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Patterns of Change in Nesiritide Use in Patients With Heart FailureHow Hospitals React to New Information
Author + information
- Received January 14, 2013
- Revision received April 29, 2013
- Accepted April 29, 2013
- Published online August 1, 2013.
Author Information
- Chohreh Partovian, MD, PhD∗,†∗ (chohrehpartovi{at}gmail.com),
- Shu-Xia Li, PhD†,
- Xiao Xu, PhD†,‡,
- Haiqun Lin, PhD†,§,
- Kelly M. Strait, MS†,
- John Hwa, MD, PhD∗ and
- Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM∗,†,§⋮
- ∗Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- †Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- ‡Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Section of Comparative Effectiveness Research, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- §Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut
- ⋮Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
- ↵∗Reprint requests and correspondence:
Dr. Chohreh Partovian, Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine/Cardiology, 1 Church Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Objectives This study sought to determine hospital patterns of change in use of nesiritide over a 6-year period after publications of safety concerns in 2005 and to identify hospital characteristics associated with these patterns.
Background The changing nature of medical evidence often requires a change in practice. Nesiritide was commercialized in 2001 for early relief of dyspnea in patients with decompensated heart failure. In 2005, concerns about its safety led to recommendations to restrict its use. Little is known about how hospitals responded to this information.
Methods We analyzed data from the Premier database, including 403 hospitals contributing 813,783 hospitalizations with heart failure from 2005 to 2010. We applied a growth mixture modeling approach to hospital-level, risk-standardized, quarterly use rates of nesiritide to distinguish hospital groups on the basis of their patterns of change in use.
Results The proportion of hospitalizations using nesiritide declined from 15.4% in 2005 to 1.2% in 2010. The level and speed of change varied markedly among hospitals. After adjusting for differences in patient characteristics across hospitals and years, we identified 3 distinct groups of hospitals: "low users," "fast de-adopters," and "slow de-adopters." In multivariate regression analysis, these groups did not differ in traditional hospital characteristics, such as size, urban setting, or teaching status.
Conclusions We identified 3 distinct hospital groups characterized by their patterns of change in nesiritide use. These trajectory curves can provide hospitals with important feedback on how fast and effectively they react to new information compared with other hospitals. Uncovering factors that promote organizational learning requires further research.
The changing nature of medical evidence often requires a change in practice. Studies have described the challenges of translating new information into practice, which may take decades, as it did with the BHAT (Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial) (1). To our knowledge, no studies have evaluated longitudinal patterns of change in practice at the hospital level. Nesiritide (Natrecor, Scios, Inc., Fremont, California) provides a good case study of how hospitals changed practices in response to new information. Nesiritide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001 for early relief of dyspnea in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (HF), but once on the market, it was widely prescribed and used beyond its original indication (2). In Spring 2005, 2 meta-analyses of small randomized trials raised concerns regarding renal toxicity (3) and higher mortality associated with nesiritide (4). These publications resulted in a Food and Drug Administration–mandated revision of prescribing information in the "Adverse Reactions/Effects on Mortality" section. A panel of experts recommended in June 2005 that nesiritide be used only in patients with acutely decompensated HF who had dyspnea at rest and not be used for improvement of renal function, enhancement of diuresis, intermittent outpatient infusion, or scheduled repetitive use (5). To physicians planning the use of nesiritide to relieve symptoms, the panel recommended considering the use of alternative therapies. In 2011, the results of a large randomized trial, the ASCEND-HF (Acute Study of Clinical Effectiveness of Nesiritide in Decompensated Heart Failure), showed that nesiritide had no effect on dyspnea, renal function, mortality, or readmission but was associated with increased rates of hypotension, and it was concluded that nesiritide could not be recommended for routine use in patients with acute HF (6).
Prior work by Hauptman et al. (7) has shown that the overall use of nesiritide decreased by 66% (from 16.6% to 5.6%) between March and December 2005 (7). Their study focused on overall change in use immediately before and after the publications of safety concerns. Our current study was designed to extend prior work by evaluating the patterns of change among hospitals between 2005 and 2010. We hypothesized that amid a continuing general decrease in nesiritide use, there would be a marked heterogeneity in the level and speed of de-adoption across hospitals, revealing various institutional responses to new information. We also sought to determine what hospital characteristics would be associated with these distinct hospital groups.
Data source
We used data from a voluntary, fee-supported database developed by Premier, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina, for measuring quality and health care use. Containing >330 million discharges from 620 geographically diverse hospitals, the database represents 1 in every 5 discharges from U.S. hospitals. In addition to the information available in the standard hospital discharge file, the Premier database contains a date-stamped log of all billed items at the individual patient level, including medications and laboratory, diagnostic, and therapeutic services. We used data from calendar years 2005 to 2010 for our analysis.
Patient data are de-identified in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and a random hospital identifier assigned by Premier is used to identify individual hospitals. The Yale University Human Investigation Committee determined that this study is not considered to be Human Subjects Research as defined by the Office of Human Research Protections.
Heart failure cohort
All hospitalizations from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2010, were included in the study cohort, with a principal diagnosis of HF as defined by the International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes 402.01, 402.11, 402.91, 404.01, 404.03, 404.11, 404.13, 404.91, 404.93, and 428.xx or a principal diagnosis of respiratory failure (ICD-9-CM code 518.81) with a secondary diagnosis of congestive HF (ICD-9-CM code 428.0). We excluded patients who were less than 18 years of age at the time of admission or those whose physicians were pediatricians, because our focus was not on congenital disease. A patient could contribute more than one hospitalization to the study cohort.
Patient and hospital characteristics
Patient characteristics available in our dataset included age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and comorbidities. We used the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project software provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to classify comorbidities from the standard hospital discharge file on the basis of methods described by Elixhauser et al. (8).
For each hospital, the Premier database contains information, collected from the American Hospital Association database, on bed count, teaching status, geographic location, and whether it serves an urban or rural population. In addition, we derived the following measures about each hospital's characteristics by pooling its patient-level hospitalization data across 2005 to 2010: average number of HF hospitalizations each year, proportion of the attending physicians being a cardiologist, proportion of patients with Medicaid as the primary payer, whether the hospital had any cardiology intensive care unit, and capability of performing a number of procedures, including ventricular assist device or heart transplant, percutaneous coronary intervention, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) insertion.
Statistical analysis
Descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) were calculated to assess sample characteristics and drug use. We assessed the proportion of nesiritide use at hospitalization-level (denominator being all hospitalizations with HF across all hospitals) and compared it with the use of potential alternative therapies, including other vasodilators (intravenous [IV] nitroglycerin and sodium nitroprusside) and positive inotropic agents (dobutamine, dopamine, and milrinone).
We also assessed nesiritide use at the hospital level (the denominator being all hospitalizations with HF in a given hospital). Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was used to calculate hospital-level, risk-standardized use rates of nesiritide (9). The model included patient demographic characteristics (age groups, sex, race/ethnicity), comorbidities, and a hospital random effect for each calendar quarter. This model specification takes into account within-hospital correlation of use patterns while adjusting for differences in case mix both across hospitals and over time. The full list of risk variables included in the hierarchical generalized linear models with their estimated odds ratios and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported in Online Table 1.
We applied a growth mixture modeling approach to hospital risk-standardized use rates via a SAS macro Proc Traj (10). This approach assumes there are clusters or groupings of distinctive patterns of change in a population (11). All hospitals that contributed HF hospitalizations in at least one calendar quarter were included in the analysis. Models with different number of trajectory groups were estimated, and the optimal number of distinct trajectory groups was determined by comparing the Bayesian Information Criteria index across these models. Our final analysis used a 3-group model that had the most favorable Bayesian Information Criteria index. Each hospital was assigned to a trajectory group on the basis of the estimated posterior probability of its group membership (i.e., following a maximum posterior probability assignment rule) (11).
Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess whether there were any significant associations between individual hospital characteristics and identified trajectory groups. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis was also performed to examine the association between hospital characteristics and trajectory group membership. Stepwise selection algorithm was used to choose the variables included in the final multivariate model. Estimates with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Analyses were conducted with SAS version 9.2 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina), and Figures 1 to 3⇓⇓⇓ were created with R version 2.11.1 (12).
Use of nesiritide at hospitalization level
Between 2005 and 2010, there were 813,783 hospitalizations with HF. Among these hospitalizations, the proportion using nesiritide decreased from 15.4% (5,508 of 35,769) in the first quarter of 2005 to 1.2% (429 of 35,872) in the last quarter of 2010 (Fig. 1). The sharpest decrease in use occurred between the second and third quarters of 2005 when the odds ratio for being treated by nesiritide (compared with the last quarter of 2010) decreased from 15.4 (95% CI: 11.9 to 19.8) to 8.7 (95% CI: 6.7 to 11.3) (Online Table 1). During the same period, the proportion of hospitalizations including IV nitroglycerin remained stable between 6% and 8%: 6.5% (2,325 of 35,769) in the first quarter of 2005 and 7.3% (2,612 of 35,872) in the last quarter of 2010. The proportion of hospitalizations using sodium nitroprusside was less than 1% throughout the 6-year period: 0.6% (208 of 35,769) in the first quarter of 2005 and 0.4% (136 of 35,872) in the last quarter of 2010. The proportion of hospitalizations with a positive inotropic agent was 12.1% (4,328 of 35,769) in the first quarter of 2005, 12.3% (4,787 of 38,978) in the first quarter of 2006, and then decreased progressively to 9.8% (3,516 of 35,872) in the last quarter of 2010 (Fig. 1).
Use of nesiritide at hospital level
