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The toise was one of the fundamental units of length in France, 12th century – 19th century. by Guilhermoz and others, to trace its origin to ancient ancestors (see, for example, the toise entry in the French Wikipedia). We will only mention that its length and the uses to which it has been put indicate that it originated as a body measure belonging to the fathom family of units.
Beginning in the 17th century, the toise of Paris assumed a starring role in the major scientific investigations of the day. The meter was originally specified in terms of the toise.
In France, a unit of length
Away from the capital, the toise had many, varying local values, some with distinct names such as the toise de Saint-Hubert, the toise de Saint-Lambert, toise delphinale, toise épiscopale, ; for the size of these and others, please see the table of local values.
A publicly displayed iron standard of the toise at the foot of the staircase of the Châtelet de Paris.
Legend has it that this standard was placed in the time of Charlemagne, which is highly unlikely. Settling of the pier damaged it. and
Sometime in 1668 a new iron standard was fastened to the wall. The new version was 5 lignes (about @ millimeters) shorter than the old. Accounts of the origin of the replacement standard differ. Philippe de La Hire at a meeting of the Academy on 1 December 1714. At another meeting, on 29 July 1758, La Condamine stated that the standard was based upon half the width of the inner gate of the Louvre, on the Rue Frontenac side. The standard itself was stolen in 1755, but its length remained the legal standard in France until 1766.
In 1668 these two distinguished scientists made a toise standard for their survey of the length of the meridian passing through Paris. Picard's was too short. Unfortunately, the standard subsequently disappeared.
The prototype was an iron bar made by La Condamine in 1735, used in the Academy's meridian-measuring expedition to Ecuador. At that time Ecuador was part of the Spanish Empire's presidency of Peru, and this toise is usually called the toise du Pèrou. La Condamine's standard has survived and is preserved at the Paris Observatory.
On 16 May 1766, this toise was made the legal standard for France by an order of Louis XV, replacing the toise du Grand Chatelet. It is about 1.949 meters (about 2.1315 yards). (Doursther gives a value of 1.949 0363 0982 46 meters.)
The surveys by Mechain and Delambre (1791 – 1798), which served to establish the length of the meter, were conducted with the toise du Pèrou.
In France, December 10, 1799 – January 1, 1840, the toise = 2 meters.
In masonry work, at least as early as the 12th century – 19th century, a measure of masonry work based upon the volume of stone or the outside area of a wall, but also upon trade customs. Compare the use of the perch for the same purpose. It occurs widely outside France, for example in the building of castles in Savoy in the 12th century. Doursther (page 527) notes that the toise of masonry in Hesse-Darmstadt is 15.625 cubic meters, and in Lausanne 27 cubic meters. Notice that both these values far exceed the cube of the toise. Commentators have had difficulty in describing this unit and in general, it is not as well-documented as the linear unit. But see Hamon, cited below.
The simplest is the cubic toise, 6 pied by 6 pied by 6 pied = 216 cubic pied. This unit was applied only to rock at the quarry, as a formless pile, and appears to be one of the least commonly-used meanings.
The toise as a measure of masonry in 19th-century Canada is well-described in the quotation below.
The estimates for all the buildings show that over 40,000 yards of rock were excavated; this would, after allowing for waste, be equal to 3,000 toise, and would construct 9,000 toise of masonry of 54 feet, which was the measure adopted, as the contract recognized 54 feet as the toise.¹ In Toronto a toise² of rubble masonry is 54 cubic feet; when this rule is adopted, the cubic contents of the wall in feet, including half openings, are measured and reduced to the toise. In Ottawa3 and Kingston4 the toise is 62 feet, but walls less than two feet thick, are measured as two feet, and openings under ten feet are not deducted.5 In Montreal the toise is 72 French feet, usually estimated at 86 English feet, being really 86 60/100(illegible?) feet, and one half of all openings over ten feet wide, are deducted. The quarry toise of stone there is 216 French feet, or 260 20/100(?illegible) English feet, cubic6; but in Upper Canada it is 216 English feet. The toise is a French measure for quarry stone. It is a rough pile measuring 6 feet long, 6 feet high, and 6 feet wide,— but the toise of masonry is 72 cubic feet, French. The fact of the difference between the French and English feet not being understood, or its being disregarded, accounts for the 72 English feet being the measure in Ottawa, and 86 English feet in Montreal. If the Toronto toise be used it should be so as there understood, but the rubble masonry for the progress estimates was measured by the toise of 54 feet, but walls less than two feet thick were measured as two feet.7
1. See Contract, Progress Estimates. 2. Grist. 3. Stewart, Fuller, Bowes. 4. Coverdale. 5. Tison. 6. Tison, Stewart, Coverdale. 7. Hutchinson, Bowes.
Report of the Commission Appointed to Inquire into Matters
Connected with the Public Buildings at Ottawa.
Quebec: Josiah Blackburn, 1863.
Page 30. All but one of the footnotes refer to individuals testifying before the Commission. The abbreviations in the original have been replaced with individual's names, following the Report's key.
