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One of the most prescient dystopian science fiction films of the 1980's turned out to be the (direct to video?) 1987 movie, "Cherry 2000."
The future depicted in Cherry 2000 is one where sexual encounters and relationships with real women have become complicated legal transactions requiring lawyers, and have been reduced to merely emotionless business arrangements. The women are typically aggressive, masculine, demanding and shrill. It leads to an environment where the rare romantic guy, who still longs for a traditional loving relationship, would actually find a courtship with a female android more emotionally fulfilling than one with a real live organic woman. It's sort of a more sympathetic, less horrific spin on "The Stepford Wives" theme. In Stepford, the men killed their loving yet sassy wives in exchange for robot sex slaves who would do the dishes and clean the house without giving them any grief. They were portrayed unmistakably as as evil pricks. In contrast, the physically human women are the ones who display the robotic behavior in Cherry 2000, while the romantic men are forced to seek out the loving emulation of androids for any "meaningful" companionship. Of course the film sells out in the end, as the main character who sacrifices everything in a dangerous quest to replace his beloved, short circuited fembot(Cherry, played by Pamela Gidley) with the identical discontinued model, ultimately falls for the crass and bitchy, tomboyish tracker, "Edith"(Melanie Griffith) whom he's hired to help locate the robot.
With the advent of "yes means yes" laws it doesn't seem like it will be long before men will be required to get some type of verbally recorded or written consent to engage in sexual activity with a seemingly "turned on" girl, to shield themselves from litigation or criminal prosecution if she turns on them later. As if getting a girl pregnant or contracting an STD wasn't enough to worry about, now we have bigger fish to fry. Indeed, there is already a phone app for sexual consent, called Good2Go.
Recent developments over the past two decades have lead me to conclude we're headed towards Cherry 2000 style dating in America. Indeed, I've started to notice that the crudely annoying spambots on Tinder and Okcupid have been getting more sophisticated in their programming to the point where interacting with them can be more romantically stimulating than talking to actual chicks(which, if you've ever had an unfortunate exchange with one of these Tinderbots you would realize is more of a knock on the sorry state of the 21st century female conversational experience than it is one marveling in wonder at the advancements in artificial intelligence spam.)
Then there are video game characters. Back in a particularly isolated time period of my life in 2001 and 2002, when all I did was drink diet pepsi, eat microwave popcorn and play old Super Nintendo RPGs in my studio apartment, I would occasionally develop what I guess you could call "crushes" on some of the female sprites in the games(such as Rydia from Final Fantasy IV, Marle and Schala from Chrono Trigger, Paula from Earthbound, etc.) even to where I began to curiously research the technological possibilities of transferring human consciousness to a computer. I was thinking of course that if i could somehow hack a sprite that resembled me into the game's ROM, that it might be possible to get something going. Yeah, it's crazy but so what? Realized dreams are the work of madmen. I also saw Tron in the theater when I was a kid so perhaps it left a subconscious impression on me.
In any case, if that kind of emotion was possible to evoke in the days of 16 bit SNES pixelation, I can only imagine how real a romance could be in the context of modern video games which are now much more advanced in their elaborate overworlds, roleplays and simulations. Thousands if not millions of men and women find the virtual experience of video games more appealing than going outside and playing. It would be naive to think that organic human love would be any less vulnerable to competition from artificial intelligence than other components of our earthly existence.
Dust off your 1980's JC Penney catalog and get your fembots on order, men! This scene is coming to a nightclub or campus near you.
Brandon Adamson is the author of "Beatnik Fascism"


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Fan Favorites Return to General Hospital
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Daytime, ABC, General Hospital,
Wow! Today was a double-doozy of a day for General Hospital fans. Not only did we finally get a glimpse of fan favorite Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough,) but we also learned that Rick Springfield (yes, that Rick Springfield) will be making a return to Port Charles. It has been known for some time now that Robin would be coming back into Jason's life, but Dr. Noah Drake?
Entertainment Tonight reported earlier this evening that Rick Springfield would be appearing on at least four new episodes. Other reports add that the character of Dr. Noah Drake will return to help Robin treat Jason's seizures. But only four episodes? That seems a tad bit paltry for such a potentially huge character. Why bring him back at all if he isn't going to be utilized better? Lord knows Bobbi could use a new storyline.. why not put them back together again? Remember their steamy scenes as doctor and nurse? And how will Dr. Tony Jones feel about all of this?
My question for Rick - is it a coincidence that your stint on GH coincides with your newly released album? Know that the buzz you generate with this appearance won't come close to the hype you generated with your first album which was about 25 years ago. No matter. Coming from someone who has seen Rick Springfield in concert twice - and that was in the 90's - I'm happy to see him back. Port Charles will only be a better place for it.
Blockbuster Turned Down $50 Million Netflix Purchase
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: DVD, Internet,
Wow, this is something that I would have tried to keep under wraps for, like, ever. It turns out that Blockbuster has the opportunity to purchase rent-by-mail DVD service Netflix back in 2000, but turned it down. Instead, the company went on to partner with Enron in a 20-year video-on-demand deal - but we all know how that turned out. Now, Netflix is worth about $1.4 billion smackers, while Blockbuster is trying to keep afloat at about $850 million. Gotta jump on things while they're hot I guess.
Read More | Variety
Damn VH1 for creating another train wreck/TV show that I will be compelled to watch! As if I didn't have enough Fall TV to catch up on, now I will have to set aside time so that I can watch stars embarrass themselves - or, at least I hope they will. Scheduled to start later this month, "But Can They Sing?" will feature nine C-list (or are they D-list?) celebrities vying for the grand title. Over a period of six weeks, these celebrities will work with vocal coaches to compete against each other. Viewers will ultimately decide which person most deserves to have money donated to their favorite charity.
I'm so all over this!! A combination of 'American Idol' and 'Dancing with Stars' with a twist of 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' - what's not to like?? Add Bai Ling, Morgan Fairchild, Antonio Sabato, Jr…say no more! But really, I always thought Joe Pantoliano was better than this. I guess after you've starred alongside Rob Lowe in Dr. Vegas, you really have nowhere to go but up.
Read More | VH1
Ten HDTV Predictions for 2006
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cable/Satellite, HDTV, Internet,
It's true - 2006 is going to be the year that the HDTV begins its foray into the mainstream culture of America. A few colleagues have told me that they expect record numbers for HDTV sales at the beginning of the New Year, with the Super Bowl being broadcast in high def in January, and the Olympics going HD in February. Aside from that, we will see the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 exploit the benefits of gaming in true high definition as well. Phillip Swann of TVPredictions.com has offered 10 HDTV predictions for 2006, and I must say that all ten points are hard to argue. HDTV is gonna be everywhere - a beautiful thing.
Read More | TV Predictions
Jeff Probst's Own 'Survivor' Reality
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Reality, CBS, Talent, News,
Upon facing the 12th installation of Survivor (10 points to those who can name all the different seasons), Jeff Probst admits that the time may come for him to step down from his hosting throne. Why the change of heart? He's realized that after doing the same job for so long, he'll forever be stuck in a reality TV version of soap opera hell. Granted, he did easily transition from Rock & Roll Jeopardy! into Reality TV Hall of Fame, but did anyone ever watch that show? That, and his apparent love for former contestant Julie Berry from Amazon: Vanuatu has forced him to take up didgeridoo lessons.
Why should he be stepping down?: Twelve seasons. 'nuff said. Even Friends knew to end after ten.
Why I think he's really stepping down?: He was sick of losing the Emmy to The Amazing Race, and he knew repeating himself for the 13th time wouldn't change matters.
Why he should stay?: Because no one knows what the heck the 'didgeridoo' is, and knowing how to play it won't carry him far in Hollywood. For those of you who do know what a 'didgeridoo' is - you obviously watch way too much TV, but that's why you're here, right?
Oprah Aids In Arrest of Two Fugitive Sex Offenders
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: NBC, Oprah Winfrey Show, News,
Today is yet another day that we wish we were as cool as Oprah. I mean, we envy her for being able to get excellent ratings in the 4:00 hour by having people watch her get her ears pierced, but now she is helping to clean up the streets of the U.S. Last week Oprah dedicated a full show to explaining the dangers of sex offenders. During the broadcast, Oprah promised $100,000 to anyone who led to the arrest of specific sex offenders featured on the program. Two days later, William C. Davis of Wadesville, Indiana was arrested in Fargo. After that, Niles Scott was apprehended as well. Two down, and and a couple of people are now one-hundred grand richer.
