text:
Giant Solar Farm Capacity Doubling Inside 12 Months, Breaking 12 GW
A new update from analyst firm Wiki-Solar has concluded that by the end of February utility-scale solar farms will have reached 12.2 GW of capacity across 488 installations, a figure almost double that of 12 months ago.
The report found that 6 GW of new utility-scale capacity has been connected worldwide in the last 12 months, with China alone installing nearly 2 GW since last February, pipping Germany as the country for solar power plants.
"The rate of growth is breath-taking", says industry expert Philip Wolfe. "These figures get out-of-date before they are even published. In the last quarter alone, over 70 utility-scale solar projects totalling 1.5GW were registered under the Clean Development Mechanism."
The report defined 'utility-scale' as any solar farm over the 10 MW barrier, gathering its data from Wiki-Solar's database of solar projects published on its website and shown on an interactive global map.
The news comes at the same time that First Solar announced that their Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One has achieved a peak generating capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) connected to the electrical grid.
"We expect the USA to overtake Germany this year, too," said Wolfe. "It has an impressive pipeline of large projects under construction and should go to the top of the table, if these are delivered on time."
The current line-up has United States in at third, following China and Germany. Filling out the top five are Spain with 64 sites and India, with 44, double the next best contender at number six.
Germany has been at the head of lists like this for several years now, and we reported just a few days ago that Germany was at the head of new wind energy installations for 2012. But with China's ability to flood the market with industrial products at the drop of a hat, coupled with an ever increasing population and need for electricity generation, it won't be long before we see China at the top of all of these lists.
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text:
Singing for ghosts in Svalbard
Pyramiden is an unlikely tourist destination — an abandoned Soviet mining town in a remote corner of the Svalbard archipelago. But visitors are being drawn here in increasing numbers by the eerie desolation and stunning glacial landscapes.
The 'governor' is a man of few words but many jobs. Sitting opposite me in his permanently oil-stained orange overalls, he looks past me out of a window in the Pyramiden Hotel at the empty buildings outside. He has the look of a concerned parent. Out there, on the decaying streets of Pyramiden, Petr Petrovich is caretaker, driver, gardener, janitor and, unofficially, governor. At the hotel (the only inhabitable building in town), he's the de facto manager. "Sometimes the tourists ask us to make it warmer in here," he says through my guide and translator, Sergey Chernikov, "and sometimes they ask about phone connection."
The lack of phone signal and internet only underlines the sense of it being a place that exists in a very different era. This former mining town on the Svalbard archipelago in the High Arctic has become a strange tourist draw at the very edge of humanity. Founded in 1910 by Sweden, it was bought by the USSR in 1927, although large-scale coal extraction didn't begin here until 1940, after which it continued until the settlement was abandoned in 1998. Today, this remote corner of Svalbard — now part of Norway — marks the starting point for a series of treks in summer and the end point for winter snowmobile trips. At all times of the year, it has an otherworldliness to it; a frozen Soviet time capsule that is, by turns, photogenic and ugly, eerie and endearing.
When the mine and settlement was shut down in 1998, the townspeople all lost their livelihoods and homes. Pyramiden lay empty for around a decade before the Russian government started to send people — including Ukrainians like Petr — back north, not to repopulate the settlement, nor to restart the mine, but to develop what's left of the town as a destination for a niche type of tourism.
The town's name comes from the 3,074ft mountain that looms over it like a sentinel. It looks almost man-made: eight concentric layers of rock, appearing like huge sculpture or, indeed, a pyramid. This remarkable piece of geology starts sunny days tinged a pale gold and finishes them blood orange. Many visitors who come to Pyramiden don't see these colour fluctuations, partly because the majority don't stay overnight, and partly because, at almost 79 degrees north, the sun doesn't breach the horizon at all for three months in winter. Conversely, for three months of summer it doesn't drop below it. However, the main reason most visitors don't get to see the pyramid peak in sunlight is quite simply because its often hidden from view by the volatile weather.
The temperature hovers around freezing most days during my summer stay but there's a cold sun constantly shining. "It can look amazing in the fog," says Sergey, "but I don't think we'll be getting that."
Instead, sunbeams pierce through cracked glass in the former canteen, illuminating skeletons of long-dead houseplants. It also shows there was no single cataclysm here — the remaining wall clocks have all stopped, but they did so at different times.
Once in a while, there are those who curse the good weather. Unsurprisingly, they aren't local. During my visit, a 16-strong film crew arrives to shoot a movie, Civil Twilight. A sci-fi thriller, it will lean on Pyramiden's desolation and inclement weather to tell its story. The idea came when the director, Darren Mann, visited to shoot a documentary a few years earlier; apparently, the isolation and a seeming guarantee of gloom he experienced were big factors in the development of the project. Glorious sunshine isn't in the film script, though, and for the first few days of the shoot, the crew finds itself wishing conditions were a little less kind.
"The location was really the spark for this whole project," says producer Grant Myers. "Looking around at how things are perfectly preserved — it really looks like people just stood up one day and walked away."
"Sergey carries a loaded, Soviet-era rifle. After a while, the novelty of seeing him load the bullets while smoking wears off"
Until he arrived by boat — passing the mighty Nordenskiöld Glacier at the top of Billefjorden — Myers had only seen photographs of Pyramiden. The reality of being here is quite different. "My first impression was 'what an unforgiving place'. It just feels dangerous, surrounded by things that could destroy you in seconds," he says. "I was so impressed with the absolute will of these people to create what they did here, in an environment that's so hostile."
The durability of the Soviet design has allowed the shells of the buildings to endure 20 wild Arctic winters without much maintenance, and experts say that if the climate remains reasonably stable, they may stand for another 500 years.
Sergey takes me on a tour of the settlement, slinging a rifle over his shoulder and lighting a cigarette as we head out into the cold, bright morning. At its peak in the mid-1980s, Pyramiden was home to over 1,000 people, around 100 of whom were children. There was a school and a cinema. There were plays and concerts. There was happiness. "They had a pure kind of communism up here," Sergey says. "Everyone had a job, everyone had a home. The wages were better up here, too."
Much still appears to be in reasonable order: huge mineshafts still run up the side of the town like blackened arteries; the chemical plant looks like it could withstand a direct missile hit. But inside, we find former dorms and kitchens in a sorry state. Sergey explains that when the mine closed in 1998 and everyone left, it wasn't long before the settlement started to attract uninvited guests — vandals, party people and, it's claimed, vengeful former workers (Sergey repeatedly insists the perpetrators weren't residents — why would those living here have scuttled their own homes, he asks, incredulously?).They arrived by snowmobile and boat and left behind an unholy mess. Filing cabinets were ransacked, bookshelves overturned, wires torn from walls, and windows smashed, ushering in icy gales that blew through the empty ruins.
A yomp up Yggdrasilkampen
Although the relationship between the Russian and Norwegian communities on Svalbard has remained amicable for almost 100 years, there's a lot of gossip — as is the case in most small communities around the world. When I visit Longyearbyen, the de facto capital of Svalbard, I'm told that Arktikugol, the mining company that operated Pyramiden, went to great lengths to keep its employees in the dark about the imminent closure of the mine; laying on a free two-week holiday in Moscow that was anything but the act of generosity it seemed. Once the workers were back on the mainland, the mine was closed, and no one was allowed to return, although Sergey insists this isn't true as we leave Pyramiden, rattling along in the governor's bus.
On the dashboard there's a flare gun and a box of shotgun cartridges; a detuned radio crackles insistently. The bus will take us to the end of the road, after which we'll be heading on foot to the top of the vowel-deprived Yggdrasilkampen, a large table mountain opposite the settlement. "They say that once you've been up there, you're truly a local," says Sergey, who's from Moscow but spends most of the year in Svalbard's second-largest community, Barentsburg, home to around 500 people, almost all Russian or Ukrainian.
As we march uphill over loose rock, past a semi-frozen lake, we approach a rickety wooden hut, loosely resembling a Scottish bothy. Sergey goes in first, whistling. "The problem with this place is that the door opens inwards," he says. "If a polar bear wants to come in while you're inside, there's no way to stop them."
Polar bears are a constant worry for the people of Pyramiden, where the rule of thumb is: no wandering without at least one gun. To that end, every time we go outside, Sergey brings a loaded, Soviet-era rifle with a wooden stock. After a while, the novelty of seeing him load the bullets while smoking wears off.
"I really love it," says Sergey.
"What?" I ask. "Being armed?"
"No," he says, cigarette flapping with each syllable. "Smoking."
Life up here exists within fine margins. In a place as cold and isolated as this, small problems can quickly become large; a problem as large as a polar bear can become colossal. But perhaps sensing the lifelessness of Pyramiden, the bears tend not to visit town much these days, although out here nothing is certain. In spring, when icebergs calving from the glacier make optimal platforms for hunting seals, they're spotted more frequently, but for the rest of the year bears are only seen about once a month.
Of bigger concern are the Arctic foxes — not the tame family that's taken up residence under the Pyramiden Hotel but wilder members of the species — 10 of which were found to have rabies in 2017; some reindeer tested positive, too. But for Sergey and I, the animals aren't an issue right now. Unlike our footing. After the hut, the trek rises sharply and even though our goal is only around 1,600ft above sea level, it's exhausting. Every step over the scree requires planning and a dexterity of foot that doesn't come naturally to me. Compounding our problems is a fine dusting of snow that makes spotting loose stones almost impossible.
After almost two hours of scrabbling, we emerge onto the plateau and, of course, the effort immediately feels worth it. There are grand views in every direction, and in this frigid sunshine, it's possible to see more than 100 miles. The baby blues of the glacier glow above the fjord, while in the distance, peaks named after Norse gods stand implacable against the azure sky. Aside from the biting wind, I hadn't been sure what to expect before coming up here, but I certainly hadn't envisaged the landscape being so endlessly beautiful.
For its part, Pyramiden looks strange: a settlement wedged into a valley floor, with those huge mineshafts running up towards its eponymous peak. The Swedes were the first to mine here, but the Soviets — and, in particular, Ukrainians — were the ones who perfected the subterranean art. The coal here has been carbon dated to almost 350 million years old, making it some of the most ancient anywhere on the planet; considerably older than that dug from the mines in Barentsburg and Longyearbyen.
Bright lights, big city
It can often feel as though mining is the only thing that Pyramiden has in common with Svalbard's largest settlement, Longyearbyen. These days there aren't enough people in the Russian outpost for there to be any kind of rivalry, and there's an acceptance that in order to get on and off of Svalbard — and, so, in and out of Pyramiden — you must travel through Longyearbyen.
"Life here exists within fine margins and small problems can quickly become large; a problem as large as a polar bear can become colossal"
Growing year on year, the Norwegian town is at once part of the mainland and something other. For one thing, Svalbard has far more flexible immigration rules — you don't need a visa to live there, only the means to support yourself, or a solid job offer. This has gathered a remarkably diverse community at the top of the world: there's an American growing herbs in a biodome; a Brazilian making nature documentaries; a thriving Thai community, who until recently had their own restaurant. That building has since been bought by Steve Torgensen, who's transformed it into Stationen, a trendy gastropub that's the latest addition to his growing culinary empire. Next to his new place, he has Karlsberger Pub — perhaps the most popular bar in town — while at the far end of Longyearbyen, he also runs Gruvelageret, a fine-dining restaurant themed around Svalbard's mining heritage. Such is the quality of this and other restaurants in Longyearbyen today that people are tentatively starting to wonder if the Michelin Guide may even come calling.
Throughout the summer months, Torgensen's establishments and others around town are packed with cruise ship passengers, but despite the endless dark, winter is perhaps the busiest season, when tourists come in their droves to glimpse the Northern Lights or take snowmobile safaris across the tundra. If all of this feels remote, then Pyramiden is even more far-flung — the outpost's outpost, only accessible in summer by boat.
The thriving commerce in Svalbard's cosmopolitan capital would've been quite at odds with the communist ethos that built Pyramiden. Perhaps its silencing in 1998 could be seen as the final vibrations of the Soviet Union, its death throes more protracted here at its Arctic extremity.
On our final morning, Sergey and I decide to take one last walk in Pyramiden, this time out to the shrinking Bertil Glacier. On the way, we make a quick stop at the Cultural Centre, which must have been a lively, noisy place in its heyday. It's now being partially restored for the benefit of visitors (there are no plans to repopulate the town). It's hoped concerts can be held here, and films shown, providing the old projectors can be revived.
Elsewhere in the building there's a dilapidated gym hall and a battered weights room. Upstairs, in a music room, we find a drum kit with the skins kicked out, cymbals, a grand piano. What sounds there must have been. "Is this the famous 'northernmost piano in the world'?" I ask Sergey, pressing a detuned key. "Yes, this is the one," he replies, before correcting himself. "Actually, there's another one downstairs that's been moved. Maybe that's the one now."
We head back out, past what was the world's northernmost swimming pool, being careful not to tread on its northernmost lawn. Before coming here I'd expected Pyramiden to feel lonely and intimidating, but instead it's been beautiful, fun even.
Clearly, there's been no shortage of fun in Pyramiden. On the way out of town, we pass the 'bottle house', a strange structure that was built almost entirely from empty beer bottles in 1983. This bizarre, psychedelic hut is now used occasionally for picnics. We push on for another hour or so, along the treeless valley towards the edge of Bertil; the peak of Mount Pyramiden still soaking up rays above us.
I'm glad of the chance to feel the warmth of the Pyramiden Hotel for one last time before leaving. Glad too that Dina Balkarova is on hand to serve me a bowl of hearty soup as we shrug off Bertil's lingering chill. The 26-year-old was drafted up here from Barentsburg to help with the Civil Twilight shoot, but when she's not pouring drinks and serving meals, she finds time to explore the town. This is partly out of curiosity, but also because she likes to sample the acoustics, she explains. "My real profession isn't a bartender," she says with a nervous laugh. "I love to sing opera." Dina tells me she'd recently spent time down at the harbour's oil tanks, testing her powerful voice's interaction with the old metal.
When I finally leave Pyramiden, my boat passes those same rusty containers. Of all the strange things in this strange town, the one that sticks with me longest is one I hadn't even witnessed — it's the echoing voice of Dina, the lone soprano, singing for ghosts at the top of the world.
Getting there
Norwegian and SAS both fly from the UK to Longyearbyen via Oslo.
Average flight time: 6h.
From Longyearbyen, Arctic Explorer runs regular cruises to Pyramiden, either for day trips or overnight stays.
When to go
To take advantage of the excellent hikes around Pyramiden, and to increase the chance of seeing a polar bear, visit between April and the end of September. Winter is the best time for a snowmobile safari and the chance to see the Northern Lights.
Further information
How to do it
Grumant Arctic Travel Company, based in Barentsburg, offers everything from day trips, to multi-day adventures in and around Pyramiden with a choice of accommodation including the Pyramiden Hotel, where a Soviet-style room costs from £73 per person, per night. A guided trek to the top of Yggdrasilkampen costs from £44 per person. Alternatively a two-day snowmobile tour in winter starts from £254.
In Longyearbyen, stay at the newly-renovated Funken Lodge, where doubles cost from £150 per night.
Published in the March 2019 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
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|You are in: Asia-Pacific
Monday, 31 December, 2001, 10:56 GMT
Vietnam's dog meat tradition
By Clare Arthurs in Hanoi
As people in South Korea debate the merits of eating dog meat ahead of the football World Cup, dog restaurants in Vietnam are doing well.
Dog is a popular dish in the country, where it is eaten for its protein and also for good luck.
At a busy restaurant in Hanoi, a woman weighs and chops up small puppies for her customers.
There are about seven dishes featuring dog meat, and they often include the head, feet and internal organs.
Dog meat has a strong smell and taste. It is heavily spiced and usually served with alcohol.
Puppy farms
Diners are mostly men - they believe it will make them more virile. But eating dog is reserved for the second half of the lunar month. Dog meat sellers do good business then, with many customers who believe they will dispel their misfortunes by eating the meat.
It is common to see them in the streets of the capital, crammed into wire cages or cooked and skinned on the backs of motorbikes. They are killed with a blow, boiled to remove the fur and roasted.
People who keep dogs as pets are very cautious of their safety, and if a dog is seen on the street, it is usually an exotic breed being watched by one of the family.
Many people are comfortable with the idea of loving their pet and following what they see as the natural order of eating chicken, pork or dog meat.
While eating dog is permitted, eating cats has been made illegal in an effort to reduce the number of rats and mice.
Cats are usually kept tied up or in cages, partly so that their miaows frighten the rodents and partly, as many believe, to protect them from being stolen for illicit cat restaurants.
See also:
12 Nov 01 | Asia-Pacific
06 Nov 01 | Asia-Pacific
02 Jan 01 | Asia-Pacific
29 Sep 99 | Asia-Pacific
17 Aug 99 | Asia-Pacific
11 Mar 99 | In Depth
05 Aug 98 | Asia-Pacific
Internet links:
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text:
|MH-227 Neotropic - White Rabbits
After a string of successful releases for Ninja Tune's Ntone imprint, Neotropic makes her Mush debut with her finest work to date: White Rabbits. Utilizing collaborative live performances from a number of talented guest musicians on a bed of sparse programming, Neotropic has crafted a release that is a continuation of her migration toward warm, minimal, acoustically grounded compositions. Her blend of environmental audio and rhythms document many moods and transitions. Piano lines and strings drift above fragile drum loops, an unassuming guitar strum slowly develops into a moving body of instruments, and sporadic vocals muse on the difficulty of finding and maintaining love.
|Reviews Summary
|A shimmering, intoxicating record - Metro.Pop /
|One of the original cabal of electronic musicians to grace England's Ninja Tune label, Neotropic braintrust Riz Maslen was never as bombastic as Ninja's mostly boys-club roster; her music was introspective and ambitiously adventurous, but no less provocative. While many electronic musicians have simply disappeared, Maslen returns to up the ante here, incorporating live musicians with her dense computer mixes, their personality-filled performances streaming through an atmospheric tapestry of exotic themes and disturbing effects. "New Cross" recalls guitarist Bill Frisell; "Joe Luke" is pure ambient horror-show; "If We Were Trees" samples mad children laughing as Maslen grumbles, "You're doing my head in." Experimental yet melodically grounded, White Rabbits is frazzled and creaky - quirky music that sounds at one moment like a building on the verge of collapse and at another like the most beautiful sounds of the spheres. - Orlando Weekly