ètienne Hamon.
èvaluer la peine des hommes. La mesure de l'architecture à Paris à la fin du Moyen Âge (XVe - dèbut XVIe siècles).
Histoire et Mesure, volume 16, no. 3/4, placed online 7 December 2005.
Access at http://histoiremesure.revues.org/document135.html.
In Haiti, 20th century , a unit of capacity, 8 cubic meters.
United Nations, 1966.
In Switzerland, a unit of length, 1.8 meters (about 1.968 yards).
In Mauritius and the Seychelles, ? – present, two units:
1. United Nations, 1966.
2. From real estate advertisements: www.maurinet.com/pr-rvrem.html and www.spectra.mauritiuslinks.com/land.html. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
Étienne Hamon.
Évaluer la peine des hommmes. La mesure de l'architecture à Paris à la fin du Moyen Âge (xve - debut XVIe siecles).
Histoire et Mesure, vol xvi, no 3-4, pages 283-307. (2001)
Sorry. No information on contributors is available for this page.
Copyright © 2000-2001 Sizes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last revised: 2 August 2004.


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Cherry is a small neighborhood nestled between Myers Park and Uptown Charlotte. Cherry provides an ideal location near I-277 loop, shopping or dining at the Metropolitan and commuting to Uptown Charlotte. Home sites and tear down's are beginning to appear in Cherry as the neighborhood transitions from a historical African American neighborhood to a trending up and coming area.
The Cherry neighborhood is among the oldest surviving black residential areas of Charlotte, North Carolina. 1 According to local tradition, it was built as a servants' community for the adjoining streetcar suburb of Myers Park, which began to develop in 1912. 2 Cherry is much older than that, however. It was platted in 1891 by wealthy landowners John and Mary Myers. 3Though Cherry has changed as the city has grown up around it and its administration has passed through successive generations of the Myers family, its early history appears to be unusual among Charlotte's black neighborhoods. During John and Mary Myers' lifetime, Cherry provided black unskilled and semi-skilled laborers with rental housing, opportunities for home ownership, and a number of urban amenities including a city park, school, churches, and tree-lined streets.
The land on which Cherry was developed was part of a thousand acre cotton farm that John Springs Myers had assembled since the 1870s along Providence Road outside the bustling cotton town of Charlotte. 4 Myers' country cottage was on Providence Road at a high point near where Ardsley Road crosses Hermitage Road today. 5 A farm lane wound its way out from town through the family's cotton fields to the back of the house. The lane started from East Trade Street near McDowell Street, crossed Sugar Creek, then threaded its way through a secluded hollow and up the hill past a row of old, whitewashed slave cabins left by the land's pre-Civil War owner. 6
For a detailed history of the Cherry Neighborhood click here.
Map and Points of Interest

subset: commoncrawl


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Note from PW: Thank you, everyone, for your ideas and advice yesterday on the kinds of photography/Photoshop instruction you'd like to see. It's great knowing what information is helpful to you. Today we have another post from Miz Booshay, who'll be demonstrating a tool in Lightroom, an Adobe product many photographers use to streamline their editing workflow. I don't use Lightroom myself, but those who do are pretty passionate about its features. So thanks, Miz Booshay, for providing good information for Lightroom folks. The rest of us will sit back, relax, and read with interest! -PW
I think it's time we visit Lightroom again. Let's see how it does with black and whites. A few months ago, I learned how to adjust black and white photographs using the Grayscale Mix Slider in Lightroom from an article in Photoshop magazine. The magazine has a section dedicated to Lightroom. The articles I have read are very easy to follow and I really appreciate that. There are many different ways to edit black and whites in Lightroom. I thought this one was really great.
(Plus you do not need any actions, whatsoever. So if you have Lightroom, you can do this. Whoopee!)
Here is little Sophia. I thought you'd be happy to see me edit someone other than my Katie.
But you know what? This method works super well with freckles. So I happen to like it because of that.
But golly, she's beautiful. And yes, all children in Wisconsin are beautiful. It's true. And the men are good looking and the women are strong and…. oh, you get the drift.
But back to Lightroom.
Do you see the word I circled? "Grayscale." That's it. Click on that. And you now have a a black and white picture. It's actually not bad. I do think it could use some contrast and sparkle.
On the right side of your screen, if you page down a little, you will find the Grayscale Mix Sliders. These are a list of colors and sliders.
In general:
The Red and Orange control the skin tones.
The Yellow slider has an effect on the eyes and often highlights
Blue varies. But of course, it affects blue things.
Move the sliders around to see what they affect in your picture. Go ahead. Slide those sliders. It's pretty wild what can happen to your image.
The blue slider seems to have a big effect on her eyes. (I was expecting it to effect the background.) But I slid it way over so you could see the dramatic effect. It's too much, though. I will bring it back to a more natural look. I settle at +40.
I have barely touched the red and the orange sliders. They were wreaking havoc on her perfect little lips. They just weren't necessary. The yellow, however, was moved from -21 to +2.