Read More | Oprah's Fugitive List
As a follow up to her 2000 television stunt, Katie Couric decided to expose more of herself to her TV viewers this week - by exposing her breasts. No nudity was exactly involved, but she did allow cameras to film her during a mammogram. A worthy stunt? Yes. This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month after all, and Katie's televised colonoscopy in March 2000 - inspired by her husband's death in 1998 to colon cancer - sparked a 20% increase in the rate of colon cancer testing nationwide.
But c'mon, wasn't this really a publicity stunt? Probably. It's no secret that Good Morning America is steadily creeping up in the ratings. You can only imagine the producers behind the scenes trying to convince her that she would in no way be "exploited." Too bad for Katie that Breast Cancer Awareness Month didn't fall in NOVEMBER as opposed to OCTOBER - all that wasted flesh and it wasn't even during sweeps…
TV Envy is a trend-setting web magazine completely devoted to television. We provide news, previews, reviews, gossip, commentaries, and more on all your favorite shows, stars, and TV technologies. This is the place to be for timely coverage of all things TV.
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How Our Soul Matures
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami , 2006-04-22
Bodhinatha presents a new pattern for "Hinduism Today" whereby the "Publisher's Desk" discourse will be podcast through Apple's Music Store. He then reads the July, August, September 2006 Hinduism Today Publisher's Desk entitled: "How Our Soul Matures." After the reading Bodhinatha provides bhashya on the topic "How Our Soul Matures" and "What is the relevance of Hinduism to the modern world." He explains how every one of us has the ability to experience God.
Unedited Transcript:
This morning I'm reading a "Publisher's Desk." We started a new pattern last quarter. The "Publisher's Desk" two page article in "Hinduism Today," is being recorded and that recording is being used in two ways. One is in our new "Hinduism Today" digital edition, the recording is part of the digital edition so not only can you read the "Publisher's Desk" article you can also listen to it which is an extra bonus. And then we've also started pod casting it. And for those of you who aren't familiar with pod casting, it's a way that you place a recording on Apple's Music Store web site and it gets listed, in our case being religious, it gets listed in the religious section. So we have a section for the "Publisher's Desk" recording and people can subscribe to it so that it automatically comes to them when a new version is issued be it, in our case, quarterly or monthly or weekly or daily, whatever. They simply log into the Music Store and anything they've subscribed to automatically downloads into their computer. So it's a very good system and we hope to have a number of Gurudeva's recordings offered through subscription in the near future. We just started with the "Publisher's Desk." But we'd like to get some of Gurudeva's Master Course recordings and other material as separate subscriptions there so it'd be available on a regular basis to everyone. So it's reaching out to a new audience, very broad general audience when you place something in the Music Store subscriptions. And the best part is it's free to everyone. There's no cost to us to place it there and there's no cost to the listener to download it and get it. It's all a service of Apple because it increases the traffic to the store and of course when you go into a store what do you do usually? You buy something. So of course they're hoping that people will go there to get free things and end up buying different things. You can buy the latest episode of "Desperate Housewives" for a $1.99, it's a real bargain, and other things as well that are more educational. So, going to read this and we're hoping for no mistakes but if we, if our tongue gets tied around a word, might be one of these Sanskrit words, I'll repeat the sentence. So that's why I'm repeating the sentence so that the first version of it can be edited out and the second version remain. I'll read the intro, the title and the subtitle which, we don't want to put that on the recording, but gives everyone here an idea of what it's about. So this will be in the July, August, September issue of "Hinduism Today" which we wrap up at the end of this month, right? End of April? That's when we wrap it up it gets printed in May and shipped in May and our readership gets it in June. So, and then our goal is to put the digital edition on a month early. So magazine's July 1. so we're hoping put the digital edition on the web June 1st as well as the pod cast on the Music Store side on June 1st.
Title is: "How Our Soul Matures."
Subtitle: "People the world over are working for spiritual advancement. But just what is the soul and how does it progress and mature."
"In Hindu thought the concept of life and the soul are synonymous. For example, the Sanskrit word jiva refers to both and contains the meanings of individual soul, living being, life, vitality, energy, spirit and strength. The Tamil word uyir has the same double meaning of life and soul.
The soul, which is so perplexing and seemingly out of reach to many, can be understood simply as life itself. One of the advantages of this simple description is that it makes it easy to experience the soul. How can we do this? Just look into a mirror. Specifically, look deeply into your eyes and see the light and sparkle within them. That life, vitality, willpower and awareness is your soul, your divinity, the real you, that which continues on after the physical body's passing. Looking into the eyes of another, you can become aware of the life within that person and thereby see the soul and acknowledge his or her divine nature.
The Tamil word uyirkuyir takes this concept of divinity one step further. It is translated as "God, who is the Life of life, the Soul of the soul." A philosophical phrase that conveys the same meaning is "God is the essence of the soul," implying that if you look deeply enough into the soul, you will experience God.
How do we know, when seeing the life within ourselves or others, if we are experiencing the individual, evolving soul, or experiencing God as the essence of the soul, the Life of life? Here is one way to make that distinction. When we are perceiving an individual soul or souls, there is a sense that every soul is separate from the others. When we perceive God as the Life of life, that sense of separateness is replaced with a sense of oneness. Thus, if you can look at a group of people and be aware of the divine oneness that pervades them all, you would be seeing God in them. This deeper experience is achieved through internalizing our awareness, going deeply inside ourselves through worship or meditation.
An analogy can be made to japa beads. We can focus on the beads and perceive them as 109 separate beads. We can also focus on the cord on which they are strung and see the oneness that connects all the beads. A popular story about Paramaguru Yogaswami illustrates this point. There were four people gathered to sing devotional songs in his small hut one day. Yogaswami asked, "How many are here?" Someone replied, "Four, swami." Yogaswami countered, "No. Only one is here." He saw the unity; they saw the diversity.
The Hindu idea that God is inside every person as the essence of the soul, which can be experienced today, is quite different from the concept of Western religions that God is up in heaven and cannot be experienced by those living on Earth. They believe they have to die to meet God. Gurudeva often spoke of the immediacy of God's presence: "God is so close to us. He is closer than our breathing, nearer to us than our hands or feet. Yes, He is the very essence of our soul."
Turning now to the goal of life, we know the Hindu perspective is that life's ultimate purpose is to make spiritual progress. This is also described as evolving, maturing or unfolding spiritually. All of these terms refer to enjoying ever more profound realizations of God - personal experiences that deepen our understandings of life and transform our very nature - culminating in moksha, liberation from rebirth on planet Earth.
We can usefully distinguish here the Hindu view of the spiritual destination - experience of God and subsequent liberation - and the journey to that destination, which we are speaking of here. By focusing on the journey and the steps in front of us, we progress more surely and swiftly.
Let's ask the question, "What, exactly, is it that makes this spiritual progress?" Not the personality. Not the intellect. Not the emotions. It is, of course, the soul. In thinking of spiritual progress, it is helpful to understand the concept of the soul as a human-like, self-effulgent form comprised of the life and light we previously talked about. Technically, there are two terms in Sanskrit for this immortal soul body: anandamaya kosha, "bliss body," and karana sharira, "causal body." Just as our physical body matures from an infant into an adult, so too does this self-effulgent body of light mature in resplendence and intelligence, evolving as its consciousness expands, gradually strengthening its inner nerve system, progressing from ignorance of God to intimate communion with God. In Sanskrit, this advancing on the path is called adhyatma prasara, spiritual evolution. It is a process that takes place over many lifetimes, not just one.
Gurudeva shared, from his own experience, a mystical description of the soul body in Merging with Siva: "One day you will see the being of you, your divine soul body. You will see it inside the physical body. It looks like clean, clear plastic. Around it is a blue light, and the outline of it is whitish yellow. Inside of it is blue-yellowish light, and there are trillions of little nerve currents, or quantums, and light scintillating all through that. This body stands on a lotus flower. Inwardly looking down through your feet, you see you are standing on a big, beautiful lotus flower. This body has a head, it has eyes, and it has infinite intelligence. It is tuned into and feeds from the source of all energy." Similar descriptions of the soul as a body of light are found in our sacred scriptures and in yogis' writings.
Let's turn now to the question of what can we do to hasten the unfoldment of our soul. In Hindu thought, there are fourteen great nerve centers in the physical body (sthula sharira), in the astral body (sukshma sharira) and in the body of the soul (karana sharira). These centers are called chakras in Sanskrit, which means "wheels." Esoterically, spiritual unfoldment relates to the raising of the kundalini force, the serpent power, and the subsequent awakening of these chakras within our subtle bodies. Everyone has all of the chakras, though they usually are content to live in only a few.
