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Swimming with the Fishes Fearlessly
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I took a vacation to Maui. It's only our second time to Hawaii. The first time we went, I missed out on the snorkeling trip he and our son went on because I was afraid of the water. I missed out on cool tropical fish, octopus, spinner dolphins, and more. Simply because of fear.
It all started when I took swim lessons at the Collier Park pool in Ramona, California in the third grade. I was a skinny little thing back then, with not an ounce of fat on me and pitiful lung capacity due to living with smokers. The instructor told us to get into the 7′ end of the pool, push away from the side, and tread water. I followed his instructions—and a sunk like a rock. I frantically tread water at the bottom of the pool, looking up at the surface of the water where life-sustaining air was in abundance, terrified that I couldn't get to the top, until someone jumped in and pulled me out.
Ever since then, if I ever got in a pool, lake, river, or even the ocean—and it has been seldom that I have—I always stay in the shallow end and my hair and glasses stay dry.
But as we planned our trip to Maui, I felt a strong desire to snorkel so that I could witness the beauty of God's underwater creation. I knew it was going to take more courage than I have on my own to overcome a decades-long fear of water.
So I asked several groups of friends to pray specifically that I would be able to overcome my fear and snorkel. I prayed myself that God would give me courage to experience a successful and enjoyable snorkeling adventure.
God is good. He answered that prayer in ways I never imagined. In fact, I realized afterwards that He had begun answering my prayer 29 years ago when I met my husband, long before I even knew it would be my prayer. God knew I would need more than courage—I would need encouragement and someone to hold my hand through the experience.
I started in the hotel pool with rented snorkeling equipment, including prescription goggles so I could actually see. My husband was patience and encouraging as he sat relaxing in the lounge chair by the pool. Once I had mastered the ability to put my face in the water and breathe through the snorkel, we ventured out to Black Rock just down the beach from our hotel. As we first began to snorkel, my husband literally held my hand and we paddled around together looking at the fish. When I got water in my snorkel and became frustrated and wanted to quit for the day, he didn't give me a hard time but was understanding.
Although it was a short snorkel that first day, we snorkeled three more times during the week. As long as I needed him to, my husband held my hand. Once when I felt a little panic, I recited one of my favorite verses—Philippians 4:6-7—and God's amazing peace did calm my heart. Eventually I was comfortable in the water and was able to snorkel on my own around Honolua Bay and Honokohua Bay. I even saw an octopus, a turtle, an eel, and a ton of colorful fish and coral.
Are you letting fear hold you back from something you would love to do? Are you missing out on life's abundant blessings because you are paralyzed by fear and anxiety? Ask God to give you the courage—and whatever else He knows you need—to overcome that fear. He is faithful and He will answer, "for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7.
7 Responses
I'm happy for you! I ain't doing it, though! Unlike pigs, cows, chickens, and turkeys, I can decide whether or not I want to lay down on the dinner table of something that wants to eat me.
I didn't see anything that wanted to eat me. If that had been likely I wouldn't have done it.
Debbie, I had so much fun in ready to go back again! It also helps me remember He will be worn me in all things and I need not fear. Peace, Linda

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, 19 April 2011
Kiss and Tell
The Notebook
Ahh the longing, the passion, the....rain. Rachel McAdams is so pretty she can make the drowned look, complete with smudged make up, look fantastic. Link to youtube.
Empire Records
AJ has been lusting after Cory for forever. He sets a timeline for his love declaration and chooses the worst possible time to reveal his true feelings. He gets the girl in the end with a clumsy, dramatic never ending swaydip with Renee Zellweger singing 'Sugar High' in the background. The acting is abysmal (and the audio is out of sync on this video) but I adore it anyway specifically the line "...it wasn't just some stupid feeling in my stomach like everything else." My favourite thing about this kiss is the way they tentatively look at one another for what seems like forever before touching lips. It's almost as if they are worried that the spell might be broken.
Stealing Beauty
Since the moment I saw this movie I've been rather transfixed. I have adored Liv Tyler since the beginning of her career and this is the reason. Lucy travels to Italy to learn about her deceased mother from her greatest friend. She also has convinced herself that it is time to lose her virginity to a summer crush from many moons ago - the son of her mother's best friend. Instead she finds someone much more suited... (Note - This movie has one of the best soundtracks ever and some lovely quiet performances that I can happily watch over and over again.)
Practical Magic
I knew I was being manipulated - the music, the framing, the acting but boy did I like Sandra Bullock's husband in the whole minute he was in that movie. I love Mark Feurerstein (this continues in In Her Shoes) but when Bullock starts running down the street followed by many dogs so she can kiss this greengrocer - the heart swells. Unfortunately all the youtube videos of this scene were beyond horrific in quality.
Reality Bites
Sure Ethan Hawke looked as though he were going to swallow Winona Ryder whole but it was a nice pay off for the barbed, tense and hormone fuelled relationship between the two characters.
Interestingly I used to think Troy was hot and mysterious and now I find him manipulative and loathsome. It is amazing how much things change from your teens to your late twenties.
My Girl
I mean c'mon!
The Cutting Edge
I am still waiting for the YA equivalent of these two - so much animosity, so much tension, so much "foreplay". This kiss was earned...
I want to be Kate Mosley...but less bitchtastic.
Sixteen Candles
...you know why.
An Officer and a Gentleman
I hate the idea of a girl being 'saved' but this scene is iconic.
And last but not least...the kiss of death from The Godfather II
Have you got some faves?
9 comments:
- Karen Mahoney said...
Dude. It's always, always gonna be Keith & Watts in Some Kind of Wonderful for me. :)
- 19 April 2011 at 22:24
- Adele said...
I have yet to see that movie. And before you gasp, I only saw Say Anything for the first time recently (not all that impressed, don't shoot me). But I do acknowledge that Keith and Watts are iconic!
- 19 April 2011 at 22:26
- Anonymous said...
I love the way Owen Hunt kisses Cristina Yang in Grey's Anatomy. He's not the most attractive man in the world but, oh, swoon! He kisses like a romance hero.
- 19 April 2011 at 22:44
- Andrea said...
Holy god good. THANK YOU for the AJ & Cory shout out. That whole movie = swoon.
- 19 April 2011 at 23:42
- Carin Siegfried said...
Ditto Keith and Watts. And the same scene - the one where he's "practice" kissing for Amanda Jones, not the last scene. Hottest kiss ever.
#2 would be Carson and Buzz in the scene at the dock in Shag: The Movie
- 20 April 2011 at 00:57
- Jackie said...
Richard Gere kissing Julia Roberts for the first time in "Pretty Woman" comes to mind, the passion and the intensity from these two people who due to their own particular hang ups never "kiss on the mouth"!
Another favorite would have to be Angelina Jolie's character "Fox" in 2008 movie "Wanted" kissing James McAvoy's character "Wesley".. Man that one started out as a "burn" on Wesleys lying/cheating ex girlfriend and it then turned into a really "hot lip-lock"!
Of course "Empire Records" was one of my faves too, loved crazy Aj and his dream come true kiss with Cory!
- 20 April 2011 at 06:23
- Marg said...
My absolute favourite is the kiss at the end of the BBC Miniseries version of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. John Thornton kissing Margaret at the train station. Swoon!
- 20 April 2011 at 11:16
- Anonymous said...
Westley and Buttercup kissing at the end of The Princess Bride. "Since the invention of the kiss, there have only been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."
- 20 April 2011 at 12:58
- Anonymous said...
I totally agree with your thoughts on Reality Bites. As a teenager I idolised Ethan Hawke and thought that was the way to get girls – act like a superior tool and brood all the time. I was wrong.
- 20 April 2011 at 17:48


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In the interview, Balaker asks Rutan to describe what sort of regulatory policy he favors for space flight. Referring to proposed legislation, Rutan replies,
[W]e actually are asking for more regulation than the new legislation edicts. We do feel that the FAA needs to be accepting or proving the safety of the ship as it pertains to the passengers that get flown. Whereas their focus has been on only protecting the non-involved public who live on the ground below. We think that the industry will prosper only if there is some acceptance of [responsibility for] the safety of the ship as it pertains to the passengers.
Balaker follows up by asking why Rutan is unwilling to let consenting adults accept the inevitable risks of space flight. Rutan mouths some platitudes about freedom before concluding that just doesn't fly in his line of work:
There should be freedoms. That people know that they have a one in 10 chance of dying by doing this and they still want to do it anyway, I'm the first one to say, hey, let them. However, I don't feel that that's the right thing to develop and sustain [for] a private space flight industry. . . .
Now I don't believe that it's right to say, listen, we'll let people take risks and we'll go and build the kind of systems that have been used historically for manned space flight, and somehow solve the affordability problem, and that's the only problem. We strongly feel that the biggest problem is the safety problem, not the affordability problem. If you fly dozens of people every day, you'll get affordability with almost any kind of system. The safety problem is the biggie . . . .
Rutan seems to mean that private space flight won't succeed on the level of the airline industry until it offers cheap and safe services. That sounds plausible. Although dare-devils may fund a few experimental trips to outer space, they won't fill anything near the number of seats required to support a Southwest Spacelines.
But does Rutan really think that new FAA regulations will best ensure the safety of space flight? Probably not, given that elsewhere in the interview he makes many disparaging comments about the ignorance and slow speed of the FAA bureaucracy. Rutan surely realizes that if space passengers demand safety, spaceline companies will strive to provide it. FAA regulations would only prove intrusive and unnecessary.
So why on (and off) earth does Rutan want new FAA regulations mandating space passenger safety? Maybe he thinks it will help him to win a lock on the spaceline market. At several points in the interview, he stresses the unique safety technologies developed by his company, Scaled Composites. "The real thing that we did here is to develop three new breakthroughs, and each one of them is going to have enormous effects on safety," he says, later adding, "We developed three new breakthrough technologies which will allow us immediately to launch a commercial spaceline industry in which people can fly at the same safety level of the early airlines."
Rutan thus thinks that his company has an edge when it comes to offering passengers safe access to outer space. Good for him! But he should not use FAA regulations to ground would-be competitors, forcing them to overcome both gravity and red-tape.
In fairness to Rutan, perhaps he simply wants the FAA to assure nervous customers that they can trust private passenger spacecraft. FAA safety certifications probably would have that effect. But why should taxpayers fund that advertising add-on? Surely a fellow like Rutan, daring and clever enough to imagine private space travel, should realize that private parties can also certify the safety of consumer goods and services. Unless he spends all his time looking skyward, for instance, he might have noticed Underwriters Laboratories.
Regardless of Rutan's reasons for wanting more FAA regulation of the space flight industry, his proposal just doesn't fly. All of us itching to explore the high frontier want Rutan and his counterparts at other companies to keep innovating, keep flying, and keep competing with each other. Will it help that noble effort to give FAA bureaucrats more control? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer that question.
(Crossposted at Technology Liberation Front.)


