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Barkleigh Productions, Inc.
970 West Trindle Rd.
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
ph: 717-691-3388
email: [email protected]
Our website address is: www.barkleigh.com.
This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally Identifiable Information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.
What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website or app?
When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information or other details to help you with your experience.
When do we collect information?
We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to a newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form or enter information on our site.
Provide us with feedback on our products or services
How do we use your information?
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
- To personalize your experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.
- To improve our website in order to better serve you.
- To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
- To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.
- To quickly process your transactions.
- To ask for ratings and reviews of services or products
- To follow up with them after correspondence (live chat, email or phone inquiries)
How do we protect your information?
Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.
We use regular Malware Scanning.
Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal information.
For your convenience we may store your credit card information kept for more than 60 days in order to expedite future orders, and to automate the billing process.
Do we use 'cookies'?
Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
We use cookies to:
- Help remember and process the items in the shopping cart.
- Compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interactions in order to offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may also use trusted third-party services that track this information on our behalf.
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Since browser is a little different, look at your browser's Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.
If users disable cookies in their browser:
If you turn cookies off it will turn off some of the features of the site.
Third-party disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information unless we provide users with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving our users, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release information when it's release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property or safety.
However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third-party links
Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products or services on our website. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.
Google's advertising requirements can be summed up by Google's Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en
We use Google AdSense Advertising on our website.
Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on our site. Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on previous visits to our site and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt-out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google Ad and Content Network privacy policy.
Barkleigh Productions, Inc. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com
Amazon, a third party affiliate marketing network, uses cookies to help make sure Barkleigh Productions, Inc. gets a commission when you buy a product after clicking on a link or ad banner that takes you to the site of one of their merchants. You can read Amazon's Privacy Policy.
We have implemented the following:
- Demographics and Interests Reporting
We, along with third-party vendors such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions and other ad service functions as they relate to our website.
Opting out:
Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. Alternatively, you can opt out by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative Opt Out page or by using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.
California Online Privacy Protection Act
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law's reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared. – See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf
According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:
Users can visit our site anonymously.
Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page or as a minimum, on the first significant page after entering our website.
Our Privacy Policy link includes the word 'Privacy' and can easily be found on the page specified above.
You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes:
- On our Privacy Policy Page
Can change your personal information:
- By logging in to your account
How does our site handle Do Not Track signals?
We honor Do Not Track signals and Do Not Track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.
Does our site allow third-party behavioral tracking?
It's also important to note that we do not allow third-party behavioral tracking
COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States' consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online.
We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.
Fair Information Practices
The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.
In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:
We will notify you via email
- Within 7 business days
We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
CAN SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
We collect your email address in order to:
- Send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions
- Process orders and to send information and updates pertaining to orders.
- Send you additional information related to your product and/or service
- Market to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our clients after the original transaction has occurred.
To be in accordance with CANSPAM, we agree to the following:
- Not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses.
- Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way.
- Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters.
- Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.
- Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly.
- Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email.
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at
- Follow the instructions at the bottom of each email.
and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.
Activity Log
Data Used: To deliver this functionality and record activities around site management, the following information is captured: user email address, user role, user login, user display name, WordPress.com and local user IDs, the activity to be recorded, the WordPress.com-connected site ID of the site on which the activity takes place, the site's Jetpack version, and the timestamp of the activity. Some activities may also include the actor's IP address (login attempts, for example) and user agent.
Activity Tracked: Login attempts/actions, post and page update and publish actions, comment/pingback submission and management actions, plugin and theme management actions, widget updates, user management actions, and the modification of other various site settings and options. Retention duration of activity data depends on the site's plan and activity type. See the complete list of currently-recorded activities (along with retention information).
Data Synced (?): Successful and failed login attempts, which will include the actor's IP address and user agent.
Data Used: If image view tracking is enabled, the following information is used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID (if logged in), WordPress.com username (if logged in), user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.
Activity Tracked: Image views.
Comment Likes
Data Used: In order to process a comment like, the following information is used: WordPress.com user ID/username (you must be logged in to use this feature), the local site-specific user ID (if the user is signed in to the site on which the like occurred), and a true/false data point that tells us if the user liked a specific comment. If you perform a like action from one of our mobile apps, some additional information is used to track the activity: IP address, user agent, timestamp of event, blog ID, browser language, country code, and device info.
Activity Tracked: Comment likes.
Contact Form
Data Used: If Akismet is enabled on the site, the contact form submission data — IP address, user agent, name, email address, website, and message — is submitted to the Akismet service (also owned by Automattic) for the sole purpose of spam checking. The actual submission data is stored in the database of the site on which it was submitted and is emailed directly to the owner of the form (i.e. the site author who published the page on which the contact form resides). This email will include the submitter's IP address, timestamp, name, email address, website, and message.
Data Synced (?): Post and post meta data associated with a user's contact form submission. If Akismet is enabled on the site, the IP address and user agent originally submitted with the comment are synced, as well, as they are stored in post meta.
Google Analytics
Data Used: Please refer to the appropriate Google Analytics documentation for the specific type of data it collects. For sites running WooCommerce (also owned by Automattic) and this feature simultaneously and having all purchase tracking explicitly enabled, purchase events will send Google Analytics the following information: order number, product id and name, product category, total cost, and quantity of items purchased. Google Analytics does offer IP anonymization, which can be enabled by the site owner.
Activity Tracked: This feature sends page view events (and potentially video play events) over to Google Analytics for consumption. For sites running WooCommerce-powered stores, some additional events are also sent to Google Analytics: shopping cart additions and removals, product listing views and clicks, product detail views, and purchases. Tracking for each specific WooCommerce event needs to be enabled by the site owner.
Gravatar Hovercards
Data Used: This feature will send a hash of the user's email address (if logged in to the site or WordPress.com — or if they submitted a comment on the site using their email address that is attached to an active Gravatar profile) to the Gravatar service (also owned by Automattic) in order to retrieve their profile image.
Infinite Scroll
Data Used: In order to record page views via WordPress.com Stats (which must be enabled for page view tracking here to work) with additional loads, the following information is used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID (if logged in), WordPress.com username (if logged in), user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.
Activity Tracked: Page views will be tracked with each additional load (i.e. when you scroll down to the bottom of the page and a new set of posts loads automatically). If the site owner has enabled Google Analytics to work with this feature, a page view event will also be sent to the appropriate Google Analytics account with each additional load.
Jetpack Comments
Data Used: Commenter's name, email address, and site URL (if provided via the comment form), timestamp, and IP address. Additionally, a jetpack.wordpress.com IFrame receives the following data: WordPress.com blog ID attached to the site, ID of the post on which the comment is being submitted, commenter's local user ID (if available), commenter's local username (if available), commenter's site URL (if available), MD5 hash of the commenter's email address (if available), and the comment content. If Akismet (also owned by Automattic) is enabled on the site, the following information is sent to the service for the sole purpose of spam checking: commenter's name, email address, site URL, IP address, and user agent.
Activity Tracked: The comment author's name, email address, and site URL (if provided during the comment submission) are stored in cookies. Learn more about these cookies.
Data Synced (?): All data and metadata (see above) associated with comments. This includes the status of the comment and, if Akismet is enabled on the site, whether or not it was classified as spam by Akismet.
Data Used: In order to process a post like action, the following information is used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID (on which the post was liked), post ID (of the post that was liked), user agent, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.
Activity Tracked: Post likes.
Data Used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID and URL, Jetpack version, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code. Some visitor-related information or activity may be sent to the site owner via this feature. This may include: email address, WordPress.com username, site URL, email address, comment content, follow actions, etc.
Activity Tracked: Sending notifications (i.e. when we send a notification to a particular user), opening notifications (i.e. when a user opens a notification that they receive), performing an action from within the notification panel (e.g. liking a comment or marking a comment as spam), and clicking on any link from within the notification panel/interface.
Data Used: In order to check login activity and potentially block fraudulent attempts, the following information is used: attempting user's IP address, attempting user's email address/username (i.e. according to the value they were attempting to use during the login process), and all IP-related HTTP headers attached to the attempting user.
Activity Tracked: Failed login attempts (these include IP address and user agent). We also set a cookie (jpp_math_pass
) for 1 day to remember if/when a user has successfully completed a math captcha to prove that they're a real human. Learn more about this cookie.
Data Synced (?): Failed login attempts, which contain the user's IP address, attempted username or email address, and user agent information.
Data Used: Any of the visitor-chosen search filters and query data in order to process a search request on the WordPress.com servers.
Data Used: When sharing content via email (this option is only available if Akismet is active on the site), the following information is used: sharing party's name and email address (if the user is logged in, this information will be pulled directly from their account), IP address (for spam checking), user agent (for spam checking), and email body/content. This content will be sent to Akismet (also owned by Automattic) so that a spam check can be performed. Additionally, if reCAPTCHA (by Google) is enabled by the site owner, the sharing party's IP address will be shared with that service. You can find Google's privacy policy here.
Data Used: To initiate and process subscriptions, the following information is used: subscriber's email address and the ID of the post or comment (depending on the specific subscription being processed). In the event of a new subscription being initiated, we also collect some basic server data, including all of the subscribing user's HTTP request headers, the IP address from which the subscribing user is viewing the page, and the URI which was given in order to access the page (REQUEST_URI
and DOCUMENT_URI
). This server data used for the exclusive purpose of monitoring and preventing abuse and spam.
Activity Tracked: Functionality cookies are set for a duration of 347 days to remember a visitor's blog and post subscription choices if, in fact, they have an active subscription.
WordPress.com Secure Sign On
Data Used: User ID (local site and WordPress.com), role (e.g. administrator), email address, username and display name. Additionally, for activity tracking (see below): IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID and URL, Jetpack version, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.
Activity Tracked: The following usage events are recorded: starting the login process, completing the login process, failing the login process, successfully being redirected after login, and failing to be redirected after login. Several functionality cookies are also set, and these are detailed explicitly in our Cookie documentation.
Data Synced (?): The user ID and role of any user who successfully signed in via this feature.
WordPress.com Stats
Data Used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID (if logged in), WordPress.com username (if logged in), user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code. Important: The site owner does not have access to any of this information via this feature. For example, a site owner can see that a specific post has 285 views, but he/she cannot see which specific users/accounts viewed that post. Stats logs — containing visitor IP addresses and WordPress.com usernames (if available) — are retained by Automattic for 28 days and are used for the sole purpose of powering this feature.
WordPress.com Toolbar
Data Used: Gravatar image URL of the logged-in user in order to display it in the toolbar and the WordPress.com user ID of the logged-in user. Additionally, for activity tracking (detailed below): IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID and URL, Jetpack version, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.
Activity Tracked: Click actions within the toolbar.