That's all there is to it. Grayscale Mix Sliders: they are easy to use and they give you a lot of control.
Oops. How did that get in here?
Next I'll edit a landscape in Lightroom.
Here is the SOOC picture. What a beautiful world.
I will edit this picture a little bit first before clicking on Grayscale. Just to add a teeny bit of contrast and sharpening, I use the handy tools on the left side of the screen.
Tone Curve>>Flat
That's all.
(You may wonder why I even bother doing these steps. I think it shows up in the print. For a while I was getting really flat, uninspired prints. Then I upped my contrast and my pictures are looking so much better. I think it's the reality of Digital.)
Here I clicked the Grayscale button.
It's the same as Desaturate.
I moved the Orange and Red sliders. But they did not do a thing. So I moved the Aqua slider. This lightened the area under the clouds and above the lake. (Lake Michigan, for those who were curious!)
But the slider that had a big impact on this picture was the yellow slider. The yellow slider made the sand really brighten up, didn't it? That's a nice contrast, I think.
I slid the Purple slider a little bit.
And I moved the Blue slider from +4 to -9. I could have moved it a lot more, but it was a middle of the day blue sky. It wasn't stormy and dark. So I tried to keep the feeling close to what the day was really like.
I like to look at them side-by-side for kicks.
And there you have a very subtle, traditional looking black and white. (Which really happens to look better a lot larger.)
This one does not know the meaning of the word "subtle."
But we will save that for another time.
(I know you're gonna ask. Urban B & W Grunge is the name of the Preset I used on the last picture. I found it for free on the internet. It's wild, no?)
Now forget about that and go find the Grayscale button and the Grayscale Mix Slider.
You can now custom-adjust your own black and white photos!
Encourage one another,
Miz Booshay


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Original Trinity Hymnal, #215
The Head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor's brow.
The highest place that heav'n affords
Is his, is his by right,
The King of kings and Lord of lords,
And heav'n's eternal Light:
The Joy of all who dwell above,
The Joy of all below
To whom he manifests his love,
And grants his Name to know.
To them the cross, with all its shame,
With all its grace, is giv'n;
Their name an everlasting name,
Their joy the joy of heav'n.
They suffer with their Lord below,
They reign with him above;
Their profit and their joy to know
The myst'ry of his love.
The cross he bore is life and health,
Though shame and death to him;
His people's hope, his people's wealth,
Their everlasting theme.
Page number: Blue 215, Right-Click Here to Download MIDI File
|© 2020 The Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Chaplains and Military Personnel


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|Paulitz, Timothy
|Smiley, Robert
Submitted to: Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/20/2002
Publication Date: 12/20/2002
Citation: PAULITZ, T.C., SMILEY, R.L., COOK, R.J. INSIGHTS INTO THE PREVALENCE AND MANAGEMENT OF SOILBORNE CEREAL PATHOGENS UNDER DIRECT SEEDING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, U.S.A.. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY. 24(4) 416-428. 2002.
Interpretive Summary: This review article looks at the latest developments in the management of soilborne pathogens of cereals in the Pacific Northwest, primarily from the research labs of the authors. Under direct-seeding or no-till, the dynamics and prevalence of diseases change because of the lack of tillage and slower breakdown of crop residue. However, direct-seeding offers many environmental benefits, including reducing soil erosion and reduced fuel and labor inputs. This review specifically covers take-all, Rhizoctonia bare patch and root rot, Pythium seedling and root rot, and Fusarium foot rot.
Technical Abstract: Direct seeding or no-till leaves the soil undisturbed, except where the seed is planted and the soil fertilized. It offers several advantages in small-grain cereal production, including reduction in labor and other operating costs, reduction of soil erosion, and improvement of soil quality. However, only about 10% of small grains in the U.S.A. and 6% of the small grains in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the U.S.A. are currently direct seeded. Root diseases are major constraints to adoption of direct seeding; they increase because of lack of tillage, increased crop residue left on the surface, and typically cooler and wetter soil conditions in the spring. This review covers some recent research on the four most important root diseases of cereals in the PNW and their causal agents. These diseases are rhizoctonia root rot and bare patch (Rhizoctonia solani AG-8, R. oryzae), pythium damping-off and root rot (Pythium spp.), take-all (Gaeumannomyces tritici var. tritici), and fusarium foot rot (Fusarium pseudograminearum and F. culmorum). We discuss how these diseases are affected by direct seeding and the impact of management strategies, including crop rotation, residue management, control of inoculum from volunteers and weeds, fertilizer placement, genetic tolerance, biological control, development of natural suppressiveness, and prediction of risk through DNA-based detection methods.


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File under: Recognizing a Good Thing While You Have It
Glen Perkins signed a 3-year, $10.3 million extension with an option for 2016. Twins fans remember that things weren't always so rosy between the Twins and Perkins, dating back to 2009 and 2010. In fact, I'm guilty of losing my fandom of him, too -- regrettably. He's matured and proven himself. The Twins have allowed the ugly past to stay there. And I've changed my mind. Everyone's cool now.