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New Hairstyle Trends for Your Face Shape
Discover what haircut you should ask for when you hit the salon. Hint: It's all about face shape
Celebrities are THE fashion icons for beauty, makeup — and of course, hairstyles. Renee Zellweger is no exception. That's why we've got Renee Zellweger photo galleries, pictures, and general beauty news on this celeb. Her style is totally inspiring and worth checking out. So if you're searching for some beauty tips, hairstyle options, and fashion advice, turn to Renee Zellweger. She'll bring your fashion to a whole new place.
Discover what haircut you should ask for when you hit the salon. Hint: It's all about face shape
See how stars lose weight — and get some expert tips to do it yourself (healthily!)
Make your hair appointment now. These 30 gorgeously different bobs will have you heading straight to the salon for a new look
If you've ever been confused about what shape your body is (join the club), you'll finally be able to find out with this helpful quiz
Whether your eyes are small, wide-set or almond shaped, these expert tips will make them look stunning


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Expert's Rating
- Easy to use; Lets inexperienced users create polished slideshows
- No photo editing tools; limited customization features
Our Verdict
This app lets you create slick-looking slideshows, but offers little in the way of advanced features.
Roxio PhotoShow creates slideshows from your digital photos. Digital photo enthusiasts may lament its lack of editing tools, and advanced photographers may find it limited, but newbies will love how easy PhotoShow makes it to create a polished slideshow with minimal effort.
PhotoShow is available in two versions: a free Web-based app that lets you create and share slideshows, and a $40 Premium Service that includes a downloadable app, so you can work offline. The Premium Service also lets you upload as many as 400 photos per slideshow and allows you to store slideshows online indefinitely, while the free version limits you to 24 photos stored for 30 days.
When you download and launch the app, it immediately gets you started on creating a new slideshow, by asking you to select a folder of photos to upload. Alternatively, you can select individual photos to upload, which is a good thing, because once you select a folder, PhotoShow automatically imports every photo from that folder; it doesn't let you pick and choose which photos to add, and it doesn't even tell you how many photos are in the folder. Although you do have the ability to delete photos later on, it would be nice to weed out unnecessary photos at the start. I accidentally selected a folder with 375 photos. Luckily, the upload process is quick; my 375 photos uploaded in less than 2 minutes.
Once your photos are uploaded, PhotoShow asks you to name your slideshow, and then begins showing you a demo of it, complete with music and a suggested style. The app uses an easy-to-understand tabbed interface, and starts you off at the Styles tab. PhotoShow offers dozens of styles, which display an introduction to your slideshow, and then displays your photos using a specific transition format. Unfortunately, you can't mix and match different styles to create your own look: If you choose the "Mosaic Flow" style because you like its plain black introductory panel, you can use it only with the mosaic transition, which gradually unveils a photo from underneath the previous one. You can't, for example, combine the Mosaic Flow introduction with the "Carousel" style of switching your photos, which rotates the photos in a circular motion.
The rest of the tabs–Music & Photos, Captions, Bubbles, Title, Stickers, and Border–let you edit and fine-tune the slide show. Music & Photos tab lets you delete or rearrange the order in which your photos appear, and add music to play along with the slideshow. Deleting photos is as easy as clicking a red X icon that appears over each of your photos, but you can only do so one at a time. And you see a small thumbnail of each image in your slideshow, so it's not always easy to tell if you're deleting the right photo.
The selected slideshow styles come with pre-programmed music, but you can change the songs that play by selecting a track from PhotoShow's built-in music library or by adding your own MP3. PhotoShow's library offers plenty of songs, but most of them are titles that I've never heard of. Adding your own tracks is easy, though: you just click a button to browse your music library, and point the app to the folder where you store your tunes. PhotoShow did not let me update any songs from my iTunes Library (hardly a surprise, given Apple's restrictions), but I was able to use DRM-free songs I'd purchased from Amazon's MP3 store.
Once your PhotoShow is complete, you can send it via e-mail, upload it to a variety of social networks, export it as a video file, or burn it to a disc. To upload it to a social network like Facebook, you'll need a PhotoShow account, which comes with a member page where you can also host and share slideshows.
If you're looking for a simple way to create slick slideshows, Roxio PhotoShow will meet your needs. But if you're looking for an advanced photo editing and sharing tool, well, you should keep on looking.
–Liane Cassavoy


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Hendrix Speaks at Bloomsbury
Anton Mueller at Bloomsbury has acquired a book about Jimi Hendrix, which the house says comes from the deceased rock legend himself. Mueller took world English rights to Starting at Zero: Jimi Hendrix's Own Story from agent Nat Sobel at Sobel Weber (working with Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein). The book, which has been pieced together by Hendrix's friend and producer, Alan Douglas, along with editor Peter Neal, is, Bloomsbury said, culled from extensive material created by Hendrix, ranging from personal writings to interviews. Starting at Zero is scheduled for winter 2014.
Gould Sells Novel to FSG
Former Gawker blogger Emily Gould sold her debut novel, Friendship, to Miranda Popkey at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Melissa Flashman at Trident Media Group represented Gould in the North American rights deal. Gould previously published an essay collection (And the Heart Says Whatever; Free Press, 2010) and co-wrote one YA book. The novel, Flashman said, is about "an eventful year" in the lives of two best friends, both 30, who find their friendship is being tested as they get older.
Scribner to 'Lie' for Kestin
Paul Whitlatch at Scribner pre-empted North American rights to Hesh Kestin's thriller, The Lie, from Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group. The novel follows an Israeli human rights lawyer whose core beliefs are tested when her son is taken hostage by Hezbollah. Kestin worked for Forbes as a European correspondent and his first novel, The Iron Will of Shoeshine Cats, was published by the indie press Dzanc in 2009. That book received a glowing plug from Stephen King, who said it "just may be the best book you never read."
Harlequin Closes Double
In the first of two acquisitions at Harlequin last week, Tara Parsons, executive editor at the house's flagship imprint, took world rights to Jeaniene Frost's new trilogy, Realm Walker. Harlequin is categorizing the series as "new adult/older YA"; it follows a young woman who, the publisher explained, "discovers that she's the last member of an ancient line with an unwanted destiny." Nancy Yost, at Nancy Yost Literary, represented Frost, who writes the urban fantasy romance series, the Night Huntress, for Avon. At Harlequin, Margo Lipschultz will be editing Realm Walker.
In the second deal, Angela James at Carina Press took world rights to Christine D'Abo's choose your own adventure–style erotica book, Choose Your Shot, which will be released in e-, with the possibility of a later print edition. The title, set for fall 2013, is 65,000 words and allows readers to select the story line they would like to follow. D'Abo currently writes a line for Carina featuring a BDSM club called Maverick's, which will be the setting of this title. (In the book, readers can choose different experiences for the heroine throughout the club.) D'Abo did not use an agent in the sale.
Atria Does Backlist/Frontlist Deal with Miller
Self-published romance author Raine Miller has inked a three-book deal with Simon & Schuster's Atria imprint. Through the deal, Atria has released its own digital editions of the first two titles in Miller's Naked series—Naked and All In—which she originally released on her own. The titles were published by Atria as e-books on December 12, and trade paperback editions are scheduled to follow. The third book in the deal, Eyes Wide Open, has not yet been released and is scheduled from Atria in spring 2013. Atria v-p and senior editor Joanna Castillo took world rights from Jane Dystel at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Atria said that since Naked came out on August 25, it has sold more than 150,000 copies in digital, while All In, released on November 9, has sold 120,000 copies.


