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Weekly Digest – 28 October 2020
Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. We hope you and your family are safe and doing well. Read on for this week's updates and some ideas that will help us all overcome this crisis.
Australia Starts Fourth Quarter on Stronger Economic Footing
Flash Australia PMI signals faster output growth in October as COVID-19 restrictions loosen.
The IHS Markit Flash Australia Composite PMI, covering both manufacturing and service sectors, increased from 51.1 in September to 53.6 in October. This marked the fastest increase in private sector output for nearly a year, and coincided with further easing of social restrictions, particularly in Victoria.
Also, business sentiment was at its strongest for just over two years due to expectations of the economy opening up further in the months ahead.
If your business is still struggling amid the COVID-19 crisis, don't hesitate to get in touch with us for personalised business advice.
Victoria Reported No New Cases Two Days in a Row (Monday and Tuesday)
Great news! Victoria reported 0 new COVID-19 cases on Monday after a huge testing drive.
This means Melbourne have moved out of lockdown and into the Third Step. From 11:59pm on Tuesday, Melbourne moved from "stay home" to "stay safe", with no more restrictions on the reasons to leave home. However, the 25-kilometre limit will remain in place and the border between regional Victoria and Melbourne will remain in place for just a bit longer.
If the number of cases continues to decline, the limit will come off from November 8.
Which COVID-19 Restrictions Are Easing
Melbourne is getting a taste of well-earned freedoms this week, as there were no new COVID-19 cases found over the weekend. Here's what the Third Step means and the restrictions that were eased:
- Cafes, restaurants and pubs can reopen. Outdoors with a limit of up to 50, indoors up to 20.
- Weddings can be attended by up to ten people, and funerals up to 20.
- Beauty and personal care services can resume, and remaining retail are open.
- Outdoor contact sport for those aged 18 and under can begin again.
- PT, fitness and dance classes can also be held outdoors with up to ten people, and the number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50.
- Workplaces will no longer need to be on the permitted work list to open.
- While the boundary is in place between regional Victoria and Melbourne, work permits will be required for those travelling between these areas.
Although restrictions are easing, each person's responsibility remains. If you need help on how to operate your business safely, get in touch with us so we can provide you with expert business advice.
Victoria Building QR Code Check-In Tool
The Victorian government is developing a QR code check-in system to achieve gold-standard COVID-19 contact tracing.
The system will be based on the technology used in New South Wales and the ACT. ACT Health has offered to give its system to the Victorian government for free.
It is not yet clear if the Victorian system will be an app or a website. We will keep you posted as soon as further details are available.
Westpac Helps AU Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses
Westpac will be accepting applications for new and existing eligible customers for equipment finance goods loans, as part of phase two of the Federal Government's Coronavirus SME Guarantee Loan Scheme.
Those with up to $50m in annual turnover will be offered new equipment loans with interest rates starting at 2.99% fixed for 5 years on loans up to $1 million. This comes as new research from the Westpac SME COVID-19 Response Report revealed 80% of SMEs have either reduced their spending, held off making huge purchases, or held off borrowing due to economic uncertainty.
Westpac will also waive the Equipment Finance establishment fee (usually from $450) on Equipment Finance Goods Loan applications submitted under Westpac's SMEG offer and settled between 1 November 2020 and close of business 31 December 2020.
If you need professional assistance for your loan application, feel free to flick us a message. We can also help you consider other funding assistance you may be eligible for.
Australian Business Growth Fund Launches
The government-backed Australian Business Growth Fund has launched to ensure small- and medium-sized businesses have access to equity finance, as the country recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.
Initially, the Australian Business Growth Fund will have an initial investment capacity of $540 million, with a goal to grow the fund to $1 billion.
The government is making a $100-million investment, while major banks including ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB, and Westpac have also committed $100 million each.
The fund will allow Australian businesses to apply for long-term equity capital investments between $5 million and $15 million, where they have generated annual revenue between $2 million and $100 million and can demonstrate three years of revenue growth and profitability.
If you need help in assessing your eligibility or to consider other financing options, don't hesitate to contact us for guidance.
Claiming Motor Vehicle Expenses
The ATO allows you to claim motor vehicle expenses that are part of everyday business operations, including travelling between different business premises and visiting clients.
Common expenses include:
- fuel
- repairs
- lease payments
- insurance registration
- depreciation
You may work out your claim using the cents per kilometre method or the logbook method.
For the cents per kilometre method, the rate is 72 cents and applies for a maximum of 5,000 business kilometres per car.
Meanwhile, for the logbook method, you must keep a logbook for at least 12 consecutive weeks and work out the percentage of business use for each car expense.
Remember to claim only the business portion of the expenses and keep records of how you calculated your claim. Alternatively, you may contact us so we can help you with your claims and ensure your compliance.
Proposed Superannuation Reform Measures
The Government has announced that it will spend $159.6 million over the next four years to implement a number of reforms to the superannuation system that will save fund members $18 billion in fees and other costs between now and 2030. The key elements of these reforms include:
- From 1 July 2021, when a person changes jobs, their super account will be 'stapled' automatically to them. At the time of starting a new job, and unless a member decides otherwise, their employer will pay superannuation contributions into their existing 'stapled' fund.
- By 1 July 2021, the Government will develop a new interactive online 'YourSuper' comparison tool, which will be administered by the ATO, to allow people to research and select a MySuper fund to manage their super savings.
- MySuper products and other trustee-directed superannuation products will be subject to an annual objective performance test, based on net investment returns. A fund determined to be underperforming will be required to notify its members and provide them with information and tools to switch to a better performing fund
The government has not yet announced any change to the already legislated SG increases, which are due to see the SG rate increase from the current 9.5% to 10% from 1 July 2021, with further gradual increases to 12% by 2025.
JobKeeper Key Date: 31 October 2020
For the JobKeeper fortnights starting 28 September and 12 October only, the ATO is allowing employers until 31 October to meet the wage condition for all employees included in the JobKeeper scheme.
New entities enrolling for the JobKeeper will also need to enrol and submit their 'Check decline in turnover' form to the ATO online on 31 October. You can find more details on the actual decline in turnover test here.
Australians to Receive Tax Cuts
The Government approved $17.8 billion in personal tax cuts, quickly pushing through measures announced recently.
More than 11 million Australians and 1 million businesses will begin receiving tax relief within weeks.
Under the new tax package, people earning $48,000 to $90,000 will gain an extra $1,080 in 2020-21 from a one-off extension of the low and middle-income tax offset. Meanwhile, those earning more than $120,000 will have a permanent cut of $2,430 in 2020-21 and beyond.
If you need help with your taxes, get in touch with us so we can sort it out for you.
$800m Digital Business Plan to Drive Economic Recovery
The Australian Government has announced a Digital Business plan to enable businesses to take advantage of digital technologies to grow their businesses and create jobs in the wake of COVID-19. PM Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced the almost $800 million scheme on Tuesday that will facilitate doing more business online in a post-pandemic world.
Under the plan, the rollout of Australia's 5G network will be accelerated, the digital capacity of the agriculture, manufacturing, mining, logistics and financial services will be boosted, and Australians will be able to start a new business in 15 minutes using online government services.
If you need our expert advice on how you can start a business or pivot to adapt to the crisis, don't hesitate to message us.
Major Overhaul to Bankruptcy Laws
After the major changes to the JobSeeker and JobKeeper programs, Australia's bankruptcy laws have been overhauled, throwing a lifeline to struggling businesses amid the COVID-19 crisis.
Under the proposed changes, businesses with liabilities of less than $1 million will be able to keep operating while they come up with a debt restructuring plan, rather than be placed in the hands of administrators.
The new rules which will become effective from 1 January 2021 follows the government's decision earlier this month to extend its temporary insolvency and bankruptcy protection rules until the end of 2020.
Supporting Apprentices and Trainees Wage Subsidy Extended
The Supporting Apprentices and Trainees wage subsidy has been expanded and extended to include medium-sized businesses who had an eligible apprentice in place from 1 July 2020.
Eligible employers will receive a wage subsidy of up to 50% of the wages paid until 31 March 2021 worth up to $7,000 per quarter, per eligible apprentice or trainee, to manage their cash flow challenges. Subsidies will also be available to any new employer who re-engages an eligible apprentice that was displaced by an eligible small- or medium-sized business.
This may be of particular interest to employers who are not eligible for the JobKeeper extension. For professional assistance in applying for this wage subsidy or any other funding assistance, feel free to contact us.
Business Resilience Package for Victorian Businesses
The Victorian government is investing $3 billion in cash grants, tax relief, and cashflow support to aid businesses hit by the tight restrictions and help them prepare for COVID Normal. The types of support included in this package are divided into three categories: Business Support, Business Adaptation, and Waivers and Deferrals.
Included in Business Support is the third round of the Business Support Fund for small- and medium-sized business ($822 million), with applications opening on 18 September 2020.
Meanwhile, Business Adaptation involves funding, tools, and resources to help businesses adapt to COVID Normal. Tax and cashflow support amounting to $1.8 billion will be provided by the government under the Waivers and Deferrals scheme.
For a detailed rundown of the inclusions of the Business Resilience Package, click here. Let us help you assess your eligibility and gain access to government support! Get in touch with us so we can schedule a consultation.
Sole Trader Support Fund
The Victorian Government has announced the Sole Trader Support Fund for eligible non-employing businesses affected by COVID-19 restrictions. Under this scheme, sole traders will receive a grant of $3,000.
Grant applications will open in the coming days and the full list of eligibility criteria will be published soon. We will keep you updated as soon as more information is available.
Government-backed COVID-19 Loans Extended
The government is extending its small business COVID-19 loans scheme until June 2021. If you need help to access these loans or you want to find out if you are eligible, don't hesitate to drop us a message.
How to Write a Business Proposal
So you've found a great opportunity to sell and you need to submit an impressive business proposal to convince your potential client to grant you the contract. It may seem overwhelming at first, but you can craft this document with a bit of a know-how and a good understanding of your business and what you can offer.
Below are the basic points to be included in your business proposal:
- Title page
This keeps your document tidy and gives a nice first impression of how you do business. - Cover letter
Your cover letter should introduce your business and your proposal. It is recommended to keep it concise, friendly, and with a positive tone. - Table of contents
It will let your potential client know right away what are the points included in the document. - Executive summary
Present a high level overview of the problem you're meaning to solve, overview of the solutions you will provide, the expected result, and a call-to-action. - Proposal
Identify the gap and how you intend to fill this gap. - Services and methodology
Go into the finer details of what products or services can get from you to address their needs. Provide a timeline to transform your proposal to reality and share a realistic delivery plan. - Why hire us
Lay out what sets you apart from other players in the industry. Let your potential client know about your experience, expertise, relevant projects you've worked on, and case studies or testimonials from previous clients. - Costs
It is good to let the client know right on how much it will cost to execute what you proposed and what you expect the return to be. - Terms and conditions
Outline what the client can expect from you and your business by agreeing to your proposal. Through the terms and conditions, you will also be able to set expectations regarding delivery dates and payments. - Agreement and call to action
This section is where the client can formally agree to your business proposal. Add a gentle call to action to encourage them to sign.
In some cases, it is the client which provides the outline or template for the proposal. Regardless, when writing a business proposal, it is important to ensure that it shows your potential clients the value that you can add to their business. Be as detailed as possible regarding your plan and make it visually appealing for a positive first impression.
Get in touch
Contact us if you have any questions.


