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Diet and disease: what's the link?
Experts have their say on the link between soil, food and health. Kirsten Lawson, Megan Doherty and Claire Low report
Carole Hungerford might be a GP, but she is not a fan of the way the business of medicine works. Not even close. ''Mainstream medicine is run by the drug companies. Doctors are driven by the pharmaceutical industry,'' she says. ''There's a renegade group of us where we try to understand that good health isn't about how many clever pills the drug manufacturers can make for us.''
Hungerford acknowledges the importance of medicine, but her focus is on putting things right before people need it, and that starts with the soil in which we grow food. She is keynote speaker at a seminar for GPs, Are You What You Eat? being held at the Mulloon Creek Natural Farm near Bungendore on October 6, a setting chosen to match the theme of the event - the link between soil, food and health. The public is invited to the dinner that night prepared by Janet Jeffs, when the speakers will hold a question and answer session.
Hungerford believes mineral and vitamin deficiencies play a key role in many health problems. She points to pre-eclampsia in pregnancy, a dangerous spike in blood pressure, which she suggests is linked to magnesium deficiency. Australian soils are low in magnesium and Hungerford recommends magnesium to pregnant women, and to patients with high blood pressure, preeclampsia, anxiety disorders, and chronic fatigue syndrome. ''A healthy woman on a good diet shouldn't be getting eclampsia.''
Selenium is also missing from Australian soils, and Hungerford refers to a study by Professor of oncology at Flinders University Graeme Young suggesting selenium supplementation could dramatically cut the risk of bowel cancer. Hungerford says such findings never get the funding necessary for large randomised controlled trials, because ''no drug company is going to fund a study on something so cheap and that they can't make money out of''.
''Mainstream medicine is run by the drug companies and it's only the drug companies that seem to be able to find the money to get the mega trials,'' she says.
Hungerford, who has GP practices in Sydney and Bathurst, where her husband runs an organic farm, and is author of Good Health in the 21st Century: A family doctor's unconventional guide, is vocal on the need to improve the health of soils. In the meantime, she takes supplements - selenium, zinc, fish oil, magnesium, vitamin D (she believes more people die of vitamin D deficiency by a factor of 10 than of melanoma), and a multi vitamin. ''If we don't clean up our act, clean up our environment and start eating clean foods, we're stuffed,'' she says. ''If you need any evidence at all that we've got something badly wrong in our paradigm, the sperm count of men is falling at a geometrical rate; it is scary.''
The conference is organised by the Mulloon Institute, whose general manager, Elisabetta Faenza, says GPs fall into two camps - those who think diet has a minimal impact and those who are convinced of its importance. She too, stresses that ''you can't fix a car accident with diet'' and medical intervention is one of the hallmarks of increased longevity, but she says many chronic conditions are less successfully treated with medicine. Diet and lifestyle more generally have an important role, she says, in arthritis, type 2 diabetes, autism, asthma, heart disease and cancer.
Many of the speakers agree that health people start with healthy soil. But while Hungerford turns to supplements where soil is deficient, Faenza says unless the body recognises a supplement as food, it is little use. ''If our food was better we wouldn't need to supplement, we are designed to get nutrients from food and sunshine and water,'' she says.
The scientist
You could do a lot worse than look at what your ancestors ate. Not your grandparents. Much further back. Professor Neil Mann, head of food science at RMIT, studies the hunter-gatherer diet before agriculture about 10,000 years ago, which began the switch from wild, foraged plants and meat, to grains.
''Evidence shows we got smaller and unhealthier,'' Mann says. ''The hunter-gatherer diet suited us. Living on [farmed grains] didn't suit us. Tooth decay began because starch turns to sugar in the mouth. People had all sorts of vitamin and mineral deficiencies because they weren't hunting and gathering a wide range of foods any more.''
The so-called ''paleo diet'' is big in cyberspace, proponents advocating versions of a return to meat and fruits and greens, and avoiding grains. But Mann wants nothing of ''fad diets'': ''Anything I say is based on research,'' he says. ''I'm not a fad dieter and I really get pissed off with people taking our paleo research and putting it into something they make money out of.''
Mann says grains virtually didn't exist before agriculture. People ate wild grasses, plants and berries for vitamins and minerals, and meat and fish for energy and protein. Now, our diet diet now is overwhelmingly dominated by starchy grains, predominantly made up of carbohydrates, especially high glycaemic index carbs.
Mann has had success with experiments on ''paleolithic'' style diets that eliminate high GI carbs - improving acne in teenage boys in one trial, and improving the blood sugar in type 2 diabetics in another. He says start with a vegan diet, fruits and vegetables, plus minimally processed wholegrain, and lean meat, fish and low-fat dairy (in pre-agriculture times, calcium came from wild plants). People wrongly assume meat is the main source of fat in their diet, but in fact it comes from pastries and biscuits and other processed food, which contains palm oil. ''They're the real enemy in modern-day society in terms of our food choices,'' Mann says.
The surgeon
Surgeon Prof John Cartmill is a moderate voice on diet. A specialist in bowel cancer, Cartmill is careful about his diet, but that's about as strongly as you could describe it.
''I don't eat specifically to avoid bowel cancer,'' he says. ''If you were really going berserk, you would eat no processed meat, you would have no high temperature cooking of meat, so no barbecue, nothing brown and delicious, you would avoid alcohol, you would exercise - properly exercise - and you would have a body mass index between 19 and 25.''
You would also eat cruciferous vegetables - broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bok choy and cabbage. Garlic and fish, and milk. ''But not all of these things are absolutely certain,'' Cartmill says. ''You could eat this way and still get bowel cancer.''
Cartmill, professor of surgery at Macquarie University, draws an analogy with trying to avoid a puncture. If you wanted to be super-careful, you would sweep the road in front of your car - ''crazy and impractical and it's probably much easier to check your tyre pressure from time to time''. Which, in bowel cancer terms, means being tested - the fecal blood test or colonoscopy.
But by the same token, Cartmill says, you wouldn't drive your car across a building site. So don't eat a barbecued steak every day. If you double your fibre intake, you halve the risk of bowel cancer, he says. Eat a high-fibre cereal, or make your own baked beans. He uses a recipe from Stephanie Alexander, which has bacon, one of the things to avoid - but he prefers everything in moderation.
Cartmill calls himself a conservative professional, but he has an open mind on less-mainstream theories like those of Hungerford. He was influenced by reading Hungerford's book - and now takes supplements. But that's personal, not part of his profession.
He does advise his patients to exercise and eat well. He points them to the Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: A global perspective, from the American Institute for Cancer Research.
But he is reluctant to be prescriptive.''People get their pleasure from different places,'' he says. ''I get pleasure from eating, exercise, but people who get pleasure from high-fat, lower-fibre food need to be prepared to keep an eye out for bowel cancer - or take their chances.''
Your chances are about 1 in 20 to 1 in 30, doubled if you have an immediate family member with bowel cancer.
The cardiologist
Dr Ross Walker has seen too many diseased hearts to worry about niceties when talking good nutrition. His advice is straightforward and to the point. And fairly unrelenting. It's his way or the highway.
''The big problem with all of us living in modern society is that we take in more calories than we burn off with activity and movement and exercise,'' he says. ''The first principle for all of us is to eat less food. Get rid of unnecessary food during the day. Don't have second helpings, don't have dessert and don't graze, we're not a cow.
''The second principle is get rid of processed, packaged muck that's masquerading as food. So anything that's in a box or a container with a use-by date and it doesn't matter what graffiti is written on the box like 'low fat' or 'no cholesterol', it's typically not good for you.
''Anything from a bakery with pastry on the outside of it is also not good for you. So it's not the meat in meat pies that's killing you, because there's no meat in a meat pie, it's the pastry on the outside. And all these things are full of trans-fats.
''Takeaway food is poison, of course. White death, to me, is sugar, salt, white bread, rice, pasta and potato. These things go straight to the belly and cause significant abdominal obesity.''
Instead, eat three to five serves of vegetables a day. ''A serving is about half a carrot so we're not talking about a huge amount of food. Couple of pieces of fruit a day, but even too much fruit has natural sugars in it and can still contribute to abdominal obesity. I think you should only eat two pieces of wholegrain bread a day. And little bits of meat, fish, dairy, eggs, nuts, olive oil and grains and that's about it. There's your diet.''
Got it? The Sydney medico, who will speak at the Mulloon seminar, is well versed in putting out his message, the author of seven books, with reglar television and radio appearances. His book, Five Stages of Health ''debunks the myths and hype of modern health'', leading to his other big belief - that prevention is better than cure.
''Orthodox doctors, of which I am one, I think, focus too much on that wonderful saying, 'If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.' And the hammer that we have is the script pad or scalpel. We tend to gloss over the importance of lifestyle modification,'' he says. ''The people who practise good lifestyle principles reduce their risk for all significant diseases by somewhere between 60 and 70 per cent, whereas a drug that reduces your cholesterol might reduce your risk of a heart attack by 20 or 30 per cent, with a potential for a bucket of side effects. So lifestyle principles across the board are much more powerful than anything a doctor can do for you.''
When Walker was in his 20s studying cardiology, he ''just thought it was bizarre that the significantly obese person or the smoker would be coming back for their second lot of bypass surgery. I thought there's got to be a better answer to this.''
That's not to say he doesn't prescribe drugs or send patients to surgery. ''But I also say to them, the acute treatment, the chronic treatment, is changing your attitude to yourself and doing something about that,'' he says.
''I've got two distinct groups of patients. I've got those who follow the advice I give them and they become long-term mates of mine and I see them once a year to ensure they're maintaining the healthy practices and maintaining their medication. And then I've got those who don't follow my advice and whittle away bits of their heart and suffer a premature death.''
Walker's top five principles for healthy living:
1. Get down your belly fat.
2. No addictions. You cannot be healthy if you smoke, if you drink too much alcohol. You cannot be healthy if you snort cocaine.
3. Good quality eating and less of it.
4. Have a regular habit of three to five hours a week of some form of testing exercise - exercise that makes you a bit hot and short of breath. So going for a stroll is not good enough.
5. The best drug on the planet is happiness, peace and contentment.
''Life isn't about making some big decision to be healthy,'' he said. ''Life is about making 30, 40, 50 small instantaneous decisions every day like 'I won't eat that biscuit', 'I won't have that extra glass of wine', 'I'll walk up the stairs instead of take the escalators', 'I won't yell at that fool who just cut across the front of me in the traffic'. Those are the decisions that really take us towards better health.''
The veterinarian
The link between diet and disease is of particular interest to Peter Gibbs. When called on to diagnose a sick animal, this veterinarian looks first to diet. And he says this is a practice others in medicine can learn from - and the message he will bring to the Mulloon seminar.
''We as practitioners need to look more totally at what people have done and not just whack them on medicine,'' he says. ''Maybe there are alternatives: changing their diet, changing their vitamin and mineral intake and balancing their life that way.''
In animals, Gibbs has observed a kind of innate, instinctive intelligence about what they eat. For instance, he has seen sheep avoiding crops that are high in nitrate because this substance can cause blood oxygen problems. ''They won't eat things that are poisonous to them unless they have to.''
Likewise, he finds animals can be counted on to choose foods to counteract deficiencies. ''You'll see horses and cattle, if they don't have enough fibre in their diet they'll go eating bark off trees. In a paddock if you've got cattle or sheep and you put out a bale of hay and they really get stuck into that bale of hay you know they really need roughage.''
He believes humans have lost the instinctive ability to select the right sorts of foods for themselves. For him, diagnosis could take the form of simply looking around a landscape: dandelions could cause nerve damage in horses, a particular clover could bring about weak muscles in lambs, a lack of selenium could give cattle reproductive problems.
The microbiologist
Microbiologist and immunologist Dr James Chin believes diet can play a role in improving the outlook for children with autistic spectrum disorders.
He suggests, for instance, the importance of folate. This is a B-group vitamin essential for healthy fetal development and preventing defects such as spina bifida if taken before conception and during pregnancy. However, Chin proposes that mothers continue to take the supplement after they give birth, so the baby doesn't suffer a sudden deprivation, saying it could help in tackling autistic spectrum disorders.
Chin also recommends amino acid supplementation, such as tryptophan. Amino acids play an important role in shaping the ability of individuals to express feelings or moods.
''One of the principal problems associated with autistic spectrum disorders is speech and coordination. They have problems with cognitive functionality. So they can't look you in the eye, they tend to be easily distracted, they tend to have a lot of irritable movement. And that is because the neurons in the brain are not firing and connecting in the right order,'' he says.
The best sources of tryptophan are foods such as oats, bananas, dates, milk, cottage cheese, meat, fish, turkey, and peanuts, according to vitamins and health supplements guides.
Chin says in the past year he has seen six mothers who have given their autistic spectrum children amino acid supplementation and found ''significant improvement in stabilising the temperament of the children. They become less irritable and can you look you in the eye. This is after only a small period of two weeks.''
''Nutrition is something most GPs don't pay too much attention to, especially with ASD kids. We found nutrition really helps. Then, of course, antioxidants also play a very important role because the brain has a constant build-up of toxins.''
Chin also points to work recently shown on the ABC's Four Corners program examining the possible links between harmful bacteria in a child's gut and ASD.
Chin, who has done extensive research in gut health, believes supplements of probiotics can help.
>>Are You What You Eat? is on October 6, dinner starts at 5.30pm, $130, themullooninstitute.org/courses-events/food-the-art-of-health