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There are plenty of scare stories about the health risks of travelling in India, but in fact cases of serious illness are very much the exception rather than the rule. Standards of hygiene and sanitation have increased greatly over the past couple of decades and there's no reason you can't stay healthy throughout your trip – indeed many travellers now visit the Subcontinent without even experiencing the traditional dose of "Delhi belly". Having said that, it's still important to be careful, keep your resistance high and to be aware of the dangers of untreated water, mosquito bites and undressed open cuts. It's worth knowing, if you are ill and can't get to a doctor, that almost any medicine can be bought over the counter without a prescription.
PrecautionsWhen it comes to food, be wary of dishes that appear to have been reheated. Anything boiled, fried or grilled (and thus sterilized) in your presence is usually all right, though seafood and meat can pose real risks if they're not fresh; anything that has been left out for any length of time, or stored in a fridge during a power cut, is best avoided. Raw unpeeled fruit and vegetables should always be viewed with suspicion, and you should steer clear of salads unless you know they have been washed in purified water.
Be vigilant about personal hygiene: wash your hands often, especially before eating. Keep all cuts clean, treat them with iodine or antiseptic (a liquid or dry spray is better in the heat) and cover them to prevent infection.
Advice on avoiding mosquitoes is offered under "Malaria". If you do get bites or itches, try not to scratch them: it's difficult, but infection and tropical ulcers can result if you do. Tiger Balm and even dried soap may relieve the itching.
Finally, especially if you are going on a long trip, have a dental check-up before you leave home.
VaccinationsNo inoculations are legally required for entry into India, but tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis A jabs are recommended for travellers to many parts of the country, and it's worth ensuring that you are up to date with diphtheria, polio and other boosters. Vaccinations for hepatitis B, rabies, meningitis, Japanese encephalitis and TB are only advised if you're travelling to remote areas or working in environments with an increased exposure to infectious diseases.
Transmitted through contaminated food and water or through saliva, hepatitis A can lay a victim low for several months with exhaustion, fever and diarrhoea. Symptoms include yellowing of the whites of the eyes, general malaise, orange urine (though dehydration could also cause that) and light-coloured stools. If you think you have it, get a diagnosis as soon as possible, steer clear of alcohol, get lots of rest – and try to avoid passing it on. More serious is hepatitis B, transmitted like AIDS through blood or sexual contact.
Typhoid fever is also spread through contaminated food or water, but is rare in most parts of India. It produces a persistent high temperature with malaise, headaches and abdominal pains, followed by diarrhoea.
Cholera, spread the same way as hepatitis A and typhoid, causes sudden attacks of watery diarrhoea with cramps and debilitation. Again, this disease rarely occurs in India, breaking out in isolated epidemics; there is a vaccination but it offers very little protection. Most medical authorities now recommend immunization against meningococcal meningitis (ACWY) too. Spread by airborne bacteria (through coughs and sneezes for example), it is a very unpleasant disease that attacks the lining of the brain and can be fatal.
Rabies is widespread throughout the country, and the best advice is to give dogs and monkeys a wide berth – do not play with animals at all, no matter how cute they might look. If you're bitten or scratched and it breaks the skin, immediately wash the wound gently with soap or detergent, apply alcohol or iodine if possible, and go straight away, to the nearest hospital for an anti-rabies jab.
For up-to-the-minute information, make an appointment at a travel clinic. These clinics also sell travel accessories, including mosquito nets and first-aid kits.
Medical resources for travellersInternational Society for Travel Medicine. A full list of clinics worldwide specializing in travel health.
In the UK and Ireland
Hospital for Tropical Diseases Travel Clinic UK 020 3456 7891
MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad) UK 0330 100 4200. Dozens of clinics across the UK.
Tropical Medical Bureau Ireland 01 271 5200.
In the US and Canada
Canadian Society for International Health Canada 1 613 241 5785. Extensive list of travel health centres in Canada.
CDC US T1 800 232 4636. Official US government health site, including travel.
In Australia, New Zealand and South Africa
Netcare Travel Clinics South Africa T082 911. Travel clinics in South Africa.
Travellers' Medical & Vaccination Centre Australia. Website listing travellers' medical and vaccination centres throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Heat troubleThe sun and the heat can cause a few unexpected problems. Before they've acclimatized, many people get a bout of prickly heat rash, an infection of the sweat ducts caused by excessive perspiration that doesn't dry off. A cool shower, zinc oxide powder (sold in India) and loose cotton clothes should help. Dehydration is another possible problem, so make sure you're drinking enough liquid, and drink rehydration salts frequently, especially when hot and/or tired. The main danger sign is irregular urination (only once a day for instance); dark urine definitely means you should drink more (although it could also indicate hepatitis).
The sun can burn, or even cause sunstroke; a high-factor sun block is vital on exposed skin, especially when you first arrive. A light hat is also a very good idea, especially if you're doing a lot of walking around in the sun.
Finally, be aware that overheating can cause heatstroke, which is potentially fatal. Signs are a very high body temperature, without a feeling of fever but accompanied by headaches and disorientation. Lowering body temperature (taking a tepid shower for example) and resting in an air-conditioned room is the first step in treatment; also take in plenty of fluids and seek medical advice if the condition doesn't improve after 24 hours.
MalariaThough India has made some progress in its attempts to control malaria, the disease remains one of the Subcontinent's big killers and it's essential that you check with your doctor whether you'll need to take anti-malarial medication for your visit. The disease, caused by a parasite carried in the saliva of female Anopheles mosquitoes, can be found in many parts of India, and is especially prevalent in in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and the northeast, although nonexistent in the high Himalayan regions (there's a useful malaria map of the country at bit.ly/MalariaMap,showing varying levels of risk across the country). Malaria has a variable incubation period of a few days to several weeks, so you can become ill long after being bitten – which is why it's important to carry on taking the tablets even after you've returned home.
Ideas about appropriate antimalarial medication tend to vary from country to country and prophylaxis remains a controversial subject; it's important that you get expert medical advice on which treatment is right for you. In addition, resistance to established antimalarial drugs is growing alarmingly – none of the following provides complete protection, so avoiding being bitten in the first place remains important. Chloroquine- and proguanil-resistant strains of malaria are particularly prevalent in Assam and the northeast; travellers to this region might consider taking a course of malarone, doxycycline or mefloquine instead.
The most established regime – widely prescribed in Europe, but not in North America – is a combination of chloroquine (trade names Nivaquin or Avloclor) taken weekly either on its own or in conjunction with a daily dose of proguanil (Paludrine). You need to start this regime a week before arriving in a malarial area and continue it for four weeks after leaving. In India chloroquine is easy to come by but proguanil isn't, so stock up before you arrive. Mefloquine (Lariam) is a newer and stronger treatment. As a prophylactic, you need take just one tablet weekly, starting two weeks before entering a risk area and continuing for four weeks after leaving. Mefloquine is a very powerful and effective antimalarial, though there have been widely reported concerns about its side effects, including psychological problems.
Doxycycline is often prescribed in Australasia. One tablet is taken daily, starting a day or two before entering a malarial zone and continuing for four weeks after leaving. It's not suitable for children under ten and it can cause thrush in women, while three percent of users develop a sensitivity to light, causing a rash, so it's not ideal for beach holidays. It also interferes with the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill. Malarone (a combination of atovaquone and proguanil) is another alternative, which you only have to start taking two days before you enter a malarial zone and continue for just a week after leaving, meaning that, although it's expensive, it can prove economical for short trips.
Malarial symptomsThe first signs of malaria are remarkably similar to a severe flu, and may take months to appear: if you suspect anything go to a hospital or clinic for a blood test immediately. The shivering, burning fever and headaches come in waves, usually in the early evening. Malaria is not infectious, but some strains are dangerous and occasionally even fatal when not treated promptly, in particular, the chloroquine-resistant cerebral malaria. This virulent and lethal strain of the disease, which affects the brain, is treatable, but has to be diagnosed early. Erratic body temperature, lack of energy and aches are the first key signs.
Preventing mosquito bitesThe best way of combating malaria is, of course, to avoid getting bitten: malarial mosquitoes are active from dusk until dawn and during this time you should use mosquito repellent and take all necessary precautions. Sleep under a mosquito net if possible, burn mosquito coils (widely available in India, but easy to break in transit) or electrically heated repellents such as All Out. An Indian brand of repellent called Odomos is widely available and very effective, though most travellers bring their own from home, usually one containing the noxious but effective compound DEET. DEET can cause rashes and a strength of more than thirty percent is not advised for those with sensitive skin. A natural alternative is citronella or, in the UK, Mosiguard Natural, made from a blend of eucalyptus oils; those with sensitive skin should still use DEET on clothes and nets. Mosquito "buzzers" – plug-in contraptions that smoulder tablets of DEET compounds slowly overnight – are pretty useless, but wrist and ankle bands are as effective as spray and a good alternative for sensitive skin. Though active all night, female Anopheles mosquitoes prefer to bite in the evening, so be especially careful at that time. Wear long sleeves, skirts and trousers, avoid dark colours, which attract mosquitoes, and put repellent on all exposed skin.
Dengue fever and Japanese encephalitisAnother illness spread by mosquito bites is dengue fever, whose symptoms are similar to those of malaria, plus aching bones. There is no vaccine available and the only treatment is complete rest, with drugs to assuage the fever. Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral infection causing fever, muscle pains and headaches, is most prevalent in wet, rural rice-growing areas. However, it only rarely affects travellers, and the vaccine isn't usually recommended unless you plan to spend much time around paddy fields during and immediately after the monsoons.
Intestinal troublesDiarrhoea is the most common bane of travellers. When mild and not accompanied by other major symptoms, it may just be your stomach reacting to unfamiliar food. Accompanied by cramps and vomiting, it could well be food poisoning. In either case, it will probably pass of its own accord in 24–48 hours without treatment. In the meantime, it is essential to replace the fluids and salts you're losing, so take lots of water with oral rehydration salts (commonly referred to as ORS, or called Electrolyte in India). If you can't get ORS, use half a teaspoon of salt and eight of sugar in a litre of water, and if you are too ill to keep it down, seek medical help immediately. Travel clinics and pharmacies sell double-ended moulded plastic spoons with the exact ratio of sugar to salt.
While you are suffering, it's a good idea to avoid greasy food, heavy spices, caffeine and most fruit and dairy products. Some say bananas and papaya are good, as are kitchri (a simple dhal and rice preparation) and rice soup and coconut water, while curd or a soup made from Marmite or Vegemite (if you happen to have some with you) are forms of protein that can be easily absorbed by your body when you have the runs. Drugs like Lomotil or Imodium simply plug you up – undermining the body's efforts to rid itself of infection – though they can be useful if you have to travel. If symptoms persist for more than a few days, a course of antibiotics may be necessary; this should be seen as a last resort, following medical advice.
Sordid though it may seem, it's a good idea to look at what comes out when you go to the toilet. If your diarrhoea contains blood or mucus and if you are suffering other symptoms including rotten-egg belches and farts, the cause may be dysentery or giardia. With a fever, it could well be caused by bacillary dysentery, and may clear up without treatment. If you're sure you need it, a course of antibiotics such as tetracycline should sort you out, but they also destroy gut flora in your intestines (which help protect you – curd can replenish them to some extent). If you start a course, be sure to finish it, even after the symptoms have gone. Similar symptoms, without fever, indicate amoebic dysentery, which is much more serious, and can damage your gut if untreated. The usual cure is a course of Metronidazole (Flagyl) or Fasigyn, both antibiotics which may themselves make you feel ill, and must not be taken with alcohol. Symptoms of giardia are similar – including frothy stools, nausea and constant fatigue – for which the treatment is again Metronidazole. If you suspect that you have either of these, seek medical help, and only start on the Metronidazole (750mg three times daily for a week for adults) if there is definitely blood in your diarrhoea and it is impossible to see a doctor.
Finally, bear in mind that oral drugs, such as malaria pills and the Pill, are likely to be largely ineffective if taken while suffering from diarrhoea.
Bites and creepy crawliesWorms may enter your body through skin (especially the soles of your feet) or food. An itchy anus is a common symptom, and you may even see them in your stools. They are easy to treat: if you suspect you have them, get some worming tablets such as Mebendazole (Vermox) from any pharmacy.
Biting insects and similar animals other than mosquitoes may also aggravate you. The obvious suspects are bedbugs – look for signs of squashed ones around beds in cheap hotels. An infested mattress can be left in the hot sun all day to get rid of them, but they often live in the frame or even in walls or floors. Head and body lice can also be a nuisance, but medicated soap and shampoo (preferably brought with you from home) usually see them off. Avoid scratching bites, which can lead to infection. Bites from ticks and lice can spread typhus, characterized by fever, muscle aches, headaches and, later, red eyes and a measles-like rash. If you think you have it, seek treatment (tetracycline is usually prescribed).
Snakes are unlikely to bite unless accidentally disturbed, and most are harmless in any case. To see one at all, you need to search stealthily – walk heavily and they usually oblige by disappearing. If you do get bitten, remember what the snake looked like (kill it if you can), try not to move the affected part, and seek medical help: antivenins are available in most hospitals. A few spiders have poisonous bites too. Remove leeches, which may attach themselves to you in jungle areas, with salt or a lit cigarette: never just pull them off.
Altitude sicknessAt high altitudes, you may develop symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS). Just about everyone who ascends to around 4000m or higher experiences mild symptoms, but serious cases are rare. The simple cure – descent – almost always brings immediate recovery.
AMS is caused by the fact that at high elevations there is not only less oxygen, but also lower atmospheric pressure. This can have all sorts of weird effects on the body: it can cause the brain to swell and the lungs to fill with fluid, and even bring on uncontrollable farting. The syndrome varies from one person to the next but symptoms include breathlessness, headaches and dizziness, nausea, difficulty sleeping and appetite loss. More extreme cases may involve disorientation and loss of balance, and the coughing up of pink frothy phlegm.
AMS strikes without regard for fitness – in fact, young people seem to be more susceptible, possibly because they're more reluctant to admit they feel sick and they dart about more energetically. Most people are capable of acclimatizing to very high altitudes but the process takes time and must be done in stages. The golden rule is not to go too high, too fast; or if you do, spend the night at a lower height ("Climb High, Sleep Low"). Above 3000m, you should not ascend more than 500m per day; take mandatory acclimatization days at 3500m and 4000m – more if you feel unwell – and try to spend these days day-hiking to higher altitudes.
The general symptoms of AMS can be treated with the drug acetazolamide (Diamox) but this is not advised as it will block the early signs of severe AMS, which can be fatal. It is better to stay put for a day or two, eat a high-carbohydrate diet, drink plenty of water (three litres a day is recommended), take paracetamol or aspirin for the headaches, and descend if the AMS persists or worsens. If you fly direct to a high-altitude destination such as Leh, be especially careful to acclimatize (plan for three days of initial rest); you'll certainly want to avoid doing anything strenuous at first.
Other precautions to take at high altitudes include avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, drinking more liquid, and protecting your skin against UV solar glare.
HIV and AIDSHIV/AIDS is as much of a risk in India as anywhere else, and in recent years the government has heeded WHO advice by setting up its own awareness and prevention campaigns. As elsewhere in the world, high-risk groups include prostitutes and intravenous drug users. It is extremely unwise to contemplate casual sex without a condom – carry some with you (preferably brought from home as Indian ones may be less reliable) and insist upon using them.
Should you need an injection or a transfusion in India, make sure that new, sterile equipment is used; any blood you receive should be from voluntary rather than commercial donor banks. If you have a shave from a barber, make sure he uses a clean blade and don't undergo processes such as ear-piercing, acupuncture or tattooing unless you can be sure that the equipment is sterile.
Getting medical helpPharmacies can usually advise on minor medical problems, and most doctors in India speak English. Also, many hotels keep a doctor on call; if you do get ill and need medical assistance, take advice as to the best facilities around. Basic medications are made to Indian Pharmacopoea (IP) standards, and most medicines are available without prescription, but always check the sell-by date. Hospitals have variable standards: private clinics and mission hospitals are often better than state-run ones but may not have the same facilities. Hospitals in big cities, including university or medical-school hospitals, are generally pretty good, and cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru boast state-of-the-art medical facilities but at a price. Many hospitals require patients (even emergency cases) to buy necessities such as medicines, plaster casts and vaccines, and to pay for X-rays, before procedures are carried out. Remember to keep receipts for insurance reimbursements.
However, Government hospitals, however, provide all surgical and after-care services free of charge and in most other state medical institutions charges are usually so low that for minor treatment the expense may well be lower than the initial "excess" on your insurance. You will, however, need a companion to stay, or you'll have to come to an arrangement with one of the hospital cleaners, to help you out in hospital – relatives are expected to wash, feed and generally take care of the patient. Beware of scams by private clinics in tourist towns such as Agra where there have been reports of overcharging and misdiagnosis by doctors to claim insurance money.
A travellers' first-aid kitFollowing are items you might want to take, especially if you're planning to go trekking – all are available in India itself, at a fraction of what you might pay at home:
- Antiseptic cream
- Insect repellent and cream such as Anthisan for soothing bites
- Plasters/Band-Aids
- A course of Flagyl antibiotics
- Water sterilization tablets or water purifier
- Lint and sealed bandages
- Knee supports
- Imodium (Lomotil) for emergency diarrhoea treatment
- A mild oral anesthetic such as Bonjela for soothing ulcers or mild toothache
- Paracetamol/aspirin
- Multivitamin and mineral tablets
- Rehydration sachets
- Hypodermic needles and sterilized skin wipes
Ayurvedic medicineAyurveda, a Sanskrit word meaning the "knowledge for prolonging life", is a five-thousand-year-old holistic medical system that is widely practised in India. Ayurvedic doctors and clinics in large towns deal with foreigners as well as their usual patients, and some pharmacies specialize in Ayurvedic preparations, including toiletries such as soaps, shampoos and toothpastes.
Ayurveda assumes the fundamental sameness of self and nature. Unlike the allopathic medicines of the West, which depend on finding out what's ailing you and then killing it, Ayurveda looks at the whole patient: disease is regarded as a symptom of imbalance, so it's the imbalance that's treated, not the disease. Ayurvedic theory holds that the body is controlled by three forces, which reflect the forces within the self: pitta, the force of the sun, is hot, and rules the digestive processes and metabolism; kapha, likened to the moon, the creator of tides and rhythms, has a cooling effect and governs the body's organs; and vata, wind, relates to movement and the nervous system. The healthy body is one that has the three forces in balance. To diagnose an imbalance, the Ayurvedic vaid (doctor) responds not only to the physical complaint but also to family background, daily habits and emotional traits.
Imbalances are typically treated with herbal remedies designed to alter whichever of the three forces is out of whack. Made according to traditional formulae, using indigenous plants, Ayurvedic medicines are cheaper than branded or imported drugs. In addition, the doctor may prescribe various forms of yogic cleansing to rid the body of waste substances. To the uninitiated, these techniques will sound rather off-putting – for instance, swallowing a long strip of cloth, a short section at a time, and then pulling it back up again to remove mucus from the stomach. Ayurvedic massage with herbal oils is especially popular in Kerala where courses of treatments are available to combat a wide array of ailments.