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Maple Chocolate Fudge - 1/2 Pound
Maple Chocolate Fudge - 1/2 Pound
Smooth and Creamy. Our delicious Creamy MapleDark Chocolate Fudge!
- Made to order right in our Country Store Kitchen
- Packed in a Country Store Gift Box with a plastic knife to encourage sharing
- Fudge Ships amazing well making it the perfect gift for any occasion.
No one knows with certainty who made the first batch of fudge. A purely American invention, most accounts agree it was the result of an accident that occurred while making another confection. Perhaps the amount of sugar and cream were inverted by mistake or an ingredient was omitted while making toffee or caramel. Whatever the specific cause, the product was an entirely new type of candy made of sugar and cream.
When this glorious accident occurred is also unknown. Dictionaries from as early as 1811 denote the word fudge as meaning "nonsense," and later define it as "to fabricate or contrive in a careless or blundering manner; bungle." But there's no mention of fudge in the comprehensive and authoritative professional confectionery cookbook published in 1849 by J.M. Sanderson.
The most substantial evidence of when fudge was invented can be found in the archives of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. A letter, written in 1921, reveals that fudge was first made and sold at a senior auction in 1892.
The mystery of how this confection came to be made may never be solved. But one thing is for sure: People of all ages, from all walks of life, are seduced by this happy accident—the candy we know and love as fudge.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Form Without Substance
The Department of Defense is a leader in equal opportunity for all patriots seeking to serve this great nation. . . The vigilant warriors in AFGSC understand they are all equal and unified in purpose to provide a safe, secure and effective deterrent force for the United States. . .
Dr. King would be proud to see our Global Strike team – comprised of Airmen, civilians and contractors from every race, creed, background and religion – standing side-by-side ensuring the most powerful weapons in the U.S. arsenal remain the credible bedrock of our national defense. . . Our team must overlook our differences to ensure perfection as we maintain and operate our weapon systems. . . Maintaining our commitment to our Global Strike team, our families and our nation is a fitting tribute to Dr. King as we celebrate his legacy.
As Gizmodo points out, Dr. King's presumed pleasure at the diversity of the USAF's nuclear weapons teams could have been qualified by his pacifist views on nuclear weapons. I should note that this represents an almost perfect distillation of the conservative understanding of MLK ; an advocate of formal legal equality without any other ideological views.


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Back to school
Author: Worry about kids' character, not their grades
Not long ago, psychologist Madeline Levine gave a lecture at a Jewish day school near her home in Marin County, Calif. The topic: "Your Average Child."
Nobody showed up.
"I guess there wasn't a single average kid at the school," Levine quips.
"By definition, the vast majority of our children are average," she says.
It's a notion that is difficult for parents to accept, especially as many of us grew up hearing that we were anything but average. If our kids are average, does that mean that ultimately we are (gasp!) average, too?
In an effort to keep such thoughts at bay, we enforce the typical trajectory: have the kids load up on classes and activities. Make sure they get good grades and garner trophies. This will land them at a top-tier college where, the story goes, they will graduate and embark upon a well-paid career.
But Levine, author of the new book Teach Your Children Well: Parenting for Authentic Success (HarperCollins), says that despite today's high-stakes environment, which combines an uncertain economic future with increasingly fierce competition for spots at top schools, parents are paying attention to the wrong things.
"If you spend all this time going over their homework, correcting it, bringing in a tutor, you've lost all this time to build other things: character, persistence, generosity — all the things that people now are saying are going to be mandatory" for future jobs, says Levine.
In the book, she writes: "Every measure of child and adolescent mental health has deteriorated since we've decided that children are best served by being relentlessly pushed, overloaded, and tested. Our current version of success is a failure."
It's a trap in which much of the Jewish community finds itself ensnared, Levine says, given the historical emphasis of Jews on the value of education.
"There's always this sense that education is the way to go; it always has been," she said. "If your 15-year-old says I don't want to clear the dishes today, I have my AP chemistry test [to study for], most [Jewish] parents say don't worry about it, go study."
"That's a big mistake. There's more to be learned about the issue of sharing responsibility and community that goes along with three minutes of clearing the table."
While many Jewish schools emphasize community and values, she says, parents too often worry about a botched test.
"We know everything about their grades and not enough about where they go and what they do," she writes. "We monitor their performance, but not their character."
Levine reminds parents of their ultimate goal: "We want to turn out good people who find good partners, find work they like, and contribute to their communities."
Teach Your Children Well is, in part, a response to Levine's previous book, the 2006 surprise best-seller The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids.
The Price of Privilege touched a nerve. Although its scope was limited to upper-class families, it identified problems also prevalent among the middle- and upper-middle class. Her current book, Levine says, provides a broader perspective along with some solutions. (One example: "Question aggressively a system that seems to sanction excessive homework, competition over collaboration, sleep deprivation, and choosing activities based solely on their resume-enhancing potential.")
As for her own background, Levine, 62, embodies the notion that "average" can turn exemplary. She grew up in the Flushing section of Queens; her father was a police officer who died young, her mother was a social worker.
"We had no money, no insurance, nothing," Levine recalls. A scholarship enabled Levine to study at the State University of New York, Buffalo.
"I had the best parents," Levine said. "I was just fine the way I was, whether that was excelling in English or floundering at math. They were more interested in the kind of person I was."
Levine began her career as a teacher in the South Bronx, a downtrodden, violence-plagued section of New York, in the 1970s. ("I was a terrible teacher," she said. "I was so bad in the classroom, so good at the one-on-one.")
Levine moved to California to pursue a doctorate in psychology and has remained there. She has a private clinical practice — on the back burner at the moment, she says — and is a founder of Challenge Success, a Stanford University-based organization that works with schools and families to promote better balanced, more fulfilled lives for children.
She and her husband, Lee Schwartz, have three sons, aged 32, 27, and 21. Having adult children, she says, gives her the opportunity to look back and consider what she would do differently. One thing Levine says she'd change: She would have participated more in her children's Jewish education.
Busy with her family and career, "I remember all the times I dropped them off at Hebrew school, went home, and went to bed," she said. "It's one thing to say, 'You have to go to Mitzva Day.' Well, if mom's not going…. Actions speak louder than words."
Levine's youngest son, Jeremy, helped guide her career toward combating the pressure-cooker environment that so many kids encounter at school. While her older sons, good students, "were served by the system," her youngest ("a perfectly average student," as she describes him in her book) was falling between the cracks.
"There was very little to feel good about, starting in about sixth grade," she said. "Nobody was interested in the parts of him that were super good."
"Every kid has a super power," she said. "For one kid, it may be calculus. For another it's an incredible sensitivity toward people." A parent's task, Levine says, is valuing these strengths equally.
"Life hands people all kinds of losses, disappointments, tragedies," she said. "Why do we want to have kids night after night sobbing over their homework at 2 a.m. because they can't get it done? It's something we created that has become an enormous stressor."
"I feel like adults have a secret: There are a bunch of things you're good at, a bunch of things you're average at, a bunch of things you really suck at," Levine said. "This idea of straight-A students is a perfect mythology to me. Most of us are pretty average in most ways."