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Former IMF Advisor and Expert in Economy
Do you want to add extra speakers or chairpersons?
We are happy to help you in choosing your next keynote speaker!
SpeakersAcademy has professionals that I have enjoyed working with for years. The contact is always very pleasant and personal; they think along where necessary. An innovative club with motivated colleagues!
Keynote , Future & Technology Speakers, Moderators and Sports Motivators

subset: commoncrawl


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Please Look After This Bear is a download compilation which consists of sixteen tracks by sixteen various vivacious recent / current artists released on fierce panda records throughout 2016. It was launched on November 11th on Spotify via Louder Than War and it will be exclusively released on a donation basis via www.fiercepanda.co.uk on November 25th whereby we invite you the panda punter to pay-what-you-like for music-you-may-love.
Thats right. You can not quite literally cough up anything you desire from one shiny penny to £12.62 (thats 16 x 79 iTunes pennies fiscal fact fans) or some point in-between or somewhere way beyond or whatever the heck you feel right here:


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Autostart's thinnest, most advanced 2-way and 1-way remote controls ever.
Learn More
Autostart's Integrated Digital Platform is an all-in-one solution that combines analog and digital interface technology.
Protect your car, its contents and also start the engine from inside your home or office.
Start your car with a push of a button from the comfort of your home or office.
For over 20 years, Autostart™ has provided the most reliable systems, solid warranty, industry-leading technical and after-sales support at a competitive price.
The phenomenal growth Autostart™ has experienced over the years is most attributable to our commitment to innovation, quality and customer service.


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This is one of my favorite times of year: CHA Sneak Peek season! Right now in July 2013, we're getting sneak peeks of all the new lines to be debuted at CHA-Summer 2013. It's called "Create and Connect" and will be held in Las Vegas from July 22-25, 2013. The excitement builds, LOL!
I have a Page here on Scrapbook Obsession Blog that you may not have noticed before so I wanted to invite you to check it out: CHA SNEAK PEEKS {you can find it in the bar under the blog header}.
I just checked out the links to make sure they all work. I had to delete one – The Scrap Review – because they don't seem to be a very active site anymore :(
ETA 07-09-13: Woot woot! The Scrap Review is back in the game! I've added them back to my CHA Sneak Peeks page. Thanks so much to Susan for the news!
I've also added some more links where you can find CHA sneak peek goodness. So please check out my CHA SNEAK PEEKS page!
Okay, now that you've checked out all the peeks, what lines are you loving? Not feeling? Not sure about yet?
As of today, here are a few of my favorites:
Cosmo Cricket "Creative Girl"
Little Yellow Bicycle "Vintage Summer" {although it reminds me a lot of Simple Stories "Summer Fresh" which I own tons of, lol}
Echo Park "Photo Freedom Volume 2" which looks like a great everyday Project Life line. Love the navy blue with the bright colors.
Would love to hear your impressions of all the Summer 2013 sneaks so far :) What are your favorites? Anything *not* blowing your dress up?


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Pen tablets
Sketch, draw and edit images with a responsive pad, a precise pen and see your creations appear on screen.
Whenever you download images from a memory card, it's essential to make a backup, either to an external hard drive or on a cloud storage service. This reduces the risk of images being lost if your computer breaks down. It's also vital to do so before you open an image in your photo editing software.
Editing an original image and then saving it means you can't fix major mistakes or return to a picture and start a fresh edit if you're unhappy with how things have turned out. This is especially true if you resize an image, only to find a client has a different vision of what the final edit should look like.
While it can be tempting to make extreme adjustments to an image's contrast using your photo editing's automatic tools, doing so can lead to dark areas becoming too dark and white areas becoming too white. Push the contrast too high and you can ruin a good picture. This can be easily avoided by using curves. Curves allow you to make changes to contrast that are a lot more detailed, giving you the chance to be more selective about how you tweak an image. Create a new adjustment layer when you do so and never edit on the main image – this will allow you to see how any changes to contrast compare to the original. Plus, it gives you the option to start again if required.
It can be tempting to showcase your advanced photo editing skills by brightening the eyes of your subject. But making them too bright can easily make them appear otherworldly and alien, something to avoid when working on realistic portraits or animal photography. The dodge and burn tools will help you improve your technique, allowing you to make minor adjustments right down to a few pixels if you wish. Dodge irises to make them stand out, use white balance adjustments on the whites of the eyes to help colors stand out and then burn around the irises to boost contrast.
Sketch, draw and edit images with a responsive pad, a precise pen and see your creations appear on screen.
Draw, design and create directly on a high resolution screen with a precise pen.
Wacom's vision is to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies. This has made it the world's leading manufacturer of interactive pen tablets and displays as well as of digital styli and solutions for saving and processing digital signatures. The advanced technology of Wacom's intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashion and designs around the world and provides business and home users with their leading interface technology to express their personality. Founded in 1983, Wacom is a global company based in Japan (Tokyo Stock Exchange 6727) with subsidiaries and affiliate offices around the world to support marketing and distribution in over 150 countries.


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Donation Levels:
We appreciate all donations, however small. We give recognition on this page to our most generous donors, as follows:
Warm: $100 to $200 Hot: $200 to $1000 Really Hot: $1000 or more
The following individuals, companies and agencies have given generously to help us to finance our mainly volunteer efforts with big donations. The logos of our Really Hot contributors are linked to their web sites.
Warm: The Stove Store, Spencerville, Ontario
Warm: Tom Nevius, Pennsylvania
Warm: Richard Dowd
Warm: Nordic Energy, Sudbury, Ontario
Hot: Jotul North America, Portland, Maine
Hot: Larry Tabor, Palisades, New York
Hot: Jotul North America, Portland, Maine
Hot: Fireplace Specialties, Belleville, Ontario
Warm: Nordic Energy, Sudbury, Ontario
Warm: Deborah Goetsch, Niceville, Florida
Hot: Classic Heat Source, Portland, OR
Warm: Topline Distributing
Hot: Obadiah's Woodstoves, Kalispell, MT
Hot: Larry Tabor, Palisades, New York
Warm : Mike Grace
Warm : Bill Sherman
Warm : Mike Minchin, Bethel, Vermont
Warm: Michael Heggen
Hot: Larry Tabor, Palisades, New York
Warm: Eugene Pitruzzello, Clearwater, Florida
Warm : Drew Henkels
Warm: Michele Kadwell-Chalmers, The Original Flame, Peterborough, Ontario
Warm: Craig Issod, CHI Associates
Warm: Camilla Lockwood, Temple, New Hampshire
Warm: Ken Dickinson, Fenton, Missouri
Hot: Fireplace and Leisure Centre, Parry Sound, Ontario
Warm Comfort Time Stoves, Lasqueti Island, British Columbia
Warm David Keown, Loch Lomond, Scotland
Warm Holly McReynolds, Snyder, New York
Warm Rob Malette, Brudenell, ON
Really Hot Step in Time Chimney Sweeps, Eastern U.S.
Really Hot Enerzone Woodstoves, Quebec City, QC
Really Hot Selkirk Canada Corporation, Hamilton, ON
Really Hot Morsø Woodstoves US, Portland, TN
Hot Classic Heat Source, Inc., Portland, OR
Warm Ray Wolter, Clinton, OH
Really Hot Urban Hearth, Perth, ON
Warm Rick Parry, Severnbridge, ON
Warm Hickory Mountain Chimney and Masonry, Wallkill, NY
Warm Rick Muller, Dallas, OR
Warm Renny Lambton - Black Cat Chimney Sweeps, Aylmer, Quebec
Warm Marlene and Stephen Johnston, Kaslo, BC
Really Hot ICC-RSF, St. Jerome, Quebec
Really Hot The Hearth Products Association of Canada
Warm Joe Furfaro, Toronto, Ontario
Warm Vanessa Percival, Embers, Perth, Ontario
Hot Craig Issod, HearthNet, Medford, NJ
Warm Donald Dyall, Mt. Pleasant, IA
Warm Mike Day, Hudson, Wisconsin
Warm Brian and Joy Harbers, Harber's Flame Centre, Williamsburg, Ontario
Warm Marshall Byle, The Stove Parlour and Gallery, Tiverton, Ontario
Warm Bill Tully, Tri-Lane Distributing, Tottenham, Ontario
Warm Conan Elmore, Smithers, BC
Warm Tall Pines Farm, Kingsley, PA
Warm: Drew Henkels