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|Ian G3WVG with his purpose-made operating desk for the 6m station (MW5A/p) during the 2015 Field Day.
|The traditional Field Day "hired Ford Transit van" gets a tow to help it up to the GW0AAA/p and MW5A/p site.
|G3TXF/m helps the GW0AAA/p Transit up the hill in Monmouthshire, just in Wales : SOTA GW/SW-020.
|Steve GW4BLE operated the MW5A/p 6m station (TS590s and KPA 500 amp) from the Transit front cab.
|Nigel G3TXF with the TS590s which was used by MW5A/p on 6m.
|Four element 6m beam (with rotator) on a short mast at MW5A/p.
|Ian G3WVG and Steve GW4BLE with the 20m Moxon antenna.
|GW0AAA/p power-house : one Honda Eu20i generator (for 6m) and two Eu10i's (one for NFD, one back-up)
|The GW0AAA/p site showing the 6m beam, the Transit van (used for operating) and G3TXF/m (for snoozing).
|Ian G3WVG and Nigel G3TXF with the 20m Moxon on a short pole.
|Steve GW4BLE rummages for bits in the van during station set-up.
|Not much time for crosswords with just three ops and two contests to do!
|Ian G3WVG and Steve GW4BLE packing up the van after the contests.
|Steve GW4BLE operates MW5A/p on 6m from the Transit's front cab.
|"Is a Moxon supposed to look like this?" wonders Steve GW4BLE
|The Mark II version (repaired following the mast toppling over!) of Ian G3WVG's Moxon antenna for 20m.
|Hilary G4JKS and Don G3BJ visit the GW0AAA/p site during Field Day (NFD) and the UKSMG 6m Contest.
|The GW0AAA/p Transit van not only carries all the equipment but is also used for two operating positions.
|G3WVG's K3 was used for the GW0AAA/p single-band Field-Day operation on 20m.
|Sheep nibble at the coax feeding the 20m vertical antenna.
|G3TXF inspects the 20m Moxon antenna soon after it hit the ground.
|The second 20m antenna was a vertical with three elevated radials.
|Ian G3WVG setting up the 6m station (TS590s with a KPA-500 amp) in the cab of the Ford Transit.
|Setting off back home with the hired Ford Transit, following another enjoyable 3As Field Day operation..
Thanks to Steve GW4BLE for some of these Field Day photos!


