Riggle (This spreadsheet shows alot of the custom GEDCOM extension tags for a number of programs.)
- GEDCOM Extension List (FHUG Knowledge Base), GEDCOM custom tags used by Family Historian
- GEDCOM Files - Custom tags in Legacy Family Tree
- (German)Collection of GEDCOM extension tags used in different programs
Others projects
- GEDCOM (WeRelate.org) is a project for parsing objects ignored by a model. It includes classes and attributes for every GEDCOM tag sequence appearing in more than 4% of the 7000 GEDCOMs submitted to WeRelate.org over the past five years, with the exception of four software-specific schema tags: SCHEMA, _EVENT_DEFN, _PLAC_DEFN, and _EVDEF, generated by Family Tree Maker, Personal Ancestral File, Legacy, and RootsMagic respectively.
See the demo[1]. GEDCOM -> model -> json -> model -> GEDCOM round-trip shows the GEDCOM tags that are represented in the model as extensions, and tags that cannot be represented.


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Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez issued the following statement regarding today's announcement by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of a nearly completed agreement resolving the EPA's Clean Air Act claims, and nearly complete agreements concerning consumer injury claims.
"We are pleased to be moving forward on an agreement in principle to compensate consumers who purchased affected Volkswagen and Audi 3.0 liter vehicles and look forward to resolving the final details. The FTC, with its partners, secured $10 billion in compensation for the vast majority of consumers harmed by Volkswagen's deceptive advertising earlier this year, and today's agreement will provide redress for a smaller but no less important group of consumers who were not part of the original settlement."
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about consumer topics and file a consumer complaint online or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357). Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
Contact Information
Peter Kaplan,
Office of Public Affairs


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Atlanta (June 16, 2016) – A team from Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP represented QGenda, the leading provider of cloud-based automated physician scheduling solutions, in a recent deal. Global technology-focused private equity firm Francisco Partners made a substantial investment to support the next phase of QGenda's growth.
Partner Scott Allen led the MMM team, which included partner Anthony Boggs, and associates Zach Crowe and Nicholas Foreste. Click here for more information about the deal, which closed June 1.
About Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Morris, Manning & Martin (www.mmmlaw.com) is an AmLaw 200 law firm with national and international reach. We dedicate ourselves to the constant pursuit of our clients' success. To provide our clients with optimal value, we combine market-leading legal services with a total understanding of their needs to maximize effectiveness, efficiency and opportunity. MMM enjoys national prominence for its real estate, corporate, litigation, technology, healthcare, intellectual property, energy & infrastructure, capital markets, environmental, international trade, insurance, and timberland & forest products practices. MMM has offices in and around Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Savannah and Washington, D.C. The firm also has a business development office in Beijing, China and a strategic alliance office in São Paulo, Brazil.
Media Contact for MMM: Terri Thornton, (404) 932-4347, email@example.com


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IP 69: Petroleum products - Determination of vapour pressure - Reid method
- Method adopted/last revised: 2023
- Method reapproved: 2023
- Status: Current
- First printed in STM books: April 2001
This International Standard specifies a method for the determination of the vapour pressure of liquid petroleum products consisting of essentially or wholly of hydrocarbon components, or containing oxygenated hydrocarbons of specific types and at specified maximum concentrations. The method does not apply outside these concentration levels, nor to any blends containing methanol or other oxygenated hydrocarbons not covered in note 1.
NOTE 1 The maximum concentration of ethers containing 5 or more carbon atoms is 15 % (V/V), and for ethanol is 10 % (V/V). For higher alcohols, the maximum concentration is 7 % (V/V).
NOTE 2 For the purposes of this International Standard, the term "%(V/V)" is used to represent the volume
fraction of a material.
For petroleum products containing methanol, or other oxygenated hydrocarbons outside the scope of note 1, a dry vapour-pressure test method should be used. For liquefied petroleum gases, ISO 4256 should be used. The test method may be applied to volatile crude petroleum with a vapour pressure exceeding 10 kPa, although the precision has not been evaluated.
Four procedures are described in this International Standard. Procedures A and B are alternative apparatus configurations for products with a Reid vapour pressure up to 180 kPa, Procedure C is applied to liquid products with a Reid vapour pressure above 180 kPa, and Procedure D applies to aviation gasolines with a Reid vapour pressure of approximately 50 kPa.
Vapour pressure is an important physical property of volatile liquids, and has critical performance implications for automotive and aviation gasolines.
Vapour pressure is also one of the properties affecting atmospheric evaporation, and is therefore increasingly used in regulations relating to emissions and air quality control. Vapour pressure is also a critical property limiting the performance and safety of operation of equipment during transfer operations.
NOTE Because the external atmospheric pressure is counteracted by the atmospheric pressure initially in the vapour chamber, the Reid vapour pressure is approximately the "absolute" vapour pressure at 37,8 °C. The Reid vapour pressure differs from the true vapour pressure of the sample owing to slight vaporization of the sample and the pressure of water vapour and air in the confined space.
Members Benefits
Are you an EI Member? If yes, register/log in now to ensure you receive free access or discounts to EI publications.
If you are not a Member, why not join today and receive all of the benefits of EI Membership? EI Members are entitled to a 25% discount on most EI publications.