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Onion Gravy
If you don't have any meat juices, or you are a vegetarian, you can still make really good gravy.
(True vegetarians don't eat fish or shellfish, if you are cooking for someone else and are unsure it is always good to check with them first. Where Worcestershire sauce is used, make sure to choose one that has been made without anchovies).
You can watch how to make Onion Gravy in our Cookery School lesson Perfect Gravy Video on this page.
This recipe is from Delia's Complete How to Cook.
- method
- Ingredients
Place the frying pan over a high heat, add the oil or fat and when its smoking hot stir in the onion with a wooden spoon, keeping them on the move until they are brown and caramelised at the edges which will take about 20 minutes and after 10 turn the heat down to medium.
Now add the butter, then, using a wooden spoon, stir in the sauce flour. Stir quickly until all the flour has absorbed then stir in the mustard powder and gradually add the stock to the pan a little at a time, stirring all the while, adding enough stock until you get the thickness you want.
Stir in the dessertspoon of Worcester sauce, finally taste, add some seasoning and then let it simmer very gently for about 10 minutes. Pour into a warmed serving jug.
This goes beautifully with our Toad in the Hole recipe, see below.
You will need a Delia Online Little Gem Frying Pan (heavy gauge aluminium, 20cm x 4.5cm with a base measurement of 17cm, or similar).


