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Medical Marijuana is coming to the District of Columbia – but still with too many restrictions for some pot advocates.
Now that Congress has lifted its decade-old hold on the measure, legislation to implement a 1998 voter-passed referendum is backed by 10 of the city's 13 D.C. Council members and seems sure to pass.
Council committees and city officials are wrestling with an armful of questions about how the law will work in practice – especially the question of where the licensed dispensaries that will sell the drug can be located, and who will be allowed to own and operate them. And opponents are calling for Congress to block the measure, as it can do under long-standing federal powers over D.C. affairs.
Marijuana advocates are pushing for changes in the current council proposal, which bans anyone with even a misdemeanor drug conviction from owning or working in a dispensary, and says they must be at least 1,000 feet from any school or youth center.
Finding a site that meets that criterion in a dense urban setting like the District is like "looking for a needle in a haystack," said entrepreneur Alan Amsterdam, co-owner of Capitol Hemp – a store in Adams Morgan that sells products made from hemp, a fiber manufactured from the non-psychoactive parts of the cannabis plant.
Mr. Amsterdam – a native Washingtonian who in 1998 opened the first American-operated marijuana "coffee shop" in the Netherlands, where pot has been legal for more than 20 years – said he plans to apply for a license to run a dispensary and has been scouting potential sites.
"Most of the options are going to be in the Northeast, the New York Avenue area," said Mr. Amsterdam, adding that he plans to apply for a license no matter how the law turns out, but he is lobbying for changes in the bill.
He said that current proposals for regulating gun shops in the District would mandate that they must be at least 350 feet from any school.
"That doesn't make any sense. How can you say it's OK to put a shop which sells deadly weapons closer to a school than one which is dispensing medicine?" asked Mr. Amsterdam, who said the same 350-foot rule would significantly increase the number of potential dispensary sites.
Council member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary – one of the two panels considering the bill – said he did not buy that comparison
"I don't think there is agreement on that issue," he said. He noted it was not yet clear whether patients would be allowed to smoke their marijuana in the dispensaries. The location question "depends on the rules for the dispensaries," Mr. Mendelson said.
Mr. Mendelson added it was his "inclination" to retain the ban in the bill on people with misdemeanor drug convictions owning or working in dispensaries – another provision marijuana advocates oppose.
Mr. Amsterdam said that people with misdemeanor convictions for violence or fraud are free to set up under the law.
"That is very troubling … you are punishing people in the cannabis community," he said, adding, "You need master growers" to cultivate medical-grade pot and that people with that kind of experience have often fallen afoul of the law.
"I don't follow that argument," responded Mr. Mendelson, adding that the provision was intended "to make sure the criminal element cannot get involved" in supplying medical marijuana. "I don't see why a person with a criminal conviction is the best person for the job" of running a dispensary.
Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access supports a ban only on those with convictions for crimes of violence.
Steph Shearer, the group's executive director, says the council members are being "very thoughtful in their approach" to drafting legislation. "They are very aware of the influence that Congress" and other federal organs have in the city, and "they want to make this work."
Mr. Mendelson said he had not encountered any opposition to the law as a whole, and said he expects the D.C. Council to pass a final bill with all the details "within two months."
"The concern has been about where to draw the lines," he said, noting that the proposed law employs a narrower definition of who can qualify as a medical marijuana patient than many jurisdictions have used.
The bill states that, in order to qualify, patients must suffer from a "serious medical condition" that is "chronic or long-lasting," "debilitating," and either causes "intractable pain which does not respond to ordinary medical or surgical measures," or "cannot be effectively treated by any ordinary medical or surgical measure."
Any D.C. law would not supersede federal law, which restricts marijuana use and possession without any medical exceptions. This discrepancy already has caused jurisdictional issues in other cities and states that have allowed medical marijuana, but could pose particularly acute difficulties in the District, large parts of which are owned by the federal government and where many federal law-enforcement agencies patrol the streets and sites.
"D.C. is unique in this respect and faces an issue that no other jurisdiction does," said Mr. Amsterdam, adding that advocates were striving to get lawmakers' attention on the issue.
Americans for Safe Access is calling on the council to issue special training materials for police officers about the new law.
Opponents of the measure say that however the law is written, it is the thin end of a fat drug-legalization wedge and should not pass.
"This is not only a stupid and dangerous mistake, but a transparent ploy to legalize a dangerous drug," said John Walters, the Bush administration's drug czar and now executive vice president at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.
"Smoked marijuana is not a medicine," he said. "It cannot pass any of the tests we set down for other medical treatments" like double-blind drug-efficacy studies, and "there are no warnings about the known side-effects."
He called it "inexcusable" that federal officials had not publicly opposed the D.C. bill. "National officials responsible for the integrity of our drug laws, our legal system [and] our medical regulatory regime have maintained a deafening silence," he said.
"I hope Congress will stop it," he said.
Under the 1973 Home Rule Act, which established the current D.C. government structure, all laws passed by the council are subject to a 30-day congressional review and can be blocked
News Hawk: Warbux https://www.420magazine.com
Source: The Washington Times
Author: Shaun Waterman
Contact: Medical pot lights up D.C. debate – Washington Times
Copyright: 2010 The Washington Times
Website: Medical pot lights up D.C. debate – Washington Times


text: REDE-HOPE, a coalition of Mozambican NGOs and activists that works with men to champion gender rights will host the 2nd MenEngage Africa Symposium from 23-27 April 2018 in Maputo, Mozambique. The Symposium seeks to take stock of progress made and challenges that remain in working with men and boys to promote gender justice. In this podcast, Khopotso Bodibe asked Bayano Valy, Advocacy, Research and Networks Manager for REDE-HOPEM to explain in detail what the Symposium is all about.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
3 Tools to Optimise your Twitter Account
It's been a bit of a hectic few weeks for me, a quick trip to the UK for my best friends hen weekend and then we bought a puppy (click for a photo) last week and he's been quite a handful. As well as that I have been trying to keep up with the Author Blog Challenge, luckily I have all the content in my inbox (author interviews) and it's just a case of copy and pasting and a bit of formatting to get them posted each day. So this blog post has been a long time coming… I also have a Social Media Clinic email to do this week as well as keep up with the eBook formatting work I have had in from clients.
Do you regularly optimise your Twitter account?
This blog post came to me this morning while I was doing my weekly Twitter clean out. I don't schedule it each week, but usually on a Monday or Tuesday I spend some time optimising my Buffer account and clearing out some Twitter friends/followers.
I like to know where I am with my social media profiles, especially on Twitter. This last week my stats from SocialBro told me I had over 60 new follows and 30 unfollows. By checking out all the stats in one place means you can easily synchronise the information each week and get an overview of how well your Twitter account is running and also check out your new followers too.
Everyone has unfollows each week, I have learnt not to let it bother me, partly because I know that some Twitter users use lists to follow people to try and cut down their newsfeed. Also because I am not sure if Twitter has sorted out the random unfollowing people problem yet. I wrote a blog post about it some time ago – Is Twitter Unfollowing People Randomly? – are you still experiencing this?
How do I optimise my Twitter account?
This morning my first stop was Buffer, I keep receiving emails telling me my Buffer (for Twitter) is full – I have 54 spaces, so quite a lot really but just lately I seem to be finding some great content to share. I've also set-up some RSS feed actions in Ifttt.com which means some blog posts are being sent directly to Buffer, so if these bloggers write a lot of posts then my Buffer gets full pretty quickly. So this morning I have been through the posts and deleted some which I don't feel are relevant for my followers, as well as editing some to make them look prettier. The other thing I have done is add an extra tweet per day in the hope it won't fill up so quickly. That means during the week I have 6 tweets from Buffer and at the weekend just 3.
My next stop was SocialBro to check out my new follows and unfollows. First job is to see who has unfollowed me, in general if someone unfollows me I will unfollow back. There are some exceptions though, I won't unfollow anyone who I have dealt with in my business or if I genuinely enjoy their tweets. As I said before, I don't know why they unfollow but those are my rules and I try and stick by them.
I then check out my 'inactive friends', the default setting is they haven't tweeted for 3 months, but I always change this to 15 days. If anyone pops up in the results who hasn't tweeted in the last 15 days I use the rules above. Some I leave and wait to see if they start tweeting again, and if they appear again the following week then I will unfollow.
I check out my new followers next, but I tend to do this on a daily basis anyway so I can quickly follow people back if I am interested in them. In SocialBro I tend to just have a quick look to see if I've overlooked anyone.
The last thing I do is to click on the 'best time to tweet' button, it takes a couple of hours to appear but then I can synchronise it with Buffer. It optimises the times my Buffer tweets are sent out and this is a great tool.
I check this less regularly, because I tend to pop on here every couple of days to add a new scheduled update. Every few weeks I check my queue reservoirs for any outdated updates and whether I can jazz some of them up a bit, or change them slightly. I also have a quick look at my stats in here, to see how many of my updates are being retweeted.
I use various apps on a daily basis and I thought they deserved a mention here as well, not necessarily for optimising purposes but just to double check I'm not missing any mentions on Twitter. I use Twitter on the web once a day to check out new followers (as well as the iPhone app). I have just invested in a SocialCRM called Nimble which I will write about soon separately, at the moment I have all my social media accounts in this as well as my email. I also use Tweetdeck for instant pop-ups of retweets and mentions (for my account and client accounts).
Hopefully there will be just one single app I can do all of the above in, wouldn't that be good?!!
I'd love to know what everyone else uses and if I'm missing out on any similar apps.


