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[[Category:Sindarin demonyms]]
[[Category:Sindarin demonyms]]
Latest revision as of 11:44, 14 December 2019
|"Southrons" by John Howe
|General Information
|Other names
|Harad, including Umbar, Near Harad and Far Harad
|presumably numerous; different from Common Speech
|Black Serpent
|Physical Description
|shorter than Númenórean
|Average height
|Hair color
|Skin color
|Images of Haradrim
The Haradrim or the Southrons were the proud and warlike people of the Harad, in the south of Middle-earth. Ancient enemies of Gondor, they allied with Sauron during the War of the Ring.
[edit] History
The ancestors of the Haradrim were Men who awoke in the First Age, but stayed to the East of Middle-earth, not joining the migration of the Edain to the West. They eventually settled in Harad, where the Sun is fierce and there are no clouds. It is possible that they were relatives of the Swarthy Men who went to Beleriand after the Edain.
In the Second Age Sauron escaped the judgment of the Valar and continued his former master's work, turning the Men of the East and South to evil and dominating them. Under the authority of the Dark Lord, many towns and walls of stone were built, and those under his influence became numerous and armed with iron. To these men, Sauron was feared as a king and god.[1]
[edit] Second Age
During the Second Age the High Men of Númenor built a great city in the firth of Umbar, a vast natural harbour on the southern shores of the Bay of Belfalas, eventually turning the city into a fortified citadel from whose gates the Men of Númenor initially benefited the people in the lands they explored by teaching them many things about agriculture and craftsmanship.[2] After the reign of Tar-Ciryatan, the Númenóreans began to set themselves up as lords in Middle-earth as they demanded tribute of goods and wealth, causing the oppression of the Haradrim. Under Ar-Pharazon, the Númenóreans made war on the Men of Middle-earth, enslaving them and using them for human sacrifices.[3]
In the following centuries they were influenced by Sauron and Black Númenóreans, those evil High Men who stayed in Harad and survived the Downfall of Númenor.[4] The Haradrim became enemies of Gondor, as the Kingdom's southern borders were close to their lands. Shortly before the War of the Last Alliance, two Númenórean lords, Herumor and Fuinur, "rose to great power amongst the Haradrim".[1]
[edit] Third Age
The Haradrim did not trouble the Realms in Exile for many centuries. There were dealings between the southlands and Gondor in these days, though it is said that there was never friendship between the two realms.[5] When Gondor took the haven of Umbar from the Black Númenóreans, in the year T.A. 1015 they followed the Black Númenóreans against Umbar to recapture it. Their great power was not enough against the sea-power of Gondor. The attempts lasted for 35 years until, in T.A. 1050, Ciryaher defeated the Haradrim force by sending troops by land. They acknowledged the overlordship of Gondor; the kings of Harad did homage and their sons were given as hostages in the court of the King of Gondor.[6]
Later however kings of Harad who were in league with the Umbar rebelled against Gondor. King Aldamir fell in battle against them but his son Vinyarion won a great victory in Harad in T.A. 1551.[6]
The Haradrim later were allied with the Wainriders, a confederation of Easterlings, and the Men of Khand. During the simultaneous assaults from the north and the south, the South-kingdom came close to destruction. The campaigns ended with the Wainraiders' definite defeat in the Battle of the Camp in T.A. 1944.[6]
Around that time, some Haradrim were among the Corsairs of Umbar, a constant harassment for Gondor.[7]
The Haradrim were stirred up by emissaries of Sauron to attack Gondor again, and in T.A. 2885, they did so at the Crossings of Poros, but were defeated again as they faced also the Rohirrim. The twin sons of King Folcwine of Rohan, were slain in that battle.[8][9]
At the time of the War of the Ring, the Southrons were in league with Sauron and fought alongside his Orc army. The Haradrim were among the forces led by the Witch-king that attacked Osgiliath on June 20, T.A. 3018,[10] at the beginning of the War. They captured the eastern half of Osgiliath, but Boromir and Faramir cast down the bridge across the Anduin and defended the western half of the city.[11] More Haradrim continued to come up the Harad Road to Mordor. Faramir and the Rangers of Ithilien ambushed some companies of Haradrim, but they could not stop them all.[5]
In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, they deployed cavalry and gigantic, elephant-like Mûmakil. Regiments of Haradrim joined the host from Minas Morgul marching to the Pelennor Fields. Sauron's forces besieged Minas Tirith, and the Mûmakil of Harad were used to bring forward war-towers and siege-engines to test the City's defences. One of the leaders of the Haradrim at this time bore the standard of the Black Serpent and was slain by King Théoden of Rohan at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields[12] on 15 March 3019.[10]
Once Sauron was destroyed, Southrons in the western lands of Harad submitted to the rule of King Elessar and were conquered. The Southrons in the East, however, remained independent.
[edit] Traits and culture
The Haradrim were bold and grim men, fierce in despair. They were tall and dark-skinned with black hair and dark eyes, and for that they were called Swertings or Swarthy Men.[5] The men of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes,[13] while the race known as "half-trolls" out of Far Harad had black skin.[12]
Many Haradrim warriors were seen in bright clothing, such as scarlet robes, and were decorated with golden ornaments, such as collars, earrings, corsets of overlapping brazen plates; they braided their hair with gold. Some tribes painted their bodies. Scarlet and red was also the color of their banners, tips of their spears, and body paint. Their shields were yellow and black with spikes.[5] It is also mentioned that at the end of the Second Age some of the Men in the south had weapons of iron.[1] At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Haradrim bore scimitars that glittered like stars.[12]
The Haradrim had tamed the massive Mûmakil beasts and used them in warfare and, like their masters, were decorated with scarlet and gold. They even strapped towers on their backs, used by Haradrim archers and spearmen.[5]
Harad's tribes included into those of Near and Far Harad, although there were many tribes of the Haradrim, often mutually hostile. Some of the peoples of Far Harad were organized into kingdoms.[5]
[edit] Language
To the Gondorians their voices sounded harsh, like shouts of beasts.[14]
The only word which is stated to come from a southron language is "Mûmak", the name of the great war-oliphaunts of Harad.
Gandalf states that his name in "the south" is "Incánus" thought Inkā-nūsh (or possibly Inkā-nūs), meaning "North-spy".[15]
Despite having a meaning in Quenya ("fate"), the name Umbar is said to be adapted from the natives' language and not from Elvish or Adûnaic.
[edit] Etymology
Haradrim is a Sindarin name, consisting of the elements harad ("south") + rim ("host")[16] thus meaning "South-people".[7]
Other names were Southerns, Southrons.[7]
[edit] Other versions of the Legendarium
Early variant names for this people were the Barangils,[17] the Haradwaith (from the name of their land) and Haradrians.[18]
Early Westron names include Harwan and Silharrows, which are derived from the Old English name of the Aethiopians, Sigelhearwan (See also: Sigelwara Land).[19]
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
2001-03: The Lord of the Rings (film series):
- The Haradrim appear briefly in The Two Towers when Frodo and Sam witness a raid on one of their columns by Faramir's rangers. They are featured more prominently in The Return of the King, in which the battle between the Rohirrim and the Mûmakil is a major action sequence.
- While the book depicts the Southron army as primarily cavalry armed with scimitars, we see no horsemen in the movie: the Haradrim fight almost exclusively from platforms mounted on the backs of their monstrous oliphaunts. They have also adorned the animals' tusks with spikes and shafts that crush and impale numerous enemy horsemen.
- The costumes of the Haradrim in the movie are Middle Eastern in style and dark brown or black in colour, while the Haradrim wore red livery in the book.
[edit] See also
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Númenor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Akallabêth: The Downfall of Númenor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Black Gate Opens"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "Haradrim"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", "The Kings of the Mark"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Black Gate is Closed"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Siege of Gondor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Istari"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 144, (dated 25 April 1954), p. 178
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Two: The Ring Goes East", "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, pp. 16-7
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "The Story Foreseen from Fangorn", Note 4


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[Port Sulphur, Louisiana; May 11. Image via Getty]
PORT SULPHUR, LA - MAY 11: Herschel Barthelemy sits outside the FEMA trailer he lives in with six other children May 11, 2009 in Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Seven children from the family are living in the trailer after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Approximately 2,000 families in the New Orleans metropolitan area still live in FEMA trailers nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina. Eighty percent of those still in trailers are homeowners who haven't been able to return to their storm damaged houses. May 1 marked the end of the Temporary Housing Program for Katrina victims as those still living in the trailers have been given a May 30 deadline to move out or face possible legal action. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)