File under: I Didn't Really Think They Would
The Twins optioned Tsyoshi Nishioka to AAA Rochester. Last fall, I asked that the Twins admit their mistake regarding Nishioka, but I kind of figured they wouldn't listen to little ol' me. He's been in the MLB for a year now; the adjustment period has been more than generous. While it's true that he had a tough go with a new country and a broken leg and all, it's alarming that during his second spring training with the Twins he still didn't know fundamental stuff such as where to position himself to be the cut-off man. According to several writers and baseball analysts, he's been lost and the plate and lost-er in the field -- literally out of his league. He has bigger baseball problems to solve than some culture shock and a (should be healed by now) fractured fibula.
File under: On The L Back To Chicago
The Twins sent Rule 5 draftee, RHP Terry Doyle back to the White Sox. The deal with Rule 5 drafts is that if the drafted player can't make the 25-man roster for the whole season, the drafting team must return the player to the original team or work out a trade. The Twins claim that they couldn't find common ground with the White Sox, so they sent him packing. He made a memorable first impression with me -- memorable for all the wrong reasons. He was largely responsible for a 10-run first inning for the Pirates. Doyle couldn't find the strike zone, and when he did, he grooved the ball in the heart of the plate.
File under: Better Luck Next Year, Kid
The Twins are beginning to cull their Spring Training roster. They've optioned several players to the minor leagues:
- Arcia, Oswaldo (OF)
- Diamond, Scott (LHP)
- Guerra, Deolis (RHP)
- Gutierrez, Carlos (RHP)
- Mastrionni, Darin (LF)
- Nishioka, Tsuyoshi (IF)
- Oliveros, Lester (RHP)
- Robertson, Tyler (LHP)
- Tosoni, Rene (OF)


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In his live show on A9 TV, Mr. Adnan Oktar reminded viewers that the planned military intervention in Syria - following the massacre caused by the use of chemical weapons - will only bring more pain to the country and bombing Syria will not be a solution.
Adnan Oktar said, "Muslim countries should enter into Syria from 70 separate points with an army that could be built up with a number of divisions from every country. This unit will act as police force and solve the problem in Syria without any bloodshed."
Adnan Oktar's comments about the latest situation and proposed alternative solutions were as follows:
"They are discussing whether Assad used chemical weapons or not, but they don't see the actual savagery?"
"What are they thinking about? Of course there is a chemical attack but more importantly there is savagery. They don't see the savagery. Hundreds of thousands of people are martyred and they consider this as normal. They say, "It was a bomb. It is normal." What about the other one? They say, "I was a machine gun. That's normal as well." They say, "Napalm bomb. So it could be by fire as well." But they say, "It is wrong to use chemical weapons." My brother, they are all part of the same savagery.
"America intervening to only bomb would cause even more pain"
It's not a smart move to wait for being saved by America. America bombing the country would only cause even more pain. That's not a correct method.
What will America do? She will use all the weapons she has because rockets are out of date and guns are out of date; they all need to be used. They will not bother to destroy them because they cannot appropriate funds for that if they destroy them so they need to use them all. And when they send rockets what will the arms factories say? They will say, "God bless you." What will America say then? She will say, "Now you may begin new production" and the workers will be happy. So the needs of the American people will then be fully met .
"The US bombing Syria would not discomfort Assad; he already bombs the country day and night"
Al-Assad is bombing Syria himself anyway. He is bombing everything day and night. Al-Assad has no problem with bombing anyway. Al-Assad doesn't say, "America should not use bombs", he says, "I am throwing bombs anyway!" If America starts bombing he would thank America. Of course, he would say "You have taken a load off my shoulders." Al-Assad would say, "It is costly for me to throw bombs, if America does it for me, it would be much better for me," and he would like it.
Al-Assad wants to raze Syria to the ground anyway; I mean he wants to destroy Syria. He has arranged a small place for himself around Latakia and took his people over there. It is like a residential suburb by the sea and he says, "I will be living there. But as I leave I will raze what is left of the country to the ground, I will turn it into a cesspool." If America bombs Syria he would thank them and kiss their hands.
"Military intervention to Syria is not reasonable. It should be a rescue operation not a war."
A rescue operation should be carried out, not a war in Syria. What's the good of war? It would be good for nothing, it would be a vain attempt and would have no meaning. And it would be unlawful, the best they can do is to speed up the evacuation and support the evacuation process.
I do not want war, I do not want an attack. Air bombing doesn't seem reasonable to me at all. How could you strike Syria? There might be people around, and that is very risky. There will be loss of life in any case. There will be a loss of many lives for nothing. That is a very difficult undertaking.
Rockets are not a joke, my brother. No one knows where it will land, where it will strike. All right, you might make some calculations but what would you attain with that? Let us assume that you have make a strike on a dam, a hydroelectric dam. There are inoffensive people working there and you would be striking them as well. There will be a blackout and it would harm the public. It has no use. If there are not jets around what are you striking? It is a vain attempt. In my opinion this method is not a viable method.