There are six chakras above the muladhara chakra, which is located at the base of the spine. When awareness is flowing through these chakras, consciousness is in the higher nature. There are seven chakras below the muladhara chakra, and when awareness is flowing through them, consciousness is in the lower nature. Most Hindu teachings regarding the chakras focus on the yogi's awakening, balancing or stimulating the muladhara chakra and the six above. These seven centers of consciousness govern, in order, memory, reason, willpower, direct cognition, divine love, divine sight and illumination/Godliness. However, my guru has a different emphasis. He states that spiritual unfoldment is not a process of awakening the higher chakras, but of closing the chakras below the muladhara. The seven chakras, or talas, below the spine, down to the feet, are all seats of instinctive consciousness, the origin, respectively, of fear, anger, jealousy, confusion, selfishness, absence of conscience and malice.
Brahmadvara, the doorway to the Narakaloka located just below the muladhara, has to be sealed off so that it becomes impossible for fears, hatreds, angers and jealousies to arise. Once this begins to happen, the muladhara chakra is stabilized and consciousness slowly and naturally expands into the higher chakras. As the kundalini force of awareness travels along the spine, it enters each of these higher chakras, energizing them and awakening, in turn, each function according to the intensity of spiritual effort.
This understanding of the centrality of sealing off the lower chakras highlights how important emotional control is to our spiritual progress. Certainly the emotion that is the most important for people on the spiritual path to control is anger. Just possessing the knowledge that anger prevents us from experiencing the higher chakras increases our motivation to live a life that is totally free from this devastating force. Anger comes in many forms, ranging from frustration and resentment to uncontrollable rage. In its simplest shade, it is an instinctive, emotional protest to happenings at a particular moment. "Things are just not right!" anger shrieks. The source of peace and contentment is the opposite sentiment - a wholesome, intelligent acceptance of life's conditions, based on the understanding that God has given us a perfect universe in which to grow and learn, and each challenge or seeming imperfection we encounter is an opportunity for spiritual advancement. To those who are anger-prone, I advise replacing that fuming reaction with an affirmation that everything is just as it should be in God's perfect universe.
An initial focus on controlling anger and the other lower emotions and instincts is wisely built into the traditional concept of yoga as having eight limbs. The first limb is yama, which means restraint and is exactly what we have described - controlling our base emotions and instincts. Unfortunately, many modern yoga teachers and texts leave out this essential step that allows us to keep awareness above the lower chakras. Having sealed off the lower chakras, we are naturally drawn to be of service to others, to worship regularly and thereby deepen our devotion to God and to look within through meditation to experience our soul nature and eventually God's indwelling presence as our very essence.
The regular practice of these traditional spiritual disciplines not only keeps our awareness in the higher chakras, it also provides nourishment to the soul body. The soul body starts to grow within the emotional body. Gurudeva described this growth process by saying that the soul body grows like a child, fed by all of our good deeds. All of our service and selfless actions toward others feed that body. All of our working with ourselves to conquer instinctive emotions is food for that body, as it draws from the central source of energy. Finally, the spiritual body matures to the point where it becomes aware in the superconscious, intuitive mind, taking on more spiritual force from the Infinite. Ultimately, it takes over the astral emotional-intellectual body. And after moksha is achieved, it continues maturing in the inner worlds."
OK, not too many mistakes, huh, about three or four. So, I'll do my own bhashya, my own commentary. So what is this addressing? Well, it's addressing the concept of the purpose of life. Or said another way - that's a question you often get - What is the relevance of Hinduism to the modern world? Well you ever thought or heard that question asked? Heard somebody else's children ask that question, you know, it's a common question, and of course it's being asked because those asking the question feel Hinduism is old fashioned in some way, that it's, the modern world is kind of leaving Hinduism behind. So, this is showing, well when we think about the modern world and think about life we have to ask ourselves: "What is the purpose of life?" And that's where Hinduism comes into play. So, you know where religion, all religions come into play. Without religion the purpose of life is simply a material purpose, you know, we're here to enjoy life, we're here to, as we say in, artha and kama, selvam let's see, imbam and selvam. Pleasure and wealth are the purposes of life. And if we don't have a religion, life is oriented toward family and toward wealth and profession and that's the end of it. So the various religions of the world add some other purpose to life. So, in the case of Hinduism - because Hinduism believes in many lives - it adds the purpose; well more important than wealth and love is spiritual progress. That's the relevance of Hinduism to modern life, it says: We're not simply here to enjoy family and to become wealthy, we're here to make spiritual progress. We don't want to forget that. So, Hinduism reminds us of that. And so that's the core question it's answering, but then it's taking it further.
OK, we're talking about spiritual progress, so what is it that makes spiritual progress? So we say it's the soul, more specifically it's the soul body, and then we describe the soul body in Gurudeva's beautiful vision of the soul body, makes it very real in everyone's mind. So then we have this vision of the soul body. And another analogy I use is the variable light switch. You know the one on the wall where you turn it to the right and the light gets brighter? So, if it's turned to the left and it's on, the light is dim, right? And if you're turning it to the right the light gets brighter. So that's another analogy for spiritual progress. The light bulb is the analogy to the soul. We start out in our initial births and the light isn't very bright. And by following a religious life the light gets brighter and brighter. Our soul gets brighter and brighter. That's the spiritual maturity in a visual sense. But it's always a light, it's just it's getting brighter as the text says, by performing religious actions of service, devotion, meditation, controlling the lower emotions is very very crucial part of that. And the soul matures and has deeper and deeper experiences of God.
So one of the problems in Hinduism, when you simply say the goal of life is moksha is, sounds pretty far away. What does that have to do with me in this life? Moksha! Oh that's ten twenty years, twenty lifetimes from now, you know, it's hard to relate to. Just sounds so far away. So this text doesn't stress moksha, it just mentions it at the end but it says: "An ever deepening experience of God starting with an experience of the soul." So, that's what it's focusing on. And it makes the experience of the soul foolproof. You know everyone can look in the mirror and see the light and sparkle in their eyes, right? So, everyone can experience their soul. There's no one on the planet who can't experience the soul. So you have a positive experience here to start with. OK this sounds pretty easy. I can do that. I can even look into the eyes of my family members and close friends. I can see there soul too. This isn't so hard after all. And then we take that philosophically deeper and say: "Well don't stop there, go into the soul. Internalize awareness. Go into the soul through worship or meditation and experience God." Cause God's right there within the soul. If you can experience the soul you just have to go within that a little bit to experience God. It's real easy. And as Gurudeva says: "God is closer than your breathing." What a wonderful statement. The opposite of talking about moksha which sounds ten lifetimes away: "God is closer than your breathing." So, we get this sense, it's easy to experience the soul and we go deeply into the soul, we can experience God. And then we even have a way of verifying we experience God.
Well if we see everything as One then we know we're experiencing God. And it's one of Yogaswami's favorite teachings. He liked to stress that. And there's a nice story about that. Quite often people would go to Yogaswami and talk to him and Yogaswami would say: "I am in you." What does that mean? Yogaswami only saw the One. He never saw two. He just lived in that state of Oneness. Everybody, he was everybody. Everybody who came to him. He was everybody because he was inside of everything. Just a state of mind he held. So everyone would say: "Oh yes swami, yes," you know. That's all he'd say back. But, you know, he said that to Gurudeva one day. He said: "I am in you." And Gurudeva responded back: "I am in you." He may have been the first and only person to respond back in that way, I don't know. We're working on Yogaswami stories but it's a wonderful story you know and it shows a lot of things, but it ties in nicely with our talk this morning which is that it was one of Yogaswami's strong themes. He's constantly trying to, he wasn't saying it to show off, you know. There's a nice phrase, it's just easy enough that I can say it in Tamil: "Anandam anandam anandam, ingum angum engum nan. That's what he said. "Bliss, bliss bliss, here, there, everywhere am I. " So, what's unusual about that? You think it would, here there everywhere would end: here there everywhere is Siva, right? That's how you think it would end. Bliss, bliss, bliss, here, there, everywhere is Siva. No! "Bliss, bliss, bliss, here, there, everywhere am I." So you see he focuses on this all the time. This consciousness of his being the One consciousness that permeates everything, which is Siva. But why is he doing that? As I say he's not doing that to impress others with his attainment, he's doing that to encourage them to change their perspective. He's encouraging them toward this realization that God permeates everything, has a unitive consciousness. And it's something you can experience, it's not distant. Don't have to wait till you die. Don't have to wait till twenty lifetimes from now to achieve moksha. You know you can experience it right now. God is closer than your breathing as Gurudeva says. So, it's a wonderful theme that our parampara puts forward, both Yogaswami and Gurudeva, the idea of the unity of consciousness as God, and as something we can experience through self discipline and particularly through devotional or meditative practices.