Between 2005 and 2010, a total of 403 hospitals contributed data on patients with HF to the database. These were mainly urban, nonteaching, small- and medium-sized hospitals. The key characteristics of these hospitals are summarized in Table 1.
There was a wide variation across hospitals in the proportion of patients with HF treated with nesiritide. In the first quarter of 2005, the risk-standardized rates ranged from a minimum of 1% to a maximum of 65.9% (median: 11.4%, interquartile range [IQR]: 5.6% to 20.8%). In the last quarter of 2010, the adjusted rates ranged from a minimum of 0.3% to a maximum of 19.2% (median: 0.7%, IQR: 0.5% to 1%) (Fig. 2).
Hospital groups based on patterns of change in nesiritide use
Application of the growth mixture modeling to hospital risk-standardized use rates led to the emergence of 3 distinct groups of hospitals based on their patterns of change in use over time: "low users," "fast de-adopters," and "slow de-adopters" (Fig. 3). The approach took into account both level and speed of change in use over the entire 6-year period; however, for the sake of simplicity, only the most dominant attribute was used to name the groups. The "low-user" group included 302 hospitals (75% of hospitals, together accounting for 69% of all hospitalizations) with an average risk-standardized rate of 9% in the first quarter of 2005, which decreased to approximately 2% at the beginning of 2006 and plateaued at approximately 1% from 2009. The "fast de-adopter" group included 82 hospitals (20% of hospitals, together accounting for 25% of all hospitalizations) with an average initial risk-standardized use rate of 26% that decreased to 10% at the beginning of 2006, 5% at 2009, and 3% at the end of 2010. The remaining 19 hospitals (5% of hospitals, together encompassing 6% of all hospitalizations) were classified as the "slow de-adopters." They had the highest initial risk-standardized use rates and a slower rate of decrease in use over time than the other hospitals. They started with an average use rate of 38%, which decreased to 26% at the end of 2005, 20% at 2007, and 10% at the beginning of 2010 (Fig. 3).
The average posterior probability of group membership was >0.98 for each of the groups, indicating excellent performance of the model in distinguishing the different trajectory patterns.
Association between hospital characteristics and distinct hospital groups
We investigated what hospital characteristics were associated with different nesiritide de-adoption trajectory groups. Table 2 shows the hospital characteristics by trajectory group. The 3 groups differed significantly in hospital size, annual volume of HF hospitalizations, regional location, percutaneous coronary intervention and ICD capability, proportion of cardiologist as attending physician, and proportion of Medicaid patients (Table 2). However, in multivariate regression analysis, none of the hospital characteristics differed significantly between the slow de-adopters group and the other 2 groups. The fast de-adopters were more likely to be located in the Midwest and the South, to have ICD capability, and to have a higher proportion of Medicaid patients in comparison with low users (Table 3).
In this study, we used data from a large network of hospitals to characterize longitudinal patterns of change in nesiritide use after publications raising concerns about its safety. The results showed a continued reduction in the use of this medication between 2005 and 2010, with an initial sharp decrease immediately after the publications followed by a more gradual decrease between 2006 and 2010. However, the overall average change obscures that there was marked variation in nesiritide use across hospitals. When taking into account both level and speed of change in use over the 6-year period, the hospital trajectories coalesced around some specific patterns leading to the emergence of 3 distinct groups of hospitals. Because the use rates already adjusted for differences in case mix across hospitals and across years, these 3 groups depict mainly the heterogeneity of organizational response to new information. These trajectory curves can provide crucial feedback to hospitals about how fast and effectively they react to new information in comparison with other hospitals.
We chose to use hospitals as our unit of analysis for several reasons. First, patients with HF are usually seen by multiple physicians, and it is not always possible to identify the prescribing physician. Second, revealing variation at the hospital level rather than individual physician level is consistent with an emerging appreciation of team-based care, systems of care, and the impact of hospital internal environment on performance (13–16). Third, medical decision making is influenced by various organizational characteristics, such as team composition (number and type of specialists on the team, inclusion of a pharmacist), internal culture (quality and frequency of communication and collaboration between team members), regulatory context (drug formularies), and availability and use of clinical decision support systems for the practice of evidence-based medicine (13,17,18). However, one of the limitations of our study and the currently available healthcare databases in general is the lack of information on these characteristics.
Our results suggested that there may be common underlying factors among hospitals within each trajectory group. However, when we examined the association between hospital characteristics available in our database and various trajectory groups, none was significantly associated with a hospital's likelihood of being in the slow de-adopter group compared with the other 2 groups. This could be due to the small number of hospitals in this group or to the data limitations (i.e., lack of measures reflecting team composition, communication, internal culture, regulations, and restrictions). There is a need for further qualitative and mixed method research to identify additional factors, both internal to the organization and external. For example, one of the unmeasured factors that may explain the significant difference in regional location observed between hospital groups could be the prevalence of pharmaceutical marketing across regions.
Before its safety concerns were published in 2005, nesiritide was widely prescribed (7,19). The proportion of HF hospitalizations using nesiritide almost doubled those with the main alternative vasodilator, IV nitroglycerin, despite the fact that nesiritide was approved only for specific indications and was more expensive. After the publications, the rate of nesiritide use declined dramatically, but we did not observe a "substitution" effect, such as a sudden or substantial increase in use of other vasodilators or positive inotropic agents. These results could suggest a case of nesiritide overuse before Spring 2005.
Our study further revealed that this initial, short-term strong response to new information was followed by a steady decrease in use over subsequent years, although at a more gradual level and speed. This pattern is consistent with what has been observed in many other studies of the adoption of innovations. Those studies have suggested that adoption decisions of organizations are a function of both internal factors and external and social factors, but the relative importance of these factors change over time as information diffuses among potential adopters (20–22).
Study limitations
First, hospitals included may not be a representative sample of all hospitals in the United States. Nevertheless, the Premier database contains approximately 20% of annual nationwide acute care hospitalizations. Second, a patient could contribute more than 1 hospitalization to the study cohort, introducing correlation in data between the multiple hospitalizations. However the impact was likely small because only 9% of patients had more than 1 hospitalization per quarter, of whom the majority had only 2 hospitalizations (median: 2; IQR: 2 to 2). Third, our risk-adjustment model relied on claims data only. However, our earlier work of profiling hospital performance for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has demonstrated that administrative data can provide estimates similar to models using richer clinical data (23,24). Finally, as previously mentioned, we lack data on a number of characteristics that might have affected drug use, such as formularies, other hospital restrictions, and marketing factors.
This study establishes that amid a general decrease in nesiritide use, there were important variations across hospitals revealing distinct hospital groups based on their patterns of change in practice in response to new information. These trajectory curves can provide hospitals with important feedback on their "learning rates" or how fast and effectively they react to new information. The study also highlights the need for additional mixed-methods research to uncover the factors that foster or impede organizational learning.
For a supplementary table, please see the online version of this article.
This work was supported by Grant DF10-301 from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation in West Hartford, Connecticut, and by Grant UL1 RR024139-06S1 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Krumholz is supported by Grant U01 HL105270-03 (Center for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research at Yale University); is the recipient of a research grant from Medtronic, Inc., through Yale University; and is chair of a cardiac scientific advisory board for UnitedHealth. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
- confidence interval
- heart failure
- implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
- International Classification of Diseases-Ninth Revision-Clinical Modification
- interquartile range
- intravenous
- Received January 14, 2013.
- Revision received April 29, 2013.
- Accepted April 29, 2013.
- 2013 American College of Cardiology Foundation
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A puppy found in a grassy field in Vanuatu - the South Pacific island chain ravaged by Cyclone Pam - was one of many animals recently given a second chance for survival.
Veterinarians from World Animal Protection spotted the desperately sick puppy while they were conducting animal welfare checks in the aftermath of the massive storm. The owner, who was nearby, told the vets that the puppy had eaten a poisonous fish on the beach right after Pam hit - but hadn't eaten in the 10 days since. The island has no veterinary care, so the owner didn't know how to help his dog.
"She was emaciated, terribly dehydrated, having extreme trouble breathing and was unable to lift her head," said Dr. Naritsorn Pholpherm, the disaster operations veterinary officer for World Animal Protection.
Although no one thought the puppy would survive the night, the veterinarians immediately administered fluids and gave the owner instructions on how to administer more.
The next day, the team returned to check on the young female pup. "[It is] not exaggerating to say we saved her from certain death," Dr. Pholpherm said, noting that she still had a way to go before she would be healthy.
Animals are often overlooked or forgotten in natural disasters like Cyclone Pam, which ripped through the archipelago in early March, leaving at least 13 people dead and thousands of people homeless. In rural communities, this means an array of animals - goats, pigs, cattle and chickens as well as dogs and cats - suffer tremendously from storms' relentless winds, rains and floods. There are some 638,000 farm animals in Vanuatu alone, says Carla Pisarro, media manager for World Animal Protection.
She told The Dodo that animals struggle not just during storms but after as well. Besides the sometimes fruitless effort to find food and water, "animals are also suffering from exposure to sun at daytime and cool temperatures at nighttime due to lack of adequate shelter ... in addition, animals are showing signs of pneumonia and worms, which are expected to worsen without further intervention."
World Animal Protection has been providing disaster relief for decades and says it has helped more than 4 million animals in some 230 disasters since the 1960s, including a volcano eruption in Cabo Verde, Typhoon Hagupit in the Philippines and Cyclone Hudhud in India.
The organization has built underground shelters for animals, helped design strategies for evacuation should a storm hit, assembled mobile veterinary units on bikes and motorcycles and, of course, provided deworming medicine, vaccinations and treatment of acute injuries.
In the meantime, the group continues to evaluate the welfare of the many traumatized animals in Vanuatu. Pisarro says it also plans to check again on the condition of the little puppy it found on the side of the road.