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When Green Day announced that they were releasing three albums of new material in five months it sounded like serious heavy lifting for the veteran punk band.
And, to hear bassist Mike Dirnt tell it, the pressure to record, release and promote the trilogy took an unexpected toll on the trio.
"With hindsight 20/20 it was a tremendous undertaking," he told BBC Radio 1 host Zane Lowe. "Although we were having fun we didn't take our nose out of the book for a long time. I think it catches up with you a little bit ... I think it catches up with you a little bit. We definitely just jumped off a moving train."
In late September, Green Day announced that singer Billie Joe Armstrong was seeking help with unspecified substance issues.
"Billie Joe is seeking treatment for substance abuse," read a statement on their Facebook page. "We would like everyone to know that our set was not cut short by Clear Channel and to apologize to those we offended at the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. We regretfully must postpone some of our upcoming promotional appearances."
Armstrong launched into a rant during Green Day's September 21 performance at iHeartRadio after being told that the band needed to wrap up their set, shouting "I'm not f---ing Justin Bieber, you motherf-----s. You've got to be f---ing joking ... I got one minute left." Green Day then smashed their instruments before departing the stage. And earlier that month, Green Day were also forced to cancel a concert in Italy after Armstrong was hospitalized. His bandmates would subsequently tell MTV News that he had "severe dehydration," though he recovered in time to perform at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.
Dirnt said he and drummer Tré Cool were surprised by the rant and didn't see it coming.
"There were signs of things hitting the fan," he said. "We hadn't slept in forever and Billie had definitely had the worst of it. He'd been going through his own struggles ... We were there with him but you can only handle things on your own ... At the end of the day when we got off the road the most important thing was my friend's life."
Following Armstrong's hospitalization, the band canceled a series of promotional performances and on Monday they announced that they would have to pull out of a headline slot at the October 27 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience festival in New Orleans.
"Canceling shows is something we rarely do," Cool said in a statement announcing the canceled Voodoo gig. "We never want to let our fans down, and we are grateful for all of you being understanding during this time."
Stephen Rehage, founder/producer of Voodoo also hoped for the best in a statement on the cancellation. "We, like everyone, were looking forward to having Green Day back at Voodoo," he said. "Their 2004 performance was one of the festival's greatest. We are obviously disappointed in the news, but realize the health and well being of Billie Joe is the most important thing right now. We wish him and the entire Green Day family the best and offer them our full support."
Dirnt said he hasn't seen Armstrong for weeks, but he was confident things were going to be fine. "I'm sure Billie's had it really rough," she said. "There's been very little contact between us, so I guess I'm just generalizing, but it's a pretty heavy-duty process ... This is probably the longest time we haven't seen each other - I haven't seen Billie in weeks ... It's an awkward position to be in, but we're going to pander this out. We'll get there."
The band still plan to release the next album in the series, ¡Dos! on November 13.
As fans await news about the end of Armstrong's stint in rehab, they might have caught a glimpse of him Monday night when he made his pre-taped debut as a mentor on Christina Aguilera's team on "The Voice."


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text: Press Coverage 2015 Real Estate Outlook SummaryMore homesellers are going it alone — should you?Online sites help owners sell homes without an agentWebsites aim to be the TurboTax for selling your home – without an agentFor Realtors, an Unwelcome TrendSell Your Home Without a Real Estate AgentHow to Sell Your Home Without a Real Estate AgentFor Sale By Owner: Homeowners Ditching BrokersWhat you should know about selling on your ownCut The Middleman5 things you must consider before renting out your homeHow to Sell in Tough TimesLafayette Existing Home Sales Sluggish in FebruaryMaking the Case for 'For Sale By Owner'For Sale By Owner: Sign of an Overcrowded Market?Six Steps To Selling Your Home Without a RealtorList Your Home For Sale By Owner Without Getting BurnedBefore Going FSBO, Answer These Five Questions10 Risky Home ImprovementsWomans Day online - 3 Sites for Cutting Out the MiddlemanFor Sale by Owner: 5 Smart Tricks7 Steps Lead To For Sale By Owner SuccessClifton couple negotiate selling their own home without a brokerFor Sale by Owner may become more common, but is it a good idea?South Florida home sales soar; prices plummetAgent or No Agent?For Sale By Owners - Proceed At Your Own Risk Says BrokersWeb Sites Cater to for-Sale-by-Owner Home SellersSell Your Home on Your Own - Or, Get Help?10 Tips for Selling Your Home in the Sluggish Winter MonthsGetting Serious About Your Home and the MarketTarget first-time buyers when selling a homeFour ways to attract a first-time buyerHow To Sell Your Home To A First-Time BuyerRising mortgage rates could spur undecided buyersRent-to-own your home: Pro and conGoing FSBO in a slow marketForSaleByOwner.com offers money back guaranteeSeller, Salesman: The Work, the Risks and the Rewards Behind That For Sale by Owner SignOwner sales difficult in cold South Florida marketBuyers Becoming More Successful Finding Homes through InternetHow to Sell Your Home Without a RealtorU.S. real estate commissions fall; O.C. commissions fall moreBroker Commissions Fell 18% Last Year, ForSaleByOwner.com SaysReal estate commissions highest in the WestRent-To-Buy Pros And ConsData shows low to nonexistent down payments on home may have helped fuel current real estate crisisSell home yourself? It may be smart, survey findsGetting an Expensive Reality Check5 Top Blunders of Internet Home BuyingCombined OperationPR real-estate battle escalates on listingsRealtors, homeowners turn to Web to help sell propertiesExpert Q and A: For Sale By OwnerThe Faces of For Sale By OwnerFSBOs Get Agent-Free Access to Realtor.comRent-to-own: A debatable path to homeownershipForSaleByOwner.com Says: Sell Your Own HomeFor Sale By OwnerThe pros and cons of FSBOFor sale by owner: Local agents weigh in on the debateSelling Your Home On Your OwnGoing solo vs. hiring an agentClick on a HomeTechnology That Can Help With a Home SaleMore ways than ever to find that dream houseForSaleByOwner.com Distributes Listings Through Facebook ApplicationDo You Need an Agent to Sell a Home? (Day 2)PrePaid Legal Services in Fla. a 1st Step in FSBO Co.'s National PlanThe Lure of Cutting the MiddlemanBanish the Broker: Sell Your Home Yourself5 Reasons You Don't Need an AgentSelling a House Without an AgentIs For Sale by Owner Right for You?Top Five Ways to Sell Your Home FastA New Reality for Real Estate AgentsSix Secrets of Internet Home Buying5 Things to know before you sell your house yourselfBypassing the AgentChecking with BuyersForSaleByOwner.com Leads in Online Real Estate CategorySelling Your Home Yourself? Go onlineHome Seller's ChecklistHow To Be Your Own RealtorSolo Home Sellers Find FSBO Help Online18 Best Real Estate SitesHow To Sell Your Home in a Tight Market8 Tips for Pricing Your Home in a Buyer's Market


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The tax on violent video games proposed by Oklahoma representative William Fourkiller has been rejected by the Oklahoma House Revenue and Tax Subcommittee.
Fourkiller's proposal had been modified to focus on creating a task force looking into video games' relationship to obesity and aggression. It was voted down 5-6.
In the minutes from the subcommittee meeting, State Representatives Pat Owenby and Mike Reynolds questioned the need to focus specifically on video games.
"It's not a good idea. We could have a task force on a multitude of reasons children are obese." said Rep. Reynolds.
"Why just video games?" asked Rep. Ownbey. "Why not French fries or rap music or movies?"
A good question! Though I'm not sure I can see the argument for rap music contributing to obesity. I know when I get crunk/hyphy, I burn lots of calories.
Notes from the A&B Subcommittee on Revenue and Taxation [Oklahoma Watchdog via Ars Technica]


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Gainward GTX 660 Ti Phantom 2GB is the spitting image of the company's GTX 670 Phantom. The only difference between the coolers is in the small sign on top.
The fans are hidden behind the heatsink but if you peek through, you'll see two silhouettes.
GTX 660 Ti Phantom is 24.5m long, which is about the same as the reference GTX 660 Ti. Reference GTX 660 Ti cards (including GTX 660 Ti Phantom) are powered via two 6-pin power connectors, just like the GTX 670. The power connectors are not at the end of the card because the PCB is only 17.3cm long, picture below.
Looking at the back, Gainward GTX 660 Ti Phantom looks much like the reference GTX 660 Ti card. Gainward also extended the PCB with the plastic part. The reference card's plastic "extension" holds a fan though, whereas Gainward used it to better fasten the massive Phantom cooler. The Phantom's fans were placed inside the plastic shroud, which is easily removable, picture below.
We're looking at the same fans used on GTX 670 Phantom series. In fact, we didn't notice any difference between the coolers. Of course, that's a good thing, since the GTX 660 Ti should end up cooler and, in turn, really quiet.
The Phantom's cooler uses three copper heatpipes and strangely enough, an aluminum base. The GTX 670 Phantom wasn't really quiet when under load and we think that the cooler would've been better off with a copper base. Still, the GTX 660 Ti shouldn't get as hot, so we're expecting better results in both fields.
Gainward's GTX 660 Ti Phantom runs Hynix memory chips (model No: H5GQ2H24AFR-R0C). The chips are specified to run at 1500MHz (6000MHz GDDR5 effectively). GTX 660 Ti Phantom's memory runs at 1527MHz (6108MHz effectively). Two of the eight memory modules are on the back of the PCB.
The GTX 660 Ti Phantom has two SLI connectors. We're not sure about Quad SLI support but the GTX 670 initially didn't support it, only to get it in 301.42 driver. Nvidia officially supports only 3-way SLI, however, we're talking about driver restrictions.
Gainward GTX 660Ti Phantom graphics comes with two dual-link DVIs, one standard HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. It's important to note that Nvidia addressed its previous multi-display "disadvantages" so Kepler based cards can now run up to four displays simultaneously.


