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It is 5:00 a.m. on a cold dark Colorado morning. Twenty-five SWAT team officers, clad in black helmets, body armor, wielding assault weapons, large clear shields, and heavy iron battering rams, surround a quiet residential home, shatter the front door, and throw flash-bang grenades and tear gas inside.
The team of 25 militarized cops stream into the house, screaming obscenities, shattering the terrified childrens' sleep and jarring the scared parents awake. The SWAT team then literally destroys the home and the furniture within, slashing couches, overturning bookcases, throwing possessions all over the floor, carting the crying children off to Social Services or foster care, and throwing the parents to the ground at gunpoint, handcuffing them painfully before carting them off to the police station.
The SWAT team then locates its target: a couple dozen three-foot high cannabis plants in a modest indoor basement garden, and a pound or so of dried plant matter, some lights, some fertilizer, and a few books on how to grow marijuana.
This is not an extreme example. This scene literally happens every day in America, a nation that loudly professes that it is a "free" country, but that leads the globe in per capita incarceration of its own people, a rate that exceeds those of human rights leaders such as North Korea, China, and Iran, due mostly to the war on drugs.
And this scene embodies America's war on marijuana. A government this large, this powerful, this intrusive, this belligerent, is necessary to fight this modern-day prohibition against a simple herb that approximately half of the American adult population has consumed at some point in their lives. There are so many reasons this must change:
1. Money
The war on marijuana costs us money. The direct costs to local, state, and federal governments are staggering and exceed a trillion dollars. Police, prosecutors, probation officers, judges, courts, jailers, prison guards, and defense lawyers form a massive prison-industrial complex that distracts limited resources away from our failing economy and other more important priorities. The indirect costs to the economy, though more difficult to quantify, are probably higher in the form of people removed from their families and their jobs, the opportunity costs of distracted police and jammed courts too busy to adjudicate important criminal and civil cases. We also lose out on the benefits of industrial hemp, which has no recreational effect but which could be an extremely useful crop for American farmers and industry.
And all of this money has been wasted -- accomplishing, like so many other heavy-handed government programs, the precise opposite result of that which was intended. Even the U.S. government's drug czar (it is appropriate that this government position is named after an imperial Russian tyrant), Gil Kerlikowski, admits that the 40-year experiment with drug prohibition has been an abject failure.
Decades of drug prohibition has not accomplished a single of its goals. Albert Einstein's definition of insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." As our governments at all levels pour more lawyers, guns, and money into this militarized marijuana prohibition, people still obtain it -- easily -- and supply and demand is totally uninterrupted on a macro scale; one dealer falls, another pops up. Under Einstein's definition, our government is literally insane.
2. Freedom
The war on marijuana is alien to the principles of a free nation founded on the principles of limited government and personal responsibility. The negative impact of marijuana prohibition laws far outstrip the negative impact of the substance itself, which is one of the few things on Earth that has no practical lethal dose, it is basically harmless.
Humans in all cultures have used the cannabis plant since the dawn of history for medicinal, spiritual, industrial, and recreational purposes; only in the 20th century did it occur to any government to prohibit it. Thomas Jefferson and other founders grew cannabis on their plantations. The Declaration of Independence is written on hemp paper. Even Genesis 1:29 confirms that God gave man every seed-bearing plant on the Earth. God giveth, government taketh.
The history of American marijuana prohibition and "reefer madness" shows that its practical and legal basis is a house of cards. An outgrowth of alcohol prohibition which arose in roughly the same era, marijuana prohibition was born out of racially-charged fears of Mexicans and blacks.
For the American government to prohibit the cannabis plant, that government must declare war on its own principles. Such a prohibition then contributes to overall erosion in the general population's respect for the rule of law, because the aggressive enforcement of this law touches so many people and makes the law itself -- not just marijuana laws, but all laws and law enforcement officials -- a joke.
The body armor-clad government stormtroopers are necessary to prosecute the war on marijuana. That level of expensive and intrusive force is necessary if cannabis, widely used and widely accepted, is to be prohibited from our private homes and lives. But perhaps the best brief against prohibition is the fact that marijuana is widely available to prisoners in America's prisons and jails. Prisons and jails are the most tightly regulated, highly government-controlled locations in the world. If the government cannot keep marijuana outside of these places, can anyone seriously argue prohibition is enforceable in the general population?
3. Safety
The war on marijuana, like alcohol prohibition before it, creates and fuels the criminal underclass, organized crime, and domestic and foreign drug cartels. It is basic Economics 101: where there is a demand, a supply will be created to meet it, period. Human demand for marijuana, like alcohol, has lasted thousands of years, and will never go away. Leading economists like Milton Friedman have long seen the drug war as an economically-bankrupt policy.
If marijuana were legalized and taxed, violent drug cartels would lose the principal source of their income. Marijuana ought to be treated like a more dangerous substance: alcohol, available at the corner liquor store, and taxed and regulated. How many Mexican drug cartels smuggle beer over the border? Ban it, and you would see many. Create a regulated legal market for it, and the drug cartels are not involved.
4. Children
It is literally easier for American schoolchildren to obtain marijuana than beer.
That is because the government has created the black market in marijuana, making it more accessible to children. There is no black market in beer. It is relatively cheap and easy to obtain, for adults, but difficult for children. Prohibition increases childrens' attraction to marijuana; the "forbidden fruit" is always sweeter.
For all of these reasons and many more, Americans have now passed the critical 50 percent threshold in support for legalization of marijuana. (These polls typically understate support, as many Americans are understandably reluctant to admit to using or supporting marijuana to an anonymous telephone surveyor.) Even conservative televangelist Pat Robertson recently acknowledged that marijuana ought to be legal.
It is long past time for politicians at all levels to end this bankrupt policy of Prohibition, and stop breaking down the doors of Americans who only want to possess a harmless plant in the comfort of their own homes.


text:
Medium: copic pens + hb pencil [lead and red]
Tattoo changes allowed: two tone or black / grey wash.
One of a kind, never to be repeated or duplicated. No matter if your Purpose is "fine art" or "tattoo".
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flicker 047
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We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values…when machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered.
— Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967
While the US celebrates the re-election of its first African American President and the successes of numerous African Americans in all walks of life, there remain troubling challenges.
While remembering how far this nation has come since Dr. King was alive, we cannot forget how far we have still to go to combat the oppressions of racism, materialism and militarism.
Whites have 22 times more wealth than blacks and 15 times more wealth than Latinos. Median household net worth for whites was $110,000 versus $4,900 for blacks versus $7,424 for Latinos, according to CNN Money and the Census Bureau.
African Americans are 12.3 percent of the population but 4.7 percent of attorneys.
Latinos are 15.8 percent of the population but only 2.8 percent of attorneys.
African American students face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school classes and are more likely to be taught by less experienced and lower paid teachers according to a government sponsored national survey of 72,000 schools.
13% of whites, 21% of blacks and 32% of Hispanics lack health insurance, according to the Kaiser Foundation.
The latest Census analysis shows 9% of white families below the US poverty level and 23% of Black and Hispanic families below the same levels.
The chairman of Goldman Sachs was awarded $21 million in total pay for 2012 according to the Wall Street Journal.
From 1978 to 2011, compensation for workers grew by 5.7 percent. During the same time, CEO compensation grew by 725 percent. In 1965 CEO earned about 20 times the typical worker. In 2011, the typical CEO "earned" over 200 times the typical worker.
The top 1% of earners took home 93% of the growth in incomes in 2010, while middle income household have lower incomes than they did in 1996, according to Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz.
People in the US spent $52 billion on pets in 2012, according to the American Pet Products Association. The latest figures from the Census Bureau indicate the US spends less than $50 billion per year in non-military foreign aid.
Student loan debt is now higher than total credit card debt and total auto loan debt.
Over 2.8 million children in the US live in homes of extreme poverty, less than $2 per person per day before government benefits. This is double what it was 15 years ago.
Nearly one in six people in the US live in poverty according to the Census. One in five children live in poverty. Latest information shows 17% of white children in poverty, 32% of Hispanic children and 35% of black children.
The US spends more on its military than any country in the world. The US spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined! More than China, Russia, UK, France, Japan, Indian, Saudi Arabia, German and Brazil together.
The 2013 military budget authorizes spending $633 billion on our military defense, not including money for the Veterans Administration. The VA budget submission for 2013 is $140 billion. To compare, total federal spending on Social Security for 2012 was about $773 billion.
The US has 737 military bases outside the US around the world and over 2 million military personnel, including Defense Department and local hires.
The US leads the world in the sale of weapons in the global arms market. In 2011 the US tripled sales to $66 billion making up three-quarters of the global market. Russia was second with less than $5 billion in sales.
45% of the 1.6 million veterans from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking disability benefits from physical and mental injuries suffered while in the service.
Suicides in active US military, 349 in 2012, exceeded the 295 total combat deaths in Afghanistan in 2012, according to the Associated Press.
These are challenges we should face with the hope and courage Dr. King and so many others have taught us as we celebrate his accomplishment and his inspiration.