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Late Game Winner For wolFPack
Springfield NJ – The 9U wolFPack boys soccer team lived up to their name Sunday as they opened up their season with a thrilling 4-3 victory against rival Springfield.
Netminder Matt Toto was asked to play between the woodwork for the entire match and stood tall for the full 50 minutes. Blocking shots any way he could and even was laying out in full stretch keeping the ball from crossing the line. Toto showed his true athletic ability and was a true teammate in every sense of the word as he did not complain and didn't mind staying in goal for the boys.
The Springfield team had a very talented player who actually got on the scoreboard first in the 5th minute of the game giving the home side an early 1 – nil lead. Mark Perillo, who often stars as keeper, played a key role on the defensive side of the game in helping to slow down the Springfield Attack. Perillo had a busy day on the field as well as Ryan "Medichio" Medich who would clean up anything and everything that came their way. The hard work on defense was a shared responsibility where Dylan Sugg, Johnny Keogh and Nick Cicarelli all stepped up and help shut down a team that was coming off a 10 goal game the week prior.
Once wolFPack got settled into the match, midfielder/forward Daniel Rafael was able to get the ball over to Peter Garing who notched his first goal of the day bringing the score level at one's. Garing was not done at one, 5 minutes later he was collecting his second goal of the contest. Not too much later we saw Danny Ewing laying off a nice ball to Garing who completed his hat-trick for the day giving the away side a 3 – 1 lead going into half.
Springfield saw some light as they were able to get back 2 goals early in the second half drawing the game at 3 each.
That is when one of the greatest plays in wolFPack history happened.
Sugg was able to win a ball on the defensive side and dished it over to Keogh. Keogh was able to turn and face forward and dished it off to Garing on the left side of the pitch. Garing dribbled the ball down the line beating 2 midfielders, cut in towards goal where 2 defenders were closing him down as well as the goalkeeper coming off his line to cut the angle of the shot. What Springfield didn't see was both Rafael and Ewing making beautiful far post runs to which Garing crossed the ball over. Ewing was right on path and slammed in the GAME WINNER.
Combined with a strong defensive game and the hard work in midfield by Garing, Ewing, Rafael and Dylan Brown, wolFPack played a complete game
"I couldn't have been happier with the result" Coach Garing stated after the match. "Our defense was asked a lot of questions during the game and they always seemed to have an answer"
When pressed more about the game winning goal, "Kids are at practice 30 minutes early most of the time practicing these things. It just tells me that extra efforts pay off"


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Being accident-prone has two sad consequences in the long run: Your body will be in a more and more sorry state, and the people around you will care less and less.
So here's a new entry into our cliché-a-thon. It's another absolutely mandatory one: when the protagonists are fleeing, one person has to stumble and fall down. Admittedly, it would have been more common to see a female protagonist stumble, but Mopey just got back up to form, so I didn't want to have her lying flat on her back again after just two strips. And Snuka is already bandaged, so that's more efficient, anyway.
And it's true, when you are accident-prone, people are going to feel less and less sorry for you, the more they get used to your regular mishaps. It's unfair, but that's just the way the human mind works. And it obviously works for fictional characters, as well – I already feel beginning to enjoy doing these things to Snuka/Lee.
At least I didn't have him swept from the floor into Biff's strong arms, and carried to safety – which is what stereotype would demand to have happen to a female stumbler. Stumbleress. Whatever.
(There were times when I put the above-average incidence of female characters stumbling in movies down to the ridiculously impractical footwear they were stuck with, but even the return of a semblance of sanity to female shoe fashion didn't really help their stumbling habit. So I guess it's chauvinism, after all.)
But will Snuka be able to escape the RAPIDLY collapsing caves despite this delay? Will ANYONE escape? Will I EVER stop to overuse capitalization? Find out on Thursday, when we introduce the final character from our cast page that didn't yet appear in the strip.
If Snuka's tragic fate moved you heart, please vote for me. If it didn't, you have a heart of stone, sir, I must say.


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Death is not a topic that many of us want to think about or discuss. Nonetheless, most people can agree that planning for what happens after a loved one passes away can minimize the burden on grieving family members. Making preneed decisions about funeral arrangements also provides the entire family with peace of mind that their loved one's wishes will be honored.
While the emotional benefits are clear, few people understand that preplanning final arrangements also makes good financial sense. Accounting for future funeral expenses is part of a sound financial plan for seniors. There are a few key ways in which funeral preplanning can impact a family's bottom line.
Avoid Overspending
In cases where a person has left vague or no instructions for their funeral or interment, family members must try to guess at what a late loved one would have wanted. In these scenarios, strong emotions tied to grief can cause families to spend far more than they should on a memorial. Discussions about the end of life and advance planning can help minimize or even eliminate overspending. Preplanning allows a person to set a budget and communicate exactly which merchandise and services they want (and do not want) included in their funeral.
Browse Our Free Senior Care Guides
Find the Quality and Value They Want
Most people shop around to find the right automobile, electronic gadget or vacation package that delivers the quality and features they want at the most reasonable price. The same research and careful selection should also apply when it comes to choosing a funeral provider. Investigating different funeral homes and comparing available options to find the right one is an important part of planning a funeral. Comparison shopping now can help your loved one feel certain that they're receiving the quality and value they deserve.
Lock in Today's Prices
In addition to preplanning, many funeral homes also allow consumers to prepay their funerals. This option locks in current prices for products and services, which is a savvy financial move, since inflation is likely to cause the prices of these items to increase. Preneed plans can be paid for in installments or a lump sum and the funds are typically used to purchase an insurance policy or put into a trust. The funeral home is listed as the beneficiary and receives the funds upon the person's death. It is important to work with a funeral professional to understand the laws that regulate and protect preneed funds in your state. Your loved one should feel confident that their money is secure and in the hands of a reliable provider.
Take Advantage of Additional Benefits
Some individuals may be eligible for additional funeral benefits if they are military veterans. By planning in advance, families can learn about these benefits early on and factor them into their plans logistically and financially. Furthermore, they will have gathered all the information they need to receive these benefits at the time of need. A local Dignity Memorial funeral provider can provide information regarding additional benefits and eligibility guidelines.
Making final arrangements in advance is important for everyone, regardless of age or financial status. In addition to saving family from difficult decisions at an already trying time, preplanning a funeral also makes good financial sense. Even if you choose not to fund your arrangements in advance, deciding what kind of memorial you want will help you make other financial plans and give your loved ones valuable guidance.


