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-= IDS Communications Blog =-
Social Media Hacking
Have you ever had issues with any of your accounts ie: email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc.? When I say issues, I mean people trying to take over your username, profile or account... How many times did you see a post/message saying "Don't accept friend request from so and so he stole my profile picture"?
Well somebody on Twitter has an interesting story after his username was literally stolen from him! From Twitter to GoDaddy to Paypal and Facebook, everything fell apart!
Mr. Naoki Hiroshima or @N as his Twitter username states had to fight to get his own identity back! Here below is his story, you can find the original post here. Since it was an interesting story, I copied it here in case the original link becomes unavailable.
My $50,000 Twitter Username Was Stolen Thanks to PayPal and GoDaddy
I had a rare Twitter username, @N. Yep, just one letter. I've been offered as much as $50,000 for it. People have tried to steal it. Password reset instructions are a regular sight in my email inbox. As of today, I no longer control @N. I was extorted into giving it up.
While eating lunch on January 20, 2014, I received a text message from PayPal for one-time validation code. Somebody was trying to steal my PayPal account. I ignored it and continued eating.
Later in the day, I checked my email which uses my personal domain name (registered with GoDaddy) through Google Apps. I found the last message I had received was from GoDaddy with the subject "Account Settings Change Confirmation." There was a good reason why that was the last one.
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 12:50:02 -0800
Subject: Account Settings Change Confirmation
Dear naoki hiroshima,
You are receiving this email because the Account Settings were modified for the following Customer Account:
There will be a brief period before this request takes effect.
If these modifications were made without your consent, please log in to your account and update your security settings.
If you are unable to log in to your account or if unauthorized changes have been made to domain names associated with the account, please contact our customer support team for assistance:
Please note that Accounts are subject to our Universal Terms of Service.
I tried to log in to my GoDaddy account, but it didn't work. I called GoDaddy and explained the situation. The representative asked me the last 6 digits of my credit card number as a method of verification. This didn't work because the credit card information had already been changed by an attacker. In fact, all of my information had been changed. I had no way to prove I was the real owner of the domain name.
The GoDaddy representative suggested that I fill out a case report on GoDaddy's website using my government identification. I did that and was told a response could take up to 48 hours. I expected that this would be sufficient to prove my identity and ownership of the account.
Let The Extortion Begin
Most websites use email as a method of verification. If your email account is compromised, an attacker can easily reset your password on many other websites. By taking control of my domain name at GoDaddy, my attacker was able to control my email.
I soon realized, based on my previous experiences being attacked, that my coveted Twitter username was the target. Strangely, someone I don't know sent me a Facebook message encouraging me to change my Twitter email address. I assumed this was sent from the attacker but I changed it regardless. The Twitter account email address was now one which the attacker could not access.
The attacker tried to reset my Twitter password several times and found he couldn't receive any of the reset emails because it took time for the change of my domain's MX record, which controls the email domain server. The attacker opened issue #16134409 at Twitter's Zendesk support page.
N, Jan 20 01:43 PM:
Twitter username: @n
Your email: *****@*****.***
Last sign in: December
Mobile number (optional): n/a
Anything else? (optional): I'm not receiving the password reset to my email, do you think you could manually send me one?
Twitter required the attacker to provide more information to proceed and the attacker gave up on this route.
I later learned that the attacker had compromised my Facebook account in order to bargain with me. I was horrified to learn what had happened when friends began asking me about strange behavior on my Facebook account.
I received an email from my attacker at last. The attacker attempted to extort me with the following message.
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 15:55:43 -0800
Subject: Hello.
I've seen you spoke with an accomplice of mine, I would just like to inform you that you were correct, @N was the target. it appears extremely inactive, I would also like to inform you that your GoDaddy domains are in my possession, one fake purchase and they can be repossessed by godaddy and never seen again D:
I see you run quite a few nice websites so I have left those alone for now, all data on the sites has remained intact. Would you be willing to compromise? access to @N for about 5minutes while I swap the handle in exchange for your godaddy, and help securing your data?
Shortly thereafter, I received a response from GoDaddy.
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 17:49:41 -0800
Subject: Update [Incident ID: 21773161] — XXXXX.XXX
Unfortunately, Domain Services will not be able to assist you with your change request as you are not the current registrant of the domain name. As the registrar we can only make this type of change after verifying the consent of the registrant. You may wish to pursue one or more of the following options should you decide
to pursue this matter further:
1. Visit http://who.godaddy.com/ to locate the Whois record for the domain name and resolve the issue with the registrant directly.
2. Go to http://www.icann.org/dndr/udrp/approved-providers.htm to find an ICANN approved arbitration provider.
3. Provide the following link to your legal counsel for information on submitting legal documents to GoDaddy: http://www.godaddy.com/agreements/showdoc.aspx?pageid=CIVIL_SUBPOENA GoDaddy now considers this matter closed.
My claim was refused because I am not the "current registrant." GoDaddy asked the attacker if it was ok to change account information, while they didn't bother asking me if it was ok when the attacker did it. I was infuriated that GoDaddy had put the burden on the true owner.
A coworker of mine was able to connect me to a GoDaddy executive. The executive attempted to get the security team involved, but nothing has happened. Perhaps because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Then I received this follow-up from the attacker.
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 18:50:16 -0800
Subject: …hello
Are you going to swap the handle? the godaddy account is ready to go. Password changed and a neutral email is linked to it.
I asked a friend of mine at Twitter what the chances of recovering the Twitter account were if the attacker took ownership. I remembered what had happened to @mat and concluded that giving up the account right away would be the only way to avoid an irreversible disaster. So I told the attacker:
From: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
To: <
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:41:17 -0800
Subject: Re: …hello
I released @N. Take it right away.
I changed my username @N to @N_is_stolen for the first time since I registered it in early 2007. Goodbye to my problematic username, for now.
I received this response.
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:44:02 -0800
Subject: RE: …hello
Thank you very much, your godaddy password is: V;Mz,3{;!'g&
if you'd like I can go into detail about how I was able to gain access to your godaddy, and how you can secure yourself
The attacker quickly took control of the username and I regained access to my GoDaddy account.
PayPal and GoDaddy Facilitated The Attack
I asked the attacker how my GoDaddy account was compromised and received this response:
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 19:53:52 -0800
Subject: RE: …hello
- I called paypal and used some very simple engineering tactics to obtain the last four of your card (avoid this by calling paypal and asking the agent to add a note to your account to not release any details via phone)
- I called godaddy and told them I had lost the card but I remembered the last four, the agent then allowed me to try a range of numbers (00-09 in your case) I have not found a way to heighten godaddy account security, however if you'd like me to
recommend a more secure registrar i recommend: NameCheap or eNom (not network solutions but enom.com)
It's hard to decide what's more shocking, the fact that PayPal gave the attacker the last four digits of my credit card number over the phone, or that GoDaddy accepted it as verification. When asked about this, the attacker responded with this message:
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 20:00:31 -0800
Subject: RE: …hello
Yes paypal told me them over the phone (I was acting as an employee) and godaddy let me "guess" for the first two digits of the card
But guessing 2 digits correctly isn't that easy, right?
From: <
To: <*****@*****.***> Naoki Hiroshima
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 20:09:21 -0800
Subject: RE: …hello
I got it in the first call, most agents will just keep trying until they get it
He was lucky that he only had to guess two numbers and was able to do it in a single call. The thing is, GoDaddy allowed him to keep trying until he nailed it. Insane. Sounds like I was dealing with a wannabe Kevin Mitnick—it's as though companies have yet to learn from Mitnick's exploits circa 1995.
Avoid Custom Domains for Your Login Email Address
With my GoDaddy account restored, I was able to regain access to my email as well. I changed the email address I use at several web services to an @gmail.com address. Using my Google Apps email address with a custom domain feels nice but it has a chance of being stolen if the domain server is compromised. If I were using an @gmail.com email address for my Facebook login, the attacker would not have been able to access my Facebook account.
If you are using your Google Apps email address to log into various websites, I strongly suggest you stop doing so. Use an @gmail.com for logins. You can use the nicer custom domain email for messaging purposes, I still do.
In addition, I also strongly suggest you to use a longer TTL for the MX record, just in case. It was 1 hour TTL in my case and that's why I didn't have enough time to keep receiving emails to the compromised domain after losing the DNS control. If it was a week-long TTL for example, I would have had a greater chance to recover the stolen accounts.
Using two-factor authentication is a must. It's probably what prevented the attacker from logging into my PayPal account. Though this situation illustrates that even two-factor authentication doesn't help for everything.
Stupid companies may give out your personal information (like part of your credit card number) to the wrong person. Some of those companies are still employing the unacceptable practice of verifying you with the last some digits of your credit card.
To avoid their imprudence from destroying your digital life, don't let companies such as PayPal and GoDaddy store your credit card information. I just removed mine. I'll also be leaving GoDaddy and PayPal as soon as possible.


