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If you have
mitral valve stenosis and you need
surgery to treat it, you have a choice of repairing the valve or replacing
it. Three things play a role in this decision: the
severity of your mitral valve stenosis, the possibility that it will get worse,
and the risks of surgery.
Atherosclerosis -- sometimes called hardening of the arteries -- can slowly narrow and harden the arteries throughout the body. When atherosclerosis affects the arteries of the heart, it’s called coronary artery disease.
Coronary artery disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans. Most of these deaths are from heart attacks caused by sudden blood clots in the heart’s arteries.
Atherosclerosis can create life-threatening blockages without you ever feeling a thing. Since we’re all at risk for coronary...
When making this decision, you and your doctor need to consider:
The condition of the valve and what is causing
the stenosis. The more severe the stenosis, the more likely replacement will be
The surgeon's skill and experience in doing the
procedures. Both valve replacements and balloon valvotomies are highly
technical and should be done by an experienced surgeon.
Whether you have a blood clot in your left atrium.
How urgently you
Whether your heart rhythm is regular or
Your symptoms and the area
of your mitral valve determine how severe your mitral stenosis is: the smaller
the area, the lower the volume of blood that is able to pass through it, and
so the more severe your stenosis. The pressure difference between your left
atrium and left ventricle, as well as the blood pressure in your lungs, is also
used to assess severity.
When is mitral valve repair recommended?
Generally, mitral valve repair is preferred if:
Your valve is suitable for it.
has the appropriate level of experience and surgical skill.
The advantages of mitral valve repair are that it:
Preserves your natural valve.
Leads to fewer
complications and better postoperative results (generally lower risk of
mortality) than mitral valve replacement.
The disadvantages of mitral valve repair are that:
Not all valve problems can be
The repair may not last and then you may need valve
A balloon valvotomy is typically preferred over mitral
commissurotomy as long as the doctor is experienced with the procedure. The two procedures have similar rates of success. A balloon valvotomy is a minimally invasive catheter procedure. A commissurotomy repair is typically an open-heart surgery using a heart-lung bypass machine.
When is mitral valve replacement recommended?
Valve replacement surgery might be done if the valve is damaged beyond repair.
This surgery is a major,
open-heart surgery that puts a lot of stress on your body. It involves the risks associated with a major surgery. The exact risks of mitral valve surgery vary depending on the person's specific condition and general health prior to surgery. Younger, healthy people have a lower risk of problems. Older people with other health problems have a higher risk.
In this article
This information is produced and provided by the National
Institute (NCI). The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National
Institute via the Internet web site at http://
.gov or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise
March 12, 2014
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor.
Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this

domain: medical


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ARE YOU READY FOR TRANSFORMATION?
Clear any Limiting Beliefs and Pain of Any Kind
Manifest Wellbeing includes a comprehensive online 7 weeks training plus LIVE Healing Meditations and Channelling sessions led by Ella Simona.
Manifest Wellbeing gives you everything you need – training, tools, methods, healing meditations, hypnosis, live guidance and support to remove any blocks and heal any pain you may have, while awakening your Higher Self, being present and manifesting the abundant and healthy life you deserve.
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Get LIVE support from Ella Simona as she guides you through her magical tri-monthly Biofield & sound healing meditations, channelling and hypnosis sessions in order to expand your consciousness, heal and raise your vibration so you can embody your Highest self and fulfil your mission on Earth with ease and joy all while being part of our amazing community of like minded people.

domain: health


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The Graces | A YA Book Review
The Graces by Laure Eve
This book is different. If you know that going in I think that you’ll enjoy it a bit more. I did read several GoodReads reviews prior to reading it, so my reading was driven by looking for clues to the plot twist (which if you pay attention is fairly obvious but not the why nor the how). I also read that the protagonist was unreliable and kind of annoying. These factors drive this review.
First, some things I didn’t care much for: There was a lot of swearing, drinking and sexuality so I’d say this book is for upper high school. The protagonist, River, is really needy but I do see it as part of her drive and obsession with The Graces (a trio of siblings the town believes are witches and that is neither confirmed nor denied…in fact we still don’t know 100% at the end). She is basically hoping they will be the answer to all her questions about herself. All the characters are just a little bit psychotic it would seem.
Now, the things I liked: Witches! Magical realism! The writing style was really easy to read and I found myself reading huge chunks at a time driven by clues to figure out what was going on. The Graces are pretty damn intriguing. I also like blurred lines between good and bad because sometimes life isn’t so easily distinguishable.
In conclusion, this book wasn’t earth shattering for me. Parts bothered me, other parts intrigued me. The ending is cliff-hangery-ish, so I plan on reading the next one and I’m under the impression Summer Grace may be the narrator. Is the curse on The Graces real? What exactly is the nature of all this magic? Is there another curse or something else at play? For me, this book is 3.5/5 stars but not quite a 4, thus the 3 star rating here. GoodReads really needs the ability to do half stars. If you’re looking for a mysterious, magical, kind of raucous read with an unreliable protagonist, you should probably give this book a go.

domain: library


If you are an Arizona native, chances are you were raised in and enjoy the openness of the lands. Even if you grew up in the city, you may have had opportunities to enjoy the many recreational activities of the Arizona desert. The City of Phoenix has integrated the responsible preservation and use of these lands in many mountain preserves, hiking trails, city parks and in master planned communities. The City of Phoenix Parks Department is responsible for managing the hiking trails and parks that are owned and operated by the City of Phoenix.
State Trust Land
The trails and parks owned and operated by the City of Phoenix are separate from State Trust Land and have different rules. Hiking trails in the City of Phoenix are for pedestrians, bicycles and horses. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on any trails in community parks, and dogs are required to be on a leash. Users are also required to stay on the trails and not go off into the open areas around the trails. Most trails and parks have the specific uses posted at the entrances or in the parking lots if there is one. Please review them prior to using the trail system. It is also very important to observe some basic safety rules like always tell someone where you went hiking, bring plenty of water, a cell phone, wear appropriate clothes, hats, sun block and shoes for hiking and know your limitations. For more information on using the City of Phoenix Parks go to phoenix.gov/parks.
Most open land areas in and surrounding the City of Phoenix are State Trust Land, managed by the State of Arizona State Land Department. It is important to know that Arizona Trust Land is NOT public land. A recreational permit is required to be on State Trust land that is designated as open for recreation, but NOT all State Trust land is open for recreational purposes. The recreational permit allows you to hike, bike, horseback ride, bicycle, photography, bird watching, sightseeing, and camping (up to 14 days per year). It DOES NOT allow you to target shoot, paintball, air soft, recreational flying (ultra lights), fireworks, sand railing, or off road driving using dirt bikes or ATV’s.
Many master planned communities or neighborhoods, including Anthem, have a trail system through neighborhoods that are privately owned. They have similar rules as to the hiking trails and do not allow motorized vehicles of any kind on them. A rider of a motorized vehicle on a private trail could be cited for trespassing, even if they are a resident of that community. ATV and other off-road vehicle riders need to be aware of the laws that govern their use to avoid any criminal charges. There are many open areas that these riders can go to so they can fully enjoy the ATV. For more information on places to ride go to azstateparks.com/ohv.
Phoenix City Codes
There are also City of Phoenix City codes that prohibit any motorized vehicles from being put on a dirt surface. The citations for violating this city code and the operating a vehicle on a dirt surface can be hefty and both officers from Phoenix Police Department and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office will take enforcement action on vehicles found in State Trust Land or any open desert area. The use of vehicles on dirt causes pollution and the County is monitored for dirt pollution. The Federal government does have highway funds which could potentially be reduced if the dust pollution is not controlled. There are many historic cultural or prehistoric ruins and archeological sites in our State Trust lands which are not to be disturbed as well as removing rocks, cacti, saguaro or cholla skeletons, plants or firewood. For more information on obtaining a permit or the use of State Trust lands, go to land.state.az.us.
Proper use of our beautiful open spaces, desert environment and its resources is every Arizonans responsibility. All residents should all be able to enjoy the land, private property trails and parks, without disturbance by those who wish to be irresponsible, act in a criminal manner and destroy land or property. Encourage everyone to remind others, including youth, of what is proper use of trails, private property and open land. If anything of a criminal or suspicious nature is observed, please call the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151 or 911 in an emergency.
Special thanks to Officer Tim Mitten, Community Action Officer from the City of Phoenix Police Department, for contributing to this article.