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The original and best Mountain Film Festival
Photo credit: Hael Somma, Chamonix, photo by Antoine Mesnage.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival is the most prestigious international film competition and an annual presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and environment. It was launched in 1976 as The Banff Festival of Mountain Films by The Banff Centre and is held every October in Banff, Canada.
Approximately 375 films are entered into the film festival annually, and the top 80 films are selected by a pre-screening committee to be shown at the week-long festival in Canada. During the festival, the international film festival jury chooses the best films and presents awards in various categories including: Best Film on Mountain Sport, Best Film on Mountain Environment, Best Film on Mountain Culture, Best Film on Exploration and Adventure and more.
From this selection a program of over 2 hours of thought-provoking films, with subject matter ranging from remote landscapes and cultures to adrenaline-packed action sports are selected to tour Australia each April, May and June. In Australia the same 2+ hours of films are shown at each screening.
To be kept up to date on screenings near you join our MAILING LIST
Stay up to date
1. Stay up to date with screening dates
2. Receive a FREE Snow Trip Packing List
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4. Receive a FREE Overnight Bike Packing List


text:
It was one of those days when the alarm
didn't go off, and we woke anyway
to a world covered in snow, and
by noon the sky was blue. And I drove
right through the construction zone
without being stopped by a flagger.
The tomato for breakfast was ripe
and sharp and sweet. And the tea
was strong and black. The radio
played only songs I wanted to sing.
My car started. I had no flat tires.
I never felt sick. Never fell. More blessings,
it turns out, than a woman can count, though
I try to count them all. And the more
I remember—a good friend called, all
ten fingers are intact, my eyes still
see across the room—yes,
the more blessings I consider, the more
my joy grows until I am dumbfounded,
gobsmacked by gratitude that's exactly
the size of the known universe, amazed by
how perfectly it fits—as if I were made for this—
right inside my skin.


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Assassin's Creed® Origins - Season Pass
This content requires a game (sold separately).
Play extra hours of new adventures, increase your level cap, and upgrade your Assassin with the Assassin's Creed Origins Season Pass. Access to 2 major expansions in 2018: - The Hidden Ones: Continue your adventure with Bayek as he leads the Hidden Ones, years after the events of Assassin's Creed Origins in a whole new region. - The Curse of the Pharaohs: Explore a mystical world where you battle beasts from Egyptian mythology. Fight against undead pharaohs and mummies in a supernatural realm. Unlock 2 exclusive customization packs: - Roman Centurion Pack: Donning the lion pelt of Rome's fiercest soldiers, complete your exclusive gear set with 2 weapons, 1 shield, and 1 mount. - Horus Pack: Horus, the Egyptian God of the Sky, shows favor to your Assassin with this exclusive outfit. It includes 1 mount, 2 bows, and 1 shield. Also included in the Season Pass: A Day 1 exclusive weapon and a Base Helix Credit Pack (500)
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Playable on
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X|S


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Fewer American adults are smoking cigarettes and those who still smoke have cut back, but the rate of decline has begun to slow, U.S. health experts said Tuesday.
Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke are the leading cause of preventable deaths and diseases in the United States, killing an estimated 443,000 Americans each year.
The report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 19.3 percent of American adults over age 18 — roughly 45 million people — smoked in 2010, down from 20.9 percent in 2005.
"That represents 3 million fewer smokers in 2010 than there would have been five years ago," CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden told reporters.
According to the CDC, 21.8 percent of smokers had fewer than 10 cigarettes a day in 2010, compared with 16.4 percent in 2005.
Only 8.3 percent of smokers were considered heavy smokers in 2010 — smoking more than 30 cigarettes a day — compared with 12.7 percent in 2005.
"People who smoke are smoking less, but we can do much better," Frieden said.
Smoking rates in the United States have fallen sharply following the first warnings in the mid-1960s that cigarette smoking could cause lung and other cancers and a host of other health problems such as heart disease and stroke.
And while smoking rates are still falling, CDC officials said, the pace of decline from 2005 through 2010 is slower than in the previous five-year period.
More than 221,000 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2011, according to the American Cancer Society. The World Health Organization predicts tobacco will kill nearly 6 million people this year, including 600,000 non-smokers.
Fewer American adults are smoking cigarettes and those who still smoke have cut back, but the rate of decline has begun to slow, U.S. health experts said Tuesday.


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Matt. 18:19 says, "Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven". Christians are the people who should be holding a holy parliament. Every family should be a righteous parliament where the programme of God is superimposed on evil decrees.
The most important place in the family is the family altar. Prayer should be the most important activity in the home. That is where the heavens are opened. You can imagine what the power of a family altar can deliver; the force of agreement between husband and wife is so strong, that is the reason why the devil tries to sow tares between them knowing full well that whatever they decree in unity will surely be established. The force of agreement must be comprehensive between husband and wife. Get rid of anything that is crooked; if there is any iniquity remove it because any trace of iniquity or an Agag in the heart of any of you, will hinder your prayers from flying.
- Lord, I am sorry, in any way that I have not represented you well, in any way that I have harboured iniquity in my heart, please forgive me, cleanse me, purge me, purify my soul and make me holy and acceptable unto you, in Jesus name.
- In the mighty name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I overcome you power of evil manipulation in all areas of my life in the name of Jesus.
- I break the curse of impossibility placed against me or placed against my family or placed against my business or ministry in the mighty name of Jesus.
- Let every evil power controlling my destiny or working against me or my family be forever neutralized in the name of Jesus Christ.
- Let every plan of the enemy to divert me from the path of blessings be utterly destroyed in the mighty name of Jesus.
- I use the power in the mighty name of Jesus Christ to revoke and reverse every unscriptural prayer against me or against my family, or business, be revoked and reversed in the name of Jesus.
- Let the power of the blood of Jesus Christ of Nazareth block every access to any evil power in my life, in my family, in my finances, in the destiny of my children and in Holy Ghost Fellowship International. I use the power of the blood of Jesus to paralyze their access in Jesus name.


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Displaying items by tag: noisy miners
Saturday, 31 January 2015 23:01
A Threatening Species: The Noisy Miner
Residents of Sydney's suburbs cannot help but notice the abundance of the native honeyeater, the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) in their gardens and their aggressive defence of their territory against other birds of all sizes and almost anything else (eg bats, cats, koalas and cows). One wonders if they can cause damage to the ecological balance of areas where they dominate.
Published in STEP Matters 179
Wednesday, 01 April 2015 00:01
The Noisy Miner: A Friend not a Pest?
STEP member Ralph Pridmore describes his personal experiences with his local feathered friends.
Published in STEP Matters 180


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The ELIXIR AAI training helps new services to integrate to ELIXIR AAI, the ELIXIR Compute Platform service portfolio for authenticating researchers and helping the relying services to decide what they have permission to do in the service. The target group of the training are developers and administrators of services that want to integrate to ELIXIR AAI for user authentication and authorisation. The training has hands-on sessions for the participants to integrate their own service (or, a test service provided by the trainers) to ELIXIR AAI.
The event is sponsored by EXCELERATE project and co-located with a CORBEL AAI training.
Register to the event using your ELIXIR ID (if you don't have one you can get it here).
- Michal Prochazka (ELIXIR-CZ)
- Mikael Linden (ELIXIR-FI)
- Sami Silen (ELIXIR-FI)
- Dominik Frantisek Bucik (ELIXIR-CZ)
See also: Compute Platform, EXCELERATE