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Reasons to Care For Your Health
Reasons to Care For Your Health
Reasons to Care For Your Health
What's your guilty pleasure? We all have at least one, if not more. Like eating ice cream for breakfast or releasing anxiety with a cigarette. We all choose to indulge in the things we should only use in moderation sometimes. That's a part of life. While most things are good in moderation, those same things can cause major health issues when used excessively.
We only get one life. And it's short. Sometimes, we have to remind ourselves of what's more valuable–our lives, or a short-lived craving.
I can only imagine how it'll feel to be near-death. The feeling of wanting a longer life will be inevitable. Right now, in this moment, we can begin to appreciate our health and our lives enough to make health-conscious sacrifices towards a better self.
Here are a few reasons to remember to take care of our bodies with the hopes of increasing the length and quality of our lives.
● The most obvious reason, is, of course, our families. Family gives us a greater sense of purpose. Family holds us to a higher standard for one reason–they care. They want what's best for us, and would never want to watch us suffer. Our families help us grow and make us want to be better.
● The strong bonds and friendships we have that bring laughter and joy to our lives. The longer the friendship lasts, the better.
● It feels good to feel good. Right? Being in good health means physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
● The incomprehensible beauty of nature. It's amazing how looking at nature can actually change our mood. A healthy lifestyle gives us the ability to travel and see the world into our older ages.
● Not to mention, the healthier you are, the cheaper your health insurance rates will be.
● Being alive to meet our grandchildren, and our grandchildren's children.
● Trying new things, experiencing cultures that are entirely different from our own.
● Having a long marriage, the kind of marriage people ask what the secret is to having.
● Growing into the person you always dreamed you could be through years of wisdom.
Be Confidently Insured.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Low glare, low temperature, broad spectrum panels.
Customer Story
A shining example of expert precision
Well-designed experiments deliver results for an OLED pioneer
Challenge | Set the pace in a rapidly emerging market. |
Solution | OLEDWorks capitalizes on the design of experiments capabilities of JMP to refine its delicate processes. |
Results | The company has produced the first organic light-emitting diode lighting panel ever manufactured in the United States. |
On May 8, OLEDWorks, the country's leading manufacturer of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) light engines and panels, announced the addition of the Brite Amber panel to its suite of products. With application in health care, senior living and residential markets, Brite Amber is the first OLED lighting panel to be manufactured in the US.
OLEDs are a type of solid-state lighting that can be formulated to emit specific wavelengths for a variety of colors. For amber, the light output has been formulated to exclude all blue wavelengths. The omission is significant because the circadian rhythms that control our physiological processes – particularly sleep – are affected by the light around us. We tend to be more alert in the late mornings or early afternoons because of the blue light that's prevalent throughout that time of day. Late in the day, ambient light transitions to an amber hue, which is more conducive to sleeping.
In contrast to these natural cycles, health care facilities around the world have traditionally installed florescent lighting, long seen as a more energy-efficient choice. Florescent lights, however, are notorious emitters of blue wavelengths, which not only interfere with sleep patterns but are believed to inhibit recovery. Many traditional LED lights achieve their amber color point by using an amber filter, cutting efficiency in about half. Also, some amber LEDs still have blue wavelength emission. OLEDWorks' Brite Amber is therefore an ideal choice for hospitals and senior-living facilities, as it provides ample light for reading and working while not disrupting those who are sleeping.
Producing OLED panels requires great precision. OLEDWorks panels are coated with as many as 20 layers of organic materials. Each layer may be a single component or a co-deposition of up to four materials. The total thickness of all organic layers is only two to three tenths of a micron. Each step of this delicate process is dependent on the next, and painstaking preparation is required. Vigilance throughout is of the essence.
That's where David Lee enters our story. Lee is Director of Quality and Reliability at OLEDWorks' Rochester, NY, headquarters. (The company also has operations in Aachen, Germany.) He served as commercialization manager of the Brite Amber project, coordinating with research scientists and formulators, conducting experiments on the research side, then transferring the process into production.
A couple of years ago, Lee sat in on a talk by Bradley Jones, Principal Research Fellow for JMP® statistical discovery software. The topic was six-factor definitive screening designs (DSDs), and Lee immediately recognized the potential of DSDs in his environment – the potential to model some pretty complex systems in very few runs. "This was the beginning of the development of a robust formulation for the Brite Amber panel," Lee attests. "It could only have been done with JMP. JMP is just an amazing tool."
Properly schooled in the DOE way
Lee remembers vividly the first time he used JMP: March 9, 1992. "That's the day I started at Eastman Kodak," where he was employed for more than 20 years. "I was introduced to JMP, and I said, 'This is certainly a powerful tool.'" His enthusiasm for the tool has never waned.
Lee has made a career of advocating for diligent experimentation in both R&D and production. "I've witnessed what too many people call an 'experiment,' but I call 'a random collection of trials.' You don't get the intended result, because your experiment wasn't designed to give you that."
JMP is precisely the tool for precision work, and it all starts with design of experiments (DOE). Lee can't imagine starting otherwise. "I often say that people want to run an experiment in the worst way … and they do" – prior to getting schooled in the DOE way, that is. The JMP DOE platform, he says, is a "phenomenal tool for extracting information on multiple factors in a single experiment. It needs to be set up with the right questions in mind and, of course, is only as good as the assumptions behind the experiment. But DOEs are critical to getting independent information on multiple factors."
After an experiment has been run, Lee uses profile prediction plots to examine all sorts of "what-if" scenarios. He can then take that further, conducting simulations to better understand defect probabilities. "DOE is just so fundamental," he says. "It's a springboard for other experiments, other analyses, understanding sensitivities. I can't overstate how important it is."
Making sense of a 'sea of data'
Of his work with OLEDs, Lee says, "Ultimately, what we're trying to control is where electrons move within nanometers. This presents many, many challenges."
OLEDWorks manufactures hundreds of devices a day, and each gets tested, generating a wide variety of data types – on light output, efficiency, voltage and spectral output, for example – and Lee examines that data each day, conducting a range of tests including reliability and accelerated life tests. "We have a sea of data, and JMP is a great tool for pulling all that data together and for then doing the analysis – for making sense of that sea of data."
In conducting his analyses, Lee says he feels he's "doing a disservice" if he looks only at "x" and "y" and not at the data, especially with respect to correlated multivariate data. He analyzes the spectral response curves using principal component analysis or partial least squares. "With JMP, multivariate analysis is so easy to do." Multivariate analysis allows his team to examine wavelength-by-wavelength spectral data, looking across the visible spectrum, collecting data at almost every point.
"We of course strive for a high level of confidence around all of our decisions," Lee says. "But gathering the data and testing and manufacturing the devices is a big expense, so we have to balance risk versus sample size versus the confidence level that we want to achieve." JMP lends confidence that they've hit the sweet spot.
Lee's team performed extensive reliability and qualification testing using advanced statistical methodologies to ensure that the Brite Amber excelled from both a design and quality perspective.
ROI: Running things the right way
While Lee says it's difficult to quantify the return on investment from JMP, the anecdotal evidence is strong. For example, the software's dynamic graphical interface allows him to quickly evaluate data and make decisions. He can make a plot, color by a factor and change the points to different markers, sizes and shapes based on another factor, without having to recreate the plot every time. "I'd say that interface allows me to analyze data from an experiment in half the time, maybe even less." One of the primary returns, Lee says, is simply having the ability to analyze an experiment the right way from the outset; not having to repeat it. Wasted runs are prohibitively expensive.
But the biggest return is in the ability to perform multiple analyses on a wide range of data types, such as spectral responses and life data, and be able to optimize and understand product trade-offs. Lee recalls many team meetings where data, instead of opinion, was used to derive product specs and balance trade-offs such as color point versus efficacy versus lifetime. "The combination of the JMP Prediction Profiler with the Simulation tool allowed us to understand where we might have defect losses, and thereby minimize yield loss," he explains. "Being able to predict the customer experience, and that this experience is a favorable one, is probably the ultimate ROI – customer satisfaction!"
Embracing the tools of tomorrow
Momentum is mounting at OLEDWorks. The company is now plotting the next iteration of its Brite Amber panel, and it was recently awarded a New York State Energy and Research Development Authority grant to explore the potential for more OLEDs in health care environments. Yet another initiative involves research with a large glass manufacturer to develop bendable OLEDs.
Meanwhile, Lee and his team continue to fine-tune the performance of each process step, with JMP as their analytical tool of choice. They use JMP exclusively in Rochester, and the Germany team has recently switched to it from Minitab. Lee says he's sampled other software, but found the competitors wanting: "They don't offer the newer analytic techniques that JMP embraces. I think they're falling behind.
"I really like that JMP is embracing some of the newer generalized regression techniques," he says, citing Lasso and Elastic Net as examples. He's also been very impressed with additions to the reliability platform. "As the world gathers data more quickly, you need better methods to handle it all. Some of the old-standard methods just aren't cut out to handle that much data."
With such tools, Lee and his colleagues at OLEDWorks will continue to drive the future of organic light-emitting diode technology. In 10 years, he says, they hope that all new builds will involve solid state lighting. Lee is proud to be at the forefront, with the distinction of having helped produce the first OLED lighting panel manufactured in the US.
"That's a nice feeling," he says.