OK, have a wonderful week.
Aum Namah Sivaya
[End of transcript]


text:
Product Description
The Rain Rain Go Away Mini Unit includes all materials to teach this short story. Students also get the opportunity to be creative and collaborate with others in the creative process. This unit is always a hit in my class.
The resource includes:
-An anticipation guide
-A copy of the short story
-Questions for comprehension
-Plot graph activity
-Information sheet on characterization and an accompanying activity
-A personal word wall to improve students' vocabulary and understanding
-A comprehensive answer key for all activities
Also included are two evaluations with evaluation grids:
-An individual evaluation where the student must write an alternate ending to the story
-A group evaluation where students must work collaboratively to produce an alternate ending
24 pages total
It's teaching made easy!
You may also be interested in the following products:
The Elevator Elevator Short Story Mini Unit
Super Hero Themed Parts of Speech Posters (FREE)
FREE Parts of Speech Grammar Circles (Superhero Themed)
Sentences – Grammar Circles for easy and effective grammar
ELA Literature Study Unit to Use with ANY Work of Literature
Total Pages
24 pages
Answer Key
Teaching Duration
1 Week


text:
Buying Stock
"...The use of condoms offers substantial protection, but does not guarantee total protection and that while there is no evidence that deep kissing has resulted in transfer of the virus, no one can say that such transmission would be absolutely impossible." --The Surgeon General, 1987
I know you won't mind if I ask you to put this on. It's for your protection as well as mine--Wait. Wait. Here, before we rush into anything I've bought a condom for each one of your fingers. And here-- just a minute--Open up. I'll help you put this one on, over your tongue. I was thinking: If we leave these two rolled, you can wear them as patches over your eyes. Partners have been known to cry, shed tears, bodily fluids, at all this trust, at even the thought of this closeness.
From Smile!, Warm Spring Press, 1993. Reprinted with permission of Denise Duhamel.


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Their time would have been better spent if he had just sanded that guy's face off. What a bunch of dummies.
This one takes the cake. I've heard of cheap, home solutions to possible expensive cosmetic procedures, but isn't this going a little too far? It's certainly not for the squeamish or people of a sensitive disposition.
Low Budget Tattoo Removal - Watch more free videos
Please note. I'm not endorsing this, just as I wouldn't endorse using acid to remove a tattoo, or swallowing a tapeworm to achieve cheap and easy weight loss. As a frugal reporter on the front line of the money-saving war, some things just have to be reported.
Nuff Said.
Photo by The Stock Exchange . Video by some seriously screwed-up folks.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Their time would have been better spent if he had just sanded that guy's face off. What a bunch of dummies.
That's the tattoo I'm going to get to cover up the one I have right now. Instead of giving everyone fingerguns, I can just expose my belly.
Wow, I just really disturbed myself with that imagery.
That's the tattoo I'm going to get to cover up the one I have right now. Instead of giving everyone fingerguns, I can just expose my belly.
Wow that looked painful....I have done 4 treatments of laser tattoo removal and I have to say it was worth it to me, although it may not be to someone else. I have one left and I am going to see someone about the acid treatment next week, why the huge negative towards that treatment???
This is either a spoof (most likely, otherwise that clown would be writhing in pain), or these guys are a bunch of retards. The pigment is in the subcutaneous tissue. If you sand down into the subq, you trade a giant ugly scar for a tatoo.
it does really work but you dont use a sander lol its a dremal for better control your bodys not a piece of wood and he left out that you have to pack salt into the tattoo to draw the ink out
well yes it will leave a huge scar and i am curious if this is staged? because the guy didnt show and inch of pain but he could be high on something or using novicaine, but the reality is if you are trying to enlist or withhold a job a scar is better then a tattoo because its simply not a tattoo. so in a sense it works as a one time method, but you also have to explain how you got the scar and if you explain this process you will probably be admitted.
I was eighteen. I had just joined the Navy///" everyone was doing it"/// It was small, about 2 inches by 2 inches. What could it hurt?????
That was in 1952, and I have hated it for 57 years.Don,t bother with the math, I'm 75. I have tried burning it off a little bit at a time over the yearswith a soldering tool, with little success and a lot of small scars and some pain.
Recently while working with my Dremel tool in my little shop, I thought I would try again to remove my tattoo.
I searched my first aid kit and found a packet of antibiotic ointment. I had a new stainless steel brush, which I soaked in alcohol overnight. The next morning I was in the tattoo removal business.
I was at a little disadvantage because my tattoo is on my right forearm and I am right handed.
A few small touches to test my resolve set me at ease because I did not want a large wound. The almost invisible little slits began to show red oozing into the heavy coat of ointment. I felt no pain, so I continued until I had lightly covered the entire tattoo.
After cleaning up the ointment, I put some on a band aid covered it and hoped for the best.
I am a curious sort and I wanted to see what I had accomplished and about an hour later with the bandage removed, there was no bleeding just a lot of little red nicks.Muich like razor cuts, but much smaller.
After about a week, the wounds were all healed and the markings about ¼ gone. And as a bonus the self inflicted scars were gone also. The second attempt went like the first and now my tat is just a blur.
this morning it got another treatment , but this time I didn't have to cover as much area because some of it is completely gone already. So far the blood which I have lost would not not even soak a Q tip.
I will follow up on this in a week and report the results
I am sorry, Ididn't mention that I am using the rotary carving tool with the stainless steel brush at high speed.the brush cost less than $3.00 The ointment about the same the pain envolved is less than shaving a stiff beard.. I do not have an original picture before I started, but I do have a couple of pictures taken recently and will be sent on request.
Go to
To see the step by step process of my DIY tattoo removal. There was no expenses because I had everything that I needed in my shop.
That is crazy,i want my tattoo gone but i dont see myself doing that!I would rather use tattoo cream and just fade it til its gone.Im only 21 i got plenty years left to work on it.
Shortly before I was married, my husband and I got drunk and got our names tattooed on each other. When things went south, I wanted to get mine removed, but couldn't afford the treatments. The name was in the small of my lower back, all black and was really small about 1.5"H x 3.5"L. I read on the internet that I could remove it using a cloth dipped in hot water and then in sea salt.
I did it cold turkey. Nothing to ease the pain. I kind of looked over my shoulder into a mirror and began scrubbing. The salt made the wound feel hot- but not terribly painful despite the amount of blood. I did about ten two minute scrubbing sessions being careful not to scrub too deeply- just enough to make it bleed- and then bandaged it up with Neosporin. I kept changing the bandages and on the second day, the bandage had traces of the ink on it. It took a full two weeks to heal, but the tattoo faded significantly and continues to fade as time goes by. There is no scarring. I know this process would have removed the entire thing if I ever did it again... but we reconciled and he doesn't want me to finish the removal. I would suggest it to anyone.
Does this really work? I'm 20 & I am trying to get into the Air Force & my wrist tattoo is prohibited & possibly my ankle one. They are both really small & if I have any chance to remove them safely & quickly, I am going to try. Is it safe? I don't want to be unable to be turneed way because of something I did when I was 18. They are both blackish & The star is just an outline, it's not big at all & kind of crappy looking & my ankle one is small to. Thanks.
Man, thats really taking it to the next level! Probably need a couple of shots of the strong stuff before you try that out. I've been looking for some at home tattoo removal cream. There's a lot out there and none of them are really cheap. Has anyone ever heard of TAT-Med? It looks like a complete scam. They've made a website called the Skin Health Association thats supposed to look unbiased and compare different fade away creams, but theres too much propaganda about themselves for it to be a real website. Of course, they rate themselves number one but their product doesn't even sound real when you read the ingredients list.
Have a look for yourselves and let me know what you guys think.
I think those natural acids that are in that stuff might actually work but i'm gonna try that it's too much money. I ordered some 100% Trichloroacetic acid. It needs to be diluted. It was like $16 with shipping.
I'm trying out that acid i put it on my arm about a week and 1/2 ago...it doesn't look like it's fading right now, but the skin is discolored and some of it's flaking off. I think it takes like a year and you gotta keep re-applying it every month. I'll let you know if it starts fading or something.
I'm on my like 2'nd month/ application of this acid stuff. It's not fading yet but the skin peeled and healed. I reapplied. Really freaking itches this time.
coarse salt and a hard bristled toothbrush removed one on my right forearm once. it was only small though.