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from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Opposition to
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word anticommunism.
Huey Long once said that if fascism ever came to the United States, it would come in the name of anticommunism.
Dave Robicheaux Ebook Boxed Set James Lee Burke 2002
Huey Long once said that if fascism ever came to the United States, it would come in the name of anticommunism.
Dave Robicheaux Ebook Boxed Set James Lee Burke 2002
Indeed, other than a primitive anticommunism which is but the obverse sign of a verbally truculent hometown jingoism, he has no foreign policy.
Know Thy President Hoffman, Nicholas von 1981
So did anticommunism in the Cold War era, and so does support for the Iraq and Afghan wars today.
American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010
Finally, religion has often provided motivation and mobilization for conservative political movements, such as prohibition, anticommunism, and, as we discuss in more detail in Chapter 11, the contemporary Religious Right.
American Grace Robert D. Putnam 2010
Regarding the execrable pact between Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia, which shocked many former communist sympathizers into lives of anticommunism, Mr. Hobsbawm dismisses the "zig-zags and turns of Comintern and Soviet policy," specifically the "about-turn of 1939-41," which "need not detain us here."
How a True Believer Keeps the Faith Michael Moynihan 2011
Had they done so, they would have unknowingly dealt anticommunism a frightful blow.
The Zealot 2009
But the real problem with Mr. Deaver's Bond is that he's so devoid of personality, unmotivated by a consuming ideological passion like Fleming's anticommunism, so frequently contrasted with John le Carré's supposedly more sophisticated Cold War moral equivalence and unburdened by emotional complexity.
You Only Live About 23 Times Michael C. Moynihan 2011
The populism as anticommunism, the nationalism and the empowerment of the central government which Roosevelt employed ran amok in Germany.
Matthew Yglesias » Culture and Size and Scope of Government 2010
He was noted for his conservative Republicanism, his fervent anticommunism, and his appealing personal style, characterized by a jaunty affability and folksy charm.


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Dial has been restored to original Finnish by Danafi and looks very nice.
Case in good condition for age and has never been polished.
Case back in very good condition with no major scratches and clear serial number.
Movement in very good condition.
Eterna buckle comes with the watch.
Watch is preforming well.
I like the look and the feel of the hidden crown. Very funky early 60's design.
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What better way to get to know The Pink Collective than to hang out with us. Pink Forward is our way of getting to know and relate to our community. Don't take our words for it see for yourself, Join us for our next Pink Forward gatherings!
Want to be a part of PINK FOWARD? If you are interested in doing an event with us don't hesitate to contact us! 954.241.1400 or email@example.com


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Michael Markarian: Animals & Politics
Obstructionist Lawmakers Harm Animals and the Economy
Posted: 17 Jul 2009 03:09 PM PDT
The U.S. House of Representatives this morning passed H.R. 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs Act, by a vote of 239-185. This legislation championed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) seeks to put a stop to the commercial slaughter of wild horses, and to encourage more humane and fiscally responsible management of mustangs on the range through fertility control and adoption. It would save millions of tax dollars each year, and would create a better framework than the current system, which relies on costly round-ups and the keeping of captive horses in federal holding pens where they essentially live on the government dole.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Restoring
Our American Mustangs Act today by a vote of 239-185.
But the debate on the House floor this morning underscored that there is a small cabal of out-of-touch lawmakers who take every opportunity to belittle and bemoan animal welfare issues, no matter how moderate and sensible. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is the worst offender, and he spoke against the bill today along with Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), who said she's a big animal lover but has a record that reflects quite the opposite stance. Boehner and King are the House's worst two members on animal welfare and they routinely defend the nation's worst forms of animal abuse, including horse slaughter and animal fighting. Boehner today called the wild horse protection bill "an insult" to the American people, and said we should spend our time on national priorities other than mustangs.
It was déjà vu from this February when the House approved a public safety and animal welfare bill by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) to ban the trade in primates as pets, after a pet chimpanzee viciously attacked a Connecticut woman and left her severely disfigured. Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah) mocked that bill on the House floor, and said the work of Congress is too important to spend time on "monkey bites." Tell that to Charla Nash, whose face and hands were bitten off. We provided similar warnings on keeping large constricting snakes, and now sure enough, there was a two-year-old girl killed in her home two weeks ago after a pet Burmese python escaped from its enclosure. You can be sure Boehner and King will oppose legislation introduced by Representative Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) to crack down on the trade in pythons as exotic pets, no matter the human toll.
A similar scene is now playing out on the opposite coast in California, where California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is using YouTube and Twitter to mock an animal cruelty bill. S.B. 135, introduced by Senate Majority Leader and Food & Agriculture Committee Chairman Dean Florez (D-Shafter), would ban the tail docking of dairy cows. The policy of stopping this painful and unnecessary mutilation is backed by animal welfare groups, veterinarians, and even the California Farm Bureau, and it passed the Senate by an overwhelming margin. But Schwarzenegger dismisses the discussion of "cow's tails" while there's a budget crisis in the state.
We all know there's a budget crisis, and government priorities like creating jobs and fixing the economy. But legislators should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. While they sort out the big subjects, and allow themselves to get locked into partisan battles day after day instead of solving these big problems, they can't ignore the quotidian responsibilities of lawmaking. Animal welfare is just one of the many issues that is important to mainstream Americans, and our elected officials can spend just a little bit of time moving the ball forward for these creatures, as they can do for other important but lower-profile issues. It's not an either-or proposition between animals and jobs, and they can't just expect to pass one bill each week and spend the rest of the time tanning or playing the back nine.
If they were truly concerned about the economy, self-described fiscal conservatives like Boehner, Bishop, and King should have been the first to line up today in support of the mustang legislation. The current program is a fiscal disaster, with the Bureau of Land Management stuck on a treadmill spending millions of tax dollars essentially running captive horse shelters. The Rahall bill maps out a better pathway, and will save American taxpayers at least $6 million each year just by keeping the population numbers in check through fertility control on the range, as an alternative to costly round-ups and long-term horse care.
Saving horses and saving tax dollars shouldn't be a partisan issue. Thirty-three Republicans voted in favor of the bill today, including many fiscal conservatives like Representatives Dan Burton (R-Ind.), John Campbell (R-Calif.), and Thad McCotter (R-Mich.), and we thank them for their support of a more humane and more fiscally responsible policy. Other Republicans, like Representatives Whitfield and Elton Gallegly (R-Calif), are stalwart animal advocates. But the obstinate ones just don't see the big picture, and they will gladly stand in the way of any modest animal welfare reform—even if it means they must continue fleecing the American taxpayers to do it and allowing cruelty to occur without intervention.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Obstructionist Lawmakers Harm Animals and the Economy
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1987: Abduction of Jason Andrews
On A hot, sticky July afternoon in 1987 Jason Andrews is celebrating his fourth birthday at his family's cottage near Slade, Green in Kent when the heavens open. As the thunder crashes all around, there is a single flash of lightning. Suddenly; a stream of numbers starts pouring out of Jason's mouth: fantastic numbers, complex mathematical equations, even algebra - all from a boy who struggles to count to ten.
Seconds later the windows and doors begin to shake violently and the four-year-old announces to his mother, father and elder brother: 'They're waiting for me. I have to go.'
Jason's father; Paul, grabs his son and stops him from walking out into the downpour, but the boy struggles violently, and as he does so the house shakes to its very foundations -until, finally, he seems to wake from a trance and the shaking stops. It is the first sign that Jason Andrews is no ordinary little boy and, in the eight years that follow, that is dramatically confirmed.
'It wasn't until 1995, when he was almost 12, that Jason told his astonished parents exactly what had been happening to him - aliens had been abducting him from his bed at night.
'It's always the light that comes first,' he confessed to his mother; Ann. 'Then I see the tall one rise up at the foot of the bed. 'Suddenly there's lots of little ones everywhere. They're fuzzy and indistinct, and they move very fast. I can't move or speak, but I'm awake and I can see and hear and feel. I want to scream and run, but the sound doesn't come out and my body doesn't move.
'I hate them. I hate them,' the boy sobbed. 'I have to go with them. 'They take me to an operating theatre, like at the hospital. It's all white and shiny. Sometimes it's a circular room with a metal floor. It's always cold. 'They're there. The big one touches me but I don't feel it, like as if I've had an anaesthetic.' Then he added poignantly: 'But you don't believe me, you just think I'm making it all up.'
In fact, Ann did believe him, and went on to explore the phenomena affecting her son's life in a book, Abducted. This decent, uncomplicated wife and mother came to the conclusion that we may not be alone.
Source & References:
UFO Casebook Home Page