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About the CTMM Portfolio
CTMM helps to drive the development of molecular diagnostics and molecular imaging technologies, focusing on translational aspects of molecular medicine. The goal is to ensure that scientific results can be applied as quickly as possible in patient care – with earlier and more precise diagnosis of disease, and the design of highly personalized therapies.
All Dutch university medical centers, several universities, and more than 90 companies have been involved in a wide range of CTMM research projects. These projects combine R&D, clinical resources, and research infrastructure so that patients with complex diseases can benefit from innovative treatments. A strong translational focus is reflected by financial support for the projects that comes from six Dutch health foundations. In all, CTMM has 133 partners, with €321 million in allocated budget until the end of 2015, and is part of 32 projects/consortia.
Examples of CTMM consortia and their outputs include:
- Translational Research IT (TraIT): sustainable infrastructure for biomedical research (download pdf, output dated 31 December 2016. TraIT continues as a Lygature platform)
- PREDICCT: early diagnoses and treatment of diabetes (download pdf in English, download pdf in Dutch)
- Breast CARE: predicting therapy response in breast cancer patients (download pdf)
- Circulating Cells: investigation of 'circulating cells' (e.g. white blood cells and platelets) to see if they carry biomarkers suitable for identifying patients with an increased risk of developing unstable plaques (download pdf in English, download pdf in Dutch)
- LeARN: development and evaluation of tools for an earlier and more reliable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (download pdf)
- Patient Involvement for Translational Research: A step-by-step patient involvement guide that can be used during current projects or when preparing future project proposals (in Dutch) (download pdf) and a method to help patients have their say (in Dutch) (download pdf)
- Medical Technology Assessment (MTA): sustainable, accessible and high-quality powerful tools to provide necessary decision support during process of translational research (download pdf)
Translating science into better healthcare
Program management and scientific expertise
CTMM is an independent partner – able to balance the many competing priorities within a large public-private partnership. Team members have PhD degrees and experience within industrial settings, ensuring academic and commercial credibility. This means they can help to guide projects towards delivering the best achievable combination of real-world clinical applications and commercial returns, along with journal publications and post-doc/ PhD opportunities.
Solutions developed during the course of the CTMM program have also been turned into generic translational research infrastructure. The TraIT project is one example, providing a research IT infrastructure capable of collecting, storing, analyzing, archiving, and securing the vast data volumes generated during operational medical research projects.
By merging with TI Pharma to form Lygature, CTMM became part of an organization capable of addressing major challenges within medical technology and pharmacotherapy. Lygature brings together public and private partners, and creates solutions that exploit molecular diagnostics and molecular imaging as well as drug development.
5 million euros for CTMM research pearls
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs has granted 2.5 million euros to extend seven promising research projects aimed at medical innovation.
The projects, which are focused at debilitating and life-threatening diseases such as breast cancer, prostate cancer and thrombosis, are part of the Dutch CTMM (Center for Translational Molecular Medicine) research program. CTMM's mission is to accelerate the introduction of medical innovations to patients via public-private partnerships collaborations. The companies and academic institutions involved in the seven projects will jointly contribute a matching 2.5 million euros, making a total of 5 million euros available over the next two years.
"Medical innovation takes a long time. We are delighted that the Dutch government is investing in these research pearls," says Peter Luijten, CTMM Chief Scientific Officer. "Through their support, we can take the last step needed to translate the research results achieved over the last five years into concrete medical applications. This is very good news for patients as well as an important economic boost for the Netherlands."
All seven research projects are in line with the roadmap of the Dutch Top Sector 'Life Sciences & Health' (LSH), one of nine sectors defined by the Dutch government to boost innovation. They are all extensions of previous high-quality research programs started in 2008 within the CTMM institute.
"In 2008, the Dutch government, along with industry and universities, invested heavily in innovative medical research with the aid of revenue from the Dutch natural gas reserves," says Luijten. "With today's additional funding, the government is giving a positive signal that it recognizes the need for long-term investment to capitalize scientific knowledge into medical applications and benefit the whole society."


SRINAGAR: Reacting to the killing of Kashmiri Pandit in Shopian on Tuesday, the DGP Dilbagh Singh said two militants involved in the killing of Sunil Kumar Bhat have been identified and assured they will be brought to justice without failure soon.
To send a strong message to militants and their harbourers in valley, Jammu and Kashmir Police said it has initiated the process to attach the property of militant Adil Wani who was allegedly involved in the dastard act of killing an innocent KP civilian.
Sunil Kumar Bhat was killed and his brother was injured in targeted attack in an orchard in Shpian.
“People supported positive moves. The calm situation on August 5 and 15 celebrations were appreciable and the people also supported Amaranth Yatra in every possible way, which didn’t suit the anti-peace elements” he said and added “They try to disturb the peace, but their attempts have been and will be foiled in the future as well.


Have you ever wondered how some players are able to make a simple major guitar scale sound awesome? In this lesson, we take a look at the basics of how to take a guitar solo in the open position. This beginner lesson is in the key of G which is the most basic and most common key in bluegrass style music. We will attempt to demystify the G major scale and demonstrate the key concepts that seperate good solos from great ones.
You will also get access to all of the other free lessons on the website through the user dashboard.
Get the PDF Tab sheet for this lesson!
You also get the full streaming HD MP4 video. You will also automatically gain access to the FREE Membership which gives you all free video lessons on the website through the user dashboard.
Full Lesson – 10:10
PDF Tab Sheets
– G Major Scale.PDF
– G Major Arpeggio.PDF


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Every President is surprised, at the beginning of his term, at how difficult it is to move legislation through Congress, but Donald Trump seems not to have known even the most rudimentary facts about the legislative system before assuming office. He claimed in February that “nobody knew” that health-care reform “could be so complicated.” Last month, Trump and his aides seemed surprised that the Freedom Caucus, a group of some forty right-wing House Republicans, defeated the first Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, despite the fact that the Freedom Caucus has played a starring role in every congressional battle for the past several years, regularly torpedoing the plans of Republican leaders. And Trump seems to have been only dimly aware of the Senate filibuster, which can only be broken with sixty votes.
While Republicans have majorities in both chambers of Congress, the Freedom Caucus in the House and the filibuster in the Senate mean that they have to win at least some Democratic votes to pass most of Trump’s agenda. As dysfunctional as Congress seems, it won’t always be impossible. This week, Congress negotiated a spending bill to keep the government running, which will pass with bipartisan support in the House and Senate. Democrats and Republicans were both able to spin the deal as a victory for their party. “No wall, no deportation force, no defunding sanctuary cities, no Planned Parenthood cut, none of Trump's proposed eighteen billion dollars in non-defense cuts,” a top Democratic aide wrote atop a long list of other victories. At the same time, House Speaker Paul Ryan, in a press conference on Tuesday, bragged that Republicans were able to secure more in defense spending than Democrats received in domestic discretionary spending.
But on health care Trump and Ryan have handed over negotiations to the Freedom Caucus, which killed the first Obamacare repeal bill. Mark Meadows, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, negotiated a more conservative repeal bill with Ryan and Tom MacArthur, one of the three chairman of the moderate Tuesday Group. The final product, which as of this afternoon was still a few votes short of passing the House, has infuriated several Tuesday Group members.
“MacArthur really got himself in trouble on this,” a member of the group told me. “We had a discussion: Should we be negotiating with the Freedom Caucus on this? And our membership said no.” He went on, “MacArthur went out and he said he was only speaking on his own behalf, and he ended up negotiating an amendment that only brought Freedom Caucus guys over. So who the hell was he representing? It’s crazy. Suffice to say the members are furious with him.”
Ryan and Trump’s decision to accede to the Freedom Caucus’s demands makes some sense. Their goal is to get any bill they can to the Senate. But, even if they succeed in passing the Meadows-MacArthur bill in the House, they may run into the buzz saw of the Freedom Caucus later. Senate Republicans will need to rewrite the bill to win over moderate members of the Party, and a conference committee of House and Senate members will make its own changes—all of which are likely to turn off purists like Meadows, who will have a another opportunity to kill the bill before it reaches Trump. When asked by USA Today how much the Senate could change the Freedom Caucus-endorsed bill and still garner votes from its members, Dave Brat, a Freedom Caucus member from Virginia, responded, “Not at all—none.”
So how do Republicans pass health-care legislation when they lose the Freedom Caucus? The answer, of course, is to win over Democrats, as they did with the spending bill.
There are obvious reasons to be skeptical that a bipartisan fix for Obamacare could ever pass Congress. But, as complicated as health care is, Democrats and Republicans actually agree on the basics. Both sides accept the current employer-based insurance system, which covers some hundred and sixty million Americans, and the use of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Obamacare exchanges to cover everyone else. Both sides recognize that neither Democratic plans to replace the employer-based system with a single-payer one nor Republican ones to scrap it and replace it with individual tax credits are politically feasible.
The two sides have been discussing a few specific compromises for years, even before Obamacare passed, in 2010. Liberal and conservative policy wonks both like the idea of taxing health benefits to help ratchet down costs, though neither side wants to deal with the political consequences of taxing such benefits. “You could get bipartisan agreement on bringing discipline to the employer system if both sides were willing to take political blame,” James C. Capretta, a health-care-policy expert at the American Enterprise Institute, said.
There are other possible deals to be struck. On Medicaid, Republicans could accept Obama’s expansion of the system—as several Republican governors have done—in return for some reforms, perhaps lowering the income threshold for eligibility, which Obamacare set at a hundred and thirty-eight per cent of the federal poverty level.
Then there are the insurance-market regulations. There’s bipartisan support for the most popular ones, such as the requirement that insurers cover individuals with preëxisting conditions (which the Meadows-MacArthur bill would undermine). But less popular regulations, such as the mandate that individuals buy health insurance, might be massaged. The Democrats require Americans who don’t buy insurance to pay a tax. The Republicans want to allow insurers to charge more if an individual has a gap in coverage. “They are actually not that far apart,” Capretta said. “They both say if someone hasn’t been insured they shouldn’t be penalized on their health status. And they both want to penalize people for dropping out of the insurance market.” One of the most surprising aspects of the G.O.P.’s effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is how many of the law’s basic features Republicans have come to accept.
If the current effort to pass a bill with only Republican votes fails, Trump will have a major decision to make. He has shown little ability to learn in office, and almost none to master policy details. But if Ryan and McConnell agreed to lead the effort, a health-care deal with some Democratic support might not be completely out of the question.
“You’d have to say we’re not getting the Freedom Caucus,” one of Trump’s advisers told me. “Right now, they are holding us by the short hairs. You’d have to say, ‘O.K., we’re going to go with the Democrats so that Mark Meadows cannot be Mr. Veto.’ That’s the fundamental decision. If this goes down, they have shown you that the far right cannot generate anything and that going with the far right is a failure over and over again.”