text:
Benchmark's Colorado Road & Recreation Atlas is designed to help residents and visitors make the most of Colorado's endless recreation opportunities. The recreation guide includes lists of attractions, trailheads, fishing spots, historic sites, and much more throughout the state. The Landscape Maps show all drivable roads, classed by surface and purpose. Large-scale metro maps of Denver, Boulder, and Colorado Springs are also included.
- Fully updated recreation and index listings
- Landscape Maps include US Forest Service land ownership with private land in-holdings.
- Regional map of Colorado's famed "14ers" (peaks above 14,000 feet) with elevation rankings and nearby trails and snow parks.
- Updated Denver metro maps with new light rail lines.
7th Edition 2020. ISBN 978-0-929591-44-5
Maps Scales: Landscape Maps 1:200,000 (statewide) Recreation Maps 1:500,000 (Eastern CO 1:1,350,000)
Every purchase made through our online store helps us continue our nonprofit education programs and services on Southwest public lands.


text:
Scientists Use Cadaver Hands to Study the Dangers of Pumpkin Carving
A rigorous experiment compared pumpkin-carving tools to determine the safest way to carve a pumpkin
What was a group of orthopedic physicians doing with a hydraulic press, a set of kitchen knives, a set of pumpkin carving tools and a dead human hand? Well, if the headline didn't give it away, then the approaching holiday might give you a hint about their exceedingly creepy experimental setup.
In 2004, a team from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse decided to rigorously investigate the potential risks of pumpkin carving, comparing the threats posed by conventional kitchen knives with those of other tools specifically intended for pumpkins. As Marc Abrahams (the editor of the Annals of Improbable Research) recently pointed out at the Guardian, the research published in the journal Preventive Medicine provides the most comprehensive account of pumpkin-carving danger we have to date.
"Even with optimal treatment, injuries from pumpkin carving accidents may leave people with compromised hand function," they wrote. Common pumpkin-carving injuries come in a number of forms: hand punctures, resulting from instances where a knife is accidentally pushed through the pumpkin and contacts the opposite hand stabilizing it; and lacerations, caused by the cutting hand slipping off the knife handle and sliding across the blade.
Because of these risks, many companies market pumpkin-specific carving tools, claiming that they're safer than sharp knives. Naturally, the researchers wanted to test these supposed safety benefits. As they noted, "evidence that they are safer is required before these knives can be recommended."
In order to find such evidence, they compared various carving instruments—a serrated kitchen knife, a plain knife and two brands of pumpkin-specific tools (the Pumpkin Kutter and the Pumpkin Masters' Medium Saw)—by placing each one in the grip of a hydraulic press and carefully measuring exactly how much force needed to be applied to pierce into a pumpkin and to lacerate a human hand. Since live volunteers for such an experiment might not be all that plentiful, they used six cadaver hands, harvested at the elbow.
In the first stage of the study, when the implements were tested on a pumpkin, each one was pushed into the squash's flesh at the rate of 3 mm per second. The pumpkin-specific instruments performed as advertised, cutting into the pumpkins more easily than the kitchen knives. Theoretically, if less force is needed to actually carve the pumpkin, the risk of pushing too hard and accidentally cutting yourself should be lower.
In the second phase, each of the cutting tools was tested on the cadaver hands in two different ways: the researchers measured how much force was needed to lacerate the finger and to puncture the palm. In this case, the kitchen knives cut more easily into the hands, requiring less force and causing "more skin lacerations that would require suturing than either pumpkin knife." When it comes to hands, the knives were more dangerous.
The researchers' conclusions? "Tools designed specifically for pumpkin carving may indeed be safer. Use of these products, and increased overall awareness of the risks of pumpkin carving in general, which clinicians could help promote, might reduce the frequency and severity of pumpkin carving injuries."
Another pressing question solved by science. No word yet on what happened to the lacerated and punctured cadaver hands afterward.


text:
Part of the brain that tracks limbs in space discovered
Scientists have discovered the part of the brain that tracks the position of our limbs as we move through space.
When a mosquito lands on your hand, you can rapidly and effortlessly make a movement of the other hand to brush it away, even in darkness. But performing this seemingly simple action involves a surprisingly complex coordination of different types of sensory information in order for your brain to construct a constantly updated 'map' of the body in space.
Now, scientists from UCL (University College London) and Barcelona (Pompeu Fabra University, ICREA and University of Barcelona) have identified an area of the human brain called the parietal cortex that constructs this body model from the combination of tactile information from your skin (for example, where the mosquito is on your hand) with "proprioceptive" information about the position of your hand relative to your body.
In an experiment they found that impairing the parietal cortex, using a brief pulse of magnetic stimulation, significantly impaired volunteers' judgements about the spatial relationship between their face and arms, but not their perception of touch or location alone. The research is published in the journal Current Biology, and was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
Professor Patrick Haggard, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, who led the UCL team, said "Our brain constantly keeps track of the movements of the limbs, so that we always know the posture of our body, even with our eyes closed. Our results show, for the first time, how the brain updates this 'body space'.
"Our findings may be particularly relevant to children with developmental coordination disorder: these children have difficulty in coordinating their movements, but recent evidence suggests that one underlying problem is their poor sense of where their limbs are in space. Our result identifies the specific part of the parietal cortex needed to construct this map of body space."
In the experiment volunteers' forearms were placed in a sling which could be raised and lowered. Researchers then applied a brief tap at one of many locations on the forearm of volunteers, shortly followed by a brief tap at one of many locations on the face. Participants were asked to judge if the location of the arm tap was above or below the face tap, a judgement that could only be done by combining information about the tap location on the skin, and about the position of the arm relative to the body.
Researchers then disrupted the activity of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in the right hemisphere of the brain by delivering a brief pulse of magnetic stimulation after the arm tap and before the face tap. The stimulation was delivered through a coil placed on the scalp just over the location of the posterior parietal cortex indicated on a brain scan taken of each participant.
The stimulation significantly impaired volunteers' judgements about the spatial relation between the arm tap and the face tap. Crucially, when the volunteers just judged arm position alone, or touch location alone, the same stimulation had no effect. The scientists concluded that the posterior parietal cortex is the key brain area that combines touch and limb position, to produce a map of where the tap is in egocentric space.