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Valuable materials
Aluminium, PVC-U, Steel
As a developer and supplier of system solutions for windows, doors and façades, Schüco champions the diverse properties of aluminium, PVC-U and steel. Find out more about the sustainability levels of our materials.
Due to its endless malleability and diverse surface finishes, aluminium gives architects maximum design freedom when planning pioneering buildings suitable for the future – and it is ecologically valuable too. Modern aluminium façade units have low U values. They therefore make a considerable contribution to the positive eco-balance of a building. Optimum material thicknesses when constructing the systems ensure low raw material consumption. Mechanical robustness and corrosion resistance guarantee a long life and therefore a high degree of sustainability. Aluminium is completely harmless to health in windows and façades. Once extracted it can be recycled indefinitely, retaining all its qualities during the recycling process. Even the swarf can be recycled.
For the most exacting requirements
Materials that meet the very highest demands are essential for tomorrow's world. PVC is one such material and – thanks to its positive characteristics – is increasingly being used to produce window and door units. Profiles made from PVC-U therefore have good insulation properties, and so contribute to a positive energy balance for buildings. They are also very durable. This is due in no small measure to the exceptional weathering resistance of PVC. With an excellent range of options, PVC window and door units provide great design freedom, thereby ensuring that pioneering buildings suitable for the future are planned. One of the most important properties of PVC window profiles is their recyclability. They can easily be dismantled into their constituent parts and recycled. If you plan and build with window and door units made from PVC-U, you are contributing to greater sustainability.
100% recyclable
Steel is not expended, it is continually used. Due to it being completely recyclable, steel is a regenerative building material with a closed material cycle. It gives architects and planners maximum flexibility of use due to large spans and is therefore one of the materials with a very good price-performance ratio in the construction industry. Very efficient use of space due to small cross sections also increases cost effectiveness. A very long life with low lifecycle costs emphasises the uniqueness of this material. Steel constructions can be taken apart without issue if detachable structural connections are used, offering the alternative of easy conversion for sustainably planned buildings. It's an all-round material that adapts to all possible requirements in terms of look and feel, and harmonises with glass and concrete.


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Venus holds warning for Earth
- Date:
- November 30, 2010
- Source:
- European Space Agency
- Summary:
- A mysterious high-altitude layer of sulphur dioxide discovered by ESA's Venus Express has been explained. As well as telling us more about Venus, it could be a warning against injecting our atmosphere with sulphur droplets to mitigate climate change.
- Share:
A mysterious high-altitude layer of sulphur dioxide discovered by ESA's Venus Express has been explained. As well as telling us more about Venus, it could be a warning against injecting our atmosphere with sulphur droplets to mitigate climate change.
Venus is blanketed in sulphuric acid clouds that block our view of the surface. The clouds form at altitudes of 50-70 km when sulphur dioxide from volcanoes combines with water vapour to make sulphuric acid droplets. Any remaining sulphur dioxide should be destroyed rapidly by the intense solar radiation above 70 km.
So the detection of a sulphur dioxide layer at 90-110 km by ESA's Venus Express orbiter in 2008 posed a complete mystery. Where did that sulphur dioxide come from?
Now, computer simulations by Xi Zhang, California Institute of Technology, USA, and colleagues from America, France and Taiwan show that some sulphuric acid droplets may evaporate at high altitude, freeing gaseous sulphuric acid that is then broken apart by sunlight, releasing sulphur dioxide gas.
"We had not expected the high-altitude sulphur layer, but now we can explain our measurements," says Håkan Svedhem, ESA's Venus Express Project Scientist.
"However, the new findings also mean that the atmospheric sulphur cycle is more complicated than we thought."
As well as adding to our knowledge of Venus, this new understanding may be warning us that proposed ways of mitigating climate change on Earth may not be as effective as originally thought.
Nobel prize winner Paul Crutzen has recently advocated injecting artificially large quantities of sulphur dioxide into Earth's atmosphere at around 20 km to counteract the global warming resulting from increased greenhouse gases.
The proposal stems from observations of powerful volcanic eruptions, in particular the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines that shot sulphur dioxide up into Earth's atmosphere. Reaching 20 km in altitude, the gas formed small droplets of concentrated sulphuric acid, like those found in Venus' clouds, which then spread around Earth. The droplets created a haze layer that reflected some of the Sun's rays back into space, cooling the whole planet by about 0.5°C.
However, the new work on the evaporation of sulphuric acid on Venus suggests that such attempts at cooling our planet may not be as successful as first thought, because we do not know how quickly the initially protective haze will be converted back into gaseous sulphuric acid: this is transparent and so allows all the Sun's rays through.
"We must study in great detail the potential consequences of such an artificial sulphur layer in the atmosphere of Earth," says Jean-Loup Bertaux, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin, France, Principal Investigator of the SPICAV sensor on Venus Express. "Venus has an enormous layer of such droplets, so anything that we learn about those clouds is likely to be relevant to any geo-engineering of our own planet."
In effect, nature is doing the experiment for us and Venus Express allows us to learn the lessons before experimenting with our own world.
Story Source:
Materials provided by European Space Agency. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Cite This Page:


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Get your wallets at the ready, ladies (and gentlemen)! It's official – the highly-anticipated Mary Katrantzou for Topshop collection WILL be available at The Bay Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto on March 6th! With this week's Jason Wu for Target pop-up shop, and Marni at H launching on March 8th…I think I'm not the only one who will be eating ramen noodles for the rest of March…or am I?
Will you be lining up? Are you taking a week off as part of your shopping strategy? Let me know in the comments!


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Review: Blue LED and good performance
Gelid Solutions recently launched the GX-7, its new CPU cooler aimed at gamers and demanding users and we tested it here. If you read the review, you know that the GX-7 comes with one Wing 12 PL (Blue) fan. Since the Wing PL 12 can be purchased separately for about €15, we decided to test it on its own. We're talking about a versatile fan that can be used both as a case fan or CPU cooler fan.
The name Wing 12 PL (Blue) suggests that the fan is 12cm in diameter, whereas PL probably stands for "PWM Control & LED Light"."Blue" stands for the blue LEDs on the fan.
Prev Next »


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Advanced Postgresql: Database security, user management, backups and replication, triggers and advanced configuration
£ 325 (incl. VAT)
6 hours
This course is intended for people who have completed our Beginners Postgresql course or for those who have worked with Postgresql for a while and who want to learn advanced features.
Advanced Postgresql covers the following topics:
This course is ideal for people who have previously completed our Postgresql for beginners course.
Please email us (with the course name and date) if you would like to book by email:


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Title: Missed Encounters
Series: The Encounters Series #3
Author: Scarlett Hopper
Genre: NA College Romance
Release Date: March 7, 2019
Cover Design: Sarah Hansen
Cover Design: Sarah Hansen
Ash Ashford's life is at a crossroads. A college graduate with a severe case of writer's block, Ash hopes to start fresh by moving into a new house with friends, old and new, but what she doesn't expect is to fall for the golden-haired boy down the hall. From the start, Ash knows she can't have Logan but that doesn't stop her mind— and her heart— from wandering. Logan is everything Ash is not and his family life is all about an image that she would never fit in to. Ash needs Logan in her life, so she is willing to take him as a friend, but when secrets come out, she will have to ask herself how far she is willing to go.
Life was going according to plan for Logan Saunders until he ran into Ash Ashford. With his senior year at Breslin University beginning, Logan needs to be devoting all his time to going pro in hockey but that is the last thing he is doing. Harboring secrets, Logan will never be able to fully give himself to Ash, and yet he can't seem to stay away. Logan should keep his distance, but when all is said and done, he will have to figure out what is more important: loyalty to his family or to his heart.
Scarlett Hopper was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to Los Angeles when she was 10 years old. Her passion for writing came about at a young age when her sister would read her the works of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath. Three years ago, Scarlett re-located back to Sydney where she studies creative writing and communications. When she isn't writing or reading, she spends her time traveling and searching for the best record stores, while eating at 24 hour diners. After her graduation, Scarlett hopes to move back to the US and begin a new adventure in Seattle.


