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Vets May Now Be Able To Get Higher Disability Ratings For Service-Connected Injuries
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims issued a decision last month that could make it easier for veterans with injuries to the back, neck, and joints to obtain higher disability ratings, even in cases where veterans are already receiving disability benefits for such injuries.
The recent case, called Sharp v. Shulkin, reviewed the Department of Veterans Affairs' current system for assessing the origin and extent of a veteran's disability and clarified the responsibilities of Compensation and Pension examiners and the Board of Veterans Appeals when it comes to giving an opinion on pain flare-ups caused by musculoskeletal disabilities. The court ultimately ruled that the system was inadequate, because not all C&P examiners consider flare-ups and pain when determining what disability rating a veteran should receive.
VA claims
Bobby P. Sharp, an Army Korean War veteran who suffers from numerous musculoskeletal injuries, argued that VA medical examinations he received were inadequate because the examiner failed to "ascertain adequate information — i.e., frequency, duration, characteristics, severity, or functional loss — regarding his flares by alternative means," according to court documents. Sharp contended that the 10% disability rating he received for his injuries was insufficient because his "September 2015 evaluation was inadequate for evaluation purposes and the Board's finding to the contrary was clearly erroneous." In September 2017, the claims court agreed.
The court's decision means that the VA must now enact measures to ensure that C&P examiners do not overlook flare-ups and pain when assessing a disabled veteran. The VA must attempt to schedule a C&P examination when the veteran is experiencing a flare-up, but if it can't the practitioner is still expected to offer a professional opinion on how the veteran could be "functionally limited during a flare-up," notes Military1.
In theory, this will give examiners a more comprehensive understanding of the injury in question. If this isn't feasible, the examiner must prove they've collected as much information and evidence as possible before saying to the board that they can't offer a medical opinion "without resorting to speculation." Further, the appeals board bears the burden of ensuring the examiner has done their due diligence or find an examiner experienced enough to offer a more informed medical opinion.
tips for filing your VA compensation claim
So, if a C&P examiner doesn't witness the flare-up, how can they form a non-speculative opinion about it? As Military 1 reported, the court decided that veterans themselves can submit evidence for consideration, such as their own description of the flare-ups and pain they experience, or "buddy statements" — written statements from people who know the veteran and can testify to the extent of their suffering.
All of which will make it a lot easier for veterans to secure higher disability ratings for injuries they sustained in the military. Meanwhile, the Sharp v. Shulkin case, which ruled that Sharp was entitled to another C&P assessment consistent with the new guidelines set by the court provides a precedent for other veterans who want to challenge their disability ratings. If you think this applies to your case, then we recommend you reach out to a veteran service officer to help you navigate the appeals process.
Adam Linehan is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. Between 2006-2012, he served as a combat medic in the U.S. Army, and is a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Follow Adam Linehan on Twitter @adam_linehan
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Gillibrand reintroduces bill for Navy vets harmed by Agent Orange
Washington, DC — Senators Kristen Gillibrand (D-NY) and Steve Daines (R-MT) reintroduced the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act on Friday.
The legislation would ensure that thousands of Navy veterans, known as "Blue Water" veterans are able to receive disability and health care benefits they need after exposure to Agent Orange while fighting in the Vietnam War.
Agent Orange is a toxic chemical that was used to remove foliage during the Vietnam war that had devastating health effects on millions serving.
In 2002, Veterans Affairs decided that it would only cover Veterans who could prove that they had orders for "boots on the ground" during the Vietnam War.
This exclusion prevented sailors from receiving benefits even though they had significant Agent Orange exposure from drinking and bathing in contaminated water just offshore.
"Thousands of Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange are now suffering from severe health problems," said Senator Gillibrand. "The VA is continuing to deny health coverage to many of them because of an arbitrary rule that says veterans who served on boats off of Vietnam's coast are not entitled to this coverage,"
The act would make it easier for the VA to process Vietnam War veterans' claims for service-connected health conditions and alleviate a portion of the VA's backlog by extending presumptive coverage of Agent Orange benefits to these veterans.
Gillibrand reintroduces bill for Navy vets harmed by Agent Orange
VA study finds EEG can help differentiate between PTSD and mild traumatic brain injury
A recent VA study points to a possible breakthrough in differentiating between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), otherwise known as a concussion.
The two disorders often carry similar symptoms, such as irritability, restlessness, hypersensitivity to stimulation, memory loss, fatigue and dizziness. Scientists have tried to distinguish between mTBI and PTSD in hopes of improving treatment options for Veterans, but many symptom-based studies have been inconclusive because the chronic effects of the two conditions are so similar. If someone is rating high on an mTBI scale, for example, that person may also rate high for PTSD symptoms.
The researchers used electroencephalogram, or EEG, a test that measures electrical activity in the brain. The size and direction of the brain waves can signal abnormalities.
Analyzing a large set of EEGs given to military personnel from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the researchers saw patterns of activity at different locations on the scalp for mTBI and PTSD. They saw brain waves moving slowly in opposite directions, likely coming from separate places in the brain.
The researchers emphasize that these effects don't pinpoint a region in the brain where the disorders differ. Rather, they show a pattern that distinguishes the disorders when the EEG results are averaged among a large group.
"When you're looking at an EEG, you can't easily tell where in the brain signals associated with TBI and PTSD are coming from," said Laura Manning Franke, Ph.D., the study's lead researcher and research psychologist at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. "You get kind of a coarse measure – left, right, anterior, posterior. We had a different distribution, which suggests that different parts of the brain are involved. In order to determine what patterns are tracking their TBI and PTSD, you need an average to do that," Franke added.
The study linked mTBI with increases in low-frequency waves, especially in the prefrontal and right temporal regions of the brain, and PTSD with decreases in low-frequency waves, notably in the right temporoparietal region.
The differences in the levels of the waves may explain some of the symptoms of the two disorders, suggesting a decline in responsiveness for someone with mTBI, for example, and more anxiety for someone with PTSD.
Franke also noted that more low-frequency power has also been linked to cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and less low-frequency power to problems such as drug addiction. Additionally, spotting distinct patterns of mTBI and PTSD in separate parts of the brain is key for two reasons: the possibility these conditions can be confused with each other is reduced. That can help improve diagnosis and treatment and the patterns show that electrical activity appears to be affected long after combat-related mTBI, suggesting long-term changes in neural communication, the signaling between cells in the nervous system. "That could help, in part, explain the reason for persistent problems."
The study included 147 active-duty service members or Veterans who had been exposed to blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those, 115 had mTBI, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of all traumatic brain injuries. Forty of the participants had PTSD, and 35 had both conditions.
Despite the new findings, Franke and her team believe more work is needed to better explain the differences in the patterns of both conditions in the brain's electrical activity. Researchers need to analyze the differences in scans from larger numbers of patients.
Meanwhile, though, she said she hopes the research will play a role in helping medical professionals better diagnose someone's condition through an individual EEG—whether that person has PTSD, a brain injury, or a combination of the two.
"That's the holy grail," said Franke. "We want to use the EEG to differentiate the problems, but also to predict recovery and be able to measure how people are doing in a more biological way than just measuring symptoms, although those are still relevant. But symptoms are also problematic because they're influenced by so many things that aren't the disease that we're interested in."
For more information about VA research on PTSD and TBI, visit Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury. Information about Franke's study may be found at the International Journal of Psychophysiology
US Agrees to Pay Billions to Marines Affected by Toxic Water By HOPE YEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON — Jan 13, 2017, 2:33 PM ET
After years of waiting, veterans who were exposed to contaminated drinking water while assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina may now be able to receive a portion of government disability benefits totaling more than $2 billion.
The Department of Veterans Affairs described the new benefit Friday as "historic." It is one of few instances in which former military personnel who weren't deployed for war could become eligible for cash payouts.
Outgoing VA Secretary Bob McDonald determined there is sufficient scientific and medical evidence to establish a "strong association" between exposure to the contaminated water at Camp Lejeune and eight medical conditions.
"We have a responsibility to take care of those who have served our nation and have been exposed to harm as a result of that service," McDonald said, adding that the VA's decision will make it easier for veterans "to receive the care and benefits they earned."
Beginning in March, the disability benefits may supplement VA health care already being provided to eligible veterans who were stationed at the Marine base for at least 30 cumulative days between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987. Veterans will have to submit evidence of their diagnoses and service information.
The estimated taxpayer cost is $2.2 billion over a five-year period. As many as 900,000 service members were potentially exposed to the tainted water, although the VA estimates that roughly 23,000 veterans will apply and qualify for the benefit.
"This is good news," said retired Marine Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger, whose daughter Janey was born in 1976 while he was stationed at Lejeune. Janey died from leukemia at age 9. Ensminger now heads a veterans group, The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten, which advocates for those seeking disability compensation.
"This has been a hard, long slog," said Ensminger, who argues the government must go further in covering additional diseases. "This is not the end of the issue."
The new rule covers active duty, Reserve and National Guard members who developed one of eight diseases: adult leukemia, aplastic anemia, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Parkinson's disease.
It allows veterans to qualify for government disability aid based on toxic harm sustained while at a garrison, as opposed to a battlefield. In 2015, McDonald also agreed to award disability benefits for another category of veterans who weren't on the ground, those who had developed medical conditions after exposure to Agent Orange residue on planes used in the Vietnam War.
"It's a major first," said Dr. Ralph Erickson, a chief health consultant at the VA and former commander of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Most disability awards, he said, involve "exposures that occurred during deployment."
Documents uncovered by veterans groups over the years suggest Marine leaders were slow to respond when tests first found evidence of contaminated groundwater at Camp Lejeune in the early 1980s. Some drinking water wells were closed in 1984 and 1985, after further testing confirmed contamination from leaking fuel tanks and an off-base dry cleaner. The Marine Corps has said the contamination was unintentional, occurring when federal law didn't limit toxins in drinking water.
Spurred by Ensminger's case, Congress in 2012 passed a bill signed into law by President Barack Obama extending free VA medical care to affected veterans and their families. But veterans were not automatically provided disability aid or survivor benefits. The issue has prompted lawsuits by veterans organizations, which note that military personnel in Camp Lejeune housing "drank, cooked and bathed" in contaminated water for years.
Ensminger credited North Carolina Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis for their efforts. Burr introduced the 2012 legislation to provide free VA medical care.
"It's about time," Burr said, welcoming the VA news Friday. "These veterans put their lives on the line for our nation and they were negligently poisoned by the government."
Affected veterans who were stationed at Camp Lejeune may now submit applications for benefits. Roughly 1,400 disability claims related to Lejeune are already pending, and will be reviewed immediately, according to the VA.
New Study Could Pressure VA to Expand Agent Orange Benefits
More than four decades after the end of the Vietnam War, research is still showing the effects of the herbicide Agent Orange. The latest findings: An association between exposure and high blood pressure.
This story was co-published with The Virginian-Pilot.
A new study has found a close relationship between Agent Orange exposure during the Vietnam War and high blood pressure, a conclusion that could lead the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to dramatically expand the number of veterans eligible for compensation.
The study, published last week by VA researchers in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found a higher rate of hypertension among members of the Army Chemical Corps who handled Agent Orange during the war compared to those who didn't. Corps members who served in Vietnam but did not spray the chemicals also had a higher rate of hypertension than their peers who served outside Vietnam.
Both results were statistically significant and add to a body of evidence linking Agent Orange exposure and hypertension.
The findings come 41 years after the close of the Vietnam War and decades since the last supplies of Agent Orange were incinerated. Since then, veterans have become increasingly distrustful of the VA. They maintain that their exposure to Agent Orange, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin, has harmed their own health and has been passed on to their children.
A VA working group has been studying the latest scientific literature since March to determine if any illnesses should be added to the agency's list of diseases for which vets are automatically entitled to compensation if they served in Vietnam. Specifically, the group has been looking at new evidence linking bladder cancer, under-active thyroid, Parkinson's-like symptoms and hypertension to Agent Orange exposure.
The VA had been expected to announce its decision this year, but officials now say that will be left to the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Help Us Investigate the Impact of Agent Orange
We're interested in hearing from veterans and family members for our ongoing investigation into the effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children. Share your story.
"For this administration, the deadline for proposing new rules for potential new presumptions [of service connection to herbicide] has passed, and this will become work for the new administration to take to completion," VA officials said in a written statement first reported last week in the newspaper Stars and Stripes.
Hypertension is the most common ailment among veterans seeking health care at the VA—indeed it is one of the most common ailments among older adults generally.
The study released last week found the prevalence of hypertension among members of the Army Chemical Corps to be higher than among other aging veterans. Although most of the Agent Orange used in Vietnam was sprayed from Air Force planes, the Army Chemical Corps also sprayed the herbicide from hand sprayers and helicopters.
Researchers analyzed responses from about 3,000 members of the Army Chemical Corps who participated in a 2013 survey. The research team then verified their self-reported exposure to Agent Orange by using dioxin levels in their blood and checked their self-reported blood pressure against medical records and in-home testing.
Among Chemical Corps members who sprayed herbicides in Vietnam, 81.6 percent said they had high blood pressure. That compares to 64.6 percent among Corps members who did not serve in Vietnam and did not spray herbicides. Researchers said that difference could not be explained away by other characteristics they analyzed, including age, race, weight, alcohol use and tobacco use.
It's unclear if the results from the Army Chemical Corps apply to other Vietnam veterans, the researchers said.
For years, the VA has been weighing whether to provide Agent Orange benefits to vets with high blood pressure, which could potentially cost billions of dollars.
In 2009, a federal advisory panel said there was evidence suggesting a connection between Agent Orange exposure and several conditions, including Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease and hypertension.
A VA internal working group of scientific experts wanted to recommend the department grant benefits to veterans with all of those conditions, according to Dr. Victoria Cassano, a member of the group who at the time was acting chief consultant for the VA's Environmental Health Strategic Healthcare Group. But the group's superiors at the VA told the panel to change its position and instead recommend against providing benefits for heart disease and hypertension, Cassano said. It recommended in favor of Parkinson's disease.
In late 2009, then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he would add ischemic heart disease and Parkinson's disease to the VA's list, but not hypertension. According to Shinseki's testimony to Congress in 2010, "the evidence regarding hypertension was less compelling" than for the other conditions.
Instead, Shinseki called for the VA study completed last week.
"I wasn't really surprised by these findings," said Yasmin S. Cypel, the study's principal investigator and a health science specialist at VA. "I just felt that based upon the research that there was evidence to indicate that there might be an association."
Rick Weidman, legislative director of Vietnam Veterans of America, said the new report should add pressure to the VA to compensate vets for hypertension. His group has been pressing the VA to add the condition to its list of Agent Orange-connected diseases ever since the advisory panel first noted evidence of a link.
He can think of only one reason to explain the agency's reluctance:
"Simple as that," said Weidman, himself a Vietnam vet. "There are so many people who utilize the VA who have hypertension, they know it's going to cost."
An estimate of the cost of offering compensation for Vietnam vets with hypertension was not available.
Cassano, the former VA official who thought VA should have agreed to provide hypertension benefits in 2009, said the new research by Cypel and colleagues was "really well designed."
"It's a very definitive study," Cassano said. "It's showing that just being in Vietnam gives you a higher relative risk of developing hypertension."
While hypertension affects many veterans, it is not as debilitating as other conditions and generally can be treated inexpensively with medications. Therefore, she said, the costs may not be as high as some have predicted. Waiting for vets to develop ischemic heart disease or suffer a stroke is "a pennywise pound foolish decision."
Since last year, ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot have compiled more than 6,000 stories from veterans and their families about how Agent Orange has affected them. We also have reported how the military and VA have turned to an herbicide expert who defends Agent Orange for guidance on handling vets' claims.
Dr. Orange: The Secret Nemesis of Sick Vets
For decades, the military and the VA have repeatedly turned to one man to guide decisions on whether Agent Orange harmed vets in Vietnam and elsewhere. His reliable answer: No. Read the story.
Several veterans said that if the VA begins offering Agent Orange benefits for high blood pressure, they would apply for them.
"It has never been anything I considered," said Ron Bass, 67, who served as an Air Force crew chief in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971 and takes medication for his condition.
"I would definitely file a claim for it," said Ron Zatawski, 66, who served in the Army in Vietnam from 1970 to 1971. "We went through areas that they had sprayed Agent Orange. … We didn't know how toxic this stuff was."
Victoria Davey, another researcher on the hypertension study, said there's still much to learn about the effects of Agent Orange on vets. She is leading a new study comparing the health of Vietnam vets with similarly aged U.S. residents who never served in the military.
"This doesn't close the book on long-term health consequences of service in Vietnam," Davey said of the hypertension study.
ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot are interested in hearing from veterans and family members for our ongoing investigation into the effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children. Share your story now at propublica.org/agentorange or hamptonroads.com/agentorange.
Vets poisoned at Camp Lejeune inch closer to VA benefits
WASHINGTON — An expected 15,000 veterans whose serious illnesses are linked to a contaminated water supply at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina could receive compensation more quickly under a proposed Department of Veterans Affairs rule announced Friday.
The rule establishes that for veterans who served a minimum 30 days at Camp Lejeune between 1953 through 1987, the VA will automatically presume a connection to eight diseases: leukemia, anemia, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Parkinson's and bladder, kidney and liver cancer.
People serving at the Marine Corps base during that time were exposed to a metal degreaser and other chemicals in the drinking water supply. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2014 determined the contaminants increased risk for the illnesses.
Water lines for a small unit water purification system prototype draw water from a reservoir at Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 9, 2014.
Paul Peterson/U.S. Marine Corps
"The change here is that up until now, each claim was processed on a case-by-case basis," VA spokesman Randal Noller said in an email. "With the new presumptive, the conditions noted will be 'presumed' to be related to exposure at Camp Lejeune with no further evidential requirements."