text:
LAJ Design today announced the release and immediate availability
of Listen Later version 1.0. Listen Later is cross-platform application
that creates allows listen to your work when you want by letting the
computer read your documents to files.
Listen Later takes text and by using the computer speech modules, speaks
the text to files. Students can take chapter PDF files and change them
to AIFF files that can be burned to a CD or moved to your ipod to listen
as you travel. Commuters with long drive can now get something done as
they travel. Or exercisers can multitask as they workout.
Listen Later has two modes at this time: basic and manager. Both modes
lets you import text, PDF, html, or inputted text. Basic mode is the
single file mode. Manager mode lets you import and create multiple files.
It is
useful for students to convert multiple chapters at a time.
To Download
A trial version of Listen Later is available for download from LAJ
web site:
Mac OS X
Listen Later is shareware software, and costs US$ 23.50 to purchase.
A fully-functional demo version is available.
Listen Later runs on Windows (98,ME,NT,2000, and XP) and Macintosh
(X). Speech needs to be installed in the OS.
Purchases may be made from the LAJ Design web site:
This press release and others by LAJ Designs can be found at


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Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Top Speed: 20 MPH
The 55th Member of the Soccer Fitness 20 MPh Club, Luca successfully performed 2 separate, 4-second running bouts, at a top speed of exactly 20 miles per hour, on Wednesday, November 30, 2011. Born in the year 2000, Luca has become just the fourth-youngest athlete ever to run 20 MPH in our Centre. The third member of the Woodbridge 2000 Boys tom achieve this feat, Luca has only been training with Soccer Fitness since July of this year, and we fully expect him to continue to improve his speed and fitness levels in the future. We at Soccer Fitness would like to congratulate Luca on his achievement, and are looking forward to continuing to work with him throughout his soccer career.


text:
Hope you are enjoying this week's series on content.
I want to take you out of email for a minute now and show you another great resource on creating amazing and fresh content.
These are actionable video resources so be sure to set aside some time to watch, take some notes and get busy!
The videos relate to content creation but focus on specific elements of creating terrific sales copy in the form of Headlines, Sub-headlines, video sales letters and more.
There is no charge for the video series … just a "Join Now For Free " button to click.
Simple I say … What say you?
Enjoy ! 🙂
In a day or so I want to ask you a question, but for now…
… well, enjoy some free video content … !
To your Success,
Text me: 1-229-205-3226


text:
Thank you for visiting Two Point Design. I'm sorry, but we are currently not taking on new clients at the moment as we have too much work on the go!
Our Services
Two Point Design provides print & interactive design services with plans to bring our clients' identity, print and online marketing presence and strategies to new levels of success. We offer a complete suite of services, from innovative print and multimedia designs with customized content creation, to final print production and website maintenance.
Corporate Identity
Logo Design & Logo Redesign
Stationery Set Design
Business Cards
Letterheads & Facsimile
Invoices & Receipts
Stickers & Memopads
Presentation Folders & Inserts
Print and Graphic Design
Brochures, Leaflets, Flyers
Large Format Banners
Posters and Signs
Packaging Design
Direct Mailers
Book Cover & Page Layout
T-shirt Design
Invitation & Holiday Cards
Web Services
Website Design and Redesign
XHTML / CSS Programming
Ecommerce Solutions
CMS Implementation
Cross-Browser Compatibility
Google Analytics Setup
Search Engine Optimisation
Website Maintenance
Email Marketing
Our Design Process
The projected timeline depends largely on your print or web project. An estimation of the turnover time in business days can be seen in the overview below. Each project phase affects the subsequent phases and depends upon the specific deliverables & project milestones through which the project will progress.
Print Design
Day 1
Client Brief
Client Materials
Contract Sign-off
Analysis & Research
Web Design
Week 1
Client Brief
Client Materials
Project Timeline
Contract Sign-off
Analysis & Research
Website Consultation
Print Design
Day 2 to 4
Visual Style Design
Review & Approval
Web Design
Week 2 to 4
Review & Approval
Design Visual Style
Review & Approval
Design Other Pages
Animation Sequence
Review & Approval
Print Design
Day 4 to 6
Visual Style Design
Review & Approval
Web Design
Week 3 to 7
Develop XHTML/CSS
Develop Interactivity
Cross-browser Checks
Content Management
Usability Tests
Review & Approval
Print Design
Day 5 to 7
Submit Deliverables
Web Design
Week 4 to 8
Setup Google Analytics
Implement Tracking
Live Launch
SEO Submission
Print Design
Post Delivery
Printer Liasing
Supporting Collaterals
Website Design
Web Design
Post Launch
Email Marketing
Print Advertising
Social Media Strategy
Website Maintenance
Two Point Design also caters to businesses and individuals that require design retainer services. We have clients who, after our first project with them, have continued working with us for a number of years!
As your business requirements change, so too will the needs of your print collaterals or website. In time, your print collaterals or website may become outdated and need a fresh look, and we are here to help.
Contact us
today to find out more about our design services.
Designer Location
Two Point Design operates between 2 offices. Aside from receiving projects and retainer contracts from Singapore and Hong Kong, we also service a number of international clients.
South East Asia . Singapore
Eastern Asia . Hong Kong
Copyright © 2023 Two Point Design.
All rights reserved.


text:
Fr. Thomas Rosica is CEO of S+L Catholic Media Foundation and a Consultor for the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Tonight on a special edition of S+L Radio we feature an exclusive Vatican Radio interview with Fr. Rosica and we hear re-broadcasts of interviews with singer/songwriters Rosanna Riverso and Fr. Robert Galea.
March 26, 2011
March 26, 2011 by SLRadio Leave a Comment
Filed Under: SLHour, slRadio Tagged With: Fr. Robert Galea, Fr. Thomas Rosica, Pontifical Council, Rosanna Riverso, Social Communications, Vatican Radio


text:
About Select Auto
Welcome to Select Auto, we're a used car dealership that has served people quality used cars for over 26 years. Located at 1713 Woodman Dr. Dayton, OH 45420 our quality pre-owned vehicles. We specialize in finiacing for those who may have previously had credit issues and for first time buyers alike. As well as finicing options for those with excellent credit. We can locate specialty and hard to find cars and trucks, all we need is one week time to put the keys in your hands.


text:
Cutler Ladies Golf Cart Bags - Dessert (Licorice)
311222999Price: $408.00
Cutler Ladies Golf Cart Bags - Dessert (Licorice)
Product Code:
Product Details
Cutler Licorice Golf Cart Bag Features:
At Cutler Bags, we find inspiration everywhere - this year it is the rich world of desserts. We hope our Dessert Collection will take you back to some of your absolutely favorite guilty pleasures - a rich chocolate cake, a French macaron or an amazing day of golf with your girlfriends.
The Licorice Golf Bag is a classic print cart golf bag, features 14 dividers, outside putter and 7 pockets. Matching print head covers sold separately.
- 14 Dividers
- 1 Outside Putter Compartment
- 7 Pockets
- Umbrella Compartment
- Rain Cover
- Constructed with lightweight yet durable PVC and Nylon for easy cleaning
- Trunk and bottom handles for effortless lifting
- Cart friendly design for all golf carts/pull carts and electronic caddies
- Well-padded detachable shoulder strap
- 14 way full-length velour lined club dividers
- Velour lined valuables pocket
- Removable front logo pocket for non-fuss embroidery
- 2 large and easy access wing pockets for shoes, rain gear or apparel, etc
- An umbrella compartment, various storage and mesh pockets for golf balls, scorecards, tees, etc
- A matching Dust /Travel/Rain Cover to protect your bag from the weather elements
You May Also Like
Customers Who Bought This Also Bought
These Products Frequently Bought Together


text:
The Boiling Lake hike is one the most popular activities in Dominica.
It is a 7 – 8 hour arduous round-trip adventure, which begins in the village of Laudat,
passing through a wide range of vegetation and terrain, including the Valley of desolation..
with its many unique streams of gray, white and black.
This hike offers some of the most spectacular views into the heart of Dominica's rugged interior.
The climb up Morne Nichols is the first real challenge, when this assent begins
you must without fail follow the instructions of your guide
The trail is sometimes very narrow with deep ravines on both sides.
On the crest of Morne Nichols you will be on the highest point of the trail, which
is approximately 3,006 feet. If it is a clear day one can see both sides of the island
The Caribbean coast to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east.
If you are facing east, the grandiose Morne Watt, the island's third highest mountain, to the right
Like a giant green god, stands guard over the Valley of Desolation below.
From the highest point, steam can be seen rising from the Boiling Lake in a distance.
The dramatic descent into the Valley of Desolation now begins.
In the Valley caution must at all times be exercised
There are hot fumaroles, which can burn you severely.
There will also be some streams with water about 94 degrees F.
in these you can sit and enjoy the warmth.
The minerals which the water contains, are said to be good for your skin.
Leaving the Valley of Desolation, the trail will continuously rise and fall
As it snakes its way up and down dramatic ridges, crossing unusual streams then
finally cresting the last ridge, form which the final five minutes of the hike
To the Boiling Lake
Can in relative terms be described as easy!!
The Boiling Lake
be careful if you are standing close to the lake, a strong gust of wind, could just push you over.
The temperature in the lake is over 200 degrees F. need I say more!
This is usually where lunch is eaten so that you can be rejuvenated for the long trek back.
On the way back the greatest challenge is the climb out of the Valley of Desolation
The climb out of the valley up Morne Nicholls is called "the gut buster".
One consolation you can use as motivation to help you endure, is the thought of
Bathing in the incredible and exotic Ti Tou Gorge at the end of the trail.
This bounty at the end of a tough hike makes the whole thing seem like a pleasant dream.
What to wear:
shorts, Tee Shirt, Hiking Boots or sturdy sneakers.