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The First Part Treating of the Three Necessary Concomitants of Witchcraft, Which are the Devil, a Witch, and the Permission of Almighty God
Question VI. Concerning Witches who copulate with Devils. Why is it that Women are chiefly addicted to Evil Superstitions?
Therefore, let us now chiefly consider women; and first, why this kind of perfidy is found more in so fragile a sex than in men. And our inquiry will first be general, as to the general conditions of women; secondly, particular, as to which sort of women are found to be given to superstition and witchcraft; and thirdly, specifically with regard to midwives, who surpass all others in wickedness . . .
As for the first question, why a greater number of witches is found in the fragile feminine sex than among men; it is indeed a fact that it were idle to contradict, since it is accredited by actual experience, apart from the verbal testimony of credibly witnesses . . .
For some learned men propound this reason; that there are three things in nature, the Tongue, an Ecclesiastic, and a Woman, which know no moderation in goodness or vice; and when they exceed the bounds of their condition they reach the greatest heights and the lowest depths of goodness and vice. When they are governed by a good spirit, they are most excellent in virtue; but when they are governed by an evil spirit, they indulge the worst possible vices . . .
Others again have propounded other reasons why there are more superstitious women found than men. And the first is, that they are more credulous; and since the chief aim of the devil is to corrupt faith, therefore he rather attacks them The second reason is, that women are naturally more impressionable, and more ready to receive the influence of a disembodied spirit; and that when they use this quality well they are very good, but when they use it ill they are very evil .The third reason is that they have slippery tongues, and are unable to conceal from the fellow-women those things which by evil arts they know; and, since they are weak, they find an easy and secret manner of vindicating themselves by witchcraft .All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman. And to this may be added that, as they are very impressionable, they act accordingly.
But because in these times this perfidy is more often found in women than in men, as we learn by actual experience, if anyone is curious as to the reason, we may add to what has already been said the following: that since they are feebler both in mind and body, it is not surprising that they should come more under the spell of witchcraft . . .
But the natural reason is that she is more carnal than a man, as is clear from her many carnal abominations. And it should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to a man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives . . .
And indeed, just as through the first defect in their intelligence that are more prone to abjure the faith; so through their second defect of inordinate affections and passions they search for, brood over, and inflict various vengeances, either by witchcraft, or by some other means. Wherefore it is no wonder that so great a number of witches exist in this sex . . .
To conclude. All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable. See Proverbs xxx: There are three things that are never satisfied, yea, a fourth thing which says not, It is enough; that is, the mouth of the womb. Wherefore for the sake of fulfilling their lusts they consort even with devils. More such reasons could be brought forward, but to the understanding it is sufficiently clear that it is no matter for wonder that there are more women than men found infected with the heresy of witchcraft. And in consequence of this, it is better called the heresy of witches than of wizards, since the name is taken from the more powerful party. And blessed be the Highest Who has so far preserved the male sex from so great a crime: for since He was willing to be born and to suffer for us, therefore He has granted to men the privilege.


