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India needs ideas, energy from CII: President Mukherjee
| Updated: Aug 23, 2017 11:20 IST
New Delhi [India], Apr 27 (ANI): President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said just as much as funds, the country also needs their ideas, energy and drive from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The President congratulated all the awardees -Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd. for receiving this year's CII President's Award for Lifetime Achievement and those conferred with Woman Exemplar Awards. He said that the institution of the CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Award in 2005 is a welcome initiative to promote women's empowerment at the community level by discovering and recognizing those who have, against all odds, excelled and contributed significantly to the development process in India. "This will be a great encouragement for the countless number of women who are contributing in different ways to strengthening our nation and its economy," he said while presenting the CII President's Award for Lifetime Achievement to Bajaj and CII foundation Woman Exemplar Award in New Delhi today. He urged the CII to leverage Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to re-imagine interventions and transformative solutions to address the higher developmental challenges in India. He emphasized that they should have a pan-Indian outlook and not limit themselves to a few geographies for CSR development. He stated that given the magnitude of the challenges before our country and the relatively short time available to address them, partnerships will play a very crucial role. "It is important to collaborate for achieving scale, developing solutions to complex social problems and for technology development," he added. The President said that to herald a new dawn in our nation, we must leverage the strengths of all sectors: the resolve, resources, and convening power of governments; the compassion, will and outreach of non-profits; the innovation, know-how, and capabilities of the private sector; and the determination and aspiration of communities as a whole. He said that he expects CII as an industry association to reinforce and converge the initiatives of corporates in this sector. He was delighted that this is being undertaken through a dedicated CII Foundation set up for this purpose. (ANI)


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Imagine this: Americans are frustrated by taxation policies that they consider to be unfair. They scoff at politicians who are either corrupted or uncaring. They demand a drastic fiscal policy change to address serious shortcomings in the economy.
This is not the story of recent American political history. It's the 1890s.
In that decade from long ago, the Populist Party (also known as the People's Party) emerged as a viable alternative to the two main parties, which seemed to be ignoring the difficulties of average Americans. They were successful enough to get members elected to Congress and even influenced the presidential election of 1896, a turning point election by most historical accounts.
Today we have the tea party that demands many things from government, but the Populists had it right all along. They demanded an income tax but they hoped to lessen the impact of tariffs, a regressive tax, in favor of a graduated tax that asked the wealthiest Americans to sacrifice as much as the average American was sacrificing in the steel mills, coal mines, sweatshops and farmlands. Eventually, their efforts bore fruit when the 16th Amendment was added to the Constitution. It seems our politics today has forgotten the purpose and the intent of a graduated tax when middle class folks pay more, and millionaires somehow pay little to no tax.
Today we have tea party members who attempt to offer a third option, but in many ways they are a rehash of the neo-conservatives who ran the government under President George W. Bush.
Never Miss a Beat.
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Is it time for a new Populist Party? One that wouldn't cut off its nose to spite its face?
Fiscally, the Populists supported inflationary policies, such as coining money in silver in addition to the gold standard of their day. They also were so frustrated by the power of big businesses such as railroads, steel and oil over the economy that they actually demanded the government nationalize the railroad and telegraph industries.
Yet these radical proposals may actually have caused people to accept the more moderate policy changes of the Progressive Era like the Pure Food and Drug Act and laws to restrict the railroads rather than take them over. Populists and their cousins, the Progressives, found a leader in a young, vigorous and popular president, Theodore Roosevelt, who did what he believed was best for all Americans despite the protestations of the wealthy and the powerful.
Where is our young, vigorous and popular president today? He seems to have disappeared sometime after January 2009.
The tea party isn't your grandfather's Populist Party, and Obama just doesn't quite fit as our Roosevelt. It appears we need a new infusion of populist and progressive ideas to restart our economy and get our politics to serve the needs of the people rather than falsely creating debt ceiling crises to hog-tie people into cutting programs that actually benefit the little guy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Adrienne & Co. and MESA, A Collaborative Kitchen, 216 Pearl St., are pairing up and looking for Kentuckiana's most talented young bakers for MESA's first-ever kids' baking competition. Children ages 8 to 13-years-old who want to put their kitchen skills to the ultimate test are invited to enter by the March 3 deadline.
Adrienne & Co. owner Adrienne Holland and chef Liz Martino will judge the event's three rounds and determine the baking champion. The grand prize winner will be featured on the cover of Extol Magazine's June issue and debut his or her winning creation at Extol's June launch party. The winner will also receive a $100 gift card to MESA's kid events and a gift tote filled with baking goodies. The entry fee is $30 per child. For more information and contest rules, or to register, visit www.mesachefs.com.
All bakers who enter will be asked to present their favorite version of sweet bread to the judges. From there, select contestants will move forward to bake in front of a live audience at MESA that will also stream online. Guests in attendance, the featured judges and online audience will vote to select competitors to move to the next rounds. Round one will feature cookies, round two will be doughnuts and the finale will be cupcakes. MESA will provide ingredients for each of the three rounds and will include a surprise ingredient to challenge contestants. Bakers will be judged for technique, flavor and presentation. Tickets are available for purchase online for the three live rounds scheduled for March 15, March 22 and March 29 at MESA.
Click here to download the flyer for this event.


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Let me start by saying that I'm not a fan of the novels. I'll admit I read the first book on a girl's recommendation, but I never liked it much; it always felt like schoolkid lit meets P.G. Wodehouse meets vague slapdash fantasy. I'm sure the books have improved with length, as another friend is a fangirl who goes on and on about how great Snape is and how dark the story has gotten. Sadly, the movies mostly feel like Cliff's Notes to me.
Among film fans the entry directed by Alfonso Cuaron- The Prisoner of Azkaban– is usually regarded as the best. Chris Columbus did a decent job with the early ones. The films have their own look and feel, but there's just something missing in these later ones. I'm actually glad that the plot involving Voldemort is actually moving, but you don't even see him in this one. The wizard fight at the end of Order of the Phoenix was fun to watch, and there's something nearly as good here but it's badly realized and all too short. It involves seeking a relic that might destroy the ol' Dark Lord, and Harry and Dumbledore end up in a lake full of scrawny zombies in a crystal cavern. That was somewhat compelling.
I also like how Daniel Radcliffe is making Harry his own. He's cheekier. After all, the actor's played the lead in Equus and run around with his wand exposed, the character has come of age and even gets to smooch in this one, he ought to have a bit of the high school rebel in him. But only barely. The story seems to linger way too long on a Quidditch match, which hasn't been exciting since it was first introduced, and high school romance between Ron, Hermione and respective beaus. Some of this is amusing; in potion class the British actor cum professor du jour is Jim Broadbent, as Slughorn, who shows off a love potion. Wonder if that'll show up later?
The characters work well but the story is a mess, especially for those of us who haven't slogged through the tomes. Seems like Draco Malfoy is in league with ol' No-Nose and his minions like the annoying as hell Helena Bonham Carter, whose characterization of Bellatrix makes me want to make pies out of my own kidneys. Michael Gambon and Alan Rickman once again hold things together, with Maggie Smith barely getting screen time but excellent when she does. We get flashbacks to Li'l Voldy, aka Tom Riddle, played by Ralph Fiennes' nephew; the kid's got talent and we'll be seeing him again I'm sure. But we learn very little. He seems like a bad seed, about as obvious to become history's greatest monster as Anakin in Attack of the Clones.
We also see a trio of flying black smokes from "Lost" who like to fuck shit up. I think they're senior Death Eaters. They destroy the Millenium bridge, but as usual the muggle world is completely ignored, which was cute in the beginning, but makes you wonder if Hogwarts has neuralyzer spells to make people forget that three black smoke clouds just murdered hundreds of people. The film's only interested in it for the special effects. I don't think anyone even mentions it later. "Hmm, notice that the Death Eaters are waging war on the muggles? Maybe we ought to do sumfin'. Nah, let's have some Butter Beer."
I've heard wondrous things about the character of Severus Snape from fans, and I love me some Alan Rickman, so I was glad that he gets to do more than appear in drag as a gag in this one. He's always been the most interesting character, and he consistently gets shafted. Here he's implemental in the series' biggest surprise, which director David Yates handles as clumsily as I can imagine. I mean, this is big, I don't want to spoil it, but let's face it. In The Empire Strikes Back, even if you've seen it a dozen times, the "I am your father" line is obviously important. The equivalent of Snape telling Harry that he boned his mom is given here, but it doesn't feel like much. I knew what was coming, and it just fell flat. There was a huge tragedy and everyone seems sort of sad, but nothing like you'd expect.
I can't say I have much hope for the rest of the series, which Yates is dubbed to direct. I kept getting hints of a great story, but the scripts lately seem cobbled together by committee. Perhaps the PG-13 rating of the previous movie hurt sales and they went for this bland high school romance. Thankfully the kids have grown up into their characters and are enjoyable company on-screen as they banter and bicker. That's the only reason this movie gets an above average rating from me. I saw it for free at a drive-in at the end of a Mini Cooper rally, and I'm glad I didn't pay for it. No wonder they're splitting the final book into two movies- if Voldemort doesn't even show up in this one, they've got a lot of fighting to do if this series is going to be over any time soon.
Rating: 3 out of 5 annoying Anglophiles