text:
Hardware Guide: How to Get the Most Out of Your PCI Express Slot
PCI Express is one of the fastest options to attach hardware to your computer. However, there are very few who take the advantage of this high-speed peripheral attachment method. Following are some tips to get the most out of your PCI Express slot. See Also: Engineering Wireless Services
If you have an old computer, you probably have only USB 2.0 ports. This is a serious limitation when you try to attach USB 3.0 capable external hard drives of SSDs. Even if you attach a very high-speed drive to a USB 2.0 port, it will operate very slow. USB 3.0 is a major improvement in this regard. Just try attaching the same drive to a USB 3.0 port and see the difference. Many people change their PCs to overcome this limitation. However, you can save hundreds of dollars by using your PCI Express slot. There are expansion cards available in the market which can have USB 3.0 ports and you can insert them into your computer's empty PCI Express slot. Usually, they contain two USB 3.0 ports.
Graphics card is another limitation for older PCs. Even if you have a new PC, most PCs have integrated graphics cards, which are fine for office applications but not sufficient for graphics-intensive applications like high-end games. PCI Express is a perfect solution for expanding your graphics card performance. In fact, most modern graphics cards are shipped to be used with PCI Express slot.
Before buying a graphics cards or any other device for your PCI Express slot, make sure that the size of the device fits in your PC or laptop.
In addition to the USB 3.0 ports and graphics card, you can use PCI Express port to attach a number of other devices. Devices attached to PCI Express slot perform a lot better as compared to the devices attached to USB 2.0 or even USB 3.0 ports.


text:
Sanction China over North Korea? The case for and against.
'Secondary sanctions' on countries doing business with Iran helped bring that country to the table, say some analysts. But China's own concerns over North Korea likely outweigh any fears of lost trade with the US, say others.
Nikki Haley, President Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, says the United States has "multiple forms" of "ammunition" yet to use to stop North Korea's growing nuclear and ballistic missile threats.
And among the weapons the US holds in its quiver, the Trump administration's tough cop on foreign policy says, is trade retaliation against China.
If Beijing fails to do more – or undermines international efforts to do more – to pressure Pyongyang over its advancing nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile programs, the US will slap the Chinese with punitive economic measures to encourage them to reconsider.
That, at least, is the position Ms. Haley has advanced over the past week since North Korea jarred the world with what some have called a "game changer" when it successfully launched an ICBM on July 4.
First at an emergency UN Security Council meeting Wednesday, then on Sunday TV news programs, Haley presented China with an ultimatum: Either you do more to stop North Korea, or we will come after you.
But would such an aggressive stance toward China work?
Some former officials with sanctions experience under the Obama administration think it could. They point to the way so-called "secondary sanctions" prompted action by affected countries – including China – that helped bring Iran to the negotiating table over its nuclear program.
The problem many analysts with long experience in Northeast Asia see is that China has much higher stakes in North Korea than in Iran. So similar measures targeting China are unlikely to achieve the intended goal, they say, while alienating the one power that does hold sway with the North's Kim regime.
Fear of a failed state
"The assumption here is that if we thump the Chinese with a trade war or some other tough measures they'll get the message and really turn the screws on North Korea, but I don't think it's going to work," says James Walsh, a North Korea expert and senior research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program in Cambridge, Mass.
"When you slap people," he adds, "they mostly just get ticked at you."
The bottom line, Dr. Walsh says, is that the US is never likely to do enough to punish the Chinese (the world's second-largest economy and America's largest trading partner) to force them to reassess what they care about most – avoiding a collapsed North Korea on their northeastern border.
"I don't know that there's anything we could sanction or any measures we could take that would mean more to [the Chinese] than the prospects of a failed neighboring state," he says.
What the Trump administration has to remember, others point out, is that the US is not alone in considering North Korea a serious security issue.
"I don't believe the Chinese government would allow itself to be humiliated by the US into accepting things it considers are inimical to its national security interests," says Doug Bandow, a North Asia analyst with the Cato Institute in Washington. "We need to look at this from the Chinese side and understand what a failed state on their border means to them."
On Sunday news programs, Haley alternated between portraying eventual economic measures targeting China as retaliation for a failure to act, or as a form of prodding to encourage action.
"This is encouraging and motivating China to say this is a whole new level, this is an ICBM test," she said on "CBS Sunday." Economic measures would let the Chinese know, "We need you to do more."
But on CNN, she portrayed the contemplated economic measures as retaliation in the case that China uses its Security Council veto to kill a North Korea sanctions resolution the US says it will present in the council "in the coming days." Both China and Russia have indicated they favor dialogue with the North and would veto any new sanctions effort.
The Trump wild card
"Ammunition comes in many forms," Haley said on "State of the Union," insisting that the US has "a lot of options on the table" when it comes to pressuring China.
"China has a choice to make. They're either going to go along with us and the rest of the international community and say, yes, we think that what North Korea did was wrong, or they're not," she said. "If they don't go along with that [resolution]," she added, "the president has made it clear that he will start looking at trade relations with China."
Nevertheless, Haley's repeated references to trade measures against China over North Korea do not mean Mr. Trump actually intends to pursue such actions. The president has vacillated over the past week between praising and criticizing Chinese President Xi Jinping's willingness to get tough with Pyongyang.
And other senior Trump administration officials have discovered in recent days that there are risks to publicly promoting the president's ideas – one of which being he might change his mind.
For example, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was also on Sunday TV news programs, where among other things he spoke glowingly of the idea of a cybersecurity pact with Russia, something Trump had said in a tweet that he discussed Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Mnuchin hailed the proposed pact as "a very significant accomplishment for President Trump."
But by Sunday evening – after several Republican senators derided the idea as akin to putting the fox in charge of the henhouse – Trump tweeted that he did not think such a pact with Russia was possible.
The idea of slapping sanctions or taking other trade action against China over its support of North Korea is different, however, in that its trial balloon has remained aloft.
What worked with Iran
One reason for that may be that evidence is fresh of such action working. The Obama administration took aggressive action against banks and other entities doing business with Iran as a means of hampering Tehran's ties to the international economy and access to financial markets – thereby sending the message that if it advanced its nuclear program it risked economic isolation.
Iran chose international economic access and negotiated a deal halting its march toward a nuclear weapon.
"In dealing with North Korea, the Trump administration should ... take a page out of the Obama administration's Iran sanctions playbook and apply against North Korea the tool used successfully to bring Iran to the nuclear negotiating table – "secondary sanctions" on those who do business with the regime," David Cohen, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence under Obama, wrote in the Washington Post in April.
Resorting to secondary sanctions against Chinese banks doing business with North Korea could work for several key reasons, according to Mr. Cohen: first, because the Trump administration has said its end goal is a diplomatic solution to North Korea's threats, the approach Beijing prefers.
But second, Trump continues to suggest that if diplomacy does not work, he will take whatever action is necessary, including military strikes, to prohibit Pyongyang from perfecting a missile capable of carrying a nuclear weapon to the US. And if there's something the Chinese want to prevent about as much as a collapsed North Korea, Cohen suggests, it's US military action on the Korean Peninsula.
MIT's Walsh agrees that secondary sanctions played an important role in the case of Iran. But the North Korea case is different in ways that make the success of such sanctions much less likely, he says.
"The map is different, and then Iran's economy is very different from North Korea's," he says.
The US should also remember what the ultimate objective of sanctions would be, Cato's Mr. Bandow says, and whether the odds of success are high enough to risk making the Chinese less cooperative.
"The real question is, what's the target?" says Bandow who recently spent four days meeting with officials in North Korea. "I'm skeptical that secondary sanctions can ever do enough to dry up the funding they need [in the North] to maintain control and to keep their weapons and missile programs going."


text:
14 Apr MEDEA Symposium in Jordan
Posted at 22:18h in Service
The second annual MEDEA symposium was held April 4-5 in the welcoming city of Amman, Jordan.
The thematic agenda for the symposium was a focus on the development of MEDEA's strategic plan including, promoting and sharing research activities, workshops and conferences. The MEDEA board of directors and members met for two days, working together to finalize initiatives, build consensus, and delegate tasks.


