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Report on Human Rights Violations in Iran, 1987 to 1990: The Massacre of 1988
A report by Amnesty International
VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
1.2.1 The Massacre of 1988
In mid-1988 the pattern of political executions changed dramatically from piecemeal reports of executions to a massive wave of killings, which took place over several months. Even now, two years after these events, it is still not clear how many people died during the six-month period from July 1988 to January 1989. Amnesty International has recorded the names of over 2,000 political prisoners reportedly executed during this period. Iranian oppositions groups, such as the PMOI, have suggested that the total was much higher. Speaking on French television in February 1989, Hojatoleslam Rafsanjani is reported to have said that “the number of political prisoners executed in the past few months was less than 1,000” (Iran Yearbook 89/90).
Since these events took place, Amnesty International has interviewed dozens of relatives of execution victims, and a number of former political prisoners who were in prison at the time when the mass killings were taking place. It has received written information from the victims. These accounts taken together with statements by Iranian Government personalities have convinced Amnesty International that during this six-month period the biggest wave of political executions since the early 1980s took place in Iranian prisons.
Two important political events preceded the executions; On 18 July 1988 Ayatollah Khomeini announced his intention to accept UN Security Council Resolution 598 instituting a ceasefire in the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq. A few days later, the National Liberation Army, a military force formed by the Iraq-based opposition group PMOI, staged an armed incursion into western Iran, which was repulsed by the Iranian army.
It has been suggested to Amnesty International by former prisoners that both these events may have influenced the government’s decision to carry out these executions at this time. The ceasefire in the Gulf War meant that international attention was focused on international developments and not on the situation of political prisoners in Iran. The armed incursion by a PMOI force at a time when the Iranian Government had signaled its intention to cease fighting in the Gulf War gave the authorities a motive to take reprisal against prisoners associated with the PMOI who had been held in prison around the country, often for several years. Former prisoners have also said that political prisoners were warned by their captors that when the war was over they would be “dealt with”.
President Khamenei spoke in December 1988 of the decision taken by the Iranian authorities to execute “those who have links from inside prison with the hypocrites [POMI] who mounted an armed attack inside the territory of the Islamic Republic”. An open letter to Amnesty Internationals from the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the UN in New York sated:
“Indeed, authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran have always denied the existence of any political executions, but that does not contradict other subsequent statements which have confirmed that spies and terrorists have been executed.” (UN document A/44/153, 28 February 1989)
The political executions took place in many prisons in all parts of Iran often far from where the armed incursion took place. Most of the executions were of political prisoners, including an unknown number of prisoners of conscience who, had already incursion, and they were in no position to take part in spying or terrorist activities. Many of the dead had been students in their teens or early twenties at the time of their arrest. The majority of those killed were supporters of the PMOI, but hundreds of members and supporters of other political groups including various factions of the PFOI, the Tudeh Party, the KDPI, Rah-e Kargar and others, were also among the execution victims.
The first sign that something was happening in the prisons came in July 1988 when family visits to political prisoners were suspended. This was the beginning of the months of uncertainty and anguish for prisoners’ relativities as rumors began to spread that mass executions of political prisoners were taking place.
No news of the political prisoners was heard for about three months. Relatives would go to prisons on regular visiting days only to be turned away by prison guards. Some brought clothing, medicines or money to the prisons hoping to get a singed receipt from their imprisoned relatives as an indication that they were still alive.
Reports circulated among prisoners’ relatives that execution victim’s were being buried in mass graves. Distraught family members searched the cemeteries for signs of newly dug graves, which might contain their relatives’ bodies.
One woman described to Amnesty International how she had dug up the corpse of an executed man with her bare hands as she searched for her husbands body in Jadeh Khavaran cemetery in Tehran in August 1988 in a part of the cemetery known colloquially as Lanatabad, (the place of the damned), reserved for the bodies of the executed political prisoners.
“Groups of bodies, some clothed, some in shrouds, had been buried in unmarked shallow graves in the section of the cemetery reserved for executed leftist political prisoners. The stench of the corpses was appalling but I started digging with my hands because it was important for me and my tow little children that I locate my husband’s
She unearthed a body with its face covered in blood but when she cleaned it off she saw that it was not her husband. Other relatives visiting the graveyard discovered her husband’s grave some days later. A member of a communist group, he had been arrested in early 1985, tortured over several months and convicted after a summary trial at which, as a result of his torture, he was barely conscious. He never learned what his sentence was. His wife had been turned away from Evin Prison on a regular visiting day in early August, and had then started her quest for information, which led to her to the unmarked grave.
In October and November 1988 the authorities began to inform families of the execution of their relatives. In a few cases prison officials informed relatives of the execution when they went to the prison for a normal family visit. This led to protests by prisoners’ relatives who gathered outside prisons, so other methods were devised. The majority of relatives appear to have been informed by telephone that they should go to an Islamic Revolutionary Committee office to receive news about their imprisoned relatives. There they were informed of the execution and required to sign undertakings that they would not hold a funeral or any other mourning ceremony. Family members were not informed here their relatives were buried, and even if they managed to find out they were not permitted to erect a gravestone.
An Iranian who left Iran in late 1988 told Amnesty International how his family had learned of the execution of his brother. Hossein. In November 1988 the family received a telephone call instructing the father to go to Evin Orison to receive information about Hossein. Hossein’s father and wife went to the prison where they were told that Hossein had been executed because he was not repentant and had not been improved by his imprisonment. They were not informed where his body was, and were told that they should not hold any funeral ceremony.
Hossein had been held in Gohardash Prison in Karaj where he was serving a 15-year sentence for activities in support of the PMOI. Hossein had been arrested in 1981. His brother told Amnesty International that at that time Hossein had been involved in political activities for the POMI: collecting money and distributing leaflets and newspapers. His brother is convinced that Hossein was not involved in violent activities.
The mother of a 39-year old woman was executed in Evin Prison wrote to Amnesty International describing a similar experience. Her daughter had been arrested in 1982 when she had been found in possession of leaflets produced by the POMI. She had been tried by an Islamic Revolutionary Court but never informed of the sentence passed on her. For six years the mother had visited her daughter every two weeks. In early August 1988 her visits were stopped without explanation. In November 1988 she received a telephone call telling her to go to the Islamic Revolutionary Committee office near Behshteh Zahra cemetery, where she was informed of her daughter’s execution. She was instructed not to hold any mourning ceremony and was not informed where the body was buried.
Relative of prisoners executed in Orumieh Prison in Iranian Kurdistan have described to Amnesty International a form they had to sign when they were summoned to the prison to collect their belonging. They were told where their relatives were buried, but the authorities had made sure that the 40-day mourning period had elapsed before telling the families about the executions. The form was an undertaking that they would not hold any form of funeral ceremony or erect any memorial on the graves.
Amnesty International has received accounts of similar events in many different prisons in all parts of Iran: in Rasht, Sanandaj, Mashhad, Isfahan and elsewhere. This suggests to Amnesty International that the massacre of political prisoners was a premeditated and coordinated policy, which must have been authorized at the highest level of government.
The relatives of prisoners executed during this period have taken to gathering in Beheshteh Zahra cemetery in Tehran on Fridays to commemorate their dead family members. The mother of a 42-year-old man who had been arrested in 1983 and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment before being executed in Karaj Prison, wrote to here daughter outside Iran about one of these gatherings:
“On Friday all the mothers along with family members got together and we went to the graveyard. What a day of mourning, it was like Ashura! [A religious festival of particular importance to Shi’a Muslims, commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hossein.] Mothers came with pictures of their sons; one has lost five sons and daughters-in-law. Finally the Committee came and dispersed us.”
This gathering of bereaved relatives has reportedly become a regular weekly event in the section of Beheshteh Zahra where political opponents to the government are buried. According to reports form relatives of executed prisoners in Iran, the makeshift monuments erected by the families, which consisted of a few stones and flowers, were removed by the authorities prior to the visit to Tehran by the UN Special Representative on Iran in January 1990. This was apparently an attempt to remove visibly evidence of the mass killings from the sight of any possible inspection of the cemetery by the Special Representative.
Amnesty International has also collected accounts of the mass killing as they were witnessed by political prisoners who were in prison at that time. A former prisoner in Dastgerd Prison in Isfahan said that almost every day between August and December 1988 prison guards came to his section to the prison and read out a list of up to 10 names. These people were then taken out of the cell, which generally housed between 150 and 300 people, and never seen again. The prisoners did not know what was happening to those taken away, but the guards said that they were to be executed. Later, prisoners were transferred to Dastgerd Prison fro other prisons and news of similar events in these prisons spread among the inmates in Dastgerd.
Prisoners in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj appear to have had a much clearer picture of the events, which were taking place. Former have described to Amnesty International how a commission made up of representative from the Islamic Revolutionary Courts, the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Intelligence began to subject all political prisoners to a form of retrial in July 1988.
These “retrials” bore little resemblance to judicial proceedings aimed at establishing the guilt or innocence of a defendant with regard to recognized criminal offence under the law. Instead, they appear to have been formalized interrogation sessions designed to discover the political views of the prisoner in order that prisoners who did not “repent” should be executed- the punishment of all those who continued to oppose the government.
In Gohardasht Prison those detained for their alleged support for the POMI were reportedly the first to go before the commission. Other prisoners received information about the “trials” from PMOI prisoners by way of messages tapped on walls in Morse code from room to room inside the prison. According to one prisoner held there at that time, the first question asked by the commission was: “What is your political affiliation?” Those who answered “Mojahedin” were sent to their deaths. The “correct” answer was “monafegin” (hypocrites). Those prisoners who survived this first phase of interrogation were then subjected to a second series of questions. These included questions such as:
- Are you willing to give an interview on television to condemn and expose the monafegin?
- Are you willing to fight with the forces of the Islamic Republic against the monafegin?
- Are you willing to put a noose around the neck of an active member of the monafegin?
- Are you willing to clear the minefields for the army of the Islamic Republic?
The majority of the prisoners were reportedly unwilling to give the desired responses and were consequently sent for execution. Some 200 out of 3000 PMOI prisoners in Section 3 and 4 of Gohardasht Prison were killed following this type of interrogation. The interrogations were reportedly conducted in such way as to trick prisoners into making statements revealing their opposition to the government.
The prisoners named the interrogators the “Death Commission”. It came to Gohardasht Prison three times a week, arriving by helicopter. The same commission was also reportedly at work in Evin Prison.
At the end of August 1988 the “Death Commission” turned its attention to the prisoners from leftist groups held in Gohardasht Prison. These included supporters of the Tudeh Party, various factions of the PFOI, and others. The interrogations followed a similar pattern, with prisoners being asked if they were prepared to make public statements criticizing the political organization with which they had been associated. The leftist prisoners were also asked about their religious faith. They were asked such questions as: Do you pray? Do you read the Quran? Did your father read the Quran?
One eyewitness of an interrogation in Gohardasht Prison described how he asked if they prayed or read the Quran: they replied that they did not. They wren then asked whether their fathers had read the Quran. Four of them answered “yes” and two of them answered “no” After some discussion between members of the commission, it was decided that those who had not been brought up in a religious family were not as guilty as those whose parents were religious, because the former group had not been brought up as believers. Consequently, the two men whose fathers had not prayed were spared, but the four others were executed.
According to another eyewitness account of this period in Gohardasht Prison, the decisions about which prisoners were to be executed and which spared were arbitrary in the extreme. Some prisoners who had been sentenced to death by the commission were spared because prison guards sent prisoners whom they disliked to be executed in their place. There was also great deal of confusion as prisoners’ were transferred from different prisons and from section to section within the same prison. As a result of such confusion prisoners were sometimes executed by mistake.
The same eyewitness estimates that out of 900 PMOI and 600 leftist prisoners in Gohardasht Prison at the beginning of the summer of 1988, 600 PMOI prisoners and 200 leftist prisoners were executed. In Evin Prison, where the execution of prisoners was going on simultaneously, the proportion of executions carried out form the total population of political prisoners was much higher. One reason suggested for this is that in Evin there was no way for prisoners to communicate with each other, so they were unable to prepare answers to questions put to them by the “Death Commission” as a prisoners in Gohardasht had done.
A similar pattern of purposeful mass killing of political opponents, beginning with the PMOI but encompassing alleged supporters of other opposition groups, took place in dozens of other prisons around the country in the second half of 1988. Among others, Amnesty International has received reports of hundreds of executions of prisoners from Kurdish opposition groups in Orumieh Prison, and of 50 being executed in Sanandaj.
Ayatollah Montazeri’s letters to Ayatollah Khomeini in July 1988 reportedly criticized many of the aspects of the mass executions identified by former prisoners. Ayatollah Montazeri commented on the arbitrary way in which life and death decisions were taken:
“He [Ayatollah Montazeri] cited the case of a provincial mullah who had complained that a prisoner who had fully recanted was executed anyway. The prisoner, who was not named, said in response to the tribunal questions that he was ready to publicly condemn his past opposition, and go to, the Gulf War front as well. But when he refused to declare his readiness to go to the minefields, the tribunal decided he had not truly changed and had him executed.” (Reuters, 29 March 1989).
In a later letter, dated 15 August 1988, Ayatollah Montazeri reported to have demanded of the Minister of Intelligence, the Prosecutor General and the Chief Justice: “On what criteria are you now executing people who have not been sentenced to death?” (Reuters, 29 March 1989)
Ayatollah Montazeri’s letters show that there was awareness at the highest level of the government that “thousands” of summary executions were taking place without regard to constitutional and judicial procedures. The authorities were therefore either unable to prevent these mass killings form taking place, or they did not wish to do so.
The mass killings of political prisoners appears to have stopped at the beginning of 1989, when several hundred repentant political prisoners were included in amnesties to mark the 10th anniversary of the Islamic Republic’s foundation in February 1979. Those who were released had to sign statements denouncing their earlier political activities. They were further obliged to pledge large sums of money, or in some cases the deeds of the family house, against their future good conduct and non-involvement in opposition politics. The amnesty brought to an end a period of six to eight months, which saw a massive reduction in numbers of political prisoners in Iran through executions.
Since February 1989 sporadic reports of executions of the government’s political opponents in Iran have been received by Amnesty International. Some of these executions have taken place in public. For example, in March 1989 Mohammad and Saeed Khan Naroui were hanged from a crane in Abbas Ali Square in Gorgan. They had been imprisoned since 1984 for “inciting the people to revolt”.
On 28 March 1990 the execution of two men described as “bandits” was announced by the Islamic Republic News Agency. Abbas Raisi and Ahmad Jangi Razhi were found guilty by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Zehedan of “collaborating with bandits and counter-revolutionaries in the Baluchistan area” (BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 30 March 1990)
Secret executions of political prisoners have also been reported. Following the assassination in July 1989 of the leader of the KDPI, Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou, in circumstances, which suggest the involvement of the Iranian Government, resistance to the government including armed opposition, is reported to have been stepped up in Iranian Kurdistan. The authorities are reported to have responded by executing Kurdish prisoners in Sanandaj and Orumieh Prisons. Execution of Kurdish opponents to the government have continued in 1990.
Other political prisoners are reported to have been executed ostensibly as common criminals; they were among the hundreds of drug-traffickers and other convicted criminals executed in public in 1989 and 1990 for example, it was announced that 79 drug-traffickers were executed in different cities on 17 August 1989. Among them were Mohammad Younesi, executed in Hamadan; Mohammad Gholi Ebrahimi, executed in Rasht; Bijan Biglari, executed in Kermanshah (Bakhtaran); and Bahram Kazemi and Massoud Sabet, executed in Shiraz. All these were reportedly political prisoners. Amnesty International has received no response to its requests for information from the Iranian authorities about the offences of which these prisoners were convicted.