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Red Wing Area Fund's projects fall into two distinctive areas.
1) Projects initiated by the Red Wing Area Fund and
2) Support for other community projects (VIEW)
Projects of the Red Wing Area Fund:
Levee Park
Red Wing is blessed with a myriad of beautiful parks and the Levee Park ranks as one of the most beautiful. Nestled between the railroad tracks and the Mississippi River on the north end of downtown Red Wing, it is well traveled by visitors and home folks just to eat lunch, watch the eagles, view the boats and fishermen, and just relax with the flow of the river.
Total: $123,319


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- Age: 5+
- Time: 20
- (Setup: 5 min, Activity: 10 min, Cleanup: 5 min)
- Materials: $5
In this mission, you'll look at bubbles in a whole new light -- because for some materials, their properties actually depend on the environment around them. So get ready to perfect your bubble blowing technique and discover some surprises!Download PDF
what you need
What You Need
- ¼ cup dishwashing liquid – clear is best, any kind will work
- ½ cup corn syrup
- 1 cup water
- A blank piece of white paper
- Bubble wand or straw
- A plate
- Flashlight
- A darkened room
What To Do
What to Do
Prepare the bubble mix:
- Combine 1 cup of water and ½ cup of corn syrup.
- Stir thoroughly until the corn syrup is fully mixed in.
- Then add ¼ cup of dishwashing liquid to the mixture and stir. (Note: Corn syrup helps the bubbles last longer before popping, but you don't need it if you don't have any.)
Making bubbles
- Take your bubble mix, plate, and flashlight into a room that can be darkened (keep the lights on for now!).
- Pour enough bubble mix onto the plate to completely cover the bottom.
- Dip your bubble wand or straw into the bubble mix and try blowing a bubble onto the surface of the liquid on the plate. Try to get a stable bubble dome, a few inches wide, to sit on the plate. This can take some practice! (Note: If your bubbles keep popping, try adding more dishwashing liquid. As an alternative to a bubble wand, a chenille stem formed into a loop can also work.)
- Turn off the room light and shine the flashlight onto the bubble. What do you see?
- Now move your head or flashlight around the bubble. What changes do you notice?
- Hold the sheet of white paper a few inches behind the bubble and shine the flashlight through the bubble onto the paper. What do you see on the paper?
- Try moving the flashlight closer or further away from the bubble. What changes do you notice?
- Explore more! Try blowing more bubbles to explore different patterns of color. Try using a straw to blow a bubble inside another bubble without popping it. Try blowing the biggest bubble you can--a bigger dish can help. Or, try using different colored lights. What differences do you notice?
Pour the bubble mix into the sink and wash the dish with water. Wash your hands!
What's Happening?
What's Happening
The colors you see come from the interaction of light with the bubble. White light, like the light from your flashlight, contains a mix of all the different colors of the rainbow. The surface of the bubble is a very thin layer of liquid, up to a thousand times thinner than a piece of paper. When the different colors making up the white light encounter the thin bubble layer, the colors are reflected off the surface in different directions. The thickness of the bubble, the angle of the incoming light, and the angle from which you view the bubble can all change the colors that get reflected. Scientists call this type of color "structural color" because the color comes from the shape of the bubble and not from any chemical dyes in the bubble mixture.
So What?
Image credit: Brocken InaglorySo What?
All around us, we can see examples of structural color -- for example, in DVDs, rainbows, and even on some bugs! Unlike colors from dyes, like those used to color fabric for our clothes, structural color is unique in that it will never fade away if the structure stays intact. Structural color is just one example of a property that depends on how a material interacts with the environment. The structural color of a material can change just by a different angle of light. Try looking at the back of a DVD and notice how you see different colors arise when you move your head up and down. Currently, structural color is used on currency to prevent people from illegally printing money as these structures can be difficult to make but are easy to see to determine if the money is fake.
- Scientists In Action
For Teachers
For Teachers
Below are suggested alignment between this activity and concepts in the Next Generation Science Standards.
Performance Expectations
- 4-PS3-2: Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.
- MS-PS4-2: Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
PS3.A: Definitions of Energy
4th Grade
- Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents.
PS3.B: Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer
4th Grade
- Light also transfers energy from place to place.
PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
Middle School
- When light shines on an object, it is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the object, depending on the object's material and the frequency (color) of the light.
- The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except at surfaces between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) where the light path bends.
- A wave model of light is useful for explaining brightness, color, and the frequency-dependent bending of light at a surface between media.
Please click on the PDF below for a more detailed description of how this activity ties to NGSSDownload PDF


