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时间：03-30 来源：转载 浏览量：14557
'What in the name of Merlin are you doing?' said Ron, watching her as though fearful for her sanity.
Harry swallowed his mouthful of Ginger Newt and stared at her. Her tone of voice was not at all what he was used to; it was not brisk, crisp and stern; it was low and anxious and somehow much more human than usual.
'Well, I dreamed I was playing Quidditch the other night,' said Ron, screwing up his face in an effort to remember. 'What d'you reckon that means?'
Rain pounded on the windowpanes as they strode along the empty corridors back to Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt as though his first day had lasted a week, but he still had a mountain of homework to do before bed. A dull pounding pain was developing over his right eye. He glanced out of a rain-washed window at the dark grounds as they turned into the Fat Lady's corridor. There was still no light in Hagrid's cabin.
Fred and George looked thunderstruck. It was clear that as far as they were concerned, Hermione's threat was way below the belt. With a last threatening look at them, she thrust Fred's clipboard and the bag of Fancies back into his arms, and stalked back to her chair by the fire.
He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.。

domain: literature


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Netflix teases new season of Selling Sunset
In season six, the model was introduced to the show, and her colleagues were shocked to learn she had given birth just six weeks before filming.
Although Nick is known for being Mariah Carey’s ex-husband and the former America’s Got Talent host, he has recently made headlines for fathering 10 children since 2021.
While fans were also shocked to learn Bre was one of the six mothers, during the season seven premiere she confessed to sleeping with actor Michael B Jordan.
During the episode, things got steamy when the ladies of the Oppenheim Group discussed their personal lives while out for dinner.
After Amanza immediately chose the Creed actor, Bre revealed: “I could do that, and I’ve done that.
“I’ve slept with all of my favorites. I’m kidding,” the 32-year-old claimed.
Selling Sunset's newest cast member Nicole Young has had an impressive career [LATEST]
Inside Selling Sunset's Bre Tiesi's unconventional relationship with Nick Cannon [INSIGHT]
Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause plays F, Marry, Kill in racy Halloween outfit [PHOTOS]
Elsewhere in the episode, Bre shed more light on her complex family dynamics after previously sharing they were in an open relationship.
She added: “I love Nick. I’m happy with my relationship, Emma asked whether Nick would be opposed to her dating other people, and she responded: “I don’t know. Maybe.”
To which a dumbfounded Chrishell Stause chimed: “Wait. You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s not fair.”
However, Bre hit back: “I mean, I do what I want to do, but I still would never disrespect Nick. I just wouldn’t.
And even his situations and stuff, I’ve always been nothing but respectful of that. I know people don’t get it, and I don’t care that people don’t get it.”
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews

domain: entertainment


In 2008, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. At that time, it wasn’t hard to imagine the Swedes were rewarding Krugman for eight years of blasting George W. Bush. In other words, the Nobel Prize truly matched its namesake: Alfred Nobel invented dynamite. Krugman regularly throws rhetorical dynamite at anything that stands in the way of his radical worldview.
Krugman outdid himself for outrage in 2011. Every year, the Media Research Center collects a panel of willing conservative journalists and talk show hosts and puts them on a sickening roller coaster ride through the worst media bilge of the last twelve months to arrive at the Best Notable Quotables of the Year.
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Paul Krugman sat in the sulfurous center with three other “bests.”
First, Krugman took the Quote of the Year for his controversial dynamite throwing on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. On his blog “The Conscience of a Liberal,” he accused someone else of ruining the unifying force of the attacks.
“What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. The atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes,
George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neo-cons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons.”
The atrocity was “hijacked” — note the distinct flavor of terrorism in that term — by the neocons. “The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.”
What made this commentary perfect in its spoiled-brattiness was the last sentence: “I’m not going to allow comments on this post, for obvious reasons.” It’s obvious he was a world-class divider on a day of unity and a coward.
One of the vilest aspects of Obamacare was the inclusion of “death panels” to recommend when medical treatments should be denied because extending Grandma’s remaining life wasn’t cost-efficient. But that never stopped a liberal from posturing. Krugman won the Grim Reaper Award for Saying Conservatives Want You to Die for his remarks against the Paul Ryan Medicare proposal on CNN.
“To be a little melodramatic, the voucher would kill people, no question,” said Krugman, as CNNs Gloria Borger said, Ryan “infuriated liberals.” Then came more Krugman. “The cuts in Medicare that he’s proposing, the replacement of Medicare by a voucher system, would in the end, mean that tens of millions of older Americans would not be able to afford essential health care. So that counts as cruelty to me.”
Krugman also won the Tea Party Terrorists Award for another blast of toxicity, this one less than two hours after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot (and several others murdered) by a young madman. Krugman didn’t need to wait for the evidence. He knew the culprits. He blamed conservatives.
“We don’t have proof yet that this was political, but the odds are that it was. She’s been the target of violence before.” This was a reference to her district being “targeted” in a Sarah Palin list of Democrats to defeat. “Her father says that ‘the whole Tea Party’ was her enemy. And yes, she was on Sarah Palin’s infamous ‘crosshairs’ list. Just yesterday, Ezra Klein remarked that opposition to health reform was getting scary. Actually, it’s been scary for quite a while, in a way that already reminded many of us of the climate that preceded the Oklahoma City bombing. …Violent acts are what happen when you create a climate of hate. And it’s long past time for the GOPs leaders to take a stand against the hate-mongers.”
Where were Krugman and his fellow Democratic opponents of “toxic talk” to take a stand against left-wing radio host Mike Malloy, who asked for Bush to be assassinated by Navy SEALs after they killed Osama bin Laden? “So when does SEAL Unit 6, or whatever it’s called, drop in on George Bush? Bush was responsible for a lot more death, innocent death, than bin Laden.” That won the Damn Those Conservatives Award.
Conservatives are assumed to be deeply racist by the tolerant left. The Ku Klux Con Job Award was won by MSNBCs Lawrence O’Donnell for shocking liberal ex-Gov. Jennifer Granholm with the notion that the phrase “Obama and his union bosses” in an ad was racist: “Does that sound to you like they are trying to consciously or subconsciously deliver the racist message that, of course, of course a black man can’t be the real boss?” Granholm confessed she hadn’t thought about that. It takes a Paul Krugman level of “imagination” to smear conservatives with this kind of mud.
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SamuraiArtist (292) - portland, Oregon, USA - JUL 22, 2007
Draft at Belmont Station: Pours golden with barely a head with white bubbles. Very sour aroma. Flavor is slightly sweet and very very sour, i can just barely get some of the apricot in there but its so sour that takes over. Some musty yeastiness. Dry finish. If you like sour you will love this. Not balanced at all. beerinmarch (2830) - Washington, USA - JUL 19, 2007
On tap! at the Belmont Station Puckerfest 2007. Beautiful beer, sour and acidic as all cantillon beer, dry and earthy/dusty flavors with a lingering dry apricot finish. Pours cloudy orange with a soft white head that falls quickly. The apricot in this beer gave the impression of sweetness even though the beer is still very dry. Proteus (98) - FINLAND - JUL 13, 2007
Bottle. Amber color with no head. You get more out of the apricots in the aroma than in the flavor, which was a small disappointment to me. But nevertheless it’s quite close to a gueuze with a hint of apricots. A bit special in the palate because of the very dry and at the same time sticky feeling you get in your mouth. jarspag (601) - San Francisco, California, USA - JUL 12, 2007
Tasted at the brewery - this was my favorite of the Cantillon lambics I had the chance to try. Tart, sour, hints of apricots, and a dry finish... nevertheless, the style is so different to my palate that it would take more than a couple tastes to become accustomed to - but this pretty good. maeib (8749) - Wootton, Northampton, Northamptonshire, ENGLAND - JUL 9, 2007
Bottled - Swan & Rushes - Leicester. A vibrant orange coloured beer, still as a snail. The aroma is acidic with sweaty socks. The taste is all you would expect. Sournes, acidity, puckering. Lovely to drink. Only mildly fruity and not obviously brewed with apricots. Again, lovely.
boboski (1095) - Alabama, USA - JUL 5, 2007
Cloudy peach/amber body. A small head forms and diminishes quickly, nearly fully. Aromas of light fruits that include apricots, peach, kiwi and unripe bananas are all notable but deeply buried under heavy funk. Notes of barnyard, sourness, leather, grain all combine to create a robust if not somewhat muddled, crazy nose. Light vinegar, even in fresh samples. Flavors of huge funk, dried fruits, sweet toasted malts and looming sourness. Medium acidity. Everything seems muddled together, but it really has a great overall taste. It’s definitely a strange one. The finish is musty, fruity and very dry, huge funk and biting tartness lingering. The mouthfeel is lively even though carbonation isn’t high, very tannic at times and sour throughout. Very good, very strange. I guess that means it’s right up my alley. FatPhil (16102) - Tallinn, ESTONIA - JUL 4, 2007
Bottle (Apteekki, Turku)
Very light cloudy orangy yellow. Aroma largely scrumpy (that’s a big complement). Tastes very sharp and bit peachy, with only a later hint of apricot. rudolf (2360) - Buffalo, New York, USA - JUN 29, 2007
Forgot to rate this on the first go-round and its better (fresher) now. Slightly cloudy gold, thin head. Nose is a sizable apricot hit, then cantillon funk & wheat. Flavor is probably the driest cantillion I’ve ever had. Super dry & acidic, lemon & apricot. Some wheat but damn is this dry. Fruit sweetness is semi-present in the finish. Wonderful but a slow drinker to be sure. stegosaurus (1882) - Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA - JUN 21, 2007
Bottle sampled. Pours hazy copper/orange with no head at all. Aroma of fruit, funk, and acidic. the flavor is sweet apricots to start and finishes sour. I wasn’t crazy about this one. Marsiblursi (3076) - Göteborg, SWEDEN - JUN 19, 2007
(Bottle, thanks rickgordon) Pours hazy, beautiful yellowish orange with green hints. Woody, Cantillon house acid like aroma with a nice fruitiness with apricots up front. Rather tart and dry in the nose. Full acid sour flavour with some wood and fruits, mostly citrus fruits like lemon, but also apricots. Tart and dry. Some unripe berries. Medium body. Very Cantillon-ish.

