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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Up to 450 tons of steel beams, rivets and other metalworks from the original San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge will be salvaged, cleaned and made available to artists to create works for public display, officials said on Wednesday.
Applicants must present feasible ideas for projects using the steel as part of a public display or infrastructure, said Lori Fogarty, director of the Oakland Museum, which is facilitating the application process for the Bay Bridge Steel Project.
A panel of judges will begin examining applications in October, she said, on what is expected to be a two-year process.
The application process will be unusual in the art world, because applicants are competing for raw material and must design proposals that fit specifications including a requirement that projects reference the Bay Bridge in some way, Fogarty said.
“It’s not for someone to put a sculpture in their backyard,” Fogarty said. “We have stipulations that the project be available to the public. And we think there may be also projects that are brought forward by civic entities, or universities or libraries where it may not be sculpture, it may be benches or street lighting.”
The tonnage to be set aside represents a tiny fraction of the overall weight of the 1936 cantilevered eastern span of the Bay Bridge, which partially collapsed during the 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 and was repaired before ultimately being dismantled starting in 2013.
The project came about after artists in the community clamored to work with some of the raw material of the bridge as it was being dismantled, Fogarty said.
Over a yearlong process, state and local transit agencies overseeing the bridge agreed and worked to revise contracts with companies hired to dismantle the bridge to allow for the salvage program.
“I sense a lot of excitement in the artist community, and real appreciation that the transit agencies are making this possible, and we can’t wait to see what comes forth,” Fogarty said.
Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler


text:
Thursday, October 01, 2015
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Typically I buy quite a variety of pumpkins and squash each year, this year I decided to buy a bunch of fake pumpkins and squash. I'm still looking for a really large fake pumpkin that looks "authentic".
Why would I buy fakes instead of real ones?
I'm setting up a still life in my studio for painting, drawing, etc., and the real ones don't last into March, about the time when I'll be designing collections for next Fall.
I have a ton of photos for color and texture references (taken at a local pumpkin farm), but there's nothing as nice as working from a real 3D object.
And don't worry my designs won't look anything like these in the photos, they are just a starting point to work from.
Now to find a decent looking fake pomegranate and all will be well in the world of studio props.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Well the good news is I've made a lot of progress in the studio. The bad news is now I'm cleaning, purging, and organizing about seven different things at once and it wasn't intentional but its a necessary evil.
I'm at the point where I moved my thread cabinets off of the big shelves and onto the cubbies, this is temporary until the place where I really want to live is freed up, but that space is currently occupied with stuff that either needed to go onto the big shelves or be given away.
I'm getting there, thank heavens! When all is said and done the artwork right there in front of the cubbies, you know living on my studio floor, will soon have a home on the big shelves. But first I must move my massive paint collection out of the blue dresser and onto the carts, and then the fabric living on the big shelves, well most of it anyway, can go live in the blue dresser.
Make sense? Me neither. I hope to have an update by this coming weekend. The only thing standing in my way at the moment is the fact that the studio floor needs vacuuming before I can proceed any further. And there is a huge dog sleeping in the middle of said floor.
Oliver, my faithful studio assistant who doubles as a paper weight.
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
The design wall has been hung, finally. Studio is still a wreck but my design wall has been hung!
Just a partial view of the disaster area known as my studio.
The temps are supposed to drop here, as is the humidity, I anticipate lots of cleaning, purging, and organizing happening before the next heat wave sets in.
Thursday, August 06, 2015
The drawing table is finally in front of the coveted window!!!
Next up is repairing my drafting table chair, which should happen sometime tonight. Calligraphy tools found, cart stocked with ink at the ready. It's time to create!
In the meantime I'm still shoveling stuff out of my studio work space and will continue to sort, purge, and pitch stuff that no longer serves me. I will be hosting a huge online sale here and soon, I thought that was going to happen last week and boy did I ever miss the mark on that one!