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The Torygraph has today published the obituary of Dr William Dewi Rees, a Top Doctor who is of a similar vintage to Dafydd. William Dewi Rees was born in Barry, to parents who ran a grocers and a dairy. Like many in Wales, as a child Dr Rees was involved with both Nonconformism and Anglicanism – he attended chapel with his mother but at school became involved with the Church in Wales. William Dewi followed in the footsteps of his older brother Hywel into a career as a Top Doctor.
William Dewi attended Llandovery College and then Tommy's Medical School. He met his future wife Valerie whilst he was a medical student and she was a biochemist at Hammersmith Hospital. In 1956 he, with his wife, moved back to south Wales. Dr Rees took house jobs at Bridgend General Hospital (in obstetrics) and Caerphilly District Miners Hospital.
William Dewi Rees then relocated to Eltham, south London, to undertake GP training. In 1958 he joined the International Grenfell Association, an organisation established by a medical missionary, to take healthcare to fisherman and the indigenous people of NE Canada. Rees worked with Moravian and Catholic missionaries.
His daughter was born in 1960 and following that, for one year Rees joined the workforce of abusers at Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff – who had links with Dafydd and Gwynne. Following this, he moved to Llanidloes where he spent many years as a GP. Rees was also a churchwarden. Throughout Rees's time in Llanidloes, Emlyn Hooson was the local MP. Hooson was a Liberal barrister who was originally from Denbighshire and spent his career concealing the crimes of Dafydd and the paedophiles, as well as keeping quiet about Jeremy Thorpe and Cyril Smith. Hooson was a mate of Sir Ronnie Waterhouse. As a longstanding GP in Llanidloes, it is certain that Rees knew Hooson. Rees was also probably aware of the sexual abuse of young people within the Church in Wales.
William Dewi Rees was a friend of Archmandite Barnabas, who established a monastic community nearby with Roman Catholic priest Father Gillespie. Archmandite Barnabas was the 'founding father' of Orthodoxy in Wales and he worked with Father Deiniol, who in the 1980s did some interesting things with boys in care on Anglesey (see post 'Today We Have Naming Of Parts'). Rees also visited Quakers at Newton. Those Quakers will have known Quakers Dr Paul Nickson, the GP in Bethesda who ignored abuse and Owain Gethin Evans, the Assistant Director of Social Services in Gwynedd whilst the paedophile gang operated within the children's homes there (see post 'Pets Win Prizes'). Dame Judi Dench – the Patron of the St James's Singers, the upmarket choir in which Dafydd's mate and protector Robert Bluglass warbles away with his Top Doc wife Kerry – is also a Quaker. Some years ago articles written by Dafydd appeared on a Quakers' online newsletter.
Between 1974-76, William Dewi Rees was a Senior Medical Officer at the MoD and between 1976-80, he worked as a GP near Rugby. His final post was as Medical Director of St Mary's Hospice at Selly Oak, Birmingham, in the thick of the medical community containing Robert Bluglass. Numerous kids in care from the West Midlands were sent into the arms of Dafydd and the paedophiles in north Wales. During his 10 yrs at St Mary's, William Rees 'trained GPs and final year medical students' by working with Macmillan nurses in the 'practical and emotional care' of the dying'. So that is why Top Docs are still so bad at looking after the emotional needs of dying patients. I wondered who was responsible.
During his years as a GP in Llanidloes, William Dewi Rees became well-known for his research on hallucinations in bereaved people. He published extensively when he worked in Llanidloes and his work also resulted in him being awarded an MD from London University. In 1971, he published a paper called 'Hallucinations Of Widowhood'. Rees's obit mentions that on Sundays, his wife used to go out for the day with the kids to enable Rees to pursue his research with those hallucinating widows. They probably got confused between 'yes' and 'no' as well, like so many of Dafydd's patients did.
In 2012 William Rees published a volume, 'General Practice As It Was'. He will have known that some aspects of General Practice have remained remarkably constant over the years. Such as the wilful ignoring of organised sexual abuse and the destroying of the lives of anyone who dares to raise concerns about it. A previous book of Rees's in 2003 was called 'Pointers To Eternity'.
The Top Docs are demanding more money off Theresa today. Or Fings Will Break.
William Dewi Rees was said to 'rarely drink alcohol' when he was working, lest he was called out at night. It wouldn't have mattered if he did drink alcohol and was called out. A Dr Spry, a retired psychchiatrist in Llanberis, drove home pissed from the pub most nights and the ever-helpful police used to park up in a side turning until Spry had weaved his way home and was no longer in any danger of being caught.
William Dewi relaxed a little more after he retired and acquired a fondness for red wine. Which obviously he had never touched before. I expect that he jettisoned the Welsh cakes in favour of lobster thermidore as well, it's incredible how the standard of living of Top Docs goes through the roof after they retire and no longer live like monks.
The sex offenders of Montgomeryshire must be getting quite worried, first they lose Emlyn Hooson, then Hooson's wife pegs out and now William Dewi Rees has turned his toes up.
William Dewi Rees's children are Anna and David. I don't know what they do for a living, but they will be out there somewhere flying the flag for the man who noticed all those hallucinations in widows.
Peter Stringfellow has died as well. Allegedly of lung cancer, which he had been keeping quiet about. Words used to describe Peter Stringfellow usually include 'charismatic', 'flamboyant', 'glamorous' and a 'businessman'. He was always described as being 'surrounded by beautiful girls'. Peter Stringfellow actually ran a string of sex clubs and whilst some of the 'beautiful girls' will have been there of their own volition, Stringfellow's establishments were also in receipt of the sort of vulnerable young people whom Dafydd et al traded in. Had I agreed to work for Dafydd, I might well have ended up in one of Stringfellow's clubs myself. Some years ago Peter Stringfellow was featured on 'Through The Keyhole' and the cameras panned around his house which was full of expensive bottles of alcohol and leopard skin accessories. After the contestants all spent time guessing who lived in a house like that, Stringfellow gave the obligatory short interview. He did what he always did. He kept repeating that his entire life was spent 'drinking champagne' 'in my nightclubs' 'with beautiful girls'. Then he said to the audience 'don't you wish that you had a life like mine?'
I won't go into the details of Stringfellow's sleaze here – just look him up on wiki or for an even bigger laugh click on the Stringfellow's website – but here's a few pics of what I missed after I was foolish enough to reject the job opportunity from Dafydd and Gwynne:
Just think of the events that I have missed out on:
No wonder people kept telling me how stupid I was!
Cheers Professor Bluglass! Bottoms Up!
Mary Wilson. It has been announced that Harold Wilson's widow Mary has died, at the age of 102. I have recently blogged about Harold Wilson's concealing of serious wrongdoing, particularly with regard to the abuse of vulnerable people in the care of the statutory services and how this resulted in Wilson creating a whole supposedly citizen-friendly infrastructure, but one which was governed by paedophiles' friends to keep the lid on serious wrongdoing.
Mary Wilson was known to avoid public life and references to her 'shyness' abound. At one point, Mary was reluctantly forced to regularly appear in public with Harold because rumours were circulating that he might have been participating in sexual shenanigans elsewhere, or that she might have been. Mary subsequently took part in a few photocalls, but she did continue to keep a low profile. Mary was of course best known for writing poetry. This morning on the 'Today' programme, Margaret Beckett mentioned that Mary Wilson never broke her silence about the mysteries of Harold's political life, even in the face of questions and speculation.
Here are two reasons why Mary Wilson kept a discreet silence until she died:
|The Viscount Tonypandy
Here are two reasons why Margaret Beckett has kept a discreet silence regarding the paedophile ring that operated on her own patch in Derbyshire:
|The Viscount Tonypandy
On Radio 4 this morning, Margaret Beckett 'paid tribute' to Mary Wilson, saying that she was a lovely person. She might well have been, but Mary knew about some serious crime which resulted in the extreme suffering and even deaths of others.
I have previously discussed on this blog the situation of those who doubled up as paedophiles' friends who may well have been frightened and in difficult positions themselves. The collusion of women in particular was crucial to the continuation of the activities of Dafydd et al. Women were used as foot soldiers in roles as Angels, social workers, Top Doctors, police officers etc and their presence was used to reassure everyone that the system contained 'caring' people and that serious sexual abuse just couldn't be happening, because women would never, ever stand by and watch that. They did. Women were used to lie to the police and perjure themselves in court in order to prosecute victims and witnesses because a Dangerous Patient attacking an Angel is a real tear-jerker. Men in particular were incredibly vulnerable to false allegations from female paedophiles' friends, particularly if the distressed – or heaven forbid angry – male victim/witness could be presented as being a sexual threat to one of the Little Women. I witnessed the paedophiles' friends have a really good try at constructing someone who had been illegally imprisoned by Dafydd et al as being sexually aggressive, because he had used the word 'arse' in a sentence with regard to a Little Woman who had perjured herself. The Little Woman was an Angel and actually a very abusive one at that. Mr Angry certainly wasn't polite about her, but he in no way threatened her sexually which was what everyone tried very hard to imply.
In the children's homes in north Wales, many of the most serious sex offenders were married to women who had jobs as house mothers. Where was a 13 year old boy who was being repeatedly buggered by the house mother's husband supposed to turn?
In some of the investigations into child abuse in north Wales, it was stressed that a 'macho' and 'sexist' culture prevailed. It did in much of the mental health services as well, people like Slob Ingham were thugs. But the Little Women were either in deep denial or were busy whitewashing and their own attitudes to gender roles/stereotyping were rarely enlightened or broadminded. Furthermore, some of the Little Women were aggressive and sadistic themselves. June Dodd and Mari Roberts were named again and again by children in care in Gwynedd as having violently assaulted them (see post 'Today We Have Naming Of Parts') and an Angel by the name of Alison Parry at the Hergest Unit liked nothing better to take a run at a patient, land on top of them whilst calling for the assistance of other thugs and then pin them to the ground in the most painful way possible for 20 minutes. Complaints and concerns were expressed about Parry's conduct again and again. She only had to parrot 'they were aggressive and threatening' to avoid all investigation (see post 'Who Is In Need Of Restraining?').
I have no doubt that some of the Little Women married to the maddest of the paedophiles and their friends must have been in a very, very difficult position. One of Dafydd's ex-wives found herself losing custody of her own children and her subsequent partner was found dead (see post 'He Knew Far, Far Too Much'), although another ex-wife of Dafydd's enjoyed herself helping him run his 'clinics' whilst hurling abuse at the patients.
Some of the Little Women will have been terrified and that has to be taken into account. Hergest patients used to discuss some of the Little Women who were married to the thugs and the phrase 'the poor cow' was used, just at the thought of what they must have to have put up with.
Ken Loach's 1968 film 'Poor Cow' was based on Nell Dunn's novel. To summarise:
'18-year-old Joy starts her catalogue of 'bad choices' by running away from home with Tom. They marry and have a son, Johnny. When Tom, a thief who mentally and physically abuses Joy, is jailed for four years after attempting a robbery, she is left on her own with their son. After briefly sharing a room with her Aunt, an ageing prostitute, she moves in with Dave, one of Tom's former associates. Dave is tender and understanding in his treatment of Johnny and Joy, but the idyll is punctured when Dave gets 12 years for robbery. Intending to be faithful, Joy writes to him constantly, moves back with her Aunt and initiates divorce proceedings against Tom. She takes a job as a barmaid, starts modelling for a seedy photographers' club and drifts into promiscuity. But when Tom is released, Joy agrees to go back to him for Johnny's sake. One evening, after Tom has beaten her up, she runs out of their flat and returns to discover that Johnny is missing. After a frantic search, she finds him on a demolition site. Realising how much Johnny means to her, she accepts the need of compromise and stays with Tom, but she continues to dream of a distant future with Dave.'
This sort of biography wasn't that unusual for former kids in care in north Wales or mental health patients. The phrase 'bad choices' was bandied around a great deal. What no-one dissected was the way in which some of those kids/patients had been left destitute or at very serious risk by the 'services', quite deliberately. People were routinely not told of their benefit entitlements; they were not told if they were offered a house share with someone who was known to be a risk to other people; they were left alone to look after seriously ill family members who were also scandalously neglected by the same 'services'; they were prosecuted for trivial offences or indeed offences that they hadn't committed, which made it hard for them to find employment and in the case of me (and a few others) who were able to get professional jobs, they would be forced out of their jobs after a paedophiles' friend had unlawfully approached their employer. At least two self-employed business people who didn't need benefits or help with housing were ruined by the paedophiles' friends and their little ways.
The Little Women married to the likes of Slob Ingham and Keith Fearns were indeed Poor Cows, but they were rather better off than a Poor Cow such as this, sitting in Risley Remand Centre, framed for crimes that she didn't commit:
The Poor Cow who was Lady Wilson of Rievaulx lived here:
Mary Wilson also had a second home on the Scilly Isles.
The living conditions of so many in receipt of 'care' in north Wales equated to this:
I am not someone who would wish to be married to Harold Wilson and I would not be prepared to keep quiet about the things that Mary Wilson kept quiet about to get through the doors of Number 10 or even through the doors of a house on the Scilly Isles. I would rather be the Poor Cow in the picture immediately above, at least my hands would be clean. Yours are not Bridget and Sadie. You might have been frightened but you did not have to lie on oath about me in an attempt to bring about:
Mary and Harold sent their sons to University College School, Hampstead, the Headmaster of which was Alan Barker, who was married to Trumpers. Trumpers used dine with Harold and Mary (see post '95 Glorious Years!'). Trumpers was the junior Tory Health Minister who appointed Jimmy Savile to the management board of Broadmoor Hospital (see post 'Socio-Political Context Of The North Wales Mental Health Services In The 1980s').
Lady Wilson of Serious Sex Crimes in High Places was born in Norfolk, in a place called Diss. She died at St Thomas's Hospital in London, among the most elite of the Top Docs, the former colleagues of Ed and David Miliband's Uncle Harry. As opposed to after being dumped naked on a urine-soaked, faeces-encrusted bed in Tawel Fan, Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, with the dulcet sounds of Angels swearing at her ringing in her ears.