text:
Q. Kyle, it looked like coming out you maybe were a little uncomfortable with the brace. You subbed out, subbed back in, and obviously had a great game after that. What were you feeling and what was it like playing with that?
KYLE GUY: I felt really good actually in practice. It took a while to get used to wearing a brace, but I felt fine from tip-off. Maybe it just took a minute to get in a groove.
Q. Tony, the final nine minutes, you held them to one field goal. How was that defensive effort down the stretch there?
TONY BENNETT: I think a couple times they helped us out. There just were a couple hot bounces and they missed a few easy ones. But they made a nice run to cut it to four or six, and we answered, and we got enough stops and guys made some good plays. Because they played them three times, we know how they can pull up and hit shots and touch the paint. So I just think we tightened up a little more, and a majority of the game they did have to earn their baskets.
Q. Devon, when you look at playing a team for a third time, especially a week ago you played that emotional game at Louisville, how do you approach preparing for the game, and is there anything different when you get ready for something like this?
DEVON HALL: Yeah, I think so. Most of the time it was us having a conversation of coming out and punching first. When we played there at Louisville, they kind of hit us in the mouth and we kind of had to respond. The idea was to come out and try to punch first.
Q. Obviously you guys seemed like you were in control; they made the run in the second half. Was it at all hard to keep your focus when you went up big, or are you kind of used to that situation at this point?
DEVON HALL: Basketball is a game of runs.
KYLE GUY: Yeah, we just tried to win the media time-out, so four-minute stints, just leave it all on the floor and try to win those four minutes.
Q. Tony, could you talk about Mamadi's performance?
TONY BENNETT: Yeah, I thought he gave us a real nice lift with some nice baskets and offensive rebounds to scores, and then a couple times — he actually had a couple good quality individual defense because Spalding is such a good scorer. And when we were trapping, it was effective a little bit, and then they started getting open shots, so he did some good one-on-one shots. But a couple of those moves and put-backs, guys finding him were very key.
Q. I was just wondering, you have a game tomorrow, hopefully a game after that. It's more that March schedule of lots of games, short prep time. How do you change how the team prepares?
TONY BENNETT: Yeah, I think tournament basketball, it's about the possessions matter. We talk about this, and we just have been talking about the last — I don't know how long, not to overcomplicate it, just to try to prepare well, and preparing well is how we rest, how we watch film and get ready for whoever we play next, try to improve from the things we saw, and then when the ball is tipped, really be ready to go and play at our highest.
We're a possession-by-possession team. That doesn't change. I don't know if that sets itself up for this. But records are out now, and it's just teams can play at a high level. You saw Pitt play Notre Dame close. You saw the swings in the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game, so you just try to lock in. Louisville made one against us. I think our guys understand how we have to be.
Q. Does it impact you at all when you take the court knowing you're the No. 1 team in the country?
DEVON HALL: I mean, I think we know we're going to get everybody's best shot, so going into it, we have to have a mindset of trying to come out, and like I said earlier, try and punch first. Like Coach said, we're a possession-by-possession team, so there's not going to be too many home run plays. We're going to get everybody's best shot. We've got to play like that every possession.
KYLE GUY: Yeah, when we're — every time we come out onto the court, we just try to remember our pillar of humility, and I think we do a really good job of that, not getting too high or too low and just staying positive and leaving it all on the floor.
Q. What kind of adjustment, if any, have you made playing with the brace? Looked like it was just fine today.
KYLE GUY: No, all week in practice I was just trying to get used to it. There's definitely a mental part of it where you sort of feel safe with it on. Like I said, it didn't really bother me much.
Q. For both players, you guys do a real nice job of keeping the ball alive. How long have you worked on that, and what's the philosophy behind making that work?
DEVON HALL: Well, our bigs are — do a heck of a job of doing that. I think Isaiah is probably the best at it, even being undersized down there, but he just has so much fight. And our bigs, on our own shots, they crash the glass. Tipping those out are huge momentum swings for us.
KYLE GUY: Yeah, Isaiah is gifted in that aspect. I think I had seven rebounds, and it wasn't because they couldn't keep me off the boards. I think he was tipping it out to me.
Q. Tony, you'd seen Louisville twice before. What were the keys to the rebounding advantage?
TONY BENNETT: Yeah, again, I have so much respect for Spalding and Mahmoud and just the way they go at the glass, and they're quick, and they're mobile. They're not just long and bouncy, they're real mobile. So quality block-outs, and then these guys, like Kyle coming back and Dev and rebounding, group rebounding, and really pursuing, and once a shot goes up, staying engaged the whole time, but quality block-outs. If they get alleys or lanes like Isaiah does offensively, they're going to keep stuff alive, and I thought for the most part we were disciplined in that. The tape always really reveals that, but we always look at that; are we staying engaged through the whole shot and the defensive rebounding; that's such a key.
Q. Devon, this may be the last time you face Louisville; just talk about the rivalry this season, and what did you think when you saw them on the bracket sheet coming up?
DEVON HALL: I mean, they're a heck of a team, and we know that walking into it, it was going to be a battle. Every time we've played them it's been a battle, and they've got some really talented players in Adel and Spalding and Mahmoud and Snider, as well. We knew walking into it, it was going to be a battle, so I enjoyed it.
Q. Devon, when you saw your teammate Kyle go down in the first half of that game against Notre Dame, didn't know what the seriousness of it was, what were your initial thoughts, and how relieved are you to be able to have him on the court here in March?
DEVON HALL: I mean, you guys know how good Kyle is, so obviously we were happy. But to see him go down, I didn't know exactly what happened and what was going on, but in that situation it is kind of next man up. At the end of the season, guys go down, guys get hit with injuries, and he's tough enough to fight through it, so that's good to see.
Q. Could you talk about two shots you took? You drove into the paint, sort of had both hands on the ball over your head and you got the shot off and drew a foul, and also about your dunk?
KYLE GUY: Yeah, I did dunk it, I told you.
On the and-one, I don't even think that Adel fouled me. I felt like I got fouled before that. But once I heard the whistle I just tried to get it up, and fortunate it to go in. On the dunk, if I wasn't on a game play, I probably could have done something a little more special than that, right, buddy?
DEVON HALL: Or been a good teammate and handed it off. But it is what it is.
Q. Boston College is a 12 seed here, is making a little bit of a run, and you may or may not face them tomorrow in the first semifinal. Have you seen any tape of them recently and have you been preparing for possibly basing Boston College?
TONY BENNETT: I mean, they're terrific. They're hard to guard. We remember our first game of the ACC regular season, they gave us everything we could handle. Interesting ending, the way it was. But they are good, and is it Popovich — no, that's not — he's playing really well for them. That's the guy who coaches the Spurs, right? Popovic? Close. But he's playing well, their guards are great. But they've got to get by. We had to get by Louisville. They've got to play a quality team. At this level, it's just who's playing their best basketball. So we don't look at it that way.
Q. Have you had an injury in your basketball career that has forced you to wear a knee brace like that before?
KYLE GUY: I have never really had any scares, thankfully.
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Moroccan cash flows to Clinton Foundation
The Clinton Foundation is accepting a major donation from a Moroccan government-owned company to hold a high-profile conference next month in Marrakech with the king of Morocco — an event likely to reignite concerns about the foundation's acceptance of foreign money just as Hillary Clinton prepares to announce her presidential candidacy.
Clinton had been scheduled to appear at the meeting in Marrakech, dubbed the Clinton Global Initiative Middle East and Africa Meeting, on May 5-7. But an official with the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation told POLITICO it's "unlikely" the former secretary of state will join her husband, Bill. He is still expected at the event, as is Moroccan King Mohammed VI.
The event is being funded largely by a contribution of at least $1 million from OCP, a phosphate exporter owned by Morocco's constitutional monarchy, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the event.
When Hillary Clinton announced the Marrakech meeting in September, she praised Morocco as "a vital hub for economic and cultural exchange" in a region "in the midst of dramatic changes."
But in 2011, Clinton's State Department had accused the Moroccan government of " arbitrary arrests and corruption in all branches of government." And while the country that same year enacted a new constitution that guarantees gender equality, women's rights advocates say Morocco's family law still falls short of that promise.
While Clinton is the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, her nascent candidacy has been plagued by criticism surrounding her family foundation's acceptance of contributions from foreign governments and companies in countries with spotty human rights records and business before the U.S. government.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who this week declared his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, has blasted foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation as " thinly veiled bribes," and called on Hillary Clinton to return any donations from Saudi Arabia or other countries that abuse the rights of women.
The aim of Clinton Global Initiative events is to connect government and nonprofit leaders with deep-pocketed benefactors to address problems plaguing the host areas. The Clinton Foundation is expected to announce additional sponsors for the Marrakech event when it formally announces the meeting lineup in the coming days. But its preliminary list of expected attendees includes executives from OCP and Coca-Cola, as well as the presidents of Rwanda and Tanzania and senior officials from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the League of Arab States. Former Israeli President Shimon Peres is also on the list.
Before Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state, the Clinton Foundation agreed at the urging of President Barack Obama's transition team to require an ethics review of new foreign donations and to suspend the initiative's foreign conferences during her tenure at Foggy Bottom. That was among the most contentious issues negotiated between the two camps, sources familiar with the discussions said, and the foundation later acknowledged that a $500,000 donation from the Algerian government may have run afoul of the agreement.
Clinton Global Initiative restarted its foreign meetings months after Clinton stepped down as secretary of state in February 2013, holding a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in December 2013. It also resumed accepting new foreign donations.
After Paul and other Republicans complained that the foreign donations pose a serious conflict of interest, foundation officials vowed to re-impose ethics restrictions like those from Hillary Clinton's tenure at the State Department if she runs for president.
Yet, the meetings in Marrakech and a "CGI Mediterranean" meeting set for Athens later in the year appear to conflict with such limits. Either new restrictions on the foundation will be weaker in some respects than those in place during her State Department service, or they will have an exception for previously announced events like those in Morocco and Greece. Or those events will have to be canceled, which seems unlikely.
Asked about the application of the restrictions to scheduled events, a Clinton Foundation official said only "This CGI meeting [in Marrakech] will happen as scheduled." The Athens session is also expected to go forward, the official added.
The Marrakech meeting will be the first for the Clinton Global Initiative in the Middle East or Africa. And the people planning it at have been working closely with representatives of King Mohammed VI, and Bill and Hillary Clinton's offices at the foundation, according to sources with direct knowledge of the planning. They say that internal planning memos circulating among foundation staff for months have called for appearances by both Clintons, as well as potentially their daughter, Chelsea. A foundation job posting seeking temporary employees to work with the event's sponsors indicates that "President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton will host" the meeting.
"When the foreign government donation news started, I was actually really surprised that they didn't try to find another source of funding for it," said one source with knowledge of the foundation's inner workings. "It just seems like really bad optics. But they were like 'why would we turn this money down? She's not secretary of state now.'"
Jordana Merran, a spokeswoman for the Moroccan American Center for Policy, a nonprofit funded by the Moroccan government, disagreed that the event might cause a problem for Clinton.
"Frankly, I think it's great to show support for our allies, and a country that is not only stable, but that is progressing and moving forward in a very difficult region," said Merran, whose group is not involved in planning the conference. "Morocco isn't perfect, but Hillary, when she was secretary of state, and countless other former and current officials and observers alike have recognized that Morocco is committed to reform and is moving in the right direction."
Morocco was ranked 130 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2015 World Press Freedom Index. The group last month reported that " media freedom has been in retreat in the past few months in Morocco, as the kingdom's authorities have cracked down on journalists," citing the deportation of two French journalists who were reporting on the economic and social situation there.
During her State Department tenure, Clinton visited Morocco, and later launched an ongoing U.S.-Morocco strategic dialogue (the latest installment of which is set to occur in Washington this week), praising the country in 2012 "as a leader and a model."
While she told King Mohammed that he "deserves great credit" for the work he'd undertaken, she stressed that the country needed "to take on the deeply troubling problem of child marriage" and promised aid "to help provide Moroccan youth with alternatives to criminal and extremist organizations."
In addition, she expressed a desire "to increase the amount of trade coming to the United States, and also to improve economic integration across North Africa, which could greatly benefit Morocco because of Morocco's stability and Morocco's very strong economic foundation."
That dovetails with the goal of the Clinton Global Initiative meeting, which will focus on expanding access to agricultural financing, as well as energy, water, food and infrastructure, and on harnessing youth and female entrepreneurship, according to a preliminary agenda.
It also jibes with the goals of the global initiative's main sponsor OCP, one of Morocco's biggest employers, which hopes to export more fertilizer to African countries to help increase crop production.
The company was connected with the Clinton Foundation by longtime Clinton supporter Stuart Eizenstat, a senior counsel at the powerhouse law firm Covington & Burling LLP, which represents OCP in Washington.
"The Clinton Global Initiative was already involved in a number of agricultural activities, but in different countries than the ones OCP is interested in," said Eizenstat, a major Democratic donor who maxed out to Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and also gave as much as $5,000 to the Clinton Foundation. "And it just occurred to me that they're working generally in the same space to try to improve crop yields to try to help nutrition for poor Africans, and so I got the two of them together. I was not present at the meeting, but I helped arrange it."
During Clinton's State Department years, OCP, which was formerly called the Office Chérifien des Phosphates, paid a Covington team led by Eizenstat $760,000 to lobby Congress and federal agencies – including the State Department – according to Senate lobbying filings.
The filings don't identify specific issues on which Eizenstat's team lobbied, instead indicating a general mission of "Promoting economic integration in the Maghreb and enhanced economic relations between the Maghreb and the United States." The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa that is home to Morocco and neighboring countries.
Eizenstat praised OCP, calling it "clean as a whistle. They are an absolutely world class company."