text:
Welcome to oneworld
Welcome to oneworld
- Home
- oneworld
Fly with a brighter alliance
Welcome to oneworld®, an alliance of world's leading airlines committed to providing the highest level of service across more than 900 destinations worldwide.
Enjoy an array of special privileges and rewards, which includes earning and redeeming frequent flyer miles and points on all oneworld® member airlines, and for the top tier customers access to more than 600 business lounges globally.
Your ticket to more destinations around the globe
Plan your next journey, with comprehensive flight schedules and routing information for all oneworld® member airlines and their affiliates.
Be recognised
As a oneworld traveller, satisfaction awaits you around the globe. Your frequent flyer status is recognised across all member airlines and you are entitled to a range of benefits, which are provided according to the following oneworld tier levels, no matter which cabin class you are flying in:
Tier benefits
oneworld tier benefits oneworld tier status Ruby Sapphire Emerald Qatar Airways Privilege Club membership tiers Burgundy
Earn Avios and Qpoints on all oneworld flights Yes Yes Yes Yes Redeem Avios on all oneworld flights Yes Yes Yes Yes Access to Business Class priority check-in - Yes Yes Yes Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating * - Yes Yes Yes Priority on waitlists and when on standby - Yes Yes Yes Access to Business class lounges - - Yes Yes Priority boarding - - Yes Yes Extra baggage allowance - - Yes Yes Priority baggage handling - - Yes Yes Fast track at security lanes - - - Yes Access to First Class priority check-in - - - Yes Access to First Class lounges***** - - - Yes *Access to preferred or pre-reserved seating is in accordance with the individual policy of the oneworld member airline operating the flight. First and Business Class check-in desks and lounges are not available at all airports. Fast track is not available at all airports. oneworld benefits are available only to passengers on scheduled flights that are both marketed and operated by a oneworld member airline (marketed means that there must be a oneworld member airline's flight number on your ticket). Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and oneworld are trademarks of their respective companies. LATAM Airlines (Paraguay) is currently not a part of oneworld. Some limitations and exceptions may apply. For more information, visit www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits.
Other benefits
Privilege Club members can earn Avios and Qpoints on booking classes for flights marketed** and operated*** by any oneworld airline without having to join a separate frequent flyer programme.
The number of Avios you can earn when flying with one of the oneworld member airlines depends on the airline, cabin, and booking class of travel.
Privilege Club members can also redeem their Avios for complimentary flights operated** by oneworld airlines or for journeys involving sectors**** on any number of oneworld carriers.
Earning and redeeming with oneworld partner airlines.
Use My Calculator to find the number of Avios and Qpoints, you can earn, as well as Avios required for flight awards on oneworld airlines.
If you are a top tier member of oneworld member Frequent Flyer programme (Emerald or Sapphire), you are eligible to use any of more than 600 business class lounges globally.
Find out which lounges are available at airports around the world at oneworld.com
- To be eligible, you must be departing on a flight that is both marketed and operated by a oneworld member airline.
- Qatar Airways Premium Lounges are not included in oneworld lounge access policy. However, oneworld customers holding First or Business Class tickets on Qatar Airways or other oneworld members are invited to use the lounges.
- Some lounges may get busy at peak times, and access to them may be restricted as a result.
- A non-affiliated third party may operate some lounges on behalf of the individual airline. Access to some lounges operated by third-parties on behalf of oneworld member airlines may be restricted at some times.
- Arrivals lounges are excluded.
- Spa and pre-flight dining facilities are excluded.
- British Airways Concorde lounges are excluded.
Enjoy exclusive access to premium airport lounges around the world with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire frequent flyer tier status. Members of oneworld airline frequent flyer programmes with the equivalent of oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status can use any lounge offered by any oneworld airline when departing on any flight marketed and operated by any oneworld member airline, regardless of cabin class being flown.
Emerald tier frequent flyers can use First Class, Business Class or frequent flyer lounges.
- Sapphire tier frequent flyers are welcome in Business Class* or frequent flyer lounges. *Does not include Qantas Domestic Business Lounges.
- Emerald and Sapphire members may invite one guest to join them in the lounge. The guest must also be travelling on a flight operated and marketed by a oneworld carrier.
- You must be prepared to show your boarding pass and frequent flyer membership card, with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status, to access a lounge.
The following exceptions apply:
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Indulge yourself before departure in a wider range of airport lounges when you fly First Class or Business Class with any oneworld member airline.
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Connecting between oneworld marketed and operated flights:
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- Lounge access will be determined on the international long haul ticketed flight (either First of Business Class) regardless of the ticketed class of travel on the international short haul or domestic flight.
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The following exceptions apply:
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The oneworld Alliance offers a way to visit many countries, around the world, all in a single itinerary. It's called Round The World. There are three types of Round The World fares to choose from.
oneworld Explorer
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No matter where business or pleasure takes you, oneworld's vast network means your Round The World trip via oneworld Explorer fare makes it easy to travel from city to city, and continent to continent. And, for every dot you connect, you earn more miles and points to spend across the oneworld Alliance. Book now on oneworld.com.
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For an even wider choice of where to travel, book your Round The World trip via Global Explorer, which grants you access to an even more extensive list of airlines, including Aer Lingus, Bangkok Airways, oneworld connect partner Fiji Airways, Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Japan, Jetstar Pacific, WestJet and Qantas code-share flights operated by Air Tahiti Nui. Book now on oneworld.com.
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If you prefer to visit multiple continents without actually flying all the way around the world, our Circle Pacific fare lets you explore the continents that border the Pacific Ocean. You can choose to start and finish your journey in one of the following continents:
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Online booking is currently not available. Contact your travel agent to plan and book your Circle Pacific trip now.
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As part of the oneworld Alliance's commitment to making global air travel as frictionless as possible, we're proud to offer oneworld Global Support - teams of connection experts. At select airports across our network, our Global Support Teams are on the ground, diligently tracking flights, to make sure everything goes smoothly the second you touch down.
oneworld Global Support is currently available in Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Madrid Barajas, New York JFK, Miami, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Tokyo Narita. The service is offered at these airports whenever possible, subject to operational constraints.


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Many pet owners are just as concerned about what goes into their pet's food as they are about their own food. With so many brands out there, how can a concerned pet lover know that they are feeding the best? How can we know what is going into our friends' diets?
With the health of their pets on the line, pet owners have shown an increased awareness and concern for how commercial pet foods are produced. Many are choosing alternative sources when providing nutrition for their pets.
There are more than 15,000 brands of pet food offered in the United States and the responsibility for insuring the safety of those foods lies with the FDA, the USDA and the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Consumers have choices ranging from dry kibble that provides convenience and a long shelf life to canned and semi moist foods that look good enough for humans to eat.
Through a combination of quality ingredient selection, proper compounding, and a cooking process that destroys harmful microorganisms and enzymes, pet food manufacturers help to insure the safety of the pet's food. The benefits derived from this attention to detail are evident in the extended longevity of our dogs and cats over the last few decades.
Home cooked meals have provided a strengthening of the human-animal bond for some pet owners, but veterinary experts agree that people should take time to discuss the possible concerns of this type of diet with their veterinarian. Nutritional deficiencies can be very common when feeding meals prepared at home. Whether discussing the merits of a particular diet or trying to decide which commercial food is best for your pet, the family veterinarian is still the best choice to help you make an informed choice.


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What Buyers Need to Know About HOAs
When searching for a home, you may end up selecting a property in a community with a Homeowners Association (HOA). Before you buy, it's important to know how an HOA works and what they mean for you.
According to a recent article on realtor.com,
"In a nutshell, an HOA helps ensure that your community looks its best and functions smoothly…The number of Americans living in homes with HOAs is on the rise, growing from a mere 1% in 1970 to 25% today, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research."
An HOA is governed by a board nominated by those living in the neighborhood. It is designed to make sure the residents have a support structure to maintain the value of the community while abiding by a set of guidelines called Common Restrictive Covenants (CC&R),
"Simply put, CC&Rs are just the rules you'll have to follow if you live in that community. Unlike zoning regulations, which are government-imposed requirements on how land can be used, restrictive covenants are established by HOAs to maintain the attractiveness and value of the property."
It's important for homeowners to understand that each HOA is a little different, and they usually have monthly or quarterly fees required for homeowners. These fees can vary based on property size, number of residents, amenities, and more. There may be additional fees charged to homeowners if the reserve fund for the HOA cannot cover a major or unexpected cost, like severe storm damage.
The fees, however, also help maintain common areas such as swimming pools, tennis courts, elevators (for high-rise buildings), and regular wear and tear. Although they are an added cost to the homeowner, an HOA can be a major benefit when it comes to maintaining the value of your neighborhood and your property.
The same article continues to say,
"After your offer to buy a home is accepted, you are legally entitled to receive and review the community's CC&Rs over a certain number of days (typically between three and 10)…If you spot anything in the restrictive covenants you absolutely can't live with, you can bring it up with the HOA board or just back out of your contract completely (and keep your deposit)."
Most lenders will factor your HOA fees into your loan package, ensuring the amount of the loan is appropriate for what you can truly afford.
There are some great benefits to having an HOA oversee your neighborhood, and it's important to understand what fees, structures, and regulations will come into play if there is an HOA where you'd like to live.
Bottom Line
When you're looking at a potential property to buy, let's get together so you have a professional who can help you understand the neighborhood's HOA structure and fees. This way, you'll feel confident and fully informed when buying a home.
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An aircraft wing part found is "highly likely" to be part of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, an Australian government minister said on Friday, in what would be the second confirmed piece of the jetliner.
Flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 with 239 passengers and crew on board shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.
Investigators believe someone may have deliberately switched off the plane's transponder before diverting it thousands of miles off course over the Indian Ocean.
"It is highly likely that the latest piece of debris being analyzed is from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370," Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said in a statement.
"The experts will continue to analyze this piece to assess what information can be determined from it."
Investigators have confirmed a piece of plane debris found on the French island of Reunion in July 2015 as being part of MH370.
They have said several other pieces of debris found in Mozambique, South Africa and Rodrigues Island, a territory of Mauritius, are likely to be parts of the missing plane.
A search for the Boeing 777 has been going on in the Indian Ocean for more than two years but no sign of the main wreckage has been found.
Malaysia, China and Australia said last week the hunt would be suspended if the aircraft was not found in an area now being searched.
Related news:
> We've been looking in the wrong place, MH370 search team says
> Malaysia, China, Australia to discuss next step in search for Flight MH370