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– By Anant Narayan Pai, Mumbai
Charanam Sharanam Ramambike
Charanam Sharanam Trayambake.
This is the second article in the series on Shravan Bhakti.
1.The Guru is not different from God. There is no Vaikunta, no Goloka, no Kailas and no Brahmapuri greater than the Guru's Feet. That is why some cadre of bhaktas do not covet moksha. On the other hand, they pray that every time God incarnates, they should also be reborn to serve His Feet again.
"Gheyeen me janma, yajh sathi deva! Tujhi charan- seva, sadha- vaya!" We have sung this abhang so many times to our Mother in our Sunday satsangs. Have we not ?
2.Yet at human levels, these are easier said than done. The choice of re-birth and its timings are not in our hands. And even if we are born during the tenure of the Guru's incarnation, what is the guarantee that we shall recognize Him again in His new form as the same Guru of our past life? This is because with the dawn of the new life, the jiva 'forgets' his connection with the old life in his memory..
"Janam janam ka nata, hai tera mera! Yaad raha prabhu tum ko, mai bhoola bisera!
"Sadguru teri ichha hai to, janam lu mai sav baar! Ho har janam me teri, bhakti aparam paar!"
How true and significant are these lines, I hear sung in a Sad guru's arti !.It is only through the Guru's Grace that we can get the fortune of being reborn during the tenure of His incarnation and the privilege of doing His bhakti..
3.Though we may forget our Guru in some moment of indiscretion, it shall never happen that the Guru will ever forget us for even a moment..
Though the disciple, on his rebirth, may lose track of his Guru of past life, it shall never happen that the Guru will lose track of his disciple.
Once a Guru accepts a disciple, as far as the Guru is concerned, it is a relationship for all times and lives of the disciple to come thereafter. The Guru will maintain this relationship faithfully – even unilaterally without a single break. The Guru will never shed his role for even a single moment.
Therefore, if devotee fondly prays that he should be reborn every time his Guru re-incarnates and enjoy the blessedness of His company- how can the Guru, the Mother refuse ?
4.Nothing that we see in our dream is a new experience. Every object, person or scene that we see in our dream is something which our mind has seen in the past and registered in memory.
Even what we have seen in our past lives get retained in our memory at the time of rebirth. This is because when a person dies, he only cast away his gross body (sthool sharir), but not his mental being.
Thus, sometimes we may notice that when we see a stranger for the first time, we feel happy on seeing him, even though we don't know him. Some of us are scared of water; some have fear of heights, or darkness, etc. All these have some relation with our past lives. Children are seen with some habits right from birth. For example, a four month old kid is found to be very short tempered. So much so that once angry, it stops breathing and turns blue while crying. Why does this happen? It is because in this childhood, there are mixed memories of last life's childhood and old age.
5.All of us have dreams. Sometimes, it is claimed that we saw Mother in our dreams. But there is a significant difference between 'dreaming of Mother' and 'Mother coming in our dreams'.
Dreaming of Mother is a product of our own egos. We flaunt to our own selves that we are great devotees of Mother and therefore, a 'preferred one' for Her Grace. And this flaunt may translate in to dream in which we see Mother blessing us.
But Mother coming in our dream on Her Own – without any effort from our side- is a different matter. It is only when the jiva's mind is shed of ego, bereft of flaunt of intelligence and in state of child- like surrender, that it can see this Mother coming in to his dream. Such dreams are "Apourusheya" – i.e. derived sans human effort.
6.In fact, saints have unique spiritual experiences of divine revelations in their dream. The sacred Ram Raksha Stotra was written by Buddha Kaushika Rishi after it was divinely recited to him by Lord Shiva in dream. That is why Ram Raksha stotra is also 'Apourusheya'.
The sacred Sri Sai Sat Charita cites several stories in which Sai Baba had transacted with his devotees – even imparting spiritual instructions.
Therefore, when Mother comes in a dream, let us know that that it is not an idle event. It is conscious and deliberate effort of Mother to impart some spiritual instruction to the dreamer.
Our own independent capacities to transact with Mother have human limitations i.e. it is highest in our awakening state, lesser in our sleep state and least in our dream state But, there is no such limitations for Mother to transact with us in any of or mental states. Nothing is impossible for Mother and She is fully capable of instructing us effectively even in our dream states.
7.Most of us cannot profess to be devotees of such high order with egoless minds, to whom Mother come in dream.
Then, what use is the above discussion? Yes. We are not saints, but we can definitely profit by hearing of leelas of Mother, of some good devotee, to whom Mother came in his dream.
Shravan Bhakti of this leela with definitely translates in to spiritual enlightenment for us too.
8.The 'Sadguru Shree Rama Devi-Golden Jubilee Souvenir (1961)' is not an 'advertisement souvenir'. Have you seen any advertisements in it- as you see in any souvenir? None at all!
The Golden Jubilee Souvenir contains inspired writings by devotees of their spiritual experiences with Divine Mother. Since, the devotees are inspired by Mother; there must definitely be Her purpose behind the inspirations. We must know that Mother is delivering some message to us as our Guru in these writings. The devotees' experiences are therefore mediums of Mother's instructions to us.
The Golden Jubilee Souvenir is, in reality, a "Granth' containing the leelas of Divine Mother – imparting specific spiritual instructions to all of us – both individually and collectively. Mother talks to us in these stories. Each word in it is inspired by Divine Mother only. For disciples, it is the ideal material for Shravan Bhakti – for exploring the instructions imparted by their Great Guru.
In the above connection, certain excerpts from the Preface to the Souvenir are reproduced below (with emphasis in bold underlines):-
" This volume is an attempt to present in a convenient form the influence of Sadguru Sree Rama Devi upon the lives of her devotees, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of her auspicious birth. The devotion she has inspired finds expression in these pages"
"Though the experiences herein narrated, are personal, they will be found to possess interest, as feelings and happenings which are intimate and spiritual. They may have inspiring power beyond the individual lives in which they occurred, It is hoped that this souvenir will prove not only interesting but helpful to lovers of devotional literature, to seekers of spiritual guidance, and to students of the esoteric of religion which remain largely hidden and not easy to access.
An effort has been made to present the articles in this volume in a sequence and continuity dictated by the special character and dominant atmosphere of the individual contributions"
"The volume is not an attempt to give a précis of Mother's teaching. The article, herein presented, are like represented passages from a larger book of devotion. Here is raw material for profound thought and more competent creation."
9.One such article called "The Precious Secret…. by Smt. Uma Rao in this Golden Jubilee Souvenir (1961) – Page nos. 59-60 is reproduced below for a Shravan Bhakti case study. Incidentally Smt. Uma Rao was a part of the publishing team that compiled the Golden Jubilee Souvenir.
The article reads as under …
"Africa, perhaps, brought to humanity, no art or science, no civilization worth the name. But, it was the place where my three-year-old son had a dream in 1943, which brought upon me the blessing of spirituality. Children because of their innocence are found capable of drawing the divine force, into the sphere of earthly existence, more often, than adults. This may be because; childish candour is nearer than mature wisdom, to deeper realities.
What to the child was a pleasing dream, is today still a mystery to me, its mother. He described, upon waking, that he had the dream of a beautiful woman. That dream, vividly narrated by him, though in the few words of his baby speech, allows to me, who first heard the narration, and has preserved carefully its details, in tenacious fondness of maternal recollection, its interpretations, as the projection of Mother's gracious person, across space to distant Africa.
While in Africa, and even after our return to India, on many occasions, I have coaxed my son, to visualize the dream, in order to identify the features and aspects, with any one person of our acquaintance. His recollections of the dream continued fresh, even after the lapse of eight years. But, its identification with a person in real life was not possible. The dream, thus, to have persisted even in to boyhood days, unobliterated by succeeding waves of emotions that must have swept the little heart, is quite remarkable. It must have been one of those experiences, embedded in the centre of personality.
The interesting probabilities as to who may be the replica in life of the lady of my son's dream – if at all such an interesting dream could have had its correspondence in outer reality – vastly intrigued me. Today, time has clarified the issue; the dreamer has found the corresponding reality, in the person of Mother. But, the animation and wonder of the dream, are only brightened by the circumstances, leading up to the recognition, which revealed the mystery.
Deeply entwined with the mental life of the child, should have been this dream – ever present, in his memory and consciousness. I have observed him, attempting to find out an approximation in real life, an actual person, corresponding in appearance, to the lady of his dream. Every attempt failed.
Eight years passed. My son and I were in a gathering of devotees at Mangalore, for darshan of Mother. Mother appeared. Recognition, on the part of my son, was instantaneous. He pressed my hand and whispered into my ear the precious secret : " Here is my dream". I stood tiptoe, in joyous amazement, literally, at the very starting point of my own spiritual career."
End of article of Smt. Uma Rao.
10.We have now read the above article called "The Precious Secret" by Smt. Uma Rao.
What is "the precious secret" that can be extracted by us from Shravan Bhakti of this article?
Just as a precious mantra is imparted in secret by the Guru to each of his disciples at time of initiation into the discipleship – may each reader discover the secret instructions imparted by Mother to each of them individually in this experience related by Smt. Uma Rao.
11.We know that our Divine Mother undertook a twelve year tapas from 1927 onwards – which culminated firstly, in her experience of Nirvikalpa Samadhi in 1939 and secondly, in the receiving of a divine directive to assume the role of a World Teacher. Her spiritual ministry as the World Teacher can be thus assumed to have started in 1939-40. In short, the outside world started the facility of darshan of Mother in her role as the World Teacher only from 1939-40 onwards.
The child in Smt. Uma Rao's article was three years old when he had the dream in 1943. Logically, the child was born in 1940.
We have seen above that dreams can carry connections of our past lives. Did Mother come in his dream in response to some fond wish of this child from past life?
"Gheyeena me janma, yach sati deva ! Tujhi charan- seva, sadhavaya !".
Does this abhang have any connection with the child's dream?
Are any 'hidden' answers to these questions, the 'precious secret' that the author, Smt. Uma Rao was referring? Readers will have to answer these questions themselves.
12.Guru's eternal relationship with disciple for lives to come; the capacity of Guru to come in a dream to instruct a disciple; the difference between 'disciple dreaming of Mother' and 'Mother coming on Her own in one's dream'; the essential condition of egoless mind is required by disciple, to derive the benefit of 'Mother coming to his dream' (i.e. child- like innocence mental state and the analogy of residing in a 'Africa-like state'- a continent where there was no flaunt of knowledge or intelligence – so well described by Smt. Uma Rao) and the benefit of spiritual advancement even by third party (i.e. Smt. Uma Rao herself) from Shravan Bhakti of the dream graced by Mother – are the 'precious secrets' that can extracted from the story.
Now, after Smt. Uma Rao, we are the subsequent beneficiaries of Shravan Bhakti of Mother's leelas.
The Golden Jubilee Souvenir, which heralded 50 years of Mother's life in 1961, has resurfaced today after another fifty years as a 'Granth' through which Mother talks to us. It is therefore a golden opportunity for all of us to access this Granth and absorb its essences. Let us repose faith in our Guru and all his strategies will be taught to us.
13.Though there is a commitment to write a series of articles on Shravan Bhakti, I am clueless on what to write in the next. But, when we have a Great Guru in our Mother -who is capable of instructing us even in our dream, why bother? Let us just relax.
Such is our Divine Mother, who come to instruct us for all times and lives to come. Let us just love her for all times and in all lives to come.
Jai Mata!


