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Life on Hold for Egyptian Christian Arrested for his Faith
Unresolved charge of 'defaming religion' leaves him in perpetual limbo.
CAIRO, Egypt, December 16 (CDN) — An Egyptian who left Islam to become a Christian and consequently lost his wife, children and business is waiting to see if the government will now take away his freedom for "defaming" Islam.
Ashraf Thabet, 45, is charged with defaming a revealed religion, Article 98f of the Egyptian Penal Code. The charges stem from Thabet's six-year search for spiritual meaning that eventually led him to become a Christian. During his search, he shared his doubts about Islam and told others what he was learning about Jesus Christ.
Local religious authorities, incensed at Thabet's ideas, notified Egypt's State Security Intelligence service (SSI), which arrested and charged him with defamation. If found guilty, Thabet would face up to five years in jail. But because prosecutors have made no move to try the case, Thabet lives in limbo and is subject to a regular barrage of death threats from people in his community in Port Said in northeast Egypt.
"I don't know what is going to happen in the future," Thabet said. "They're making life hard for me. I can't get back my computer. I can't get back anything."
Thabet said that before his search began he was a committed Muslim who did his best to observe its rules, including those for prayer and fasting.
"I wasn't an extremist, but I was committed to praying and to reading the Quran," Thabet said. "I went to the Hajj. I did the usual things. I followed the Quran for the most part."
Despite his efforts, Thabet admitted that his understanding of God was based on fear and routine, nearly rote obedience.
"There was no spiritual relationship between myself and God," he said. "In general I was always cautious about my relationship with God. I didn't want to do anything wrong."
Thabet started looking at Christian Web sites, but his real interest in Christianity began when he watched the film, "The Passion of the Christ" in 2004.
"When I watched 'The Passion of the Christ,' I was very touched by Jesus' story, and I wanted to read more about Him," Thabet said. "So I asked a friend how I could know more about Jesus, and he told me, 'The Bible.'"
His friend, a Christian Copt, did not get him a Bible until a month later because, Thabet thinks, he was afraid of being accused of proselytizing. Thabet began reading the Bible, which had a powerful impact on him, especially the Sermon on the Mount.
"I felt inside myself that these were the words of God," he said. "The Bible tells people to give and to give out freely, so these words couldn't be the words of a human being or a [mere] person, because human beings are inherently selfish."
Thabet was also struck by the lives that the early followers of Jesus led, especially their willingness to lose everything, including their lives, for Christ.
The final factor that led Thabet to become a Christian came from Islam's "Ninety-Nine Names of Allah," attributes of God according to the Quran and tradition. In the names, God is called a "healer" a "resurrecter" and "just."
"I started to compare all these characteristics with the characteristics of Jesus, and I saw that Jesus had a lot of the characteristics that God had, not only the human characteristics, being just and being kind, but there were similarities in the supernatural characteristics, like that He raised people from the dead," he said. "In the Quran only God could raise people from the dead. I noticed that Jesus could raise people from the dead, and that He could heal people. Once I started to notice
the similarities between God and Jesus, I started believing that Jesus is the Son of God."
Thabet said he cared about others "going the right way," so he started having conversations with Muslim friends.
At first, people respected Thabet or tolerated what was seen as an awkward curiosity. But after he told his friends they were "only Muslim by inheritance," they started to turn against him. They asked him what he was going to be if he wasn't going to be a Muslim.
"I told them I started to read about Christianity, and I was starting to believe in it, and that's when they brought the elders to talk to me," he said.
The meeting didn't go well. The Islamic leaders were unable to answer his questions and ended up yelling at him. Then they reported him to the SSI.
The SSI summoned Thabet and questioned him on his doubts about Islam.
Thabet said by the time he was done with the interrogation, the SSI officer looked almost sick and told him not to talk to anyone else in Port Said about religion.
"I don't encourage you to talk about these things with people or to open up these types of discussions, because it will just provoke people and make them angry," the officer told him, according to Thabet.
Two days later, Thabet said, the SSI ordered him to report for more questioning, this time with an officer who specialized in religious issues and countering missionaries. The officer wanted to know what made him start to doubt Islam. He asked specific questions about what Web sites he had been on and what books he had read, and whether he had been baptized.
Thabet said that at the time of his questioning, he was still struggling with his new beliefs. Part of him wanted something that would restore his faith in Islam, so he went to Internet chat rooms for religious discussion.
"A part of me wanted to feel that I was wrong, that there was an answer to my questions," he said. "I was looking for someone who would say 'No, no, this is how it is,' and that I would regain my trust back or not have any more doubts. But none of the people I talked to could answer me. They didn't say anything to any effect."
Thabet said he was always respectful, but Muslims found his questions provocative and became increasingly angry.
Eventually police came for Thabet. On March 22 at 3 a.m., he said, 11 officers from the SSI cut the power to his home, kicked down his front door and assaulted him in front of his crying wife and children.
Thabet quickly pulled away from the fight, once he realized they were officers from the SSI. The men swarmed over Thabet's home, seizing his computer and every book and CD he owned. They took him to jail.
Authorities interrogated Thabet non-stop for 12 hours, took a break and then interrogated him for seven more, he said.
Initially he was held for 15 days. Then authorities ordered he be held for another 15 days. Then they extended it again. Thabet said he spent the entire time in solitary confinement, and he wasn't informed of the "defamation of religion" charge against him until the end of 132 days in jail. He said he was not tortured, however, and that his interrogators and jailers were largely civil.
There was more hardship waiting for him at home. Muslim leaders in his neighborhood convinced his wife to divorce him and take his 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son.
"They gave her the money to file for a divorce, a car and another person to marry," Thabet said, adding that the Muslim leaders had offered him money too if he would stay in Islam. "In the beginning they tried to bribe me to come back to Islam, but I refused."
Thabet has only had a few brief moments with his children since he was arrested, mainly when his soon-to-be ex-wife came to their home to gather a few belongings. If she goes through with the divorce, according to Egyptian law it is likely Thabet will lose all parental rights to his children, including any right to see them.
In Egypt and most other Muslim-majority countries, leaving Islam is considered ample grounds for termination of parental rights. Thabet said the religious leaders consider him "lost to Islam" and are trying to "save" his wife and children.
He filed a report with police about the Muslim leaders bribing his wife – and about another man who swindled money from him – but police ignored both reports, he said.
Kamal Fahmi of Set My People Free to Worship Me, a group headquartered in Cairo dedicated to raising awareness about the problems faced by Muslims who become Christians, said that under Islam, "Muslim converts don't have the right to exist."
Arrests like Thabet's are common in Egypt.
"It is a tactic used to intimidate people and scare them from leaving Islam and taking alternative beliefs or moral codes," Fahmi said.
In Islam as it is most often practiced in Egypt, merely expressing doubt about Islam is considered wrong, Fahmi said. Questioning any of its claims is considered blasphemy and is punishable by imprisonment under a variety of charges in Egypt; it is punishable by death in some other countries.
"Saying, 'I don't believe in Muhammad,' is considered defaming Islam," Fahmi said. "Saying, 'I don't believe in Islam as it is not true,' can lead to death [murder], as you are considered an apostate," Fahmi said. "Even rejecting the Islamic moral codes can lead to the same thing. Criticizing any of the sharia [Islamic law] is considered blasphemy."
The Future
Thabet said he is uncertain what the future holds. He was released on Aug. 1 but, because he has the defamation of religion charge over his head – with no indication of when the case could go to court – he is unable to work and cannot even obtain a driver's license.
His savings are almost depleted, forcing him to borrow money from a Muslim friend. He is concerned about re-arrest and receives death threats on a regular basis. He is too afraid to leave his apartment on most days.
"There are a lot of phone threats," Thabet said. Noting he had been baptized three years ago, he said he has received phone threats in which someone tells him, "We are going to baptize you again with blood."
On numerous occasions while talking in Internet chat rooms, he has been told, "Look outside the window, we know where you are," Thabet said.
In recent days Muslims are angry at converts and at Christians in general, he said. "They're very worked up about religious issues."
He said he wants to leave Egypt but admits that, at his age, it would be very hard to start over. And if he stays in Egypt, he said, at least he will have a chance to see his children, however brief those encounters may be.
Since Thabet was released from jail on Aug. 1, authorities have seized his passport and summoned him four times for questioning. He said he thinks the SSI is trying to wear him down.
"Everyone is telling me that they [the government] want to make my life hard," he said. "The problem here in Egypt is the religious intolerance that is found in government ministries. The intolerance has reached a point where they can't think straight. Their intolerance makes them unaware of their own intolerance."
Report from Compass Direct News
Orissa, India Christians Still Face Boycott, Forced Conversion
Hindu nationalists continue to oppress Christians in Kandhamal district, report says.
NEW DELHI, November 11 (CDN) — More than two years after losing relatives and property in anti-Christian violence, there is no sense of relief among survivors in India's Orissa state, as many are still ostracized and pressured to "return" to Hinduism, according to a private investigation.
"Despite the state administration's claim of normalcy," the preliminary report of a fact-finding team states, "a state of lawlessness and utter fear and sense of insecurity" prevails among Christians of Kandhamal district, which saw a major anti-Christian bloodbath in 2008.
The team, consisting of local attorney Nicholas Barla and another identified only as Brother Marcus, along with rights activists Jugal Kishore Ranjit and Ajay Kumar Singh, visited four villages in three blocks of Kandhamal on Nov. 5.
In Bodimunda village in Tikabali, the team met a pastor who said he has been closely watched since Hindu extremists forced him to become a Hindu. The pastor, whose name the report withheld for security reasons, said he had to convert to Hinduism in 2008 "to save his old mother, who could not have escaped the violence as she was not in a position to walk."
He is still closely watched in an effort to prevent him from returning to Christianity. While the attorneys and activists were still at the pastor's house, a man who identified himself as from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS, India's most influential Hindu nationalist conglomerate) came to inquire about his visitors. The pastor felt compelled to tell them that they were "bank officials."
In the same village, Hindu nationalists have also imposed a de facto ban on any private or public vehicle to ferry Christians or their belongings, said the report.
The team met the family of a paralyzed Christian, Bamadev Pradhan, whom auto-rickshaw drivers refused to take to a hospital when he recently ran a high fever. Eventually a Christian driver took him to the only hospital in Tikabali, around eight kilometers (nearly five miles) from his village of Bodimunda, but as the Christian was driving back, some local men confiscated his vehicle.
With the help of the auto-rickshaw union, the driver (unnamed in the report) got the vehicle released after paying a fine of 1,051 (US$24) rupees and promising that he would not transport any Christians in the future.
Another Christian said area Hindus extremists prohibited Christians from procuring basic necessities.
"We are not allowed to bring housing materials or food provisions or medicines, and nor are we allowed to buy anything from local shops," he said. "We do not have any shop of our own. Here, we are struggling to live as human beings."
The team also met a Hindu who had to pay 5,000 rupees (US$112) to get his tractor returned to him, as he had transported housing material for the construction of the house of a Christian.
In the house of a Christian in Keredi village in Phulbani Block, the team found a picture of a Hindu god. The resident, who was not identified in the report, explained that he had to display it in order to protect his family from harm.
The team found pictures of Hindu gods also in the house of a Christian in Gandapadar village in the Minia area, Phiringia Block. A woman in the house told the team that local Hindu nationalists had given her pictures of Hindu gods for worship.
"We have kept them, as they often come to check whether we have reconverted to Christianity," she said.
Almost all Christians the team met complained that the local administration had done little to protect them and suspected that officials colluded with area Hindu nationalists.
Released on Nov. 8, the report asserts that Christians have been barred from taking water from a government well in Dakanaju village, under G. Udayagiri police jurisdiction in Tikabali Block. The village head, Sachindra Pradhan, has promised to take action "at the earliest," it added.
Violence in Kandhamal and some other districts of Orissa state followed the assassination of Hindu nationalist leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on Aug. 23, 2008. The rampage killed over 100 people and burned 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions, according to estimates by human rights groups.
The spate of attacks began a day after Saraswati's killing when Hindu nationalist groups blamed Christians for his murder, although Maoists (extreme Marxists) active in the district claimed responsibility for it.
John Dayal, a Christian activist in Delhi, told Compass that "the apparatus of 2008 remains undisturbed." The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was part of the ruling state alliance with the regional Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party at the time of the violence. Although the BJD broke up with the BJP in 2009, blaming it for the violence, the former cannot be excused, said Dayal.
"While the BJP is mainly to be blamed, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is not entirely innocent," Dayal said. "Not just that he allowed the BJP and RSS cadres to run amok when they were part of his government, turning a blind eye to their very visible anti-Christian activities, but he was his own home [interior] minister and cannot really shirk command responsibility for the carnage together with his BJP ministerial colleagues and senior officers."
Kandhamal district Magistrate Krishan Kumar, who was on a tour at press time, could not be contacted for comment despite repeated attempts.
Of the 648,201 people in Kandhamal district, 117,950 are Christian, mostly Dalit (formerly "untouchables" in the caste hierarchy in Hindu societies), according to the 2001 Census. Hindus, mainly tribal people and numbering 527,757, form the majority.
Report from Compass Direct News
Church under Attack in Indonesia Agrees to Change Venue
Congregation accepts offer under condition that government build them permanent building.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, September 29 (CDN) — A West Java church has agreed to move temporarily to a government-selected site following Islamist harassment that included a Sept. 12 attack on two of its leaders.
The Batak Christian Protestant Church (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan, or HKBP) in Ciketing village, Bekasi, decided in a congregational meeting on Sunday (Sept. 26) to accept a government offer to move worship services to the former Organization and Political Party (OPP) building on the condition that local officials will keep a promise to build a new house of worship for them within two years in the Mustika Sari district.
