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Review of the Dog Thundershirt
Does the dog Thundershirt really work to help a dog feel calm during storms and fireworks?
I surveyed a group of dog owners who have tried the Thundershirt to help dogs that are scared of:
- fireworks
- thunder
- loud noises
- being left alone
- other dogs or
- riding in the car.
Here's how the Thundershirt worked or didn't work, according to their personal experiences:
Does a Thundershirt help during thunderstorms and fireworks?
Rodrigo the border collie mix – fear of thunderstorms and fireworks:
Kimberly Gauthier just started using a Thundershirt for her dog Rodrigo in preparation for the Fourth of July. She said he is also scared of thunderstorms.
"So far so good," she said. "We had a small trial run when a thunderstorm hit us out of the blue and he was wearing it. Although he still came to sit with me, he seemed to be less stressed."
Kimberly believes it's important to get dogs used to their Thundershirts when they're happy and non-stressed.
"Don't allow the first introduction to be when the noise starts," she said. "They'll associate the shirt with the storm and hate it."
She hopes that by the week of the Fourth, Rodrigo will be able to handle the fireworks a lot better.
In addition to the Thundershirt, Kim provides all her dogs with plenty of exercise – at least a 3-mile walk per day, plenty of chew toys and rowdy play sessions in the yard.
*Get my tips on how to help a dog who's scared of fireworks. Click Here.
Slugger the Australian shepherd – Thundershirt for fear of thunderstorms:
Slugger the Aussie gets very anxious during Florida's thunderstorms, according to his owner Tina Koenig.
"He pants, paces and even shakes at times," she said.
Tina received the Thundershirt as a gift and was eager to try it out.
"In our case the product works well," she said. "After a few minutes he calms and will settle down in a corner."
Now she often suggests the product to other dog owners and even put the Thundershirt on Slugger during the NBA playoffs.
"The television volume is pumped up and my family shouts when things go or don't go the way of the Miami Heat," she said.
Raider the black Lab mix – Thundershirt for fear of thunderstorms:
Elizabeth Putsche tried the Thundershirt with two of her dogs and saw little success.
Her dog Raider (who has passed away) was originally only scared of thunder. "He could hear a storm coming from miles away," she said.
Raider was allowed to sleep on the bed, but he chose to sleep on the floor unless he heard a storm coming.
"I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to a vibrating bed," she said. "He would only get in the bed if he was scared."
When she tried the Thundershirt with Raider, Elizabeth said she didn't see much of a difference.
"Raider still shook," she said. And "he would pant heavily when it was storming."
She eventually decided to give him tranquilizers during storms. "He would be in such distress it was hard to even get him to eat a spoon of peanut butter with his pill in it," she said. "Normally he would have tried to eat the entire spoon!"
Elizabeth said she still recommends the Thundershirt to other dog owners.
"I simply say it's not a guaranteed thing, but it's worth a try," she said. "When your pet is in distress, you'll do anything to try and calm them down — there is no reason not to at least try the Thundershirt."
Bandit the Canaan dog mix – fear of loud noises:
Kate Manchester's dog Bandit is nervous around thunder, fireworks and loud noises. She said he also gets uncomfortable when lots of people visit.
Bandit previously lived at a dump with a pack of wild dogs, Kate said. She witnessed him getting hit by a car and decided to care for him and eventually keep him.
"He was fearful of men, loud voices, you name it," she said. "He gets the prize for 'most improved' and 'best watchdog.'"
She's still trying to decide if the Thundershirt works for Bandit.
"I think it helps – but it may be that we take the extra care with him when we put it on, and go to extra measures to make sure he is calm," she said.
"He loves being handled and doesn't seem to mind one bit when we put it on. He'll wear it for hours and seems very comfortable."
Kate said she would recommend the Thundershirt to other dogs owners, but she wants people to know she uses it in addition to Rescue Remedy, a product marketed as a natural stress reliever made from flower material and available for humans and pets.
Elsie the golden retriever – fear of thunder and fireworks:
The Thundershirt did not calm Elsie the golden retriever or stop her nervous and destructive behaviors, according to her owner Nancy Stordahl. (Yes, Nancy is my mom!)
"She has acute anxiety attacks and they seem to worsen a little every year," Nancy said. "Summer is definitely not her favorite season."
While the Thundershirt has not helped Elsie, Nancy said she will probably keep trying it and would recommend it to others. "It's worth a try," she said. "Why not?"
In addition to the Thundershirt, Nancy said she has tried talking to Elsie in a comforting voice and petting her. She has tried ignoring her dog, playing music, running a fan on high, closing all windows, offering treats, exercising her more, kenneling her and medications.
"The only thing that works for her is to kennel her in an escape-proof, sturdy kennel," Nancy said.
"I now kennel her whenever it storms for her own safety and to protect my carpets, furniture, etc., as she also gets very destructive when she has a nervous episode."
Norman the mutt – Thundershirt for fear of thunder and fireworks:
Karen Port said her dog Norman is "petrified of thunder and fireworks" and nothing the vet prescribed would calm him. The medications took 45 minutes to kick in, and he would still be shaking.
She recommends the Thundershirt because it's the only thing that works to calm Norman. She keeps it in her nightstand and puts it on Norman ahead of time if storms are predicted.
"We have spent too many nights being jarred awake by our frantic dog and running through the house trying to find the shirt," she said.
Modi the pitbull mix – fear of thunderstorms:
"Unfortunately, we did not notice a huge change with the Thundershirt," said Sherry Morse, whose dog is scared of thunder.
"We call him the dog barometer because if there's a storm within 20 miles of the house he will start panting and trying to hide in as small a space as possible."
She said her dog seems a little less anxious with the combination of the Thundershirt, Prozac and Tellington Touch.
Sherry also tried the Thundershirt with Modi to help him with his anxiety issues related to seeing other dogs on the street.
"We've had more success in that regard," she said, adding that this could be because Modi is very food motivated as long as there are no storms.
"When there's a storm, he's totally oblivious to anything, including dogs on the street," she said.
Jed the Labrador – fear of thunderstorms:
Phyllis Shelton's dog Jed is significantly calmer during thunderstorms if he wears his Thundershirt.
"He is terrified of thunderstorms and lets us know they are coming before we hear them," she said.
Without the Thundershirt, Jed tries to hide during storms, Phyllis said. But if he has the shirt on, he doesn't hide.
The first time Jed wore the Thudershirt during a storm, Phyllis said he smiled like he was so proud he wore it.
"It was the funniest expression I've ever seen on his face," she said. "We have used it several times since, and he really likes it."
*Get my tips on how to help a dog who's scared of fireworks. Click Here.
Wesley the American bulldog – fear of thunderstorms:
Wesley the bulldog is scared of thunder, door knocking, doorbells and other loud noises, said his owner Jacqueline Fisch. He also tends to lunge and bark at other dogs while leashed.
He instantly becomes goofier and less anxious with the Thundershirt on, she said. "He liked to rub himself on the furniture when wearing it."
In addition to the Thundershirt, Jacqueline said she feeds her dog a raw diet, gives him herbal remedies and provides tons of socialization to help with his anxiety. She recommends other dog owners give the Thundershirt a try.
Does a Thundershirt help for separation anxiety?
Rosie the Rottweiler mix – Thundershirt for separation anxiety:
Rosie the Rottie mix would scratch at doors, bark or whine when left alone, according to her owner Danielle Wolfe. This occurred even when Danielle was in the next room.
The Thundershirt didn't have any effect on Rosie's anxiety, Danielle said. "I think her anxiety problems were too severe."
Crate training didn't help either, and Danielle decided to give Rosie anti-anxiety drugs from the vet. These did help, and now Rosie is "pretty much off of the medication."
Poppy the Bichon mix – separation anxiety:
The Thundershirt helped Poppy the Bichon mix feel more relaxed and settled when left home alone, according to her owner Justin Flitter.
"She stopped barking at weird noises immediately," he said. "And when we left the building she was less stressed, less anxious."
In addition to the Thundershirt, Justin said he ignores his dog when she's overly excited upon his return. He also walks her religiously to maintain a routine.
"For the cost of the Thundershirt, Poppy has become happier, less anxious and we're more comfortable leaving her at home without worrying about her disturbing neighbors with her barking or whining when she was feeling lonely," he said.
Sierra the Australian shepherd – Thundershirt for separation anxiety:
Candy Keane's dog Sierra was always afraid of loud noises such as thunder, but she developed a chewing habit after Candy's husband was deployed.
Sierra had such bad separation anxiety that she chewed through two kennels and part of a door, Candy said. "It was really, really bad! We were desperate to try anything and everything."
To help her dog with separation anxiety and a fear of storms, Candy used a combination of the Thundershirt, behavior modification and a calming medication.
"I was really surprised when she didn't chew the Thundershirt right off the first time she wore it," Candy said. "It seems to sooth her down a bit when we put her in it."
While Sierra still shakes when it thunders and the training is ongoing, Candy says her dog "just wears her Thundershirt when it thunders or she seems extra anxious. She is back to normal and doesn't even need to be kenneled."
Does a Thundershirt help for anxiety during car rides?
Nami the pitbull – anxiety on car rides:
The Thundershirt helped Nami the pitbull stop shaking on a very long car trip across the country, said her owner Apryl DeLancey. The shirt made her feel more secure.
"When we would get it out she was so happy to get it on," Apryl said. "She loves her shirt!"
Actually, she said Nami loves clothes in general.
Apryl said she would definitely recommend the Thundershirt to others because of the 100 percent, money-back guarantee the company offers.
Stackhouse the English black lab – fear of car rides:
Stackhouse is also one of Elizabeth Putsche's dogs, but he doesn't have any trouble with storms – he hates the car!
"He pants and drools uncontrollably," Elizabeth said. "He won't lie down in the car – stays in a hunched position, trying to brace himself."
She said her dog has intermittent tremors in the car and is clearly in distress so she tried the Thundershirt with him as well.
"I saw no effect," she said.
She said she has slowly and patiently tried to make Stackhouse more comfortable in the car by driving slower and accelerating and braking slower, but he remains stressed out.
Still, she didn't let the Thundershirt go to waste. She's tried using it for her dogs on snowy, windy walks.
Might as well use it for something, she said.
Does the Thundershirt help for anxiety around other dogs?
Allie the bloodhound – excitement outside:
Allie the bloodhound "absolutely goes nuts outside with certain smells," said her owner Apryl DeLancey. "We thought this would calm her down."
However, the Thundershirt had no effect whatsoever, Apryl said. In fact, nothing has worked for Allie. Not treats, hugs, sweet talk, positive reinforcement or a shock collar with a remote.
"At home, Allie is the sweetest and most loving and mellow dog," Apryl said. "In public she's crazy! Bloodhound puppies are nuts. Get over it."
Apryl said bloodhounds are just too independent for Thundershirts. "As puppies they will be very, very aloof and silly," she said. "Period."
Lulu the beagle – anxiety around other dogs:
Lulu the beagle wants to meet every dog she sees and ends up barking with excitement, according to her owner Christie Zizo.
"She also barks at golf carts, big trucks, people on bikes, kids on scooters and skateboards," Christie said.
As for the Thundershirt? It definitely calms Lulu. "But I have to be careful. I don't use the shirt all the time because dogs get used to its effects."
Christie said it's easier to calm Lulu down and redirect her focus if she's wearing the Thundershirt. The barking has also decreased, and Lulu recently passed her AKC Canine Good Citizen test.
"I think the Thundershirt helped make that possible," Christie said, and recommends the product to others. "I know people who get minimal effects from the Thundershirt. And then I know people who swear by it."
*Get my tips on how to help a dog who's scared of fireworks. Click Here.
What do the rest of you think?
Did the Thundershirt work for your dogs?
*This post contains affiliate links.