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Click Image for Zoom
This image is for reference purpose only, Photo May Slightly Different From Actual Item in Terms of Color Due to the Lighting During Photo Shooting or the Monitor's Display.
Ease of cultivation | Easy to grow plant |
Height | At home, it can reach up to 30-50 cm in height and width. |
Growth | Average, young plants increase by a few cm per year, with age, the diameter of the rosette increases by 10-15 cm per season. |
Life | Perennial plants. However, approximately 3-4 years after rooting, the plant needs to be renewed. |
Temperature | In the summer: 64,4-75,2 ° F, in winter it is better to keep the temperature at least 53,6 ° F. |
Lighting | Prefers bright diffused light, especially variegated forms. Can grow near the southern window, shaded by a thin curtain. However, they easily adapt to partial shade, it is possible to grow at a distance of 0.5-2 m from a brightly lit window. When there is insufficient light, the leaves will not have a bright color, and the stems can be stretched. |
Soil | For the soil of your own preparation, take: 2 pieces of leaf land, 1 part of coarse-grained sand or perlite, 2 parts of turf ground, 2 parts of peat. Good drainage is required. |
Water | In spring and summer, water every 3 days with standing water, the soil should be constantly moderately moist, water stagnation should not be allowed, water should be drained from the pan. In the autumn, watering once a week. In winter, watered no more than 1 time in 10 days. |
Fertilizer | In spring and summer 1 time in 2-4 weeks with liquid fertilizer, diluted twice. At too intensive top dressing the plant quickly grows, but the bottom part of stems thus is exposed. |
Reproduction | The old overgrown plants can be propagated by apical cuttings, which are rooted in a mixture of sand and peat, at a temperature of 71,6-75,2 ° F the cuttings take root within 2 weeks. It is possible to multiply, separating the lateral shoots with roots, which can be stimulated by regular pinching of the apex. Such offspring should be germinated under the film at a temperature of 68 ° F. The third way of reproduction is a careful division of the rhizome during plant transplantation. The Rheo with monophonic leaves can be spread by seeds. |
Features of care | Do not allow water to enter the center of the outlet, in which case the leaves will rot. It is necessary to remove the dying lower leaves in time. The plant does not like drafts or temperature changes that slow down growth. |
Roheo Spathacea - Tradescantia Spathacea, Rhoeo Bicolor, Spiderwort Plant
- Live plant along with Plastic pot.
- Plants height with pot is 9 inch and pot size is 5 inch diameter.
- Plants nature is outdoor-semi shade, watering once in 2 days.
- Useful for ground covers, garden beds, colorful leaves.
- Beautiful texture, hardy plant & low maintenance


text: Fig. 7. STUDY OF HEADS AND HANDS. In the Albertina at Vienna. A perfect courtier, he was much esteemed by the Prince of Parma, whose court-painter he became. He produced some rather clever works in imitation of the then prevalent manneristic style of Italian art at that time. In 1598 Peter Paul Rubens was admitted into the guild of St. Luke. We do not know however much about his early work; although the Holy Trinity in the Museum at Antwerp is generally regarded as one of his first paintings. It represents the Dead Christ, supported by two angels and holding the symbols of his Passion, in the arms of God the Father above whom hovers the Holy Spirit. It must be admitted, that this picture taken as a whole, is neithe satisfactory nor beautiful, but it certainly shows an original masterhand, an overwhelming and exuberant power, tending to create exaggerated form and bold fore-shortening; an inclination to fill empty space with sumptuo objects; a display of harmonious colouring and pictorial effect: and a strong task for soft and shining flesh-tints, the shadows in which graduate almost to the red of the blood. Another early work is the Annunciation with figures over life-size in the Museum of Art-History at Vienna. A portrait bust of a Young Man in the old Pinakothek at Munich also shows his method of executing portraits (Fig. 3) at this early period. In the same collection is a sketch in oil of an Old Lady in a Black Veil, conceived apparently with an expression of tenderness. This painting, if tradition is to be believed, represents his mother (Fig. 1) and we may therefore conclude that it was painted before he went to Italy. A lengthy stay in Italy was regarded at that time as an indispensable factor in the education of a painter. Rubens started on the 9th of May 1600 on his Italian travels. He first went to Venice where the works of the masters of glowing colour no doubt specially attracted him. Through the medium of a Mantuan nobleman, whose acquaintance he made in Venice he was invited to the court of Mantua during that same year. Among all the numerous art-loving princes of his time, Vincenzo Gonzaga, then Duke of Mantua, was perhaps the most zealous. He appointed the young Fleming his court-painter After a photograph from the original by Braun, Clément & Co., Dornach, Paris and New-York. (To page 18.) with a salary of 400 ducats per annum: and we know that Rubens painted for him a number of fine portraits, besides various other pictures. In the year 1601 he was sent to Rome to copy some of the celebrated old masters. Whilst there he also received a commission from his own country. Archduke Albrecht of Austria, who had married Isabella, daughter of Philip II. of Spain, had just before the death of that monarch in 1598 been appointed Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. The title of Cardinal of the church of Sta. Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome had also been conferred upon him. He availed himself therefore of the opportunity afforded him by the presence in the Eternal City of so artistically gifted a subject, with whom he no doubt became acquainted through Otho van Veen, to present to his titular church three altar-pieces. The "Crowning with Thorns", the "Crucifixion" and the "Invention of the Cross" were the three pictures painted by Rubens on this occasion for this purpose. They remained in situ until 1811, when Fig. 9. CHRIST, from a series of drawings: Christ and the twelve Apostles. After a photograph from the original by Braun, Clément & Cie., Dornach, Paris and New-York. they were brought to England, only to be sold again the following year, since when they have disappeared. A few years ago there was a rumour that they had been rediscovered in the South of France. Rubens must have already possessed that marvellous productive power for which he remained unrivalled throughout his artistic career. From the 20th of April 1602 we find him back again in Mantua, having carried out, not only the commissions of the Archduke, but also those of the Duke of Mantua. It stands to reason that Rubens during his stay in Rome studied antique art as well as the works of the great Masters of the Renaissance, and he had also an opportunity of continuing these studies, in the rich collections of Painting and Sculpture belonging to his patron Vincenzo Gonzaga himself. At the Louvre we find excellent drawings made by Rubens after Michelangelo's Prophets in the Sixtine Chapel. His attempts to impart to his own creations something of the Titanic grandeur of the great Florentine are clearly visible in a drawing in the Albertina collection in Vienna (Fig. 2), representing his two patrons, Saint Peter and Saint Paul It is most interesting to examine closely the manner in which Rubens set to work when copying Italian Masters. His copies of the portrait of Isabella d'Este, now in the Museum of ArtHistory at Vienna: and of a young Venetian lady at Dresden, both after Titian, clearly show how minutely Rubens had studied that great colourist, and how at the same time he never lost his own individuality. For his works are not merely copies, but rather faithful translations into his own language of colour and form; especially the Dresden picture, where one may even detect in the fair Venetian something of his own Flemish ideals of beauty. On other occasions Rubens treated his subject even more freely; as for instance in his Triumph of Julius Caesar in the National Gallery: a sketch intended to be a free interpretation of a portion of the fine cartoons by Andrea Mantegna, now at Hampton Court. The young artist seems to have been also attracted by antique marbles and especially by old Greek and Fig. 11. After a photograph from the original by Braun, Clément & Co., Dornach, Paris and New-York. (To page 22.) ABRAHAM AND MELCHISEDEK. Drawing in the Albertina at Vienna. Roman portrait-busts. It was as if the cold marble awoke to life before his soul and it was under such impressions that he executed those translations of ancient portraits which in 1638 were multiplied by Vosterman, P. Pontius, H. Witdoek and Schelte a Bolswert (Figs. 4-5). The thorough grasp that Rubens acquired of the classical beauty of old marbles is best proved by the profiles of a Roman couple, now in the collection of Prince Liechtenstein in Vienna (Fig. 6). There are also in the Albertina fine |