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Following days of criticism, the Browns have decided to cancel a promotion to hand out white flags to fans before Sunday's game against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Because white flags symbolize surrender, the giveaway seemed to imply the Browns were giving up against the Steelers, who have won 16 of the past 17 games between the AFC North foes.
Browns spokesman Neal Gulkis said in a statement on Saturday that the team scrapped the idea "in the best interests of everyone. It is something that was intended to be fun for our fans and that they could rally around, and we regret that some didn't perceive it that way."
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press


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Lakshmi Temples
Photos Gallery
lakshmi songs
Link to Us
About us
Lakshmi Temples
Photos Gallery
lakshmi songs
Link to Us
About us
Lakshmi is the hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. She is also called "shri". She is wife of
Maha Vishnu
. Lakshmi is looks as exceptionally beautiful, standing or sitting on a lotus with four hands. Lakshmi is worshipped as the household goddess in most Hindu families, It called
varalakshmi vratham
The word ''Lakshmi'' is derived from the Sanskrit word Laksme, meaning "goal" Lakshmi, therefore, represents the goal of life. goddess lakshmi also worshipped as mather of the world. She is famouse hindu goddess worshiped by Hindhus and Jains. Ashtalakshmi is wealth and prosperity goddess.
It is believed that where people worship Lakshmi, there is wealth. Wealth does not only mean material prosperity, it also includes the nobler aspects of life, the ethical and the moral values.
Ashta lakhsmi are a group of secondary manifestations. Ashta lakshmi mean eight numbers of Lakshmis. they are Adhi lakshmi, Dhanya lakshmi, Dhairya lakshmi, Ghaja lakhmi, Santhana lakhmi, Vijaya lakshmi, vidhya lakhmi, Dhaya lakhmi
Name of Lalskhmi
Goddess Lakshmi is regularly worshipped in home shrines and temples by her devotees. Lakshmi Puja can be done daily but the month of October is specially meant for lakshmi in this month, on the full moon night of 'Kojagari Purnima' Lakshmi Puja is celebrated.
© 2009-2010 - Ashta lakshmi .com


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By Bill Fletcher, Jr.
NNPA Columnist
I was pleased that President Obama spent so much time on the matter of economic inequality and the need to raise the minimum wage in his State of the Union address. Better late than never. But there was something that he did not address that I wish that he had taken up. Stated simply, if you want to overcome economic inequality and raise wages, you need labor unions.
Yes, at one point the president did mention the term "labor leaders," but what has been striking throughout most of his presidency is that he is neither an advocate for labor unions nor one who figures out a way to slip in the basic fact that labor unions are the single most effective route to raising the living standard of working people. This, by the way, is not a disputable point. Study after study demonstrates that unionized workers earn more in wages and benefits than do non-union workers. There is also sufficient real-life experience to know that it was through good-paying, unionized employment – whether private sector or public sector – that workers were able to earn enough to buy homes and send their children to college.
While I certainly support the president's call for an increase in the minimum wage and his appeal to employers to voluntarily ensure that their employees are making at least $10.10/hour, such a wage is clearly insufficient. How many of us can live, these days, on $10.10/hour ($21,008 a year)? No, the answer is that the economic inequality in this country must be addressed by putting more wealth into the hands of the people who create the wealth in the first place – the people who work, who produce things, who keep this country running.
But the president should know this. Yet, year after year it is as if labor unions are an afterthought, unless he is addressing a union audience.
There is a famous quote from President Franklin Roosevelt, where he stated that were he to go to work in a factory, the first thing that he would do would be to join a labor union. I cannot imagine President Obama saying something like that, as much as I would like to hear it in one of his eloquent speeches. The bottom line, however, is that regardless of what he may think about unions, he certainly does not feel compelled to say anything approximating FDR's words because there is little pressure on him to do so.
So, once again, it is up to us to actually write his script. And that means changing the so-called facts on the ground, and creating enough mass pressure around economic inequality; around workplace health and safety; around job discrimination; and rights at work, that the president has no choice but to publicly stand with working people in insisting on their right and necessity to join or form unions if we are to turn things around.
Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a racial justice, labor and global justice activist and writer. He is a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies. He is the author of "They're Bankrupting Us" – And Twenty Other Myths about Unions. Follow him on Facebook and atwww.billfletcherjr.com.


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10 Secrets of the Vatican Exposed
By the mag
Our 9th annual '10 Issue' hits newsstands this week. To celebrate, here's an article on the Vatican from last year's edition.
By David Goldenberg
Vatican City may have fewer than 1,000 citizens and span only 110 acres, but it also has a multimillion-dollar budget and an unbelievably complex history. Understanding how it all works requires parsing through centuries of religious texts. Is the Vatican confusing and mysterious? Is the Pope Catholic? Here's a look behind the scenes.
1. Regular Exorcise!
Baudelaire once said that "the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist." But in modern-day Vatican City, the devil is considered alive and well. The former Pope John Paul II personally performed three exorcisms during his reign, and the current Pope Benedict XVI is expanding the ranks of Catholic-sponsored exorcists throughout the world. In fact, Father Gabriele Amorth, the Church's chief exorcist, claims to expel more than 300 demons a year from the confines of his Vatican office, and there are more than 350 exorcists operating on behalf of the Catholic Church in Italy alone. Amorth also teaches bishops how to tell the difference between satanic possession and psychiatric illness, noting that those who suffer from the former seem to be particularly repulsed by the sight of holy water and the cross.
2. Where Thieves Go to Prey
With 1.5 crimes per citizen, Vatican City has the highest crime rate in the world.
It's not that the cardinals are donning masks and repeatedly robbing the bank, it's just that the massive crowds of tourists make Vatican City a pickpocket's paradise. The situation is complicated by the fact that the Vatican has no working prison and only one judge. So most criminals are simply marched across the border into Italy, as part of a pact between the two countries. (The Vatican's legal code is based on Italy's, with some modifications regarding abortion and divorce.) Crimes that the Vatican sees fit to try itself—mainly shoplifting in its duty-free stores—are usually punished by temporarily revoking the troublemaker's access to those areas. But not every crime involves theft. In 2007, the Vatican issued its first drug conviction after an employee was found with a few ounces of cocaine in his desk.
3. The Worst Confessions
Some sins are simply too much for a local bishop to forgive. While priests can absolve a sin as serious as murder (according to the Church), there are five specific sins that require absolution from the Apostolic Penitentiary. This secretive tribunal has met off and on for the past 830 years, but in January of 2009, for the first time ever, its members held a press conference to discuss their work.
Three of the five sins they contemplate can only be committed by the clergy. If you're a priest who breaks the seal of confession, a priest who offers confession to his own sexual partners, or a man who has directly participated in an abortion and wants to become a priest, then your case must go before the tribunal to receive absolution. The other two sins can be committed by anyone. The first, desecrating the Eucharist, is particularly bad because Catholics believe that the bread and wine transubstantiate into the body and blood of Christ. Messing with them is like messing with Jesus. And then, there's the sin of attempting to assassinate the Pope. That one's pretty self-explanatory.
The meetings of the Apostolic Penitentiary are kept confidential because they're a different form of confession. The sinner is referred to by a pseudonym, and only the Major Penitentiary, Cardinal James Francis Stafford, decides how the sin shall be dealt with. Presumably, a bunch of Hail Marys doesn't cut it.
4. Read the Pope's Mail
The most famous letter there is probably Henry VIII's request that his marriage to Catherine of Aragón be annulled, which Pope Clement VII denied. Henry divorced Catherine anyway and married Anne Boleyn (and four other women), leading to Rome's break with the Church of England. The archives also contain an abundance of red ribbons, which were used to bind 85 petitions from English clergyman and aristocrats.
5. The Pope Likes to Text Message
Pope Benedict XVI routinely sends text messages of his homilies to mobile subscribers around the world, and in 2009, the Vatican opened up an official YouTube channel to show various Papal addresses and ceremonies. The Vatican even released an iPhone application that contains multilingual versions of the Breviary prayer book and the prayers of daily mass. But the Pope's enthusiasm for technology isn't limited to cell phones and the Internet. The Vatican has also added solar panels to the roof of the Pope Paul VI auditorium as part of its commitment to fight climate change.
6. They Have the Finest Swiss Bodyguards
Today, the hundred or so members of the Swiss Guard spend most of their time bedecked in Renaissance garb, twirling their halberds in ceremonies or manning checkpoints around the Vatican. When the Guards are actually protecting the Pope, they wear plain clothes and carry distinctly modern weapons.
7. The Mafia Dipped into the Collection Plate
In The Godfather: Part III, a shady deal between the mafia and the Vatican leads to the murder of the Pope. Was this based on a true story? Possibly. On the morning of September 29, 1978, Pope John Paul I was found dead, sitting up in his bed, after only 33 days in office. Although Vatican officials claimed the 65-year-old pope died of a heart attack, there was never an autopsy, and at the time, the Vatican definitely had ties to organized crime. Sure enough, in 1982, Vatican Bank president Father Paul Marcinkus resigned from his post after a series of scandals exposed the bank's ties to the mafia. Eventually, the bank had to repay more than $200 million to its creditors. But Marcinkus was never indicted of a crime. And though he was suspected of being involved in several mysterious deaths, including Pope John Paul I's, Marcinkus successfully claimed diplomatic immunity in the United States and retired to Arizona in 1990.
8. There's No Vice-Pope
Once a cardinal becomes the Pope, he's the designated leader of the Catholic Church and God's representative on Earth for the rest of his life. As with Supreme Court justices, he can resign before his death, but that's unlikely. (It's been more than 500 years since the last papal resignation.) Further, as modern medicine improves, even seriously ill people tend to stick around longer, meaning that a Pope could be alive but unable to perform his duties for years, as was the case with John Paul II. What happens then? Well, no one is really sure. A cardinal can take over the Pope's responsibilities as the Vatican's head of state, but no one else is allowed to carry out his ceremonial duties. In the end, many masses and benedictions simply go unperformed until the Pope either passes away or recovers.
9. Faith-Based Economics
The Vatican needs several hundred million dollars per year to operate. Its many financial responsibilities include running international embassies, paying for the Pope's travels around the world, maintaining ancient cathedrals, and donating considerable resources to schools, churches, and health care centers. So where does that money come from? Catholics pay tithes to their local parishes and donate about $100 million every year to the Vatican itself. But collection plates aren't the Vatican's only source of money. The city-state also gets cash from books, museums, stamps, and souvenir shops. (Get your limited-edition Vatican euros here!)
But that's not always enough. By the end of 2007, the city-state was $13.5 million in the hole. Part of the problem was the weakened American dollar, which translated into less purchasing power. Another contributing factor was the lackluster performance of the Vatican's newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. To boost subscriptions, the Pope has asked the editor to spice up the layout with more photos and allowed him to cover world news stories in addition to the traditional religious fare.
10. Even the ATMs Are in Latin
The Vatican Bank is the only bank in the world that allows ATM users to select Latin to perform transactions. That's just one symbol of the Holy See's continued devotion to the language. Pope Benedict XVI has been particularly passionate about reviving the language and purportedly holds many informal conversations in Latin. (Pope John Paul II generally spoke Polish.)
The Vatican's Latin Foundation tries to keep the language relevant by translating modern phrases into the ancient tongue. In 2003, they released an updated dictionary that included the terms "rush hour" (tempus maximae frequentiae) and "dishwasher" (escariorum lavatory). Interestingly, the translations can have serious consequences. A recent U.S. lawsuit was brought against the Vatican for conspiring to protect a child-molesting priest, and it was held up for months as the Church's experts rejected the prosecuting team's Latin translations of terms such as "conspiracy to commit fraud."
This article originally appeared in the May-June 2009 issue of mental_floss magazine.