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This week on our Beer & Pizza night: everything about the new technology of SLA 3D Printing using resin. Hopefully we can demonstrate our new prototype SLA printer, but at least this could be very interesting for people currently using FDM technology. We have some guys over who did work on the prototype with us, so you can ask a lot of questions. So make sure to be here on thursday 18:30!
Here is a example video of the technology: link


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newborns and hailstorms
Also, yesterday Ol' Bitch Nature* was one angry broad. A hail storm came and ripped apart the garden. I came home to lettuce and pumpkin leaves shredded. But I think everyone will make a full recovery. The picture above was taken by my neighbor during the hailstorm. All my hens (and Rufus Wainwright) took refuge on the porch to watch the weather turn.
*My little holler to Logsdon there


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ESA Data User Element > News
|GLOBWETLAND: African wetland managers armed with new technology
|Earth's wetlands are vital to the water cycle and havens for wildlife, but they are under threat.
|GlobWetland, an ESA-led initiative in collaboration with the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, has been addressing this issue by using satellite imagery to provide detailed wide-area views of individual wetlands to aid national and local conservation efforts.
Because the success of wetland conservation ultimately comes down to individual wetland managers, the GlobWetland products and services are user-oriented and based on specific requests of users across 50 sites in 21 countries worldwide.
Integrating the EO-derived products and services into the user's traditional working procedures requires training to secure capacity building and to achieve a well-defined amount of competence. This is especially important in Africa where the lack of updated geo-information and the inefficient in-situ monitoring networks hinder the conservation efforts of wetland managers and water authorities.
In support of all African countries participating in the project, GlobWetland – which is funded by ESA's Data User Element (DUE) – hosted a five-day training seminar, developed jointly by Wetlands International and Vexcel, last week from 24-28 April in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, for users to understand and integrate the EO-derived products and services into their work.
Participants from Algeria, Egypt, Lake Chad, Senegal, South Africa and Kenya attended the training which featured lectures, 'hands-on' work with sample products and field work methods carried out in an area adjacent to the training facility.
Remote Sensing Officer for the Lake Chad Basin Commission Garba Sambo Hassan, said: "The training has been really stimulating. I used to perform these tasks manually, which is tedious and cumbersome. I am now anxious to get back to the office and use these products to update my past work. It is marvellous."
The seminar also sought to help African users critically assess their requirements, suggest new products, identify inefficiencies and take over the process. All the training materials were consolidated on a CD and given to all African end users at the close of the session. In addition, all attendees received an ESA TIGER initiative training kit. GlobWetland makes up an integral part of the TIGER initiative, which focuses on the use of EO data for improving water resource management in Africa.
Abundant water makes wetlands the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, more productive even than tropical rainforests. Unlike rainforests, they are scattered across the world, providing regional flood and erosion prevention, water purification and nutrient recycling.
For much of the 20th Century, wetlands were drained or otherwise degraded. However, growing understanding of the vital importance of wetlands led to the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971.
Today more than 1 424 wetlands – a total area of 129 million hectares – have been designated as Wetlands of International Importance. The Ramsar Convention's 145 national signatories have committed to maintaining the ecological character and are obliged to report on the state of listed wetlands they have designated.
Related links
Annex images


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'Seeds of genocide' in Central African Republic, UN warns
BANGUI/GENEVA - Reuters
Children look at French troops, in a displacedpersons camp during the visit of commandant of the Sangaris force, general Francisco Soriano in Bossangoa on Jan. 16. AFP photoA senior U.N. official warned of the risk of genocide in Central African Republic without a more robust international response to communal bloodshed in which at least 20 more people were killed on Jan. 16.
The former French colony descended into chaos after a mostly Muslim rebel coalition, Seleka, seized power in March, unleashing a wave of killings and looting that sparked revenge attacks by Christian militia known as "anti-balaka" (anti-machete).
More than a million people have been displaced by the violence since Seleka installed their leader Michel Djotodia as interim president. Over 1,000 people were killed last month alone in the capital Bangui, prompting neighbouring countries to evacuate more than 30,000 of their citizens.
There has been relative calm since Djotodia resigned last week under intense international pressure, but sporadic violence has persisted in Bangui. On Jan. 16, a spokesman for a 15,000-strong group of anti-balaka criticised the interim government and threatened a return to violence if it was not overhauled.
"If there is no solution to this, we always have our machetes which we have not yet handed in," the spokesman, Sebastien Wenezoui, told Reuters at a base in the northern Bangui suburb of Boeing, flanked by around 20 militiamen armed with knives, machetes and Kalashnikovs.
His group wants the country's transitional assembly (CNT) to be reworked to boost the presence of the anti-balaka and reduce the number of Seleka representatives. It plans a march in Bangui on Friday to try to stop the appointment of a new interim president, he added.
The CNT is due to vote on the new head on Jan. 20, its vice president Lea Koyassoum Doumta said on Jan. 17.
Seeds of Genocide
Central African Republic is designated by the United Nations as one of the top three global humanitarian emergencies, along with Syria and the Philippines. But a U.N. appeal has received only 6 percent of a $247 million target.
Returning from a five-day trip to the country, a U.N. official said the crisis was foreseeable and stemmed from many years of international neglect of the chaotic country.
"The elements are there, the seeds are there, for a genocide," John Ging, director of operations for the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a news conference in Geneva. "It has all the elements that we have seen elsewhere, in places like Rwanda and Bosnia."
Ging said the country amounted to little more than a territory on a map, without state infrastructure and functioning security forces. He said French and African Union (AU) peacekeepers were having a positive effect but were stretched to their limits.
"Central African Republic has to move up the priority list," he said. "However desperate and alarming the situation might be right now, it can be turned around very quickly."
France hurriedly sent some 1,600 troops to its former colony in December. The deployment of Rwandan troops, the first of whom arrived aboard a U.S. military aircraft on Thursday, will increase the AU contingent to more than 5,000 peacekeepers this month.
Many say the bloodshed has little to do with religion, in a nation where Muslims and Christians have long lived in peace. Instead, they blame a political battle for control over natural resources in one of Africa's weakest states, split along ethnic lines and worsened by foreign meddling.
Around 20 more people were killed on Jan. 16 when anti-balaka fighters attacked a convoy of Muslims, many of them women and children, headed for the town of Bouar, some 450 km (280 miles) to the west of Bangui, witnesses said. The families were fleeing militia attacks in the nearby town of Bohong.
"There were about 20 lifeless bodies strewn here and there on the road. Some were killed by bullets, others with knives," Achille Yakende, a salesman travelling to Bouar by motorbike, told Reuters by telephone.
In Bangui, hundreds of angry residents surrounded a convoy of Chadian Muslims fleeing the country. They shouted "go home" and "assassins". Some in the crowd tried to loot and set fire to one vehicle but were prevented by AU peacekeepers, who fired warning shots to disperse them.