In order to be granted status for medical benefits, veterans will need to prove only that they served at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days – a time frame on which the VA is still seeking public input. VA experts could not establish people exposed to the contaminated water for 30 days were more at risk than others who were at Camp Lejeune for a shorter amount of time.
"Therefore, VA welcomes comments on the 30-day minimum exposure requirement and will consider other practical alternatives when drafting the final rule," a written statement from the VA reads.
A public comment period started Friday and is open until Oct. 10.
The VA announced in January its intention to fast-track compensation to the affected veterans. But the Office of Management and Budget had to review the proposed rule before it could be published.
In August, Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, both R-N.C., sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan, urging for a speedy review. The letter said people contaminated had faced "bureaucratic mistreatment."
"The victims of Camp Lejeune's water contamination disaster have waited far too long for justice, and prior OMB delays have been inexplicable," Tillis said Friday in a written statement. "It's a relief to see movement."
According to guidelines of the Federal Register, once the public comment period ends Oct. 10 and a final rule is put forth, there must be another 30-day wait until a rule goes into effect. The guidelines state an agency can make a rule effective sooner if it shows "good cause" that it's in the public interest.
When it goes into effect, the rule will apply to new and pending disability claims.
Malaria drug causes brain damage that mimics PTSD: case study
The case of a service member diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder but found instead to have brain damage caused by a malaria drug raises questions about the origin of similar symptoms in other post-9/11 veterans.
According to the case study published online in Drug Safety Case Reports in June, a U.S. military member sought treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for uncontrolled anger, insomnia, nightmares and memory loss.
The once-active sailor, who ran marathons and deployed in 2009 to East Africa, reported stumbling frequently, arguing with his family and needing significant support from his staff while on the job due to cognitive issues.
Physicians diagnosed the service member with anxiety, PTSD and a thiamine deficiency. But after months of treatment, including medication, behavioral therapy and daily doses of vitamins, little changed.
The patient continued to be hobbled by his symptoms, eventually leaving the military on a medical discharge and questioning his abilities to function or take care of his children.
It wasn't until physicians took a hard look at his medical history, which included vertigo that began two months after his Africa deployment, that they suspected mefloquine poisoning: The medication once used widely by the U.S. armed forces to prevent and treat malaria has been linked to brain stem lesions and psychiatric symptoms.
While no test is available to prove the sailor suffered what is called "mefloquine toxicity," he scored high enough on an adverse drug reaction probability survey to tie his symptoms to the drug, also known as Lariam.
The sailor told his Walter Reed doctors that he began experiencing vivid dreams and disequilibrium within two months of starting the required deployment protocol.
Symptoms can last years
Case reports of mefloquine side effects have been published before, but the authors of "Prolonged Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in a Military Service Member Exposed to Mefloquine" say their example is unusual because it shows that symptoms can last years after a person stops taking the drug.
And since the symptoms are so similar to PTSD, the researchers add, they serve to "confound the diagnosis" of either condition.
"It demonstrates the difficulty in distinguishing from possible mefloquine-induced toxicity versus PTSD and raises some questions regarding possible linkages between the two diagnoses," wrote Army Maj. Jeffrey Livezey, chief of clinical pharmacology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Once the U.S. military's malaria prophylactic of choice, favored for its once-a-week dosage regimen, mefloquine was designated the drug of last resort in 2013 by the Defense Department after the Food and Drug Administration slapped a boxed warning on its label, noting it can cause permanent psychiatric and neurological side effects,
50,000 prescriptions in 2003
At the peak of mefloquine's use in 2003, nearly 50,000 prescriptions were written by military doctors.
That figure dropped to 216 prescriptions in 2015, according to data provided by the Defense Department. According to DoD policy, mefloquine is prescribed only to personnel who can't tolerate other preventives.
But Dr. Remington Nevin, a former Army epidemiologist and researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said any distribution of the drug, which was developed by the Army in the late 1970s, is too much.
"This new finding should motivate the U.S. military to consider further revising its mefloquine policy to ban use of the drug altogether," Nevin told Military Times.
While a case study is a snapshot of one patient's experience and not an indication that everyone who took or takes mefloquine has similar issues, one randomized study conducted in 2001 — more than a decade after the medication was adopted by the military for malaria prevention — showed that 67 percent of study participants reported more than one adverse side effect, such as nightmares and hallucinations, and 6 percent needed medical treatment after taking the drug.
Yet mefloquine remains on the market while Walter Reed Army Institute of Research conducts research on medications in the same family as mefloquine, including tafenoquine, hoping to find a malarial preventive that is less toxic but as effective.
Mefloquine was developed under the Army's malaria drug discovery program and approved for use as a malaria prophylactic in 1989. Shortly after commercial production began, stories surfaced about side effects, including hallucinations, delirium and psychoses.
Once considered 'well-tolerated'
Military researchers maintained, however, that it was a "well-tolerated drug," with one WRAIR scientist attributing reports of mefloquine-associated psychoses to a "herd mentality."
"Growing controversies over neurological side effects, though, are appearing in the literature, from journal articles to traveler's magazines and resulting legal ramifications threaten global availability," wrote researcher Army Col. Wilbur Milhous in 2001. "As the 'herd mentality' of mefloquine associated psychoses continues to gain momentum, it will certainly affect operational compliance and readiness. … The need for a replacement drug for weekly prophylaxis will continue to escalate."
Mefloquine was implicated in a series of murder-suicides at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in 2002, and media reports also tied it to an uptick in military suicides in 2003.
A 2004 Veterans Affairs Department memo urged doctors to refrain from prescribing mefloquine, citing individual cases of hallucinations, paranoia, suicidal thoughts, psychoses and more.
The FDA black box warning nine years later led to a sharp decline in demand for the medication. But while the drug is no longer widely used, it has left damage in its wake, with an unknown number of troops and veterans affected, according to retired Navy Cmdr. Bill Manofsky, who was discharged from the military in 2004 for PTSD and later documented to have mefloquine toxicity.
He said the Defense Department and VA should do more to understand the scope of the problem and reach out to those who have been affected.
New concerns rising over antimalaria drug
"I'm kind of the patient zero for this and I now spend my life trying to help other veterans who have health problems that may have been caused by mefloquine. More needs to be done," Manofsky said.
He said while there is no cure for the vertigo and vestibular damage or the psychiatric symptoms caused by mefloquine, treatments for such symptoms, such as behavior and vestibular therapy help.
And, he added, simply having a diagnosis is comforting.
Veterans can seek help
"Veterans need to come forward," he said. "The VA's War Related Illness and Injury Study Center can help."
The patient in the case study written by Livezey continues to see a behavioral therapist weekly but takes no medications besides vitamins and fish oil.
He sleeps just three to four hours a night, has vivid dreams and nightmares and vertigo that causes him to fall frequently, and continues to report depression, restlessness and a lack of motivation.
The sailor's experience with mefloquine has been "severely life debilitating" and Livezey notes that the case should alert physicians to the challenges of diagnosing patients with similar symptoms.
"This case documents the potential long-term and varied mefloquine-induced neuropsychiatric side effects," he wrote.
Patricia Kime covers military health care and medicine for Military Times. She can be reached at email@example.com.
VA might add more 'presumptive' illnesses for Vietnam veterans
August this year many more thousands of Vietnam War veterans, those suffering from bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, Parkinson's-like symptoms and even high blood pressure, could learn they will be eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs health benefits and disability compensation. Or perhaps not.
Difficult months of study lie ahead for a working group of senior scientists and health experts that VA Secretary Bob McDonald convened last week, following release of a 10th and final biennial review of evidence of health problems linked to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures.
Every review in the series, going back two decades, has been conducted, as Congress mandated, by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), a division of the National Academies of Sciences. Its latest review, Veterans and Agent Orange: Update 2014, takes into account medical and scientific literature published from Oct. 1, 2012, through Sept. 30, 2014.
The IOM concludes that the research supports changing the strength of association to herbicide exposure for several ailments. For bladder cancer and hypothyroidism, it found "limited or suggestive" evidence of an association, an upgrade from previous "inadequate or insufficient" evidence.
This latest review looked again at scientific literature on cardiovascular conditions and herbicides. The IOM didn't upgrade but it did affirm limited and suggestive evidence that hypertension may be linked to herbicides.
This review also considered whether conditions resulting in Parkinson's-like symptoms, apart from Parkinson's disease itself, should fall into the same limited or suggestive category of evidence. Yes it should, the IOM concluded, finding "no rational basis" for the current exclusion.
For only the second time, the IOM withdrew an earlier finding of that herbicide exposure may have caused an ailment, in this case spina bifida in children born to Vietnam veterans. For 20 years VA has used a preliminary finding of an association to grant children benefits. The IOM says it no longer believes the evidence merits retaining spina bifida in that category.
On March 9, the same day the IOM briefed senior VA officials on its report, McDonald ordered the VA working group convened to review not only the 1,100-page IOM report but original studies IOM refers to as well as any peer reviews on ailments and herbicides completed since October 2014, which would be research the IOM had considered in its final review.
Dr. Ralph Loren Erickson, chief consultant of post deployment health services for the Veterans Health Administration, is co-chair of the working group. He said the plan is to review carefully all of the studies and the IOM recommendations and then prepare "a response document" to be distributed "throughout our senior leadership, with suggestions and recommendations for action," before presenting to McDonald for final decisions.
"No question when the [IOM] moves something to a higher category you can bet we will look even more closely at those particular diseases," Erickson said. "It certainly is not within my purview to make any statement at this point as to how the secretary will decide. In the past there have been things in this (limited or suggestive evidence) category that have become presumptions, and there are things in this category that have not."
The IOM says "llimited or suggestive" means the epidemiological evidence indicates there could be a link between herbicide exposure and increased risk for a health effect. For some ailments, including ischemic heart disease, past VA secretaries used "limited or suggestive evidence" to add diseases to the presumptive list. And yet for others, including hypertension, that same category hasn't been viewed as enough.
Among provisions of the Agent Orange law Congress allowed to sunset last year was a requirement that the VA secretary take action on IOM recommendations within 60 days. Erickson said the working group hopes to give McDonald what he needs to make decisions on the IOM by late July.
"We feel that if we can move at a pace that gets this all taken care of within about four months, we're be doing well," he said.
It would be far longer before any veterans or survivors see more or higher disability pay, however. VA rulemaking following a decision to add diseases to the presumptive list involve writing and publishing proposed regulations, collecting and reacting to public comments, and then publishing final regulations, a process that could take more than a year with added delay possible from the change in administrations to occur in January.
Whatever decisions McDonald makes on the IOM recommendations will be "rooted in science" and "evidenced based," said Erickson.
But doesn't VA also take account of size of the population affected? For example, hypertension afflicts two-thirds of Americans age 65 and older.
It is true, Erickson said, that Vietnam veterans have moved into their 60s, 70s and 80s and many have chronic diseases of older age.
"Hypertension is one of them," he said. "And so teasing those things out — [to decide] is it related to this veteran's age [or] to their being in Vietnam where they were exposed to Agent Orange — sometimes can be difficult."
Does it finally come down to a judgment call?
"Well, a judgment call based on the evidence," Erickson said. "The secretary has made it very clear, certainly to me and to others who work on these types of technical working groups, he wants to know what does the science show? What does the evidence show?"
The final decision will be based on "whether the preponderance of the evidence will support a proposal of the new presumption," Erickson said.
If McDonald does accept IOM recommendations, this review would be the first in six years to result in one or more diseases being added to list of ailments VA presumes are linked to herbicide exposure.
The eligible population would be any veteran who can show they stepped foot in Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975, including on ships in Vietnam's inland waterways, also veterans who served in or near the Korean Demilitarized Zone any time from April 1, 1968, to Aug 31, 1971.
To comment, write Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120 or email: firstname.lastname@example.com or Twitter: @Military_Update
Once Again, the VA Turns Down Navy Vets for Agent Orange Benefits
Once Again, the VA Turns Down Navy Vets for Agent Orange Benefits
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has once again turned down an effort by Navy veterans to get compensation for possible exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
In a document released Friday, the VA said it would continue to limit benefits related to Agent Orange exposure to only those veterans who set foot in Vietnam, where the herbicide was sprayed, and to those who were on boats in inland rivers. The VA compensates these veterans for a litany of associated illnesses, including diabetes, various cancers, Parkinson's Disease, peripheral neuropathy and a type of heart disease.
'I Didn't Think It Was Going to Affect Me.'
Are you a Vietnam veteran?
ProPublica and the Virginian-Pilot are interested in hearing from veterans and family members for our ongoing investigation into the effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children. Share your story.
Advocates for some 90,000 so-called Blue Water Navy veterans who served off the coast of Vietnam have been asking the VA for more than a decade to broaden the policy to include them. They say that they were exposed to Agent Orange because their ships sucked in potentially contaminated water and distilled it for showering, drinking, laundry and cooking. Experts have said the distillation process could have actually concentrated the Agent Orange, which contained the toxic chemical dioxin and was used to kill vegetation and deny enemy cover.
ProPublica and the Virginian-Pilot profiled their effort to gain coverage in September as part of an ongoing project to chronicle the impact of Agent Orange on vets and their families.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims last April struck down VA rules that denied compensation for sailors whose ships docked at certain harbors in South Vietnam, including Da Nang. Those ports, the court determined, may have been in the Agent Orange spraying area. The court ordered the VA to review its policy.
But on Friday, the VA largely stood by its old policy and once again asserted that there's no scientific justification or legal requirement for covering veterans who served off the coast.
"Environmental health experts in VA's Veterans Health Administration have reviewed the available scientific information and concluded that it is not sufficient to support a presumption that Blue Water Navy Veterans were exposed to Agent Orange," the VA said in a fact sheet.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, criticized the VA's decision.
"Rather than siding with veterans, VA is doubling down on an irrational and inconsistent policy," he said in a statement. "Young sailors risked their lives during the Vietnam War, unaware that decades later, they and their children and grandchildren would still feel the toxic effects of exposure. Veterans who served offshore and in the harbors of Vietnam were exposed and deserve the presumption of service connection for Agent Orange-related diseases."
Blumenthal and others are seeking adoption of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which would ensure that all vets exposed to Agent Orange are compensated.
The VA opposes the legislation, as it has several previous iterations dating back to 2008.
The VA's new review rejecting benefits relied on a 2011 report by the respected Institute of Medicine, as well as other published research, according to the agency's fact sheet.
The Institute of Medicine report said there was no way to prove Blue Water vets were exposed to the chemicals, but it identified plausible routes that Agent Orange could have traveled out to sea and into a ship's distillation system. Although military policy at the time recommended against distilling water closer than 10 miles to shore — where the chemical concentration would have been highest — veterans said doing so was often unavoidable, and their commanding officers routinely ordered it.
The VA said it is working with veterans groups to "initiate a groundbreaking study of Blue Water Navy Veterans health outcomes. We hope to have data gathered and analyses published in 2017."
Veterans called the VA's decision a betrayal. John Wells, a Louisiana lawyer who has spent more than a decade advocating for Blue Water veterans, said his group would continue challenging the VA and push for legislation that would mandate coverage for the Blue Water veterans.
"It wasn't completely unexpected. We're used to being betrayed by the VA," Wells said. "We're going to fight this thing until we're done or dead."
Jim Smith, who served aboard the ammunition ship Butte, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and believes that Agent Orange exposure may have played a role. "My feeling is the VA is thumbing their nose and sending the middle finger back to the Blue Water people," he said. "It's like nobody at the VA has any kind of science background whatsoever."
Blue Water vets — so named to set the sailors apart from their Brown Water Navy counterparts, who patrolled the murky rivers of South Vietnam — were initially deemed eligible for compensation under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, only to have the VA change its interpretation a decade later.
Correction, Feb. 9, 2016: A photo caption in this story originally misstated Jim Smith's years of service in the Navy as 1972 to 1973. He served in the Navy from 1972 to 1979. He served aboard the U.S.S. Butte from 1972 to 1973.
ProPublica and the Virginian-Pilot are interested in hearing from veterans and family members for our ongoing investigation into the effects of Agent Orange on veterans and their children. Share your story.
VA: Automatic benefits for Camp Lejeune vets will take a year
http://www.tampabay.com/news/military/veterans/va-automatic-benefits-for-camp-lejeune-vets-will-take-a-year/2258346 The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will take at least a year to formulate regulations enabling Camp Lejeune veterans to receive automatic benefits for any of eight diseases linked to contaminated drinking water at the base.
The VA announced Thursday that it would grant sick veterans benefits without their having to go through the protracted and arduous claims process for receiving disability and health benefits if they had one of the illnesses and served on the base between Aug. 1, 1953, and Dec. 31, 1987.
Those illnesses are liver and kidney cancer, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, multiple myeloma, scleroderma, Parkinson's disease and aplastic anemia (myelodysplastic syndromes).
"The notice and comment rulemaking process is lengthy, so even though this rule is a VA priority, we anticipate it will take 12 months or more to publish a final rule," VA spokeswoman Walinda West said in a written statement.
The statement was released in response to questions submitted by the Tampa Bay Times. The VA response came too late to include in an earlier Times story on Thursday's announcement.
"The devil is always in the details," said Michael Partain, who was born on the base in 1968 and later was diagnosed with breast cancer, which is rare in men. Partain sits on a panel that consults with federal scientists studying Lejeune water contamination and has been active in battling the VA to extend benefits.
"This is another year for these veterans and their families to wait while the VA squanders precious time."
The agency noted that veterans can still apply for benefits while the VA promulgates regulations. In an important concession for veterans, the VA said it would stay any claim denials for veterans diagnosed with the eight illnesses so they do not have to reapply for benefits once it finishes drafting rules.
The VA said it did not yet have an estimate of the number of veterans who would be affected by the decision to extend benefits.
Scientists believe up to 1 million people may have been exposed to a toxic brew of chemicals, including several carcinogens, that make the Lejeune contamination perhaps the worst-ever mass exposure to polluted drinking water in the United States. The contamination stretched more than 50 years, ending in 1987, and involved residents now scattered across the nation.
About 14,000 Lejeune veterans and their family members live in Florida, the second-highest total in the nation behind North Carolina, according to Marine Corps figures.
The base's water was tainted with industrial solvents and components of fuel from a variety of sources, including underground fuel tanks that leaked.
While Thursday's decision is an important victory for veterans, critics of the agency note there are still numerous diseases that may be linked to the water pollution that are not covered, including breast and bladder cancer. Veterans with these conditions can still apply for benefits through the normal claims process.