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Congratulations to the Christian Counselling Center, sponsored by the Calvary Bible Church, for twenty-eight (28) years of helping 'hurting' people on the islands of New Providence and Abaco. The Christian Counselling Center is an exemplary model of Christian witness. A non-denominational, local church enabled, fee-paying, nonprofit that does not turn away anyone who is not able to pay yet remains financially viable year after year because of contributions of the concerned.
We salute Pastor and Mrs. Frederick Arnett for consistent, continuous, committed leadership and dedication. This is a demonstration of real faith which gives up the material gain for Christian service sustained over these 28 years. To leave behind a life of secure income for the uncertainty of full-time ministry requires real faith in the fact that God is no man's debtor. Pastor and Mrs. Arnett, you inspire us all.
Probably the most appropriate way to understand and celebrate the work of the Christian Counselling Centre here in Nassau, Bahamas, and its relation to the Calvary Bible Church, is to understand its essence and to do so from a Biblical perspective. Counselling is a conversation. It's a very personal and private conversation that takes place over time. It must be confidential. The intended outcome is the transformed life of a hurting person.
This morning, therefore, I wish to look at the well-known story reported in John Chapter 4. This Chapter is often referred to like Jesus and the Samaritan woman. It is actually the longest personal conversation reported in the New Testament. It is the conversation between Jesus and an unnamed woman who was from the village of Sychar in Samaria. The conversation occurs at a well, the source of water for the village. It is a private conversation. They are alone at the well. There can be no better source of learning about counselling than from our Lord, Master and Savior, Jesus the Christ.
Let us go through the verses of John Chapter 4 in order to follow this long, private, personal, confidential conversation which reveals not the essence of the elements of counselling but also its intended purpose and hope for an outcome. The sequence of the steps and the shifts in the conversation are most instructive. Remember the counsellor is Jesus. A Samaritan woman is a hurting person. She is not the immoral woman she is often portrayed to be. I am reading from the King James Version.
Verse 4: THE COMPULSION: JESUS MUST NEEDS GO THROUGH SAMARIA
- Jews journeying between Judea and Galilee usually went around Samaria. It was a long way around, but this long way avoided contact and conversation between Jews and Samaritans. Going through Samaria was shorter, but the physical distance was not what compelled Jesus. Jesus was not taking a short-cut. He was cutting across the long historical divide that had existed between Jews and Samaritans. This long historical distance was religious. The Samaritans were the remnant of ten Tribes that was left behind after Sargon II had cream of the elite of those tribes. Moreover, that remnant had inter-married with pagans moving into the area and had adopted some of their pagan culture and religious practices. To the faithful Jews who had returned under Persian sponsorship, the Samaritans were mongrels. In Bahamian terms, Samaritans were pot-cakes.
- Verse 4 states that Jesus 'must need to go through' Samaria. He was returning to Galilee after spending some time in Judea. Verse 4 is clear. There was compulsion in the return journey that Jesus took. Jesus was tired when he arrived at the well. This makes it appear that the compulsion was a physical necessity. But the rest of the Chapter does not support this first impression. We are living in a world in which first impressions often dominate. But the fact is that first impressions are not always true. It is necessary to take second, third and even fourth looks.
- Jesus's journey through Samaria was neither incidental or accidental. Samaria had to be included in the Good News of the Gospel. Samaria was in God's plan for the redemption of the world. Jesus is intentionally taking the short-cut through Samaria but for reason of God's providence and grace. In John Chapter 4 Jesus the absolutely obedient son is acting in accordance with the Father's plan to include Samaria in the opportunity for redemption offered through Christ. In Acts Chapter 1 verse 8 Jesus commands His disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the utmost part of the earth.
- The woman at the well is unnamed, not because she is unimportant but, because she is representative of how God's will and purpose is worked out by human agency. The working out of God's purpose and providence requires individual agency. It requires revelations to individuals who then proceeds to act on that revelation. In many circumstances, individuals available to God are hurting persons who recognize the voice of God, embrace the word and will of God and act accordingly after healing.
- Oh, sisters and brothers, often it is at times of weakness, experiences of hurt and during periods of brokenness that we are willing to listen to the Lord. Here is call: Come unto me all who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
- The woman needed to meet Jesus for both her spiritual and social redemption. Jesus needed her, to begin the redemption of Samaria. They met at the well, a point of her social exclusion.
- The journey to counselling may appear to be accidental or incidental but, it never is. Counselling can be part of God's plan for a community through the agency of the hurting person who is healed. The example of the woman at the well of Samaria is by no means unique in the New Testament, the Bible or in human experience.
Verses 7 and 8: A PRIVATE AND PERSONAL ENCOUNTER
Verses 7 and 8 clearly describes a private and personal encounter as the context of the conversation between Jesus and unnamed the Samaritan woman.
- Jesus is sitting alone at the well. His disciples had gone into Sychar. Jesus has no equipment with which to draw water.
- The Samaritan woman comes alone to the well fully equipped to draw water.
- Water is the focal and shared point of their connection.
- They meet in private. There is no one around to overhear the conversation.
- This is the conditions needed for the start of counselling. At alone space for the helping and the hurting persons.
Verse 9: CONFOUNDING TRADITION ON THREE LEVELS: GENDER; ETHNICITY; AND RELIGION
- Verse 9 shows an experienced, feisty hurting woman confronting Jesus on three levels steeped in history, custom, and religion. If you ask me she could well have been a Caribbean woman of modest means taking a well-to-do man, who she thinks may be trying to pick her up by asking her a favor as his line to hook her.
- First, was the challenge based on gender. How could you, a man, ask of me a woman?
- Second, was the challenge of ethnicity. How could you a Jew ask of me a Samaritan?
- Third, was the challenge of religion. How could you a Jew ask of me a Samaritan who shun because of religion? You see us as ritually impure and contaminated.
- There can be no question that, for starters, she had Jesus properly told. Each of the three challenges is loaded with anger and the angst. They came gushing out.
- Individual hurt invariably comes wrapped in social and historical garments that cover and conceal deep pain.
- Getting rid of these social and historical layers of clothing is often the starting point of healing personal pain. Counsellors need to be knowledgeable about sociology and history; to avoid being defenders of the status quo or activist reformers; to be focused on seeking to understand the hurting person in terms of their social and traditional antecedents.
Verse 10: JESUS SIDESTEPPED THE CHALLENGES BY AN OFFER OF GRACE USING THE METAPHOR OF WATER.
Verse 10 shows how Jesus, the consummate counsellor, side-stepped her feisty challenges, gained her attention by reference to a metaphor of water and took control of the direction of the conversation.
- She is dealing with the past and present. Jesus is in the present but looking to the future.
- She is on the material level. Jesus is on the spiritual level.
- She is focused on H2O. Jesus is focused on redemption.
- They are talking past each other. But Jesus has taken control of the direction of the conversation.
- Verses 11 and 12: HER CYNICAL REBUTTAL OF THE OFFER OF GRACE: ARE YOU PUTTING ME ON?
- a) Verses 11 and 12 shows that while Jesus has gained her attention, she is not hooked. She became respectful but unpersuaded.
- b) Her reply is, you can't-fool me. I am too experienced to be caught like that. You have nothing by which to draw water. She is laughing in her confidence of that she cannot be taken in.
- c) Translated into Trinidadian, the Samaritan women are saying: are you mamaguying me? Translating into Jamaica she is saying you seem to be nothing but a 'ginnal'.In Bahamian she is saying, you are nothing but a sweet mouth man. In the stiff upper lip characteristic of the English she is saying: Sir, you are promising what you cannot deliver.
- d) Do you think that you are greater than Jacob who gave us this well or his children who past it on to us? In other words, I know better than that.
- e) Counselling involving a male counsellor and a female client, often cannot avoid the man/woman thing. Are you trying a thing on me? Are you coming from some angle other than addressing my hurt? The example of Jesus in dealing with this seemingly natural misperception is worthy of note.
Counselling conversations can end abruptly at points at which the hurting person inserts misperceptions and erroneous charges. This depends to a large extent on how the Counselors responses. Verses 13 to 25 describes how Jesus responded and the changing sequence in the dynamic nature of the conversation that followed.
Verses 13&14 show that Jesus ignores that charge. He remains focused on her immediate mission to draw water and continues the conversation by expanding on the type of water he is offering compared to the water she has come to draw. He goes deeper into the water metaphor.