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E&V Potchefstroom
10 Year Milestone – An Achievement to be Proud Of
Carl Venter, the license partner of Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom, has been a license partner with Engel & Völkers Southern Africa for 10 years this year. 'We are very proud of what Carl and his team have achieved in the 10 years since he opened his first office." says Craig Hutchison, CEO Engel & Völkers Southern Africa. "From the moment he joined us, he has been the most consistent team player, leader, achiever and adherent to our corporate identity for the Engel & Völkers group. He is highly respected by us, our head office in Hamburg, by his staff and the local business community, which in itself explains why he has been nominated 7 out of 10 years as the Top Office in South Africa, and has won our national annual awards as 'Brand Ambassador', 'License Partner of the Year' and 'Principal of the Year' more than anyone else in South Africa.
Possibly though, Carl's highlight in the 10 years was winning the international category for 'Marketing, Branding and Systems' in July 2010 at the annual international rewards and recognition event hosted in Majorca, Spain. Considering that there were more than 560 competitors represented in 39 countries on 5 continents, this was indeed a remarkable achievement and a wonderful honour.
Alongside his own personal awards, the Potchefstroom sales advisors are always well represented in the various categories of our annual awards and have won many of these awards, both nationally and internationally. They have been acknowledged a number of times on the stage in Majorca with the most recent well-deserved occasion being in 2014 when Theo Volschenk was nominated for the second year in a row, and in 2014 he actually won the international category of "TOP Agent Unit Sales" – this being due to him internationally achieving the highest number of points in this category. His colleague, also from Potchefstroom, came 6th in the international rankings in the same category. An outstanding achievement for South Africa, and clearly a direct result of the leadership, influence and motivation provided by Carl and his management team.
In July 2014, the annual Southern Africa Engel & Völkers Rewards and Recognition function was held in Potchefstroom for the first time, with it traditionally being hosted in the Gauteng area. At this prestigious event, Craig said 'The choice to hold the function in this city should not have been a surprise to anyone, as that franchise has attracted many nominations and received most of the prizes.'
The first office (or 'shop' as it is referred to in E&V terminology) which Carl opened in 2005, is a lovely old Potchefstroom home which was converted to serve as an office, and then in 2008 they opened the second signature shop in the Moorivier Mall. Due to Carl's structured management style and guidance, his staff is equally accessible and professionally attentive to the property needs of the public. He readily shares his knowledge and planning with his staff. This positive and informed attitude has earned his franchise overwhelming market share and trust with the public, who can take comfort in the fact that that the sale and purchase of their most valued possession is in excellent hands.
Carl and his marketing team are creatively involved in every annual Aardklop Art Festival, which has certainly increased his branding, and made Engel & Völkers a household name in the region. In 2010 Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom launched their Energy Efficiency movement and ever since they have been on the forefront of energy efficiency in Potchefstroom – providing their customers with valuable information especially in terms of energy security. They will now be building their first Energy Efficient house on Lekwena Wildlife Estate.
During last year, Carl was presented with a very exciting and unique opportunity thanks to his signature shops and the visible E&V brand. After a very thorough search through all the estate agencies in Potchefstroom, Kaapland Films approached him as they were planning the filming of their latest movie, Mooirivier, in Potchefstroom, and requested to use his Engel & Völkers shop in the filming. Carl was naturally very accommodating and the movie was filmed there during 2014 and launched in theatres nationally on 06 February 2015 – what a marketing accomplishment for Carl and his team.
The fact that Carl has never changed his hands-on management style in these 10 years, serves as a testimony to his confidence, commitment and passion for the real estate industry. His influence in the Potchefstroom property market is clearly visible.
Carl is personally involved in the daily running of his two shops and together with this and his obvious wealth of knowledge of the local property industry and the market in general, he is well respected in Potchefstroom for residential sales, residential rentals, commercial sales and rentals, new developments and farms. His ethics and honesty have won him many friends and earned him enviable respect in the whole Potchefstroom community.
Craig is very proud that Carl and his team have put Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom firmly on the real estate industry map, and it is now recognised as a benchmark for all our franchisees. Carl's management style has ensured that Engel & Völkers Potchefstroom stayed true all these years to a slogan of this truly international real estate brand – Think global but act local.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cold World: Twin 16 Year Old Girls Stabb & Beat Their Mother To Death In Georgia!
"Police said they have made two arrests four months after a mother was found stabbed to death at her home in Conyers. Authorities announced Friday that they have charged the victim's twin daughters, Jasmiyah and Tasmiyah Whitehead, and said that the 16-year-olds will be tried as adults. Both are being held at the Rockdale County Jail. Jarmecca Whitehead, 34, was stabbed to death in January on Appaloosa Way in the Bridle Ridge Walk subdivision in Conyers, police said." - 2 News
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BGCNews Archive
Welcome to the online archive of BGCNews, which ran until December 2003.
Please browse the journal archives by year using the drop-down.
You can also search the archives using our Site Search at the top right of your screen.
BGCNews was changed to BGjournal in 2004. You can browse the BGjournal archives online here.


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The Canon imageCLASS D780 digital copier/printer/fax is intended for businesses that need a robust copier with maintenance-free performance. The copier features Canon's exclusive Single Cartridge System, which contains the drum, development unit and toner in one easily replaceable cartridge. A 30-sheet Automatic Document Feeder can accept originals up to legal size and reproduce letter-size documents at 16 copies-per-minute (cpm) and legal size documents at 12 cpm. Digital technology, through the touch of a single button, facilitates collating of multi-page documents.
The imageCLASS D780 features Canon's Advanced Printing Technology (CAPT) for high-quality laser prints with a resolution of 600 x 600 dpi. It offers fast, efficient paper handling through a 500-sheet front-loading paper cassette and a 100-sheet multi-purpose tray, which accepts a variety of media for easy, no-worry operation. For added flexibility and user convenience it supports both parallel and USB interfaces and incorporates a Super G3 fax with all the features you need in a busy office.
For adding network printing capability in your office, an optional network interface is available.


