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Our stunning 11 1/2″ 24K custom gold statuette is manufactured by R.S. Owens, the same company that manufactures the Oscar. The winner of our Best Short Film category will receive this award at no cost to them, while winners in other categories will be given the option to acquire it. Additional awards and prizes may be Read More ...
Honorable Mention – "Swipe Right" (USA)
Title: Swipe Right
Runtime: 11 min
Country: USA
Director: Brian Lloyd
Placement: Honorable Mention
Competition: December, 2018
Synopsis: Nick, a successful college student on paper, seems to have his life all figured out, but he lacks the one thing that intelligence and career don't offer his life: someone to share it with. After countless failed attempts with online dating, Nick all but gives up on his search when a secret admirer reaches out to him. His excitement soon dissipates to depression when a promising date is revealed to be a catfish attempt by a non-speaking teddy bear named Daniell. Following some time apart, Nick runs into Daniell, and in a last ditch effort publicly professes his love for the only person that's ever cared for him.
OR: What was the inspiration for your film?
BL: The two primary sources of inspiration were the current internet dating landscape and how people invest so much in traditional romantic comedies. Dating apps is something that I have yet to take part in so I wanted to comment on how I perceived them at the time which is a very surface-level, shallow way to judge a stranger. I liked the idea of playing with how rejection in that medium sort of heightens how alone someone can feel behind a screen while contrasting it with the classic storybook matches that are common in romantic comedies. I think the two go pretty hand-in-hand in that they're clientele and audience are driven by some element of loneliness. And then, most of all, I wanted to make people laugh which explains some of the more obscure parts of the story.
OR: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?
BL: I was about halfway through my junior year in college which was sort of the height of Tinder's popularity, at least on our campus. I knew I wanted to produce something that Spring and I was caught up on this skit idea of someone getting catfished by an inanimate object. So I melted the two together, my feelings on the landscape and the skit idea, and once I did that it took off pretty quick. I was also able to write the characters tailored to friends of mine who were actors who I knew were available which was also a huge help throughout the entire process.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?
BL: Keeping the story contained. It's easy to want to expand your story too far where it no longer fits around 10-15 min which was my target length. I have a background in stand-up comedy so I speak about film the same way I do jokes in that they need to be tight. When you're trying to fill a certain amount of time you need to be ruthless in cutting shots, details or scenes to make your product as economical as possible.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?
BL: I was a first-time filmmaker for Swipe Right and my DP, Patrick Brown, was shooting his first short-film as well, so there was a lot of learning as we went. Looking back, though, I wouldn't have wanted to produce this any other way.
OR: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?
BL: Go do it and do it with people you like. It's much easier said that done, but you can't get better if you don't let yourself fail in the first place. Swipe Right had plenty of hiccups but they were easily overcome because our cast and crew were extremely supportive. That comes from being passionate and having fun with the people you collaborate with.


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Today I heard a great interview with author Barbara Kingsolver on the radio program "Living on Earth.†In the interview, Kingsolver discusses the idea of a "paradigm shift†for our eating habits. That paradigm shift is basically eating as local as possible and eating in season. Kingsolver and her family conducted an experiment with eating local for a year to reduce their impact on the environment. Why? Kingsolver says,
We were led into this project for so many reasons. For me, it's because I grew up in a rural community among farmers and I've always considered the local farming economy to be important and frankly an important part of food security. We are now, as a nation, putting almost as much fossil fuels into our refrigerators as our cars. Every item on average on the American plate has traveled 1500 miles so add up all the items on your plate and you might as well order room service from the moon!
That's an incredible amount of fossil fuel, an incredible amount of carbon emissions going into the atmosphere, warming up the globe just to get a grape from Chile, a tomato from Mexico so I can eat a tomato in January.
So, Kingsolver embarked on this fascinating journey of creating community, eating locally, eating in season, and growing a lot of their own food. The results of their experiment with eating local are the subject of her new book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.
The interviewer, Steve Curwood, points out the fact that Kingsolver and family live on a farm and therefore have the opportunity to grow a lot of their own food. But for the rest of us, what do we do? Kingsolver has some great advice. For example, buy at local farmers markets, get a plot at a community garden, etc.
I personally volunteer at a small organic farm during the growing season and get a big bag of veggies once a week for my efforts. We also have a pot luck dinner at the end of the harvest day, so it's like a big community party every week.
I also think that you don't have to go 100% local to make a difference either. You can grow a small plot of tomatoes, or herbs, or buy at a local farmer's market and not give up the occassional non-local goodie like coffee or imported cheese.
Want to learn more about Kingsolver's project? You can read a transcript or download the audio of the interview at the Living on Earth website.
You can also find out how to grow some of your own food and purchase produce more locally at the Urban Gardening Help website.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Countess of Winchilsea Anne Finch
Fair tree! for thy delightful shade
'Tis just that some return be made;
Sure some return is due from me
To thy cool shadows, and to thee.
When thou to birds dost shelter give,
Thou music dost from them receive;
If travellers beneath thee stay
Till storms have worn themselves away,
That time in praising thee they spend
And thy protecting pow'r commend.
The shepherd here, from scorching freed,
Tunes to thy dancing leaves his reed;
Whilst his lov'd nymph, in thanks, bestows
Her flow'ry chaplets on thy boughs.
Shall I then only silent be,
And no return be made by me?
No; let this wish upon thee wait,
And still to flourish be thy fate.
To future ages may'st thou stand
Untouch'd by the rash workman's hand,
Till that large stock of sap is spent,
Which gives thy summer's ornament;
Till the fierce winds, that vainly strive
To shock thy greatness whilst alive,
Shall on thy lifeless hour attend,
Prevent the axe, and grace thy end;
Their scatter'd strength together call
And to the clouds proclaim thy fall;
Who then their ev'ning dews may spare
When thou no longer art their care,
But shalt, like ancient heroes, burn,
And some bright hearth be made thy urn.
Poet Bio
More Poems about Nature
How to Triumph Like a Girl
I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy,
like running 40 miles per hour
is as fun as taking a nap, or grass.
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let's be honest,...
Sestina in Prose
It was like climbing a mountain to those of us who'd climbed one. To the others, it was like, I suppose, something else. In other words, we let everybody find her own figure of speech.
Not that it—speech—lay thick on the...


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You've done it! You've slimmed down your thighs and trimmed your tummy. Now it's time to show off your new figure in some sizzling summer fashion. Brands like Reem can provide the clothing; your new shape will provide the style. Get out your wallet and head to the stores.
Colored Jeans
Close-fitting colored jeans are a fabulous fashion statement that will really highlight your new slim silhouette. These jeans are on trend and reflect the carefree attitude of the season. They are a hot summer look when paired with sandals or heels and a smart summer top.
The little sundress is another classic and yet still current look. Now, instead of finding one with a full skirt, you can choose one that skims your hips and showcases your legs. Long, leggy looks go with sunshine and blue skies. The sundress also makes you look young and adventurous, so go ahead and buy several for your closet.
Now that you've gotten into shape, indulge yourself with colorful shorts ranging from hip huggers to slim capris. Nothing says summer like a tight pair of denim short shorts that show off your new and improved assets. For a casual look that will still take you town or the office, a tailored capris pant in basic white works well with all your accessories. Now that you are slim and trim, you never need to be afraid of white again. For variety, throw in a few pairs of bold Bermuda shorts for the sheer fun of it.
You also have a choice of summer tops and blouses to pick from this season. Slim bright colors and patterns will show off your smaller waist and toned arms. Sleeveless is always a cool summer look, and for those nights that call for more daring, spaghetti straps or a halter style will bring the heat.
Denim Skirt
Never underestimate the allure of a basic denim skirt. Wearing one this year will draw attention to your slimmer curves, shapely legs, and new-improved rear view. These skirts are incredibly versatile and make a wonderful foundation piece for your hot weather wardrobe.
Your clothing options are now nearly endless. All the styles you used to reject because you were self-conscious about your body are now open to you. Make it your summer project to try different designs and colors and show them off to the world. It's a new day for you and your closet.


