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Nos Es Muy Conocida
Author: Pope Pius XI | Source: http://www.papalencyclicals.net
Nos Es Muy Conocida
To the Venerable Brethren the Archbishops, Bishops, and other Ordinaries of Mexico in Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction.
There is well known to Us, Venerable Brethren-and it is a great cause of consolation for Our paternal heart-your constancy, that of your priests and of the great part of the Mexican faithful, in ardently professing the Catholic Faith and in opposing the impositions of those who, ignoring the divine excellence of the religion of Jesus Christ and knowing it only through the calumnies of its enemies, delude themselves that they are not able to accomplish reforms for the good of the people except by combating the religion of the great majority. But unfortunately, the enemies of God and Christ have succeeded in overcoming many lukewarm and timid souls who, although they adore God in the intimacy of their consciences, nevertheless, either through human respect or through fear of earthly evils, have become, at least materially, cooperators in the dechristianization of a people that owes to religion its greatest glories.
2. In contrast to these apostasies and weaknesses, which afflict Us profoundly, there appears to Us all the more praiseworthy and meritorious the resistance to evil, the practice of Christian life and the frank profession of faith by those most numerous Faithful whom you, Venerable Brethren, and with you your clergy, illuminate and guide with pastoral strength no less than with the splendid example of your life. This consoles Us in the midst of Our sorrow, and engenders in Us the hope for better days for the Mexican Church, which, re-animated by so much heroism and sustained by the prayers and sacrifices of so many elect souls, cannot perish, even more, it must flourish again more vigorously and more luxuriously.
3. And precisely to revive your confidence in Divine Aid, and to encourage you to continue in the practice of a fervent Christian life, We address this letter to you, and We avail ourselves of this occasion to remind you how, under the present difficult circumstances, the most efficacious means for a Christian restoration are-and also among you-above all the holiness of priests, and in the second place the correct formation of the laity in order that they may be capable of cooperating fruitfully in the Apostolate of the Hierarchy, so much more necessary in Mexico both because of the vastness of the territory and because of other circumstances known to all.
4. Our thought, therefore, is fixed in the first place on those who must be the light that illuminates, the salt which conserves, the good leaven which penetrates the entire mass of the Faithful: We mean your priests. In truth, We know how tenaciously and at the cost of how many sacrifices you care for the selection and increase of sacerdotal vocations, in the midst of all sorts of difficulties, well persuaded as you are thus to provide the solution of a vital problem, truly the most vital of all the problems relating to the future of the Church. In view of the almost absolute impossibility of having in your own country wellordered and tranquil seminaries, you have found in this city an ample and gracious refuge in the South American Pio Latino College, which has formed and continues to form in science and virtue so many worthy priests and which, for its precious work, is particularly dear to Us. But since in many cases it has been impossible to send your students to Rome, you have worked solicitously to find an asylum in the hospitality of a great neighboring nation.
Expression of Gratitude
5. In congratulating you on this praiseworthy initiative which is already becoming a consoling reality, We again express Our gratitude to all those who have so generously tendered you hospitality and assistance. And with paternal instinct We remind you again on this occasion of Our precise wish that you make known and explain suitably, not only to the clerics, but to all your priests, Our Encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii, which explains Our thoughts on this the gravest and most important among the grave and important subjects treated by Us.
6. The Mexican priests thus formed according to the Heart of Jesus Christ will feel that in the actual conditions of their country (of which We spoke in Our Apostolic Letter Paterna Sane Solicitudo of February 2, 1926)-which are so similar to those of the early times of the Church, when the Apostles appealed for the collaboration of the laity-it would be very difficult to reconquer for Christ so many misguided souls without the providential assistance which the laity give by means of Catholic Action. More so since at times grace prepares among them generous souls ready to develop most fruitful activity if they encounter a learned and holy clergy capable of understanding and guiding them.
7. Therefore, to the Mexican priests, who have dedicated their lives to the service of Jesus Christ, of the Church and of souls-to these We direct Our first and warmest appeal, that they will generously second Our and your solicitude for the progress of Catholic-Action, dedicating to it their best efforts and most opportune diligence. The methods of an effective collaboration of the laity with your action will never be lacking if the priests will devote themselves with careful attention to cultivating the Christian people by means of wise spiritual direction and careful religious instructions, not diluted in vain discourses, but nourished with sound doctrine taken from Holy Scripture and full of unction and of force.
Holy Apostolate
8. It is true that not all understand fully the necessity of this holy apostolate of the laity, although from Our first Encyclical, Ubi Arcano Dei, We declared that this appertains undeniably to the pastoral ministry and to Christian life. But since, as We have already indicated, We are addressing Ourselves to pastors who must regain a sorely tried and to a certain extent dispersed flock, today more than ever before We recommend that you make use of those secular people to whom, as living stones of the Holy House of God, St. Peter attributes a profound dignity which makes them in a certain manner participants in a holy and regal priesthood (1 Peter ii.9).
In fact, every Christian conscious of his dignity and his responsibility as a son of the Church and a member of the Mystical Body of Christ- Multi Unum Corpus Sumus in Christo Singuli Autem Alter Alterius Membra (So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another) (Romans xii. 5)-cannot do less than recognize that between the members of this body there must exist a reciprocal communication of life and solidarity of interests. Hence the duty of each in the order of life and the increase of the whole organism in aedificationem Corporis Chrisn: hence the efficacious contribution of each member toward the glorification of the Head and of His Mystical Body (Ephesians iv. 12-16).
From these clear and simple principles, what consoling deductions, what luminous directives arise for many souls still uncertain and diffident,
but desirous of orientating their ardor! What incitements to contribute to the spread of the Kingdom of Christ and to the salvation of souls!
Fruit of Organization
9. Nevertheless, it is evident that the apostolate thus understood does not come from a purely natural impulse to action, but is the fruit of a solid interior formation: it is the necessary expansion of an intense love of Jesus Christ and of souls redeemed by His Precious Blood, which is actuated by studying to imitate His life of prayer, of sacrifice, of inextinguishable zeal. This imitation of Christ will excite multiple forms of apostolate in every field, wherever souls are in danger or the rights of the Divine King compromised; it will extend to all the works of the apostolate, which in any manner enter into the divine mission of the Church, and consequently will penetrate not only the soul of each individual, but also into the sanctuary of the family, the school and even public life.
10. But the magnitude of the work must not cause you to preoccupy yourselves more than the number of collaborators than with the quality. Following the example of the Divine Master, who wished to precede the few years of His apostolic work with a long preparation, and limited Himself to forming in the Apostolic College not many but select instruments for the future conquest of the world, so you also, Venerable Brethren, should care first of all for the supernatural formation of your directors and propagandists, without being too much preoccupied or grieved because at the beginning they form but a pusillus grex (Luke xii. 32).
11. And since We know that you are already working in this direction, We express to you Our satisfaction that you have already scrupulously selected and carefully formed good collaborators, who with word and example will bring the fervor of the Christian life and the Christian apostolate into the dioceses and the parishes. This, your work, will certainly succeed in being solid and deep, averse to publicity, tumult, noisy forms, working in silence, even without very apparent or immediate fruit; after the manner of the seed, which, in the apparent repose beneath the soil, prepares the new vigorous plant.
Spiritual Formation
12. On the other hand, the spiritual formation and the interior life fostered in these your collaborators, will put them on their guard against dangers and possible deviations. Keeping in mind the ultimate aim of Catholic Action, which is the sanctification of souls, according to the Gospel precept: See ye first the Kingdom of God (Luke xii. 31), you will not run the risk of sacrificing principles for immediate and secondary ends, and that supreme end will never be forgotten to which must be subordinated even social and economic works and charitable undertakings.
Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us this with example; because when in the ineffable tenderness of His Divine Heart which makes Him exclaim: I have compassion on the multitude . . . And if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way (Mark viii. 2 to 3), He healed the infirmities of the body and came to the assistance of temporal needs, He had the supreme end of His mission always in view, that is, the glory of His Father and the eternal salvation of souls.
13. The so-called social works, in the meantime, are not to escape the activities of Catholic Action, inasmuch as they aim at putting into practice the principles of justice and charity, and inasmuch as they are means of approaching the multitudes; since often souls are not reached except through the relief of corporal miseries and economic needs. And this We, Ourselves, as did Our predecessor of blessed memory, Leo XIII, recommended several times. But it is also true that, if Catholic Action has the duty of preparing men fit to direct such works, and of pointing out the principles which must guide them, with norms and directions drawn from the genuine sources of Our Encyclicals, it must not nevertheless assume the responsibility in that part which is purely technical, financial, economic, which is outside its competency and outside its purpose.
14. Facing the frequent accusations made against the Church, that it is indifferent to social problems, or incapable of solving them, do not desist from proclaiming that only the teaching and the work of the Church, assisted as it is by its Divine Founder, can furnish a remedy for the very grave ills which burden humanity. It is for you then (as you have already shown your wish to do) to draw from these fruitful principles the certain norms to solve the grave social questions with which your country is struggling today, which are, for example, the agrarian problem, the reduction of the latifundia (large landed estates), the improvement of the living conditions of the working men and their families.
Social Justice
15. Thus, while saving the essence of the primary and fundamental rights, such as the right of ownership, remember that at times the common good imposes restrictions on such rights as a recourse more frequent than in the past to the applications of social justice. As a protection for the dignity of the human being, it may be necessary at times to denounce and to blame boldly unjust and unworthy living conditions; at the same time, however, care must be taken to guard against either making violence legitimate with the pretext of applying a remedy to the ills of the people, or admitting and favoring those rapid and violent changes of temporal conditions of society which may lead to effects that are more harmful than the evil itself which is intended to be corrected.
16. This intervention in the social question will bring you likewise to occupy yourselves with the lot of so many poor workingmen who too easily become the prey of de-Christianizing propaganda, with the mirage of economic advantages presented to them as a reward for their apostasy from God and from His Church. If you truly love the laborer (and you must love him because his conditions of life approach nearer to those of the Divine Master), you must assist him materially and religiously. Materially, bringing about in his favor the practice not only of commutative justice but also of social justice, that is, all those provisions which aim at relieving the condition of the proletarian; and then, religiously, giving him again the religious comforts without which he will struggle in a materialism that brutalizes him and degrades him.
Duty Toward Peasants
17. No less grave and no less urgent is another duty: that of the religious and economic assistance of the campesinos (peasants), and in general of that not small portion of your sons forming the population, mostly agricultural, of the Indians. There are millions of souls, they too redeemed by Christ, entrusted by Him to your care and for whom He will some day ask you to render an account; there are millions of individual men often in such sad and miserable living conditions that they have not even that minimum of well-being indispensable to protect their very dignity as men. We conjure you, Venerable Brethren, in the bosom of the charity of Christ to have particular care for these children, to encourage your clergy to devote themselves with ever-increasing zeal to their assistance, and to interest the whole Mexican Catholic Action in this work of moral and material redemption.
18. Nor can We fail to mention a duty which in these recent times is ever increasing in importance: the assistance for Mexicans who have emigrated to other countries, who, torn away from their country and their traditions, more easily become prey to the insidious propaganda of the emissaries seeking to induce them to apostatize from their Faith. An arrangement with your zealous confreres of the United States of America will bring about a more diligent and organized care on the part of the local clergy and will assure for the Mexican emigrants those social and economic provisions which are so well developed in the Church in the United States.
Tasks of Catholic Action
19. If Catholic Action cannot neglect the most humble and the most needy classes, of the laborers, of the peasants, of the emigrants, it has in other fields no less grave and inescapable duties; among other things it must occupy itself solicitously with the students who some day will have, as professional men and women, a great influence in society and will perhaps hold public offices. To the practice of the Christian religion, to the formation of character and the Christian conscience, which are fundamental elements for all the Faithful, you must associate a special and correct education and intellectual preparation, supported by Christian philosophy-that is, that philosophy which was truthfully called perennial philosophy. Today, in fact, a solid and adequate religious instruction seems still more necessary in view of the tendency, always more generalized, of modern life toward externals, the repugnance toward and difficulty of reflection and recollec tion, and the propensity, even in the spiritual life, to allow sentiment rather than reason to be guide.
20. We ardently desire that you carry out among yourselves, at least to the degree possible and adapting the instruction to particular condi tions, to the necessities and possibilities of your country, that which Catholic Action is so well doing in other countries for cultural formation and to assure that religious instruction should hold an intellectual primacy among students and educated Catholics.
21. The university students who are actively engaged in Catholic Action give Us great hope for a better future for Mexico, and We do not doubt that they will fulfil Our hopes. It is evident that they are a part, and an important part, of this Catholic Action which is so close to Our heart, whatever be the forms of its organization, since these depend in great part on local conditions and circumstances which vary from region to region. These university students not only afford, as We have said, the most valid hopes for a better tomorrow, but even today can render effective service to the Church and to the country, by the apostolate which they carry on among their companions as well as by supplying the various branches and various organizations of Catholic Action with capable and enlightened directors.
Care of Children
22. The special conditions of your country oblige Us to recall the necessary, obligatory, inescapable, care of the children, whose innocence is ensnared, whose education and Christian formation is thus so sorely tried. Two grave precepts are imposed on all Catholic Mexicans: the one negative, that is, to keep the children as far away as possible from the impious and corruptive school; the other positive, to give them complete and accurate religious instruction and the necessary assistance to maintain their spiritual life. Regarding the first point, a grave and delicate one, We recently took occasion to manifest Our thoughts. As regards religious instruction, although We know with what insistence you yourselves have recommended it to your priests and to your Faithful, yet We repeat that, this being one of the most important and capital problems of the Mexican Church today, it is necessary that what is so laudably practiced in some dioceses today should be extended to all the others, in such a manner that the priests and members of Catholic Action apply themselves with all ardor and at cost of any sacrifice to conserve for God and the Church these little ones, for whom the Divine Saviour has shown such predilection.
23. The future of these younger generations
(We repeat it with all the anguish of Our paternal heart) awakens in Us the most urgent solicitude and the most lively anxiety. We know to how many perils the children and youth are exposed, today more than ever, everywhere, but particularly in Mexico, where an immoral and antireligious press implants in their hearts the seeds of apostasy from Jesus Christ. To remedy such grave evil and defend your youth from these perils, it is necessary that every legal means be taken and every form of organization be put in motion, as for example, the Leagues of Fathers of Families and the morality and vigilance committees for publications and censorship of the cinema.
24. Regarding the individual defense of children and youths, We know, from reports which reach Us from all over the world, that activity in the ranks of Catholic Action constitutes the best protection against the strategems of evil, the most efficacious training ground in Christian strength. These youths, enraptured with the beauty of the Christian ideal, sustained by the Divine Help which is assured by prayer and the Sacraments, will dedicate themselves with ardor and joy to the conquest of the souls of their companions, gathering consoling harvests of good.