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Alan Harper, MA, Limited Licensed Psychologist
Alan is a limited license psychologist working at the Pine Rest Campus Clinic. He has been employed with Pine Rest since 2000, and has worked as a psychologist since 1997. Prior to his current position, Alan served as the Family Service Director of a non-profit, inner-city Grand Rapids agency and as the Client/Staff Coordinator of an organization serving the homeless population in Grand Rapids.
He received his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Grand Valley State University and his Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from Western Michigan University.
Alan's areas of expertise include the treatment of anxiety/stress, anger, depression, adjustment disorders, and sexual compulsions. He works with both adolescents and adults and specializes in the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy.
- Anger Management
- Anxiety Disorders
- Mood Disorders (Depression / Bipolar Disorder)
- Panic Disorder
- Pornography / Sexual Addiction
- PTSD / Trauma / Sexual Abuse
- Social Phobia
Patient Ages
- Adolescent
- Adult
- Children
- Campus Clinic
300 68th Street SE Building A, Entrance A2
Grand Rapids MI, 49548

subset: commoncrawl


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- Home
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Climate Change and the Response
McKenna Zacher and Natalie Eychaner
May 17, 2019
The Green New Deal Resolution proposed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey Feb. 7 has resurrected the debate around climate change. This increase of conversation has also sparked students worldwide to strike for action on climate change, including one in Tacoma March 15 at Wright Park....
Student Expression Explored
McKenna Zacher, Natalie Eychaner, Parker Rosdahl, and Blaise McMacken
December 18, 2018
The music you listen on the way to school, the graphic on your shirt, the photographs on the wall. Expression is everywhere. It surrounds us and shapes our culture. But what would happen if it was taken away? Should all forms of art be accepted or do some go too far? This a topic of recent d...
Daffodil Tradition Continues
McKenna Zacher, Managing
October 25, 2018
Another year, another Daffodil selection night. This year, eight senior girls and their escorts took the stage, doing a walk down to the stage called the "promenade," giving one-minute speeches and answering impromptu questions. These girls were seniors Kyla Stout, Morgan McCurdy...
Memes find new meanings
McKenna Zacher, Managing
May 29, 2018
In his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins described a meme as a "self-reproducing" cultural idea shared between organisms. Today, the word meme has transcended its original definition, becoming a dominant impact on American society. Many encounter some sort of meme every s...
Activism Goes Viral
Emily Van Bergeyk, Managing
April 6, 2018
To step into the public sphere in this day and age is to step into an ocean of technology. The American public is awash in smartphones, smartwatches, tablets; in blogs, posts, online forums. The tide of social media influence is inexorable and according to the 2016 Nielson Total Audience Report, American...
Social Media Influences Eating Disorders
Haley Keizur, Chief
April 6, 2018
Two likes. Refresh. Eight likes. Refresh. 16 likes. Pause. Refresh. 27 likes. And so the process goes. Studies show that people can get addicted to social media in a similar way they can get addicted to drugs or alcohol, as explained by Simon Sinek on Inside Quest; it triggers the release ...
Impact of Black History Month Explored
Andrew Flury, Staff
March 5, 2018
In honor of Black History Month, The Viking Vanguard examines different aspects of African-American culture and the way it has shaped the Puyallup School District. According to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, African-American students constitute 3.8 percent of the Puyallup Schoo...
Get involved in your community
Haley Keizur, Chief
December 21, 2017
Lights twinkle, presents overflow from beneath the crystalized pine tree, the scent of freshly-baked cookies wafts through the air. As metallic red wrapping paper is torn apart and beautifully-tied bows are carelessly tossed aside, succeeded by gleeful grins and laughs and bites are taken from soft,...
School shootings—Tragedy, Preparedness, an Uncertain Future
Emily Van Bergeyk, Managing
October 27, 2017
Las Vegas. Orlando. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook Elementary School. These names, forever ingrained in America's memory, represent the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history. And names like these are appearing in the news more and more frequently. According to Gun Violence Archive, there ha...
Teacher uncovers mental health
Raquel Amato, Op-Ed/A&E Editor
October 11, 2017
Keeping yourself mentally well is a key factor in maintaining a healthy body. Health teacher Brian Grout talks about some ways to keep yourself mentally healthy throughout school and your personal life. One of the things Grout goes over is ways to deal with losses. No matter what the loss is, whether...


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Network Visibility For Dummies: Ixia Special Edition
February 3, 2017 by Lora O'Haver
If vendor-speak has left you in the dark about the meaning of network visibility, you're not alone. Get all your questions answered in the new e-book, "Network Visibility For Dummies: Ixia Special Edition" produced by Wiley Publishing in partnership with Ixia. This e-book, presented in the straight-forward style of the For Dummies series, describes the topic from the ground up and summarizes the ten most important features of a visibility architecture. Download the e-book now to learn how network visibility can strengthen security and optimize performance.


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Transport in Nizhny Novgorod
In Nizhny Novgorod there is an extensive public transport system that includes buses, trolleybuses, trams, metro, taxis. There are also commuter trains and even the cable car. Quickly and cheaply can be reached from almost any point of the city to another, without using a personal car or taxi.
The route network developed and complicated, but if you need a single to get from one point to another, it is possible to plan a route using the following sites, where all the runs are presented in electronic form on the map:
The fare
- Metro, trolley, tram, bus – 28 rubles one-time trip
- Taxi – 20 to 28 rubles depending on the route
- Children under 7 years – free of charge
For tourists may also be interested in travel on the metro, trolleybus, tram, bus valid for 24 hours after the first trip a value of 90 rubles; pass for tram, trolleybus, validity 70 minutes after the first trip the cost 20 rubles. However to enjoy travel you have to first buy a transportation card for 50 rubles, and it is to buy a travel. Sold and map and travel at the ticket office on the destination and the metro.
The traffic
Public transport works from 05:00 to 00:00. Some of the routes (mainly buses) stop going after 21 hours.
The cost of a short taxi ride starts from 80 roubles, a trip from one end of town to another will cost 600 rubles. A taxi from the airport to the city center – 200-450 rubles.
Buses, trolleybuses, taxis
The network of buses and taxis cover the entire city. Pay the conductor, in the taxi at the entrance to the driver. Fare inspectors have card readers for electronic travel (transportation cards). Travel in taxis do not operate.
The time of day in Nizhny Novgorod – from 05:15 to 00:00, the fare is 28 rubles and does not depend on the duration and the length of the trip. Children under 7 years free. Individual tickets in the form of metal tokens purchased from any station ticket offices or vending machines, which accept bills and coins. Tokens drop in the slot on the turnstile. Also season in the form of electronic cards (1000 rubles).
Metro consists of two lines-Avtozavodskaya and Sormovskaya. Unfortunately, in the tourist area there is only one metro station "Gorkovskaya", which is in the end of Bolshaya Pokrovskaya street and on the edge of the tourist district. To get from the Kremlin before it can walk for 20 minutes on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya.
Another useful for tourists metro station – Moscow. It is near the railway station and the shopping centre of the city with many supermarkets, shopping malls and markets.
The trams in the Lower cover almost the entire city including the tourism district. The fare is 28 rubles, pay the conductor in the cabin. Useful for tourists routes:
- No. 2 - a circular route along the tourist area (center), crosses Bolshaya Pokrovskaya
- No. 27 – railway station – ulitsa Belinskogo near the tourist district
- Tourist tram on the street Christmas. During the trip the guide tells about the history of the city and the architecture of the buildings on the street Christmas. The cost of travel+tour – 150 rubles, the duration of the route is 50 minutes.
Cable car
Tourists cableway Nizhny Novgorod is perceived as a landmark or attraction, but in fact it is public transport. You can use it to the promenade to get into the centre of Bor and back. The fare one way – $ 100. Mode of operation: Monday-Saturday 06:45 – 21:00 Sunday and holidays 09:00 - 22:00.
Read more on the website http://nnkd.ru/
Trains departing from Moscow railway station, can be used to get to certain attractions or areas. In particular, it is possible to get to the station "sorting" to get to the Museum "steam Locomotives of Russia", or to reach the archives. Tickets are bought at the station at the ticket office or vending machines.