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It already feels like ages ago, but just a few weeks ago we went for a long nature walk on the trails right by school! We are so lucky to have little oasis like these so close to us for a little retreat.
Each child got a bag to collect their goodies while they were walking. They picked up sticks, rocks, strips of bark, acorns and even a snail shell!
We stopped a few times along the way to talk about what we saw. The mossy trees were always an attraction to stop and feel the tree!
The biggest attraction was the creek, of course! There were a few perfect spots to stop and throw rocks, watch the water, and climb on large rocks next to the creek.
Once we made it back to school, we had a lot of nature items to use! The first thing we did was pull the large stick inside that the children found. I laid it on a piece of paper with different sets of acrylic paints. They went to town painting it over two days. They would sit down in different groups and work on all of the different sides and edges of the stick.
I wanted to use a variety of the materials at the same time. I made a clay invitation using small lumps of clay, beads, and their bags of nature items. They were so interested in the clay and it's properties! We used clay only a small number of times last year, so it was neat to see them so interested in this art form.
The results of their nature clay sculptures were fantastic! After their clay dried Ms. Lori walked around the room and had each child talk about and describe their clay sculpture. The stories and names of the sculptures varied as widely as the children's interests. Some children said they created race cars, fairy worlds, the beach, and some made themselves with the clay. We displayed our work on the block shelf for a few weeks.
Their final nature sculptures on display in the classroom:
Another art invitation I offered was painting bark and their leftover nature items with the acrylic paints. With the nice weather we have been having, I was able to set this invitation up outside for children to paint under the deck.
One of the last nature crafts we did after our nature walk was making fairy wands. This was a great fine motor activity! They had to slide the beads onto the sticks and then I wrapped them in ribbon. The fairy wands turned out great, but I learned the hard way that the weight of the beads and ribbon caused the wands to snap easily. My girls broke their wands very quickly! It is about the process, right?!!
After we finished the large branches I covered the paint in modge podge to seal in the paint. They have become pieces of art for our classroom, and I have incorporated them into fairy play in the block area.
I can't wait for our next great outdoor adventure!