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ON Air Now
Coming Up Next
Previous Posts
You will have only begun to scratch the surface by identifying the masterful Harvey Mason as just a drummer. Yes, his precision time keeping and versatility have placed him among THE most in-demand and most recorded session drummers of all-time. Yes, his tumbling tom-tom fills and the lickity slick synchronization between his hi-hat cymbals, snare and bass drums are instantly recognizable signatures. Yes, he's been hired by everyone from Barbra Streisand to James Brown to Mary J to Herbie Hancock to Jennifer Hudson to Frank Sinatra to John Legend to the London Symphony Orchestra. Yes, he has won four 1st place plaques from Modern Drummer magazine's annual studio poll and has been the first call drummer for the Academy Awards ceremonies on 25 occasions.
He's composed and written songs recorded by artists ranging from Nancy Wilson , Mary J. Blige, Notorius Big and T.I.
As a producer, he introduced the world to the Hawaii-based Christian jazz septet Seawind, which inadvertently brought one of the most in-demand horn arrangers (Jerry Hey) and horn sections (the Seawind horns) to Los Angeles and promptly introduced them to Quincy Jones as the tightest and most creative horn section he'd ever heard. (Quincy obviously agreed) He also produced the debut album by Midnight Star (The Beginning), inaugurating what would become one of the '80s most influential techno-funk groups, Lee Ritenour's largest selling hit, "Is it You" and Dionne Warwick (Fragile).
Harvey is a founding member of the contemporary jazz "super group"ƒOURPLAY , where he flexes his writing, playing, arranging and production skills with partners Bob James, Nathan East and Chuck Loeb (the latter of whom replaced Larry Carlton who had replaced original member Lee Ritenour). ƒOURPLAY's debut album sat atop Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart for thirty-four weeks, leading to a platinum album, three subsequent gold discs, a Soul Train Music Award and 10 Grammy nominations, to date.
The roots of Harvey Mason's rhythm are as ingrained as DNA. Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on February 22, 1947, he reveled in the rhythms of life as they manifested themselves all around him. He began taking formal drum lessons at age 7, playing in school bands and finally buying his first drum set at the age of 16. Harvey continued his musical education first at the Berklee School of Music, then on full scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music, studying performance, composing, arranging, percussion and mallets. He received immeasurable preparation for orchestral work from the legendary Vic Firth, tympanist with the Boston Symphony. During his time in Boston, he also put in overtime at Triple A Studios recording everything from jingles to religious albums, unpredictable and diversified situations that custom molded him for the career of a top-flight session musician. Before he knew it, Harvey Mason was working as many as three studio sessions a day.
Harvey swiftly became a force to be reckoned with in the world of percussion and drums. From simple figures on a marimba that contributed infinitely to the appeal of The Sylvers' "Fools Paradise" and "Misdemeanor," Earth Wind and Fire's "That's The Way of The World" and some of the most incredibly sensitive playing ever heard on radio backing the late Minnie Riperton on "Memory Lane" and "Here We Go," to an intricate snare drum-only part on Chick Corea's "Tweedle Dee" (from his acclaimed concept album, The Mad Hatter), Harvey honed a knack for doing more than just nailing a written part. He added that "Mase Magic" that lifted a piece of music from ordinary to extraordinary.
In the realm of '70s & 80's funk-jazz fusion, "Mase" was king. His work on Donald Byrd's commercial breakthrough album, Black Byrd, and a series of successful "crossover" albums for Blue Note Records led to Harvey's seminal work onHerbie Hancock's million-seller Head Hunters (1974), which contained the hit "Chameleon" (co-composed by Harvey) and Mason's own arrangement of Hancock's '60s standard, "Watermelon Man."
This led to a string of recordings that now comprise "Fusion 101″ for the study of all aspiring drummers. Those performances include Grover Washington Jr.'s "Mister Magic", Bob James' "Three" (featuring "Westchester Lady"), Charles Earland's "Leaving This Planet", Patrice Rushen's "Before the Dawn", The Brecker Brothers' self-titled debut album, Lee Ritenour's "Captain Fingers", and John Klemmer's "Touch". When Latin rocker Carlos Santana recorded his first jazz album, "The Swing of Delight", Harvey was called. The icing on the cake for this phenomenal '70s output was his contribution to George Benson's triple-platinum selling "Breezin'" album with a band that played so seamlessly together, it was as if they were psychically in-tune. "Breezin'" became the best selling (real) jazz album of all-time and this group recorded two more classic Benson albums: "In Flight" and "Weekend In L.A."
In 1976, Harvey Mason signed a five-year deal with Clive Davis' then-new and very progressive Arista Records as a solo artist. He recorded five stylistically diversified LP's there that captured the complete arc of his musical artistry. There were unforgettable arrangements of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Wave," Kenny Loggins' "Set It Free" and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On." There was even a disco tune "Groovin' You" For those albums and a "Ratamacue", recorded in 1996 for Atlantic, Mase earned 5 Grammy nominations.. In 2005 Harvey recorded a classic Jazz CD which he titled "Trios". "Trios" featured 11 of the greatest Jazz pianist, 8 different bassist with Harvey being the one common denominator. This CD receieved worldwide acclaim receiving the prestigious Silver Disc award fron magazine in Japan and garnering a Grammy for Herbie Hancock and his solo on "Tell Me A Bedtime Stories".
The man whose precision playing has graced movies for such renowned composers as Michel Colombier (Prince's Purple Rain), Michel Legrand, Miles Davis' (Dingo), Dave Grusin (Three Days of The Condor, The Fabulous Baker Boys and On Golden Pond), John Williams (Hook), Lalo Schifrin (Rush Hour 1,2 & 3 and The Enforcer), Isaac Hayes (Three Tough Guys and Truck Turner), Johnny Pate (Shaft In Africa), Alan Silvestri (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), Alan Menken and Tim Rice (Beauty and The Beast), Thom Newman (the Player), Lion King, Mission Impossible 1, 2 & 3, Ratatouille, Dream Girls, Speed Racer to name only a few. Among his credits to date as a film composer are Only The Strong, Deadly Takeover and The Color Purple, plus orchestration for the television series' Diagnosis Murder and Mattlock.
Easing into his fourth decade of professional music making, Harvey Mason looks forward to new horizons with ƒOURPLAY's,just released a new CD "Let's Touch The Sky" on the Headsup label, a new solo album, more film scoring and his usual choice assignments as a sideman, such as playing on superstar Seal's 1996 Song of the Year Grammy-winner, "Kiss From A Rose" and performing on John Legend's 2007 mega hit, "Save Room."
Flip across your radio dial on any given day and you're sure to come across a gem that Harvey Mason has polished. "The Mase" remains all over the place!
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52°02' / 18°30'
Translation of Turek chapter
from Pinkas Hakehillot Polin
Translation of Turek chapter
Published by Yad Vashem
Published in Jerusalem
Published in Jerusalem
Project Coordinator
Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem for permission
This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland,
Volume I, pages 130 - 131, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem
JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of
the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
(Pages 130 - 131)
Translated by Moshe Shubinsky
Edited by Ada Holtzman
The Population Structure
|The Jews
Turek as a city was church property until the partition of Poland. City charter was granted in 1357. The first Jews appeared in Turek at the beginning of the 19th century partially from nearby Dobra and for a few years the Jews in Turek were attached to the institutions of this community. They used to bury their dead in the cemetery o Dobra. A Cholera epidemic in 1830/1 killed many Jews and the community dwindled in numbers. But, by the middle of the 19th century, Jewish population grew again at a fast rate and contributed to the growth of the textile industry in the town. They were also active in commerce, oil, matches and soap manufacture. Jews also owned textile dye plants.
On Yom Kippur 5618 (27/10/1857) the synagogue was set on fire following a hate campaign by a Polish priest but a new one was built by 1861 in Breiter Gasse, the structure was renovated and expanded in 1910. A fire consumed 40 Jewish houses in 1878.
The Polish revolt of 1863 saw the participation of Jews such as Mordechai Manes, a medic from Turek. Another Jew was the deputy mayor during the revolt. In February 1889 local farmers attacked Jewish merchants and many were injured and their property was robbed.
It appears that Turek's community became independent by the middle of the 19th century. From 1850 to the middle of the 1870's the rabbi of Turek was R' David Haim Braun. He was followed by R' Hirsz Leib Waxsman. 1906 saw the establishment of a yeshiva (Talmudic college). In 1899 a charity Gemilut Hasadim (making righteous deeds) was started. Many other organizations started at that time- Linat Tzedek (shelter of the poor and homeless), Hachnasat Kala (dowry collected for the poor bride) and the Ahiezer Society for mutual support. A primary government school for Jewish children was set up in 1886.
Zionism came to town in 1912 and at the end of 1916 the Ttzeirei Zion (Youth of Zion) association was set up with 100 members. It run Hebrew classes for 40 pupils and a library. By 1917 many more associations started to operate the youth culture association (Kultur Jugend Farjen) and sport association Turen Farjen. By 1918 the Tehia club with a chorus was started, the Zamir (The revival club and the nightingale chorus).
In the interwar years Turek Jews carried on as artisans and small merchants. By the 1920's there were 138 Jewish workshops, 51 of which employed workers and the rest just the owners. Amongst those were 68 confectioners, 46 cloth manufacturers, 3 metal workshops, 6 food production, 4 leather workers and one stonemason. The number employed in artisanship was 260. An artisan association was established and it initiated the establishment of a cooperative bank. In 1924 the needle worker union was first organized
Turek had a large number of Zionists parties: the Mizrachi, Zionim Klaliim - General Zionists (Al Hamishmar - on guard and Et Livnot time to build), Poalei Zion (the workers of Zion) and the Revisionist movement. In 1926 the Hashomer Haleumi youth movement, part of the General Zionists party was set up and turned into the Hanoar Hazioni - Zionist Youth Movement in 1931. Turek also had a Beitar association. In the Zionist camp the Mizrahi and the General Zionists were most influential. The Zionist congresses in 1930's saw elections and the number of voters were- 450. In 1937 the votes cast were as follows- Al Hamishmar 77, Et Livnot 89, Hamizrachi 149, Haliga Haovedet (the Working Israel league) 69.
After the First World War the Agudath Israel and Poalei Agudath Israel was organized. The Bund was also active in Turek with their youth movement the Tsukunft.
The Rabbi, R' Pinhas Halevi Wangrub officiated from 1924-1932. He was one of the founders of Agudath Israel in Poland. The last rabbi was R' Pinchas Weiss who accompanied the community on its last journey during the holocaust.
After the end of WWI, the Mizrahi opened a modern Heder and a Jewish kindergarten. Agudath Israel opened an elementary school: The Torah. Important role in the cultural life of the community served amateur theatre. There were also operating sport associations: Shomria, Bar Kochva and Trumpeldor affiliated to the Zionist youth movement and the Bund youth movement Morgenstern.
It is worthwhile pointing out that the Jewish sculptor and painter Hanoch Heinrich Gliczenstajn (1870 1942) was born in Turek in 1870 and left it in 1887. He received in his hometown traditional education and he kept ties with his townspeople until his last days.
The outbreak of war in 1939 saw the immediate confiscation of Jewish goods and slave labor kidnapping. These forced laborers were used to repair war damaged roads and bridges. In just a few days the Germans took hostages and 15 were murdered. In November 1939, 700 Jewish men were held in the synagogue and sent to Kolo and then to Bochnia near Krakow for slave labor.
For a time the community tried to keep in touch with the deportees in Bochnia by sending them food parcels. After a while some of the deportees were sent to Miêdzyrzec and the link between them in the Generalgouvernement area and Turek was severed. By January 1940 the process of confiscating Jewish properties and shops was complete and the synagogue was set on fire and destroyed. In February 1940 some of the Jews were relocated to a special area in the Breite Gasse. By July 1940 all the remaining Jews were moved into what now became the Turek Ghetto. At first people could leave the Ghetto and tried to survive by selling property to buy food. Many were starving and the Judenrat, headed by Herszel Zymanowoda, initiated actions for mutual aid, like: a soup kitchen. Mordechai Strikowski was the commander of the Jewish police. In the summer of 1940 60 Jews were kidnapped by the Germans for forced labor in Poznañ and a few weeks later 30 more were taken. With the worsening situation, Jews were leaving and seeking shelter in Warsaw some even going to the Soviet zone in Eastern Poland. By 1940 there were only 1750 Jews remaining in Turek.
In October 1941 on Yom Kippur the liquidation of the ghetto started and the Jews were taken to rural ghetto in the region of Kowale Panskie, south of Turek where many Jews of the area were concentrated.
Translator's commentThe Turek synagogue was damaged by fire but not destroyed. It was used as a storehouse after the war and is now the Turek Cinema. The front of the building had been removed recently when the cinema was built.
The town acknowledges the synagogue value to the Jewish people but refuses to renovate it.
The Jewish Cemetery in Turek was re-dedicated in August 2003 in the presence of survivors, descendants of Turek Jews and local dignitaries and a memorial erected on the site.
Yizkor Book Project JewishGen Home Page
Copyright © 1999-2023 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 18 Jan 2006 by LA