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State asks ConocoPhillips to reopen idle Kenai LNG plant
State officials have asked ConocoPhillips to reopen its mothballed liquefied natural gas plant in south Alaska and resume exports of Cook Inlet LNG to Asia, and company spokeswoman Amy Burnett said the company is considering the request.
Operations were suspended in 2012 due to shortages of gas for local markets.
In a Sept. 5 letter, acting state Natural Resources Commissioner Joe Balash, (DNR Commissioner Dan Sullivan was on a six-month deployment to Afghanistan at the time) requested ConocoPhillips seek a new U.S. Department of Energy LNG export license for three years.
The previous export license expired in 2012. New gas is now being developed in existing Cook Inlet fields and explorers are making new discoveries, Balash said.
In the letter to ConocoPhillips Alaska President Trond-Erik Johansen, Balash said local utility needs for gas — a prime concern for the state — are now met into 2018 through new contracts with Hilcorp Energy, which operates fields purchased in the last couple years from Chevron and Marathon Oil.
The state's concern now is that there is little market left for other companies exploring and making new gas discoveries in Southcentral Alaska.
"To provide an additional market opportunity for gas from the Inlet, I request that ConocoPhillips file an application with the Department of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy for a three-year authorization to export LNG from your facility in Kenai," Balash said in the letter.
ConocoPhillips spokeswoman Burnett said, "ConocoPhillips has said previously that we would consider pursuing a new export authorization if local gas needs are met and there is sufficient gas available for exports.
"We take the state's request that we apply for a new export license seriously, and we will be working with stakeholders to further evaluate the feasibility of resuming exports from the Kenai facility."
Buccaneer Energy and Furie Operating Alaska, two Houston-based independents, have recently made offshore discoveries of gas in the Inlet, and NordAq Energy, an Alaska-based independent, has an onshore gas discovery on the Kenai Peninsula. It is not yet known if the discoveries can be commercially produced, however.
Balash said in the letter that without the LNG plant there may be no market for the explorers.
"Without market opportunities for gas discoveries, companies lack the incentive to invest in continued exploration. There are concerns that future exploration budgets may be cut back," he said. "Diminished exploration budgets hurt the state's interest in seeing its resources developed. State lands in Cook Inlet hold tremendous amounts of possibly recoverable natural gas, and the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the entire basin may hold trillions of cubic feet," of undiscovered gas."
Having the existing fields dependent on highly-seasonal utility demand could also create operational problems.
"When existing wells that are currently producing are shut in (seasonally) due to lack of demand for gas, water can migrate through the reservoir to mix with sandstone clays. This can cause serious operational problems when there are attempts to restart the wells," to meet higher utility demand in winter, Balash said.
The independent explorers endorsed the state's request.
In a statement, Buccaneer Energy CEO Curtis Burton said, "A robust natural gas market needs to be developed that will exceed the local (utility) demands and allow for the export of natural gas as LNG.