The Rev. Luspida Simanjuntak, who received hospital treatment after she was struck with a wooden plank by suspected Islamic extremists in the Sept. 12 attack, said that the church was ready to stop struggling.
"We are tired of being intimidated and terrorized," Pastor Simanjuntak said. "We will be able to worship quietly and peacefully."
Church lawyer Saor Siagian said that the church had accepted the temporary move with the understanding that the Bekasi municipal government must fulfill its pledge. The government will build a new church building to replace the structure the church is leaving on a 2,500-square meter lot belonging to PT Timah, the Government Tin Mining Co. in the Mustika Sari area of Bekasi. The lot is zoned for general and social facilities.
The government had suggested two alternative locations: the PT Timah lot and a 1,900-square meter parcel in the Strada Housing area. The congregation and leaders of HKBP Ciketing chose the PT Timah property.
The first HKBP Ciketing worship service in the former OPP Building took place without incident on Sunday, with the Bekasi government providing buses to transport the congregation to the new site. Pastor Simanjuntak said the congregation is thankful for the new temporary site, but it does not accommodate the entire congregation. The 10-meter by 14-meter building accommodates 250 people, but normally 300 attend services, and some had to stand outside, she said.
Dozens of police guarded the location.
Zaki Oetomo, a Bekasi city official, told Compass that the building could be used rent-free for two years, with an extension possible if the church desired. The government has offered to provide the buses to transport the congregation to and from the site every week.
20-Year Wait
The Ciketing church originally met in the Pondok Timur Indah housing development with 10 families in 1990, and therefore has generally been called the HKBP Pondok Timur Indah.
"By 1995 it had grown to 30 families," Manorangi Siahaan, a church member, told Compass.
In those days the worship services were held in different members' homes. Manorangi acknowledged that the house church worship did spark some small protests.
Between 1990 and 2010, the church leaders requested building permits three separate times, in 1995, 2000 and 2010. Not once did the local government respond, church leaders said.
By 2005 the congregation had grown to 150, and church leaders bought a 2,170-square meter lot in Ciketing village, near Bekasi City, to construct a church building. They built a semi-permanent structure, which was later torn down because they lacked a building permit under pressure from an Islamic group claiming to speak for the local citizens. As a result, the congregation went back to worshipping in homes on a rotating basis.
In 2007 the congregation had grown to 300 people. They bought a house in Pondok Timur Indah, in the Mustika Jaya area of Bekasi City, to use for worship. The Bekasi government sealed the house on March 1 under pressure from Islamic groups. On July 2, the government sealed the house a second time because the congregation was continuing to worship there. Then on July 11, the church was forced to move their worship service to a vacant property in Ciketing, which had been readied for a church building. This site was about 3 kilometers from their property in Pondok Timur Indah.
Protests by Islamic groups mounted each Sunday at the Ciketing site, culminating in the attack on Pastor Simanjuntak and elder Hasian Sihombing, who was stabbed in the stomach and heart.
Report from Compass Direct News
Prospects of Religious Freedom Appear Grim in Islamic Maldives
Two years after political reforms, freedom of faith nowhere in sight.
MALÉ, Maldives, August 10 (CDN) — Visitors to this Islamic island nation get a sense of religious restrictions even before they arrive. The arrival-departure cards given to arriving airline passengers carry a list of items prohibited under Maldivian laws – including "materials contrary to Islam."
After Saudi Arabia, the Maldives is the only nation that claims a 100-percent Muslim population. The more than 300,000 people in the Maldives, an Indian Ocean archipelago featuring 1,192 islets 435 miles southwest of Sri Lanka, are all Sunnis.
This South Asian nation, however, has more than 70,000 expatriate workers representing several non-Islamic religions, including Christianity.
Also, around 60,000 tourists, mainly from Europe, visit each year to enjoy the blue ocean and white beaches and normally head straight to one of the holiday resorts built on around 45 islands exclusively meant for tourism. Tourists are rarely taken to the other 200 inhabited islands where locals live.
Nearly one-third of the population lives in the capital city of Malé, the only island where tourists and Maldivians meet.
While the Maldivians do not have a choice to convert out of Islam or to become openly atheist, foreigners in the country can practice their religion only privately.
In previous years several Christian expats have either been arrested for attending worship in private homes or denied visas for several months or years on suspicion of being connected with mission agencies.
According to "liberal estimates," the number of Maldivian Christians or seekers "cannot be more than 15," said one source.
"Even if you engage any Maldivian in a discussion on Christianity and the person reports it to authorities, you can be in trouble," the source said. "A Maldivian youth studying in Sri Lanka became a Christian recently, but when his parents came to know about it, they took him away. We have not heard from him since then."
The source added that such instances are not uncommon in the Maldives.
"I wish I could attend church, but I am too scared to look for one," said a European expat worker. "I have not even brought my Bible here; I read it online. I don't want to take any chances."
The British reportedly translated the Bible into the local language, Dhivehi, and made it available in the 19th century, as the Maldives was a British protectorate from 1887 to 1965. Today no one knows how the Dhivehi Bible "disappeared."
"A new translation has been underway for years, and it is in no way near completion," said the source who requested anonymity.
Religion Excluded from Rights
The 2008 constitution, adopted five years after a popular movement for human rights began, states that a "non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives."
Abdulla Yameen, brother of the former dictator of the Maldives and leader of the People's Alliance party, an ally of the opposition Dhivehi Raiyyathunge Party (Maldivian People's Party or DRP), told Compass that the issue of religious freedom was "insignificant" for the Maldives.
"There's no demand for it from the public," Yameen said. "If you take a public poll, 99 percent of the citizens will say 'no' to religious freedom."
Maldivians are passionate about their religion, Yameen added, referring to a recent incident in which a 37-year-old Maldivian citizen, Mohamed Nazim, was attacked after he told a gathering that he was not a Muslim. On May 28, before a crowd of around 11,000 Maldivians, Nazim told a visiting Indian Muslim televangelist, Zakir Naik, that although he was born to a practicing Muslim family, he was "struggling to believe in religions."
He also asked Naik about his "verdict on Islam." The question enraged an angry crowd, with many calling for Nazim's death while others beat him. He received several minor injuries before police took him away.
"See how the public went after his [Nazim's] throat," said Yameen, who studied at Claremont Graduate University in California. When asked if such passion was good for a society, he replied, "Yes. We are an Islamic nation, and our religion is an important part of our collective identity."
Asked if individuals had no rights, his terse answer was "No." Told it was shocking to hear his views, he said, "We are also shocked when a nation legalizes gay sex."
Mohamed Zahid, vice president of the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives, told Compass that the country has its own definition of human rights.
"It is to protect people's rights under the sharia [Islamic law] and other international conventions with the exception of religious freedom," he said. "We are a sovereign nation, and we follow our own constitution."
Zahid and several other local sources told Compass that the issue of religious rights was "irrelevant" for Maldivians. "Not more than 100 people in the country want religious freedom," Zahid said.
Politics of Religion
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, a virtual dictator for 30 years until 2008, is generally held responsible for creating an atmosphere of religious restrictions in the Maldives, as he sought to homogenize religion in the country by introducing the state version of Sunni Islam. He also led a major crackdown on Christians.
The Protection of Religious Unity Act, enacted in 1994, was an endeavor to tighten the government's control over mosques and all other Islamic institutions. The Gayoom administration even wrote Friday sermons to be delivered in mosques.
In 1998, Gayoom began a crackdown on alleged missionary activities.
"A radio station based out of India used to air Christian programs via the Seychelles, but the government came to know about it and ensured that they were discontinued with the help of the government in the Seychelles," said a local Muslim source.
That year, Gayoom reportedly arrested around 50 Maldivians who were suspected to have converted to Christianity and deported 19 foreign workers accused of doing missionary work. A source said Gayoom apparently wanted to regain popularity at a time when his leadership was being questioned.
When the archipelago became a multi-party democracy in October 2008, new President Mohamed Nasheed, a former journalist and activist, was expected to pursue a liberal policy as part of the country's reforms agenda.
Although Nasheed is the president, his party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has only 28 members and the support of four independents in the 77-member People's Majlis (Maldives' unicameral Parliament). Gayoom, now in his 70s and the leader of the largest opposition party, the DRP, has a simple majority – which presents difficulties in governance. Nasheed pleads helplessness in implementing reforms, citing an intransigent opposition.
Today Gayoom's party accuses President Nasheed of not being able to protect the country's distinct identity and culture, which the opposition says are rooted in Islam. The Gayoom-led parliament recently sought to impeach the education minister for proposing to make Islam and Dhivehi lessons optional – rather than mandatory – in high school.
To pre-empt the impeachment move, the whole cabinet of Nasheed resigned on June 29, which caused a major political crisis that led to violent street protests. The Nasheed administration allegedly arrested some opposition members, including Gayoom's brother, Yameen. Political tensions and uncertainties continued at press time.
Now that President Nasheed's popularity is declining – due to perceptions that he has become as authoritarian as his predecessor – it is feared that, amid immense pressure by the opposition to follow conservative policies, he might begin to follow in Gayoom's footsteps.
Growing Extremism
Both the ruling and opposition parties admit that Islamic extremism has grown in the country. In October 2007, a group of young Maldivians engaged government security forces in a fierce shootout on Himandhoo Island.
Nasheed's party alleges that Gayoom's policy of promoting the state version of Sunni Islam created an interest to discern "true Islam," with extremists from Pakistan stepping in to introduce "jihadism" in the Maldives. The DRP, on the other hand, says that behind the growth of extremism is the current government's liberal policy of allowing Muslims of different sects to visit the Maldives to preach and give lectures, including the conservative Sunni sect of "Wahhabis."
Until the early 1990s, Maldivian women would hardly wear the black burqa (covering the entire body, except the eyes and hands), and no men would sport a long beard – outward marks of Wahhabi Muslims, said the Muslim source, adding that "today the practice has become common."
Still, Islam as practiced in the Maldives is pragmatic and unlike that of Saudi Arabia, he said. "People here are liberal and open-minded."
As extremism grows, though, it is feared that radical Islamists may go to any extent to extra-judicially punish anyone suspected of being a missionary or having converted away from Islam, and that they can pressure the government to remain indifferent to religious freedom.
How long will it take for the Maldives to allow religious freedom?
"Maybe after the Maldivian government legalizes gay sex," the Muslim source joked.
Report from Compass Direct News
Kazakhstan threatens to deport Christian missionaries
Kazakhstan has left threats to deport Viktor Leven "hanging in the air", he has told Forum 18 News Service. The now-stateless Baptist, who is Kazakh-born, was convicted of missionary activity without state permission, and because he and his wife do not have passports they cannot either obtain paid work or travel by train. He and his family live on what they can grow themselves.
Another Baptist, Zhanna-Tereza Raudovich, who was fined 100 times the minimum monthly wage for hosting worship in her home, has had an appeal against the fine rejected and has appealed to the Supreme Court.
Akmola Regional Police held a seminar on ways of struggling against religious extremism, during which Baptists were associated with terrorism. Asked why this association was made, police told Forum 18 that Baptists were not extremists but they "do violate the law often" as they continue religious activity without official registration. Attendees at the seminar included members of President Nursultan Nazarbaev's Nur Otan political party.
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Pakistani Muslims Allegedly Poison Christian Employees to Death
Two brothers die, third in critical condition, after complaining they were not paid.
GUJRANWALA, Pakistan, December 15 (CDN) — Muslim employers of three Christian sanitation workers at a banquet/wedding hall here allegedly poisoned the three workers yesterday, killing two of them; at press time the third was struggling for life in intensive care.
The father of the three workers, Yousaf Masih, said the owner of the hall, along with the manager, poisoned his sons because they were Christians who had dared to ask for pay owed to them.
Imran Masih, 29, and Irfan Masih, 25, died at the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall after being forced to drink something that was heavily poisoned, Yousaf Masih said. The third worker, 23-year-old Aakash Masih, was in critical condition at the Intensive Care Unit of Civil Hospital Gujranwala, in Punjab Province.
"It appears from the position they were in that they were forced to consume some kind of poisoned drink, or a drug, and they were left there to die," Yousaf Masih said. "The administration of the banquet and wedding hall did not call a hospital or take them to a hospital – instead they called us after the death of two of our loved ones."
The Peoples Colony police station has registered a murder and deception case against Imtiyas Warriach, owner of the Ferozewala Pul Banquet & Marriage Hall, and hall manager Abid Virk. At press time they remained at large.
The chief of the Peoples Colony police station was not available for comment, but an officer told Compass that the two suspects would be arrested soon.
The family learned of the deaths when another of Yousaf Masih's sons, 21-year-old Javed Masih, received a telephone call at home from the owner, Warriach, saying that his older brother Imran Masih was lying dead on the floor of the wedding hall.
Because they had not been paid, the three brothers had left the hall to work elsewhere before returning this past weekend. Javed Masih said he spoke by telephone on Friday (Dec. 11) with Warriach, when the owner called asking for his three brothers to return to work.
"The owner and manager of the wedding hall called me in the early morning of Dec. 11 and pleaded for my three brothers to rejoin and start working," Javed Masih said. "They promised to reimburse their previous outstanding wages, as well as pay them a Christmas bonus and overtime. At this my brothers agreed and went to work the next morning."
When Yousaf and Javed Masih were summoned to the wedding hall yesterday, they found Imran Masih and Irfan Masih dead. Aakash Masih was alive but lying still on the floor, they said.
Yousaf Masih said his sons had long told him that owner Warriach and manager Virk refused to pay their daily wages, and that the managers and staff members at the hall spoke derogatorily to them for being Christians.