domain: artistic


text:
Kingdoms of Amalur and ICO HD coming to EU PlayStation Plus in June
Rayman Origins also being offered to PS Vita subscribers in June.
Sony has announced that the ill-fated Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will headline June's PlayStation Plus offerings in Europe. Despite a generally positive critical reception, the single-player open-world RPG failed to meet sales expectations upon its original release in February 2012, and led to the closure of the partially state-funded 38 Studios, helmed by MLB pitcher Curt Schilling.
All three games will be available from May 29, when Sony will phase out its May offerings: Hitman Absolution, Joe Danger 2, and Dead or Alive 5.
PlayStation Vita owners will be able to get Rayman Origins and Coconut Dodge HD from June 5, where Sine Mora will be removed from the service. Velocity Ultra will also leave PlayStation Plus on June 12.
A 12-month subscription to PlayStation Plus has an RRP of £39.99.
We Play Skyrim On Amazon Alexa Cyberpunk 2077 Lore Book Gets Release Date - GS News Update Top New Game Releases On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week -- July 14-20, 2019 Amazon Prime Day Deals For PS4, Xbox One, And Nintendo Switch Games - GS News Update Fortnite - Final Week 10 Secret Fortbyte Piece Location Guide | Season 9 Utopia Challenges Stranger Things Season 4 Theories! Gears 5 Boss Talks Smoking And Tobacco In Game - GS News Update Assassin's Creed Odyssey: Fate Of Atlantis - Chapter 3 Gameplay 8 Must-See Anime To Watch For Summer 2019 Tetris 99 Splatoon Themed Maximus Cup The King's Man - Official Teaser Trailer Return To Resident Evil 2 | Episode 4 - Resident Kinevil
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domain: entertainment


Congress leader Rahul Gandhi turned 41 on Sunday with birthday wishes from party leaders across the country ranging from seeing him as the Prime Minister to getting married this year.
Leading the Congress workers wishlist for the young leader was party general secretary and senior leader Digvijaya Singh, who is closely associated with Gandhi on the organisational matters.
“I think it is time that Rahul become the Prime Minister. He has been working for the party for the last seven to eight years and has the right qualities, instincts and experience to take up the mantle,” Singh said.
Singh also wants Gandhi to get married this year. He, however left it to Gandhi to decide on taking up the mantle of prime ministership.
The Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress utilised the day to reach out to the farmers. Gandhi’s birthday was celebrated all over the state by party workers as Kisan Adhikar Diwas (Farmers’ Rights Day). The assembly polls in UP are due early next year.
Gandhi also received birthday greetings from an unexpected quarter with the BJP leader Uma Bharti wishing him a very long and happy life.


The project developer Abo Wind has ordered 9 examples of Nordex's N131 turbines of 3MW. As of this winter, the project will be constructed 90 kilometers North-West of Finnish city Tampere and is expected to begin operations next Fall, where the farm should deliver approximately 99.771 MWh annually.
The is according to a press release from Nordex.
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text: CANADA: It seems to become an annual habit, a good one we have to add. Starting the new year with a Gay Ski Week Pride trip to Canada is just the best way to kick off our gay travel plans for 2019. It was time again to pack our bags and pride ski outfits and fly over to Vancouver to attend the 27th annual Whistler Pride Gay Ski Week in the Whistler Mountains, British Columbia. The first Gay Pride of the season for us brings lesbians, gays, and queers from around the globe together to celebrate pride, equality, and love with the whole LGBTQ+ community and to bring rainbow colors into the winter wonderland of Northern America. Join us on our first trip in 2019 and see the winter pride festival “Whistler Pride Gay Ski Week” through a couple of men‘s eyes.

domain: sociology


text:
Drug lord Tony Mokbel is suing the Victorian government over a stabbing in a prison that nearly killed him.
Teira Bennett and Eldea Teuira, both 22, were sentenced in 2020 to at least seven years each behind bars for stabbing the then 53-year-old on the training grounds of Victoria’s Barwon Prison in February 2019.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that lawyers representing Mokbel have filed a writ with the Victoria High Court seeking damages against the state of Victoria.