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14K Yellow Gold
A delicate bracelet for the everyday jewellery collection. Designed in 14k yellow gold with flirty diamonds and sapphires, featuring a slider ball at the lock to easily adjust the size.
2 white diamonds / total carat 0,016 / 2 white sapphires
- Material: 14K Yellow Gold
- Stone: Diamond


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What chances for a Liberal comeback?
Theoretically the Liberals ought to have an excellent chance to win both by-elections December 15, in TorontoTrinity and Springfield, Manitoba. In each riding they have lost only one election between 1935 and 1958 (not the same one, either) and both withstood the Diefenbaker tide in 1957. Officially and for the record, the (¡rits are predicting that both will go Liberal again -but only a well-heeled few are willing to bet on it.
Neutral observers think the Conservatives will probably hold both seats. Moreover, they think the I iberals have the best chance in the one where the record makes them look weakest— Toronto-Trinity, which went Tory in 1945, which includes the old true-blue division, Toronto South, and which only once (in 1940) gave the Grits a big majority. It's in Trinity, nevertheless, that the Liberals rate a fifty-fifty chance in many people's books, and a Tory can get a bet down at even money if he stalks his prey with care.
Springfield, on the other hand, never once went Conservative from the Bennett sw'eep of 1930 to the Diefenbaker sw'eep of 1958. The one in-between election that the Liberals lost, they lost to the CCF last year. For two postwar terms the Liberal member for Springfield was big John Sinnott. whose exploits of joie de vivre and jeu d'esprit have made him a living legend on Parliament Hill. The legend didn't go dowm so well in sober-sided Springfield—but voters took what seemed the easy way to defeat big John. They beat him at a Liberal nominating convention, and sent the new l iberal nominee to Ottawa as usual on election day.
That was 1953. The new Liberal, Tony Weselak. got more votes than all the other candidates put together, and also turned out to be a good member of parliament. Last year he lost to CCFer Jake Schulz, but the Conservative ran last with a total vote not much bigger than Schulz's majority. The same man, the late W. V. Yacula, did win Springfield in the Diefenbaker landslide March 31. but after his death the Conservative nomination went to a newcomer to federal politics who faces Weselak. the 1953 winner, and Schulz.
On paper it looks like a perfect setup for a Liberal comeback. In fact the outlook is so bleak for Weselak that the Liberals, in spite of their brave talk, are already making excuses for him in advance. He's a good MP. they say, but too shy to be a first-class candidate. The anti-socialist vote ganged up last spring to beat Jake Schulz, a Farmers' Union man who is a bit of a leftwing rebel in the CCF: they'll do the same again, and so on. and so on.
The real reasons why the odds are against Weselak seem to be two. One is that there are no big lively issues in Springfield. Liberals arc predicting hopefully that the Conservative farm price support policy will be a hopeless failure, but they fear they haven't convinced many farmers of this just yet. Mostly they (all back on the argument that the Conservatives have too many members already, and that it's better to have another good strong man in opposition than to add one more to the faceless, voiceless mass on the government side.
In other circumstances this argument might have considerable weight. Unluckily for the Grits, it is enfeebled this time by the provincial situation in Manitoba, which is the other big reason w'hy the Tories are favored to win Springfield.
Young Duff Roblin, the new premier of Manitoba, is in the same position in the Manitoba legislature that John Diefenbaker held in the 1957 parliament. He governs without a majority, but his weakness is his strength—both opposition parties are scared of an election. So low are they in finances and morale that Roblin could probably carry on for five years if he wanted to. w'ithout ever facing a vote of no confidence from the combined opposition. Naturally, therefore, Roblin's Conservatives expect him to call an election very soon. His organization is in excellent trim, spoiling for a fight, and in no mood to take any chances of letting Springfield go and thus reviving Grit morale.
In Toronto-Trinity the picture is different. There is an issue: unemployment. In Trinity, as in all Toronto ridings, it takes a special form since the government's announcement on September 23 that it would not now proceed with the Avro Arrow.
Whether or not the government decides next March to go ahead with the Arrow alter all (and Avro is certainly lobbying to that end, with a vigor Ottawa has not seen in living memory) the eflect of the September announcement has been unsettling, to say the least. Liberals claim that large numbers of men have already been thrown out of work, in various supply plants in the Toronto area.
But here, too, a difficulty has arisen within the Liberal ranks. Some of the local campaigners, their eyes riveted on the Trinity by-election alone, are roaring against any decision that puts a man out of work—their slogan is: "If it costs a man a job. we're against it." But, to the dismay and indignation of these shock troops, Liberal leader L. B. Pearson won't go along with their line.
He is quite willing to belabor the government for shilly-shallying, postponing decision at vast expense and inconvenience. He is more than ready to raise the argument that the Conservatives used to make so familiar—refusal of information to parliament. (The whole Arrow issue arose, in public at least, after parliament had gone home.) But just because he hasn't got the information Pearson won't take a stand yet on the Arrow issue itself. So far, his cautious references to it indicate that he's inclined to blame the government not for its failure to go ahead with the job now, but for its failure to cancel the contract outright.
Thus the Trinity by-election brings out the fundamental question about an opposition role: must a party out of office have a coherent, consistent alternative to government policy at all times? Or may it launch its attack from all directions at once, and let consistency go hang?
When the Liberals were last in opposition, a quarter-century ago. they took the latter course. Senator Chubby Power still fondly recalls how he anil the rest of the rouges from Quebec would rake the Bennett government from one angle, while the Scots Presbyterian Grits of Ontario delivered equally hot fire from the opposite side of the argument. The tactics seemed to work—after only one term, the Liberals were back in office.
But times have changed. It is now unfashionable to strike one attitude in French and another in English: on a few occasions when the Conservatives tried it during their long sojourn in the wilderness, the results were always unhappy.
I he Liberals, too. have already found out that double talk doesn't pay, even in opposition. It was the hyperbole at the Liberal convention in January, on the subject of "Tory unemployment," that led Prime Minister Diefenbaker to produce his so-called "hidden report" and score the parliamentary debating triumph of last January 20. By the same token, the Conservatives' own dramatic exaggeration of that "hidden" document caught up with them at the end of July, when the same economic forecast for the current year was dug out by the Toronto Star. It was still "hidden. and officially it remains "hidden" to this day, but the lame attempts to disavow it gave the Tories their most embarrassing day in parliament since they moved to the government side.
Whether for these reasons or not, Pearson and his advisers are determined to be as consistent as they can. They have decided, and maintained their decision in several altercations with byelection tacticians, that no by-election shall be allowed to saddle the party with a policy it can't support nationally.
Defense is particularly dangerous ground in this respect. When General George Pearkes took office as defense minister last year, one of the first questions at his first press conference was, "Are you going to introduce any big changes in Canada's defense policy?" General Pearkes said no, he didn't think so.
But, said the astonished questioner, in his days as defense critic General Pearkes had attacked a great many Liberal policies and urged innumerable changes; what about them?
With a beaming smile, Pearkes replied: "I have been minister of defense for eight days. In that time I have learned more about our defense problems than I learned in the preceding eight years. I now find that many of my former criticisms were not valid." From a man who had been twelve years in opposition, and whose party had been out for nearly twice as long, such an answer was disarming as well as conclusive. It wouid not do for the Liberals—not yet. anyway. They cannot plead ignorance, even though they are already finding that their secret information is somewhat out of date. There is no government problem in 1958 that was not known at least in broad outline in 1957, and although many of their specialists have been retired from public life by the electors those who survive must carry on as if they knew all that their colleagues knew. It will be interesting to see how long they can keep it up. +
Did workers, bosses stint in giving? Here's how nettled civic leaders reacted to big-city flops
AMONG OTHER strikes, real and threatened, are Canadians striking against charity? The directors of at least half a dozen United Appeal and Community Chest campaigns in major cities say yes, a lot of them are.
This fall, 80 cities, large and srnali, asked their citizens for a total of $28 million for charitable works. Few reached their target. Toronto, Ottawa, Regina, Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia and Brantford put up the money they were asked to put up. Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Hamilton, Halifax, Edmonton and many others did not.
Why? "Plain stingy," campaign directors in many cities complained angrily. "There's a limit to giving —the targets are getting too high," workers and business firms replied testily.
Perhaps never have the country's charitable campaigns been conducted in such an acrimonious atmosphere. Witness: v0 Shooting for $300,000, the Victoria campaign fell far short within its original time limit. Campaign leaders extended the closing date twice. Still the campaign was $30,000 short. Insurance executive Justin Harbord, who was campaign manager, finally threatened to publish donation lists "to show up our stingy businessmen. They're just not giving." v0 Seeking $2,900,000, Vancouver fell short by $250,000 even after a two-week extension of its campaign. Millionaire lumberman Walter Koerner, who led the campaign, blasted business and professional men. "Many leading citizens are riding on other people's backs," he said. Some doctors gave $5. One of Vancouver's wealthiest men gave $250 and one of the country's biggest companies chipped in $200—"an insult to the campaign," said Koerner.
Looking for $8,750,000, Toronto got it. but the campaign produced two bitter rows. The County Orange Lodge distributed a pamphlet charging that Roman Catholic organizations got too large a share of the funds. The Toronto Civic Employees Union claimed that the metropolitan government used "coercion and intimidation" to force workers to accept United Appeal canvassing. Super-mayor Fred Gardiner replied that the union was niggardly. Last year's donation by Local 43 was $1,000, he said; by the fair-share basis accepted by unions it should have been $67,000.
v0 Trying for $464.000, HalifaxDartmouth was shy almost $50,000. "About 30% of business firms did not co-operate in the payroll deduction plan." said fund director A. R. Jackson. "The goodgiving companies subsidized the poor-giving ones." v0 Needing $140.000, Saskatoon got only $119.000. and campaign chairman A. H. Trout teed off on everyone. "A city of this size should be ashamed of itself for not raising $140,000," he said.
Montreal has no integrated fund. This year, an astonishing total of 81 assorted campaigns asked citizens for $30 million. The Red Feather campaign, looking for $1,921.000. was short by $113,000. "People are resisting such a vast appeal for money," said Red Feather chairman John H. F. Turner, who also took a belt at businessmen: "The attitude of certain companies enjoying the benefits of the community is hard to understand. They make a profit, give token amounts or none at all. Too few are being called on to do too much for too many."
Backstage WITH BINGO / Newspaper bingo-old idea makes new hit
NEWSPAPER BINGO—you mark the cards at home from numbers published in daily ads—is giving a big fillip to the normal $3-million-ayear revenues that service clubs and charitable organizations collect from the game in Canada. With a nervous wink at the law, which says such games of chance can be conducted only "occasionally," organizations in 15 cities are running bingo day in and day out through paid ads in local papers. They attract hundreds of thousands of players with prizes as high as $5,000.
To play, you buy cards (usually for 50c each) from newsdealers and fill in numbers as they appear in the ads. If and when you get a winning combination of numbers, you get in touch with the sponsor, present the card for checking and collect your money. In Toronto the Kinsmen Club draws up to 50,000 players a week. The Canadian Federation of the Blind has 20,000. Each offers top prize of $5,000.
Newspaper bingo has some striking advantages over live bingo, according to sponsors. They don't have to rent an arena or go through the arduous rigmarole of running an evening's play, which requires dozens of helpers. They can also make the game practically foolproof as far as cheating is concerned. In live bingo doctored cards sometimes fool hurried officials. In Barrie, Ont., one woman printed a "winning" card on the spot and collected $2,000. She was later arrested. In newspaper bingo officials have plenty of time and opportunity to subject cards to every kind of safety check.
How big will newspaper bingo grow? Partly, it's up to provincial attorneys-general, sponsors admit somewhat fearfully. They could clamp down at any time. What stops them is that the current sponsors are pouring the proceeds into CHARITY.-CAROL CHAPMAN
Backstage WITH MUSIC
It hath charms for Canadian business too: 2,000 firms plump for music-while-you-work
ALONG WITH PLUMBING and power lines in a new insurance building rising in I oronto s asphalt jungles, engineers recently threaded an extra cable into partitions for each office. It was done on orders from the firm's U. S. head office. It was to provide music for every employee. Ten years ago the average boss might have scoffed at such an idea. I oday 2.000 firms in 15 Canadian cities pay seven companies thousands a year to pipe music into offices and factories. Few employees realize it. but the music is scientifically composed to make them work harder, reduce mistakes, curtail gossip and eliminate absenteeism.
The seven Canadian firms lease the music from Muzak Corporation of New York which composes and records it on the advice of industrial psychologists. Different programs are piped to clients over rented phone lines each day for 28 days, then the cycle starts over with a handful of new compositions spliced in. There is no more than the barest hint of a tune in any of the music. It is designed to be heard, "not listened to," says Muzak which claims to be able to make workers happier and harder working. Experiments by the American Association of Applied Psychology indicate there's some truth in it.
Muzak sells four kinds of programs, for (a) factories. (b) offices, (c) retail outlets and (d) hotels, restaurants and bars. In addition to making people work
harder, the vendors claim that a different program will make them eat and drink more. A Toronto leasing firm. Associated Broadcasting Company, backs up this boast by offering bars or restaurants their moneyback if business doesn't pick up 10% within 60 days. Will music also make people buy more? The T. Eaton Co. thinks so. It pays Muzak for a special program.
So large and lucrative is the leased-music business that Muzak no longer has the field to itself. Leading competitors are FM radio stations. Unburdened by the rent of phone lines, many FM stations broadcast to factories and offices, charging a fee for screening out commercials. Another competitor, Bertram Hunt of Toronto, however, makes his money by charging supermarkets for plugging in commercials on his piped programs. "Competition is getting fierce," says Hunt.
Already it is forcing Muzak and its rivals to look for new outlets. Newer apartments in some cities now have Muzak. Some private homes get it too.
But the piped music has a serious drawback in the very fact that makes it useful to business performance: it may be psychologically correct but there's not much tune. This was illustrated when Toronto public skating rinks recently decided to give up Muzak, for which they had been paying $4,000 a year. Reason: skaters couldn't keep time to Muzak. -MCKENZIE PORTER
In spite of their never-ending complaints about traffic congestion, Canadians keep right on adding to their woes: two-car families are increasing far faster proportionately than onecar families. There are now 250,000 operating two or more cars—a jump of 100,000 in five years. There are 2,300,000 with one car (a gain of about 555,000 in the same period), almost as many households as there are with running water (2,865,000) and bathtubs (2,773,000).
MOST-BORROWED BOOKS First in line when Nobel prizewinner Boris Pasternak's celebrated Doctor Zhivago went on the bookshelves of the Parliamentary Library in Otraw-a:
Nobel prize-winner Lester B. Pearson. PEARSON The library lends out about 12,000 books a year.
Most faithful borrowers: Pearson, Diefenbaker and Port Arthur MP Douglas Fisher. Most popular books right now: Montgomery's memoirs, the Mackenzie King biography and Wheeler-Bennett's life of George VI. Top whodunit fan: Ellen Fairclough. Most-borrowed periodical among 271 available: Maclean's.
Are New Canadians sticking to their old-world ways? Not in name, anyway. Applications for change of name have roughly trebled in the past seven years. Usually, applicants want to change from a complicated European spelling to a simpler Anglicized one. It costs $15, plus $1 for each additional member of the family. Provincial judges who rule on the petition don't ask why a person wants to change his name, but they've discovered one reason is
to beat tough divorce laws. A woman can legally change her name to that of her common-law partner by resorting to a provincial Change of Name Act.
Can cider produce more revenue for Canada's applegrowers? They've been looking into it since getting B. C. sparkling cider into Alberta liquor stores for the first time Dec. 1. Findings: half the provinces don't sell Canadian hard cider; most sell imported English cider. Niagara wineries gave up cider 30 years ago for lack of demand—many farmers make their own. It's still produced and sold in the Maritimes.