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Patterns of Provocation
Police and Public Disorder
Edited by Richard Bessel and Clive Emsley
208 pages, bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-57181-227-8 $135.00/£99.00 Hb Published (October 2000)
ISBN 978-1-57181-228-5 $29.95/£23.95 Pb Published (October 2000)
eISBN 978-1-78920-371-4 eBook
Over the past thirty years social scientists and particularly social historians have stressed the need to take popular protest seriously. The corollary of this, the need to take the policing of protest seriously, seems to have been less well acknowledged. The aim of this volume is to redress this situation by probing, in depth, a limited number of incidents of public disorder and focusing particularly on the role of the police. In doing so, this collection will draw out general patterns of police provocation and public responses and suggest general hypotheses. The incidents explored range across Europe and the United States, involve different kinds of political regime, and are drawn from both the interwar and the postwar years. They pose important questions about the effects of riot training and specialist equipment for the police, about the reality and roles of "agitators" and of "rotten apples" amongst the police, and about the role of the media and the courts in fostering certain kinds of undesirable and counterproductive police behavior.
Richard Bessel is Professor of Twentieth-Century History at the University of York. His publications include Political Violence and the Rise of Nazism and Germany after the First World War.
Clive Emsley is Professor of History at the Open University and Co-Director of the European Centre for the Study of Policing. His publications include Crime and Society in England, 1750-1900 and The English Police: A Political and Social History. Since 1995 he has been President of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice.
Subject: History: 20th Century to Present Sociology
Area: Europe North America
Introduction: Patterns of Provocation
R. Bessel and C. Emsley
Chapter 1. The Case of Berlin, 1929
P. Leflmann-Faust
Chapter 2. The Police and the Clichy Massacre, 1937
S. Kitson
Chapter 3. "Silitoe's Cossacks": Policing the Glasgow Gangs in the 1930s
A. Davies
Chapter 4. The "People's Police" and the Miners of Saalfeld, August 1951
R. Bessel
Chapter 5. The Harlem Riots 1964
M. Flamm
Chapter 6. Policing Pit Closures, 1984-1992
D. Waddington and C. Critcher
Chapter 7. The Police Role in Riots: Discourse or Reality
D. Wisler and M. Tackenberg
Notes on contributors
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subset: commoncrawl