Court documents show that Mokbel believes the government imposed a duty of care on him while he was behind bars in Barwon Prison.
Tony Mokbel was nearly killed in a prison attack. The photo shows him being treated by paramedics after being stabbed
Mokbel was unable to move from the moment he was attacked and failed to defend himself when two prisoners attacked him
Eldea Teuira and Teira Bennett in a court sketch during their trial. The men both laughed through their sentences in 2020
“At all relevant times, the Defendant had an obligation to prisoners held at Barwon Prison to prevent foreseeable injury from the conduct of other prisoners,” it read.
“While the plaintiff was in custody, he was under the care and responsibility of the defendant at all relevant times.”
Mokbel was beaten king and stabbed seven times by the men with cutlery and sharpened wires and kicked in the head, knocking his teeth out.
The attack was so violent that the court refused to release footage of it to the media.
The aging mobster was unable to move from the moment he was attacked and did not defend himself when the pair attacked him.
As the attack drew the attention of other inmates and prison guards, the men could be heard yelling, “You’re not an enforcer, this is what you get for talking to the assholes, asshole.”
Mokbel was attacked after a newspaper article on the front page of the Herald Sun claimed that Mokbel was still pulling the strings behind bars.
On the same day the report was released, Mokbel was approached by prison officers asking if he had any concerns about what it contained.
The report details how Mokbel allegedly disrupted a racketeering racket run at the prison by Pacific Islanders, who were targeting a teen who had been incarcerated for assault.
In sentencing his attackers, respected County Court of Victoria judge Elizabeth Gaynor said she accepted the brutal attack was a direct result of the newspaper article and the men’s attempt to restore honor to their prison gang ‘GFAM’ .
Eldea Teuira (pictured) believed Tony Mokbel got what he deserved in the attack that left him fighting for life
A summary of the incident revealed that Mokbel was hit by the King and stabbed seven times by Teuira when Bennett (pictured) kicked him in the head
In documents filed with the Supreme Court, Mokbel’s lawyers argue that the Andrews government had a duty to exercise reasonable care for Mokbel’s physical and psychological safety.
“The defendant has breached duty to the plaintiff. As a result of the breach of duty by the defendant, the plaintiff suffered and continues to suffer injury, loss and damage,” the documents said.
Mokbel claims financial damages, including aggravating and exemplary damages, interest and costs.
Legal action following the prison attack has been on the line since 2019.
At the time, Maurice Blackburn Attorney General Dimi Ioannou told the Herald Sun that lawyers would have to prove that prison authorities were aware of a potential threat to his safety.
“They must demonstrate that they were aware of a potential threat to his safety and then demonstrate that they breached their duty of care by not protecting him from the threat.
“You then have to show that there was permanent injury from the incident, and there was.”
Mokbel was bleeding from his mouth and chest and was airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital and was deemed to be in a serious but stable condition.
A homemade weapon used to stab Tony Mokbel in Barwon Prison last year. His attackers both laughed as they heard the details of their savage attack
Another of the homemade guns used to stab Tony Mokbel in prison
Just an hour before the frenzied prison attack, Mokbel had attended Teuira’s 21st birthday celebrations where the pair “hugged” and were seen chatting.
Bleeding from his mouth and chest, Mokbel was airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A second victim, aged 31, was also injured when he tried to help Mokbel, but returned to prison after a night in hospital.
Mokbel was injured so badly that he underwent emergency surgery and was put into a coma.
His young attackers laughed during their sentencing in the County Court of Victoria.
Their sentences were lumped on top of the prison they were already serving at the time, meaning Bennett would serve at least eight years and Teuira eight and a half.
“That’s quite a blow,” Bennett grinned.
Both men seemed confused upon hearing the phrase and continued to laugh and chat to each other while still on the public video link.
“Ah, it is what it is,” Teuira said to Bennett.