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Based on extensive analysis, discussions and meetings, the Working Group has set out some major recommendations on the urban strategic planning which sets out a framework for urban planning in cities and towns of India adopting a regional planning framework.
The Planning Commission constituted a Working Group (WG) on Capacity Building for the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) under the Chairmanship of Dr. M. Ramachandran, Ex - Secretary (UD). The terms of reference for the Working Group are as follows:
To critically evaluate the progress achieved under 11th plan in Capacity Building and set the goal to be achieved in 12th plan period.
To estimate the financial outlay required to achieve the goal. To determine the gap in capacity in specific areas and suggest measures to remove them.
To develop a set of clear deliverables for any capacity building exercise to ensure its effectiveness.
To suggest measures to create adequate capacity for ramping up the e-governance programme.
To examine the schemes currently implemented for capacity building and suggest their convergence to ensure a focused approach and to avoid duplication.
The Working Group met on 13th May, 2011, 10th August, 2011 and 14th September, 2011 received comments and suggestions from a small group of urban leaders and finalised the report on the basis of these deliberations.
This Strategic Plan lays down the Ministry's thrust for the next five years on the core area of urban development.
To overcome urban issues, the government had stepped up its focus and launched multiple schemes to facilitate urban renewal and development. This included the flagship schemes of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana (SJSRY) among many others. While these initiatives have renewed focus on the urban sector, they have also highlighted several critical issues that impede urbanisation.This report of the steering committee on urbanization is a comprehensive assessment of urban objectives and strategies needed to steer planned, inclusive and sustainable urban development.
"India's Urban Awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth" describes the findings of the research that the MacKinsey Global Institute (MGI) launched in collaboration wit the India office of McKinsey & Company. The purpose of this research project was to understand how India's urbanization might evolve, explore the manyproblems facing India's fast-growing cities and what policy makers can do to mitigate the strains of urban life in India and maximize the opportunities offerred by cities.
This Report on Indian Urban Infrastructure and Services is a result of over two years' effort on the part of the High Powered Expert Committee (HPEC) for estimating the investment requirement for urban infrastructure services. The HPEC was set up by the Ministry of Urban Development in May, 2008. The Report documents the nature of the urbanisation challenges facing India. Its central message is that urbanisation is not an option. It is an inevitable outcome of the faster rates of growth to which the economy has now transited. Indeed, urbanisation is itself a process that will support growth. The Committee has made recommendations on how to deal with these challenges of urbanisation.
Ministry of Urban Development, GoI had launched a project on 'Developing an Approach and Options for establishment of Municipal Cadre in India' under Capacity Building for Urban Development [CBUD]. ICF GHK was appointed as consultants for carrying out this project. The Project had started in May 2013. After completion of both the phases, a Draft Report had been submitted. To validate the propositions, four regional workshops and one national workshop were held. On incorporating all the contributions collected from various sources including expert consultation, this Final Report was submitted. The Report is made in two parts – Volume I: An Approach and Options for Establishment of Municipal Cadre in India, and Volume II – Review of focussed states. This report is Volume I.
Strengthening urban local governments through capacity building and better financial management is identified as a key strategy for urban development in the 11th Plan. The plan identifies lack of skilled man power as one of the key concerns and recommends setting up of an apex agency to coordinate the activities of national and state level training institutions. Administrative Reforms Commission has also proposed urban governance capacity building programme in order to address capacity gaps in urban local bodies.
The main objective of this RSWM guidance note is to propose an enabling policy framework that would provide guidance and direction in planning, development, implementation and management of such Regional MSW projects in the country.
This Metropolis research publication, "Indian Cities: Managing Urban Growth", is prepared in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs. The editor of the book is Mr. Chris Johnson. It outlines urban projects and ideas on millennium goals, slum upgradation, new towns, river front development, traffic systems, etc. This publication aims to highlight and explain 11 excellent current examples of managing India's rapid urban growth with case studies from Agra, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Surat, etc. To complement these case studies, two essays of the book presents the context of Indian urbanism


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This isn't a poem
Just a little sweet victory
A movie I wrote
Sexy Evil Genius
Just wrapped
One more in the can!
And a few days later
My boys had their first haircuts
An insanely adorable milestone
What a banner week in beating back ALS!
Tag Archives: Seth Green
This isn't a poem
Filed under ALS, Lou Gehrig's Disease