Salvation of Mexico
25. In this We have another proof that in view of the grave problems of Mexico, it must not be said that Catholic Action holds a place of secondary importance. If ever this institution, which is the educator of consciences and the former of moral qualities, were set aside in favor of another extrinsic work of whatsoever species, even if it were a case of defending necessary religious and civil liberty, it would be a sad mistake; because the salvation of Mexico, as of all human society, lies above all in the eternal and immutable evangelical doctrine and in the sincere practice of Christian morals.
26. For the rest, once this gradation of values and activities is established, it must be admitted that for Christian life to develop itself it must have recourse to external and sensible means; that the Church, being a society of men, cannot exist or develop if it does not enjoy liberty of action, and that its members have the right to find in civil society the possibility of living according to the dictates of their consciences. Consequently, it is quite natural that when the most elementary religious and civil liberties are attacked, Catholic citizens do not resign themselves passively to renouncing those liberties. Notwithstanding, the revindication of these rights and liberties can be, according to the circumstances, more or less opportune, more or less energetic.
Church Protects Peace
27. You have more than once recalled to your Faithful that the Church protects peace and order, even at the cost of grave sacrifices, and that it condemns every unjust insurrection or violence against constituted powers. On the other hand, among you it has also been said that, whenever these powers arise against justice and truth even to destroying the very foundations of authority, it is not to be seen how those citizens are to be condemned who united to defend themselves and the nation, by licit and appropriate means, against those who make use of public power to bring it to ruin.
General Principles
28. If the practical solution depends on concrete circumstances, We must, however, on Our part recall to you some general principles, always to be kept in mind, and they are:
1) That these revindications have reason [the ratio] of means, or of relative end, not of ultimate and absolute end;
2) That, in reason [ratio] of means, they must be licit actions and not intrinsically evil;
3) That, if they are to be means proportionate to the end, they must be used only in the measure in which they serve to obtain or render possible, in whole or in part, the end, and in such manner that they do not cause to the community greater damages than those they seek to repair;
4) That the use of such means and the exercise of civic and political rights in their fulness, embracing also problems of order purely material and technical, or any violent defense, does not enter in any manner in the task of the clergy or of Catholic Action as such, although to both appertains the preparation of Catholics to make just use of their rights, and to defend them with all legitimate means according as the common good requires;
5) The clergy and Catholic Action, being, by their mission of peace and love, consecrated to uniting all men in vinculo pacis (Ephesians iv. 3), must contribute to the prosperity of the nation, especially encouraging the union of those social initiatives which are not opposed to dogma or to the laws of Christian morals.
Furthermore, this very civil activity of the Mexican Catholics, carried out with such a noble and elevated spirit, will obtain results that are the more efficacious the more the Catholics themselves shall have the supernatural vision of life, that religious and moral education and that burning zeal for the spread of the Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ which Catholic Action intends to give.
Union of Consciences
29. In the presence of a happy coalition of consciences which do not intend to renounce the liberty vindicated for them by Christ (Galatians iv. 31), what power or human force could yoke them to sin? What dangers, what persecutions, what trials could separate souls thus tempered by the charity of Christ? (Romans viii. 35)
30. This right formation of the perfect Christian and citizen, in which the supernatural ennobles all the talents and actions and exalts them, contains also, as is natural, the fulfilment of civil and social duties. Facing the adversaries of the Church, St. Augustine proclaimed in praise of his faith: Give me such fathers of families, such children, such masters, such subjects, such husbands, such spouses, such men of government, such citizens, as those which Christian Doctrine forms, and if you cannot give them, confess that this Christian Doctrine, if practiced, is the salvation of the State (Epistle cxxxviii. 2).
31. Thus a Catholic will take care not to pass over his right to vote when the good of the Church or of the country requires it. Thus there will be avoided the danger of seeing Catholics, in the exercise of their civil and political activities, organizing in particular groups, at times disputing among themselves or also contrary to the directions of the ecclesiastical authorities. That would be increasing the confusion and scattering the forces, to the complete detriment both of the development of Catholic Action and of the very cause that they wish to defend.
32. We have already mentioned activities which, although not conflicting with, are certainly outside the scope of Catholic Action, such as would be those of a political party or those which are purely economic and social. But there exist many other beneficent activities-such as the Leagues of Fathers of Families, for the defense of scholastic liberty and religious instruction, the union of citizens for the defense of the family and the sanctity of matrimony, and of public morality, which can be reorganized about the central nucleus of Catholic Action. In fact, it does not hold itself rigidly to fixed plans, but rather coordinates, as if about a radial center of light and heat, other initiatives and auxiliary institutions; which, enjoying always a just autonomy and a fitting liberty of action necessary for the accomplishment of their specific aims, feel the need of following the directions of its program.
Different Methods
33. That holds above all for your nation which is so extensive, where the variety of the needs and of local conditions may demand that, though on the basis of common principles, different methods of organization be used and different but equally just practical solutions be reached for the one same problem.
34. It will be for you, Venerable Brethren, placed by the Holy Spirit to rule the Church of God, to give the final practical decision in these cases, to which the Faithful will give their obedience and fidelity according to your instructions. And this is extremely close to Our heart, because the right intention and obedience are always and everywhere the indispensable conditions to draw down the Divine blessings upon the pastoral ministry and upon Catholic Action and to determine that unity of address and that fusion of energies which are an indispensable presupposition for the fruitfulness of the apostolate. With all Our spirit, therefore, We conjure the good Mexican Catholics to hold Obedience and Discipline dear. "Obey your prelates, and be subject to them. For they watch as being to render an account of your souls." And let this obedience be full of joy and a stimulus to greater energies: "That they may do this with joy, and not with grief" (Hebrews xiii. 17). He who obeys unwillingly and only through force, venting his interior resentment in bitter criticism of his superiors and companions in work, of all that which is not according to his own way of viewing things, drives away the Divine benedictions, destroys the strength of discipline, and destroys where he ought to construct.
35. Together with obedience and discipline, We are pleased to recall those other duties of universal charity which are suggested to us by St. Paul in that same chapter iv. of the Letter to the
Ephesians, which We have already quoted and which ought to be the fundamental norm of all those who work in Catholic Action: "I, therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy . . . with all humility and mildness, with patience, supporting one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, one body and one Spirit" (Ephesians iv. 1 to 4).
Appeal to Unity
36. To Our dearest Mexican children, who are such a part of the cares and of the affectionate solicitudes of Our Pontificate, We renew the appeal to unity, to charity, to peace, in the apostolic labor of Catholic Action, which must give back Christ to Mexico and restore there peace and also temporal prosperity.
37. We deposit Our wishes and Our prayers at the feet of your heavenly Patroness, invoked under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who, in her sanctuary, still excites the love and the veneration of every Mexican.
38. Of her, who under this title is venerated and blessed also in this city where We, Ourselves, have erected a parish dedicated in her honor, We earnestly ask that she hear Our prayers and yours for the prosperous future of Mexico, for the Peace of Christ in the Reign of Christ. With these wishes and with these sentiments, We impart with all Our heart to you, to your priests, to the Mexican Catholic Action, to all the beloved children of Mexico, to the whole noble Mexican nation, a very special Apostolic Benediction.
39. May this, Our letter, be a pledge of spiritual resurrection for your country, as We have wished to date it on the Feast of the Resurrection as a paternal auspice that, since you have been so vividly participating in the sufferings of Christ, so you may likewise be participants in His resurrection.
Given at St. Peter's in Rome on the Feast of the Resurrection, March 28, 1937, the fifteenth year of Our Pontificate.