"On demand of their daily wages, the owner and manager had threatened them that they would continue to work without payment or face the dire consequences," Yousaf Masih said. "After my sons rejoined as sanitation workers, both Warriach and Virk started to make fun of them for leaving the job previously. Both the Muslim men mocked my sons for being Christian and called them by pejorative names such as 'Choohra.'"
Yousaf Masih, 47, told Compass at the Sargodha offices of human rights group Rays of Development Organization that his sons had worked at the same wedding hall since the day it opened in 2005. Sobbing, he said that the owner and manager had never paid them their full wages during that time, so they had begun looking for other work a few weeks before the Islamic festival of sacrifice, called Eid-ul-Azha.
Muslims refrain from marrying during the Islamic month of Muharram, so in the small window of time between the start of that month and the end of the Eid-ul-Azha festival, wedding halls thrive and require all available help, he said.
Javed Masih said the bodies of Imran Masih and Irfan Masih were moved to the morgue at Civil Hospital Gujranwala for autopsy.
Report from Compass Direct News
Converts from Islam Jailed, Pursued in Somalia's Breakaway Region
Christian natives of Somaliland face opposition from authorities, relatives for sharing faith.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, September 16 (CDN) — A convert from Islam in Somalia's self-declared state of Somaliland has been jailed for distributing Christian materials, and another is on the run from both family members and police upset over his new faith.
Christian sources said Somaliland native Osman Nour Hassan was arrested on Aug. 3 for providing Christian literature in Pepsi village, on the outskirts of the breakaway region's capital city, Hargeisa.
Promotion of any religion other than Islam in Somaliland is prohibited, contrary to international standards for religious freedom such as Article 18 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5(1-2) of the Somaliland constitution states that Islam is the state religion and prohibits the promotion of any other faith, according to the U.S. Department of State's 2008 International Religious Freedom Report, and Article 313 outlines penalties for Muslims who change their religion.
Hassan was accused of providing Christian literature to a village Muslim boy, who later showed it to his family and friends. The boy's Muslim family reported the incident to the police, the sources said, leading to the arrest of the 29-year-old Hassan. He was taken to Hargeisa central police station.
The arrest has upset underground Christians who see it as a muzzle on religious expression. They said other Muslim villagers had received Christian materials from Hassan and took no offense, and that Christian Ethiopian refugees in the area have distributed the same literature without problem.
On Aug. 6, the Muslim family who accused Hassan met with his family and agreed that Islamic teachers, or sheikhs, should go to see him in jail to advise him on Islamic doctrine. Two sheikhs met him in the police station cell and implored him to stop spreading Christianity.
"You are from an Islamic family, and therefore you should not disgrace or paint a bad image of the family," argued one of the sheikhs, according to a source who spoke with Hassan. In response, according to the source, Hassan told them that he had received the Christian materials as educational material for himself and for others who cared to read them, and that Jesus was his Savior.
Convinced that Hassan had truly left Islam, and angered by his defiance, the sheikhs urged authorities to take him to the harsher conditions of a jail in Mandera, 60 kilometers (37 miles) away, but at press time Hassan was still incarcerated in Hargeisa.
"His stand is that he is waiting for the coming of Issa [Jesus], just as the whole world is also waiting," said one neighbor.
Somaliland, which is vying for international recognition as a nation, is bordered by the Gulf of Aden to the north, by Ethiopia to the southwest and by Djibouti to the northwest.
Fleeing Somaliland
Another Somaliland convert to Christianity, Mohamed G. Ali, is on the run from both authorities and family members. Ali has fled to neighboring Ethiopia, but the 27-year-old father of three said this will not be enough to deter relatives who seek to punish him for leaving Islam.
He said relatives previously abducted his wife, who is expected to give birth to their fourth child within the next two weeks, and that they are again looking for ways to kidnap her as well as the children.
The native of Hargeisa said he has already survived several attempts on his life by Muslim fanatics since becoming a Christian in 1998. Family members, close relatives within his tribe, the larger community and local officials have all done him harm, he said.
He first came to Ethiopia in April 2002, subsequently marrying Fatumo Mohamed at the Church of the Nazarene. News of his Christian marriage circulated, preceding him upon his return to Hargeisa; soon after his arrival, he said, Muslim fanatics kidnapped his wife and demolished his house.
Fatumo Mohamed remained captive for several months, later managing to escape and rejoin her husband. For more than three years, as they were displaced from the community and went into hiding, he faced open and official threats. When life became unbearably dangerous, they decided to flee to Ethiopia in August 2005.
Speaking only in general terms to protect loved ones he left behind, Ali said Somaliland authorities were seeking him for reasons related to his Christian faith; other sources confirmed this.
Even after he arrived in Ethiopia, Ali was sought by the Somaliland government, which published a notice on April 11, 2007 displaying his photo in two local Somaliland newspapers, Jamhuuriya and Maandeeq. The notice ordered him to appear before a district court within 30 days, saying failure to do so would result in stiff action being taken against him.
That was just one more episode in a journey of faith that began when he broke his leg in 1996. Receiving treatment in Djibouti, he stayed with a close relative who told Ali the New Testament account of Jesus forgiving an adulterous woman brought for judgment. Amazed at Jesus forgiving the woman, Ali began researching Christianity; three years earlier, he had witnessed the stoning of five young women accused of committing adultery in Hargeisa.
"At that point I failed to see the meaning of compassion in Islam," he said. "Many questions started coming to my mind – that not even a single person in the midst tried to call for compassion for the young ladies. I felt that it could have been even better to kill them with a gun than subjecting them to such inhumane killing."
Ali, who is seeking asylum and has conveyed his security concerns to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, is struggling to meet the basic needs of the family – food, shelter, education and clothing – and he is facing an urgent health concern. For three years he has been living with a bone infection, he said, and the danger of paralysis is rising. Looking worried and frightened, and that without asylum he could lose his family as well as his life.
"I will continue trusting in God's protection, for blessed are those who are persecuted for His sake," he said.
Report from Compass Direct News
As Pakistan continues its press on the Taliban, thousands are fleeing the Swat Valley. A brief lull in the violence over the weekend saw many people loading their families and possessions into anything that moved in order to leave the area, reports MNN.
A "peace" pact with the Taliban broke down 11 days ago when security forces began an assault to push the militants back into their territory. The rebels, well-established in their stronghold, had begun to encroach upon Islamabad in a blatant grab for land and power.
The result when the two forces met was volatile. The government is now preparing for up to 500,000 internal refugees, the largest displacement crisis in Pakistan's history.
Even when the refugees arrive at refugee camps, it's not a guarantee of safety or comfort. Jacob Kramer is with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. He says,"These camps are now full. New places will have to be made in order to help them and have an opportunity to distribute the most essential things to maintain life."
It's hot, overcrowded, and there are inadequate sanitation facilities as well as a lack of electricity. Add to that: diseases and a lack of medical help, and the situation deteriorates quickly. Kramer says their teams are mobilizing. "We've been in contact with our partners, and they are trying to get a more detailed picture so that we can start with food and non-food responses to help the people."
CRWRC reaches out in God's name to people who are struggling with poverty, hunger, disaster, and injustice to help them find lasting ways to improve their lives.
The teams are the hands and feet of Christ in this horrific situation. Kramer urges people to "pray for the people, that God's grace may abide with them and peace may return as soon as possible. This is a population which has been tormented from so many sides, so often, that they are highly-affected by trauma."
Report from the Christian Telegraph
Family fears for his safety; planned Easter celebration near earthquake area quashed.
DUBLIN, April 17 (Compass Direct News) – Family members of detained Uyghur Christian Alimjan Yimit are increasingly concerned for his safety following reports that police and a prison doctor escorted him in handcuffs to a hospital in Kashgar two weeks ago.
Alimjan (Alimujiang Yimiti in Chinese) called out to onlookers, "I'm sick. Tell my lawyer to come quickly to see me," according to a China Aid Association (CAA) report.
Sources told Compass that Alimjan had been beaten in prison, although it was not clear who beat him or why.
The transfer from the Kashi Municipal Detention Center in Kashgar, Xinjiang province, came just one week after Alimjan's lawyer met with him to discuss a court trial anticipated in May. According to CAA, this was only the second time authorities have allowed anyone to visit Alimjan since his arrest in January 2008.
Court authorities last May returned Alimjan's case to state prosecutors, citing lack of evidence for charges of "leaking state secrets" and "inciting secession." Family, friends and work colleagues have insisted that Alimjan is a loyal citizen with no access to state secrets, and that his arrest was due largely to his Christian faith and association with foreign Christians.
Compass sources confirmed this week that Alimjan's family members are emotionally distraught over his continued detention and over lack of communication from prison authorities.
If convicted, Alimjan could face execution; Chinese authorities executed two alleged Uyghur separatists as recently as last Thursday (April 9).
Authorities first detained Alimjan on Jan. 12, 2008 on charges of endangering state security before formally re-arresting him on Feb. 20, 2008 for allegedly "inciting secession" and leaking state secrets to foreign organizations.
After court authorities returned Alimjan's case to state prosecutors and after their further investigation, his case was returned to court officials for consideration in mid-October.
Compass sources claim Kashgar authorities are wary of the case due to its sensitivity. Officials initially interrogated Alimjan during his employment for two foreign-owned companies and forbade him to discuss the questioning with anyone. In September 2007 they closed the business he then worked for and accused him of using it as a cover for "preaching Christianity" among the Uyghurs. Alimjan was arrested several months later on political charges.
A second Uyghur Christian, Osman Imin (Wusiman Yaming in Chinese), sentenced to two years in labor camp for "leaking state secrets" and "illegal proselytizing," is due for release this October. Authorities had originally called for a 10-15 year prison sentence for Osman but significantly reduced the term following international media attention.
Authorities permit Osman's wife and children to visit him once a month.
Human Rights Proposal
On Monday (April 13), as family members waited to hear news of Alimjan's condition, China's State Council released a new document outlining proposed human rights improvements. The document focused heavily on protecting the rights of prisoners and included a pledge to abolish torture and other forms of abuse within two years.
The "National Human Rights Action Plan" was one of several measures proposed by a Chinese government delegation at a United Nations review of China's human rights record held on Feb. 9.
The plan includes a ban on confessions extracted through torture and a new requirement for physical examinations before and after interrogations. It also affirms the right of prisoners to hire and meet with lawyers and to report abuses in writing to the appropriate authorities.
China's state-run English newspaper, the China Daily, reported on March 24 that bullying and torture were a significant problem in the nation's detention centers, and that at least five inmates had died under suspicious circumstances since Feb. 8, according to CAA.
'Break-through' for Christianity in China a Mirage
By Xu Mei
BEIJING, April 17 (Compass Direct News) – Prior to the event it was publicized abroad as the next great break-through for house church Christianity in China.
A giant, open celebration was to be held on Easter Sunday (April 12) in the western city of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. Finally, it seemed, the government would acknowledge the sacrificial work of house church Christians who came to Sichuan from throughout the country to help with rescue and reconstruction for those suffering from last May's earthquake. It would be an open admission that Christianity – even of the house church variety – was a positive element in Chinese society.
Verbal permission had been obtained for 2,500 house church Christians throughout China to meet for the special celebration entitled, "Build Up the Church and Bless Society." Some 50 government officials had been invited to the event, to be held at Chengdu's new exhibition center. Christians from Singapore and the United States flew in for it.
But the day before Easter, police abruptly informed the center that the event was cancelled. Organizers hastily changed the venue to a smaller, old exhibition center where only about 1,000 people could be accommodated. Plans for a more low-key event were stitched together, to start at 5 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
But even this was too much. An hour before the event, police barred the door. The foreigners left. None of the promised government officials turned up. A few hundred bemused Chinese house church Christians seized the opportunity to hold an impromptu worship service in a nearby parking lot.
Police intervened there, too, and arrested some local house church leaders. They were released later that evening.
The debacle comes after another much-publicized "break-through," a supposedly government-sponsored seminar in Beijing last Nov. 21-22 in which officials were said to have met with house church leaders (see http://www.compassdirect.org, "Officials Reach Out to House Churches; Raids, Arrests Continue," Dec. 9, 2008). The chief organizer later denied there was any government involvement, much less a break-through.
Rather, a minor Non-Governmental Organization had assembled academics, including some Christians, to meet with house church leaders to discuss church-state relations and make proposals they hoped might be passed on to the government at some future stage.
Observers speculate that in both the symposium and the Easter celebration, Christians overseas and perhaps some younger Chinese Christians – who have less experience than their elders with the machinations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – had overestimated the benevolence of government authorities. Faced with the enormity of an economic crisis, sources said, the government seems to be in no mood to take major steps to liberalize oppressive religious policies, let alone legalize house churches.
That the Beijing seminar was actually held, and that the Chengdu celebration could be organized only to be stopped at the last minute, could be viewed as hopeful signs of how the Chinese government has lumbered forward, at glacial pace, towards a more open policy towards Christians over the last decade or so. But powerful reactionary forces within the CCP view with dismay the extraordinary growth of the church, sources say.
Many officials still view Christianity – and especially house churches – as an ideological and political threat. Limits on the public expression of Christian worship and evangelism are clearly laid down in a welter of national, provincial and local documents issued by CCP and government over the past 25 years. Sources say minor infractions may be winked at, but major changes in a more liberal direction are not to be expected.
Officials are struggling to control a country that threatens to become increasingly uncontrollable. Depending on how long the economic recession grips China, sources say, it seems likely that for the next two years at least, the government will err on the side of caution.
Report from Compass News Direct