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If all information in the world was written on clay tablets or carved into marble, its preservation would be greatly simplified. Even paper, when manufactured and stored properly, can have a life measured in hundreds of years. Today, however, much of the information being produced is digital,[1] and digital formats are notoriously fragile. Either the media on which the information is stored becomes unreadable, or the hardware and software needed to read the work becomes obsolete. Think of that old 8″ floppy disk in the back of the drawer with your attempt from twenty years ago to write the Great American Novel (in WordStar). The magnetic data might not still be readable; drives that can read the disk are scarce; and few word processing packages today can understand WordStar documents.
To preserve analog information resources, it is often sufficient to house them in a benign environment. In particularly bad cases, it might be necessary to make a microfilm or xerographic copy of the original, but copying is the exception rather than the rule. Digital preservation, however, starts with copying. At a minimum, files need to be copied from obsolete or decaying media, such as 8″ floppy disks or 5 " floppies, to current storage media. Good preservation practice requires much more, including making multiple copies of files. Digital documents may need to be changed from WordStar to WordPerfect to Word format, or perhaps even converted to PDF or XML format. Every time you use a digital file, you must copy it. When digital documents are displayed in a computer, they are copied from the storage medium into the RAM memoryof the computer where it is then displayed. Digital preservation and access is all about copying.
In copyright law, copying is known as "reproduction," and it's one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner.[2] The right to publicly display a work is also an exclusive right of the copyright owner,[3] as is the right to make an adaptation, known as a "derivative work."[4]Our desire to keep digital information around for the future runs smack into the exclusive rights of the copyright owner.
Fortunately, while there is no general exemption for preservation activities in copyright law, there are exemptions that can help individuals and especially libraries and archives legally preserve expressive works for the future. There are some specific exemptions for certain types of actions and for certain actors. Furthermore, in the absence of a specific exemption, one can always consider fair use as a defense when making a preservation copy.
Is it copyrighted? Do you own the copyright?
Even before you start looking for exemptions in the copyright law, it is always a good idea to check first to determine if an item really is copyrighted. Since there have not been any registration or notice requirements for copyright protection since 1989, most digital information is copyrighted as soon as it is created. But there are exceptions. Works created by the federal government are in the public domain,[5] as are facts,[6] ideas,[7] and expired works. Digital copies of public domain works may themselves be in the public domain.[8]
You also don't need to worry about legal restrictions on preservation if you own the copyright in the work. The copyright in your draft of the Great American Novel most likely belongs to you, and you can do with it what you want. The same goes for the digital photographs you took on vacation last summer.
Let's assume, though, that what you are interested in preserving is copyrighted and that you do not own the copyright in the work. What then? There are at least three specific sections of the copyright law that may be of assistance.
Archiving Computer Programs: 17 USC § 117
If the digital file you are interested in saving is a computer program, 17 USC § 117 of the United States copyright law can help. This section states that in spite of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, it is permissible for you to make a copy for archival purposes of a copyrighted computer program. A computer program is defined in the law as "a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly in a computer in order to bring about a certain result."[9] The law allows you to make a copy of the WordStar program (if you legally own it), and even adapt it to run on your Windows XP or Linux machine (if you can), but not share the file with anyone else. The section only applies to the computer program itself. It does not authorize the reproduction or adaptation of documents created with WordStar when the copyright in those documents is owned by someone other than you.
Libraries and Archives Making Preservation Copies: 17 USC § 108
Libraries and archives have additional preservation options under 17 USC § 108 of United States copyright law. One of the few good things included in the Digital Millenium Copyright Act ("DMCA") was a provision that explicitly allows libraries and archives to make up to three copies of a work for preservation purposes. Unlike the rest of the provisions of Section 108, the items being preserved can be in any format (text, images, sound, etc.). Furthermore, the copies can be digital, so long as they are not distributed digitally nor made available to the public in a digital format outside the premises of the library or archives.
In order to take advantage of the exception, libraries and archives must follow certain ground rules. They must be either open to the public or allow access to non-affiliated researchers; the copying cannot be for "direct or indirect commercial advantage"; the library or archives must own a legal copy of the original item; and any copies made must carry with them a notice of copyright.[10] If the work is unpublished, preservation copies can be made for the purpose of preservation or security.[11] If the work is published, preservation copies can be made to replace an original that is "damaged, deteriorating, lost, or stolen, or if the existing format in which the work is stored has become obsolete." The law stipulates that a format is obsolete "if the machine or device necessary to render perceptible a work stored in that format is no longer manufactured or is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace." The library or archives must also conduct a reasonable investigation to confirm that an unused copy cannot be obtained at a fair price. If digital copies are made, access to the digital version must be limited to the premises of the library or archives.[12]
Using Section 108, libraries and archives can start preserving old digital files in their collections. It does not help them, however, preserve materials that they do not own, such as networked resources or Web sites. Nor does Section 108 help individuals who want to preserve a digital files they may have legally acquired or obtained from the Internet. For this sort of preservation, we must rely on fair use.
Fair Use Preservation by Individuals and Libraries: 17 USC § 107
Since individuals cannot use Section 108 to make copies, even for preservation purposes, they must turn to the Fair Use provision in US copyright law. Mary Minow provides a highly readable overview of fair use in "How I learned to love FAIR USE…"[13] At the heart of the fair use exemption is the assessment of the four factors that constitute fair use: Purpose of the use, Nature of the work, Amount or substantiality used, and Market impact (PNAM). What might a fair use argument for digital preservation look like?
It is likely that most preservation copying would meet Minow's PNAM test. As Robert Oakley has noted about preservation copying in general:
Virtually everyone views preservation copying as socially beneficial. It is consistent with the Constitutional purposes for copyright since the preservation of printed knowledge is necessary for the progress of science and the useful arts.[14]
If preservation is being done for non-commercial, socially beneficial reasons, it seems likely that the "Purpose" factor would lean towards fair use.
The nature of digital works, the second fair use factor, can vary greatly, but Congress seems open to preserving a wide variety of material when preservation is at stake.[15] The "Nature" factor, then, might also support a fair use.
The third factor, the Amount and substantiality copied, might normally weigh against a finding of fair use, since the item is being copied in its entirety. But the Supreme Court has noted, "the extent of permissible copying varies with the purpose and character of the use."[16]Obviously, if the purpose is to preserve a work, then the entire work must be copied. The amount copied is appropriate for the purpose, and so a court might even find this use fair.
The fourth factor, the Market impact of making of a preservation copy, is likely to be the most important in any fair use assessment, and unfortunately it is almost impossible to guess how a court might rule on this. Would the courts conclude that digital information is like the computer programs protected by 17 USC § 117, which can be migrated and adapted to run on new platforms without compensation to the copyright owner? Or would the courts conclude that purchasing a copy of a work does not give you the right to copy it onto new media or transform it into new formats into perpetuity? Would they decide that individuals, like libraries copying under 17 USC § 108, must first determine if an unused copy can be purchased before a preservation copy can be made? Unfortunately, there have been no cases involving digital preservation that can serve as indicators of how the courts might rule.
As is always the case with fair use, you can't really know if your use is fair until a court determines if it is fair. Nevertheless, when considering the preservation problems of motion pictures, the Senate concluded that given the great danger of loss, "making of duplicate copies for purposes of archival preservation certainly falls within the scope of 'fair use.' "[17] We can hope that the courts might accept a similar argument for equally fragile digital information.
Preserving the World Wide Web: A Specific Case
As the World Wide Web has become an ever-more important information resource, there has been growing interest in preserving parts of it. Examples of Web site preservation projects include: flooding in the Red River Valley,[18] the national election in 2000,[19] the response to the events of 11 September 2001,[20] and the web pages of the Clinton White House.[21] The Internet Archive has sought to capture and preserve a sizeable portion of the entire World Wide Web.[22] Other projects have sought to preserve the national Web of Sweden,[23]Denmark,[24] and the Nordic Countries.[25] On a more local scale, many universities and other organizations are beginning to wonder how they might capture and preserve Web pages associated with, but not necessarily owned by, them.
Most information found on the Web is automatically copyrighted when created. The groups that want to preserve Web pages, however, are often not the copyright owners of those Web pages. We can presume that the copyright owner has granted an implied license to allow people to copy a Web page to a local machine and display
it there; after all, if they did not want people to be able to read a page (which in the Web environment means making a temporary copy on your local machine), they would not have put the document up on the Web. But is there implied permission to copy and preserve Web pages whose copyright you do not own? If not, can such actions qualify as a fair use?
The most ambitious attempt to preserve the Web, the Internet Archive and its "Wayback Machine," allows you to retrieve outdated Web pages from multiple points in time. The Internet Archive has attempted to bolster a possible fair use defense in a number of ways. First, it allows Web page producers to "opt out" of the archives. It does this by offering instruction on how to use a "robots.txt" file to prevent its crawlers from retrieving new pages. Presence of a "robots.txt" file will also prevent Wayback Machine users from accessing previously harvested pages. In addition, under certain conditions, the Internet Archive will remove material from its holdings.[26]
The Internet Archive's willingness to respect the wishes of those copyright owners who want to limit and control the reproduction of their copyrighted works reduces the Archive's risk of infringement suits. At the same time, it diminishes the utility of the archive as a whole by excluding important parts of the Web. For example, eBay is one of the most successful commerce initiatives in Internet history. The use policy for eBay stipulates that users must "not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Site for any purpose without our express written permission." [27] Any Web archiving initiative that respects the terms of eBay's policy will not capture the eBay site, diminishing the value of the archive as documentation of the history of the Internet.
It is unclear how much protection the Internet Archive's policies really provide. As one recent analysis concluded:
In short, the Internet Archive largely ignores copyright law in the process of collecting its material, provides only a limited (and, arguably, effectively valueless) protection for the material once stored, and in effect disclaims any responsibility for what is done with the material by the end user, as well as any liability that the end user may incur in accessing the material. Given the litigious nature of the US, it will be interesting to see if the Internet Archive's success in avoiding litigation over its activities will continue for much longer.[28]
Licensing and the DMCA: The Final Hurdles
Even if you determine that 17 USC §§ 117, 108, or 107 can be used to legally preserve a digital resource, you may still not be out of the woods. Licensing contracts, for example, can override these sections. You should carefully read any licensing agreements you or your institution has signed before making preservation copies of licensed resources.
Further, under the DMCA, if the digital resource is protected by a technology that controls access to the resource, you cannot legally bypass the access control mechanism, even to preserve it.[29] On October 28, 2003, the Librarian of Congress issued a rulemaking that rejected the idea of a general preservation exception to the terms of the DMCA.[30] Two of the four exceptions found in the rule making might be of some assistance in preservation. For the next three years, users may legally bypass access control mechanisms that rely on dongles that have malfunctioned. They may also bypass access control mechanisms in computer programs and video games distributed in formats that have become obsolete and which require the original media or hardware as a condition of access.
Good preservation practice has often existed in a legal gray area. Libraries usually made three copies when microfilming long before the law gave explicit permission for the practice, and many radio programs have been saved only because individuals systematically taped them from the air, without the permission of the copyright owner.[31] Digital preservation resides in an even murkier legal gray area because of the fundamental need to copy digital information (one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner) in order to preserve it. In addition, there is greater interest in preserving works that you may not own, particularly web pages. The lack of legal certainty, however, should not prevent individuals and libraries from undertaking the socially beneficial task of preserving digital information. The law explicitly authorizes some preservation actions (especially if the materials are not made digitally available to others), and a strong fair use defense can be built outside the library or archives.
More Resources
In addition to the items listed in the notes below, the following publications provide useful information on the legal issues associated with preservation, particularly the preservation of Internet resources:
June Besek, "Copyright issues relevant to the creation of a digital archive: a preliminary assessment" (Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources and the Library of Congress, 2003) <http:// www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub112/contents.html>
Adrienne Muir, "Copyright and licensing for digital preservation" Library and Information Update, June 2003 <http://www.cilip.org.uk/update/issues/jun03/article2june.html>
Dwayne Buttler and Kenneth Crews, "Copyright Protection and Technological Reform of Library Services" in Tomas Lipinski, ed.,Libraries, Museums, and Archives: Legal Issues and Ethical Challenges in the New Information Era (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2002)
Mary Minow and Nancy McGovern provided invaluable advice during the preparation of this article.
[1] Peter Lyman and Hal Varian, "How Much Information 2003?" <http://www2.sims.berkeley.edu/research/projects/how-much-info-2003/>
[4] 17 U.S.C. § 106(2). It could be argued that converting a document from WordStar to Word makes a derivative of the original work.
[6] 17 U.S.C. § 102; Feist v. Rural Telephone Serv., 499 U.S. 340 (1991).
[8] In Bridgeman Art Library, Ltd. v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), the court concluded that exact photographic copies of two-dimensional works of art are not independently copyrightable because the copies lack the requisite degree of originality required for copyright protection. See Brett I. Miller, "Recent Lessons from the Courts: The Changing Landscape of Copyright in a Digital Age," RLG DigiNews 4:2 (April 2000) <http://www.rlg.org/preserv/diginews/diginews4-2.html#feature>
[13] Mary Minow, "How I Learned to Love FAIR USE… or how to bring a $300,000 lawsuit down to $0 if you're a library, archive, or nonprofit educational institution" <https://fairuse.stanford.edu/ commentary_and_analysis/2003_07_minow.html>. See also Mary Minow, "Library Digitization Projects and Copyright" <http://www.llrx. com/features/digitization.htm>.
[14] Robert Oakley, Copyright and Preservation: A Serious Problem in Need of a Thoughtful Solution (Washington, D.C.: Council on Library and Information Resources, September 1990) <http://www.clir.org/pubs/abstract/pub11.html>.
[15] For example, 17 USC § 108 exemptions do not apply to "a musical work, a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work, or a motion picture or other audiovisual work other than an audiovisual work dealing with news" unless the material is being preserved, at which point the nature and format of the material ceases to matter.
[16] Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
[17] House Report on the new copyright law, H.R. Rep. No. 94-1476, quoted in U.S. Copyright Office, Reproductions of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (Washington, D.C, 1995): p. 10 <http://www.copyright. gov/circs/circ21.pdf>
[18] Mark A. Greene, "Floods, Flashsite, and Fond Delusions: Archiving the Web," Spectra, the Journal of the Museum Computer Network 25:3 (Spring 1998), 10-14.
[26] The Oakland Archive Policy: Recommendations for Managing Removal Requests And Preserving Archival Integrity, Dec. 13-14, 2002. <http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/research/conferences/aps/ removal-policy.html>
[27] Ebay User Agreement <http://pages.ebay.com/help/community/png-user.html>
[28] Andrew Charlesworth, Legal Issues Relating to the Archiving of Internet Resources in the UK, EU, USA, and Australia: A Study Undertaken for the JISC and Wellcome Trust, version 1.0, 25 February 2003, p. 44. <http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/archiving_legal.pdf>
[30] Rulemaking on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works, 28 October 2003 <http://www.copyright.gov/1201/>
[31] Erik Smith, "Around the Dial Web Battle Is Latest Episode in Old-Time Radio Serials One firm is carrying on the fight to enforce copyrights, much to the dismay of collectors and Internet users." Los Angeles Times, 2/16/2001.
Peter B. Hirtle is Director for Instruction and Learning in the Instruction, Research, and Information Services Division of Cornell University Library. Hirtle also serves as the Intellectual Property Officer for the Cornell University Library. Previously while at Cornell, Hirtle served as Director of the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections where he explored the use of emerging technologies to expand access to cultural and scientific sources through the development and management of distinctive digital collections. He also served as the Associate Editor of D-Lib Magazine