domain: hobby


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Discussion in 'Pop & Justice' started by Butterfly, Jan 21, 2020.
They're from the A Perfect Contradiction era apparently. So 2014.
I'm glad she's okay, I was genuinely worried for her after reading about her last birth.
I’m loving the BBC doc ‘As I Am’. How can you not love this woman?!
She came across so, so well.
Her manager was like something from a spoof documentary though!
Was quite sad though when she was speaking about the possibility of not continuing with music.
I did completely agree with the producer about her style becoming more commercial since the debut. A shame really.
I genuinely hope that she isn't serious about this. I'm still waiting for her to go back to the sound of her debut.
I feel like this is a fact that no one can deny. Also a fact - her debut is a masterpiece!
It did veer worryingly into "But I'm B-list at Capital" at times. And given that a lot of the documentary was about the perceived "flop" of The Architect in failing to go double platinum, I can only wonder what's going on behind the scenes given that the latest album hasn't even gone Silver.
I think the first 2 albums were brilliant and after that I've sort of felt like the albums became more patchy. I didn't really vibe with the last record at all, albeit a few tracks here and there.
Just watched the documentary. Much better than I had expected, loved the through-line of stuff about her childhood and how that led to her becoming a singer.
With all the comments, even during The Architect era, about her career being nearly over, I have to say I'm not expecting a new album soon after both Mistakes & Infinite Things bombed. Hopefully she'll find success in acting and can return to music with a passion for it.
I truly enjoy Infinite Things, but I do agree that she should take a break from music and return with renewed energies. And, as other people are saying, a throwback to her debut album vibes would not be a wrong move at all.
She'd be great in a movie musical. Imagine another Baz Lurhman / Moulin Rogue type movie with Paloma as a supporting character.
I think parts of the documentry were probably a real eye opener for some people , she definitely knows who she is but seems like there isn't that balance of what she wants and what the label wants and I think it was good to show not everything is what it seems ,and like it's been said that they perceived the architect as a step down when it still shifted 4-450k and I think is her most consistent album ,and I'm shook she picked warrior over King's and Queens , showing the label obsession with features and her being truthful about not really wanting to so them, the label must be loosing there minds over infinite things , which apart from covid a crappy run of singles didn't help, but I have faith in paloma she's immensely talented
I think that Infinite Things underperformed because they chose as singles the weakest tracks on the album. A singles run of Supernatural - Monster - Living with a Stranger would have been much better.
The singles run was definitely a choice. Better Than This as the lead single was a huge mistake considering Supernatural and Monster were right there. How they decided with that as the lead blows my mind.
But do we know if they decided on those or Paloma did?
I think Gold also had the sound to be a good single, but it's a matter of fact that these three songs you mention needed to be singles for the album. At least Monster and Supernatural. I wonder if the era would have done differently if it had a different singles rollout.
I always looked forward to seeing what Paloma's next album artwork was going to be and this latest album just wasn't it for me. I hated the concept and the font. I always think of Paloma as having such striking imagery and it makes up part of her whole 'package'. She's got that voice and also these brilliant images and striking videos and... this era felt like a real bargain bin version of all of that.
The better than this cover got me really excited with its David lynch/80s thriller vibe , then I heard the song and infinite things with no cover concept and welp
Separate names with a comma.

domain: artistic


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When you sit down to watch a film starring Jason Segal (“Forgetting Sarah Marshal”) and Ed Helms (“The Hangover”), one..
Justin Bieber and Christmas music alone are poisons potent enough to kill even the brightest of moods, but Justin Bieber..
Fox’s hit series, Bones, continued with its seventh season on November 3 in its signature fashion. The first scene opened..
Is there really anything more compelling than the story of a small town butter carving competition? “Butter,” the film by..
The “Harold and Kumar” film series has always been about one thing: madness. Insane, drug induced, sex-filled madness. What starts..
“The League” is a comedy about six childhood friends who play in a fantasy football league: Taco (Jon Lajoie), Pete..
When I first saw an episode of ABC’s “Modern Family,” I was pleasantly surprised by the show’s candid and spot-on..
There is something almost intoxicating about Bon Iver’s music. I can’t tell if it’s the completely incomprehensible lyrics, or maybe..
Here are two words that probably shouldn’t go in the same sentence: cancer and comedy. However, those are the two..
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have returned with a new album, “I’m With You,” and a new guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer...


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Voice of America on February 14, 2013, reported that South Korea showed off a new cruise missile on that defense officials say has the ability to strike “anywhere at anytime” in North Korea. Excerpts below:
Seoul’s military is on a heightened state of alert after North Korea’s latest nuclear test, which prompted international condemnation and raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok touted the pinpoint accuracy of the missile, which he says has now been officially deployed.
“The cruise missile we will show the public today is an extremely accurate weapon that can target precise targets – such as windows of a North Korean command office – anywhere in the Korean peninsula. It is extremely destructive and powerful and will restrict the enemy in case South Korea is threatened.”
South Korea reached a deal last year with the United States to expand the range of its ballistic missiles – a move Seoul says is necessary to counter the growing threat of Pyongyang’s weapons.
The White House says the two leaders are working together to seek strong action against North Korea at the United Nations Security Council, which has already unanimously condemned the test.

domain: politics


After Elon Musk cancelled his purchase of Twitter, with the case now going to court, observers say Mr Musk won’t come out ‘smelling like roses’ and may ultimately be ordered to complete the takeover of the social media giant.
For more on this story visit: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/elon-musk-makes-meme-on-twitter-legal-threat-after-abandoning-takeover-plan/zym9e7vsf
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text:
written by Mary Hickey © All rights reserved
Families Buy Your Urns?
You'll learn five things you can do to update your urn selection.
How to Sell
Wouldn't you like to know what women want? You'll learn 5 key
things that are essential to know when you are selling to women.
Planning a Celebration of Life
Planning a funeral can be very stressful. Banish the stress with this book. It's chock full of
ideas for planning a unique life celebration. Available as hard copy or by download.


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“In today’s gadget-rich and time-pressured lifestyles, it is sometimes hard to make the effort to ensure our children have an upbringing that gets them outdoors and active. Similarly, parenting is increasingly becoming risk averse and challenge-free – we spend too much time making it ‘easy’ for our children.
Children need ‘managed’ exposure to age-appropriate challenges and risks.
We seek to achieve this through family adventures and experiences designed, on the whole, to get us outside, adventuring and having fun… as a family.
We hope that some of what we are sharing is of interest to like-minded parents.

domain: psychology


Friend of the blog Jim Lefebvre, the curator of the excellent historical Notre Dame blog, Forever Irish, brought to my attention a great tradition that’s taking place this weekend at Notre Dame: Alumni Band Weekend.
So if you see an exorbitant amount of people with musical instruments, fear not — the Stanford band hasn’t returned. I’ll let Jim take it from here, as the father of two ND Band alums gives us more on a special weekend on campus.
Started in the 1980s, Alumni Band Weekend has traditionally been held once every four years. An exception was made in 2008, when the Stanford weekend was also chosen to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Notre Dame Victory March. Some band alums will have graduated in the 2000s, others more than 60 years ago.
And then there’s “Captain Jack” Steidl, class of 1941. At 91, the retired flight instructor and pilot has come from his home in Issaquah, Washington, to many of the Alumni Band events over the years. And he will be at ND for this weekend’s festivities.
Jack is believed to be the oldest living ND Band alum, and the last Band member to march under the leadership of the legendary Band director Joseph Casasanta.
Casasanta is a legendary name in Notre Dame history. After graduation in 1923, he personally brought the ND Band back from a low point, attracting new members, outfitting them in new uniforms, and arranging for annual trips to the big away games. He also contributed to the sounds we hear today.
“Casasanta created some of the most permanent musical icons of the Notre Dame Band,” says Dr. Ken Dye, Notre Dame’s director of bands. “His arrangement of the Victory March is still played today. Notre Dame Our Mother was first performed at Knute Rockne’s funeral (in 1931) and than adopted as the official alma mater of Notre Dame. His other songs — Hike Notre Dame, Down the Line and The Irish Backs — are played at every game.”
Down the Line has a special link to the play field, as it was written in tribute to The Seven Mules, the line that blocked for the legendary Four Hoursemen.
“He was magnificent… people just loved him,” Jack Steidl said of Casasanta. “He was, in one sense, very much in charge and a little bit intimidating. But he was also a wonderful leader, and supremely likeable and approachable.”
Steidl vividly recalls the trips to New York for the annual game against Army.
“For a young 20-year-old from a small town in Illinois just being in New York City, and then playing at the ‘Game of the Year’ what a wonderful memory,” Steidl said. “We marched to Yankee Stadium, and I remember looking over and seeing the myriad of Irish cops saluting – we presumed they were Irish – along the streets. That was a thrill.
“Yankee Stadium! Of all things. And the school paying our room and board at a fancy Manhattan hotel. It was wonderful.”
Current director Dye sums up the ND Alumni Band Weekend aura.
“It is a living manifestation of tradition and family. It is a ‘family reunion’ of stories, music, and friends. It is a gathering of people who love their school and enjoy seeing their closest friends. Alumni Weekend becomes a living, performing enactment of the history and legacy of the Notre Dame Band.”
Jim Lefebvre’s award-winning book, Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions is available at his website Forever Irish. If you’re looking for more on the Alumni Band weekend, or Notre Dame history in general, you should check Jim’s work out.


