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CHICAGO — The appalling video seized the nation's attention this week: A group of young people kidnapped, bound, beat, slashed, gagged, humiliated and threatened to kill a teenager with mental disabilities over nearly three days, and laughed about it as they carried out their acts.
But by far, the most unusual thing about the episode, advocates for people with disabilities have said, was not the abuse itself, but the fact that it was recorded. Violence against people with disabilities is far more common than most people realize, advocates have said, and frequently goes undetected or is not taken seriously.
The victim in the attack here, an 18-year-old white man, suffered from schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder, prosecutors said in court papers filed on Friday. The four accused attackers, ranging in age from 18 to 24, are black. The four appeared on Friday in Cook County Circuit Court and Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered them held without bail.
The defendants are accused of multiple felonies, including hate crimes. Prosecutors said the victim, who was found by the police on Tuesday, was targeted based on his race and his disability. During a Facebook video made by one of the defendants, another can be heard denouncing white people, and, at one point, a man is heard saying he does not care if the victim is schizophrenic.
"I'm wondering as I'm hearing this, 'Where was the sense of decency?' " Judge Kuriakos Ciesil asked. In explaining her denial of bail, she added, "How do you put someone out there who has allegedly committed such horrible offenses against a person?"
People with disabilities are more than twice as likely to be the victims of violent crimes as those without disabilities, according to a Justice Department report based on Census Bureau surveys. And people with mental disabilities are the most likely to be victimized.
But some advocates claim the disparity is actually much greater, saying crimes against those with disabilities are less likely to be pursued by law enforcement. They believe people with disabilities may be unable to take part in a survey or go to the police, or may have trouble being understood. As a result, their complaints often are not taken seriously.
"There are probably thousands of other cases just like this one in Chicago, and in some cases worse, that will never see the impact of the justice system because folks don't know about it," said Rebecca Cokley, the executive director of the National Council on Disability, a federal agency. "In a lot of cases with people with disabilities, the perpetrators are family members or caretakers, so what happens when the person who would have to take you to the police station is your abuser?"
Advocates have said the underlying problem is a pervasive attitude, conscious or not, that people with disabilities are not fully human. They pointed to a recent case in Idaho, where a white high school football player was charged with shoving a coat hanger into the rectum of another teenager, who was black and had mental disabilities, after having harassed the student and directed racial slurs at him for months.
Though the accused student was 18 at the time of the assault, he was sentenced to probation rather than prison.
"We have, unfortunately, devalued disabled people forever, which means we devalue their suffering," said Curt Decker, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, a nonprofit advocacy group. "What we experience all the time is that police, prosecutors, judges say, 'Oh, this case is hard, it's not worth our trouble. This person is hard to understand, or they're not credible, or they won't stand up to cross-examination.'"
Mr. Decker said that when Congress spent years drafting, debating, and finally voting on hate crimes legislation, which passed in 2009, it was a struggle to ensure that it punished crimes singling out people with disabilities, as well as bias based on categories like race or sex. Forty-six of the 50 states have hate crimes laws, according to the Anti-Defamation League, but 17 of them do not specify people with disabilities as a protected group.
Vilissa Thompson, an organizer of the Harriet Tubman Collective, a coalition of advocates for disabled black people, said, "People are ignorant about the extent of violence against disabled people, but what's worse is that there's this kind of misplaced sympathy for the perpetrator, especially when it's a parent or caregiver."


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subset: commoncrawl


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Mahogany Luxury Style Gold Hand Carved Bedside Table
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Additional information
|50 × 41 × 64 cm
Combination Gold
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It is easy to see the association between the Playboy brand and the world of gambling. Thoughts of high rollers, along with the glamourous women on their arms spring to mind. The Playboy slot from MicroGaming tries to create a cool, nightclub kind of feel to go with this. You'll find the beautiful women – though only in computer graphics form, and a little retro looking graphics at that. Behind the bling is a 243 ways 5 reel video slot. The main attraction is a free games feature which allows you to choose from several variations (and different numbers of spins).
The design is primarily black and silver. While the famous logo and name is above the reels, the frame is mostly a plain black colour. Playing card symbols make up most of the space on the reels, these each come with some aspect of the Playboy lifestyle in the bottom corner. Examples here are a watch, lighter, whisky drink and casino chips. Other symbols include the glamourous women, magazine and some action shots including a car and motorbike. There is a lively funk type tune on loop as you play – this does change up when you enter the 'Playboy Club' (free spins games).
(Bally also offers a Playboy slot machine called Hot Zone which you can play for free)
Microgaming's Playboy Casino Game
How to play & real money versions
There are no win-lines in the old sense of the word. This slot uses the all-ways system with 243 winning combinations. Any 3+ consecutive symbols from the left hand side trigger a win, regardless of their position on the reels. This means you never miss a win-line, as long as there are no gaps of an entire reel. There is a configurable auto-play option available.
You can bet from 30c per spin, with the ability to select both your coin size and the number of coins to play. The maximum on the version I played was 25c coins and 5 per line, making a total max spin of $37.50c.
What I found is that the 243 ways system creates a lot of smaller wins, along with the occasional bigger one. The best paying symbol is the Playboy logo, which pays 33x your total bet for 5. This is also the wild symbol, creating winning combinations with all of the regular symbols (though not the magazine scatters). The ladies come next, and are close together in value ranging from 11.5x your total bet up to 17x for 5 (all the symbols pay down to 3). The action symbols and couple symbol are next, with the playing cards making up the smaller wins.
Magazine scatters let you into the Playboy club, with 3+ anywhere on the reels – there are also scatter wins.
List of Microgaming Slot Games
- Adventure Palace
- Age of Discovery
- Alaskan Fishing
- Ariana
- Avalon II
- BattleStar Galactica
- Belissimo
- Bengal Tiger
- Big Chef
- Billion Dollar Gran
- Bomber Girls
- Booty Time
- Break Away
- Break da Bank
- Bullseye
- Burning Desire
- Bust the Bank
- Chocolate Factory
- Cricket Star
- Crowned Eagle
- Dolphin Quest
- Dr. Watts Up
- Fish Party
- Football Star
- Frozen Dawn
- Fruit Fiesta
- Game of Thrones
- Georgie Porgie
- Giant Panda
- Girls with Guns
- Golden Era
- Golden Fleece
- Golden Princess
- Gung Pow
- Happy New Year
- High Society
- Hitman
- Hound Hotel
- Inca Gold
- Jekyll and Hyde
- Jellyfish Jaunt
- Jungle Boogie
- Jurassic Park
- Kitty Cabana
- Lady in Red
- Loose Cannon
- Lord of the Rings
- Lucky Koi
- Lucky Leprechaun
- Max Damage
- Mega Moolah
- Monsters in Closet
- Multi-Wheel
- Mystic Dreams
- Octopays
- Paradise Found
- Party Time
- Phantom Cash
- Pistoleras
- Playboy
- Pub Fruity
- Rabbit in the Hat
- Racing for Pinks
- Red Hot Devil
- Robojack
- Secret Santa
- So Many Monsters
- So Much Candy
- So Much Sushi
- Sweet Harvest
- Terminator 2
- The Dark Knight
- Twisted Circus
- Win Spinner
- Wolf Pack
Bonus Game for the Playboy Slot
You'll get to choose your free spins game when you enter the club, with each one being associated with one of the glamorous (cartoon) ladies from the main reels. There are different numbers of free spins, through the main factor is that there are different behaviours and multipliers for each lady.
Here are the choices you will face:
Kimi Free Spins: 10 spins, all of the wins during this game are multiplied by 5, you can retrigger this bonus for 10 more spins each time.
Sofia Free Spins: 15 Spins with running wilds. Each spin creates a larger stack of wilds on the reels, this increases your chances of getting entirely wild blocks on the reels – though does not guarantee this. I found this bonus was variable, with some games seeing very few wilds hitting and others a lot.
Ashley Free Spins: 20 Spins with rolling reels. Here winning combinations disappear, with new symbols falling into their place, this can result in sequences of wins with 2x, 3x, 4x and 5x multipliers attached to each.
Jillian Free Spins: 25 spins with the potential for a 'wild night' feature. This is mostly a standard spins game, though occasionally a special sequence will trigger that sends several reels wild.
There is a progressive element to this slot, where the bonus games get better and better the more times you enter the Playboy club.
I have mixed feelings about this slot overall. It tries really hard to recreate the glamour of the Playboy brand, yet falls short with retro graphics and dated sounding music. There is also an attempt to keep things interesting with different bonuses associated with the ladies. This is almost interesting, though the games do not trigger often enough to keep you engaged for long enough to experience more than one per session.
If you enjoy the idea of the Playboy lifestyle and would like to try an upbeat and solidly produced slot – then why not take this game for a quick spin.


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Eliot Creek
5-30 CFS Dual Custom Design
In the fall of 2006, a rain on snow event caused massive debris flows down the flanks of Mount Hood.
One of the casualties of this event was the Eliot Creek diversion within the Middle Fork Irrigation District.
This diversion is an important component to Middle Fork's water delivery system.