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I'm reserving judgment on this for now.
Lt. Gov David Dewhurst and Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, on Wednesday touted Senate proposals they say would bring down spending on Medicaid, the state's health program for the poor, by instituting quality-based payment reforms for long-term care services and measures to catch Medicaid fraud and abuse.
"Our Medicaid costs have doubled, doubled since 2002-2003," said Dewhurst, adding that Medicaid costs are crowding out room in the budget for "services people in Texas want to see," such as public education, higher education and transportation.
Dewhurst said Senate Bills 7 and 8, filed by Nelson, the chairwman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, would bring down ballooning state Medicaid costs. "What we're trying to do, Senator Nelson and myself, is improve the quality of health care for our Medicaid population" by providing incentives that lead to better patient outcomes.
The idea of payments based on medical outcomes rather than simply payment for services rendered is of course one of the cornerstone reforms of the Affordable Care Act. Given the Republican origins of many parts of the ACA, it's hard to say if Dewhurst and Nelson are cribbing from it or if they've just gone old school. Either way, I'm quite certain that they would recoil from any attempt to compare their bills to the ACA, because of socialism or something like that.
SB 7 would redesign long-term and acute care services for the disabled and elderly — the most costly services in Medicaid — by instituting quality-based payment systems and expanding Medicaid managed care to cover services provided in nursing facilities.
SB 8 would ensure that providers found guilty of Medicaid fraud in Texas or other states would be barred from participating in the state's program, strengthen prohibitions against marketing to Medicaid patients, add medical transportation services to managed care and enable the Health and Human Services Commission's Office of Inspector General to establish a new data system to catch Medicaid fraud earlier.
Nelson highlighted that the OIG has identified more than $6 billion in fraud and waste between 2004-2011 in Medicaid, and she said a computerized claims monitoring program could be used "to identify outliers, anomalies and red flags in the Medicaid program so we can deal with those abuse trends on the front end."
I want to hear from the professional wonks about this, but the Trib story doesn't have any such quotes. Looking elsewhere, I do find some reactions. Here's one in the Statesman:
Anne Dunkelberg, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, said Nelson's goals of eliminating fraud and trying to create a Medicaid payment system that doesn't provide incentives for too much or too little care "are goals everyone shares."
Dunkelberg said her organization, which advocates on behalf of low-income Texans, will watch certain issues, particularly attempts to target fraud in the Medicaid transportation system, which many children, elderly Texans and disabled people rely on to make medical appointments.
Fairly nondescript, but not negative, which is good. Here's the Chron:
It's important for the state to take steps including making every effort to prevent providers from defrauding the state, said Bee Moorhead, executive director of the interfaith advocacy group Texas Impact. But Moorhead said the legislation touted Wednesday "is not the heart of the matter."
"The biggest Medicaid problem Texas has is (that) so many people should be getting it, but aren't," she said.
Moorhead said more than 1 million children are eligible for health care but aren't getting services. She also noted the opportunity for Texas to add 1.6 million people to Texas Medicaid over a decade through the expansion.
More of the same, so it would seem there isn't anything particularly controversial. Going after fraud is relatively low-hanging fruit, and is unlikely to generate much opposition. Who doesn't want to prevent fraud, and to punish those who do offend? I'd just note that any line item based on "money saved from fraud detection and prevention" is likely to be questionable, and anti-fraud measures have their own costs, since it takes people and other resources to investigate, prosecute, and collect repayments.
Expanding Medicaid is indeed the heart of the matter, but we know how that's going to go.
Dewhurst also announced at Wednesday's news conference that Texas would not expand Medicaid to cover impoverished adults, as outlined by the federal Affordable Care Act. "One size does not fit all in the health care arena," he said, explaining he would rather apply for a block grant from the federal government to run the state's Medicaid program independently.
Republican lawmakers have been under pressure to expand Medicaid to bring down the rate of uninsured and cut uncompensated care costs for hospitals and local government entities. Some Republicans in other states — such as Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer — have agreed to support the Medicaid expansion.
The Legislative Budget Board — headed by Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus — issued a performance review on Wednesday morning recommending that the state empower counties to choose whether to expand Medicaid. Supporters of the Medicaid expansion say turning the decision power over to counties would relieve political pressure on Republican leadership.
The LBB report recommends that lawmakers pass a statute allowing counties to use local revenue to fund the expansion. In that way, local money that is currently spent on uncompensated care for the uninsured could be used to pull down $2.5 billion in federal funds for the 2014-15 biennium and cover 1.3 million impoverished adults in the six most populous counties.
The Chron quotes Dewhurst as saying expansion is off the table "at the present time", for whatever that's worth. I can't say I expected Dewhurst to say anything different about Medicaid expansion – it would have been a bombshell if he had – but there are other aspects of the ACA that will affect Texas whether Dewhurst et al like it or not. This may not have been the venue to address that, but it would be nice to hear what he and others think about that. Be that as it may, here's what that performance review says about Medicaid expansion:
Of the 535 hospitals in Texas, 108 hospitals owned by city, county, or hospital districts accounted for 48 percent ($1.5 billion) of charity care spending reported in fiscal year 2011. Most of the charity care (94 percent) local public hospitals provided was attributable to six hospital districts—Bexar, Dallas, El Paso, Harris, Tarrant, and Travis. Local public hospitals that account for a significant amount of uncompensated care spending report that 90.8 percent of patients receiving some form of charity care were non-elderly adults. With certain exceptions, federal law allows states to use intergovernmental transfers to obtain funds for use as the non-federal share for Medicaid services. By using local funds as the non-federal share for expanding Medicaid to newly eligible population, Texas could generate an estimated additional $2.5 billion in Federal Funds for fiscal years 2014 and 2015.
I had previously noted an announcement by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services saying that there would be no option for a "partial or phased in Medicaid expansion". My interpretation of that was that it meant the county option for Medicaid expansion had been mooted. Obviously, the LBB and I can't both be right, and I'd assume they're the ones that are correct. I haven't heard much on this option, if it still is one, since September, so I have no idea if anyone in the Lege is currently pursuing this. Dewhurst said that neither he nor Sen. Nelson endorsed the idea, which isn't the same as saying they opposed it but which does present an obstacle. The Chron story has reactions from the type of people who might want the Lege to provide this option:
Local officials said their first choice would be for Texas to expand the program statewide. That would provide a uniform program across Texas and ensure a funding source while relieving them of some of their costs of uncompensated care.
The Legislative Budget Board assumed the higher match would apply for newly eligible adults with a county-based expansion.
If counties were to do an expansion, local officials said it would be important for private hospitals to contribute, not just leave the cost to local taxpayers. They suggested a fee as one option.
David Lopez, president and chief executive officer of the Harris Health System, said, "If this becomes a local option, then … everybody needs to have skin in the game."
Ron Cookston, executive director of Gateway to Care, a Harris County-based nonprofit collaborative focused on health care, said letting communities manage expansion could have a real benefit, but a state-level expansion would be preferable.
"If it is not done at the state level, there is going to be, community by community, variations in the services … ," Cookson said. "That creates an infrastructure nightmare."
That second paragraph makes it sound like the LBB isn't fully certain that county-based expansion is an actual option. It would be nice to have some clarity on that. As I said before, one does have to be concerned that if some counties opt to expand Medicaid on their own, some others will try to leech off of that, which is unfair all around. The county folks clearly understand this. Full statewide expansion is the only way to deal with that, but that ain't happening, at least for now.
One more thing, from Trail Blazers:
Dewhurst and Nelson repeated their opposition to expanding Texas' Medicaid program to add non-disabled adults between 18 and 65 whose incomes are below 138 percent of the federal poverty level. The federal health care law provides full funding of adding the adults for three years and will pick up at least 90 percent of the cost after that. But Texas Republicans have said they fear federal deficit-reduction efforts will undo the federal government's promise to pay most of the cost. Nelson said she's "concerned about the cost three years from now."
If that's your concern, then tell your colleagues in Congress to tone down their deficit obsession, which as we all know only really manifests when there's a Democrat in the White House. The White House has already come to the realization that including Medicaid in any deficit-reduction "grand bargains" would undermine their own efforts to expand Medicaid, so I'd largely consider Nelson and Dewhurst's concern to be no big deal. Unless Republicans get their way at the national level and disembowel Medicaid via the Ryan budget or something similar, of course. As above, I don't really expect them to embrace my line of thinking here. The Observer has more.


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I learned about Ted.com thanks to a guest on RadioLab a few weeks ago. Then last night, Fran and I dug a little deeper into one of the widgets on our new TV. Turns out Ted.com is one of the offered channels (Fran was probably sad she gave me the remote).
Here's a talk we watched last night. You've probably heard about this study and some of it's findings. Yet, it's still interesting.