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HIPAA Privacy Notice
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued the Privacy Rule to implement
the requirement of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The OSU Center for Health Sciences is required to be compliant with the
HIPAA privacy regulations.
A major goal of the Privacy Rule is to assure that individuals' health information
is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide
and promote high quality health care and to protect the public's health and well being.
The Privacy Regulations establish national standards regarding uses and disclosures
of protected health information.
Notice of Privacy Practices
HIPAA training
All OSU faculty, staff, residents, students, volunteers and affiliates are required to complete mandatory HIPAA training. The training is federally mandated.
- To complete the training, log in to HealthStream
- Use your OKey shortname as your user ID
- First time users - your temporary password is education. Password will need to be reset at the first log in.
- If you do not have an okey shortname yet or need assistance accessing the training, please contact the Compliance Office at 918-586-4561.
Report a HIPAA incident
To file a complaint please contact Compliance Office listed to the right or file an anonymous complaint online at Ethics Point.
HIPAA Hotline: 918-586-4545
Email: email@example.com


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Baptists are individuals who comprise a group of Evangelical Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers (believer's baptism, as opposed to infant baptism), and that it must be done by complete immersion (as opposed to affusion or sprinkling). Other tenets of Baptist churches include soul competency (liberty), salvation through faith alone, Scripture alone as the rule of faith and practice, and the autonomy of the local congregation. Baptists recognize two ministerial offices, elders and deacons. Baptist churches are widely considered to be Protestant churches, though some Baptists disavow this identity.
- Origins
- English separatist view
- Anabaptist influence view
- Perpetuity and succession view
- Baptist origins in the United Kingdom
- Baptist origins in North America
- Baptist affiliations
- Statistics
- Qualification for membership
- Baptist beliefs and principles
- Beliefs that vary among Baptists
- Controversies that have shaped Baptists
- Missions crisis
- United States
- Caribbean islands
- Memory of slavery
- Landmark crisis
- Modernist crisis
- References
Diverse from their beginning, those identifying as Baptists today differ widely from one another in what they believe, how they worship, their attitudes toward other Christians, and their understanding of what is important in Christian discipleship.
Historians trace the earliest church labeled "Baptist" back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with English Separatist John Smyth as its pastor. In accordance with his reading of the New Testament, he rejected baptism of infants and instituted baptism only of believing adults. Baptist practice spread to England, where the General Baptists considered Christ's atonement to extend to all people, while the Particular Baptists believed that it extended only to the elect. In 1638, Roger Williams established the first Baptist congregation in the North American colonies. In the mid-18th century, the First Great Awakening contributed to Baptist growth in both New England and the South. The Second Great Awakening in the South in the early 19th century greatly increased church membership, as did the preachers' lessening of support for abolition and manumission of slavery, which had been part of the 18th-century teachings. Baptist missionaries have spread their church to every continent.
The largest Baptist association is the Southern Baptist Convention, with the membership of associated churches totaling more than 15 million.
Baptist historian Bruce Gourley outlines four main views of Baptist origins: (1) The modern scholarly consensus that the movement traces its origin to the 17th century via the English Separatists, (2) the view that it was an outgrowth of Anabaptist traditions, (3) the perpetuity view which assumes that the Baptist faith and practice has existed since the time of Christ, and (4) the successionist view, or "Baptist successionism", which argues that Baptist churches actually existed in an unbroken chain since the time of Christ.
English separatist view
Modern Baptist churches trace their history to the English Separatist movement in the century after the rise of the original Protestant denominations. This view of Baptist origins has the most historical support and is the most widely accepted. Adherents to this position consider the influence of Anabaptists upon early Baptists to be minimal. It was a time of considerable political and religious turmoil. Both individuals and churches were willing to give up their theological roots if they became convinced that a more biblical "truth" had been discovered.
During the Protestant Reformation, the Church of England (Anglicans) separated from the Roman Catholic Church. There were some Christians who were not content with the achievements of the mainstream Protestant Reformation. There also were Christians who were disappointed that the Church of England had not made corrections of what some considered to be errors and abuses. Of those most critical of the Church's direction, some chose to stay and try to make constructive changes from within the Anglican Church. They became known as "Puritans" and are described by Gourley as cousins of the English Separatists. Others decided they must leave the Church because of their dissatisfaction and became known as the Separatists.
Historians trace the earliest Baptist church back to 1609 in Amsterdam, with John Smyth as its pastor. Three years earlier, while a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, he had broken his ties with the Church of England. Reared in the Church of England, he became "Puritan, English Separatist, and then a Baptist Separatist," and ended his days working with the Mennonites. He began meeting in England with 60–70 English Separatists, in the face of "great danger." The persecution of religious nonconformists in England led Smyth to go into exile in Amsterdam with fellow Separatists from the congregation he had gathered in Lincolnshire, separate from the established church (Anglican). Smyth and his lay supporter, Thomas Helwys, together with those they led, broke with the other English exiles because Smyth and Helwys were convinced they should be baptized as believers. In 1609 Smyth first baptized himself and then baptized the others.
In 1609, while still there, Smyth wrote a tract titled "The Character of the Beast," or "The False Constitution of the Church." In it he expressed two propositions: first, infants are not to be baptized; and second, "Antichristians converted are to be admitted into the true Church by baptism." Hence, his conviction was that a scriptural church should consist only of regenerate believers who have been baptized on a personal confession of faith. He rejected the Separatist movement's doctrine of infant baptism (paedobaptism). Shortly thereafter, Smyth left the group, and layman Thomas Helwys took over the leadership, leading the church back to England in 1611. Ultimately, Smyth became committed to believers' baptism as the only biblical baptism. He was convinced on the basis of his interpretation of Scripture that infants would not be damned should they die in infancy.
Smyth, convinced that his self-baptism was invalid, applied with the Mennonites for membership. He died while waiting for membership, and some of his followers became Mennonites. Thomas Helwys and others kept their baptism and their Baptist commitments. The modern Baptist denomination is an outgrowth of Smyth's movement. Baptists rejected the name Anabaptist when they were called that by opponents in derision. McBeth writes that as late as the 18th century, many Baptists referred to themselves as "the Christians commonly—though falsely—called Anabaptists."
Another milestone in the early development of Baptist doctrine was in 1638 with John Spilsbury, a Calvinistic minister who helped to promote the strict practice of believer's baptism by immersion. According to Tom Nettles, professor of historical theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, "Spilsbury's cogent arguments for a gathered, disciplined congregation of believers baptized by immersion as constituting the New Testament church gave expression to and built on insights that had emerged within separatism, advanced in the life of John Smyth and the suffering congregation of Thomas Helwys, and matured in Particular Baptists."
Anabaptist influence view
A minority view is that early seventeenth-century Baptists were influenced by (but not directly connected to) continental Anabaptists. According to this view, the General Baptists shared similarities with Dutch Waterlander Mennonites (one of many Anabaptist groups) including believer's baptism only, religious liberty, separation of church and state, and Arminian views of salvation, predestination and original sin. Representative writers including A.C. Underwood and William R. Estep. Gourley wrote that among some contemporary Baptist scholars who emphasize the faith of the community over soul liberty, the Anabaptist influence theory is making a comeback.
However, the relations between Baptists and Anabaptists were early strained. In 1624, the then five existing Baptist churches of London issued a condemnation of the Anabaptists. Furthermore, the original group associated with Smyth and popularly believed to be the first Baptists broke with the Waterlander Mennonite Anabaptists after a brief period of association in the Netherlands.
Perpetuity and succession view
Prior to the 20th century, Baptist historians generally wrote from the perspective that Baptists had existed since the time of Christ. Proponents of the Baptist successionist or perpetuity view consider the Baptist movement to have existed independently from Roman Catholicism and prior to the Protestant Reformation.
The perpetuity view is often identified with The Trail of Blood, a booklet of five lectures by J.M. Carrol published in 1931. Other Baptist writers who advocate the successionist theory of Baptist origins are John T. Christian, Thomas Crosby, G. H. Orchard, J. M. Cramp, William Cathcart, Adam Taylor and D. B. Ray This view was also held by English Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon as well as Jesse Mercer, the namesake of Mercer University.
Baptist origins in the United Kingdom
In 1612, Thomas Helwys established a Baptist congregation in London, consisting of congregants from Smyth's church. A number of other Baptist churches sprang up, and they became known as the General Baptists. The Particular Baptists were established when a group of Calvinist Separatists adopted believers' Baptism.
Baptist origins in North America
Both Roger Williams and John Clarke, his compatriot and coworker for religious freedom, are variously credited as founding the earliest Baptist church in North America. In 1639, Williams established a Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island, and Clarke began a Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island. According to a Baptist historian who has researched the matter extensively, "There is much debate over the centuries as to whether the Providence or Newport church deserved the place of 'first' Baptist congregation in America. Exact records for both congregations are lacking."
The Great Awakening energized the Baptist movement, and the Baptist community experienced spectacular growth. Baptists became the largest Christian community in many southern states, including among the black population.
Baptist missionary work in Canada began in the British colony of Nova Scotia (present day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick) in the 1760s. The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was that of the Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville) in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on 29 October 1778. The church was established with the assistance of the New Light evangelist Henry Alline. Many of Alline's followers, after his death, would convert and strengthen the Baptist presence in the Atlantic region. Two major groups of Baptists formed the basis of the churches in the Maritimes. These were referred to as Regular Baptist (Calvinistic in their doctrine) and Free Will Baptists.
In May 1845, the Baptist congregations in the United States split over slavery and missions. The Home Mission Society prevented slaveholders from being appointed as missionaries. The split created the Southern Baptist Convention, while the northern congregations formed their own umbrella organization now called the American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA). The Methodist Episcopal Church, South had recently separated over the issue of slavery, and southern Presbyterians would do so shortly thereafter.
Baptist affiliations
Many Baptist churches choose to affiliate with organizational groups that provide fellowship without control. The largest such group is the Southern Baptist Convention. There also are a substantial number of smaller cooperative groups. Finally, there are Independent Baptist churches that choose to remain autonomous and independent of any denomination, organization, or association. It has been suggested that a primary Baptist principle is that local Baptist Churches are independent and self-governing, and if so the term 'Baptist denomination' may be considered somewhat incongruous.
In 1925, Baptists worldwide formed the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). The BWA now counts 218 Baptist conventions and unions worldwide with over 41 million members. The BWA's goals include caring for the needy, leading in world evangelism and defending human rights and religious freedom. Though it played a role in the founding of the BWA, the Southern Baptist Convention severed its affiliation with BWA in 2004.
Today, 36 million Baptists belong to churches cooperating with the Baptist World Alliance. Many Baptist groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist Bible Fellowship do not cooperate with the Alliance.
Baptists are present in almost all continents in big denominations. The largest number by baptized memberships are in Nigeria (3.5 million) and Democratic Republic of the Congo (2 million) in Africa, India (2.5 million) and Myanmar (1 million) in Asia, United States (35 million) and Brazil (1.8 million) in the North and South America.
According to the Barna Group researchers, Baptists are the largest denominational grouping of born again Christians in the USA. A 2009 ABCNEWS/Beliefnet phone poll of 1,022 adults suggests that fifteen percent of Americans identify themselves as Baptists.
A large percentage of Baptists in North America are found in five bodies—the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC); National Baptist Convention (NBC); National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.; (NBCA); American Baptist Churches USA (ABC); and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (BBFI).