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In this volume there are stories from the natives of Rhodesia, collected by Mr. Fairbridge, who speaks the native language, and one is brought by Mr. Cripps from another part of Africa, Uganda. Three tales from the Punjaub were collected and translated by Major Campbell. Various savage tales, which needed a good deal of editing, are derived from the learned pages of the 'Journal of the Anthropological Institute.' With these exceptions, and 'The Magic Book,' translated by Mrs. Pedersen, from 'Eventyr fra Jylland,' by Mr. Ewald Tang Kristensen (Stories from Jutland), all the tales have been done, from various sources, by Mrs. Lang, who has modified, where it seemed desirable, all the narratives.
403 pages, with a reading time of ~6.25 hours (100,750 words), and first published in 1906. This DRM-Free edition published by epubBooks, 2010.
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Once upon a time, at the town of Senna on the banks of the Zambesi, was born a child. He was not like other children, for he was very tall and strong; over his shoulder he carried a big sack, and in his hand an iron hammer. He could also speak like a grown man, but usually he was very silent.
One day his mother said to him: 'My child, by what name shall we know you?'
And he answered: 'Call all the head men of Senna here to the river's bank.' And his mother called the head men of the town, and when they had come he led them down to a deep black pool in the river where all the fierce crocodiles lived.


text: We manufacture sturdy range of Stretcher Trolley, which is used in hospitals for shifting patients. It has a removable top stretcher made in stainless steel. The entire frame is supported by epoxy-coated legs that rest on castor wheels of 15cm diameter. Two of the castor wheels are provided with brakes. Stretcher Trolley is available in I.V. rod epoxy finish. Various quality checks are performed on the stretcher to ensure compliance with industrially accepted quality parameters.


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Members of the Scokel and Honeycutt families and friends have endowed a scholarship in the UAB School of Nursing to honor two couples with deep roots in the Birmingham area. The Dr. Paul W. Scokel III and Mary Lou Scokel and William A. and Christine R. Honeycutt Endowed Scholarship pays tribute to these two couples and will aid nursing students for years to come.
"This significant and generous gift will be a tremendous boost to both students and the School of Nursing," says Doreen Harper, PhD. RN, FAAN, Dean of the School of Nursing. "The students who receive the scholarship will be able to focus on their studies without having to worry about where their tuition money is coming from, and our school is the better equipped to attract the best and most capable scholars. Dr. Scokel was born in Birmingham and earned his medical degree at UAB. He served as a Navy fight surgeon and became well known in the local medical community, first as an obstetrician and gynecologist and then as a family doctor. His wife, Mary Lou, attended nursing school at the Mississippi University for Women and served as a city councilwoman when the family settled in Graysville, Alabama, just north of Birmingham. William Honeycutt was born in Louisiana but grew up in Birmingham's Bluff Park community, and his wife, Christine, attended Birmingham-Southern College.
Scokels and Honeycutts Honored by Friends and Family
- September 22, 2014
Endowed scholarship honors two couples, provides aid for students for years to come
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John Mellencamp: At Walter Reed
John Mellencamp performs live at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He brings such notable hits as "Pink Houses," "Small Town," and "Jack & Diane" to wounded and injured service people.
Artist Site: John Mellencamp
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Chamaeleon LED light installation: your questions answered
Released: 02-Feb-2014
With national installations across commercial property, government, high rise residential strata, university, clubs & hotel sectors, Enlighten Australia is continually fine-tuning the Chamaeleon light's installation guide, following feedback from electrical contractors & end users.
In the updated installation instructions for the Chamaeleon LED light, new added features include how to check emergency versions in emergency mode without disconnecting or switching off mains supply. The guide also outlines the standard microwave sensor settings & how to adjust the timer or reach settings to best suit the area .
The unique design feature of the award winning energy saving light is the Smart Connect Base, which is fixed to the ceiling or the wall. The wiring supplied with the smart connect base is connected to the terminal strip (see photo). Once the hinges have been engaged, then the electrical connector terminal pins should align (see centre photo). Apply gentle upward pressure while pressing the barrel lock mechanism to engage. (see photo right)
Once installed, the Chamaeleon light can be easily detached from the Smart Connect Base without disconnecting the power, making it easy for maintenance or light replacement.
From left: Smart Connect Base, Fixing the light to base, fully installed
Download installation instructions here (PDF 1.4MB file)
For further information, see ChamaeleonTrouble Shooting & Maintenance doc or Chamaeleon FAQs web page
This story was featured in one of our quarterly "enLighten Me" newsletters… Go to Newsletter