text: I'm a glass and ceramic designer-maker based in Tampere, Finland. My ideas and inspirations come from diverse sources, but often my work reveals hints of my Northern Finnish roots and shares the Nordic design sensibilities with a twist towards relaxed, handmade esthetic. I'm open-minded, curious and enjoy material experimentation and variation, as well as collaboration with other designers and artists. Currently, I'm especially insterested in the themes of journeying, repetition and temporality, and architectural ceramics. I'm one of the founding members of Design Co-operative Pinkka and a member of Ornamo Design and Art Finland.


text:
Anchor, Anchor Sweater, ASOS, Clothes, Club Monaco, Earnest Sewn, Fashion, Fashion Blog, Fashion blogger, Fashion Lover, Follow, From Where I Stand, Gold Foil, Gold Foil Scarf, Hunter, Hunter Rain Boots, Look of the day, LOTD, Louis Vuitton, Louis Vuitton Papillon, Mount Snow, Muddy Grounds, NYC Blogger, OOTD, Over the Weekend, Papillon, Personal Sytle, Rain Boots, Style, Vermont, Vermont Attire, Vermont Chic, Vermont Fashion, Wellies, West Dover, West Dover Vermont, White Jeans, Winter Knit, Winter White, WIW
As you can see, I've done some fun editing to this post.
Because I own rights to my blog I have the ability to see what country, city, local town people are visiting my site from. I can see what search engines they use and where the source of the search is based (Germany, Netherlands, Brazil, China, etc). I love that I have the option to see what photos people click on, enlarge and just how many times they look at it. Amazing right?
Well, for some odd reason the photos below have been clicked on continuously since I first posted them. There are two of you doing this. Not sure if I should be flattered or scared.
Again, just so you're aware…… I know who you are. If you would like to discuss your reasoning for this, I'm totally open to doing so. Please email!
So for now, enjoy the newly edited photos.
I know, I know. I was already told, obnoxious of me to bring half of my collection.