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On January 25, The Greater Boston Food Bank partnered with State House News Service/MASSterList to host an event on hunger in Massachusetts. Featuring anti-hunger leaders from across the state, the discussion focused on how Massachusetts can end hunger by 2030 through advancing the national strategy outlined at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health last September. The event was kicked off by remarks from Congressman Jim McGovern, setting the stage for a lively panel discussion.
Watch full video of the event below.
Karen Holmes Ward, CityLine Host, WCVB, moderated the discussion about opportunities and obstacles for Massachusetts to eliminate food insecurity in the Commonwealth. Panelists included Catherine D’Amato, The Greater Boston Food Bank President & CEO, Erin McAleer, Project Bread President & CEO; as well as the Co-Chairs of MA Food System Caucus, State Senator Jo Comerford and State Representative Hannah Kane.
Hunger and access to proper nutrition remain pervasive, with nearly 1 in 3 adults experiencing food insecurity in Massachusetts in 2021, an increase from 2020. Hunger disproportionately impacts Black and Latinx populations, and visits to local food pantries have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“While we maintain high levels of demand, the cost of essentials like eggs – which more than doubled in the past year – impacts our buying power and inventory,” said GBFB President and CEO Catherine D’Amato. “We fear this is the third wave in a three-year ongoing crisis. The size of our state and the collective will to end hunger makes us capable of doing so – but it’s something we must all tackle together.”
“The size of our state and the collective will to end hunger makes us capable of doing so – but it’s something we must all tackle together.” – Catherine D’Amato, GBFB President and CEO
The issue of food insecurity recently gathered national leaders at a historic White House Conference – 50 years in the making – on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health where a national strategy was developed to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease in America by 2030.
“The White House Conference was just the beginning,” said McGovern. “The national strategy lays out what all levels of government can be doing: local state and federal, as well as what philanthropic and non-profit partners can be doing to implement the strategy. Here in Massachusetts, we are already hard at work to implement an ambitious blueprint to end hunger statewide.”
Since September’s conference, hunger-relief stakeholders across the Commonwealth have been convening to build a framework for achieving this goal, drawing on the expertise spearheaded and piloted here. In a letter to the Healey-Driscoll administration, a group of 19 hunger-relief stakeholders, convened by Project Bread, outlined five pillars around which to focus collective efforts to end hunger in Massachusetts by 2030:
“We need to be mobilizing legislators to make this a top priority. We need to bring more people to the table to advocate for these solutions,” said Project Bread President and CEO Erin McAleer. “The systems around people who have experienced hunger are failing them, which is why lifting up the voices of people with lived experiences is necessary to help break the stigma and address the hunger inequality with systemic solutions.”
“It’s not just a humanitarian effort – the fiscal benefit of ending hunger is something we should talk about more,” said State Representative Hannah Kane. “Where will we find the money to alleviate hunger? It’s in the savings. We need to be united in doing this work, and we need to present a strategic plan that eliminates hunger, tackles diet-related disease, strengthens our food system—encouraging legislative leadership to see the issue in totality.”
“Ending hunger is both a bipartisan and bicameral effort. We are collectively filing bills that include policies from managing food waste, to providing infrastructure for our farmers,” said State Senator Jo Comerford. “The real ingredient in the statehouse is you. Advocates, admin officials, folks across the Commonwealth need to join and bring a legislative call to action. When we feel the charge coming from constituents, it helps galvanize us. I believe we can create a virtuous cycle where the people in Massachusetts get healthier because there’s no food insecurity to take us down.”
The event was sponsored by State House News Service, The Greater Boston Food Bank, The Castle Group, Brian Hickey Associates, Charles Stefanini Consulting Group, Project Bread, Instacart, Teddie Peanut Butter, UMass Chan Medical School, and Catholic Charities of Boston with support from About Fresh, Children’s Health Watch, Community Servings, Daily Table, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Food Bank of Western MA, MA Food System Collaborative, Mass General Brigham, Mass Law Reform Institute, Stone Soup Café, and Worcester County Food Bank.

domain: sociology


Of its DC-4 “Skymaster”, the US-American airplane manufacturer Douglas developed a stretched and pressurized example and called it DC-6. The military version received the name C-54, however a further airplane with the name C-118 was developed from the civilian DC-6, largely because the Air Force demanded a separate designation for its transports for important politicians. The original of this model with the registration 6-505 and the name “The Independence” was the first presidential airplane with own livery. It was at the former US president Harry S. Truman’s command.
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Here is an article about 2013 3-star recruits who could make an impact in college. Green is one of them.
Our experts give you 15 three-star recruits from the 2013 class who could star at the next level.
247Sports In partnership with CBS Sports

domain: sports


text:
On January 22, 1900, Mrs. Barbara Shelgren, age 25, died at Augustana Hospital in Chicago of an abortion performed there that day. Paulina Bechtel, identified as a midwife, was arrested and held by Coroner's Jury and indicted of homicide by a grand jury, but the case was thrown out by Judge Holdom.
Bechtel was also implicated in the abortion death of Ida Henry in 1900, but was identified as a physician in that case. According to Leslie Reagan, author of When Abortion Was a Crime, it was common for female physicians to be misidentified as midwives. Therefore I am going to assume that Bechtel was indeed a doctor.
This would make Barbara's abortion typical of pre-legalization abortions.
For more on pre-legalization abortion, see The Bad Old Days of Abortion
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domain: law