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This is a blog to discuss philosophy, chess, politics, C. S. Lewis, or whatever it is that I'm in the mood to discuss.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Mental Causation and the Case for Dualism
33 comments:
- Mr Veale said...
I'd be interested to see some philosophical analysis of the placebo effect, and the effects of BCT on the brain.
But, as a dualist, I wouldn't want to commit myself to defending ESP, the psi-effect or alternative medicines like homoeopathy. And this blog would seem to want to make that connection.
- January 15, 2011 4:31 PM
- Mr Veale said...
When I said "this blog" I didn't mean Dangerous Idea!
"this blog"=subversivethinking.blogspot.com
- January 15, 2011 4:33 PM
- William said...
Does top-down causation necessarily imply dualism?
- January 15, 2011 5:25 PM
- JSA said...
I don't get it. He doesn't even present an argument, as far as I can tell. He just baldly asserts that consciousness would be unable to physically alter the brain, under naturalism. Has anyone ever convincingly argued for this assertion? It seems incredible to me.
- January 16, 2011 3:57 PM
- Shackleman said...
JS Allen,
Your comment doesn't square at all with what I just read. Did you actually read the article? The link I followed here in Dr. Reppert's blog took me to an article on the target blog entitled:
"Causal efficacy of consciousness: empirical evidence for dualism"
In it, he never asserts anything like what you accused him of.
You make it sound as if the focus of the article was an attack on naturalism. It was no such thing. In fact, the term "naturalism" doesn't even exist in the article.
Instead, the focus of the article was quite clearly expressed:
"If mind-body dualism is true, then we'd expect that the soul, spirit or consciousness would cause effects on the brain and the body"
See, he's making a positive claim regarding dualism and says nothing of naturalism. That you jumped to that conclusion is your problem, not his.
Would you really argue against his premise? If dualism were true, would you NOT expect to see empirical changes in the body??
Regardless, after stating his premise, he goes on to flesh out examples in medicine which support the premise. He uses the placebo effect, cognitive behavioral therapy, and brain changes due to mental effort to show at least three examples where the *mental* has a measurable and empirical effect (change) on the material body.
Don't you think that if you're going to accuse someone of "bald assertions" that they should, at minimum, actually baldly assert something?
- January 17, 2011 2:04 PM
- JSA said...
Thanks Shackleman,
I was objecting the his repeated claim that these empirical observations "undermine materialism". He didn't offer any reasons *why* placebo effect and cognitive behavioral therapy undermine materialism. I don't deny that there may be such arguments, but he didn't provide any.
Yes, he also argued that these are to be expected under dualism. But I don't see why they wouldn't also be expected under materialism. Since he says explicitly (i.e. "baldly asserts") that these phenomena would NOT be expected, I am wondering where he's getting that.
- January 17, 2011 9:41 PM
- JSA said...
For example, this: "Materialists have a hard time explaining the placebo effect, since that (as said above) it confirms dualism, and undermine materialism."
I can't think of a single materialist who would agree with this characterization. No materialist I know thinks that placebo effect confirms dualism, undermines materialism, nor that these are the reasons placebo effects are hard to explain. All 3 of the claims he makes there seem patently false.
I also had a tough time swallowing his psychoanalyzing materialists, as well as references to pseudoscience like psychokinesis.
- January 17, 2011 9:44 PM
- Shackleman said...
JS Allen,
I think you're being very uncharitable with your assessment of the article. I agree there are parts in it that are not well articulated and maybe even allow for inferences which paint materialism in a negative light. But it was hardly meant to be a rigorous argument in the first place. More like an appetizer to get the reader interested in the topic. In fact, he closes the article with a list of 6 resources for the reader to check out which more fully flesh out his primary point. Which again, is a *positive* claim for dualism. Any negative claim against materialism was in passing, or, at most an inferred *secondary* point.
We should treat the author fairly, and consider his offering with the proper context of what he's trying to achieve. Digging in your heels at a passing reference of his, or a secondary point he raises, is missing the point and is quite unnecessary. Doing so only serves to keep onlookers from clicking on the link and reading the article for themselves.
If you're interested in works with more rigorous argument on dualism, I'd suggest Hasker's "Emergent Self". If you're interested in further reading on placebo effects written for a popular audience, I'd suggest O'Leary's "Spiritual Brain". (Not because it's good...I don't think it is...but it's at least more of an entrée on the subject as opposed to the linked-to article's appetizer, and it's an easy read).
- January 18, 2011 11:53 AM
- Shackleman said...
Also, you state:
"Yes, he also argued that these are to be expected under dualism. But I don't see why they wouldn't also be expected under materialism. Since he says explicitly (i.e. "baldly asserts") that these phenomena would NOT be expected, I am wondering where he's getting that."
Do you really disagree? Given materialism, how would you suppose a placebo effect would even work in the first place? What mechanism would be employed that could cause a particular arrangement of neurons in the brain (beliefs) to make medically significant and empirically measurable physical changes in a different part of the body? I can't imagine any such physical mechanism that could do the job, but then, I'm not a doctor. Perhaps you are?
You say you can't think of a single materialist who would think placebo effects are problematic for their world-view. Name just one. I googled for "Materialists and Placebo Effects" and didn't come up with anything remotely useful to the inquiry. I am genuinely interested in reading what a materialist would have to say about it, so if you could recommend something I'd appreciate it.
- January 18, 2011 12:09 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
JS Allen is right.
Under materialism, placebo effect is brain influencing brain. Since I think that mental events are neuronal events, then mental events influencing brain events becomes pretty trivial: we know the brain has all sorts of complex interactions with itself.
- January 18, 2011 2:14 PM
- Shackleman said...
Under materialism, placebo effect is brain influencing brain
I'm not a doctor, but I know it's not that simple, BDK. Your bias is showing.
"Thus, in PD patients a clinical placebo response can be
associated with release of endogenous dopamine in the striatum
(de la Fuente-Fernandez et al., 2001) or reduced activity in
single neurons of the STN (Benedetti et al., 2004). As forMDD,
placebo can produce metabolic changes in cortical and
paralimbic brain regions that are relatively similar to those
of fluoxetine (Mayberg et al., 2002). Furthermore, placebo
manipulations can reduce neural activity in pain-responsive
regions such as the rACC, anterior insula, and thalamus (Wager
et al., 2004), and activate the endogenous opioid system in the
DLPFC, pregenual rostral ACC, anterior insular cortex, and
nucleus accumbens (Zubieta et al., 2005). Interestingly, in one
of the experiments conducted by Wager et al. (2004), placeboinduced BOLD signal increases in DLPFC were correlated with
placebo-induced BOLD signal reductions during pain in the
thalamus, insula, and rACC. In addition, in the Zubieta et al.
(2005), endogenous opioid activity in the DLPFC was
significantly correlated with the magnitude of analgesia
expected by the volunteers before placebo administration.
Taken together, the results of the neuroimaging studies of
placebo effect demonstrate that beliefs and expectations can
markedly modulate neurophysiological and neurochemical
activity in brain regions involved in perception, movement,
pain, and various aspects of emotion processing"
- January 18, 2011 3:12 PM
- JSA said...
Since his whole paper is premised on the claim that these phenomena cause epistemological anxiety for materialists, one would like to see evidence for that claim. Citing these as positive evidence for dualism doesn't work unless he is also arguing (as he *does* argue) that these phenomena are less likely to be observed under materialism.
When I was an atheist, I was proficient in hypnosis and had some familiarity with cognitive behavior therapy, so I was pretty familiar with the sorts of examples he gave. It never occurred to me that these things might be unexplainable under materialism, nor do they seem unexplainable now. Furthermore, most people doing work in hypnosis and CBT are atheists.
When I was an atheist, I thought it was Christians who were most threatened by the scientific evidence in this area.
Take, for example, the sorts of psychosomatic cures that Milton Erickson was able to effect -- by telling a story, he could heal physical infirmities. How does a Christian explain that? Witchcraft? Demons?
Even if one appeals to woo-woo called "dualism" instead of woo-woo called "witchcraft", it doesn't help the Christian cause much. In this case, the appeal to dualism deposes God, because the people effecting these psychosomatic cures are not doing so in the name of God.
- January 18, 2011 4:02 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
Shackleman that doesn't do anything to show what I said is wrong. If 'beliefs and expectations' are neuronal events, then why would we be surprised that these influence other neuronal events? That's exactly what we expect and see in the data. Placebo effect is not evidene against materialism.
It isn't my bias showing it is an obvious interpretation of the data from a neuronal perspective, just as JS Allen already pointed out.
To flat out say placebo effects show materialism is wrong is to beg the question.
- January 18, 2011 6:41 PM
- Shackleman said...
BDK and JS Allen,
"If 'beliefs and expectations' are neuronal events, then why would we be surprised that these influence other neuronal events?"
THIS is begging the question. You haven't shown in the least that beliefs are *mere* neuronal events, and the entire foundation upon which the AfR is built is the notion that Reason *cannot* be shown to be mere neuronal events. Further, the notion that they are, runs against every intuition and personal experience of nearly every human on the planet. This is what Hasker's case is built on in the Emergent Self.
And so herein lies the problem. It is not at all obvious that mind = brain. Nor is there any consensus that it's the case. If it was, this blog wouldn't exist in the first place and there would be no need to discuss it.
It is precisely why your bias against dualism is showing in how you view these types of papers and arguments, (even from other qualified neurologists like Dr. Beauregard). You simply assume that mind = brain, and judge these papers and arguments against that belief. (Which, is quite ironic, honestly)---just as my bias in favor of dualism shows in how I judge these types of papers.
The case is FAR from settled. Which is why, JS Allen, one does NOT have to disprove a counter argument in order to show evidence in favor of the original argument.
It seems to me JS Allen, that you're basically promoting a type of Compatibilism, and further, that you think Compatibilism is quite obvious. It's not at all. Most people reject it, which is why many people would think the author of the OP is at least somewhat effective in bringing evidence to light which bolsters the case for Dualism.
- January 19, 2011 9:59 AM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
Shackelman: if you are using placebo as an argument against materialism, it isn't begging the question to offer a plausible and obvious explanation of the results under a materialist worldview. It's exactly what naturalists would predict, it doesn't decide between naturalism and dualism.
Without evidence that such mental states are nonphysical, the argument is a nonstarter. It's like saying imagining being on a roller coaster increases my heart rate is an argument against naturalism about mind. No, not if imaginings are neuronal states, which is what every naturalist would say.
- January 19, 2011 11:01 AM
- Shackleman said...
We're talking past each other. To the materialist, ALL things are the result of natural, material, physical processes. So of COURSE they would say placebos are caused by natural, material processes. Just like everything else. So all you're doing is restating your premise by saying that placebos are examples of brains affecting brains.
The dualist is starting from a different premise. That IDEAS are affecting brains.
If, like you're doing, you flatly deny the premise, then NO EVIDENCE will count in favor of dualism. You'll just say, it's NOT a "thought" affecting the physical change, because thoughts are physical. And around the circle you will go.
The dualist is at a disadvantage in these discussions because he has to show evidence of two different causal powers (physical and mental), that act against the same medium, the physical.
For sake of argument, grant that some form of dualism is true. What would you think evidence for it would look like? I betcha it'd look sort of like the placebo effect, but if not, could you do better?
I'm struggling with why this is so difficult for you and Mr. Allen to see.
- January 19, 2011 11:30 AM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
Shackelman: as long as you don't say it is evidence against neuronal theories of mind you'll be OK (because of the obvious rejoinder that I already gave--whether beliefs and such are natural or not is precisely at issue so you can't assume they are nonneuronal in the argument as evidence for dualism).
If dualism were true I'd expect evidence of the violation of natural laws within brains. I'd also like a story, with empirical evidence, about where in individual neurons the mind has its effects.
JS and I aren't having trouble seeing anything: it's just not a good argument. I've seen it trotted out a lot, you are in good company with a bad argument.
- January 19, 2011 1:35 PM
- Shackleman said...
BDK: "as long as you don't say it is evidence against neuronal theories of mind you'll be OK "
Yes, and that has been my point and beef with Mr. Allen. The OP, in passing really, suggested that it's evidence against materialist theories of mind. You don't think it is. Okay, fair enough. But that's a minor point of the article. The main point of the article (again) was to present evidence *for* dualism.
JS and I aren't having trouble seeing anything: it's just not a good argument. I've seen it trotted out a lot, you are in good company with a bad argument.
Boo. Play nice. Not only are you starting to be snarky, but you ARE missing the point. AGAIN, he wasn't making an *argument*. He was providing *evidence* for a pre-existing argument (dualism). There's a huge difference, and one ought to have different expectations between the two. This really isn't that difficult. Why is that not allowed? Why should he have to rehash the argument in order to produce a piece of evidence? There's already mounds of literature arguing the case for Dualism. There's even different flavors. And they're all familiar to anyone interested in the topic.
Now, you may not like the evidence. You may not find it presuasive or even impactful. You might even think the evidence supports a DIFFERENT argument better. That's all fine and I'd have no beef with any of that. But let's not insultingly accuse him of making an argument when that's not what he's doing. Yeesh!
"If dualism were true I'd expect evidence of the violation of natural laws within brains. I'd also like a story, with empirical evidence, about where in individual neurons the mind has its effects."
Interesting. What would a "violation of natural laws" within a brain look like? I can imagine no such thing. Would a neuron have to violate the laws of gravity or something? I'm having trouble making sense of this. Can you give me a real example in order to illustrate this better?
Also, why single out an individual neuron? Why can't "mind" require a whole network of neurons in order to produce the empirical changes? It seems plausible to me that because "Reason" and "Consciousness" are very complicated and sophisticated things, a single neuron wouldn't be enough to do the job. A network of billions of them however might do it.
- January 19, 2011 2:29 PM
- JSA said...
"But let's not insultingly accuse him of making an argument when that's not what he's doing."
I didn't accuse him of making an argument. I accused him of baldly asserting that placebos and CBT are evidence against materialism. Because, that's exactly what the original paper does. It repeatedly claims that dualism is a more satisfactory explanation of placebo effect than materialism.
It even claims, repeatedly, that materialists try to sweep placebo effect under the rug. I'm not being uncharitable; I'm being factual.
BTW, he doesn't substantiate either of these claims, and both are trivially false.
If he were simply saying, "placebo effect is evidence for dualism", I would agree with you, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. I might still disagree with him, since I don't think placebo effect is easy to explain under substance dualism, and certainly doesn't offer the sort of support to theism that he imagines (which you've conveniently ignored).
But that's not what his paper was about -- his paper explicitly aimed to present evidence that was evidence for dualism and supposedly problematic for materialism.
- January 19, 2011 3:18 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
Shackelman oh stop being oversensitive.
Original post:
Materialists have a hard time explaining the placebo effect, since that (as said above) it confirms dualism, and undermine materialism. As consequence, some materialists have tried to DENY the existence of the phenomenon (dogmatists are experts explaining away facts or evidence inconsistent with their cherished beliefs). However, others materialists have accepted the phenomenon, even if they can't explain it in materialistic terms (admitting that the phenomenon "doesn't make sense"... in a materialistic framework, we could add)
Bologny overselling of the surprise value of placebo. I was experimentally studying placebo effect with Ramachandran 10 years ago. Everyone knows about it, it is known to be real otherwise why would every medical study need to agonize over excluding it as an explanation?
Original article equivocates between 'mind' and 'soul'. Car wreck.
- January 19, 2011 9:01 PM
- Shackleman said...
JS Allen,
I see now, and admit that I misread your first comment and that got me off onto the wrong track.
That said, he does at least site one substantiating quote which supports the notion that placebo effects are not always respected as good science:
"As has written science journalist Alun Anderson "Trust and belief are often seen as negative in science and the placebo effect is dismissed as a kind of fraud because it relies on the belief of the patient.""
Admittedly, it's not much. But then, the whole article is "not much". Again, just an appetizer.
A second reading of the article, combined with a second reading of your comments, Mr. Allen, and I can say I misjudged what you were saying and can now understand your beef. He does rail on the materialists more than what I saw in my first reading. Your criticisms of my previous comments are fair.
Taken as a whole though, it's still clear to me that, unfortunate snide toward materialists aside, that the main thrust was to present appetite wetting evidence in support of Dualism. It really ought to be taken as such and really isn't worthy of much more comment on either side, honestly, because there's not really enough there to critique. And that's sort of been my point all along. If it gets the reader thinking or interested, then he provides 6 other sources, books and online papers, that actually do present a fuller case for him.
- January 20, 2011 8:03 AM
- Shackleman said...
Not sensitivity. Just an observation. If you don't want to address comments head on, and instead just want to snark, have at it.
As I already pointed out to Mr. Allen, a second reading, and I can see more clearly what yours and his beefs were with the article. They're fair enough.
I am curious though, since you're both a naturalist and a neuroscientist, what your answers would be to my two previous questions. Care to give them a try? What evidence would you accept that would NOT look like the placebo effect?
"Interesting. What would a "violation of natural laws" within a brain look like? I can imagine no such thing. Would a neuron have to violate the laws of gravity or something? I'm having trouble making sense of this. Can you give me a real example in order to illustrate this better?
Also, why single out an individual neuron?"
FYI, my word verification was: "commi". What's up with that?
- January 20, 2011 8:18 AM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
"What would a "violation of natural laws" within a brain look like? I can imagine no such thing."
Violation of conservation of energy would be one way we could observe this. Violation of the predicted statistical ensembles from quantum mechanics in ion channels or single synapse function (as Eccles hypothesized in his dualistic theory).
Basically, a collapse of the physical portrait of a neuron, a demonstration that it is incomplete.
That's what the dualist needs. Details are up to them to show, as there is no evidence of such incompleteness. Where in individual neurons does the mind act? Not up to me to provide a story.
If you want less snark, don't open with 'your bias is showing' and such overconfidence. You are with Loftus in consisently taking discussions to a weird meta-level instead of sticking with arguments. Why is that....
- January 20, 2011 9:04 AM
- Mr Veale said...
For a little more light than heat from two trained physicists:
- January 20, 2011 11:05 AM
- Shackleman said...
It's laughable that *you* of all people would accuse anyone of "over confidence".
Back on track now...
Violation of conservation of energy would be one way we could observe this
Interesting. This seems like a strange demand, honestly. Wouldn't a violation of a law of nature, (like the conservation of energy), be considered equivalent to the "miraculous"? Is there any such way you can imagine, that there could be evidence of a kind which supports dualism that would work *within* the laws of nature?
"Where in individual neurons does the mind act? "
My understanding is that individual neurons don't really do much by themselves---that their "magic" only comes when you combine millions or billions of them into a network. Is this about right? If so, this is why I'm confused why you'd expect to find evidence of "mind" in a single one of them. A single neuron doesn't think. Lots of them do, as the materialist would say.
I interpret the AfR for example, to show how logically the case for materialism can only be derived at using Reason, yet, given materialism, since Reason isn't physical, one would be denied the use of it. This is a type of non-physical evidence that supports some form of dualism. Is it physical evidence? No. Is it logical evidence? I accept it as such. It doesn't prove the case, but it's evidence none the less.
If I'm understanding you correctly, you seem to be saying you'd only accept evidence of a physical kind. But then, that stacks the deck unfairly against dualism since by its nature, it posits that there is something which exists which has causal powers over the physical, which is not itself physical.
I fail to see how any of this is some "weird meta-level" observation or inquiry, but hey, if you say so.
- January 20, 2011 12:19 PM
- Shackleman said...
Thanks Mr. Veale,
In reading just the abstract and introduction alone, it seems that this paper likely will support the OP's original premise that "science" has a history of scoffing at granting consciousness any serious causal powers.
I look forward to reading it in full.
- January 20, 2011 12:24 PM
- JSA said...
I don't think the new paper linked by Graham does that, at all.
The paper is a non-controversial review of the most popular interpretations of QM, and what impact these interpretations might have on a materialist conception of consciousness.
The paper simply aims to keep open the possibility that a link between QM and consciousness might exist. Indeed, it concludes:
"the possibility of a connection between consciousness and quantum mechanics cannot be easily disregarded."
Unlike the OP, this paper isn't claiming that consciousness is difficult for a materialist to explain under QM, or that materialists try to sweep the issue under the rug. It simply says that a QM impact on consciousness can't be ruled out. That seems noncontroversial to me.
- January 20, 2011 2:48 PM
- Mr Veale said...
I think that the Glass/McCartney paper would argue that we cannot rule out a role for consciousness: that consciousness may not be part of the physical world.
At the same time QM doesn't pose a strong threat to materialism either. There's a lot of room for interpretation.
I know that David Glass is a "Cartesian" dualist; I don't know Dr McCartney's views. But I thought the article was very helpful (especially to a math-o-phobe like me!)
- January 20, 2011 4:37 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- January 20, 2011 6:54 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
Shackelman: I was talking about interactionist dualism. Whether it's a million or one neurons, there should still be a mechanism of interaction.
Another thing I'd expect with dualism is evidence of conscious experience in the absence of any brain activity.
Main point is that placebo is not good to support dualism over materialism, contrary to original. How the dualist is to show their view is right is up to the dualist to fuss over.
- January 20, 2011 6:59 PM
- Shackleman said...
BDK: "Another thing I'd expect with dualism is evidence of conscious experience in the absence of any brain activity. "
I don't know how credible they are, but some reports of near death experiences would seem to meet this criteria. I don't take them seriously personally, but I leave room for the possibility. I think in Pam Reynold's case she had near zero brain activity and yet described the OR with enough precision to convince some people.
Not saying I believe it. But, *if* true would seem to satisfy your criteria.
- January 21, 2011 3:12 PM
- Shackleman said...
BDK: " I was talking about interactionist dualism. Whether it's a million or one neurons, there should still be a mechanism of interaction."
Agreed. But that we have yet to discover the mechanism, doesn't necessarily mean we can't see the effects.
Think Magnetism circa 1200. Even though the mechanism was utterly unknown, the ancient Greeks could still see the effects and therefore knew it was a real phenomenon.
And, evidently I'm still failing at making this point. I'm not asking you what you think evidence of the *mechanism* would look like. I'm asking what you think the *effects* would look like if dualism were true, and how would you imagine those effects would be meaningfully different than what the OP described in the article.
- January 21, 2011 3:19 PM
- Blue Devil Knight said...
But we already have perfectly good descriptions of neuronal operation in biophysical terms, and no good evidence that anything more is needed. That was my point. They need to show evidence that there is an additional influence (a magnet). I dont' care if they have a mechanism, just evidence that such an effect exists in real neurons would be good, one not explicable in the usual biphysical (hodgkin-huxely) terms. That's the effect I'd be impressed by.
- January 22, 2011 7:18 AM