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The countdown has started and as we all know, this is the one deadline no-one can afford to miss. Whether we are ready or not, Christmas is only six short days away ...
As my children are now adult, it's been a while since the bright-eyed excitement of Christmas truly gripped me but I'm happy to admit, it is always lovely to have a real fir tree, bedecked in fully cluttered finery, parked in a cosy corner of our lounge. This year my daughter undertook decorating honours, introducing her unique 'Fay' flair with the addition of several multi-coloured glass robots ...
I guess it doesn't hurt to embrace a hint of modernity in our traditional celebrations!
And I concede, the robots do look cheerful hanging cheekily from the branches! Mind you, there is a somewhat irreconcilable conflict with my oh-so traditional angel perched a-top the tree, which will no doubt please my son hugely when he visits as he dislikes this tree topper with a vengeance and usually hides her at the first available opportunity.
The Christmas spirit even touched rather unexpectedly on Stuart's boss this year ... he's probably the last person I would expect to send me a gorgeous festive floral token, but it just goes to show there is often more to Christmas than meets the eye ..
My two youngest sisters with Dad on tree decorating day, back in the mid 1970's.
When me and my four sisters were kids, Christmas was a big deal in our house and dressing the tree with Dad heralded the start of our family festivities. Dad would always bring home a huge real fir and once he'd dressed it with fairy lights, me, Fiona, Tina, Lynda and Laura, would go to town adorning it with the gorgeous concave glittery glass baubles our parents had collected from Woolies over the years (these days similar baubles are sadly relegated to second-hand listings on Ebay!) and of course as much tinsel and 'lametta' as those feathery branches could hold, the more garish the better!
It hadn't dawned on me that my heavily bedecked Christmas tree is to this day, a reflection of our childhood tree, but having found the photo of Dad decorating the tree with my two youngest sisters back in the mid 1970's, I don't think there can be much doubt about it ... give or take the odd robot or two.
Incidentally, I think my Dad would have approved of his granddaughter's festive robots, don't you?!
Wishing my 'Bearing All' readers a warm and peaceful Christmas, full of happy memories.


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Originally from ticket #1851.
Hi, I have 2 of 18" Panorama Pro fixtures over a 60 gallon tank. My tank is SPS dominated tank, 36" wide and 25" deep. Can you tell me if I have enough light or too much light? Do I need to add more blue? Thanks!
I have in total
4 of 12K White/445nm Blue modules
4 of 445nm Blue modules.
Dear Hobbyist,
Thank you so much for contacting Ecoxotic and purchasing our LED products.
With this size aquarium, you should be fine with the 8 modules for SPS corals. If your going to add any more lighting (which we would recommend for clams), we would recommend just adding one module per fixture - and adding the Panorama Pro 445nm Blue/Magenta. This would give you an excellent color balance and a great spectrum for clams.
Please let us know if you have any further questions.
The Ecoxotic Team


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Do Not Outsource Marketing
If it's not a core value add activity, you should find a way to outsource it. This leaves you open to attend to the most critical revenue generating activities which will grow your business.
Marketing IS a core value add activity. While you can (and should) outsource some aspects of marketing (graphics design perhaps, writing of blog posts maybe) you can not outsource the responsibility, the strategic decisions, and day to day operational oversight.
Especially do not outsource responsibility, strategy, and day to day operational oversight of Inbound Marketing.
Inbound Marketing Transforms Businesses
When your Inbound Marketing efforts take hold (and it does take time), businesses are transformed. I've seen businesses go from not having enough leads and having to coddle each and every one, to be very selective about what customers and projects they're willing to take on.
All because their incoming lead flow increased 30 fold or more, AND the prospects were of higher quality. After all the prospect found the business, not visa versa.
Inbound Marketing is Like Any Focused Effort
However, Inbound Marketing is effort. It's a classic example of the following quotes:
- "We reap what we sow"
- "The harder we work, the luckier we get"
Want to Lose Weight?
Establish a calorie budget and stay under it. Count calories. Eat food that packs more nutrition into each calories (that means vegetables guys), and increase your calorie expenditures (that means exercise).
Want immediate weight loss? Sorry. It does not exit.
Want to Increase Fitness?
Then move your body every day. It doesn't take much movement. What matters most is the every day part. Perhaps you start by walking every day. In time you run laps at the local track. In more time you're doing a Tough Mudder. Stay with it. Be dedicated and diligent.
Want to Grow Organic Traffic?
The same principal applies here. Publish articles to your website EVERY DAY. Network with others for backlinks, comments, and social media mentions EVERY DAY.
Be committed. Be persistent. Be consistent.
Want to Generate Website Leads?
Learn and apply the principals of website conversion. They're not hard to learn, but they're easy to not do, which is why so many websites do not do them.
Inbound Marketing in Groups Helps Everyone
One of the interesting dynamics of Inbound Marketing is being found helps you be found more, which creates a virtuous cycle.
Join or create a Business Blogging Group, where you help each other "prime the pump" of your online presence. Help each other be found initially by "finding" each other.


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The details of Les Bubbles' debaucherous past is likely to make anyone blush, but rather than hide its blue background from the public, the team behind the steakhouse have embraced it (and given it a cheeky spin). Getting in on the fun this month is the team from Manly's Shucks Bar, which will be setting up shop in The Bath House under Les Bubbles for Shucks in the City – an indulgent oyster-fuelled pop-up experience.
As you might have guessed, Shucks in the City will be serving up an intoxicating array of oysters at this slick inner-city pop-up. We're talking freshly shucked natural oysters, cheeky boozy oyster shooters, oysters doused in champagne mignonette, and truffled soy and horseradish creme fraiche with caviar. While you slurp up the goodness provided by Shucks, The Bath House bar will be splashing out with wine, beer and cocktails aplenty. Shucks in the City will be commencing its run from 4:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays from Friday June 29.


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ZClassic (ZCL) is one of the cryptos receiving a lot of attention due to enhancing privacy in transactions within blockchain. Users can now select whether or not they want to transact anonymously within the ZClassic platform, a Zcash fork that is built on Bitcoin's philosophy of no central authority with only like-minded developers making contributions to the network.
The History
Zclassic was forked from Zcash which was named "Zerocash", a name which did not last for long as crypto gained popularity in 2014. This beautiful enhanced design, Zcash (ZEC), was a result of pulled efforts, young researchers in popular institutions like the MIT, John Hopkins and a few other varsities were among the pioneer developers. Users can now be able access high quality user experience from private coins with the existence of ZCash (ZEC).
It wasn't long after Zcash launched that the crypto market received a Zcash fork, ZClassic (ZCL). This was officiated through an announcement on Bitcointalk in late 2016, ZClassic was the coin set to solve the inefficiencies in ZCash. This altcoin is more focused on achieving a free market besides its private feature; ZClassic scrapped off the founders reward and let the launch run as per demand as opposed to ZCash which regulated during its ICO.
Why Crypto Needs Zclassic (ZCL)
- Enhanced Anonymity Feature
A significant number of crypto users and businesses adopting the blockchain tech are in constant pursuit of hiding their ID while transacting. ZClassic guarantees the privacy through its option on operating transparently, Bitcoin is yet to reassure its community and interested investors of the long term prospects in scaling their privacy features.
- Relevancy in ZClassic Technology
The Zclassic technology is highly relevant within its scope of design as a marketing and adoption factor within the crypto space. The ZCash technology originally a development of the protocol used in Bitcoin has been a key factor in the high quality working product by Zclassic. ZCash (ZEC) is not comparable to coins such as Monero which tries to cover the same niche addressed by ZCash developers. The research work done on ZCash led to integration of anonymity features in the Bitcoin core protocol, this resulted to a more advanced technology than that of Monero where transactions are private by default.
- Originality of the Protocol
ZClassic (ZCL) is fortunate enough to have its protocol being linked to that of Bitcoin, this among the factors that have influenced the price behavior of cryptocurrencies in the recent past. The ZClassic protocol is built on Bitcoin which saves developers the stress of starting from scratch unlike its peer, Monero.
ZClassic over ZCash (ZEC)
Most Crypto enthusiasts are still trying to figure out the difference between these two cryptocurrencies, this is not a surprise given the confusing nature of their names and one being a fork of the other. However, it is very easy to distinguish what makes these two cryptos different though they are built on the same platform with the same niche, anonymity. ZClassic is more market oriented with an objective of leaving the forces of demand and supply to bring to level ownership of the coin, ZCash on the other hand has a founders reward which has normally not gone well in agent relationships especially in wealth distribution and incentives for participation. Users who opt ZClassic over Zcash will avoid paying a 20% tax for each block that is mined prior to mining half of the total intended ZCL's. This is well in line with the concept of currency that is being replicated in cryptocurrency.
Price Analysis
An investor who wants to own this coin as of press date would have to part with approximately $18.5096 or 0.00164733 BTC for an asset with a 33% liquidity ratio; this is quite liquid in comparison with other cryptocurrencies. ZClassic (ZCL) is ranked at 183 with a market capitalization of $60,451,547 according to coinmarketcap. The coin is traded on various exchanges with Bittrex leading at an average volume of over $39,000,000 within the last 24 hours; prospects for increased trading remain high given the current speculative mood in crypto. ZClassic is quite risky given its 5 day volatility that places it at 3rd position in high risk Micro Cap coins.