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The search began at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis after a student told police she was walking to her car around 12:30 p.m. when she saw a man wearing a long brown coat and carrying a long gun, IUPUI police Capt. Bill Abston said. Investigators said the woman lost sight of him, so they didn't know whether he left on foot or in a car. Police later received two additional reports of sightings.
The downtown campus, which has about 30,000 students, issued an alert for students and staff to seek shelter, and buildings were being searched by campus police and Indianapolis Metro police. Two hospitals affiliated with the medical school, University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children, were locked down, as were a nearby high school and the NCAA headquarters.
"It's very challenging when we get something like this. There are a lot of main streets in and out and a lot of people," Abston said.
Abston said officers would keep searching until they had checked all the buildings and parking lots.
Kamakshi Sishtla, a lab technician at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said she initially hid in a small, windowless equipment room in the building where she works, which is across the street from where the man first was spotted. "I thought, 'Better to be safe than sorry," Sishtla said.
Cory Olson, a 43-year-old nursing student, said he was in the nursing building when police came in and evacuated the building.
"The police officers sent everybody out. Someone said, 'Where do we go?' and he said, 'Anywhere but here.'"
About an hour into the search, some students were wandering around outside campus buildings and watching police cars lined up in the distance. Dan Engling, a 23-year-old public health student, said he and other students weren't overly concerned.
"It's kind of breaking up the monotony, people think it's interesting," he said.


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American Idol judge Nicki Minaj hinted she would be heading back to the recording studio, and that it might get in the way of a return trip to the hit singing competition show's next season.
"I don't know, we'll see," Minaj told EOnline. "See the thing is, we're only half way done so, I am absolutely enjoying Idol but I don't know how I'm going to feel at the end of it."
Her time so far on the show has been marked by a public feud with fellow-judge Mariah Carey.
"Unless, it looks like this," Minaj said, while miming choking somone. "I don't know. God bless her though…I mean, that'll never happen."
The Pink Friday] songstress also took the time to clear up rumors about her face: "I've never had surgery," she {link:told Extra: "http://www.extratv.com/2013/02/27/nicki-minaj-i-never-had-surgery-on-my-face/" target="_blank" title="Extra".
Instead, Minaj credits her love affair with makeup and her endorsement deal with MAC cosmetics. "When people see my makeup they think all types of crazy things that I'm doing to my skin, but it's makeup, " she said.


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Call of Duty Ghosts
Trending on: Google Trends
Why: First Tesco accidentally announced it, then a leaked Gamestop poster showed it, but now it's official. Call of Duty: Ghosts is the next title in the multimillion-selling shooter series, and it will be out on 5 November on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. However, the exciting revelation for fans is that the game will feature an all-new engine, developed specifically with the next-generation consoles in mind. [ The Guardian ]
Handout photo
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Mystic businesses welcome spring, end of construction
Mystic — Yellow and purple pansies fluttered in the breeze outside downtown businesses Saturday.
Under blue skies, children sowed lettuce and Johnny Jump Ups at a "Plant a Seed" table outside of Tidal River Clothing.
Local authors sat outside Bank Square Books, ready to sign copies of their latest work, and bars and restaurants offered discounts to diners who could prove they had purchased something downtown.
Other businesses offered face painting, arts and crafts, musical entertainment and cook-outs as part of the Mystic Stroll, a celebration of the arrival of spring and hopefully, the end of a rough patch in the quaint village's history.
"It's just nice to see people walking around with smiles on their faces and people unifying to put together a great day of activities," said Tricia Walsh, president of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce.
She preferred not to talk about the problems downtown.
"Hopefully, we can put all that stuff behind us," she said.
A sluggish economy, construction work on the drawbridge and streetscape projects have hurt the downtown businesses, and merchants say the long-term vacancy of a block destroyed by fire 12 years ago also has been frustrating.
The bridge repair and streetscape projects are all but finished, and plans for rebuilding the so-called Central Hall building are moving through the municipal approval processes.
And though it's still a bit early for bathing suits and flip-flops, the people who do business in this tourist-reliant town are pleased that summer is coming.
"It's been brutal," said Ross Mandell, owner of Bartleby's Cafe at 46 W. Main St.
The streetscape project, meant to widen sidewalks to improve foot traffic, resulted in the elimination of 12 precious parking spaces on West Main Street, including those in front of Mandell's coffee shop. Mandell said people used to be able to park out front, run in and buy their coffee and be on their way.
"You change people's habits, and it will take them years to come back," he said.
Also, Mandell said, the new sidewalk "bump-outs" protruding into the street have made it nearly impossible for trucks to make deliveries to some of the downtown businesses.
The construction had happier results for other businesses. On the Stonington side of the village, the gate that stops traffic when the drawbridge opens has been moved back, allowing more foot traffic to congregate in front of Mystical Toys at 4 E. Main St.
"The pedestrians are 'stuck,'" said Frank Sinnett, who owns the toy store with his wife, Barbara Sinnett. "They don't necessarily come in, but it's a good feel."
The lack of parking in front of the toy store is OK, Sinnett said, because there is parking in the back.
Business is tough during the winter months, Sinnett said, and he and his wife have to be careful about purchasing large amounts of inventory until June. Still, he said, the weekends have been consistently busy, since children have birthday parties year-round and adults need to buy them presents.
Back on the Groton side of the drawbridge, Roo Bosco, interim manager of the Spice and Tea Exchange, was optimistic about the new season.
"It was a Mystic winter," Bosco said. "It slows down. But the bridge is down and people are coming back."


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The Breeze 006: The Heart of Christ
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Hear the introduction to Thomas Goodwin's forgotten classic, The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth to whet your appetite for the full thing!
Goodwin was once ranked as a theologian alongside Augustine and Athanasius, but at his heart he was a pastor. The Heart of Christ is a theological treatise full of pastoral heart, it's message much needed in today's church. Enjoy!
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May 20th is Draw Mohammed Day in response to the big stink over the South Park episode that showed Mohammed dressed as a bear. I hope we get some good responses here. I'm a lousy artist or I'd draw Mohammed on his hands and knees getting pronged in the backside by a large boar. The Prophet would, of course, have a larg smile on his face! I'm SUCH a rascal!!
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Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins tells the story of the fateful last reign of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), when the Chinese empire was divided into three warring kingdoms. This decisive period in Chinese history became a subject of intense and continuing interest to historians, poets, and dramatists. Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins tells this story and offers players a chance to choose from 4 exciting and unique character classes to help battle through 200 fantastic levels filled with boss monsters and their relentless minions. As players experience the world of Three Kingdoms: The Battle Begins they can rewrite world history by carefully planning and executing political assassinations.
For more information about Three Kingdoms and Uforia go to http://threekingdoms.uforia.com/


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Learn More
- Description
DetailsThis fun purple blouse is the perfect thrift shop find! Each Ennui Thrift Shop separate is crafted of the highest quality fabrics and trims and created especially for Ellowyne and her friends. Each designer piece comes packaged separately, and is perfect for attending therapy sessions, writing in journals, or just spending the day in bed...
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Debut Date: Spring 2010
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More than 145 venues in the borough have signed up to the 'Dudley Breastfeeding Welcome Scheme' ensuring breastfeeding mothers receive an especially warm welcome.
For local mums with a baby, it helps to know where they are welcome to breastfeed when they are out and about. The scheme, a joint initiative between Dudley Public Health and Dudley council, gives local cafes, restaurants, leisure centres, libraries, Children's Centres and other public venues free resources to let mothers know they are welcome to breastfeed anywhere on the premises.
The resources include a sticker for their front window and a poster to display inside. The venues are also required to undertake a short questionnaire to ensure that they will support breastfeeding mothers.
Diane Woolliscroft , Breastfeeding Co-ordinator for Dudley Public health said: "Breastfeed is the healthiest way to feed your baby as it gives them all the nutrients they need for the first six months of life. It is really encouraging to see so many venues signing up to the scheme."
To find a breastfeeding welcome venue mothers should look out for the breastfeeding welcome sticker and posters or visit the Family Information Service at http://fis.dudley.gov.uk/fsd For further information on breastfeeding support or to be put in touch with a Breastfeeding Buddy contact your local children's centre. Alternatively ring the Family Information Service on 01384 814398 for details of your nearest children's centre.


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◄ Update ►
After soaking in the Evaporust solution for a few days I strained the solution back into the bottle and cleaned off the vise to see how well this stuff worked. I was very surprised at how well this stuff works I can only imagine what the electrosysis method would have done!!
I scuffed the front a bit to be able to see the markings a little bit better.
Note: The Electrolysis method was something I been really wanting to understand better and possibly try in the future. The only reason I chose the "evapo" stuff was mainly because I am working out of a small townhouse
basement with no ventilation in that room. The main room in the basement which would be considered finished does have 1 window. Im very uneducated about the "electro" method in regards to combustion, fumes, or the like. I never researched this way Yet!!. For all I know its completely safe and I had nothing to worry about. I do however want to in the future try this method as I have read ALOT about this on this site and the results seem to be way better than any type of store bought mix. Much cheaper as well from what I can tell!!!
Compared to the before pics I believe this evaporust method did quite a fine job for a solution that is basically water.
Now onto trying to actually clean this thing up a bit. I am still unsure of what to use on this meaning what I have on hand to work with. Sandpaper so far is about all I have to clean this thing up with, a few months ago my GF was wanting to get me one of those dremel tools and I told her not to waste her money that I would just pick something else. Forgot what I picked but now I am kinda wishing I would have just said yea I would like to have one of those things.
Just really didn't seem like something that would be of interest to me really a little rotary tool to sand images into wood. Possibly does more than this but that was my first impression of those little tools.