text:
- Souza On Rob Manfred's Missteps: "I'm Embarrassed"
- Shepard: The Lakers Should Be Nervous
- Barrett Sallee Pitches College Football Playoff Scheduling Idea
- Shaughnessy On Manfred: "I Wish He Was Better"
- Bucks Reporter: "That Kind Of Sounds Like Loser Talk"
- Jones: Aaron Rodgers Will Be NFL MVP In 2020
- MLB Commissioner Reportedly Fears Season Shutdown
- D.A.: Fittingly Mo Gaba's Final Day Was About Positivity
- Duguay: No Fans Could Lead To Better Hockey
- NBA Announcer: Restart "Sounded Pretty Authentic"
- NBA bubble impressions (Hour 1)
- Matt LaFleur said what? (Hour 2)
- Why not Nick Nurse? (Hour 3)
- Happy Birthday Brady! (Hour 4)
- Tiki and Tierney 8-3-20 Hour 3
- BJ Armstrong - Former NBA Point Guard
- 8-3 Brandon Tierney CBS Sports Minute on Yoenis Cespedes
- 8-3 Tiki Barber CBS Sports Minute on NCAA Under Pressure
- 8-3 Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Minute on an Action-Packed Weekend
- 8-3 Andrew Bogusch CBS Sports Minute on WSU Football
Wed. 3/25 #2: Tommy Bahama / Stunned To A News / Get Your Popcorn Ready – Part 1
The DA Show
Wednesday, March 25th
What are the "Six Degrees Of Tom Brady" / What will stun us today plus a Champ & a Chump / DA & Mraz talk Blue Chips.