Verse 15 shows that the Samaritan woman adopted a literal interpretation of what Jesus was talking about. As far as she would concern Jesus was talking about a type of water that she had never seen or heard of. It sounded like some miracle water but it could quench and prevent her daily mid-day trek to the well, then she was all for it. What did she have to lose? The convenience of getting this type of water was an opportunity that should not be missed. 'Sir', she said, 'Give me this water." Essentially, the Samaritan woman accepted the spiritual and eternal gift Jesus offered for material and temporal reasons. At this point in the conversation, she displayed little interest in the spiritual but saw the spiritual as a short-term, material convenience. The was interested in using the spiritual not in being spiritual. The spiritual was a means not an end.
Some of us may ask, why was Jesus not morally outraged. This is probably He sees this tendency in all of us daily.
Verse 16: shows that instead of being outraged, Jesus calmly shifts the conversation from the spiritual to the material and temporal. Jesus returns to the customs and tradition he had previously side-stepped. Jesus says okay, I will give you this spiritual water leading to everlasting life, but first go and call your husband.
Verses 17 and 18 reveals the heart of hurt of this Samaritan woman and the social and traditional roots of that hurt. For the first time in the conversation, she replied to Jesus without saying, sir. She was not being respectfully feisty or politely cynical. She just told him the truth in sincerity. I have no husband. Jesus acknowledges that she is technically correct. He did not rebuke her. He was not judgmental. Instead, Jesus demonstrated his understanding of the nuances of her situation. She had had five husbands and was not married to the man with whom she was currently living.
For us in the 21st century to understand what Jesus explained we need to know the Rule of Five under which women lived in Samaria and Judea. Legally, a woman was not allowed to be married more than five times. Women could only be divorced three times. For the Samaritan woman to have had five husbands at least two her husband must have died, she must have been divorced at least twice, and the fifth husband had either died or divorced her. At the time she met Jesus she had maxed out on husbands, as permitted by law. She was then living within the law but outside the limits of mores of the times, by living with a man to which she was not married.
The Samaritan woman was not a public woman, that is, a prostitute as some have made her out to be. She was not selling her body for sex. She was not a woman who was taking away other people's husbands. The Samaritan woman had had a hard time with men, the male-bias laws that were on the books and the patriarchal mores that placed no limits on the number of times a man could marry, how many women he could divorce and did not shun men for having concubines. She, however, had had the temerity to defy the customs and tradition because for one reason or another she needed a man in her life. Jesus knew the times and the customs, and he knew what she had done.
Verse 19 indicates that it was not Jesus's understanding of the legal and social traditions of the times that changes the woman's perception of Jesus but rather is knowledge of her personal life. This knowledge persuaded her that Jesus was a man of God. He was not trying to pick her up. He had a real interest in her and her spiritual well-being. Further, he had not been judgmental He had listened to her and understood her circumstances. For the first time, she joined Jesus on the spiritual plane. The conversation has shifted again.
The spiritual plane is the main level on which human hurt is healed. We are spiritual being living in a material world. The spiritual is the defining difference in counseling offered as part of Christian witness. Something in the conduct of our conversation with Christian Counsellors must convince hurting persons that they are men and women of God possessed of more than social, historical or traditional knowledge and experience.
Verse 20 is open to a least two very different interpretations. First is the interpretation that has moved to the spiritual plane, the Samaritan women raised an impersonal matter related to a bitter religious controversy namely where was the right place to worship: Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem. Samaritans claimed that Mount Gerizim was the sacred mountain because Abraham, Jacob, and Moses had built altars there. For these reasons had built a temple on Mount Gerizim. The Jews destroyed it. In other words, having gone to the religious level instead of dealing with the personal matter that had come up, she went back to the challenge of religion that she has originally posed to Jesus. She seems to have been trying to draw Jesus into an argument. Many times, when the root of personal hurt is exposed hurting people retreat to the impersonal by way of matters of genuine religious controversy or issues related to comparative religion.
Second is the interpretation that she was hinting at a deep personal longer of her life that had been buried by her hurt. Having realized that Jesus was a man of God, she was now seeking guidance with respect to this deeper longing. She was, therefore, seeking counsel with respect to the true place of worship so that she could go there.
Whatever may have been her motive, Jesus was not distracted. He immediately proceeded to instruct her about true worship.
Verse: 21-24 JESUS EXPLAINED THE TRUE NATURE OF WORSHIP
In verses 21 and 24, Jesus explained to the Samaritan woman, and to all of us, the nature of true worship. Jesus tells us at least three very essential points about true worship
- Worship has no geography. It is not limited to any place. You can worship God anywhere
- Worship is in spirit because God is Spirit. We worship when our spirit reaches out to connect with God: Father, Lord, Creator, Source, Sustainer, Eternal, Invisible Being. The I Am. Worship is not rituals and their observance.
- Worship is in truth. Jesus is the Truth. Only those who are in Jesus, the Christ can truly worship God.
- God seeks worship in spirit from those who are in Christ.
Verse 25 Shows that the Samaritan grasped what Jesus had said. She believed, however, this man she has met at the well, who had not given her his name but is a prophet, and herself could not finally resolve the matter. Only Messiah could do so.
Jesus's instant revelation of Himself in Verse 26 says definitively that the Samaritan woman was guanine and sincere in her final appeal to the promised Messiah. She was no longer being feisty, cynical, technically correct or argumentative. In faith, she looked forward to the Messiah for all her answers in life.
Her immediate acceptance of Jesus as Messiah is clear evidence of her faith in the promised Christ and of her being convinced that this unnamed prophet that she had met at the well was He. Samaritan Scriptures included not only the five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch but only the promise of the Messiah. There were Samaritans to looked forward to Messiah. Evidently, she was one of them because verse 28 report that she immediately abandoned the equipment she brought to fetch water, ran to the village and shared with them all, including persons who may have shunned her, that she had met the Christ.
Notice also that while she began to run joyfully to announce her encounter with Jesus, the disciples had only returned. They were surprised probably because it was not customary for Jewish leaders to speak with women. They were confused that Jesus had no desire for the food they had gone and bought. Moreover, Jesus told them nothing of the conversation He had had with the Samaritan woman. He kept that conversation strictly confidential. His only comment was that He had been doing the work of the Father and that this was more satisfying than food.
In closing allow me to make four short observations
First, the content of the conversation did not come from Jesus, the counsellor. It certainly came from the Samaritan woman. Verse 42 villagers of Sychar said to her that they had not believed because of what she said but that they had heard Jesus for themselves. It is very possible that during the two days that Jesus spent in Sychar she told the story of the conversation between Jesus and John wrote it down and reported it in his Gospel. To use modern terminology best practice in counselling is that any reporting of the contents of this long personal conversation should come from clients/helping persons as they give testimony of the help they received.
Second, there is no record of exactly how the social and legal problem that the Samaritan woman had was resolved. Jesus did not tell her to go and sin no more as in the case of the woman caught in adultery and who hypocritical men were about to stone to death. The Samaritan woman, by the rule of five, was precluded from marrying a sixth time. She had found a man who could not marry her but was prepared to live with her as if she was his wife. Villagers shunned her. Did they continue to live together? If they did, did villagers continue to shun her? We do not know and cannot assume what happened. They will always be laws and customs set by societies. They will always be persons who are caught in tenets and contradictions of these laws and customs, especially when socially biased in one way or another. The absence of any pronouncement in this story suggests that those who come to Christ need to resolve these contradictions in a manner that does not comprise their witness in the community in which they live. We are left without an answer from the village of Sychar. The last we heard from them was that the hurt woman and the community that once shunned her were rejoicing together in the Good News brought by Christ.
Third, the primary mission of counselling as a part of Christian witness is to help to bring hurting people to faith in Christ, or to help restore their faith in Him. For it is in Christ that there are healing and wholeness: body, soul, and spirit.
Fourth, the testimonies of hurting persons who have been helped to find or restore faith in Christ helps to spread the Good News of Gospel. Testimonies of changed lives not only validates Counselling but is an effective means of evangelism.
We pray for God's continued blessing of the Christian Counselling Center here is Nassau and in Abaco.