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ROCKPORT — The Rockport Select Board has turned its attention to the future of the 4.9 acre site which was home to the former Rockport Elementary School on West Street, at the corner of a busy intersection with routes 1 and 90. It is focal point for the community and more than just visual: The old playing field, used predominantly for T-ball and pickup games, figures in local sentiment. But there is also a parallel desire to make the empty parcel a tax revenue producer for the town.
On Nov. 14, at 1 p.m., a working group is meeting to continue the discussion about RES, at the Rockport Town Office. That working group has been unofficially convened by the Select Board, but the intentions of the group have been articulated in a vision outline and within the guidelines of four principles:
- "Development of this property must result in a significant contribution to Rockport's tax base.
- "The project should be aesthetically pleasing and attractive as it welcomes residents and tourists alike to the central portion of our town, particularly if they are arriving via the important Route 90 corridor.
- "'Green space' must be maintained, incorporated, and nurtured in the project so that it is accessible for all to enjoy.
- "The town must be an active partner in the development of the property so that decisions are not simply ones of 'dollars and cents,' but that they represent the shared values of all town citizens and their visions for it."
The working group consists of Select Board members Deb Hall and Doug Cole, Rockport Town Manager Rick Bates, Planning and Code Enforcement Office Administrative Assistant Hannah Sisk, Rockport's planning consultant Bill Napauer, Bettina Doulton and John Morris.
Once a school, then empty lot
The former Rockport Elementary School, K-4, was situated on the 4.9 acres on West Street before relocating shifting grades to its newer facility further out on West Street (Route 90). By 2010, all grades had vacated the RES building and it was demolished, and land ownership reverted back to town purview.
According to the mission statement, as written by Cole, "Many citizens of Rockport recognize the large piece of real estate at the corner of Commercial St. and Rt. 90 as the 'Gateway to Our Community.' Over the years, the previous RES site has been extensively studied by various citizen groups and town committees.
In 2010, the town considered selling the property to a private boat business venture, as well as to Maine Media Workshops. The town also entertained creative visions for the lot. Then, community interest turned to sighting a new town library at the RES site.
None of the ideas under discussion since 2010 have panned out, leaving the question of what to do with RES until this year, when the new Select Board agreed to take up the matter once again.
"To date many of the ideas circulating around this site support the idea that the highest and best use of the property is a mixed-use combination of professional/retail space and residential units, while maintaining significant green space," wrote Cole, in the current RES work outline. "As stated, many view the parcel as a 'gateway' to Rockport, and therefore an importance is being placed on the site as a gathering space, encouraging and enhancing the community in town.
He said the working group is to "identify an organization with the vision, financial depth and experience to partner with the town in bringing this vision to reality."
The group is inviting suggestions and ideas to be submitted to the town manager for consideration.
"Once we identify an organization that might help us to move this effort along, we plan to present options for the town's residents and businesses to review and discuss," said Cole.
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The State Parks in the USA are pretty special, however some have that extra point of difference that makes it super fun for a family day out!
Have you ever been to a mermaid show? Welcome to Weeki Wachee Springs State Park!
There are a host of family attractions, activities and entertainment in the Florida State Park. Where to begin!
How about those famous mermaid shows? You can see the world famous mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs as they perform for you - The Little Mermaid of course!
These beautiful mermaids also perform underwater feats from over 60 years, including drinking and eating underwater. Of course there are musical numbers too!
Weeki Wachee Springs State Park also takes you on a fun river cruise along the Weeki Wachee River. Their experienced boat captains give families a fun and educational experience, where you can learn all about the river, and all the different types of wildlife that you might be able to spot!
Animal shows are up next, where kids can have some pretty unique and special encounters. Alligators, snakes and other amazing creatures are waiting to say hello and have their picture taken with you!
And what some people consider the highlight - Buccaneer Bay! This is Florida's ONLY spring-fed waterpark! White sandy beaches, thrilling flume rides, a kiddie pool area, tiki bar, beach volleyball and the constant 72 degree spring water of Weeki Wachee Springs!
With canoeing and kayaking available on the river too, you certainly won't be short on things to do in this amazing state park!


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The short answer: perhaps.
Every dog has its day, and every startup has its paradoxically Brownian yet well-defined growth curve. This means that, all things considered, it is possible to predict with a fair amount of accuracy where every startup you see today is headed in, say, five years. You can almost gauge the density of players that will come in, how many will fold, and how many will change their business model entirely and pivot to greener grass, as it were.
It's like how Mark Essien says Nigeria is currently in the 2004 stage of the Brazilian market, and how he used that knowledge a few years ago to create Hotels.ng, the home-grown hotel booking startup with the really simple goal of making every hotel owner earn a decent living, even if they have their hotels squat in the middle of an entire Sheraton chain.
The business model itself is simple — the palaver is in the executing, and Mark will be the first to admit that the secret formula is constantly thinking up and executing on the ideas that keep the business going despite the murky, murky waters that are an occupational hazard of operating from Lagos, Nigeria.
Competition is as stiff as 42 upper lips, what with the Rocket Internet-backed Jovago (which is now one of several metal lions that have assembled to lend a Voltron-like form to the mammoth that is Jumia nowadays), and the horde of other startups currently skulking in the swamps, looking at the juicy cake that is the general OTA space.
And, let's face it: the OTA space is really juicy. In fact, it is so juicy that even Google wants a slice of the pie. What's a young startup founder from Ikot Ekpene to do?
So, should Hotels.ng do flights?
Mark Essien turned to his trusty Twitter followers to ask this earnest question. I imagine him seated in front of them, sleeves all rolled up, sipping from a can of Power Horse, his face creased in concern: 'is it a great idea to book both your flight and your hotel rooms with us? Will you go for it? Will you think we're veering off our original promise of sleek hotel booking magic and becoming some monster corporation sent by Capitalist Jesus to smite your pockets? In short, friends: will you still love us when we're no longer young and beautiful?'
Should Hotels.ng do flights?— Mark Essien (@markessien) June 3, 2016
The answers that this tweet has gotten are shockingly certain that I can only admire them. Some have said 'YESSSSS MARK, WE ARE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!' or 'NOPE NOPE NOPE DROP THE BABY AND RUN FELICIA!'
I am here in my corner unable to give such a certain response. Should hotels.ng do flights? I say: maybe.
The Answer is in The Average Millennial
When you mention flight tickets in Nigeria, two names should pop up in your head: WakaNow and Travelstart. If Mark Essien expands the Hotels.ng service offering to the flight sector, he'll suddenly be competing with these two fellas. Does he stand a chance?
The above graph (from Mark's MEADFA presentation in Jordan last year) shows that he has been nursing the idea for a while now…
Well — yes. You see, to some degree, the OTA space intersects with itself, which means that many of the customers of the hotel booking agency are customers of the flight agency.
I decided to try that assumption out, so I emailed Hotels.ng's customer support and struck up a conversation with Bisola (charming lady, that one!) and asked her about booking a flight along with my hotel room.
Our conversation went something like this:
'Hello Bisola, I would like to book a flight to Abuja (a return trip) and a hotel room for three nights there. Is this possible?'
'Hi Udo, I can book you with a comfy degree of accuracy close to a location you prefer, but we do not do flight bookings, I'm afraid. I can assist by recommending a convenient service.'
'Thanks — that would be helpful. Do you get many flight requests?'
'Quite a lot, Udo! Flying is indeed part of the travel experience afterall.'
'True. Thanks for your time. I'll wait for your recommendations.'
I paraphrased some parts of the conversation in the interest of brevity, but that was it in a nutshell. Hotels.ng has a potential market to, well, market to if — or when — the company decides to do flights. But is it a wise strategy?
From a marketing perspective, it is. There are two kinds of businesses: a product-centric and customer-centric business. The product-centric model is one that is getting more and more difficult to adapt to the Millennial consumer.
The ideal business for the Millennial is a customer-centric one, and one of the key differences between those two business angles is how they view revenue with relation to the Generation Ys. After all, with a count of 75.4 million people, the millennials pretty much run the consumer side of business nowadays.
Product-centric businesses think in terms of market share, while consumer-centric businesses rationalize it as both a market share and a wallet share game.
What this means in a nutshell is customer-centric businesses aim to maximize the earnings they can get from one customer. So, you sell ONE product to ONE customer and make ONE naira. If your product was a complementary product, you could have sold ONE more other item and earned ONE more naira! In a nutshell, today's businesses need to ask their customers 'would you like fries with that?'
And that is exactly what Mark Essien — Hotels.ng — is asking. A flights portal under hotels.ng extends the value of each customer they have and might even make Hotels.ng even more valuable than it currently is (about $4 million, I hear).
Fantastic prospects, you chime. Why then would I be so conservative?
Well, for one: I do not know how firm a grip Hotels.ng has got on the hotels booking side of its business. Hotels.ng is currently doing an African expansion, and those things are pretty tricky (WeChat just closed shop in Nigeria, for example) and require a lot of focus to get right.
Adding on another level of difficulty will be diving into flight bookings. That is another beast to slay. I fear that it might cause a blurring of focus that might be difficult to manage. Difficult, but perhaps not impossible…?
Back to my opening paragraph: the general OTA space will see more worthy opponents somersaulting and trying to grab a piece of the cake. It only takes the pioneers to prove that their field is profitable before everyone else is slathering the glass-door entrance with saliva.
Hotels.ng has joined the league of (a shockingly small number of) startups who have proven that their model can survive the patently harsh Nigerian climate. This means that other startups are coming to 'revolutionize' in that same space. Brownian motion, but very well-defined curve.
Should Hotels.ng do flights? Mark Essien knows, I am sure, that the answer is in the same question that (I presume) birthed Hotels.ng. We only have to take a look at 2004-present Brazil and to understand how much of a gamble (or not) adding flights to a hotel booking platform is. Do you survive and explode to become the Gandalf of Africa ('you shall not pass, TripAdvisor!'), or does it put too much strain on the hotel booking idea?
Maybe.Share this via:


text:
BBQ Sauce
Homemade BBQ sauce
- 4 tbsp tomato puree
- 6 tbsp of tomato ketchup
- 3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp of cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp of soft brown muscavado sugar
- 1 tsp of paprika
- ½ tsp of cayenne pepper
- In a jug dissolve the sugar into the cider vinegar. Add in Worcestershire sauce and stir until the grains have disappeared
- In a separate bowl mix the tomato puree, tomato ketchup and spices. Gradually add the vinegar mixture and stir constantly until it's all combined


text:
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Format: Electronic Book (pdf)
Ministry/Author: Gary North of Specific Answers
Description: Dr. Gary North offers parents, teachers, pastors, and other committed Christians practical steps of action to nullify and ultimately eliminate the effects of the New Age infiltration into our homes, our schools, our communities, and our nation.
Table of Contents:
1. The Crisis of Western Rationalism
2. The Biblical Framework of Interpretation
3. Paranormal Science Since
4. The World of a Sorcerer
5. Psychics
6. Edgar Cayce: From Diagnosis to Gnosis
7. Demonic Healing
8. Magic, Envy, and Foreign Aid
9. Invaders from?
10. Escape from Creaturehood
11. Is This the End of the World?
*Laymansbookstore.com encourages readers to study Scripture (KJV, Geneva, Tyndale preferred) to determine biblical accuracy of any text
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Click image to enlarge
Fear is static that prevents me from hearing myself. – Samuel Butler
It's NATIONAL STATIC ELECTRICITY DAY!!! Trust me, (the one with baby-fine blonde hair…), I'm well aware of the effects of static electricity! At my birthday parties, my friends thought it was funny to rub a balloon on the carpet and hold it above my head – just to see my hair magically FLY… well, what are friends for? Positive and negative forces, huh? Well, the positive force was making my hair stick to the balloon… but the negative force was when I punched their arms for doing it. Wait… did I type that out loud??? Oops! Well, that's ok – I hit like a girl!
I can usually explain things after researching them – usually. If you need a scientific explanation for static, I can't provide that. I read and understood for the most part, but just in case I don't understand completely, I'll just leave some links for you to visit – how about that?
Public Domain.
When I was a kid in the 1970's, we watched these movies in science class – and my friends and I had more fun critiquing the men's wardrobe and horn-rimmed glasses than learning anything about science. Fortunately, now I'm mature enough to appreciate the actual subject now – well, sort of. 😉
OK, now that we've taken care of the technical stuff, can we get down to the FUN stuff? Thank you!
Shared with permission.
We do have fun with static, but can these experiments relate at all in real life? I think we can learn a lesson from them. You knew I'd say that, right?
If you can't hear the angels, try quieting the static of worry. – Terri Guillemets
Some days we feel stuck in life because of fear and worry. These best friends always travel together. They are used in an effort to emotionally blackmail God's children by the enemy of the soul – Satan. I don't like to waste a lot of my precious time talking about him or his sneaky ways, but it's good to know when you're getting spiritually stuck – and where the static is coming from – or more to the point, from whom it is coming.
If I mess up and I fear doing it again, that could paralyze me. That in itself makes me feel miserable enough, but if I begin to worry about messing up again, I'm nearly defeated. Do you see what I'm saying? It's a cycle – a vicious, pointless, waste of time. But, if Satan can make us waste enough time beating ourselves up, he's keeping us from doing good for others and serving God. That's worth his time.
Enough about the negative – what do we do about this cycle that has the potential to defeat us? Pray the pain, fear and worry away! Ask God's Holy Spirit to remind you of who you are – in HIM – not who you are compared to another pianist, or another writer, or another Sunday School teacher. Ask Him to remind you once again who you are – in HIM? If you do that, He will remind you that you are HIS. You are His very special creation – not because you have certain abilities or talents – those came from HIM to begin with! He wants you to know you are His child and He loves you. That puts everything back in its proper perspective.
It's just a little observation from the one with baby-fine blonde hair that is easily affected by static electricity. If you don't want any spiritual static to hold you back this year, pray about what makes you hurt, scared and worried. When you do, it will leave you because your Lord is bigger than either of these. He really is! 😀
Public Domain.
Here's an hour of hymns… there's no time like the present to ask God who you are – in HIM – through Jesus Christ, His Son. Take time to pray then enjoy the rest of the day. ❤


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"Changing the Course of Commercial Cleaning"
602-691-6256 602-691-6256
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Let's Party Like Rockstars!!OK, now who is going to clean up after the party? Compass Cleaning Solutions has extensive experience with post-event cleaning after major events and even those that are major to you. Serving Phoenix, AZ and surrounding areas, we can clean up all the food and drinks that fell on the carpet, mop the floors and generally clean up all the excess debris so that your office or facility is ready for work the next business day.
Why Compass Cleaning Solutions?
- Trash removal
- Carpet cleaning
- Floor maintenance
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- Restroom cleaning and restocking of supplies
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What kind of cleaning do you do after an event?The answer to that depends on the event. We have cleaned parking lots, small stadiums, offices, public spaces and more. Usually, outdoor events require mostly trash and debris clean up and removal. Sometimes we may move and reset furniture for indoor activities. If restrooms or other areas within an office have been available to the public, we will restore those to pre-event condition utilizing our janitorial cleaning team of professionals. Generally, anything that has been impacted by the event is an area we will potentially clean.
Does the size of an event make any difference?Not really. With any event in Phoenix, we staff to the size and time constraints set by the client. Once we know the scope of work and time requirements we establish our schedule to accommodate the conditions. For us, nothing is too small or too complicated.
Are Church events different from other types of events?The actual cleaning is no different. Trash will need to be emptied and hauled away. Restrooms will need to be cleaned and restocked, floors mopped, carpets vacuumed, and windows and entry doors touched up.
What is different however is the scheduling. Sometimes events in churches require a quick turnaround between services and then waiting for the next service to do it all over again. Although this can get tricky and sometimes confusing, we understand that and will work with you to create a schedule that works.
The trick is communication. Complete transparency and rapid communication about the party and when things change will go a long way toward achieving a smooth operation and a successful event.
Contact Compass Cleaning Solutions for a free event cleaning quote in Phoenix, AZ or surrounding areas or call (877)221-1213 to learn more today!
Free Quote 602-691-6256 Back to Top


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The figures are again Old Glory 15's and the flags again from the superb GMB designs. Hopefully the 28mm fans out there are not getting bored of the 15mm posts, but fear not I do have some 28mm figures on my desk as I write.:-)
In the mail today I received a gift that I won in Jonathan Freitag http://palousewargamingjournal.blogspot.de/ blog give away yesterday! I highly recommend visiting his blog in the link given. His blog is full of nice miniatures and a great variety in periods and scales and in addition if you like graphs on the hobby then you will absolutely love his blog!:-)
Jonathan sent me Henry Hyde's Wargaming Compendium and what a tomb of a book it is! It's packed full of wargaming goodness that I can't wait to sink my teeth into! Thank you very much Jonathan!!:-)
Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Old Glory 15's


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BridgeClimb are excited to announce the launch of a responsive version of bridgeclimb.com, taking users on a voyage from their desks to the top of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge through breathtaking images, inspiring video content and social interactions.
The new website, with improved mobile and tablet performance, showcases the BridgeClimb experience, allowing users to scroll through the journey step-by-step: From arrival, to pre-climb preparation, to the Bridge's summit, and from Climb Leader stories, to Celebrity Spotting, to live social media platforms.
BridgeClimb CEO, Todd Coates, said, "Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge starts for the majority of climbers at bridgeclimb.com. With more than 1 million visitors to our web platforms each year, we recognise how important the web experience is as the first moment in a BridgeClimb journey.
"The all new bridgeclimb.com strives to inspire our customers to undertake the iconic voyage to the summit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Climbers can quickly learn everything they need, be wowed by spectacular vistas and exciting presentations of the climbs and the Bridge, and purchase a ticket for a lifetime memory with ease and speed."
The website also showcases hero and celebrity climbers and some of the unique and historical events, with the best views in Sydney, generated by BridgeClimb over 15 years.
BridgeClimb has recently been amplifying its digital offering across all fronts, with Facebook and Instagram all having grown in followers by more than 100% over the last 12 months.
BridgeClimb's Twitter and Instagram platforms have also been enjoying surges in followers led by popular influential climbers like fashion blogger Tuula Vintage, aka Jessica Stein and renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk, who generated an increase of more than 400 followers each overnight.
BridgeClimb offers a truly memorable experience, perfect for special occasions, family adventures, team building and corporate events. For more information, please visit www.bridgeclimb.com or call +61 (0) 2 8274 7777.