text:
I'm newly married and for the meantime, we are renting an apartment. We still need a LOT of furniture to make it homey. To prove my point, my husband still uses a suitcase as his bedside table, errrrr, and he thinks he doesn't need a real one.
Good thing that one of the gifts that we received on our wedding was a Bed Bath & Beyond gift card for $100. We decided to use it this weekend plus two discount coupons from BBB.
Here is the bag!
First thing we purchased was the Real Simple® Split-Top Bench Storage Unit in Espresso for $89.99. I went to their website and found out about this item and thought that it will look good right at our doorway/entryway.
My husband said that it was easy to install. There is also a wood glue included to stick some of the parts together.
We both love the ottoman! It looks good and fits right at our small space.
The second one that we bought was a blender. It was a choice between the Oster glass blender and the Hamilton Beach plastic blender. I chose the plastic one because, honestly, I'm a bit of a klutz. I was afraid that I might break the glass. Well, it was cheaper too. The Hamilton Beach® 10-Speed Blender with 48 oz. Plastic Jar was for $19.99 only compared to the Oster blender for $39.99.
When we're about to check-out, I saw these colorful loofah. I must have them!
I applied a 20% discount coupon to the ottoman and a $5 coupon to the blender. All in all, we still have a $1 and some odd cents left on our gift card.
It feels great to shop for stuff that you need without spending a single penny!👍🏼😄


text:
Preview: Melbourne Knights v Green Gully
Melbourne Knights v Green Gully
Tuesday 30 August 2016
Knights Stadium, Sunshine (VIC)
Kick-off: 8.00pm local (8:00pm AEST)
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistant Referee 1: George Lakrindis
Assistant Referee 2: Wilson Brown
Fourth Official: Jonathan Barreiro
Tickets: Click here for ticketing details
Online Broadcast: Streamed online at www.foxsports.com.au/football/ffa-cup/ffacupondemand and Apple TV via FOX SPORTS Now
Join the conversation on Twitter using the hash-tags #KNIvGRG #FFACup
Melbourne Knights squad: 1.Michael O'Farrell (gk), 2.Luke Jurcic, 3.Ivan Grgic, 5.Milan Batur, 6.Damien Miskulin, 7.Chris Talajic, 8.James McGarry, 9.Jacob Colosimo, 10.Marijan Cvitkovic, 11.Nikola Jurkovic, 12.Anthony Dezic, 13.Anthony Kataforis, 14.Caleb Mikulic, 16.Jason Hicks, 17.Robert Zadworny, 18.Josh Brekalo, 19.Nicholas Glavan, 20.Fraser Chalmers (gk), 21.Stipo Andrijasevic, 22.Daniel Sousa, 23.Timmy Purcell, 24.Marcelo De La Plaza, 30.Harry Cakarun (gk)
Green Gully squad: 1.Sebastien Mattei (gk), 2.Matthew Reid, 3.Yohai Iwasaki, 4.Daniel Jones, 5.Rodrigo Vargas, 6.Callum Richardson, 7.Tomas Murphy, 8.George Lambadaridis, 9.Anthony Ragusa, 11.Evan Christodoulou, 12.Nicholas Krousoratis, 14.Aaron Ward, 15.Jay Davies, 16.Kliment Taseski, 18.Oner Kucuk, 19.Luke Walker, 21.Charlie McCormick, 23.Mehmet Balci (gk), 38.Liam Boland, Rani Dowisha (gk)
Bluffer's Guide
They were a national sensation a few weeks ago after knocking out A-League opposition thanks to a freakishly brilliant winning goal that went viral faster than you can "Cup-set".
Now, Green Gully take the short trip over to Sunshine North in the hope of another win and, potentially, another A-League side in the last eight.
In their way, classy Victorian rivals and former NSL powerhouse Melbourne Knights – this will be a Victorian derby to savour.
Gully's season came to an end on the weekend, Oakleigh knocking them out of the PS4 NPL Victoria Elimination Final. The Knights meanwhile finished their league season last week, finishing in the lower half of the table in ninth.
So, all the focus will be on booking a famous quarter-final berth for either of these sides.
The Knights defeated Gully 2-0 the last time these two met, with a Simon Colosimo penalty and the talented Stipe Andrijasevic on the scoresheet (the teams also drew 1-1 on the opening round of the season).
But if the visitors to Knights Park want a winning omen, keeper Rani Dowisha is set to resume his spot in between the sticks after a red card denied him a part in the breath-taking defeat of Central Coast Mariners earlier this month.
The shot-stopper was the hero of South Springvale's fairytale Cup run of 2014 and remains on the radar of A-League clubs.
And then there's viral sensation, striker Liam Boland.
The big man with the infectious smile is loving life right now following his extraordinary winner over the Mariners.
In the dugout, Knights coach Andrew Marth is hugely underrated but Papas knows him well – the pair have been locking horns for a number of years in Victoria.
Jay Davis in midfield could again be the man who can make things happen for Gully – his Cup display in the last round was eye-catching to say the least.
Knights Stadium in North Sunshine will be a cauldron of noise on Tuesday night as one of the most intriguing local derbies in MD 2 plays out.


text:
Keeping students safe at university
Whether they are going to university for the first time or returning to study for another year, students will often find themselves in new accommodation – from halls of residence to private rented flats or houses. Students are one of the highest at-risk groups of crime in the country, often targeted for high-value laptops, TVs, and entertainment equipment which is frequently left in plain view and unsecured against intruders. It's important, therefore, that students are aware of how to keep themselves and their possessions safe.
Safety and security should be top of the agenda for students when they move into a new accommodation, as dealing with the effects of crime is a very unsettling and distressing experience. By carrying out these simple measures to maintain a safe and secure property, we can put students' (and parents') minds at ease.
It is all too easy to assume that previous residents have handed in their keys and while this may well be the case, it does not mean that extra copies have not been made by either former residents, employees, contractors or even rogue tradesmen. It is important for students and parents to question what locking systems are in place, when they were last replaced and how the copying of keys is controlled. It is landlords' duty to act in a responsible manner and they should install quality locks with patented keys which can't be copied without proof of ownership or restricted keys which can't be easily copied due to their unique design.
Security Advice for students staying in halls of residence:
• Don't leave items on show – Not on show in the car, not on an exposed windowsill, not in a shared kitchen, If it's visible to others, it's a temptation for thieves.
• Mark your belongings – Computers, iPads, and expensive electrical equipment are best off marked with your postcode, or similar personal identifier. Do it with a marker, or with an invisible UV Pen
• Password protect computers, laptops, USB sticks, etc. – Yes, even USB sticks. If you don't secure them with password details, they could fall into the wrong hands and your personal data, passwords, and important documents could be compromised.
• Log your mobile phone's IMEI number – Still not done widely enough, an extra layer of protection for mobile phones is to note your IMEI number so the phone can be switched off when thieves try to use it. You can find your IMEI number by typing *#06# on your phone..
• Don't just think of thieves, think of backup protection too – If your hard drive crashes on your computer or laptop, how would you cope? Make backups of your electronic files so you don't have to start literally from scratch again.
• Secure your items when you go away – Christmas, Easter, and all the long breaks away from your student home are fabulous times for criminals to linger. If you're planning a long time away, either take the valuable items with you or make sure they are stored as securely as possible.
• Don't carry (and certainly don't show off) large amounts of money – You're an easy target if someone spots you wielding loads of cash.
We ensure our Security Officers operating within student accommodation are on call 24 hours a day and regularly patrol each residence. Our officers aim to keep the accommodation blocks safe and secure, with each officer assisting the accommodation Management in maintaining order. Consortio Security takes antisocial behaviour very seriously and aim to maintain a living environment suitable for study and relaxation.
Date Published: 13/08/2018