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The phenomena of brainwave entrainment was first described in the scientific literature in 1973 by Gerald Oster in results published in an article in Scientific American entitled, “Auditory Beats in the Brain”. He showed that a specific brainwave could be induced when a person heard two separate, but closely related, sound frequencies, one in each ear. He discovered that when the frequencies heard by each ear differed by about 10 hertz, the brainwave pattern of the person hearing the sound would synchronize to the difference between the two frequencies. For example, if the person heard a 410 hertz sound in one ear and a 400 hertz sound in the other ear, their brainwaves would stabilize at the difference between the two, or 10 hertz. This technique is called binaural beats, and it is a fundamental principle of brainwave entrainment methods.
A person might wonder what the problem with looking for validation is; why we shouldn’t seek to compare our experiences with those others have had. Shouldn’t there be some sort of indicators that our practice is producing an effect? There are indicators, but they are not the high profile, odd phenomena most frequently looked for, and they may not become apparent immediately. Some things do take a little time.
Today we're going to put on our headphones, kick back in the beanbag, and get mellow to the soothing sounds of the latest digital drug: binaural beats. These computer generated sound files are said to massage your brain and produce all sorts of effects, everything from psychedelic experiences to behavior modification. Let's point our skeptical eye at the science of binaural beats, and especially at some of the claims made for them.
The mechanism for this is that when your eyes or ears are exposed to a particular frequency of pulses or beats, the thalamus first distributes this information to the entire brain, including the visual and cerebral cortex where neural activity begins to synchronize to the incoming frequency, producing hemispheric synchronization and a balance of brainwave activity across the brain.
The binaural-beat appears to be associated with an electroencephalographic (EEG) frequency-following response in the brain (3). Many studies have demonstrated the presence of a frequency-following response to auditory stimuli, recorded at the vertex of the human brain (top of the head). This EEG activity was termed "frequency-following response" because its period corresponds to the fundamental frequency of the stimulus (Smith, Marsh, & Brown, 1975). Binaural-beat stimulation appears to encourage access to altered states of consciousness.
While the physiological and psychological processes being uncovered by brain science in the study of brainwaves is sometimes complex and still being investigated, certain basic principles are well-established, easily understood, and helpful for achieving the most effectively use of brainwave entrainment when seeking relaxation, improved sleep, lowering of anxiety, or other goals. This important background information and scientific knowledge presented here includes:
A therapy that slows brainwave activity, helping to produce low-frequency waves, is likely to aid relaxation and sleep. But it’s not only lowering brainwave frequency that binaural beats may offer to sleep and relaxation. A small study (19 people) has found that exposure to binaural beats is associated with changes to three hormones important to sleep and well being:
This is an extreme example, naturally, but the idea holds true even in situations that are not as extreme. This ties in very closely with Point #4 above. When you’re wishing to combine meditation and brainwave entrainment, if you’re practicing a meditation technique but not really paying attention to what you’re doing, or perhaps you are performing the technique wrong, whilst allowing your mind to drift off to wherever it takes you, it should come as no surprise that the entrainment track is not helping you achieve a state of meditation. That’s because in fact you aren’t really trying to enter meditation or because you’re specifically engaging in activities that prevent you from getting there.
Effects on cortisol: The hormone cortisol is commonly associated with stress, and when levels are higher than usual, it can have a negative impact on the body. High levels of cortisol can lead to a range of conditions, including Cushing syndrome, menstrual cycle and female libido changes, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Giampapa noted a reduction of cortisol of up to 70-80 percent in several study participants.
If anybody would like to look over the scientific evidence concerning brainwave entrainment and isochronic tones, I’ve done a lot of research over the years which I’ve collected at the PubMed website of NCBI – a branch of the National Institute of Health – that provides access to a large library of medical journal articles. I’ve made my list public so you can look through the journal articles that were published concerning this topic. Here’s the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1tmDFOl0XtyA4/collections/51531796/public/. Most of the collection only gives access to abstracts or summaries unless you’re at some kind of educational institution that has a subscription to the particular journal that article is in, but I actually find abstracts really helpful. So have at it, read away. And if your psychiatrist/therapist thinks you’re nuts for feeling better after listening to isochronic tones, just whip out your 82-page collection of scientific journal abstracts written by her peers and give it to her to read. 🙂
Gamma waves are the fastest brainwave frequency range. Gamma brain waves are believed to link and process information from all other parts of the brain. A high amount of gamma wave activity in the brain is associated with intelligence, compassion, focus and feelings of happiness. High levels of gamma brain waves have also been linked to improved memory and an increased sensitivity to sensory input. Low amounts of gamma brainwave activity have been linked to learning difficulties, poor memory and impaired mental processing.
Binaural meditation music is VERY popular these days, and you might have noticed that some of the companies that sell binaural music products make rather spectacular claims about the benefits of brainwave entrainment technology. Some declare that they can make you “meditate like a zen monk at the touch of a button”, or that you will “instantly meditate like the greatest gurus”. While it is true that binaural meditation music is extremely powerful, and that it can genuinely improve the quality of your life, it is not a miracle solution or a spiritual “get rich quick” scheme. Like all things in life, positive and lasting results will still take just a little time and effort on your part. Binaural meditation music just accelerates and deepens to process.
It’s important to keep in mind; a person’s own experiences will be somewhat relative to their starting point. If you are a person who is completely stressed out, burned out, hanging on the ragged edge, experiencing total adrenal fatigue, and you’ve been at that point for awhile, then to you even a small degree of mental quiet and physical relaxation that meditation and brainwave entrainment bring will feel like a tsunami of relief.
If new stressors are challenging your ability to cope or if self-care measures just aren't relieving your stress, you may need to look for reinforcements in the form of therapy or counseling. Therapy also may be a good idea if you feel overwhelmed or trapped, if you worry excessively, or if you have trouble carrying out daily routines or meeting responsibilities at work, home or school.
Your brain actually has a predominant frequency at which it operates in any given moment; this can be associated with your state of mind. In other words, the emotional state of your mind in any moment, such as feeling happy, sad, frightened, sleepy or excited, can be measured as a frequency and with the right sound technology, you can stimulate the state that you want on command!
Beta brainwaves are next highest in frequency after alpha waves, occurring at 13 to 30 hertz. Beta brainwaves are what we experience every day as we are awake and using our analytic mind. Beta brainwaves are needed for concentrating on mental tasks, and when they are present for too long of a time, they lead to stress, anxiety, and even paranoia. Most people do not have trouble achieving beta brainwaves and in fact suffer from spending too much time in beta brainwave patterns. However, those with attention deficit disorder (ADD) who have problems focusing their attention can benefit from learning how to achieve and remain in beta brainwave states for longer amounts of time.
There's nothing like anxiety to annihilate your sense of humor. It would follow, then, that it's impossible to feel stressed when you're hunched over in a fit of giggles. Studies have shown, in fact, that laughter not only relieves tension, but actually improves immune function. Swap jokes with your friends. Rent a funny movie. Stop taking things so seriously!
For example, according to Wikipedia, if you take one frequency in one speaker in a pair of headphones, say, 300Hz, and the other speaker for your other ear has a frequency of 310Hz, the resulting difference of 10Hz would be the rate that the pulse, or beat, plays at. 10Hz (Alpha Waves) would correspond to what the brain puts out when you are generally relaxed. So, in effect, listening to a 10Hz binaural beat for a certain amount of time should take the edge off.
Brainwave entrainment is a field of study and endeavor founded in the same physiological and psychological processes that make music, drumming, and chanting so powerful as methods for transforming the mind and spirit and aiding in healing of the body. These processes involve how the electrical energy in our brains synchronizes with sounds and visual stimuli, producing a particular brainwave frequency and its associated mental states.
Some studies have found that binaural beats can affect cognitive function positively or negatively, depending on the specific frequency that’s generated. For example, a study of long-term memory found that beta-frequency binaural beats improved memory, while theta-frequency binaural beats interfered with memory. This is something for scientists to continue to examine closely. For people who use binaural beats, it’s important to understand that different frequencies will produce different effects.
Articles and information on this website may only be copied, reprinted, or redistributed with written permission (but please ask, we like to give written permission!) The purpose of this Blog is to encourage the free exchange of ideas. The entire contents of this website is based upon the opinions of Dave Asprey, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective authors, who may retain copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the personal research and experience of Dave Asprey and the community. We will attempt to keep all objectionable messages off this site; however, it is impossible to review all messages immediately. All messages expressed on The Bulletproof Forum or the Blog, including comments posted to Blog entries, represent the views of the author exclusively and we are not responsible for the content of any message.
Most programs start at a work/life busy brain Beta frequency of twenty light flashes per second (20Hz) and slowly ramp them down to Alpha (relaxation and meditation) at 8-12 HZ, Theta (deep relaxation and dreaming) at 4-8 Hz) and Delta (dreamless deep relaxation) of .5-4Hz. We have taken measurements at Mass General with state of the art EEG equipment and have seen a slowing of the brain waves from Beta to Theta in two minutes and complete brain wave harmonization in the left, right, anterior, posterior and occipital regions of the brain.
Research: the authors stated that qualitative electroencephalogram signatures needed to be developed for different disorders and tested using standard validated methods of psychological assessment. Larger RCTs were needed with clear inclusion criteria for participants. The RCTs should measure qualitative EEG, hormone levels and the time of day of the intervention. Interventions protocols should be clearly defined and the relationship between session frequency/ duration and outcomes should be explored. More studies of auditory stimulation were needed, as well as studies comparing different types of stimulation, monaural, binaural and isochronic beats and use of white noise versus music.


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State unable to run TNReady verification ahead of upcoming testing
Tennessee education officials haven't been able to verify if Questar Assessment, the state's TNReady vendor, has the capacity to serve all test takers in the coming weeks.
According to Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, "flu and floodings" that impacted schools have prevented the department from running two verification tests ahead of statewide testing in April.
"We had one verification test and too many schools were closed, and we had another verification test and didn't have enough schools because of flus and flooding," Schwinn, who started her job in February, said.
Most students are set to begin testing April 15, according to the state education department's website.
The spring 2018 testing season was marked by troubles as thousands of students were unable to log into the system, then the state education department revealed Questar made unauthorized changes to the test. The Tennessee General Assembly later decided the test results could count only if it benefited students, educators and districts.
Schwinn said that the department has made changes in the last month to help safeguard against testing issues, including:
- The department has access to Questar's system in order to monitor testing in real time;
- The vendor is required to call every single district to make sure they're fully equipped for online testing;
- Changes to customer service protocol.
"We’re putting in as many safety nets as we can," she said.
Actively seeking new testing vendor
The state's request for proposal, released March 5, aims to secure a testing vendor that will improve online capacity, customer service and offer faster turnaround times with results.
"First and foremost, the scores have to come back a lot earlier," Schwinn said. "We expect to have scores back earlier in the summer as opposed to after school is back."
The deadline for companies to respond to the RFP with their bids is April 11 and to have a contract in place mid-June.
Schwinn said that Questar could respond to the RFP, however, she emphasized that the next vendor will have to meet the state's requirements aimed at a trouble-free testing experience.
"The are requirements around past performance of any vendor, and the reporting needs to be exceptionally fast and the scoring need to be valid," she said.
READ ON: TNReady testing: Hoping to avoid another failure, Tennessee opens bidding to new vendors
MORE: Gov. Bill Lee says Tennessee's education formula is fully funded. School officials say not so fast.
Jennifer Pignolet contributed to this story.
Reach Amelia Ferrell Knisely at email@example.com, 615-210-8286 or follow @ameliaknisely on Twitter.
Doing stories that make our community better takes times and resources. A subscription to a Tennessee publication gives you unlimited access to stories that make a difference in your life and the lives of those around you. You also get the ability to tap into news from the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.

domain: news


PSG eases into Champions League knockout stages with 5-0 win
PARIS (AP) Left back Layvin Kurzawa scored a second-half hat trick as Paris Saint-Germain crushed Anderlecht 5-0 to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League on Tuesday.
PSG, which is unbeaten this season, could have had more goals but squandered five clear scoring opportunities before Marco Verratti opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a well-taken effort.
Brazil star Neymar, after fluffing his earlier shots, made it 2-0 deep into first-half stoppage time with a fine strike from the edge of the penalty area.
Then it was the unheralded Kurzawa's turn to shine in a star-studded side that is desperate to prove it belongs among Europe's elite after failing to go beyond the quarterfinal stage in the past five seasons.
Kurzawa added the third goal after 52 minutes, when Neymar's free kick hit the post and bounced up to him, and then scored the fourth after Neymar and countryman Dani Alves combined to set him up with a telling cross in the 72nd.
Just six minutes later, the France international drilled the ball into the bottom right corner from just inside the penalty area after substitute Angel Di Maria inadvertently rolled the ball perfectly into his path as he forayed toward goal.
PSG has won its four matches so far in Group B - scoring 17 goals while conceding none - and is three points clear of Bayern Munich. The German champion joined PSG in the knockout stages after winning 2-1 away to Scottish champion Celtic.
More AP Champions League coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/ChampionsLeague


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David Bowie Is Co-Writing a Play Inspired By ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’
David Bowie isn’t resting anytime soon. The legendary artist who gave us Nothing Has Changed last year is already at work on his next project and it’s quite the undertaking.
Bowie is working on an off-Broadway play called Lazarus that’s based on the 1976 movie he starred in, The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Related: 15 Rock Stars Who Made TV Cameos
According to The New York Times, Bowie is writing original songs for the production with Enda Walsh, the Tony Award-winning writer responsible for the play Once. Bowie won’t be taking the stage but his music, new and old, will be featured throughout the play.
Apparently the project has “been in secret development for some years,” says the New York Theater Workshop artistic director James C. Nicola. “It’s going to be a play with characters and songs—I’m calling it music theater, but I don’t really know what it’s going to be like, I just have incredible trust in their creative vision. I’m really excited about it. These are three very different sensibilities to be colliding.”

domain: celebrity


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Writing Gender: Chantel Acevedo, Adéwálé Àjàdí, Ananda Devi, Lola Shoneyin, Véronique Tadjo
A panel of venerated authors and editors goes beyond the clichés to address the role of gender in the creation of art. Does gender influence perspective or topic choices? How might this influence be combined with other factors, like culture and geography?
With Chantel Acevedo, Adéwálé Àjàdí, Ananda Devi, Lola Shoneyin, and Véronique Tadjo. Moderated by Malaika Adero.
Co-presented with Pen World Voices Festival.
In English. Free and open to the public. Reserve your place here or call (866) 811-4111.