subset: commoncrawl


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Who: Best Supporting Actress nominee Emma Stone
Where: At the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California
Wearing: A strapless Lanvin jumpsuit with silver embellishments to the bodice and a statement train with a bow in the back, teamed with black heels
Verdict: Emma Stone has become one of my favourite red carpet stars and it is for looks like this, it isn't frothy, it isn't boring, and it isn't what you expect during award season, and that is why I love it.
I am a huge fan of masculine styling on the red carpet and this Lanvin jumpsuit really does fuse the feminine of the beaded bodice and the masculine trousers perfectly, add that statement bow on the train in the back and it makes it red carpet worthy.
You need a confidence and fun spirit to pull this look off, which of course Emma has bucket loads of, and I adore how she kept the rest of the styling to a minimum to show off this incredible jumpsuit. Her hair and make-up is also flawless.
The only thing missing from this look was her boyfriend Andrew Garfield!!!


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by Melissa Gorzelanczyk
I love mythology, I love it so much I took every college course I can on the subject. My guidance counselor was like if it was possible this would almost be your minor. 🙂 So when I saw this YA book that was about Cupid's son I knew this book would be cute. It was a really sweet story about love, fixing wrongs and figuring out what is right even when you've been always told the opposite of what your feeling. Aaryn is the son of Cupid and when he was down on earth to complete his final things didn't go as planned. Instead Karma his target was hit with the arrow of love, no matter how bad Danny treats her she just can't seem to break that spell. To right Aaryn's wrong his dad sends him down to earth and he has to fix it. But now he is a human and human emotions are coming into play. I know at times Karma drove me crazy with never giving up on Danny but sometimes it's not that easy to give up on the one you love with all your heart. Arrows was a great little YA book and while it does deal with adult situations and teen pregnancy / first time teen parents. I think the author did a great job at not making all fun and games. Can Karma find love? Can she continue with her dance dreams? Can Aaryn make the council realize that love isn't just an easy hit with cupids arrows? I think teen's that enjoy romance books or mythology will enjoy Arrows.
summary: Dance prodigy Karma Clark's unrequited love for Danny is unbearable until Aaryn, son of Cupid, tries to fix his mistake and ends up falling in love with the beautiful dancer from Wisconsin who can never love him in return.
thank you Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Melissa Gorzelanczyk for sending me a copy of Arrows. All thoughts and opinions are my own and not influenced by the free book.


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Dinner Tonight: Chicken with Pancetta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Recipe
Your source for quick recipe every single week day.
I hardly ever cook with sun-dried tomatoes, mostly because they always seemed like a food fad. I have memories of picking them out of all kinds of things as a kid—salads, pastas—and no great fondness to return to them.
Yet it was hard to pass up this recipe, where they work perfectly in a delicious stew of crisp pancetta and soft, caramelized red onions. They melt into the sauce and balance it with a nice acidity and brightness.
Though it came out of a little book called Solo Suppers full of recipes to cook by your lonesome, it easily served my wife and me for dinner when paired with polenta. The author also suggests it with roasted or mashed potatoes, or tossed with pasta, but I never pass up an opportunity to eat polenta, especially with deeply flavored sauces like this one. For me, it's a pinnacle of comfort food.
- Yield:2
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 2 ounces pancetta or bacon, cut into 1/4-inch strips
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, or as needed
- 1 boneless chicken breast or 2 thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 2 tablespoons oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, cut into narrow strips
- 3 small cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/3 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
- 2 tablespoons Nicoise olives (optional)
In saute pan, cook the pancetta or bacon over low heat in a bit of olive oil until the fat begins to render and it is beginning to crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat behind.
Turn the heat to medium-high and, if needed, add some olive oil to the pan to cook the chicken (it depends on how much fat the pancetta or bacon rendered). Cook the chicken pieces until golden all over and just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a separate plate.
Add the onion and cook until golden, about ten minutes, then stir in the pancetta or bacon, the sun-dried tomatoes, and the garlic. Cook for two minutes, then add the chicken stock and scape up the brown bits in the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to reduce a little, then stir in the chicken and half the basil to the pan. Once heated through, spoon the polenta onto plates and top with the chicken. Top with the remaining basil.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Southern Cross Austereo Changes Up Management Structure For Queensland
Radio network Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) has announced the appointment of Tim Davenport as general manager for southern Queensland and Ken Wood as GM for northern Queensland.
In the southern Queensland region, Davenport (pictured above) will be responsible for SCA's Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, and Maryborough operations.
In northern Queensland, Wood will be responsible for Cairns, Mackay, Townsville, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast, Gladstone, Toowoomba, Emerald, Mt Isa, and the Northern Territory.
Davenport and Wood will report to Rick Lenarcic, head of regional media at SCA, and will start in their new roles immediately.
"With 27 radio stations and TV stations broadcasting the channel Nine signal across the breadth of regional Queensland, SCA continues to focus its revenue opportunities by ensuring our clients can reach their target audiences via our media assets," Lenarcic said.
"SCA needs on-the-ground, dedicated management of our diverse and geographically spread Queensland markets, and I welcome Tim and Ken in these new roles."
Commenting on his appointment, Davenport said: "Southern Queensland remains one of the fastest-growing regions in Australia.
"I'm excited to be working with great people, focused on delivering great entertainment and results for our clients, agencies and partners across our suite of market-leading brands to bind those communities together."
Wood said: "I'm looking forward to the challenge and opportunity of working in a larger region. I started my leadership career with SCA in Rockhampton and am excited to be back working with our team, our clients and the community in central Queensland."


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The Vinculus Crusade was a Crusade of the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter declared against the Chaotic assassin cult warriors who had plagued the Peleregon Cluster in 833.M41. Black Templars Astartes under the command of High Marshal Ludoldus consented to fight alongside the warriors of Inquisitor Vinculus of the Ordo Hereticus. The Inquisitor, accompanied by a detachment of Adepta Sororitas from the Order of the Bloody Rose, had traced the origins of a network of Chaos Cult assassins to Peleregon IV, a hellish, mountainous world of shifting tectonic plates marred by constantly-flowing rivers of molten lava. The initial Imperial landings were met with little opposition, and eventually, the Black Templars -- including a young Neophyte named Helbrecht -- and the Adepta Sororitas pushed the cult's warriors back to the seat of a continent-spanning volcano. Ludoldus immediately assaulted the fiery mountain stronghold, his Sword Brethren capturing the main gate and holding it long enough for Imperial forces to breach the cult's defences. As the Black Templars and Adepta Sororitas stormed the huge, pillared interior of the volcano, Inquisitor Vinculus faced the cult's leader and slew him with his daemonblade, though he took a grievous wound in return.
This proved to be his undoing as the nascent daemonic presence that had been building within the cult leader was forced to manifest and, in a blaze of dark red light, it possessed the weakened Inquisitor. A massive daemon of Khorne took the Inquisitor's flesh for its own and turned upon his erstwhile allies, slaughtering Imperial warriors by the dozen. High Marshal Ludoldus, the Emperor's Champion Ulricus and Canoness Jasmine faced the daemon in what came to be known within the annals of the Black Templars as the Battle of Fire and Blood. Though sorely pressed, these heroes fought with great strength and indomitable faith, but it seemed as though the daemon would prove the stronger. In desperation, Ludoldus hurled a Holy Orb of Antioch, a bomb infused with volatile holy oils and high explosives, into the central chasm of lava. The resultant explosion tore the chasms apart and a massive earthquake shook the mountain to its core as rocks and pillars crashed down into the fiery pit. The daemon-possessed Inquisitor fell to his doom in the lava and the remaining Imperial warriors sought to escape the collapsing volcano before being buried forever with their foes. Thunderhawk gunships braved the fiery deluge to pick up the surviving Battle-Sisters and Black Templars and though many gunships were subsequently lost in the blinding clouds of ash and superheated rock, the majority were able to escape.
To ensure no trace of the daemon and its cult remained, Ludoldus ordered Peleregon IV bombarded from orbit until the massive forces unleashed tore the planet's crust apart and buried it beneath an ocean of seething magma.
Other Notes
Castellan Draco also first rose to prominence as part of Marshal Ludoldus' Sword Brethren during the bitter Vinculus Crusade, in which he stood his ground with help from other Sword Brethren against waves of blood cultists and other daemonic forms. He was badly wounded after the battle and his body was reconstructed with bionics. He was awarded the rank of Castellan and was given a relic suit of the Chapter's finest Power Armour for his valour. Draco was further recognised when he was presented with the former Inquisitor's blade as a mark of gratitude from the Ordo Hereticus.
- Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition), pg. 19
- White Dwarf 312 (UK), "Righteous Victories" by Graham McNeill, pg. 23