I really don't recommending anything like this, becuase of the high chance of infection. What I would suggest is a painless herbal removal remedy i heard using a combination of some herbs can break down the ink pigment, one of friend's friend removed her 2 inch tattoo using natural remedies, she siad she used http://GetRidTattoo.com system. Have to use on mine too, I want to get rid of that stupid popeye on my arm..


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In-season HGH testing to begin in 2013
Baseball takes unprecedented anti-doping steps
Today's announcement marks another significant step in the progression of baseball's HGH testing policy, which continues to be the strongest in American professional sports. Since July 2010, Major League Baseball has conducted random blood testing for the detection of HGH among Minor League players. As a part of the 2012-2016 Basic Agreement, the parties agreed to blood testing for HGH during 2012 Spring Training, during the offseason and for reasonable cause, making baseball the first sport to deploy this kind of testing at its highest level. Under the new agreement, all of those aspects of the program will continue, and there will be in-season, unannounced, random blood testing.
In addition, beginning in the 2013 season, the parties have authorized the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited Montreal Laboratory to establish a longitudinal profile program, in which a player's baseline testosterone/epitestosterone (T/E) ratio and other data will be maintained by the laboratory, with strict protections for confidentiality, in order to enhance its ability to detect the use of testosterone and other prohibited substances. The laboratory will automatically conduct Carbon Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS) analysis on all specimens that vary materially from a player's baseline values. The laboratory also will increase the number of random IRMS analysis it conducts on specimens. The longitudinal program being implemented by the parties will be one of the most significant programs of its kind in the world.
Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig said: "This agreement addresses critical drug issues and symbolizes Major League Baseball's continued vigilance against synthetic human growth hormone, testosterone and other performance-enhancing substances. I am proud that our system allows us to adapt to the many evolving issues associated with the science and technology of drug testing. We will continue to do everything we can to maintain a leadership stature in anti-doping efforts in the years ahead."
MLBPA executive director Michael Weiner said: "The players are determined to do all they can to continually improve the sport's Joint Drug Agreement. Players want a program that is tough, scientifically accurate, backed by the latest proven scientific methods and fair; I believe these changes firmly support the Players' desires while protecting their legal rights."
Christiane Ayotte, the director of the Montreal Laboratory, added: "Although the Montreal Laboratory has made extensive use of IRMS in the past, the addition of random blood testing and a longitudinal profiling program makes baseball's program second to none in detecting and deterring the use of synthetic HGH and Testosterone. A drug testing program that follows over a thousand steroid profiles and tests over a thousand blood specimens each year compares favorably with any WADA program."


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Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people)
Definition: Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. Intentional homicide does not include all intentional killing; the difference is usually in the organization of the killing. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded.
Description: The map below shows how Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) varies by country. The shade of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the indicator. The darker the shade, the higher the value. The country with the highest value in the world is El Salvador, with a value of 52.02. The country with the lowest value in the world is San Marino, with a value of 0.00.
Source: UN Office on Drugs and Crime's International Homicide Statistics database.
See also: Country ranking, Time series comparison
More maps: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |
Development Relevance: In some regions, organized crime, drug trafficking and the violent cultures of youth gangs are predominantly responsible for the high levels of homicide. There has been a sharp increase in homicides in some countries, particularly in Central America, are making the activities of organized crime and drug trafficking more visible. Greater use of firearms is often associated with the illicit activities of organized criminal groups, which are often linked to drug trafficking. Knowledge of the patterns and causes of violent crime are crucial to forming preventive strategies. Young males are the group most affected by violent crime in all regions, particularly in the Americas. Yet women of all ages are the victims of intimate partner and family-related violence in all regions and countries. Indeed, in many of them, it is within the home where a woman is most likely to be killed. Data on intentional homicides are from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which uses a variety of national and international sources on homicides - primarily criminal justice sources as well as public health data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization - and the United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems to present accurate and comparable statistics. The UNODC defines homicide as "unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person." This definition excludes deaths arising from armed conflict.
Limitations and Exceptions: Statistics reported to the United Nations in the context of its various surveys on crime levels and criminal justice trends are incidents of victimization that have been reported to the authorities in any given country. That means that this data is subject to the problems of accuracy of all official crime data. The survey results provide an overview of trends and interrelationships between various parts of the criminal justice system to promote informed decision-making in administration, nationally and internationally. The degree to which different societies apportion the level of culpability to acts resulting in death is also subject to variation. Consequently, the comparison between countries and regions of "intentional homicide", or unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person, is also a comparison of the extent to which different countries deem that a killing be classified as such, as well as the capacity of their legal systems to record it. Caution should therefore be applied when evaluating and comparing homicide data.
Statistical Concept and Methodology: The definitions used to produce data are in line with the homicide definition used in the UNODC Homicide Statistics dataset. On the basis of these selection criteria and subject to data availability, a long and continuous time series including recent data on homicide counts and rates has been identified or created at country level. Data included in the dataset correspond to the original value provided by the source of origin, since no statistical procedure or modeling was used to change collected values or to create new or revised figures. The intentional killing of a human being by another is the ultimate crime. Its indisputable physical consequences manifested in the form of a dead body also make it the most categorical and calculable. All existing data sources on intentional homicides, both at national and international level, stem from either criminal justice or public health systems. In the former case, data are generated by law enforcement or criminal justice authorities in the process of recording and investigating a crime event. In the latter, data are produced by health authorities certifying the cause of death of an individual. Criminal justice data were collected through UNODC regular collections of crime data from Member States, through publicly available data produced by national government sources and from data compiled by other international and regional agencies, including from Interpol, Eurostat, the Organization of American States and UNICEF. Public health data on homicides were mainly derived from databases on deaths by cause disseminated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The inclusion of recent data was given a higher priority in the selection process than the length of the time series (number of years covered). An analysis of official reports and research literature is regularly carried out to verify homicide data used by government agencies and the scientific community. As a result of the data collection and validation process, in many countries several homicide datasets have become available from different or multiple sources. Therefore, data series have been selected to provide the most appropriate reference counts.
Aggregation method: Weighted average
Periodicity: Annual


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Sandy tract by sea to a brit / SAT 12-31-11 / Novelist whose character Adah speaks in palindromes / Curly-furred cats / Old Testament man of field / Thoughtful soul to solitude retires poet
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Constructor: Joe Krozel
Relative difficulty: Easy
THEME: none
Word of the Day: DENE (29A: Sandy tract by the sea, to a Brit) —
Alson. Chiefly British
A sandy tract or dune by the seashore.
n (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography) Brit a valley, esp one that is narrow and wooded (freedictionary.com)
High point: KINGSOLVER
Low point: DENE (?)
Crucial gimmes: NODS, SCION, SSW, SAGA
Took one look at that four-stack and thought "ugh, this is not going to be good." Such stunts rarely are. But I must say, as four-stacks go, this one was not terrible. Solid all the way across, and with only slightly rickety crosses here and there. Actually, only SENG seemed particularly out-of-the-ordinary (38D: Hong Kong's Hang ___ index). As RRNs (random Roman numerals) go, I actually don't mind XIII, and every other cross is decent. Nicely done. Mind you, the fill you get on a four-stack is rarely scintillating, and today is no exception. Hard to get excited about REAL ESTATE TAXEzzzzzzzzz (31A: They're often placed on parcels). But still, the whole thing comes off clean, which is about as good a result as I could have hoped for.
Started with NODS (22A: Approvals), then guessed SCION (1D: Offshoot) and immediately got its anagramming cross, ICONS (17A: Computer screenful). NW, done. KINGSOLVER (4D: Novelist whose character Adah speaks in palindromes) and MOISTEST (20D: Like the best chicken or turkey, say) went down easily into that middle section. Off of MISS (6A: What a 61-Across will be called for only a little while longer), I guessed BRIDE-something in the SW, which got me into that section, which ended up being the easiest of all. Threw HEART SHAPE up into the middle section and thus had a very nice block of crosses to get me started (28D: Feature of many a box of chocolates). I don't remember much else, except having to change AT THIS RATE (which feels familiar) to AT THAT RATE (which feels ... something else). And I finished up in the NW—not for any particular reason; that's just how it worked out. Nothing tough up there.
- 23A: "The thoughtful soul to solitude retires" poet (OMAR) — had the "O" and got it instantly. I assume this is OMAR Khayyam. Yes. I guess "Khayyam" is not his last name (?) (though wikipedia sure seems to think it is).