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Electricity bills set to soar as Government invests in green energy
FAMILIES are set to face soaring electricity bills to help pay for a new green energy strategy.
The long delayed Energy Bill, which was unveiled today, enables ministers to treble investment in green power to £7.6 billion.
Critics say this investment, along with the estimated £110bn needed to update UK's electricity infrastructure, will result in sharp bill hikes.
The Liberal Democrat MP said: "We need to make our energy supply fit for the 21st century, and in a world of rising gas prices we must power our homes and businesses in a much more efficient way.
"That's why today I am setting out economy-wide, ambitious proposals to cut electricity demand.
"These build on our energy efficiency strategy published earlier this month and will help us lower bills and reduce the need for expensive new energy generation."
This Bill represents one of the biggest changes in the UK energy market since privatisation, yet many of the important details are still to be decided
Mr Davey insists the government support for low-carbon electricity will only added £100 a year to the average household bill.
• Green energy will increase bills by £170
• Fuel shake-up may mean higher bills
Audrey Gallacher, Director of Energy at Consumer Focus, said: "This Bill represents one of the biggest changes in the UK energy market since privatisation, yet many of the important details are still to be decided.
"What customers will be most worried about is how this will increase their bills – so the Government must make clear how they will control costs to the consumer."


text:
Browse by Author
Group by: Creators | Item Type | No Grouping
Jump to: Article
Number of items: 1.
Little, Max and McSharry, Patrick E. and Moroz, Irene M. and Roberts, Stephen J. (2006) Testing the assumptions of linear prediction analysis in normal vowels. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 119 (1). pp. 549-558.
This list was generated on Tue Dec 18 15:14:10 2018 GMT.


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StoutFiles wrote:The good news is they left out the jets, which was the Episode II moment in which R2 was forever ruined.
emmtwosix wrote:I whole-heartedly agree, should also be made into an official set at some point) came in at around 900 pieces, with the base. Given those numbers, I would guess this version at 1/4th scale to land somewhere in the neighborhood of 1100-1500 pieces, but even with those numbers, the LEGO group could easily mark this up to $200 and sell a hefty quantity.
Now the waiting begins!
Drock wrote:According to brickset, the model has 2,127 pieces. If that's the case, I would pretty much agree with Don's $250.
emmtwosix wrote:I'm even more impressed with sparkart's ability to make his version look so accurate with so many fewer pieces.
Ages 16+. 2,127 pieces.
Presenting the Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™ – the best-loved droid in the Star Wars galaxy!
Presenting the iconic R2-D2 as you've never seen him before! Everyone's favorite droid from the Star Wars galaxy is now part of the Ultimate Collector Series and features fantastic detailing, such as retractable third leg, front panels that open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and a circular saw, rotating head and 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms. With the included fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure, this diminutive model is the perfect addition to your LEGO® Star Wars™ collection!
• Ultimate Collector Series R2-D2™!
• Features retractable third leg!
• Front panels open to reveal a universal computer interface arm and circular saw!
• Features realistic rotating head!
• R2-D2 features 2 fold-out front spacecraft linkage control arms!
• Includes fact plaque and R2-D2 minifigure!
• Measures over 12" (31 cm) high and 7" (18 cm) wide!
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests


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University of Vermont
2011-12 Online Catalogue
Policies and General Information
Residency Regulations, In-State Status Regulation
The Vermont Legislature has established a lower rate of tuition for students who are Vermont residents. These regulations define eligibility requirements for in-state status classification. All students at The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College (UVM) shall be assigned in-state or out-of-state status classification consistent with these regulations. A Vermont domicile must be established for a student to be eligible for in-state status.
If a student or the student's parent/legal guardian is an active duty US Armed Forces service member assigned to a posting in the State of Vermont, the student may qualify for in-state residency for tuition purposes. A copy of the military assignment (PCS) orders must be provided. Service members who are ending their service commitment, whose separation orders indicate Vermont as the final separation location, may be considered for in-state residency in accordance with the Residency Policy.
In-State Status Classification Regulations
- Domicile shall mean a person's true, fixed, and permanent home. It is the place at which one intends to remain indefinitely and to which one intends to return when absent.
- As one element of domicile, a student must reside in Vermont continuously for one year prior to the semester for which in-state status is sought.
- A residence established for the purpose of attending UVM shall not by itself constitute domicile.
- An applicant becoming a student within one year of first moving to the state shall have created a rebuttable presumption that residency in Vermont is for the purpose of attending UVM and/or acquiring in-state status for tuition purposes.
- A domicile or residency classification assigned by a public or private authority neither qualifies nor disqualifies a student for UVM in-state status. Such classification may be taken into consideration, however, in determining the student's status at UVM.
- It shall be presumed that a student who has not reached the age of majority (18)holds the domicile of his/her parents or legal guardian(s).
- Receipt of financial support by a student from his/her family shall create a rebuttable presumption that the student domicile is with his/her family, regardless of whether the student has reached the age of 18.
- A student who has not reached the age of 18 whose parents are legally separated or divorced shall be rebuttably presumed to hold the domicile of the parent with legal custody.
- A student of parents legally separated or divorced may be granted in-state status if a noncustodial or joint custodial parent is domiciled in Vermont and has contributed more than 50 percent of financial support for at least one year prior to the semester for which in-state status is sought.
- The burden of proof as to eligibility for in-state status rests with the student. Eligibility must be established by clear and convincing evidence.
In-State Status Classification Documentation
- The student must submit with the application form all relevant information.
- The classification decision shall be based upon information furnished by the student, information requested of the student, and other relevant information available consistent with University policies and procedures and legal guidelines.
- Testimony, written documents, affidavits, verifications, and/or other evidence may be requested.
- The student's failure to produce information requested may adversely affect the decision for instate status.
- A student or others furnishing information may request the deletion from documents of irrelevant private data.
In-State Status Classification Appeals
- The decision of the Residency Officer must be appealed in writing to the Residency Appellate Officer within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the Residency Officer's written decision. Appeal to the Residency Appellate Officer is the final appeal at UVM.
In-State Status Reclassification
- A student who does not qualify for in-state status classification may reapply for such classification each subsequent semester.
- In-state status classification becomes effective the first semester following the date of successful application.
Re-Examination of Classification Status
- Classification status may be re-examined upon the initiative of the Residency Officer in the exercise of sound discretion. Circumstances such as periodic enrollment may be cause for reexamination.


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Sherwood Wisdom 3 Computer with Compass
Welcome to Deep Blue Diving!
Sherwood's Wisdom 3 with Compass and QD has new full-time access to No-Decompression Limits (NDL) regardless of Air Time Remaining (ATR), Dive Time Remaining (DTR) on main screen. When in Dive Mode, see your available dive time whether limited by ATR or NDL. Sherwood Scuba's reputation is built on rugged reliability. The new Wisdom 3 is a direct reflection of Sherwood's commitment to this world-renowned reputation. Sherwood has taken their best computer and made it better, stronger and more reliable. The Wisdom 3 displays tank pressure on the bottom of the screen in large, easy-to-read numbers. Above the tank pressure are displays for dive time, depth, max depth and other data. Along the side of the display are bar graphs that give a quick visual reference for nitrogen and oxygen loading.
The new Wisdom 3 is an intuitive easy to use and operate with easy to read large digital display. The computer has diver selectable alarms, deep stop reminders, DECO warnings, and has Air, Nitrox and Gauge Modes. Computer has a dive simulator that allows you to walk yourself through any dive beforehand, and see your limits without getting wet. The repetitive dive planning mode uses information from previous dives to see limitations of your next dive. Logging your dives is made easy with the dive log function that stores profiles for later recall and viewing. The computer can be activated manually or will automatically activate when it gets wet.
The Wisdom 3 has both audible and visual alarms for vital information concerning your dive safety. Computer has HydroGlow that illuminates the screen in low light or night diving conditions making reading the computer data easy regardless of the dive conditions. The Wisdom 3 will also give you information on when it is safe to fly after diving along with up to the minute de-saturation calculations. If you dive at high altitudes the Wisdom 3 will make all adjustments up to 14,000' (4,267 meters). Computer displays N2 and O2 absorption in bar graphs for instant recognition of this critical information. There is a date and time-of-day record for all dives, an adjustable data sampling rate function and the Wisdom 3 uses a common CR2450 lithium battery for power that is user replaceable. Computer has a maximum depth display of 399' (120 meters), maximum pressure readout of 5,000 psi (345 bars) and Temperature readout up to 99 degrees F (60 C).
The Wisdom 3 comes equipped with a compass module. There are no street signs underwater. The reef is not on the corner of 3rd and Elm! Knowing which way to go or finding your way back to the beach or boat is made easy with the Wisdom 3 compass. Compass is liquid filled for smooth rotation of the compass card. Compass module has top and side reading views for gun sight accurate navigation. Compass has a ratchet rotating bezel with compass headings, a lubber line all to keep you on course. Compass has a luminescent dial for low light or night diving conditions. Also included with the new Wisdom 3 with Compass is a Quick Disconnect (QD) fitting on the computer end of the hose. The QD adds safety to your delicate instrument allowing you to disconnect the computer so you can bring it as a carry-on item when you travel. It also makes logging your dives easier by allowing you to remove it from your regulator system without lugging your entire rig around. Wisdom 3 with Compass comes with a comprehensive Owner's Manual and is covered by a 24 month limited warranty.


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What's New
Hearts and Swirls Font by Outside-the-Line
About: Hearts & Swirls is a playful little font by designer Justine Childs. Includes 52 whimsical hearts and swirls, some solid, some line but lots of little graphics to finish off that wedding, birthday or baby announcement, invitation or flyer. So many ways to say "I Love You" or "Be My Valentine"!
Tags: Dingbat, Font


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Patient's Guide to HIPAA – Learning About HIPAA: What's a Health Record?
Roadmap: Patient's Guide to HIPAA: Part 1: Learning About HIPAA (FAQ 8 of 65)
HIPAA introduces the term protected health information or PHI. The actual definition is a conglomeration of nested and complex terms with even longer exceptions. It is too messy to bother with here. Instead, we offer a rule of thumb that will work just fine most of the time.