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Pregnancy is an exceptional joy time to every women. Pregnancy is not about …
July 1, 2018
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Every once in a while, our 8th grader will say, "You should go on a date night!"
So, you might think the boys actually like it when we leave. Freedom. Kraft Mac-n-cheese. Video games. But if it's past 9:00, we get a text from the 7th grader, as if on cue. "When are you coming home?"
And no matter what time we return, they are all up, exploding with something to tell us, show us, read to us. And so 9:00 becomes 10:00. Or later.
When they were little, my favorite thing about date nights were that the babysitter had the kids asleep when we got home. I could tiptoe into their dimly lit rooms, kiss their warm foreheads goodnight, take a long look at their sweet faces, and go to bed. Five minutes from date to sleep. Tops. Now, I have to admit, I enjoy their need to share, as if we have been gone forever, and sleep will not come until they do.
Last night, we left for the theater at 6:00 and walked back in the house at 9:00. Perfect bedtime hour, but…
"Mom, do you want to see my Falcons' Season in Review Youtube video? I'm not done yet, but…" So I watched ten minutes of Julio Jones beating his opponents in long touchdown runs to music.
"I'm impressed."
"Did you see the clips with that weird reflection? I'm going to redo those. And the dark one?" Sigh, "I was hoping to get more done tonight."
"Mom, I started a new comic strip. Want to see it?" The third grader creates beautifully detailed illustrations, but his comic strip spelling requires pre-9:00 translation skills.
"Love it!"
He gives me a big hug. "I'm just gonna…"
"Nope. Bedtime."
"Will you come say goodnight?"
And then the 8th grader sidles up to me, talking in a low, secretive whisper as if something is wrong. But… "You know how we're not allowed to bring phones or iPads on the class trip? Well, I really want to finish The Book Thief. So I was thinking I could buy an iPod Shuffle."
He spent his three hours of freedom coming up with the best way to get me to say yes to a new technology purchase. Not happening. "We have a copy of the book. You can bring that.".
"The thing is, I don't like to read books. They're so… I don't know… physical."
"Go to bed."
And that's how a quick date night keeps everyone up too late.