Now if they strike a bridge, inoffensive people are crossing that bridge. If you strike an electricity facility, now people there have at least electricity and they are muddling along at least, and it would again put the people living there in a difficult position. It is not going to be Al-Assad who would be put in a difficult position there; he would find a way out for himself no matter what. Nothing would happen to him even if they strike the military bases. They would be getting by with a generator anyway. But the people residing there would be in a very difficult position.
"If the soldiers of Islamic countries enter Syria from seventy different points- to take on the task of police force- the matter would be solved without a single shot being fired."
Nothing can be attained through bombing. They should give up that idea; the method to be pursued to stop Al-Assad is, all Islamic countries uniting and entering Syria altogether. They should enter by land. They should enter from seventy different points.
The Chiefs of Staff of the Islamic countries can gather and form a command staff. The reason for this is one, this command staff can take concurrent resolutions: After forming a command staff, the soldiers of all Islamic countries can come from every corner of the world and enter Syria from seven different points. The matter would be solved instantly. Especially if Iran and Turkey unites, the whole issue would be undoubtedly solved instantly; otherwise there will be bloodshed for no reason. They would thus be making a grave mistake.
Especially the Iranian army should join. The Iranian army should give 50 thousand soldiers or if there is no need for 50 thousand, Iran could contribute one or two divisions of soldiers. Turkey can contribute a division of soldiers, Pakistan can contribute a division and the other countries can contribute either a division or a brigade. Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria should send soldiers as well. If Turkey and Iran sends soldiers they would all send soldiers anyway. If they lead the way, the rest would be okay.
The same is valid for the Egyptian army as well. In fact the Egyptian army seems to be a persistent violator right now; we are ashamed of the situation Egyptian army is in right now, they have ruined themselves. Of course there are some good ones among them as well; we cannot blame the whole of the Egyptian army but they have built a very bad reputation for themselves. Nevertheless as a matter of courtesy it would be good to have a brigade from the Egyptian army as well. At least maybe their minds might recover and their hearts might yield; let the Egyptian army send soldiers to this union as well.
Once all the Islamic countries send a division of their soldiers and enter the country, the matter would be solved instantly. What would Al-Assad say anyway? He would instantly surrender. What could he say under these circumstance? His biggest advocate is Iran. If Iran sends soldiers herself, that means the matter is closed once and for all, it is as clear as that. Who could ever say something?
If Russia gives support, that will be that. If Russia were to say, "Let them enter and calm the tensions," the whole matter would be solved. Russia wouldn't object to something like that. Russia wouldn't want to take all those Islamic countries on. What could Russia say?
Look, if Iran wants to solve this, I am showing you the solution. The Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs should immediately come to Turkey and talk to our authorities at once. The whole matter would be solved very easily. Iran should approach the matter honestly and should act in haste and should not procrastinate. Iran should say, "We are giving a division of soldiers to the command of Turkey." But if they procrastinate further, they would be caught unawares.
"These soldiers will enter Syria to rescue them, not to have a war with them. Because the incoming soldiers would be a Muslim army, they wouldn't see them as hostile forces. "
I am saying this again, let Iran send a division, Turkey a division, Pakistan a division, Egypt a division and let other Islamic countries send a division or a brigade according to their liking. These armies should be placed in close to each other at breakneck speed. For instance, after the morning prayers they might enter the country from every corner with God's Name. And that would be it.
THEY SHOULD TREAT THE PUBLIC VERY WELL, THEY SHOULD TREAT EVERYONE THEY COME ACROSS VERY KINDLY. THEY SHOULD TREAT THE OPPONENTS VERY WELL, THEY SHOULD TREAT OUR ALEWITE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, NUSAYRIS VERY WELL. THEY SHOULD SAY, "YOUR LIVES AND YOUR GOODS ARE ALL ENTRUSTED TO US, KEEP YOUR HEARTS AT EASE." AND THAT WOULD BE IT, JUST LIKE POLICE OFFICERS. AND THE MATTER WOULD THUS BE CLOSED. IT WOULD BE SOLVED WITHIN 24 HOURS. When we have such an easy way out, it would not be acceptable to follow complicated and troublesome paths that would cause constant bloodshed.
If the soldiers of Islamic countries were to enter Syria from seventy different points, the whole matter would be solved without a single shot being fired. My brother, how could anything to the contrary be possible? Think about it; Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Jordan, Malaysia and other Islamic countries would all be sending soldiers. Under these conditions which soldier, which person in Syria could resist that: Tell me about it. It is not possible, no such thing would ever happen. They would all welcome them. Nothing bad would happen.
"There are three options; either the world will remain as mere spectators to this persecution, or the US will hurl bombs and cause innocent civilians to be hurt, or Islamic countries will unite, enter Syria and perform the duty of the police officers.