domain: news


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New Jersey takes domestic violence very seriously and offers a number of ways for victims of such abuse to obtain protection. The Prevention of Domestic Violence Act in New Jersey works to provide abuse victims with the protection they need to get out of such dangerous situations, which is the hardest part for many victims. A victim of domestic violence can obtain a restraining order on the basis of assault, harassment, or even terroristic threats against the victim.
The courts want to work to keep domestic violence victims safe and will likely issue a temporary restraining order to most people who request it. A temporary restraining order will stop communication and limit the physical proximity of the two parties in order to keep the victim safe. A restraining order can prevent the abuser from calling, texting, or contacting the victim in any way as well as being physically present at their place of residence, employment, or any other location the victim frequents.
One of the biggest concerns for victims with a temporary restraining order is what happens when temporary restraining order is over. For victims that feel they will be put in harm’s way without a protective order, the court may choose to replace the temporary order with a permanent order, known as a Final Restraining Order. This means the protections that the victim has obtained will always remain in place. If the abuser violates the protection order, they may face serious criminal consequences.
If you require a restraining order in New Jersey, contact the authorities and an experienced attorney. Our firm is ready to act in your best interests.

domain: law


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Review - "Galley Proof" by Eric Arvin
Fantastic, romantic, funny
Very Highly Recommended
Logan Brandish is a successful, accomplished writer. Not a mega star, but with enough imagination and talent to have a nice career. But lately he has been in a bit of a rut. His writing has stalled and he has been running though editors. And meeting his new one, he hoped to present a good front and maybe fake his way through it.
In walks Brock Kimble, a man as unlikely as his name. Good looking, hot, smart, unexpected. And he pulls no punches in shaking things up for Logan. Telling him that lately his is crap and challenging him to do more and better. And flirting all the time. Keeping Logan on his toes.
And Logan reacts. Changes up his writing. Breaks up with his safe and predictable boyfriend. Start us an affair with Brock. Starts to fall in love.
Logan's writing is tied to his moods. When it is going well, it flows. Then when things start to fall apart, so does his writing.
And when it all goes to hell - his love life, his writing, his mind - he jumps ship and hauls tail to Europe and lands in Italy.
Will breaking his routines revive Logan's writing? Will he get over Brock? Will he ever go home again?
Eric Arvin doesn't fool me one bit. He is an unabashed romantic. This hilarious romp of a book is also one of the most insightful and touching books I have seen in a while. All the while he is tickling our funny bones, he is aiming more for our heartstrings. And damn, but he succeeds.
Logan is a wonderful character - snug in his safe world, safe little town, safe home, safe relationship, safe career. All the while thinking he has everyone fooled, perhaps even himself, he is really an open book for anyone who cares enough to see to read.
And Brock. All that energy, fun and sparkle masking a sad and lonely work in progress.
Both men yearn for the connection, for the love and passion. When it it right in their hands, right there for the taking, both bail and run away so fast their heads spin.
Along the way these two learn so many lessons.
Lessons about relationships:
"In real life, kisses are never as sweet and assholes only stretch so far."
Lessons about life:
"...if he could just stare a little bit harder at a problem he might find the solution. But solutions to those types of problems are hard to find, because they're so locked up in other people's minds and hearts."
Lessons about themselves:
"...it's a trap of my own making. I want the attention, you see, but I'm scared to death when it's there."
And lessons about love:
"...as if love was a great blanket we were slowly unfurling through the night, appreciating every stitch and every thread. Every intricate and unique pattern. We kept ourselves warm wrapped up in it."
This is one of those books that is like that great blanket. I take it and appreciate it and wrap it around me and learn about myself some too.
"She nodded her head in approval and hesitantly shut the book, breathing a reader's sigh. That wonderful inhale/exhale reaction one does after finishing a book that has somehow touched you. Completion. Inner peace. Separate peace."
So did I. It did.

domain: artistic


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New romantic band that wore oversized "fashions" and played ponderous synthesizer music before becoming pop soul crooners.
Spandau Ballet Concert Films
The Reformation Tour 2009 - Live at the O2
Runtime: 1 hr 59 minIn 2009 Spandau Ballet's first tour together for almost 20 years saw the triumphant return of one of the UK's most successful and best loved bands. Filmed during their sell out concerts at London's O2 Arena, Tony, John, Gary, Martin and Steve return with a vengeance in The Reformation Tour that brought 100,000 fans to their feet. From classic hits including Gold, True, Through The Barricades, To Cut A Long Story Short and Chant No 1 to Once More and With The Pride from their new album, Spandau Ballet Live at The O2 proves that it was absolutely worth the wait.
Spandau Ballet Top Tracks
Live at Knebworth 1990 - Volume I
Tears For Fears
Runtime: 1 hr 6 minKnebworth, Hertfordshire, June 30, 1990. 120,000 fansgathered for an historic concert event to aid the Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre and the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology. This incredible benefit concert was an instant success due to the high-energy, awe-inspiring performances of such rock 'n' roll legends as Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Mark Knopfler, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Status Quo, Tears For Fears and Cliff Richard & The Shadows.
Midge Ure -Rewind: The Greatest
Runtime: 1 hr 36 minThis show, recorded at Londons Shepherds Bush Empire, Midge performs the renowned hits from across the full spectrum of his career. The set also includes a very special duet of the classic Vienna, with The Voice himself, Russell Watson.
A Diamond In The Mind
Runtime: 1 hr 35 minFilmed at the MEN Arena in Manchester on December 16th 2011, this stunning Duran Duran live show is the perfect combination of great music, amazing visuals and iconic style which has been the band’s trademark throughout their career. Following the release of their acclaimed “All You Need Is Now” album, this concert combines new songs from that release with their classic hits. Whether in the studio or the live arena, Duran Duran are masters of their craft and this latest concert bursts with energy and oozes class in the way that only they can.
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (20th Anniversary Concert)
Runtime: 1 hr 35 minLive at the Royal Albert Hall finds Culture Club celebrating its 20th anniversary with an infectious and expansive grandeur, all while basking in the love of adoring fans. The show actually starts with a great joke on the audience: Boy George, looking not a day over 20, glides onstage in his once-trademark derby and beaded hair extensions, delivering a warm and welcome vocal on "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" The startled crowd soon realizes he's an impersonator. The real, fortysomething George O'Dowd, looking a lot less androgynous and a tad thicker than in New Romantics days, smiles self-deprecatingly and launches into a pleasing set of white soul ("Cold Shoulder," "Miss Me Blind"), stark gospel ("That's the Way"), stirring raga-rock ("Bow Down Mister"), and even a classic (a lovely cover of Bowie's "Starman," complete with audience participation and muscular guitar by Roy Hay).
Kings of Wishful Thinking - Live
Runtime: 1 hr 31 minThe kings of 80s pop return with this long awaited film release. A career revival was sparked in 2003 by Peter Cox's popular appearance on the hit British TV show REBORN IN THE USA. In the winter of 2003, GO WEST performed a sell-out gig recorded especially for this release, boasting a brand new song plus 10 of their greatest hits. Over 2 hours of live footage, interviews, outtakes and a history of GO WEST. Includes "Call Me" and "The King of Wishful Thinking."

domain: entertainment


Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is unlikely to witness another battle for control, its president said yesterday, despite talk new shareholder San Miguel Corp. is looking to take charge as it moves out of its core food and drinks business.
The Lopez clan remains in control of Meralco, the Philippines’ biggest power distributor, after defeating an attempt by a state pension fund last year to shake up management in an ugly row over electricity rates.
San Miguel, Southeast Asia’s largest food and drinks group, agreed in October to acquire the Government Service Insurance Fund’s 27% stake in Meralco, valued at more than $600 million. And so far, San Miguel has been supportive of management.
"It’s been a harmonious relationship, quite productive," Meralco’s newly-appointed president, Jose de Jesus, said in an interview.
"The two groups are, I think, expected to work quite harmoniously so I don’t expect to see a real battle for control."
The Lopez family owns just over 33% of Meralco through First Philippine Holdings .
The clan is one of the most powerful dynasties in the country with interests in power generation, toll roads, property development and owns the country’s biggest media firm, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.
Shares of Meralco last week surged to their highest a year and a half, bucking the weak market, as talk persisted that the Lopezes and San
Miguel were racing to take a dominant stake in the power firm.
San Miguel last week announced it was selling a 43.3% stake in its crown jewel, San Miguel Brewery , to Japan’s No. 2 brewer, Kirin Holdings, a move which analysts say was a strong signal the company was intent on moving out of its core business.
And analysts say San Miguel could be targetting Meralco as its next flagship with the administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo seen backing the plan to oust the Lopezes, who are seen as critical of the government.
Mrs. Arroyo visited San Miguel’s headquarters last week, and company president Ramon Ang promised the Philippine leader he would push for Meralco to lower rates, the same campaign waged by state-run GSIS last year.
Mr. Ang is also vice-chairman at Meralco.
Mr. De Jesus took the top job at Meralco earlier this month.
"Undoubtedly, it’s a very exciting job for me," he said when asked about the crucial juncture the firm was at. "I think it’s the biggest challenge in my professional career and I’ll give it my best shot." —Reuters