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Reservation Deposits, Methods of Paying your Balance
To confirm a reservation, Anaconda Lodge Ecuador, requires a deposit of 50% of the total stay (if the reservation is made 10 days before check in, payment of 100% of the total stay will be requested), which can be done through PayPal.com with your credit or debit card, deposit or electronic transfer to our account that we have in Banco Pichincha or ProduBanco, if you are located in Ecuador. If you are in Chile, you can make the deposit or transfer in our account that we have in Banco de Chile or BanEstado and if you are in the United States of America, you can make a transfer to our account in that country.
Anaconda Lodge Ecuador, does not assume the costs of transfers from abroad to any of our accounts that we have in Ecuador, Chile and the United States of America.
If you haven't made the reservation yet, do that first here.
Methods of Paying your Balance.
The 80% balance is paid at the time of entering the Lodge through, Debit Card, Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Diners Club International), PayPal or in cash with US dollars (the Ecuadorian currency is the US dollar) at the time of check in.
Cancellation policies:
If you make a cancellation up to 60 days before the tour starts, we refund 50% of the deposit.
If you make a cancellation in between 59 to 46 days before the tour starts, we refund 25% of the deposit.
If you make a cancellation up to 45 days before the tour starts, we don't refund the deposit.


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Prices incl. VAT plus shipping costs
The Auto Extension Tube Set DG for Canon EOS Lenses from Kenko contains three tubes of different lengths--12mm, 20mm, and 36mm--which can be used individually or in any combination to obtain the desired magnification. They are compatible with Canon EF and EFS lenses.
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Can I ask why the FX2 section in Rekordbox Performance is greyed out / unelectable when connected to the DJM 900 NXS2 Mixer?
I want to use my DDJ-SP1 for the effects but I can only use these on the left side of the controller. The pads work on the right but I cannot assign the FX to Deck 2 on the right hand side.
The only work around is to re-assign the ones on the left to Deck 2 but that means you can't use effects on both decks at the same time and also really fiddly when doing quick mixes!
Is this something that can be fixed? As soon as I unplug the DJM 900 NXS2 mixer the FX section on the right suddenly becomes selectable again.
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Brad Emond: Hi. Brad Emond here outside the Colonial Creek today. Wanted to let you know we have another happy buyer who's closing today on a two-bedroom condo, first floor unit for under $100,000. Guys, you gotta check out Colonial Creek, Colonial Villas across the street. There's some elevators even in those buildings. Colonial Charters, what a great area to be in close to the beach, second home or primary residence. Very reasonably priced. Solid amenities, pools, close to golf. Lot's of walking ability. You're in a perfect, perfect area. Give me a call at 843.503.0033. We don't have a lot inventory so you need to have someone like myself keeping an eye out so when the units become available you can have an opportunity to make that wonderful purchase. Thanks again, have a wonderful day. Bye.
Brad Emond, Sales Executive, 843.503.0033
Need help? Call The Trembley Group at 843.945.1880 ext. 1 and we'll help you look for the perfect listing or buyers agent!
At The Trembley Group, we pride ourselves on being the experts at more than just selling real estate. We are local residents, some of us have been here for a lifetime. The rest of us will be here until the end of time. We love living, working, and playing in the diverse backyard of Coastal Carolina, and look forward to helping you live and love your dreams soon too. Please reach out to us by phone or email for personalized service and one-on-one advice.


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On Today's Show
Sanders campaign workers reach a deal on wages, listen to part of Buttigieg's country music radio interview that never aired, people are already projecting electoral maps for 2020, Booker goes on Seth Myers, and Biden is starting to see just a tad less cable media coverage.
- Sanders union renegotiation early info (Twitter/Sean Sullivan)
- Pete Buttigieg sat for an interview with a popular country radio host. But now it won't air. (WaPo)
- Blair Garner interview with Mayor Pete Buttigieg (SoundCloud/Blair Garner)
- Popular Country Music Radio Station Killed A Buttigieg Interview Under False Pretenses (Talking Points Memo)
- Twitter thread about Priorities USA maps (Twitter/Dave Levinthal)
- Electoral Vote Map dot com (Taegan Goddard)
- Sen. Cory Booker on Civility in Politics and Working with Mitch McConnell (YouTube/Late Night with Seth Myers)
- Is Biden's Media Monopoly Coming To An End? (FiveThirtyEight)
Show Transcript
Note: This is the speaking script for the show, so the audio as delivered will differ very slightly from the below. This script also does not include audio clips from third-party sources, or advertisements, which may appear at various points in the show.
Sanders campaign workers reach a deal on wages
First up today, one of the stories I haven't mentioned yet on the show has been a simmering problem in which field organizers working for the Sanders campaign receive an effective wage that is not great.
Those organizers have reported routinely working 60-hour weeks, while getting paid a fixed salary—meaning no overtime. For field organizers, that salary was $36,000 dollars a year. So, doing the math, that's about $11 dollars and 50 cents an hour. Yeah. Oh, and technically their work week under the contract was listed as being five days, but routinely workers found themselves actually doing six days, at ten hours a day, which was a whole other issue.
So that meant Sanders field organizers were earning LESS than the $15 dollar minimum wage he supports as a candidate. So the union—and yes, the Sanders campaign is unionized—started negotiations with management. The intent of that negotiation was largely to raise the pay, not reduce the amount of work. They also wanted an acknowledgement that the work-week really was six days, rather than pretending it wasn't. But they're looking for 50 hours over six days, in other words roughly 8-hour days instead of ten-hour days.
While this story is just breaking as I read this in the recording booth, it looks like a settlement has been reached. This comes from Washington Post reporter Sean Sullivan. He writes on Twitter:
"NEWS: Unionized workers on [the Sanders] campaign have reached a deal with management to raise pay.
The specifics:
-Field [organizers] pay will go from $36 [thousand dollars] to $42 [thousand dollars] a year, with continued 100 percent coverage of health-care premiums.
-Workweek goes from five days to six.
Another important detail: Workweek for field organizers capped at 50 hours. Union members had said in an earlier draft proposal that those employees were working 60 hours a week.
At 50 hours and 42 [thousand dollars], the equivalent hourly rate to the annual salary is more than $15 [dollars] per hour."
That math does check out. At that new salary, and at 50 hours a week, the wage is just over $16 dollars an hour. So let's hear it for collective bargaining in campaigns.
Buttigieg's country music radio interview that never aired
On Friday, country music broadcaster Blair Garner revealed that his interview with Mayor Pete Buttigieg would not be on the air, but instead could be downloaded online from his personal SoundCloud page. Um. What?
So here's the story. Buttigieg's team reached out to Garner and offered time with the candidate for a sit-down interview. Garner, who hosts a popular country music radio show, accepted. The interview is about 20 minutes long, and starts with an anecdote about the time Buttigieg failed to recognize Brad Paisley backstage at a morning TV show, thinking Brad said his name was "Fred." It's funny, and it's clear that Buttigieg really does have at least some affinity for country music. Let's listen to a clip here, and note that Garner speaks first:
Okay, so that interview never aired. I got that clip from SoundCloud. Garner's show is distributed by Cumulus Media, which said it didn't want a political interview on its air, because of the FCC's Equal Time Rule. We'll get to the details of that in a moment, but let me read first from an article in the Washington Post by Emily Yahr. Here she quotes a statement from Cumulus.
"Cumulus Nashville's programming managers made the decision not to air Blair Garner's pre-recorded interview with Mayor Pete Buttigieg because of the large number of political candidates currently in this race," the statement read. "The decision was made by local programming management based solely on concerns related to the application of the FCC's Equal Time Rule. The effects of the FCC's Equal Time Rule are widely understood and considered whenever these types of issues arise."
Yeah. The Equal Time Rule. It IS well understood. The gist of that is that, if you air an unbiased interview for news purposes, you DO NOT need to provide equal time to anybody else. Kate Riga of Talking Points Memo spoke with Andrew Schwartzman of Georgetown's Institute for Public Representation, who pointed out that the rule would not apply in this case, and even if it did, every other candidate would have to apply within seven days in order to appear on a country music radio show. Reading from Talking Points Memo here, and this is a quote from Schwartzman.
""In practice, here's the bottom line — it is highly unlikely that any candidate that wished to could successfully obtain time under equal opportunity…just to request the time is a process that is complicated and probably not worth it," he said. "And anyway, this interview is almost certainly exempt."
He continued: "This is much more likely to be about Cumulus not wanting to be seen as promoting a candidate who may not be particularly consonant with the proclivities of country station listeners since he is — how should we put this — gay."
Incidentally, Garner, the host, is also gay, and married. He and his husband have twins. And his show does just fine, so I'm not sure what to make of all this mess. Anyway, if you're curious, the full interview on SoundCloud is in the show notes, as are links to several stories about the interview that never aired but now draws national attention.
People are already projecting electoral maps for 2020
On Twitter, I saw something that seemed just a tad early—but interesting nonetheless. Dave Levinthal, a reporter for the Center for Public Integrity, attended a press briefing today and then posted slides from it.
Reading from Levinthal's tweet:
"This is how Democratic super PAC [Priorities USA] sees the Election 2020 electoral college map at this moment, per a slide in a press briefing today."
And then he shows a slide bearing the title IF ELECTION WERE HELD TODAY, with the US states colored red and blue, along with some key figures: 278 electoral college votes for Democrats and 260 for Republicans. It also includes the note: "We win by leading in [Pennsylvania], though we lose [Maine's second district's] electoral votes."
What they're referring to there, by the way, is that Maine is NOT a winner-take all state—it allocates some of its electoral college votes to the state popular vote winner, and then the rest based on who won the vote in each Congressional district. Nebraska has a similar system. They're saying that Maine's second district would go red, but its first would go blue, as would its popular vote overall.
Okay, but that's not all. In the second image posted by Levinthal, he writes:
"This, meanwhile, is how Democratic super PAC [Priorities USA] sees the presidential race breaking if persons of color vote in fewer numbers than projected. In other words: Trump wins."
That map predicts a reduction in voter turnout of just two percent among people of color, and the ONLY state it actually flips is Pennsylvania. But flipping just one big state, well, that's the ballgame.
In the final map, we see where Priorities USA thinks the race is right now—what it calls the "baseline" electoral map. This map includes toss-up states and various leaning states. That's a whole story by itself, but essentially it reveals that large chunks of the country do fall into either a toss-up or leaning status. That, obviously, should change as we get deeper into the election and actually, you know, HAVE A CANDIDATE.
While it's very, very early days, this is the kind of thing strategists are looking at right now. In this specific example, a slight change in turnout among people of color could swing the election. I think it's WAY EARLY to take these maps seriously given that we don't have a Democratic ticket yet, but still, it's an interesting exercise to flip states around and see how the map changes.
This is also yet another great time to plug the website Electoral Vote Map, which lets you do precisely that—you can fiddle around with flipping states and see how that affects the overall election outcome. Links to all that in the show notes.
Booker goes on Seth Myers
Last night, Senator Cory Booker went on Late Night with Seth Myers. They talked about civility, and also about how to work with a Republican Senate. I mentioned the Senate thing in yesterday's show, in the context of Booker's plan to change immigration policy using executive orders that don't require approval by the Senate.
But I want to play the clip about the other topic—civility—that came up first. This starts with a line that I've heard from Booker before, about a felony, but it's still both a pretty decent "dad joke" and a good jumping-off point for a real discussion. So listen in:
Okay, so after that, it's interesting that Booker didn't bring up his immigration plan—instead, he essentially argued that he has had success as a sitting Senator passing bipartisan legislation. So that's the ideal, obviously—the idea that bipartisanship can work. And it can, to some extent. But it's nice to know that Booker has a Plan B—executive orders—just in case.
Biden is starting to see just a tad less cable media coverage
Last up today, Dhrumil Mehta at FiveThirtyEight has been tracking cable TV news coverage of the various primary candidates since this whole thing began. And in that time, there has been a distinct pattern, which is that Joe Biden completely dominates cable coverage. Well, earlier this month that started to change a little.
Looking at data for the week of July 14th, Mehta points out that Biden dropped from his previous week by 11 percentage points. Meanwhile, Sanders gained a little over 13 points, Warren gained just under 5, and everybody else moved relatively little.
So, having said that, Biden still had the lion's share of cable media attention at 39.6 percent during that week. In second place you had Sanders at 25, then Harris at 20, then Warren at 18. So we're looking now at a field where that top-four group, who were also The Final Draw on CNN, are not just the polling leaders, but they're also the most covered by the media, BY FAR.
Check out the last link in the show notes if you're curious about where your favorite candidate is in this ranking, and how that has changed lately.
Well, that is it for one more episode of the Election Ride Home. I have been your host, Chris Higgins. You can always find me on Twitter @chrishiggins. I just want to take a moment today to thank everyone who has gone on Apple Podcasts and left reviews—they really help me, and they help the show, and I appreciate your time. Meanwhile, after the show today, guess who's making Bingo cards? That's right, we are just one week away from the next debate, and we gotta get that sweet sweet Bingo. As always, thanks for listening, and I will talk to y'all tomorrow.