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fragrance homme / eau de toilette
2. KÉRASTASE DENSIFIQUE (shampoo)
bain densité homme
3. KÉRASTASE DENSIFIQUE (balm)
baume densité homme
these are some of the new beauty products for men and I am very happy with the new DAVIDOFF fragrance, a spicy herbal fresh scent, nothing like Coolwater a lot more sophisticated I find. but as you may already know I find it very hard to describe scents for others and think its always best to see for oneself. I would give this one a try! available March, 1, 2016
the men beauty market is booming and almost every brand has now a line for men too. thats also the case with Kérastase, after the Force Capital collection they came out with the new Densifique line for men fighting hair loss. thats a big market as lots of men are loosing their hair the older they get. the new Densifique Densité Homme collection consists of 3 products: a shampoo, a hair balm and a serum. in case you want to read more about it click here >>


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This Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 5, many of us will get the day off work. We'll also be greeted with bargains at retailers and restaurants.
But what should you be opening up your wallet for this holiday? Sort through the sales with our guide for what to buy and skip over Labor Day weekend.
Buy: A mattress
Year after year, this holiday proves to be one of the best times for a bed bargain. On Labor Day 2015 at 1800Mattress, every mattress (excluding select Tempur-Pedic) was discounted by up to 60 percent. Shoppers who spent more than $399.98 could get free delivery. Over at Sleep Train, select mattresses were up to $400 off, and qualifying orders were eligible for free same-day delivery. Look for similar discounts and shipping incentives this year.
In fact, Labor Day discounts began early (Aug. 22) this year at Sleep Train. Customers can save up to $400 on select Beautyrest and Posturepedic mattresses or up to $300 on select Tempur-Pedic mattresses. And Overstock has also promised that its Labor Day sale is coming soon. Interested shoppers can sign up for the store's mailing list to be notified as soon as it launches.
Buy: An appliance
Labor Day sales typically target big-ticket items, and appliances are no exception. In 2015, Home Depot slashed some of its major appliances by 25 percent. Plus, it took up to 35 percent off vacuums and floor care. The story was similar at Best Buy, where major appliances were up to 30 percent off.
Keep an eye out for similar offerings this year. You can expect refrigerators, washer and dryer sets, and vacuums to be reduced. Select Dyson models were over $100 off last year at places such as Sears and Kohl's.
» MORE: What to buy every month of the year
Buy: A reduced-price meal
It's not just home goods. Restaurants know hungry shoppers will eat up food promotions over Labor Day weekend, too. Snatch up "buy one, get one free" offers, and don't forget to check your favorite food joint's website before you dine in. You'll often need to bring along a coupon to claim the offer. In 2015, we spotted deals and freebies at places such as Boston Market and Firehouse Subs.
The best way to be alerted to this year's offers is to follow your favorite fast-food place or restaurant on social media. And if you find yourself dining out on Sept. 5 and don't see a deal advertised, it can't hurt to ask for one.
Skip: An electronic
We're just weeks away from the anticipated Apple iPhone 7 announcement. Accordingly, smartphone deals are expected to pop up later in the month as older models see price reductions, so leave the Apple phone off your to-buy list for now. Two months after that, Black Friday will arrive (on Nov. 25) in all its bargain-hunting glory, with doorbusters on headphones, laptops, tablets and more. If you can hold off on a tech purchase, wait a little while longer.
Skip: Anything fall-related
Sales are all about seasonality. You can expect the deepest Labor Day deals on older merchandise or inventory that's on its way out the door — swimsuits and back-to-school supplies, for example. But be careful with new releases, as stores generally don't discount these as much.
Department stores will unleash their most dramatic bargains on summer clearance; last year, Brooks Brothers discounted spring and summer styles by 60% over Labor Day. Although you'll likely be able to find some fall clothing deals, they won't be anything compared with what you'll spot later in the season. Hold off on cold-weather apparel, fall decor, Halloween costumes and the like.
If you'll be doing any Labor Day shopping from the comfort of home, check out these tips for getting the best deal every time you shop online.
Courtney Jespersen is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: email@example.com. Twitter: @courtneynerd.
The article What to Buy (and Skip) Over Labor Day Weekend originally appeared on NerdWallet.


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Remember mergers and takeovers, back when people had money to buy entire companies? Well, there's plenty of juicy talk over Louis Vuitton buying Coach after Friday, where 13,800 calls changed hands in the first hour of trading, according to OptionMonster. "The high-end apparel and accessories maker suffered a 14% drop in quarterly profit compared with the same period last year, and we're hearing chatter from the hedgies that LVMH may be considering some kind of deal," reports thestreet.com.
"The company doesn't comment on market rumors," Coach rep told WWD. LVMH executives declined comment as well. Although Coach has been the target of merger talks in the past, the company has preferred to remain independent since its founding in 1942. Meanwhile, a merger would make for strange bedfellows, since back in 2005, Coach alleged LVMH had used anti-competitive practices by pressuring Japanese department stores to drop Coach. The complaint was thrown out of court. Payback time?
For more stories from BlackBook, go to bbook.com
Copyright BLACK - BlackBook Magazine


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Hackers have broken into the network of Lockheed Martin and several other US military contractors, according to media reports.
Lockheed Martin, has described the attack as "significant and tenacious".
Blogger Robert Cringely claimed that Lockheed Martin first detected the security breach last weekend (a fact later confirmed by the weapons maker in a press statement). In response to the attack the firm is said to have promptly blocked all remote VPN access to their internal network, and informed over 100,000 users that they would have to change their passwords.
In addition, it's claimed that all Lockheed personnel with RSA SecurID tokens will be given new tokens.
From the sound of things, Lockheed Martin took swift and sensible action. It was wise of them to take the step of shutting down access to its internal networks as a precaution, once it believed that unauthorised users may have breached its systems.
The mention of RSA SecurID tokens, though, is interesting. They're the devices used by many companies and organisations to provide two factor authentication to allow provide workers with a more secure way of proving they are who they say they are than just providing a username and password.
You may have used something similar when accessing your online bank account – for instance, a keyfob that displays a sequence of numbers that changes every 30 seconds or so.
The reason why this raises eyebrows is that back in March, RSA admitted that it had been hacked, and some of the information stolen was specifically related to RSA's SecurID two-factor authentication products.
However, RSA has never made public details of precisely what kind of data was stolen – leading to speculation that the security of the widely-used SecurID tokens might have been compromised.
Is it possible that whatever information was stolen from RSA helped the hackers break into Lockheed Martin? If that's the case, that's worrying news for businesses around the world.
An unnamed source with direct knowledge of the attacks is said to have confirmed to Reuters that other military contractors have also been compromised.
It's important to realise that all of these companies are victims of a criminal act – the authorities will no doubt be keen to uncover who is behind these attacks, and where they might have originated from. Only time will tell if those questions are ever answered satisfactorily.
Update: Lockheed Martin has now confirmed the attack, claiming that its "systems remain secure; no customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised."
Here's the meat of the statement by Lockheed Martin about the hack:
On Saturday, May 21, Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) detected a significant and tenacious attack on its information systems network. The company's information security team detected the attack almost immediately, and took aggressive actions to protect all systems and data. As a result of the swift and deliberate actions taken to protect the network and increase IT security, our systems remain secure; no customer, program or employee personal data has been compromised.
Throughout the ongoing investigation, Lockheed Martin has continued to keep the appropriate U.S. government agencies informed of our actions. The team continues to work around the clock to restore employee access to the network, while maintaining the highest level of security.
To counter the constant threats we face from adversaries around the world, we regularly take actions to increase the security of our systems and to protect our employee, customer and program data. Our policies, procedures and vigilance mitigate the cyber threats to our business, and we remain confident in the integrity of our robust, multi-layered information systems security.


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The monstrous price of South Africa's coal addiction
Our latest report, 'The True Cost of Coal', calculates the actual costs of Kusile's entire coal chain: from climate change to water use, the impact on health and the ravages of coal mining.
It is based on an independent scientific study commissioned by Greenpeace Africa from the University of Pretoria's Business Enterprises unit.
This report provides compelling evidence that South Africa should end its addiction to coal. Greenpeace Africa strongly opposes Eskom's continued and morbid fascination with massive coal-fired power stations.
>> View infographic of the report
"Building colossal new coal-fired power stations like Kusile, and its sibling Medupi, is not only absurd in the face of catastrophic climate change, but will over-burden South Africans, many of whom have neither adequate shelter nor job security," says Greenpeace Africa climate campaigner Melita Steele.
"One of the true tragedies of government and Eskom's continued addiction to coal is the fact that notwithstanding the future risks, coal has already failed to deliver electricity to many South Africans, with at least 2,5 million homes still denied access to electricity" continued Steele.
"Eskom should stop construction at Kusile and invest in renewable energy solutions, which guarantee thousands of new jobs, while there is still time. The true cost of building this power station is much more than South Africans can afford to pay."
For communities that live near coal-fired power stations, the externalised costs (in terms of water pollution and health issues) are staggering.
South Africa © Greenpeace / Oswald Chikosi 2011
The findings of the University of Pretoria study confirm this. As stated in the study: "The results of the analysis provide a compelling argument for Eskom to stop investing in coal and instead commit to developing alternative renewable energy solutions – actively encouraged and assisted by government."
"Renewable energy beats coal in every context. It will deliver decentralised energy to all South Africans, creating a win-win-win situation for job creation, the climate and energy access."
The real scandal is that, according to the report "if the same amount of attention and resources were applied to renewable energy, we could develop five times Kusile's proposed power generation capacity from clean energy sources with only 30% of Kusile's external costs", Steele concluded.
>> For more of a discussion on the study's findings, click here.
>> Take Action: Tell Government to up its renewable energy ambitions!
- True Cost of Coal executive summary and pull-outs
- Synthesis of scientific paper
- Full scientific paper and annexes
The report is based on an independent scientific study commissioned by Greenpeace Africa from Business Enterprises at University of Pretoria (Pty) Ltd, in association with the University of Pretoria's Department of Economics, entitled: The external cost of coal-fired power generation: the case of Kusile.