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11 January 2010
Village Idiots
mergent Village is collapsing on itself. The EV Weblog, once a busy and heavily-trafficked stream of Emergent semi-consciousness (replete with a near-manic discussion forum) is barely functioning these days. The current average wait-time between posts over there is at least two weeks. In fact, the eight posts currently residing on the EV blog's front page constitute everything that has been posted on that blog since September 9. One of the posts is a desperate-sounding "Call for Voices," and another begs readers to "Save the House of Mercy Podcast," which, evidently, has been gasping for life over the past year.
It's already too late, I gather, to save the official Emergent Village Podcast. Their last release was in mid-August.
Meanwhile, Emergent Village's best-known celebrity voices have likewise fallen silentmostly. Andrew Jones and Tony Jones, both living icons of "emergence," had a little back-and-forth exchange last week, which culminated in Andrew's public, formal separation from the organization. I'll give a link to that exchange in a moment.
First, take a look at this. It's a document that was drafted in 2005 (shortly after I began blogging) to defend "the work of emergent" from critics who were raising serious questions and sounding alarms about the dangerous trajectory the movement was following. The document was co-signed by seven de facto leaders in the movement: Tony Jones, Doug Pagitt, Spencer Burke, Brian McLaren, Dan Kimball, Andrew Jones, and Chris Seay. Five years after that document's publication, portions of it are almost humorous and its blithe tone of dismissal is more infuriating than ever. After re-reading it yesterday, I had a brief daydream about making copies with a big We told you so! xeroxed diagonally across the front. It would be nice to distribute them like tracts to the still-Emergent remnant at their next conventionif there are actually enough Emergents left to convene such a gathering. Are there any early, vocal critics of "emergence" who feel no such temptation? If so, they are to be commended for their restraint. I'm not that sanctified yet.
Anyway, the sink-hole that was once Emergent Village will continue to fade into irrelevance. The remnant who are still there will experiment with more and more heretical ideas. They will also be even more drawn to the spiritual idiocy that has plagued the place from day one. After all, virtually everyone associated with EV who ever had any inclination to whisper an occasional word of spiritual sanity has already left the building. It's been more than a year since Dan Kimball began to keep his distance. He said he was going to link up with Scot McKnight (and others) and start a network using the Lausanne Covenant as their common ground. So far that new network has been even more silent than the new Emergent Village, but the point is that Kimball, McKnight, and others have been backing away from their early alliance with Emergent. They aren't even speaking the language of emergence these days. (Hopefully, they are still discussing fresh ways to imagine and explore postmodern spiritualities in a Lausanne context. If so, I can hardly wait till they break silence about it.)
So here's that link to Andrew Jones's announcement: "Goodbyes to Emergent Village." I'll throw in this other link that will get you started tracing the brief exchange between the Joneses that culminated in Andrew's withdrawal.
You wonder why I've hardly posted anything about Emergent/ing Christianity for the past year? The movement has been self-destructing nicely without any help from me.
Does this mean we can all relax and drop our guard against the postmodern mentality, neo-liberal doctrines, and quasi-Socinian tendencies that originally provoked our concerns about the Emergent/ing Church Movement more than five years ago? Not on your life. With the meltdown of the visible movement, Emergent thinking is being dispersed like so many dandelion seeds into the broad evangelical movement, which was overrun with religious weeds in the first place.
The demise of Emergent Village is by no means the end of Emergent thinking. If you doubt that, read the comments under the "Tall Skinny Kiwi" posts linked above. And pay close attention to what Andrew himself saysand doesn't sayabout the reasons for his departure.
As a matter of fact, the comments at Andrew's blog last week were both informative and troubling on several levels. It's clear that the real catalyst hastening Emergent Village's meltdown is something more than a few key leaders' sudden doctrinal scruples. It seems a moral scandal of televangelist proportions is about to "emerge." Serious accusations from credible sources have been floating around for months and popped up last week in a couple of comment-threads. (They were subsequently deleted by blog administrators.) I'm not going to describe those accusations here or host a discussion about the brewing scandal. (I'm fairly confident the facts will eventually come to light.) My point here is merely that we shouldn't assume that the collapse of the Emergent/ing movement ends the threat of Emergent/ing ideology.
What it more likely means is that the fight for clarity, conviction, and the authority of Scripture is going to become more difficult than ever in the mainstream of the evangelical movement. Buckle up. This is probably not going to be an easy ride.
31 comments:
- James Scott Bell said...
Are there any early, vocal critics of "emergence" who feel no such temptation? If so, they are to be commended for their restraint. I'm not that sanctified yet.
Five years ago I saw it as a 30/70 thing. 30% of this "conversation" was a critique of evangelicalism that had some needed bite. But the 70% that was a response (i.e., a positive case for what to do) was chaotic, vapid and ultimately harmful.
- 4:47 AM, January 11, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
I agree with your conclusion. There are two possibilities to why EV would be disbanded: 1) Lack of interest; 2) They've accomplished their mission to confuse everyone's thinking, in record time.
As I look about society, it seems just as likely that it's the latter, rather than the former.
- 5:39 AM, January 11, 2010
- olan strickland said...
The demise of Emergent Village is by no means the end of Emergent thinking. If you doubt that..., you are more emergent than you realize :)
- 6:42 AM, January 11, 2010
- Marshall Jones, Jr. said...
"With the meltdown of the visible movement, Emergent thinking is being dispersed like so many dandelion seeds into the broad evangelical movement, which was overrun with religious weeds in the first place."
This is so important. The breakdown in structure (if that's what it was called) only leads to infiltration into other corners. The thinking is still very much alive - now it just goes by other names. Which is worse?
-Marshall Jones Jr.
- 7:04 AM, January 11, 2010
- Brad Williams said...
You know, this post brings up something that is always in the back of my mind as a pastor. I'm in rural Alabama, and I can honestly say the person I have met that has been influenced by these guys seems fairly minimal. So basically, if your assessment is correct, they have come and gone with little fanfare in my neck of the woods.
How do you decide which problems are worth the investment of your time? As it pops up in the church? Your community? For me, it seems that these guys are just a distraction from more profitable study.
- 7:09 AM, January 11, 2010
- Brad Williams said...
Haha. What a lousy comment I just left. I wrote, "I can honestly say the person I have met that has been influenced by these guys seems fairly minimal." Yeah, I know one guy who has been influenced by "emergent" and he is minimal. Yikes. I need another cup of coffee.
I meant to say that the influence of this type of thing seems minimal here. And my comment was not meant as a critique of what you guys have done here. I only meant it as a question as how you decide which problems to spend your energy on.
- 7:12 AM, January 11, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
In rural Ohio, the effect seems minimal too - except among pastors. They (esp. of the recent-seminary-grad or iwannabigchurch ilk) seem to be the ones who are most likely to be drawn to this stuff from what I've seen. And then the dandelion seed effect kicks in among those they lead. A lot of time this way of thinking incubates in a less than obvious way, so it might be closer at hand than you think. That's been my experience, anyway.
- 7:17 AM, January 11, 2010
- CH said...
What's your assessment of Rob Bell's influence at the present?
Do you think his influence has waned any?
- 7:42 AM, January 11, 2010
- JR said...
They have become like Al-Qaeda: decentralized.
I hear EV is thriving in Yemen.
- 8:26 AM, January 11, 2010
- FX Turk said...
"Thriving in Yemen" ought to be the title of an epic U2 CD.
- 8:50 AM, January 11, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
You mean Yemen is a tax haven? :-)
Perhaps the most unscrupulous tax-dodger in recent years is the self-styled Saviour of the Universe™ – Bono (and his band members from U2). In one of the most galling displays of hypocrisy in the history of mankind the Nobel Peace Prize nominee and his band moved their music publishing company from Ireland to The Netherlands in 2006. Impelled by a change in Irish taxation by which the previous artists' tax exemption was to be capped at around £170,000 ($330,000), Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2005 decided on a swift move to the musician's tax-haven of The Netherlands to make the most of the country's enticing 1.5% royalty tax.
All in a days work for one of the world's most lucrative bands and a widely celebrated champion of the poor and downtrodden. You may remember Bono pleading for the people of the rich world to donate money to help the poor and for the governments to donate more of their taxpayers' money in the name of global aid – obviously Bono and his band are exempt from such matters.
- 9:35 AM, January 11, 2010
- Unknown said...
Well U2 better hurry up and make the CD before Lieberman sends some high explosives their way! :P
- 9:38 AM, January 11, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
Believe it or not, the Irish recently passed a law specifically to do away with Bono's ability to avoid royalty taxes by going off to Amsterdam. I don't think that has anything to do with Emergent Village, but it is at least tangentially connected to the subject of Idiots.
- 10:17 AM, January 11, 2010
- donsands said...
"and start a network using the Lausanne Covenant"
And I think Erwin McManus is involved in this as well.
Seems the EMC people who truly regard the Bible as a precious treasure from God will be lead away from those who have a low regard for the Bibel, such as McLaren, Bell, and Pagitt.
The Word of God seperates the true from the false, even when the false may be loving and kind, etc.
Thanks for the good post. God wants us to hear the truth, speak the truth, and know the truth, so we can be set free from all the many winds of twister doctrines blowing in the world, and Church today.
- 10:18 AM, January 11, 2010
- William Fawcett said...
Causes me to wonder if Kluck and DeYoung's seminal work may have had an impact.
- 11:04 AM, January 11, 2010
- Jim Pemberton said...
The failure of the web site isn't a great indicator. A falling away of many who are not truly Christian isn't a bad thing, and I certainly hope it's true that they aren't holding out in some other way.
But there may be something more generally instructive for our local churches. While truth never changes, ministry often does. I've seen plenty of ministries die with some people wondering why other people didn't stay faithful to the ministry. We must understand that ministries have lifespans. The end of a ministry must be considered from the beginning where new ministries may come in afterward to do the next work. I've seen churches fail because they stagnated ministerially. Some ministries are long-term. Others are rather short term. All must work together to fulfill God's purposes.
When they aren't particularly faithful to God, let's hope they die quickly like this one, putting us out of their misery.
- 11:13 AM, January 11, 2010
- Bobby Grow said...
The 'emergents' are just 'fundies' who have taken their pietism to its logical conclusion. Just see George Marsden's Fundamentalism and American Culture for more historical context.
I'm glad to see that Dan Kimball has backed away from EV; he's a fellow alum from Multnomah (although before my time). Although it sounds like he is still into the emergent church (whatever that means anymore), does anyone know where Dan is at?
- 12:42 PM, January 11, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
I think I last saw him in a Green Acres re-run. Oh, sorry, that was Hank Kimball - my bad!
- 12:59 PM, January 11, 2010
Hi Phil,
You mentioned the Origins network -and we did announce it at Catalyst West Coast last April. Since then we have had some meetings and and we have putting time into thinking through what specifically it will be. It was birthed to be focusing on evangelism and mission. That is why I got into the original emerging church discussion - it was a passion to see the next generation reached with the gospel of Jesus.
We chose the Lausanne Covenant http://www.lausanne.org/covenant as it is written globally and focused on mission and from the start want to lay out doctrine so there is no confusion or mystery about doctrinal beliefs.
We have had several podcasts this past year and we launched a web site. So we are only the in early stages. Our first major event is in July 22-24, 2010 in Pasadena. Catalyst West Coast also has an "Origins" tract that will be part of the event in April in Southern California.
Anyway, thought I would give a quick update since you raised it up in this post. And if you ever (or anyone else) has questions about this or anything I personally teach or believe, be sure to just directly ask me and not speculate so no confusion or misunderstanding happens, as has happened in the past here. My email is email@example.com and I would happy to directly answer any questions about anything about Origins or about theology or questions you have about this.
Thank you! Hope we get to meet up sometime.
- 1:01 PM, January 11, 2010
- Mike Riccardi said...
I just went to the local Christian bookstore while waiting for my car to finish the oil change and wash. It was very discouraging.
An older man came in looking for "effective youth materials." The clerk promptly recommended Rob Bell's stuff, saying that at her church they've "worked really well" with the kids.
- 2:20 PM, January 11, 2010
- The Seeking Disciple said...
Great post. I agree that the emergent movement (thank the Lord) is fading though some churches are bent on copying "the conversation" started. How we need a return to the Bible and not a return to the postmodernism found at EV or any other emergent site.
- 2:28 PM, January 11, 2010
- Solameanie said...
Strategem, you had me almost spewing water on my computer with that last sally. Hilarious.
Phil, I remember the artwork you linked once showing Brian McLaren in an Alice-in-Wonderland-type setting. I think it's time for a new piece showing the Emergent movement as the Borg, or perhaps the Salt Vampire from the old Star-Trek series, which could morph into anything. The Borg would perhaps be the best one. It adapts. It morphs. It assimilates. And that's exactly what the EC will do now. It's not going away. It's just morphing into the next disguise or form.
- 3:12 PM, January 11, 2010
- Unknown said...
"The Borg would perhaps be the best one. It adapts. It morphs. It assimilates.
And that's exactly what the EC will do now. It's not going away. It's just morphing into the next disguise or form."
- 7:28 PM, January 11, 2010
- Lou Martuneac said...
IMO, some the most comprehensive research, scrutiny and biblical response to the Emergent movement has, and is being done by Robert Congdon. For example I draw your attention to a brief two-part series he published titled,
Christian And Emergent: Can You Be Both?
For example,
"Today, a spiritual 'Trojan horse' is seeking to enter Bible-believing churches. Once inside, spiritual defeat is inevitable. People's susceptibility is their uneasiness about the future of their church. They are aware of declining attendance, fewer being saved, fewer young people in the churches, and fewer going to the mission field. Put simply, there is a growing awareness of spiritual defeat. Today's Emergent Church movement offers a solution to churches; but is it of God or man?
Paul's last words to his protégé, Timothy, and to us, provide the answer to this question. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Paul declares that '…in the last days' of the Church Age, the church will witness and experience critical times involving peril or danger. That danger will be a counterfeit religious movement within the churches, having a 'form of godliness' similar to genuine Christianity, 'but denying the power thereof' (vs.5)."
Hope you and your guests find this helpful.
PS: I wholeheartedly agree with Solameanie who wrote, "The Borg would perhaps be the best one. It adapts. It morphs. It assimilates. And that's exactly what the EC will do now. It's not going away. It's just morphing into the next disguise or form."
- 10:42 PM, January 11, 2010
- Sir Brass said...
Dirka dirka kumbayah?
I agree that the Emergent movement is now even more dangerous. It is now decentralized and gone guerrilla in the local churches (like Rob Bell's nooma videos which seem to have gone viral within doctrinally-scarce parachurches and youth groups). Just like in actual warfare, if the organized opposition goes to ground and starts fighting guerilla against you, then your job just got a WHOLE lot harder (despite the outward appearance of victory).
- 12:00 AM, January 12, 2010
- Nash Equilibrium said...
Yes, we must learn from the lessons of history about declaring victory too soon:
Mission Accomplished
It was a cheap shot, but aside from its overuse, perfectly fitting to the situation.
- 5:21 AM, January 12, 2010
- Sir Brass said...
stratagem, sadly that is too true.
- 7:37 AM, January 12, 2010
- corinthian said...
I think Mike makes a good point. The damage to Christianity done by the EV has only just begun because of all the books and videos that franchised Christian Bookstores carry. Places like B&N and Borders will continue to carry these books as well. These books questioning and twisting Christianity will be sold for years to come whereas we will probably be focused on other subjects. Even here it was stated that we haven't said much about EV because it is falling apart on it's own, but those books and curriculum are still on shelves everywhere!
It is discouraging as a Youth Pastor to see a) the theological garbage of some curriculum and b) the inability or unwillingness of youth pastors to be clear and discerning in what they present to the young. Millstones....
- 8:56 AM, January 12, 2010
- Hanani Hindsfeet said...
If they respond to Phil's post over at the EV and other emergo-blogs, I can feel one final Pomotivational poster coming on...
(With the dead horse picture)
Caption: We'll keep going: the "deceased equine" concept is such an obsolete, traditionalist method of analysis...
- 6:03 PM, January 12, 2010
- Rick Frueh said...
I have the distinct feeling that the ideas and heresies will be much more dangerous due to the lack of a organized target and catch all label. The organized element will now coalesce more distinctly around personalities than "doctrines" or lack thereof.
The death of the label "emergent" will also seen by many as proof of the wolf cry essence of discerners. It would be hard to imagine evangelicalism any more ambivalent than is presently enjoyed, but who could have imagined the emergent movement either?
The ride has just become more dangerous even though it continues to become more smoothe.
- 2:39 AM, January 13, 2010
I wonder what the next thing is? I believe we have witnessed many different steps leading to the next step. I began to pay attention when I noticed the "seeker friendly" thing that morphed into distaste for itself. People then began to get emergent. Then there was (and still is) the contemplative/disciplines thing. These things seemt to coexist in one church at times, but individual churches can have each flavor. Some more conservativish churches step into emergent but not completely. Liberal churches go into acceptance of all things politically correct. Some are smiling with seeker friendly fluffy puffs. Suddenly, realizing they are fluffy puffs, they bring in some rhetoric to make their congregation feel guilty for going with the fad. Next comes the serious deeper prayer and self denial. What will come next? I am scared for people out there not paying attention...and trust me, it took a while for me to see it all around.
- 5:48 PM, January 18, 2010