When Teuira’s lawyer warned the men that they were still being sent out, Teuira sent a message to the public.
‘I like prison. I love prison,” he cried as Bennett cackled with laughter.
LIFE AND TIMES OF TONY MOKBEL
Mokbel, born Antonios Sajih Mokbel on August 11, 1965 in Kuwait, was imprisoned for 30 years for drug trafficking when he was stabbed.
He had been the mastermind of The Company—a multimillion-dollar drug syndicate that would become a key factor in Melbourne’s gang war.
In 2006, he famously fled to Greece while out on bail during a trial on cocaine trafficking charges.
Fifteen months later he was discovered in Athens and arrested again.
The wig he wore at the time would become infamous.
After a lengthy extradition process, Mokbel finally faced a court in Melbourne and was convicted in 2012 of a series of serious drug trafficking charges.
He is currently appealing his drug conviction on the grounds that his former attorney Nicola Gobbo secretly acted as a police mole while representing him.
In December 2020, Mokbel had one drug trafficking conviction overturned by the Victorian Court of Appeal.

domain: law


The government of Venezuela under President Hugo Chávez is supporting a controversial plan to increase coal mining production in the oil producing state of Zulia. The plan may threaten the state’s most important water supply, according to biologists, state water authorities and environmentalists.
Coribell Nava, a biologist and teacher at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela in Maracaibo, says that increased coal mining would mean the destruction of the surrounding environment in the biologically rich Sierra Perija Mountains. The mountains are a vital source of water for Zulia, Venezuela’s most westerly state, bordering Colombia.
“Coal is found in the heart of the hydrological valley. The (coal mining) concessions that are being granted in the Sierra Perija would terminate our water source,” Nava said.
Maracaibo, the capital of Zuila, holds over half the state’s population of approximately 2.5 million people and depends on only two sources of water in the Perija mountains, the Tulé and Manuelote reservoirs. Both reservoirs are fed by the Cachirí and Socuy rivers respectively.
Corpozulia, the national government’s regional development corporation, is planning to open new coal mines along both rivers above both reservoirs. The state water authority, Hidrolago, is also concerned about the national government’s plan to increase coal production in the area near the water reservoirs.
“If the coal mining project continues, the ecological impact will be disastrous,” Herencia Gonzalez said, the manager of the regional institution of Hidroven, the national government’s authority on water.
Gonzalez said that last year she and the Minister of the Environment Dr. Ana Elisa Osorio visited the coal mines currently in operation in the Sierra Perija and said she was shocked by what she saw. “I could not believe my eyes,” Gonzalez said, “Is it worth destroying our natural heritage and our water source for coal?” Gonzalez asked.
Indigenous communities and coal mining
The coal mines visited by Gonzalez and Osorio are the Paso Diablo and Norte mining concessions, located just north of the Manuelote water reservoir. Coal mining at these two locations has already displaced indigenous people living in the area. William Fernandez is a 27 year-old student at the Bolivarian University in Maracaibo, and a member of the Wayuu nation. One of 10 brothers and sisters, he and his family were forced to move from their home because of contamination from the coal mines.
|Coal mining projects offer economic benefits at the expense of the environment in the Western Venezuelan state of Zulia.|
Credit: Nicanor Cifuentes
“We lived in the Caño Corolado sector by the Guasare River from 1986 to 1995,” said Fernandez. “We dedicated ourselves to agriculture, corn, and the raising of cattle. Because of the effects on the environment we had to leave the area.”
Fernandez and his family are now living in another region that is also being affected by mining, but this time from Barite mines. “We are now thinking of leaving this area too because of how it affects our animals,” Fernandez said.
Families like the Fernandez’ are often overlooked by the national government because the population of indigenous communities in the Sierra Perija is small and underrepresented. Communities like the Barí, the Jukpa and the small numbers of Wayuu who have opposed mining have had to do it in the form of protest.