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We've decided to return to one of the stops of our original Tour de Fox! Climb the highest peak in the contiguous U.S. (14,505 ft) this July on Mt. Whitney in Lone Pine, California. Take on this challenge and conquer a peak for Parkinson's research. Join SWS Mountain Guides and Team Fox as we climb to new heights to raise money for The Michael J. Fox Foundation!
- 1 night hotel stay on July 17 before beginning the climb
- 3-day trek to the summit via Mountaineer's route
- Permitting and guided climb handled by SWS Mountain Guides
- Breakfast, dinner, and hot beverages provided during climb
- Space is limited to 8 participants

domain: geography


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Pakis kick out NY Slimes?
Walsh, who worked for The Guardian newspaper of Britain prior to joining the Times,Â has lived and worked in Pakistan for the past nine years.
The New York Times’ Islamabad bureau chief has been expelled from Pakistan right before national elections. The two sentence letter delivered to foreign correspondant Declan WalshÂ accused him of unspecified “undesirable activities,” theÂ Times said Friday.
The al-Qaeda linked Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistan branch of the Taliban, has announced its intention to launch terrorist attacks all across Pakistan on Saturday in order to disrupt the country’s presidential elections. The elections are considered historic, since they’ll mark the first time in Pakistan’s history that there has been a peaceful transition from one civilian government to another.


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COOKING CLASS: KASPAR'S BARBECUE FAVORITES
Saturday, June 8
Chef Kaspar's cooking classes are the tastiest shows in town. Watch as Kaspar prepares a bounty of seasonal specialties and demonstrates his secrets on the barbecue. Then, taste Kaspar's creations for lunch, sip a glass of wine and take home a packet of recipes to use in your own kitchen.
$55 per person
Call 206.298.0123 for reservations.
Email us for more information at firstname.lastname@example.org.
KASPARS KID'S COOKING CAMP
Monday, July 22 - Friday, July 26
9am - 1:30pm Daily
Kaspars Kid's Cooking Camp is back for another year! For all the junior chef wannabes, ages 9-16, what could be better than spending a week at Kaspars working with our talented chefs? They will join Kaspar as he transforms his kitchen into a classroom and revolutionizes the summer camp experience!
Monday Brunch Day
• Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes
• Stuffed French Toast
• Cranberry Scones & House Made Jam
• Banana Super Muffins
• Tex-Mex Mini Quiche
Tuesday Italian Day
• Create-Your-Own Pizza with homemade Oatmeal Dough
• Smoked Salmon & Spinach Ravioli
• Potato & Sage Gnocchi
• Italian Bread Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Basil & Tomatoes
Wednesday BBQ Day
• Kalbi Beef Ribs
• Create-Your-Own Burger
• Caesar Salad with Crispy Potato Croutons
• Grilled Corn on the Cob with Assorted Toppings
• Banana S’mores
• Fresh Peach Lemonade
Thursday Iron Chef Contest
• Pasta Station
• Salad Station
• Soup Station
• Cupcake with Frosting Station
Prepare a lavish and delicious buffet for your family and guests!
Space is limited so make your reservations now!
$420 per camper
Click here for reservations.
Email us for more information at email@example.com

domain: food


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Enterprise Interoperability V: Shaping Enterprise Interoperability in the Future Internet - Proceedings of the I-ESA Conferences 6 (Hardback)Raul Poler (editor), Guy Doumeingts (editor), Bernhard Katzy (editor), Chalmeta Ricardo (editor)
- We can order this
Composed of over 40 papers, Enterprise Interoperability V ranges from academic research through case studies to industrial and administrative experience of interoperability. The international nature of the authorship contnues to broaden. Many of the papers have examples and illustrations calculated to deepen understanding and generate new ideas.
The I-ESA'12 Conference from which this book is drawn was organized by Polytechnic University of Valencia, on behalf INTERVAL, and the European Virtual Laboratory for Enterprise Interoperability (INTEROP-VLab) and sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC).
A concise reference to the state of the art in systems interoperability, Enterprise Interoperability V will be of great value to engineers and computer scientists working in manufacturing and other process industries and to software engineers and electronic and manufacturing engineers working in the academic environment.
Publisher: Springer London Ltd
Number of pages: 482
Weight: 900 g
Dimensions: 235 x 155 x 30 mm
Edition: 2012 ed.
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domain: library


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Monday, June 4
America’s Got Talent, 8 p.m., NBC
Lots of dancing last week – I always love that. I loved that “urban Glee” group – I hope they go far.
Hell’s Kitchen, 8 p.m., Fox
Season premiere: “The chefs must make their signature dishes.” I often find that a chef’s signature dish is not always his or her best. But that’s just me.
MasterChef, 9 p.m., Fox
Season premiere. Guess what? “The hopefuls prepare their signature dishes for the judges.”


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Nursing Homes and Skilled Nursing Facilities - Williamsport, PA | AgingCare.com
4 Nursing Homes in Williamsport, PA
To assist you in finding a new home for your loved one, the AgingCare.com Pennsylvania Nursing Homes Directory features photographs and detailed information on services and accommodations offered by each facility in Williamsport, PA.
Williamsport, PA 17701 (888) 727-9965
Rose View Court and Rose View Center, two Genesis HealthCare facilities located on the same campus, offer Senior Living and Skilled Nursing options. Rose View Court Senior Living offers active seniors a fun, dynamic lifestyle. This lively...Learn More

domain: medical


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❉ In many of her previous roles, Monochrome star Jo Woodcock played the victim – now, she’s the one wielding the knife and rifle.
❉ Thomas Baldinger, writer/director of indie comedy ‘Who’s Jenna..?’, tells all.
❉ What is the truth behind Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield’s death?
❉ “The only pleasure here is seeing that Nicky Henson is still getting work”, writes Iain MacLeod.
❉ Time-bending story follows a solitary survivor of a deadly virus who is given the chance to reclaim his life by altering his past.
❉ Just another quirky indie rom-com? Iain MacLeod untangles ‘Entanglement’.
❉ We chat with award-winning director Sean Breathnach about his debut feature film.
❉ The Brooklyn party killer has come for the stoners and hipsters in this enjoyable, award-winning festival hit.
❉ Featuring a Who’s Who Of Horror including Doug Jones, Michael Berryman, Adrienne Barbeau & More!
❉ Supernatural Irish horror Beyond the Woods makes its way to DVD and VOD from Left Films.


text: It's certainly been a while since we had any newness from British funksters The Brand New Heavies. As we pointed out in our trip down memory lane while reminiscing about their self-titled debut, we have fingers crossed that 2012 will produce a studio album (or two), plus an album or EP from N'Dea Davenport's new side-project, Celectrixx. To tide us over until the new year, BNH, in conjunction with Pedigree Cuts, have released a new collection of tracks entitled Dunk Your Trunk. Sadly there is no sign of N'Dea -- or any other vocalist for that matter -- but that dosn't mean that these instrumentals aren't worth copping. On the contrary, the tracks, recorded across a four-day session especially for TV/film features, contain BNH's signature mix of acid jazz, soul, funk, and even a little disco. What's more, all 13 tracks are available for free download right now from Pedigree Cuts' SoundCloud page. Take a listen to the entire album after the bounce and download it while you can, because there is a chance that this will moved to an iTunes-only album very soon.