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Colic is a nightmare for any horse owner. The dreaded condition is life-threatening to horses, and it can occur unexpectedly. However, the British Horse Society has put together a great video which provides an overview of colic and the actions you should take to help your horse.
This video highlights the importance of acting quickly when a horse colics. Often, a horse's survival may depend on how soon the colic episode is discovered. If you are able to take action early on in a colic episode, you can sometimes prevent it from getting worse. Taking your horse's vital signs is an important starting point, and communicating with your vet is essential.
Your vet can advise you about the severity of a colic episode, and can inform you about the various treatment options available. The goal with all colic episodes is to treat and resolve them without requiring surgery. However, surgery is available as a last resort option, though it can be financially prohibitive for some owners.
According to TheHorse.com, vets use any number of strategies to treat and relieve colic episodes. Your vet will take steps to relieve your horse's pain by administering pain medications. He or she will sometimes give a horse a laxative to help get his digestive system moving again. These laxatives include mineral oil and sometimes Epsom salt.
Vets also sometimes administer fluids to help keep the horse hydrated and reduce the recurrence of an impaction colic. Your vet will help you to monitor your horse as the colic episode resolves, and he or she will provide you with instructions on how to begin feeding the horse again.
Colic is frightening, but knowing the right actions to take can increase your horse's chances of survival if he ever does colic.


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CLAY, Ala. (WLS) -- An Alabama teen is fighting for his life after being diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer just two weeks ago.
Fourteen-year-old Cody Tucker was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer typically discovered in children aged only 1 to 5, WBMA reports.
"The doctor walked in and said he had cancer. I lost it," said Braxton Cain, Cody's best friend.
"It made me realize how much life means to us," said Caleb Medici, another of Cody's best friends.
Braxton, Caleb and Cody have been friends since they were 5 years old playing T-ball together.
The day Cody was diagnosed, they had just finished playing basketball.
After complaining about severe back pains, they immediately took him to the ER, thinking he would get some pain medicine and everything would be okay. That was not the case.
His grandmother, Londa Tucker, said it feels like they are living a big nightmare.
"Every day we're getting a different something and this thing is growing so fast. Who would've dreamed in two weeks he wouldn't be able to walk," she said.
From his diagnosis to now, he has lost strength from his chest down and the tumor has now reached his spine.
"He's not eating. They took surgery off the table completely. They are just going to approach this thing with chemo," Tucker said.
At 14, it's hard not to think the worst about his diagnosis. But with the support of his friends pushing him every step of the way, they're hoping Cody can finish strong.
"I love you and I'm praying for you every night," Caleb said.
"You're going to beat this. I promise and I love you," Braxton said.
Cody's coach, Derrick Cain, has promised him a traveling baseball team as soon as he recovers.
His grandmother is disabled and is doing all she can to financially support his treatments. As of now, doctors are considering sending him to Atlanta for further treatment. The community hopes to assist the best way they can and have already donated more than $4,000.
Teen fights for life after being diagnosed with rare cancer 2 weeks ago
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| Diane --
It's been nearly four years since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law.
It makes you wonder when the Health Care Repealers in Congress are going to face reality. They voted 46 times in the House to repeal or restrict health care reform -- some have even said repeal is their top priority.
Think about that: Their top priority as a public servant is to take health care away from millions of people.
If that's the case, they should have to say so -- add your name and let's ask Health Care Repealers if they still want to take health care away from their constituents.
For the millions of people who have signed up for health insurance so far, this issue isn't about politics.
When you hear stories from people like Margaret, who credits Obamacare for saving her life after she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma -- or Renee, who's fighting cancer and now knows she'll never reach a lifetime cap or be denied insurance because of a pre-existing condition.
The Health Care Repealers in Congress should have to look their constituents in the eye and explain themselves. Do they actually still want to take health care away?
Add your name and let these lawmakers know we're going to make them answer this question:
Thanks -- stay tuned,
Beth Kelly
Deputy Health Care Campaign Manager
Organizing for Action
Contributions or gifts to Organizing for Action are not tax deductible.
This email was sent to: email@example.com.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
One simple question for everyone demanding health care repeal:
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I've decided to do one of these Daily Prompt posts again because the last one was fun and, in all honesty, it kinda fits with what I was going to write about today anyway! So here goes…
When I was researching for this article I was looking for proof of a fact that I have heard many times, one that states that it takes a mere 7 seconds for someone to form an opinion about you. What I didn't realise was that there is also research into how many times you have to then meet that person in order to change their initial impression, it is 7 times! Which seems like an awful lot to me. Thus, it can be seen that the person forming that initial opinion is making some serious assumptions along the way and that they hold onto these assumptions for quite a long time after initially getting to know you.
I am so aware of the assumptions that people make about me, in fact I try to hide certain parts of my life so that people don't assume certain things about me, which is strange when you think about it. It isn't that I am ashamed of what I do, or ashamed about what assumptions people might make based off of my life choices. I think it is because I don't want to be known by a simple label, or to be put into a nice square box.
When people make assumptions based on one aspect of my life I feel like, in their head, I become "x" girl, with "x" being potentially a whole range of things. I don't want to be known as the "Hockey" girl, because that isn't really who I am, it doesn't encapsulate everything else I do and everything else I am. It makes me feel uncomfortable because I don't think it describes me accurately. Sure, I play hockey, but I also do Sign Language, I read a lot, I always wear a High Visibility jacket when I cycle. But just as I don't want to be known as the "Hockey" girl, I don't want to be known as any of those other things that I do. On a side note, I don't think anyone actually knows me as the "Hockey" girl but it was the first thing I thought of…
There are so many assumptions tied with each label that I could get given, and they all seem to contradict each other. "Hockey" girl, for example, could make people assume that I am crazy about fitness, enjoy wearing short skorts and have a violent streak. Whereas, "Book" girl has totally different assumptions such as being quieter, shy and smart. They are both such different assumptions but some are true from each. I love being out on the hockey pitch running around, but I also love to sit in a quiet corner and spend my day reading. Both are me. But when people assume either aspect of my character they take away another part of what makes me, me.
Additionally, assumptions are often negative, if not directly then indirectly. The saying "to assume is to make an ass out of u and me" didn't come from out of nowhere. In fact, I have found that it often rings true. More times than I can count, when I have assumed something, it has not turned out how I expected. Whether that be me assuming that someone would do something or whether I am assuming something about someone (I actually wrote a piece about assumptions based on masculinity and societal roles that you can read here and a piece about assumptions surrounding veganism that you can read here). But it seems that I am not alone and that assuming is an entirely natural thing for humans to do, in fact it is something that we have to actively fight against doing regularly.
Which has made me think… If we have to fight it so much then should we be fighting it at all? Maybe assumptions are a key aspect of society and human relationships? Maybe there is some part of the human psyche that has a need for assumptions because it allows for us to anticipate human behaviour and allows us to categorise people into nice, neat and tidy boxes which are easy for us to deal with?
As always let me know what you think!


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ADI Group Sells North American Wastewater and Cover and Liner Companies to Evoqua Water Technologies
ADI Group Inc. announces the sale of its three largest North American companies, ADI Systems, Geomembrane Technologies (GTI) and Lange Containment Systems to Evoqua Water Technologies. The terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Based out of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, ADI Systems provides a wide range of wastewater treatment and waste-to-energy solutions for industries worldwide. GTI, also located in Fredericton, supplies custom tank and lagoon covers. Lange Containment, operating out of Denver, Colorado, USA, is a fabricator and installer of geomembranes and other geosynthetic liners.
"The acquisition by Evoqua, an established world leader in water treatment, will allow these companies to continue growing on a global scale," says Hazen Hawker, Chief Executive Officer, ADI Group Inc.
Hazen Hawker
Chief Executive Officer, ADI Group Inc.


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By Neil Crowley
Yesterday we posted the first half of this blog which answered the questions: Does the Statute Of Limitations Apply To Cases Involving Minors? How Is The Claims Process Different? and What Is A Friendly Suit? To read that blog, click here.
Every year, thousands of children are seriously injured as a result of negligent conduct of others. From unsafe conditions in homes to negligent driving, children can be especially vulnerable to injuries. Like adults, children are entitled to proper compensation for the full extent of their injuries. But unlike adults, children are not able to submit insurance claims or file lawsuits on their own. The legal system has developed some important safeguards so that the claims process and courts work just as well when minors are accident victims.
Here is the second half of the blog which answers some other important questions:
Why Does A Judge Need To Approve A Minor's Settlement Of A Personal Injury Claim?
Minors are not legally competent to sign enforceable contracts, such as settlement agreements and releases. As such, in order to make such resolutions enforceable, insurance companies require that courts approve the settlements for $10,000.00 or more. This is essentially an added layer of protection for the insurance companies, who want to make sure the claims are over once and for all and cannot be brought again once the child turns 18. It also adds protection for the minor, so that there is a reasonably safe plan in place for the custody of the minor's settlement proceeds. Lastly, having a court approve a settlement protects the parents, since they are not the only ones making the decision. They acknowledge that they are holding the settlement proceeds for the benefit of the minor, and are entrusted to safeguard the funds.
What Happens At The Hearing?
At the hearing on a petition to approve a settlement of a minor, the judge will review the facts of the case and the settlement amount to be sure it is an appropriate resolution. The judge will also make sure that a reasonable plan exists for the proceeds to be held or invested for the benefit of the minor child. If a parent is present and part of the hearing, the parent must agree that the settlement proceeds belong to the child and are to be used for the benefit of the child. If there is not a parent, the Court may appoint a guardian to oversee the investment of the proceeds and to ensure that the best interest of the child is protected. For substantial settlement amounts, a structured settlement is often used.
What Is A Structured Settlement?
A structured settlement is a legal settlement that is paid out as an annuity instead of a lump sum following the resolution of a personal injury claim. This often occurs when a minor claimant is involved. The insurance company deposits a certain amount into a fund, and the proceeds are spread out over time on pre-determined dates and amounts with a guaranteed return. The "structured" part just means that not all of the proceeds will be paid at one time. These are flexible instruments that can be tailored to meet the minor's needs. There are many companies that specialize in crafting structured settlement agreements and investing the funds to produce guaranteed tax free returns for the accident victim. In many cases where the victim's injuries are permanent and may require a lifetime of special care, having a steady flow of income is the best option to address future needs.
For more information on personal injury lawsuits for minor children, contact Brooks and Crowley.