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MIAMI – The Coast Guard is warning the public that pointing handheld lasers at Coast Guard aircrews is dangerous and illegal.
On Monday at 8:30 p.m., a Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter with Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Michigan, was hit with a laser while flying in the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Crewmembers aboard the aircraft reported the laser came from land.
After a medical evaluation, there were no reported injuries associated with the incident.
Pointing a laser at an aircraft is a federal crime and a felony offense under Title 18, United States Code, Section 39A. If found guilty, offenders could be fined up to $250,000 and sentenced to five years in prison.
"Lasers are extremely dangerous and can impede our ability to safely control the aircraft," said Lcdr. Larry Santos, a pilot with Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City.
Pilots affected by laser strikes regularly report temporary effects in vision, including: afterimage, flash blindness and temporary loss of night vision. In some cases, laser strike can result in permanent damage to a person's eye sight. If a crew member is lased it severely compromises his ability to effectively response and safely operate the aircraft, ultimately endangering the safety and lives of crewmembers aboard and the general public.
Anyone witnessing this crime is strongly encouraged to report it to local law enforcement.


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For Mother's Day this year, I decided to make my mom a selection of cards with a cute box to store them. For my box, I used Lori Whitlock's A2 Card & Magazine Holder with Sleeve, from the Silhouette Online Store. This is an easy cut to work with, and it can be made with 8 1/2" x 11" papers. I used dark chocolate Papertrey Ink cardstock, layered with some of my favorite Echo Park This & That Graceful patterns.
Here's how it looks when you slide the holder into the sleeve. It will look great on an shelf in her office, not taking up too much room.
The cut comes with a little bookplate, and I stamped mine with a cute little pencil from My Creative Time's Happy Mail stamp set. Now I just need to make some more cards to put inside!
Products used for this project:


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I am new to SharePoint development.
I am trying automate the task of:
- Uploading documents from a network share to a SharePoint document library.
- The related metadata for each of the files also need to be brought into the SharePoint columns. (will taken from a single CSV file in the same location with filenames mapped in it)
- This process needs to automatically run on a predefined schedule (eg: daily/once an hour etc)
I want to know:
- What is the best way to achieve this? (PowerShell script running on Windows task scheduler, creating a service etc.)
- Starting point for coding or any code already available since it looks like this might be a very common requirement.
I am using Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 (14.0.4763.1000)


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Applicants are eligible to apply for the National Health Insurance in Taiwan when they must have permanent resident visas and live in Taiwan over four months.
Best viewed with IE 5.0 or higher with 800 x 600 resolution. Copyright 2004-2010 Taipei City Government
No.1, City Hall Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei City 110204, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
For international callers, please dial 886-2-2720-8889.
For callers in Taipei City, please dial 1999


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Average Depth: 65 ft.
Max Depth: 80 ft.
Scarface: The dive site referred locally as "Scarface" is named for a legendary scarred Green Moray Eel that has taken up residence at this Jupiter Scuba Diving favorite.
"Scarface" is a high-ledge dive site that is a little shallower than Captain Mike's or Area 51. The ledge faces the traditional west as do most of the ledges in these waters. At 65′ on top of the ledge and 80′ at the sand, it is a great site for novice to experienced drift divers. For the new-comers, the top of the ledge has a series of bowls that are home to many species of tropical fish. Sixty (60) different species are the norm here. Five(5) species of angel fishes, three (3) species of butterfly fishes, three (3) species of hamlets, several species of Wrasses, five or six (5-6) species of Grunts, Yellowhead Jawfishes, barracuda, southern rays, Atlantic Spadefish, Yellowtail Snapper, Blennies, Gobies and many more all call "Scarface" home.
Experienced divers enjoy poking around under the ledges for the napping Loggerhead Turtles, Nurse Sharks, or "Scarface's" Green Moray Eel offspring (often five to six feet long) who may be guarding a hole or free-swimming in search of a meal. With the gorgeous, easy to navigate ledge, and so many fish and other marine critters, "Scarface" is drift-diving crowd-pleaser.
Review This Dive Site
Charters: Do you bring divers here?
Why not advertise?


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A video in which Greg Benson of Mediocre Films gets a proposition from a stranger with a mustache. Watch this video to find out if it's really as bad as it sounds.
Music by Kevin MacLeod
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Proposition for Greg Benson
Posted by J-Dubb at 12:31
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Software for optimizing the recruiting process of a company.
The software system consists of five 4 different clients for individual application scenarios, which are all connected together by an webservice (REST API).
The client programs are:
- Career Web App for collecting the data of interested parties at fairs
- Application Page (Recruiting Scout) for unsolicited application and self introduction
- Recruiter Backend for accessing all of the data and manage the whole system.
- Recruiter App, which offers some of the functions of the Recruiter Backend to mobile devices (ios and Android)
For more information just contact me!


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Parable of the Pigeons
"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat.'"1
Michael Josephson told about an experiment where "pigeons were put in cages with one green and one red button. In one cage, if the birds pecked the green button they got food every time. In the other, the green button yielded food erratically and the pigeons had to persist to get enough food. In both cases, pecking the red button did nothing. Both sets of birds thrived, learning what they had to do to survive and ignoring the red button that yielded no food. But when the birds that were used to getting a reward every time [when they hit the green button] were put in the cage that fed them only occasionally, they failed to adapt; they hit their heads against the cage and pecked wildly at everything in sight.
"The pigeons were smart enough to learn quickly how to get the benefits they wanted by hitting the green button and avoid hitting the red button which did nothing for them. Sadly, for some of the pigeons, who had been spoiled by getting rewarded every time they hit the green button, were unable to adapt to the new situation which only worked occasionally."2
How like human beings! Kids who are spoiled by their parents by getting everything they want can find it exceptionally difficult to adapt in the real world when they have to start fending for themselves. Furthermore, they can have major conflicts in marriage if and when they expect their spouse to continue giving them everything they wantbe it realistic or otherwisewith little or no effort on their part.
And then for the rest of us, if we would just learn to stop hitting red buttons, we would find that life would be so much more enjoyable and satisfying.
As Josephson said, "Part of being responsible is learning from experience to appreciate the benefits of tenacity and the wisdom of avoiding useless, harmful and self-defeating patterns of behavior."3
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to always be responsible in everything I do, and have sense enough to avoid self-defeating patterns of behavior. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."
1. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV).
2. Michael Josephson, Character Counts. http://www.charactercounts.org/.
3. Ibid.
All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.


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Latest News
Wednesday, 27th February 2013
In General Japan News, Weather In Japan,
Record snowfall hits Japan
While it is not unusual for Japan to experience heavy snowfall, residents of five prefectures in the Tohoku region may have been surprised to learn that the white stuff hit record levels on February 25th.
The Meteorological Agency's Aomori Observatory stated that the 550 cm of snow recorded in the area broke previous records of 529 cm.
Other areas including Tadami, Fukushima Prefecture and Nishiwaga, Iwate Prefecture recorded new highs for snowfall.
The country's arctic conditions were put to good use recently when the 64th Sapporo Snow Festival took place and visitors got to enjoy looking at an impressive array of 216 snow statues and ice sculptures.
Members of the armed forces were drafted in to help build the sculptures and those who attended were treated to a life-size version of the Kabuki Theatre in Tokyo.
The event, which ended on February 11th, is something of a feat with 32 tonnes of snow being used to create the models.
Related news stories:
Bon dance Guinness world record attempt to be held in August (10th June 2015)
Japanese sushi restaurant breaks record with �470,000 tuna (5th January 2012)
Suzuki breaks Major League Baseball record (15th September 2009)
World's oldest competitive sprinter sets record at 105 (24th September 2015)
Japan sets Twitter record (10th January 2011)


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Know More
About Us.
A Few Words About Us
Our Punjab Chaat House is Indian restaurant where traditional Indian food is prepared with same spices and authentic methods you love. We are proud to be known as the experts of making Indian food! And really feel the same to offer services to Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery and Catering also. We make un-matched Indian sweets of various types.
We have a huge range of Menu items to server you and your family & friends.
Our Food Policy
Our food policy is very simple. We are Committed to using the finest ingredients in our recipes. No food leaves our kitchen that we ourselves would not eat.
Our Core Values
To offer reasonably priced quality food, served quickly, in attractive, and clean surroundings.