text: With the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to impact all facets of our lives, consumers are not only settling into staying-indoors to practice social isolation, but have also been adopting new media consumption and online purchasing habits. Powered by Choueiri Group's Data Team, our latest piece of research takes a closer look at the most definitive emerging trends, focused on the three most vital consumer age groups (Generations) across KSA. These insightful findings are aimed at enabling regional brands to gain a better understanding of their audiences during these challenging times.


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Sugarloaf tickets are not available on Liftopia at this time. Check out New England ski resort deals.
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Why is it that you see that little blue triangle sticker everywhere you turn in New England, and in so many other spots around the globe? What is it that makes people fall in love with Sugarloaf? For starters, Sugarloaf is the largest ski area east of the Rockies. It all started three years ago when Sugarloaf announced it's 10-year plan called Sugarloaf 2020. Since that time, the resort has added over 500 acres of new terrain -- most of it being gladed, tree-skiing in its silent and powder-filled wilderness called Brackett Basin. Throw in a speedy new chairlift, new family activities and new dining options, and 'The Loaf is a whole new mountain. But for many, it's the people. Sugarloafers might just be the friendliest bunch you'll ever come across, and they make every trip special. This winter, come on up and see for yourself. You'll find characters from all walks of life rubbing shoulders in the Village. With shopping, dining, entertainment and hundreds of lodging units located around the Village -- the Sugarloaf vibe is truly one-of-a-kind. Sugarloaf is a special place, and several Liftopia employees had season passes there for 4 years in college. Trust us, you should go!...Read more
Ski Area Status (Today)
Trails Open
65 / 170
Lifts Open
6 / 15
Acres Open
519 / 1360
Avg Base Depth
11 - 17"
24hr Snow Fall
Mon-Fri: 8:30a-3:50p
Sat/Sun: 8:30a-3:50p


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With over 2,300 valid votes the teens of South Dakota have spoken!
The winner in the Middle School category is Walking on Glass by Alma Fullerton
and the runner up is Ways to Live Forever by Sally Nicholls.
The winner in the High School category is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
and the runner up is Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles.
Since 1989, each year the Young Adult Reading Program (YARP) Teen Reads Committee of the South Dakota Library Association publishes a list of books to promote quality literature and to help South Dakota teachers and librarians in selecting and promoting books for adolescents. The books are selected from among the many young adult and adult books that have received positive reviews by national reviewing periodicals. To qualify to vote, teens read books from the list and give it a star rating of 1 to 4, 4 being best. The book receiving the most stars on each list receives the award. Teenagers may vote for as many books as they would like on a scale basis. One winner is selected from the Middle School List and another winner from the High School list.
For more information, please visit the YARP/SD Teen Reads website at http://library.sd.gov/LIB/YAS/yarp/index.aspx.