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Dr. Oetker Hungary has been one of our biggest clients for 5 years, with whom we have co-managed numerous successful digital campaigns. We also frutifully cooperate in social media related projects and campaigns and manage the brand's social media channels on a daily basis.
Another honour of our collaboration is Dr. Oetker's own brand media site called "sütnijó". We designed, planned, created and still managing this site together with Dr. Oetker day by day.
The site is not only recipe page owned by a brand, but also has a lot of community features. Registered users are able to become a part of an active baking community: they can comment, upload their own recipes, collect badges and also rate other users' recipes.
The website and its Facebook page are very popular among baking enthusiasts, furthermore "sütnijó!" also serves as an international best practice among Dr. Oetker countries internationally.


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Unlock your potential with ASML
Visit ASML South Korea on one of our open house days, or catch us at SEMICON Korea or during one of our campus roadshows
We host a range of events for university students where you can get valuable insight into our company and your future career path.
Campus roadshow
We visit universities around South Korea twice a year to recruit and interact with students on a face-to-face basis. During these events, we introduce ASML and our cutting-edge technologies, presenting our range of available engineering jobs and the additional opportunities at our company.
Program highlights:
An introduction to ASML's technology and culture
Deep-dive' sessions showcasing the life of an ASML engineer
Recruitment advice for students and insights into our hiring process
Open house days
During our open house days, we invite engineering students to visit ASML South Korea, giving you access to our facilities and the day-to-day work at our company.
Program highlights:
An introduction to ASML's technology and culture
A meet and greet with our customer support engineers
Recruitment advice and information about the hiring process
A training center tour
ASML university contacts
Want to find out more? Get in touch with one of our campus contacts, who can tell you more about our latest opportunities and help you with your questions.
ASML South Korea Tech Talk
Every August, ASML South Korea hosts a range of Tech Talk events, covering our latest technologies and developments in the semiconductor market. This event is open to the public and offers a collaborative platform where ASML, academics, and representatives from the South Korean semiconductor industry can meet and discuss the hottest trends and topics in the market.
SEMICON Korea
SEMICON Korea is an international trade fair for semiconductor technology industry, which takes place every year in Seoul. From our ASML booth, we meet and greet engineering students and industry experts, where we demonstrate our technology, answer your questions, and explain our future goals.
Upcoming events in South Korea
Connect with us on Facebook to get updates on all our events in South Korea.


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Hello and welcome to Bakeaholics! We are a new home baking duo based in the East of England ready to supply all your yummy needs for whatever craving or special occasion you may have!
From the 22nd of July, we will be taking orders and here is a sneak preview of some of the tasty treats you can get your hands on.
Our handmade, boutique selection will include an exciting range of Rocky Road, Brownies/Blondies, Cupcakes and the trusty old faithfuls!
Rocky Road: Lucky Charm, Lotus Biscuit, Maltesers, Reeses Cups and many more!
Brownies/Blondies: melt-in-the-mouth Triple Chocolate, irresistably sticky Jammie Dodger, moreish Kinder Bueno, rich and luscious Ferrero Rocher to name but a few!
Cupcakes: luxurious Salted Caramel, velvety Nutella, vintage Jammie Dodger, citrusy, fluffy Lemon Meringue are just some of our favourites. Tell us about yours!
Classic Slices: zesty Lemon Drizzle, decadent Coffee and Walnut, traditional Carrot Cake, perky Pear and Almond, all as old and reliable as our beloved Pippin!
If you cannot decide from our mouth-watering selection, why not choose the Bakeaholics signature selection box, for which flavours will be released weekly.
If the choice is too difficult to make, let us surprise you with our mystery box…
So, Bakeaholics is a well-kept secret we have been keeping for a little while and we are almost ready for the grand take off, so fasten your seat belts - we are on the way!
We work with local suppliers to source the freshest and most authentic ingredients, and use old-fashioned techniques to ensure the highest quality. Our goal is to make your tastebuds happy!
Copyright © 2019 Bakeaholics UK - All Rights Reserved.
Designed by Valley Motorsport Promotions


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Mandatory Survey
21 comments:
- Missy said...
I did not highlight or color my hair, but I don't usually. I've heard you're not supposed to color, but highlighting is okay. Then some lady I grew up with swore one of her kid's hair came out blond because she dyed her hair mid-pregnancy. Then the kids hair grew out black. I say do whatever the heck you want!
- May 6, 2009 at 2:22 PM
- Missy said...
You bet I colored AND highlighted my hair. All my hairdressing friends say its not a big deal unless your in salon for days without leaving...at all. I say do it.
- May 6, 2009 at 2:54 PM
- The Bryger Family said...
lol.. you are funny.. I don't want to be removed from your list so I just wanted to let you know that.. No I did not color or highlight my hair, but I don't do that anyway so I am probably no help.
Most hair dye anyway is made to be pretty safe, my sister is a hairdresser and she just had a baby and was around hair dye and everything her whole pregnancy.
- May 6, 2009 at 3:08 PM
- mandie said...
Yes. In fact I have an appt. on Friday. The only problem I've ever heard--my sister in law almost passed out once with highlights (bleach) in her hair. Just make sure you don't get too hot under the cape or while your color is processing. Chemical--shmemical. Professional color should be fine. Professional.
- May 6, 2009 at 3:28 PM
- Jana said...
yes. h yes.
- May 6, 2009 at 4:10 PM
- ambyr said...
yes, I did it, and would do it again....just make an appointment.
- May 6, 2009 at 10:44 PM
- Stephanie said...
yes and i also got a pedicure every two weeks. pamper yourself because soon you will be enormous.
- May 6, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Let me think.....that was a long time ago. I don't think I did but not because of safely reasons, just wasn't in to it like I am now. Please let me stay on your list!!!
- May 6, 2009 at 11:39 PM
- tHe sMiTh SaGa said...
you already know my answer :)
- May 7, 2009 at 12:08 AM
- Grandma Duffy said...
I didn't color my hair until I was a grand mother.....
- May 7, 2009 at 8:56 AM
WAIT! am i off the list yet??!? okay, i DIDN'T, but just b/c i didn't really decide to color my hair until after Kade. i've heard all the concerns over it, but i ALSO heard that highlighting is fine, it's more of if it seeps into the scalp, at least that's what i was told. and i think your friends are right, it's not like you do it every day, and see? there are women that did it and had babies, they are fine. so that's my thoughts. late. :)
- May 7, 2009 at 9:41 AM
- The Piersons said...
My book says its fine, do you have "the" pregnancy book? I haven't yet but I am going to before the baby is born because there will be no time after...plus you're taking so many picture, you want to feel good about how you look. :)
- May 7, 2009 at 12:53 PM
- lilsusha said...
yes, late 2nd trimester, one time
- May 7, 2009 at 4:24 PM
- Pierce and Stacy said...
I did not color or highlight my hair.
- May 7, 2009 at 4:53 PM
- Sarahn said...
You KNOW I did! I would've been one unhappy girl without getting my hair did! ;) It's safe, my dear. I wouldn't go sniffing paint or anything, mind you...Every pregnant woman needs a little hair pick-me-up. Getting my hair done does WONDERS for my spirits!
- May 7, 2009 at 5:50 PM
- Hedderg said...
I hi-lighted my hair several times during both pregnancys. My kids came out healthy with very dark hair.
- May 7, 2009 at 6:53 PM
- Emily & Rayden said...
i got highlights when i was in the first trimester of my pregnancy i think! now dont delete me!! haha.
- May 8, 2009 at 12:41 AM
- SevenVillageIdiarts said...
I got pregnant on my honeymoon and we were SUPER poor. . . so my days of coloring went in the wind. . . but I made myself feel better by telling myself it was bad for the baby. If I could do it all over again, WITH MONEY, I'd get my hair done because when I look back at the photos, I looked NASTY! Plus, I hear it isn't actually bad for baby, just "Old Wives Tale #2354."
- May 8, 2009 at 9:40 AM
- Elise said...
h-yes i did!!! many times...even all over color and my babe is fine.
- May 8, 2009 at 5:38 PM
- Pierce and Stacy said...
Did you receive our gift?
I guess I need to specify who I am now that P is sending you comments. :)
- May 9, 2009 at 9:29 AM
- Boonie and Jenn said...
You probably don't care about my answer but I have colored my hair. I waited till I was in the 2nd trimester though (just to be sure). Hope it didn't mess up my child!
- May 11, 2009 at 1:50 PM