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Ghostpoint is my Marvel version of Flashpoint. The main character is Ghost Rider.
Johnny Blaze wakes up in an altered timeline in which Goldheart is the world's greatest hero, Crash Simpson is alive, Roxanne Simpson was killed in a terrorist attack, and Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and The Avengers do not exist. In Mahattan, Spider-Man throws a criminal off a building before being confronted by Forge. Forge and Spider-Man have a conference with a group of superheroes to discuss how the battle between Namor's Atlanteans and Thor's Asgardians has caused massive death and destruction in Western Europe (sunk by the Atlanteans, except for the United Kingdom, which was conquered by the Asgardians), with America similarly endangered. The heroes cannot cooperate to find a solution, and the meeting is disbanded. Johnny Blaze drives to Manhattan, where Spider-Man, who is revealed to be Ben Parker, attacks him — his son, Peter, has died in his place in this timeline. In the flooded remains of Paris, Deadpool captains a pirate ship in search of his girlfriend, Outlaw. Emperor Namor, who stabs Deadpool in the chest, attacks him and his crew (Hate-Monger, Lady Deathstrike, and Sandman). Hate-Monger is able to remove a piece of the sword from Deadpool's chest and heal him. Back in Manhattan, Johnny tries to explain to Ben about his secret identity as the Ghost Rider and his relationship to Peter Parker. Johnny's memory begins to spontaneously realign itself to the altered timeline and Johnny realizes that the world of Ghostpoint is not an alternate dimension, but his own. Johnny's motorcycle suddenly resembles the motorcycle of Michael Badilino, a.k.a. Vengeance, and causes Johnny to believe that his enemy is responsible for changing history. Johnny decides to recreate his origin in a bid to undo the damage caused by Badilino, but his initial attempt leaves him badly burned. In London, Jane Foster is waiting for a meeting with Pepper Potts but is attacked by Thor and the Asgardians. Tho catches her by the neck with his "lightning lasso" and begins interrogating her. She explains that she was sent to confront Potts and bring her to New Asgard because she had to gather information on the Asgardians for Forge. The U.S. President informs Forge that Jane Foster sent a signal to the Resistance but was intercepted because of a traitor among the heroes that Forge tried to recruit. Forge is relieved of duty as She-Thing sneaks into the headquarters. Meanwhile in New Asgard, Potts encounters the Resistance. A second attempt restores Baze's powers and health. He concludes that the Vengeance changed history to prevent the formation of the Avengers. He also learns that Tony Stark was taken by Project: Iron Man. Ghost Rider, Spider-Man and Forge join the cause to stop Thor and Namor. The three find a pale, weakened Iron Man at the Project. Iron Man flies off in the midst of a battle with the guards, leaving the three in the sewers to be rescued by She-Thing. Ghost Rider's memories continue to change. The president announces Forge's failure to unite the world's superheroes and the U.S. entry into the Atlantean/Asgardian war. Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Forge and She-Thing break down the door in need of the Guardians of the Galaxy's help and Spider-Man asks Quasar to use his cosmic abilities to prevent Ghost Rider's memories from changing even further. Quasar sees the memories of his Marvel Universe counterpart. The group hears of the failed air assault on England due to the Asgardians' magical weapons. Steve Rogers is the first casualty, and a giant Atlantean-generated tidal wave threatens the rest of New Asgard. Ghost Rider tells Spider-Man that if he fails to stop Balidimp, the world will destroy itself. Despite reservations, Spider-Man joins Ghost Rider as the group heads off to New Asgard. Petra joins them en route. Thor and Namor are fighting one-on-one until Ghost Rider and his team arrives.
The Guardians of the Galaxy transform into The Guardian, also transforming Nova. The Guardian attacks Thor and appears to be winning until Balder reveals himself as an Asgardian spy and uses his magic to restore the Guardians to their mortal forms. Sersi kills Starlord, causing a massive explosion that cripples the opposing forces.
In the wake of the devastation, Badilino appears in front of Ghost Rider. Vengeance reveals to Blaze that he himself inadvertently created the Ghostpoint timeline after he traveled back in time to stop his father from killing himself and his family. Johnny pulled all the energy of Zarathos into himself to stop Badilino, transforming the timeline by shattered the history of his allies. Badilino resets Johnny's speed and energy, enabling him to remember this. According to Badilino, these actions transformed him into a living paradox, no longer requiring Johnny to exist and allowing him to kill the Ghost Rider without erasing his own existence. Badilino continues to taunt Johnny with this knowledge until Spider-Man kills him. As the fight continues, Iron Man arrives and begins to aid the heroes. Ben insists that Johnny put history back to normal to undo the millions of deaths. Meanwhile Forge detects seismic activity which he claims could destroy the world and waves start to approach. Now knowing the point of divergence, the Ghost Rider restores the timeline. As he enters the timestream, Ben thanks him for giving his nephew a second chance and gives Johnny a letter addressed to Peter. Johnny then meets his mother and bids a tearful farewell to her.
Traveling back in time, Johnny merges with his younger counterpart during the attempt to stop Badilino. While traveling through time, Johnny realizes he can see three different timelines — Marvel Comics, Malibu Comics, and Epic Comics. A mysterious hooded figure, later identified as "Iðunn", tells him that the world was split into three to weaken them for an impending threat, and must now be reunited to combat it. The Marvel, Malibu, and Epic universes are then merged, creating a brand new Marvel Universe. Johnny then wakes up in a similar manner to the beginning of Ghostpoint. Believing that everything is over, Johnny remembers Ben's letter and gives it to Peter, who is still the Spider-Man in this timeline. Peter is deeply touched by his Uncle's sacrifice to ensure his own life, and cries, and is grateful to Johnny for informing him of the events that transpired before the timeline was reset.


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About Bozena Szczurowska
Bozena is our financial guru. She has 20 years of experience in finance and human resources in diverse industries. She holds a master's degree in economics from University of Stettin. Bozena believes that financial prosperity comes from our contribution to the world. She enjoys self-development and is a big fan of Mindvalley. She practices yoga and its principles on and off the mat, meditates daily and loves vegan food. She visited over twenty countries on four continents. She believes that a conscious way of living life combined with great acts of kindness lead to success in business and in all areas of life.