Otherwise we will all remain as mere spectators. They are killing people there night and day. 50 thousand, 30 thousand, 20 thousand, 10 thousand [people are being killed], every single day regularly. Both sides are putting the others in line and shooting them in their heads.
A second option is; they keep saying, "Let the US go and intervene". The US might do that and they would do so in a very rough attitude. The regime would really be changed. But Syria would be razed to the ground and the innocent civilians in Syria would be the ones suffering. May God forbid, there would surely be loss of lots of lives. They cannot prevent this.
If we have a decent, kind, bloodless, loving method compliant with the Qur'an, what is the logic behind preferring such a bloody method? Well then my brother, either you are going to accept these killings- yet it would be horrible to accept them- or Islamic countries will unite: If the Islamic Countries unite and enter Syria, the whole matter would be solved within less than 24 hours.
Otherwise, they would be leaving it all to the US and the UK and they will then use all their weapons. All their rockets will then be used, I mean they will use all their military materials and raze Syria to the ground without leaving any living beings behind.
If the internal elements do not surrender, let us say that the US bombed them and the regime is overthrown, the internal opposition elements would embark upon a massive massacre. They would kill whomever they come across, let me say as much. I mean it would be like a cesspool; but if they do as I say, this risk would be eliminated.
I mean with US bombing there would definitely be deaths; lots of people would be martyred. After that the opponents inside the country would be filled with a massive vengeance and commit massacres. They will fall into this scourge and an enormous massacre would take place.
For that reason, the easiest and the sharpest solution is for the Muslim countries to unite and enter Syria; the matter would then be solved instantly. Not even a drop of blood would be shed if they do as I suggest.
"I kindly ask our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take the necessary actions about this matter"
I kindly ask our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to push for this. These people are willing as well. Iranians have given statements; if they are sincere, they should do as we suggest.
Otherwise this will turn into a disaster. They should not go for a painful path, when we have a very easy way out. This would cause even more pain. What I said is a fundamental solution. This is a radiant solution. What they've been offering is a very troublesome method. This is not something that could solved with bombing. It is not possible to go only with bombing without any loss of lives, it is very difficult.
Syria cannot resist militarily. I mean Sunnis would not be able to resist either. Alawites could not resist this either. They cannot find any reason in that. What could they say? That is because Islamic countries are entering with good intentions. They are going there not to have a fight but to rescue them. Soldiers know this; they know that they are coming in for a rescue mission. They wouldn't see them as hostile forces. That is because the incoming soldiers are Muslims. What would they say? They would surrender at once and nothing bad would happen. Let them bring those forces and place them there. Actually Al-Assad would give up the minute the soldiers are deployed. Later on, they can form a coalition government and do whatever they like. No one would ever say anything. (August 30th, 2013, Adnan Oktar: A9 TV)2013-09-05 14:21:40


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City Council Agendas - 2013-08-06 City Council Meeting
Brief Description -
The City Council will meet on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, with the Regular Session beginning at 5:30pm in the City Council Chambers. This area is located at the Jim Baugh Government Center, 211 E. Pleasant Run Road, DeSoto. NOTE: There is no Work Session scheduled for this meeting.
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2013-08-06 City Council Meeting_RN1925.pdf
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Wednesday, August 1, 2007
How does Prosper compare to other investments?
Lets take these questions one at a time to see how Prosper stacks up:
Q1: What is the potential return?
A1: Interest rates on loans on Prosper fall between 6% to 29%. Current performance indicators suggest that one can expect to earn between 8%-12% after defaults with a disciplined investment strategy. To obtain these rates investments should be made in higher grade loans for borrowers with good credit scores (preferably to borrowers with no delinquencies in their credit report).
Q2: What is the risk?
A2: The primary risk on Prosper is that loans will default, or will be late in making payments. Loans that default are sold off for between pennies on the dollar to as much as 30 cents on the dollar for homeowner loans in the higher credit grades. Late loans are turned over to a collection agency, and any recovered payments will be subject to recovery fees paid to the lending agency. Default rates increase as credit grade decreases. You can view default rates and expected rates of return for different types of loans at Prosper's Marketplace Performance page.
Q3: What about liquidity?
A3: Prosper has very little liquidity. The only way to pull money out of Prosper after it is invested is to wait for the borrower to make payments over three year term of the loan. Prosper has indicated that they are working on creating a secondary market that would increase the liquidity of the money invested.
Q4: What fees are involved?
A4: Lenders pay an annual loan servicing fee of between 0.5%-1% depending on the credit grade of the loan. Lenders are also responsible for collection agency recovery fees on any loans which go more than 1 month late. These fees range between 7.35% and 20% of the amount recovered by the collection agency.
Q5: What are the tax consequences for the investment returns?
A5: Any money earned on Prosper is taxed as ordinary income and subject to Federal income tax rates which can be as high as 35%, and state income tax rates which vary between 0% and 9.3%. Prosper is not a tax friendly investment.
Q6: Are there tax benefits to losses that might be incurred?