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They haven't been too bad mostly. Hope you really enjoyed it here!
Welcome, Frances! Glad you could join us. :D
Please consider joining a group to meet people and talk about anything that's on your mind, Hang With Friends. You might also like Conservative Atheists, Parenting Little Heathens, Justice for All, Atheism and the Law, Women Atheists, Female Atheists, Politics, Economics & Religion, and possibly Feminist Atheists.
I also recommend Eco-Logical and Climate Concerns, since the UK's climate is changing.
After you've searched for topics of interest in "Groups" above and in the "Forums", don't forget to look at recent activity which hides along the right margin of the page all the way at the bottom.
Welcome aboard! =) Hope all is well with you today...
Hello Frances Miriam Janusz
Welcome to this world of rationality, truth and peace, where common sense and science lead to freethinking wisdom --- as you know as a long time thinking person like us.
We invite you to make good friends by joining the busy group "ORIGINS: Universe, Astronomy, Life, Earth, Humans, Religion, Gods, Atheism, Evolution, Darwin..." with 700 discussion topics and 3500+ members.
Terry (English; Oxford; 60+)
© 2018 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


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Using Spreadsheets to Teach Economics
What can Spreadsheets Do for Economics Teachers?
Spreadsheets not only speed calculation so more examples may be covered, they allow students to explore models that are too complex for undergraduates to solve analytically. As such, using spreadsheets increases the breadth and depth of what a course can cover.
Find more information about what is means to teach with spreadsheets
Find more information about advantages of teaching with spreadsheets
Useful tools for economists
Spreadsheet programs may be used to assist with such core learning activities as:
- Exploring and analyzing data
The advanced plotting and statistical features make it easy to create data charts and calculate summary statistics.
full example instructions.
- Estimating and plotting regression lines
The time trend of any series may be estimated and plotted easily by inserting a "trendline" (regression line) on a chart, estimating a trend using the Fill command, or using basic regression functions of Excel.
The Fill command is easily used to generate regression-estimated data for a time trend. Simply select the data for which the trend is to be estimated, select Fill/Series..., and check the Trend box and Linear or Growth options as shown in the image on the right (click to enlarge).
- Solving complex systems of equations numerically
Models with several equations or non-linear equations may be explored numerically by Excel. The most straightforward way to do this is to assign cells to left-hand variable names (e.g., Q, C, I) and enter the right-hand side of the equation in the cell, referring to other cells as appropriate. Excel reports this as a "circular reference" error but when the "Iteration" Excel option is activated, Excel will solve the system numerically. See instructions on solving equations.For example, the effect of parameter changes on models like the Cobb-Douglas function, the Keynesian Cross model, the IS-LM model and Solow growth model may be easily found numerically.
available). The consumption (C) function cell is selected, showing how consumption is related to parameters and disposable income (DI). The disposable income (DI) formula refers to the income (Q) cell, which refers back to the consumption function cell. The columns explore what happens to the model when various parameters are changed. this would be a tedious exercise without Excel, and allows for more model exploration.
- Creating large tables of simulation data
Because spreadsheets can make many calculations quickly, they can be used for generating large data sets for analysis and plotting. For example, data for generating three dimensional plots of utility and production functions may be generated through the Data Table command. The Data Table command can be difficult to use at first, but detailed instructions are available. Another useful application for large amounts of data is to solve dynamic macroeconomic models over many periods to allow for exploratory analysis.Data Table command can generate a matrix of numbers corresponding to the value of a three-variable equation, like a 2-good utility function or a 2-input production function. These data can then be plotted in a 3D chart called a "Surface Chart", and the chart rotated to see the function from different axis perspectives (i.e. level curves). For example, the data for the three dimensional Cobb-Douglas production function above to the left (click to enlarge) was created using the Data Table command. The chart can be rotated to show the familiar total product curve for one of the inputs, as shown in the other image. (These images were originally produced for the web supplement to Cahill and Kosicki (2000).)
Solow neoclassical balanced growth model analysis exapmple are available.
- Solving optimization problems
Numerical examples of constrained and unconstrained optimization models are relatively easy to program using Solver or Goal Seek in Excel.For example, consider the multiplant cost minimization problem where a firm is dividing a fixed amount of production between plants with different cost functions. Solver is used by clicking the Solver button on the Analysis section of the Data tab (as circled on the image, click to enlarge). In the Solver window, the objective "Target cell" is the total cost cell, which is minimized. An equality constraint is added so that the total production (Q=q1+q2) is set at 32. The result (not shown) is the firm divides production so q1=8 and q2=24. Interestingly, the average cost of good 2 is higher than good 1, but this is the optimal decision because the marginal cost of the plants is equalized. This demonstrates a key economic principle. Students may manually change the production numbers to try to "beat" this optimal result, or Solver can be used to equalize average cost to further demonstrate this result. (These images were originally produced for the web supplement to Cahill and Kosicki (2000).)
- Conducting statistical analysis A full range of statistical functions may be used to calculate summary statistics, statistically test hypotheses, and calculate p-values.This is part of the example that simulates the well-known Taylor Rule for monetary policy. (Full instructions are available.) The Taylor Rule is a simple equation proposed in the Taylor (1993) conference paper to guide monetary policy. The equation provides a federal funds rate target based on the measured inflation rate and GDP gap and assumed values for target inflation, long run real interest rate and preferences for fighting inflation and unemployment. Taylor Rule example is to calculate the correlation coefficient between the rule target and actual federal fund rates (using Excel's =CORREL function) and test the hypotheses that the correlation coefficient is statistically different from 1 or 0 by manually entering the formula for the t statistic and using Excel's =TDIST function to compute the p-value of the test. The screen shot image from the spreadsheet (click to enlarge) shows the TDIST formula is displayed on the formula bar.
Furthermore, spreadsheets can be integrated with a a variety of assignments and settings and may be tailored to support or replace technical skills. However, implementing a spreadsheet activity may take some care. Find more information about how to teach with spreadsheets Furthermore, while some spreadsheet tools are straightforward to find and use, others are hidden or take some know-how. The spreadsheet tools page provides and overview of some spreadsheet tools and gives instructions on how to use these tools in Excel. Basic information on how to use Excel can be found on the What is Excel page of the Mathematics and Statistical Models SERC module.
Economics Examples
Nearly any topic in economics can be approached using spreadsheets, as suggested by the examples above. A large number of examples have already been developed for use by instructors:
- Internal list of economics examples organized by topic
- These examples have been reviewed by module coordinators and are ready to be used in a classroom to cover specific topics
- A complete list of spreadsheet examples may also be searched
- A large number of examples in the existing literature available. See a list of external links
- There are several references and resources available for using spreadsheets, Excel, and related teaching approaches.


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Brewer Dinner Event - June 19, 2013 - "The Solution to America's Fiscal Crisis"
The Maine Heritage Policy Center
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Event Details
● 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ●
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Schooners Seafood & Steakhouse
5 South Main Street
The Solution to America's Fiscal Crisis:
Returning Power and Taxing Decisions to the States
Mr. Matt Mayer
The Liberty Foundation of America
Where do you want the focus of governement power to reside - in Augusta, ME or Washington DC?
From the price of fuel to the type of light bulbs we can use to how we run our local schools, the federal government's presence in our day-to-day lives is as pervasive as ever.
After 80 years of progressivism, many Americans cannot envision a federal government less intrusive or powerful than it is today. That said, the current arrangement was not inevitable or foreordained. It was not the natural outcome of America's experiment with limited government. There is a better way as pointed out in the Constitution – Competitive Federalism - which returns power and taxing decisions to the states.
We must move the discussion away from populist promises to raise taxes on certain segments of Americans or to cut government by programmatic picking and choosing, to the real issue—where do Americans want the focus of government power over their lives to reside?
Join MHPC and Matt Mayer, Associate with The Liberty Foundation of America,
as we present
The Solution to America's Fiscal Crisis:
Returning Power and Taxing Decisions to the States.
Mr. Mayer will discuss and highlight his recent report titled
Competitive Federalism – Leveraging the Constitution to Rebuild America.
Join us as we stand for a stronger, more prosperous Maine!
MHPC Member: $20 per person, inclusive of tax and gratuity.
Non-Member: $25
For additional information, please contact Amanda Clark
by phone at 207-321-2550 or by e-mail at email@example.com.
When & Where
Schooners Seafood and Steakhouse
5 South Main Street
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Add to my calendar


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Get the interview. Tell the story from all sides. Stay out of it. That's Journalism 101. And I'm completely breaking that rule.
What I've learned making "Charlie Foxtrot" really has full attention. It's too important for me stay out of it. We confirmed more than 300,000 service members have received less than honorable discharges since 2001. Tens of thousands have no access to VA medical services because of that discharge status. Here's where it really gets my attention - the reason for those discharges is often behavior linked to trauma-related injuries like PTSD and TBI.
Veterans with less than honorable discharges are twice as likely to die by suicide!
So what can we do? Well, since Memorial Day we've interviewed more than seventy-five people to figure that out. We heard from veterans, service members, moms, dads, doctors, lawyers and Presidents. Secretary Robert McDonald, head of the VA, told us, "Only an Act of Congress can change this antiquated system."
That's what I want to see happen – an Act of Congress. Specifically, the Fairness for Veterans Act.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) requires the military to consider medical evidence of PTSD or TBI in the discharge review process. It has the potential to get thousands of service members the benefits they were promised when they volunteered.
That's why I signed the petition to support The Fairness for Veterans Act.
I'm not alone. It's a bipartisan bill for vets, backed by vets. Forty-four of the nation's top Veterans Service Organization have signed on in support. This isn't a "red" or a "blue" issue, and our lawmakers need to know it. However Congress only has a few weeks left to act.
If you feel compelled to help and agree with the Fairness to Veterans Act, you can show your support too by signing #Fairness4VetsPetition.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 U.S. veterans die by suicide every day. About 70 percent of veterans who took their own lives were not regular users of VA services. Veterans with less-than-honorable discharges are the most vulnerable group. These less-than-honorable discharges are often issued to service members for minor misconduct, that experts say, can be behavior linked to PTSD, TBI or other trauma-related injuries.
Now is the time for Fairness for Veterans. Let's give them hope to help heal the invisible wounds of war. Please support this common sense, bi-partisan bill to require the military discharge review boards to consider mental health diagnoses like PTSD and TBI.
I am asking the congressional delegation from my state to commit to changing the discharge review board policy by passing the Fairness for Veterans Act.