Indigenous territories in the Sierra Perija have yet to be demarcated by the national government and this is something that Rusbel Palmar, a leader within the Zulia indigenous organization, ORPIZ, wants to be settled before new mining projects begin.
“The coal infrastructure plans have not been presented to indigenous people. These plans cannot be done without consultation with indigenous people and different sectors of civil society,” Palmar said adding that ORPIZ will not support increased coal production if there are serious environmental consequences. “If the environmental impact assessment finds that there are negative impacts then developments should not continue,” Palmar said.
Venezuelan government’s coal production plan for Zulia
The national government’s plan to increase coal production involves hundreds of millions of dollars and includes the construction of a mega port for the international shipping of coal and its extraction by multinational corporations. A thermoelectric plant powered by coal and a railway system to facilitate the transportation of coal from the Sierra Perija mountains to the proposed new port is also in the works. These coal mining projects are set to begin next year according to Corpozulia.
Corpozulia´s plans outlined in the Zulia-wide newspaper, Panorama, in an October 27, 2004 article, shows that a large port to be called Puerto America will be built at the mouth of Lake Maracaibo in the Gulf of Venezuela. Corpozulia has predicted investment for this port to total $160 million. The port represents a vital part of the plan to increase coal production.
Further developments include a $946 million proposal to build a 500 megawatt coal-powered thermoelectric plant to satisfy an electricity demand of 2,800 megavolts in Zulia. A railway system for the “clean and efficient” transportation of coal is also in the works with a predicted investment of $281 million.
Zulia´s water shortage
In sun scorched Zulia, temperatures run regularly between 30-40 degrees Celsius. The state already faces a chronic water shortage felt not only by the people of Zulia`s north-western regions of Mara and Paez, where coal is currently being extracted, but also in Maracaibo where many areas of the city receive running water only once a week.
Recognizing the sever water shortage in Zulia, the national government recently provided a loan of $15 million for water infrastructure for the state’s north-western region. However, this water infrastructure would still depend on the two reservoirs currently under threat of contamination by increased coal production.
|Site of proposed new coal mines in the Sierra Perija mountains. Reservoirs can be seen in the background.|
Credit: Fernando Rojas
Coal mining contaminates water through the dumping of waste and coal runoff into the rivers, according to Nava. The biologist explained that coal contains sulphur, and when coal waste and runoff reaches water sources, the water is acidified, making it deadly for those living organisms that depend on the water. This essentially destroys the ecosystem.
Nava also stressed that it is not only the coal itself which affects the rivers that flow into the water reservoirs, but the deforestation that occurs around Zulia`s water supply that is part of the coal mining process. “The cutting down of pristine forest is just part of the ecological disaster. The deforestation will also affect the water reservoirs since without trees and their roots to sustain the soil of surrounding mountains, the rain will literally wash the soil directly into the water reservoirs,” Nava said.
The health of coal miners will also be directly affected by coal says Nava. “Just as the rivers are acidified with sulphuric acid when coal combines with water, the process also occurs within human lungs leading to an illness called Pneumoconiosis.”
Drinkable water or regional development
In coal mining regions like Mara, the conflict between water and coal boils down to a choice between clean water or regional development. For many citizens of Mara who currently depend on potable water from trucks and who receive running water perhaps twice a month, water is more important than both coal and oil.
“We can live without coal and oil but we can’t live without water,” says 20-year-old Desireé Reverol. Reverol lives in Mara’s capital city of San Rafael de El Mojan located along the coast between Lake Maracaibo and the Gulf of Venezuela. This year, El Mojan, as the city is called, was devastated by consecutive days of rain which left unpaved city roads flooded due to a lack of a functioning drainage system.
At City Hall, the new chief administrator, Elio Moran, who came in with a newly elected mayor who supports the national government, says that the most important sources of revenue for the municipality is tax on coal mining and grants from the national government. Moran says that Mara’s challenge to develop a public works infrastructure depends on these revenues.