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Marian Hossa Chicago Blackhawks Signed Goal 8×10 Photo
This hand signed hockey photo has been personally autographed by Marian Hossa. Included with your purchase is a Certificate of Authenticity from Slap Shot Signatures.
Learn More about Marian Hossa:
Marian Hossa is a Slovakian born right winger that was drafted into the NHL by the Ottawa Senators in 1997, 12th overall. An injury delayed his NHL debut until December 1998 and despite the missed months on the ice, Hossa finished the season second in voting for Rookie of the Year. Marian Hossa continued to challenge himself to improve his game and by the next season led the Sens in scoring.
Marian Hossa was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers where he played for 2 seasons. He set a franchise record as the first Thrasher to score 100 points in a season. He led the team to their first division title and first playoff appearance. Hossa spent one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins where they were the Stanley Cup finals by the Detroit Red Wings. The following season, Hossa signed with the Red Wings in his quest for hockey's biggest prize. Ironically, Hossa did meet his former team in the Stanley Cup finals where the Red Wings were defeated by the Penguins.
Playoff success was finally achieved for Marian Hossa when he joined his current team, the Chicago Blackhawks. The "Hossa Hex" was finally broken in 2010 when the Hossa made his third playoff finals appearance in three years with his third team, the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games, winning their first cup since 1961. The Blackhawks would also take the Cup in 2013 and 2015.
Own a piece of Blackhawks history with a Marian Hossa Chicago Blackhawks Signed Goal 8×10 Photo!


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Appuldurcombe Gardens Holiday Park
England, South, Isle of Wight, Ventnor
- Tel:
- 01983 852597
- Open:
- March - November.
Ref: UK2480
Alan Rogers Review
Originally part of the grounds of an historic house, this pretty family holiday park is situated in 14 acres of beautiful countryside in the valley of Stenbury Downs and Saint Martin's Downs, close to the sandy beaches at Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor. The camping field is set in a grassy meadow through which a stream meanders, with a tranquil seating area close by. With hard access roads, there are 135 spacious marked pitches for touring units and tents, all with 14A electricity. There are 38 fully-serviced pitches, 22 with hardstanding. The old walled orchard contains 40 good quality caravan holiday homes. There is also the access-friendly Orchard Lodge (all accommodation on one level with ramp access to outside), plus two self-contained apartments.
In an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is an ideal spot for birdwatching and riding. For walkers and cyclists there is an excellent network of footpaths and cycle paths.
Two good sanitary blocks with hot showers. Facilities for disabled visitors(but not for children). Launderette. Drying room and secure cycle storage. Motorhome services planned. Shop. Café. Bar and family entertainment room. All amenities open from Spring B.H. - early Sept. Outdoor swimming pool (8x18 m) and toddlers' pool. Play area. Crazy golf. Football pitch. WiFi (charged).
- American Motor Homes
- Bicycle Hire Nearby
- Boat Launch Nearby
- Bar Nearby
- Bar on Site
- Seaside Beach Nearby
- Fishing Nearby
- Twin Axle Caravans Accepted
- Golf Nearby
- Childrens Play Area
- Riding Nearby
- Sailing Nearby
- Facilities for disabled visitors
- Indoor Pool Nearby
- Outdoor Pool Heated
- Outdoor Pool Nearby
- Outdoor Pool on Site
- Pets allowed
- Restaurant
- Shop Nearby
- Shop on Site
- Takeaway Food
- TV on Site
- Wifi Chargeable
- Wifi Partial Site
From Newport take A3020 towards Shanklin. 2 miles past Godshill turn right at Whiteley Bank roundabout towards Wroxall (B3320). Pass Donkey Sanctuary and turn right into Appuldurcombe Road. Park entrance (narrow road) is second on right. Do not use sat nav.
Location Coordinates
Decimal Degrees (DD)
Latitude Longitude 50.61891 -1.22657
Degrees, Minutes & Seconds (DMS)
Latitude Longitude


text: I have Iconia A501 and projector P5260i. I can hook up and tablet recognizes projector wireless signal but there is no picture. I got a usb stick with the projector and and while setting up final steps you have to instal ACER.exe file wich starts tha aplication in wich you click PROJECT button. On my PC i works fine but on tablet i can not run that file and can't finalize seting up wireless signal. Is there any way around it? Or is there ACER.apk or some kind of converter? I need it for my work so i can walk and give presentation. plz help


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Participants taking classes for Relicensure or Paraeducator Credit will have the capability to download their official transcript automatically from this ISEA website: https://www.iseatranscripts.org/.
We ask that you allow up to 2 weeks AFTER the class has ENDED before requesting your transcript so as to allow for instructors and ISEA to process all grades.
The transcript will provide a copy of all courses the participant has taken for Relicensure and/or Paraeducator credit that are in the ISEA database. This link can also be found on the first page of the ISEA website.
If this is the first class you have taken from ISEA, our system will not have any information to match up against the information you are inputting into our transcript system until your grade is processed. Please keep this in mind if you receive a message that tells you the information is incorrect.
Those taking the class for Graduate credit will receive a transcript from Drake University.
Because of this new capability, ISEA will no longer be mailing out transcripts to class participants.
Cvent Online Event Registration Software | Copyright © 2000-2020 Cvent, Inc. All rights reserved.


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Help Desk: Art Fairs Everywhere
Help Desk is an arts-advice column that demystifies practices for artists, writers, curators, collectors, patrons, and the general public. Submit your questions anonymously here. All submissions become the property of Daily Serving. Help Desk is cosponsored by KQED.org. I may be in an enviable position, but it is a sticky one nonetheless. I'm getting to the position where I may be represented by multiple galleries who[…..]


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Force program recruits Team China head physio
By RugbyWA Media
The Emirates Western Force has continued its recruitment of world-class team management by signing the Chinese Olympic Committee's Chief Physiotherapist and Performance Specialist David Joyce to assist in changing the team's fortunes with regard to injuries.
The Western Australian side endured a horror run with injuries in 2012 with more than a third of its squad (12 players) unavailable for six matches or more through injury during the season.
With the extended Super Rugby season, Emirates Western Force Head Coach Michael Foley says Joyce will play an integral role in balancing the demands placed on players.
"David's appointment is a critical one for us as we relaunch a top quality rugby program," Head Coach Michael Foley said. "He's not only had top-level experience and bona fide results in managing and reducing the number of injuries, but he's got both a medical and strength-and-conditioning background which helps him greater understand players' training capacities, injuries and their rehabilitation and prevention.
"Off the back of last season, we still have up to 30 per cent of the squad returning from injury and post-season surgery during the pre-season. We're looking to have all those guys fully fit and training by January next year and David's expertise and guidance will be vital in ensuring these players available for the start of the new Super Rugby season.
"He'll be very important in linking our medical staff and Charlie Higgins and Brendyn Appleby in our Strength and Conditioning Department to assist in monitoring loads and red flag any potential candidates for injuries, as well as assisting those on their way back from injury with a fast yet thorough recovery."
Joyce joins the Emirates Western Force having previously worked with soccer powerhouses Galatasaray FC (Turkey) and Blackburn Rovers FC (England), and English Super League club, Hull FC. Most recently he worked as Lead Physiotherapist for Team China at the London Olympics, where he helped reduce the number of athletes' training days lost to injury – acknowledged as a key factor in the country's 2012 Olympic success.
In 2010, Joyce designed and implemented an athletic development and injury rehabilitation program for Socceroos star Harry Kewell that allowed him to double the amount of games he'd previously played each year since 2002, including completing all matches at an international tournament for the first time in his career.
Foleys says ensuring players are available is the most basic step in building towards success.
"The simple equation is we need to prevent injuries to keep our best side on the field," he said. "It's always a delicate balance between pushing players physically while ensuring they don't break – which is something that David is has a great deal of top-level experience in.
"In a contact sport collision injuries are inevitable, however, we need to ensure we're limiting the impact injuries have on the squad. This includes early identification of potentially preventable and soft tissue injuries and ensuring that our injury management is precise and effective so that if players are sidelined it's for the minimum possible time.
"There is often a direct correlation between the success of a side and the number of injuries incurred. If we're serious about relaunching this side, one of the most fundamental steps is limiting the number of injuries and putting the systems into place to ensure our players are injury-free and continually available."
Name: David Joyce
Role: Head of Athletic Performance
Previous Coaching Roles: 2011-2012 Chief Physiotherapist – Chinese Olympic Committee, 2011 Consultant Head of Performance – Hull FC (Super League), 2010-2011 High Performance & Rehabilitation Specialist – Galatasaray FC, 2008-2010 Sports Physiotherapist & Rehabilitation Coordinator – Blackburn Rovers FC, 2008 Physiotherapist – Team GB Olympic Team, 2003-2006 Physiotherapist – Saracens