- 47A: Old Testament "man of the field" (ESAU) — might have gotten this even without the "ES-" already in place. Seems pretty easy stuff for a Saturday (maybe we're supposed to end the year with an easy puzzle so everyone can feel like a winner!)
- 34D: Red Sox anthem ("TESSIE") — I've liked the Red Sox for decades and have been to a couple games at Fenway and still didn't know this. Wanted "Sweet Caroline" or "Dirty Water."
- 52D: Curly-furred cats (REXES) — ironically, I had absolutely no clue about this one 'til I got that "X" in there.
Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld Read more...


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Is Barack Obama about to make the most catastrophic decision of his entire presidency? Former UN Ambassador John Bolton is warning that there is "a lot of speculation" over at UN headquarters right now about "resolutions that recognize a Palestinian state or that try and set a boundary for Israel based on the 1967 ceasefire lines". Of course this would have to happen before the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20th, because Trump has already made it quite clear that he will not support any UN resolution of such nature. Knowing that Trump is about to take office, advocates of the "two state solution" are putting an immense amount of pressure on Obama to support a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide the land of Israel while he is still in the White House, and at this moment we do not know what Barack Obama's final decision will be.
Most Americans have no idea that this drama is playing out behind the scenes, but those in the know are very much aware of what is happening. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article entitled "Obama's Israel Surprise?" that discussed the possibility of Obama supporting a UN Security Council resolution that would permanently divide the land of Israel, and the New York Times editorial board has formally endorsed such a resolution.
The rest of the UN Security Council is ready to agree to such a resolution, and at this point the only obstacle is getting Barack Obama's approval. That is why it was so exceedingly alarming to wake up on Sunday morning and read former UN Ambassador John Bolton's very chilling warning about what could soon happen at the UN. The following comes from an article on the website of The Hill…
Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton warned Sunday that President Obama should not take any actions before leaving office that could hurt Israel at the U.N.
Bolton said during an interview with radio host John Catsimatidis that there is "a lot of speculation over in Turtle Bay at U.N. headquarters about resolutions that recognize a Palestinian state or that try and set a boundary for Israel based on the 1967 ceasefire lines."
"I think that'd be very inadvisable for the president to do that," he said.
John Bolton is still very tied in to the international community, and Donald Trump is reportedly actively considering asking him to serve as Secretary of State.
Needless to say, I would take what he is saying very, very seriously.
So what would this potential UN Security Council resolution look like?
Well, it would likely accomplish three historic things…
1. It would give formal UN Security Council recognition to a Palestinian state for the very first time.
2. It would grant East Jerusalem to the Palestinians as the capital of their new state.
3. It would establish the 1967 ceasefire lines as the basis for final negotiations for borders between the two states.
Up until now, the U.S. government's veto power on the UN Security Council has always blocked anti-Israel resolutions from passing, but earlier this year the Obama administration said that such a "parameters resolution" was now "on the table".
And at this point we still don't know what Obama is going to ultimately decide, but the Trump transition team is so concerned about this that they recently warned Obama "against making moves on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his last months in office".
But no matter how much they object, the truth is that Trump and his team cannot actually do anything to stop Obama.
If Obama decides to betray Israel at the UN, it is going to happen.
And of course the Israeli government is extremely concerned about what might take place as well. According to the New York Post, the Israelis asked Secretary of State John Kerry if the Obama administration would promise to veto any anti-Israel resolutions at the UN for the remainder of Obama's term, and Kerry flatly refused to make such a promise…
Israel faces a unique window of danger from Nov. 9 to Jan. 20: What might President Obama do in his final days in office to slam the Jewish state?
Start with Secretary of State John Kerry's recent flat refusal to promise a US veto on any upcoming anti-Israel resolution in the UN Security Council.
On Saturday, Haaretz reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Kerry he's counting on Washington to stick to its policy of nixing anti-Israel resolutions. Kerry's reply: The administration has yet to make a decision on the matter.
Perhaps equally as alarming is what Obama told the Palestinians. In October, Obama reportedly told them to wait until after the election for any action at the UN Security Council…
On the surface, the latest message to the Palestinian Authority from the Obama administration is no different from the past two decades of American policy: the U.S. will veto any resolution attacking Israel or demanding Palestinian independence without them first making peace with the Jewish state. But, as Haaretz reported, there was one significant caveat to the warning. They were told not to push for any such resolution until after the presidential election next month.
So why would it be so catastrophic if Obama decides to support a UN Security Council resolution that permanently divides the land of Israel?
Well, John Kilpatrick, Shane Warren, Bob Jones and many others have warned that when we divide the land of Israel, our land will be divided too.
Whether it is Barack Obama, Donald Trump or some other president that does it, someday this will happen.
And when this happens, the floodgates will open and judgment after judgment will hit this nation. I have warned about many of these events in my latest book, and I hope to write much more about what is coming in the months ahead.
So right now we are in "the danger zone" until January 20th, 2017.
If we can get to January 20th and Donald Trump is peacefully inaugurated and the land of Israel has not been divided, perhaps we can all breathe a little bit easier for a while.
But if the land of Israel is divided between now and then, the consequences for this nation are going to be more severe than most people would dare to imagine.
About the author: Michael Snyder is the founder and publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The Most Important News. Michael's controversial new book about Bible prophecy entitled "The Rapture Verdict" is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.


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The zoom function has been implemented to assist users in viewing specific items within selected Rule items.
To use the Zoom In button, please see the following instructions.
1. Navigate to a Rule Unit within the Rule Module
2. Click on the "Quick Graph View icon
3. Select the Zoom in button
4. Repeat step 3 until reaching the desired Zoom
Users can zoom in or out on mobile devices with the use of 2 fingers. Zooming In: Place two fingers on the screen and drag them in opposite directions until desired zoom is reached.


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Property Details Glossary
When you browse through our listings to find a property for purchase or rent, you will come across various terms displayed on the property details page.
Guide Price
The term "guide price" refers to the estimated price range at which a property is expected to be sold. It is typically provided by the seller or the selling agent as an indication of the property's value and to guide potential buyers.
The guide price is not a fixed or definitive price, but rather a starting point for negotiations. It helps prospective buyers understand the approximate range within which the seller is willing to consider offers. The final sale price of the property may be higher or lower than the guide price, depending on market conditions and the level of interest from buyers.
It's important to note that the guide price is different from the actual sale price, which is the price agreed upon between the buyer and the seller during the negotiation process.
Reserve Price
The reserve price refers to the minimum price that the seller is willing to accept for a property at an auction. It is a confidential figure agreed upon between the seller and the auctioneer.
During an auction, potential buyers place bids on the property, and the bidding continues until the highest bid is reached. However, for the property to be sold, the final bid must meet or exceed the reserve price. If the highest bid falls below the reserve price, the property may be withdrawn from the auction without a sale.
The reserve price acts as a safeguard for the seller, ensuring that they do not have to accept a bid lower than their desired minimum price. It provides a level of certainty and protection for sellers when selling their property through an auction process.
Sales Price
Being aware of the purchase price enables you to calculate the overall expenditure associated with acquiring the property. This includes not only mortgage payments and the deposit, but also additional expenses such as stamp duty, legal fees, and moving costs.
Understanding the tenure of a property allows you to comprehend the legal ownership structure and identify any associated costs or obligations. This knowledge provides clarity regarding how you would legally possess the property and helps you assess any additional financial or contractual responsibilities involved.
When a property is described as "freehold," it indicates that you possess ownership of both the property itself and the land on which it is constructed. As the owner, you typically assume responsibility for property maintenance.
Leasehold refers to the arrangement where you acquire the right to reside in a property for a specific duration of time, while the land on which the property is constructed remains owned by a freeholder. Typically, you will be required to pay ground rent and service charges.
The lease agreement records the length of the leasehold, and when it expires, ownership of the property reverts back to the freeholder. Extending leases is possible, although it can be costly.
The lease outlines the respective responsibilities for maintenance between you and the freeholder. Generally, you will need the freeholder's permission to make any alterations to your home.
Share of Freehold
In certain cases, the ownership of freehold is divided among multiple properties within the same building, such as flats or maisonettes.
As a result, you typically share the responsibility for property maintenance and enjoy a greater degree of freedom to make alterations or modifications.
Commonhold is a variant of freehold ownership applicable to properties that are part of an estate.
In this arrangement, individual flats within a block can be owned as freehold properties, while the common areas such as stairs and hallways are collectively owned and managed by a commonhold association. This association is owned by the freeholders of the properties.