text:
There is not much to say really. Well, that is not true, there is a lot to say, but there is little that I really want to share with you right now.
So far, I have had quite a ride. My youth was spent moving from counytry to country. Later I played in a movie (OK, I will admit I was just an extra), raced cars for a while (Formula Ford) and suddenly found myself working for IBM (as a CAD/CAM specialist). That is how I started in the IT world.
Eventually my wife and I decided that we should move to Cyprus and so we did. They only problem with the move is, that I don't see my kids enough.
The first time I visited Cyprus I fell in love with the place. To me it feels more like home than any other place ever did. Maybe because it is the perfect blend of Middle East and Europe for me. But since that first visit, 20 odd years ago, IRead More…


text:
When I was visiting my in-laws earlier this month, I borrowed Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer from my father-in-law. I actually gave to him one Christmas, and he graciously let me take it back. I started reading it Friday morning last weekend, and I finished it Monday night. I haven't read a book that fast in three years (almost exactly; Harper's third birthday is next week). I could not put it down. I read until after midnight one night, I read while eating breakfast, and – at least once – I read while standing in the kitchen waiting for Harper to put her shoes on so we could leave the house.
It's the story (in case you're like me and were lost in the oblivion of your freshman year of college when this happened) of the 1996 tragedy on Mount Everest, when eight climbers were killed in a sudden storm while climbing down from the summit. The way Krakauer tells it, the disaster was caused by a combination of really bad weather and a whole string of bad decisions by a lot of people – the worst of which, perhaps, was the decision to climb this mountain at all.
I couldn't breathe at times while reading it; it was the adrenaline rush of a really good adventure story coupled with the horror of knowing that it had actually happened. I think Krakauer's writing had a lot to do with how effective it was. He's a journalist, so there was a very deliberate attention to detail and an emphasis on getting the facts right. He described the trek from base camp to the summit so clearly that I feel like I've been there. But he was also one of the climbers, and was there on the side of the mountain while his friends died. The grief of that comes through, too, as he tries to make some sense of what happened, and as a reader, I grieved with him.
The peak of Everest is 29,000 feet above sea level. There is not enough oxygen up there for anything – anything – to live. There are no plants, no animals. Helicopters can't fly that high. It's the cruising altitude of a commercial jet. Humans should not be able to climb that high.
I am utterly hooked. Why in the world do people want to climb this mountain?


text: Hello everybody. As you can guess I am huge fan of Tesla, small investor and helpfully future owner. I am reading this forum from more than a year but finally I have decided totry to contribute here. I am starting this thread because I know that China could be really important market for Tesla and as the first deliveries will take place really soon in Chine. Furthermore the effect of China market on TSLA could be significant. I am about to start researching deeper and look for feedback in Chinese consumers, news, publications, registration numbers and all relevant and interesting public information available. Actually I have 5 years of experience working with Chinese suppliers and a lot of contacts and friendships there. I have asked them to start looking for information and reactions for Tesla appearance in China. So far few of them are willing to collaborate in my research but I haven't reach even 20% of my contacts there. So stay tuned for further information


text:
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text:
Forget other 'Star Wars' Bluetooth speakers: These iHome ones are the real deal
These are the Bluetooth speakers you've been waiting for.
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Will it take Google to make you a morning person?
This speaker is out of this world.
iHome's latest collection of Bluetooth speakers, Lightning docks and accessories are a vibrant treat for the eyes as much as the ears.
iHome -- the audio accessories company behind one in every four digital speakers sold in the U.S. -- has teased its new 2013 product line.
A speaker dock for your iPad is a great investment for your home entertainment set-up. Besides offering vastly improved audio, it gives your precious 'Pad somewhere tidy to sit and charge. Whether you want to boost your iPad's audio for music, movies...
As more and more kids are toting iPhones and iPod touches, we thought we'd take a look at the child-friendly accessories that are now available for the new gadget-loving generation. We've found five fun products that will suit a wide age range of kid...


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SOFWERX is holding a SOAR Helmet System
Capability Assessment Event, 13-14 August 2019. The goal is to identify a new, lightweight, low profile Rotary Wing aircrew helmet for use by the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment which solves the capability gaps below.
Helmet system capability gaps include, but are not limited to:
• The proposed helmet system must meet the performance requirements of Section 3.7 of the Purchase Description Aircrew Integrated Helmet System, HGU-56/P (AIHS) dated 1 November 1996, with the updated modifications identified in the Improved Rotary Wing Helmet Technology Readiness Test (TRT) Protocol dated 29 March 2019.
• The helmet system must provide significantly improved head mobility and field of view compared to the existing HGU-56/P. The helmet system must allow the AH/MH-6 Little Bird pilot the ability to visually see the pilot-side skids without having to position his upper body outside of the cockpit.
• In the opinion of the operator, the helmet system must remain comfortable and stable for a minimum of 8 hours of continuous use. This includes when being used in conjunction with a Night Vision Device (NVD), oxygen delivery system, and CBRN mask.
• The helmet system must integrate and still meet the performance requirements when used with the following items
o Aircraft Internal Communications System (ICS) of the AH/MH-6 Little Bird, MH- 60M Blackhawk, and MH-47G Chinook; Objective of a digital headset that is compatible with the digital output of the ICS, and does not require an inner-ear solution (e.g. ear bud)
o AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR), AN/PRC-152A Multiband Handheld Radio (MBHHR), and AN/PRC-163 Multi-Channel Handheld Radio (MCHHR)
oAquaLung Portable Helmet Oxygen Delivery System (PHODS) with nasal cannula and full mask option
o M45 Aircrew CBRN mask,Joint Service Aircrew Mask–Rotary Wing (JSAMRW) MPU-5
o Aviator's Night Vision Imaging System – 6 (ANVIS-6) with up to 640 grams of total weight
o FirstSpear Aviation Body Armor Vest
o Elbit Common Helmet Mounted Display(CHMD)
• The helmet system should have the option of an easily attachable/detachable
maxillofacial system that provides environmental and impact protection.
• The system must be designed with snag-free cabling for all items requiring cables.
Cabling and connectors shall be durable and designed for repeated use and flexing.
• The helmet system must be maintainable at the unit level with readily available
replacement parts.
Successful demonstrations may be considered for follow on production awards to replace ~1300 helmets.
Interested parties have until to submit. Visit www.sofwerx.org/helmet for full details.
Tags: SOFwerx


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The richly coloured black, white and tan scent hound from Sweden is the result of crossing the English Foxhound with German Hounds. The breed was developed by Count Hamilton, a hound enthusiast and a founder of the Swedish Kennel Club. The Hamiltonstovare hunts singly and not in packs and was developed to hunt fox, deer, hare and wild boar. The breed first appeared in the Swedish show rings in 1886.
* If you are asthmatic or have an allergy, you should consult your medical advisor before considering obtaining a dog. More information can also be found on
the Kennel Club website.
Breeds originally used for hunting either by scent or by sight. The scent hounds include the Beagle and Bloodhound and the sight hounds such breeds as the Whippet and Greyhound. Many of them enjoy a significant amount of exercise and can be described as dignified, aloof but trustworthy companions.
Copyright © The Kennel Club Limited 2020. The unauthorised reproduction of text and images is strictly prohibited.


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The Lady Garden
Tea and Strumpets
January Mansplainers
Submit your contender for Mansplain of the Month here
Submitted by Aime
Mindless Musings on tumblr
If you're lesbian, why do you need a phallic device? If you're lesbian, shouldn't you just want the "raw prawn", the "furry taco", the "beef burger", or whatever you want to call it? If you make the decision to become lesbian, are you not in a way eliminating that part from your life?
Comment link: http://mundanemindlessmusings.tumblr.com/post/15665080031/a-conversation-for-the-dinner-table-or-maybe-not
Submitted anonymously
Hugh, right here at The Lady Garden.
I realise I'm only addressing a part of what you said, Emma, but I find the term "sapiosexual" kind of meaningless. Contrary to what you and other users of the term seem to think, very few people are attracted to people they find stupid. You might disagree with their assessments of their partner's intelligence, but that's not really the point. Sapiosexuality is no more unusual than "pulchrosexuality", eg, being attracted to people who are beautiful.
Submitted by B
Steve Phillips on FB – Boycott Libra until they remove their trans-phobic ad page:
"Also, that is nothing at all what gaslighting is. Gaslighting is a psychological trick where you subtly alter the 'reality' of a person until such time as they start to believe a reality that is of your own making. If disagreeing with people is now 'gaslighting' then the word has changed into something completely different.
the term actually came about due to the dim effects of gas lights being the reasoning why a part of someone's reality had been altered, along the lines of "oh, no, that chair wasn't really there, you must have imagined it due to the gas lighting"
Discussing things and debating logic are about as far away from gaslighting as you can get. Calling something illogical and then explaining why this is so leaves the other person open to challenge your own logical thought processes, and then we have a debate.
(of note – the words used in that article posted show the psychological nature of gaslighting. The words are designed to be non specific and emotion fueled (sp?) in order to make someone agree with an emotional argument (you're crazy) rather than a logical one (that's crazy because of X, Y and Z) – infact, someone that is serious about debating won't ever use words that easily evoke emotional responses (like, it would be better to say 'this an interesting argument but I believe it to be false because of X, Y and Z')"
Comment Link: https://www.facebook.com/#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=148345768609479&id=147975905313132&notif_t=feed_comment_reply