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Posted by Dr. Salman in India A Nuclear Danger to Humanity, INEPT, INEPT INDIAN NAVY, Shining India on January 20th, 2018
Indian nuclear scientists haven't had an easy time of it over the past decade. Not only has the scientific community been plagued by "suicides," unexplained deaths, and sabotage, but those incidents have gone mostly underreported in the country—diluting public interest and leaving the cases quickly cast off by police.
Last month, two high-ranking engineers—KK Josh and Abhish Shivam—on India's first nuclear-powered submarine were found on railway tracks by workers. They were pulled from the line before a train could crush them but were already dead. No marks were found on the bodies, so it was clear they hadn't been hit by a moving train, and reports allege they were poisoned elsewhere before being placed on the tracks to make the deaths look either accidental or like a suicide. The media and the Ministry of Defence, however, described the incident as a routine accident and didn't investigate any further.
This is the latest in a long list of suspicious deaths. When nuclear scientist Lokanathan Mahalingam's body turned up in June of 2009, it was palmed off as a suicide and largely ignored by the Indian media. However, Pakistani outlets, perhaps unsurprisingly, given relations between the two countries, kept the story going, noting how quick authorities were to label the death a suicide considering no note was left.
Five years earlier, in the same forest where Mahalingam's body was eventually discovered, an armed group with sophisticated weaponry allegedly tried to abduct an official from India's Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC). He, however, managed to escape. Another NPC employee, Ravi Mule, had been murdered weeks before, with police failing to "make any headway" into his case and effectively leaving his family to investigate the crime. A couple of years later, in April of 2011, when the body of former scientist Uma Rao was found, investigators ruled the death as a suicide, but family members contested the verdict, saying there had been no signs that Rao was suicidal.Trombay, the site of India's first atomic reactor. (Photo via)
This seems to be a recurring theme with deaths in the community. Madhav Nalapat, one of the few journalists in India giving the cases any real attention, has been in close contact with the families of the recently deceased scientists left on the train tracks. "There was absolutely no kind of depression or any family problems that would lead to suicide," he told me over the phone.
If the deaths of those in the community aren't classed as suicide, they're generally labelled as "unexplained." A good example is the case of M Iyer, who was found with internal haemorrhaging to his skull—possibly the result of a "kinky experiment," according to a police officer. After a preliminary look-in, the police couldn't work out how Iyer had suffered internal injuries while not displaying any cuts or bruises, and investigations fizzled out.
This label is essentially an admission of defeat on the police force's part. Once the "unexplained" rubber stamp has been approved, government bodies don't tend to task the authorities with investigating further. This may be a necessity due to the stark lack of evidence available at the scene of the deaths—a feature that some suggest could indicate the work of professional killers—but if this is the case, why not bring in better-trained detectives to investigate the cases? A spate of deaths in the nuclear scientific community would create a media storm and highly publicised police investigation in other countries, so why not India?
This inertia has led to great public dissatisfaction with the Indian police. "[The police] say it's an unsolved murder, that's all. Why doesn't it go higher? Perhaps to a specialist investigations unit?" Madhav asked. "These people were working on the submarine program, creating a reactor, and have either 'committed suicide' or been murdered. It's astonishing that this hasn't been seen as suspicious."
Perhaps, I suggested, this series of deaths is just the latest chapter in a long campaign aiming to derail India's nuclear and technological capabilities. Madhav agreed, "There is a clear pattern of this type of activity going on," he said.
INS Sindhurakshak (Photo via)
The explosions that sunk INS Sindhurakshak – a submarine docked in Mumbai – in August of this year could have been deliberate, according to unnamed intelligence sources. And some have alleged that the CIA was behind the sabotage of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Of course, the deaths have caused fear and tension among those currently working on India's various nuclear projects. "[Whistleblowers] are getting scared of being involved in the nuclear industry in India," Madhav relayed to me. Their "families are getting very nervous about this" and "many of them leave for foreign countries and get other jobs."
There are parallels here with the numerous attacks on the Iranian nuclear scientist community. Five people associated with the country's nuclear programme have been targeted in the same way: men on motorcycles sticking magnetic bombs on to their cars and detonating them as they drive off. However, the Iranian government are incredibly vocal in condemning these acts—blaming the US and Israel—and at least give the appearance that they are actively investigating.
The same cannot be said for the Indian government. "India is not making any noise about the whole thing," Madhav explained. "People have just accepted the police version, [which describes these incidents] as normal kinds of death."
If the deaths do, in fact, turn out to be premeditated murders, deciding who's responsible is pure speculation at this point. Two authors have alleged that the US has dabbled in sabotaging the country's technological efforts in the past; China is in a constant soft-power battle with India, and the volatile relationship with Pakistan makes the country a prime suspect. "It could be any of them," Madhav said.
But the most pressing issue isn't who might be behind the murders, but that the Indian government's apathy is potentially putting their high-value staff at even greater risk. Currently, these scientists, who are crucial to the development of India's nuclear programmes, whether for energy or security, have "absolutely no protection at all. Nothing, zero," Madhav told me. "Which is amazing for people who are in a such a sensitive program."
Posted by Dorab in Afghan -Taliban-India Axis, Bajrang Dal, Casteism in India-Alive & Thriving in Stealth Mode, CROSS BORDER KILLINGS BY INDIA, Gujarat Massacre By Narebdra Modi & Hindutva Terrorists RSS, Hindutva India Bigotry, India, India Global Exporter of Terrorism, India Hall of Shame, India in Pakistan's Nuclear Crosshair, INDIA'S DRDO DUDS, INDIA'S EXPORT- IT SCAMMER TO USA, INDIA'S HINDUISM, India's Nuclear Proliferation, Indian IT Coolies in US, Khalistan, Kulbhushan Spy, Makaar Dushman, Suppression of Women in Hindu India, The Hindutva Nazi Mind, VHP on January 8th, 2018
A disturbing and brutal video of Naveed Pathan murder could serve as evidence of the alleged Muslim genocide in India.
International social media is wrestling for truth in connection to the barbaric killing of Muslim bodybuilder Naveed Pathan, or as identified by India media and police, a gangster, rapist and murderer Rafiquddin Shaikh aka Guddya.
A disturbing CCTV footage, which leaked last Thursday, went viral in the past few days, with social media and state-run Indian media expressing diametrically opposite views on the gruesome murder of the victim, whose identity has been the subject of debate on the Internet.
In what could appear as an instance of the Indian media covering up the report of the brutal lynching of a Muslim man on Parola Road in Dhule district in the Hinduism-majority nation, international social media is grasping for any string of hope to reveal the truth about the barbaric video that shows 11 men hitting an unarmed Naveed Pathan with swords and sticks and continuing to hit his bloody body as the man lies unconscious.
Many Muslims in India – roughly 172 million people living in India identify themselves as adherents of Islam – woke up to the realization that a massive Muslim genocide may be underway in the nation populated by nearly 1.3 billion people, the majority of whom identify themselves as Hindu.
Something that may have been covered up by the Indian government for years became apparent the second the disturbing video of the barbaric murder of Naveed Pathan leaked on the Internet late last week. While the Indian police continue investigating who was the source of the leak, Muslims living in the nation are up in arms about the alleged religion-motivated murder and the apparent fact that the Indian media is trying to cover up the report to keep a lid on what has been labelled as a 'genocide in India'.
The barbaric lynching of Naveed Pathan, or Rafiquddin as identified by the Indian media, comes just several weeks after local journalists and police allegedly turned a blind eye on another gruesome incident of public lynching of a Muslim teenager. Late last month, the media reported that 15-year-old Junaid was stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound train from New Delhi. A crowd of nearly 200 people – Hindus – pretended as if there was no murdered Muslim child in front of them, the media reported.
Social media erupted in anger in recent days, slamming the Indian media for allegedly spreading false propaganda to cover up the alleged killing of a Muslim man.
The unarmed victim, who on the video is seen lying in a river of his own blood after barbarically attacked by about a dozen of men equipped with swords and sticks, was identified by the Indian media and police as gangster Rafiquddin, who was murdered by an enemy gang in a gang-related attack.
But as the video started making rounds on the Internet, social media users were sceptical of the reports and accused the Indian media of trying to cover up what they called was a Muslim genocide in India. Many independent journalists identified the man as Naveed Pathan and described him as a law-abiding Muslim citizen who had been taking part in bodybuilding contests. They claim the Muslim man was murdered in a religion-motivated attack, not an inter-gang rivalry one.
The social media's side of the story stands in stark contrast to the official Indian media reports, claiming that Rafiquddin was a criminal out on bail and had more than 30 cases of extortion, rape and murder against him. The Indian media downplayed the brutal lynching of the victim, who was killed in broad daylight in front of many witnesses and CCTV cameras, as gang rivalry.
The mysterious case of Naveed Pathan (Rafiquddin) remains unclosed, as Muslims living in India, who are concerned about their safety as religiously-motivated murders in the nation are reportedly on the rise, want an unbiased investigation into the barbaric killing of the alleged bodybuilder.
The disturbing video, which has been viewed by many social media users after its leak, shows that about 11 men pull the victim onto the street and strike him with swords and sticks 27 times. As Naveed Pathan (Rafiquddin), who was reportedly having tea in the nearby roadside stall, lies in his own river of blood dead, the attackers are seen hopping on motorcycles and scooters to flee the horrendous crime scene.
Indian police reportedly arrested one suspect in connection with the public lynching of the possibly wrongly identified Muslim bodybuilder. Reports also claim that police have identified another five suspects.
Zain Khan, a Dubai-based broadcast journalist, condemned the brutal attack and claimed that the Muslim man was targeted by Hindu extremists.
In #India today extremist Hindus brutally killed (Lynched) a Muslim Body builder Naveed Pathan aka Naveed Iqbal aka Pappu. #Naveedpathan
Many users have taken to social media to accuse the Indian government headed by PM Narendra Modi of ignoring and possibly covering up the increased number of religion-motivated incidents targeting Muslims across India.
I very strongly condemn the brutal killing of Naveed pathan in IND by hands of Hindu Taliban,for which Narindra Modi is directly responsible
Real face of so called #secular state #India. Brutally murdered a #Muslim Body Builder Naveed Pathan. Shame India. Violation of #HumanRights
While the identity of the brutally murdered victim still remains under wraps – with social media confident it was bodybuilder Naveed Pathan and the Indian media and police claiming it was gangster Rafiquddin – anti-Muslim sentiments are on the rise in the majority-Hindustan nation.
Opponents and critics of the Indian government claim that the current regime orders to keep media outlets silent about religious-motivated attacks targeting Muslims, while ordinary Indian people – as seen from the brutal lynching of the Muslim teenager last month – are apparently ready to turn a blind eye on such deplorable incidents and violation of human rights.
As the investigation into the murder of Naveed Pathan continues, Muslim people living in India fear that violence against Muslim community in the nation could become worse if the media, police and ordinary people keep their eyes closed on the disturbing reality.
This video may be inappropriate for some users. (GRAPHIC 18+)
Posted by Simon in Afghan -Taliban-India Axis, Bajrang Dal, Gujarat Massacre By Narebdra Modi & Hindutva Terrorists RSS, Hindutva India Bigotry, India, India Global Exporter of Terrorism, India Hall of Shame, India in Pakistan's Nuclear Crosshair, INDIA'S DRDO DUDS, INDIA'S EXPORT- IT SCAMMER TO USA, INDIA'S HINDUISM, India's Missile Technology Proliferation, India's Nuclear Proliferation, Indian Army, Indian IT Coolies in US, Indian Military Lies & False Propaganda, Khalistan, Makaar Dushman, Suppression of Women in Hindu India, The Hindutva Nazi Mind, VHP on March 18th, 2017
(Web Desk) – India has topped the list of most ignorant countries in a survey carried out by Ipsos MORI, which includes information from 27,250 interviews of people aged 16 to 64 carried out between September and November, the Independent reported on Saturday.
Ipsos MORI surveyed people from 40 countries, with between 500 and 1,000 people surveyed in each.
Multiple questions were posed before participants; including their country population, healthcare spending, and home ownership. The findings were then collated to create the index.
Wealth seemed to have less bearing on outcomes than one might expect. The USA, one of the richest has been ranked one of the most ignorant below many developed countries.
Here is the list of top 10 ignorant countries in the world:
South Africa
Posted by admin in Afghan -Taliban-India Axis, AFGHANISTAN BASED RAW TRAINED TALIBAN ACTIONS, Afghanistan Hell, Afghanistan-Land of Backstabbers, CROSS BORDER KILLINGS BY INDIA, EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO INDIA, India Hall of Shame, India's Nuclear Proliferation, INDIA-AN EVIL NATION, INDIA-HO-- -- USE BUILT ON SAND AND COW DUNG, INDIA: THE EVIL HINDU EMPIRE, INDIAN AGENT NAWAZ SHARIF:FREE ARY, INDIAN ARMY CHIEF-TOKENISM TO APPEASE SIKH MINORITY, INDIAN GOVTS LIES EXPOSED, INDIAN SABRE RATTLING BITS THE DUST, INDIAN SCAMMERS AROUND THE GLOBE, INDIAN TERRORISM FROM CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS, Makaar Dushman, Politics, Recent News on October 29th, 2014