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Senate Delays Confirming Illegal Alien Advocate At DOJ
Amid growing controversy, the Senate is delaying the confirmation of a renowned illegal immigrant advocate who served on the board of a day laborer center to head a crucial division of the Justice Department.
President Obama's pick to run the agency's civil rights division, Maryland Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, has too many skeletons in his closet to breeze through the confirmation process and will have to wait at least six months while lawmakers further scrutinize his controversial past.
An Ivy League graduate of Dominican descent, Perez has long fought for the rights of illegal aliens in the U.S. by supporting Mexican and Guatemalan-issued cards as valid identification in this country, favoring discounted tuition at public colleges and providing advice to illegal aliens on how to deal with police.
Perez actually served as president of the board of a controversial, taxpayer-funded advocacy organization (Casa de Maryland) that helps illegal immigrants by operating day laborer facilities and offering free legal services. Based in the state's Tacoma Park area, Casa de Maryland, proudly advertises its day laborer centers—in Baltimore, Wheaton and Silver Spring—which are all partially funded with public money from counties and cities.
Last year Casa de Maryland received a $1.5 million donation from Venezuela's ardent anti-U.S. leader, socialist Hugo Chavez, who is a close ally of State Department terrorist nations like Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The Chavez-controlled Citgo Petroleum Corp. made the donation to support illegal aliens in the U.S. and the connection between the South American strongman and future Justice Department official is more than unsettling.
The ties are certainly worrisome considering that the Justice Department's high-profile civil rights division represents the government, Congress and presidential cabinet officers in a wide range of litigation, annually handling thousands of cases dealing with significant policy issues. One Washington newspaper editorial points out that Perez's cornucopia of leftist positions should give senators pause.


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This photograph from Wikipedia speaks volumes to the importance of the milkweed. Asclepias tuberosa is a favored nesting site for the Monarch butterfly. At summers end, the wild plants we have growing at the shop will be covered with their larvae. The Monarch larvae feed on these leaves. The butterfly weed is a favored host in my area. They will spin cocoons; the mature butterflies will emerge some four weeks, give or take. Only once have I witnessed a mature butterfly emerging from its chrysalis-it happens that fast.
Asclepias has much to recommend. The plants are long lived, utterly drought resistant, and carefree. The flower heads of asclepias tuberosa are orange and gorgeous. Asclepias incarnata has flower heads that are a quiet shade of dusky rose. But my main interest in them is the seed pods. The pods are large, ovate, and a compelling shade of bluish green. In late summer, this green phase dominates the plants.
Once the seeds begin to ripen, the pods will split along their length.
Our local fields and meadows are full of the remains of the milkweed pods come November. They have an elegantly spare and ruggedly persistent shape.
But the white fluff inside is what interests me the most. Each butterfly weed seed is firmly affixed to its own white silky and fluffy airplane. These white silky hairs catch the wind, and aid in the dispersal of the seed.
How plants set seed is an event any gardener would appreciate. How the milkweeds insure the survival of their seed is nothing short of miraculous.
From Wikipedia: The milkweed filaments from the follicles are hollow and coated with wax, and have good insulation qualities. As of 2007, milkweed is grown commercially as a hypoallergenic filling for pillows. This commercial use does not interest me as much as how the butterfly weed seeds itself. A milkweed seed with its virtually weightless attendant white fluff is a little and subtle miracle I never tire of. Every year, the marvel of it enchants me.
Once those seeds emerge, that fluff is everywhere. It will stick to your hands, your clothes, your shoes, your trowel, and your wheelbarrow. An individual seed is large, and relatively speaking, heavy. How this plant has evolved to insure that these big seeds get dispersed is but one of countless stories engineered by nature. I have had occasion to design and install fairly complex landscapes, but this design and execution is beyond compare.
Any landscape designers best ally is what comes from the natural world. All it takes is a lot of observation, and then some serious thought. As my friend and colleague Susan Cohan says, art does not necessarily have to work. No artwork needs a white silky airplane to be. A work of art lives independent of time,conditions, and circumstance. Good landscape design is a craft, in that every moment needs to assess the conditions, fire up,and fly.
The milkweed seeds about to fly is a day in the gardening season I look forward to. I would hope these plants would find a foothold in many places. I like that the Monarch butterfly feeds and reproduces on a plant that has a plan to not only enable these beautiful creatures, but reproduce.
Much of gardening is about the physical issues. The dirt, the water, the drainage, the weather, the maintenance, the beginning, and the ending. But there are those singular moments that float.
There is a day every gardening season when I make the effort to launch the asclepias seeds. It feels good to think I am doing my part.
Do these seeds need me? No. Nature saw to this efficient dispersal long before I ever took up a trowel. But I do it anyway. This white fluff I put in the air makes me feel good.


text: Warm-colored thrush, with bright reddish-brown tones above, buffy breast, and white belly. Spots are indistinct and washed out, concentrating on upper breast. Beautiful song is cascading spiral of flute-like notes. Found in a variety of wooded habitats, often favoring wetter areas. Winters in South and Central America; very rare in the U.S. after October, unlike Hermit Thrush.