As an owner of a property within the commonhold, you will be obligated to join the commonhold association and contribute towards the expenses associated with maintaining the estate.
Commonhold Details
Commonhold details refer to the specific information and documentation pertaining to the commonhold arrangement. These details typically include the legal framework, rights, and obligations governing the commonhold ownership structure.
Commonhold details may encompass various aspects, such as the establishment and constitution of the commonhold association, the allocation of individual freehold ownership rights, the management and maintenance responsibilities of the common parts, the financial contributions required from each owner, dispute resolution procedures, and any relevant restrictions or permissions related to property alterations or transfers.
The commonhold details serve as a comprehensive reference for owners within the commonhold, providing clarity on the rights, obligations, and operational procedures associated with this form of tenure.
Shared Ownership
Shared ownership is a type of leasehold arrangement where you purchase a portion or percentage of the property and pay rent for the share you do not own. There is usually an option to acquire the remaining share, albeit at an additional cost. When you decide to sell the property, you may require permission from the relevant authority or entity involved in the shared ownership agreement.
Shared Ownership Rent
Shared ownership rent refers to the portion of rent paid by an individual who has purchased a share of a property through a shared ownership scheme, with the remaining portion being subsidised through a mortgage or rent payment to a housing association.
Council Tax
The Council Tax Band for a property is a categorisation assigned by the local government in the UK to determine the amount of council tax that property owners or residents need to pay. The banding system is based on the estimated value of the property as of a specific date, typically related to the property's market value. Council Tax Bands range from Band A (lowest) to Band H (highest), with each band having a corresponding tax rate set by the local authority. The Council Tax Band is used to calculate the annual council tax bill for the property.
Rates Payable
In Northern Ireland, "rates payable" refers to the amount of money that property owners or occupiers are required to pay as a form of local taxation. Rates are levied by the local government to fund public services and amenities, such as schools, roads, and waste management. The rates payable for Northern Ireland properties are determined based on the capital value of the property, known as the Net Annual Value (NAV), and the regional domestic rate set by the Northern Ireland Assembly. The rates payable can vary depending on the specific property and its location.
EPC Rating
The EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating for a property is a measure of its energy efficiency. It is represented by a scale ranging from A (most energy-efficient) to G (least energy-efficient). The rating is based on factors such as insulation, heating systems, lighting, and renewable energy sources. The EPC rating provides information to potential buyers or tenants about the energy efficiency of a property and its environmental impact.
Ground Rent
Ground rent refers to a recurring payment made by the leaseholder to the freeholder or management company as stipulated in the lease terms. The amount and frequency of payment are specified in the lease agreement. Failure to pay ground rent can result in legal action by the freeholder, potentially leading to property repossession. The specific amount of ground rent can differ for each property, ranging from a few pounds annually to several hundred pounds or higher.
Ground Rent Review Period
The leasehold agreement includes a provision for a review period regarding the ground rent, which implies that the amount of ground rent can be subject to increase upon each review. It is important to consider that costs that seem manageable at present may not remain affordable in the future.
Annual Service Charge
Service charges encompass regular payments made to cover various expenses such as building insurance, caretaker services, lighting, heating, cleaning, and maintenance of shared areas within an estate.
While service charges are commonly associated with leasehold properties, newer freehold homes may also entail contributions towards maintaining communal facilities within the estate. It is important to note that these costs can rise over time and may be allocated to future, unforeseen maintenance needs, referred to as a reserve or sinking fund. It is crucial to have a clear understanding of the charges involved to avoid any surprises.
Length of Lease
The lease length refers to the duration for which you have acquired the right to reside in the property. It is a fixed number of years specified in the lease agreement.
Once the lease expires, ownership of the property reverts back to the freeholder. Extending leases is possible, but it can be a costly process.
Lettings Price
Having knowledge of the rental price provides you with information about the amount and frequency of rent payments. This understanding aids in budget planning and reduces the likelihood of missing a payment.
Available Date
The available date for a lettings property refers to the date on which the property becomes available for occupancy or rental by prospective tenants.
Furnishing Status
The furnishing status for a lettings property refers to whether the property is offered for rent fully furnished, partially furnished, or unfurnished. It indicates the presence or absence of furniture, appliances, and other items provided by the landlord for tenant use during the tenancy.
The deposit for a lettings property is a monetary amount paid by the tenant to the landlord or letting agent as a form of security. It is held throughout the tenancy and can be used to cover any unpaid rent, damages, or other breaches of the tenancy agreement. The deposit is typically refundable to the tenant at the end of the tenancy, minus any legitimate deductions.
Tenancy Length
Refers to the duration or period for which a tenant is granted the right to occupy the property under a rental agreement or lease. It specifies the start date and end date of the tenancy, indicating the length of time the tenant has the right to live in the property and fulfill the terms of the tenancy agreement.
Peppercorn Rent
A peppercorn rent is a symbolic or nominal rent amount, often set at an extremely low value (such as a single peppercorn), typically used in leases or agreements where the landlord does not seek to profit financially but instead maintains legal rights and obligations over the property.
Commercial property size refers to the area of a commercial property, typically measured in square feet or square meters, indicating the available space for business operations.
Use Class
A commercial property use class refers to a categorisation system that classifies properties based on their intended commercial purposes, aiding in regulatory and planning processes.
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Ticket information for ONE: TOTAL VICTORY is available at www.onefc.com
Former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhmetov is a veteran martial artist from Almaty, Kazakhstan. The 29-year-old boasts a solid 23-1 professional record amassed during a stellar martial arts career which has seen him dominate his opponents with tenacious wrestling and powerful striking. In his most recent appearance inside the ONE Championship cage, Akhmetov faced divisional rival Adriano Moraes for the right to be crowned the undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion. Akhmetov fell just short of victory, losing by unanimous decision in a close bout. Determined to earn another shot at ONE Championship gold, a victory over Geje Eustaquio, whom Akhmetov will challenge in his next contest, could be the ticket to another title opportunity.
Top flyweight contender and former world title challenger Geje "Gravity" Eustaquio of Baguio City, Philippines, is one of the most skilled martial artists in Asia, and a highly-decorated wushu practitioner. His solid striking and grappling skill set has led to huge victories over the course of a six-year professional martial arts career. Training in the high altitudes of the Philippines' mountainous region, Eustaquio hones his craft alongside world-class teammates at the fabled Team Lakay. In his most recent bout, Eustaquio defeated fellow striker Anatpong Bunrad via split decision in a rematch. Known for his incredible ability to keep calm in the face of adversity, Eustaquio is set to headline ONE: TOTAL VICTORY opposite former ONE Flyweight World Champion Kairat Akhmetov.
Top Indonesian prospect Stefer Rahardian impressed in his ONE Championship debut by winning the ONE: TITLES & TITANS Flyweight Tournament in August of 2016. Rahardian finished both Yotha Hutagalung and Hendrick Wijaya by first round rear-naked choke to become the tournament winner. In his last outing, Rahardian outperformed Eugene Toquero to win by unanimous decision in three rounds. Now unbeaten at six wins and no losses, Rahardian puts his unblemished record on the line against Sim Bunsrun.
Sim Bunsrun is a 24-year-old KWC 3 Flyweight Tournament Champion currently competing in ONE Championship's stacked flyweight division. He aced his first two assignments in the organization with flying colors, submitting compatriot Kun Sichan in December 2015 before outpointing Liu Peng Shuai a year later. Bunsrun now returns to the ONE Championship cage to go up against Indonesia's Stefer Rahardian.
Cameroonian Alain "The Panther" Ngalani, who trains out of Impakt MMA in Hong Kong, is an exciting heavyweight contender with massive size and brutish strength. With the agility and the quickness of a lighter competitor, Ngalani is a terrifying combination of size and speed and is always looking to end matches early. A former kickboxing titleholder, Ngalani now looks to surprise local fans in attendance with another spectacular performance as he takes on former title challenger Hideki Sekine.
Japanese heavyweight Hideki "Shrek" Sekine holds a professional record of seven wins and one loss. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and has won multiple grappling tournaments across the globe. Known for his brute strength and technical grappling ability, Sekine owns three victories by submission and another three by knockout. In his last outing, he challenged Filipino-American superstar Brandon Vera for the ONE Heavyweight World Championship. Sekine looks to place himself back on the winning track as he squares off with Alain Ngalani.
25-year-old Yago Bryan of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a former Shooto South American Strawweight Champion who took on former ONE Strawweight World Champion Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke in his promotional debut. Skilled in both the striking and grappling arts, Bryan is making his way back to the ONE Championship cage, this time against Roy Doliguez of the Philippines.