A6: With some assets, including stocks, it is possible to use losses to offset taxable gains from other investments. You can also decide when to sell a stock based on whether doing so would be advantageous for tax purposes. On Prosper it is not possible to use a loss to offset a taxable gain from another investment. Also, on Prosper is not possible to time the receipt of income to postpone any tax liabilities.
Q7: How time intensive is the investment?
A7: Much like researching out an individual stock before you purchase it, each Prosper loan requires a bit of research to determine whether it is a good investment. It is possible to set up standing orders that will auto bid based on a pre-selected set of criteria to reduce the amount of time required. Many investors, including me, enjoy the process of researching and selecting loans to bid on, but this should be considered a time intensive process.
Q8: Can it target specific objectives like saving for college or retirement?
A8: There are many investment programs that target a specific savings goal. There are a variety of state run 529 plans are setup for saving for college. 401Ks and IRAs are setup for retirement savings. Other investments are setup specifically as tax-friendly investments. Prosper is none of these. I guess there is no reason that you can't use Prosper for saving for retirement or college, it is just that you will not get the tax benefits or employer match benefits that can be available from some of those more targeted investment options.
Q9: How is it treated when part of an estate if the account holder passes away?
A9: Understanding how investments fit into an estate planning scenario can be very important. When properly structured, many investments can be passed on to heirs tax free and often taxes will not even need to be paid on unrealized gains from an investment. When not properly structured, estate taxes can significantly reduce a person's assets. Let's take an individual stock for example. Let's say you purchase 1000 shares at $5 per share, and over the years that stock increases to $80 per share. If you were to sell it, you pay taxes on the $75,000 in earnings at the capital gains tax rate (currently 15%). If you instead pass it on as part of an inheritance to your heirs, they can receive what is known as a step up in basis. That means that if they were to sell the stock they can list their cost as $80 (the value of the asset at the time they received the inheritance) and they do not pay any taxes on the $75,000 in profit. A similar tax savings can be realized if the stock is donated to charity - in that scenario the money can also be earned and donated without anyone paying taxes on the earnings. In Prosper, there is no way to avoid the taxes. As money is earned from Prosper loans it must be realized as income and the taxes must be paid.
Q10: Can it be used as a hedge against events that negatively affect other investments?
A10: Often investors will look for investments that will reduce their risk to negative events by diversifying in investments that move independent of each other. For example, airlines will invest in oil futures in such a way that if oil prices increase then they make money on their investment. If oil prices decrease then they lose money on the investment, but they realize an overall saving by having to pay less money to fuel their planes. This lowers their exposure to the risk of a sharp increase in oil prices. Prosper does not target a specific commodity or investment for hedge purposes, but it can be considered an independent asset class in much the same way that stocks and bonds are separate asset classes. As such, it does offer value as a means of diversifying an investment portfolio.
Q11: In general, how does it compare to other investments?
A11: I think the best use of Prosper is for diversifying an investment portfolio so that you don't have all of your investments in stocks and bonds. Adding some Prosper loans should increase the overall diversification of your portfolio. Combined with a conservative investment strategy I think it can provide better returns than bond funds. Prosper should not be considered a good place for money that might be needed for emergency purposes since there is very little liquidity in the investment. Also, it is probably not the best investment for retirement money unless you are already maxing out any 401K or IRA accounts that are available to you. If you are relatively new to saving and investing I would suggest starting with an emergency fund equal to about 3-6 months of your salary. This money can be kept in a money market or savings account. After that, if you have a 401K available at your work you should be saving at least enough to get you a full company match. Next, it is good to save additional money for retirement in a IRA. Additional medium to long-term savings accounts can then be setup with a mix of stocks, bonds, and Prosper loans. The allocation percentages should be determined by your tolerance for risk and your investment time horizon.
10 comments:
Matt, this is a great article. I think that very few people consider all these factors when they start lending on Prosper. I know I haven't.
When you look at all the downsides, it seems like Prosper should generally just be a small part of your investment portfolio.
- August 2, 2007 at 1:06 AM
- Matt said...
Yes, some of the things they are working on like a secondary market will be helpful once that arrives. It would be nice if Prosper loans could be put inside of an IRA, but that is not currently possible, and I don't think that Prosper is working on that right now.
- August 2, 2007 at 8:56 AM
You can visit https://www.prosper.com/groups/group_home.aspx?group_short_name=INSTANTLOANS for your loan needs. This is our official lending group website on prosper. We recently started this group, but have been on prosper for past 12 months and have sucessfully funded 100s of loans on prosper.
- August 8, 2007 at 9:57 PM
Very informative! Thanks again!
- August 13, 2007 at 10:57 PM
ROI of invested time is not well represented. From most of the reading I've done and from people running actual stats on the system, the actual estimated returns (after accounting for defaults, but before taxes and fees) appear to be in the 8.5 - 9.5% range. Given this, the amount of time required to invest in Prosper loans appears to be better spent in researching and investing in stocks, or perhaps in starting a business. Plus, in financial terms, 9% is pretty low for a "hurdle rate" on capital for a risky investment.