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This is what my weekend looked like at the Blue Ridge Relay: 208 miles, 28 hours of running, 9 runners. This is my 3rd year doing this race and as long as I'm able, I will do it. Every year I say it's the hardest physical thing I do all year. Marathons are really hard, but more on the mental side. This race is purely physical.
The typical relay team has 12 runners, but we've been doing it with 9 because it gives us all an extra run and we end up not sitting in the van in between runs as long as a 12-person team would. And believe it or not, it helps the stiffness a lot. Here is a breakdown of my four runs...
Leg 1 - 7.5 miles - 10:00am Friday
Starting a weekend of running with a 7.5 mile downhill bomb, losing over 1200 ft. of elevation, is pretty bad for the quads. Of course, they threw a really nice super uphill section in the middle of the downhill (which, for some reason, barely registers on the chart) to break it up. It felt like Mt. Everest after cruising downhill at a mostly out of control pace.
Leg 2 - 6.3 miles - 5:30pm Friday
Even though this wasn't supposed to be a very tough run, it was a struggle for me. It felt like once I started to climb, the road would make a turn and keep on climbing. There was a particularly tough long climb that I refused to walk up, but I should have because I'm quite sure I looked like a turtle. I tested out the Chi Running side shuffle up the hill and it saved me!
Leg 3 - 7.5 miles - 2:00am Saturday
Middle of the night running is heaven to me. It's so peaceful out, especially in this area. Before I took off, the volunteer woman, who was a local, told me "I hope you brought mace because there's some crazy people and some crazy dogs out there"...um, no, I don't have mace...eeek! But, all went well. I only saw two other runners the whole time. I passed one guy a couple miles in and then got passed by one of the crazy ultra runners. I was a tad delirious on this run, so every mailbox I saw was a potential bear, every tree stump a rabid dog and every leaf a frog. This was probably the hilliest of all of my runs, but once again, my only goal was to not walk and I made it!
Leg 4 - 7.5 miles - 7:30am Saturday
This leg wouldn't have been bad if my legs didn't feel like tree stumps starting out. Every step I took hurt. I ended up charging as hard as I could and went a 7:51 pace. It hurt to go slowly and it hurt to go fast, so I opted for getting done as quickly as I could!
My total mileage: 28.8 miles
Total sleep: 1 hour
Here are some pics of our team and the beautiful scenery...
This is part of the uphill I was talking about on my first leg. No bueno.
On my way into transition after leg 2. I got all dramatic after I finished this one and threw myself to the ground gasping for breath.
Doug, not so slug-ish, charging to the finish
Our fearless captain, Mama CKH
Girl power
Goonies in the Boonies
My buddy Kelsey from NYC. Swooped in and filled a spot on our team at the last minute!
Doug and Meg-O
RunningJustAsFastAsWeCan Teams 1 & 2
Our team ended up 47th out of 120 teams with an average 8:26 min/mile, which we thought was great considering the mountains we had to climb!