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A Statement on Divorce & Remarriage in the Life of Bethlehem Baptist Church
This statement on divorce and remarriage is the product of several years of study and discussion by the Council of Deacons of Bethlehem Baptist Church. The final approval of its present form was given May 2, 1989. It should be read as the official statement of the ruling Council of the church beneath the authority of Christ and the congregation. While there are aspects of this statement that some deacons and pastors do not hold as personal convictions, we all assent to this statement being the church guide for membership and discipline. Ideally it should be read in connection with the paper, The Meaning of Membership and Church Accountability.
Part 1
Divorce is painful. It is emotionally more wrenching than the death of a spouse. It is often long years in coming and long years in the settlement and in the adjustment. The upheaval of life is immeasurable. The sense of failure and guilt and fear torture the soul. Like the psalmist, night after night a spouse falls asleep with tears. Work performance is hindered. People draw near or withdraw with uncertain feelings. Loneliness can be overwhelming. A sense of devastated future can be all consuming. Courtroom controversy compounds the personal misery.
And then there is often the agonizing place of children. Parents hope against hope that the scars will not cripple them or ruin their own marriages some day. Tensions over custody and financial support deepen the wounds of years. And then the awkward and artificial visitation rights can lengthen the tragedy over decades.
Because of these and many other factors people with sensitive hearts weep with those who weep. They try not to increase the pain. And sometimes this care is confused with compromise. People think that loving care is incompatible with confrontation—that the tenderness of Jesus and the toughness of his demands can't both be love. But surely this is not right.
Jesus was an extraordinarily caring person. His teaching on divorce and remarriage was also firm: "What God has joined together let not man put asunder" (Mark 10:9). In fact firm and loving confrontation with the demands of Christ IS a form of caring, because a sinful decision is just as harmful to a person as the emotional pain.
The great challenge to the church in the face of divorce and remarriage is to love Biblically. John wrote, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments" (1 John 5:2). In other words, the test of true love to people is not only the feeling of compassion in the heart but also conformity to the commandments of God in behavior. The great challenge is to mingle the tears of compassion with the tough love of obedience. This alone will honor Christ and preserve the spiritual health and power of the church.
Why Is there a Special Concern with Divorce and Remarriage?
There are at least nine reasons for devoting a special position paper to this issue.
People who come to Bethlehem want to know where we stand on this issue.
Inside the church people need clarification about where the leadership of the church stands and what the church position is.
Divorce involves sin that is more destructive than many others. The hurtful impact of a broken marriage on the spouses and the children and the web of relationships surrounding the marriage is immense.
Divorce is thrown into the public limelight by the recognition in our society that it must be handled by the civil courts.
Marriage, divorce and remarriage involve the mingling of solemn oaths and sacred physical union unlike any other relationship.
Marriage is unique among all relationships in that it is set apart by God to signify to the world the relationship between his Son and his bride the church (Eph. 5:21-33). Therefore the breaking of this bond is extraordinary among all human bonds.
Divorce falls into that group of acts which when they are committed are very hard to undo. The words "I'm sorry" can make right many sins against another person. But divorce and remarriage cannot be made right like that.
Divorce happens by plan and intention of one or both spouses. It is not like a habit against which one struggles with successes and failures.
Divorce has reached epidemic proportions in our culture to the extent that even secular leaders are groping for a place to stand that may preserve the stability of the home.
Is Divorce or Remarriage the Unforgivable Sin?
When divorce begins to be discussed in this way it is common for someone to ask whether divorce is the unforgivable sin. The answer is found in the following texts.
"Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22).
"(Jesus said) this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28).
"Every one who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (Acts 10:43).
"All sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" (Mark 3:28f.).
"Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7).
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
From these wonderful promises we learn that forgiveness for sins is available on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is available for all sins, without exception. Forgiveness is received freely through trusting Christ. And trusting Christ involves confessing sin as sin and turning away from it to embrace the ways of God with joy.
The only unforgivable sin is the sin that we refuse to confess and forsake. We commit unforgivable sin when we cleave to a sin so long and so tenaciously that we can no longer confess it as sin and turn from it. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31f)is the resistance of his convicting work to the point where he withdraws, leaving the sinner in helpless hardness of heart.
Neither divorce nor remarriage is in itself the unforgivable sin any more than murder, stealing, lying or coveting. "All sins will be forgiven the sons of men." God is faithful and just to forgive—he will honor the worth of his Son's sacrifice for all who confess their sin and bank their hope on the saving work of Christ.
Forgiveness is NOT unconditional. It is conditional. This does not mean it can be earned. It means forgiveness is given to those who truly trust Christ. Trust is not an act by which anything can be earned. It calls attention to the worth of God's grace, not the worth of our action. But trust is not mere intellectual assent to Biblical facts. It involves hearty affirmation of the will of Christ. Therefore trusting Christ involves confessing sin as sin and taking up arms against it.
Therefore the ultimate form of church discipline (excommunication) is never a simple response to past sin. It is always a response to sin that a person continues to affirm or practice. No past sin that is renounced, confessed and forsaken is a ground of church discipline.
Therefore marital sin is in the same category as lying and killing and stealing when it comes to church discipline and church membership. If someone has lied, killed, stolen, or illegitimately divorced, the issue is not, can they be forgiven? The issue is do they admit that what they did was sin? Do they renounce it? And do they do what they can to make it right?
If a person in the church was known to affirm lying, killing or stealing as appropriate behavior for a Christian, that person would be liable to the discipline of the church. Not because they have lied, killed or stolen in the past and cannot be forgiven, but because they go on affirming NOW that sin is not sin.
Or if a person was openly planning to lie, kill or steal with a view to receiving (cheap!) forgiveness afterward, that person too would be liable to church discipline.
In all these ways illegitimate divorce and remarriage are NOT in a class by themselves. They are not the unforgivable sin. When it comes to church discipline and church membership they should be treated the same way other public sins are treated.
What makes divorce and remarriage seem to be a special matter of concern in the church is that very seldom does someone affirm the rightness of lying, killing, and stealing. But people often affirm the rightness of divorce and remarriage.
In other words what usually causes the conflict is not whether divorce and remarriage are unforgivable sins, but whether they are sins at all —to be confessed (from the past) and to be avoided (in the future).
If a person has stolen things in his past and wants to join the church, no one would say that we are treating stealing as the unforgivable sin if we insist that this person confess his sin and begin to make amends to those he defrauded. A sin is not unforgivable because it must be confessed as sin, renounced as an option, and its effects made right (as far as possible).
So it is with illegitimate divorce or remarriage. It should not keep anyone out of the church nor put anyone out of the church any more than a past life of robbery. But there must be a heartfelt confession of the sin committed and a renouncing of it and an affirming of what is right, just as with all other sins of the past.
When we affirm the church covenant we are not only affirming what we pledge to do. We are also affirming what we believe ought to be done. In other words church membership is a commitment to hold in common convictions about what is right and wrong in behavior (Church Covenant) as well as in doctrine (Affirmation of Faith). Without this shared conviction the possibility of holding each other accountable is gone.
So the decisive issue concerning divorce and remarriage at Bethlehem is what we can agree on from the Scripture is right and wrong. Is there a Biblically legitimate divorce and remarriage which is not sin and so does not need to be confessed or avoided? If so what are the circumstances that define it?
Diversity of Viewpoints in Bethlehem and the Wider Church
Among the membership of Bethlehem in 1989 complete unanimity does not exist concerning the question what divorces and what remarriages are Biblically permissible. This lack of unanimity is a reflection of the evangelical church worldwide.
Devout evangelical Biblical scholars disagree. John Murray has written a standard work on the topic called Divorce, (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 1961). In this book he defends the view that divorce and remarriage are Biblically permitted when a partner is adulterous or when a partner deserts willfully and irremediably.
On the other side William Heth and Gordon Wenham have written a book called Jesus and Divorce (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984). They defend the position that while divorce may at times be unavoidable, all remarriage while the partners are living is wrong. There are many other books on both sides. 1
This contemporary lack of agreement among evangelical Christians also reflects historic positions that have been taken for centuries. The historic protestant position that John Murray was defending was enshrined in the Westminster Confession of 1647. The pertinent part reads like this:
In case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce, and after the divorce to marry another, as if the offending party were dead. (Article 24, paragraph 5) 2
Interestingly, when the Baptists of England adapted the Westminster Confession to their own use in the Second London Confession of 1689 this paragraph permitting divorce and remarriage was deleted from the section on marriage. 3
Even more startling and convicting is the following fact: "In the first five centuries (among Christians) all Greek writers and all Latin writers except one agree that remarriage following divorce for any reason is adulterous. The marriage bond was seen to unite both parties until the death of one of them." 4
This is all the more startling in view of the fact that both the Jewish and Roman culture of the time allowed divorce with remarriage. The followers of Jesus stood over against this culture with their radical prohibition of remarriage. In spite of this extraordinarily high, counter-cultural standard the church grew like wildfire for 400 years.
Many of those in leadership at Bethlehem share this early Christian consensus that remarriage after divorce is wrong while the spouses are still living. Pastor Piper's efforts to understand the Biblical teaching on divorce and remarriage led him to this conclusion some years ago. 5 While he does not count this view the normative one for the staff, deacons or church, it is the guideline for his own counsel, preaching and performance of weddings. The same freedom of conscience applies to each of the other pastors as well.
If we are to be a Biblical church—a church with mutual accountability and proper discipline—the question that must be faced is, what convictions concerning divorce and remarriage can we agree as a church to make the foundation of our accountability and discipline?