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Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) is going to adapt Dave Eggers’ post-Hurricane Katrina nonfiction book, â€œZeitounâ€. That’s not the interesting bit. Zeitoun is a wonderful book and an incredible story of tragedy, perseverance, and hope, and will likely make for a great movie. The strange part of this news is the medium Demme is going to use: the movie will be animated.
Zeitoun is the story of Abdulrahamen Zeitoun, a successful Syrian-born handyman and contractor living in New Orleans. He came to the US, built himself up from nothing, and is the embodiment of the American Dream. During Katrina he remained in New Orleans to keep an eye on his home and business. In the wake of the disaster he paddled a canoe through the flooded streets of his adopted home, rescuing people, checking on his neighbors, and even feeding a couple of stranded dogs. Eventually he was arrested as a terrorist and looter, and detained in horrendous conditions while his frantic family tried to track him down.
The cover of Eggars’ (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) books features a simple, elegant drawing of Zeitoun in his canoe. I hope Demme retains this style for the animation. It would be difficult and expensive to replicate that sort of destruction on screen, but it isn’t hard to imagine the scenes rendered in this fashion. I can easily picture Zeitoun holed up in his house during the chaos of the storm, or gliding through the strangely silent streets of his waterlogged neighborhood in his aluminum canoe. They could take what is already a poignant narrative and create something breathtaking, and set the film apart from the glut of other post-Katrina movies and documentaries.
Production is moving forward, with an eye on a 2014 release. French company MK2 will foot the $15 million bill.