Given this, Prosper appears to be more of an investment-hobby than an actual investment.
- January 5, 2008 at 4:34 PM
Matt, could you please post a Q & A on the stability of the ROI. I have been investing on prosper for some time now, and I find your Q&A to be right on. One benefit of investing on prosper not covered is the stability, compared to other investments. Once you establish solid lending decision criteria, I find the ROI to be very steady. I like that aspect of prosper. Nobody is earning 20% on prosper (see lendingstats.com), but before taxes, I'm getting more than 10%, and reliably. I'm OK with that as a part of my portfolio.
- June 26, 2008 at 12:46 PM
The tax system is still unfair to prosper type investors. If I lend out 2 loans of $50 each and make $10 profit on one and $10 loss on the other, why am I taxed on the $10? The balance sheet at the end of the day shows net gain of $0 (zero) dollars.
Hopefully some emendments will fix this in the near future. PK
- September 12, 2008 at 5:14 PM
When I look at loan performance stats for lenders with significant portfolios (>$10K, >50 loans) and with some history (>12 months avg loan age) you find the median estimated ROI is closer to 3%. Very few people are getting more than 8%. How come people don't seem to realize this? Most of the higher returns are just luck and the ones that claim skill probably have to spend a lot of time screening if true. Any way you slice it Prosper is a bad investment for most people.
- October 28, 2008 at 10:26 AM
- Dave Cannon said...
I was one of those who saw high interest rates and rushed headlong into Prosper. Mistake. Most of my loans are now in default and some have been charged off. I wonder how much the lawsuit affected borrower behavior, because all of my loans went late in October/November. This is probably all irrelevant though, since I doubt Prosper will survive 12 months of litigation.
- March 5, 2009 at 10:10 AM
David - I'm curious, how did Prosper compare to your other investments over the same time period? It seems even those that have lost money on Prosper through defaults have done better considering the poor performance in the market lately.
- March 5, 2009 at 5:05 PM


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So it's become pretty clear to me that blogging is most definitely taking a back seat in our lives these days. I don't even feel the need to make excuses any more, let alone, empty promises. Now, if someone were to offer a couple extra hours in my day or help me find a way to never tire, well then, bring it on!
Since it's been a month since my last entry, I'm happy to report that Elaina's "bad spell" ended just as abruptly and swiftly as it started. Our sweet, little darling is back to normal. While I'm on the topic of Elaina, one more thing that has changed is that our baby has started school in a Pre-K program. She has wanted to go to school for the past year and a half so this is like her dream come true. I'm more than pleased that she loves school and along with that, I'm very glad that it's only 3 days a week. We've come to realize that on the days she has school, she is worn out. I mean, BEAT! When I arrive home, I've often been finding her laying on the sofa, zombified in front of the TV, too tired to even acknowledge me. When we make plans for Friday evening (another school day) she does everything in her power to stay awake, alert and pretend to not be tired even though her eyes become all starey when she idles for longer than 2 minutes. The good thing is that she loves school and we've gotten good reports from her teachers.
With all of the talk about Elaina, how about that little brother of hers? My little Lincoln Man! OhMyGoodness! That little guy has begun talking up a storm! I thought it would never happen! He was certainly taking his time in the language arts department. Along about August, he began putting words together and expressing that he was actually getting something out of the words he's been using and hearing. Every single day, he picks up more words, shows more personality and even a sense of humor. Up until this point, he's always been a little reserved to the more-serious side and quick to react when things don't go as planned for his little self. This is still the case, but the reassuring part is that by and by, some of his quick-to-react fits are gradually improving with the help of him learning to communicate. We're all happy about that!
And since I'm spilling all the beans about my kids' behavior, let's talk about Lincoln and hitting. Oh, that child is SO 2! His "thing" has become hitting. Swatting rather, since he just swings his little arm from side to side until he hits what he's been aiming for in his path. This, I cannot stand. It seems that every single day he is hitting someone; even if he's generally happy-ish, he makes it a point to give someone a whack, quite possibly just to see their reaction. I don't know how to explain that. With a variety of tactics in place, we're getting through each day with fewer and fewer instances, but hitting still seems to rank pretty high on cool-things-to-do-to-upset-your-family.
Other than that, life here is pretty good. Our days are busy, our children are loved and we're all very blessed to have happiness each day. With every hurdle I face throughout the day, I continuously remind myself, "Work hard, play hard." And that's exactly what we've been doing!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Dropping by...
So it's become pretty clear to me that blogging is most definitely taking a back seat in our lives these days. I don't even feel the need to make excuses any more, let alone, empty promises. Now, if someone were to offer a couple extra hours in my day or help me find a way to never tire, well then, bring it on!
Handcrafted by Laura at 9:48 PM
1 Welcome Comments:
- Kelsey said...
Hi Laura! I miss connecting with you and I hope you're all doing well. I can just imagine Elaina being awesome in school and I'm sure she's having a great time. Know that I'm thinking of all of you.


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