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Hey folks, as the official headquarters for Washington Cider Week we are now looking for Washington State businesses and business owners to that would like to help us celebrate in September by hosting their own cider events and/or cider specials. We are looking for the usual suspects and new comers alike.
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Got a suggestion? Pass it along!
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Our Northwest Cider cidermakers will likely be in high demand and if you'd like them to make an appearance at your location, arrangements should be made early.

subset: commoncrawl


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Osoyoos Lake Regional Park
Osoyoos Lake Regional Park located on the East side of Osoyoos Lake at 16th Avenue and 45th Street. The land was granted to the Regional District by Order in Council on April 23, 1981 from the Province of British Columbia for the purpose of a public park.
Revitalization Plan
Landscape Plan
Parking Plan
Phase One to be completed in 2011, Phase Two and Three as funding permits
Foreshore Application


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Just a few blocks away from a stretch of busy highway in LaPlace, La. — about 30 miles northwest of New Orleans — Donald Caesar Jr., 49, walks down the street he grew up on and has lived his entire life. Even a month after Hurricane Ida pummeled Louisiana as a Category 4 storm, this street and many others in the hardest-hit areas of the state are still completely unrecognizable.
"It's just overbearing to some people who thought they could handle this. And they never seen this. It's never impacted like this," Caesar said. "We don't have nowhere to go, so we just have to deal with it, you know?"
Caesar has been spending most days and nights in his red pickup truck keeping watch over his 82-year-old uncle's house. The roof was ripped off, and it's now completely unlivable. Along the walls, black mold is growing; the floors are wet and dirty; flies circle around garbage.
It's hard for Caesar to see. This house has been in his family for generations. Caesar says his great-grandparents migrated from Africa in the early 1900s and were able to acquire land on this street. Since then, fathers, uncles, aunts and nephews have lived here.
Now, much of the family-owned property is destroyed. The tree his grandfather planted about a hundred years ago didn't survive Ida's wind either.
"It was always joyful to feel like a chimpanzee to try to climb it," Caesar said. "We used to run to try to climb it. This is where everybody came together ... the functions were in this yard."
Caesar says it's devastating to see so much destruction within this Black community in LaPlace — one that has weathered so many storms. And that's leading many residents in the city to consider moving away.
Two months after the hurricane, the water is back on. Grocery stores have reopened. Hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of debris have been picked up.
But unlike New Orleans, St. John the Baptist Parish, where LaPlace is located, is outside any federal levee protection system. And it faced severe damage from storm surge and powerful winds. Many homes will have to be gutted.
"A week ago my mom caught a heart attack. She said [it was] stress," Caesar said. "She shouldn't have been back there so long. She's asking herself right now: should she leave? Should she just call it quits?"
Laying down roots in LaPlace
St. John the Baptist Parish sits between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. People of color make up the majority of its population.
The region is home to numerous former plantations. Many Black families either have descended from formerly enslaved people or — like the Caesars — have otherwise been here for more than a century.
The region is now also home to many immigrant communities from places like Mexico, Puerto Rico and Colombia — many of whom came here to work in the area's numerous petrochemical plants. Like generational Black families, Latino families who have laid down roots here are also questioning whether to stay or leave.
One church just down the street from the Caesars — Iglesia Pentecostal Providencia Divina — has been a lifeline for these migrants since it formed about a decade ago.
Pastor Wanda Rivera and her husband, Pedro, came to the mainland U.S. from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Rivera says she began her ministry by passing out Christian tracts — pamphlets sharing her faith. Then the couple began holding bilingual services, forming a community of Spanish-speaking church members.
They soon found a permanent home on the edge of the same busy highway in LaPlace where the Caesars live. Now it lies in rubble.
Like many buildings here, the church was destroyed by Hurricane Ida, the entire back concrete-block wall ripped away by a big tree that was uprooted by the storm.
"It was everything for us," Rivera said.
But the community is still together. Pastor Wanda Rivera has moved the church — or at least its congregation — to the back porch of her home about a 15-minute drive away.
"We cleaned everything as much as we could. And we ... fill it up with chairs [so] that looks like a church. And we have, like, a music stand," Rivera said.
Rivera has tried to salvage what she can, storing odds and ends in a garage behind the kitchen. There's a drum set and speaker, empty aluminum casserole dishes for potlucks, even a giant prop in the shape of a Bible that her sister painted for an event at the church.
But with the loss of the church has come the loss of many services. Rivera says church members used the building to store clothing and food given to people in need.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, Rivera says undocumented people in LaPlace are especially vulnerable. Legal status in the U.S. is necessary to apply for relief payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"When President Trump was talking about deporting people and the riots, we [invited] a lawyer," Rivera said. "More than 3,000 people in the church [attended] with that lawyer wanting to know their rights. And I didn't even know there were that many Hispanic [people] in the LaPlace."
Rivera says she's been trying to help those with limited English skills understand their rights and navigate the systems designed to help with storm recovery. Families with mixed immigration status can use, for example, a child's social security number, according to FEMA public affairs officer John Mills.
A community that must decide whether to stay together
Jaclyn Hotard, president of St. John the Baptist Parish, is worried people will leave.
"No matter where you go, there are things that can happen. Whether it's, you know, tornadoes and earthquakes and just all of these different, you know, acts of God," Hotard said. "And so where do you really go? And I think the real answer is building better."
Some residents, like the Caesars, say they feel like the response from local officials has been slow.
"I can assure you that we have been very responsive," Hotard said. "I couldn't get to my own house, you know, for about four or five days after the storm. We had about two feet of water in the house and my car flooded also. I can empathize with the residents and what they're going through."
Hotard noted that a local levee system got funding in 2018, and that it will be a game changer for the parish once it's constructed. But it is scheduled to be completed in 2024 — after several hurricane seasons have passed.
Other residents noted that LaPlace routinely floods — but also said the floods were becoming worse. Climate change is likely to make hurricanes intensify more rapidly, grow more powerful and drop more rain.
"When you look at ... some of the storms that are hitting, it's a serious situation," said Mills, the FEMA representative. He says when it comes to staying or leaving in a hurricane zone, "these are tough questions for communities to answer."
Thousands in the parish have asked for help from FEMA. But Mills said the agency cannot give money to people if they have home or flood insurance. Mills said FEMA was doing its best to help, but said its role was to offer a helping hand in a crisis — not to help people rebuild if they didn't have insurance.
"A lot of people are going to rely on the good work of charitable voluntary and faith-based organizations that are actively working in a lot of communities," Mills said.
Rivera's church is trying to fill some of those gaps. Her family is using their backyard to prepare food for distribution in the community. Rivera admits with so much loss, she sometimes imagines leaving LaPlace.
For the time being, Rivera and her congregation are staying. In fact, they're renting space from another local church.
"I was praying and I was like, you know, I don't have a reason to stay," Rivera said. "[But] I love these people. I love the ministry."
Much of Donald Caesar Jr.'s family has left LaPlace, including his 82-year-old uncle, who is staying in Baton Rouge. While his uncle would like to return, he cannot come back until his home can be fixed or he finds a new place to live. That could take months or even a year.
But Caesar says he can't imagine leaving. He'll continue walking up and down the street he grew up on, surveying his home and the stump of his family's hundred-year-old tree, waiting for help to arrive.
This is where he's been all his life and it's all he knows, he said. And he believes his family will come back too.
"They're resilient people. They're going to come back; they're going to rebuild," Caesar said. "The tree might not be. The house will be back."
Caesar said it's just a matter of when they can all start picking up the pieces.
This story was produced with reporters from the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between WWNO in New Orleans, Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama and NPR. Support for health equity coverage comes from the Commonwealth Fund.
Copyright 2021 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio


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Fast-casual chain California Tortilla is serving up a new addition to its menu with Yo! Tort frozen yogurt. Yo! Tort debuted last week when the restaurant chain's 41st franchise opened in Lorton, Virginia. Best known for its award-winning signature burritos, quesadillas, and salads, California Tortilla is testing the frozen yogurt line as a new potential product offering.
Yo! Tort will feature a variety of flavors including Chocolate, Vanilla, New York Cheesecake, Cake Batter, Tart, and Pomegranate-Raspberry Sorbet. Toppings will range from standard favorites like rainbow sprinkles and coconut flakes to the more unexpected, such as mini Swedish Fish and mochi rice cake, for the more adventurous fro-yo lover.
"We're excited to test a completely new product line as part of the California Tortilla menu," says Bob Phillips, president of California Tortilla. "Our customers expect us to keep things fresh, exciting, and above all, tasty—and Yo! Tort hits the mark on all three. We're looking forward to seeing the potential of Yo! Tort as an additional profit center."
Yo! Tort is currently available at California Tortilla Lorton.


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Launch is available less than 50 yards away. Dock on-site for your boat. Plenty of parking for your trailer. Largest marina nearby: Dandridge Point. Only minutes from Gatlinburg, TN, Pigeon Forge, TN and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
7th Heaven is a treasure here on earth!


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Visible and ultraviolet laser light has been used for years to cool trapped atoms—and more recently larger objects—by reducing the extent of their thermal motion. Now, applying a different form of radiation for a similar purpose, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used radio waves to dampen the motion of a miniature mechanical oscillator containing more than a quadrillion atoms, a cooling technique that may open a new window into the quantum world using smaller and simpler equipment.
Described in a forthcoming issue of Physical Review Letters, this demonstration of radio-frequency (RF) cooling of a relatively large object may offer a new tool for exploring the elusive boundary where the familiar rules of the everyday, macroscale world give way to the bizarre quantum behavior seen in the smallest particles of matter and light. There may be technology applications as well: the RF circuit could be made small enough to be incorporated on a chip with tiny oscillators, a focus of intensive research for use in sensors to detect, for example, molecular forces.
The NIST experiments used an RF circuit to cool a 200 x 14 x 1,500 micrometer silicon cantilever—a tiny diving board affixed at one end to a chip and similar to the tuning forks used in quartz crystal watches—vibrating at 7,000 cycles per second, its natural "resonant" frequency. Scientists cooled it from room temperature (about 23 degrees C, or 73 degrees F) to -228 C (-379 F). Other research groups have used optical techniques to chill micro-cantilevers to lower temperatures, but the RF technique may be more practical in some cases, because the equipment is smaller and easier to fabricate and integrate into cryogenic systems. By extending the RF method to higher frequencies at cryogenic temperatures, scientists hope eventually to cool a cantilever to its "ground state" near absolute zero (-273 C or -460 F) , where it would be essentially motionless and quantum behavior should emerge.
Laser cooling is akin to using the kinetic energy of millions of ping-pong balls (particles of light) striking a rolling bowling ball (such as an atom) to slow it down. The RF cooling technique, lead author Kenton Brown says, is more like pushing a child on a swing slightly out of synch with its back-and-forth motion to reduce its arc. In the NIST experiments, the cantilever's mechanical motion is reduced by the force created between two electrically charged plates, one of which is the cantilever, which store energy like electrical capacitors. In the absence of any movement, the force would be stable, but in this case, it is modulated by the cantilever vibrations. The stored energy takes some time to change in response to the cantilever's movement, and this delay pushes the cantilever slightly out of synch, damping its motion.
K.R. Brown, J. Britton, R.J. Epstein, J. Chiaverini, D. Leibfried, and D.J. Wineland. 2007. Passive cooling of a micromechanical oscillator with a resonant electric circuit. Physical Review Letters. [Forthcoming].