domain: literature


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Boeing is currently working on a set of new 747s to replace the current fleet being used today. President Trump plans to make the skies more Patriotic as he wants a paint scheme that “looks more American”.
Currently Air Force One is a two tone blue with white. We expect this new theme is going all out in the skies with a Patriotic Red, white, and blue.
Fox News reports…
The president reportedly wants the jets to be outfitted in a color scheme that “looks more American” and replace the iconic robin’s egg blue declared a “Jackie Kennedy color.” Technically termed “luminous ultramarine”, the plane’s current design was selected by President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s, Axios reports.
Artist rendering of Air Force One.
Trump’s preferred color scheme would incorporate red, white and blue. In addition, the commander in chief is said to want bigger, more comfortable beds, like those of his personal Boeing 757, in favor of what Axios describes as the current “couch-like sleeping configuration” aboard Air Force One.
Trump also wants the pane to be more comfortable as he has claimed the current bed seems more like a fold-out couch. Let’s see if he gets his wishes.

domain: news


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A VAN WITH MOJO
FOR just a bit more than $1000, your Renault Kangoo can be fitted with a just-launched Lifestyle Pack that adds more class and versatility to the popular van.
Specially designed for the long wheelbase five-seat Kangoo Maxi Crew, the pack provides R-Link enhanced audio and navigation system with 7inch touchscreen and digital radio, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and ventilation for the second row passengers.
Outside, it adds a smooth, redesigned, colour-coded front bumper, a painted rear bumper, gloss black door mirrors, and extra tinted glass.
Rear side windows are a dealer fit option, providing a light and airy feel for the whole vehicle, and cost from $290 plus dealer fitting.
The Lifestyle Pack is $1290 and Renault's Lyndon Healey says the new level of comfort and style for a working vehicle lets it double as weekend family transport.
“Even when configured to carry five adults there is still good load space behind the rear seats, and with the optional rear side windows fitted, the van looks and feels like a family car,” he said.
“In fact, it could earn its keep as a highly efficient taxi, premium airport shuttle or multi-role courier vehicle.”
The Kangoo Maxi Crew has a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine, that drives the front wheels through a slick shifting 6speed manual gearbox.
All Kangoos built after June now have driver and front passenger side airbags and rear parking sensor.
The Kangoo is built on the platform of the Scenic people mover, so it drives like a passenger car, and with the Lifestyle Pack addition, businesses have access to a versatile workhorse that is 100 per cent claimable as a business expense for ABN holders.
A lifestyle pack transforms the Kangoo van.

domain: design


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By FWi staff
BEVERLEY Market in East Yorkshire stopped trading on Thursday (05 April).
After a battle with East Riding County Council to continue its lease, auctioneer Frank Hill & Son has agreed to vacate the site and move operations to another location.
The market was granted a temporary stay of execution by the council last year, when its lease ran out and the site was earmarked for a retail store for supermarket giant Tesco.
The market was allowed to continue trading on the site as a “legal trespasser”, until the developers moved in.
Ralph Ward of Hull Livestock Market Ltd, the company that runs the Beverley site, said it had located a new venue at Dunswell, East Yorkshire, which it hoped to be using shortly once some planning difficulties were sorted out.
He scotched any rumours that this was related to foot-and-mouth movement restrictions curtailing revenue. Until then trading will continue from the offices of Frank Hill & Son at Patrington.

domain: economics


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If you’re trying to plunder the seven seas, you should be doing it with a grog in hand. Thankfully in SoT you can get nice and drunk to make your voyages that much more authentic. But if you’re looking to kick it up a notch, these handy Sea of Thieves drinking game rules will make things interesting.
In Sea of Thieves players act as pirates sailing the seas in search of treasures. In theory, everyone has a role to play to make sure every mission is a success. However, it’s not uncommon for a group of pirates to turn into a drunken mess seeing who can mess up more notes of a delightful sea shanty and puking into their grog cups.
What You’ll Need to Play
All you’ll need is a copy of the game and some brews. This game works with 1 to 4 players, or more if you can somehow get more players into the same server. The way it works is the game has real drinking rules and in-game grog drinking rules.
Sea of Thieves Drinking Game Rules
Take a sip of your drink whenever…
- You get shot
- You miss a cannon or harpoon shot
- You fall off the ship (accidentally)
Finish your drink whenever…
- You’re struck by lightning
- Your ship sinks
- You die. (You must finish your drink before you can leave the Ferry of the Damned).
Drink a cup of grog (in-game) whenever…
- You embark or disembark the main ship
- Your crew completes a mission
- If someone in the crew finishes a song on the banjo, everyone else drinks a grog.
This Sea of Thieves drinking game is a lot of fun, since drinking in the game results in more mistakes, which results in more real life drinking. It becomes a pretty vicious cycle so feel free to take a break if you think you need one. There’s no shame in hanging out in the Ferry of the Damned until you’ve regained your wits. If you’re looking for a crew to play this drinking game, consider joining us at Twitch.tv/thechuggernauts!