Gambling against Armageddon
Munir Akram, former Pakistan ambassador to the UN |
IN an opinion piece last year, Henry Kissinger observed that over the next couple of decades a nuclear war was likely to take place between India and Pakistan. The nuclear factor was in play in four major and one minor India-Pakistan crises: in 1987, 1990, 1998, 1999 and 2002.In 1987, when an Indian army chief launched the Brasstacks military exercises along Pakistan's exposed desert borders, Pakistan responded by deploying its forces in the north where India was vulnerable. Prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's agreement to a mutual stand-down no doubt also took into account the informal threat from Islamabad to bomb India's nuclear reactors in case Pakistan was attacked. (After the crisis ended, the Pakistan-India agreement not to attack each other's nuclear facilities was jointly formulated in one day.)In January 1990, when the anti-Indian insurgency erupted in Kashmir and India threatened Pakistan, a conflict was forestalled by US intervention. The US acted when it learnt that Pakistan had begun to arm its nuclear-capable aircraft.
The operation of mutual deterrence between India and Pakistan is being eroded.
During the night of 26-27 May 1998 — the night before Pakistan conducted its nuclear explosions in response to India's tests — Pakistani radar detected unidentified aircraft flying towards its territory. Islamabad issued warnings of instant retaliation to India and relayed these to the US and Israel. This may have been a false alarm; but it illustrates the danger of accidental conflict in the absence of real-time communications.During the 1999 Kargil war, the nuclear dimension was implicit, given that the crisis occurred a year after the India-Pakistan nuclear tests.During the 2002 general mobilisation by India and Pakistan, the director general of the Pakistan Armed Forces Special Plans Division enunciated its nuclear 'doctrine' in a news interview. The 'doctrine' envisaged that Pakistan would use nuclear weapons if: it was being militarily overwhelmed; its nuclear or strategic weapons or facilities were attacked; and it was subjected to an enemy blockade.The projection of this doctrine, including at a UN news conference by this writer in July 2002, sparked a fall in the Indian Stock Exchange, the evacuation of foreign personnel and embassy families from New Delhi and a demarche by Indian business leaders to prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and reportedly led to the Indian agreement for a mutual drawback of forces.The operation of mutual deterrence displayed in 2002, however, is being eroded by several developments.One, the conventional military balance is becoming progressively unfavourable to Pakistan. India is engaged in a major arms build-up. It is the world's largest arms importer today. It is deploying advanced and offensive land, air and sea weapons systems. Pakistan's conventional capabilities may not prove sufficient to deter or halt an Indian attack.Two, India has adopted the Cold Start doctrine envisaging a rapid strike against Pakistan. This would prevent Pakistan from mobilising its conventional defence and thus lower the threshold at which Pakistan may have to rely on nuclear deterrence.Three, Pakistan has had to deploy over 150,000 troops on the western border due to its involvement in the cross-border counterterrorism campaign in Afghanistan, reducing its conventional defence capacity against India.Four, the acquisition of foreign nuclear plants and fuel, made possible by the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, will enable India to enlarge its nuclear weapons stockpile significantly. To maintain nuclear balance, Pakistan has accelerated production of fissile materials. Both nuclear arsenals are now large and growing.Five, given its growing conventional disadvantage, and India's pre-emptive war fighting doctrine, Pakistan has been obliged to deploy a larger number of nuclear-capable missiles, including so-called 'theatre' or tactical nuclear-capable missiles. The nuclear 'threshold' is now much lower.Six, the Kashmir dispute — once described by former US president Bill Clinton as a nuclear flashpoint — continues to fester. Another insurgency is likely to erupt, certainly if the Bharatiya Janata Party government goes ahead with its platform promise to abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution (which accords special status to Jammu & Kashmir). A renewed Kashmiri insurgency will evoke Indian accusations against Pakistan and unleash another Indo-Pakistan crisis.Seven, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has obviously decided to adopt an aggressive posture towards Pakistan, no doubt to appeal to his hard-line Hindu constituency. The recent ceasefire violations along the Line of Control are an ominous indication of such belligerency.Eight, India is reportedly involved in supporting the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and the Baloch Liberation Army to destabilise Pakistan internally.Nine, India has terminated the 'composite dialogue' with Pakistan. Its precondition for talks — an "absence of violence" — is impossible for Pakistan to meet.Ten, the US and other major powers evince little interest in addressing the combustible mix of live disputes, terrorist threats, conventional arms imbalance and nuclear weapons in South Asia.During the parallel dialogue initiated by the US with Pakistan and India following their 1998 nuclear explosions, Pakistan proposed a 'strategic restraint regime' with India which would include mechanisms to resolve disputes, including Kashmir; preserve a conventional arms balance and promote mutual nuclear and missile restraint.India rejected the concept of a mutual restraint regime.The US at first agreed to consider Pakistan's proposal. However, as their talks with India transitioned from restricting India's nuclear programme to building a "strategic partnership" (against China), the Americans de-hyphenated policy towards Pakistan and India, opened the doors to building India's conventional and nuclear capabilities and disavowed any interest in the Kashmir dispute. Currently, Indian belligerence is bolstered by US pressure on Pakistan to halt fissile material production and reverse the deployment of theatre nuclear-capable missiles.If a South Asian Armageddon is to be prevented, it is essential to build a structure of stable deterrence between India and Pakistan and find ways to deal with Kashmir and other outstanding disputes. Reviving consideration of a strategic restraint regime would be a good place to start.The writer is a former Pakistan ambassador to the UN.
Posted by admin in India Hall of Shame, INDIA'S HINDUISM, India's Missile Technology Proliferation, India's Nuclear Proliferation, Suppression of Women in Hindu India on July 7th, 2014
Indians will find this one hard to swallow. And we Pakistani are working hard to become like them? If Nawaz Sharif Would Stop Focusing on Family Business & Focus on Pakistan,coming Train Wreck Pakistan could be averted.But,he is too busy stuffing incompetent Kashmiris into Govt Ministeries.
I thought Pakistan was terrible. But this beats anything on the planet
Indians will find this one hard to swallow.
But, one can't deny the bitter facts… Can Indians Handle The Truth?
The following comments are written by Prem Sagar, a Hindu.
Read them and open your eyes about great India 900 million people earn only 20 rupees per day in India. Out of which 500 million people earns only 10 rupees per day. Out of which 250 million makes only 5 rupees per day. Out of which 50 million people makes nothing. We have created the most heinous society in the history of human race. We 1 million Indians carry the toilet of other Indians every day. This is the greatest economical terrorism in the history of human race. We have 5 lakh villages without water. 34 families control 50% India – the greatest feudal system ever. Our mataas and mothers in the villages do their toilet on the road side. We are topping in AIDS, Blood Pressure, Stress Level and many other ills and deceases. We have the largest ghetto in Bombay. And yet, we have all the time to attack Muslims. We have killed and massacred over 10 million Hindu female babies in the last decade alone by forced abortions. Every day, hundreds of Hindu women are being raped by other Hindus. Every day! When Muslims lost power in India, the literacy rate was 96%. When British lost India, the literacy rate was reduced to 12% and they left 160 million Indian poor and destitute. Today, that poor and destitute climbed to 900 million. Today, Hindus have created the greatest feudal System in the history of mankind. 34 Hindu families control 50% India. Out of 1200 million people, only 35 million Indians are full time employees. The rest is hopping one place to another. Out of which 1.5 million are employed in military, few lakhs in Banking, Railway and government. If anybody wanted to substantiate the above, please watch RAJIVE DIXIT SPEECH IN HYDERABAD 2010. Just cut and paste the capital letters on YouTube and enjoy the speech by this Pakka Hindu. Hindus are incapable to function as a society. When Muslims entered India, the country was divided into 200 mini kingdoms. They always use to fight with each other. They demolish each other Bhagwans and deities statutes. It was a regular practice. Muslims provided stability. Bollywood today is the hub and powerhouse of prostitution. The producers and directors regularly rape the upcoming start up heroines. The branded heroines regularly sell their bodies for lakhs per night to rich people inside and outside India. India is becoming a superpower is nothing but hoax and false. Today, every city of India is filthy, dirty - they live like haiwaans (beasts) and animals.
Sean Paul Kelley is a travel writer, former radio host, and before that, an asset manager for a Wall Street investment bank that is still (barely) alive. He recently left a fantastic job in Singapore working for Solar Winds, a software company based out of Austin, to travel around the world for a year or two. He founded The Agonist, in 2002, which is still considered the top international affairs, culture and news destination for progressives. He is also the Global Correspondent for The Young Turks, on satellite radio and Air America.
If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who is being honest with you and wants nothing from you.
These criticisms apply to all of India except Kerala and the places I did not visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India.
Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural Imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn't really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don't seem to care and the lower classes just don't know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But, here goes, nonetheless.
It's that simple, but it's also quite complicated. I'll start with what I think are Indias' four major problems – the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation – and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First: Pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution, indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don't know how cultural the filth is, but it's really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump.
Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree, were so very polluted as to make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all too common experience in India. Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter, was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight.
Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for ones' health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads.
The only two cities that could be considered sanitary, in my journey, were Trivandrum – the capital of Kerala – and Calicut. I don't know why this is, but I can assure you that, at some point, this pollution will cut into Indias' productivity, if it already hasn't. The pollution will hobble Indies' growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small 'c' sense.)
The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: Roads, Rails, Ports and the Electric Grid. The Electric Grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India. Wide swathes of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity, productivity, again, falls.
The Ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of long shore men and the like.
Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand, much less Western Europe or America and I covered fully two-thirds of the country during my visit. There are so few dual carriage-way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of and, if there are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced (another sideline is police corruption). A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older and, generally, in poor mechanical repair, belching clouds of poisonous smoke and fumes.
Everyone in India, or who travels in India, raves about the railway system. Rubbish! It's awful! When I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But, in the last five years, the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travellers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses.
At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50 million people! Not surprising that wait lists of 500 or more people are common now. The rails are affordable and comprehensive, but, they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines popping up in India like sadhus in an ashram in the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the over utilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit.
It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for ones' phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service.
Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form, back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India.
government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners. Too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way, shape or form. Take the trash, for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don't have the time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job.
Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don't think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way.
Mumbai, India's' financial capital, is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia – and being more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra, is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan !
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, "backwardness," in a country that hasn't produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But, India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing.
The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It's a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I'm far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, you have it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I have been there. I have done it and I have seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does.
And, the bottom line is, I don't think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative.