text:
Bryan and I stopped in the mall quickly last night to do a little Christmas shopping, on our way through the holiday decor department Bryan pointed out an upside-down Christmas tree. I confidently rationalized to him that it must be just for the floor model display and that surely they weren't trying to sell one. Until…he pointed at the $450 price tag clearly marked Upside-down Christmas tree. Wha…why?
Still thinking about it I searched on the internet when I got home. Apparently it's a real thing. Only benefit I can see is that there is more room under the tree for present and Ray Ban outlet possibly takes up less floor space. But I can't get myself to like it anymore.
What do you think about upside-down Christmas tree? Any takers?


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|Pizza Muffins, Farmers Wife Original Recipe
So the other day when I asked him this fateful question his response was "Um... I want Pizza Muffins!" I was flabbergasted for about at a minute before asking him to describe what his vision of pizza muffins were. You see my little man loves to eat finger foods, anything that he can pick up and eat easily is a winner is his book (and mine too!) so I wasn't exactly surprised at his request so much as slightly repulsed at first. haha! But after talking about it, and thinking about it I figured out that it would litterally be a little pizza made into a muffin. So the taste would still be that of pizza. (Which was NOT what I first thought he meant.) Last night my little Sous Chef and I whipped up a batch of these to go with our family movie night, and I have to say he was right. These are pretty AWESOME! They were incredibly easy to make, and totally delicious. A great surprise for any kid to find in their lunchbox (they're good both cold and hot!) and will make them the envy of the cafeteria! ;-)
Ingredients: this recipe made 16 pizza muffins
Pizza Dough: adapted from Bread Machine Magic
(I made homemade but you can easily use a store bought dough)
This is for a bread machine (but can be made in a stand mixer)
1 Cup Water
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoons Oregano
2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
Pizza Sauce
Pepperoni, Sausage or preferred Pizza Meat
Shredded Cheese (I used Cheddar but Mozzarella would be good)
Diced Bell Peppers
Diced Onion
Diced Mushrooms
Sliced Black Olives
Diced Tomato
Diced Pineapple
To make the dough place all ingredients in the order listed into your bread machine, select the dough cycle and press start. Once the dough is done, turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, and grease your muffins tins. Take about 2 tablespoons worth of dough (a small ball) and press it into each muffin well, so that you create a little "bowl" inside the tin, repeat with remaining dough. Place about 1/2 teaspoon pizza sauce in the center of each well, then add your desired toppings, ending with cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is slightly golden and the cheese is melted. Serve warm with more sauce if desired.
My honest review of these is that they surprised me. We loved these, which was unexpected. They were devoured by my little sous chef, and smelled amazing while baking and were oddly enough elegant for pizza. haha! I'd give these 4.5 stars.
Happy Cooking!


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Bacterial Contamination Concerns Prompt Recall
Photo credit: monkeybusinessimages/iStock / 360/Getty Images
Stonyfield has voluntarily recalled certain batches of YoBaby Pear/Peach 4-ounce 6-pack yogurts after they realized that they could be contaminated with bacteria. An initial recall of 188 packs has since been expanded to include an additional 1,344 packs. See if the YoBaby yogurts you might have is included.
Product description: This recall focuses on 4-ounce 6-packs of Pear/Peach YoBaby yogurt. The affected products have the following date and UPC codes: June 05 2014 (UPC 052159701161).
Where/when they were sold: These recalled yogurt packs were sold at a variety of stores, such as Target, Safeway, Fred Meyer and Walmart (for the complete list, you'll need to check out Stonyfield's complete list of stores and locations here: www.stonyfield.com/recall).
Reason for the recall: Tests revealed that these packs might be contaminated with Klebsiella pneumoniae, a form of bacteria. This bacteria may be harmless, but it does cause illness in some people. There have been no reports of illness.
What you need to do: If you have a recalled pack, return your YoBaby yogurt to the store for a full refund.
Company information: You can contact Stonyfield at 1-800-PRO-COWS or via email at email@example.com.
More recalls
Recall: Rechargeable batteries used in Summer Infant video monitors
Recall: 1.3 million Evenflo convertible and booster car seats
Recall: My Sweet Love/My Sweet Baby Cuddle Care Baby Doll from Walmart


text:
Blake Clayton is a fellow for energy and national security at the Council on Foreign Relations. He contributes to the CFR blog "Energy, Security, and Climate."
(Ib Ohlsson)
With high gasoline prices across the United States, the long knives are out for speculators in the oil market. Elected officials worry that pain at the pump might cause them pain at the ballot box this fall. Last month, dozens of House and Senate Democrats sent a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) criticizing federal regulators for failing to police energy markets sufficiently, implying that Wall Street is culpable for the rising cost of gas. At the same time, President Barack Obama asked Attorney General Eric Holder to "pay attention to potential speculation in the oil markets" and reconstitute a task force to investigate whether Wall Street is artificially driving up oil prices. These moves mirror the popular view that reckless gambling in financial markets is catapulting retail gasoline prices far beyond what supply and demand warrant. A CNN poll found that 59 percent of Americans believe that "speculators and other investors who buy and sell oil in the financial markets" deserved "a great deal" of the blame for the rise in gasoline prices that occurred last spring.
What critics derisively refer to as "oil market speculation" is all too often a nebulous, epithetical catchall meant to bring to mind clandestine profiteering by financial tycoons at the expense of the rest of the nation. But casting the blame for high gas prices on speculators is sloganizing populism, not serious oil policy. Wall Street is a morally and politically convenient scapegoat for the country's energy woes -- and it is the wrong one. Speculation in the oil market, when properly regulated, helps energy prices respond efficiently to shifts in supply and demand, benefitting those that produce and consume energy, as well the economy at large.
In the popular media, the term "speculation" tends to refer to several types of activity that occur in the oil market. The first is the buying and selling of futures contracts, which are financial securities that give their holders the right to buy