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Portrait of a Man
Antonello da Messina, who according to Vasari learned the technique of oil painting directly from Van Eyck during a trip to Flanders, was the most important artist of the Sicilian school and the figure who disseminated the new technique of oil painting throughout Italy. Trained in Naples, his brief trip to Venice (from November 1475 to prior to September 1476 when he is once more documented in Messina) was crucial for the development of the genre of portraiture in that city. Antonello had a decisive influence on Venetian artists such as Giovanni Bellini and continued to be of great importance to the next generation of painters including Giorgione and Titian. It is now generally accepted that Antonello trained in the workshop of the Sicilian painter Colantonio, and Vasari's proposal of a trip to the north is no longer considered likely but was probably an invention designed to explain the northern influence evident in Antonello's work.
The circulation of styles that took place in southern Italy in the 15th century, in which Italian, Spanish, Provençal and Flemish influences were combined, has been borne in mind by modern authors when attempting to establish the nature of Antonello's connections with the Low Countries. Nonetheless, it is still not fully understood how he learned and assimilated the northern aspects evident in his works. His knowledge of the work of Van Eyck and Van der Weyden has been explained by reference to the works by these artists to be found in Naples in the collection of Alfonso I. With regard to his dependence on models by Petrus Christus, it is still not decided whether Antonello may have trained with that artist.
The present panel has an inscription on the parapet in capital letters that reads "ANTONELLUS MESSANUS PINX". It was formerly in the collection of Sir George Houston-Boswell in Caulderhaugh, Scotland, where it arrived by inheritance. Later it was owned by Lady Houston-Boswell in Windsor and Mrs Phoebe Timpson in Goring-on-Thames, its third British owner and the last prior to its entry into the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection. The panel entered that collection in Lugano in 1964. While the panel was in England it was exhibited once in London at the Burlington Fine Arts Club between 1934 and 1935 and its first reference in the literature dates from 1964 when it entered the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection. This first commentary was by Philip Hendy, who included it in his study of various Italian Renaissance paintings in the Collection. Three years later Pallucchini wrote a text on the panel, which was included in Antonello's oeuvre from that point on.
This portrait of an unknown sitter is one of around a dozen surviving autograph portraits by Antonello da Messina and its format and typology conform to other known works. The sitter is located against a dark background, his face emerging forcefully. He is arranged in three-quarter profile and looks at the viewer with a penetrating gaze. The solidity of the head, in which the details such as the hair and stubble are rendered with great precision, are softened by delicate outlines and a modelling that gives the features a gentler air and suggests Italian art. The portrait is signed at the lower edge on the parapet that leads into the composition. This device was used by Antonello in other portraits such as the ones in the Museo Civico in Turin and in the Louvre. The artist also favoured the parapet for the location of a cartellino with his name and the date of the work (as found in the above-mentioned panels in Turin and the Louvre) or to include his name in the manner of an inscription (as in the present panel).With regard to the date of the work, two suggestions have been made: slightly prior to the artist's trip to Venice, around 1472–73, or during his time in Venice between 1475 and 1476. Rosenbaum compared the bust of this young man with two others by the artist: one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and another in the Johnson collection in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The panel was cut down at the lower edge in the past and transferred to its present support.
Mar Borobia