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Shows & Articles
Revitalizing America's Hometowns series w/ Sen. Andy Zay
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revitalize america's hometowns
Mar 19, 2021
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What does it take to Revitalize America's Hometowns? How can government officials improve the conditions for job creation and livability in small and medium-sized communities? Today on the show, Dustin & Sean are joined by Indiana State Senator Andy Zay to discuss his efforts to expand...
We are pulling back the curtain on so many topics related to campaigns, politics, and news. If there is something you'd like us to cover, send us an email: [email protected]
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Greetings from the Department of Natural Resources Atchafalaya Basin Program!
News: The USGS would like to inform the public that due to reductions in funding the following water gages are scheduled to be discontinued within one month: Murphy LakeBeau BayouLake Pelba at I-10Bayou Fusillier of the SwampsBayou La Rose (in Beau Bayou management unit)American Pass at Little Bayou Sorrel LA Sportsman: Hefty bass stringers still possible after Atchafalaya Basin fishing regulations changes The News Star: A love for the beauty of Louisiana The Daily Iberian: Helping Catfish Spawn WWL: LDWF seeks public input on waterfowl zone changes LA Sportsman: Florida gene never took hold in Atchafalaya Basin bass Save the Date: Cinema Française, Oct. 22 at 7 pm at the NUNU Arts and Culture Collective in Arnaudville Baton Rouge Cajun French Music Association Dance, Oct. 23 Rougarou Fest Oct. 24 and 25 in Houma, LA Guided Canoe Tour in Chicot, Oct. 24 from 2 - 4 pm at Chicot State Park in Ville Platte Sweet Dough Pie Festival, Oct. 24 from 9 am - 3 pm at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Grand Coteau Swamp Haunted Hikes, Oct. 16, 23, and 30 at BREC's Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center in Baton Rouge Moonlight Paddle in Manchac Swamp, Oct. 24 Harvest Moon Paddle and Supper at Lake Martin, Oct. 25 Women''s Outdoor Recreation Workshop, Oct. 29 Blackpot Festival and Cookoff, Oct. 30 Louisiana Book Festival, Oct. 31 La Table Francaise at NUNU's, Oct. 31 Cypress Swamp Photography with Georg Popp, Oct. 31 6th Annual Fall Festival & Gumbo Cookoff, Oct. 31 from 11 am - 5 pm at the Bayou Plaquemine Waterfront Park Grand Réveil - Women Crafting Our Culture, Oct. 3 - 31 at the St. Landry Parish Visitor Center in Opelousas Creole Mourning Customs, Oct 24 - Nov 1 at Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge ABP Research and Promotion Board Meeting, Novmber 5 Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission Meeting, November 5
The USGS would like to inform the public that due to reductions in funding the following water gages are scheduled to be discontinued within one month:
Murphy LakeBeau BayouLake Pelba at I-10Bayou Fusillier of the SwampsBayou La Rose (in Beau Bayou management unit)American Pass at Little Bayou Sorrel
Save the Date:
Send in your Basin Pics! Let us know if you have an upcoming event to promote the Basin!
Send in your Basin Pics!
Let us know if you have an upcoming event to promote the Basin!
Checking the water:The information below is obtained from the USGS and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and has been compiled by DNR into this format to allow a quick look at information pertinent to the Atchafalaya Basin. Click here for current weather conditions and water levels.Data is for 10/13/2015
Data is for 10/20/2015
Ohio River at CairoLocation: Southernmost gauge on the Ohio River in Illinois Reading significance - used to forecast rises on the Mississippi. Lag time, 4 to 6 days.Flood Stage: 40'Stage: 10.7'24 hour change: +0.1'Forecast: expect to REMAIN at 10.7' through 10/25
Mississippi River, just south of ORCS, at Red River LandingReading: Mississippi River south of ORCS, after the diversion into the Atchafalaya Flood Stage: 48'Stage: 19.8'24 hour change: unavailableForecast: expect to FALL to 18.2' by 10/25
Mississippi River at Baton RougeFlood Stage: 35'Stage: 8.0'24 hour change: -0.1'Forecast: expect to FALL to 7.1' by 10/25
Mississippi River at New OrleansFlood Stage: 17'Stage: 3.6'24 hour change: +0.2'Forecast: expect to FALL to 3.1' by 10/25
Atchafalaya River, just south of ORCS, at SimmesportReading: The combined latitudinal flows of the Red, Black, Ouachita, and ORCS flow from the Mississippi Flood Stage: 47'Stage: 5.5'Forecast: expect to FALL to 5.0' by 10/25
Atchafalaya River at MelvilleFlood Stage: 34'Stage: 3.9'Forecast: expect to FALL to 3.4' by 10/25
Atchafalaya River at Krotz SpringsFlood Stage: 29'Stage: 3.5'Forecast: expect to FALL to 3.1' by 10/25
Atchafalaya River above Butte LaroseFlood Stage: 20'Stage: 3.3'Forecast: expect to FALL to 3.2' by 10/25Atchafalaya River at Bayou Sorrell Locks on the GIWWFlood Stage: 12'Stage: 2.8'Forecast: expect to REMAIN at 2.8' through 10/25
Atchafalaya at Millet (Myette) PointFlood Stage: 15'Stage: 2.6'Forecast: expect to REMAIN at 2.6' through 10/25
Atchafalaya River at Morgan CityFlood Stage: 6'Stage: 2.7'Forecast: expect to FALL to 2.2' by 10/25
Murphy Lake near Bayou Sorrel8.59'
Lower Grand River at Bayou SorrelStage: 5.84'
Bayou CourtableauStage: 18.52'
Middle Fork, Bayou LongStage: 2.56'
Arm of Grand Lake near Crook CheneStage: 6.18'
Pontoon Bridge at Butte LaroseStage: 4.59'
Lake Pelba at I-10, HendersonStage: 8.42'


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PLASTIC AND WOODEN CUTTING BOARDS Dean O. Cliver, Ph.D
We began our research comparing plastic and wooden cutting boards after the U.S. Department of Agriculture told us they had no scientific evidence to support their recommendation that plastic, rather than wooden cutting boards be used in home kitchens. Then and since, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Meat and Poultry Inspection Manual (official regulations) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 1999 Food Code (recommended regulations for restaurants and retail food sales in the various states of the U.S.) permit use of cutting boards made of maple or similar close-grained hardwood. They do not specifically authorize acceptable plastic materials, nor do they specify how plastic surfaces must be maintained.
Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts.
Although the bacteria that have disappeared from the wood surfaces are found alive inside the wood for some time after application, they evidently do not multiply, and they gradually die. They can be detected only by splitting or gouging the wood or by forcing water completely through from one surface to the other. If a sharp knife is used to cut into the work surfaces after used plastic or wood has been contaminated with bacteria and cleaned manually, more bacteria are recovered from a used plastic surface than from a used wood surface.
"Manual cleaning" in our experiments has been done with a sponge, hot tapwater, and liquid dishwashing detergent. Mechanical cleaning with a dishwashing machine can be done successfully with plastic surfaces (even if knifescarred) and wooden boards especially made for this. Wooden boards, but not plastics, that are small enough to fit into a microwave oven can be disinfected rapidly, but care must be used to prevent overheating. Work surfaces that have been cleaned can be disinfected with bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solutions; this disinfection is reliable only if cleaning has been done successfully.
The experiments described have been conducted with more than 10 species of hardwoods and with 4 plastic polymers, as well as hard rubber. Because we found essentially no differences among the tested wood species, not all combinations of bacteria and wood were tested, nor were all combinations of bacteria and plastics or hard rubber. Bacteria tested, in addition to those named above, include Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus.
We believe that the experiments were designed to be properly representative of conditions in a home kitchen. They may or may not be applicable to other plastic and wooden food contact surfaces or to cutting boards in commercial food processing or food service operations, but we have no reason to believe that they are not relevant, except that not all plastic surfaces are subject to knife-scarring. Before our first studies had been published, they were criticized incorrectly for not having included used (knife-scarred) cutting surfaces. We had been careful to include used surfaces, and so were surprised that others who did later experiments and claimed to have refuted our findings often had used only new plastic and wood. Although some established scientific laboratories say their results differ from ours, we have received multiple communications from school children who have done science projects that have reached essentially the same conclusions that we did.
We have no commercial relationships to any company making cutting boards or other food preparation utensils. We have tested boards and cleaning and disinfection products, some of which were supplied to us gratis. We have not tested all of the products that have been sent to us, simply because there is not time. We are aware that there are other food preparation surfaces made of glass or of stainless steel; we have done very little with these because they are quite destructive of the sharp cutting edges of knives, and therefore introduce another class of hazard to the kitchen. We believe, on the basis of our published and to-be-published research, that food can be prepared safely on wooden cutting surfaces and that plastic cutting surfaces present some disadvantages that had been overlooked until we found them.
In addition to our laboratory research on this subject, we learned after arriving in California in June of 1995 that a case-control study of sporadic salmonellosis had been done in this region and included cutting boards among many risk factors assessed (Kass, P.H., et al., Disease determinants of sporadic salmonellosis in four northern California counties: a case control study of older children and adults. Ann. Epidemiol. 2:683-696, 1992.). The project had been conducted before our work began. It revealed that those using wooden cutting boards in their home kitchens were less than half as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (odds ratio 0.42, 95% confidence interval 0.22-0.81), those using synthetic (plastic or glass) cutting boards were about twice as likely as average to contract salmonellosis (O.R. 1.99, C.I. 1.03-3.85); and the effect of cleaning the board regularly after preparing meat on it was not statistically significant (O.R. 1.20, C.I. 0.54-2.68). We know of no similar research that has been done anywhere, so we regard it as the best epidemiological evidence available to date that wooden cutting boards are not a hazard to human health, but plastic cutting boards may be.
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A general officer is an officer of high rank in the army, and in some nations' air forces or marines.
The term "general" is used in two ways: as the generic title for all grades of general officer and as a specific rank. It originates in the 16th century, as a shortening of captain general, which rank was taken from Middle French capitaine général. The adjective general had been affixed to officer designations since the late medieval period to indicate relative superiority or an extended jurisdiction.
Today, the title of "General" is known in some countries as a four-star rank. However different countries use different systems of stars for senior ranks. It has a NATO code of OF-9 and is the highest rank currently in use in a number of armies.
The various grades of general officer are at the top of the military rank structure. Lower-ranking officers in land-centric military forces are typically known as field officers or field-grade officers, and below them are company-grade officers.