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Weddings at Lake Lawn Resort
July 08, 2019 Lake Lawn ResortAuthor:
Lake Lawn Resort is a perfect destination for Wisconsin Weddings. Lake Lawn Resort is just 10 minutes outside of Lake Geneva, and is a popular destination from Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, and Rockford. It is Southeast Wisconsin's premier lakefront destination wedding venue! Enjoy Lake Lawn Resort's rich history as our modern updates and amenities.
Lake Lawn Resort sits on over two miles of shoreline on Delavan Lake. It's expansive lakefront features rolling lawns, charming courtyards, and sweeping views of the lake. Choose from two recently-renovated romantic lakefront ceremony sites. Indoors, beamed ceilings, fireplaces, and beautiful views of Delavan Lake are some of the features you will find in our unique Cocktail and Wedding Reception venue spaces.
Our staff is dedicated to sharing your special day and ensuring every detail is taken care of. No request is too small or too large, and with the wide array of amenities offered at Lake Lawn, there is something for everyone. From a simple ceremony to a lavish weekend wedding, we can help you experience your once-in-a-lifetime fairy tale. From the moment you begin planning to the moment you leave our historic grounds to start your journey together, our dedicated team of wedding specialists will handle every detail of your special day. We will help you create a warm and inviting wedding setting for your family and friends.
Our many guest room layouts range from our Luxury Lodge Kings and Queens to Lofts and Suites to accommodate any lodging need. Our Lake House provides a fantastic location for the bride and her party to prepare for the wedding day, or for family to gather over the weekend to create lasting memories.
Our Calladora Spa provides massage, facial, makeup, beauty, nail, and hair services, and can accommodate your wedding party and guests. Check with your wedding planner for special arrangements. In addition, you can take advantage of our Majestic Oaks Golf Course, Miniature-Golf, Boat Tours, Water Sports and Boat Rentals. With rooms and plans to fit all of your expectations, Lake Lawn Resort will leave your guests with an unforgettable experience that will be remembered fondly for years to come.
- Beautiful lakeside venues
- Tents and full outdoor amenities for both weddings receptions and ceremonies
- 32,000 sq. ft. of indoor weddings reception space that can accommodate up to 400 guests
- Venues that complement wedding themes ranging from rustic and whimsical to vintage and classic
- Rehearsal dinner
- Brunch catering with gift opening options
- Award winning chef and catering team who work with each couple to create their own personalized menu
- Calladora Spa full service spa provides hair, nail, and makeup services, as well as massage, facial and other skin care.
- Bridal showers
- Bachelorette parties
- Bachelor parties with golf, boating, and fishing outing options
- Bridal and honeymoon suites


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Practice Areas
U.S., Brazil Should Consider Negotiating FTA, Business Group Says
A new study shows that a U.S.-Brazil trade agreement, once fully implemented, would increase U.S. national income, wages and employment as well as bilateral trade, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Brazil-U.S. Business Council. Council officials said that while such an agreement "is not a short-term objective" the study shows "why Brazil should be next on the U.S.'s trade dialogue priority list."
An executive summary of the report finds that the U.S.-Brazil trade relationship is already extensive. Total trade reached $108.3 billion in 2014 and is heavily concentrated in goods such as chemicals, petroleum, transportation equipment and machinery. However, services trade is on the rise and is led by travel/tourism-related services and transportation services. Exports to Brazil have been growing at the same average annual rate as exports to China over the last ten years (about 15 percent), and Brazil now accounts for more total U.S. exports than Russia, India and South Africa combined. Imports from Brazil are "relatively modest" and have grown by an average 6.6 percent per year. As a result, the U.S. trade balance with Brazil shifted from a $4.2 billion deficit in 2004 to a $32.1 billion surplus in 2014. In addition, Brazilian investment in the U.S. rose from $29 billion in 2007 to $93 billion in 2012.
The report states that a trade agreement would further boost two-way trade by addressing existing problem areas, including Brazil's "especially high" trade barriers on imported beverages and tobacco; agriculture, forestry and fisheries products; motor vehicles and parts; processed foods; apparel; and leather products. Assuming that such an agreement fully eliminates tariffs and that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and Trade in Services Agreement are in full effect, the report estimates the following effects of a U.S.-Brazil agreement: U.S. exports to Brazil would grow by 78 percent and imports from Brazil would increase by 21 percent, there would be job growth in 432 of 435 U.S. congressional districts and overall U.S. employment would expand by nearly 100,000 jobs, real wages would increase by 0.11 percent, and U.S. household incomes would grow by about $30 billion.


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Entry 8: Proba-2 gains a solar panel
Wednesday 9th September – Today begins with one of the most delicate steps of preparing the spacecraft for launch: final mounting of
Since this activity requires extreme precision and very high concentration from the operators involved, the mechanical integration team spends the entire day in the clean room under close PA supervision and with restricted access for others. At the end of today the first deployable panel is mounted completely.
In parallel, in the EGSE room -or 'the garage' as the team call it- the test team thoroughly review all the test logs from the full functional tests of previous days. They are also continuing to perform simulations of LEOP (launch and early orbit phase) passes using the system software simulator connected to the control centre software in order to get further trained and prepared.
Due to the day's very intense integration activities, at the end of it most of the team really need some fresh air and unwind… Which means a game of ping pong in an improvised sports hall at the MIK (using one of the future offices of the SMOS team) and a game of basketball after our arrival back at the team hotel.


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Family Simcha's are the best! Family members fly in from all corners of the country/world to spend three days and nights, dressing up (some of us are more comfortable with this than others ... ), filling our tummies with delicious Jewish food, commenting on how great we all look, and kvelling about the latest accomplishments of our children or grand children. In the middle of all of this, is the actual reason for us being together — The Wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Brit Mila or Baby Naming. No matter what the Occasion is, there are always tears of joy, mazel tov's all around, and a few extra pounds on the scale by the time all is said and done. Those of us that couldn't make it to the event wait impatiently for the facebook updates and online slideshows. In our family — news travels so quickly — that any noteworthy tidbit makes it from Vancouver to Jerusalem and back almost simultaneously! By the time the pictures arrive we are all convinced we were actually there, even if we weren't!
In May this year, our family was lucky enough to have two beautiful Simchas in very close succession. One in Vancouver and one in Toronto — and Marc and I were lucky enough to be able to enjoy them both first hand. In anticipation of both events, I started planning what I would make for each of the girls experiencing their rites of passage this past May.
India Raine (Is that not the most beautiful name you have ever heard?) came into this world on December 13th 2010. I think that it is safe to say, that there is a competition going on between the parents, grandparents and super baba (India's great grandmother), as to who can love this beautiful baby girl the most! And the rest of the extended family is not far behind.
I set to work creating a baby naming certificate for India several months ago. I was so excited about it, that I came up with a number of ideas. The final design is pink pink pink! India's favourite colour. Lots of pretty flowers and two happy peacocks. The final artwork was ready for her naming ceremony mid May, here in Vancouver. India, dressed in pink (of course), was a perfect lady during the proceedings, letting mommy and daddy, all of the grandparents and super baba do all of the crying! It was amazingly beautiful and meaningful. I still get teary just thinking about it.
Less than two weeks later we were on a plane to Toronto for the next amazing family extravaganza.
Sarah is many years past her baby naming ceremony. This year was the year for her to prepare for becoming a Bat Mitzvah. Anyone that has gone through this process, knows it is a lot of hard work. There is a whole year of study. A Torah portion and Haftorah to understand and learn how to read, and how to chant. And then a speech to write about the whole experience. And on top of everything, this all has to be performed in front of a packed Synagogue of family and friends. It seems impossible to expect this of a 12 year old ...
But I forgot to tell you that Sarah plays hockey. She is a goalie, and a really good one — She doesn't shy away from difficult tasks.
I knew I wanted to create a keepsake for Sarah that included her Torah portion and symbols of her coming of age this year. Her Torah portion is called Bamidbar, which means "in the desert". As we all know — lots of crazy stuff went down in the 40 years our ancestors wandered in the desert. G-d didn't have a lot of nice things to say about the experimentation, and some of that tantrum ended up in Sarah's portion. I didn't dwell on that though — I had my own interpretation. The way I see it, everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them and to always remember who you are. So for Sarah, I incorporated the symbols of the sabbath, the Torah, and scenes of Israel with the words she studied and learned to chant so beautifully, into a keepsake that I hope will remind her of her incredible achievement becoming a Bat Mitzvah and her connection to the Jewish people.
Like the 40 years in the desert, preparing for a Bat Mitzvah, was no picnic. But with hard work comes big rewards. The Bat Mitzvah weekend was amazing. Sarah outdid herself. If she was nervous, it didn't show for a moment. We all got to dress up and eat non-stop for three days — and — really enjoy each others company. Seeing her beaming parents and grandparents as the Bat Mitzvah girl recited her haftorah and delivered her speech at the Synagogue and later at the evening dinner party, was priceless.
Sarah's younger sister Chloe was the master of ceremonies for the Saturday evening party. We have a few years to wait for her turn on the Bimah — but if the previews are any indication, it will be a Simcha not to be missed!
Mazel tov to India and Sarah and to families everywhere celebrating — and eating — and crying tears of joy!


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Egg-White Garden OmeletSingle Serving
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Sweet Bell Hybrid Sweet Pepper Mix - Packet of 35 SeedsRead More
- 3 large egg whitesl
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ Walla Walla onion, diced
- 3 asparagus spears, cut into ½" pieces
- 1 c. spinach
- 1 medium tomato, diced
- ½ tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped
- Coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper
- 2 tbsp fresh or grated parmesan
- 1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped
In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites with 1 tablespoon water; add cayenne and salt and fresh cracked pepper; set aside.
In a medium nonstick pan, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and asparagus; cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add spinach and tomato; cook until spinach is just wilted, about one minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add egg whites; cook until opaque. Use heatproof spatula to fold omelet in half.
Sprinkle with parmesan and garnish with fresh chives.