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We are experiencing an historic time which will be referred to in future years. What we don't know yet is just how deep this crash is and the extent of the fallout which will come from it. What we do know is that markets are reeling and multiplied millions of people have already been affected.
Banks have been nationalised. Millions of people have lost their homes. Billions of dollars of stock value has disappeared in days. Fortunes have been lost and won. International summits have been called. Moments of hope have been established, only to be demolished by the next wave of bad news.
You'll be able to tell your grandchildren you went through the Crash of 2008!
The Big Question
The big question that people want answered is, "What is really going on?" Is this the end of the world or just a bump along the road to progress? Will everything right itself or will the carnage continue?
To help you understand what is going on I have pulled together a list of factors that have contributed to our current situation.
Greed or the Love of Money gives people a willingness to put all at risk in order to get a profit. And greed is a big part of the operation of modern markets, whatever people are dealing with.
Back in the days of the South Sea Bubble the Poet Alexander Pope pointed to greed as a key factor in the huge losses of his day. He said of the South Sea debacle – "See Britain sunk in Lucre's sordid charms". By this he saw that it was the lust for "lucre" (money) that had dragged Britain into the quagmire of terrible losses.
The Apostle Paul taught that the "love of money" is the root of all evil – 1Timothy 6:10. Christians must be free from the desire for "greedy gain" (filthy lucre) 1Timothy 3:3,8, Titus 1:7,11, 1Peter 5:2.
I have often heard it noted that our present financial systems are dominated by Greed and Fear. These emotions dominate our markets and most financial decisions.
So greed is clearly one of the culprits in our present situation. If the world's finances were to move to a better footing they would be based on the use of money for noble purposes, not to indulge people's greedy ambitions.
International Power Brokers
There are people with sufficient financial power to control what happens to the rest of us. A number of the financial busts that have happened over the centuries have been created by financial manipulators.
It is claimed that one crash in the USA was planned four years in advance, so the bankers could buy farming land from bankrupted farmers. For those who want to get some idea of the history of international financiers acting as power brokers check out the Money Masters videos on YouTube.
Orchestrated Financial Machinations can enable those in control to gain the wealth and assets of others. For example, one strategy could be to allow people to make money and start new industries, then create a bust so you can buy the proven winners cheaply, then allow another boom, so you get the profit from other people's innovation and hard work.
If people have borrowed money then they can be trapped into having to sell their asset to pay their debts. Thus their assets get taken off them.
In the present situation we will probably never know the extent to which the problems have been orchestrated by high-level power players. It is safe to say, however, that it is likely that people of power and influence have been active in the markets, steering things to their advantage when they can.
Divine Intervention
God is bigger than all the banks and governments in the world. When God brings judgement on a people or nation those being judged will suffer all kinds of negative things.
The Bible reveals how God brought enemies, famine, diseases and trouble upon the nation of Israel and other nations. God even prophesied in advance that those things were going to happen.
God also promises that if His people humble themselves and pray He will "heal their land". "If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2Chronicles 7:14
I am confident that God is at work in this present situation. I also believe that if God's people will humble themselves and get right with God then further upheaval can be averted. I rather suspect, however, that we are heading down a rough road and people will persist in their rebellion for a while longer.
Sin has a Part to Play
The Bible says that sin is a reproach to a nation.
"Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people." Proverbs 14:34
God promises to curse people who reject Him, with famine and financial loss. See Deuteronomy 28 for the extensive discussion of blessings and curses on those who respond differently to God's Word.
When nations give themselves over to selfishness and sin they bring problems and calamity onto themselves. The selfish determination to live as we please is sin, and God has every right to judge us for such defiance of His claim upon our lives.
Mammon is Ruling the Nations
Jesus said we either worship God or Mammon. Mammon is the desire for gain and the elevation of material wellbeing and self-interest over our willingness to worship God.
I have pointed out in other places that western culture is given over to the worship of Mammon. Instead of living for God and glorifying Him whole nations are living for self and glorifying themselves.
God says "Love Your Neighbour", and Mammon says "Exploit Your Neighbour". God says "Trust Me and I Will Bless You", but Mammon says "Serve Me and I Will Bless You".
Western Culture and much of the world are ruled by the desire for gain, not the willingness to bless others.
What is Going On?
What is going on is that we are reaping what we have sown. Greed, Power Games, Sin and Mammon worship have set us up for God's response. God is intent on having us worship Him, as is our responsibility, since He gave us life and everything in it.
So the next concern we have to think about is, "What is God doing in all of this?" That is what I will take up with you when we come to the third instalment in this discussion.


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This sounds quite interesting...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Nov. 16, 2016 This holiday season, guests at Disney Springs the shopping, dining and entertainment district of Walt Disney World Resort will get a chance to see Disney and Intel exploring remarkable new technology as hundreds of lighted show drones take to the nighttime sky in Starbright Holidays An Intel Collaboration.
The first-of-its-kind light show featuring 300 Intel® Shooting StarTM show drones invites guests to gaze skyward and make a special wish this holiday season. The synchronized choreography of the new Intel Shooting Star drones is set to a specially orchestrated arrangement of classic holiday music. In the nostalgic and stirring medley, Disney Springs guests can listen for a few bars of classic Disney melodies.
We are thrilled to share an experience as innovative and unique as Disney Springs, said Keith Bradford, Vice President of Disney Springs. Starbright Holidays is a wonderful surprise and delight moment for guests as they enjoy an evening of world-class shopping, dining and entertainment here at Disney Springs.
Added Jon Snoddy, Studio Executive with Walt Disney Imagineering R&D, At Disney, we are always looking for innovative ways to tell stories and create unexpected experiences. Were excited to invite guests to watch as we explore the possibilities of this remarkable new technology.
Starbright Holidays An Intel Collaboration marks the first time in the United States 300 show drones have flown at one time. At 280g, the Intel Shooting Star drone weighs less than a volleyball, and features built-in LED lights that can create more than four billion color combinations.
We are excited to work with Walt Disney Imagineering to bring a fresh and innovative approach to its world-renowned light shows, said Senior Vice President and General Manager of Intels New Technology Group, Josh Walden. Together, we worked to tackle the new frontier of entertainment, picturing the sky as our canvas, and flying lights as ink.
Starbright Holidays An Intel Collaboration will join other holiday enhancements at Disney Springs, including a brand-new Christmas Tree Trail, special seasonal entertainment, meet and greets with Santa, and festive decor throughout all four neighborhoods Town Center, The Landing, West Side and Marketplace.


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Now that spring is in full swing, you and your family will likely be spending more time outside taking part in activities and enjoying the beautiful weather. However, there are some dangers unique to the outdoors that you should be aware of, to keep your family healthy all season. Here at AFC/Doctors Express, we have some tips on how to avoid a seasonal trip to your urgent care center!
- Wear sunscreen — even when it doesn't look sunny out! The sun's rays are very powerful, and as we now know, they can damage human skin. Besides causing a painful sunburn, exposure over the long term can lead to dangerous skin conditions, such as skin cancer. Sun exposure without protection can also prematurely age your skin, which isn't something anyone wants! Even if the sun is behind clouds, UV rays are getting through, and they can still affect you.
- Wear bug spray! Insect bites can be painful and itchy, but that's not the worst part. Many insects like mosquitoes and ticks can spread dangerous diseases, like West Nile virus and Lyme disease. This is especially worrying with the recent spread of the Zika virus, the effects of which are still being discovered.
- Stay hydrated, and know the signs of heat illness! As the weather gets warmer, we're going to see a rise in heat illness. The old and very young are most at risk, because their bodies are not good at regulating their core temperature. Additionally, those who spend a lot of time outside playing sports or doing manual labor are at a higher risk, because they are exposed to the heat longer. If you notice that you or someone around you has stopped sweating, seems confused and has become very pale or weak, take them out of the heat and begin rehydrating them and cooling them down, because they are likely in the beginning stages of heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
- Keep your first aid kit handy! Cuts, bites and bruises are a fact of life when you're playing outdoors, so keep a first aid kit nearby to deal with minor injuries. It's important to clean and wrap an injury quickly in order to prevent infection. You don't want to stop the fun because of a cut that could easily be taken care of!
- Know your plants! Many poisonous plants have very distinctive markings or shapes, so with an observant eye, you can keep your family from experiencing some very unpleasant symptoms! As a general rule, unless you are completely sure of what a plant is, do not eat it. Remember, the plants could be blueberries, or they could be nightshade!
Here at AFC/Doctors Express, we want you to be able to enjoy all that spring and summer have to offer, with none of the dangers! Take some time to address these preventive measures, so you can get the most out of your warm weather activities!