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At Qscan our doctors are very experienced with these types of injections. For your injection we will use Dexamethasone, which is safe to inject around nerves and the spine.
Qscan provides the added assurance of performing these procedures under CT guidance, which confirms the position of the needle before injecting. All Qscan patients are consented by a clinical staff member prior to agreeing to have the procedure. Consent involves discussing the procedure and associated risks.


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In partnership with the American Society for Microbiology, ABSA International, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, Association of Public Health Labortories, Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation, and CRDF Global - we would like to invite leaders who prepare, protect, and promote safety within the laboratory workforce to the 2016 Laboratory Safety Leadership Summit: Leadership in the Face of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
This event will be held at The Georgian Club - in Atlanta, Georgia following the CDC International Symposium on Biosafety - beginning the evening of February 3, 2016. Starting at 6:30pm, all participants will be invited to attend a formal dinner and opening address by the Executive Director of the Elizabeth R. Griffin Research Foundation - Jim Welch.
Each participating partner identifies a member - who then becomes faculty of the Leadership Summit. Each faculty member delivers an hour long lecture within the theme of the Summit and assists with the facilitation of leadership exercises throughout the event.


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There's a lot of debate about how much money you need to save to live a financially comfortable retirement. While there's no way to accurately forecast your retirement needs since nobody knows what their future holds, educated assumptions based on historical data yield fairly clear benchmarks that you can aim for.
Unknown Variables
A quick search reveals wildly different ideas about what your retirement savings should look like when you finally stop working. Additionally, you can find free online calculators—most showing little agreement with one another.
Key Takeaways
- Too many unknown variables make it impossible to accurately forecast your retirement needs, but there are benchmarks based on historical data that provide a good ballpark figure.
- Research indicates that saving approximately 15% to 16% of your annual income is a good baseline, but those who wait until later in life will need to save more.
- If you start saving early and take advantage of matching contributions in an employer-sponsored plan, such as 401(k), meeting saving goals won't be as daunting.
- To make your savings last, once you retire continue managing your finances to avoid spending too much too early in retirement.
Why so much disagreement? Because making plans for the future depends on a lot of unknown variables. You don't know how long you'll be able to work, how well the world's investment markets will perform, which life events might happen to you, or how long you will live.
"Saving for retirement is likely not the only financial goal you have on your plate. You may be thinking about buying a house, starting a family, opening a business, or any number of other things. All of these goals are clamoring for a slice of your paycheck, so setting your priorities and shifting your savings percentages becomes a highly personalized activity," says Eric Dostal, J.D., CFP®, advisor, Sontag Advisory, LLC, New York, N.Y. Any calculation is an educated guess at best.
What is possible, however, is to operate under some rules that make assumptions. For instance, you could assume that you'll have a steady income until age 65. That's exactly what drives many of the leading theories.
Understanding Replacement Rate
Academic studies of retirement saving often throw around the term replacement rate. Simply, it's the percentage of your salary that you'll receive in retirement benefits after you stop working. If you made $100,000 a year when you were employed and receive $38,000 a year in retirement payments, your replacement rate is 38%. Needless to say, this figure is much too low for most people.
"A replacement rate gives you a target in terms of how much you need in retirement to approximately maintain your current standard of living. The variables that go into a replacement rate include savings, taxes, and spending needs," says Mark Hebner, founder, and president of Index Fund Advisors, Inc., in Irvine, Calif., and author of "Index Funds: The 12-Step Recovery Program for Active Investors."
Nashville: How Do I Invest for Retirement?
How Much Do You Need to Save?
Now that you understand the replacement rate, let's look at some research. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College looked at how much various types of people have to save to achieve a replacement rate of around 70%. That's the overall amount people need to retire at a comfortable level, according to the study's authors, Alicia H. Munnell (the center's director) and her associates Anthony Webb and Wenliang Hou. The figures varied depending on whether someone was replacing an income that was low (80% replacement rate needed), middle (71%), or high (67%).
They found that individuals earning the average wage would have to save 15% of their earnings every year to meet a 70% replacement rate at age 65. The biggest factor in the calculations was age—when you started saving and when you ended. Start saving at 25 and you only need to earmark 10% of your annual salary to retire at 65, but if you wait until 70 to quit working, you'd have to save only 4% annually.
If all of these facts and figures seem a little confusing, simply remember this: Start saving for retirement as early as possible.
The numbers are much worse for those who start late. If you waited until age 45 to start saving, you would need to put aside an unrealistic 27% of your salary for retirement. This would pretty much force you to work until age 70 so you could save a more realistic 10% annually.
"Time can be your greatest friend or worst partner, so use it wisely. A 25-year-old who contributes $5,000 to a retirement account, will not touch the money for 43 years and gets an average return of 8% should have approximately $1.67 million," says Peter J. Creedon, CFP®, CEO of Crystal Book Advisors, New York, N.Y. "If you wait until age 35 and contribute the same amount and get the same return, you would have a little under $730,000."
In another study, Wade D. Pfau, CFA, professor of retirement income at The American College, found that historical data over nearly the past century indicate that a person would have to save 16.62% of their salary to retire 30 years after beginning the savings plan with enough money to fund a replacement rate of 50% from their "accumulated wealth." (Unlike the Boston College researchers, Pfau didn't include Social Security income or "any other income sources" in his 50% calculation. Adding in Social Security and, say, pension income would move the replacement rate significantly higher.)
How to Invest and When to Withdraw
Pfau's research highlights two other important variables. First, he notes that over time the safe withdrawal rate—the amount you can withdraw after retirement to sustain your nest egg for 30 years—was as low as 4.1% in some years and as high as 10% in others. He believes that "we should shift the focus away from the safe withdrawal rate and instead toward the savings rate that will safely provide for the desired retirement expenditures."
Second, he assumes an investment allocation of 60% large-cap stocks and 40% short-term fixed-income investments. Unlike some studies, this allocation doesn't change throughout the 60-year cycle of the retirement fund (30 years of saving and 30 years of withdrawals). Changes in the person's portfolio allocation could have a significant impact on these numbers, as can fees for managing that portfolio. He notes that "simply introducing a fee of 1% of assets deducted at the end of each year would increase the baseline scenario's safe savings rate rather dramatically from 16.62 % to 22.15%."
This study not only highlights the pre-retirement savings needed but emphasizes that retirees have to continue managing their money to prevent spending too much too early in retirement.
The Family Factor
These studies calculate savings for individuals, but what about families? Parents with young children have to save for their college—ideally at least $2,500 per year, per child, from birth—to cover the cost of a public university. Costs associated with children make saving for retirement even more daunting.
But there's good news: Retirement savings for a husband and wife don't compute to twice the cost of what an individual needs. Married couples share many significant expenses—a home, for example.
The Matching Contribution Bonus
For people who start saving early and take advantage of employer-sponsored plans, such as 401(k)s, meeting saving goals isn't as daunting as it may sound. Employer matching contributions could significantly reduce what you need to save per month.
"If a company is matching your contributions, not only are you contributing pre-tax, but you're also getting additional free money," says Dan Timotic, CFA, managing principal at T2 Asset Management, LLC, Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
"Employer matches are a great way to amplify your retirement savings. Imagine that you save 3% of your income putting it into your company 401(k) plan and your employer matches up to 3% of your savings, dollar for dollar. In your first year, you will make a 100% return on the amount you saved. Where else can you get those kinds of returns with very little risk?" says Kirk Chisholm, wealth manager at Innovative Advisory Group in Lexington, Mass.
The Bottom Line
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much you need to save for retirement, but academic studies based on historical data provide a ballpark figure. Aim to save 16% of your annual salary if you're early in your career. If you make $50,000 per year, save $8,000 per year or about $666 per month. A tough task? Maybe. But if your employer is matching your savings, that $666 could be $333 if the company matches your contributions dollar for dollar.
If you wait until later in life to start saving, you'll need to put away more of your salary. The sooner you start the better. It will take discipline, but it's better to sacrifice while you're able to work instead of reaching retirement with too little money and too few options.