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After recent events in Afghanistan and Ukraine, Central Asia has become a crucial region for energy and transport. China, helped by its earlier initiatives in the region, is quickly becoming the biggest player, while Western countries lag behind in economic and strategic engagements.
Central Asia, a vast land with abundant mineral resources and centuries-old Eurasian transport corridors, has resumed its historical importance in recent times. With Russia's war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Russia, as well as the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan, Central Asia has become an important alternative energy source and a crucial intercontinental transportation route.
However, Central Asia's importance has long been underestimated by Western governments, which have only recently started to scramble for more access to the region. Western governments and organisations have adopted a Washington Consensus type of approach that forms a mismatch with Central Asian countries' preferences: they have focused on democratisation and liberal economic reforms as pillar stones of their engagement in the region, while Central Asian governments prioritise stability and development.
At the same time, China has intensified efforts to boost economic and security ties with the countries in Central Asia in recent years, and China's earlier initiatives there are paying off. A similar charm offensive is seen from other countries like Japan, India, Turkey, and the Middle Eastern countries. This policy brief focuses on China's increased role in Central Asia (here it refers to Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) in comparison with the lagging engagements from the West.
Being home to the ancient Silk Road, the Eurasian Land Bridge—a network of railways that connect Europe and Asia— has gained significance in recent years as an alternative to maritime transport. During price hikes and delays in cargo shipping during the COVID-19 pandemic, rail transport ballooned between China and Europe because of market demand. The war damages in Ukraine and the deteriorated diplomatic relations between Lithuania and China mean that those two parts of the Land Bridge are largely out of operation and the route via Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, and Poland has become more important.
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Central Asian countries are trying to reduce their reliance on Russia, which was a significant export market as well as a destination for migrant labour. They have strengthened relations with India, Pakistan, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey, but China overshadows the others.
China's intensified economic engagement with Central Asia
For China, Central Asia is strategically important because of energy, transport, and the fight against what Beijing calls the 'three evils' – terrorism, separatism, and extremism. Already in 2010, China surpassed Europe to become Central Asia's biggest trade partner. China's strategic focus turned to Central Asia as a 'March West' in 2012 in response to the US's 'Pivot to Asia' under the Obama administration (a shift in America's foreign policy focus from the Middle East to East Asia).
During the following year in Kazakhstan, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure and connectivity initiative – the Belt and Road Initiative – followed by multifaceted cooperation in infrastructure, traditional and new energy, digitalisation, trade, and non-traditional security like anti-drug trafficking and anti-terrorism.
China's financing and technology are important for Central Asia, and Beijing's principle of non-interference (that is, China does not interfere in other countries' domestic affairs) suits the national governments, some of which have experienced local unrest in recent years. In view of the current uncertainties, China has strengthened its engagement with its Central Asian neighbours, especially in energy and regional security.
Beijing's earlier initiatives have paved the way for its relative advantage over other players in this region Two existing pipelines deliver a stable supply of oil and gas from Central Asia to China, and they are being expanded. China sees pipeline oil and gas as more secure than shipments, which are subject to higher geostrategic risks and more volatile prices.
The Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline runs 2,798km to deliver crude oil from fields at the Caspian shore in western Kazakhstan to Alashankou in the Xinjiang Province of China. It is also used to transit oil from Russia via connection to a Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan pipeline. Based on agreements between Chinese and Kazakh governments in 2004 and constructed by their joint-venture company, the pipeline has, since its launch in 2009, delivered over 100 million tons of oil from Kazakhstan to China.
For over a decade, China has been by far the biggest and most interested buyer of Central Asian gas. Two alternative export routes, a trans-Afghan pipeline to India (TAPI) and an East-West pipeline to connect with Europe's Southern Gas Corridor via a Trans-Caspian pipeline have been delayed due to lack of progress on the European side and lack of financing. Turkmenistan, and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, have relied on China for a large proportion of their export revenues.
The Central Asia-China gas pipeline, China's first direct transnational gas pipeline, has delivered more than 334 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas from the Galkynysh gas deposit in Turkmenistan via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China since its launch in 2009. The construction of Line D of the pipeline was stagnated but received a boost from the two governments at the launch of a new gas gathering station in Gadyn in June 2022.
China makes inroads in the security arena
Russia has traditionally been the security provider in Central Asia, and China has been the economic partner. But after a series of attacks on Chinese personnel and facilities in Central and South Asia, Beijing realized a need to protect the BRI projects. Combined with heightened security risks after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the fact that Russia is distracted in the war in Ukraine, China is making inroads in the security arena in Central Asia in both multilateral and bilateral channels.
Multilaterally, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO, a Eurasian political, economic and security organization established by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in 2001) has seen an expansion of its membership and agenda. China also initiated C+C5 (China plus five Central Asian countries) meetings in 2020, partly as a response to the US's C5+1 (USA plus five Central Asian countries) mechanism. Bilaterally, China has become an important seller and donor of military technology and equipment to Central Asia. China has reportedly set up a paramilitary base near the Wakhan Corridor by the Tajik-Afghan border, and China and Tajikistan have conducted joint border patrols and anti-terror exercises.
The West—Too little, too late?
In contrast to the increasing engagement with Central Asia from China, Japan, India, Turkey, and the Middle East (the initiatives of the countries other than China deserve a separate study), Western countries are lagging behind in the race to snatch the next jewel in the crown of Eurasian connectivity, energy, and security. Despite seeing the enhanced importance of Central Asia, the EU has not built up a genuine security strategy in Central Asia but adopted a more indirect and old approach that promotes democracy and links development cooperation with good governance in Western standards.
American forces left Uzbekistan in 2005, and the US handed back its only Central Asian airbase to Kyrgyzstan in 2014. Given the situation in Afghanistan, the US has started to persuade Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to allow US military bases on their territory. However, various challenges and oppositions remain for increased American security presence in Central Asia, including past scandals, unrest, and a mismatch of priorities. According to US experts, the US, under the presumption that Central Asians share Washington's concerns, has insisted the countries in the region re-evaluate their relations with China because of Xinjiang issues and underplayed the issues that drive policies in Central Asia.
With Russia distracted in Ukraine and the US out of Afghanistan, Central Asia is presented with a window of opportunity to play a balancing game among great powers. However, their existing economic structure, infrastructure, and politico-security situation determine that China is leading the race for influence and resources in Central Asia. For an enhanced role and access to natural resources in Central Asia, Western countries should re-evaluate their economic, political, and security strategies in the region and engage with new thinking. They should have a better understanding of the priorities of the Central Asian countries and make greater efforts in real strategic and economic engagements.
The stalled progress of the planned natural gas pipeline connection between Central Asia and Europe needs to be reviewed as one possibility to deal with the current energy crisis. As Central Asian countries seek to restructure their economies for more advanced technology and less reliance on commodities and labour exports, Western countries, including Denmark, can play a significant role in their transformation. This does not exclude cooperation with China and other countries like Japan and India in Central Asia, as the region is full of opportunities.