Roy Doliguez is a considered one of the best strawweights in Asia. Doliguez is also a former professional boxer with more than 40 pro bouts. He made his promotional debut in 2015, vying for the inaugural ONE Strawweight World Championship against Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke. His next bout will be against a fellow former title contender in Yago Bryan.
Indonesian martial artist "The Terminator" Sunoto is a WKF Indonesia Champion with a 6-3 professional record. With a penchant for grappling, three of Sunoto's six victories have come by submission. The 32-year-old is known as an aggressive competitor who never backs down from a challenge. In his last bout, he scored a first-round stoppage victory over Cambodia's Chan Heng. Sunoto looks to continue his winning ways as he is set to duke it out with Thai Rithy.
19-year-old Thai Rithy of Cambodia is a KWC Featherweight Champion who will make his ONE Championship debut as part of the promotion's stacked featherweight division. He holds a professional record of five wins and two losses. Four of his five career victories have come by way of submission. Rithy is scheduled to make his first appearance inside the ONE Championship cage against Sunoto.
Jeremy "The Predator" Meciaz is a 25-year-old Indonesian National Grappling Champion who made the transition to professional martial arts competition in 2017. In the same year, he made his ONE Championship debut against unbeaten Chinese prospect Chen "Rock Man" Lei. Meciaz now returns to the cage seeking victory, but will have to go through Hisyam Samsudin to claim success.
Hisyam "Zephyrus" Samsudin of Malaysia is a former WBF Asia-Pacific Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion who trains at the highly-regarded Borneo Tribal Squad with Ann "Athena" Osman and AJ "Pyro" Lias Mansor. Samsudin likes to pepper opponents with heavy handed strikes, utilizing his world-class boxing base. Samsudin's next assignment is against Jeremy Meciaz.
"The Little Squirrel" Liu De Li Ge Ri Hu is an Inner Mongolia Wrestling Champion, holding a professional record of two wins and two losses. Liu De Li aims to make an astounding statement in his ONE Championship debut as he is booked to square off with Ramon Gonzales.
30-year-old Ramon "The Bicolano" Gonzales is a flyweight standout from the Philippines, representing Burn Soriano's Hitman MMA. He has proven his karate mastery in competitions all over the world, but the former two-time Philippine National Kyokushin Karate Champion is determined to fully showcase his potential in ONE Championship. He will make his third appearance under the promotion's banner against Liu De Li Ge Ri Hu.
Liberian combatant Jerome S. Paye made his ONE Championship debut in February 2016 against China's Li Hao Jie. In the bout, Paye showcased a well-rounded set of techniques, stifling his opponent with an array of striking combinations. With the ability to make bouts difficult for any opponent, Paye will make his return to the ONE Championship cage in Jakarta, Indonesia to face former boxing world champion Yodsanan Sityodtong.
Former WBA Boxing World Champion Yodsanan "Little Tyson" Sityodtong of Thailand is known as a devastatingly powerful puncher, with the ability to utilize his heavy hands to stop foes with trademark combinations. With 47 knockouts in boxing and all three of his victories inside the ONE Championship cage ending in similar fashion, expect Sityodtong to always be on the lookout for an abrupt ending to his contests. Currently riding a two-bout winning streak, Sityodtong will be going for number three against Jerome S. Paye.
24-year-old Adrian Matheis of Jakarta, Indonesia, is a martial artist competing in ONE Championship's talented strawweight division. In the ONE: TITLES & TITANS strawweight tournament in August 2016, Matheis defeated both Rustam Hutajulu and Roso Nugroho via scintillating knockouts in one night to be crowned tournament champion. In his next bout, Matheis crosses paths with the debuting Phat Soda.
28-year-old Phat Soda is a three-time National Khun Khmer Champion. In his glory days as a Cambodian kickboxing competitor, he left fans on the edge of their seats with his lightning-quick and pinpoint striking. Soda looks to emulate his Khun Khmer success in ONE Championship as he steps in the cage with Adrian Matheis.
Kicking off the action at ONE: TOTAL VICTORY are two promising young bantamweight prospects. Striking specialist Riski Umar takes on compatriot Adi Nugroho in a three-round contest. Umar is set to make his professional debut in his first ONE Championship stint, while Nugroho is determined to have his hand raised in his second appearance under the organization's umbrella.
For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONECh


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Dairy is a big deal in America. We like our milks and cheeses. We like them so much that they continue to sell despite high levels of lactose intolerance among the general population. The New York Times points to several statistics and studies that show how dairy is actually pretty bad for us, and it might be time to reevaluate how much we consume on a regular basis:
Today the Department of Agriculture's recommendation for dairy is a mere three cups daily - still 1½ pounds by weight - for every man, woman and child over age 9. This in a country where as many as 50 million people are lactose intolerant, including 90 percent of all Asian-Americans and 75 percent of all African-Americans, Mexican-Americans and Jews. The myplate.gov site helpfully suggests that those people drink lactose-free beverages. (To its credit, it now counts soy milk as "dairy.")
There's no mention of water, which is truly nature's perfect beverage; the site simply encourages us to switch to low-fat milk. But, says Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "Sugar - in the form of lactose - contributes about 55 percent of skim milk's calories, giving it ounce for ounce the same calorie load as soda.
None of this is to say that milk doesn't have its benefits, but the article notes that there are healthier ways to get the nutrients and benefits it provides (e.g. calcium and osteoporosis prevention). It's worth a read, as it points to a likelihood that dairy is a food you should eat because you enjoy and not for its claims of better health.
Photo by Mark Hillary.
Got Milk? You Don't Need It | The New York Times via Mark Bittman


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Now that the election season is heating up, once again the question will be asked, what does the Jewish community want? How will they vote? What will they base their choice on? If you listen to the polls, the pundits and the politicians (and many of the putative spokespeople for the Jewish community) the answer is simple: Israel. However, the question needs to be asked: is this the right answer? What should Jews care about, as Jews?
If by being Jewish one means connecting oneself to the wisdom of the Jewish tradition one would find that Jews who put social and economic justice at the heart of their concerns are tapping a deep vein. When God informs Abraham that God is going to destroy Sodom, Abraham challenges God: "Will the judge of all the world not do justice?" Speaking of Sodom, the prophet Ezekiel understood their sin as "She and her daughters had plenty of bread and untroubled tranquility; yet she did not support the poor and the needy." Jeremiah channels God saying: "but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight," from which Maimonides, the great 12th century Spanish Jewish philosopher and jurist, understood that the true goal of the religious and philosophical path—beyond even knowing whatever it is that one can know about God—is to practice love and righteousness and justice in the world.
It is the Rabbis who move from the hortatory to the practical. In the third century mishnah, and the later Talmuds, the Rabbis move beyond the individual obligations of charity—whether demanding that the corner of the field be left over, or helping one's fellow when she falls on hard times—and establish poverty relief as a political obligation to be fulfilled by cities and gathered by assessment. Every poor person who lives in, or even passes through a city must be supplied with two meals a day, a place and provisions for sleeping and shelter. As a matter of fact, residency in a town is itself described in terms of obligations towards others. When one lives in a town for certain period of time (3, 6, 9, 12 months) one must take on various levels of obligation towards other residents and the town itself.
The rabbis unpacked the Levitical verse: "For it is to Me that the Israelites are servants: they are My servants, whom I freed from the land of Egypt." They interpreted "they are My servants and not servants to servants." The central act of Divine intervention in the world is seen by one of the greatest Talmudic Sages as a prooftext that workers cannot be forced to work against their will.
I could go on. Social and economic justice issues are the heart and soul of the Jewish tradition, from Isaiah to the Rabbis of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (of all denominations) who spoke in favor of, and some who demanded, that workers be afforded the ability to organize and have the protections of collective bargaining.
So why is it that when a politician wants to reach out to the Jewish community she goes to AIPAC, or he goes on a trip to Israel? Most American Jews live in the very cities which were devastated by the economic collapse and are being victimized by the monetizing of our morals (in which the economic bottom line always trumps the ethical bottom line). Most American Jews feel the call of the tradition to create cities wherein justice lies. The thinking that the American Jewish vote should be swayed only by a candidate's policies on Israel is made all the more absurd by the lack of any real daylight between the policies of Democrats and Republicans on Israel. As a community we should demand that when politicians speak about Jewish issues, they speak about the issues that really matter to us, issues of social and economic justice.
I will give Jeremiah the last word (channeling God, of course) : "And seek the well-being of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray to God on its behalf, for in its peace you shall find peace."