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Coco Rocha stars in the new Longchamp spring 2012 campaign alongside model Liisa Winkler and professional dancer Alexia Level. Fresh, funny and dynamic, the French house's campaign is the perfect expression of the Longchamp spirit.
The latest Longchamp spring 2012 campaign,
starring Canadian models Coco Rocha and Liisa Winkler, is
energetic, fun and fresh. "We really wanted to show this woman very
active in the city, very dynamic," said Sophie Delafontaine, the
house's creative director. Captured by Dane Shitagi in Manhattan
and Dumbo, the campaign follows the girls while running and dancing
in the streets. Both models have dance backgrounds and are joined
in the Longchamp campaign by professional dancer Alexia Level. The
choreography was made by Blanca Li who said that they tried to make
a fresh and original movie.
Coco Rocha wrote on her blog that, "I had so much fun with this dog, and yes, he was literally pulling me in every direction – that's not acting!"
Indeed, the new Longchamp campaign is extremely refreshing and cheerful. The Longchamp woman becomes playful and is not afraid to take chances chasing after dogs and hopping over police barricades. "The Longchamp woman is free, independent and plays with fashion. An active woman, full of energy, contemporary. Cosmopolitan, she looks for enjoyment while remaining chic, elegant and fashionable," Sophie Delafontaine said.
The brand's spring 2012 handbag
collection features numerous designs from casual and
functional to a timeless, glamorous and elegant style. Longchamp
brings lots of stylish goodies such as a new interpretation of a
modern Amazon, a contemporary embodiment of the legendary warriors,
in an exquisite line of saddlery-inspired bull-calf leather
accessories, but also the famous Légende bags inspired by former
doctor's bags with their structured form, which is the collection's
signature. The brand also adopts an exotic theme with a discreet
graphic design for an incredibly on-trend result.
The legendary house branched out from its handbag mainstays and ventured into ready-to-wear, footwear and other accessories. "The Longchamp brand is expanding on an international scale, needing to cope with this continuous movement as it always did with its collections, collaborations and more recently with its ready-to-wear line. The choice of the 'creative movement' concept perfectly answers to Longchamp's identity," said Marie-Sabine Leclercq, head of global communications at Longchamp.
Photos courtesy of Longchamp


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The new material used to cover this is much more comfortable to hold in the hand for gaming than the previous glossy plastic, while the 5.1-inch screen has excellent color balance. The Snapdragon 801 processor is fast and the battery lasts a day and a half, so it is a strong overall choice.
This smartphone has gotten a lot of publicity and great reviews this year, as it combines great gaming specs with an affordable price. The screen is a large 5.5 inches and has 1080 x 1920 resolution, ensuring that anything from The Monument Valley to online poker will look great, while 64 GB storage lets you keep lots of games on it. Throw in an Adreno 330 graphics processor and you have a strong gaming phone.
Another great gaming phone, this also has a 5.5-inch screen in QHD with 1440 x 2560 resolution. You can get up to 33 GB of storage and the graphics processor is the same as with the OnePlus One. However, it's more expensive than some of the other phones listed here.
With 64 GB storage and a screen size of 4.7 inches, this is worth including on the list. Games like The Room Within and Infinity Blade 2, with their dazzling graphics, are still iOS only, making this one of the best and most successful smartphones to play them on.
This smartphone offers a 5.2-inch screen and excellent performance, thanks to a Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor. This makes it a solid choice for playing both casino games like iphone casino and fantasy epics like Mortal Kombat, although the battery is not the best. This unique handset also works as a playstation controller, thus taking it's gaming performance to the next level.
These are all very strong smartphones for playing games on, and the OnePlus One is a new one worth considering.


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Clearing The Air
Environmental consultancies see client pool expand along with increase in pollution regulations.
Regulations that are the bane of one industry often create opportunity for another.
That has been the case in the environmental realm, where the expansion of regulations has increased demand for consulting services.
At the same time, the effectiveness of some of the regulatory protocols over time has caused a shift in the way some environmental consultancies approach the business.
Magali Delmas, a professor of management at
UCLA's Institute of the Environment and the Anderson School of Management, said the number of accidents involving hazardous waste and toxic substances has declined over the past 30 years, in large part because businesses produce fewer toxic substances and are better at treating the hazardous waste they do produce.
Few expect that landscape to be altered significantly as the Trump administration moves forward on cutting some regulations.
That outlook is especially true in California, where state and regional regulators still hold sway.
Eddie Arslanian, a principal and director of operations for the Southwest business unit at environmental consulting firm Ramboll Environ Inc., said demand remains high for consulting services related to air quality in Los Angeles, particularly after highly publicized industrial pollution incidents.
"There are new regulations that are arising out of local situations that have occurred," said Arslanian. "Agencies are now taking tougher stances."
He said his company is expecting to see some cutbacks nationally if new policies are put in place but he does not think there will be much of a cutback in California. The state's environmental regulations are even stricter than those at the federal level, so changes in national policy will have a greater impact on other states and a lesser effect on California.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency sets health-based standards for air quality that all states must achieve, but California has other requirements that businesses in the state must meet. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which covers all of Orange County and the nondesert regions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, for instance, is responsible for developing and implementing a plan to reduce air pollution from all stationary sources of emissions.
Arslanian said AQMD and other state agencies have been taking tougher stances on such pollution risks, an ongoing source of business for Ramboll.
"When dealing with local agencies such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District, it is better for businesses to band together through trade organizations to give them a better place at the table with the agencies," he said.
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Anyways... What I'm trying to do is add a "Home Page" to my forum that will act as a splash page with basically one large image. Is there a way to get the "Home" button in the navbar (much like on this website).
I do not have the CMS version of vBulletin nor do I need it. I simply want an intro home page to my forum. I'd also like the into page to flow with the forum and use the forums header and navbar. Is this at all possible?