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Food crazes come and go over the years, most with little staying power in the turbulent tides of an ever-changing market. Right now the buzz is all about super foods and antioxidants, alternatives to the traditional idea of diets, and generally healthier alternatives – All good concepts that I can fully support, even if many companies are more concerned with their bottom line than their consumers' health. Even when the best intentions from wholesome brands are put forward with an honest desire to cater to the health conscious crowd, it's not uncommon to fall short when it comes to overall appeal.
We've seen a particularly huge surge in pomegranate, green tea, all the "usual" suspects that until recently were about as common in American food products as durian fruit. Riding this wave all the way to the bank is Cliff, producer of many different granola bars, including one of my favorites, the Luna Bar. Having an eye on new and interesting concepts, as soon as I caught wind that there new Luna products were to include these trendy ingredients, the only question in my mind was how soon I might be able to sample them. Despite the fact that their previous attempt to expand with the Luna Sunrise Bars was a complete an d utter failure, I still trusted that they could still recover after such a blow. Everyone makes mistakes, after all.
Giving good old Luna a second chance, I purchased one of all three flavors of their brand new Tea Cakes at Wild Oats, each bearing an attractive label similar to their standard bar. Now, I do have a bone to pick about their marketing efforts: I truly despise packages that try to suggest that eating their contents will in fact help you lose weight, clear up acne, attract a mate, improve your hearing… Whatever they claim, the truth is that no single food eaten on one occasion could have any serious impact on any deep-rooted conditions. It might be a great, healthy option that is in fact good for you, but just one granola bar will not allow you to live longer than you would have otherwise. Sorry.
Ignoring the claims in enticing white lettering, other statements on the exterior wrapper bore more encouraging messages, such as a good commitment to organic ingredients, and the inclusion of a veritable truck load of vitamins. Having rekindled my hopes slightly, I grabbed the nearest bar and tore open the protective plastic encasement. The name of "Tea Cake" had convinced me that I was about to be eating something akin to a… Well… Cake! But in reality, it looked no different from what could also be classified as a granola bar, and in fact looked as though it could be a close cousin to the original Cliff Bar, albeit a slightly more petite. The tea part comes in by way of infusion from actual tea leaves, so I'm told. Very different from the mother Luna bar though, the only real similarity to the original as far as appearance went were the signature waves of icing drizzled gracefully across the top. Ultimately, they all looked pretty much the same, with different colored speckles for various fruits and / or nuts.
Nibbling cautiously at a corner, my teeth met with a pleasing resistance and a further bite revealed the moist, chewy texture overall. Much easier to eat than the hard soy crisps of the original, I quickly saw that I was in for a real treat, not just some trendy "health food" junk.
Vanilla Macadamia
Removing the small rectangular tea cake produced a strong aroma of vanilla, shortly followed by an intensely sweet smell. Almost overwhelming to the point of repulsion, I wondered if something so apparently sweet wasn't made of just pure sugar! Moving in for the kill and tasting further, I was thankful that the extreme sugary scent I picked up at first only manifested itself in the frosting. The bar itself wasn't overly sweet at all, and the icing actually provided a nice contrast.
Sprinkled throughout are a good deal of hazelnuts, crunchy and satisfying, along with some slightly tart goji berries. With its relatively mildly flavored base, most of the vanilla seemed to be coming from the white ribbons on top, which is a nice touch in that it doesn't make the bar overpowering or tiring to eat.
Berry Pomegranate
Extremely pungent again, almost to the point of smelling overwhelmingly artificial, there is no question from the first whiff that this bar will be berry flavored. Expecting the base to be the source of most of the berry flavor, topped by the standard extra-sugary but essentially tasteless icing, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a distinctly fruity aspect to the frosting gracing the top of the cake.
Assembling a mélange of various (And seemingly random) berries to construct the base, copious amounts blueberries and goji berries are found throughout, but I was somewhat disappointed to learn that pomegranate was only present in the form of indistinguishable puree, no full pieces. Perhaps it added a lovely undertone, but having never eaten plain pomegranate before, I wouldn't be able to say for sure.
Overall, this variant was good, but having a strong distaste for fake fruit-flavored items, this one does skirt the line at times.
Orange Blossom
With a very tropical citrus scent coming from the open package, I expected great things to come of it, and was not disappointed in the least. Tasting all of the complex flavors carefully, what I found most striking was the nice astringent bite it provided. Mixing in sizable chunks of dried apricot, the fruit provides a nice mellow undertone while a bright orange flavor takes the spot light. I was relieved to see that goji berries didn't find their way into this bar, since I feel that their extremely sour properties would have thrown off the delicate balance of the tea cake.
This was perhaps the only bar that I could really see the white tea coming into play, as the flavors actually reminded me of its namesake for the first time.
Over all, I was extremely impressed by this new line of Luna bars, and I would have to say that Luna has more than redeemed itself for its past faux-pas that goes by the name of Sunrise. Still relatively new on the market, the Luna Tea Cakes may be a bit difficult to find, but if you can get your hands on them, you won't regret making this purchase.