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The White House President George W. Bush |
Print this document |
For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
October 30, 2004
Vice President's Remarks in Nazareth, Pennsylvania
Nazareth Area High School
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
October 30, 2004
Nazareth Area High School
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, that was a hell of a speech. (Laughter.) Well, it's great to be here. This looks like Bush-Cheney country. (Applause.) And we're delighted to be back in Pennsylvania.
The President, of course, was campaigning here in Pennsylvania last week when John Kerry was goose hunting in Ohio. (Laughter.) You may have seen that. He wore a brand new camouflage jacket for the occasion, which makes you wonder just how often he does really go goose hunting. (Laughter.) My personal opinion was his camo jacket was an October disguise. (Applause.) It's an effort to hide the fact that he votes against gun owners every chance he gets.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But, my fellow sportsmen, this cover-up isn't going to work because you and I know the Second Amendment is more than just another photo opportunity. (Applause.)
Lynne said that she's known me since I was 14, and that's true, but she wouldn't go out with me until I was 17. (Laughter.) I tell folks that we got married because Dwight Eisenhower got elected President of the United States. (Laughter.) In 1952 when he ran for office, I was living in Nebraska with my folks. Eisenhower got elected; Dad worked for the government, got transferred to Casper, Wyoming, and that's where I met Lynne. And we grew up together, went to high school together and recently celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. (Applause.) But I explained to a group the other night if it hadn't been for Eisenhower's election victory, Lynne would have married somebody else. (Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the United States. (Laughter.) That's a good -- it's absolutely true, isn't it? (Laughter.)
Well, with three days left in the campaign, the choices in this election could not be more clear. And the stakes are very high, both here and abroad. And I believe on November 2nd, the American people are going to make George Bush President for four more years. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: We were over in Lycoming County yesterday; it's a pleasure to be here in Northampton County today -- a beautiful part of Pennsylvania. The President and I have a good feeling about this area, and with your help, Pennsylvania is going to be in our column on Election Day. (Applause.)
We're delighted to be part of a strong Republican ticket here in Pennsylvania. I want to thank Charlie Dent for his kind words today. (Applause.) I know Pat Toomey has been a terrific Congressman for this district, and Charlie is going to be a fine successor. (Applause.) We're also delighted to be here today with Senator Arlen Specter. I'm delighted to work with him in our Nation's Capital. (Applause.)
And I want thank everyone who has helped out in this campaign, who has helped put up signs, made phone calls, manned those phone banks, and been such an important part of mounting this effort. Grassroots activists are an essential part of the campaign. And the President and I are deeply grateful for your support. (Applause.)
Pennsylvania voters understand the importance of steady, principled, consistent leadership in the White House. This is no ordinary time for America. We've all seen in the last day or two the tape of Osama bin Laden now. It's a reminder that we are engaged in a global war on terror. This is a conflict we did not choose, but it is one that we will win. (Applause.)
Today, people in Pennsylvania and across the land can be confident of a better future, and a stronger economy, and a nation that is more secure because of the leadership of our President, George W. Bush. (Applause.)
Over the course of the last four years, I think people have seen very clearly the character and the vision of our President. He's a man of loyalty and kindness who speaks plainly and means what he says. He sets clear goals, and works with members of both parties to achieve them. He puts the country first and his deepest commitment is to making us safer, more prosperous, and more secure. (Applause.)
During the course of this campaign, we've seen something quite different in the President's opponent. He's a man who will say and do anything if he thinks it will advance his cause.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: It's going to be a good crowd. (Laughter.)
Just over a year ago, John Kerry did something truly unthinkable for a man who wants to be Commander-in-Chief; he turned his back on the troops that he had voted earlier to send into combat --
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- because he thought it was in his political advantage to do so.
Senator Kerry, you will remember, voted in favor of using force against Saddam Hussein, but then during the Democratic primary when it came time to vote funds that would provide our fighting men and women with body armor, ammunition, jet fuel, and spare parts they needed, Senator Kerry voted "no."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He offered a ridiculous explanation which, frankly, I think will go down in the history of American politics. (Laughter.) He said, and I quote, "I actually voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it."
AUDIENCE: Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: But the real reason he turned his back on the troops was Howard Dean. Dean was the antiwar candidate, and Dean was surging ahead in the polls, and so John Kerry --
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
THE VICE PRESIDENT: That's a Howard Dean scream I assume. (Laughter.) Kind of a weak one if you ask me. (Laughter.)
But John Kerry decided in order to advance himself in the primaries, he had to adopt an antiwar position. So he turned his back on the troops.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He said his vote was "complicated," but, my friends, supporting American troops in combat should never be a complicated question. (Applause.)
John Kerry will say and do anything in order to get elected. He will attack the Patriot Act -- after he voted for it. He will attack the No Child Left Behind Act -- after he voted for it. He will try to scare young people by raising the specter of the draft ?- when he knows that the only people who have supported the idea of bringing it back are two members of his own party.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Nobody but a couple of Democrats wants to change the all-volunteer force because it is the finest military the world has ever known. (Applause.)
John Kerry will say and do anything to get elected. America's military men and women have liberated 50 million people in the last three years. (Applause.) In Afghanistan, they managed to do in two months what the Soviets could not do in 10 years. (Applause.) In Iraq, they toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in just three weeks. (Applause.) But instead of praising their achievement, John Kerry harps away at phony charges. He says we took our eye off the ball at Tora Bora, a charge General Tommy Franks, who commanded our forces, has totally refuted. He says that we didn't put sufficient emphasis on destroying weapons in Iraq, a charge he cynically made not knowing if it was true, and a charge that simply isn't borne out by the facts. Given a choice -- (applause) -- given a choice between John Kerry and General Tommy Franks, I'll take General Franks anytime. (Applause.)
In truth, the campaigns our fighting men and women conducted to overthrow regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq will be studied for years for their brilliance, and that ought to be acknowledged. Moreover, our forces deserve our wholehearted support as they aid the efforts of the Afghan and Iraqi people to establish representative governments. In Afghanistan, 10 million people registered to vote, nearly half of them women. Elections were held three weeks ago tomorrow, the first in the 5,000-year history of that country. (Applause.)
In January, the people of Iraq will vote, as well. And we'll be safer as a result. One of the lessons that history teaches is that institutions of self-government turn the energies of people away from violence to the peaceful work of building better lives. Freedom is the best antidote to terrorism. (Applause.)
Our forces in Iraq have been building schools, training Iraqi forces, fighting an insurgency, and at the same time, they've captured and are destroying some 400,000 tons explosives. (Applause.) These brave men and women deserve better than to have John Kerry trying to advance himself by calling their actions into question. (Applause.)
John Kerry is playing armchair general, and he's not very good job of it. (Laughter.) This shouldn't surprise us given his weak record on national security. He first ran for Congress advocating the idea that we should deploy American forces only under the authority of the United Nations.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: He ran for the Senate on the platform that he should dismantle most of the major weapons systems that Ronald Reagan used to keep the peace and win the Cold War.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: In 1991, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and stood poised to dominate the Persian Gulf, John Kerry voted against Operation Desert Storm.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: In the first debate this year, Senator Kerry said that America had to meet some kind of global test before we could take military action.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: The President and I know better than that. We know that it is not our job to conduct international opinion polls, our job is to defend America. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: What are you doing for the rest of the weekend? I hope you're not going to all my events. (Laughter.) Okay, save the water. (Laughter.)
Now in the closing days of the campaign, John Kerry is trying every which way to cover up his record of weakness on national defense. But he can't do it. It won't work. As we like to say in Wyoming, you can put all the lipstick you want on that pig, but at the end of the day, it's still a pig. (Applause.) It is a rough crowd. (Laughter.) We better leave for Hawaii a little early. (Laughter.)
AUDIENCE MEBER: We love you, Cheney.
THE VICE PRESIDENT: All right, I love you guys.
John Kerry does not have the judgment or the conviction that America needs in a President. He is not a steadfast leader. Our President is. (Applause.)
And let me tell you why that matters. A country can never know what a President will be called upon to do. Think of the last four years; think of the challenges of 9/11 and the global war on terror, and because our President is a man of strong character and steadfast determination, he has led us very well. At the Republican Convention former Mayor Giuliani told the story of how on 9/11 in New York, he turned to his police commissioner, Bernie Kerik, and said, Thank God, George Bush is our Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)
Under the President's leadership, we have reached around the world to capture and kill thousands of al Qaeda. In Afghanistan, the camps where terrorists trained to kill Americans have been shut down, the Taliban driven from power. In Iraq, we dealt with a gathering threat and removed the regime of Saddam Hussein. Nineteen months ago, he controlled the lives of 25 million people. Today, he sits in jail. (Applause.)
Because of President Bush's determination in the war on terror, leaders around the world are getting the message. Just five days after Saddam Hussein was captured, Moammar Ghadafi in Libya agreed to abandon his nuclear weapons program and turn the materials over to the U.S. (Applause.)
The biggest danger we face today is having nuclear weapons technology fall into the hands of terrorists. The President is working with many countries in a global effort to end trade and transfer of these deadly technologies. The most important result thus far is that the black-market network that supplied nuclear weapons technology to Libya, as well as to Iran and North Korea, has been shut down. And the world is much safer as a result. (Applause.)
We could not have succeeded in these efforts without the help of dozens of countries around the world. We will always seek international support for international efforts, but as President Bush has made very clear, there is a difference between leading a coalition of many nations and submitting to the objections of a few. We will never -- we will never seek a permission slip to defend the United States of America. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: The clearest, most important difference in this campaign is simple to state: President Bush understands the war on terror and has a strategy for winning it; Senator Kerry does not. (Applause.)
All doubt on that matter was removed when Senator Kerry recently said he wanted to lead America back to the place where we were -- to a time when terrorism was, in his word, a "nuisance."
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Like illegal gambling or prostitution. That's the comparison he made.
When I read that, I thought to myself, when was terrorism only a nuisance? Was it a nuisance four years ago, when the USS Cole was attacked and nearly sunk and we lost 17 of our sailors? Was it a nuisance six years ago when they simultaneously attacked two of our embassies in East Africa and killed hundreds of people?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 11 years ago when the World Trade Center was first bombed in New York?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or was it a nuisance 16 years ago when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown out of the skies over Lockerbie Scotland?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Or 21 years ago, when a suicide bomber in a truck loaded with explosives drove into a barracks in Beirut and killed 241 Marines?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: My friends, there never was a time when terrorism was just a nuisance. There never can be a time when terrorism is just a nuisance. Our goal is not to reduce terror to some acceptable level. Our goal is to defeat terror, and with George Bush as President, that's exactly what we'll do. (Applause.)
These are not times for leaders who shift with the political winds; or who fail to understand the nature of the struggle we're in. Our troops, our allies, and our enemies must know where America stands. The President of the United States must be clear and consistent. In his years in Washington, John Kerry has been one of a hundred votes in the United States Senate -? and fortunately on matters of national security, his views rarely prevail. But the presidency is an entirely different proposition. A senator can be wrong for 20 years, without consequence to the nation. But a President -- a President -- always casts the deciding vote. And in this time of challenge, America needs ?- and America has ?- a President we can count on to get it right. (Applause.)
President Bush knows that our dedicated servicemen and women represent the very best of the United States of America. (Applause.) I want to thank them, their families, and all of the veterans with us here today for all that they've done for all of us. (Applause.)
Our country requires strong and consistent leadership for our actions overseas, and the same is true for our policies here at home. When President Bush and I stood on the inaugural platform on the west front of the Capitol and took the oath of office, our economy was sliding into recession. Then terrorists struck on 9/11 and shook our economy once again. We faced a basic decision -? to leave more money with families and businesses, or to take more of the American people's hard-earned money for the federal government. President Bush made his choice. He proposed and he delivered tax cuts for the American people not once, not twice, but four times in four years. (Applause.)
Every American who pays federal income taxes benefited from the Bush tax cuts -? so has the economy. We've created jobs for 13 consecutive months ?- a total of over 1.9 million new jobs during that period. Here in Pennsylvania, more than 71,000 jobs have been added since February. Mortgage rates, interest rates, inflation are low. Consumers are confident; businesses are investing; families are taking home more of what they earn. (Applause.)
We know there are still challenges, especially in our manufacturing communities. The President and I will not be satisfied until every American who wants to work can find a job. But this is a strong, growing economy -- don't let the Democrats tell you otherwise. (Applause.)
Our accomplishments these past four years have made America safer, stronger, and better. In our second term, we'll keep moving forward with a pro-growth, pro-jobs agenda. We'll work to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. And to help families and small businesses, we'll lead a bipartisan effort to reform and simplify the federal tax code. (Applause.)
We will work to end lawsuit abuse because we know it's a lot easier for America's businesses to hire new workers if they don't have to keep hiring lawyers. (Applause.)
We'll continue to work to help parents and teachers improve our public schools so that all our children receive the world-class education they deserve. (Applause.) We'll work to make it easier for small businesses to provide health insurance to employees and for families to meet their health care needs ?- and we'll do this in ways that keep health decisions in the hands of doctors and patients, not in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. (Applause.)
We'll work for medical liability reform because we know the cost of malpractice insurance is creating a crisis, not only in Pennsylvania, but across the nation. America's doctors should be able to spend their time healing patients, not fighting off frivolous lawsuits. (Applause.)
President Bush and I will also continue to defend our society's fundamental rights and values. We stand for a culture of life, and we reject the brutal practice of partial birth abortion. (Applause.) We stand strongly for the Second Amendment and will defend the individual right of every American to bear arms. (Applause.) We believe that our nation is "one nation under God." (Applause.) And we believe Americans ought to be able to say so when we pledge allegiance to our flag. (Applause.)
There shouldn't be any question about this ?- and there wouldn't be if we had more reasonable judges on the federal bench. (Applause.) The Democrats in the Senate have been doing everything they can -? including using the filibuster -? to keep the President's sensible, mainstream nominees off the bench.
AUDIENCE: Booo!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: They're hoping to wait the President out. But I've got news for them. That's not going to happen because we're going to win this election. (Applause.)
AUDIENCE: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
THE VICE PRESIDENT: My friends, the differences between the President and his opponent are as sharp as they could possibly be, and the consequences for the country are enormous. On vital matters of national security, Senator Kerry offers a record of weakness and a strategy of retreat. President Bush offers a record of steady purpose, resolute action, and a strategy for victory. (Applause.) Senator Kerry wants to empower government; President Bush will empower the citizens of this great country. (Applause.) John Kerry seems to think that all wisdom is found in Washington, D.C.; George Bush trusts the wisdom of the American people. (Applause.)
Under President Bush's leadership, we'll use America's great power to serve great purposes, to protect our homeland by turning back and defeating the forces of terror, and to spread hope and freedom around the world. Here at home, we'll continue building a prosperity that reaches every corner of the land so that every child in America has a chance to learn, to succeed, and to rise in the world. (Applause.)
The President and I are honored by your commitment to the cause we all share. President Bush and I will wage this effort with complete confidence in the American people. The signs are good -? here in Pennsylvania, and even in Massachusetts. (Laughter and applause.) According to a news account, people leaving the Democratic National Convention in July asked a Boston policeman for directions. He replied, Leave here ?- and go vote Republican. (Applause.)
President Bush and I are honored to have the support of that police office -- (laughter) -- and of Democrats, Republicans, and independents from every calling in American life. We're grateful to our many friends across the great state of Pennsylvania. I want to thank you for the tremendous welcome this morning. We're proud to have you on the team. (Applause.) And together, on November 2nd, we're going to see our cause forward to victory.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)