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Shahid Kapoor's wife Mira Rajput has been a fashion favourite ever since she came under public glare after marrying the Bollywood actor. The two, who are awaiting the birth of their second child, continue to take out time for each other amid Shahid's hectic shoot schedule. From sharing photographs with each other on social media to pulling each other's legs- the couple has been at it.
And Mira, who has been sharing her pregnancy woes on Instagram, stepped out for a lunch date with Shahid on Wednesday. The couple kept it casual and was all smiles as they posed for the shutterbugs. But it was Mira, who grabbed attention with her easy breezy fashion choice. The mom-to-be knows how to weather the monsoon even in white!
Mira opted for a white shirt dress and completed her look with a shirt in the same pattern tied around her waist. She flaunted her baby bump with sheer panache as the couple was photographed in Bandra, Mumbai. The couple even twinned as they stepped out in white sneakers.
Here are some of the photographs that you might have missed.
Meanwhile, Shahid is currently occupied with the shoot of his film Batti Gul Meter Chalu opposite Shraddha Kapoor. But the actor has made it clear that he will take a full-fledged paternity break to be with his wife during the delivery of their second child. According to a report in DNA, the actor is managing his professional schedule in a way that he gets to be with his wife in September. A source has been quoted as saying, “After finishing BGMC, Shahid will get into the shoot of Arjun Reddy (AR), the Hindi remake of the Telugu hit, for which he will be sporting a different look. He will be growing his hair and beard, so he will wrap up BGMC before starting AR. Shahid’s wife is due in September, so he will take about a month’s break to be with his family, post which he will resume AR’s shoot.”

domain: celebrity


text:
Stargate Atlantis: The Official Companion (Season 3)AUTHOR: Sharon Gosling
PUBLISHER: Titan Books
RELEASE DATE: September 2007
First there was the blockbuster "Stargate" movie, then the smash hit TV series Stargate SG-1 (now entering its tenth and final season), and now there's the equally successful spin-off show: Stargate Atlantis!
With the Wraith knocking at the door, the team embarks on new adventures in the Pegasus Galaxy – and encounters a sinister new foe. The Asurans, a race of powerful artificial lifeforms who were created by the Ancients thousands of years ago, could spell doom for Stargate Atlantis.
This is the official companion to the third season, packed with behind the scenes interviews, an episode guide and scores of photos, including a 16-page color gallery.
From Titan Books


|Angry Skies Over the Moor|
|Setting Off From the Cafe|
|Leaving the Woods|
The path flirted with the moors briefly but we didn't actually leave the cultivated lower slopes. After leaving our initial path our onward route took us across a field full of inquisitive bullocks and through a small wood. The clouds above us had billowed up at this point and none of us much liked the look of them. They rather took the colour out of the landscape too, such that the odd straggly bluebell still clinging on to spring and the various pink flowers of campion and ragged robin were the only break from an otherwise green landscape. We passed through a small wood and the inevitable spots of rain started to come but thankfully these didn't amount to anything and we headed out into another field.
The woods line the valley of the Little Beck and many years ago there was quarrying activity along the banks of the stream. The shale that was extracted was a source of Alum, a chemical used for various things but probably for wool dying at that time. Alum is used for the production of antiperspirants these days but not from this part of the country. Any quarrying activity that went on is now masked by the trees and to be fair nature has largely healed the area once again.
Around this part of the walk we started to get glimpses back cross the valley over the tops of the trees on the other side. We could also see where we had already walked and our immediate impression was that it seemed to be more than 3.5 miles all the way around! Our route took us along the top of the valley for a short way until we came to a point where we had to choose between descending to Falling Foss or going straight to the car. We decided on the latter although in truth it wasn't as easy to get a good view of the waterfall. We did feel complete though. The activity surrounding the café had subsided when we got back & the whole area felt completely different without the throngs of people.


text:
Local councils now have the power decide whether businesses can open in their area on Easter Sunday.
Parliament yesterday passed legislation on what it acknowledges is a contentious issue, but said allowing councils to decide was a "pragmatic" decision.
However, opposition parties said that was just passing the buck.
Minister of Workplace Relations Michael Woodhouse said it had taken 25 years to get to this point and he was happy with the outcome.
"Local business associations and other organisations may choose not to open even if they are able, so this is flexible, it's sensible and it doesn't compel anybody to do anything."
Labour's MP for Mangere, Su'a William Sio, said the government was just passing the buck.
"They'd rather have the councils face the flak from the communities rather than themselves, and it will be up to the community to continue that fight and I suspect there will be some communities who will feel quite strongly about it and other communities may not.
"So when the government argues this bill will take away the mish-mash of where you have got some centres open on Easter Sunday's and other not, well it won't."
Mr Woodhouse said that was not the case.
"It's completely up to them whether they want to have a consultation process with their ratepayers, there's not compulsion on them so do that, or to agree to one course of action or another, so they are free to choose as well."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick was delighted the legislation had been passed and said Easter trading was likely to be a local election issue, with the district council now free to make decisions on opening times.
Ms Chadwick told Morning Report a poll two years ago found 72 percent of Rotorua residents supported opening on Easter Sunday.
Ms Chadwick says it had been frustrating that the tourist town has been closed on busy Easter weekends while Taupo and Tauranga have been open.
After council elections in October there was likely to be a formal community consultation.
In the past Easter trading has been treated as a conscience issue, but this time National Party MPs were forced to toe the party line and vote to support the change, even if they objected to the bill.
The pressure put on those individual National MPs was raised several times during the debate on the legislation.
A personal vote was taken and the bill passed by 62 to 59.

domain: sociology


text:
During the a long time and throughout each continent, humans have struggled opposed to these in strength and raised their voices in protest—rallying others round them and encouraging uprisings in eras but to return. Their echoes reverberate from historical Greece, China and Egypt, through the dissident poets and philosophers of Islam and Judaism, via to the Arab slave revolts and anti-Ottoman rebellions of the center a long time. those assets have been tapped in the course of the Dutch and English revolutions on the outset of the fashionable global, and in flip flowed into the French, Haitian, American, Russian and chinese language revolutions. extra lately, resistance to struggle and financial oppression has flared up on battlefields and in public areas from Beijing and Baghdad to Caracas and Los Angeles.
This anthology, international in scope, provides voices of dissent from each period of human historical past: speeches and pamphlets, poems and songs, performs and manifestos. all ages has its iconoclasts, and but the best between them construct at the phrases and activities in their forerunners. The Verso publication of Dissent becomes a useful source, reminding today’s voters that those traditions won't ever die.


text:
How do you build a better warrior? Militaries have tried for centuries to answer that question, but you’ll be able to figure it out for yourself when DUST 514 launches next year. Infantry dropsuits are designed to protect and sustain the wearer in even the harshest environments. Different dropsuits offer specific bonuses to speed, mobility, defense and configurability. Like starships and planetary vehicles, dropsuits come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with a unique slot configuration and powergrid (PG) and CPU that inform the decisions you make when customizing your chosen dropsuit.
The number and type of slots determine the modules (interchangeable hardware components that enhance or otherwise alter the functionality of the dropsuit), weapons, and equipment you can fit. The slot types available on dropsuits are as follows:
The three weapon slots – Light, Heavy, and Sidearm – cascade. That is, a Heavy slot can be fitted with a Sidearm, Light or Heavy weapon and, similarly, a Light slot can be fitted with a Light or Sidearm weapon. The high and low slots are module slots, each used for particular types of modules. Equipment slots allow the dropsuit to carry deployable or handheld equipment such as scanners, nanohives, drop uplinks, repair tools and more that will be covered in a future blog. Lastly, grenade slots determine the capacity (i.e. how many you can carry) of the grenade types – Locus, AV, EMP – fitted.
The intrinsic benefits of your chosen suit define, in part, the type of role you wish to fulfill on the battlefield but ultimately it’s how you choose to fit the suit that determines what it is capable of. Do you play to its strengths or do you surprise the enemy with an unconventional, risky fit? The choice is yours.
Dropsuits are classified as Standard, Advanced, and Prototype, each requiring specific skills to be trained before they can be used. Today, we’re going to take a look at two standard dropsuits: the Assault and Heavy.
The Caldari dropsuit design and aesthetic philosophy is heavily influenced by the culture’s origins on brutally frigid home worlds, dismissing stylistic notions in exchange for the ruthless, bare-minimum functionality requirements needed to keep a soldier alive. As such, the Caldari suit is notoriously uncomfortable and outright ungainly in some instances, yet remains in high demand due to its remarkable resilience in smart battlefields.
The Assault dropsuit is a versatile frontline combat suit that combines excellent protection, good mobility, and sufficient equipment hard points for mission-specific customizations.
A flat-coil e5000 fifth generation fusion core runs up the inside of the back plate, powering the entire suit. Its output and heat buildup are controlled by a L2 “Gatekeeper” regulator conduit, which connects directly to the sensor system at the base of the neck. Every joint is reinforced with kinetic sensors and two-way, high torque servos to enhance the soldier’s strength, balance, and resistance to impact forces. The suit’s helmet has more integrated sensor, communication, targeting, and data processing systems than most civilian vehicles. Furthermore, every armor plate on the suit is energized to absorb the force of incoming plasma-based projectiles, neutralizing their ionization and reducing thermal damage.
Assault dropsuits are intended for standard combat operations or those in which the objectives are likely to change at a moment’s notice. Its ability to carry anything from small arms and explosives to heavy anti-vehicle munitions and deployable support gear makes it the most adaptable suit on the battlefield.
The look of this Amarrian suit has changed little since it was first created, due largely to the commonly held belief that its original form is immaculate; the perfect amalgam of science and religion. Aesthetics are as important as function, because to the Amarr, aesthetics are function. Enshrined within the armor, the wearer becomes a vessel, the embodiment of God’s will and an instrument of holy wrath, unmistakable, and feared, by all who look upon him. To the Amarr, the dropsuit itself is the weapon.
The Heavy dropsuit is a second-generation solution designed to withstand concentrated small arms fire and protect the wearer from the concussive, thermal, and impact forces of low-grade explosives. Additionally, its power-assisted exoskeleton facilitates usage of the heaviest caliber personal weapons.
Every vital area of the wearer is protected by 25mm composite ceramic shell or high tensile steel plates, layered with impact absorbing, compressed carbon latticework. A secondary thermal dispersion membrane channels excess heat away from the point of contact, distributing it over a larger surface area and thereby lessening the potential damage. Superconductive veins of hybrid silver coat the outer layers and connect every piece of the armor to a grounding heat sink, dampening the harmful effects of direct fire electromagnetic weaponry.
Heavy dropsuits lack the mobility of lighter suits, but this trade-off results in a defensive system that defies standard infantry conventions. No other classification of personal armor can claim to be able to stand toe-to-toe with enemy vehicles and survive.
Even with just these two dropsuits, we can already see battlefield tactics starting to take shape. The Heavy can withstand a lot of punishment, but it has no equipment slots. Pairing it with another dropsuit capable of dropping ammunition replenishing nanohives or repairing from a distance will substantially increase the effectiveness of the Heavy. Alone, a Heavy could easily be outnumbered and outmaneuvered, but surrounded by allied Assault dropsuits it becomes a tank in every sense of the word, soaking up damage while the rest of the squad picks off the enemy.
Although formidable, the Heavy and Assault suits represent only one aspect of the battlefield eco-system. Sheer firepower will only get you so far. A smart squad will utilize the force multiplying support of the Logistics suit; the recon and electronic warfare specialties of the Scout; and all the modules and equipment they have at their disposal to become an unstoppable force. After all, one should never underestimate the value of a well-placed EMP grenade.