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If they are approved, there will be 8 additional reactors, including one with MOX fuel, will be online in Japan, in addition to two reactors at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant.
These plants are:
Takahama Nuclear Power Plant: Reactor 3 (MOX), Reactor 4, operated by Kansai Electric Power Company;
Ikata Nuclear Power Plant: Reactor 3, operated by Shikoku Electric Power Company;
Sendai Nuclear Power Plant: Reactor 1, Reactor 2, operated by Kyushu Electric Power Company; and
Tomari Nuclear Power Plant: Reactors 1, 2 and 3, operated by Hokkaido Electric Power Company.
Hokkaido Electric has postponed the plan to use MOX fuel for Reactor 3, but the plan is not abandoned. With local municipalities counting on MOX fuel subsidies to the tune of 6 billion yen, big money for these small municipalities, there will be a strong pressure for Hokkaido Electric, once the plant is back in operation, to pursue MOX fuel.
Shikoku Electric's Ikata Nuclear Power Plant sits near the tail end of the Median Tectonic Line, one of the biggest fault lines in Japan.
NHK News (5/28/2013) says the operators of these plants are going to apply anyway even though the plants may not satisfy the new safety regulations being compiled by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority.
Some of the problems that even NHK seems to recognize are:
Risk evaluation and the safety countermeasures for the maximum size of tsunami or for volcanic eruptions that will be newly required haven't been completed, they are "under consideration";
How much safety can be ascertained in less than two months is not known;
There are cases [NHK doesn't say which ones] where "emergency headquarters" as mandated by the new standard will be substituted by other facilities;
There are cases where the operators says there is no need for "seawalls" because the expected height of tsunami is lower than the site elevation.
Uh... have we heard the last one before?
I think it is a clever ploy by the plant operators to apply at the same time for 4 plants with 9 total reactors, because the Nuclear Regulatory Authority lacks manpower to be able to assess the safety of each as they solidify the new safety regulations that are still evolving.
According to NHK, the operator of Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant Reactor 2, Japan Atomic Power Company, says it will apply for the restart of that reactor anyway, even though the reactor has been declared by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority's panel of experts to be directly above the active fault line.
And there is TEPCO, who wants to restart Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant with 7 reactors in Niigata Prefecture, even though they too may be sitting on the active fault line.
Fukushima happened, so we're safe for another decade or two at least. That must be the thinking.


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Marine & Powersports
Looking for some audio equipment for your boat, jet ski, motorcycle or ATV? Creative provides some of the best prices on Boat Speakers and Powersport audio equipment from major brands such as JL Audio, Alpine, and Kicker. As an authorized dealer, be assured that you are getting quality audio equipment and that your purchase is protected by the manufacturer's warranty. Browse through our inventory of amplifiers, speakers, subwoofers, and more. Shop and save today!


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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) One of four inmates who fled a north-central Kansas jail has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for a carjacking after the escape.
Prosecutors announced Thursday that Eric James, 22, was sentenced on one count of carjacking. He admitted that after escaping from the Ottawa County Jail in April, he assaulted a man leaving his home and stole the man's vehicle. James was arrested April 20 in Omaha, Neb.
The sentence will follow the 12 years that James still must serve for robbery and other state charges.
As part of the plea deal, James was not charged for the escape. The other three inmates were all captured and face state charges for the escape.


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UAE visa is required for Cambodia nationals. Visitors who is planing to visit UAE from Cambodia the first basic requirements is visa which Cambodia citizens can get online from Musafirevisa or any other travel agency. There are no official website which provide the visa for UAE. Cambodia nationals visitors can obtain 14 days, 30 days and 60 days UAE visa from any travel agency which provide visa services.
Get UAE visa from Cambodia check the visa application requirements of the UAE tourist visa for the visitors of the Cambodia. Travellers from Cambodia who is planing to visit UAE need visa. Cambodia Citizens can get tourist visit visa by submitting an online UAE Visa application form.
Cambodia Citizens planing to travel UAE required UAE visa which they can be get online. Before apply for UAE visa from Cambodia the applicants of the Cambodia should have a valid passport and a color photograph to apply for UAE visa online. The validity of Passport should be valid more than six months.
Step1: Select your nationality and current living in from the list of available countries.
Step2: Fill out and submit Travel details with valid travel date and email.
Step3: Fill out applicant personal details and passport number etc.
Step4: Upload the required documents as a Passport copy and color photograph
Step5: Submit the online visa application form
Step6: Pay Online Visa fee to get visa with in 3 to 5 working days by email.
Validity of the UAE visa for Cambodia national is 60 days from the date of the visa issue so travellers are required to visit uae from Cambodia with in 60 days from the date of visa approval.
Stay validity of UAE visa for Cambodia Citizens are depend upon the visa type which Cambodia travellers have applied. Maximum stay validity for UAE visa is 60 Days from the date of entry in the UAE.
The following visa types are available for the Cambodia National
1. 14 Days Single Entry
2. 30 Days Single and Multiple Entry
3. 60 Days Single and Multiple Entry
Visa extension of UAE for Cambodia citizens are available which they can apply online with Musafirevisa. To apply for 30 days Dubai Visa extension or 60 days visa extension for Cambodia citizens you are required to contact with Musafirevisa support team by email or whatsApp.
Musafirevisa do not have any information for embassay of UAE in Cambodia
You may also Like: Dubai Visa for South African Citizens UAE Visa for GCC Residents UAE Visa for Syrian Citizens UAE Visa for Saudi Arabia residents UAE Visa for Moroccan Citizens UAE Visa for Egyptian Citizens UAE Visa for Pakistani Citizens UAE Visa for Philippines Citizens UAE Visa for Turkey National UAE Visa for British National UAE Visa for Canadian Citizens UAE Visa for US Citizens UAE Visa for Indian Citizens


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Check out Bradley Cooper's face at the 0:58 mark in the video below. He really wanted it, didn't he? Come. Let's give him something. Let's give him the hair. He really did have great hair last night. He's been fighting with it lately -- click here to see -- but last night, it was all under control, the envy of those who are receding, the envy of many women too. And definitely the envy of Ryan Seacrest. He called him "Ry" at the end of their interview. That may have been the most gymnastics my eyes did all night.
What do you think Harvey Weinstein was ordering him to do though at the after-party? I mean that looks like some serious ordering. Are we about to see Coop with a new girlfriend next week?