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Wildwalks Images
This is a great walk, crossing the middle of Brisbane Water National Park and visiting several highlights including Rocky Ponds. Starting with a ferry trip from Brooklyn, this walk follows a series of faint tracks, clear tracks and management trails. There is an alternate route described in the notes as a way around the Defile Track which and be very faint. You will enjoy a wide range of panoramic views from TumblecowII ridge, Rocky Ponds (Tank Creek) and an optional side trip to enjoy the view from Mount Wondabyne. The walk finishes with a walk of contrast, beside the Woy Woy landfill and a road walk to Woy Woy Station. A great day out or make it an overnighter by camping overnight at Tank Creek or Mt Wondabyne.
Total climbing: 588m
16.1 km One way
6 hrs 30 mins
Experienced only
This great walk starts from Brooklyn with a ferry trip to Little Wobby and explores some fantastic panoramic views of the Hawkesbury River and Tank Creek. The alternate route, for more experienced walkers, cuts a fair bit of walking and gets you to the views quicker. The views along the ridge are great and the Tumblecow2 flat rock makes a lovely rest spot. From here, much of the walk is through heath until arriving at the picturesque Rocky Ponds on Tanks Creek. There is a campsite for people wanting more time to explore before walking back.
Total climbing: 923m
18.1 km Return
8 hrs
Hard track


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Shielding software from litigation
One approach to how to write a law banning software patents would be a law saying, as Richard Stallman puts it, "that developing, distributing, or running a program on generally used computing hardware does not constitute patent infringement."[1] This would create a lawsuit-free zone, which is a tested idea in law.[2]
The other approach is to exclude software from patentability.
- The main advantage is that this avoids the need for a legal definition of "software patent". Patents no longer have to be classified as software or non-software. "Software" patents can still be granted, but no patents can be used to attack people for developing or distributing software.
- Interpretation of the law lies directly with the judge, instead of the patent office.
- The wording of the patent is no longer important, so the ingenuity of patent lawyers for finding loopholes and confusing wordings can no longer influence the chances of a lawsuit succeeding against a software developer.
- This creates a clear situation for already-granted software patents, rather than leaving a question mark over whether they would be upheld or invalidated by a court after a change in patent eligibility criteria.
For the EU unitary patent
For the EU regulation on the unitary patent, an amendment to exclude software from patentability has already been proposed (see amendments 5 and 6). It has been objected that this regulation was not about (re-)defining rules on patentability. But in this regulation there is already an article (Art. 8) defining exceptions to patentees' rights: for non-commercial private acts; experimental uses; medicines during patent term to obtain regulatory approval; extemporaneous preparations in a pharmacy of medicines; acts on or concerning foreign means of transport which temporarily or accidentally enter EU; acts as covered by the farmers privilege; some defined biotechnological acts; and decompilation of software in order to obtain informations necessary for interoperability.
An amendment implementing Stallman's suggestion for an exception for "developing, distributing, or running a program on generally used computing hardware" would be easier to be adopted.
What is "generally used computing hardware"?
Richard Stallman says that this exception would not apply to software on "special-purpose hardware". I wonder how this affects the overall outcome... but Stallman doesn't see this as a problem, so maybe it isn't:
This approach doesn't entirely invalidate existing computational idea patents, because they would continue to apply to implementations using special-purpose hardware. This is an advantage because it eliminates an argument against the legal validity of the plan.
Let's take the example of software patents on MP3.
If Stallman's proposition to limit effects of software patents only to "generally used computing hardware" is passed, sellers of MP3 reading devices (hardware) will still have to pay a license (the price being transferred fully or in part to consumers) to MP3 patents' holders. The latter could still file patents on compression/decoding of audio formats. The MP3 algorithms are implemented on circuits, that is on "special-purpose computers". The exception does not apply.
Conversely, developers and users of software for reading MP3 would not need to fear the existing patents, nor future patents. Such software is implemented on "generally used computing hardware", that is "general-purpose computers". Developing, distributing and running such software on general-purpose computers is covered by the exception.
This effect is very different from a solution based on the exclusion of software from patentability. If such an exclusion is passed, nobody could obtain a patent on encoding/decoding audio algorithms anymore (e.g. on an imaginary MP138 format). Makers of MP138 reading devices would not have to worry (and consumers wouldn't see any change); nor would developers and users of software for reading MP138.
Conversely, holders of existing software patents on MP3 might want to continue to get some royalties, both from makers of MP3 reading devices (with cost transfered to consumers), and from developers and users of software for reading MP3. If there is litigation, these patents might be invalidated, since they had been mistakenly granted on excluded subject matter.
Why a limited exception?
One could ask why limiting the exception to software intended to run on a "generally used computing hardware", or a "general-purpose computer", and not having this exception for all software, even if implemented on a special-purpose computer, on a circuit, etc.
The main reason, as stated by Stallman in his column on WiReD is that:
This is an advantage because it eliminates an argument against the legal validity of the plan.
Indeed, one recurring argument against the solution to exclude software from patentability is that other non-software patents could be affected altogether with such an exclusion. For instance, we don't really care if patents on a rubber-curing machinery, like the one at stake in Diamond v. Diehr, can still be enforced on computational ideas implemented on a rubber-curing machinery. We just want to be free to implement, distribute and use the same computational idea in software on our usual computers.
Another reason can be see in Article 30 TRIPS:
Members may provide limited exceptions to the exclusive rights conferred by a patent, provided that such exceptions do not unreasonably conflict with a normal exploitation of the patent and do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the patent owner, taking account of the legitimate interests of third parties.
Limiting the exception to acts on general-purpose computers can help to comply with requirements of Article 30 TRIPS. Indeed the first requirement that the exception should be limited would not be met if the exception was too broad to encompass any acts related to computational ideas. About the other requirements, it is not certain whether they are met or not. But with political will, the whole test of Article 30 is very likely to be passed. See about this the study by Professor Lionel Bently for WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents: Exclusions from Patentability and Exceptions and Limitations to Patentees' Rights:
In addition, it should be acknowledged that our experience with exceptions is rather limited. One particular concern is precisely how much flexibility is left to national authorities as a result of Article 30 of TRIPs (in combination with the non-discrimination provisions of Article 27). Although that provision is somewhat open-textured, further guidance as to the level of flexibility it offers could be of real value. The WTO Panel in Canadian Pharmaceuticals gave helpful findings on the notion of "discrimination" between fields of technology, but other aspects of the holding (for example, that on the notion of "limited") may operate to deprive member countries of the real potential offered by the use of exceptions. In our view, this would be regrettable.
Choice of wording
As seen above (with examples of "generally used computing hardware" or "general-purpose computer", if we propose some legislation for this exception, we can choose between different wording to limit the exception to some specific acts. What is important is that everything that we want to be shielded from software patents enforcement is covered by the exception, while we can live with everything not falling in the exception.
In WiReD, Stallman has chosen the wording "generally used computing hardware". From some personal exchange with him, his main intention is:
The idea of "generally used computing hardware" is to distinguish them from cases like the rubber-curing plant in Diamond v. Diehr. The precise words to use here call for some thought. We need to think about which cases should be covered by the exception, and how to express that line clearly.
Gibus who is working on https://www.unitary-patent.eu has proposed to use the wording "general-purpose computer".
First this expression helps indeed to distinguished covered acts from those on a rubber-curing machinery in [[Diamond v. Diehr, precisely because U.S. Supreme Court has said it was patentable, while refusing patentability in Gottschalk v. Benson, using in that case the expression "general-purpose digital computer". While the only place where "general-purpose digital computer" is used in Diamond v. Diehr is to reiterate the rejection of patentability of Gottschalk v. Benson.
Second because any wording that includes "hardware" would prevent the exception to apply on acts performed on virtual machines. For instance, using Kernel-based Virtual Machine (which is available in the Linux kernel), one can emulate several virtual machines, actually running on the same physical machine. Different distributions of GNU/Linux can be run simultaneously on different virtual machines. With "generally used computing hardware", running GNU/Linux or any software on a virtual machine would not be covered by the exception. Conversely, using "general-purpose computer" allows to cover software run on a virtual machine, which is indeed a general-purpose computer implemented in software.
Third, the definition of "general-purpose computer" is non ambiguous and well-known, both in technical and legal literature. According to the EU inter-institutional terminology database, the definition from ISO/DIS/I is
a computer that is designed to operate upon a wide variety of problems
The exact same definition seems also to be found on American National Dictionary for Information Processing, by the Canadian Government EDP Standards Committee), or by Computer Science and Communications Dictionary, by Martin Weik. Very close definitions can be found in other various dictionnaries.
Moreover "general-purpose computer" is widely used in legal documents, notably on many patents and patent applications in Europe and US, on some memorandums of the European Commision, or rulings of the US Supreme Court or of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and even by Richard Stallman (stating that "Treacherous computing" is designed to stop your computer from functioning as a general-purpose computer).
Richard Stallman has objected to the second argument above that actually with "generally used computing hardware", running GNU/Linux or any software on a virtual machine would not be covered by the exception, because:
The specific program, and the emulator, are a collection of software and it is running on generally used computing hardware.
It may be perfectly exact. Nevertheless, the mere fact that there could be a doubt tends to show that this is a wording which can be disputed in court.
Stallman has then proposed the following wordings:
However, perhaps "non-task-specific computer hardware" is better than "generally used computer hardware". Or "not specific to the purpose achieved by the patented technique".
"non-task-specific computer hardware" would be equivalent to "not special-purpose computer", i.e. "general-purpose computer".
It would actually be dangerous to use the last proposition in a legal context in Europe, as the word "technique" would validate that software is a technical field, and therefore would block the solution of excluding software from patentability.
Such wording could nevertheless be used for communication to public.
There is a concern that expressions like "general-purpose computer" or whatever wording equivalent to a Turing machine would be interpreted as non including ebook readers, routers, camera, circuit implementing MP3 decoding algorithm, etc.
In a legal context, the last proposition above could actually be used by replacing "technique" by the legally defined term "subject matter". This is too legalistic and clunky for talking to the public, but accurate for a legal proposition.
So the best wording found until now for a legal proposition would be "computing equipment that is not specialized for implementing the patented subject matter".
To come up with an acceptable form of words, it may be useful to first clarify the outcome sought. Although the following is somewhat vague (it's just intended as an example), we should clearly define the intended outcome e.g. "to ensure software patents, for software that is (or was previously) in widespread public use, cannot be the subject of litigation". "Widespread public use" is obviously the problematic part here, as it poses a 'threshold question': how many people must be using the software for its use to be considered widespread?
Given that patent litigation is mostly commercially motivated, it might be sensible to similarly tie the definition of 'patent litigation shielded software' to some unavoidable aspect of commercial activity (e.g. general public distribution). So perhaps a sensible definition would be:
Developing, distributing, or running software on a computer does not constitute patent infringement if:
(a) the aforementioned computer is (or has previously been) made available for use by at least a significant proportion of the general public
The above seems to avoid a number of problems that have been raised in this section, and one or two that might arise:
- It does not define a 'computer' as a physical object
- It does not exclude computers that are physical objects
- It can easily be construed as including things like emulators and virtual machines, as these things are 'computers' in that their primary purpose is to carry out mathematical computation
- It can also cover 'firmware' found in consumer/enterprise computing appliances, as long as the term 'software' is carefully defined. Perhaps something along the lines of "an instruction or set of instructions that a computer interprets to achieve some outcome or fulfil some function".
- 'made available for use' covers all methods of distribution (for sale in store, digital download etc.), modes of use (e.g. ownership, rental etc.) and any conceivable price for legal use (e.g. free, $10, crazy expensive, in exchange for X etc.)
- Although clunky, including the quantifier 'at least a significant proportion of the general public' will obviate technical arguments like: 'We never offered this computer for sale in $STATE, therefore it was not made available to the general public'. It also means the only way to avoid being caught by this definition would be to limit distribution, which is usually damaging to commercial goals.
However, we need to have a lot of people to look at each proposal, to look for what its consequences would be in various cases, so we can think about which criterion is right.
Current shields for other domains
The legality of this approach is confirmed by the existence of similar protections for other domains.
US surgeon's precedent
Such a shield already exists since 1997 for surgeons in the USA in 35 U.S.C. Section 287 (c), sometimes called the "Ganske compromise legislation":
- (1) With respect to a medical practitioner's performance of a medical activity that constitutes an infringement under section 271 (a) or (b), the provisions of sections 281, 283, 284, and 285 shall not apply against the medical practitioner or against a related health care entity with respect to such medical activity.
- (2) For the purposes of this subsection:
- (A) the term "medical activity" means the performance of a medical or surgical procedure on a body, but shall not include
- (i) the use of a patented machine, manufacture, or composition of matter in violation of such patent,
- (ii) the practice of a patented use of a composition of matter in violation of such patent, or
- (iii) the practice of a process in violation of a biotechnology patent.
- (B) the term "medical practitioner" means any natural person who is licensed by a State to provide the medical activity described in subsection (c)(1) or who is acting under the direction of such person in the performance of the medical activity.
- (C) the term "related health care entity" shall mean an entity with which a medical practitioner has a professional affiliation under which the medical practitioner performs the medical activity, including but not limited to a nursing home, hospital, university, medical school, health maintenance organization, group medical practice, or a medical clinic.
- (D) the term "professional affiliation" shall mean staff privileges, medical staff membership, employment or contractual relationship, partnership or ownership interest, academic appointment, or other affiliation under which a medical practitioner provides the medical activity on behalf of, or in association with, the health care entity.
- (E) the term "body" shall mean a human body, organ or cadaver, or a nonhuman animal used in medical research or instruction directly relating to the treatment of humans.
- (F) the term "patented use of a composition of matter" does not include a claim for a method of performing a medical or surgical procedure on a body that recites the use of a composition of matter where the use of that composition of matter does not directly contribute to achievement of the objective of the claimed method.
- (G) the term "State" shall mean any State or territory of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
- (3) This subsection does not apply to the activities of any person, or employee or agent of such person (regardless of whether such person is a tax exempt organization under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code), who is engaged in the commercial development, manufacture, sale, importation, or distribution of a machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or the provision of pharmacy or clinical laboratory services (other than clinical laboratory services provided in a physician's office), where such activities are:
- (A) directly related to the commercial development, manufacture, sale, importation, or distribution of a machine, manufacture, or composition of matter or the provision of pharmacy or clinical laboratory services (other than clinical laboratory services provided in a physician's office), and
- (B) regulated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Public Health Service Act, or the Clinical Laboratories Improvement Act.
- (4) This subsection shall not apply to any patent issued based on an application the earliest effective filing date of which is prior to September 30, 1996.
Related pages on ESP Wiki
- Choosing words to use in legal proposals
- Free software exception - a narrower suggestion, but with many implementation problems
- ↑ Stallman Richard, Giving the Software Field Protection from Patents[archived], gnu.org. Originally published on Wired, Stallman Richard, Let's Limit the Effect of Software Patents, Since We Can't Eliminate Them[archived], wired.com, 2012-11-01.
- ↑ Goldman Eric, Want To End The Litigation Epidemic? Create Lawsuit-Free Zones[archived], forbes.com, 2013-04-13.