domain: design


Once the new shop was drywalled and the floor installed, I could finally bring in the machines and start working on installing the dust collection. My first hobby shop had drainage PVC piping which I later rebuilt with metal ventilation ducting once I upgraded to a Felder RL160 dust collector. It was cheap but those ducts aren’t designed to work with pressure, so they were just slid into one another. So I had to use glue and duct tape to seal the system and connect it to the Felder blast gates I had bought, which was messy looking and impossible to modify.
For the new shop I decided to go for a proper installation and found that by chance there was a company nearby Ducomat that sells and installs dust collection systems. I preferred them in comparison to the systems sold by Felder which are segmented and stepped while these are more streamlined and smooth. I am almost sure that the elements sold by Ducomat are made by Schuko in Germany. The good thing is that they are compatible with the Felder elements I already had.
The first thing to do after placing the machines approximately where I wanted them, was to know exactly what elements I needed, Ducomat drew out a diagram based on my plans, but it was really too abstract and didn’t take into account the fixed sizes of each element, that is probably because they have tools to cut down the tubes and form a new lip on the edge when they are installing it, but I was going to install myself. So I drew out in sketchup each dust collection element based on the few given lengths I could find, but it was mostly guesswork. And then played around with each element to find the best way to compose the system in my shop. Thanks to that I could order exactly what I needed and pick it up.
Above you can see my dust collection system in sketchup, in green are the 160mm tubes, which then go to 120mm right before the machines (in purple). Initially I wanted it to go out the other end of the dust collector and follow the walls. This wasn’t impossible but difficult to do, in the end I am glad I was forced to do it this way and keep the amount of bends and the total length to a minimum.
The funny thing is that they didn’t (and still) sell any hardware to attach the system to walls and ceilings, so I had to make up something myself. I used the attachments from the ventilation ducts which had a threaded hole, and bought threaded rods, connector bolts and screws with a threads for wood on one side and a threaded insert on the other. The threaded rod allows you to adjust the length to have the tubes hang at the right distance from the wall/ceiling.
The elements below are the hose clamps to attach the flexible tubes to the system (left) and the clamps to attach the tubes to one another (right) In this case these tube clamps didn’t clamp together the tubes enough so I added some air seal caulking which was left over from the vapour barrier installation.
I started at the centre pillar for the panel saw/jointer because it was the most crucial spot where I had the least amount of play. I installed that pillar there especially for this purpose when doing the workshop framing.
From there on I expanded toward the other machines, the central beam supports the dust collection but also brings down electrical power to the machines.
Below you can see how the tubes are attached to the ceiling.
Here is the system finished and the machines connected.I took care not to have any tubes directly above the working area of each machine, as to keep enough ceiling height to manipulate and rotate long work pieces without being hindered. They also never pass under or even close to one of the the lighting fixtures.
Next to the dust collector I had added an additional branch with the intention to build a floor sweep gate, which I later did.
When I bought the RL160 collector, the vendor insisted on equipping it with a fire gate, which is the square box right at the exit. This is a trap that closes if there is fire inside the collector. It is also important never to connect the dust collector directly to solid pipes, this is to reduce vibrations and noise.
While writing this article I thought about sharing the sketchup model of my tubes, but as that was mostly guesswork I took the time to measure each element and make a sketchup model of them in 200-160-120-100 and 80mm versions, having this would have greatly helped me while building mine.
The model contains all of the elements but also my whole system set up, as an example to work with. I drew lines at every 45 degrees on the elements, which makes them very easy to rotate and assemble. The model can be bought for a small sum in the link below or visit the plans page.