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Turkey's urbane former foreign minister, Ismail Cem, put in his bid for power yesterday, when he announced the formation of a new Left-wing bloc that could unseat Turkey's disintegrating coalition government led by his former mentor, and veteran Leftist, Bulent Ecevit.
Mr Cem's announcement followed his resignation from the government and Mr Ecevit's Democratic Left Party on Thursday. He said neither was in a position any longer to meet the needs of the nation.
So, is the boyishly good-looking 62-year-old up to the task of leading one of the West's most strategic Muslim allies? "Absolutely," said a senior European Union diplomat in Ankara yesterday. "Cem is the sort of man who can steer Turkey towards Europe. He speaks our language, isn't prickly in the way many Turkish leaders can be. In short, he is European."
Mr Cem made clear that his new bloc would have solid social democratic principles, but that its main priority would be to push through democratic reforms being demanded by the EU as a pre-condition for launching membership talks with Turkey.
"One very important element of our party's programme will be the achievement of EU membership and the fulfilment of the economic and political reforms required for this," Mr Cem said.
The scion of a wealthy Ottoman family, Mr Cem traces his roots back to Salonika, now in Greece, where modern Turkey's founder, Kemal Ataturk, was born. Mr Cem's family fled to Istanbul ahead of advancing Greek forces in 1907. From his father, a film maker, he inherited a passion for photography. He is an accomplished dancer, a fan of the Istanbul football team Galatasaray, and an enthusiastic dog-lover.
Educated at Istanbul's top school, Robert College, Mr Cem studied law in Lausanne and politics in Paris before becoming a columnist for the Left-leaning daily newspaper, Cumhuriyet.
His patrician background makes him an unlikely vote getter in Turkey's religiously conservative Anatolian hinterland. But his alliance with Husammettin Ozkan, the wily deputy prime minister from Mr Ecevit's wing of the coalition, whose resignation on Monday sparked a spate of defections that have seriously weakened the government, may prove useful in garnering such support. At 34, Mr Cem became the youngest director of Turkish radio and television, at a time when the state had a monopoly of broadcasting.
But his liberal outlook was soon to cost him his job. It nearly did so again recently when, during a televised interview, Mr Cem argued in favour of lifting a ban on broadcasting in the Kurdish language.
Mr Cem has distinguished himself as one of Turkey's longest serving foreign ministers and, with his Greek counterpart and close personal friend, Yorgo Papandreou, the architect of the recent rapprochement between the traditionally hostile countries.
But for all his Euro-credentials, Mr Cem has repeatedly stressed that Turkey is every bit as Asian as it is European and has staked a defining role his country in the oil-rich Turkic-speaking states of former Soviet Central Asia.
Western hopes that, as a potential future prime minister, Mr Cem might be more pliant than his hawkish predecessors in striking a deal on Cyprus or going along with American plans to overthrow Saddam Hussein, may prove premature.
Above and beyond his commitment to Europe, Mr Cem is solidly patriotic and closely allied with Turkey's determinedly pro-secular generals, who have a major say in foreign policy.
Yesterday Mr Cem was at pains to thank them for their co-operation with him during his five years as foreign minister. Yet, in a thinly veiled sop to Turkey's pious Muslims, Mr Cem ended his words with a reference to Allah.


The most welcome decision emerging from Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first cabinet meeting was to put an end to discretionary fund allocations, which had institutionalised waste and corruption in the governance of the country.
Henceforth, no one – from prime minister to ministers to MNAs and MPAs – will be able to indulge in an exercise that smacked of the hubris of medieval-era rulers and flew in the face of prudent resource allocations. Several people had been protesting against such a cavalier attitude towards the scarce resources of a poor country, but all objections were brushed aside because these discretionary funds provided easy access to other people’s money with no questions asked. The decision to abolish these discretionary funds marked the first departure from the status quo and will be welcomed by all.
Economics is a rational discipline. And the planning process of allocating resources among competitive demands is driven by maximising social and economic returns for the people whose money is invested in this exercise. If both conditions are respected, the outcome would be ‘development’ which opens up opportunities for the people and creates wealth in the economy. If these conditions are violated, it creates non-development for the people as the wealth of the nation is siphoned off beyond its borders.
That is the theory of development. Our discretionary model turned the discipline of economics and the planning process on their heads which caused non-development of the people and development of the rulers. In financial terms, such irrational and wasteful use of public funds would be called an ‘expense’ and not qualify as investment which generates an income stream. This expense creates debt; and as this practice continues over the years, the debt keeps mounting and pounding more liabilities upon people.
Although voices against this discretionary model were raised by some elected representatives, journalists and civil society members, it was business as usual. One MNA of an earlier assembly, who as member of the Public Accounts Committee had observed its working had shown moral courage and asked for an end to this practice. According to her, “An MNA will come and say his constituency needs a road in so-and-so area; the PWD will do a survey and make a budget for the project; the PWD will ask the MNA which contractor is most suitable for the project. And it is here that collusion with contractors occurs. The contractor makes a bill and the project which could be done for five lakh rupees is estimated at Rs10 lakh – with 10 percent or more going to the MNA.”
This practice, which started in the 1980s to win over support of members elected to assemblies in the party-less elections, has continued to gather an increasing mass of funds under its discretion. Such practices by people in leading positions do not remain confined to one place but cascade down and are adopted by others at various political, administrative and technical levels – and in due course the whole system of governance is infected with the same disease.
In persisting with the discretionary use of public funds, Pakistan was keeping company with countries like Ghana, Honduras, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and others, most of which figure prominently in the corruption index of Transparency International.
Such discretionary uses of public funds are scrupulously avoided in respected democracies all over the world. In some countries, transgressions carry severe penalties. It would be useful here to illustrate the respect and responsibility with which elected representatives of democratic countries deal with public money, from my personal experience. In 1990, the then prime minister of Japan, Toshiki Kaifu, came on an official visit to Pakistan. Japan had earlier announced a three billion yen loan for Pakistan, against which we recommended projects – but after the scheduled date.
In the meantime, prime minister Kaifu had left on a foreign tour which also brought him to Islamabad. After arrival ceremonies at the airport, as coordinator of the meeting between the two prime ministers, I sat with the cabinet secretary of Japan in the same car so we could go over the agenda of the next day’s meeting. When I referred to the projects that Pakistan had recommended against the three billion yen loan, the cabinet secretary suggested these projects should not be on the agenda as their inclusion would embarrass his prime minister.
When I persisted with their inclusion, he said that because these projects were not sent by the Pakistani side as per schedule, they had not been evaluated by the relevant departments of the government of Japan. And the prime minister of Japan knew that under Japanese law, he had no discretion to give approval for spending public funds on projects which had not been first examined for their social and economic viability.
Since our prime minister was keen to secure the concurrence of the prime minister of Japan in the meeting, I urged the Japanese cabinet secretary to persuade his prime minister so that their approval could be announced in the joint press conference of the two PMs. But he explained that this was not possible because these funds were not the personal property of the prime minister that he could give away at his discretion. They belonged to the people of Japan who had laid down certain rules and procedures for evaluating the social and economic viability of projects before funds could be approved by the prime minister. Since these projects arrived behind schedule, their required evaluation could not be carried out. And without their recommendation, the prime minister was not authorised to give approval for use of public funds.
Compare this care and respect for use of public funds by an elected head of the democratic government of one of the richest countries with the cavalier manner in which hundreds of billions of public funds of a poor country like Pakistan have been dished out at discretion without examining comparative social and economic returns on projects and strong and independent auditing to keep people informed that their money is being properly utilised for the purposes for which they were allocated.
Pakistan has been the third largest recipient of foreign aid in the world – over $20 billion of it has flowed into the country, besides the country securing over $90 billion of debt. National development outlays are also made, all of which are supposed to lift people out of their predicament. And yet our people figure at the bottom of education, health and nutrition, productivity and other indices, and are still struggling with problems of poverty and unemployment. This disconnect between resources and people’s problems has largely been caused by the discretionary model and its lack of prudent and productive investment in public-sector development projects.
Is it any wonder then that this discretionary model has created an image of Pakistan in the international community as a country that has so little to show for so much money spent in the name of development? That is why it became a non-development model – and one hopes that we have seen the end of it.
The writer designed theBoard of Investment and theFirst Women’s Bank.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.orgSyed Mohibullah Shah, "Non-development and discretion," The News. 2018-09-05.
Keywords: Political science , Political issues , Political administrative , Economic viability , Democratic government , Governance , Transparency , Unemployment , PM Toshiki Kaifu , PM Imran Khan , Japan , Pakistan , MNA , PWD


Democracy depends on norms as much as it does on laws. For example, we expect our public figures to tell the truth, even though there is no statute obliging them to be honest.
Canada has been lucky for generations to have politicians who largely abide by our democracy’s unwritten rules. But that run of luck only makes Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s recent behaviour stand out all the more.
In his battle to push through legislation cutting the size of Toronto City Council, Mr. Ford stayed within the law. Provinces have wide latitude over municipal governance. His government has a legislative majority and can pass the laws it sees fit. The notwithstanding clause, which Mr. Ford is invoking after a judge declared his law to be a violation of the Charter, is right there in the Constitution.
But the Premier has broken important norms along the way. First, he was not transparent about his plans. Modern politicians running for high office are supposed to release detailed platforms explaining what they will do in power. The PC platform was a threadbare document that included very little policy and made no mention of shrinking Toronto council. Yet, moving to do so was one of Mr. Ford’s first acts as Premier.
Yes, sometimes politicians have to go off script if conditions change. During a recession or after a terror act, they may bring in laws they didn’t campaign on. But no events have intervened to make reforming Toronto’s council more urgent. If that body is oversized and ineffective, as Mr. Ford argues, it was equally so before the writ drop.
Even worse is Mr. Ford’s claim that he had a mandate to act as he did, because he promised less government. That promise is a stock phrase of conservative politicians and does not imply any particular policy. To suggest Ontario voters consented in advance to knocking 22 seats off Toronto’s council because a plurality of them backed a small-government party is either dishonest or a misunderstanding of the contract between the government and the governed. Either way, it violates the norm that political parties be transparent about their major plans.
Having put forward the council bill, Mr. Ford ignored another norm when he attempted to discredit his opponents. Political attacks are par for the course. But, usually in Canada, criticism is directed at an adversary’s ideas or performance, not their motives or legitimacy – especially when coming from a major political leader.
Instead, the Premier has said city councillors only oppose the plan because it endangers their sinecures; that provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath opposes it because it threatens her “cronies” on city council; that citizen opposition comes from “special interest groups,” not “ordinary” people. He even suggested the judge who overturned the bill to cut Toronto council was biased against Progressive Conservatives.
We expect politicians to engage with the substance of criticism, even if their rebuttals are sharp or unfair. Mr. Ford could have said, “The Left likes council big because it likes government big; I want it small because small government is better.” That would have been a political argument. He chose instead to impugn his critics’ motives, suggesting without evidence that they were speaking or acting in bad faith.
This is dangerous talk. It makes politics not about competing ideas but about pure actors against corrupt actors. That sort of rhetoric is one way democracy breaks down; it makes partisans think only their side is legitimate.
Mr. Ford’s gravest breach of democratic norms was, of course, his use of the Charter’s notwithstanding clause. Here is a constitutional loophole, designed with the intention of ensuring the primacy of Parliament in grave and urgent matters, being wielded to push through a reform that no one asked for, whose alleged benefits are entirely notional and heavily disputed, and before all available appeals are exhausted.
Again, the Premier has the right to invoke the notwithstanding clause, and his supporters are delighted that he did. But he has ignored the convention that the clause only be used to defend critical initiatives after careful consultation.
Mr. Ford’s hurried and contentious use of his powers could come back to haunt him, his party and his supporters. The PCs will not always be in power. The next time they are in the minority, they may well find their rights are no longer protected by the norms of the past, thanks to the door the Premier has opened.