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UAB students are competing for — and winning — prestigious awards with help from the Office of National & International Fellowships and Scholarships, directed by Ashley Floyd.
Floyd, director of the office since 2012, has seen the number of winners increase each year. This year, 26 students won 30 awards — for a total 45 during her tenure. Her strategy is simple: Help students be more prepared for the application process.
"When I first came here, Dr. [Suzanne] Austin and I talked about building a culture in which students feel these scholarships are within their reach — that they should at least try to see if they could win them," Floyd said. "Rather than focus on just the capstone awards, we decided to work on building a very intentional pipeline of younger students who would apply for awards available to them as undergraduates and prepare them for future competitions to fund graduate studies."
Floyd reports an increase in students applying for building-block scholarships, such as the Amgen's Scholars Research Program, Goldwater Scholarship and Udall Scholarship.
"This past year was a good indicator that students are succeeding in that pipeline," Floyd said.
One example is Kenneth Gray, a 2012 Goldwater Scholarship winner, who recently received several fully funded offers for graduate school. He's decided to attend Harvard. Another example is 2013 Goldwater Scholar Miranda Collier; she received the internationally competitive Clarendon Scholarship, which will pay for her studies at Oxford University.
"Winning an award like the Goldwater Scholarship as an undergrad positions these students well for future graduate school funding," Floyd said. "So, I'm pleased to see that we've had more students applying for these types of building-block awards. It shows that they're starting to think about fellowships and scholarships early in their student careers."
Reputation abroad
Many of the awards send students around the world to do research or study at other institutions, which Floyd said is great for UAB.
"We are sending our most fantastic students all over the world — to other institutions, to other countries — and they are representing UAB," Floyd said. "They are ambassadors to the university. When they have positive interactions with faculty at other institutions or with the scholarship foundations, that reflects positively on UAB."
Recruiting assistance
Many of the students find the application process daunting because they have to write what is essentially a grant proposal. So, Floyd recruited the UAB Writing Center to host workshops on the writing skills needed for the award applications.
"That's been a nice point of synergy," Floyd said. "I really appreciate the center's help. The students can have the most amazing ideas in the world and can be outstanding academically, but if they can't figure out how to put those ideas on paper in a way that makes a national screening committee pay attention to their ideas, then their voices go unheard."
Floyd said the key to continuing success is keeping students in the pipeline. For the annual fellowships luncheon, she asks each winner to bring a student they hope will apply for awards in the future. She also has help from deans and faculty who send her information on high-performing students.
"When faculty see someone exceling in their courses, particularly a student with unique academic interests, they should direct that student to me," Floyd said. "Those referrals help me identify students who need to be applying for awards."
She said the biggest challenge is reaching students who don't know about the awards or don't think they could win them.
"There's always room to find more students who meet the qualifications for these awards. Right now I sense that I'm only scratching the surface of the pool of highly qualified UAB students who could take advantage of these types of opportunities," Floyd said.
Learn more about the fellowships office online.
2013-14 winners
- Jennifer Baldwin – Presidential Management Fellowship
- Leah Berkebile – Clinton Global Initiative University; Critical Languages Scholarship - Arabic, Morocco
- Elizabeth Bevan – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant - John Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship
- Bliss Chang – Goldwater Scholarship
- Miranda Collier – Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford
- Timothy Fernandez – Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Fellow
- Daniel Gilliam – Amgen Scholars Summer Research Program
- Rachel Hicks – Presidential Management Fellowship
- Noah Hull – National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense
- Rebecca Hyde – Critical Languages Scholarship - Arabic, Oman
- Ophelia Johnson – UNCF Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship; Goldwater Scholarship
- Quincy Jones – UNCF Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship
- Sudhanshu Kaushik – Clinton Global Initiative University
- Young uk Kim – Teach for America
- Michael Longmire – DAAD-Rise Scholarship
- Ali Massoud – Clinton Global Initiative University
- Dhruv Patel – Alpha Lamda Delta Warner More Graduate Scholarship
- Shejuti Paul – Alpha Lambda Delta Trow Scholarship
- Ranjani Poonzahagan – Parkinson's Disease Fellowship
- Courtney Rutherford – Udall Scholarship
- Yoonhee Ryder – Clinton Global Initiative University; Critical Languages Scholarship - Korean, South Korea; William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship, American University at Dubai
- Forrest Satterfield – Clinton Global Initiative University
- Jiabin Shen – Clinton Global Initiative University
- Camille Turner – Benjamin Gilman Scholarship
- Donovan White – UNCF Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship
- Miesha Williams – Clinton Global Initiative University


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Sir – It was with interest that I read John Hook's suggestion of a cable car in order to help alleviate the congestion problems on the A40 (Gazette, May 14).
My alternative proposal would be for the construction of a monorail of the type currently in use in many cities of the world including Sydney, Mumbai and Las Vegas.
The track would be supported on stanchions regularly-spaced, meaning the footprint required would be minimal and could easily utilise the existing space on one side of the road.
Initial investment would be, in my opinion, cost-effective when compared to other proposals such as reinstating railway lines (possibly reliant on compulsory purchase of land) or upgrading the existing road to dual carriageway (which would certainly create bottlenecks).
This type of system also eliminates the need to re-engineer existing road junctions.
Electrically-powered (from suitable 'green' energy sources) carriages would rapidly transport significant numbers of commuters to and from Oxford in speed and comfort.
In my view, the visual impact on the environment of such a system would be reasonably low if care were taken at the design stage.
Terminals would be built for passengers to embark/disembark at Witney and Pear Tree park-and-ride, with additional platforms at Eynsham and possibly Cassington.
The advantage of using the park-and-ride at Pear Tree is fairly obvious, with bus connections into the city centre and an area could also easily be created to store cycles for (more active) commuters to complete their journey.
Having seen innovative solutions employed elsewhere around the world, it frustrates me that our infrastructure capacity issues cannot be solved by thinking outside of the box a little more often.
Bold, radical thinking is sometimes required to address such issues as the A40 nightmare.
David Leach, Taphouse Avenue, Witney


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Style # 208769
Cabbie Hat is rated out of 5 by 1.
Rated 5 out of 5 by ATLbaby from I want this, but does it look weird??? I really think this is a beautiful hat!! Gorgeous color and style..only thing is......does it look too square on top??
Date published: 2013-02-14