text:
The Movement of Objects by Chris Townsend
The history of cities is the history of exchange. As much as it is an arrangement of architecture the city is a series of networks by which people are moved from one location to another, via which commodities, real or merely conceptual, are transported. It is a place in which languages, ideas, identities are moved from one to another. These are the grounds for the formation of communities; where the familiar, the same, ‘I’ or ‘we’ meets the other and finds something that allows the boundary to slip, that includes ‘you’ in ‘us’ and ‘us’ in ‘you’. We make lives out of our narratives, out of narrative intersections with others. But these narratives are not the easy linear tales of fiction and the movies, with beginnings, middles and (happy) endings. The city is a spider-web of haphazard and willed encounters, a place of connections and dead-ends, and so are its narratives.
Marysa Dowling’s photographs, conceived on the simple basis of passing an object as radiantly banal as a bright blue plastic bag from one person to the next, maps a community. This is not ‘a community’ that can say ‘we’ on the basis of shared identity or common culture. By the time the bag reaches the third or fourth pair of hands in the series, a stranger to the first recipient has taken hold of it. The bag traverses and establishes a community in which it is the only necessary, common element. Never passed on by hand, but ‘bounced back’ via the photographer with a set of instructions, it shows up in the images like a radar dot on a screen, moving around London, mapping its network. The bag is an object of communication and the object of communication, proliferating a surrounding correspondence of texts and emails between artist and others.
I’m struck by how many members of this ‘community’ insist on secrecy, using the bag as mask. They belong, yet they are unrecognisable. They become members of a community with a common interest – the simple task of moving and photographing the bag may stand in for other, more complex, goals – who remain strangers to each other and the wider public. It is, of course, one of the myths of urban society since the inception of industrial modernity that rather than being the chanced, chaotic movement of people, ideas and goods, that the city – and modernity – is governed by cabals or secret societies. We need, it seems, to believe that there is, somewhere, an ordering presence to the whole that can explain what is, beyond the limited intervention of public institutions, otherwise pure disorder. The master of this mythology is the French novelist Balzac, in history of the Thirteen (1845). Looking at Dowling’s photographs, however, I’m reminded of a modern updating of the tale, by Jacques Rivette in his extraordinary film Out One, that in its meandering assumes the temporal and spatial dimensions of the city. There two paranoid innocents independently stumble across what they believe to be compelling evidence of conspiracy, and begin unravelling a network of strangers and friends that may, or may not, exist, that may, or may not have any compelling force in the world.
Here we have our own ‘thirteen’, a mystery society of the bag, of concealed identities amidst friendships; a network that, by chance ends with an acquaintance of this writer, unknown to the artist. What is its power in the world: against, say, the cabals of global capitalism, the hidden motivations of the secretariat? However small, even if they seem constrained within the institutionally approved registers of culture, the community is where such resistances, the narratives of ‘we others’, begin.
© Chris Townsend, 2007.
Beyond the Logo | Art at Barnardo's by Helen James
Many people are familiar with some type of image that is associated with Barnardo’s. Perhaps, in particular, harsh but smooth-talking advertisements whose visuals speak of neglect and worry and urge us to take some of the responsibility for children that are abandoned, neglected or abused in these unfair British Isles. Such advertisements pepper UK billboards every now and again to try and tease our attention and our cash.
The visual language in these advertisements is right in being harsh. They use the reality of photography without apology and capitalise on the full gory gloss of photographic communication to make some of us listen and some of us give. These images feast on our fear and worry for the children we can’t personally help or protect and encourage us to join a collective effort to make some things better, we hope. The images are crammed full with the dirt and detritus of poverty and appeal to us to prevent more of the same happening, or some unspeakable horror coming true for a child somewhere in contemporary Britain. As viewers of these images we must, we fear, look and if possible help.
But behind these loud images there are other pictures being made at Barnardo’s that intimately and artistically describe the experience that the adverts shout so loud about. They are made by some of the children and families who exist in difficult circumstances and in poverty.
Marysa Dowling and Diane Church have been working together to encourage some of the children and adults that use the services of Barnardo’s to create pictures and words that interpret their lives. They have asked them to look at the visual details of their lives and share some of them with us - a viewing public.
Using the photographic image and the written word Dowling and Church have used their skills as photographer and writer, respectively, to create a creative situation for the production of collaborative art works. The images that have been created are special images that describe and interpret what a life of poverty really looks and feels like from the inside.
Before we consider some of the images in this artistic project let’s conjure up some of the visual ingredients that an image of poverty might evoke. Cold fingers, empty plates, tight clothes, cheap food, bleached colours or sleeping bags. What did we expect? Poverty isn’t a very positive word – it’s a sad word that reflects a sad circumstance of life, a seemingly non-negotiable one in most societies. It’s frightening to think how poverty’s photographic album may look. We don’t really want to turn the cover and leaf through page after page of mournful images that show too much spare time and too meagre a share of life’s luxuries. But if we think about the type of image that might be made by people on the inside of this experience … would they be different? Are these the sort of visual ingredients we would see in their pictures too?
Poverty is a difficult word. Often used, sometimes even hijacked, it seems to mean more to people not ‘in it’ than it does to those who experience it. It’s a political word; a loaded word and, I suspect, an uncomfortable term to have someone apply to your life and your reality. Children and families who experience poverty still have birthdays, weddings and Christmases - just tinged with the debilitating aura of debt and worry. People in poverty have problems but they also have the same stuff of life as the rest of the political ‘us’: dreams, hopes, relationships, food etc. They just don’t have enough things of quality - be they opportunities, warmth, support or food.
We are very lucky to be able to listen to the thoughts of people experiencing this poverty and look intimately into their lives through these images. Their images importantly ask us to consider them as individuals and not as just victims of poverty.
As part of the project Marysa photographed many of those involved and created a beautiful body of portraits. With more than their fair share of smiles the subjects of these images respond to Dowling and her camera with a true sense of self-revelation that is so difficult to both project and capture. Unlike so much contemporary photographic portraiture these individuals eagerly offer natural expressions to the photographer. Using their world as studio Dowling uses the landscape of their lives as a backdrop in her shifting studio. Her subjects sit, climb, stand and swing in a photographic space that is sometimes occupied by a lone subject or at other times is shared by two or more subjects in an unusually close huddle. Unusual because we are not used to love, smiles and cuddles in contemporary photography. Sadly.
The garden, home and play scapes that feature as backdrop in many of Marysa’s portraits also feature strongly in the work made by the subjects themselves. Stuff found in the bedroom or the street feature as key props and indicators of what is important and what needs to be shared through the photograph - be it a toy or a skateboard. Sometimes pictures combine with choice words in curt phases to create stories and narratives about private lives, which for us are made public. Other subtle, yet uncomfortable, images of stripped wires and piles of copper piping inform us of what must be done to make ends meet - of what can fill a young life that simply doesn’t have enough of this or any of that.
Familiar branded products sit marooned on sparse shelves or in cupboards with missing doors. Clothes, toys, bedding and towels are tinged with stains and frayed with too many years of shared use. But as we visit more and more of these photographs we find smiles amongst the stories and hope behind the anonymous eyes that belong to people whose names we can’t expect to know but whose personalities are oozing out from their images.
Many of the images are explicit, some even crude in the way that they communicate with us, but they clearly show us the raw details of lives we need to learn more about through the new artistic skills gained by their authors. They don’t need gritty black and white imagery to describe this poverty; their use of colour photography situates these pictures in the present with a gentle subjectivity that doesn’t need irony or parody. These images offer a quiet description of these unseen lives that exist without enough of just about most things.
Let’s hope that these voices that have now found our attention through an art project at Barnardo’s carry on speaking somehow, and that we learn from the individual life stories that have come out from behind the fair green logo, the definitions and the issues.
© Helen James
The Movement of an Object | Blue Bag 2007-2017
The Movement of an Object | Blue Bag is a long term international photographic project based on the simple premise of passing an ordinary, banal object: a bright blue plastic bag from one person to the next with the intention of connecting communities, people and response in a particular place.
Alongside a set of instructions the bag is used as a collaborative prop and bounced between the project participants and Dowling. It shows up in the images like a radar dot on a screen, moving around the city or town. By the time the bag reaches the third or fourth pair of hands a stranger to the first recipient has taken hold of it. The blue bag both traverses and establishes a community where IT is the only necessary, common element. The group formed by this process is not a collective community that shares an identity or common culture but a new community that transcends political and social boundaries, existing only because of a collective involvement in the project.
The Movement of an Object begins in each new city through the identification of an existing connection between an organisation and its known audience. Any communication and discussion about project participation is based upon the privileged relationship between the organisation concerned and possible project collaborators. Any first participant will be sourced on my behalf through these initial dialogues. From that point onwards the project direction is in the hands of the participants in collaboration with Dowling. The first person is asked to select a specific location as a backdrop to their image and to consider how they will use the blue bag in their portrait. Their first meeting will discuss and explore their options in this collaborative process before being rolled out to new participants following the guidance and choices of the last participant. During the meeting at each chosen location a portrait is made collaboratively before the blue bag is then passed on to the next person and moved from person to person in this way.
As a photographic artist Dowling is fascinated with each unique gesture and use of the blue plastic bag as a gestural prop. Collectively her work collates and organises these perfomative acts for the camera into a broad body of work to illustrate choice, variation and personal interpretation of the use and manipulation of an object in the context and confinement of a single photograph. This project has continued to engage and excite Dowling for 10 years due to the privilege of working collaboratively with unique individuals who enjoy the process and offer so much to the discussion about contemporary photographic portraiture.
Marysa has taken this project to London, Los Angeles, Havana, Cape Town, Beirut, Kochi (India), 7 locations in Mexico and the small town of Ekanas, Finland, making portraits with around 450 people over the last decade. ©Helen James 2017


text:
If you’re within a relationship and things aren’t going as designed, you may be curious about if it’s time belarus wives to break up. While it may feel a little bit scary to think of ending points with your partner, you don’t need to miss out on the chance to progress and build a much better foreseeable future.
Should your relationship isn’t going anywhere, it could be time to call it stops, advises Marriage Coach Jill Degges-White. “Relationships go through ebbs and goes, and there’s no one who’s https://books.google.fr/books?id=vCYtBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14&lpg=PT14&dq=love&source=bl&ots=bWHsFXanSZ&sig=ACfU3U1nKjAmNWBdYGCtGl_ODE3CUKyasQ&hl=en ideal or so, who isn’t going to have blemishes. But if you will find that the partner’s weak points happen to be constantly in the way of the relationship, or if they are always a distraction and a barrier on your happiness, it’s time to walk away. ”
1 . You find yourself irritated by your partner more often than not.
Regardless of much you try to work things out, if your spouse can’t complete a day while not making you distressed, that’s a red flag, Bruneau says.
installment payments on your You rarely communicate how we used to any longer.
No relationship is perfect, if you partner doesn’t communicate the way they used to or else you feel like they do not understand you anymore, honestly, that is a huge red light.
3. You can’t agree on nearly anything, and you fight a lot.
Regardless of hard you try, turmoil in a relationship can never be avoided. But when that starts to happen more frequently and becomes more intense, honestly, that is a sign that your romantic relationship is over.

domain: psychology


See Yul Edochie's Wife Reaction After Husband Married Another Lady
The popular Nollywood actor Yul Edochie surprised many of his fans today after taking to Instagram to announced the birth of his new born child from his Alleged second wife.
Yul the youngest son of Nollywood veteran actor Pete Edochie was married to May and have lived together with her for 17 years now. He had 4 children with his first wife. Earlier this week he broke the news on social media by uploading a picture of his new born child which he had with his alleged colleague Judith Austin who became his baby mama in 2021.
His wrote " its time for the world to meet his son Star- munachimso yul Edochie" on his social media handle.
He also wrote that he loves his son the same way he loves his four older children.
The first wife dubbed May Edochie could not hold back as wrote "May God judge you both".
It was reported that the first wife was with him when he had nothing.
Rita Dominic replies troll who accused her of dating husband while married to ex-wife
Nollywood actress Rita Dominic has lambasted a troll who accused her of dating her husband, Fidelis Anosike, while he was still married to his ex-wife.A Twitter user identified as Winter Berry accused the actress of dating her current husband Fidelis when he was still a married man.While laying accusations, she called out the wife of Churchill, Rosey Meurer, for doing the same, as well as Mercy Johnson and Ifeoma, the new lover of Paul Okoye.She wrote;“Rita Dominic...
Yul Edochie And 2nd Wife, Judy Take Son, Star To Church || See
New images of Yul Edochie, his second wife, Judy, and their son have appeared on the internet.Yul can be seen cradling their son in the photo that has been making the rounds on social media, accompanied by his second wife, Judy, and an unnamed lady.The pictures appear to have been taken outside of a church, implying that they had just taken their newborn to church.Although it is not clear whether this photo was taken prior to the actor’s shocking revelation or after...
See Davido’s Reaction To Portable’s ‘Motivational Speech’
A popular Portable video has prompted a response from Davido.After sharing some inspirational advice on Instagram yesterday, Portable made headlines.According to the singer of "Zazu," Nigerians shouldn't ever trust others with the secrets to their success.Although Portable acknowledged that his spoken English might not be the best, he insisted that he would use it however he pleased.Davido reposted the video in response to his post and added that he had been laughin...
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text:
This dog just got home from a dog party and they're feeling a little hung over, okay?
This dog was on the force for a few years, but their heart just wasn't in it so they retired.
This dog just has an enthusiasm for words. It's okay, little guy. We do too.
Keeping watch so the other dogs can finally tear the shit outta that new couch.