domain: entertainment


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Amidst the anguish and anger aroused by the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 out of Athens, hardly anyone has asked perhaps the most critical question of all: How did the hijackers sneak their weapons onto the plane?
The definitive answer to that question can only be provided by the officials of TWA and the Greek government. An appropriate response for the American traveler is simple: avoid flying on TWA and stay away from Athens airport unless and until we have guarantees that such a crime cannot again occur under the jurisdiction of these authorities. Additionally, every support should be given to those pilots and flight attendants who offer to boycott Athens airport.
It is time for the air travel industry to take its responsibilities seriously and stop sacrificing the safety of innocent Americans on the altar of the almighty dollar. The fact that there are airline companies which have avoided the plague of lawless piracy proves that is can be done.

domain: politics


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“I have to spend at least $50 a day to get gas to make money,” said Uber driver Coreie Mosley.
HOUSTON, Texas — People who use Uber will see a new charge when they call a driver starting Wednesday.
The popular ride-sharing app has announced that a new fuel tax will be added to fares.
The surcharge will be 45 cents or 55 cents for each Uber trip and 35 cents or 45 cents for each Uber Eats order depending on location.
Coreie Mosley has been an Uber driver since 2018.
She said it’s the best decision she’s ever made because it gives her the flexibility to pursue her dream of becoming a stand-up comedian.
“I love it,” Mosley said. “I like to be there for people because I have a heart of service and then I like to make people laugh. I always play jokes on them.
But, what isn’t funny for Mosley right now are these record high gasoline prices.
“$4 a gallon. It’s amazing in Houston. I mean it’s oil and gas country. Come on, she said.
“I have to spend at least $50 a day to get gas to make money,” Mosley said. “I only drive when there’s a big surge and it’s peaking. I only drive when it really matters. Like 5 p.m. when it’s red. On the app, it shows us when it is, for example, demanding weather for drivers. That’s when I work the most now.
The pain of refueling got so bad that Mosley considered quitting Uber altogether.
“Then I’m going to go get a real job and then I’ll be the person who has to use Uber to get to work because I can’t afford to put gas in my car,” she said. joked.
Uber has announced a new temporary fuel surcharge. The company said all money will go directly to the drivers.
Mosley said: “45 cents might not seem like a lot but everyone is hurting right now except the wealthy, you know? They are good. They are good.
However, she is now worried about the impact this will have on passengers who already think using the ridesharing app is too expensive.
Mosley is hoping gas prices have peaked so she can continue doing what she loves while driving people around.


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The question of whether to call the situation in Honduras a coup keeps popping up. In comments to a previous post, Matthew Shugart mentioned seeing the importance of the term "military coup." The specific wording comes from section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriation Act (see here for a U.S. embassy site discussing it). Anyone can call it a coup, which makes no difference. Apparently adding "military" is the key. I suppose someone could argue it is not a "military" coup if the military does not rule, even if the military was responsible for the physical act of overthrowing the president.
"None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or expended to finance directly any assistance to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree: Provided, That assistance may be resumed to such government if the President determines and certifies to the Committees on Appropriations that subsequent to the termination of assistance a democratically elected government has taken office: Provided further, That the provisions of this section shall not apply to assistance to promote democratic elections or public participation in democratic processes: Provided further, That funds made available pursuant to the previous provisos shall be subject to the regular notification procedures of the Committees on Appropriations."

domain: law


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Every year, the WakeNature Preserves Partnership organizes a free land managers’ workshop addressing a topic of interest to park and preserve managers. On September 15, 2017, the NC Wildlife Resources Commission hosted the WakeNature Preserve Partnership’s “Living on the Edge! Management Benefits and Techniques for Streambanks and Wildlife.” The meeting room was filled to capacity for the morning’s presentations, and the afternoon field trips allowed participants to engage the experts while looking at some of the issues around Lake Raleigh, on Centennial Campus at NC State University.
Dr. Gary Blank kicked off the day with a presentation on the Lake Raleigh Management Plan, including trail issues and streambank/floodplain challenges, as well as a history of the site. Dr. Barbara Doll followed with a stream restoration talk that provided information to managers on a range of restoration-related topics, including potential funding. Greg Batts and Vann Stancil, both with the Wildlife Resources Commission, concluded the morning session with talks on beaver ecology and management and managing water levels for ecology and erosion, respectively.
The audience divided into smaller groups for the afternoon field tours, which focused on examples of trail-building and management at Lake Raleigh, stream restoration techniques, urban stream challenges, and managing habitat for wildlife, such as wood ducks and prothonotary warblers.
Special thanks to Brooke Massa with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission for leading the workshop organization, and all the speakers who contributed their time. Please look for next year’s workshop, on a topic to be decided. If you have a topic that you would like to see addressed, please contact one of the Steering Committee members: Scott Pohlman, Meghan Teten, or Deborah Fowler.

domain: biology


Digitas Hires for New York and Atlanta. The global integrated brand agency has added plenty of experience with two new hires in its New York and Atlanta offices. Digitas New York has added Doug Speidel and Fritz Desir to its management team. Speidel has over 20 years experience in his field, and joins Digitas from MRM Worldwide where he’ll take on the position of senior vice president for the creative department.
Desir joins the New York office from Tribal DDB and will take on responsibilities for the newly created position of president/group director, head of experience design. Digitas Atlanta has also added to its management team with Alyse Schwartz, VP of account planning, and Jamie Christner as VP of strategy and analysis.
Skype mames Steele VP of marketing. Skype, a division of Microsoft, announced the hiring of Elisa Steele as corporate VP of marketing. Steele, the former CMO of Yahoo, will oversee Skype’s global brand and marketing functions, as well as local go-to-market activities.
BFG named agency of record for Shoney’s. Communications agency BFG will be responsible for the creation of national advertising for Shoney’s. The agency will handle social media, television, radio, print, and outdoor, and will lead creative, digital, and point of sales for the diner chain.
SapientNitro names VP, group account director. The communications firm has added Patty Cohen to its team as VP group account director. Patty joins the Chicago office from Energy BBDO where she held the position of executive VP, client service director.
USA Today Sports Media Group hires director of content development. Jamie Mottram, former Yahoo Media strategy and development head for blogs, social media, and SEO has been added to the USA Today Sports Media Group team. Mottram joins the staff as director of content development beginning August 6.
Nurcin Erdogan Loeffler, head of strategy and innovation, Vizeum China, outlines the seven ways businesses can future proof their digital strategies.
Every brand would love to see its hashtag trending on social media, but what if it’s for the least expected reason? Should you ... read more
In today's multichannel world how can marketers use data to ensure the experience a customer receives is relevant to them?
Mike Andrews Ph.D is Chief Scientist (Forensiq) at Impact Radius, and is carrying out some fascinating work around digital marketing and ad ... read more


Volume 53 | Number 2 | April 2018
Jodyn E. Platt M.P.H., Ph.D., Peter D. Jacobson, Sharon L. R. Kardia Ph.D.
To measure public trust in a health information sharing in a broadly defined health system (system trust), inclusive of health care, public health, and research; to identify individual characteristics that predict system trust; and to consider these findings in the context of national health initiatives (e.g., learning health systems and precision medicine) that will expand the scope of data sharing.
Survey data (n = 1,011) were collected in February 2014.
We constructed a composite index of four dimensions of system trust—competency, fidelity, integrity, and trustworthiness. The index was used in linear regression evaluating demographic and psychosocial predictors of system trust.
Data were collected by GfK Custom using a nationally representative sample and analyzed in Stata 13.0.
Our findings suggest the public's trust may not meet the needs of health systems as they enter an era of expanded data sharing. We found that a majority of the U.S. public does not trust the organizations that have health information and share it (i.e., the health system) in one or more dimensions. Together, demographic and psychosocial factors accounted for ~18 percent of the observed variability in system trust. Future research should consider additional predictors of system trust such as knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs to inform policies and practices for health data sharing.