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Friday, September 16, 2016
DIVA Challenge 284 Tripoli Monotangle
This week the challenge from the DIVA is to do the tangle Tripoli as a monotangle. In other words, as the only tangle on your tile. I've always had a little bit of trouble with Tripoli, but Laura's tip about trying to keep the spacing between your triangles as uniform as possible, is a lot of help. In my first tile I filled in my triangles with different patterns, and on the second tile I used the same one. The more I practice Tripoli the better it gets, but it does take a lot of concentration for me. Enjoy your weekend!
Posted by Sue Clark at 4:11 PM
Labels: Tripoli
9 comments:
These are both wonderful, I like how you've used cords to join them in the first one.ReplyDelete
Both are beautiful! Great variations of Tripoli!ReplyDelete
Love both of your tiles!ReplyDelete
This is gorgeous! When I opened the page the pic was teenytiny and I could tell that the composition was awesome before I could make out any details. Well done;-)ReplyDelete
It almost looks like the first one is flowing into the second one! Nicely shaded too.ReplyDelete
I do like them both.ReplyDelete
I really like both of them. Nice to see the different looks by changing the fill or keeping it constant.ReplyDelete
Wow Sue - I love how thin and even you get the lines between each triangle! Love both tiles, but the second one is so dynamic!ReplyDelete
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JaeMartin Collection
Jae Martin True King
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Chateau Motel By the Sea
Located in the center of Panama City Beach and directly on the sugar white sands of the famed Emerald Coast, The Chateau is close to all the great activities that Panama City Beach has to offer. Why stay in a high rise condo? At The Chateau you are always just steps away from the world's most beautiful beaches. Enjoy a beach side room with an excellent view of the emerald waters or stay in one of our beach front rooms with a 180 degree view of the sugar white sand and emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico. We have rooms that are only a few short strides to the sand and you will not find a better view anywhere else! We have many activities and amenities to offer; relax and soak in the sun on our beachfront tanning deck or cool off in our beach front lagoon style heated pool, collect seashells, take a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, cookout at our grilling pavilion, jet ski or parasail with Adventures at Sea right outside your door. Grab a refreshing drink and a bite to eat at our beachfront bar and grill Treble Hooks- excellent food at very reasonable prices right here on our pool deck. When you are staying at The Chateau, you are treated like family, which is why so many families come and stay at The Chateau Motel again and again.
12525 Front Beach Rd.
Panama City Beach, FL 32407