domain: pet


text: Civil War Era Confederate Hat Cocade Sucession style. Homework folded silk with glass beadwork. No glow under UV light. Nice example, these differed by region, Red and White were popular colors for showing support of the Confederacy.The item "Civil War Era Confederate Hat Cocade Sucession State" is in sale since Thursday, December 9, 2021. This item is in the category "Collectibles\Militaria\Civil War (1861-65)\Original Period Items\Buttons". The seller is "artscooter" and is located in Exeter, New Hampshire. This item can be shipped worldwide.

domain: hobby


text:
Cosmetic Laser Procedures Explained
Cosmetic Laser Treatments
Cosmetic Laser Surgery is becoming a replacement for traditional cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic laser treatment centers are more common place and offer effective cost effective treatments for the consumer. Cosmetic Laser centers offer many different types of cosmetic lasers that that are in specific cosmetic treatments. Cosmetic laser treatments include; smartlipo, laser blepharoplasty, laser resurfacing, laser scar removal, laser breast reduction, laser breast reduction, laser hair removal, laser eye surgery, laser acne removal, laser tattoo removal, and laser stretch mark removal.
Most Popular Aesthetic Laser Procedures
Cosmetic laser surgery, performed in a cosmetic laser center with safe, FDA-cleared cosmetic laser equipment, has become an effective and popular replacement for many traditionally invasive cosmetic surgery procedures. There are many non-invasive, cosmetic laser procedures that continue to replace traditional surgery. In 2009, according the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, laser hair removal, skin rejuvenation, and laser skin resurfacing already surpass the most popular surgical cosmetic treatment (breast augmentation), and at current growth rates, skin tightening, treatment of cellulite and body shaping are not far behind.
Popular Cosmetic Laser Procedures
- Acne Reduction
- Body Shaping
- Fractional Skin Resurfacing
- Laser-Assisted Lipolysis
- Laser Hair Removal
- Pigmented Lesion Removal
- Skin Rejuvenation
- Skin Tightening
- Tattoo Removal
- Vascular Lesions
Laser Hair Removal
Since its introduction in 1995, light-based hair removal has become one of the most popular cosmetic surgical treatments. Dozens of devices have been FDA cleared with most approved for permanent hair reduction. Continual technological development has resulted in better results on a wider population of patients, at a lower treatment price than ever before. While earlier light-based procedures such as skin resurfacing or vein removal were specialized treatments that required medical knowledge and training, light-based hair removal has become a simple procedure that nurses, electrologists or aestheticians can perform.
Light-based hair removal offers the broadest overall advantages with the fewest disadvantages. After a series of three to five treatments, spaced at approximately ten-week intervals, individuals may remain hair-free for a year or more. Discomfort tends to be minimal compared with other hair removal procedures, as are treatment side effects. Nonetheless, usage of light-based hair removal continues to rise and is cannibalizing utilization of older hair removal technologies. In 2009, electrologists billed almost $300 million for treatments worldwide. This is projected to fall to $210 million by 2014 as light based hair removal treatment volume increases.
Over the past few years, skin rejuvenation has become the most popular light-based aesthetic procedure of all physician performed treatments. The term refers to an ablative or non-ablative means of enhancing the appearance of the skin by stimulating the regeneration of collagen. It includes both conventional and new fractional devices specifically developed for collagen regeneration, pulsed dye lasers that were originally FDA cleared for treatment of vascular lesions and multi-functional intense pulsed light (IPL) devices that perform a variety of functions including removal of pigmented lesions. While specific performance amongst the different devices can vary, there are some commonalities.
First, skin rejuvenation tends to be used to diminish the signs of aging and/or photodamage such as sun-induced freckling. It may be used on the entire face or selected areas (such as wrinkles, freckles, etc.).
Second, unlike the procedure’s predecessor, laser skin resurfacing, skin rejuvenation is a non-invasive or minimally invasive technique that requires little, if any, healing time. Patients may schedule lunchtime procedures, and return to their normal activities by afternoon. This is very appealing for those not able to take a week or more off work to recover or individuals who wish to conceal the fact that they have had a cosmetic procedure. Many physicians have shifted substantial portions of their practices from resurfacing to rejuvenation procedures for this reason.
Last, the mechanism of action appears to be stimulation of collagen. As research into aging has progressed, collagen – or lack of it – appears to be closely linked to sagging, sallow skin, wrinkles and other signs of aging. High levels of collagen, however, are associated with the plump, firm, smooth skin of youth. While different therapies attempt to replenish the collagen by different means, light-based devices operate on the principle that heating the blood vessels will result in the skin producing more of the body’s own collagen. This theory arose from observations that people with superficial facial burns often looked significantly more youthful after the burns had healed. These devices target the red hemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin in the blood vessels just underneath the epidermis. The irradiated vessels then secrete inflammatory factors such as histamine and procollagen which in turn stimulate fibroblast formation or new cells within the dermis.
While men may account for as many as 20% of all skin rejuvenation patients, women aged 30 to 65 represent the largest patient base. This is an ideal patient demographic, dovetailing perfectly with the large number of aging baby boomers in the U.S., Europe and Japan. It is also a gradually widening range, as more and more young women seek treatments that will delay the signs of aging and older women increasingly seek procedures that will maintain results they have achieved with prior treatments. Facial areas are the most commonly treated, since the face represents the most visible part of the body and the area that often shows age first. In a recent independent survey of 2,000 patients willing to consider cosmetic procedures, for example, 57% of women were interested in cosmetic procedures that reduce lines, wrinkles, crow’s feet and bags around the eyes. However, treatment of the hands, neck, chest or forearms is not unusual. Light-based devices can help fade age spots and make the skin appear clearer, younger and brighter.
Unlike skin resurfacing, skin rejuvenation generally does not produce immediate results. Rather, results appear gradually as collagen production increases over weeks or months following treatment.
Tattoo and Pigmented Lesion Removal
Tattooing is an art dating back at least five millennia. Since then, tattoos have served as markers of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, pledges of love, talismans, symbols of protection and as the mark of outcast, slave or convict. Today, people often choose to be tattooed to indicate their identification with certain groups as well as for religious reasons. Others view tattooing as a means of self-expression, and obtain tattoos to decorate their bodies or commemorate significant events in their lives. While tattoos had previously been limited to discrete designs, full-body art is now becoming common, wherein a person’s full arms, legs, back, chest, etc. are covered with elaborate images, many of which may be created exclusively for that client. Several reality television shows (Miami Ink, LA Ink) as well as a growing number of specialized lifestyle publications (Tattoo Collector Magazine, NW Tattoo Magazine, Prick Magazine, Inked, etc.), have further popularized the practice.
In North America, more than 50 million people are believed to have at least one tattoo. According to a Harris poll of tattoo trends in the U.S.: 16% of all adults in the U.S. have at least one tattoo;
The highest incidence of tattoos is among the gay, lesbian and bi-sexual population (31%), Americans ages 25 to 29 years (36%) and Americans 30 to 39 years (28%);
Those living in the West are more likely to have tattoos (20%);
Democrats are more likely to have tattoos (18%) than Republicans (14%) and Independents (12%);
Equal proportions of males (16%) and females (15%) have tattoos.
However, as lifestyles change, it’s not uncommon for individuals to wish to remove a tattoo. One physician who specializes in tattoo removal estimates that half of those who get tattoos later regret them. This has created a large and growing population of tattoo removal clients who are now seeking treatment for removal.
Pigmented lesions result from the presence of melanin in the skin. Cells beneath the skin produce melanin both naturally and in response to factors such as prolonged exposure to sun. A pigmented lesion is caused when the cells produce too much melanin in a localized region. Some lesions are present at birth, but most develop with exposure to the sun or with age. When the pigment is located in the epidermis, light brown spots occur, such as freckles, cafe-au-lait birthmarks and sun spots. When the pigment is found deeper in the skin, dark brown spots can result, such as Nevus of Ota or other moles.
Light-based systems that perform these procedures have been sold since the early 1990s. They are considered established, predictable treatments and have become the method of choice for removing tattoos and pigmented lesions. However, while older systems performed just tattoo and lesion removal, newer systems include this functionality with other capabilities such as hair and/or vascular lesion removal. Newer devices are also able to address darker, multi-colored and complex tattoos more efficiently, providing more thorough removal in a fewer number of sessions.
Acne is a skin condition that manifests as various types of bumps including whiteheads, blackheads, pimples and cysts. It affects 80% of the world’s population at some point in their lives. At any given time, 17 million people in the U.S. alone suffer from acne and actively seek relief.
Acne’s primary victims are teenagers, whose elevated hormone levels trigger excess oil production in the skin. When the pores of the skin become clogged with too much oil, P. acnes bacteria multiply and cause the inflammation known as acne. Most teens get the type of acne called acne vulgaris, which appears on the face, neck, shoulders, back and chest. However, an increasing number of adults between the ages of 20 and 50 also suffer from acne that results from factors including heredity, stress, hormonal changes, medications, birth control pills, heat, sun, friction against the skin, cosmetics, moisturizers and some industrial chemicals.
Light-based devices for treatment of acne offer excellent results without the often severe side effects caused by some medications such as isotretinoin. To date, a wide variety of devices have been cleared by FDA including several different types of lasers and light-based systems.
Additionally, DUSA Pharmaceuticals (Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.) obtained FDA clearance to market its Levulan 5-ALA photodynamic therapy treatment for the reduction of acne. However, results released in October 2008 raise questions about how significant a benefit Levulan may provide. In a Phase IIB clinical trial to compare PDT using DUSA's BLU-U light plus Levulan to that of PDT using the BLU-U without Levulan, both treatments were found to be safe and effective without a significant difference in results. Based on these findings, DUSA announced that it will not pursue further clinical development of Levulan PDT in combination with BLU-U for moderate-to-severe acne.
Vascular lesions include a range of conditions including bulging varicose veins on the legs, thin spider veins on the face and discolored patches called rosacea. They are a common condition, affecting up to 50% of women age 18 years and older. In addition to aging, common causes include heredity, hormones, prolonged standing and obesity. Pregnancy can also cause vascular lesions, due to the increased blood volume and hormone levels as well as pressure of the uterus on the deep leg veins as they drain into the pelvis. A small proportion of sufferers are seriously disabled by bulging varicose veins and unable to walk. These cases are best treated surgically with a phlebectomy, which is performed as an outpatient surgery under local anesthesia. Less severe cases, however, may be treated with either light-based therapy or sclerotherapy.
Despite the convenience and excellent results offered by light-based treatment of vascular lesions, the procedure has not yet replaced needle-based sclerotherapy. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), almost four times as many sclerotherapy procedures were performed in 2009 as light-based treatment of leg veins. This is due largely to current equipment limitations regarding treatment of very large leg veins and individuals with dark skin tones. Although treatment of vascular lesions has been available since the mid 1990s and sales growth has slowed, the application nonetheless continues to be important because of the market size it addresses and the ability it offers practitioners to provide a full line of aesthetic services. Sales of multifunctional devices that address vascular lesions continue to outpace those of other light-based devices and a large number of manufacturers offer these products.
Fractional Skin Resurfacing
Fractional skin resurfacing is quickly replacing conventional erbium and carbon dioxide skin resurfacing as a means to address deep wrinkles and significant skin damage. While ablative skin resurfacing, which was introduced in the 1980s, requires long healing times, fractional skin resurfacing can achieve similar results with very short downtimes.
Like prior skin rejuvenation techniques, fractional technology is designed to stimulate the production of new collagen in the skin. This occurs over a period of time, as fibroblasts form within the dermis. Coagulated cellular debris is expelled as the skin is remodeled.
However, while non-fractional systems deliver energy uniformly into both healthy and unhealthy tissue, fractional devices are designed to direct photonic energy exclusively to the smaller damaged surface areas while leaving healthy, surrounding tissue intact. These untreated zones, which often include stem cells and melanocytes in the papillary dermis, act as thermal dissipation volumes, allowing for higher energy densities in the treatment spots versus a large spot single exposure. After treatment, the untreated zones then function as healing centers distributed throughout the treatment area. This is particularly important for ablative procedures as it significantly speeds healing compared with a non-fractional approach because these microcolumns can close within one to three days therefore minimizing complications by putting the stratum corneum intact much faster; it also offers a new way to incrementally titrate skin resurfacing treatment from very light to very heavy and enables safe treatment of more delicate areas than was previously possible, such as the neck, chest, arms and hands. Fractional skin treatments allow for the replacement and repair of tissues much deeper than previously possible with traditional laser skin resurfacing.
Depending upon the wavelength of the laser, fractional skin resurfacing may be either ablative or non-ablative, with ablative procedures generally producing a greater degree of improvement. As with non-fractional systems, ablative treatments generally provide a deeper, more significant result in a fewer number of procedures; however, they are often not appropriate for patients with darker skin tones and usually require longer post-procedure healing times (albeit much shorter than healing times for non-fractional ablative procedures). For example, while patients may experience only some slight redness after a non-ablative fractional procedure, CO2 ablative fractional skin resurfacing typically leaves a series of small white spots where the microbeams have penetrated the tissue. After these spots disappear in 10 to 12 hours, the skin becomes red and swollen for several days before drying and flaking off.
Body Shaping and Skin Tightening
Body shaping includes a range of procedures that encompass both subtle and profound improvements such as toning, tightening, smoothing and cellulite reduction on areas both large and small. Treatments are performed using energy-based devices that comprise the following technologies:
- endermology / vacuum / massage
- photonic and/or laser
- laser liposuction
- acoustic wave
Skin tightening is a related, specialized procedure intended to correct skin laxity and reduce sagging. Skin laxity is a common effect of aging and typically begins between the ages of 30 and 40. It occurs when skin loses elasticity and begins to droop or sag. This effect can occur virtually anywhere on the body, but is particularly noticeable around the eyes, mouth, jawline and neck. This loss of firmness is distinct from wrinkling, as many individuals with only minimal wrinkling experience skin laxity. Although many devices claim to offer some degree of skin tightening, few provide visible results and even devices that have been optimized for skin tightening is not fully effective on all patients.
Since the introduction of liposuction in the early 1970s, professionally-performed body shaping has become a popular means to re-contour the body into a more idealized form. Although liposuction is not effective for cellulite reduction, it remains the gold standard for fat removal, particularly for individuals seeking to remove an extra 10 to 30 unwanted pounds.
areas and then suctioning th e fat away. Today, liposuction is often performed using the tumescent technique, an approach developed in 1985 that provides local anesthesia to large volumes of subcutaneous fat and thus permits liposuction totally by local anesthesia. It is therefore less uncomfortable than liposuction under general anesthesia or IV sedation.
The older dry technique does not use injections of local anesthesia into the fat before liposuction. It has largely been abandoned due to excessive blood loss. The wet technique is also an earlier approach. It requires the injection of approximately 100 milliliters of local anesthesia containing epinephrine. Although it caused less blood loss than the dry technique, blood nonetheless composed 15% to 20% of the tissue removed and therefore the wet technique has also largely been discontinued. The super wet technique, which is performed under general anesthesia, requires the injection of a volume of diluted local anesthesia that is less than half the volume used for the tumescent technique. At about 8% of the fluid removed, blood loss with the super wet technique is greater than the tumescent technique but significantly less than the wet technique.
Laser-assisted lipolysis requires the use of tumescent fluid and a microcannula inserted through a small incision to deliver laser energy and heat into subcutanteous fat. It can target specific body parts that were difficult to access with the more traditional methods, but are perfectly suited to precise body sculpting.