text: by Abdullah Mohammed ISLAM is the fastest growing religion in the world and yet it is the most misunderstood religion in the West. The popular demand for the application of Shari'ah the Islamic law- in various Muslim countries1 is another great 'threat' to secularism and it has aroused suspicion, anger, jealousy and hatred among the Western ruling elite who want to dissuade people from sympathising with Islam and to vilify anything connected with Islam.2 The theme of this essay involves some common misconceptions and false charges leveled against the Islamic law in general and its penal policy in particular. Many volumes have been written by Islamic scholars to rebut and refute these allegations, but in the course of this discussion I will try my best to restrict myself to the specific points raised in the rubric of this essay. Insha-Allah, I will tackle the problem in four parts; a) issue of 'defending Islam' b) nature of 'Islamic law' c) issues of 'lashing, stoning and mutilating' and d) the question of whether the Islamic law is 'barbaric and outdated'. In the course of this essay I will discuss the role of the penal system in Islamic law and analyse some of the major punishments that are often highlighted and frowned upon by the West to show that Islamic law is all-embracing and progressive and that the Western objections of Islamic law, as outlined in the rubric of this essay, are baseless because they are neither based on objective perception of Islam in its totality nor are they constructive 'intellectual' criticisms, but rather they are based on hearsay and the West's preconceived notions and stereotype images of the so called Islamic law distorted in such a negative way so as to horrify the people and to make Islam seem ugly. 'Defend the case of Islam' Before we tackle these objections and any such other objections against Islam, we must be very careful of our methodology. Islam is the religion of Allah and it needs no human defenses or justifications. No matter how we portray Islam, it will always remain a threat to the secular establishment. We should not be unnecessarily on the defensive and be 'apologetic' to justify to the West things that will be acceptable to them. This is especially relevant with the Islamic penal system which radically differs from all other Western and man-made legal systems- hence it attracts much hatred and jealousy. We have seen the case of some Modernist Muslims who fell prey to the criticisms of the West and tried to explain away certain provisions of the Shari'ah to make it easily acceptable to Western standards, but without any success. The issue of the punishment for theft is a good illustration; Sir Syed Ahmad Khan not only believed that "Western prisons were vastly superior to any Islamic alternative" but he also argued that imprisonment is the most appropriate punishment for theft and other hudood offences because at the time of the revelation of the Qur'an, "there was no prison or isolated island for the criminals". Others argued that "in a truly Islamic society the chopping of a hand would not arise at all"6 or the "punishment of 'cutting off' the hand is only in cases of offenders involved in habitual theft or if the crime is very serious"7 or the cutting off the hand "will make the disabled thief a great burden for the people". And yet others have argued that the Qur'anic order "cut off their hands" (5:38) only means that the thief's hand should be injured9 or it means "prevent the thief from stealing" by creating such an economic atmosphere where everyone is well off to enjoy themselves.10 "All these are", according to Ashfaq Ahmad, "mere perversions of Islamic Jurisprudence, unproved by any precedence". Humans are fallible and their minds are limited and as believers, we must submit wholeheartedly to the will of Allah as He says "O those who believe! Enter into Islam completely" (2: 208) and He also tells us "it may happen that you may hate a thing which is in fact good for you and it may happen that you may love a thing which is in fact bad for you" (2: 216). So we should have trust and full confidence in the Lord of the Universe whose decrees are full of wisdom, mercy and blessings. Therefore "no apologies or excuses are needed to explain away or make acceptable to the West" things that have been so clearly stated in the Qur'an and the Sunnah and understood by the whole Ummah for the last fourteen centuries. 'Islamic law' From the rubric of this essay, it seems to suggest that Islamic law is all about 'lashing, stoning and mutilating'. This is the picture of the Shari'ah that the West wants to portray, but it is far from the truth. Even the term Islamic law, judged by Western standards, could be a misnomer; "The Shari'ah is not merely a system of law, but a comprehensive code of behaviour that embraces both private and public activities" and "it has a wider application than any secular system of law since it claims to regulate all aspects of a man's life - his duties to God, to his neighbour and to himself".14 The Shari'ah encompasses and governs every sphere of human activity including the spiritual, moral, social, economic and political aspects of lifel5 and according to H.A.R. Gibb, it is "the most far-reaching and effective agent in moulding the social order and the community life of the Muslim people". It is the only perfect system of justice that could solve all of world's problems including the crime problem which is seriously affecting and worrying Western societies17 as it is something that "God in His (Infinite) Wisdom has ordained for the well being of all mankind". Islam denotes the complete submission to the will of Allah, which is only possible "if the Shari'ah is fully applied in its totality".19 The "Shari'ah is an integrated homogenous whole" and any of its specific provisions should be looked at within the overall context and not in isolation because "any arbitrary division of the scheme is bound to harm the 'spirit' as well as the structure of the Shari'ah"21. Hence the Islamic penal system, as this essay deals with, should be "viewed with the background of the whole Islamic system of life covering the economic, social, political and educational spheres of activity" and not in isolation as is often portrayed and distorted by the media and the politicians. Role of Punishment in Islamic Law Traditionally it is said that the Shari'ah is divided into five main branches-I'tiqadat (beliefs), 'ibadah (ritual worship), adaab (morals and manners), mu'amalat (transactions and contracts) and 'uqubat (punishments). The Shari'ah protects and defends life, property, honour, religion and intellect. 24 Hence the penal system is absolutely vital in guaranteeing these fundamental 'human rights,25 as it is "the defence system in any society" which "upholds the values and preserves the institutions of that society" otherwise "the entire fabric of society will crumble" as "it is on the proper and most effective administration of law that a society is moulded into what it should be". Therefore the Islamic penal system is just one of many branches of Shari'ah and it will be unfair for a critic, as it is done in the rubric of this essay, to single out some aspects of its penal policy in isolation to judge the merit or de-merit of the Islamic law without looking at the "context of its total scheme - its conceptual basis, primary objectives and goals and overall framework".3O The concepts of crime and punishment in the Shari'ah were tailor made "to bring about the kind of society and moral order that the religion of Islam foresaw". In fact there are arguments to suggest that Islamic punishments are only applicable and enforceable in a just and proper Islamic state where the socio-economic and political systems are fully operating according to Shari'ah.32 There is a saying that "you can bend the necks but you can't change the hearts"- so punishment alone cannot ensure compliance with the law or solve the problem of crime.33 In an Islamic state, punishment follows a long series of prohibitory and reformatory steps where all efforts are made to engender attitudes of contempt for crime and eliminate all the root 'causes' of crime and to create a healthy crime-free environment.34 Even then punishment is not meted out for all breaches of the Shari'ah but only certain specifically defined crimes with strict conditions "because of their bearing upon...the establishment of peace and order". It has been argued by many renowned jurists and criminologists that "it is an essential requirement for a 'viable' legal system to be inclusive of both fixed and variable elements in its penal postulates". Islam, being cognisant of human conditions, provides for this when it divides its penal penalties in three categories. The first and most severe type of punishments are known as the hudood (singular haad) meaning a thing which restrains or prevents since a punishment "prevents a man from doing crimes". However, it is a strictly defined penalty which is mentioned in the Qur'an or the Hadith and it includes adultery, fornication, false imputation of unchastity (qadhf), drunkenness, armed robbery, sedition and apostasy, though there are some disagreements on whether one or two are technically described as 'hudood'.38 Because of "the decisive nature of haad, its severity and its exactness and its strictness in the rules of evidence", it has "considerably limited the severest penalties". The second category of punishment, known as qisas (equitable retribution)4O, is inflicted for deliberate killing or wounding of a person. Unlike haad, the penalty could be waived by the victim or his heir in lieu of blood-money (diya), but for unintentional homicide or wounding there is no retribution and only compensation is paid. The Qur'an teaches that: "And for you in equitable retribution there is Life, 0 people of understanding, that you may ward off evil" (2: 179)41. The third category of punishment is known as ta'zeer (discretionary punishment) and it is "a sentence or punishment whose measure is not fixed by the Shari'ah" neither as to the offence nor the penalty. It helps to meet varying circumstances (e.g. if a definitional element is short in a haad offence) and the punishment that was generally inflicted in the past was whipping, though other alternatives such as a warning, fines and imprisonment could be given, but the quantum of punishment for ta'zeer is generally much below that of haad (e.g. ten lashes). 'Lashing' The word 'lashing' has strong negative connotations and sounds like the vicious slashing and the more appropriate synonyms would be whipping and flogging. Among the hudood punishments, the offences of fornication, slander and drunkenness carry the penalty of flogging and it could also be prescribed for a number of ta'zeer offences. As the first two are' Sexual Offences', I shall deal with them under 'Stoning' because they are connected with adultery. Practically, for the Westerner, drunkenness is the most likely offence that invokes the penalty of flogging and so I will mention it in some detail. The Qur'an strictly orders the believers to shun intoxicants as "it is the handiwork of Satan" (5:90) and it will 'divert' the believers from the "remembrance of Allah" (5:91) and the Hadith goes even further to condemn all acts associated with alcohol such as drinking, buying, selling, transporting and brewing. Drinking is rampant in Western societies even though "the greatest cause of 'violent' crime in the West is alcohol"43 Almighty Allah, in His Perfect Wisdom, has prohibited alcohol not only for its "evil effects on the body and the society, but also for their evil moral" consequences. The Islamic penal policy is not to create opportunities for crime and then to punish the culprit, but it aims at eliminating the very root cause of crime. There is a saying "prevention is the best cure" and if we can eliminate alcohol from society, then we can eliminate or at least substantially reduce the rate of crime. That is why "in true Islamic societies there is virtually no drunkenness with its associated catalogue of crimes" such as homicide, physical assault, domestic violence, reckless driving, vandalism and rape. "Islam punishes before there is the chance for a serious crime to be committed" and thereby it stops public nuisance and safeguards people's lives, honour, intellect and property. Alcoholism is a widespread disease and no human solutions are apparent as a result of which even Westerners have admitted that "for recovering alcoholics, Islam is a more effective 'cure' than the Betty Ford clinic". Lord Scarman, the well-known British judicial champion of civil liberties, writes that "it is important to a civilised system of justice to have humane values at all levels of its administration" and Islam provides for this. Flogging in Islamic law is "not just a savage beating inflicted capriciously according to the whims of brutal guards" but it is done "with control, in accord with justice and in the kindest possible way in the circumstances" to the extent that one English writer says that "the best comparison for Islamic flogging is the caning of children at school". Even the President of the International Court of Justice at the Hague in 1967 declared that "certain types of offences call for severe chastisement, and flogging in the case of such offences cannot be regarded as cruel, inhuman or degrading".51 During the time of the Holy Prophet (saw), drunkards were generally beaten with shoes but at the time of the second Khalifah Umar the punishment for drinking was fixed to 40 lashes or eighty lashes for the more mischievous drunkards. People are not given the haad punishment for drinking alcohol in their homes in privacy, but at least two witnesses are required to bear witness to the act of drinking and it has to be proven that it was consumed by a mature person voluntarily without any compulsion. A person is only punished with flogging if all the definitional elements of the crime are proven and it is attested by reliable evidence. Even with respect to flogging at the time of sentencing, certain conditions and restrictions are imposed; the punishment should not be inflicted by vicious executioners and it should not be carried out in severe hot or cold weather. It is also prescribed that the whip be of medium size, the flogging is done with average intensity and it should not be inflicted on the naked body nor on the head, face and private parts and the whipping should not cause any wound and it should be distributed evenly in various parts of the body and not only on the same parts. Such is the humanity of punishment in Islam even when it prescribes 'deterrent' punishments for major offences such as fornication, slander and drunkenness!. 'Stoning'55 This is the most severe of all the punishments that exist in Islamic law and, just like the case of treason nowadays under English law56, it is extremely rare in practice as during the last fourteen centuries of Islamic history only "fourteen cases of stoning could hardly be numbered in all that time". Considering this extreme rarity, it is totally dishonest and unfair for a critic to single out stoning in order to judge not only the Islamic penal system but also the structure of the entire Islamic law in general as it is done in the rubric of this essay. Islamic law aims to ensure the stability of society from its very base - the family - which is the 'nucleus' of society that breeds society's values and holds together the various institutions in society. "The family, is thus, the cradle of the individual and the cornerstone of society" In Islam, marriage is not only encouraged but also made obligatory to ensure the continuity of the family "in the interest of the preservation of the human race and the stability of human civilisation". Chastity is highly esteemed as a supreme virtue in Islamic societies, though it is not an ideal in the West where immorality is rampant and flirting has become the part and parcel of life. In the West, the institution of marriage has significantly declined and nearly half of the marriages end up in divorce. The family has broken down resulting in much tension and the disintegration of other institutions in society and the rate of crime has steadily risen to epidemic proportion. The root 'cause' of all these is zina - the unlawful sexual union between a man and a woman who are not married to each other. Zina is the breach of the greatest 'trust' that a man and a woman can ever have and it leads to disastrous consequences such as breakdown of family ties, depression, domestic violence, child abuse, rape60 and "the AIDS epidemic as a result of promiscuous sexual activity in direct contravention of Divine law". That's why John Major's "Back to Basics" campaign is geared toward restoration of family values in order to reduce the crime rate and to maintain social order. Zina is the most deadliest of all social crimes and "Islam puts an end to all those factors that 'allure' a man to zina or provide occasions for it" The Qur'an condemns zina not with the words "La Tazanu" (Do not commit adultery), as in the Pentateuch "Thou shall not commit adultery", but with the words "La Taqrabuz zina" (Do not go near adultery)...thus blocking all possible 'paths' leading to that act". That is why in Islamic societies, there is the segregation of the sexes and the Qur'an orders both men and' women to "lower their gaze" (24:30-1) and for women to wear the Hijab so that "they may be recognised and not molested" (33:59) as it is better for the purification of the hearts of both the sexes (33:53). To eliminate the root cause of zina, Islam also takes other large scale precautionary and prohibitory measures such as developing God-consciousness, repugnance to sin and the belief in accountability, in every stage of education and it also encourages "early marriage and provides aid from the Public Treasury for those who wish to get married yet cannot afford to do so". Islamic societies, for this reason, will also not tolerate lures, mixed parties, *!*!*!*!ography and the like which is likely to arouse the passion and disturb family relations because after all, according to the Qur'an, "Man is created weak" (4:28). Islam also very strongly condemns false imputation of zina on another person (qadhf) as the Qur'an declares: "As for those who slander chaste women and produce not four reliable witnesses, then stripe them with eighty lashes and never accept their testimony thereafter" (24:4). Thus slander of this kind is dealt with severely as it seriously affects and damages self-confidence and strains family relations. Islam is never prepared to accept the kind of gossip that are so frequently found in the tabloid papers and the scandal - mongers are punished severely with eighty stripes. Despite all the lawful channels provided, if a person transgresses the limits beyond all bounds of decency to commit zina in 'public', then Islam provides severe chastisement to safeguard the family and to save society from corruption and destruction and the punishment acts as a strong 'deterrent' to others. For fornication between unmarried couples the penalty is 100 lashes and for adultery between married couples the penalty is stoning to death (rajm). Even then the haad punishment is not prescribed for the mere commission of zina, but other definitional elements of the crime has to be satisfied; only that kind of adultery is punishable by stoning which is committed intentionally by a free person who is both mature and sane, the accused must be committed to a marriage and has had intercourse with his lawful spouse, the accused must have committed zina voluntarily without compulsion and the act of zina must be attested by four honest, reliable and trustworthy witnesses who must have all seen the act of penepration and all four witnesses must be 'unanimous' in every stage of the act including minute details (if statement of one witness is contradictory to the others, then all four witnesses will be given the haad punishment of 80 stripes for slander) Such is the strict legal technicalities that has to be understood before the haad of stoning is carried out on adulterers and these facts are not highlighted by the West when condemning the punishments for zina. All the above mentioned conditions have to be met, before the haad is imposed which is very hard to do. Especially the question of witnesses is the most difficult aspect of all - the necessity of a minimum of four witnesses, as opposed to other haad offences where two are sufficient, who must be devout (the testimony of a fasiq, a person who lies or breaks any of the major prohibitions of Islam is inadmissible), the unanimous description of the act of penetration and other minute details by all four witnesses and the fear of receiving the haad penalty for slander on the part of witnesses greatly reduce the chance of conviction for the adulterers as the required evidence is "so strong and complete as to be practically impossible to obtain". That is why during the life of the prophet, "it was not possible to prove...one single case of adultery" 68 and "during 1400 years of the Muslim era only fourteen cases of adultery have been recorded" - hence "punishment by stoning has remained what it always was", harsh in principle, "but extremely rare in practice". 'Mutilating' Mutilating means "to deprive a person of an organ of the body" and like 'lashing', it too has some negative connotations and I would prefer the alternative 'amputating'. In Islamic law, its application is only confined to the hudood punishments for armed robbery72 and theft73, except of course that it might be applicable to the retributory punishments of qisas. For all practical purposes, the punishment of 'cutting off' the hand is generally invoked for the offence of theft and so I will mention it in some detail. In Britain, most of the recorded crimes involve theft and a burglary is committed every twenty four seconds.74 Property is something which people hold very dearly and often spend their whole lives in acquiring, and the Shari'ah seeks to protect the people's rightful ownership to property75 and thereby ensure the stability of family and reduce violence, vandalism and frustration. The punishment for theft in Islamic law must be seen in the context of the 'Social Security' system of the Islamic Welfare State.76 "Islam aims at creating a society in which none is compelled by the force of circumstances to steal". Rights and duties are reciprocal in Islam and "no duty is ever imposed on man without his being granted a corresponding right". In an Islamic state, "every individual is entitled to social security collected from various sources ?including the obligatory collection of zakat" and "the basic needs of all citizens are adequately met" because according to a saying of the prophet, every son of Adam is entitled to food, clothing and shelter.81 "It is only after the state discharges its own duty that it can impose the penalty on a thief,82 who selfishly intrudes on the rights of others despite being provided with all the basic amenities of life. Hence "if a citizen is forced by circumstances (e.g. poverty)...the society will be considered at fault and no hadd punishment will be given to the accused".83 It was in this light that the second Khalifah Umar, who was well known for his "strict rigidity in enforcing the rules of Shari'ah"84, waived the cutting off the hand for theft during a period of famine. Having looked at the socio-economic context of the amputation of hand for theft, it is also necessary to look at the 'legal' technicalities. A strong 'deterrent' punishment for theft is justified because "it is fear of consequences as world-wide human experience proves, that keeps in check the very natural tendency, almost inherent in human nature, to stealing and thieving". The punishment may appear to be harsh "to some hypersensitive Western reader7 who are swayed by false sentiments, but "the hand is cut off for the preservation of society" as the Gospels record Jesus as saying: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell" (Mark 9:43)89 However, under Islamic law, the type of theft (sariqah) that invokes the haad punishment is very restrictive in scope and is more akin to 'burglary,9O and unlike English law, it does not include pickpocketing, shoplifting, mugging, forgery and deception, obtaining pecuniary advantages without payment and handling stolen goods. Even with that restrictive definition of theft, "all elements of the crime must be committed by one person"91 and all the definitional elements of theft must be there such as the following: 1) it is committed intentionally by a sane and mature person who is not driven by force of circumstances (e.g. poverty) 2) the property must lawfully belong to another and have some value, that the value of the stolen property reaches a minimum value of 3 or 10 dirhams92 and the property must have been taken from a sufficiently 'safe' place or proximity suitable for the safety of the object93 and 3) the act of stealing must be attested by at least two witnesses who physically saw the crime being committed. 94 By looking at the socio-economic and legal contexts of the amputation of hand for theft, the 'deterrent' nature of the punishment for theft could be better appreciated.95 In one sense, it could be said that the amputation of hand is the 'maximum' penalty for theft96 because all the definitional elements of the crime has to be satisfied and even when it is carried out it is done humanely and "amputation in an actual Islamic state with an Islamic penal system is (extremely) rare" in practice. Professor Muhammad Qutb writes that "punishment for theft has been executed only six times throughout a period of 400 years is a clear evidence that such punishment was primarily meant to prevent crime". As we do not have a proper Islamic state, the practices in some Muslim countries should be looked at with skepticism and put under strict legal scrutiny as "the cutting off of a hand for theft is applicable only within the context of an already existing, fully functioning 'social security' scheme" 'Islamic law is barbaric'? The word barbaric was originally used by the Greeks for 'foreigners' to express the strange sound of their language. Later, this word was used to describe people who are 'uncivilised, primitive, rough, uneducated, brutal, cruel, blood-thirsty and merciless' as opposed to being 'advanced, civilised, cultured, humane and compassionate, It is true to say that not a single synonym of 'barbaric' is applicable to the Islamic penal system. On the contrary, humane values lie at the heart of the criminal justice system in Islam and all the antonyms of 'barbaric' are truly descriptive of the Shari'ah. The object of punishment is not to relentlessly hunt down wrong-doers for retribution, but to see that peace, right and order are restored and this could be illustrated by the fact that the Islamic penal system almost wholly "lacks police, prisons and professional executioners". The hudood may appear to be harsh in the eyes of those who have been swayed by false sentiments, but human experience shows that if a punishment was to act as 'deterrent', then it has to be severe and exemplary. "Life cannot be safe if the habitual criminals are left unfinished" and it is better to be severe to one and save many than to be unnecessarily lenient and thereby destroy many and put the lives of millions of others at risk. The deterrent punishments in Islam on the surface appears to be harsh, but it is only meant for "such incorrigible offenders who stand as real obstacles in the healthy growth of human society" and "in fact, it was a vital instrument in the dynamics of building a new social order"105 and it radically abolished and amended the pre-Islamic systems where inhumanity and vengeance was the order of the day. Prisons in Western societies are miserably failing its people and apart from being living hell, prison destabilises people and often has a "destructive effect on the personality" Home Office statistics in Britain shows that longer sentences do not prevent reconviction and in fact 50% males and 35% females get convicted within two years after coming out of prison. Hence "if the results do not tally with the main object, it means that the laws of punishments are quite imperfect" Thus, it is not true to say that prison is the more appropriate punishment for theft rather than the amputating of hand and if reducing the crime rate is the objective, then certainly the choice will be the Divine law - you just have to compare the crime statistics of Saudi Arabia and America and judge which one is better. Sentences may appear to be severe in Islam, "but still more strict and severe are the 'procedures' laid down to be observed before a man may be convicted" and the Holy Prophet said: "Avoid the hudood as much as possible. Wherever there is even a mild chance, release him, for releasing by an error on the part of the judge is better than to punish anyone with error" (Tirmidi and Ibn Majah). Islam also teaches that "no bearer of a burden shall bear the burden of another" (6:164), it guarantees the accused immunity from 'malicious prosecution' (unlike in the UK) due to strict rules of evidence109, it strongly advocates the equality of all before the law110 and in the realm of qisas (equitable retribution) it teaches that "let him not exceed in the matter of taking life for he is aided" (17:33). Such is the humanity taught by Islam 1400 years ago! We have dealt with the humane values that Islam stresses even at the time of sentencing. For example, in the case of flogging, several conditions and restrictions are imposed ranging from the type of stick to who inflicts the punishment to where it should hit! In actual practice, very "few haad punishments were prescribed". On the other hand, if we look at the inhuman atrocities of the West it is beyond count and Professor E.F.M. Durbin, after describing the inhuman and cruel treatment that has been inflicted by the 'progressive' countries of the West concluded by saying that "such large-scale brutality has rarely been witnessed, I am thankful to say, in the previous history of the World". Therefore, "Islam is a package deal which Muslims are bound to follow and if the progressive modern cultured societies can 'tolerate' mass killing indiscriminately with atom bombs, then certainly they can tolerate the amputation of the hands, flogging or stoning to death for certain 'heinous' crimes i.e. sacrifice of a few individuals for the sake of the society as a whole". 'Islamic law is outdated'? Outdated means' old fashioned, obsolete and unfashionable' and it is applicable to something which is 'out of date', and to raise this objection against Islamic law doesn't make sense. The Shari'ah is a 'living law' today, as it was 1400 years ago, among the Muslim masses across the globe, though it may not be implemented in its totality. I think the critic is not trying to pinpoint any particular 'weaknesses' of Islamic law but is simply saying that the Shari'ah is too old and therefore we should forsake it for the latest modern trend. There is nothing such as 'modernism' in Islam as Islam is forever modern, progressive and dynamic because human trends show that what is modern today becomes obsolete tomorrow. The Shari'ah emanates from Allah the All Wise who, being well aware of human conditions, has revealed a law (5:48) that is "perfectly universal and applicable to all nations"115 for all times. "It is not a system of law to be judged and evaluated as 'good' or 'bad' in accordance with the changing views of the population or the policies of the state" and therefore the Shari'ah is radically different from "the ordinary law in which the legislative authority is free to explain and comment on the law introduced by it which it can freely amend, cancel or withdraw". If the aim of the law is to control unacceptable human behaviour and to reduce the rate of crime, then there has to be an element of permanence so that it may be easily recognised by the citizens who after all, are the ones who are bound to follow the law (English law teaches that 'ignorance of law is no defence'). But man-made laws change all the time according to changing "social attitudes" so much so that actions that were once regarded as 'detestable' and 'heinous' crimes (such as abortion, suicide, prostitution, homosexuality and adultery in England) are now regarded as 'legal' and normal under the same laws! Such is the nature of human laws which cannot fully comprehend human nature or predict the future and is constantly changing so much so that if I buy a law textbook today, it may not be valid for tomorrow." Islamic law, therefore, does not recognise the liberty of (human) legislation, for it would be incompatible with the ethical control of human actions and, ultimately, of society".119 That is why man-made laws have miserably failed and the rate of crime has reached epidemic proportion as Allah says that "it may happen that you hate a thing which is in fact 'good' for you and it may happen that you love a thing which is in fact 'bad' for you" (2:216).120 "Islamic law is at once static as well as dynamic" as a result of which it has attracted people of all nations over the last 1400 years and yet "kept the social fabric of Islam compact and secure through the ages" and "this law shall be as responsive to the urges of a progressive society in the present and the future as it has been in the past". So it's about time that the fallible Occidental homo sapiens change their 'fashionable' attitudes of contempt for Islamic law so that they may be assured of their spiritual and material well being and create an ordered crime free society based on justice. Conclusion The Shari'ah encompasses and governs every aspect of life and any of its specific provisions, including the penal system, must be seen in its totality where the moral, socio-economic, political and educational systems are in force and it must not be seen in isolation. If the penal system is only one of the branches of law, which is dependent on other institutions in society, then it is totally unfair to look at some of the rare punishments of Islam to judge the merit or de-merit of the whole legal system as it is done in the rubric of this essay. The penal system is vital in enforcing social order and ensuring the stability of society. Unless 'deterrent' punishments are applied to curb the "incorrigible, hardened and habitual criminals committing most abominable atrocities" , then the very fabric of society will be torn. 125 Westerners never show the true role of punishments in the overall 'context' of a proper Islamic society, "rather they are shown as scattered, isolated, dissected parts, selected so as to appear absurd" and they "wrongly imagine that such punishments - like the European civil systems - will be inflicted every day". It must also be said that "the establishment of the true Islamic society is a 'condition' precedent to the infliction of hudood' (as rights and duties are reciprocal in Islam) and that no such Islamic state exists nowadays as "the legal systems prevailing in the Islamic world are almost entirely based on Western law". As humans are 'social beings' susceptible to influences and conditioning, Islam aims at eliminating the root 'cause' of crime by creating a crime free environment and blocking all avenues by which crime may be committed13O It also wages a crusade against crime "by way of educating the masses" and appealing to the moral conscience and these factors are much important in reducing the crime rate than any 'material' sanctions. "The 'moral habit' engendered by the Shari'ah is a powerful factor making not only for individual righteousness but also for effective social co-operation and cultural progress" lt is due to the absence of this in Western societies that has led researchers into the effectiveness of punishments to "the conclusion that nothing works" because there is a saying "you can bend the necks but you can't change the hearts". The alleged severity of the Islamic punishments is not really what the West is concerned about, but the 'moral values' of Islam as "they do not think that crimes like drunkenness and adultery deserve even a word of reproach" let alone prescribing exemplary punishments for these offences. A system which the West always attack and belittle is loved by millions of people across the globe and "this popularity (for the implementation of hudood) is what really horrifies the West" - when it suits them, the West is even prepared to denounce their well-cherished concept of 'Democracy'. According to Professor Qutb, the 'real' reason "Europeans are afraid of the application of the rules of Islam" is because they themselves are "criminal in nature and persist in committing crimes which lack all justification" . Islam never prescribes punishment haphazardly nor does it execute these without due consideration" and the few hudood punishments inflicted for the most serious offences have very strict 'definitional elements' which makes its application very rare in practice and yet it has been instrumental in the past and at present in greatly reducing the problem of crime which is seriously affecting Western societies. Therefore, the allegations made in the rubric of this essay about the Islamic law are totally 'baseless' and reflects the West's narrow mindedness and blind vision to the reality of Islam that is sweeping across Europe and it is determined to retain its stereotype images of the Islamic law from its colonial past as an 'ideological weapon' in the crusade against Islam.