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Complex with its location on the Arabian Gulf and only one remaining natural beachfronts in Dubai is truly unique.
The development takes into consideration all of the needs its potential buyers could have, including both budget and size needs. For those who want something affordable and compact, studio and one bedroom apartments are available. Two, three and four bedroom villas are also found in the development. Those who wish to buy a more prestigious Dubai home may wish to consider the penthouse apartments. Garden, duplex, loft and terrace floor plans are all found in this remarkable community.
Price includes 2 garage spaces.
Layout includes 4 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, terrace, etc.
- Full sea view (from each window)
- Maids room
- Terrace with swimming pool
- Wood flooring (for the bedrooms)
- Marble flooring (for the common areas)
- Full kitchen appliances
Location and nearby infrastructure
Jumeirah Beach Residence has lots of facilities and amenities for the residence of the area. For an excellent outdoor pastime it has own beach, a club, fitness centres, spas, sports facilities, swimming pools, landscaped plazas and fountains. Nearby are several international schools and clinics.


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It's a rainy night at Maitland St, Dunedin, sometime in the early 1990s and I'm at home alone with nothing better to do than watch TV. Dennis Weaver is in his car while being chased by a large dark ominous truck down the highways of the USA and I'm starting to think that heating up something for dinner might be a good idea. I figure I can come back later for the punchline to the movie, and so I'm at the stove cooking when the power goes out. Dinner goes cold on the stove, and the fate of Mr. Weaver will remain unknown tonight, but what to do?Read this story
In December 2016 I travelled to New Plymouth to film an interview with Peter Jefferies. I'd seen him perform three times in the previous eight months, once solo and twice with different versions of the This Kind of Punishment line-up. These were the first times I'd seen him perform since he'd turned his back on making and performing music over a decade earlier, and it was a joy to see him up on stage again, confident, expressive – and looking like he was enjoying it.Read this story


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Admissions 4-1-1: Tips to Help You and Your High School Student Navigate the Process
Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 12pm (Central)
Let's face it, understanding the higher education admissions process is not always easy. Join us for insights to help you and your college-bound son or daughter prepare for a successful transition.
With frequent changes to requirements and differences institution to institution, it is no surprise the higher education admissions process can create a lot of anxiety for students and parents.
During this webinar, Peter Wilson, AB'10, MBA'17, Director of Admissions & Deputy Dean and Chief of Staff at The University of Chicago, will discuss the admissions process for highly selective colleges and share advice to help prepare you and your student.
Learn tips to navigate the higher ed admissions process effectively!
About the Presenter:
Peter Wilson, AB'10, MBA'17 is Director of Admissions & Deputy Dean and Chief of Staff at the University of Chicago. In the Office of College Admissions, Peter oversees the office's daily operations, on and off campus programs, student recruitment, application review, and athletic recruitment. Peter started in the admissions office in 2010 after he earned a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and later earned his MBA at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in 2017. He currently serves as a member of the National Merit Scholarship Selection Committee and the College Board Midwestern Regional Council.
Mind Your Career Webinar Information
Date: Thursday, February 28, 2019 at 12pm (Central)
Cost: Complimentary
Location: Online
Location: Online
Event Contact
Adam Sylvain
Assistant Director, Career Development
UChicago Alumni Association Contact


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I am not a huge Conan fan but, to be entirely honest, I have watched the Beardpocalypse with great anticipation. I realize I'm a little late in posting this but I just had to share the end of the Beardpocalypse!
Will Ferrell Shaves Conan's Beard
May you all welcome in the new era of shaven Conan!
– Paul Scott
37.101888 -113.540268


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**Meeting will be at a new location, see below for address.
AAUW's Raleigh-Wake Branch
is proud to present as speaker at our
January 16th Meeting
Catherine Doyle
Dr. Catherine Doyle is a plant biologist at North Carolina State University. She will speak on international agriculture related to women's rights, food security, and entrepreneurship, and on women in the restaurant business.
About Catherine
After graduation from Davidson College, Catherine worked at NCSU as a research technician. From her research, she was awarded the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to pursue a PhD. By better understanding of how plant diseases evolves, disease management strategies can be developed that are sustainable, and help farmers, women, and local governments to overcome agriculture challenges.
Catherine believes that it is essential to explain her research and increase public awareness of food security and the impact of local farming on economies and poverty. She has worked with African scientists, engaged and educated farmers and co-taught a workshop in Tanzania.
A grand challenge of the 21st century is to increase crop yield to meet food production demands of the growing world population. Catherine's goal as a scientist is to develop a research program to improve food security in and outside the US., and advocate for food security.
Tuesday, January 16th, join members of the branch:
5:15 pm Hospitality
5:30 – 7pm Program & business session
Vue 64 Apartments
1570 Atrium Dr, Raleigh, NC 27604
(713) 569 7128
Please contact Terry Wall, Membership VP


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Gay Essential Review: Jonathan at Berlinale
When the film opens, there's a tension in the air. You feel it. A boy racing through the forest. An old man, his father, sitting by a tree. It's raining, the colours are blue and grey. Even in the throes of a thunderstorm, there's something beautiful about the scene—a beauty that permeates the rest of the entire film.
The film's title character, Jonathan, is played by baby-faced, blue-eyed, blonde Jannis Niewöhner, playing the 18-year old son stuck at home taking care of his sick father. This isn't your typical gay film, though: the lead character isn't the gay character. Set on a farm in rural Germany, Jonathan is stuck at home amidst bitter family rivalries he doesn't understand. Ultimately, it's a film about the father-son relationship. Jonathan's father, played by André M. Hennicke, is the film's gay character. You know that throughout the film—hints here and there—but it's not until the words are actually uttered when you feel a sense of relief. Finally, the secret's out.
But the drama goes further. This is contemporary Germany and Jonathan is accepting, but has to come to terms with a complicated family history—and wondering whether his life has been a disappointment, an hindrance, to his dying father's unrealized life.
He's helped through this process by the lovely and talented supporting actress Julia Koschitz, playing Jonathan's girlfriend and nurse to the sick father. The story unfolds with family secrets revealed sparingly—but just at the right times before it becomes too late. With beautiful close-up shots throughout, and an achingly romantic sex scene on a hospital bed, this film captures the raw emotions of a broken family coming to terms with reality. The movie's scenes set in the countryside—often wet, green and never really dry—mimic the emotions of the characters. Their world isn't perfect and is full of drama, but by the time the film ends, finally there's a relief brought out with a sigh.
Jonathan is directed by Polish-born Piotr J. Lewandowski—his first film. It's got all the elements of a successful movie. Great cinematography, an incredible cast and a soundtrack that fits well within the story. There are contrasting moments of happiness and sadness, confusion and clarity. It's a touching story which some might find sad, but somehow the joy shines through.


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The Medic: Water Rescue
In September of 2018, more than 90 people were rescued from floodwaters following Hurricane Florence in North Carolina. In May 2015, the Blanco River rose over thirteen inches overnight in a flood that surprised and devastated the community of Wimberly, TX.
Many emergency rescue skills can be forgotten if you don't use them on a regular basis. In the panic of an emergency or finding someone in distress in the water, it is easy to forget safe rescue techniques and potentially put yourself in danger trying to help.
This is an introduction 4-hour hands-on workshop where we will discuss what to expect in a water rescue situation, how to safely assist someone injured in the water and tools you can use in an emergency. Students will get practice running through training to become familiar with the methods to get a victim to dry land safely.
We will cover:
- Submersion and immersion victims
- Hypothermia: what to do
- Basic CPR protocol For Drowning Victims (NOT CPR certification)
- Protecting the c-spine in the water
- Patient extrication and movement
- Rescuer safety precautions
- Throw bags and ropes
- Rescue knots
- Basic River Fording Methods
- Hands-on practice in a controlled environment
To pay with cash, checks, or money orders send us an email here:
You can review our tuition policies here: https://thehumanpath.net/about/payment-policies
Please view our school's cancellation policy before registering.