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Dissecting aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening medical condition that leads to excessive ballooning of major heart aortas as result of aortic dissection. This condition requires urgent and life-saving emergency surgery as the patient can easily die. It is thought that the disease condition is caused by excessive pressure acting on either the ascending or descending aorta, causing them to dilate and burst.
What causes dissecting aortic aneurysm?
Inheritance Although it is not clear, scientific studies suggest that the condition is caused by a number of factors. Among them is the possibility of inheritance from the family lineage. This means that if fore-parents or other family members have suffered from dissecting aortic aneurysm, the siblings have higher chances of suffering from the same. Atherosclerosis Other pathological conditions like atherosclerosis - hardening of the blood vessels by due to deposition of bad cholesterol - increases the chances of suffering from dissecting aortic aneurysm. The veins lose elasticity and are therefore prone to dissection, and consequently, aneurysm. Smoking accelerates atherosclerosis. Therefore, it is a secondary causative agent of aortic dissecting.
Types of dissecting aortic aneurysm
This diseases condition is classified as either type I or II, depending on where dissection begins and ends. Type A begins in the arch of the ascending aorta. This results to aneurysm either along the length of the aorta from the point dissection or at the arched region only. Type B is said to originate from the descending aorta and does not affect the arch of the aorta. Aneurysm occurs along the straight length of the aorta.
Pathological manifestation of dissecting aortic aneurysm
When one develops the condition, the three layers of the heart separate in manner like that of plywood which has warped. This happens at the weakest point of the aorta and the blood leaves the main passage and enters between the vessels’ layers. The blood rests in between the spaces causing it to balloon. Symptoms of dissecting aortic aneurysm include sharp, stabbing pain at the location of dissection. In addition, the pain feels like it is changing position within the thoracic and chest regions. Other symptoms are general weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and loss of consciousness, among others.
Usually, a patient who suspects to have a dissecting aortic aneurysm must visit a doctor to have a CT scan done. This is the most common method of diagnosis. Other techniques used to detect aneurysm are chest MRI, chest X-ray, ultrasonography and aortic angiography.

domain: medical


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There is an island of rabble in a oceans that is twice a distance of Texas. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (the central name for it) is flourishing any day.
Humans have combined over 8 billion tons of plastic. 400 million of that was combined this year alone. Plastic is being tossed in landfills, polluting oceans, and destroying a planet. Everlane, a association that has always committed to being socially and environmentally conscious, wants to change that.
“We need to start observant no to companies that are not pulling sustainability forward,” says Everlane owner Michael Preysman. To residence a tellurian plastics crisis, a code will stop formulating new cosmetic and use what is already here. The association affianced to discharge all pure cosmetic from their whole supply sequence by 2021, definition no some-more greedy shipping bags. The Renew collection, that drops this week, represents a initial step toward that commitment. “Any code that’s not meditative this way, is putting distinction forward of people.”
“With a ReNew collection, we are means to use cosmetic that would stay on a world perpetually and replenish it to emanate products that are as impossibly warm, tolerable and affordable.” Consisting of 13 classical cold-weather styles for both group and women, a initial ReNew collection will be done from 3 million recycled cosmetic bottles. “Our wish is that people wear a jackets and fleece for decades to come,” says Preysman.
And given this is Everlane, a code that has consistently offering chic, easy-to-wear staples, a collection looks good too. There are neat parkas, friendly fleece sweaters, and a mustard puffer you’ll wish to nap in. And there’s some-more to come. Over time, Everlane skeleton to furnish additional ReNew collections, with skeleton to recycle 100 million cosmetic bottles within 5 years.
“Our expansion means that any year, a impact on a sourroundings is larger and greater,” Preysman says. “We knew we had to play a partial in improving a world for ourselves and a customers.” Since a code was founded in 2011, a San Francisco-based association rolled out new changes to their business to residence varying concerns. In 2017 they launched their denim collection, that is constructed in a bureau that recycles 98% of a water, that also happens to embody be a ideal stand jean. Earlier this year they announced skeleton to revamp their silk collection, starting with toxic-free dyes.
You can emporium a collection on Wednesday, 10/24 during Everlane.com, affordably labelled from $55 to $198. If past waitlists are any indication, pointer adult now before it fundamentally sells out.


An AC generator has a coil of 150 square loops, each of side 3 cm. The loops are placed in a 1.4T magnetic field and rotate with a frequency of 50 Hz. The generator is connected as input voltage Vp to the primary coil of a transformer with Np = 80, and 40 turns in the secondary coil. The output voltage of the transformer is connected to a resistor of resistance R = 120 Ω. What is the peak (maximum) value of the current I0 flowing through the resistor?


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The International Press Center, IPC Lagos has joined voices with other media and civil society groups in expressing concern over the continued detention of a former Daily Trust Editor, Ibrahim Dan-Halilu held by operatives of the Department of State Services.
Director, IPC, Lanre Arogundade disclosed this in a statement signed and made available by the Program officer/ Alert Desk Officer, IPC, Melody Akinjiyan.
The former Political Editor at Daily Trust newspapers, Ibrahim Dan-Halilu, was arrested by the DSS in Kaduna State for allegedly supporting the activities of #RevolutionNow in a Facebook post.
The Director, IPC who denounced the arrest also noted that the continued detention without trial by the security operatives was illegal and unconstitutional.
He described the arrest as a violation of their right to freedom of expression and personal liberty guaranteed by Sections 34, 35, 39 and 41 of the Nigerian constitution as well as Article 5, 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right Act.
“The recurring developments underscore the remarkable fact that even after twenty years of ceaseless democracy, the government can still create subtle censorships to muzzle journalists and other independent voices at the faintest criticism.” Mr Arogundade lamented.
However, the International Press Center, IPC also demanded that all charges be dropped against all journalists arrested, detained and charged over the protest.


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On November 24, John Kelly of the Washington Post distorted what Bill Donohue said in 2008 about the American Humanist Association (AHA). On December 2, Ian Urbina of the New York Times compounded the problem by plagiarizing from Kelly.
Kelly wrote a piece about the AHA’s new holiday ads promoting atheism. In referencing a previous ad campaign, he said it received “a bunch of publicity.” Then he wrote the following: “The head of the Catholic League linked secular humanists in with such figures as Jeffrey Dahmer and Hitler.”
Here is what Urbina wrote in his piece on the same subject: “The head of the Catholic League linked secular humanists to figures like Hitler and the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.”
In November 2008, Donohue debated Jesse Galef of the AHA on the Fox News Channel. After Galef spoke, host Heather Nauret said the following: “All right. You know, Bill, they have their First Amendment rights. They’ve got to say what they want.” Here is how Donohue replied: “Right. That’s right. They shouldn’t be profoundly ignorant, though. Sociology 101 says that morality has always been grounded in religion. They are trying to say ‘No, it is grounded in individuals.’ Well, Jeffrey Dahmer had a conscience, too, Heather. And you know what? He destroyed his victims and then ate them. We saw what happened with militant secularism in the 20th century. Over 150 million dead because of this man’s philosophy—Pol Pot, Hitler, Mao and Stalin.”
To say, as Kelly and Urbina did, that Donohue made his comment about the AHA’s


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Why is the media comfortable shaming women's body types, but finds difficulty in reporting on health regarding women's bodies? Professor Karen Ross unpacks her research.
Boris Johnson has announced he will introduce calorie counting onto restaurant menus. But what does this mean for those with eating disorders? Emmanuelle Gammage explains the damage.
The modelling industry is notoriously under-representative. But could there be change in the air? How do companies avoid tokenism?
After the Love Island star was hounded on bikini pictures published in the Daily Mail, we chat to a body positive Tik Tok influencer about these "disgusting" comments.
LINK HERE TO ALL SPOTIFY PODCASTS.
Tea Time with Holly is a Spotify podcast which forms part of my multimedia website. Come join our communitea to spill the tea.
Spill the Tea is back with a rebrand, expansion and a growing demand for writers to join our communitea...
We’re comfortable talking about mood swings, spot breakouts and “that time of the month” – but there’s an unease talking about the technicalities of a period.
Charity COCO hosted their event, #EachforEqual for International Women's Day 2020. What does it mean to the women they hosted?
What does being a woman mean to you? For International Women's Day, I asked the public what word they thought best encapsulated womanhood... Look out for more content for IWD 2020 this week!
Last week, Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault – three years after the NYT published their first allegations. But what are local groups and communities doing to break the silence around sexual violence too?