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Magicians with the might of dragons! Sorcerers that defy the laws of nature! Witness the magnificent and mystifying results of Pendulum Summoning's final evolution!
Following on from Maximum Crisis, Pendulum Evolution features powerful new Pendulum Monsters that can either stand on their own or in the service of that dreaded dragon, the Dominator of Dimensions itself, Supreme King Z-ARC!
All-foil set, each pack includes a mix of Ultra Rare and Super Rare cards.
Compatible with the Pendulum Monsters you already own, but specially crafted to take advantage of Maximum Crisis.
Includes a pair of super-powered Sorcerers that are easy to Summon and give a faster, easier way to bring out Supreme King Z-ARC.
New "Magician" monsters that excel at disappearing acts, providing useful effects when destroyed before moving to your Extra Deck to be Pendulum Summoned back for the grand finale!
Features several new cards plus dozens of the most popular cards from the Pendulum Monster era of the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V animated TV series.
• The Pendulum Evolution booster set contains 60 cards: 50 Super Rares and 10 Ultra Rares.
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Unique Celtic wedding rings handcrafted and hallmarked here in Ireland.
Click here to discover more.
The celebrated Irish Claddagh ring stands as a monument to love and friendship.
Inspired by the Celtic design found on Ireland's most famous national treasure.
Modeled on the famous Celtic Cross monuments found throughout Ireland.
When you buy Celtic jewelry from us, you are buying genuine Irish quality. All Celtic jewelry sold by Rings from Ireland bears the world-famous hallmark of Ireland's Assay Office. This is a guaranteed mark of quality and authenticity. Read More
All of our products are bonafide Irish. They are made by the most talented regional craftsmen here in Ireland. Further, we are located in County Louth, Ireland, just a stones throw from some of the famous monuments that inspire our collections.
Rings from Ireland is the Irish and international online destination of choice for the finest handcrafted Celtic and Irish jewelry.
Celtic jewelry is unrivalled when it comes to beauty and meaning, from the timeless Claddagh ring evoking love, loyalty and friendship to Celtic and Irish wedding rings and engagement rings and distinctive pieces of jewelry.
All the Celtic and Irish jewelry at Rings from Ireland are made by talented regional craftspeople. When you buy jewelry from Rings from Ireland you are buying genuine Irish quality with a very special and unique story and heritage.
From Celtic gold or silver jewelry to the evocative Claddagh rings, each piece is precious and distinctive and you are acquiring a shining piece of Irish history.
The Claddagh Ring or Ring of Claddagh originates from the fishing village of Claddagh in Ireland and has been a symbol of love, loyalty and friendship since back in the mid 1600s. Claddagh jewelry, particularly the Claddagh ring remains hugely popular around the world. Every Claddagh ring bears three very distinctive symbols: hands to signify friendship, a heart to symbolize love and a crown to represent loyalty.
Available in sterling silver, gold or platinum, every single piece of jewelry bears the world-famous hallmarks of the Assay Office at Dublin Castle. This 400 year old customer protection seal ensures that your Celtic jewelry is not only made from genuine precious metals but it is also genuinely Irish in origin.
Choosing a Claddagh ring or indeed any piece of Claddagh jewelry from Rings from Ireland means that you are getting the very best in quality, handcrafted and hallmarked here in Ireland.


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Meditation in Prison
"I was in prison and you came to see me" (Matth. 25:36).
These Web pages are dedicated to all WCCM members who are already teaching Christian meditation in prison and to those engaged in Prison Ministry around the world who would like to extend their ministries to include Christian meditation.
Experience has shown that meditation in prison is more powerful for inmates if it is introduced as the fulfillment of a preexisting ministry such as Bible studies or restorative spiritual programs. By sharing their prison meditation experiences and by encouraging the inmates to do the same, WCCM members can create a network that strengthens everyone's personal meditation practice.
These "Meditation in Prison" pages of the WCCM Web site will support the continuing work and dedication of those who minister in prison and encourage those who consider starting such a ministry.
Nurturing the Seed of Silence in the Midst of Deafening Noise
By Caitlin Brune
Meditation in Prison
"I was in prison and you came to see me" (Matth. 25:36).
These Web pages are dedicated to all WCCM members who are already teaching Christian meditation in prison and to those engaged in Prison Ministry around the world who would like to extend their ministries to include Christian meditation.
Experience has shown that meditation in prison is more powerful for inmates if it is introduced as the fulfillment of a preexisting ministry such as Bible studies or restorative spiritual programs. By sharing their prison meditation experiences and by encouraging the inmates to do the same, WCCM members can create a network that strengthens everyone's personal meditation practice.
These "Meditation in Prison" pages of the WCCM Web site will support the continuing work and dedication of those who minister in prison and encourage those who consider starting such a ministry.
Nurturing the Seed of Silence in the Midst of Deafening Noise
By Caitlin Brune
Few of us have occasion to reflect deeply on something as significant to us as the air we breathe – our liberty – and yet the ability to move about freely, to associate with whom we please when we so choose, and to be the author of one's days are yearned-for luxuries for those who live lives in confinement. Several members of our 10 year-old meditation community have had an intimate experience of connecting with men who lack these luxuries, which has given us a newfound appreciation for the capacity of meditation to liberate one's mind. Over the past two years, several members of our meditation community have facilitated weekly meditation sessions for a group of men serving criminal sentences within Soledad Correctional Training Facility in central California. During this time, our small community of inmate-meditators has grown tremendously, both in the depth of their commitment to practice and in their sense of membership within a broader community of people who use meditation as a tool for awakening.
These inmate-meditators are housed within facilities that occupy a somewhat legendary place among states in terms of their inhumane conditions. In California, more than 172,000 adults are imprisoned in 32 prisons designed to accommodate 90,000 individuals. Additionally, California's prisons reflect the further travesties of racial inequity and social injustice. Among the nearly 200,000 inmates, 93% of are male and almost three out of every four prisoners (an incredible 73%) are either black, Hispanic, or some other racial minority. [1]
Despite a corrections budget in 2007 of a staggering $8.75 billion – exponentially more than the GDP of a host of low-income countries – rehabilitative programs within California's prisons are woefully underfunded. According to the California Catholic Conference, the chaplain ratio for California's adult prison population is 1 per every 5,385 inmates. The sad status of California's state budget has been used to legitimate cuts in programs aimed to teach prisoners employment skills, advance their education, and equip them with improved communications' and basic relational competencies, among other types of rehabilitation. Cuts result in "warehousing" – confining inmates to their cellblocks for longer and longer durations of each week. In response to these diverse factors, volunteer-run programs have literally become the lifeblood for men eager to turn their lives around and re-enter society as more whole, healthy, and sensitive human beings.
More than 2 years ago, our small, faithful, longstanding meditation community spawned a group of approximately 10 men and women who have been sharing Christian meditation with men at Soledad Correctional Training Facility, a maximum security prison approximately an hour's drive from our home base in Santa Cruz, California. Once weekly, a pair of team members travel to Soledad to share a 50 minute-long session with the men: 25 minutes of silent meditation followed by time for a prepared reflection and group discussion. For the past year, we have additionally incorporated yoga sessions into our visits once each month, using the practice as a form of "body prayer," another tool for the men's spiritual toolboxes.
Many of the inmates at Soledad are "lifers." These guys have already passed the equivalent of two or three decades behind bars, and many contemplate the possibility of serving that many more years before their release. Though hardened by the circumstances of their lives, we have witnessed time and again as these men exercise openheartedness, humility, and trust in our shared practice of meditation. There's Tao, eyes flickering with intensity as he tells of his life being completely transformed by meditation; stoic, pensive Lee, as deep as a mountain lake, whose questions probe the depths of what it means to be a child of God; Steve, eloquent and self-deprecating, who is an obvious leader and example to others; and Gerald, whose passion for mentoring translates into gentle adjustments to the budding yoga students in the group. These are among the many others who have become our meditation community behind bars.
In 2009, out of a shared desire to deepen and extend the men's commitment to meditation and to foster the type of mutual support that community invariably provides, our team offered its first day-long retreat. On November 5, 2010, a team of eight of us – four men, four women – offered our third day of retreat for men who have chosen to cultivate meditation as a means of deepening their spiritual journey, achieving a more tranquil mind, and awakening more deeply to God's presence in the midst of their noisy, chaotic reality.
The theme for the November 5th retreat day was Meditation & Healing, a natural extension of topics covered in our retreat earlier this year on the theme of Forgiveness. Indeed, forgiveness is a priority concern for many of our regulars; they earnestly discuss its complexity at every opportunity. We have come to understand and try to honor their need to hear again and again that nothing can separate them from God's love. With the men's support and participation (a small group serving as their representatives in the retreat planning process), we chose to develop the November retreat around the theme of Healing. In so doing, we invited the men to experience more profoundly the healing qualities of silence, of prayer, of various types of breathing and movement, and of community.
As quiet music played in the prison's cavernous gymnasium, men trickled in to collect their nametags, admiring a banner crafted by our team that welcomed each retreatant by name. We did our best to establish an atmosphere of silence within our space; indeed, one man remarked:
[I]t was as if I was walking into another dimension. The expressions on peoples' faces, the aura, and the presence of the hold spirit were so very obvious. Many of us have been incarcerated for over 20 years and do not have the opportunity to spend time with people who treat us, let alone see us, as human beings. Walking in here today felt like walking into a room filled with family.
He went on to acknowledge the significance of the climate silence, safety, and trust we had painstaking tried to nurture. He said that the atmosphere and his interactions with our retreat team members and his peers, ". . . helped me see myself in a better light, gave me more confidence and showed me that there are people who support me in making better choices and living a spiritually productive life."
Approximately 40 inmates shared in the retreat, including our "regulars" from Thursdays and a number of men who routinely attend Tuesday evening meditation and yoga sessions offered by Buddhist volunteers. Indeed, our group has differentiated itself by welcoming and encouraging a spirit of openness and ecumenism as we have built our small community of faithful meditators. Our November retreat day was graced by the presence of the long-time coordinator of the Buddhist volunteers and an experienced yoga teacher familiar with Hindu rituals. We feel that these subtle but significant partnerships model our belief in cultivating strong, faithful practices that promote awakening and our desire to learn with and from various faith traditions even while maintaining our touchstone of Christian meditation.
The day consisted of several prepared talks on the topic of healing and meditation interspersed with periods of silent meditation. We had allocated time for small- and large- group discussion, yoga, pranayama(healing deep breathing techniques) and journaling. A member of our team who is a certified spiritual director spent one-on-one time with nine inmates in addition to leading a guided meditation. We closed the day with a healing ritual led by one male and one female member of our team that involved blessing the hands of each inmate and volunteer with holy oil provided by the Catholic chaplain. This ceremony closed with a song especially recorded by the lay deacon of Resurrection Catholic Community, one of the parishes from which our volunteers are drawn. Each man also received a small paper bone – a symbol of the "dry bones" referenced in Ezekiel – with a handwritten, personally signed promise of prayer from a fourth grader ata local elementary school
At the day's end, the retreatants completed feedback forms, which we have drawn upon previously in planning our retreat day agenda. Several men commented that the day felt like "getting out of jail" and being restored in their humanity. One spoke of being moved to tears, particularly, by the children's thoughtfulness and care. The spiritual director amongst us commented that she was privy to tales of profound transformation that the men attribute to faithfulness in their practice of meditation and participation in our small community.
In closing, we share this excerpt from one of the men's comments on the day:
In this our third retreat I am again reminded of what a blessing you all are to us. You are the very disciples our Good Lord commended in Matthew 25. I am deeply grateful of your dedication, openness, compassion and willingness to share your time, friendship and wisdom with us struggling souls. I am especially thankful for your sense of acceptance, not just tolerance, of each and every one of us. Words are inadequate to fully express my gratitude. Suffice it to say that I will always carry your love and example with me throughout my life.
The silences we share in these retreats is precious. It gives us a brief glimpse into our true peace and helps sustain us in our struggles. The insightful and wise talks from the presenters give hope and strength to those of us who cry out with the author of Ezekiel 37:11.
We feel deeply humbled by the opportunity to share our lives and commitment to meditation with these men and profound thanksgiving for the chance to bring this experience to other members of the WCCM. May you, too, perhaps be inspired to venture behind bars and have your beliefs, myths, and assumptions held up to the light for potential transformation.
Caitlin Brune is one of the leaders of the weekly meditation group at Resurrection Church in Aptos, California and a member of their prison ministry team. She's a graduate of Georgetown and holds a Master's in Public Health from the University of California-Berkeley. She is a certified Yoga teacher and currently works as a Grant Writer for various international human rights-focused nonprofit organizations.
Christian Meditation in the Central Unit, Sugar Land, Texas, USA.
I am a Certified Voluntary Chaplain in the Texas Prison System since 1994. My ministry started at the Central Unit, Sugar Land, with one on one mentoring, then moved to a mandatory course on self image improvement, a Rosary ministry, a voluntary RCIA program and, finally a voluntary "Christian Meditation Program" which started five years ago.
I am ministering to a prison of about 1,000 inmates with sentences ranging from 5 to 40 years. We have a Chapel and all voluntary programs attract about 70 to 100 inmates. The Christian meditation program attracts 12 to 20 inmates on a weekly basis. Most of the inmates in the program have passed from the anger to the acceptance stage in their spiritual journey. They are more sensitive to the silence than the free world meditators because it is very hard for them to find any silence in their dormitories or at work.
Many start meditation encouraged by the core members and some get hooked and adopt the discipline of daily practice and weekly meetings.
Having suffered so much the inmates find that meditation helps them unload their unconscious and some of them share their experiences, most of the time privately with me. One literally sees the Holy Spirit at work.
We meet every Monday from 7 to 9 PM, the two hour time slot being dictated by the recount cycle. Each meeting starts with the distribution and discussion of the WCCM weekly meditation readings published on the internet. Then we listen to a short talk (no more than 10 minutes) by Fr. Laurence or by other spiritual leaders before the start of the meditation which, at the request of the inmates, was extended to 30 minutes. At the end of the meditation I play music from one of Margaret Rizza CDs and finish by reading a closing prayer. During the last part of the two hour time slot, we do some sharing, answer questions, and listen to an audio conference or watch a video. The inmates like watching videos. I have also built a small library for inmates to borrow books from Medio Media. As meditation is a universal way to be in the presence of God, one has to be ready to welcome different religious traditions. My core group of meditators includes two Jews and two native Americans. This interfaith celebration allows us to inject non-Christian readings and open the minds of traditional Christians.
During Fr. Laurence's visit to our prison Unit, one of the inmates shared his meditation experience with him: "Christian meditation has not only educated me further about God, but has carried me through degrees of spiritual fulfillment beyond any former experience or expectation. So much so, I feel relieved and blessed to finally have found what truly works best for me".
Meditating in prison is quite an awesome spiritual experience for the inmates and me. Even the prison staff takes notice. I feel this is the ultimate spiritual restorative experience to prepare the inmates for the free world.