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Approximately 40 million Americans have some sort of on-going or chronic sleep disorder causing snoring and another 20 to 30 million have various intermittent sleep apnea. When there is an obstruction to the airway during breathing, such as an enlarged tongue, nasal blockage, enlarged tonsils or uvula (the soft tissue hanging at the back of the soft palate at the entrance of the throat), snoring results. As the air passes rapidly through the constricted air passages, loose tissues in the airway vibrate, causing the snoring sound.
Snoring appears to be more common under certain types of conditions. It's more common in people that are overweight or have excess fat around the neck, use of alcohol or drugs, 60% men and 40% women snore with the likelihood of increased snoring with age. Snoring also is more prominent with people that sleep on their backs, or in positions where the head is in such a position where the structures of the airway are obstructed. Snoring usually occurs when one is inhaling, instead of exhaling.
Snoring by itself is not serious. However, sleep apnea (obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrom ,OSAHS), is a medical problem. There are today, sleep disorders clinics and physicians that treat sleep breathing problems. The clinics give a questionnaire to determine the likelihood of dozing off in a variety of daily situations
Sleep apnea is a associated with total obstruction of the airway in which breathing stops all together. The origin of the word apnea comes from the Greek language meaning "want to breath". Breathing must stop totally for at least 10 seconds or longer, by definition, to be called sleep apnea. To determine if a snoring falls into the category of sleep apnea, the sleep disorder clinics give a questionnaire which tries to find out the likelihood of dozing off in appropriate times during the day. Scoring 10 or higher is considered hypersomnolent, or sleep apnea. Then a plysomnography (PSG) test is performed. The person stays overnight at the clinic to perform the sleep test. The cost for this test is around $1200.00. Insurance often pays for PSG if the doctor needs it to diagnose the condition.
There are three types of apnea:
The most common type is called "obstructive sleep apnea." This is characterized with total obstruction of the airway, total collapse of breathing, with effort to breath. The other two types are not that common and have to do with a problem with the central nervous system (central sleep apnea) or in combination with obstruction of the airway (mixed sleep apnea). Sometimes when there is a fall in the blood oxygen level, there may be an episode of shallow breathing, where the airflow is decreased by 50% during sleep and may last for 10 or more seconds. This is called hypopnea. This is more of a mild interruption of breathing.
One side affect of sleep apnea is interrupted sleep. Studies have shown when sleep is disturbed, the quality of life is also affected. Some of the side affects include headaches (especially in the morning), fatigue, difficulty concentrating, falling asleep at inappropriate times, high blood pressure, irregular heart rate, heart attack and stroke. Questions to ask yourself to determine if you suffer from sleep apnea include:
- Wake up very tired in the morning
- Have a hard time concentrating
- Headaches, especially on awakening in the morning
- Falling asleep easily during the day
- Sleepy and fatigue during the day
- Depressed or easily get angry, especially on awakening in the morning
So what does one do about snoring or the more serious sleep apnea? There are many products available that boast to totally cure snoring, and give peace to your loved ones who have to hear the snoring. Usually a jab from a loved one in bed will cause the snoring to stop. The problem with that is the loved one will continually be awakened.
Other treatments include a lubricant spray that promises to stop the snoring. The manufacturer claims the lubricants, including almond oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, vitamins B6,C and E will help you stop snoring. A device called the Harmony Sleep Companion that vibrates and wakes you when snoring starts, so you can roll over on your side is another means available to stop snoring. Cutting the uvula is the surgical means of removing the flap hanging in the back of the throat. It's painful and about two thirds successful for snoring.
Radio wave treatments called SOMNOPLASTY, shrinks the tissue in air passages. This treatment involves a small radio frequency generator attached to a needle that pierces the tongue, throat or soft palate. This is not painful, even though it sounds as though it is. For half an hour the inner tissue is heated to 158 to 176 degrees Fahrenheit causing the inner tissues to shrink. You may or may not see results, for which you need to wait a week or two. The procedure may have to be repeated. Although not painful, this should be the very last resort for treatment.
Another device fits on the nose and keeps the nasal passages open by applying pressure to the septum. Your dentist can make guards to stop snoring. There are two types: mandibular advancement devices, or MADs, keep the lower jaw forward. Tongue retaining devices (TRD), holds or pulls the tongue forward out of the airway. The tongue, therefore wont fall back into the airway causing obstruction. The purpose of each of these guards is the same—to keep the airway open wide enough to prevent breathing and sleeping problems and snoring.
If you suspect that you have severe sleep problems and snore, the sleep center is a good place to start. After filling out the questionnaire and possibly doing the overnight sleep test, they can determine what treatment will be the best route to take. If you simply snore and don't have severe sleeping problems, avoid alcoholic drinks, tranquilizers, and sleeping pills before going to bed. Make sure your nasal passages are open and that you don't suffer from sinus allergies or any thing else clogging your nose. A gentle elbow or jab from your loved one in bed is not a bad idea either. Sweet dreams.