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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Rain.. Rain.. and More Rain.
19 comments:
did your primarcy school teacher teach you o sing:ReplyDelete
rain rain, go away, come again and another day?
oh yes, when it rained, i'm late for work.:pReplyDelete
umuulan din dito sa amin nga bonggang-bonga.. waa.. baha na sa harap namin...ReplyDelete
mas mabuti na rin ang ulan bading kaysa snow ano hehehe hindi masyado malabigReplyDelete
well, at least it gave you some nice shots. :)ReplyDelete
I could join you on watery wednesday this week. It is raining over here also. The poor dog didn't want to go out.ReplyDelete
The sun has been shining for a few hours on Montpellier but that won't last. Big dark clouds are coming!ReplyDelete
Thank you for commenting on my blog. :-))
dito hindi na umuulan pero ang lakas ng hangin lagi ..ReplyDelete
Dull as it may be, you brought out the beuty with your camera!ReplyDelete
It looks like a deluge out there. I have been having issues with DST in the morning myself.ReplyDelete
Yes, rain makes me want to put my head under the covers and never come out!ReplyDelete
Your photos are well done.
Hugs, Cindy
Wow, after the snows now comes the rains. Hope the sun will shine soon and finally usher in the spring season so that you and the kids can indulge in your favorite outdoor activities. Thanks for the post. God bless you all always.ReplyDelete
I with Ann, you have to start singing rain rain go away. Great shots, happy WW!ReplyDelete
Nice shots of the rain, Happy WWReplyDelete
dito rin Rose laging may ulan, kakainis nga eh...di ako mahilig kasing mag bitbit nga payong waaaaaaa.ReplyDelete
Beautiful....they all tend to give off a bit of mystery to us.ReplyDelete
Thanks for visiting with me yesterday!!! My Thursday Theme Song Link:
Irish Eyes are Smilin'
Have a great day
It's been raining here too. Great shots.ReplyDelete
Fun photos! It rained here for 2 days straight as well. Sun today, so I am quite happy. I hope it finds it's way to you soon.ReplyDelete


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20" Diamond Pad By Gorilla - 11000 Grit
Catalogue code:11000-20/ETC
Gorilla 11000 grit purple diamond floor pads produce and maintain a "wet look" shine. Can be used on concrete, stone, terrazzo, tile and VCT floors.
Benefits of the Gorilla Diamond Floor Polishing Pads
- Easy to use
- More heat generated
- Save time and money
- No dyes added and no colour
- Take dull floors to a high clean shine
- 40% more durable than competitive pads
- High level of quality provided only by ETC
- No need for waxes, sealers, strippers or other chemicals
- Works on all types of floor machines, wet or dry, including conventional, auto scrubbers and high speed machines


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High-rise public buildings exist by the grace of elevators. With advancements in the field of technology, lift makers are able to build accessibility devices with high-end features that allow quick and easy transfer of people to virtually unlimited heights. However, nowadays it is not only the fastest devices that are most expensive, but the ones that take technology and comfort to a new level and transform the ride into a pleasant journey that you will never forget.
Top-class elevators of today coordinate with their environment and are unique in terms of design and function. The "Aqua Dom Elevator" located in the middle of a huge aquarium at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin-Mitte, Germany is a classic example of the lift that perfectly meets these conditions.
Known to be the largest free-standing aquarium in the world, the Aqua Dom features a transparent elevator at its center, giving its passengers a unique experience of scaling the underwater paradise enclosed in the 1 million-liter tank. The most impressive part of the attraction is that the hotel guests can enjoy looking at over 500 different species of fish as they ride up and down the Aqua Dom.
The elevator system, which can hold up to 48 people, goes all the way up to a viewing platform just below the glass roof of the hotel, offering a stunning view of the sea life as well as the luxurious hotel atrium. The aquarium filters the light coming from above, projecting calm blue waves and ripples onto the hotel walls.


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Authorities are looking for a teenager who tried to rape a woman as she got out of her car in the Bronx around dinner time last month.
Police say the suspect, believed to be about 16 years old, exposed himself to the 40-year-old woman as stepped out of her car on Southern Boulevard near Tiffany Street shortly before 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13.
The suspect tried to pull down the woman's pants, police say, but she fought him off. He ran west on Southern Boulevard toward Longwood Avenue.
Police released surveillance video of the suspect walking down the street; he is wearing a puffy jacket, the hood up, and has a backpack.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.


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CY Phone
00357 999 525 99
Позвоните нам сегодня
08000 80 72 83
Q. Are we a member of ABTA?A. ABTA is the abbreviation of Association of British Travel Agents. As we are a limited company based in Cyprus there is no need or benefits for us to be a part of ABTA.Q. What protection do I have once I have paid money for my property?A. If you are paying by credit card then you are fully protected by your card issuer and JCC which is the company that collects your money from your card. In order for a company in our industry to be able to take payments by credit/debit card, JCC blocks at least 20,000 Euros in order to safe guard our clients plus an additional 5% of the gross amount that we have collected. If you are paying by bank transfer then you have a direct trace and link that proves you have paid money to our company clients account.Q. How much deposit do I need to pay?A. The normal amount needed in order to confirm a booking is 30% of sales price of the accommodation you have booked. Should the booking date be less than 8 weeks before your arrival date then the full 100% is payable.Q. If I need to cancel the booking will I be entitled to a refund?A. We are not able to give any refunds on money paid, this is because the money is not directly ours. It is the money of the property owner. For your protection we do not pay any money to the owner of the property until you have left the property. This safe guards you in case there are any unresolved issues during your stay. Please check with your travel insurance company before you place a booking to see what cover they have should you need to cancel your booking. This will usually only cover you for family emergencies and certain other situations. It will not cover you simply because you have changed your mind.Q. How will I get the keys to the property?A. Every property that is featured on our website has a key safe which is normally located next to the front door of the property. Once your final balance has been paid you will receive the driving directions and the key code for your property. As these are self-catering accommodation there is usually no reception to check-in which allows our clients the freedom to arrive and depart at whatever time they choose. The normal check-in time is from 4pm and the normal check-out time is before 11am. This allows the property manager enough time to prepare the property for the next arrival.Q. What if I cannot find the accommodation?A. In the event that you cannot find your holiday home you will be provided with an emergency number along with your driving directions and key code. It is a good idea to save this number in your mobile phone once you have received it from us. This way if you lose your printed paperwork with the information on it then you can be relaxed knowing that you can speak with someone in the country you are visiting. If we have arranged private transfers for you then the companies we use know all of the locations very well so this will never be an issue. If you are getting a car hire then it is a good idea to get a satellite navigation system and then program it with the google coordinates of the property that will be given to you.Q. What do I do if we accidentally break something in the property?A. Report this to the Aftersales Person who will usually come and see you the morning after you arrive. You can also send an email to email@example.com or you can call the property managers number which is provided to you with your driving directions and is usually displayed inside the property manual.Q. What should we do if something is broken or not working in the property when we arrive?A. You should report this immediately to the property manager by telephone or send us an email to firstname.lastname@example.com and we will take care of it for you.If any of the questions you may have are not covered in this section then please email us your question to firstname.lastname@example.com and we will respond within 24 hours and normally a lot faster.


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Photos with the Easter Bunny at Lehigh Valley Mall
Mar. 21 – April 11, 2009
Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail…right to his magical garden in the Lehigh Valley Mall's Promo Court! Beginning March 21, stop by for a visit and a memorable keepsake photo that will be sure to delight your family for years to come! Take a photo with just the kids, or do a full family photo or couples photo. All children who visit the bunny will receive a special treat to take home! Bunny Photo Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11am to 8pm and Sunday, 11:30am to 5:30pm. Visit the Bunny set or Customer Service Center for information on bunny break times.
Easter Bunny Costumes
March 8, 2009
Easter Bunny Photos at Lehigh Valley MallPosted by lehighvalley under Holiday, Lehigh Valley | Tags: Bunny Photos, Easter, Lehigh Valley, Mall, Peter Cottontail |
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Photos with the Easter Bunny at Lehigh Valley Mall
March 7, 2009
Easter Egg Hunt and Breakfast with the Easter BunnyPosted by lehighvalley under Holiday | Tags: 2009, breakfast, bunny, Crayola Factory, Easter, egg hunt |
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Easter Egg Hunt and Breakfast with the Easter Bunny
Easton: Mar. 28 – Apr 11, 2009
The event will include an Easter Egg Hunt in The Crayola FACTORY followed by breakfast in the auditorium. Breakfast will include bagels, muffins, coffee and juice. Each child will receive special prizes and an opportunity for a photo with the Easter Bunny. Cost is $11 for children, $8 for adults and seniors. Admission to The Crayola FACTORY can be added for an additional $4.75 per person.