text:
Remember the days when people would name their babies after, say, their great-grandmother? Well, consider Kourtney Kardashian the great-grandmother of our nation. A list of the most popular baby names state-by-state put out by the Social Security Administration proves that people are watching the Kardashians.
The most popular boy's name in 22 states ranging from Wisconsin to Kansas to Alaska is... Scott Disick! Haha. No, of course not. It's Mason. And the trend took off in 2009 when Kourtney gave birth. (Watch for Penelope to rank in a couple of years.)
If parents weren't naming their baby boys Mason, then they went for William, which ranked tops in 13 states like Virginia, Georgia and Arkansas.
For girls, Emma or Sophia took top honors for most states. Then there's Olivia, Isabella and Ava, which took top honors for the leftover states. In fact, in every single state except two, the most popular girl's name ended in "a." The only exception was Mississippi and South Carolina, where the most popular girl's name was Madison. Which, conversely, was the most popular boy's name in West Virginia.
I can just imagine little Madison (girl) from Mississippi meeting little Madison (boy) from West Virginia and being all, "Hey, you have a girl's name," and he's all, "Nuh-uh! You have a boy's name!"
The award for most original name choice goes to Iowa for Carter, that state's most popular boy's name. Other states that may have been influenced by celebrity moms are Florida with Jayden (Britney Spears) and Colorado and Vermont with Liam (Tori Spelling). The vast majority of popular boy's names end in either "m" or "n."
The biblical (or Twilight?!) name Jacob makes an appearance in four states, and the other biblical name, Noah, in one state, Hawaii. Surprisingly, New York is the only place where Michael is still tops. Maybe after Bloomberg? Haha. Yeah, not.
Do you notice the popularity of these names in your state? Is your kid's name Mason??
More from The Stir:
25 Glamorous Baby Names Inspired by Old Time Hollywood
52 Wackiest Celeb Baby Names of All Time


text:
From what I've played of Call of Juarez: The Cartel it appears to be just as bad as everyone worried it would. The game is packed with tiny glitches, odd AI behavior and questionable graphics. But it also has a couple of levels starring President Barack Obama.
OK, not really. What it really has is a DEA agent who likes to wear a Barack Obama rubber mask in the early missions while robbing and killing drug dealers, ala Point Break.
I plan to finish playing through the game, mostly because it's so very very bad, but I'd highly recommend you avoid the game. I'll let you know if, by some miracle, the game comes around in the bottom half or something.
I'm also still trying to figure out why all of the cars driving around in L.A. have Texas license plates.


text:
A man who won it big in the state lottery says he was targeted in a home invasion Wednesday night.
The home invasion in Craven County happened around 10:00 p.m. in the 1100 block of South West Craven Middle School Road.
Captain Joe Heckman says a woman in her 60's, her son and his girlfriend, along with two children were inside at the time.
The men wanted money, but the son, Kelvin Spears, chased them from the home. He says he wrestled the gun away from the first intruder, but then was hit in the head with brass knuckles from behind by a second man.
Heckman says the two got in their car, and Spears followed them into Lenoir County where he got a flat tire. The two men were then able to get away.
Spears says last month he won $70,000 in the lottery and that's why he thinks the men were there to rob him.
He says the two foster children inside the home slept through the whole ordeal.


text:
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Listen to sample tracks from upcoming artists.