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With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upending energy markets, it became clear months ago that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was no longer someone the US president could afford to avoid as he seeks assistance to combat rocketing prices and isolate Vladimir Putin.
On Friday, Biden will touch down in the country he wanted to turn into a “pariah.” The visit follows months of shuttle diplomacy by key envoys aimed at repairing an alliance that’s the most strained in decades. But rather than a display of American influence, Biden’s arrival in Jeddah highlights the shift in dynamics as soaring energy costs hit the US economy while Saudi Arabia makes $1 billion a day from selling crude.
Prince Mohammed was vilified in the US and Europe following the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist and critic Jamal Khashoggi, and Biden’s aides have said human rights are on the agenda of his first Middle East trip.
In an op-ed in the Washington Post on July 9, Biden focused on security and said his administration had “reversed the blank-check policy we inherited” for Saudi Arabia. “From the start, my aim was to reorient — but not rupture — relations with a country that’s been a strategic partner for 80 years,” he wrote.
At 79, Biden is more than twice the age of 36-year-old Prince Mohammed. Yet the relationship between the two men could now prove crucial to Biden’s political fortunes, however awkward. And the trouble is that Biden has a weak hand to play.
It took months of talks — and the prospect of a Biden photo op with the crown prince — to squeeze additional barrels out of OPEC and its allies at a meeting on June 2. But it was never going to be enough to make a difference at US gasoline pumps and Washington wants more.
Saudi officials say the most important element of the visit is the symbolism — to draw a line under the past and move on — and any wider agreement on security, energy and Russia will take more time.
One adviser to the government in Riyadh said King Salman and Prince Mohammed simply want the US to reaffirm its security commitments to the region. They’re worried Biden’s effort to revive the Iran nuclear accord will hand their rival an oil windfall to spend on militias, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have attacked Saudi oil facilities.
The expectation among observers is for another token increase in oil production, but nothing that will impact markets significantly. Gulf officials also said it’s unlikely that the trip paves the way for an imminent diplomatic normalization with Israel, though they said more incremental steps, including deeper security cooperation between the two states, could materialize.
“The Saudis want validation of their importance to the United States, and they’re going to get that,” said Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Whatever image comes out with the president and the crown prince in the same frame is going to be distributed for years to come.”
The US president will be treading a path worn by global leaders as the fallout from Russia’s war ricochets through their economies. Yet for Prince Mohammed, Biden is the real coup, a chance to cap his rehabilitation on the international stage after cementing power at home around his social and economic overhaul of the kingdom.
Pro-government editorials and social media influencers in Saudi Arabia have painted the Biden visit as a triumph for the autocratic royal known as MBS and the kingdom’s relevance in a world still reliant on fossil fuels. Some shared memes mocking the president and poked fun at his administration’s dissembling about whether he’ll meet the prince.
Opponents of MBS’s crackdown on dissent, meanwhile, cast Biden’s visit as a betrayal. Exiled Saudi activist Abdullah Alaoudh called it “a license for dictators everywhere to blackmail the United States.”
Where the old Saudi Arabia was cautious and accommodating to the US, Prince Mohammed has proved more assertive — critics would say reckless — in war and diplomacy, more open to ties with Russia and China, and more willing to stand up to the White House, demanding respect if not approval.
Recent American administrations have failed to recognize how Saudi Arabia’s political calculus has changed, said Yasmine Farouk, a non-resident scholar in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“They think that they can treat today’s Saudi Arabia the same way that they treated the previous ones and still get what they want,” she said. “Today, you’re dealing with a country that doesn’t really feel it owes you anything.”
Indeed, the optics have changed for an alliance based on oil and security forged in the aftermath of World War II. It survived the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at the hands of Saudis and was reinforced under Donald Trump.
Just days after taking the presidential oath, Biden announced the US planned to cut off arms sales for Saudi Arabia’s operations in Yemen and reverse the decision to designate the Iranian-backed Houthis as a terrorist organization.
Soon after, White House aides said Biden would speak directly with “counterpart” King Salman, while leaving discussions with the crown prince to cabinet officials and senior aides.
The effort, officials said, was intended both as a repudiation of Prince Mohammed for the Khashoggi killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and a symbolic break from the Trump administration. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, chatted regularly with MBS on WhatsApp, bypassing diplomatic protocol and securing a $2 billion Saudi investment after he left office.
Russia’s amassing of troops near the Ukraine border began to change that view. As US officials braced for the attack, Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s Middle East coordinator, and Amos Hochstein, the State Department’s senior adviser for global energy security, were sent to Riyadh to discuss energy concerns.
The pair were dispatched again after Russia launched its invasion in February and crude prices spiked, but the Saudis made little public effort to address the oil crisis. Talks intensified within the White House about the possibility of a rapprochement between Biden and the Saudi leadership, according to three people familiar with the matter. Aides also indicated publicly that if Prince Mohammed attended international forums on behalf of Saudi Arabia, Biden would not object to a meeting.
Attention then turned to an in-person liaison that could provide the crown prince with a presidential handshake. In late April, Biden accepted an invitation from Israel to visit the region, with an eye toward a possible stop in Saudi Arabia. By May, the crown prince’s younger brother, Khalid bin Salman, traveled to Washington and met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Hochstein and other officials.
A plan coalesced around a Saudi-hosted summit of Arab allies that would allow Biden to maintain that he wasn’t specifically going for a meeting the Prince Mohammed. It wasn’t until OPEC+’s June decision to pump an extra 648,000 barrels per day that aides locked in the details, settling on an itinerary that ensured Israel — not Saudi Arabia — was Biden’s first stop.
The risk for Biden is that he comes back with little, while the reset is both an admission that his Saudi policy failed and a disappointment to many Democrats who want a principled stand on human rights and pivot toward clean energy. That’s ahead of November elections where the Democrats stand to lose control of Congress.


Much has been discussed about flush mounting drivers onto a speaker box. Is it just for looks or do speakers really sound better?
Before I proceed further, I should point out what flush mounting is.
The easy way to install a driver, whether it’s a woofer or a tweeter, is to simply cut a hole and screw the driver on. This is normally referred to as Surface Mount. When a driver is installed in this manner, the driver’s lip protrudes over the hole.
In Flush Mounting, the edge of the hole is rebated to accommodate the driver’s lips. After installation, the lip is flush with the surface of the cabinet panel.
To investigate whether there are any advantages with flush mounting, I surface mounted a Peerless BC25TG15 tweeter onto a baffle of 31″ x 24″ and did a response sweep. The Red Plot in Fig 1 shows a notch at 8kHz followed by a smaller one at about 16kHz.
After that, I did a sweep with the tweeter flush mounted (Black plot). Astonishingly, the roll-off is completely clean. What I got is a beautiful, linear slope.
From these plots, it is clear that flush mounting does indeed make a difference. When the tweeter is surface mounted, it resulted in a ripple effect at the higher frequencies. This is caused by Baffle Edge Diffraction.
|So, Flush Mounting makes my speakers sound better
Technically, yes. But it is not the most important. What we should pay attention to first is the tweeter crossover because the destructive effects of diffraction caused by the baffle width falls exactly where we generally cross our tweeters (2.5kH ~ 3kHz).
There is an instance when flush mounting a tweeter is critical and that is when a super tweeter is used. Generally, we will cross a tweeter to a super tweeter at between 7kHz ~ 8kHz. Flush mounting a tweeter will definitely contribute to a smoother response.
September 11, 2017Articles


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Here’s the complete Inkscape beginner guide. Contains step by step guides and exercises to unlock your creativity.
It still works in progress and currently only available in Indonesian Language. But if you interested, at this moment you can read Indonesian version via Google translation here.
You can also watch the YouTube channel playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoX8wsQSoySqtOVbYHm-4T0BK8FI159cn. Some of them already have English subtitles.