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Why Did We Choose This Catamaran As Our Own New Cruising Boat?
While traveling from boat show to boat show in 2015, we conducted numerous seminars and consultations all around America with sailors searching for their "dream boat". It resulted in the sales of numerous catamarans in 2015 (FYI catamarans prices are VERY affordable now). We helped people buy catamarans of every variety, from Fountaine Pajot, Lagoon, Bali and Catana to Voyage, Leopard and everything in between. While we had a blast helping all these "newbies" find their own dream boats, we also took a good hard look at all the brands of catamarans available on the market.
We learned a lot of new things and confirmed the things we already knew about all these catamarans (older and new models). There are a few things that are just a deal breaker for us, for example: low bridgedeck clearance or a galley down arrangement and safety. It would be hard for us to compromise on those things. Performance is also a consideration but the performance cats typically has smaller accommodations for obvious reasons, so we have to compromise. Armed with this knowledge and research, we sold our Prout 45 and bought a Lagoon 450S.
As many of you know, we sold our Prout 45 catamaran last year. We thought when we bought her in 2009, that it would be the last boat we buy to live on, so we chose carefully. We loved this boat, not only because she was a great sailing boat, but we also spent many great times on this boat with family and friends. It was a hard decision to sell her but it made business sense and we forged ahead.
We followed our own yacht selling advice, resulting in Zuri selling fairly quickly. It was sad to see her go and we were now sailors without a vessel for the first time in 23 years...a very disconcerting feeling! However, we did the research beforehand, as I mentioned and identified a Lagoon 450 SporTop (hull #5) as our next home on the water.
Zuri, Prout 45: 2009 - 2015 / Zuri Christening / Sail Magazine "Best Boats 2010" / Aft deck on Zuri was awesome!
We had a number of cats on our shortlist in the 44-46ft range, including Fountaine Pajot, Outremer, Catana and Bali and some custom catamarans from South Africa. We love the performance cats like the Outremer and Catana but not only was it out of our price range, the Outremer has a really small interior and is not suitable for our needs as long term live-aboards. The Bali was a good contender. We really like how this catamaran sails and handles, even in rough seas. We are excited about the fact that Bali pushes the limits with their innovative ideas and we believe that this range of cats will soon be one of the big names in cruising catamarans. However, the Bali was also out of our price range.
Read our post here: How Do The Most Popular 45ft Production Sailing Catamarans Compare?
*Picture courtesy Lagoon Catamarans
The Lagoon seemed like a good compromise between live-ability and performance. We noticed that the Lagoon range has performed really well in rallies worldwide, consistently placing in the first four boats at the finish line. We plan to liveaboard ourselves and do extended cruising, as we have on all our previous boats. But, we also will do educational live-aboard charters. The Lagoon will deliver on all those requirements comfortably. The Lagoon 450 SporTop's overall quality, fit and finishes, performance and price in this size range of cats, is great for live-aboards. Among other things, here are some of the characteristics we like, or not:
UPDATE: Click Here To Read Our In-depth Review of the Lagoon 450S: Exterior, Design, Construction & Sailing Ability
*This picture courtesy Philippe Echelle / Nicolas Claris for Multihulls Magazine
Length: 45' 10" ( 13.97 m)
Maximum Draft: 4' 3" ( 1.30 m)
Beam: 25' 10" ( 7.87 m)
LWL: 43' 11" ( 13.39 m)
Mast Height Clearance: 73' 3" ( 22.33 m)
Sail area: 1399 sq.ft. (130 m²)
Draft: 4'3" (1.3m)
Square top mainsail: 872 sq.ft. (opt.) (81 m²)
Furling genoa: 549 sq.ft. (51 m²)
*Courtesy Lagoon Catamarans
*This picture courtesy Philippe Echelle / Nicolas Claris for Multihulls Magazine
The new Zuri was built in La Rochelle, France and we planned to take delivery of her in December 2015 and do the trans-atlantic trip ourselves and deliver her to her new home in Miami. While we were in France, we were elated to find out that Section 179 and bonus depreciation was reinstated late in December 2015. It made our new purchase even more attractive. We can now legitimately use these tax advantages for our small business, allowing us to pay a large portion of the boat through this program. Unfortunately, the new Zuri came off the production line late and will now have to be delivered by ship to Guadeloupe, where we will take posession of her and sail off to new adventures! No real pictures yet, but stay tuned!


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Enemy Fighter Counters
On the Fighter Counters you will see an image of the fighter and data from Combat Table B (CT-B). On the top left corner you have the fighter type (SHORT). Beneath that, you find an image of a bullet hole and the number of hits on your bomber (Hits on B-26). You can also see if the fighter has a 30mm cannon, rear machine gun and rockets (Xx 30, Rear, R4M) and the damage modifier on your bomber from fighters with a rear machine gun (Rear MG/Damage). In the top right corner is a cross hairs with or without a value inside. The value is the to hit modifier you have when firing with Single MG/Twin MG (B-26 To Hit Ftr, Single MG/Twin MG). The top value is for the Single MG, the bottom is for Twin MG. If only the top value or no value is present it applies to both types of MG mounts. Inside the explosion is the Single MG/Twin MG Damage Modifier (B-26 Damage on Ftr, Single MG/Twin MG). Some fighters have additional information. For more information see CT-B in the Tables and Charts Booklet and rule section 7.2.0 Explanation of Combat Table B, Fighter Details.
FIGHTER DETAILS (Core Game/MTO/PTO)


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Laureate Hospitality Business Education Brings Global Leadership in Hospitality Management Training to Employees in Hospitality, Food, and Tourism Industries
08 Apr, 2015, 14:10 BST
- New Consulting Services focus on growing B2B and B2C markets by providing premium educational experiences to companies as well as traditional and nontraditional students
BALTIMORE, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) is offering hospitality management and business courses and training to employees of companies in the hospitality, food and tourism industries through a new operating unit called Laureate Hospitality Business Education (LHBE). This new B2B education consulting service leverages the education expertise of its global network of institutions of higher education in hospitality management including Kendall College (USA), Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (Australia), and Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management (both based in Switzerland).
"Our goal is to become the premier provider of training and continuing education for the hospitality and tourism industry," said Michael Huckaby, CEO of Laureate Hospitality Education. "We have a wealth of knowledge in hospitality management and years of experience in educating a multicultural and global talent pool for the industry. LHBE allows us to provide the industry with much-needed training."
LHBE works with clients to identify areas where additional education and training can positively impact the sustainable growth of their business, from front-line staff to executive managers worldwide.
The Group can tailor curriculum to complement institutions' existing program or provide services for the creation and management of new programs. In addition to expertise in curriculum design for both campus-based and online programs, LHBE also provides consulting on facility design, faculty hiring and training support.
"Hospitality is one of the most dynamic and growing industries in the world, and it accounts for 338 million jobs worldwide in foodservice and lodging, travel, luxury retail and event management," said Huckaby. "Finding and developing the right talent with the necessary education and training to sustain this growth is a key challenge faced by the industry today. We are able to leverage LHE schools' core strengths in business management education, training and research to a range of clients."
LHE schools Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management are ranked among the top three in the world for an international career in hospitality management according to a 2013 TNS survey of managers of luxury hotels around the world. Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School is ranked number one in Australasia, according to the same survey, and was awarded the 2013 Australian Tourism Awards top honor for Tourism Education & Training. Kendall College is Chicago's number one school for hospitality and culinary education.
For more information on Laureate Hospitality Business Education, please visit www.lhbe.com or email email@example.com.
About Laureate Hospitality Education
Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) is a unique, global group of specialized higher education institutions that provide hospitality, tourism, event, sport and entertainment management degree-level education to students from more than 100 countries. It is comprised of four institutions with campuses in seven countries including Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland, Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Spain, Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College in China, Kendall College in the U.S., Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia and Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in China. More than 6,000 students attend Laureate Hospitality Education institutions. Institutions in LHE are part of Laureate Education, Inc. and the Laureate International Universities network. For more information, visit www.laureatehospitality.com.
Related Links
SOURCE Laureate Hospitality Education


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When a child is suddenly taken from his home, and from his family, and placed in a home against his will, there are bound to be issues of trust. Many children in foster care have never had an adult in their life that has not betrayed their trust; why should they trust you? Indeed, when a child in foster care first moves into your home, he is bound to be suspicious, as he is now living in a stranger's home; your home. One way to combat this is to create a trusting and nurturing environment within your own home. Let your foster child know as early as possible that he is welcome in your house. Keep in mind that your home is very likely the last place he wants to be. Despite all the pain, difficulties, and perhaps even abuse your foster child may have faced in his own home before coming to live with you, you are still not his parents, not his family, and not his home. He probably will want to be with his own family, and will resist opening up to you. These first initial days and weeks are essential in regards to building trust. Try to be as warm, as compassionate, and as understanding as you possibly can. Your efforts in this area will be recognized by your foster child, even if he does not show it or acknowledge it.
Along with this, you will want to let your foster child know that your house is a safe one, and that he will not come to harm in your home. Not only do you want to let your foster child know this when he joins your family, it is just as important to remind him of this as often as possible. Treat him like a member of your family. You want to show your foster child that you value him as a person, and that he is important. What he says, what he thinks, what he believes; your foster child needs to realize that all of these are important. For some children, this might be a new experience, as they have never been shown value before.
Trust can also be built by showing your foster child that you care for him. Building a trusting relationship means showing your foster child that you are concerned for his well being, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Showing compassion for your foster child is an important part of building a healthy relationship, as he needs to know and feel that you care for him. After all, close relationships between children and adults is a central part of avoiding further risky behavior.
You may find that your foster child will try to test your trust, your love, and your dedication to him. He may lash out verbally, throw temper tantrums or throw items in frustration, may lie to you. On the other hand, he might also withdraw, refuse to talk, or not engage in the family in a positive way. After the so called "Honeymoon" period has elapsed, he may try determine how far you trust him, and how much a part of your family he is. When this happens, remain consistent in our values, your rules, and your consequences. Indeed, this also helps to build trust, as he will see that you will not waver in your rules and consequences, as well as your love for him.
Trust does take time, and for some foster children, it may take a very long period of time. Remember, you are planting seeds, here, that you may never see come to fruition.
————————————————————————————————————Dr. John DeGarmo has been a foster parent for 11 years, now, and he and his wife have had over 40 children come through their home. He is a speaker and trainer on many topics about the foster care system, and travels around the nation delivering passionate, dynamic, energetic, and informative presentations. Dr. DeGarmo is the author of Fostering Love: One Foster Parent's Story, and the new training book The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe and Stable Home. He also writes for a number of publications and newsletters, both here in the United States, and overseas. Dr. DeGarmo can be contacted at drjohndegarmo@gmail, through his Facebook page, Dr. John DeGarmo, or at his website, http://drjohndegarmofostercare.weebly.com.