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Customers awarded for their cheeses
Press release • Dec 18, 2013 11:20 UTC
Chr. Hansen congratulates the medal winners at World Cheese Awards 2013.
For over 20 years the World Cheese Awards, this year held at the 'BBC Good Food Show Winter 2013' in the UK, has been bringing together buyers and sellers from the dairy industry worldwide. It is a huge cheese competition attracting close to 3,000 entries from more than 30 countries and it is judged by 220 experts from every corner of the world.
After the international panel of experts has completed its judging, almost 80,000 consumers have the chance of tasting the cheese.
Chr. Hansen is equally pleased and proud to note a significant proportion of customers, scattered around the globe, on the list of medalists among the 786 awarded cheeses.
Committed to innovative solutions
"We would like to congratulate all of the winners and thank them for using our ingredient solutions. Chr. Hansen is deeply rooted in the cheese industry, based on a groundbreaking discovery that revolutionized the cheese production through the development of the first industrialized cheese coagulant. Ever since we have been committed to bringing innovative solutions to our customers," says Timothy Wallace, Enzymes Marketing Manager, Chr. Hansen.
Two "Dairy Innovation of the Year" awards
Only last month Chr. Hansen took home a Food Ingredients Excellence Award in the "Dairy innovation of the year" category for its SaltLite™ breakthrough innovation.
The SaltLite™ concept, enabling cheese manufacturers to overcome the traditional challenges of reduced sodium (salt) cheese and produce high quality products, is a unique blend of DVS® starter and adjunct cultures and the cheese coagulant CHY-MAX® M – which, incidentally, received the same award at FI Europe in 2009.
Care to differentiate?
Other recent product launches in the cheese area include EASY-SET® FLORA, which takes the best from traditional mesophilic cultures and converts it into a robust and flexible culture concept that ensures consistency and allows for optimization of key process parameters such as moisture content in the cheese.
Three different series of well-defined strains to choose from ensure full control of flavor and eye formation and provide a strong platform for development of new cheese varieties and robust production performance.
Chr. Hansen is a global bioscience company that develops natural ingredient solutions for the food, nutritional, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. The products include cultures, enzymes, probiotics and natural colors, and all solutions are based on strong research and development competencies coupled with significant technology investments. Revenue in the 2013/14 financial year was EUR 756 million. The company holds a leading market position in all its divisions: Cultures & Enzymes, Health & Nutrition and Natural Colors. It has more than 2,500 dedicated employees in over 30 countries and main production facilities in Denmark, France, USA and Germany. Chr. Hansen was founded in 1874 and is listed on NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen.