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2014-2015 MSW Fellows in Aging
Leadership Projects
Leadership Project: Taking Parker's Pulse: A S.W.O.T. Analysis of Francis E. Parker Home's Organizational Culture Education
Background: The Francis E. Parker Memorial Home is a not-for-profit organization that offers a wide array of long term care services including skilled nursing, memory care, assisted living residences, as well as adult day services and health and wellness community services for older adults in Central New Jersey. In 1998 Parker Home became one of four registered Eden Alternative™ homes in the state of New Jersey. Parker Home began a culture change journey at the time to ensure greater involvement and stronger communication among the care team and to continue to strengthen its person-centered environment. In 2014, a Culture Team was created to further develop Parker Home's cultural identity to make it more portable as the organization continues to grow; enable Eden culture to be more successful; and measure success in culture implementation and change. Parker Home hopes to create a unique identity apart from the Eden Alternative through this process.
Project Aim: As a contribution to the Culture Team's Education task force, I completed a qualitative study examining the knowledge and perceptions of organizational culture among employees. Fifteen face-to face interviews were conducted with staff across different departments on two campuses, with particular attention to how the organization can improve its education and training opportunities around organizational culture.
Outcomes: The end product of this project was a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of Parker's present culture and educational practices. With this, I identified key points and recommendations for the task force to consider concerning strategies for culture education as Parker continues on the Eden Alternative Path to Mastery, seeks to identify its organizational culture as a unique way of caring for elders, and expands in the future.
Reflections: This project has allowed me to critically evaluate how to improve an organization's functioning and to practice communicating research results to health professionals. Organizational culture within long-term care communities significantly contributes to the quality of care provided. As a social work leader in the field of aging, I will take the knowledge I have gained from this project to advocate for both care-providers and those that they care for to promote environments that allow for the best work environments and care.
Leadership Project: Enhancing the Engagement of Outreach Volunteers at the AARP NJ State Office
Background: AARP is a national nonprofit organization that champions issues that matter to the 50+ age group, such as healthcare, employment security, and retirement planning. As part of this work, AARP provides older adults the opportunity to contribute as volunteers through community outreach concerning AARP's position on issues confronting older adults. Volunteers attend events, such as health fairs, senior fairs, and informational conferences. AARP NJ's Outreach Unit aimed to enhance their volunteer management strategies with an eye toward expanding outreach volunteers in the future.
Project Aim: As a member of the Outreach Unit, I began to explore ways in which I could combine findings from research on older adult volunteers with quantitative surveys that could be done with both current and former volunteers. Moreover, AARP wanted to expand its penetration into more counties by recruiting more volunteers. To that end, this project aimed to learn what percentage of 121 volunteers from an initial list remained interested in volunteering and how AARP could engage a greater percentage of the volunteers on the list. Mail-back surveys were administered to the 121 volunteers to assess current and future levels of engagement, identify possible barriers to engagement, grow the volunteer list, and identify preferences around training.
Outcomes: Results from the survey indicated that the number of available outreach volunteers has declined significantly within recent years and that many counties in New Jersey do not currently have any outreach volunteers. Common barriers to participation included health problems and issues concerning transportation, which are expected to become even greater barriers to participation as the volunteer pool advances in age. Guided by national research on volunteerism in later life, I delineated several recommendations that AARP NJ could consider in expanding its outreach volunteer program as well as increase its retention of current volunteers, including the designation of a volunteer manager.
Reflections: I was able to learn first-hand the importance of research for addressing issues within any organization. I learned how crucial it is to design a survey instrument to make sure it will measure exactly what you are trying to measure. Overall, this project demonstrated the value of spending resources on research that can create change, affect policy, and ultimately save resources in the future.
Leadership Project: Supporting Caregivers at the Carol G. Simon Cancer Center at Morristown Medical Center
Background: The Carol G. Simon Cancer Center (CGSCC) at Morristown Medical Center offers various psychosocial support services to cancer patients and their families during and after treatment. The Social Work Department works with patients and their families in many critical areas, such as: dealing with fear and anxiety related to the cancer diagnosis and treatment; assisting with financial concerns, work-related issues and home care needs; planning for life post-treatment; and bereavement.
Project Aim: The leadership project sought to bolster a current CGSCC initiative to better understand caregiver needs. Specifically, the goal was to strengthen the Center's approach by: (a) analyzing data collected through a survey of caregivers at CGSCC; (b) conducting a thorough literature review of cutting-edge, evidence-based interventions used in cancer settings; (c) practicing these interventions with caregivers and developing a personal understanding of their needs; and (d) presenting a report that included four SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely) for the CGSCC to consider in its future work with caregivers.
Outcomes: National research supports that caregivers are as overlooked as they are important in cancer care. They provide more than half the care needed by patients, yet they often assume the caregiving role by default with no formal training and little understanding of the knowledge, resources, and skills that their role demands. To provide high-quality to care recipients, caregivers need professionals who understand their value and empower them towards optimal engagement. Although there is no one-size-fits-all model for intervening with caregivers, an analysis of existing research distilled three categories of superior evidence-based interventions: psycho-education, skills training, and therapeutic counseling.
Reflections: It was an honor and a privilege to work with caregivers in the cancer setting. The fellowship project provided me the opportunity to delve deeper into the field education experience as I considered how caregivers fit into the big picture and asked the question of how to best support them. Now is an opportune time for systematic efforts to support caregivers, as leading health system CEOs are calling for better integration of caregivers to benefit both quality of care and the bottom line.
Leadership Project: Counseling Services at LIFE: Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Participant's Mental Health
Background: LIFE at Lourdes (LIFE), a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) in Pennsauken Township, is a day program for older adults that provides services such as transportation, medical care, rehabilitation therapy, mental health care, personal care, recreation, meals, and home care. The goal of PACE programs is to allow older adults at high risk for institutionalization to live safely in their own homes for as long as they so choose. Older adults with depression may have decreased functional status, sleep disorders, decreased treatment compliance, higher rate of falls and lower perceived quality of life. Decreasing depression in older adults can therefore have a beneficial impact on their well-being and the cost of treatment within the PACE program.
Project Goals: The purpose of this project was to identify ways to bolster mental health services, specifically counseling, for LIFE participants experiencing high levels of depressive symptoms. It involved conducting interviews with participants and mental health professionals on staff to determine why participants are, or are not, utilizing counseling services within the social work department. It also used administrative data to identify potential sub-groups of older adults in the program who are more inclined to have depressive symptoms and why, if at all, any particular groups are less inclined to seek or accept mental health services.
Outcomes: According to the administrative data, there was no particular group of participants more likely to have depression. Interviews with social workers indicated that the high amount of case management (in part, due to the especially low socioeconomic status of the participants), the lack of a scheduling system, and the participants' busy schedules at the day program made it difficult to provide adequate counseling services. Participant surveys indicated they did not always remember counseling services were available. Recommendations were summarized and presented to the LIFE administration and management team.
Reflections: At LIFE, social workers wanted to be able to provide more effective mental health care, and participants wanted to receive mental health care. As demonstrated by their positive response to my final presentation and willingness to address the suggested recommendations, it was clear that the administration was receptive to improving mental health, but they had not been aware of the need for improved services and what could be done to make them possible. Overall I have learned how to properly evaluate mental health care needs through research and effective interviewing skills. As a leader in social work, I can carry forward the importance of effective communication among participants, staff, and administration to ensure that the best possible services are being provided.


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BEIJING (Reuters)
China will ban fishing in the Yellow River, or Huanghe, between April 1 and June 30 every year starting from 2018, state-owned media Xinhua reported on Monday, citing a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture
The ban aims to protect aquatic organisms in the Yellow River as excessive fishing threatens fishery resources, and will be effective in the main stream, 13 tributaries and three major lakes linking to the Yellow River.
China has introduced annual fishing ban in the Yangtze River since 2002 and in the Pearl River, its No.3, since 2010.
The Yellow River is the second longest river in China after the Yangtze River. It originates from the Qinghai province in the northwest and flows through the central-north part of the country, including the provinces of Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan and Shandong.
In recent years, some regions, such as Ningxia and Gansu, have introduced fishing bans in the Yellow River during certain periods. However, illegal fishing remains rampant due to a lack of collaborated regulatory enforcement across regions.
China is also considering imposing annual fishing ban in more rivers.
(Reporting by Muyu Xu and Cate Cadell; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)


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Narvik War Museum is a modern and new war museum with architectonical and interactive experiences, where Northern Norway's war history is gathered under one roof. July 7th in 2016 the new War Museum opened in brand new premises in the middle of Narvik squares in the new Narvik city center named the 4th corner.
The exciting history from World War II can now be relived in the War Museum in Narvik, which appears in completely new and modern costume in the new Narvik center, the 4th corner. With the entire 1600 square meters spread over three floors, it is not just the battle of Narvik in focus, but a comprehensive presentation of the history of warfare in northern Norway.
The exhibitions are based on the German attack on Narvik and Norway in 1940 and the following five years of war and occupation. The exhibitions also have a section that deals with universal issues related to war, conflict and human rights. A number of genuine historic items from WWII are exhibited. The museum uses design, photos, film, sound and technology to enhance the experience of the exhibition. The texts are printed in Norwegian and English and there is translation available in French, German, Polish and Sami through the use of a smartphone app (EurekApp). The app can be downloaded free of charge from AppStore (iOS) or Google Play (Android).
Adjacent to the War Museum will also run a research center and a documentation center, which provides a unique opportunity to convey the history of warfare in Narvik and Northern Norway in a way it deserves.


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Architectural Panels
Pure Timber manufactures custom architectural panels that can be massed in repeating units or built as entire walls. Most of our panels are woven solid hardwood, but other custom curved panels and walls can be offered in 3D veneer, solid or laminated formed plywood. Our 2' x 2' framed panel shown below is fabricated to your specs for approximately $150/sq ft. Please email or call to discuss your project.


text: Welcome to our Panel Review, where we ask a fearless sparky to test run new products so we can get some real life user experience and feedback for you. We look at ease of use, delivery to the supplier promise and functionality of the product. It's a solid test of the features and benefits for us all!


text: My wife, Darlene, and I have been married for 29 years. We have two daughters, Alexandria and McKenzie, and a son, Regan. Alexandria graduated from Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) with a degree in interior design and lives and works in Scottsdale, Arizona with her husband. McKenzie graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) with a degree in dietetics and completed an internship in dietetics and a Masters Degree in Nutrition at the University of North Florida. She and her husband now live in Atlanta. Regan is a graduate of The Weslyan School and is currently continuing his education at BYU. I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, exercising and traveling.