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Concentration Game
Have fun with books and authors with a memory game of Concentration. Choose the number of cards, and then select book cover images from favorite titles, or from relevant booklists or awards.
You can choose to match book covers, like in a traditional game of concentration, or match books with authors.
Look for pairs of cards by turning them over in turns, two at a time. If you find a match, you may turn over two more cards until all the cards are matched. If your pair isn't a match, they are turned back over while you try again.
You Win!
Congratulations! You completed the game in {{guessCount}} guesses.Start Over


text:
Register To Participate, Reduce Ads, Win Free Stuff
Talk about video games, movies, music, news, and technology without wading through a thousand dumb kids and dozen exclamation points after each sentence. Try it out for a few days and remember what it's like to breathe Internet air without getting two lungs full of stupid.
Click Here Now To Register and Always Have Something New Worth Reading
Happy Birthday Kev!
Anytime man!
Haha no problem man, hope you had a good one, loved the pic of you and the fam!
Excellent man, glad to head it!
Happy Bday, man!
No prob buddy, hope it was excellent!
Happy Birthday Kev!!!
Ha! I like it, well played!
Haha no problem man, it's good to see more artists posting their stuff! And save that birthday wish, the next one is less than 2 months away
Kev that's cool. I took some time away from TNL but I'm back at it.
How are ya doing Kev.
Happy Birthday sausage man!
Thanks dude. And I love my pops!
Yeah, I'm familiar with The Villages; where old people go to die in paradise. I know that we (Winn-Dixie) have a store down there; it's not a terrible place to work.
No prob bud, make is a great one!
Banned by Administrators
hello i'm babacang


text:
Early Morning Witness Mt. Fuji Framed Wall Art
- Total Coverage Area 24in x 36in / 91cm x 61cm / 3ft x 2ft
- High quality cotton canvas stretched on a wooden floating frame
- Arrives ready to hang with all hardware included
- Beautifully wrapped in the soft paper along with bubble wrap and box
- Suitable for living room, bedroom, kitchen, office, Hotel, dining room and bar
- A great present for any occasion, whether it's a housewarming party or a birthday
- Gift packing is available for gifting purposes
- Made in INDIA
About the Product:
Being the Japan's tallest and most sacred mountain this canvas print of Mt. Fuji's early morning scenic view on the lake of Kawaguchiko looks splendor and graceful. An iconic symbol of Japan for Japanese people this painting is made with every minute detail being taken care of. Without a doubt this art work offers the most spectacular view of Mt. Fuji ever. Bubble wrapped carefully, the high quality wooden stretched cotton canvas comes with ready to hang hardware material for trouble-free installation. An ideal gifting statement, the personalized facility of gift packaging is available too. Suitable to place anywhere living room, bar, kitchen, bedroom it has the ability to put in supplementary ignite.
About Quality:
Still doubtful? Well, we understand you! At WallMantra, we take utmost care of the quality and style of the product, and make sure that it goes through several quality checks prior to shipment. Therefore, every product is scrutinized end-to-end, which includes the design, material, and packaging. We ensure that it is shipped timely and reaches you in optimum condition. 100% satisfaction guaranteed! Happy shopping with us! ".
Return Policy:
We have very customer friendly return & refund policies, you can find it here
At WallMantra we have very customer friendly return/refund/replacement policies. You can find detailed policies here
Buy on EMI:You can buy this product on EMI(Equated Monthly Installments). EMI is only available when payment processing method is Credit Card.
Steps to Get it on EMI:
1. At Checkout select "Debit Card/Credit Card/ EMI ..." Option.
2. Now Select option: EMI
3. Choose the bank, you have the credit card.
4. All Options with different tenure and available interest rates would be shown, select the suitable option and enter your credit card details.
T&C For EMI
WallMantra shall not be responsible for any disputes arising due to the non-conversion of a transaction into EMIs.Customers will have to inquire about the status of their EMI requests from their issuing banks.
Every bank has its own threshold value above which, a credit card holder may avail of the EMI facility while ordering products from WallMantra. The threshold value is decided by each particular bank and is in the range of Rs. 500-6000/-, varying from bank to bank.
EMI transaction requests, once submitted, cannot be cancelled/modified/reversed until the same have been approved/rejected by the issuing banks of the credit card holders.
Have Questions?Ask An Expert
₹ 2,699


text:
In order to follow the examples in this tutorial you will need to login using the panel to the left. If you don't have a Pandorabots account you can sign-up for an account here.
A Tutorial For Adding Knowledge to Your Robot
References and Resources
Copyright © 2002 - 2004 Doubly Aimless


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Finally a Limit Is Reached: Ninth Circuit Rules McCormack Can't Be Prosecuted for Her Abortion
The appeals court finds a limit to what states can do in the name of restricting abortion access: criminal prosecutions of terminated pregnancies.
In terms of restricting access to abortion rights, the Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v. Casey gave states a broad license to pass nearly any conceivable kind of restriction so long as that restriction did not pose an undue burden on a woman's right to chose to terminate a pregnancy. When faced with the question of what constitutes an undue burden, the federal judiciary has overwhelmingly come down on the side of supporting restrictions at the expense of women's access to abortion care.
We've seen this most recently when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that mandating invasive and medically-unnecessary ultrasounds prior to an abortion did not pose an undue burden on a woman seeking an abortion. We saw it again when the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals found that forcing women to listen to misleading and inaccurate medical disclosures designed to persuade them from having an abortion was also not an undue burden on that woman. But, according to the Ninth Circuit, there is a limit to how a state can restrict abortion access and that limit appears to be criminally prosecuting those women who seek and have abortions.
The specific issue before the Ninth Circuit was whether the state can impose criminal liability on pregnant women for failing to abide by the state's abortion statutes, namely obtaining an "unlawful abortion" by buying medications online to terminate her pregnancy. Jennie Linn McCormack, a single mother of three, needed an abortion but, because there are no licensed abortion providers in Southeastern Idaho she couldn't find one. McCormack also could not afford the trip to Salt Lake City and the cost of the procedure, which by now would be more expensive due to the delay to access a provider. In crisis and in need of an abortion McCormack went online and ordered the necessary drugs for a medication abortion in violation of a state law that requires all abortions to be performed at a hospital or medical clinic.
Prosecutors charged McCormack under the state's unlawful abortion statute. An Idaho federal judge initially dismissed the charges against her without prejudice, meaning prosecutors could re-file charges later while the court heard challenges to the constitutionality of the law. After that initial dismissal McCormack also challenged the laws, including a more recent 20-week abortion ban herself, arguing they were unconstitutional restrictions on her right to chose an abortion. As it turns out, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. Mostly.
In a strongly-worded opinion Judge Harry Pregerson plainly and unapologetically embraced the idea that prosecuting women for terminating pregnancies won't end abortion, it will just create a whole new class of criminals. That burden is obvious and apparent to the court. The law "puts an undue burden on women seeking abortions by requiring them to police their provider's compliance with Idaho's regulations" the court said.
Furthermore, the "choice" women have in Idaho is no choice at all. "Under this Idaho statute, a pregnant woman in McCormack's position has three options: (1) carefully read the Idaho abortion statutes to ensure that she and her provider are in compliance with the Idaho laws to avoid felony prosecution; (2) violate the law either knowingly or unknowingly in an attempt to obtain an abortion; or (3) refrain altogether from exercising her right to choose an abortion."
For once it was the plight of the pregnant woman, and not the state's interest in policing her pregnancy, that caught the court's attention. The court took great pains to acknowledge the barriers that women—especially low-income women—face in obtaining abortion services, including lack of providers, financial obstacles, and harassment at clinics.
This Idaho statute heaps yet another substantial obstacle in the already overburdened path that McCormack and pregnant women like her face when deciding whether to obtain an abortion" the court held, in barring McCormack's prosecution.
"We are thrilled by the Ninth Circuit's unequivocal statement that statutes that make it a crime for women to seek abortion care pose an undue burden on their ability to terminate their pregnancies," said Janet Chung, attorney for Legal Voice, a women's legal advocacy group that filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Ms. McCormack.
"This is an important decision that explicitly rejects Idaho's claim that the state may use its criminal abortion laws to punish pregnant women who end their pregnancies," said Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director of National Advocates for Pregnant Women. She added, "Leading 'pro-life' organizations have repeated claimed that their efforts will not result in women going to jail, yet none opposed the arrest of Ms. McCormack."
The importance of the decision cannot be overstated, in part because so many other courts have willingly, and in the case of Judge Edith Jones in the Fifth Circuit, gleefuly disregarded the realities of life for women like McCormack when upholding laws that serve no purpose other than to erect barriers for those women to access they care they need and the care they have a constitutionally protected right to receive.
If there is a dark spot in the ruling it is that given the procedural posture of the case the court couldn't strike the law in its entirety meaning that, for now, other pregnant women could still face prosecution in Idaho for doing what McCormack did, or something similar. And while McCormack had also tried to affirmatively challenge the state's 20-week fetal pain ban, the court held she lacked the standing to do so meaning that law also stands. Most importantly though, the idea that there is even a dispute as to whether or not women should face criminal prosecutions for terminating pregnancies, and that the outcome of that dispute was even momentarily in doubt, is a stark reminder of just how restricted this constitutional right has become.