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|Archived February 20, 2019
Third USGS Tour for Congressional Staff in South Florida
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) hosted its third annual tour for Congressional staff in south Florida during the week of January 4-9. The tour highlighted USGS science and partnerships in Tampa Bay, the Everglades, Biscayne National Park, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)'s Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge complex on Crystal River. Congressional staffers who participated were well educated in environmental issues. Topics addressed were manatee research, aquatic vegetation, mangrove environments, water quality, dynamics of ground- and surface-water interaction, saltwater intrusion, Everglades' restoration, coral-reef ecosystems, and effects of urbanization.
Seven staffers participated: Aloysius Hogan, Legislative Director, Office of Senator James M. Inhofe; Dan Bresette, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Amy Carroll and Susannah Foster, House Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards; David Zacher, House Resources Committee; and Nicole Carter and Pervaze Sheikh from the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. The staffers commented that they were impressed with the breadth of USGS science and have since attended other USGS-sponsored briefings in Washington, DC. Jane Lyder, Legislative Counsel in the Department of the Interior's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs, also attended.
En route to the Chassahowitzka Refuge on January 5, Bonnie McGregor (USGS Eastern Regional Director) welcomed guests and discussed science partnerships in Florida. Two pontoon boats, refuge managers, and Bob Bonde (USGS, Gainesville) greeted staffers at the refuge docks, eager to introduce their springs and manatees. The "slipping" into wetsuits became a "team-building" activity in the ladies' room. Bob discussed manatee research and how manatees are tagged to track life cycles, migratory habits, and populations. After visiting two freshwater springs, the group picnicked at the refuge as project leader Jim Kraus, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, helped answer questions, discussed demands on the refuge, and stressed the refuge's importance.
The following day began at Weedon Island Preserve. Kim Yates, of the USGS St. Petersburg Science Center Studies (CCWS) in St. Petersburg, presented an overview of the day's activities and explained what and how USGS scientists and cooperators are studying in Tampa Bay. The walking tour of the mangrove environment at Weedon Island Preserve included presentations by CCWS scientists on estuary vegetation (Tom Smith), sea-level rise and archeology (Terry Edgar), and estuary fishes (Carole McIvor, Justin Krebs, and Adam Brame). The group next boarded a boat. Kim, Mark Hansen, Ellen Raabe, and Kathryn Smith (CCWS) and Mike Crane (USGS, South Dakota) pointed out areas of interest during the ride to Bishop Harbor in Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve and adjoining Buffer Preserve. The staffers were able to see the difference between a pristine and a disturbed coastal habitat. Seagrass habitats, island mangrove environments, and prehistoric Indian archeological sites were discussed. Terry and Ellen taught staffers how to take a core in Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve. Peter Swarzenski spoke on ground water in Tampa Bay.
The next morning, the group saw the effects of urbanization in the Everglades while en route by car to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. Dave Krabbenhoft (USGS, Middleton, WI) discussed water quality, mercury, and other geochemical issues in the Everglades. At the refuge, the staffers boarded an airboat and saw rare species of wildlife, including roseate spoonbills and alligators. The cooperative work between the USGS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service strives to understand the natural and anthropogenic processes that affect the health and future of the Everglades.
On the final day, USGS scientists and National Park Service rangers explained the importance of the delicate and complex ecosystem in Biscayne Bay. Lynn Wingard (USGS, Reston, VA), Caroline Rogers (USGS, St. John, VI), and Chris Reich (USGS, St. Petersburg) showed the staffers soft- and hard-bottom areas, coral-reef nurseries, seagrass, and sponge habitats. Aquifers were discussed, and a freshwater spring was observed. Lunch was eaten under palm trees at the Biscayne National Park visitors center at Convoy Point. By the end of the week, the staffers had a better appreciation of how delicate and threatened are the numerous components of the south Florida ecosystem.
in this issue:
Sea-Otter Numbers at Record High
West-Central Florida Project Concludes
South Florida Congressional Staff Tour
Basics of the Basin Research Symposium
USGS Recognized for ArcIMS Data
Halley Interviewed for Local Television
|Archived February 20, 2019


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Reseller Web Hosting is to provide hosting services such as emails hosting, website hosting, databases etc for your customer from server space and bandwidth that you purchase from us. Since Reseller Web Hosting is completely brandable, you will be able to provide all these services under your brand name itself.
Reseller Hosting enables you to create sub-packages within the Disk Space and Bandwidth allocated with your main package. You can also use WHM to create custom packages for your clients. Now start your own hosting business with Hapih Host


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Exiv2 starts writing metadata to Canon RAW CR2 files
Andreas Huggel released a major update to Exiv2, a free library and an application for reading and writing Exif and XMP image metadata.
Exiv2 is used by most advanced digital photography tools on Linux, including darktable and digiKam. The new version got write support for Canon's CR2 files and fixes to PNG and JPEG support.
Apart from that it now also reads metadata for a few more lenses:
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II
- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 III
- Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2,8 XR Di II LD Aspherical [IF] Nikon lens
Additionally the support for Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 on Canon was fixed, and the Nikon lens database was updated from Robert Rottmerhusen's fmountlens list.
As usual, source code and builds for Windows are available to download. Builds for Ubuntu will presumably land to Pascal's PPA soon.


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Builder's Risk
Tap into our winning streak in providing markets for builder's risk insurance.
Play Ball with Mavon to Cover Clients with Builder's Risk Exposures
Mavon can provide you with builder's risk insurance for clients that have an insurable interest in new construction or renovations. Our markets offer broad terms at competitive pricing. Whether it's a commercial or residential project, we can provide cover to protect contractors and developers from property losses and the resulting financial costs that stack up due to delays caused by an insured loss.
Inside Builder's Risk Insurance
Working with your agency, we can tailor a builder's risk policy to provide protection for the following:
- Fire and other risks to the structure itself while construction is underway
- Theft of building materials on the job site either installed or waiting to be installed, from the time they are delivered to the site
- Loss of or damage to materials while in transit or at temporary locations
- Losses due to ordinances or laws
- Flood
- Windstorm
- Delay-driven penalties assessed by lenders or extra taxes
We also provide options for other coverage based on the client's equipment at the site, issues that could pose a potential pitfall, and preferences for running their operation, including:
- Scaffolding
- Frame construction
- Pollution cleanup
- Debris removal
- Valuable papers
- Permission for partial occupancy
- Change-order enhancements
- Inflation protection


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Dbacks' Iannetta has stitches in lip, fractured teeth, nose
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Chris Iannetta has several stitches in his upper lip, plus a couple of fractured teeth and a broken nose after getting hit in the face by a fastball.
"He's doing OK," manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday, "and I think we're all lucky and fortunate for that."
Iannetta was struck by a 93 mph pitch from Pittsburgh reliever Johnny Barbato in the seventh inning Friday night.
Lovullo said Saturday tests for a concussion were negative and that Iannetta was still being monitored.
"We're still trying to drill down to making sure everything is OK," Lovullo said.
There is a history of such incidents between the two teams, but Lovullo said that he does not believe the Pirates were trying to hit Iannetta.
"There's a strategy to pitching in and there's a need for pitching in," Lovullo said, "and by no means do I think anybody tried to hit Chris Iannetta in the face yesterday. For me, that's why it's a non-issue."
Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle says he feels "horrible" about what happened and has reached out to Iannetta. Hurdle was Iannetta's first manager in the majors, in 2006 with the Colorado Rockies.
"It's not a part of the game anybody likes," Hurdle said. "When I say that, it sounds light because I have no idea what he felt. I have no idea how they felt. I've been on the other side. It's a part of the game that's hard, really hard."
Lovullo, speaking Saturday before the Diamondbacks and Pirates met in the third game of a four-game series, said Iannetta returned to the ballpark from the hospital at 1:15 a.m.
Barbato said he and Iannetta had exchanged texts and there were no hard feelings.
Lovullo, speaking Saturday before the Diamondbacks and Pirates met in the third game of a four-game series, said Iannetta returned to the ballpark from the hospital at 1:15 a.m.
"He's eager to play, said he could play tonight if he had to," Lovullo said, "but obviously that's not going to happen."
The manager said it's not been decided whether Iannetta will go on the 10-day disabled list. The Diamondbacks have two other catchers — Chris Herrmann and Jeff Mathis.
Mathis was in the lineup Saturday night against the Pirates.
Pittsburgh lost 11-4 Friday night, running its losing streak to six games.


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CMDBuild is a native multilanguage application.
There are two levels of localizations available:
- localization of interface elements: standard menu, buttons, page titles and TAB labels, header and footer of the application, administration interface, etc.
- full application localization: menus, names of the classes and attributes, domains names and descriptions, lookup lists, etc.
Since CMDBuild is an environment that has to be configured through the available features and comes without a data model, workflows and default reports, the standard localization is just the first one.
The first level localization:
- is made possible thanks to the users of the application, which can submit their localization through a form on this website
- includes several languages
- is based on json files managed by Tecnoteca
Once a user has configured his CMDBuild instance, the localization of second level becomes available in order to have the entire application in the desired languages.
The location of the second level:
- is performed directly from within the application by using the appropriate functions of the Administration module
- can be exported/re-imported in CSV format to work externally from the application or to make it available to other users
- is already available in English and Italian languages for those who adopt already configured instances of CMDBuild such as CMDBuild READY2USE and openMAINT.