Qualification for membership
Membership policies vary due to the autonomy of churches, but the traditional method by which an individual becomes a member of a church is through believer's baptism, which is a public profession of faith in Jesus, followed by water baptism.
Most baptists do not believe that baptism is a requirement for salvation, but rather a public expression of one's inner repentance and faith. Therefore, some churches will admit into membership persons who make a profession without believer's baptism.
In general, Baptist churches do not have a stated age restriction on membership, but believer's baptism requires that an individual be able to freely and earnestly profess their faith. (See Age of Accountability)
Baptist beliefs and principles
Baptists, like other Christians, are defined by doctrine—some of it common to all orthodox and evangelical groups and a portion of it distinctive to Baptists. Through the years, different Baptist groups have issued confessions of faith—without considering them to be creeds—to express their particular doctrinal distinctions in comparison to other Christians as well as in comparison to other Baptists. Most Baptists are evangelical in doctrine, but Baptist beliefs can vary due to the congregational governance system that gives autonomy to individual local Baptist churches. Historically, Baptists have played a key role in encouraging religious freedom and separation of church and state.
Shared doctrines would include beliefs about one God; the virgin birth; miracles; atonement for sins through the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Jesus; the Trinity; the need for salvation (through belief in Jesus Christ as the son of God, his death and resurrection, and confession of Christ as Lord); grace; the Kingdom of God; last things (eschatology) (Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge everyone in righteousness); and evangelism and missions. Some historically significant Baptist doctrinal documents include the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, 1742 Philadelphia Baptist Confession, the 1833 New Hampshire Baptist Confession of Faith, the Southern Baptist Convention's Baptist Faith and Message, and written church covenants which some individual Baptist churches adopt as a statement of their faith and beliefs.
Most Baptists hold that no church or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control.
Exceptions to this local form of local governance include a few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists that have an Episcopal system.
Baptists generally believe in the literal Second Coming of Christ. Beliefs among Baptists regarding the "end times" include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.
Some additional distinctive Baptist principles held by many Baptists:
Beliefs that vary among Baptists
Since there is no hierarchical authority and each Baptist church is autonomous, there is no official set of Baptist theological beliefs. These differences exist both among associations, and even among churches within the associations.
Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are:
Controversies that have shaped Baptists
Baptists have faced many controversies in their 400-year history, controversies of the level of crises. Baptist historian Walter Shurden says the word "crisis" comes from the Greek word meaning "to decide." Shurden writes that contrary to the presumed negative view of crises, some controversies that reach a crisis level may actually be "positive and highly productive." He claims that even schism, though never ideal, has often produced positive results. In his opinion crises among Baptists each have become decision-moments that shaped their future. Some controversies that have shaped Baptists include the "missions crisis", the "slavery crisis", the "landmark crisis", and the "modernist crisis".
Missions crisis
Early in the 19th century, the rise of the modern missions movement, and the backlash against it, led to widespread and bitter controversy among the American Baptists. During this era, the American Baptists were split between missionary and anti-missionary. A substantial secession of Baptists went into the movement led by Alexander Campbell, to return to a more fundamental church.
United States
Leading up to the American Civil War, Baptists became embroiled in the controversy over slavery in the United States. Whereas in the First Great Awakening, Methodist and Baptist preachers had opposed slavery and urged manumission, over the decades they made more of an accommodation with the institution. They worked with slaveholders in the South to urge a paternalistic institution. Both denominations made direct appeals to slaves and free blacks for conversion. The Baptists particularly allowed them active roles in congregations. By the mid-19th century, northern Baptists tended to oppose slavery. As tensions increased, in 1844 the Home Mission Society refused to appoint a slaveholder as a missionary who had been proposed by Georgia. It noted that missionaries could not take servants with them, and also that the board did not want to appear to condone slavery.
The Southern Baptist Convention was formed by nine state conventions in 1845. They believed that the Bible sanctions slavery and that it was acceptable for Christians to own slaves. They believed slavery was a human institution which Baptist teaching could make less harsh. By this time many planters were part of Baptist congregations, and some of the denomination's prominent preachers, such as the Rev. Basil Manly, Sr., president of the University of Alabama, were also planters who owned slaves.
As early as the late 18th century, black Baptists began to organize separate churches, associations and mission agencies, especially in the northern states. Blacks set up some independent Baptist congregations in the South before the American Civil War. White Baptist associations maintained some oversight of these and, after a slave rebellion, required a white man to be at church services.
In the postwar years, freedmen quickly left the white congregations and associations, setting up their own churches in order to be free of white supervision. In 1866 the Consolidated American Baptist Convention, formed from black Baptists of the South and West, helped southern associations set up black state conventions, which they did in Alabama, Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina, and Kentucky. In 1880 black state conventions united in the national Foreign Mission Convention, to support black Baptist missionary work. Two other national black conventions were formed, and in 1895 they united as the National Baptist Convention. This organization later went through its own changes, spinning off other conventions. It is the largest black religious organization and the second-largest Baptist organization in the world. Baptists are numerically most dominant in the Southeast. In 2007, the Pew Research Center's Religious Landscape Survey found that 45% of all African Americans identify with Baptist denominations, with the vast majority of those being within the historically black tradition.
Caribbean islands
A healthy Church kills error, and tears evil in pieces! Not so very long ago our nation tolerated slavery in our colonies. Philanthropists endeavored to destroy slavery, but when was it utterly abolished? It was when Wilberforce roused the Church of God, and when the Church of God addressed herself to the conflict—then she tore the evil thing to pieces! -- C.H. Spurgeon an outspoken British Baptist opponent of slavery in 'The Best War Cry' (1883)
Elsewhere in the Americas, in the Caribbean in particular, Baptist missionaries and members took an active role in the anti-slavery movement. In Jamaica, for example, William Knibb, a prominent British Baptist missionary, worked toward the emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies (which took place in full in 1838). Knibb also supported the creation of "Free Villages" and sought funding from English Baptists to buy land for freedmen to cultivate; the Free Villages were envisioned as rural communities to be centred around a Baptist church where emancipated slaves could farm their own land. Thomas Burchell, missionary minister in Montego Bay, also was active in this movement, gaining funds from Baptists in England to buy land for what became known as Burchell Free Village.
Prior to emancipation, Baptist deacon Samuel Sharpe, who served with Burchell, organized a general strike of slaves seeking better conditions. It developed into a major rebellion of as many as 60,000 slaves, which became known as the Christmas Rebellion (when it took place) or the Baptist War. It was put down by government troops within two weeks. During and after the rebellion, an estimated 200 slaves were killed outright, with more than 300 judicially executed later by prosecution in the courts, sometimes for minor offenses.
Baptists were active after emancipation in promoting the education of former slaves; for example, Jamaica's Calabar High School, named after the port of Calabar in Nigeria, was founded by Baptist missionaries. At the same time, during and after slavery, slaves and free blacks formed their own Spiritual Baptist movements - breakaway spiritual movements which theology often expressed resistance to oppression.
Memory of slavery
In the American South the interpretation of the American Civil War, abolition of slavery and postwar period has differed sharply by race since those years. Like other peoples, Americans have often interpreted great events in religious terms. Historian Wilson Fallin contrasts the interpretation of Civil War and Reconstruction in white versus black memory by analyzing Baptist sermons documented in Alabama. It should be noted that, soon after the Civil War, most black Baptists in the South left the southern Baptist Convention, reducing its numbers by hundreds of thousands or more. They quickly organized their own congregations and developed their own regional and state associations and, by the end of the 19th century, a national convention.
White preachers in Alabama after Reconstruction expressed the view that:
God had chastised them and given them a special mission – to maintain orthodoxy, strict biblicism, personal piety, and "traditional" race relations. Slavery, they insisted, had not been sinful. Rather, emancipation was a historical tragedy and the end of Reconstruction was a clear sign of God's favor.
Black preachers interpreted the Civil War, Emancipation and Reconstruction as: "God's gift of freedom." They had a gospel of liberation, having long identified with the Book of Exodus from slavery in the Old Testament. They took opportunities to exercise their independence, to worship in their own way, to affirm their worth and dignity, and to proclaim the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Most of all, they quickly formed their own churches, associations, and conventions to operate freely without white supervision. These institutions offered self-help and racial uplift, a place to develop and use leadership, and places for proclamation of the gospel of liberation. As a result, black preachers said that God would protect and help him and God's people; God would be their rock in a stormy land.
The Southern Baptist Convention supported white supremacy and its results: disenfranchising most blacks and many poor whites at the turn of the 20th century by raising barriers to voter registration, and passage of racial segregation laws that enforced the system of Jim Crow. Its members largely resisted the African American Civil Rights Movement in the South, which sought to enforce their constitutional rights for public access and voting; and enforcement of mid-century federal civil rights laws.
On 20 June 1995, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to adopt a resolution renouncing its racist roots and apologizing for its past defense of slavery. More than 20,000 Southern Baptists registered for the meeting in Atlanta. The resolution declared that messengers, as SBC delegates are called, "unwaveringly denounce racism, in all its forms, as deplorable sin" and "lament and repudiate historic acts of evil such as slavery from which we continue to reap a bitter harvest." It offered an apology to all African Americans for "condoning and/or perpetuating individual and systemic racism in our lifetime" and repentance for "racism of which we have been guilty, whether consciously or unconsciously." Although Southern Baptists have condemned racism in the past, this was the first time the convention, predominantly white since the Reconstruction era, had specifically addressed the issue of slavery.
The statement sought forgiveness "from our African-American brothers and sisters" and pledged to "eradicate racism in all its forms from Southern Baptist life and ministry." In 1995 about 500,000 members of the 15.6-million-member denomination were African Americans and another 300,000 were ethnic minorities. The resolution marked the denomination's first formal acknowledgment that racism played a role in its founding.
Landmark crisis
Southern Baptist Landmarkism sought to reset the ecclesiastical separation which had characterized the old Baptist churches, in an era when inter-denominational union meetings were the order of the day. James Robinson Graves was an influential Baptist of the 19th century and the primary leader of this movement. While some Landmarkers eventually separated from the Southern Baptist Convention, the movement continued to influence the Convention into the 20th century. For instance, in 2005, the Southern Baptist International Mission Board forbade its missionaries to receive alien immersions for baptism.
Modernist crisis
The rise of theological modernism in the latter 19th and 20th century also greatly affected Baptists. The Landmark movement, already mentioned, has been described as a reaction among Southern Baptists in the United States against incipient modernism . In England, Charles Haddon Spurgeon fought against modernistic views of the Scripture in the Downgrade Controversy and severed his church from the Baptist Union as a result.
The Northern Baptist Convention in the United States had internal conflict over modernism in the early 20th century, ultimately embracing it. Two new conservative associations of congregations that separated from the Convention were founded as a result: the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches in 1933 and the Conservative Baptist Association of America in 1947.
Following similar conflicts over modernism, the Southern Baptist Convention adhered to conservative theology as its official position. In the late 20th century, moderate Southern Baptists who disagreed with this direction founded two new groups: the Alliance of Baptists in 1987 and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 1991. Members of both groups originally continued to identify as Southern Baptist, but over time the groups "became permanent new families of Baptists."