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A promise of free contraception made by the B.C. NDP has led to praise from an advocacy group.
The campaign promise, announced by NDP Leader John Horgan last week, is expected to cost $60 million each year.
Devon Black and Teale Phelps Bondaroff, co-founders of AccessBC, said that they've been advocating for free birth control in B.C. for four years.
"We were really excited," Phelps Bondaroff said. The group, although non-partisan, helped pass the policy at an NDP convention in 2017, the first step to getting it to an election platform.
"It's long overdue. Every single party should have it in their platform."
In the days following Black Press Media's interview with AccessBC, the B.C. Greens pledged free contraception for people under the age of 25, as well as to eliminate PST on all prescription contraceptive products. Intrauterine contraceptives and oral ones are already provincial sales tax exempt.
Following comments by BC Liberal candidate Laurie Throness comparing free birth control to eugenics, Leader Andrew Wilkinson tweeted that "Let's be clear, I support government providing free contraception to anyone in B.C who wants it." He also said he would discuss the issue with Throness, saying what the candidate "said was wrong and against my position as leader of this party." However, Wilkinson did not announce any official promise to provide free contraception in B.C.
Phelps Bondaroff said that while free contraception from the province comes with a price tag, a 2010 report from Options for Sexual Health – a organization that offers low-cost, or free, access to sexual health and gynaecological services – found that for every dollar spent on contraception, the government saves $90 on social support programs. In total, the report estimates that the government could save approximately $95 million per year with a free birth control policy.
"This is because the cost of providing free prescription contraception to women, trans men and non-binary people who have uteruses is considerably lower than the costs associated with unintended pregnancy," Phelps Bondaroff said.
"If you can't afford contraception, you probably can't afford to raise a child [without help]."
While both Black and Phelps Bondaroff acknowledge that cost is not the only barrier for many, they said it's an important step to take. B.C. has provided free access to the abortion pill Mifegymiso since early 2018. Surgical abortion, as well as vasectomies and the more invasive tubal ligation for women, are all covered by provincial health care.
READ MORE: No-cost medical abortions 'a game changer' in B.C. women's health care
Black said while the issue has been pressing for a long time, the pandemic has made free, equal access to contraception more urgent.
"There's a lot of people who lost access to their health-care insurance that they otherwise would have gotten through their work," she said.
"Unfortunately, 'pink collar' industries were among the ones hit hardest by COVID."
"Pink collar" industries such as the service industry, which traditionally employ more women than men, have seen the worst of the job losses associated with the pandemic.
But even for those who've always paid for their birth control out of pocket, money is often tighter than usual these days. This especially applies, Black said, to women who prefer, or need to use, forms of contraception that are more expensive upfront.
"Long acting reversible forms of contraception are more effective than the pill," Black said, but noted that they are much more expensive upfront, even if they are cheaper over time. Contraceptive pills cost around $20 a month, but can add up to $720 over three years, compared to a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) that could cost around $380 but be good for between three and five years. Copper IUDs, which are popular with women who cannot tolerate hormones, can last for up to 10 years at a much lower cost than equivalent birth control pills.
Phelps Bondaroff said that long acting forms of birth control are also crucial to women dealing with domestic abuse or reproductive coercion, the latter of which means an abuser taking away their partner's power to make choices about their reproductive health.
Black said that if government pays for contraception, it makes it a public health issue, not an individual issue placed on women, trans men and non-binary people who have uteruses.
"Even if you're not the person paying for contraception, you're often benefitting from it," she said.
"This is a way of making sure that the costs for contraception aren't unfairly allocated just to people who are able to get pregnant."
READ MORE: B.C.'s virtual COVID-19 election campaign lacks human touch
READ MORE: B.C. parties battle over tax promises to recover from COVID-19
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By Kelsie Merrick
There is a universal theory amongst our society that the reason for fewer women running for political office is family concerns and responsibilities. In 2011, a study was conducted that surveyed a national random sample of men and women who were deemed "equally credentialed" in the four fields where political candidates commonly emerge. These are law, business, education, and politics. 62 percent of the men questioned admitted to having considered running for office whereas, only 45 percent of women had considered running for office. Jennifer Lawless, a director for the Women and Politics Institute at American University, analyzed this data and realized that family structure or family roles did not account for the 17 percent gap. She believes that "women are less likely to be encouraged to run and less likely to be considered as a potential candidate when a position opens up." The negative self-perception and self-doubt among women is also a factor behind why they are not as involved in office races because of the scrutiny women are under once they enter the political field.
In the United States, during elections there is a tremendous problem with the media and the difference between how they judge female politicians in comparison to male politicians. When it comes to women, "media exposure is often belittling and irrelevant because newspapers and television newscasts focus on appearance and attire, rather than the candidate's platform or attitudes about central issues." Female politicians are acknowledged by their gender then by whether they can handle raising a family and being a politician at the same time as well as on their mothering styles. Then after the media is finished analyzing them on these two subjects, politics become the main focus. Men, on the other hand, are never questioned about their masculinity or family roles; they are immediately questioned about politics.
Two well-known female politicians that have had to endure the media's crude comments are Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton. They both ran during the 2008 presidential election and the media had a field day with sexist comments.
For Sarah Palin, there were plenty of topics for the media to critic her on while she was Governor of Alaska such as her defeat with big oil companies. Unfortunately, instead, she was "glorified over her participation in beauty pageants and cheerleading." For this reason, the media immediately dismissed her as a serious candidate and continued to focus on her appearance, lack of seriousness, or lack of experience. She was also persecuted for her role as a mother. Palin, a mother of five with one child having special needs, "was constantly questioned if she would be able to devote enough time to the Vice-Presidency." However, if she were to be a dedicated Vice-President, she then would have been labeled as a bad mother. Her credibility of a Vice-Presidential candidate was questioned even more when her seventeen-year-old daughter became pregnant. If a male candidate's young daughter became pregnant, it is very unlikely that the media would have broadcasted it as much as they did with Palin.
Sarah Palin's fellow female candidate during the 2008 race was Hillary Clinton. Unlike Palin, Clinton had an "impressive resume and strong qualities" but the media still "labeled her as old, worn down, and significantly less sex appeal than Palin." Yet again, the media chose to focus on Clinton's appearance rather than the extensive experience in politics she had. The media created a dynamic between the two women where Palin was the pretty candidate and Clinton was the powerful, manly candidate due to her "pantsuits and stout stature." Clinton had to deal with comments about her "body, cleavage, choice of pantsuits, and speculation about cosmetic surgery." Because of the continuous inappropriate attacks on her appearance and mannerisms, the public seldom saw any media coverage that was about her intelligence, experience or policies. Hillary Clinton being a Presidential candidate for the upcoming election has had to endure the same inappropriate critics she experienced in 2008. In April, Chelsea Clinton became a mother and this "set off speculation that being a grandmother would affect Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions" but Joe Biden, a man with five grandchildren, never once was asked about how it would affect his possible Presidential ambitions.
An article in the Huffington Post in 2013, spoke of Johanna Dunaway, an Assistant Professor of Political Science and Mass Communication of Louisiana State University, who conducted a research study that proved that the media covers female candidates running for office differently than men running for office. The research team employed in this study collected data from 9,725 newspaper articles from the Senate and gubernatorial races in 2006 and 2008. The team then looked at if the article focused on personality traits or political issues of those running and compared between the two genders. Their findings were that:
When only male candidates were running, stories focused on character traits 6 percent of the time and political issues 55.5 percent of the time. When only female candidates were running, the stories focused on character traits 9.4 percent of the time and issues 51.7 percent of the time. And when a mix of male and female candidates were running, the articles focused on traits 10.8 percent of the time and the issues 53.1 percent of the time.
The research team concluded that when there is a female candidate in a political race, the media tends to focus more on personality traits in general with an extra focus on the female's personality traits over the male candidate.


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A Texas charitable organization says 32 immigrant parents separated from their children after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border were freed into its care, but they don't know where their kids are or when they might see them again despite government assurances that family reunification would be well organized.
The release on Sunday is believed to be the first, large one of its kind since President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday that preserved a "zero-tolerance" policy for entering the country illegally but ended the practice of separating immigrant parents and children. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offered no immediate comment.
Ruben Garcia, director of Annunciation House in El Paso, said the group of both mothers and fathers includes some from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras who arrived to his group after federal authorities withdrew criminal charges for illegal entry. He didn't release names or personal details to protect the parents' privacy, and Homeland Security officials said they needed more specifics in order to check out their cases.
A Saturday night fact sheet by the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies said authorities know the location of all children in custody after separating them from their families at the border and are working to reunite them. It called the reunification process "well coordinated."
It also said parents must request that their child be deported with them. In the past, the fact sheet says, many parents elected to be deported without their children. That may be a reflection of violence or persecution they face in their home countries.
It doesn't state how long it might take to reunite families. Texas' Port Isabel Service Processing Center has been set up as the staging ground for the families to be reunited prior to deportation.
How the government would reunite families has been unclear because they are first stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, with children taken into custody by the Department of Health and Human Services and adults detained through ICE, which is under the Department of Homeland Security. Children have been sent to far-flung shelters around the country, raising alarm that parents might never know where their children can be found.
At least 2,053 minors who were separated at the border were being cared for in HHS-funded facilities, the fact sheet said.
The chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee hedged Sunday when pressed on whether he was confident the Trump administration knows where all the children are and will be able to reunite them with their parents.
"That is what they're claiming," Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said on CNN's "State of the Union."
The fact sheet states that ICE has implemented an identification mechanism to ensure ongoing tracking of linked family members throughout the detention and removal process; designated detention locations for separated parents and will enhance current processes to ensure communication with children in HHS custody; worked closely with foreign consulates to ensure that travel documents are issued for both the parent and child at time of removal; and coordinated with HHS for the reuniting of the child prior to the parents' departure from the U.S.
As part of the effort, ICE officials have posted notices in all its facilities advising detained parents who are trying to find or communicate with their children to call a hotline staffed 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
A parent or guardian trying to determine if a child is in the custody of HHS should contact the Office of Refugee Resettlement National Call Center at 1-800-203-7001, or via email at information(at)ORRNCC.com. Information will be collected and sent to an HHS-funded facility where a minor is located.
But it's unclear whether detained parents have access to computers to send an email, or how their phone systems work to call out. Attorneys at the border have said they have been frantically trying to locate information about the children on behalf of their clients.
Garcia, the Annunciation House director, said his experience has been that telephone contact doesn't provide any information.
"If we bring in 30 cellphones, they're going to call that number, they're not going to reach 30 children," said Garcia, whose organization has been working with federal authorities to assist immigrants for 40 years. "Actually [they're] not going to be able to give them any information on what to expect."
Customs and Border Patrol said it had reunited 522 children and that some were never taken into custody by Health and Human Services because their parents' criminal cases were processed too quickly. Officials have said as many as 2,300 children had been separated from the time the policy began until June 9. It's not clear if any of the 2,000 remaining children were taken into custody after June 9.
The "zero-tolerance policy" of criminally prosecuting anyone caught illegally crossing the border remains in effect, officials have said, despite confusion on the ground on how to carry out Trump's order. Justice Department officials asked a federal judge to amend a class-action settlement that governs how children are treated in immigration custody. Right now, children can only be detained with their families for 20 days; Trump officials are seeking to detain them together indefinitely as their cases progress. Advocates say family detention does not solve the problem.