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How To Install Opei TV On Fire TV Device
How To Clear The Cache and Data
Amazon Firestick & Firestick 4K (Android OS) Application Download and Installation Instructions
- Before you start you'll need to sign up with Amazon.
- After you have an Amazon account, plug in your Firestick.
- Go through the initial setup and enter your Amazon account credentials.
- After you've signed in go to devices>settings>developer options and make sure Apps from Unknown Sources is turned on (see image below for reference)
5. After developer options are set go back to the homepage and go to Apps & Games. You'll need to search for an App/Utility called "downloader" and click to open the application. (see image below for reference)
6. After "downloader" opens you'll need to input the URL for the application download (see image below for reference)
7. Click on and download the apk of your choice (or more than one).
8. Click on install. It's going to ask for your Opei TV login credentials that you received in your welcome email. After entering your credentials you're all set!
How to Download OPEI TV on Nvidia Shield, Mi Box, Android Device:
- Go to Settings > Security & Restrictions > Turn on Unknown Sources
- Click Browser > Ok. Click on URL at top and enter bit.ly/opeitv> Next
- Once page loads, you will see three choices. Click on the APK of your choice > Install > Open
- To open Opei TV go to Settings > Apps > Opei TV > Clear Cache > Open
- Always clear cache before launching application.
OPEI TV On Your Smart TV
1. Go to Smart_IPTV website (On Computer) Follow Link Here: Smart IPTV Website
2. Find your TVs MAC address (On TV)
3. Go to the top page menu and click "My List" (Back on the computer)
4. Find "Add external playlist links (URLs), with auto-update" about the middle of the page. (Back on the computer)
5. Enter your MAC address and then paste your M3U list where it says "Link". (Back on the computer)
6. Click "Add Link". (Back on the computer)
7. Go back to you TV and open the SmartIPTV app.
8. Enjoy Excursion TV on your TV.