When the Church Covenant binds every member to be "faithful in our engagements" and to "sustain (the church's) worship, ordinances and discipline," what will we understand as faithfulness in the engagement of marriage vows?
Church discipline cannot be based on the convictions of a pastor or of a small group of leaders. The Bible says that a matter of discipline is to be taken "to the church" (Matthew 18:17). This means that under the Lord the church is the final court of appeal in all church discipline. This is only possible if the leadership and the church are largely in agreement on the matter at hand.
No one in leadership can be asked to act against his conscience (Romans 14). Therefore each pastor will teach and counsel and perform marriages according to his personal conviction within the parameters of this statement. But when it comes to church membership and church discipline we must find a level of expectation for marital relations that we can agree no member of Bethlehem may violate while remaining a member in good standing.
In other words what we need is a statement of the kind of divorce and remarriage which the church, as a concerned and responsible body, will regard as clearly outside the Biblical limits of what is acceptable.
Let it be made clear again what was said above: there is NO past divorce or remarriage that in itself brings church discipline. None of the divorced and remarried members of Bethlehem will automatically come under discipline because their divorce or remarriage falls in a category which this statement declares to be unbiblical. An expression of genuine repentance for the sin involved is all that is needed to settle the matter and make a person a member in good standing.
Even if a person is already a member of Bethlehem and finds himself or herself among a small minority that cannot affirm even the minimal expectations of this statement, they will not be disciplined or excluded from membership for that reason, because they joined the church during a time when these expectations were not made known to them. Our prayer is that all divorced and remarried brothers and sisters will gladly affirm this statement either because they believe their situation was Biblically legitimate, or because they now see that it was not, and are genuinely repentant as they look back.
Part 2
Statement of Guidelines for Mutual Accountability
Marriage is a human relationship ordained and instituted by God (Malachi 2:14-16). 6 His original design was one man and one woman united by covenant and sexual union for life (Genesis 2:23-4). The relationship was a mystery in that it set forth symbolically in physical form the relationship between himself and his people (Eph. 5:21-33; Isaiah 54:5; Hosea 2:14-23; Ezekiel 16; Jeremiah 3:20). Therefore God hates divorce for what it does to people and for what it does to the glory of his own covenant with the church.
Nevertheless, because of the deceit and power of sin and because of the remnants of corruption in our own hearts, divorce still happens in the lives of some Christians. A mature and spiritual Christian may be forsaken by a disobedient or unbelieving spouse. Two professing believers may drift so far from the Lord that they no longer acknowledge in their hearts the authority of the Lord Jesus or the binding nature of their marriage covenant.
The church, as a spiritual family with radical commitment to Christ and earnest love for each other, should be ready to minister forgiveness, healing, reproof, discipline, correction and restoration wherever appropriate to its members. General guidelines for our life together are found in the Church Covenant and the Church By-Laws, and are explained in the paper entitled "THE MEANING OF MEMBERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN BETHLEHEM BAPTIST CHURCH." Specific guidelines are needed regarding divorce and remarriage, and these are given below.
The following guidelines should be read in the light and spirit of the preceding introductory pages.
They should be read with the constant awareness that for many of us in the church they represent a minimum expectation for Christians and a weakening of Biblical standards. Even those of us who affirm them as entirely Biblical can imagine a married couple, previously held back from a divorce by the conviction that it would be contrary to Scripture, now going ahead with it because they can see an "out" in one of the statements below. None of us wants these guidelines to encourage divorce or weaken the commitment God means for us to have to our marriage covenant.
To encourage this kind of sensitive reading and careful application of the following statements we will expand on the statements with words that bring out the differences among us. In this way we will avoid giving the impression that all the statements are put forth as ideal positions.
The Guidelines
A believer and unbeliever should not marry (1 Cor. 7:39; 2 Cor. 6:14-15).
Since death breaks the marriage bond (Rom. 7:2-3; 1 Cor. 7:39), remarriage is permissible without sin for a believing widow or widower, if the marriage is with another believer.
Divorce may be permitted when a spouse deserts the relationship, commits adultery, or is dangerously abusive (1 Cor. 7:15; Matthew 19:9; 1 Cor. 7:11). 7 We are not here dealing with remarriage (see #4 and #5). We simply acknowledge that there are times when the Bible permits separation.
Some of us want to stress that "divorce" in this statement should not imply a decisive and permanent end to the relationship while the spouses are alive and not remarried. Even after long periods of separation and alienation reconciliation can happen, as when the people of God return to the Lord after periods of waywardness (Hosea 2:14-23). Others of us want to stress that decisive divorce in certain cases is permitted, and that this leaves the deserted, or abused spouse free to remarry (see #5).
We all want to emphasize that the phrase "may be permitted" holds out the possibility that inquiry may reveal that the deserted partner engaged in a wrong behavior that drove the other away, so that a change is called for at home rather than divorce.
In addition we all want to stress that forgiveness and reconciliation between sinning spouses is preferable to separation or divorce even where adultery has occurred. This is implied in Matthew 18:21-22, "Then Peter came and said to Jesus, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?" Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.'" (See Luke 17:3-4)
- The remarriage of the aggrieving, divorced spouse may be viewed as severing the former marriage so that the unmarried spouse whose behavior did not biblically justify being divorced, may be free to remarry a believer (Matthew 19:9), if he or she has confessed all known sin in the divorce, and has made significant progress in overcoming any destructive behaviors and attitudes.
Recognizing the honest and devout differences of conviction in the church, those of us with more limiting standards for remarriage consent at this point not to make them normative for the whole body. Others of us, who regard this fourth statement as fully Biblical, respect those among us with a more limiting interpretation and do not require or expect them to act in any way against their consciences in attending, supporting or performing enactments of marriage they regard as contrary to Scripture.
All of us urge every member who contemplates remarriage to struggle in prayer and study with all the relevant Scriptures, with the sole aim of glorifying God through full obedience to his word. Consider fairly the arguments against remarriage and those for it.
Moreover we want to affirm the goodness and beauty of a life of singleness in God's service both before marriage and after marriage. It is commended in 1 Corinthians 7:7,11,32-35, and elevated by the examples of Jesus and Paul and hundreds of great single saints.
- After serious efforts have been made toward reconciliation the aggrieved partners referred to in guideline #3 may, together with the leadership of the church, come to regard their marriages as irreparably broken. In such cases remarriage may be a legitimate step, if taken with serious reckoning that this cuts off all possibility of a reconciliation that God may yet be willing to produce.
This guideline is for some of us the hardest concession to make. Remarriage after a divorced spouse marries again (see #4) at least has in its favor that the possibility of reconciliation was decisively cut off before. But while the spouse is still unmarried and alive reconciliation is still Biblically possible. This makes it very hard for some of us to condone a step that decisively cuts asunder what God meant to be permanent and which could yet be permanent (1 Corinthians 7:10-11).
Others of us believe that 1 Corinthians 7:15 ("If the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so, in such a case the brother or sister is not bound.") gives freedom to a Christian to remarry if abandoned. We also believe that denying remarriage puts an unwarranted strain on the chastity of the divorced person who may not believe he or she has the gift of celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:7).
But we all agree that serious efforts should be made at reconciliation, including the intervention of the church if necessary, before any aggrieved spouse is resigned to singleness or is free to remarry.
The aggrieving partners referred to in #3 (who were guilty of abandonment, adultery or abuse) should repent and be reconciled to God and to their spouses (1 Corinthians 7:11; 1 John 1:9). If it is too late because their spouses have remarried, then they should remain single because they left their first marriage without Biblical warrant (Matthew 19:9; Luke 16:18; 1 Corinthians 7:11).
If a second marriage ends in death or divorce, the widow or widower in this case is not permitted to return to the first spouse in marriage (Deut. 24:1-4).
Persons remarried after divorce will forego positions of official leadership at Bethlehem which correspond to the role of elders or deacons (1 Tim. 3:2, 12).
The amount of time that has passed and the change in standing from unbeliever to believer does not alter the application of the guidelines for divorce and remarriage (See Matthew 19:4-6 which highlights the fact that enduring marriages are part of God's plan for all his human creation, not just his redeemed people.)
For example, on the side of leniency toward remarriage there is Larry Richards, Remarriage: A Healing Gift from God (Waco: Word Books, 1981); and on the more rigorous side there is J. Carl Laney, The Divorce Myth (Minneapolis: Bethany House Publishers, 1981); and Geoffrey W. Bromiley, God and Marriage (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1980). ↩
Found in Philip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 3, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977), p. 656. ↩
See William Lumpkin, ed. Baptist Confessions of Faith (Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1959), pp. 284-5. ↩
The evidence for this is compiled in Heth and Wenham, Jesus and Divorce, pp. 19-44. The quote is taken from p. 22. Some of the writers in view are Hermas, Justin Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus of Antioch, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origin, Tertullian, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzsus, Theodore of Mopsuestia, John Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, etc. The one exception was Ambrosiaster. ↩
The summary of that study can be read in "DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE: A Position Paper" (July 21, 1986) in the church office files. Also Tom Schreiner, a church member and Sunday School teacher at Bethlehem, and a professor at Bethel Seminary came to the same conclusion independently. His study is entitled "DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE: BIBLICAL AND PASTORAL CONSIDERATIONS." ↩
"The Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. Take heed then, to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. For I hate divorce" says the Lord, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the Lord of Hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." ↩
Note: Not all of us would want to use Matthew 19:9 as a support for this statement, since we believe the "exception clause" in this verse ("except for unchastity") refers to fornication not adultery, and is meant to exonerate those, like Joseph in Matthew 1:19, who break a betrothal because of unfaithfulness. Others of us believe it refers to adultery in marriage and is meant to exonerate those who divorce and remarry after a spouse has been impenitently unfaithful. ↩