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Remarks on the collection of credit data (AnaCredit)
Speech by Sabine Lautenschläger, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) at the European Parliament, Brussels, 25 January 2016
Mr Chair,
Honourable members of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you very much for this opportunity to discuss "AnaCredit" with you. Such occasions are highly valued both by the European Central Bank (ECB) as an institution and by me personally, as they enable open discussions where we can explain our policies and, in this case, one of our major projects.
There have already been several exchanges between us in writing; Mr Bier, the ECB's Deputy Director General Statistics, attended a hearing in December 2015; and there was also an inquiry by the Ombudsman, which is now closed. So a considerable amount of information on AnaCredit is available. Nevertheless, I understand that several questions and possible misunderstandings remain, some of which I would like to address in my introductory remarks by:
- recalling why AnaCredit is pivotal in supporting the ECB in the performance of its statutory tasks;
- defining AnaCredit's requirements; and
- setting out the costs linked to AnaCredit and the stakeholders' involvement.
I would be happy to answer other questions later.
Rationale for AnaCredit
The ECB's Governing Council decided to launch the AnaCredit project in 2011. It will establish a Eurosystem database comprising loan-by-loan data on credit granted by euro area financial institutions. The background for this decision was that, currently, the information provided on granular credit datasets across the euro area is very heterogeneous. AnaCredit will standardise the collection of credit data and significantly improve the Eurosystem's ability to conduct in-depth analysis and meaningful comparisons of the provision of credit within the euro area.
Loan-by-loan information provided by AnaCredit will enable the consistent analysis of information on the demand and supply of credit for monetary policy purposes. Slow credit growth may be linked to supply hindrances, such as banks' low asset quality, or demand obstacles, such as the high indebtedness of certain industries being reflected in higher borrowing costs. Being able to match the size of the loan to its interest rate and the collateral used will also enable us to gain a better understanding of how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are affected by monetary policy measures. Clearly, having an accurate breakdown of how monetary policy measures affect the economy in general, and price levels in particular, is an essential ingredient for their preparation and for ensuring their effectiveness. Data provided by AnaCredit will also support our financial stability analysis, as it will enable us to consistently evaluate macro-financial risks originating from exposure to sectoral risks, and to suggest fine-tuned macroprudential policies.
AnaCredit will also be critical in supporting the ECB's monetary policy operations and risk management activities, both of which are key for a central bank.
Banks will also benefit from AnaCredit. Credit institutions are allowed to take part in monetary policy operations, provided they are eligible counterparties and provide adequate collateral for the liquidity provided by the ECB. Loans to non-financial institutions or households are eligible for use in these operations, subject to certain conditions. When assessing the eligibility of this collateral, AnaCredit will be fundamental.
AnaCredit, therefore, is a crucial development that will greatly aid the Eurosystem in conducting its core tasks, ranging from monetary policy and monetary policy operations, through financial stability analysis and macroprudential policy, to collateral and risk management, as well as economic research and the production of statistics.
It is very clear that, while some of the data could also be used for supervisory purposes, AnaCredit in its current format is not designed for banking supervision. The AnaCredit project was launched in 2011 – long before European banking supervision was even considered. The draft regulation on AnaCredit, which was published on 4 December 2015, does not include any specific supervisory requirements.
Nevertheless, based on the experience gained with AnaCredit, the ECB may decide to follow a staggered approach of progressively covering different market segments in different stages at significant intervals. AnaCredit could also be extended to cater for supervisory requirements in the future. In line with our legal obligations, any such plans would have to undergo public consultation before the Governing Council could take a decision on the matter.
Defining the requirements
The usefulness of AnaCredit results from the requirement to provide 94 data attributes relating to features of the debtor, the loan, the interest rate and the collateral securing the loan. However, the number of actual variables is fewer than 94. For instance, the borrower's address alone contributes seven data attributes. However, given the multiple purposes for which the data are intended, and in order to reduce the reporting burden for banks, which might otherwise have to provide similar information several times, these 94 data attributes are necessary.
More importantly, AnaCredit requires information that is already available to every bank and that they need in order to grant credit, while borrowers will hardly have to provide more information than they currently do.
The setup costs of AnaCredit
Nevertheless, AnaCredit does not come without costs, and I fully acknowledge that the reporting burden for banks is of particular concern.
The initial investment by banks to improve their IT systems and reporting practices will, over time, be offset by the gains arising from lower running costs. Compared with collecting aggregated statistical information, there will be fewer ad hoc data requests from central banks. Such on-demand requests are typically burdensome and costly for banks. Thanks to the flexibility offered by granular data, the ECB will be able not only to compile the aggregate statistical information but also to combine and reconfigure the existing data to continually construct new statistics and relevant indicators.
However, the setup costs will vary greatly across banks, and costs for small and medium-sized banks in particular have been a focus of attention. It is important to note that many small and medium-sized banks are part of an association with a common IT service provider. Combined, they are, in many credit market segments, bigger than some large banks and just as cost efficient. In fact, due to shared IT solutions that automate data management, credit data collection and processing are the same irrespective of whether a credit is provided by a small or large credit institution within the same association.
Moreover, the draft regulation on AnaCredit explicitly gives national central banks the option to take into account the specific situations of credit institutions by exempting them, in part or in full, from reporting. For some countries (those with many small banks), as many as 700 to 1,000 small and medium-sized banks could be granted such exemptions. I am confident that the national central banks will find the right balance to ensure that their small and medium-sized banks are not overburdened.
The stakeholders' involvement
In 2014 the ECB conducted the "merits and costs" procedure as referred to in Council Regulation (EC) No 2533/98 concerning the collection of statistical information by the ECB. This quality assurance procedure rationalised the requirements of AnaCredit with a view to balancing the benefits and costs, in particular for banks. To ensure that the ECB's cost assessment would benefit from the views and inputs of stakeholders, the ECB held over 25 meetings on AnaCredit with banking representatives at the European level. In addition, at the national level, national central banks have held countless meetings with their banking representatives.
The Governing Council also decided to publish the draft regulation on AnaCredit and provided the public with the opportunity to submit observations by 29 January 2016. Before the regulation is adopted, the Governing Council will carefully consider any comments received.
Credible and high quality statistics lie at the heart of the ECB's policy-making. AnaCredit reflects a key statistical feature, namely the ability to adapt flexibly to new economic circumstances. We should also ask ourselves the following question: what would be the costs of not implementing AnaCredit?
The crisis reminded us how hard it is to predict the policy questions that will need to be addressed in a few years from now. As a result of the collection of granular data through AnaCredit, Eurosystem policy considerations will be far less constrained by statistics not being available in a timely manner.
Bank Ċentrali Ewropew
Direttorat Ġenerali Komunikazzjoni
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Ir-riproduzzjoni hija permessa sakemm jissemma s-sors.
Kuntatti għall-midja


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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett donated more than USD750 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the four foundations run by his family, but unlike his annual gifts to charity each summer, the recipients didn't include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Buffett has been making annual donations to the same five charities every year since 2006 when he unveiled a plan to give away his fortune over time, with the Gates Foundation receiving the biggest donations. Wednesday's donations mark the first time the 92-year-old has made a second major gift within the same year.
A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed Buffett gave 1.5 million Class B shares in the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate he leads to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his first wife. He also gave 300,000 Class B shares apiece to the three foundations run by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
In June, he gave 11 million Class B shares to the Gates Foundation, 1.1 million B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 770,218 shares apiece to his children's three foundations.
It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the new donations this week, and Buffett didn't immediately respond Wednesday to questions about them. The Gates Foundation and the Buffett family foundations that received the gifts also didn't immediately respond to questions.
The only other major change Buffett has made to his giving plans over the years came a decade ago when he significantly increased the amount pledged to the foundations his children run because he was pleased with what they had done with his money.
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The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation keeps a low profile, but over the years it has been a major supporter of abortion rights, making large gifts to Planned Parenthood and other groups. Buffett hasn't announced any changes in his giving plans since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year.
Susie Buffett, 69, uses her Sherwood Foundation to strengthen early childhood education and support a number of projects around Buffett's hometown of Omaha where she also lives. Howard Buffett, 67, is helping farmers in impoverished nations produce more and working to end world hunger with his namesake foundation. Peter Buffett, 64, has dedicated his NoVo Foundation to empowering women and girls worldwide through education, collaboration and economic development to end violence against women.
Even after these latest gifts, Buffett still controls more than 31 per cent of Berkshire's voting power.
Berkshire Hathaway is an eclectic conglomerate that owns more than 90 companies including BNSF railroad, Geico insurance, several major utilities and an assortment of manufacturing and retail firms including Precision Castparts, Dairy Queen and Helzberg Diamonds. In addition to the companies it owns outright, Berkshire owns major investments in Apple, Bank of America, Coca-Cola and other companies.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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Seeking to make an innovative change, five friends chose to pause their studies to pursue a dream. While studying Computer Science and Image Processing in the PhD program at Hebrew University, they discovered there was a gap between research in the academic world and what was available in the market.
After the discovery, Zeev Farbman (CEO), Amit Goldstein (CFO), Nir Pochter (CMO), Yaron Inger (CTO) and Itay Tsiddon (Director of Business Development) founded Lightricks. Shortly after, Eran Yacobovitch joined the team as Lightricks' Marketing Analyst.
Well known for their photo editing apps Facetune and Enlight, Lightricks is producing the next generation of content creation tools. Founded as a bootstrap company, they needed to ensure their venture was profitable from the start. Launched in early 2013, Facetune was Lightricks' first app, and at the time of their launch Facebook had just released the Mobile App Install ad objective. An amazing opportunity to acquire new users and capitalize on their paid application business model, Lightricks built a marketing strategy focusing on country- based burst campaigns.
Beginning with no budget, they invested 500 dollars into Facebook advertising. They were able to optimize their campaigns, and reach top ranks in multiple app stores. The duo quickly learned that this was a great opportunity to acquire new users with the best ROI, so they continued to invest most of their profits and scaled with Facebook – a strategy that is still in place today.
Soon, both Facebook and Apple recognized Lightricks' accomplishments, the company scaled and Facetune quickly became the fifth most sold app in the AppStore, reached #1 in over 128 countries and was one of Google's best apps in 2013 and 2014.
In March 2015, Lightricks released Enlight, the most powerful suite of image processing tools on mobile that was recently named as Apple's App of the Year for 2015. Later that year, Lightricks received an investment from Carmel Ventures that allowed them to scale and make their vision come true faster. The talented team is currently working on 4 new apps, all in the field of content creation on mobile.
We sat down with Eran to get the inside scoop on Lightricks, and pick his brain on Facebook advertising strategies:
1.What's your ultimate mission?
"Our goal is to provide mobile users with all the necessary tools to create and edit mobile content. We're currently working on four new products, all centered around content creation and editing on mobile. Aiming to empower the creator in everyone, we continue to deploy research grade technology to create an ecosystem of mobile first creativity tools.
2.What do you love about living in Israel? What do you love about the startup culture in Israel?
"Born and raised in Israel it's hard to imagine myself anywhere else. I grew up in Tsfat, and never thought I would move to Jerusalem. University is what originally brought me to Jerusalem, and Lightricks is what has kept me here. Jerusalem is the perfect place to found a startup in- there are organizations like Made in JLM that help startups grow, and foster communities, and the city itself is calm enough to allow entrepreneurs to channel their energies to their ventures."
3.How do you use social media to reach your audience?
"We give our users value with our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. We've found that Facebook is the most effective platform for our goals, and we use the platform consistently to increase our user acquisition. I love the accessibility of social media. Every user has the ability to contact their favorite brand, and we can effectively communicate with our audience and help them better understand our product."
4.What are your top Facebook Advertising tips for startups?
- "Test, test, test. Channels, targets, creatives, prices, etc. You'll never know what will work best. That's pretty much our marketing department's motto."
- "Don't always settle with the currently available tools. It's not always the easy thing, but if you have the resources and you think you can do it better, build the tools that fit the way you work."
- "Be sure to use all available ad types: Image ad, video ad, carousel, and others."
- "Instagram proves to be a very good channel – check it out."
- "Keep yourself updated with relevant blogs, pages and users. Online advertising and Mobile App Advertising in particular are very dynamic and ever-changing realms.
5.What's one thing no one knows about your business?
"Our best hidden secret is our garden. We have the best office garden in Israel, and we invest a lot of time and money in maintaining it. Some of our many plants are tomatoes, strawberries, herbs, passion fruit, and many species of flowers. Each month we send an internal newsletter to the staff explaining a new aspect of the garden to them!"
Read more about Lightricks' Facebook accomplishments here:
Want to join Lightricks' team? They're hiring: http://careers.lightricks.com/