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The Young Adults Department is glad to have Dr. Monte Fleming as our speaker for 2019 Camp Meeting. As in year's past, the Young Adults will only be meeting on Sabbath, June 15.
Dr. Monte Fleming is an Adventist and also a geologist, received his PhD degree in geology from Loma Linda University in 2018. He is currently working on his post doctorate research at the University of Minnesota, and currently attending Southview Seventh day Adventist Church in Minnesota Conference. Dr. Fleming wants to have dialogue with Minnesota Conference young adults on the topic of creation from both theological and scientific perspectives. Do you have any questions on creation? Are you curious on Noah's flood and the fossils? Bring your questions! Please come and let's reason together!
10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: Sabbath School with Pr. Sean Lee
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: First Session and Q&A with Dr. Fleming
12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.: Lunch
3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Second Session with Dr. Fleming
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.: Q&A and Panel Discussion with Pr. Lee & Dr. Fleming
5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.: Dinner (food will be provided) and sundown worship with Pr. Lee


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Ten years have passed since the ZEMOS98 festival made its first appearance
at El Viso del Alcor. In January 2008 we went back there to celebrate with an
audiovisual birthday cake. Over that time, ZEMOS98 has worked to transmit
culture from Andalusia and generate an ongoing exchange of trends, theory
and critical culture between our community and the rest of the world. For this reason, ZEMOS98: blow out your birthday candles and make a wish: let's
keep believing in culture.
The leitmotiv for this occasion wasn't picked by chance. In Through the
Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll writes "it's a poor sort of memory that only works
backwards (...) I can remember things that happened the week after next. Time
flows in two directions... the trick is to remember forwards". And so the future is
an archive constructed in the past and consulted in the present, a work from the past that we overwrite and reinterpret. For its 10th year, ZEMOS98 goes Back to the past and forwards to the Future. And we pause for a moment in this flux to present an open, participative program generated between storms of enthusiasm, building timeless desires, with the collaboration of Mar Villaespesa.
And... what does it mean to go back to the future? Going back to the future
means remembering what we were doing ten years ago, in order to know what
we will do in ten years time. It means declassifying our memories and turning
them into a time machine. It means unveiling the myth, unmasking the rite and demystifying the medium. It means recording beyond tv again. It's a place and a time for collective intelligence and creativity. It means rewinding pollution.
Lying by telling the truth. Writing the sexuality of flies. It is the hunger/food of
the soul. It means love. It means knowledge. It means the beginning and the
end (of the world).
To go back to the future has been, is and will continue to be a trip through the
remixed memory of ZEMOS98.


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Lorraine J. Nemec nee Thompson, 97; beloved wife of the late Irvin; loving mother of Richard and Karen Nemec; cherished grandmother of Joseph Nemec, Corrina Demma, Hannah Nemec and great-grandmother of 4; dear sister of Gloria and Tom Thompson; fond aunt of many; Services Private. Interment Memory Gardens Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Gibbons Family Funeral Home. For info 773-777-3944 or www.GFFH.com
Lorraine J. Nemec
Tribute Video
Visitation Date-
Service Location
Memory Gardens Cemetery
2501 E Euclid Ave.
Arlington Heights, IL 60004


text: It's full on grillin' season and I am so here for it. I love to grill and smoke meats rain or shine, but it is definitely more preferable in the summer sun! These skewers are going to be a hit the next time you bust out the grill or smoker. Citrus Steak Skewers are soContinue reading "Citrus Steak Skewers"


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Why Study The Gift Pt 2 with John Milbank
From Simon Barnett
views comments
In the second of their 2 part discussion, Professor John MIlbank and Dr Simon Oliver continue to look at the notion of 'the Gift'. Picking up with the idea that a purified gift, given one way, is contrasted by the mutual giving of gifts between 2 or more parties. This reciprocal gift giving could lead to the question that if Christ is offering himself as a Gift via the Eucharist, how do the followers of Christ receive the same gift? The answer is via the 'body and blood of Christ'. So is the idea of gift giving ingrained in the church itself and how does that influence our thinking of the church itself?
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