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Bakalar precedes the novel with an excerpt from Polish Nobel laureate Wisława Szymborska's poem "Children of Our Age," from which the book draws its title:
Whether you like it or not
Your genes have a political past
Your skin, a political cast
Your eyes, a political slant.
In the early 1980s, when martial law was declared in Poland, Szymborska, known for her increasingly overt criticisms of the government, was forced into hiding for almost a decade, printing her works in various underground publications under a pseudonym. This rebellious, risk-taking stance is something of a tradition for Polish writers.
Bakalar's first novel, Madame Mephisto (2012), told from the perspective of a female Polish drug lord operating in London, is also quite critical of Polish culture and politics. In interviews, the author has discussed the hate messages she received from her countrymen after Madame Mephisto was published. She was attacked for displaying a complete lack of patriotism in her fiction; that the novel is no less critical of Britain is a point often lost on Bakalar's fellow Poles.
One can only imagine, then, what the increasingly authoritarian Polish government under the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, and its supporters, would make of Bakalar's latest novel. Human trafficking in general has become the subject of much media interest of late, but it is a very recent, ugly permutation of the phenomenon — Polish expats trafficking other Poles into the United Kingdom for benefits fraud — that forms the narrative fulcrum about which Bakalar's cast of characters revolves.
The book opens with a shocking incident perpetrated by brothers and thugs-at-arms Damian and Igor, who work as enforcers for criminal mastermind Karol. Soon after, we meet Karol's wife, the hard-nosed entrepreneur Milena, as well as pious Angelika, her bumbling husband Mateusz, and their increasingly distant daughter, Karolina, and a host of lesser players within a tightly knit community of Polish expats. Thus the stage is set, and the story rockets along in classic thriller style as we watch the seemingly disparate lives of Bakalar's immigrants connect and, in some cases, self-destruct with the terrifying inexorability of ships caught in the maw of a giant whirlpool.
Bakalar does not shy away from describing the horrors endured by the trafficked Poles, whether it's Karol's cool, clinical voice detailing how he tricks them into relinquishing their passports, bank cards, and, eventually, their dignity, or the heartbreaking physical descriptions of the men forced to work from sunup to sundown gathering mollusks for paychecks that never materialize, their "hands like leather, swollen with fractured nails and grimed dirt, the coarse skin broken in places, raw with pain; painfully damaged by the mixture of biting seawater, gale and sharp shells." The world the author depicts is a singular example of human brutality. Separated from their families and the only home they know, unfamiliar with local customs, unable to speak the local language and made into slaves by their unscrupulous supposed benefactor, the immigrants are strangers in a land that is not only foreign to them, but also relentlessly hostile.
One of the key elements of the novel's structure is Bakalar's choice regarding point of view. The easy — and perhaps lazier — option would have been to tell the story strictly from the victim's standpoint, thus garnering instant sympathy from the reader. Instead, the author gives us a firsthand look into the minds of the perpetrators of evil, a decision that proves as mesmerizing as it is uncomfortable. One of the strengths of the writing is that even the most repugnant members of Bakalar's cast become somewhat sympathetic; their histories and innermost desires are so well laid out that we feel a sense of kinship with them, simply because we understand their motivations. None of them were born evil. Years of pattern-building, of being defined by their relationships to one another, shaped who they are. We are forced to recognize that they are as trapped in their roles by other people's assessments of their worth and temperaments as they are by their own.
This is particularly evident in the co-dependent relationship between Damian and his younger brother, the dangerously unstable Igor. Their shared history fosters a strong bond, but that connection hampers as much as it protects them. They cannot transform until they escape each other's gazes. And indeed, it is only through a chance meeting and subsequent unlikely friendship with someone who has no preconceived ideas about Igor that he manages to break free from Damian and make the choice to "recover what was left of himself, lose the fury that had been devouring his mind from within."
Adapt or die is a recurrent theme in the narrative. Only the players who manage to divest themselves of established notions about their relationships are able to escape and claim some kind of happiness. Those who cannot are doomed. On a broader level, this reflects the age-old struggle of the immigrant. Survival depends on the ability to change, to fit the mores and lifestyle of the adopted country.
This struggle for survival can prove quite desperate. Throughout the novel, Bakalar uses her characters to make shrewd psychological observations about the inventive ways in which people manipulate others to establish dominance and elevate their own status. There are no selfless angels here; everyone has something to hide, and everyone is able to justify inhumane behavior. A prime example of this is Karol, who desires "power, unlimited control — some extraordinary version of himself." Toward that end, he has become the greatest of con men, so attuned to human sensibilities that he always has the right lie at hand when he needs it, and so convinced of his own superiority that he feels no guilt whatsoever as he condemns his fellow countrymen to desperate lives of poverty and forced labor.
Their faith in him only confirms his disdain: "If people were stupid enough to believe his lies, Karol believed they deserved to suffer the consequences." This concept of just deserts — as the manically cheerful Angelika states, "Good things come to good people" — reverberates throughout the story. All the characters cling to their notions of themselves as good, honest, hardworking people. It's their protection, an amulet meant to shield them from the dark forces in life. As the narrative progresses and their worlds come apart, they are caught completely off guard by the apparent unfairness of their predicaments, unable to make sense of why disaster has disrupted their lives.
And yet, amid all the splashy double-dealing and self-involved machinations, a quieter thread emerges, an examination of how people, particularly those who are marginalized or who behave in ways that put them beyond the protections of normal society, express love. Bakalar's damaged and often damaging characters still find ways to affirm their affection for one another, though at first this might not be immediately obvious. For one, it's the gift of silence; for another, it's the gift of listening; for still another, the gift of remembering, even when that act brings personal pain. Material presents and commodities are exchanged as well, but it's the small, unadorned offerings of the soul that have the greatest impact on relationships and the story's outcome.
From time to time, the pace of the novel suffers a few lulls, brief moments where it can't quite decide whether it's a thriller or a rumination on human nature. But this is a minor quibble. Children of Our Age is an ambitious work of great scope and power. While the book's arresting subject matter makes it very much a story of today, the narrative transcends its era. The book is a searing exploration of the ways in which people value and degrade one another, and of how moments of impulse and whim, rather than carefully reasoned action, can change the course of our lives.
Mary Rodgers is a writer, actor, and musician who splits her time between the United States and the United Kingdom.


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THE dirtiest Liverpool takeaways, restaurants and bars have been named and shamed.
Out of 107 premises visited by inspectors over the past 12 months 36 were singled out as the dirtiest after spotchecks.
Environmental health officers carry out hygiene checks of the kitchen, toilet and dining areas during the surprise visits.
Restaurants La Bistro Pepperpot in Woolton, La Scala and Plaice To Meet, Allerton, and Keiths, in Lark Lane, were all judged to be ?bad? or ?poor? in the ?compliance with hygiene? category.
A number of takeaways in the student area near Smithdown Road including Golden Harvest, the New Chippery, Zains and Pizza Zone, were also rated ?poor?.
Included on the list are two city centre premises ? Elude, in Porter Street, facing Clarence Dock, and the renowned Grapes pub on Mathew Street.
Also judged to have poor hygiene standards were Chinese restaurant the Golden Harvest, in West Derby, Kimos, in Lodge Lane, Toxteth, Debs Diner, in Finch Lane, Gino?s Cafe, in Broadgreen, Bo Bo, in Prescot Road, Angela?s Pizza Place, in Aigburth Road and the Lucky House Chippie, in Brodie Avenue.
The 107 premises visited by council officials during 2008 are available for public viewing on Scores On The Doors
Other marked down premises were Jin Yuan in Finch Lane, Loon Wai Lee in Hunts Cross Avenue, The Rice Bowl in Garston Old Road, Noor Tandoori in Aigburth Road, Khans Kebab House in Walton Vale, Tazmi Balti House in Derby Lane, Mei Wei in Prescot Road, Uno Momento Pizza in Warbreck Moor, Uncle J?s on St Mary?s Road, Big Bite on Prescot Road and Kim Lee on Woolton Road.
In October the ECHO revealed how Koon Cheung Lee was banned from ever running a food business after horrifying scenes of lax food hygiene at Loon Wai Lei takeaway.
They included greasy and dirty food preparation areas, dangerously stored rice and part-cooked chips kept in a box which had contained raw chicken.
A spokesman for Liverpool council said: ?Since the introduction of Scores on the Doors the general standards have improved and fewer premises are getting low ratings. Many have improved their ratings.
?This has provided real impetus for improvement in their area.?


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On Saturday, Aston Villa return to Villa Park to face Bolton, hoping they can continue their fine run of league form at home. Normally, I'm the type to get very pessimistic before any match, particularly after Monday, but if the Villa contrive to lose this match, I think the only response would be hysterical giggles.
While Bolton has made an impressive start to the season, losing for the first time just last week at Arsenal, their ability to defend without resorting to face-slaps has left them without their best defender and their first choice keeper. Gary Cahill made an unfortunate decision last week to cut down Marouane Chamakh with a two-footed scissor tackle which, while not resulting in any lasting harm to the Arsenal defender, was still a red-card offense. He lost his appeal and will miss the Villa match.
Jussi Jääskeläinen, on the other hand, is a Villa hero, and they need to sing him a little song at Villa Park:
(h/t to @MarkWhyy, a Bolton fan and a great Twitter follow)
Slapping Roger Johnson across the face? I don't care if the video is recorded off someone's tv using someone's phone, I could watch this for hours. It's really too bad there are no good rhymes for Jääskeläinen...
In addition to these players being certain to miss the match, it's possible that the Trotters' captain, striker Kevin Davies, will be sidelined after suffering concussion last week. It's the Swede, Johan Elmander, that's been making the stir, already with three goals this season.
Villa are a club that likes their history, so they should go into this match with total confidence. The club has won 5-1, 4-2 and 4-0 in their last three home games against Bolton and haven't lost a September match at Villa Park since 1992. Then again, Villa do enjoy dropping the ball on easy wins.
This will be Kevin MacDonald's final match in charge of the first team, and he has mentioned that although Gérard Houllier will be present on Saturday, KMac has full control over the lineup. With everyone (besides Fabian Delph and Andreas Weimann) at full fitness, it's time to address the Stephen Ireland problem. And not the one of his missing license plates, either. Where do we play Ireland?
The squad's weakness has been in its defense, not in its forward attack. As much as Nigel Reo-Coker gets under my skin at times, we need both him and Stiliyan Petrov at the back, as Ireland is not a defensive midfielder. So what happens? Do we move Ashley Young back to the wing and put Ireland up behind Gabriel Agbonlahor?
I have no problem with playing five midfielders on a team that has an excess of talented ones. But we know that Ash is loving playing behind the striker, and that he and Gabby make for an excellent pairing. At least KMac can rest easily knowing this is the last time he'll have to make this decision.