text:
What is child marriage?
Why does child marriage happen?
How common is child marriage?
Where does child marriage happen?
How old are the children involved in child marriages?
What is the usual age difference between a child bride and her husband?
Are boys ever married off while still children?
What are the consequences of child marriage?
Is child marriage legal?
Is it insensitive to interfere with other countries' religious or cultural traditions around child marriage?
How can the world end child marriage?
What is the difference between child marriage, early marriage and forced marriage?
What does teen pregnancy have to do with child marriage?
What is child marriage?
Child marriage is a marriage in which one or both spouses are under 18 years old. Although this definition sounds straightforward, the realities of child marriage can be complicated. Both the words "child" and "marriage" are sometimes interpreted differently.
The internationally recognized definition of a child – established by the Convention of the Rights of the Child, one of the most universally endorsed and widely ratified treaties in history – is "every human being below the age of 18 years". This is also the legal definition used in most parts of the world.
But in a small number of countries, adulthood, or the "age of majority" may be reached before age 18. (The Convention on the Rights of the Child makes an exception for national laws recognizing an earlier age of majority.) Some countries and cultures consider adulthood a state achieved upon marriage – for example, countries where full age means the age of 18 years and above, and any married woman is deemed to be of full age. And other countries have an older minimum age of marriage, such as Nepal, where the law requires people be at least 20 when they marry.
The concept of marriage also varies – it can be formal or informal, governed by civil law, common law or religious law, or simply be a customary practice. In many parts of the world, for example, marriages may be recognized by the community without legal registration. Marriages may be marked with a ceremony, or there may be no ceremony or legal action at all. In countries where polygamous marriage is not permitted by civil law, second and third marriages often take place without formal registration.
Major surveys try to account for this variation when measuring child marriage. Multiple Indicators Cluster Surveys and Demographic Health Surveys, for example, collect information on the date and age at which women and men first started living with their first spouses or partners.
Regardless of these varying, child marriage is a serious human rights violation that directly threatens lives, health, safety and education of girls and boys, limiting their future prospects.
Why does child marriage happen?
It can be hard to imagine why someone would choose to have their child married off. But for millions of people, child marriage can seem like the best – or only – option.
Daughters are frequently seen as burdens or commodities because of pervasive gender inequality. Impoverished parents often believe marriage will secure a daughter's future by making a husband or his family responsible for her care. This may be the case when parents face economic hardships or when girls are forced by poverty or circumstance to drop out of school. In places where the bride's family pays a dowry to the groom's family, younger brides typically command smaller dowries, creating an incentive for parents to marry their daughters off early. In places where the groom's family pays a bride price, parents in difficult circumstances may marry off their daughters as a source of income.
Parents – especially in humanitarian crises – often view marriage as a way to protect their daughters from sexual violence. Child marriage rates have been known to increase during the chaos of war, as families endure both economic instability and fear of violence. Yet child marriage itself leads to girls experiencing high levels of sexual, physical and emotional violence from their intimate partners.
Although most adolescent pregnancies in the developing world take place among girls who are already married, in some places, teenage pregnancy prompts parents to marry their daughters off. This is seen in both wealthy and poor countries where communities consider pregnancy outside of marriage to be shameful. Girls may even be forced to marry rapists to spare their families the stigma associated with unmarried pregnancy.
And not all child marriages are the result of parents' or guardians' decisions. Often, adolescents themselves decide to marry their partner. These marriages may be a way to exercise independence, leave home or escape difficult circumstances, including desperate poverty or family violence. Restrictions on adolescent sexuality outside of marriage also drive some adolescents to see marriage as the only way to be sexually active.
In most cases, child marriage is the result of girls and families having few choices. Overwhelmingly, when young people have a choice, they marry later.
How common is child marriage?
Child marriage is actually very common.
More than 650 million women and girls alive today were married before their 18th birthday. Twenty-one per cent of young women (20-24 years old) around the world were child brides. And while child marriage is most prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, it also takes place in high-income countries.
There is good news: global child marriage rates are slowly falling. Around 2000, one in three women between the ages of 20 and 24 reported they had been married as children. In 2017, this number was just over one in five. Rates of child marriage before age 15 also fell, from 11 per cent in 2000 to 5 per cent in 2017.
Still, progress has been uneven and child marriage is not declining fast enough. Because of population growth in regions where child marriage is more prevalent, such as West and Central Africa, the rate of decline is slow and the total number of child marriages is projected to increase by 2030. To change this, we must accelerate our actions to end child marriage.
South Asia has seen dramatic declines in child marriage over the last decade, and now the global burden of child marriage is shifting to sub-Saharan Africa. Of the most recently married child brides, close to 1 in 3 are now in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 1 in 5 a decade ago. While sub-Saharan Africa still has some of the highest rates of child marriage, South Asia is home to the largest numbers of child brides.
Where does child marriage happen?
Child marriage takes place all over the world.
It even happens in developed countries – including the United States and United Kingdom. Many people assume that when child marriage takes place in affluent countries, it only involves immigrant communities. This is not the case. Child marriage is known to take place across a wide range of communities, ethnicities and religions.
Still, child marriage is much more common in the developing world because one of the main driving factors is poverty.
The highest rates of child marriage are seen in West and Central Africa, where over four in ten girls were married before age 18. In terms of sheer numbers, South Asia is home to the largest numbers of child brides.
How old are the children involved in child marriages?
Children can be married off at any age. The most common ages at which children are married are 16 and 17.
Marriages that take place before age 15 are considered "very early marriages." These marriages have a particularly negative impact on girls, interrupting their educations earlier and jeopardizing their health more acutely. The prevalence of these marriages vary by country. UNFPA has found that very early marriages constituted 30 per cent or more of child marriages in 14 out of 82 low- and middle-income countries for which data are available.
In circumstances where parents are under enormous pressure to marry off their daughters – for those living in extreme poverty or in conflict settings, for instance – marriages have been reported among girls around 11 or 12 because girls are seen both as being ready for marriage and at risk of sexual violence.
In some cases, children are as young as five when they are married, although this is rare. Extremely young brides and grooms are sometimes married in ceremony only, but live with their own parents until they are adolescents.
What is the usual age difference between a child bride and her husband?
Children who are married – and they are overwhelmingly girls – tend to have spouses who are much older. When this is the case, the girls are generally more vulnerable and less able to advocate for their needs and desires.
Demographic and health surveys (tools for collecting key health and demographic information) even track age differences between girls and their spouses. This information is used as one of a variety of factors to evaluate the well-being of girls a community.
Still, child marriages are not always unions between girls and much-older men. In some communities, it is customary to wed girls and boys who are similar ages.
Are boys ever married off while still children?
While the vast majority of child marriages involve girls, boys can also be married off.
UNFPA has found that in all 82 low- and middle-income countries for which there are data, the prevalence of child marriage is significantly lower for males than females. Only 1 in 25 boys (3.8 per cent) marry before they reach age 18, while marriage before age 15 is practically non-existent in boys (0.3 per cent). Only 10 countries have a child marriage prevalence for boys over 10 per cent – including 16 per cent in Madagascar; 14 per cent in Pakistan; 13 per cent in Central African Republic and the Lao People's Democratic Republic; 12 per cent in Comoros, Honduras, the Marshall Islands and Nauru; 11 per cent in Nepal; and 10 per cent in Guatemala.
Child marriage rates for boys are very low even in countries where child marriage among girls is relatively high.
What are the consequences of child marriage?
Child marriage undermines children's human rights and derails their lives and future opportunities.
At the most basic level, it denies children the right to choose – with full and free consent and without coercion or fear – whom to marry, and when. This is one of life's most important decisions.
And there are additional consequences. Child brides are more likely to become pregnant before their bodies are mature, increasing the risks of both maternal and newborn death and morbidity. In developing countries, nine out of 10 births to adolescent girls occur within a marriage or a union. In these countries, where access to sexual and reproductive health services is generally low, complications from pregnancy and childbirth can be deadly. In fact, globally, these complications are the leading cause of death among adolescent girls.
Children who are married off are also vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Contributing to this problem is the fact that girls who have dropped out of school are more vulnerable to child marriage and less likely to be equipped with information about protecting themselves from STIs and unplanned pregnancy.
Child brides are particularly vulnerable to abuse. They are less able to advocate for themselves and less able to escape abusive relationships. Mental illness is common among child brides, for example, due to their experience of violence. Girls who marry young are also more likely to think that wife beating is justified than women who marry later in life.
Married girls rarely enrol in school because they are expected to assume significant domestic responsibilities. This limits their future potential, and makes it harder for their families to escape poverty.
Lack of education and empowerment also mean girls are less able to advocate for the well-being of their own children. The children of child brides have higher mortality rates, worse nutritional outcomes, and tend to be less educated.
Cumulatively, child marriage takes an enormous toll on communities, workforces and economies, and the loss is carried over generations.
Is child marriage legal?
Child marriage is almost universally banned.
Two of the most broadly endorsed human rights agreements in the world, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), address child marriage. The CRC establishes the internationally agreed definition of a child, and the right of children to health, education, protection from violence, and protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, all of which are violated by child marriage. The CEDAW states unequivocally: "The betrothal and the marriage of a child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to specify a minimum age for marriage and to make the registration of marriages in an official registry compulsory." Together, these treaties have been signed or ratified by every country except one.
Still, there are some national laws that enable different interpretations of this agreed principle. Many countries permit exceptions with parental consent or under religious or customary law.
Even in places where child marriage is clearly legally prohibited, enforcement can be complicated by the fact that many child marriages – and many marriages in general – are not legally registered.
UNFPA works with governments to advocate stronger laws, policies and enforcement mechanisms to end child marriage. UNFPA is also working with men, women and young people, including adolescent girls, to address the root causes of child marriage – continuing poverty and gender inequality. UNFPA also supports married girls, particularly with sexual and reproductive health services and essential services responding to gender-based violence.
Is it insensitive to interfere with other countries' religious or cultural traditions around child marriage?
There are no major religious traditions that require child marriage. Yet child marriage persists, across many cultures and religions. But it would be wrong to say that child marriage warrants protection as a cultural or religious practice. Governments around the world have overwhelmingly, and independently, decided that child marriage is a grave violation of human rights.
In places where child marriage persists, evidence about its harms are usually convincing to policymakers, community leaders, religious leaders and parents. In fact, there are many examples of cultural and religious leaders taking a strong stance against child marriage. But prohibitions themselves are not always sufficient; because child marriage is typically the result of a lack of choices, and because it is viewed as the norm, families and communities also need alternatives.
How can the world end child marriage?
Laws prohibiting child marriage need to be enacted, strengthened and enforced. And more attention is needed to related laws such as on bride price and dowry, marital rape, birth and marriage registration, and mandatory schooling.
But laws alone will not end child marriage.
Fundamentally, gender equality must be advanced. When educating daughters is considered as worthwhile as educating sons, when communities – both men and women – give equal weight to the future potential of girls and boys, there is less motivation to engage in child marriage.
In addition, adolescent girls and boys are less likely to want to marry before age 18 when they are empowered with information about their sexual and reproductive health and when they are able to decide freely and responsibly matters related to their sexuality, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.
Improved circumstances for families can also reduce the incentive to marry off children. Families, including girls, need to be able to live in peace and move in safety. And extreme poverty, which drives so many child marriages, must be eradicated. For this, many changes are needed, including social safety nets for girls and their families, as well as improved access to education, health services and economic opportunities.
Girls can play an important role in ending child marriage – when they know their rights and have access to the right information and opportunities. UNFPA has seen that when girls are empowered to stand up for themselves, they can persuade their families to delay or cancel engagements. Instead, they can stay in school, gain skills and support their families economically. Many have been inspired to become advocates and leaders in their communities.
UNFPA and its partners are now working to bring these changes to the most vulnerable girls. The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to Accelerate Action to End Child Marriage is reaching girls in 12 countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East, and mobilizing a movement against child marriage globally. This programme is increasing girls' access to education and health-care services, and it is educating parents and communities on the consequences of child marriage. It is also contributing to a more girl-friendly legal and policy environment, and generating data on what works to address child marriage and related issues such as adolescent pregnancy, gender-based violence and HIV.
What is the difference between child marriage, early marriage and forced marriage?
People occasionally refer to the term "child, early and forced marriage." This creates the impression that these terms are distinct. In fact, they are overlapping.
Child marriage and early marriage largely refer to the same thing: marriages in which one or both spouses are under 18 years old. However, early marriage is also sometimes used to describe marriages in which one or both spouses are 18 or older, but with a compromised ability to grant consent. For example, the marriage of a 19-year-old who is not physically or emotionally mature, or who does not have sufficient information about her choices, would be considered an early marriage.
Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or both spouses do not give full and free consent, regardless of age. Forced marriage can also refer to a union in which one or both spouses are unable to end or leave the marriage.
Because in most countries children are not considered able to give legal consent, all child marriages are sometimes considered forced marriages. However, there are many instances of two adolescents under the age of 18 marrying each other voluntarily.
What does teen pregnancy have to do with child marriage?
In the developing world, around 90 per cent of adolescent births (those among girls 15-19 years old) take place among girls who are already married. This means that child marriage is often a precursor to early pregnancy, which poses a host of health risks to girls whose bodies may not yet be mature enough for motherhood. Globally, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among adolescent girls.
In some places, the causality is reversed. While most adolescent childbearing occurs within marriage, it is not uncommon for first births that occur within marriage to be the result of premarital conceptions. Teenage pregnancy is often an incentive for parents to marry their daughters off. This is seen in countries all over the world where communities see pregnancy outside marriage as shameful. Girls may even be forced to marry rapists to spare their families the stigma associated with unmarried pregnancy.
Updated 15 January 2019


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Pictured: Kate Buesser leads Harvard in scoring with 10
goals and 26 points this season.
Photo courtesy: Gil Talbot Photography
HANOVER, N.H – Kate Buesser scored two goals and added an assist, while Randi Griffin and Liza Ryabkina each dished out two helpers to lead the seventh-ranked Harvard women's hockey team to a 4-1 victory over Dartmouth Friday afternoon at Thompson Arena. Laura Bellamy earned the win in goal, making a career-high 37 saves. Kathryn Farni and Kaitlin Spurling also found the back of the net for the Crimson.
After a scoreless first period, the Crimson earned a power play early in the second frame at 1:02, and wasted little time to capitalize on the advantage. After losing a faceoff in the Dartmouth zone, Harvard (11-5-4, 9-5-2, 4-2-2) stole the puck and set up at the perimeter. Leanna Coskren made a quick pass to Farni, who fired a shot through traffic, beating Big Green goaltender Mariel Lacina for a power-play tally at 1:18. Less than six minutes later, Dartmouth (8-12-2, 5-10-1, 3-5-0) knotted the game on a chance by Sally Komarek on an odd-skater rush at 7:05.
The Crimson regained a lead, 2-1, as Buesser knocked home a pass from Ryabkina in front of the goal at the 16:32 of the second period. Griffin earned the secondary assist on the score, finding Ryabkina down low in the left faceoff circle.
Midway through the third, Cori Bassett and Ryabkina collected assists on Buesser's second goal of the afternoon. Buesser received a pass just above the right faceoff circle and wristed a shot over Lacina's blocker, making it 3-1 at 11:09. With two minutes remaining in the game, Spurling put the game out of reach for the Crimson, notching Harvard's fourth goal of the contest, as Buesser and Griffin handed out assists.
Dartmouth outshot the Crimson, 38-28, but Harvard held the Big Green scoreless on five power plays. The Crimson will return to Bright Hockey Center Saturday to host No. 9 Providence at 4 p.m.
Buesser Notches Pair of Goals for No. 7 Women's Hockey in 4-1 Win at Dartmouth
Pictured: Kate Buesser leads Harvard in scoring with 10
goals and 26 points this season.