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Gr. 0+/1, 0 - 18 kg, up to approx. 4 years
Sirona rear-facing car seat
Safely rear-facing from birth up to 18kg (approx. 4 years)
A rear-facing child seat reduces the risk of injury in a head-on collision by more than 80% when compared to a conventional forward-facing seat with harness system, as the force of an impact is distributed evenly over a large area.*
- Safely rear-facing up to approx. 4 years
- 360° rotation with easy entry position
- Front-facing with adjustable impact shield (9 –18 kg)
- One-click installation with ISOFIX
- Telescopic Linear Side-impact Protection (L.S.P. System)
Leading consumer organisations therefore recommend that children remain in rear-facing child seats even beyond group 0+. The excellent safety performance and clever functionality of the pioneering combination car seat Sirona was awarded TEST WINNER by Germany's leading consumer testing organisation Stiftung Warentest in the test 6/2012.
*According to research conducted by VTI – Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (Rapport 489A, 2003)
Easy entry & exit position
360° rotation
A clever 360° rotation system makes life easier and less back-breaking for parents.
The clever rotation mechanism makes it easy to change between the rear-facing and forward-facing positions without having to take the seat out. Getting in and out is also easy as the seat can be turned to the side facing the door with one simple click.
One-click installation with isofix
For both rear- and forward facing position
A one-click installation with ISOFIX both in rear- and forward-facing position allows for simple installation and guarantees increased safety.
Sirona is secured using the car's ISOFIX system and requires no further fastening. A prop at the front helps to absorb the force of impact in case of a head-on collision and provides additional stability. This anchoring technology minimizes installation mistakes and optimizes the protective effect.
Seat-to-chassis technology
Direct link between car and seat
The innovative Seat-to-Chassis technology creates a direct link between the seat and the chassis.
In case of an accident, the force of an impact is transferred straight to the chassis, which simultaneously activates the safety features of the car and the seat and thereby initiates the process of distributing the force at the earliest possible stage of an accident. Patent pending.
Telescopic L.S.P. System
Linear Side-impact Protection
The telescopic linear side-impact protection (L.S.P. System) absorbs the force of a side-impact collision at a very early stage (patent pending).
Whether rear- or forward-facing, the CYBEX SIRONA's adjustable Linear Side-impact Protection system (L.S.P.) increases the level of safety in case of a side-impact collision. The L.S.P. system can be individually adjusted to the position of the seat and the type of vehicle and absorbs the force of a side-impact collision in combination with the head and shoulder protectors (patent pending).
Alternative - forward facing
For children from 9-18 kg
Depending on their shape and size, older children may have insufficient legroom when sitting backwards.
In this case, the CYBEX Sirona can also be used as a forward-facing seat with impact shield - from 9-18 kg (approx. 9 months to 4 years).
Adjustable impact shield with A.R.T. Technology
Safety without confinement
The adjustable impact shield with A.R.T. Technology cleverly reduces the risk of serious neck injuries without confining the child (patent pending). Thanks to the new integrated fastening system, there is no longer the need to fasten the impact shield separately.
In the forward-facing position, the child is protected by an adjustable impact shield. This system works like an inflated airbag, which absorbs the energy of impact over its entire area. Compared to a conventional 5-point harness, the strain on the neck is significantly reduced. What is more, in case of an accident, the impact shield's new Active Response Technology (A.R.T.) ensures that the child is intuitively secured within the safety zone of the seat (patent pending). Thanks to the new integrated fastening system, it is also unnecessary to fasten the impact shield with the car seatbelt (patent pending).
Colours and Fabrics
Safety, Design and Functionality
Continuing the CYBEX tradition of having fashionable colours, the PLATINUM car seats come in a great range of colours in two fabric variations.
Comfort version: the soft and cozy comfort version of the Platinum car seats features 4 colour combinations.
Plus version: the Plus version gets its characteristic appearance through an exclusive, very hard-wearing fabric with a twill effect in a denim look. These child car seats are available in 4 different colours.
Carola J.: "Lots of safety + comfort. Perfectly fits into small city cars and the child also feels comfortable during longer journeys."
Magdalena W.: "A top-class rear-facing car seat, offering a high level of safety and great comfort thanks to the rotation function. By the way it also looks fantastic."
height adjustable headrest (11 positions)
one-hand reclining function (7 positions rear-facing)
one-hand reclining function (5 positions forward-facing)
- ISOFIX guides
Make car seat installation easier whilst protecting fabric and leather seating. A set is included with each CYBEX ISOFIX and ISOFIX Connect seat.
- Summer cover
Made from 85% cotton and 15% polyester the summer cover ensures a comfortable ride even on hot summer days.
- Newborn Inlay
Newborn inlay offers superior support and comfort for the little ones.
length / width / height : 680, 440, 635 mm
weight: 15 kg
UN R44/04, Gr. 0+/1
Fabric covers machine washable at 30°
Engineered and designed in Germany
Compatible Cars
Is this the right seat for my car?
We extensively test the suitability for all our products in all the latest vehicle models. Should your vehicle not appear please contact our customer service team for further assistance. We always recommend that you do a test installation at a qualified retailer to confirm individual compatibility. You should especially check that your vehicle model has ISOFIX anchorage points (US: LATCH ) and the length of the vehicle seat belt as this may vary, even during the same production year of manufacture.


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A BlankTV Premiere Presentation:
Under Aspect - "Yesterday's Prayers"
Artist Bio:
Under Aspect is a loud punchy post-hardcore melodic band from Montreal, Canada. Since '06 the band never stopped playing shows to let fans hear the new sound they had to offer to the metal scene. Releasing their 3rd album in Febuary 2014, Under Aspect will give you the perfect lesson about the things you should not see.
About The Video:
Yesterday's Prayers is about everything we are dreaming of, the music, the fans, the shows. It's an ode to every dreamers out there.
Get music by Under Aspect on iTunes and CD Baby NOW!
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by Rob Cox October 18, 2013
Most Common Polaris Pool Cleaner Parts
Another in our series of blog posts taking a closer look at pool parts. Today's parts pictorial focuses on our favorite pool cleaner at poolcenter - the Polaris line of automatic pool cleaners.
Polaris pool cleaners, in all it's many forms, are an engineering marvel. Their designs have evolved over the years, and they are known as some of the hardest working, best performing pool cleaners.
I was a bit surprised to find out that out of the top ten polaris pool cleaner parts, 7 of them were debris bags.
Shown left here, in my little animation, are the most popular replacement bags for polaris cleaners - the 280, 380 and the 65/165 model.
For the remaining most popular polaris cleaner parts, can you guess which parts are the most commonly purchased? There are only 3 left in my top ten list, and they are:
The polaris 360 is the low pressure version of the polaris pool cleaners. It uses no booster pump. The feed hose is the hose that carries the water to the cleaner unit.
Polaris 360 has four (4) hose sections, connected by large hose swivels and hose nuts.
Whether not taken care of, hung on a hook, attacked by chemicals or attacked by a dog, we sure do sell a lot of these Polaris 360 hoses.
The C-10 Tire fits models from the old 180 to the 380, including the model 280 and 360 polaris pool cleaners.
Tires should be replaced when they have lost their edges and begin to round - just like the tires on your car.
Maintaining proper wheel alignment, belt tension and replacing bearings when needed will help you get more mileage from your polaris tires.
The polaris backup valve is known as a hydrotimer. Inside of the acorn shaped body is a mechanism of gears that are turned by the small paddle wheel in the flow of the water.
As the gears spin, every 3 minutes or so, the port on the side of the backup valve opens and water spurts out, which pulls the hose and the cleaner off the floor, and usually lands it in another direction.
Small grit or sand can gum up the gears of the hydrotimer, or bad hose floats can drag your valve along a rough pool bottom and damage it. You can replace just the case, or the mechanism, or the entire Valve Kit, which includes hose nuts.
- Rob


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Reader Paul Brentnall took this colourful shot along the Erewash Canal in Langley Mill.
The canal is 12 miles long and was completed in 1779 at a cost of £21,000.
The waterway was a commercial success from the start and mainly transported coal.
The canal's success kept it going for far longer than many others in the face of competition from the railways.
Send in your pictures too, if you are out and about at the weekend as we'd love to see them and they could be featured.


text: With the rise of the metallic trend, Erica from Craftivity Designs wanted to bring some gold touches into her bedroom. She also loves polka dots and found a way to bring the two together in one cute little package. All Erica had to do was add circles with a metallic Sharpie to Wal-mart knobs for instant style. She guarantees that this is a simple, … [Read more...]