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What Does It Mean to Seek the Lord?
Seeking the Lord means seeking his presence. "Presence" is a common translation of the Hebrew word "face." Literally, we are to seek his "face." But this is the Hebraic way of having access to God. To be before his face is to be in his presence.
But aren't his children always in his presence? Yes and no. Yes in two senses: First, in the sense that God is omnipresent and therefore always near everything and everyone. He holds everything in being. His power is ever-present in sustaining and governing all things.
And second, yes, he is always present with his children in the sense of his covenant commitment to always stand by us and work for us and turn everything for our good. "Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
When He's Not with Us
But there is a sense in which God's presence is not with us always. For this reason, the Bible repeatedly calls us to "seek the Lord . . . seek his presence continually" (Psalm 105:4). God's manifest, conscious, trusted presence is not our constant experience. There are seasons when we become neglectful of God and give him no thought and do not put trust in him and we find him "unmanifested" — that is, unperceived as great and beautiful and valuable by the eyes of our hearts.
His face — the brightness of his personal character — is hidden behind the curtain of our carnal desires. This condition is always ready to overtake us. That is why we are told to "seek his presence continually." God calls us to enjoy continual consciousness of his supreme greatness and beauty and worth.
What It Means to Seek
This happens through "seeking." Continual seeking. But what does that mean practically? Both the Old and New Testaments say it is a "setting of the mind and heart" on God. It is the conscious fixing or focusing of our mind's attention and our heart's affection on God.
Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God. (1 Chronicles 22:19)
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1–2)
A Conscious Choice
This setting of the mind is the opposite of mental coasting. It is a conscious choice to direct the heart toward God. This is what Paul prays for the church: "May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 3:5). It is a conscious effort on our part. But that effort to seek God is a gift from God.
We do not make this mental and emotional effort to seek God because he is lost. That's why we would seek a coin or a sheep. But God is not lost. Nevertheless, there is always something through which or around which we must go to meet him consciously. This going through or around is what seeking is. He is often hidden. Veiled. We must go through mediators and around obstacles.
"God calls us to enjoy continual consciousness of his supreme greatness and beauty and worth."
The heavens are telling the glory of God. So we can seek him through that. He reveals himself in his word. So we can seek him through that. He shows himself to us in the evidences of grace in other people. So we can seek him through that. The seeking is the conscious effort to get through the natural means to God himself — to constantly set our minds toward God in all our experiences, to direct our minds and hearts toward him through the means of his revelation. This is what seeking God means.
Obstacles to Avoid
And there are endless obstacles that we must get around in order to see him clearly, and so that we can be in the light of his presence. We must flee spiritually dulling activities. We must run from them and get around them. They are blocking our way.
We know what makes us vitally sensitive to God's appearances in the world and in the word. And we know what dulls us and blinds us and makes us not even want to seek him. These things we must move away from and go around if we would see God. That is what seeking God involves.
And as we direct our minds and hearts Godward in all our experiences, we cry out to him. This too is what seeking him means.
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near. (Isaiah 55:6)
If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy . . . (Job 8:5)
Seeking involves calling and pleading. "O Lord, open my eyes. O Lord, pull back the curtain of my own blindness. Lord, have mercy and reveal yourself. I long to see your face."
Humility Essential
The great obstacle to seeking the Lord is pride. "In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him" (Psalm 10:4). Therefore, humility is essential to seeking the Lord.
The great promise to those who seek the Lord is that he will be found. "If you seek him, he will be found by you" (1 Chronicles 28:9). And when he is found, there is great reward. "Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6). God himself is our greatest reward. And when we have him, we have everything. Therefore, "Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" (Psalm 105:4).