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A Fall From Grace
In short, it's nuts.
In short, it's nuts.
This film tells us that the gulf between what we want to know and what we can know may never be illuminated.
Roger Ebert on James Ivory's "Howards End".
"The Ballad of Narayama" is a Japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. What a space it opens…
An article about today's noon premiere of a new movie about architect Benjamin Marshall at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
An article about the screening of Horace Jenkins' "Cane River" on Friday, November 1st, at the Academy Film Archive in Los Angeles.
Scout Tafoya's series on underrated films heads into the 2020s with a Tony Scott classic.
Scout Tafoya's video essay series about maligned masterpieces celebrates Steven Soderbergh's Solaris.
Theo Angelopoulos' Landscape in the Mist is a work of art that comes from the feelings, the dreams, the sorrows, and the flashes of life…
Far Flung Correspondent Seongyong Cho pens a letter to Roger about Michael Apted's 63 Up.
Theo Angelopoulos' Landscape in the Mist is a work of art that comes from the feelings, the dreams, the sorrows, and the flashes of life…
An interview with Gil Robertson, president of the African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), which will hold its 11th annual ceremony on Wednesday, January 22nd,…
In your average movie, helicopter shots are just for decoration. The camera soars over a breathtaking landscape or cityscape to show off the scenery and the production budget. These glorified establishing shots make the scale and the scope of the movie appear to be more expansive, even if they really aren't.
In Baran bo Odar's first-rate thriller "The Silence," the aerial panoramic images, which survey undeniably gorgeous slices of Bavarian countryside, express so much more. This is a movie about the gaps between two points in time and space — the murders of two young girls in the same spot, 23 years apart — and the invisible connections the deaths forge between people: Peer (Ulrich Thomsen), the maintenance worker who rapes and kills Pia (Helene Doppler); Timo (Wotan Wilke Mohring), his passive accomplice; Elena (Katrin Sass), Pia's mother, who still takes flowers to the memorial on the bucolic spot where her daughter died; Krischan Mittich (Burghart Klaussner), the retired police detective haunted by his inability to solve Pia's homicide; the Weghamms (Roeland Wiesnekker and Karoline Eichhorn), whose daughter, Sinikka (Anna Lena Klenke), becomes the second victim; Matthias Grimmer (Oliver Stokowski), the lead investigative officer on the new case who believes it's merely a copycat killing, and his partner, David Jahn (Sebastian Blomberg), a damaged soul mourning the recent loss of his wife to cancer, who detects more personal links between the crimes.
The overhead images from helicopters and cranes are integral to the telling of the story, but also essential to tracking its reverberations. The twin killings in "The Silence" aren't just crimes against individuals; they're crimes against the natural order. Sometimes the aerial views are simply date-stamped chapter markers, dividing the narrative into discrete blocks of time; sometimes the camera rises as if tracing a silent howl of grief across the temporal and spatial landscape; sometimes they feel like the manifestations of an objective moral intelligence — not a "God's-eye-view," exactly, but a kind of cosmic perspective tracing the marks human beings make upon the Earth, literally and figuratively.
The film begins on a sizzling day in July, 1986. The camera closes in on two brown exterior doors in an anonymous apartment complex. Behind one of them, two men sit in semi-darkness, watching a grimy 16mm amateur bondage movie. A fan buzzes in the corner and an amber sliver of afternoon sunlight is exposed under the blinds. When the film runs out, the two men silently exit the building, walk to the garage and get into a car. They act with solemn determination, having apparently reached some sort of unspoken agreement about where they're going and what they plan to do. The camera watches them — and the heedless everyday life all around them — from directly overhead. Until their vehicle comes up on a girl riding her bike beside the road, the view shifts to ground-level; in a chilling moment, she veers off the highway and down a perpendicular dirt road, riding directly away from the camera. The car passes by and, seconds later, backs into the frame and turns down the side road after her.
In the last decade or so, the northern Europeans have surpassed the Americans in the making of deeply unsettling thrillers that are gripping to watch and stay with you afterward — from the "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (2010) trilogy to "The Bridge" ("Bron/Broen") on television. American thrillers tend to be polished but stay focused on the superficial; they're mainly about action, about interchangeable people and machines doing things. They leave out the juicy stuff that's harder to convey — like who the people are, how they feel, what motivates them (beyond the formulaic contrivances necessary to the plot), and the physical and psychological details of the worlds in which they live. But this is what immerses you in a movie, not the simple mechanics of plot and action.
The obvious comparison here (girl murdered in the countryside of a Scandinavian nation; two flawed detectives investigate; grief-stricken parents) is "The Killing." But that was a popular Danish TV series (later, a not-that-popular American one on AMC), and "The Silence" is a German film. This isn't exactly a whodunit; we know the killer (of the first victim, anyway) from the start. We're witnesses to her brutal death, obscured by stalks of wheat in the vast field where her life ends. The mysteries here are larger, deeper, more ineffable than the purely practical concerns of crime-solving: motive, means and opportunity.
What's exceptional about "The Silence" is its style — the kinds of textures and colors that create memorable moments like those above. At times I was reminded of the symphony of grief reverberating through Twin Peaks after the discovery of Laura Palmer's body in the pilot of David Lynch's landmark series; the maddening, unresolved ambiguities of Bong Joon-Ho's "Memories of Murder," and David Fincher's "Zodiac," another film in which certain answers remain known and unknown at the same time. "The Silence" is the not-knowing.
The 2020 Oscar nominations.
A review of Netflix's Dracula, from the creators of Sherlock.
A review of the new Netflix crime docuseries about former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez.
A collection of the reviews given our highest possible grade in 2019.


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Hit the Poolside Lounge July 5th for the second Summer Pop-Up Series.
Our first pop-up alliance with Topshop Topman was a big hit earlier this month. The follow-up, from 6pm to 10pm on July 5th will offer more of the same: swim, drink, and the chance to buy this season's hottest styles for men and women while celebrating long summer nights with guest deejays (July 5th's DJ isThe lead singer of Pains of Being Pure At Heart, Peggy Wang) and a cash bar serving Thompson LES' signature cocktails.
For each event, Thompson LES's Room 100 will be transformed into a customized boutique, opening up onto the hotel's third floor pool terrace. Topshop Topman's personal shopping team is again curating the space.
Shoppers will also receive a complimentary "Summer Survival Tote" with foursquare check in. Open to the public, the Topshop Topman Pop-Up Series will run on specific Thursday eves through the summer, including July 5th, August 2nd and September 6th.


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Corn and wheat were lower today while beans continued to find support finishing five cents higher. December corn ended up settling the day 5 ¾ cents lower at $4.99 ¼. November beans settled for the day five cents higher at $10.93 ½. December wheat was the weakest contract on the board settling the day 22 ½ cents lower at $6.97 ¼.
This morning the USDA released its weekly export sales numbers and we also had a Census Crush report. The weekly sales for corn were at the low end of the estimates at 561,000mt. Wheat sales were also at the low end of the range of trade estimates due to the cancellation of 490,500mt of 2011-2012 wheat. This brought the weekly sales to 459,800mt. Beans seem to have found continued support due to solid weekly sales at 1.08 million mt and also a slightly better than expected crush number of 128.1 million bushels versus the trade estimate of 127 million bushels.
The USDA also announced the sales of 120,000mt of US soybeans to China and also another 120,000mt of soybeans to an unknown buyer both for 2010-2011 delivery. We need to be sure to keep in mind that Chinese demand has been pegged by the USDA at 55 Million MT's this year. This means on average they have to import 1.06 Million MT's from either the U.S. or S. America every week to keep up with expected demand.
Open interest continues to climb. Soybean's open interest is about 550,000 contracts which is only 67,000 contracts away from its all-time high in February 2008. Corn's open interest is about 1.42 million contracts which compares to the all-time high of 1.546 million contracts in February 2007. With such high open interest and a market largely supported by speculative investment we are likely to see volatility kept high. The trend remains bullish for corn/soybeans.
Other commodities have been rallying right along with grains such as the metals and softs. Gold posted a new all-time high yesterday at 1298 per ounce (December).
Tomorrow is the October option expiration for grains. Much of the corn option open interest is at the $5 level and often times the market leans towards this area of high open interest heading into expiration. Next week we will be at the end of the month/end of the quarter. Many technical support levels still remain well below current prices so we recommend staying adequately hedged. If you would like to get more protected please call your broker to discuss current strategies.
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