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DUI-DWI Lawyer Montgomery County MD | 20850
Montgomery County Maryland DUI/DWI Defense Attorney
DUI, DUI per se, DWI: What's the Difference?
The most frequent alcohol-related charges are driving under influence (DUI) of alcohol , driving while impaired by alcohol (DWI), and (DUI per se) driving under influence of alcohol per se. Montgomery County DUI Lawyer make you understand that both DUI and DWI require that normal coordination be reduced as a result of the consumption of alcohol. DUI requires that alcohol has substantially impaired the person's normal coordination. DWI requires that alcohol has impaired a person's normal coordination to some extent. DUI per se relates solely to the breathalyzer score being a .08 or higher.
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DUI/DWI Defense FAQs :
The Three Phases
Attorney Geller attended a three day DWI Detection and Field Sobriety Testing Training, similar to that offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In that training, and through knowledge of the manual accompanying that training, Attorney Geller is familiar with the three phases of the police investigation used in charging individuals with alcohol-related offenses. The first phase is vehicle in motion.
What is the driving behavior that gets the officer's attention? Common examples of this could be failure to completely stop for a flashing red light, weaving between lanes, or speeding in Montgomery County, Maryland. People can also be pulled over for such benign reasons such as failure to have their headlights on at night or an expired registration sticker.
In the second phase, personal contact, the officer approaches the vehicle and makes observations of the driver. Typical observations include odor of alcohol on the breath, glassy, bloodshot, or watery eyes, and slurred speech. The officer requests the license and registration and is trained to observe whether these are provided without difficulty. During this phase, the officer often asks whether or how much the individual has had to drink. The driver will then be asked to get out of the car, and the officer is trained to observe whether or not the driver is holding onto the door, stumbles, or goes to a location other than the one directed by the officer.
The third phase is the pre-arrest screening. This stage typically involves the administration of three field sobriety tests: the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the walk and turn (WAT), and the one-leg stand (OLS). In this test, an officer will typically have the driver follow the motion of a pen or pen light with the eyes only.
This test is used only to determine the presence of alcohol. In the WAT, the officer has the driver walk nine heel to toe steps forward and back on a straight line. There are eight clues that the officer is looking for. Finally, in the OLS, the officer has the driver stand on one leg with the other leg raised six inches off the ground. The officer is observing for thirty seconds to see if the driver hops, sways, puts the foot down, or uses arms for balance.
Field Sobriety Tests
The standardized field sobriety test is a battery of three tests:
- Walk-and-Turn – A suspect walks nine steps heel-to-toe on a straight or imaginary line, turns, and walks back nine steps. With the walk-and-turn, the officer will be looking for balance issues and the ability to accurately follow directions.
- One-Leg Stand – Also intended to assess balancing abilities, this test requires that a suspect stand with one leg raised six inches off the ground, arms at the side, and count to 30.
- Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus – In this test, the officer's finger or pen moves slowly back and forth in front of your eyes. Here the officer is looking for uneven pupil dilation and jerking eye movement. This test is used to determine the presence of alcohol in the suspect's system.
Montgomery County DUI Lawyer Leon Geller took a three-day course on field sobriety testing, the exact same course taken by prospective officers at the police academy. This gives Attorney Geller a unique perspective and deep understanding of the conditions under which the tests are to be administered as well as the proper procedures for doing so. Read more…
Breathalyzer Test
The breathalyzer test is the most common way to check a person's blood alcohol content (BAC). These tests are usually performed at the police station, but mobile breathalyzers are also available. Breath tests at the scene of the arrest are performed with a portable breath test (PBT) device, producing a result that is used to help the officer determine whether there is probable cause to arrest but is not admissible in court.
A number of factors can interfere with a proper BAC reading. In some cases, false results can be caused by residual paints, solvents, and gases from a person's work environment. In addition, these tests cannot distinguish between mouth alcohol and alcohol in the blood, which is why strict regulations on when and how the tests are administered have been put in place. Read more…
Implied Consent
It is implied that you will submit to a chemical test in case you are suspected of driving impaired or under the influence. While implied consent does not mean that you cannot refuse to take the test, refusal to take a breathalyzer or blood test can result in additional penalties.
Depending on your blood alcohol content, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer could result in suspension of your license for at least 120 days and it only for 1st time time offender and then it will up to one year for next time. If you are convicted of DUI or DWI, refusal to submit to a breathalyzer can increase the fines and jail time you face. These penalties will be in addition to those for traffic violations and other potential charges. Read more…
What to do When Stopped for a DUI or DWI
When you are stopped under suspicion of driving under the influence, remember that you have certain irrevocable rights. An officer can request that you take a field sobriety test or submit to chemical testing such as a breathalyzer, but you do have the right to refuse. Refusal to cooperate will most likely not prevent arrest, but under certain circumstances it might help your case when it comes to beating charges.
Regardless of whether or not you submit to testing, you must remain calm when dealing with officers. If you feel that questions being asked could incriminate you, you can refuse to answer or request a Maryland DUI attorney be consulted before you answer. It is important that you not give up your rights or provide the officer with incriminating evidence. Staying calm, being respectful and remaining silent can be very helpful when it comes time to challenge your DWI or DUI. Read more…
Montgomery County DUI Lawyer Geller's Approach
The officer typically only writes in their report what the driver did wrong. In Attorney Geller's approach, he focuses on actions consistent with sobriety that the driver did correct.
For example, in the vehicle in motion phase, did the driver move over promptly and move over safely? In the personal contact phase, did the driver produce their license and registration without difficulty? Are any of the typical observations regarding slurred speech or glassy, bloodshot, and watery eyes missing from the report? Does the driver get out of the car without difficulty? Is the officer able to understand everything the driver says, and does the driver seem to understand and is able to follow all of the officer's instructions and commands? With the field sobriety tests, under what conditions are the tests given? What is the person wearing for footwear? What are the weather conditions? What does the person do properly that is consistent with sobriety? Are there health conditions that interfere with the driver's ability to perform the so-called field sobriety tests? Attorney Geller will use his knowledge of this process to obtain the best possible resolution in your case.
Call Today to Speak to an Experienced Montgomery County DUI Lawyer
Montgomery County DUI Lawyer Leon Geller has provided quality defense to those charged with alcohol-related offenses for nearly 30 years. If you have been charged with DUI, DUI per se, or DWI, give Attorney Geller a call today to discuss your case. Call the Law Office of Leon Geller at (301) 309-8001 to learn more about Attorney Geller's personalized approach to Maryland DUI and DWI defense.
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Montgomery County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland, located adjacent to Washington, D.C. As of the 2010 census, the county's population was 971,777, increasing by 9.0% to an estimated 1,058,810 in 2017.[4] The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-designated place of Germantown is the most populous place.[5] Most of the county's residents live in unincorporated locales, of which the most built up are Silver Spring and Bethesda, although the incorporated cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg are also large population centers, as are many smaller but significant places.[N 1]
Related Post : Overview of Maryland Theft Laws


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In his introduction to Working, the landmark 1974 oral history of work, Studs Terkel positioned meaning as an equal counterpart to financial compensation in motivating the American worker. "[Work] is about a search…for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor," he wrote. Among those "happy few" he met who truly enjoyed their labors, Terkel noted a common attribute: They had "a meaning to their work over and beyond the reward of the paycheck."
More than forty years later, myriad studies have substantiated the claim that American workers expect something deeper than a paycheck in return for their labors. Current compensation levels show only a marginal relationship with job satisfaction. By contrast, since 2005, the importance of meaningfulness in driving job selection has grown steadily. "Meaning is the new money, an HBR article argued in 2011. Why, then, haven't more organizations taken concrete actions to focus their cultures on the creation of meaning?
To date, business leaders have lacked two key pieces of information they need in order to act on the finding that meaning drives productivity. First, any business case hinges on the ability to translate meaning, as an abstraction, into dollars. Just how much is meaningful work actually worth? How much of an investment in this area is justified by the promised returns? And second: How can organizations actually go about fostering meaning?
You and Your Team Series
Making Work More Meaningful
We set out to answer these questions at BetterUp this past year, as a follow-up to our study on loneliness at work. Our Meaning and Purpose at Work report, released today, surveyed the experience of workplace meaning among 2,285 American professionals, across 26 industries and a range of pay levels, company sizes, and demographics. The height of the price tag that workers place on meaning surprised us all.
The Dollars (and Sense) of Meaningful Work
Our first goal was to understand how widely held the belief is that meaningful work is of monetary value. More than 9 out of 10 employees, we found, are willing to trade a percentage of their lifetime earnings for greater meaning at work. Across age and salary groups, workers want meaningful work badly enough that they're willing to pay for it.
The trillion dollar question, then, was just how much is meaning worth to the individual employee? If you could find a job that offered you consistent meaning, how much of your current salary would you be willing to forego to do it? We asked this of our 2,000+ respondents. On average, our pool of American workers said they'd be willing to forego 23% of their entire future lifetime earnings in order to have a job that was always meaningful. The magnitude of this number supports one of the findings from Shawn's recent study on the Conference for Women. In a survey of attendees, he found that nearly 80% of the respondents would rather have a boss who cared about them finding meaning and success in work than receive a 20% pay increase. To put this figure in perspective, consider that Americans spend about 21% of their incomes on housing. Given that people are willing to spend more on meaningful work than on putting a roof over their heads, the 21st century list of essentials might be due for an update: "food, clothing, shelter — and meaningful work."
A second related question is: How much is meaning worth to the organization? Employees with very meaningful work, we found, spend one additional hour per week working, and take two fewer days of paid leave per year. In terms of sheer quantity of work hours, organizations will see more work time put in by employees who find greater meaning in that work. More importantly, though, employees who find work meaningful experience significantly greater job satisfaction, which is known to correlate with increased productivity. Based on established job satisfaction-to-productivity ratios, we estimate that highly meaningful work will generate an additional $9,078 per worker, per year.
Additional organizational value comes in the form of retained talent. We learned that employees who find work highly meaningful are 69% less likely to plan on quitting their jobs within the next 6 months, and have job tenures that are 7.4 months longer on average than employees who find work lacking in meaning. Translating that into bottom line results, we estimate that enterprise companies save an average of $6.43 million in annual turnover-related costs for every 10,000 workers, when all employees feel their work is highly meaningful.
A Challenge and an Opportunity
Despite the bidirectional benefits of meaningful work, companies are falling short in providing it. Our study found that people today find their work only about half as meaningful as it could be. We also found that only 1 in 20 respondents rated their current jobs as providing the most meaningful work they could imagine having.
This gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity for employers. Top talent can demand what they want, including meaning, and will jump ship if they don't get it. Employers must respond or lose talent and productivity. Building greater meaning in the workplace is no longer a nice-to-have, it's an imperative.
Among the recommendations we offer in our report are these critical three:
Bolster Social Support Networks that Create Shared Meaning.
Employees who experience strong workplace social support find greater meaning at work. Employees who reported the highest levels of workplace social support also scored 47% higher on measures of workplace meaning than did employees who ranked their workplaces as having a culture of poor social support. The sense of collective, shared purpose that emerges in the strongest company cultures adds an even greater boost to workplace meaning. For employees who experience both social support and a sense of shared purpose, average turnover risk reduces by 24%, and the likelihood of getting a raise jumps by 30%, compared to employees who experience social support, but without an accompanying sense of shared purpose.
Simple tactics can amplify social connection and shared purpose. Explicitly sharing experiences of meaningful work is an important form of social support. Organizations can encourage managers to talk with their direct reports about what aspects of work they find meaningful, and get managers to share their perspectives with employees, too. Managers can also build in time during team meetings to clearly articulate the connection between current projects and the company's overall purpose. Employees can more easily see how their work is meaningful when team project goals tie into a company's larger vision.
Adopting these habits may require some coaching of managers, as well as incentivizing these activities, but they can go a long way toward building collective purpose in and across teams.
As Shawn's book Big Potential demonstrates, social support is also a key predictor of overall happiness and success at work. His recent study of a women's networking conference demonstrated that such support outside the workplace drives key professional outcomes, such as promotions.
Make Every Worker a Knowledge Worker.
Our study found that knowledge workers experience greater meaning at work than others, and that such workers derive an especially strong sense of meaning from a feeling of active professional growth. Knowledge workers are also more likely to feel inspired by the vision their organizations are striving to achieve, and humbled by the opportunity to work in service to others.
Research shows that all work becomes knowledge work, when workers are given the chance to make it so. That's good news for companies and employees. Because when workers experience work as knowledge work, work feels more meaningful.
As such, all workers can benefit from a greater emphasis on creativity in their roles. Offer employees opportunities to creatively engage in their work, share knowledge, and feel like they're co-creating the process of how work gets done.
Often, the people "in the trenches" (retail floor clerks, assembly line workers) have valuable insights into how operations can be improved. Engaging employees by soliciting their feedback can have a huge impact on employees' experience of meaning, and helps improve company processes. A case study of entry-level steel mill workers found that when management instituted policies to take advantage of workers' specialized knowledge and creative operational solutions, production uptime increased by 3.5%, resulting in a $1.2M increase in annual operating profits.
Coaching and mentoring are valuable tools to help workers across all roles and levels find deeper inspiration in their work. Managers trained in coaching techniques that focus on fostering creativity and engagement can serve this role as well.
A broader principle worth highlighting here is that personal growth — the opportunity to reach for new creative heights, in this case above and beyond professional growth — fuels one's sense of meaning at work. Work dominates our time and our mindshare, and in return we expect to find personal value from those efforts. Managers and organizations seeking to bolster meaning will need to proactively support their employees' pursuit of personal growth and development alongside the more traditional professional development opportunities.
Support Meaning Multipliers at All Levels.
Not all people and professions find work equally meaningful. Older employees in our study, for instance, found more meaning at work than do younger workers. And parents raising children found work 12% more meaningful that those without children. People in our study in service-oriented professions, such as medicine, education and social work, experienced higher levels of workplace meaning than did administrative support and transportation workers.
Leverage employees who find higher levels of meaning to act as multipliers of meaning throughout an organization. Connect mentors in high meaning occupations, for instance, to others to share perspectives on what makes work meaningful for them. Provide more mentorship for younger workers. Less educated workers — who are more likely to work in the trenches — have valuable insights on how to improve processes. They'd be prime candidates for coaching to help them find ways to see themselves as knowledge workers contributing to company success.
Putting Meaning to Work
The old labor contract between employer and employee — the simple exchange of money for labor — has expired; perhaps it was already expired in Terkel's day. Taking its place is a new order in which people demand meaning from work, and in return give more deeply and freely to those organizations that provide it. They don't merely hope for work to be meaningful, they expect it — and they're willing to pay dearly to have it.
Meaningful work only has upsides. Employees work harder and quit less, and they gravitate to supportive work cultures that help them grow. The value of meaning to both individual employees, and to organizations, stands waiting, ready to be captured by organizations prepared to act.