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In the beginning, before there was any free time to spend on things,
there was STUFF. Not just stuff but STUFF like stuff found in dreams and
fantasy. It was good STUFF and seemed rather like whipped cream to me
except that it was like a liquid changing forms constantly. It was the
Great Glob of STUFF. Once upon a time, a small and insignificant
creature named Quarky appeared seemingly out of nowhere, sort of like
the rabbit in the hat trick. The little guy took a bite of the STUFF and
said it was good ( or was it god? ). He has a terrible accent. After a
few more bites his innards began to glow and within moments he was
shooting photon sparks out back. It was delightful and disturbing.
Especially what happened next.
Quarky began to control the sparks and soon others like him appeared.
Together they constructed the machine. It consumed STUFF and produced
sparks which could be controlled and directed albeit with limited
resolution. The machine was called the Beast because it was wild and
uncontrollable. Only the direction and flow of sparks could be
controlled. And now it was loose and reproducing it self as fast as
The machines soon built better versions of themselves, consuming the
STUFF as much as possible but not very efficiently. There was a second
Beast with an in and out hole that was more specialized and much more
efficient at consuming the STUFF. It wasn’t as aggressive as the
original Beast. Frankly it was just plain lazy. They were content to
consume the debris and refuse left behind by the Beast as it consumed
Now there is a lot of the STUFF and the Beast could consume forever.
Unfortunately the machines had a mind of their own and built the
consumer to consume the STUFF. The STUFF soon began to resemble swiss
cheese. The flowing stopped and even the sparks now were being consumed.
Finally the biggest machine ever built took one bit and all the STUFF
disappeared. And it only had one hole, nothing would ever come out.
Quarky and the others were all two hole creatures with an in hole and an
out hole. One hole creatures are as rare as black holes.
The giant machine hummed happily it seemed then it cleaned up everything
dropped, walking, or flying by, consuming it. When it finally finished,
all that remained were Quarky and his friends. Realizing the profound
nature of the giant machine and its potential they formed an alliance.
It would be a bit tricky to work out the details, after all the machine
literally held all the cards, everything was inside its belly and never
coming out. Quarky and friends were bored and needed something to play
with and the machine might just agree to their plan to decorate the
reality with high quality high resolution forms built out of some of the
indigestible STUFF in its belly. Thus began the age of Flicker Light and
the founding of Glow Works.
As agreed Quarky and friends developed incredibly fine filters to
process the STUFF for the machine. Many of their filters (two hole
creatures) continue to process, others the machine just decided to eat.
To this day the two hole model is the favorite. Currently there is work
underway to build creatures inside the machine before everything like us
Created by The Wizard of Awed™,
aka Tom Repasky.
“Art Is The Perception Of An Altered Reality©”
Copyright 2007 Flicker Light Studio™
Life as a filter, screening out the stuuf that doesn’t matter


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"Vertical Landscape" by Eiko Ojala. It looks like a paper landscape but the artist actually works digitally and hand-draws all the elements to look like they're cut out of people. (Hint: the shadows help!
Oven Baked Churro Recipe, an easier & healthier way to make Churros. I love making/eating churros but I hate frying them, if your like me you should give this baked version a try. (Recipes To Try I Love)
The best exercises to slim down, sculpt and tighten your inner thighs! Slim inner thighs aren't built in a day. It takes a lot of cardio, all the right moves and the perfect amount of persistence to get strong, fit thighs that look fabulous! Show your inn


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By Cindy Perlin, Guest Columnist
The first time I heard about laser therapy for pain, a veterinarian recommended it for my cat, which had osteoarthritis in her hip. My knowledge of lasers at the time was limited to a vague idea that they were used to cut tissue in surgery. I couldn’t imagine how that would help with pain, so I didn’t bother to investigate any further. I treated my cat with glucosamine, chondroitin and fish oil, and she did better for a while.
Several years went by. I was finishing up a book I was writing on chronic pain treatments when I noticed that a couple of chiropractors were taking out full page ads in my local newspaper touting a “miraculous” cure for neuropathy. I wanted my book to be comprehensive so I decided to investigate. What I found was amazing.
I learned that there are two kinds of lasers used for medical purposes. High power lasers are used to cut through tissue, while low level lasers have the opposite effect -- they stimulate tissue repair.
In low level laser therapy (LLLT), a light is applied to an area of the body to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and promote tissue regeneration. The light is usually a laser (concentrated light) or LED (more diffuse light) between 1 mW and 550 mW in the red or near infrared spectrum.
It’s typically applied to the injured area for a very short time, generally a minute or so in each relevant area, a few times a week for a few weeks. The effect has been compared to photosynthesis, in which the absorbed light causes a chemical change in the tissue.
The process by which low level lasers promote healing is called photomodulation. Three levels of effects have been identified:
- Primary tissue effects are direct chemical effects on cells. LLLT increases the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the fuel our cells use for energy. The more ATP available to our cells, the faster we heal. LLLT also increases the permeability of cell membranes, which allows waste products to be removed and nutrition to be absorbed into the cells more efficiently.
- Secondary effects are chemical chain reactions that occur in response to the changes in the cells. LLLT secondary effects include anti-inflammatory effects, decreases in nerve irritability, and an increase in circulation in the area of injury or chronic pain.
- Tertiary effects are whole-body effects from the treatment and include increased immune cell production, increased production of endorphins (the body’s own painkillers), and improved nerve function.
There are currently more than 400 large randomized double-blind placebo-controlled human studies of LLLT that have been published worldwide, as well as more than 4,000 scientific studies investigating the underlying mechanisms that contribute to its local and systemic effects.
Positive results have been reported for a very broad range of conditions, including the following:
- Wound healing
- Back and neck pain
- Muscle fatigue
- Peripheral nerve injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Postherpetic neuralgia (lingering pain after shingles)
LLLT speeds up healing significantly in acute injuries and substantially reduces or eliminates chronic pain. Effects are long lasting. There are no negative effects.
After interviewing a few people about laser therapy, including an MD who raved about all the successes he had with using LLLT on his chronic pain patients, I decided I had to have one for myself. My cat wasn’t doing so well at that point and I was having a nasty problem I’d been ignoring—plantar fibromatosis (benign hard tumors and inflammation in the arch of my foot). I didn’t have the time to take my cat to the vet several times a week and myself to a chiropractor multiple times a week. Even though I negotiated a deeply discounted price on a slightly used unit, it was still quite expensive, but I decided it was worth it and began using it on myself and my cat.
My cat loved it! She had stopped jumping on anything, but, after a couple of treatments, when she saw me take out the device and sit down she would jump up on my lap. I had to hide from her when I wanted to use the laser on myself because I couldn’t keep her off my lap. It seemed to make her more comfortable. She was definitely moving and jumping around more than before. Sadly, after a short time my cat, who was 17 years old, died of kidney failure. I’ve continued to use the laser on my foot and the tumors are shrinking. Walking is a lot more comfortable.
LLLT medical devices are FDA approved for “the temporary relief of pain.” According to the FDA’s website, this approval was based on “the presentation of clinical data to support such claims”. Despite this, and the extraordinary body of scientific evidence available on its safety and effectiveness, most U.S. insurance companies and Medicare claim LLLT is investigational, experimental, or unproven and refuse to pay for this treatment for any condition. Unfortunately, this is the case for many helpful therapies for chronic pain.
Chiropractors and physical therapists are most likely to be offering LLLT. There are a few enlightened MDs who are using this technology. If you can manage it financially, it’s definitely worth a try. It can’t hurt!
Cindy Perlin is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, certified biofeedback practitioner, chronic pain survivor and the author of “The Truth About Chronic Pain Treatments: The Best and Worst Strategies for Becoming Pain Free.”
For the last 25 years Cindy has helped her clients improve their emotional and physical well-being through her private practice near Albany, New York.
The information in this column should not be considered as professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is for informational purposes only and represent the author’s opinions alone. It does not inherently express or reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of Pain News Network.


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Welcome to Angelina County
the " Land of the Little Angel "
Betty Ann Thompson & Debra Coursey Pitts and son D. J.
This cemetery was started by the Francis Monroe "Frank" Boykin,
one of Sterling Boykin's sons. It was started as a family plot near their home.
Directions: To locate this cemetery take Highway 69 to
Texas. At the red light, turn onto Highway 63. About 5 miles
outside of Zavalla , turn left on to County Road 345 (a dirt road).
Go about 3/10ths of a mile and turn right on the first road on the
right. The Boykin Cemetery will be down a short lane on the left.
There are at least three graves marked by sandstones with no names.
There are two graves near the entrance that have no marker of any
kind and no information. One grave is simply marked with a wooden
plank sticking out of the ground with no information.
|Text & Description||Photo||Date||Submitter|
|Boykin, Francis "Frank" Monroe||Image||Nov 2001||Betty Ann Thompson|
|Boykin, Sterling||Image||Sep 2002||Betty Ann Thompson|
|Boykin Entrance & Sign||Image||Feb 2005||Deb & D. J.|
|Boykin Cemetery View 1||Image||Feb 2005||Deb & D. J.|
|Boykin, Susie||Image||Feb 2005||Deb & D. J.|
|Wilson Family Markers||Image||Feb 2005||Deb & D. J.|
Submit Your Angelina Tombstone Photos
Angelina County Tombstone Transcriptions
Cemetery & Tombstone Photo County List
This County is a part of the TXGenWeb Project, which with the other state projects, forms The USGenWeb Project. It is an organization of volunteers working for the free access of public and public domain records used in genealogical research. If you would like to become involved,
contact Shirley Cullum the TXGenWeb Texas State Coordinator.
© 1997-2010 Carla Karbowski Clifton
All rights reserved. This information may be used by libraries and genealogical societies,
however, commercial use of this information is strictly prohibited without prior permission
of the owner. If copied, this copyright notice must appear with the information.