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Thursday, November 7, 2019
I believe that those times have changed. There was some concern expressed because in my last post I showed some items I have sold and how much of a profit I made on them. I understand that concern and absolutely appreciate that concern, but here is my feeling on it.
When I was a counselor I made a certain amount of income based on my training for that job. Of course clients could instead read self help books or ask a friend for advice, but if they wanted professional help they came to me.
If your car breaks down you can try and fix it yourself or you can pay an arm and a leg to a trained mechanic to fix it right. We might grumble about what we pay, but we know we have to do it.
No one questions the price when someone finds a rare painting at a garage sale and resells it for millions. I wish that would happen to me, but so far no such luck.
I have had a love for vintage and antiques since I was a child. I have spent years honing my skills in the buying and selling of them. I spend hours sourcing what I sell and then I spend hours researching their value.
No, I don't generally haggle over my prices. My prices on Etsy are based on current market value, and to be honest I rarely ever have anyone ask for me to lower the price.
Also, I will be sharing how I decorate my apartment with items that have been thrifted or purchased at yard sales and auctions. Great fun for anyone, but necessary for those of us on a budget.
I applaud anyone else who wants to go out and try their hand at selling online. It is an especially great way for women to have a full time or part time income. I hope that sharing some of my knowledge may incentivize them to give it a try.
Women should be proud of what they accomplish and that includes buying low and selling high. It indicates that you know your trade.
I can proudly say that I am no longer ashamed to talk about earning income from online sales or about making a profit.
Hi Laura, I am glad you explained that to me. Oh you darn well deserve a profit. Looking and finding things isn't easy, I know that about furniture being replicas. So your training and good eye for finding things is wonderful. I do love seeing how you use your finds to decorate. You do well there too. I have junked around for many things in this house. Blessings to you, xoxo, SusieReplyDelete
DH and I bought and sold at yard sales, flea markets, in an antique mall, then in our own shop and I've sold online, testing the market. I've not sold anything online in a couple of years because I have to get a sales tax # and some other # for retail selling. I just haven't wanted to deal with bureaucrats again and filling out all of the paperwork it entails. Do you have a sales tax #? For now, I'm just creating and not selling, but giving away, which doesn't bring in any supplemental income.ReplyDelete
This little cottage is decorated in our finds from yard sales, flea markets, and curbside. I miss seeing what my DH would bring home from curbside finds. We found materials to use, things to live with, and things to sell.
Happy Autumn ~ FlowerLady
I know it is a lot of work to find those special treasures that you can resell. I love having vintage things in my home! You have great style and enjoy what you do. I'm proud of you!ReplyDelete
Bravo Laura. Finding the right treasures and knowing your trade takes a lot of work. You deserve to make a profit. I have sold things on FB Market Place and it is amazing the stuff you go through sometimes with people. You have a good eye and good sources to find the right treasures. So you go girl. I am for any of us women that want to use their talents and make a few bucks.ReplyDelete
I have always been boggled by the thought that money should be kept hush-hush. Same thing with age. I am not embarrassed about my age. I happily will tell anyone. I just don't get some of the things we were raised to be concerned about. With all the things to worry about in this world, not the least of which is the way our country is being run, the other stuff is small potatoes.ReplyDelete
Laura, I'm not one who enjoys shopping, so I appreciate people like you who can find wonderful things to sell (at a profit) to people like me! :DReplyDelete
I say KUDOS to you for your abilities and experience and years of research - that you SHOULD make a good profit as it is after all, a business to earn an income. I admire you for taking on shipping those larger breakable items too! That is why I don't sell breakable things in my Etsy shop. I have tons of china and dishes that were my mom's and aunts... bought mostly in England.. but I don't know how to handle the shipping, and so many people want free shipping and it seems like that would deplete any profit pretty fast! How neat to find the treasures that you do! MarilynReplyDelete
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