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[Skip to content]
BILD works in partnership with people with learning disabilities and families to make sure they are supported with dignity and respect and have the right support to make choices and decisions about their own lives.
One of the best ways of doing this is to make sure that people with a learning disability have their voices heard and listened to so that they have more control over their own life.
Some of the things we do are:
Work with commissioners - people in organisations such as the local Council who organise support for people with learning disabilities - and other people who fund advocacy to help them understand what good advocacy is
Tell people about the different types of advocacy available
Provide training on advocacy
Pictured above are self advocates at 'The Big Care Event' in Oxford talking about the future of social care.
"Discrimination makes me angry". Michael is a self advocate in Telford in Shropshire and a member of the National Forum.
You can listen to more self-advocates talk about their work and what matters to them on our Watch BILD on video page.
Advocacy means to speak up for someone. Most of us at sometime in our lives speak up for others or hope that someone will speak up for us when we need support. There are some groups of people who may need more help than others. This is particularly the case for people with learning disabilities because they are at risk of being ignored. Sometimes we have lots of problems understanding what they are trying to tell us if they do not use words. Advocacy is about making things change because people's voices are heard and listened to. It's about making sure that people can make their own choices in life and have the chance to be as independent as they want to be.
With professional or representational advocacy it is about another person (an advocate) making sure that a person with a learning disability is not being ignored because they need some help to make sure that they are heard. Advocacy is about putting a person back in control of their own life.
People are very different and may need different types of advocacy at different times in their lives. We need to make sure that there is choice that suits the differences of the people who want what advocacy has to offer. In that way they will gain the most from it
What is common to all types of advocacy is that the person who it is for (in this instance the person with a learning disability) is always at the centre of the advocacy process. It is all about what that person wants, and finding the best way of getting that across to the people who need to know.
Advocacy can be like tools in a tool box, the different types can be used together or separately depending on the job that needs to be done.
Top of the page
BILD produces more information about advocacy that might be helpful to you.
Advocacy can take a number of forms, but independent advocacy such as citizen advocacy, peer advocacy and self-advocacy should be differentiated from the roles played by family and professional carers. The government would like everybody with a learning disability who wants advocacy to have access to it. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has introduced a new kind of advocate.
Download our factsheet about advocacy
There are lots more BILD Factsheets here.
Asist, an advocacy organisation in Staffordshire wrote a book about advocacy to help their clients understand better what they could expect from their advocate.
We worked with Asist to make a few changes so that the book could be used by any advocacy group. We think this will save groups having to produce their own individual information.
If you want to order this book please email us at email@example.com
They cost £1 each. You can print your own labels and stick them on the back cover so that anyone you give a book to will know how to contact you.
For more information on advocacy check these links in the Useful Links section.
There are also advocacy resources in the Useful Resources section.
Keep up to date and follow us on:
Copyright 2019 BILD. All rights reserved
Registered Charity Number 1019663 England and Wales


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"On My Table" is my take on food I cook at home, food I eat in restaurants and the snacks and drinks in between. I'm no expert, but I sure do love to cook--and, more importantly, eat.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Veggie Tacos
Beer-Baked French Fries
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Salmon & Peach-Tomato Salsa
Vegan Burgers ... With Cheese
- I was skeptical about the "flax eggs" (I didn't think it would actually bind everything together, but it ended up working really well. You could certainly use eggs, too, if you didn't need the burgers to be vegan.
- I thought I could find oat flour at Outpost, but I couldn't. I ended up just putting regular oats in the food processor and making the flour that way. It worked great!
- Instead of processing my own bread crumbs, I used 1.5 cups of regular bread crumbs mixed with some Panko breadcrumbs.
- I highly recommend throwing carrots in the food processor to cut them up--grating carrots is a pain in the butt!
- Surprisingly, the burgers formed pretty well. I thought they would fall apart like a lot of veggie/black bean burgers do, but these stayed in tact pretty well.
- The recipe author suggests a few ways for cooking the burgers. We ended up pan frying ours, and it worked just fine.
- The recipe authors says they make 8 burgers. I think I ended up forming 6 or 7 patties, and I think 8 would have been better. They don't look that big, but, man, are they filling!
Of course, we had to add cheese to our burgers, making them non-vegan burgers, but that's OK. I think they would be just as good without the cheese, too.
They were really, really good. I would definitely make them again.
Nate, Mr. Meat Eater himself, gave them two thumbs up, too!
Tater Tot Casserole
- 1 lb. regular or lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 cups (8 oz.) frozen vegetables, such as peas and carrots or mixed veggies
- 10-oz. can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup (I used mushroom)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 16 oz. frozen package of tater tots (so ... rereading the recipe, I notice it says "1/2 package." I most definitely used the entire package! So use anywhere from half the package to the whole package.)
Heat oven to 350*.
In a large skillet, brown meat and onion lightly. Spread in shallow 10x10 or 9x13 baking dish. Spread veggies over meat, making an even layer. Stir together soup and milk until smooth. Drizzle soup mixture over veggies. Arrange tater tots in a single layer over soup.
Bake 1 hour or until tots are browned.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Homemade BBQ Sauce


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60 Martin Ross Ave, Toronto, ON M3J 2L4
+ taxes & licensing
This Land Rover Range Rover Evoque is the perfect blend of style, comfort, and versatility, great for adventurous individuals and families. It features a powerful 240HP turbocharged inline-4 engine mated to a smooth Automatic Transmission. Featured in Grey exterior finish, premium Black leather interior, and huge alloy wheels. A voice-command Navigation system, Backup Camera, and ride-height adjustable suspension allow you to command the road. Your passengers will LOVE the Panoramic Sunroof and Surround Sound System from Meridian Audio System. Winter will be a breeze with included options like Heated front seats, Heated Rear Seats, Heated steering wheel, and Heated windshield. Other convenient features include, TFT Instrument Cluster, Paddle Shifters, Comfort Access, Satellite Radio, Foglights, Homelink, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, and a power tailgate. For families it offers best-in-class safety features like front, side curtain, rear head/body airbags, traction and stability control, ABS, and a security system. Off-road technology features include: All Terrain Progress Control, Low Traction Launch, Gradient Release Control, Terrain Response, Hill Descent Control This vehicle is fully-loaded and sure to sell fast!
WE WELCOME YOUR TRADE at the highest value. SAME DAY, EASY APPROVALS. FINANCING and LEASING options on all vehicles, as well as extended warranties, and aftermarket services. We are connected to all banks and have our own leasing company - all at the lowest rates and payments. No-HASSLE, No-HAGGLE, just the BEST PRICE UP-FRONT.
Since 2004, Platinum Cars took the concept of Platinum Lifestyle to a whole new level by offering many of the world's most pristine vehicles, such as Aston Martin, BMW, Bentley, Ferrari, Hummer, Land Rover, Lamborghini, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and much more. Check out our website for our full inventory listing at http://www.platinumcars.ca, or simply stop by and visit our 15,000 sq.ft indoor showroom. Running strong as an independent dealership, we serve guests all across Canada. By understanding the lifestyle of each guest, we provide an immaculate collection of over 200 of the best luxury and exotic vehicles on the market. We gladly provide the full history report on every vehicle. This vehicle can be certified for $699. As per OMVIC regulations: Vehicle is not drivable, not certified and not e-tested. Certification and e-testing available for $699. Each Platinum client is a satisfied guest, GUARANTEED! Serving ALL OF CANADA AND U.S.A, we will help with the transportation and paperwork. For all Canadian buyers, you will only pay your provincial tax. For all American clients, you will take advantage of the low exchange rate. Give us an opportunity, and you'll see why Platinum Cars is THE LARGEST and FASTEST growing Luxury Car Dealership in Canada!
Please contact the seller to confirm pricing, features, odometer, and availability of this vehicle.
See the Carpages.ca Terms & Conditions for more details.
60 Martin Ross Ave, Toronto, ON M3J 2L4


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Analyze ThatDVD - 2003
Fearful of his emotional stability, prison officials release Paul Vitti into the custody of his psychiatrist, Dr. Ben Sobel, who becomes even more exasperated when he learns Vitti will be moving into his home. As Sobel tries to get to the root of Vitti's real problems, he tries to help Vitti find a straight job. And adding to all this confusion, several members of Vitti's old crew are after him, who are determined to see that he doesn't pass along any incriminating information.
Edition: Widescreen edition
Characteristics: 1 videodisc (96 min.) :,sound, colour ;,12 cm.
Additional Contributors:
From the critics
Community Activity
CommentAdd a Comment
rRINIAL KUMAR Sep 13, 2019
Best movie ever
mmammothhawk229e Sep 29, 2017
Gleefully made fun of the mafia in general especially on on don puzzled on a long word or idiom.
Robert De Niro doing comedy? Wow.
It least the movie have an ending unlike the Sopranos.
StephenCMorrison Mar 15, 2012
The story my be moderately entertaining, but the proliferation of extremely foul language renders the film not only unenjoyable, but completely unacceptable.
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31 March (Part 1) - "The end of tyranny" in Bexley
No more hiding up side streets - possibly
It's been a long time coming but Eric Pickles' plan to put an end to unfair parking fines will finally become law tomorrow. No longer will Bexley council be able to hide its gestapo wagons up side streets looking for motorists who stop for 35 seconds to pick up a passenger (as reported by a reader yesterday) and they will be confined to patrolling bus stops and school zig-zags.
Bexley council has calculated that it will lose around £200,000 as a result of their more dubious activities being constrained by law. This is the sum which the Department of Communities and Local Government considers has been unfairly taken from your pocket each year by Bexley council.
Not unexpectedly, Bexley council is planning to fight back. It expects to be able to use CCTV cameras to monitor minor traffic offences such as U turns and already it has begun imposing additional restrictions on such things. A dishonest council has to get its money somehow.
The legislation includes provision of a ten minute grace period for those who stay slightly longer than they should.
This website
Since redesigning Bonkers to allow the choice of viewing a single blog entry or a whole month's worth and later a whole day's worth to benefit, or so I thought, the increasing proportion of visitors using mobile devices (now at 40%), those continuing to look at the whole month outnumber the day only viewers by nearly three to one. There have also been several complaints from those who wish to view the whole month or a whole day and are finding it hard to get there.
At yesterday's film show one BiB reader explained his way of reaching Bonkers more clearly than most and as a result the two Instant Access buttons have been added to the Home and Index pages. Index is where one ends up when using the original www.bexley-is-bonkers.co.uk address. It is no longer my preferred route but old habits have a habit of lingering.
It may be possible to add one or both buttons to all the non-blog pages but there are some practical difficulties in the way.
As well as the request for easier blog access there was a suggestion there was too much Crossrail coverage so tomorrow won't be popular; Crossrail is holding a by invitation liaison meeting this evening.


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