text:
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In 1983 Virginia Vallejo was, at thirty three, Colombia’s number one television star. A sophisticated socialite, the multilingual professional beauty had been courted by the country’s traditional billionaires when she met and fell in love with a man named Pablo Escobar. The ambitious politician of humble origins -also thirty-three - introduced the elegant anchor-woman to a new world of unbelievable wealth in which never-ending floods of money poured into his charitable works and the campaign of the Presidential candidate of his choice, at a time when both Forbes and Fortune listed him as the seventh richest man in the world.
This book describes the birth of the cocaine industry and the evolution of one of the most powerful criminal minds of all times, Escobar’s legendary capacity for corruption and terror, and the links between his trade and the Caribbean dictators, the Colombian Governments of the past quarter of the century, and the U.S. Secret Service. In the early stages of what later became a multi-faceted and stormy romantic relationship, the television journalist who inspired the drug baron’s passion also became his witness of choice for his capacity to subdue presidents and dictators, the extreme right and the extreme left, and everyone who crossed his path in what he considered a fight for a nationalistic cause.
The love story of five years between the screen diva and “The Colombian Robin Hood” is one of glamour and joy, but also one of enduring suffering and shame. It goes from her luxurious suites at the most elegant hotels in the world, New York and Beverly Hills, Venice and Zürich, Mexico and Rio, the Hamptons mansions and the Park Avenue penthouses, to Escobar’s ranch, a 6,200 acre spread, a tiny island in the Colombian Caribbean and the Berlin Wall in 1989.
After her relationship with Escobar ended in 1987 -and especially after his death in 1993- Virginia Vallejo became a social pariah: she was blacklisted, threatened, scorned and humiliated in every possible way by the media and allies of presidential families supported by Escobar and his rivals, the Rodríguez-Orejuela brothers. Journalists on the payroll of both drug cartels were used by them to publicly warn her that her face would be cut with razors and she would be tortured to death if she ever opened her mouth.
Her twenty years of silence came to an end on July 18th 2006, when she fled Colombia for the USA on a chartered jet of the Drug Enforcement Agency after accusing Escobar’s candidate -then on trial- of being the instigator of the death of Luis Carlos Galán, the honest political leader who would have become Colombia’s President in 1990. The criminal case -which was supposed to take another two months- was closed the day before she could testify. In protest, the Colombian Ambassador to Washington resigned his post and a new Foreign Affairs Minister linked to the paramilitaries was appointed.
Virginia Vallejo’s departure made front-page news on 42 newspapers worldwide and her only radio interview to The Voice of America was repeatedly aired in 36 countries. When she realized that if she returned to Colombia on a jet specially chartered for her by the American Government she would disappear or be tortured by the Secret Service or the drug cartels, so she chose to stay on American soil with half a ton of luggage and two dollar-quarters in her wallet, her only capital at the time. The Rodríguez trial never took place: on September 26th 2006 both brothers pleaded guilty, after accepting to hand over $2.1 billion in assets to the American and Colombian Governments.
The readers will reach their own conclusions after reading this unique story which, in the author’s words, she lived first-hand with the wide-open eyes of a fascinated child, then with her deep love and admiration for Pablo Escobar’s courage and his generosity to the poorest and, in the final stages of their relationship, with her utter impotence to stop his upcoming war against their country and the increasingly powerful Cali Cartel.
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domain: politics