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Every now and then, I read something that hits me smack in the stomach. This cross-post is one of those. Originally on Quinn Zimmerman's blog "These New Boots", the post came over with an email commenting on "that moment where you get the aid bitchslap… when you cross from idealism to realism… [a] strange and ugly and enlightening process."
Day 326: Questions and (No) Answers by Quinn Zimmerman
(cross-posted with his permission)
"It's going to take a while before I can even make sense of all of this." I'm talking to Paddy as we make our way down a dark street in Leogane, dodging motos and trying to avoid the mud. "It won't happen here. It won't happen until I've left." He nods. He feels the same. Our time in Haiti isn't over yet, we've both got a few months left, but we're feeling the end now, and we're feeling what it took to get here. We're tired, and confused, and frustrated. We're excited. We're proud. We're trying not to pass quick judgements, and we realize how hard that is to do.
Project Leogane is nearly over. Tomorrow marks the final week. April 27th work ends. April 28th we have the farewell party. April 30th the lease on our house is up, and people make their way to whatever is next. In my case, making my way isn't too tricky, as I'll be moving in to the base of my friend Jason, along with Paddy and Billy, where we'll work for the next two months finishing up our obligations to GOAL and the partnership we have with them. We'll also be mentoring our handover partner, the Haitian-American organization FHED (Foundation for Humanitarian Education & Development), who will be continuing our biosand filter program once we leave. Billy stays until the end of May. Paddy leaves the end of June. Alejandro and Diana will stay until May 15th to support our transition. I will stay until the end of July. I wasn't the first to arrive here with All Hands, but I'll be the last to go.
I know Haiti isn't yet done for me, but the nature of how I've lived and worked here since July 2010 has changed many times, and this perhaps marks the most distinct change. Project Leogane, and All Hands Volunteers, my organization and identity in Haiti, is nearly over. The skeleton crew staying is very much that. We'll no longer be part of the group. We'll be the entirety of it. I've no problems with that. If I'm honest, I'm excited to see how it will play out, but it does get me thinking. Of what, I'm not so sure, or more accurately, I'm not so sure I can yet explain it in any coherent way. Too many things. So many things. Only through a total disconnect will I have the distance and time needed to sift through all of this, and I'll have that before too long, but I still feel the urge to try and write about it, to mark it down in some way, although all recent attempts at doing so result in deleted entries, rambling and uncertain sentences that frustrated me but accurately reflect where my head is at these days. I honestly don't know what to make of this place and this experience.
I do know this. I'm ready to go. Haiti, while still powerful in her effect on me, is beginning to leave a sour taste in my mouth. Going out into the monotonous, seemingly unchanging landscape of Leogane, which some of us have now taken to jokingly referring to as "post-apocalyptic", is something I try and avoid unless in a state of mind sufficient enough to match whatever absurdity is going to come at me. My patience is near gone. I still feel for people. The empathy is there, but it's become something different than it was before.
"Fuck you!" The shouts come pretty regularly these days, sometimes from kids, sometimes from adults, always directed at us for no other reason than the fact we are foreigners, that we are blans. I don't know the people shouting. Sometimes we shout back, other times we shake our heads at the stupidity, sometimes we laugh, other times we stop the car, get out, and watch the guilty children run away, or the guilty adults eye us up. A few days ago it's a group of guys playing football in the middle of the street. "Fuck you!" We pull over, not because of the comment, but because we're at the chicken stand we were headed toward to buy some food. My patience is worn thin. We get out of the car a few paces from where the guys are. "Masisi! Masisi!" They're calling us faggots. Really? Really? I don't even know you. Fuck this. I hammer back at them. "You think we're faggots? Is that what you think? I think you're a bunch of uneducated, ignorant idiots. Instead of playing football in the street and telling blans you don't know to go fuck themselves, why don't you go to school? You're young men. You're not kids. Do something with your lives." I want to keep going. I want to tell them they are pathetic. I want to tell them that you shouldn't tell someone to go fuck themselves one day then come groveling to them the next asking for a job or money or food or a house. I want to tell them they are the problem with this fucked up country. I want to, but I don't, because I know, despite the anger, that while they are ignorant, and they do deserve to get called on their shit, they don't deserve to be shamed for their condition. Most people just play the hand they're dealt. Few opt to really try and change their hand, let alone the deck. That's not Haitian. That's human. Haiti just happens to deal a pretty shit hand to most. I'd be a fool to place the entirety of the blame on them. They're not the cause. They're part of the effect.
We get the chicken and drive away. One of the guys mimics punching us. I enjoy the five second fantasy of laying them all out in the street, although I know that will never come to pass. I'm not a fighter. We laugh it off, but not really. "This fucking place…" Every day. We allow ourselves some ignorance of our own, mocking the wannabe gangster culture the men in the street all had on display. "Oh you're a gangster are you? You're hardcore? You can't even get food. So hardcore. So gangster." We laugh, hard. I know the comment is off-color, but I also know I'm doing it to release. I'm aware when I'm allowing myself to mock a situation that shouldn't be mocked, when I'm engaging something I'm actually against. I'm aware that I'm doing it more and more these days. I'm aware that, at the end of the day, I do it because it helps mask the underlying frustration and sense of overwhelm and guilt that comes with being a foreigner in Haiti.
We come home, tell some housemates about it. They tell us how people started throwing rocks at one of our roommates as he was getting a dance lesson on the roof from a local Haitian girl. They had to come inside and continue the lesson out of reach of the rocks. I get a phone call. My friend Jenny, a Haitian girl I'm close to and care for a lot, tells me her grandmother has died. Paddy and I go to visit her and her mother and sisters to offer our condolences. While I'm sitting with Jenny and her older sister Katia, Paddy is talking to their mother, Madam Michelle. It was her mother that has just passed away. We stay for twenty minutes then say goodbye.
"Fucking hell…" We're in the car, Paddy looks tired. "What's up man?" I ask him. "Madam Michelle was asking me for everything – my bed, my table, my mattress, anything I can give her once All Hands leaves." I can see the frustration in his face. "Your mother just died. For fuck's sake can you stop for just one minute and grieve?" It is endless. Today, here in my room, I hear a knock. Ornela, Madam Michelle's youngest daughter, Jenny's little sister, is at the door. "Qwen? Qwen?" "Hold on a sec sweetie." I open the door and she's there. We talk for a bit. She asks me a question. "Qwen, can you buy a painting from my mom? We need money to go to Jeremie." Jeremie is where their grandmother lived. She's talking about the funeral. My heart melts, but I've learned a long time ago that I have to draw a line. "I'm sorry sweetie, I don't have money for that right now." I hate myself for even saying it, but I know I've done a lot to help her family. Jenny is back in school because of me and some of my friends and family I reached out to. Seeing her finish high school is a personal goal of mine. I have to keep that in my sights and put blinders on for everything else. A week ago Jenny called me, she tells me Katia is really sick, that she has to go to the hospital. She asks me if I can pay for it. My heart hurts again, but I repeat the line I've learned to live by. "Sorry Jenny, I don't have money for that right now." "OK Qwen. It's OK." Jenny, eighteen and whip smart, knows me pretty well. She's been on the receiving end of my anger when she tries to push the boundaries of my charity. She's heard my rants on Haiti and the culture of dependence and expectance. She also knows I really care for her and her family. Still, the requests don't stop. They won't stop until I leave. Even then they won't stop. Facebook chat post-Haiti often involves requests for money from people I know here.
Some things I have become clear on as a result of Haiti:
1. Good intentions aren't enough.
2. Rose-colored glasses are bullshit.
3. The white savior industrial complex is real, demonstrated daily by feel good aid programs that probably don't work, or feel good causes like Kony 2012 that generate plenty of buzz but don't add up to much when people are actually supposed to do something.
4. You can't help people who don't want to help themselves.
5. True altruism is an incredibly rare thing. (See #3)
6. Little victories must be celebrated if you want to protect yourself from the crippling effects of the larger failure.
I came to Haiti very much guilty of believing good intentions were enough, and I certainly had the rose-colored glasses. I knew a bit about the idea of the white savior industrial complex, but didn't know enough to realize I was playing right into it. I believed people inherently do want to improve their lot, and will work hard to see that happen. I also believed myself to be a fairly altruistic person. I'm not so sure about that any more. And while I never came here thinking I could "save Haiti" (an incredibly egotistical idea to begin with), I also didn't realize the importance of allowing yourself to truly appreciate the small things before the big things break you down.
I still believe in helping people. I still believe my heart is in the right place. But I question myself more these days, and question what I'm doing and how I'm doing it. I question whether the work I've done here will really even make any difference. Is it even working? We'll know that as we conduct final follow-ups over the next two months, now that production and installations are nearly finished. I'm wary though. Every biosand filter I've ever seen in Haiti that was not one of ours was broken and unused. Just today I went to get a sandwich and found four or five of them in front of the sandwich shop, all in various stages of malrepair, waiting to be turned to rubble and probably used to patch holes in the street. The problem is we're giving people a "solution". They tell us they want it, but it's not of their own design. And yes, while I have spoken to families we've given filters to and heard from them they are getting sick less, and they no longer fear cholera, I also know of families that never used the filter to begin with, and only wanted to be in the program because their 100 gourdes contribution got them both the filter and a new Culligan bottle, which is worth 250 gourdes. Is that our mistake? Probably. Is there an easy work around to it? Not that I can think of. Asking for a contribution of more than 250 gourdes will guarantee that truly poor families will not be able to get a filter, and not providing a Culligan bottle (or any other safe water storage container) will result in families using open buckets instead, which we've tested and know 95% of the time result in re-contaminated water. It's a small problem in the grand scheme of things, but it demonstrates the complexity of trying to "help" people.
If I were to do it all again, I wouldn't design a solution. It isn't my place to do that. What I'd do is try and be a useful resource for a group of people or a community that have a much better understanding of their problems than I do, and want to work together toward finding solutions. I wouldn't come in as the guy with the answer. I'd come in as the guy willing to try and help them in any way possible as they find their own answer, and act as the bridge between that answer, and the money and resources needed to make it happen.
Or, perhaps if I really wanted to help, I wouldn't ever come to Haiti to begin with. I'd keep my fight at home in the United States, rallying people to try and build awareness that places like Haiti suffer because of policies benefitting our government, our corporations, and ultimately, ourselves. Policies created by our politicians, sometimes with our consent (the Iraq War) and sometimes as a result of special interests (the Supreme Court's campaign finance reform ruling), result in massive problems for other people in the world. Sometimes I wonder if that truly ever can be remedied.
Nature has a distinct element to it that is both brutal and undeniable: to be alive means to take care of you and yours before all else. There are rare exceptions to that rule, but they are just that – rare exceptions. The lioness doesn't feel guilt when she brings down the days-old gazelle, despite knowing the gazelle could never hope to challenge her. Is it the same for us? We may all be part of the same species, but we've always cordoned ourselves off in distinct groups, be it religious, racial, or geopolitical, and time and again worked to improve our groups at the expense of other groups. We are not a peaceful species. We are not enlightened beings. And history has shown time and again that, like the lioness, we show no remorse or mercy when faced with a weaker opponent. I sometimes wonder what the Taino people, Haiti's original inhabitants, were like. I'll never be able to know. They were raped, murdered and enslaved to extinction at the hands of the Spanish. There are no more Tainos in the world.
Is it naive to believe we can ever change this part of being human? I've often wondered this. If we ever had a chance at change, now would be the beginning of it. The internet and advancements in communication and transportation have made the world a much smaller place. I'd like to think that will lead to a greater mutual understanding of the fact that we are all, indeed, human. It might, or it might not. I often think we will have to evolve to the point that the idea of religion is cast aside, that the idea of nation is cast aside, that the way we define ourselves (white, black, Christian, Muslim, American, Haitian) have to be abandoned. Without first accomplishing that, we will always have a way to cordon ourselves off from others, to group up, and to grow to believe that our group is the most important group. Those groups must be broken for us to advance.
It makes me think of something a friend of mine who works in Rwanda told me recently. She told me that the majority of Rwandan children today do not know if they are Tutsi or Hutu. Their parents do not tell them. She told me that it is illegal to ask someone if they are Tutsi or Hutu. She told me that all forms of personal identification no longer have the words "Tutsi" or "Hutu" on them. She also told me Rwanda is one of the more progressive and advanced countries she's visited in Africa. That came at an incredibly high cost, but maybe that's what it takes. The EU, flawed though it is, and in and of itself a group, was born out of the desire for integration that was the result of two devastating wars that killed entire generations of Europe's people. I'd like to think we can learn enough from our history to be able to continue that process of integration without the prerequisite of mass suffering, but maybe that is indeed a prerequisite. If so, there's certainly suffering enough to go around. The world's groups are still devouring each other. The question is, if we do not feel we are affected by it, do we care enough to try and stop it? And, the skeptic in me asks, if we do care enough to try and stop it, why? What do we stand to gain? #5 – true altruism is an incredibly rare thing.
Indeed, a lot of questions, not a lot of answers, and a fair amount of pondering. If nothing else, Haiti has given me that, and that, ultimately, is a good thing. An engaged thinker is a humbled thinker. I do not yet claim to be either, but I aspire to be both.
See Quinn's blog "These New Boots" for more.