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Accounting Software is the application software it is used for the accounting records. It manages the account records and processes accounting transactions with functional modules such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, journal, general ledger, and payroll. It manage the accounts information using the accounting information system. Accounting software is the online-based that is accessed anywhere
QuickBooks Error 6000 is a simple error which may display in the time of open a company file in QuickBooks software. There are a lot of company file errors which can affect your workflow and it occurs due to some technical faults in software. So this error is one of them. Here we would talk
QuickBooks is a set of software solutions designed to manage payroll, inventory, sales, and other small business needs. The software includes marketing tools, products, supplies, merchant services, and all training solutions. In Quickbooks app, you can do some of your most important activities like Create, view and email estimates, invoices and sales receipts. You can
As an Accounting software package, QuickBooks always make your work easier by coming up with new updates simultaneously. This time it comes up with a new payment method called "Direct Deposit". So you do not have to worry to pay your 1099 contractors. But the condition is you should be a user of either QuickBooks
When a user using Intuit payroll service this question is often asked that how can you cancel direct deposit in QuickBooks Payroll. In today's article, we have tried to sort out this problem. Important Note : The cancellation process must be done before 5:00 p.m and Specific time and 2 banking days before the paycheck date.
QuickBooks uses a number of components like Microsoft.Net Framework, MS-XML, and C++ to run the program properly on a Windows computer QuickBooks Desktop tool or QuickBooks Diagnostic Tool. If you face error not able to install the Quickbooks or have the problem to use the Quickbooks Desktop version so real bellow there. You can save
This error occurs when the user is updating Quickbooks Payroll services or QuickBooks software. QuickBooks Error are a series of errors displayed- 12002, 12007, 12009, & 12030 etc. But, the cause of error 12007 is due to the misconfigured system files that result in registry errors code within your computer. QuickBooks Accounting software used by


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What do they look like?
The brush turkey is easily recognised by its:
- deep blue-black plumage
- bright head colours
- broad, flat tail
- general turkey-like appearance.
The bird's wattle (a fleshy lobe hanging down from the base of its neck) varies in colour with its age, gender and location. In the southern parts of its range, the male brush turkey has a bright yellow wattle, while on Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland its wattle is light blue. Females and younger birds have dull yellow wattles.
Brush turkey chicks look much like quails, with plain rich brown feathers over their entire bodies. As they mature they lose the feathers on their heads and necks, where the bare skin turns a deep pink colour.
What do they sound like?
The Australian brush turkey, while generally a quiet bird, will sometimes be heard making soft grunts. Males have a deep three-noted booming call.
Where do they live?
The Australian brush turkey can be found in NSW and Queensland. It lives in humid forests along the eastern seaboard and inland to the wetter ranges, though it is most often seen in rainforest and neighbouring eucalypt forest areas. It remains in a particular locality throughout the year, where it breeds and forages in the forest leaf litter for fruits, seeds and small animals.
This fascinating bird is abundant in favourable habitats. However, since European colonisation its numbers have declined, particularly near cities. In places where it shares its breeding and foraging grounds with humans, the survival of the species depends largely on the goodwill of householders.


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I woke up confused; well maybe not confused, perhaps I should say in search of- something. Everything was perfect, but something felt off. I realized I missed New York a bit this morning. I missed my bathroom, my shower, the eggs I cook for breakfast. I missed my kitchen, my neighbor Sean, I missed familiarity.
I opened the first of a box of cards containing hand-written words of encouragement, from friends back in the States. I chose at random, sliding my hand in, eyes closed, the way a child does when retrieving a prize. Written on the card were two words: 'You Will.' The note, written by my friend Sarah, was encouraging, and uplifting. And I thought, 'I will what??? What will I do?'
I walked downstairs to grab a coffee and write at the café that for some reason NEVER seems to be open, when it hit me. I will…EVERYTHING! I will explore. I will be open. I will… walk to a new café! (And realize on all four corners of my block, not one café was open!) As I walked back to the apartment I am living in, I discovered the one small, green market I have been meaning to pop into for weeks, La Petite Cagette was open! I WILL go in! It was lovely, and charming; and made me want to hop on the next train to Provence!
Instead, remembering a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator, I purchased apple juice, lime, cherries and of course one baguette. (I am in Paris after all.) Once back at the apartment, I made a random cocktail and decided to celebrate everything I will do today, starting by making myself a cocktail, at home.


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About Our Law Firm
Mirsky Law Group, LLC is a law firm based in Rockville, Maryland, which represents clients in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Our firm is devoted to client services and to protecting businesses and entrepreneurs for a fraction of the cost of in-house counsel.
Scott A. Mirsky founded Mirsky Law Group based upon the philosophy that a law firm built upon quality, service and respect could use modern approaches to deliver more value to clients than they pay in fees.
Our firm focuses its practice in the areas of business law, commercial real estate, construction law, employment law, estate planning, family law, health care business, and securities law. We maintain the knowledge and expertise necessary in those areas to provide our clients with excellent work at a reasonable price.
We will evaluate your matter early on, listen to your goals and work with you to develop a strategy that fits both your needs and your budget. We are guided by our Core Values and deliver experienced client service, prompt communication, honesty, and fairness.
While you are taking care of your business, we are taking care of you.
Our Core Values
Mirsky Law Firm focuses on quality, service and respect. The following core values guide us as we serve our clients and in our business relationships and our communities.
- Quality Work Products: We apply our legal expertise and the collaborative input of our team to deliver a legal strategy designed to maximize success for our clients. We deliver high quality work product that we believe will leave you with a positive legal experience.
- Client Service: We are prompt, proactive, practical and experienced. We work tirelessly to obtain favorable results for our clients. We are fiscally responsible. We staff appropriately so that we can meet clients' needs without an unnecessary increase in cost and keep clients updated so that they are not surprised by our bill
- Respect and Collegiality: We have a positive attitude and are honest. We show respect to each other and our clients. We communicate and respond to our clients' needs and concerns.
- Leadership: We set a positive example for our team, our clients, and the community through honesty, consistency, and fairness. In our daily work environment, we work hard and enjoy the law and client service. We value and respect diversity in ideas, age, sex, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, religion, disability status and educational background.
- Modern Approach and Spirit: We are innovative and are continually seeking ways to improve service and results for our clients. We leverage technology to maintain a modern law office. We maintain awareness of legal trends and decisions and communicate effectively with clients. We are mindful of the legacy we leave behind, both for our clients and our community. As such, our offices are in a EnergyStar building, we use electronic record keeping to minimize unnecessary paper use in our offices, and we sponsor service activities to improve our communities.
- Community Involvement: Mirsky Law Group, LLC is a proud member of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce & the Silver Spring Chamber of Commerce. We are also in participation with the Rotary Club of Rockville, eWomen's Network and the Capital Area Food Bank.


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Clicking on the links below will open in a new window and bring you to a site outside of the Basswood Elementary School website. Close that window to return to the Basswood Website. Please report any inappropriate sites.
|Birds of New England
|Enchanted Learning Dinosaurs
|Ed Heads - Simple Machines
|Quiz Hub
|Khan Academy
|FOSS Science
|Science Zone
Please note that by following the links above, you will leave the Osseo Area Schools and/or individual school website and enter a website created, operated, and maintained by a third party. Be providing links to other sites, Osseo Area Schools does not guarantee, approve, or endorse the information or products available on these sites. Privacy and security policies may differ from those of ISD 279 - Osseo Area Schools.