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PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Plastic framed red housing which has a metal pad on the floor where targeted rodents will walk. When turned on, the pad carries a negative charge on one side and a positive charge on the other side. The two sections of the pad are not touching allowing for the charge to remain for long periods of time. Rodents which enter the chamber will act as a bridge between the two pads and effectively ground it out leading to their death. When the two pads ground out, they will deliver a 30-60 second bolt of electricity which is strong enough to kill many small rodents. It works off high voltage and very low amps. In other words, it can't kill a person if someone was to accidentally ground it out. They would feel discomfort; a pain where they touched it for sure, but it can't do any damage. The unit features an off/on switch located on top, runs on 4 AA batteries and will deliver up to 25-50 kills (larger animals will use up the batteries faster). Install lithium batteries for longer lasting power; up to 100 kills per set of batteries.
TARGET ANIMALS: Mice, Rats, Chipmunks, Squirrels, Voles, Shrews and other small animals.
Bait with pet food, bird seed and for added lure, some of our PECAN PASTE. Just be sure to set the Pecan Paste in something that will contain it like a plastic soda bottle cap or a water bottle cap. This way the paste won't "run" if the device is deployed in a hot area.
HOW IT WORKS: As mice and rats enter the chamber, they'll quickly be dispatched by a quick and powerful jolt of electricity. Approximately 50 kills per set of 4 alkaline AA batteries makes these units easy to use and reusable; up to 100 kills with lithium batteries.
WHERE TO USE IT: Attics, crawl spaces, garages, drop ceilings and any place where you have rodent activity. Can also be used outside but when doing so, make sure it's well protected from water. The TRAP TUBE is designed to help protect it and strongly suggested if you plan on using one in a wet crawl space or outside. Be sure to keep it away from where small dogs have access. The rule is any dog under 10 lbs will be vulnerable to it; old dogs could get hurt by it as well. Children and people in general are not at risk though the shock would be painful. However, be sure to keep it away from where anyone can find it accidentally or if they can, be sure to have it marked clearly that it is designed to deliver an electric shock.
RATE OF APPLICATION: At least one per area of activity. Like most devices for rodents, the more you have the better and if you have several areas of activity you can avoid having to move the device around to complete your control program by having two or three.
PRODUCT SIZE: Each unit is approximately 4″ wide by 4″ tall by 10″ long and weighs around 1 lb.
Order online and save 5%
Supporting Video
[tubepress mode="playlist" playlistValue="374C2102F1AE6881″]


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The stage is set for unprecedented major flooding this spring for most of the nation, U.S. weather
officials said Thursday.
More than 200 million Americans are at risk for some kind of flooding, with 13 million of them at risk of
major inundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its spring weather outlook
. About 41 million people are at risk of moderate flooding.
Major flooding now occurring in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri and other Midwestern states is a
preview of an all-too wet and dangerous spring, said Mary Erickson, deputy director of the National
Weather Service. "In fact, we expect the flooding to get worse and more widespread," she said.
This year's flooding "could be worse than anything we've seen in recent years, even worse than the
historic floods of 1993 and 2011 ," she said. Those floods caused billions of dollars in damage,
and officials said this year's damage in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota has already passed the
billion-dollar mark.
Forecasters said the biggest risks include all three Mississippi River basins, the Red River of the
North, the Great Lakes, plus the basins of the eastern Missouri River, lower Ohio River, lower
Cumberland River and the Tennessee River.
The Missouri River has already set records with historic flood marks measured in 30 places in Nebraska,
Iowa and South Dakota, Kansas City forecaster Kevin Lao said.
The river "remains vulnerable to moderate flooding for the remainder of the spring and early
summer," Lao said. "People should be prepared for major flooding along the Missouri River …
going into the future."
Most of Nebraska, except right along the Missouri River, is unlikely to see major flooding again this
year, but the rest of the flooded area is still prone to more, Low said.
Several factors will likely combine to create a pulse of flooding that will eventually head south along
the Mississippi: above average rainfall this winter— including 10 to 15 inches earlier this year in a
drenching along the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys; the third wettest year in U.S. history; and rapidly
melting snow in the Upper Midwest.
Extra rain will bring more farm runoff down the Mississippi, which will likely lead to more
oxygen-starved areas in the Gulf of Mexico and likely make the summer dead zone larger than normal, said
Edward Clark, director of NOAA's National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
It's too early for scientists to make the complex calculations to see if human-caused climate change
played a role in the flooding. However, scientists said the conditions are consistent with what they
expect from global warming.
In addition to the year-to-year natural variability of weather, there is a long-term, climate
change-driven trend that is making extreme rainfalls even more intense, said Texas A&M
University climate scientist Andrew Dessler.
"You can think of climate change as steroids for these rain events," he said.
University of Illinois climate scientist Donald Wuebbles, co-author of a report released Thursday on
climate change and the Great Lakes, said "we have been seeing a significant increase in
precipitation coming as larger events, especially in the Midwest and Northeast, over the last five to
six decades." It will get worse, so flooding will get to be a bigger concern, he said.
In part of the South, it already is.
Major flooding is already occurring this week on the Mississippi River near several Southern cities
including Arkansas City, Arkansas; Natchez, Mississippi; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to river
gauges and data from NOAA. Since Feb. 8, about 100 Army Corps of Engineers personnel have been
monitoring levees and other flood protection in Memphis; Clarksdale, Mississippi; and Helena, Arkansas.
The swollen river has been flooding some unprotected western Mississippi communities since last month.
One Mississippi region protected by levees is also flooding. The smaller rivers there can't drain into
the Mississippi River as normal, because a floodgate that protects the region from even worse flooding
by the big river has been closed since Feb. 15.
Residents around Rolling Fork, Mississippi, first noticed water rising from swamps in late February. The
water eventually invaded some homes in that community, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of
Borenstein reported from Washington, Martin from Atlanta. Associated Press Writers Adrian Sainz in
Memphis, Tennessee, and Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed.


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Comprehensive testing methods
Only when our products have withstood extreme temperatures, humidity, ice, salt, impacts and vibrations and emerged unscathed do we deliver them to you. Our results are recorded in test records, which are stored in our archive for 13 years and may be viewed by our customers at any time.
Our special testing methods ensure that every Fronius product meets the highest quality standards, is free from defects and continues to withstand tough conditions. Spare parts remain available for all our devices for at least ten years after the product is discontinued – and often for even longer.


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The Wiggle" is one of San Francisco's most beloved and cherished
bike routes and guides riders the easiest way between two nasty hills.
It even has its own Wiki page.
It's so popular, it is hard to stand there at any point of the day
and not see mega helpings of cyclists passing thru! (Please note: This
is a camera person's dream.) Recently, after a judge partially lifted a full ban (due to an injunction) on bike amenities, the SF DOT striped a unique combo to aid cyclist's safety and sanity. A green bike box
on Scott Street - believed to be California's first - allows riders to
safely wait and queue up for a dedicated left-hand turn lane which runs
the length of the entire next block.
Andy Thornley from San Francisco Bike Coalition took us around to show how it works - and some riders voiced their appreciation.