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12 Jun Championing rum and independent whisky bottlers at WhiskyPLUS
Malaysia's premiere whisky and spirits event, WhiskyPLUS happens this Saturday, and Wholly Spirits will be there championing the spirit of independent whisky bottlers as well as the fun of rum.
Wholly Spirits will be presenting three independent whisky bottlers at WhiskyPLUS – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Eiling Lim and That Boutique-y Whisky Company, and will also be returning with premium Venezuelan rum brand Diplomatico.
Here's a lowdown on the four brands we will be bringing to WhiskyPLUS.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
For this year's Whisky PLUS, Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) global brand ambassador John McCheyne will be on the floor to talk about why the SMWS is considered one of the world's best-known independent bottlers of whisky.
The Edinburgh-based SMWS is a members-only whisky club founded in 1983, with more than 25,000 members in 20 countries all around the world. It was recently named Independent Bottler of the Year in Whisky Magazine's 2018 Independent Bottlers' Challenge (IBC) competition, the sixth win for the SMWS in the past nine years.
At WhiskyPLUS, guests will be able to taste selected bottlings from the SMWS, some of which will be making their debut at the event.
They will also be able to sign up for the Malaysian chapter of the society, which will include exclusive access to SMWS bottlings and discounts at Partner Bars in worldwide (including the ones in Malaysia: The Whisky Bar KL and The Cabinet @ Bangsar).
For more information about SMWS, visit the official website (my.smws.com), or follow SMWS Malaysia on Facebook (fb.com/SMWSMalaysia) or Instagram (@TheSMWS_Malaysia).
Diplomatico rum
Also returning to this year's WhiskyPLUS is Diplomatico rum, which has a long and proud history of making Venezuelan rum, or ron de Venezuela.
The Diplomatico brand was created in 1959, and the rum is produced by Destilerías Unidas S. A. (DUSA) in Venezuela, a distillery at the foot of the Andes Mountains. The distillery is strategically located close to the main sugar processing plants in the area as well as the nearby Terepaima National park, where they get their pure water from.
Come try some great rum at our booth, which will include the flagship Diplomatico Reserva Especial, one of the most awarded rums in the world; Diplomatico Mantuano, a blended rum aged for up to eight years; Diplomatico Planas. a white rum comprising a blend of pot still, column and batch hettle rums aged for up to six years.
For VIP pass holders, you'll get the chance to try the Diplomatico Ambassador, crafted from the distillery's best rums, aged in white oak barrels for a minimum of 12 years. Once optimal maturity is achieved, the rum is finished for another two years in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
Eiling Lim
Eiling Lim is Malaysia's first and foremost independent bottler of whiskies and spirits, who has not only bottled exceptional whiskies, but also produced her own line of Malaysian-flavour gins as well.
For WhiskyPLUS, VIP guests will get to try several of her bottlings, including the Irish Single Malt 2002, Orkney Malt 2000, and the Older Than Older Blended Malt Whisky.
While only VIP pass holders will get to taste the whiskies at the main area, Eiling bottlings are available for purchase at the booth.
That Boutique-y Whisky Company
Making its Malaysian debut at WhiskyPLUS, That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an independent bottler that offers stunning whiskies from world-renowned distilleries.
The brand's most distinct features (other than the great whiskies it bottles) are the fun and informative graphic-novel-styled labels that contain humourous references, in-jokes and shocking puns.
But don't let the wacky nature of the labels fool you – the whiskies they bottle are exceptionally unique and are a must-taste tipple at WhiskyPLUS, especially if you're a true whisky lover.


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Paradise Police Officers Association posted a video Saturday on Facebook of two officers releasing a buck with a wire cutter stuck on a fence on property that was destroyed from the Camp Fire.
Tanner Ramlow, Paradise Police Department patrol officer released the buck's antler from fencing with the help of Ryan Rubinoff, Paradise Police patrol officer. The officers were on Nunneley Road east of Clark Road at about 3 p.m. on Saturday.


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Staff Writer: Ian Clark
Representation is important. The portrayal of kids, teenagers, women and minorities has almost always been faulty. With kids being viewed as unintelligent and lacking experience, teens being viewed as ignorant and unnaturally angsty, women being portrayed as dependent and minorities often being presented as ignorant, the movie industry is due for a long-needed change.
In recent years, A24, a movie production company based in New York has been at the forefront of changing these misrepresentations. Since 2013, the entertainment company has been independently making movies and TV shows, but they didn't have much widespread support until recently.
In 2016, A24 had its biggest year. It released Moonlight the title that may sound familiar to you through its six nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, winning the award for best motion picture in the drama category. The film follows the plot of an African-American male, Chiron, growing up in Liberty City, Miami, surrounded with the conventional idea of what a man should be and how they should behave as a child and into adulthood.
When confronted with the concept of homosexuality, Chiron is bewildered. This fascination and confusion follow him into his teenage years and eventually, adulthood. The movie had a standout quote, (which also happened to be the title of the play that the movie was based off) "Black boys look blue in the moonlight," representing the emotional side of black men, despite never being addressed in mainstream media.
As previously stated, this movie won A24 a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture in the Drama category. This achievement highlights the importance of representation, showing that people having something to relate to can make a world of difference, because regardless of opinion, these people exist in everyday life and have influence.
Another example of the company's effort to evolve the cinema industry, involves their films such as Mid90s, 20th Century Women, The Florida Project and Lady Bird. These titles all focus on the other side of teenage years, the side that mainstream media tends to look over, in a broadly atmospheric, thought provoking manner.
When asked about inspiration for Mid90s, director Jonah Hill told The FADER "A lot of my life, I was younger around on older people trying to explain the taste of our generation…to older people who didn't [want to] hear it."
The lesser known gem of this group, 20th Century Women, does so in a way that sends someone to a time period where the 'misunderstood teen' archetype was born. Released in 2016, the film takes place in Southern California during the 70s: the age of punk (it's non-coincidental that this is a reoccurring topic that many in today's youth demographic have taken liking to and integrated into their culture).
This movie is a standout because the writers were able to highlight the struggles of not only being a teenager during this time period, but also being a single mother to one of those teenagers.
Of course, it holds the typical coming of age movie qualities that people will always expect: conflict between mother and son, drug use, and angst; but what makes this movie so qualified as a representative movie, is its use of perspective. It utilizes multifaceted perspectives to its fullest potential, showcasing the way characters present themselves to the people they surround themselves with vs. the way they truly are and view themselves.
The lead character even speaks the words that some might say holds the importance of the film, "Age is a bourgeois construct." Despite the semi-joking qualities of this statement, it contains a handful of truth as well: age being a determining quality for maturity or emotional attention is outdated and nonsensical.
Now, although these movies could easily be just a stacked list of dramatized reviews, it is so much more than that. Way too often, the media industry (regardless of whether it's cinema, music, television, or otherwise) is underestimated in its influence. Having representative movies is essential because people adhere to stereotypes extremely diligently.
"For the underrepresented, seeing a character who looks like them can have a limiting effect if that character is restricted to behaving only in certain ways, which don't reflect the breadth of their life's experience. If you are a black, Asian or Latino person who sees an 'inauthentic' or 'one-dimensional' version of yourself, [Ana-Christina] Ramón explained, you 'may wonder if that is all that is expected of you in society.'" (Huffington Post)
The movie industry has never learned to conquer representation. Even with movies like Moonlight and 20th Century Women slowly breaking down the barriers of toxic stereotypes that have plagued American cinema industry, realistically, it won't change anything. Entertainment is only the gateway to gradually extinguish widespread prejudice.