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More Than a Month Premieres on Independent Lens on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 10pm
One Man's Quest to End Black History Month Becomes a Humorous and Provocative Look at Race in "Post-Racial" America
(San Francisco, CA) – Should Black History Month be ended? That's the question explored by African American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman as he embarks on a cross-country campaign to do just that. Both amusing and thought provoking, More Than a Month examines what the treatment of history tells us about race and power in contemporary America. Written and directed by Tilghman, More Than a Month premieres on the Emmy® Award-winning PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Mary Louise Parker, on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 10pm (check local listings).
The film takes the form of a road trip that begins in Washington, D.C., crisscrosses the country during Black History Month 2010, and ends with an epilogue one year later. Combining cinema verité, man-on-the-street interviews, and inspired dramatizations, the film is a first-person narrative of the filmmaker's quest to understand the implications of Black History Month.
Tilghman begins his research at home, but finds his parents dismayed when he suggests eliminating Black History Month. He then seeks a deeper understanding of Carter G. Woodson, the creator of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month. To this end, he reaches out to Woodson's organization, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. They too respond with horror at his suggestion.
At Harvard, Tilghman collaborates on a psychological study exploring how Black History Month makes blacks and whites feel about themselves and their place in American history. And in Chicago, Tilghman visits Burrell Communications, the nation's largest black owned advertising agency, to investigate whether corporate sponsorship and advertisements during Black History Month are just an excuse to sell products to black consumers.
Exploring history itself — how we treat it, how we value it — also shapes the narrative. Tilghman talks with members of a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter in Lexington, Virginia, who are seeking to establish Confederate History month. And in Philadelphia, he speaks with school officials who have made African American history a graduation requirement, ensuring that courses are taught.
At its core, More Than a Month is about what it means to be an American, to fight for one's rightful place in the American landscape, however unconventional the means, even at the risk of ridicule or misunderstanding. In that way, it is about the universal endeavor to discover one's self.
The film asks the questions: How do we justify teaching American history as somehow separate from African American history? What does it mean that we have a Black History Month? What would it mean if we didn't? The broadcast of More Than a Month is part of the Independent Lens and PBS celebration of Black History Month, which also includes the Independent Lens broadcasts of a href="http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/daisy-bates/">Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock (February 2) and The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975 (February 9).
To learn more about the film, and the issues involved, visit the companion website for at www.pbs.org/independentlens/more-than-a-month. Get detailed information on the film, watch preview clips, read an interview with the filmmaker, and explore the subject in depth with links and resources. The site also features a Talkback section where viewers can share their ideas and opinions.
More Than a Map(p)
Based on the documentary More Than a Month, More Than a Map(p) is a smartphone application that uses a phone's GPS to point users in the direction of the nearest location relevant to African American History. Users can experience each point in a variety of ways including text, video, audio, and links to more information. What makes More Than a Map(p) truly unique is the user's ability to add their own historical points to the map — points that then become part of everyone's app. More Than a Map(p) will be available on iTunes February 2012.
About the Filmmaker
Shukree Hassan Tilghman (Director/Writer/Producer) has worked as an editor on Dog the Bounty Hunter and various other cable reality shows before "coming to his senses" and pursuing an M.F.A. in screenwriting at Columbia University. A recipient of the Martin Scorsese Filmmaker's Scholarship while an undergraduate at New York University, Shukree has directed several short films and written television and feature scripts, a couple of which have placed in competitions such as Bluecat, the Austin Film Festival, Anything But Hollywood, and ScriptShark Insider.
About Independent Lens
Independent Lens is an Emmy® Award-winning weekly series airing on PBS. The acclaimed anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of their independent producers. Independent Lens features unforgettable stories about unique individuals, communities, and moments in history. Presented by the Independent Television Service (ITVS), the series is supported by interactive companion websites and national publicity and community engagement campaigns. Independent Lens is jointly curated by ITVS and PBS and is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people, with additional funding provided by PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts. The series producer is Lois Vossen.
Voleine Amilcar, ITVS, 415-356-8383 x 244, firstname.lastname@example.com
Mary Lugo, 770-623-8190, firstname.lastname@example.com
Cara White, 843-881-1480, firstname.lastname@example.com


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ʿAlī Māhir Pasha
Our editors will review what you've submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
- Died:
- August 25, 1960 Geneva Switzerland
- Notable Family Members:
- brother Aḥmad Māhir
ʿAlī Māhir Pasha, (born c. 1882, Cairo, Egypt—died Aug. 25, 1960, Geneva, Switz.), jurist and official who served three times as prime minister of Egypt.
Māhir Pasha, a member of the aristocracy, took a law degree and after three years' practice became a judge in the native courts. In the years before World War I he sided with conservative Egyptian political groups who thought that it was possible to cooperate with the British (who had occupied Egypt in 1882) in bringing economic and social progress to Egypt. He devoted his talents to the service of the king: in 1923 he was appointed director of the royal law school, and in the same year he played an important role in framing the new Egyptian constitution, a document that consolidated and confirmed the political preeminence of the monarch. In successive administrations he was at various times minister of education and minister of finance. He acquired his greatest influence in the later 1930s, when royal power was at its peak. In 1935 King Fuʾād I chose him for the new position of chief of the royal cabinet, and at the end of 1935 he became prime minister in a caretaker government, serving during the next two years first as prime minister and later again as chief of the royal cabinet. He became prime minister again in 1939, and on the outbreak of World War II he took the measures against Germany that were required by the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. When Italy declared war in 1940, however, he refused to break diplomatic relations, and he became one of the centres in the movement to use the war as a means of undermining the British position in Egypt. Accordingly the British had him removed from office, and in April 1942 he was interned, remaining in custody until the end of the war.
Māhir Pasha remained politically inactive until the revolution of Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1952. The revolutionaries, who saw him as someone who could placate conservative political elements, secured his nomination as prime minister on July 24, 1952, one day after the revolution. In less than a year, however, Māhir Pasha clashed with them over their land reform policies and went into retirement.


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Gray presents at Institute of Management Accountants meeting
May 30, 2014
David Gray, North Central College associate professor and chair of accounting, gave a presentation titled "Cost Accounting Systems—Best Practices for Post-implementation" at the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Fox Valley Chapter's meeting on May 21.
The IMA provides a forum for research, practice development, education, knowledge sharing, and the advocacy of the highest ethical and best business practices in management accounting and finance.
A faculty member at North Central since 2007, Gray is a C.P.A. and C.M.A. (Certified Management Accountant). He received his B.S. from Millikin University and an M.A.S. from Northern Illinois University.