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This 10 day guided alpine tour of Italy and France takes you as high up as 3000 meters above sea level. The ride starts from the small city near Milan (Italy). We then head up to Cortina d’Ampezzo - along the famous roads of Jaufenpass, Passo Dello Stelvio, Livigno and Aosta to Lago di Como and into France, at a height of 2,764 meters above sea level.
You’ll see Val d'Isère below you as you explore old military forts along the road. We then go down the Colle Delle Finestre gravel road with 32 serpentines and back up to the 3000 meters high Col de Sommeiller.
The incredibly beautiful gravel road of Colle del Preit leads us across Isola, Demnota to Marmora, where you cross the mountain ridges to touch the sky one last time before heading home.
20 - 31 Aug, 2023
The Alps Adventures
Arriving to destination: 19 Aug, 2023
Departing for home: 1 Sep, 2023
Regitration fee: 8.646,00 €
|12 Days||Available||BOOK NOW / GET MORE INFO|

domain: travel


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An international rally was organised in various cities in India and Australia to express solidarity against growing cases of animal cruelty in the country and to put pressure on the government to enact strict laws on the issue.
The rally organised by India Unites for Animals (IUFA), urging the Indian government to enact powerful laws against animal cruelty took place in 70 cities around the world, including 50 in India, 10 in US and five in Australia.
Anand Siva who was coordinating the rally claimed a large number of people took part in the rally.
Humane Society International-India had earlier said that the past year has seen some of the most heinous acts of animal cruelty in India — from physical assault on a police horse, Shaktiman, to stabbing of dogs to death and setting puppies ablaze.
Navamita Mukherjee of HSI-India claimed the response was great in Delhi as well as Noida where a lot of people turned up to take part in the rally.
HSI-India along with IUFA has been urging the government to replace the existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 with the much-delayed new animal welfare bill.
"It gives us immense hope to see people taking up the issue of animal cruelty with seriousness and urgency.
"Nevertheless, the incidents of animal abuse have continued to increase because the law has failed to punish the culprits adequately and deter others," N G Jayasimha, Managing Director of HSI-India said while urging the government to guarantee stronger laws for animals.
HSI-India in partnership with People for Animals has launched the #NoMore50 campaign that calls for higher penalties for animal cruelty. The present penalty stands at a maximum of Rs.50.

domain: sociology


A modern modeling tool for creating processes and corporate structure of employees.
We participated in the Sensus Modeler project to a large extent – from the creation of the system, the design of the user interface, programming and product development to the actual testing and deployment of the product.
Sensus modeller is currently used in banks and the government, and we continue to work to expand and improve the system.
We have created a unique modeling tool for our Dutch partner to visualize BPM processes and company structure.
The application communicates with a Cloud server built on Microsoft Azure. The cloud server is connected to the web portal via rest services built on RestAPI. The rest API communicates directly with the Cloud, the database and the modeling project. During the creation of the backend, we also dealt with technologies such as Spring, Hibernate, Java and Kotlin.
The project supports process versioning and simultaneous work of several users on one project. The biggest challenge on this project was not to create an information system as such, but to ensure the required performance, which was the customer’s top priority.
We also programmed the front-end part of the application, cooperated in the creation of back-end services and actively supplied graphic materials and UX for the entire information system.
We maintain good, long-term relationships with our partner and we regularly come up with new improvements or functions for the information system at joint meetings. The current system is undergoing a complete refactoring, during which the individual parts are gradually switched to the use of newer technologies.
Modeling tool directly in the browser
We created our own modeling framework for the project, on which we built the entire product. We have thus solved support for standard web browsers, as well as optimization for application speed.
The biggest challenge was to ensure the necessary performance for a huge data flow in a way that even a web browser can handle.
Support for mobile devices
Similar to the version for web browsers, we also encountered a great challenge in the development of mobile devices – to ensure the optimization of the system so that even with the relatively limited performance of mobile devices, the application can process all necessary operations.
As these do not have enough performance, running the application on a tablet or smartphone is a technically very difficult task. However, with high-quality optimization , we were able to deliver responsive code containing mathematical analyses for mobile devices in full quality and without restrictions.
An economic overview of Slovak companies and public procurement.
An information system that facilitates the charging of electric cars, as well as monetization and management of charging stations.
Looking for a partner for your IT mission?
Book a free project consultation.?> Contact us


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Do time and explore Fremantle Prison’s history as a maximum-security prison.
Artistic endeavour is not something you expect to see in a prison, however Fremantle Prison offers a wealth of artworks, the origins of which span almost 140 years.
The cells and yards are covered with works painted by prisoners, including convict etchings, Aboriginal landscapes, dot paintings and murals, and a range of graffiti and tattoo art. In addition to this fixed artwork, the Prison holds an extensive range of art by renowned artists, such as Jimmy Pike and Revel Cooper, in its museum collection. This collection is diverse, comprising approximately 12,000 items, including photographs, documents, furnishings, artworks, clothing, weapons and archaeological material, and spans the entirety of the Prison’s operations, from the beginning of construction in 1851 through to 1991 when the Prison was decommissioned and closed.
Step inside and ‘do time’ with an experienced guide to see behind the scenes of the Fremantle Prison Collection and view various prisoner artworks.
Exclusive tour experience, behind the scenes access to museum collection and complimentary copy of the publication Art Behind Bars: Murals and Graffiti of Fremantle Prison.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Full terms and conditions will be provided during the booking process or upon request.

domain: history


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|Title||The Hunt for Big Stripers|
|Format||EPUB / PDF|
5/5 (1 ratings)
Every surfcaster, from seasoned veteran to novice, dreams about catching a big striped bass. Here is a book that will help you do just that. Veteran surfcaster Zeno Hromin shares his strategies and techniques when targeting big stripers. In addition to his own thoughts, he has assembled a cast consisting of some of today's finest Northeast surfcasters. These very successful big fish hunters share their secrets for catching that striper of your dreams. From advice on which moon or tide period is most productive when targeting big fish, to a discussion on gear choices which will help you stay out of harm's way on the rocks, this book covers it all. Each contributing expert shares his favorite strategy on targeting big stripers in detail rarely found in a single publication. From their choice of tides, locations, gear and rigs, to specific time of the season, weather and baitfish patterns, these authors share their techniques to help you catch a big fish. Of course, no book would be complete without a thorough examination of the angler's ethics in our modern world and this book is no exception. The Hunt for Big Stripers is destined to become a classic reference book for all surfcaster...