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The Regional and Global Results of the Yom Kippur War and its Related Security Councils Resolutions
At around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, on the 6th of October 1973, in the Middle East, the Syrian and the Egyptian military forces massively attacked Israel. The attack was made on Yom Kippur, the holiest and most sacred day of the Jewish year (Bard 2008). This attack was followed by a conflict known as the "Yom Kippur War" in the West and as the "Ramadan War" in the Arab countries. This war is also called the 1973 Arab-Israeli War.
The roots of the Yom Kippur War started in the unending dispute between the Jews and the Arabs. Since the triumph of the Jews in the Palestinian's civil war and since the proclamation of the Israel's state on the 14th of May, 1948, a series of wars has taken place between Israel and its Arab neighboring countries.
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On the 6th of October, 1973, during the Jewish Day of Atonement or the Yom Kippur, Syria and Egypt unleashed a surprise attack on Israeli defenses. The military forces of Israel were caught off guard on their most important religious celebration. Moreover, they suffered from heavy losses. As it had to face war on two borders against its well-armed opponents, Israel was forced to the verge of annihilation. Nevertheless, the Israeli forces came together and weeks after the battle and with the aid of airlifted equipment and supplies from USA, Israel succeeded in pushing the Arabs back. This war included one of the history's largest tank battles.
The Israeli forces also evicted Syrians out of the Golan Heights. A series of hostilities and conflicts between Egypt and Israel was agreed upon officially on the 11th of November of the same year. However, Mr. Henry Kissinger, USA's secretary of state, had to intervene the following year, to make sure that the ceasefire between Israel and Syria would be permanent.
The Yom Kippur War had deep regional and global results. For Israel, the Yom Kippur War was a frightening experience. Despite the ultimate success of the Israel Defense Forces on the battlefield, the Yom Kippur War was still considered as a military and diplomatic failure. For the Arab States, on the other hand, the Yom Kippur War was a psychological victory despite their defeat in the end.
This war also stirred a serious and severe crisis between the superpower countries when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) threatened to send their troops to the Middle East to implement ceasefire between the Arab and the Israeli. Eventually, the tension cooled down and the clash between the superpower countries was avoided. This finally led to the Camp David Peace Treaty and Oslo Peace Accords signing.
Background: Conditions that Led to the Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War rooted from the Israel's independence war, the first Arab-Israeli conflict which occurred right after Israel's foundation in 1948. Another fighting out of conflict broke out again in 1956 in the heat of the Suez crisis. When Egypt stopped controlling the Suez Canal and prohibited Israeli from shipping from the Wakaba Gulf, Israel attacked Egypt as part of its military operation together with the French and the British. However, because of the international demands, Israel had to forcefully withdraw from its borders.
By 1967, the Egyptian troops were rearmed by Soviet Union with weapons. President Nasser, Egypt's president, sent troops to the Sinai Peninsula and blocked Israeli's shipping once again. Israel decided to take a move in response to Egypt's aggressive moves. In a brilliantly executed and stunning preemptive attack, Israel routed the military forces of Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. This Israel's military triumph was a shameful defeat for Arab military and political leaders.
After this triumphant war, Israel took over the territories previously controlled by the Arabs, including the Golan Heights, West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Gaza Strip.
Yom Kippur War Results
The Yom Kippur War was a profound and intense shock to Israel. Even though the war was considered as victory and triumph for Israel having successfully defended itself from the attacks of larger Arab countries, it left a negative legacy for Israel. There were many significant repercussions within Israel, as well as its relations with other countries, particularly the United States.
Yom Kippur War Regional Effects
The Yom Kippur War had a destructive effect on Israel. Over 6,000 Israeli troops died, injured, or wounded during the eighteen days of battle. The destruction of equipment and the turn down in its production and exports of its products as a result of mobilization reached almost US$7 billion. This amount is equivalent to the country's gross national product (GNP) for one whole year. Most important effect is that the image maintained by an invincible Israel since the war in June 1967 was destroyed forever.
Taking into consideration the disadvantages brought by the participation of Israel Defense Forces in the war, their ultimate accomplishments were outstanding. Undoubtedly, among the several factors that turned the table, the most notable was the IDF reservists' heroic performance. Facing a combat at a moment's notice, the citizen soldiers of Israel saved the country and their fellowmen from military humiliation. That achievement exerted an intense effect on the country's strategic planning. Although the conclusion and the results of this achievement were questioned in the later years, the IDF reservists' performance was still considered as a justification of the force structure of IDF as a whole. For this reason, the retention of the IDF's military service's traditional framework was not at all affected.
The war in June 1967 had given Israel and its declining Labor Party a badly needed confidence and morale booster; however, the October 1973 events shook as a whole, the country's self-confidence and cast a dark shadow over the Labor elite's competence. In addition, the war-weary public became especially critical of Israel's Minister of Defense Dayan.
The Agranat Commission, an organization created right after the war in order to determine responsibilities for Israel's military forces' unpreparedness, stated in its April 1974 interim report that the group could not take Dayan's qualifications into account. The report further stated that Dayan should be called civilian defense minister instead of Minister of Defense. For this reason, the Agranat Commission concluded that Israel's Minister of Defense did not take any personal responsibility. The commission even claimed that Dayan's ministerial responsibility was more of a political and public question instead of a judicial one. Dayan submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Golda Meir; however, the latter did not accept it. The Agranat Commission even blamed the Israeli military, and suggested the dismissal of the Army Chief of Staff, David Elazar.
When the Agranat Commission report was published, Prime Minister Meir took full responsibility. The prime minister resigned from his post on the 11th of April, 1974 and his resignation led to the establishment of Israel's very first Rabin government. Despite his resignation, Prime Minister Meir remained a major influence in the country's Labor Party.
The Israeli government established by Yitzhak Rabin in 1974 entered into an interim agreement with Egypt and into a disengagement agreement with Syria an Egypt. These agreements led to the establishment of the "territories for peace" principle.
Yom Kippur War: Effects in the Relations with the USA
The Yom Kippur War started by Syria and Egypt caused huge and significant initial losses of material and personnel. Urgently, Israel needed more planes, ammunition, and tanks. The Soviet Union helped the Arab attackers with supplies while Israel asked help from the United States. Israel needed that help urgently with their survival at stake. After 3 days of discussion and deliberation, USA finally agreed to help Israel by replacing all its losses.
The resupply set a shift in the American policy in motion. This was set to solidify the relation of the US and Israel. The vulnerability of Israel during the Yom Kippur War caused it to become increasingly dependent on the United States military, diplomatic, and economic aid. This 1973 war started out an escalating regional arm race where Israel was pushed to compete with the Arab countries, newly enriched with the skyrocketing prices of oil. Simultaneously, Nixon saw the Israeli military forces' power as a considerable benefit to the US to offset the Soviet Union's inroads to Israel as well as to promote regional stability.
As a result of the Yom Kippur War, the US quadrupled all the foreign aid it gave to Israel and took over France's position as the largest arms supplier of Israel. The policy of maintaining the qualitative edge of Israel over its neighboring countries was born right after the war. This policy was based on the appreciation of the US of Israel's role as Western values' defender is a hostile region, as well as on the Cold War's calculus of contrasting the Soviet Union's client states.
As a result of the war, Nixon's administration became dedicated and committed to promoting peace so as to replace or offset the Soviet's influence to the Arab countries, as well as to end the crippling effects and repercussions of the Arab oil restriction in the US, Japan, and Europe. Before the Yom Kippur War, the Congress hardly managed to approve $500 million loan range to Israel. However, after the war, the US had been granting Israel with $2.1 billion per year, half in grants and half in loans. Almost all the money was used to acquire American-made military equipment and hardware. After five years, Israel began receiving $3 billion grant as stipulated in the Camp David Accords in 1978, which led to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979.
Yom Kippur War: Effects in the Relations with the Arab Neighbors
The Yom Kippur War had greatly demonstrated to Israel's Arab neighbors that Israel could never be crushed on the battleground even under circumstances favorable for the Arabs. This, as a result, led to a higher diplomacy interest as the means to have an edge over Israel.
As an effect of the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's intensive efforts, Israel departed from the Suez Canal and its east bank just behind the cease-fire zone supervised by United Nations. Also, at the Syrian front, the Israeli territorial gains created in the war were surrendered. Immediately after the war, the diplomatic relations of Syrian and Egyptian with the US, which was wrecked since the war in 1967, were resumed. The Yom Kippur War also led to the Suez Canal's clearance. This war also brought about a sudden and major shift in the power of Middle East which eventually led to the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty signing.
Right after the Yom Kippur War, many African states and other Third World countries followed the earlier actions of the Soviet Union and disengaged from their diplomatic relation with Israel. During the 1975 UN General Assembly, the "Zionism equals racism" resolution was passed. Moreover, the Palestine Liberation Organization, whose international status was strengthened in 1974, continued attacking Israel. In turn, Israel refused to have any relation with the PLO.
Post Ceasefire Negotiation
The organized battle on all fronts ended on October 26. However, the ceasefire failed to end the erratic clashes along the ceasefire lines. It also did not dissipate the military tensions. Without any means of supply and with cutoff of the third Army, it was indeed an effective hostage to Israel.
Kissinger threatened to give support to the withdrawal resolution of United Nations. However, before Israel could respond to this threat, Hafez Ismail, the national security advisor of Egypt, sent a stunning message to Kissinger, saying that Egypt was ready to enter into direct negotiations with the Israelis but Israel must first agree to permit the delivery of non-military supplies to their army and that Israel must first comply with the complete ceasefire.
The negotiations took place on the 28th of October, between Muhammad al-Ghani al-Gamasy, Egypt's major general and Aharon Yariv, Israel's major general. In the end, Kissinger brought Egypt's proposal to Sadat without any disagreement or debate.
The checkpoints of United Nations were brought in to take over Israeli checkpoint. The non-military supplies of Egypt were also allowed to reach the Egypt's base and there was also an exchange of the prisoners-of-war.
The Geneva summit followed, and eventually, a peace agreement was worked out. On the 18th of January, Israel entered into a pullback agreement in the west side of Suez Canal, and their very last troops were withdrawn on the 5th of March, 1974.
Eventually, Henry Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy created a disengagement agreement on the 31st of May, 1974, based on the withdrawal of Israeli to the Purple Line, prisoners-of-war exchange, and the UN buffer zone establishment. This resulted in the establishment of the United Nations Disengagement and Observer Force to supervise peace in the Golan.
Related Security Councils Resolutions
Resolution 338
In accordance with the joint proposal made by the US and the Soviet Union, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 or S/RES/338 was approved on the 22nd of October, 1973. This resolution called for a permanent ceasefire in the Yom Kippur War. This resolution set the ceasefire to take effect on that same day, not later that 6:52 in the evening. The resolution states (emphasis in original):
The Security Council
1. Calls upon all parties to the present fighting to cease all firing and terminate all military activity immediately, no later than 12 hours after the moment of the adoption of this decision, in the positions they now occupy;
2. Calls upon the parties concerned to start immediately after the cease-fire the implementation of Security Council Resolution 242 (1967) in all of its parts;
3. Decides that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-fire, negotiations shall start between the parties concerned under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East (Avraham 479).
The term "appropriate auspices" in the resolution was interpreted as Soviet or American rather than the United Nations auspices. The third clause helped in establishing the framework for the 1973 Geneva Conference held in December, 1973.
The supposed importance of the 338 resolution in the conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis allegedly stems from "decides" stated in the third clause which is apprehended for the binding of the 242 resolution. Nevertheless, the decision in the third clause does not really relate to the 242 resolution, but rather to start the negotiations on a just and durable peace in the Middle East. This led to the holding of the Geneva Conference; however, Syria did not attend this conference.
The argument moves on. In the United Nations Charter Article 25, it is stated that the United Nations members agree to acknowledge and perform the Security Council's decisions. It is also generally acknowledged that the resolutions of the Security Council, approved in the exercise of the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace in compliance to the UN Charter, are required on the member states.
The scholars studying this resolution state that the word "decide" connotes it as the Council's decision; thereby, invoking the article 25's binding nature. Moreover, the legal force added by this resolution to the Resolution 242 is said to be the reason that the SC 242 and Resolution 338 are usually referred together with the legal documents related to the conflict.
There are some scholars who have also promoted the position that this resolution was actually passed as a non-binding recommendation of Chapter VI while there are some who claim that this was actually recommended as a binding resolution of Chapter VII.
This resolution was approved by 14 at the 1747th UNSC meeting, with only one member not participating in the held voting. This was the People's Republic of China. Despite the terms stipulated in the resolution, the fighting continued and this led to the Resolution 339, the only resolution that resulted in a ceasefire.
Resolution 339
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 339 or the S/RES/339 was passed on the 23rd of October, 1973 to implement the Yom Kippur War ceasefire where the United Nations Security Council Resolution 338 which was passed two days before the adoption of Resolution 339 had failed (Hasanayn 285). After the Egyptian forces did not comply with the terms of the ceasefire, the Israeli forces used this to make considerable military gains.
The Resolution 339 mainly confirmed the terms stated in the Resolution 388, turning the forces of the two parties back in place where the ceasefire took effect, as well as the request made by the Secretary General of the United Nations to carry out measures and actions placing observers to oversee the ceasefire.
The Camp David Accords
The government established by Yitzhak Rabin was constrained and restricted by different scandals, and he was obliged to step down from his position in 1977. The Likud party, the right-wing party, which was under the leadership of Benachem Begin, took place after winning the elections. This was a first historical change in the Israel's political landscape since Israel was founded.
Sadat, who joined the war for the recovery of Sinai, grew impatient at the slow pace and progress of the peace process. In November of 1977, Sadat took the unparalleled step of going to Israel. He was the very first Arab leader who explicitly recognized that Israel has the right to exist.
Sadat's act speeded up the peace process. US President Jimmy Carter asked Begin and Sadat to attend a summit at the Camp David for the final peace negotiation. The negotiation took place for 12 days from the 5th to 17th of September, 1978 (Donald 371). In the end, the negotiation succeeded and in 1979, both Egypt and Israel signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. Because of this and to have a lasting peace and good relation with Egypt, Israel decided to withdraw its settlers and troops from the Sinai.
Many members of the Arab community were furious at the successful peace negotiation between Egypt and Israel. This led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League.
Two years later, on the 6th of October, 1981, Sadat was assassinated while he was in a parade celebrating the eighth anniversary of the start of the Yom Kippur War. He was assassinated by Army members who became furious because of the negotiations he made with Israel.
The Yom Kippur War is an inconclusive and damaging fourth Arab-Israeli war. It was initiated by Syria and Egypt on the 6th of October, 1973, right on the Yom Kippur, a Jewish holy day and during Ramadan, Islam's fasting month. The war lasted until the 26th of October, 1973. The war that eventually drew the Soviet Union and the United States into a tortuous confrontation trying to defend their respective allies was started with the subtle goal of persuading Israel to enter into negotiations more favorable for the Arab countries.
Despite the success initially enjoyed by the Syrian and the Egyptian forces, the Yom Kippur War proved once more how effective and efficient the Israeli military forces could be. Immediately after the initial setbacks, the war largely boosted the morale of the Israelis. Even though there was a coordinated attack on the two fronts, Israel survived and pushed back the nations that were initially broken through the defenses of Israel.
Aside from the weaponry, the Americans also provided the Israelis with intelligence. What appeared to be instinctive devastating counter-attacks from the Israelis were actually based on information provided by the American intelligence. In essence, Israel knew where to find their enemy and how to coordinate an attack accordingly.
Moreover, the Yom Kippur War also served the Arab nations a salutary lesson. The failure of the Syrian and the Egyptian forces to defeat and win over Israel forced Sadat to adopt a diplomatic approach. This war also encouraged Palestinians to carry out extreme actions.
Indeed, with the experience of Israel and Arab nations, the Yom Kippur War provides the lesson that not all victories are positive. The negative part of victory would only show up as an aftermath and effect of the war.
Work Cited
Bard, Mitchell. The Yom Kippur War. 18 September, 2008. 07 May, 2009. ;http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/73_War.html;.
Avraham, Adan. On the Banks of the Suez: An Israeli General's Personal Account of the Yom Kippur War. California: Presidio Press, 1980.
Hasanayn, Haykal. The Road to Ramadan. New York: Times, 1975.
Donald, N. Warriors Against Israel. Vermont: Amana Books, 1988.