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January 20, 2022
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Not sure the less sentence is necessary or fair. --John 23:42, 9 March 2007 (EST)
- I slightly rewrote it. I think "profit" is not really a neutral formulation, and also, one does not need to be a physician to "profit" from it, but one does need to be a physician to take this oath and be bound by it. Also, I explicitly inserted "in its original formulation", as there are many variants in use today that do not include the statement on induced abortion. One can of course argue whether these are "false oaths", but I think that referring to "the original formulation" is a clear and accurate statement. PaulB 07:15, 13 March 2007 (EDT)
Added crosslink to "Oath of Hippocrates". I considered deleting the restatement of part of the Oath, but decided against it since it is the lead in to the following sentence. JesusSaves 07:22, 13 March 2007 (EDT)
I know this is a Conservapedia and not an encyclopedia, but shouldn't an article about Hippocrates actually say something about Hippocrates? This is really no more than a testomony by one doctor that abortion is wrong. Also, the sentence "Physicians who practice abortion today do not obey this Oath in its original formulation but this should not worry Christian doctors as the original wording began I swear by Apollo, Æsculapius, Hygieia, and Panacea which are heathen gods" really doesn't fit. Either (a) the site needs to be changed to Christianapedia or (b) this sentence needs to reference all non Greek religions or (c) it should be taken out entirely. Jazzman831 15:11, 30 June 2007 (EDT)


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Apple shows a sneak peak of the next generation Mac Pro (PR)
Apple usually does not do this but when the time came Apple just showed off its next generation of Mac Pro, in a beautiful cylindrical form factor. Almost 1/8th the size of the original Mac Pro with lots of improvements with the most important being a new cylindrical design.
Built around a new thermal diffusion design, the new hardware comes with a 12-core, 256-bit Intel Xeon processor, with 1,866MHz DDR3 Memory and 60GBps performance.
Thunderbolt 2 with 20Gbps throughput and Flash Hard drive. The new Mac Pro will support dual GPUs and will also support upto 3 4K displays simultaneously. With only a preview available, launch dates and prices not announced, we can only wait and watch.
Apple's answer to those with doubts " No More Innovation : My Ass".
[toggle title="Press Release"]Apple Gives Sneak Peek Into the Future of the Pro Desktop
SAN FRANCISCO—June 10, 2013—Apple today showed a sneak peek into the future of the pro desktop with a first look at the next generation Mac Pro. Designed around a revolutionary unified thermal core, the Mac Pro introduces a completely new pro desktop architecture and design that is optimised for performance inside and out. With next generation Xeon processors, dual workstation-class GPUs, Thunderbolt 2, PCIe-based flash storage, and ultra-fast ECC memory, the new 9.9-inch tall Mac Pro packs an amazing amount of power into an incredibly small package.
"With the latest Xeon processors, dual FirePro GPUs, ECC memory, PCIe-based flash and Thunderbolt 2, all built around a revolutionary thermal core, the next generation Mac Pro is the most radical Mac yet," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "All this performance and expandability is packed into a dramatic new design that's one-eighth the volume, and best of all, it will be assembled here in the USA."
The next generation Mac Pro is architected around an ingenious unified thermal core that allows the desktop to efficiently share its entire thermal capacity across all the processors. The result is a pro desktop with breakthrough performance packed into a design that is one-eighth the volume of the current Mac Pro. Next generation Intel Xeon E5 processors with up to 12 core configurations deliver double the floating point performance. With two AMD FirePro workstation-class GPUs, the all-new Mac Pro is up to 2.5 times faster than the current Mac Pro and delivers up to an amazing 7 teraflops of compute power. The new Mac Pro also features PCIe-based flash storage that is up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives and includes the latest four-channel ECC DDR3 memory running at 1866 MHz to deliver up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth.* With all that power, the new Mac Pro lets you seamlessly edit full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background.
The next generation Mac Pro is the most expandable Mac ever built. With six Thunderbolt 2 ports that can deliver up to 20Gbps of bandwidth to each external device, Mac Pro is perfect for connecting to external storage, multiple PCI expansion chassis, audio and video breakout boxes, and the latest external displays, including 4K desktop displays. Each of the six Thunderbolt 2 ports supports up to six daisy-chained devices, giving you the ability to connect up to 36 high-performance peripherals. Thunderbolt 2 is completely backwards compatible with existing Thunderbolt peripherals, and allows you to transfer data between Macs faster and easier than ever.
The next generation Mac Pro will be available later this year. To learn more, visit www.apple.com/mac-pro.
*Performance claims are based on technical specifications of preproduction Mac Pro hardware as of June 2013.
Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.


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Healthy Holiday Chocolate Desserts
This blog does not intend to provide diagnosis...
Celebrate the holidays with these tasty and healthy treats!
Making healthy choices doesn't have to mean giving up all delicious desserts. Desserts made with healthy ingredients can be a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth while nourishing the body.
Cocoa contains a lot of beneficial antioxidants and nutrients. Because of this, it can be a valuable ingredient in a healthy diet. Cocoa is one of the best natural sources of magnesium and also contains plenty of iron, potassium, and zinc. Research has found that regularly eating cocoa can help to improve insulin resistance. This means that eating chocolate that is low in sugar may improve glucose metabolism and lessen the risks of developing diabetes.
Get all of the benefits of cocoa by including it in healthy homemade desserts. To get the health benefits of cocoa, it is important to eat it in foods that do not contain excessive amounts of sugar or unhealthy fats, which may counteract the benefits of the cocoa. These delicious chocolate desserts are the perfect treat for sharing with the family or taking to a holiday gathering.
Vegan Chocolate Pudding
This decadent Vegan Chocolate Pudding gets its silky texture from coconut milk.
- 4 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened organic cacao powder
- 1/3 cup raw sugar
- 13 ounces full fat coconut milk
- 1-1/4 cup almond or soy milk
- 2/3 cup vegan chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch of salt
- Stir arrowroot flour, cacao powder, and sugar together in a medium-sized saucepan that is not on the stove. Add the coconut and almond or soy milk to the saucepan and stir to combine. It is alright if the cacao powder does not blend thoroughly with the milk; they will combine better once the mixture begins to heat.
- Place the pan on the stove over medium heat, whisking regularly to prevent the bottom from burning. The mixture will begin to thicken as it is whisked. Watch the mixture until it starts to come to a low boil, and then continue whisking the vegan chocolate pudding for approximately two more minutes until it is thick. Take the pan off the stove and add the chocolate, vanilla, and salt.
- Stir vigorously until chocolate is thoroughly melted and the mixture is smooth. Divide the pudding mixture between small ramekins or pudding cups. Refrigerate for a few hours until cool.
- If desired, decorate each ramekin with a cheerful bow, a fun name tag, or a snowflake to make it look more festive.
- Makes 8 servings
Gluten Free Chocolate Tart
This Gluten Free Chocolate Tart is so delicious that even people who eat gluten will come back for seconds. It is also suitable for those on a vegan or Paleo diet.
- 1-1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
- 12 ounces chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees and grease a 9-inch tart pan. The final results will look better if the tart pan is one with a removable bottom.
- Combine almond flour, coconut, and salt in a food processor and pulse the processor until the ingredients are smoothly ground. Add coconut oil and maple syrup to the food processor and pulse a few more times until the dough makes coarse lumps that combine easily when a small handful is pressed with one's fingers.
- Place the tart crust dough in the tart pan and press it firmly to create a smooth crust that covers the bottom and sides of the pan evenly. To make sure the bottom is evenly flat, press it with a measuring cup. Bake the tart crust in the oven for at least 15 minutes. It will be done when it is a rich gold color and is completely firm to the touch. Cool the tart crust for at least one hour before filling.
- To make the filling, place coconut milk, cocoa powder, and salt in a small saucepan and heat until it is simmering. While the coconut milk heats, put the chopped chocolate into a heatproof mixing bowl. Once the milk is simmering, pour it over the finely chopped chocolate. Let this mixture stand for about a minute so the coconut milk can warm the chocolate. Then, stir the mixture together until the chocolate melts completely and everything is smoothly combined. Finally, gently stir in the vanilla extract.
- Slowly pour the chocolate tart filling into the cooled tart shell and chill in a fridge for at least one hour. Serve once the tart filling has set.
- Makes 10 servings
Healthy Chocolate Cupcakes
These tasty Chocolate Cupcakes put a healthy spin on a holiday classic. Healthy ingredients like Greek yogurt, dates, and maple syrup make them fluffy and moist without relying on excessive sugar and oil.
- 1 cup whole wheat, unbleached flour
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup milk
- 20 Medjool dates
- 1 cup nut butter
- 1/2 cup cacao powder
- 1 cup milk
- chocolate sprinkles for topping (optional)
- Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees and prepare a 12-muffin tin by lining the cups with paper liners.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Mix together the softened butter, eggs, and vanilla in a separate large bowl until the mixture is creamy.
- Beat the Greek yogurt into the egg mixture and then slowly pour in the maple syrup while continuing to stir the mixture. Add one-third of the flour mixture and one-third of the milk mixture to the egg mixture and stir to combine. Repeat this step two more times until all of the ingredients are combined.
- Divide the chocolate cupcake batter between the cups in the tin. Put the tin in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The cupcakes will be done when they have risen and firmed. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake should be clean when pulled out. Remove the finished cupcakes from the oven and let them cool in the pan for five minutes. Take each cupcake out of the pan to let them cool completely.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, begin the frosting. Combine the dates, nut butter, cacao powder, and salt in a blender. Make sure the pits are removed from the dates. Pulse the mixture to combine, and then slowly pour in milk until a stiff frosting forms. Start with 3/4 cup of milk and add more if needed. Depending on humidity and temperature, a little extra milk can adjust the texture as desired.
- Use a spatula to remove frosting from blender and put it in a piping bag. Put the frosting in the fridge for at least an hour. This will help it pipe more easily. Wait until cupcakes are completely cool before frosting. Even slightly warm cupcakes will cause the frosting to melt. Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.
- Top with chocolate sprinkles if desired.
- Makes 12 servings
These three delicious recipes make it easy to enjoy tasty chocolate desserts while still getting the wonderful health benefits of cocoa. Each one can easily be altered with different sugar substitutes like agave or stevia, gluten-free flour, or dairy-free milk to meet any dietary requirements. Once they are finished, families can enjoy these delicious treats right away or take them to a holiday gathering to share.