domain: hobby


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"Breastfeed your baby till the age of one to boost your child's IQ" is the advice in the Metro. The story comes from a study looking at the links between breastfeeding and children's later mental abilities. It found that children…
"Breastfeed your baby till the age of one to boost your child's IQ" is the advice in the Metro.
The story comes from a study looking at the links between breastfeeding and children's later mental abilities. It found that children whose mothers breastfed for longer did better in language tests at age three and IQ tests at seven than children who were weaned earlier.
Breastfeeding is known to have many benefits, such as reducing the risk of developing ear infections, chest infections and constipation, as well as helping to build a strong bond between mother and baby.
However, this study does not prove that breastfeeding can make a child more intelligent – it only highlights a possible association. As the authors acknowledge, there may be other factors associated with breastfeeding that influence a child's IQ, such as the home environment and maternal intelligence and education.
Previous studies found that in developed nations, mothers who choose to breastfeed tend to be from the middle or upper classes. It could be socioeconomic factors, rather than breastfeeding, that may explain the influence on IQ.
The researchers attempted to adjust their findings for these other influencing factors (confounders), but any adjustment is a statistical best guess. It is always possible that these or other unmeasured factors could have influenced the results.
Aside from these limitations, breastfeeding (when possible) is the healthiest way to feed a baby. The Department of Health currently recommends breastfeeding exclusively for six months and continuing for at least one year. For more information, visit the NHS Choices breastfeeding pages.
The study was carried out by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health in the US and was funded by the US National Institutes of Health.
It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.
The study got a big splash on the Mail Online website, accompanied by large photos of the Duchess of Cambridge, who has reportedly decided to breastfeed.
But the website's coverage of the study was misleading and potentially harmful. It claimed that British "experts" warned that delaying the introduction of solid foods for six months might leave some babies hungry, a theory that is not backed by the evidence.
It was also reported that breastfeeding exclusively for six months might put babies at risk of allergies, food aversions and obesity. These claims fly in the face of the established evidence.
However, the Metro's summary of the study, although brief, is more accurate.
This was a prospective cohort study that looked at the association between breastfeeding and children's mental abilities at three and seven years of age. It also examined whether the mother's intake of fish during breastfeeding had any effect on this association.
The authors point out that while some studies have reported an association between breastfeeding and later intelligence, the link is still uncertain.
They also say that nutrients in breast milk, such as n-fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), may benefit the developing brain. Breast milk DHA content is said to be determined by the mother's diet, which is in turn determined by fish intake.
The main limitation of such a cohort is being able to take account of all possible health, lifestyle and environmental factors that may be associated with both a parent's decision to breastfeed and the child's future mental ability.
The authors used data from a large study of pregnant women in the US designed to examine factors related to pregnancy and child health. The study recruited pregnant women attending antenatal care between 1999 and 2002.
The women were first followed up after they had given birth and then when their child reached six months, three years and seven years of age. The sample used for this analysis involved 1,312 mothers and children with complete data available on breastfeeding and child mental ability, out of a total of 2,128 women who delivered a live baby.
When their child was six months, each mother was asked whether they had ever breastfed the baby and whether they were now giving them infant formula or breast milk. The mothers of babies who had been weaned by six months were asked how old the baby was when breastfeeding stopped.
At 12 months, mothers were asked whether they had ever breastfed the child and whether they were still breastfeeding. For weaned babies, mothers were asked how old the baby was when breastfeeding stopped.
When the children were three years old, they were given an established vocabulary test (the Peabody Picture Vocabulary test) and tests of their hand/eye co-ordination.
At the age of seven, the children were again tested on hand-eye co-ordination through a test of their drawing skills. They were also tested for memory and learning skills.
Staff administering the tests were unaware of the children's breastfeeding status to reduce the risk of any bias.
The researchers collected data from mothers on their social and economic background and their health. When the babies were six months, mothers were also given a validated food frequency questionnaire, which included questions about the mother's average weekly fish intake (canned tuna, shellfish, oily fish and other fish, such as cod, haddock and halibut). Maternal intelligence was also measured using vocabulary and intelligence tests.
The researchers used other established tests to measure mental stimulation and emotional support in the child's environment.
They looked specifically at:
The researchers analysed whether the mother's duration of breastfeeding and whether she had exclusively breastfed was associated with the results of the children's mental ability tests.
They developed various models that adjusted their results for other factors that might have had an influence, including:
They also took account of the mother's scores on intelligence tests and the tests on the home environment.
To look at the possible role of maternal fish intake, the researchers stratified their results according to whether mothers reported two or more servings or less than two servings of fish a week.
The researchers found that the children of mothers who breastfed for longer:
Length of time breastfeeding was not associated with the test of drawing skills or of memory and learning at age seven. It was also not associated with hand-eye co-ordination at the ages of three and seven.
On sub-analysis, the researchers did observe a trend for an effect of breastfeeding for women who consumed two or more servings of fish per week, but the effect fell short of statistical significance.
The researchers conclude that longer duration of breastfeeding and greater exclusivity of breastfeeding were associated with better language skills at three years and higher IQ results at the age of seven.
They say their results are consistent with previous research and that their findings support current recommendations to promote exclusive breastfeeding of children up to the age of six months and the continuation of breastfeeding to at least one year.
This study had several strengths, including its large sample size and detailed measurements of how long mothers breastfed and breastfed exclusively.
However, as the researchers acknowledge, in this type of study there is always a risk that confounders – both measured and unmeasured – can influence the results.
The researchers did take account of various possible confounders, including the home environment and maternal IQ. But there remains the possibility that other health, lifestyle and environmental factors could influence both the parents' decision to breastfeed and the child's future mental ability.
The researchers only followed up a subset of the study's original cohort who had complete data available on their breastfeeding status and the child's mental ability test results. Those with this information available tended to be of higher socioeconomic status and less likely to be of minority ethnicity, which means that the results may not be generalisable to all groups.
There was also the potential for bias when mothers reported information about breastfeeding. It is possible that in giving their answers, mothers felt they should give a "correct" rather than an accurate response, and estimated a longer duration of breastfeeding than actually took place.
The score differences seen in vocabulary and intelligence tests were also very small. It is not known whether these had any meaningful difference in terms of the child's everyday life and academic ability.
While this study cannot answer with certainty whether breastfeeding has beneficial effects on a child's intelligence, the benefits of breastfeeding for both baby and mother are well established.

domain: health


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We all have moments we wish we could relive. We'd give anything to skid down the toboggan hills of our youth, to breathe in the smell of our children as babies, or to spend just one more minute with someone we've lost. Dear Photograph provides a way to link these memories from the past to the present, overlapping them to see how the daydreams of our memories collide with our current realities.
The idea is simple: hold up a photograph from the past in front of the place where it was originally taken, take a second photograph, and add a sentence of dedication about what the photograph means to you. The results, however, are astounding, which is why millions have flocked to dearphotograph.com and thousands have submitted their own Dear Photographs.
This stunning visual compilation includes more than 140 never-before-seen Dear Photographs, as well as a space for you to attach your own cherished photo. By turns nostalgic, charming, and poignant, Dear Photograph evokes childhood memories, laments difficult losses, and, above all, celebrates the universal nature of love.
Amazingly simple idea, well executed. Nostalgia taking place within (or at) the present to emotional conclusions.Published 4 months ago by Trevor Hedden
This wonderful book takes you back to an earlier time. The photographer was very clever in how he placed a current picture in the exact location of an old photograph. Read morePublished on August 30, 2013 by Pamela W. Wheary
so beautiful work i love this book i give a copy to my girlfriend and she is really happy with itPublished on July 25, 2013 by jose pablo
What a fantastic concept the creator and author of this book had...loved all the photographs and especially the stories that accompanied them.Published on February 16, 2013 by Gayle Glazer
This book is magic for me. I hope to do some of the same with old photos of my family, and relish those times that will live forever ... in memory, and in dear photographs.Published on February 4, 2013 by Mattersburger

domain: library


Amazon, which already owns or leases over five million square feet of office space in Seattle, just added more. The online retailer purchased the block between Bell & Blanchard streets and Seventh & Eighth avenues for just over $52.2M. That area is currently home to a Cornish College of the Arts residence hall, Hurricane Café, Budget Car Rental and multiple parking lots. Amazon owns the three blocks directly south of this one and has the right of first refusal on a big chunk of land between Bell & Blanchard and Sixth & Seventh avenues. And this doesn't include their massive 3.3M square-foot campus currently underway.
Goodbye Denny Triangle, hello Bezos Triangle.
· Amazon pays $52 million for another full block in downtown Seattle [PSBJ]
· Ama-zone coverage [Curbed Seattle]


Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary (receive it by email every morning by signing up here):
Kodak Revamps Wal-Mart Kiosks
Summary: In a move that highlights the growing popularity of self-serve instant photo processing kiosks, Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) is installing more than 2,000 new kiosks at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT), in an upgrade expected to provide a significant boost to the instant-print sales starting this holiday season. The kiosks involve self-service devices where customers plug in their camera or memory cards, pay by credit card, and receive digital photos that take four seconds to print. Under the agreement, Kodak will install newly designed kiosks that can be used by two customers at a time, which both companies expect will expand usage significantly. Wal-Mart, the world's largest photo processor, has already started installing the kiosks and plans to have them fully online by Nov. 1, in time for the holiday shopping season. The companies declined to disclose financial terms. The new three-year contract with Wal-Mart is an important step for Kodak, which has undertaken a painful three-year transition to the digital world, reporting huge losses as it closes plants and lays off thousands of workers.
Comment on related stocks/ETFs: For more on Kodak's performance, read their most recent quarterly conference call.


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A source at the department said management has moved staff who had overstayed at one working station after noting that there were numerous reports of corruption and abuse of office.
â€œI think the aim of this shake-up is to give the department a good name because there have been a lot of bad reports ranging from stealing, corruption and it was felt that some people have overstayed at one working station,â€ said the source.
The source said the most affected members of staff were the ones working at border posts because he said it was felt that they were the most compromised members of staff at the moment.
Added the source: â€œSo far, at least 80 members of staff have been moved around and itâ€™s an ongoing exercise. It seems the management are taking it as a normal thing like in many institutions that people are moved for operational efficiency.â€
The departmentâ€™s public relations officer Peter Kakatera confirmed the transfers in a questionnaire interview last week. He described them as normal occurrence in the duties of Immigration officers.
â€œAs Immigration officials, we are regularly moved around and about for reasons which can come about as a result of staying in one place for too long and also so that officials can benefit from the experience of being in a different place, thereby acquiring new knowledge and skills,â€ said Kakatera.
Kakatera said every officer in the department was aware of the consequences of indulging in corrupt practices and that once one is caught, punitive and disciplinary action would be taken.
â€œThe Department of Immigration would indeed like to emphasise its stance that we shall not tolerate any officer in the department to be involved in corruption,â€ he said.
Added Kakatera: â€œWe would like to urge members of the public to desist from offering bribes to Immigration officials. On the other hand, we would like to encourage members of the general public to report officers who are involved in corruption.â€


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Posted by Dr Premi Haynes on Dec 17, 2022
Every cell in the body contains the same DNA, which is divided into genes, each of which carries instructions to make specific proteins: molecules that largely build, maintain and operate the body. The selection of genes expressed (active) in a cell dictate which particular proteins are made. This gives the cell its special characteristics and functions. For example, skin-specific genes are not expressed in muscle cells, and vice-versa.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by changes in a particular region of DNA that leads to production of a protein called DUX4, not normally present in muscle. As a 'transcription factor', DUX4 controls expression of other genes and so can alter the types of proteins made. Thus, DUX4 upsets the carefully coordinated gene expression profile required for efficient muscle function. However, it remains unclear exactly which of the many changes caused by DUX4 leads to muscle wasting, limiting the ability to develop treatments tailored for FSHD.
Dr Ganassi, Professor Zammit and colleagues at King’s College London have published new findings on a mechanism underlying FSHD pathology. They used a closely related transcription factor called DUX4c to better understand the proteins that DUX4 controls. DUX4c was able to reduce the damaging effects of DUX4 in muscle cells. This revealed that the WNT/B-catenin pathway, important for regulating muscle function and health, is perturbed in FSHD. Blockade of WNT/β-CATENIN signalling reduced the toxicity of DUX4 in muscle cells in the lab.
This discovery provides new insight into the causes of FSHD pathology and informs development of therapies.
The paper, ‘Antagonism Between DUX4 and DUX4c Highlights a Pathomechanism Operating Through β-Catenin in Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy’ was published in Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
Thank you for allowing our organization to support this work with your generous donations!


The real estate downturn apparently has not hurt Zillow’s revenue – or outlook.
The real estate services company’s revenue totaled $30.5 million in 2010, an increase of $13 million or 74 percent compared to the prior year, according to a report filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
Peter Conti, executive vice president at consultancy Borrell Associates, said an increase in Zillow’s website traffic is promising. Zillow said it had 19.4 million unique visitors in March 2011, a 90 percent increase compared to a year ago. “It may mean there’s strength in the market again,” Conti said.
The document, called an S-1, offers a first-time glimpse into the Seattle-based company’s financial records and strategy.
Zillow also reported:
* $13.2 million of its 2010 annual revenue came from two offerings: its premier agent offering that allows real estate agents to obtain featured listings and other ad placements, along with a lead generation service for mortgage lenders. Revenue from these two programs more than tripled compared to 2009, representing much faster growth than its display ad business.
*$17.2 million of its 2010 annual revenue came from display advertising, an increase of 27 percent from the prior year.
*Net annual losses of $6.8 million in 2010 and $13 million in 2009.
Zillow’s fast-growing premier services points to increased demand for specialized advertising packages instead of run-of-site display advertising. “The agents/brokers finally realize they expect and can get more targeted advertising…they are moving away from more of a shotgun approach,” Conti said.
Like any other company’s IPO filing, Zillow identified pending lawsuits. Smarter Agent, a provider of mobile real estate applications; First American CoreLogic, a provider of real estate information and analytic services; and LendingTree, an online loan business, have filed lawsuits against Zillow and other companies for patent infringement. Zillow said it is fighting these claims.
Zillow reported that it’s looking to raise $51.7 million from the initial public offering. It employed 252 full-time workers as of March 31.
The Zillow-Yahoo real estate network had 21.7 million unique visitors in March 2011, making it the largest real estate website based on audience, according to comScore. The next largest was Move real estate sites with 14.5 million unique visitors, followed by Trulia with 8.8 million.
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NASA / DFRC / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY NASA / DFRC / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
MQ-9 Reaper spyplane. This unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), formerly called RQ-9 Predator B, is piloted remotely and powered by the propeller at the rear (right). The Predator systems were developed in the 1990s for the US military, but the MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV purpose-designed for long endurance and high altitude surveillance. Here, NASA's MQ-9 Reaper, the Ikana, has completed testing at the Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, and is now flying to its new base at the Dryden Flight Research Centre, California.
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