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OJ Da Juiceman and Young Nudy are beefing after Nudy dissed Gucci Mane last week.
It happened after Guwop posted a photo of himself on Bouldercrest road in his old East Atlanta neighborhood and said he still runs the place. That's when Nudy sent Gucci a shot and said he doesn't run their hood at all, which he caught a lot of flak for.
Nudy responded to the backlash by doubling down on his claim that Gucci doesn't run their neighborhood. He also said that OJ Da Juiceman was supposed to be a big deal in East Atlanta, but he was eventually chased out.
That made Juiceman respond.
Then Nudy shot back.
"Ok, since now you want to be hard and shit Mr. Capri Sun man, the nigga who got stripped and robbed in his own neighborhood," he said.
Juiceman then responded to that post and claimed he's never been robbed or harmed in any way. He also threatened to either kill Nudy or someone from his team.
Do you think this beef will stay online or spill out into the streets?


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November 17, 2016Vanir | ASL, LLC today announced that the L.A. City Council recently approved a not-to-exceed $30 million, seven-year contract to provide Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) with project and construction management services for its $14 billion capital improvement program. Vanir | ASL is a joint venture between Vanir Construction Management, Inc. and ASL.
The period of reconsideration expired on Friday after the council voted November 2 to approve contracts with Vanir | ASL and several other firms to help manage terminal, airside, and landside projects at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport. Vanir | ASL will provide project, construction and design management services, stakeholder coordination, constructability review, change management and LAWA divisional support, among other requested services.
Since 2010, Vanir has provided on-call construction management support services for more than $1 billion in new and modernization projects for LAX. ASL provides program and project management services at airports across the United States, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and San Francisco International Airport.
In a committee meeting on November 1 to consider the item, Council members and LAWA staff noted that the procurement process was designed to ensure maximum participation by businesses within multiple size classifications.
"Vanir | ASL is pleased that the board of airport commissioners chose to make the inclusion of small, mid-sized, and local businesses a priority," said Dorene Dominguez, owner and CEO of Vanir Construction Management, which qualified in the mid-sized category. "Seventy-five percent of Vanir | ASL subconsultants are certified small businesses and our culture of collaboration and inclusion is important to give Los Angeles the airport it deserves."
Vanir Construction Management, Inc., is one of the nation's leading full-service, program, project and construction management firms. Since 1980, Vanir has provided professional services in excess of $16 billion in construction value to transportation, K-12 and higher education, healthcare, justice, water/wastewater, public buildings, and energy markets throughout the United States. Headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., Vanir has been consistently ranked by Engineering News-Record as one of the "Top 50 CM Firms" for more than 20 years. For more information, visit www.vanir.com.
ASL is a program/construction management consulting firm offering a wide range of professional services. For more than 20 years, ASL has provided program management, project management, construction management, design management, project controls, QA/QC, inspection and staff augmentation services. For more information, visit www.aslpm.com.
Mr. H. Frank Dominguez founded the Vanir Group of Companies, Inc. over 50 years ago in San Bernardino, California. Vanir Group's subsidiary companies specialize in all aspects of commercial and institutional real estate development and participate in project delivery throughout California and the nation. The combined staff of the Vanir Group of Companies total over 350 professionals including architects, engineers, construction managers, contractors and developers. Visit www.vanir.com for more information.
Jennifer Azevedo
(916) 575-8888


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Lily Blackburn // Writer
Word Slayer, Editor, Workshop Facilitator
6 Word Memoirs & Ghost Selves
Reading old journals this morning in search of clarity…finding something else. It's like reading a ghost of myself. In April 2017 I took a personal essay class and we wrote 6-word memoirs as an exercise and shared them aloud. I think I chose to share #4 – which takes the cake. The memoirs below; successful […]More


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If you've never heard of the Neptune Pine and you've been interested in a smartwatch that can be a full replacement for your smartphone, you may want to check it out. The Canadian start-up, which debuted the device in February, announced some updates to their smartwatch this week.
For those not familiar with the Neptune Pine smartwatch, it runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, has a 2.4-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 320×240, a Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, 512MB of RAM, a front-facing VGA camera, a 5MP rear-facing camera, full 2G and 3G radios (no LTE), Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi connectivity.
As for the updates Neptune just announced, the device is said to work great with the Google Play store and the company is trying to get it supported by Google, the device now supports 48 different languages, it lasts more than 150 hours on standby and is even said to work great with Google Now. That's one exciting feature since Google has been rumored to be making a Google Now watch.
Later this month, the company will open up a Kickstarter campaign; it is now open to Canadian start-ups and they're currently working on regulatory testing. The Pine will meet regulatory requirements for the U.S., Canada, India and the E.U. for January 2014 shipping dates.
If you're still interested, you can head over to their website to pre-order the 16GB model for $335 or the 32GB model for $395. It may be a bit pricey, but it seems like it will bring you much more functionality than any other smartwatch currently on the market if and when it finally is available.
via Neptune


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5 Reasons To Be Hopeful About the AIDS Crisis
The fight is not over, but recent progress has been monumental.
It has been a good few months in the world's fight against HIV and AIDS.
Medical breakthroughs and improvements in treatment rates have made headlines recently, showing significant progress in the world's long fight against the epidemic that has claimed the lives of 35 million people since it began.
Though there is still no proven vaccine, there are reasons to be hopeful about the fight against HIV/AIDS. Here are five recent examples of how the world is coming closer to ending HIV/AIDS.
Read More: Rapper 2 Chainz Turned His Pink 'Trap House' Into an HIV/AIDS Testing Center
Swaziland Cuts HIV In Half
Swaziland has cut the rate of HIV infection in half, according to an announcement this week from the country — no small feat for the country with the with the world's highest prevalence for HIV.
In 2011, Swaziland was in the middle on an HIV epidemic. At the time, 32% of its adult population were living with HIV, and the disease was spreading at an astounding rate of 2.5% per year.
But with help from organizations dedicated to ending HIV/AIDS, Swaziland has better access to life-saving medication. In 2016, an 73.1% of the HIV positive population have successfully suppressed the virus.
New HIV Vaccine
With more genetic diversity than the flu, HIV has proven to be a challenge when in it comes to developing a vaccine. But new research presented at the Paris International AIDS Society Conference on Monday shows the "mosaic vaccine" may be a game changer in the fight to end HIV/AIDS.
The vaccine combines different pieces of multiple viruses in order to combat the genetic diversity of HIV and is one of two vaccines currently undergoing clinical trials in humans.
Researchers have said preliminary results from the human trials make them hopeful they will be as successful as trials in monkeys, which showed the vaccine protected 66% of the monkeys from HIV.
Read More: 20 Years Old, HIV Positive, and Working to Stop the Spread of AIDS
Generic HIV Medicine
Although there are medications that slow the progression of HIV in an infected person, they do not work for everyone, and some people have even developed a resistance to the drugs. This resistance has contributed to recent deaths from AIDS related illnesses in Sub-Saharan Africa.
But a new generic version of an HIV drug has become a beacon of hope for patients who thought they had no viable treatment options.
The medication, known commonly as DTG, has been found to significantly drop levels of HIV in the blood, especially among patients who had no results with, or developed a resistance to, traditional HIV treatments. DTG is also cheaper to manufacture than traditional HIV medication, meaning it will be more affordable for individuals and HIV relief organizations.
First approved in the US in 2013, DTG is being now used to treat 20,000 patients in Kenya and will be available in Uganda and Nigeria later this year.
South African Girl Suppresses HIV
A nine-year old girl from South Africa was born with HIV, but now she is disease-free.
She received treatment for 40 weeks after her birth, at which point treatment ended and her health was monitored, according to the National Institutes of Health. Doctors were amazed when, more than eight years later, she showed no sign of HIV in her blood.
The girl was part of a larger clinical trial testing the theory that if HIV positive newborns are started on treatment, their bodies will suppress the disease without the need for lifelong treatment.
Read More: The Dangerous Conditions Facing Newborn Babies of Sex Workers
Half The World's HIV Patients Being Treated
This is a major milestone in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
By 2020, UNAIDS aspires to have 90% of HIV positive patients receiving medication. And with 19.5 million HIV positive now people being treated, that goal is closer to being achieved.
For the first time in history, more than half of all HIV patients have access to lifesaving medication. Having such a large portion of people medicated has contributed to global AIDS-related deaths being cut in half since 2005.
Although ending HIV/AIDS will require more hard work, better funding, and stronger medication, the progress made so far has been monumental.