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Binding: Kitchen
model number: 10-10827-418
Part Number: 10-10827-418
Details: This Quencher H2.0 is generously sized (but not oversized) with an easy-carry, comfort-grip handle and a narrow base that will fit most cup holders. Long day of meetings? Rowing class? Trip out of town? Our durable 30 oz tumbler, made with recycled stainless steel, is up to the hydration challenge. The double-wall vacuum insulation will keep your water cold for 9 hours and iced for 40 hours. And to cap things off, there's an advanced FlowState™ lid that features a rotating cover with three positions: a straw opening designed to resist splashes with a seal that holds the reusable straw in place, a drink opening, and a full-cover top.
Package Dimensions: 12.3 x 6.5 x 4.1 inches


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This week our sponsor is:
The wreath is a gorgeous detailed image that has so many possibilities! All the patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather. The 'merry & bright' sentiment is from E.A.D Designs Merry & Bright Stickerz. I used Stampin' Up markers {old olive/real red} instead of my copics because I love the small tip that the SU markers have... I also used 2 different white gel pens, Inkssentials & Signo....I hit the berries with Stampin' Up Crystal Effects and a majority of the white twigs with Stampin' Up Dazzling Diamonds glitter.
I purposely didn't color the holly leaves with an opaque color...I think it gives it more of an aged look with the whimsical coloring:)
I hope that you'll join us in today's sketch challenge...make sure that you pop over to the 365 Cards blog to see what the other gals on the Sunday Sketch Crew created!
♥♥Happy Mail♥♥
I've been one spoiled chickie...check out all these beauties that I recently received:
It is truly a stunner...the colors and images are fabulously vibrant and whimsical!
The interior says:
A journey of 1000
miles begins with a whole
lot of COFFEE
Okay, now how fun is that? I immediately emailed Tina and found out that it is a Paper Makeup set called Caffeine Trip...uh yeah, it should be arriving soon...I 'had' to order it...
Next is a lovely card from Karen Baker:
Such a fabbie color combo...love it! I also received all of these goodies:
I already used the red/white baker's twine on my card from yesterday...the blooms are fabric and the other string is vintage wool...woot woot...
Thank you sooooooo much ladies....you really know how to make me feel so very special and I'm so very thankful for all of you:)


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Заметки об устройстве ОС Linux. |
Understanding the Proc File System
The proc filesystem is a virtual filesystem which provides a lot of infromation about hardware and kernel internal data structures.
Fail Safe Port Allocation for Linux Device Drivers
Writing a device driver is a challenging and an adventurous job. Once the device is registered in the driver's init_module routine, the resources for the device should be allocated. One of the main resources for the device is I/O port. The dynamically linked drivers, the developer should be careful to allocate unused range of port addresses for their device.
Compile your own Linux kernel
This a really comprehensive article that teaches you how to download , configure, compile and install your own kernel.
Необычное использование Raid, /dev/ram и ramfs
ramfs is a new file system in the 2.4 Kernel. It is very simple but could have some interesting applications.
Компиляция, настройка и инсталляция ядра Linux.
This article provides you with an extremely detailed and step-by-step process describing how to Compile, Configure and then Install a Customized Red Hat Linux Kernel.
Посылка групповых сообщений
This article is an introduction to multicast technologies on TCP/IP networks.
Real-Time Linux II
In this second issue devoted to RT-Linux I will try to offer a more practical view of RT-Linux.
POSIX RT рассширения
Basic Concepts of Real-Time.
Creating a (Somewhat Useful) Version of Linux
Follow this article and learn how to create your own set of boot/root disks under Linux.
Kernel Secrets
A short description of the Linux Kernel.
Webpages maintained by the LinuxFocus Editor team
© LinuxFocus |


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This post is in partnership with Universal Pictures.
DESPICABLE ME 3 – In Theaters June 30, 2017
Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | GruTube | #DespicableMe3
Illumination, who brought audiences Despicable Me and the biggest animated hits of 2013 and 2015, Despicable Me 2 and Minions, continues the adventures of Gru, Lucy, their adorable daughters—Margo, Edith and Agnes—and the Minions in Despicable Me 3. Directed by Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda, co-directed by Eric Guillon and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio, the animated film is produced by Illumination's Chris Meledandri and Janet Healy, and executive produced by Chris Renaud.
Joining Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in Despicable Me 3 is Emmy, Tony and Grammy Award winner Trey Parker, co-creator of Comedy Central's global phenomenon South Park and the Broadway smash The Book of Mormon. Parker voices the role of villain Balthazar Bratt, a former child star who's grown up to become obsessed with the character he played in the '80s, and proves to be Gru's most formidable nemesis to date. The film will be released in theaters on June 30, 2017.
About the Toys
Ages 4+ Retail Price: $19.99
They talk! They dance! They are Despicable Me 3 Mini Music-Mates! Each Minion comes with 3 different song clips with original voice and sound effects. Press the button on the base and watch it go! All Mini Music-Mates come with colorful backdrops. Connect multiple bases together and they dance in perfect unison! It's a Minions dance party! The assortment includes Dave, Stuart, Tim, Carl and Mel! Even Gru and Agnes. Add to the fun with Jail Time versions of Tom, Tim and Carl. Each sold separately.
How Awesome are these toys?
For more information, visit: ThinkwayToys. #ThinkwayToys


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In a world where witches control the climate and are losing control as the weather grows more erratic, a once-in-a-generation witch with the magic of all seasons is the only one who can save earth from destruction. But as her power grows, it targets and kills those closest to her, and when she falls in love with her training partner, she's forced to choose between her power, her love, and saving the earth. For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, but now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic; the storms, more destructive. All hope lies with Clara, a once-in-a-generation Everwitch whose magic is tied to every season. In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild and volatile, and the price of her magic-losing the ones she loves-is too high, despite the need to control the increasingly dangerous weather. In Winter, the world is on the precipice of disaster. Fires burn, storms rage, and Clara accepts that she's the only one who can make a difference. In Spring, she falls for Sang, the witch training her. As her magic grows, so do her feelings, until she's terrified Sang will be the next one she loses. In Summer, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she loves...before she loses Sang, her magic, and thrusts the world into chaos. "Perfect for fans of Shea Ernshaw and Taylor Swift's Folklore."-Rosiee Thor, author of Tarnished Are the Stars"A bright, fresh read from a glowing new voice, THE NATURE OF WITCHES is both timely and stirring. Griffin's emotional writing that cuts to the heart will make her a new YA favorite."-Adrienne Young, New York Times bestselling author of Fable"The forces of nature and magic blend perfectly in this masterfully told story... I couldn't love this book more."-Shea Ernshaw, NYT bestselling author of The Wicked Deep and Winterwood Rachel Griffin
The Nature of Witches ( 9781728251400 )


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BACK IN STOCK!! Our shorts are great for athletics or comfortable chill wear. We took extra time to make a high quality waistband with elastic and draw string for a secure fit. Made out of soft, breathable fabric that dries quickly and is durable. Art accents down the sides and bottom makes it great for everyday wear. Show your true colors, wear it your way.
- Stash pocket inside waistband.
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All Ready Made garments will be shipped United States Postal Service Priority mail within 3-5 business days of order. All Custom Garments/Tapestries will be shipped USPS Priority mail within 2 weeks of order. If you have other special shipping requirements please notify us at the time of your order.
If you need faster shipping we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
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- If you are unhappy with your purchase we will accept an exchange for another garment or return for store credit.
- Domestic Exchange/Returns must be made within 14 days from when the package was sent to the customer per the date on the shipping label.
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Jumbie Art customized to fit garments are cut to achieve superior fit. They are made just for you according to your measurements and fabric selection. For this reason customized fit garments are non-returnable and non-refundable. In the event there was a mistake made on our part, we will offer a refund/exchange.
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from $548.00


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There were several types of microwave equipment. The main types were:
1. Michael - DMG 4,5 (one speech plus 3 teletype channels)
2. Rudolf -DMG 3aG (9 channels)
3. Stuttgart I and II - Fu G 03 (10 channels)
These types could be used together with carrier frequency equipment which allowed for several teletype links to be passed on each channel.
A good source on the German comm equipment is cdvant.org
The microwave equipment was used in all theaters. After the German forces in Stalingrad were surrounded it was this type of equipment that allowed for voice communications with the outside world.
The equipment used had a max range of 40km so in order to extend this to 110km it was necessary to find the highest possible location. The Germans built a tower on a hill near Nizhnyaya Chirskaya and during the night they raised the microwave tower and communicated with the encircled forces. During the day however they dismantled the tower because the Soviet airforce would destroy it.
This link was used by general Paulus to communicate with general von Manstein and other high level personnel.
Voice communications were not available after 22 December '42 due to the withdrawal of the German front. [Source: FMS D-271 'The Battle of Stalingrad. Signal Communications in the Pocket of Stalingrad and Communications with the Outside']
Other examples are available from FMS P-132 'Signal Communications in the East. By General der Nachrichtentruppen Albert Praun', (available through fold3.com)