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Beyond question the most mind-bogglingly hilarious story Infocom has ever produced is THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, written and designed by Douglas Adams, author of the phenomenally best-selling novel, and Steve Meretzky, the award-winning designer of Infocom's PLANETFALL and SORCERER.
As the story begins, you are Arthur Dent, and a bulldozer is preparing to level your house even as an alien space fleet is preparing to level your planet. The incorrigible Mr. Adams has written new material and designed problems especially for this interactive story. So grab a pint of bitter and a couple for the road and join Ford Prefect, Trillian, Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin on a cosmic jaunt into the outer reaches where anything can -- and does -- happen. And don't forget your towel!


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Norman Sadeh is a Professor in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Dr. Sadeh has (co-)founded and (co-)directed several graduate programs at CMU. This includes the Privacy Engineering Program (co--founder and co-director, 2012-present), the PhD Program in Societal Computing (co-founder and co-director, 2003-2013), and the MBA track in Technology Strategy and Product Management launched jointly by the Tepper School of Business and the School of Computer Science (co-founder and director, 2005-2017). Norman's current research interests include cybersecurity, online privacy, Human-AI Interaction, AI governance, mobile computing, the Internet of Things, user-oriented machine learning, language technologies, and semantic web technologies.
Norman is also well known for his seminal work in AI planning and scheduling, agent-based supply chain management, workflow management, automated trading, including the design and launch of the international supply chain trading agent competition. Products based on his research have been deployed and commercialized by organizations such as IBM, Raytheon, Mitsubishi, Boeing, Numetrix (eventually acquired by JD Edwards/PeopleSoft/Oracle), ILOG (eventually acquired by IBM), and the US Army. His privacy research has been credited with influencing the design of products at companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook as well as activities at the US Federal Trade Commission and the California Office of the Attorney General. His work on automatically recognizing mobile user activities while minimizing battery life has influenced technologies found in most modern smartphones.
Norman is also a successful entrepreneur, having served as founding CEO and, until its acquisition, as chairman and chief scientist of Wombat Security Technologies, a company he co-founded to commercialize anti-phishing technologies he developed as part of research with several of his colleagues at CMU. Together with his collaborators, Norman grew Wombat Security Technologies into a leading provider of anti-phishing and cybersecurity awareness training technologies. The company was acquired for $225M by Proofpoint in February 2018. By that time Wombat had well over 2,000 corporate customers, and had been named a clear leader in the Gartner Group's Magic Quadrant in Security Awareness Computer-Based Training for 4 years in a row (since the inception of Gartner's Quadrant in this sector). It had also been identified as one of the 500 fastest growing technology companies in North America for three consecutive years in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500. In May 2018, Norman was honored with the 2018 Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association. In August 2021, Proofpoint was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $12.3B. Solutions developed by Norman and his collaborators are used to protect tens of millions of employees around the world.
In the late nineties, Dr. Sadeh was program manager with the European Commission's ESPRIT research program, prior to serving for two years as Chief Scientist of the EU's EUR 550M (US$650M) initiative in "New Methods of Work and eCommerce," which included all pan-European research in cybersecurity and privacy. As such, he was responsible for shaping European research priorities in collaboration with industry and universities across Europe. These activities eventually resulted in the launch of over 200 R&D projects involving over 1,000 European organizations from industry and research. While at the Commission, Norman also contributed to a number of EU policy initiatives related to eCommerce, the Internet, cybersecurity, privacy and entrepreneurship.
Norman received his Ph.D. in Computer Science at CMU with a major in Artificial Intelligence and a minor in Operations Research. He holds a MS degree in computer science from the University of Southern California and a BS/MS degree in electrical engineering and applied physics from the Free University of Brussels (Belgium) as "Ingénieur Civil Physicien".
Dr. Sadeh has authored or co-authored over 300 scientific publications. He is also the author of "m-Commerce: Technologies, Services and Business Models", a best-selling book published by Wiley in April 2002. He served as general chair of the 2003 International Conference on Electronic Commerce and as editor-in-chief of "Electronic Commerce Research Applications" (ECRA). He has served on the editorial board of several other journals and is currently on the board of "I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society". Norman also sits on the advisory board of the Future of Privacy Forum.
Norman's research as well as his views on cybersecurity, privacy, mobile and IoT technologies are often covered in the press (e.g. Wall Street Journal, Wired, New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Kiplinger, Huffington Post, Fast Company, Tech Crunch).
Between 2008 and 2019, he was also a visiting professor at Hong Kong University, where he would spend 2 weeks each year.
For a long academic-style resume, click here.


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R. Lee Ermey, the Ultimate Cinematic Drill Instructor, Dies at 74
There aren't too many men or women who can be said to embody a role completely and utterly. But for millions of people the phrase "Drill Sergeant" calls to mind a single image: The gruff, no-nonsense (and usually screaming) face of R. Lee Ermey, who, according to the New York Daily News, passed away Sunday due to complications from pneumonia. He was 74 years old.
The role that made Ermey synonymous with drill instructors, the role that he played or spoofed over and over again throughout his long career, came in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Kubrick initially hired Ermey as a technical adviser on his Vietnam War film (he'd served in a similar role on Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now). But Ermey had experience as a real drill instructor from his time in the Marine Corps, and Kubrick sensed his potential after watching him berate extras. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Kubrick credited Ermey with helping shape the role of the brutal Sergeant Hartman, including improvising much of his own dialogue. "Lee came up with, I don't know, 150 pages of insults," Kubrick said.
Full Metal Jacket made Ermey Hollywood's go-to onscreen military authority. He played other roles, but most of his most famous performances riffed on Hartman. In Peter Jackson's The Frighteners he played the ghost of a drill instructor.
And in the Toy Story series, his unmistakable voice showed up as one of the toy soldiers in Andy's room.
Ermey worked steadily for decades in film, television, commercials, and video games, and he was good in roles that had nothing to do with the military (he was the police captain in David Fincher's Se7en, for example). But there's no question what Ermey will be remembered for. He left a lasting impression on movies, and essentially defined a character type for all of popular culture forever. Anytime anyone screams in someone's face "What is your major malfunction, numbnuts?!?" the memory of R. Lee Ermey lives on.