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CERF Blog
Previously published in the Orange County Register
Over the past few months I've been privileged to hear two members of California's Black Caucus speak, and I've been mightily impressed.
Last fall, Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) gave two presentations to a Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) economic summit. He painted a portrait of California's industrial past, presenting statistics on the percent of the world's aircraft, tires, and automobiles that used to be produced in California. He talked about how those jobs provided dignity and opportunity for folks in his district. He lamented the decline of opportunity his constituents have witnessed. The passion and energy he displayed provided a much needed energy to the conference, and earned him two standing ovations. It was clear Wright was speaking from the heart.
More recently, I had the opportunity to witness Assemblywoman Shirley Weber's (D-San Diego) keynote address to the California Energy Action Summit in Buellton. Weber told how her father, a sharecropper farmer with only a sixth-grade education, moved from Hope, Ark., to Southern California, because as she said "There was no hope in Hope." Her father found a job in a California steel mill. That job allowed her father to raise many children–I think it was seven–and to purchase a home. Shirley Weber earned a Ph.D. from UCLA at 26, finishing with little debt.
Weber didn't display the same energy as Wright, but she spoke with just as much passion, and from the heart. Her story is an example of the American Dream that is increasingly difficult to obtain in California. Weber knows this, and she regrets that journeys of her family aren't possible today. I think she intends to do what she can to restore that dream to California.
It's nice to finally see some California policy makers talking about jobs and opportunity. Far too often California policy makers ignore the economy as they push other agendas. Most of the time, they deny that California even has economic problems. This, of course, requires ignoring lots of disturbing economic data, such as jobs data, unemployment data, and poverty data.
When asked about California's economic data, they have an excuse for every bad data point, and they assert something like "California will always recover" or "It doesn't matter what we do in Sacramento." This is the same as saying that California has such an abundance of economic assets that no amount of bad policy can hurt California's economy.
This is absurd. California does have abundant economic assets, but it is possible to make conducting business in California so time consuming, so uncertain, and so expensive that businesses that don't have to be here aren't here.
California's leadership has become increasingly dominated by representatives from relatively wealthy communities populated by a college educated upper middle class and public service unions. Policy goals have mostly been about the environment and about meeting the demands of the public services unions. Very little thought and less action has been given to creating opportunity for California's least advantaged.
Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters said immediately after the last election that the Democrat's supermajority would reveal differences among the Democrats; they wouldn't be a monolith. Enter Weber and Wright and the Black Caucus.
No group has suffered more under existing California policy than Blacks. Nobody knows this better than the Black Caucus. This has me thinking that California's Black Caucus just might be able to save California.
Given the Democrats slim supermajority, the Black Caucus has the opportunity to act like a minority party in a parliamentary system. Their votes are needed on any vote that needs a supermajority. This is leverage, and I hope they use it to demand policies that promote an opportunity economy.


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SAO PAULO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian education group Estacio Partipacões named Eduardo Parente, a former executive at mining company Vale, as its new CEO, a securities filing published on Monday night showed.
Parente replaces Pedro Thompson, who has led Estacio since 2016. Estácio is Brazil's second largest education company after Kroton and operates several universities throughout the country. (Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun; editing by Jason Neely)


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The Council introduced a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle Car Cruising on Junction 27 of the M1 Motorway. The Order came into force on 4th May 2018 for a three year period.
The first Fixed Penalty Notice for car cruising related activities was issued on Sunday night (13th May 2018) after a driver was witnessed racing around the roundabout and along the dual carriageway by a police officer.
Cars were lined on each side of the lay-by of the dual carriageway and immediately left as the Police approached in a marked vehicle. Police presence in the area is ongoing.


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Warranty Registration
Congratulations on purchasing an Advance Appliances product. We offer support throughout the warranty period but you must register your product to get the extended guarantee. This way you will enjoy the full warranty and can be sure of our non-quibble support. You will get a service reminder from us at appropriate intervals.


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A cute way to use up all of your extra Easter eggs - dress them up like baby chicks hatching out of their shells.
Carrot Cake Cacao Pancakes - A vegan, flour-less, gluten-free pancake!
This Coconut Almond Green Beans is a very simple side dish that I serve for Thanksgiving and Easter every year and my family absolutely loves it!


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When someone dear asks you to be her bridesmaid on her big day, it is understood that she knows she can count on you. Getting to be a bridesmaid is exciting enough, but when it's a Goan wedding happening in Goa with all the customs and traditions it is a thousand times more amazing! We'd been preparing for this wedding many months prior to the actual day and how it all came and passed is unbelievable. As a bridesmaid, dressing up with that gorgeous dress, hair, makeup and shoes is so cool but I cannot deny that even the fun moments spent in my rugged home clothes during the wedding preparation with close family and friends was such an experience.
It's funny how everything becomes chaotic as the day approaches. Mixed emotions – happiness/ sadness/ tiredness/ exhaustion/ stress etc fly high with each passing minute. I've actually seen the bride lose weight just running about with all the co-ordinations 🙂
In case there's a wedding coming up, here's a little "To-Do List" I've prepared for you:
Book the church/ priest/ choir
Find a wedding gown seamstress
Book a Wedding Hall
Book the wedding car
Select a caterer
Order the wedding cake
Select a hall decorator
Select a lighting professional
A master of ceremonies
Select the toast master
A live wedding Band
Card printer
Distribute the wedding cards (Most time consuming task I think)
Make wedding bands for the couple
Book a photographer/ videographer
Book a Make up and Hair professional
Shop for the bride and bridesmaids
Keep her trousseau ready
There are countless other things that I'm probably not even aware of! Besides there are events before the wedding day and after that too. Imagine!!
Preparing for a wedding with/without a wedding planner can drive you nuts, no matter how small the affair is. But do not stress, as no matter how crazy everything is, somehow on the actual wedding day, everything just tends to shape up miraculously.
Hope you enjoyed this post along with the pics. Share your #MemoriesForLife like I've done at BlogAdda for HDFC Life.
Wedding Photography: Nolasco Alphonso
PS: Vellena check this out: https://memories.hdfclife.com/message/XzRT1HChTG5J9rvzalpH9Q==
Also I would really like you to follow me on Twitter and Instagram. If you enjoyed the read, let me know in the comments below.
Lots of Love,
The Silent Hummer
Franchua D'Souza.


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Emoji, an orphaned manatee, was about 15 pounds underweight when he was rescued and taken to a Florida zoo in October.
But that was not the gravest concern.
Plastic bags and debris filled the two-week-old calf's stomach. Ingested trash was protruding from his rectum.
After being separated from his mother, the young calf was left to fend for himself, mistakenly consuming plastic bags as he scrounged the seafloor for something to eat, said Ray Ball, a senior veterinarian for the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. Veterinarians later found that he was suffering from disseminated intravascular coagulation, which makes manatees bleed and clot at the same time. It's a common condition, but Ball said Emoji's case was one of the most severe he's ever seen.
And on Monday, just as he was starting to gain weight and show other signs of progress, Emoji died. The young calf had survived for just three months since his rescue.
"Emoji is a tragic illustration of the consequences that simple human actions have on the world around us," Ball said in a statement. "Now more than ever, we must hold ourselves accountable, whether that's keeping trash and plastics out of our waterways or being more mindful of potential consequences of propeller strikes on wildlife while boating."
That Emoji survived as long as he did was a surprise. His condition was so critical that veterinarians decided they had to try a novel treatment approach, Ball said. Emoji was given blood thinners to try to resolve his clotting issue, and he slowly got better.
"The phrase we used was guardedly optimistic," Ball said. "We were encouraged, but we knew he had a long way to go."
He was eating lettuce and drinking some formula, Ball said. The zoo even posted a video of Emoji swimming with other manatees in a large habitat. By the end of January, he'd gained almost 20 pounds.
But on Sunday, Emoji refused to eat and wasn't as energetic as normal. Because of his pre-existing conditions, he was not able to respond well to health troubles common to baby manatees, Ball said. Calves, for example, normally have stomach pains when they start taking formula.
"He was experiencing a normal colic episode that we would expect in a lot of our babies," Ball said. "He didn't really take the bottles that we fed him. . .. He just wasn't able to respond as well as a typical baby would."
Ball said it's not unusual for calves to ingest plastics and debris – a problem that is widespread among marine animals, particularly seabirds and turtles.
There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean, according to National Geographic. Of that, 269,000 tons float on the surface. The largest swath of trash in the ocean, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, sometimes extends from Japan to San Francisco, depending on the direction and movement of the wind and waves. Recent studies have found that half the planet's sea turtles and nearly all of the world's seabirds have ingested some form of plastic.
In 2009, photographer Chris Jordan headed off to remote Midway Island and photographed decaying bodies of birds. Their stomachs were completely filled with plastic.
"It's a pretty stunning experience to go out there and to see so much death," Jordan told The Washington Post's May-Ying Lam in 2012.
More recently, a 45-foot-long female sei whale died in 2014 after ingesting a broken piece of a DVD case. The plastic lacerated her stomach and kept her from feeding, according to National Geographic. Sei whales are listed as endangered.
Trash can be hazardous to wildlife on land as well. In 2015, a 175-pound black bear had to be rescued after getting its head stuck in a milk can in Frederick County, Maryland. State wildlife experts tranquilized the animal and used a small saw to remove the can. Last week, Maryland wildlife officials rescued a deer whose head had been stuck in a plastic pretzel jug for several days.
Emoji's death, Ball said, is a strong reminder of how human actions can limit animals' chances of survival.
"His loss is not being taken lightly," Ball said.
The young calf's name was inspired by the zoo's campaign to raise awareness about manatees through a petition that called for the creation of a manatee emoji. Andrea Alava, a spokeswoman for the zoo, said the petition now has 25,000 signatures.
"The more we can get people talking about manatees and ways to protect them, the better," Ball said. "It's a lesson that simple human behavior, like not throwing trash in waterways, can prevent manatee injuries and deaths."
Video link:


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A fantastic afternoon of fun and duck racing! Come along for a day of kids games, races, music, ….did I mention the ducks? Lots of food including Burgers & Cakes! It all starts at 12 noon and the Seindorf Arian Abergynolwyn Silver Band will be playing. It's free to get in, so come along, have fun and bring your parents if you like!
Ticket Details
|Ticket type