Due to serious infrastructure problems, seasonal rains take their toll on the streets of Mara, where most roads are unpaved and riddled with deep craters and pot holes, the signs of years of neglect. Moran says the region will use the resources provided by both the coal mining industry and development funds by the national government to get the region on its feet.
“Give us 3 months to change things. If after that time things remain the same then we’re out,” Moran said adding that their number one priority is to get Mara roads in working order, a major overhaul which Moran said will begin in a year, the same time new coal development is expected to begin. Moran also pointed out that Carbozulia, a subsidiary of Corpozulia in charge of coal mining, has offered to donate asphalt towards their road development project.
The regions of Mara and Paez, with predominantly indigenous populations, are considered among the poorest in Venezuela.
Due to the lack of a drainage system along roads and a poor sewage infrastructure, rain water mixes with overflowing raw sewage and stays in festering pools all over San Rafael streets for days. And without clean water for such basic necessities such as drinking, washing and cooking widespread illness is a problem each year.
The newly elected municipal government under 25-year-old Luis Caldera, recognizes the problems their region faces and has pledged to fix them or leave office as Moran has stated. But this promise is based on funding from revenue sources such as coal mining and grants from the national government which depends on oil and increased coal production for its own national revenue.
Mara’s development is at the top of Carbozulia`s concerns according to Vice-President Enrique Matta who says that the importance of coal mining in Zulia is the revenues it will provide directly to Zulia for development in regions like Mara. “Coal mining will provide resources through a special (national government) development fund for Zulia and in particular to northern Zulia, to the regions of Paez and Mara,” Matta said.
Cost of coal mining
|The Paso Diablo coal mine has displaced indigenous people and contaminated the Guasare River.|
Credit: Nicanor Cifuentes
Environmentalists and biologists say that the cost of coal mining far outweighs the economic benefits that it provides to the state. “Coal today currently represents only 0.02 per cent of revenues for the national government,” says Lusbi Portillo, a professor of Logic at the University of Zulia and the head of environmental NGO, Homo et Natura.
“Coal is not very significant in terms of economic production,” Portillo said. “However coal is important to other countries like the U.S. which consumes more than 900 million tons of coal each year,” Portillo said.
The Ministry of the Environment is in charge of weighing the environmental consequences of development in Venezuela. Back in Caracas, the Vice-Minister of Environmental Conservation, Jose Luis Berroteran, said that coal mining in the Sierra Perija in Zulia is incompatible with the vision of the current national government.
“Coal mining is not in accordance in a country that agrees with the Kyoto Protocol. Perhaps coal mining may be acceptable in other countries but not here, not in a country with a government that has a new vision. It runs contrary to policies of sustainable development,” Berroteran said.
The conflict between conservation of the environment and coal development is nowhere more obvious than within the national government and its institutions, which are not in agreement when it comes to increasing coal production. While Berroteran does not support further coal development in the Sierra Perija, the Ministry of Environment has yet to ban coal mining along the Socuy and Cachirí rivers that feed the water supply for over a million people in Zulia.
Venezuelan coal mining and multinational corporations
More than 80 per cent of Venezuela’s 8.5 million metric tons of coal extracted each year comes from just two mines north of the Manuelote water reservoir, Mina Norte and Mina Paso Diablo.
The coal mines are each owned by mixed companies composed of private and government shareholders. In each case the national government is a minority partner. Carbones de la Guarija operates the coal mine at Mina Norte, 20 kilometers north of the reservoir. The company is a joint venture between the government’s Carbozulia and privately owned Carbomar, an international consortium that owns 64 per cent of the mine. Carbomar is composed of the following partners: The Massey Family (30.9 percent); Chevron Corporation (29.94 % percent); Meta Corporation (21.56 percent); Art Gommers (8.74 percent); Marcel Van den Berg (8.74 percent); and employees at (0.12 percent).
Carbones del Guasare, which operates the neighboring coal mine at Paso Diablo, 5 kilometers north of Manuelote, is held jointly by Carbozulia, Anglo Coal (24.9%) and new partner, Peabody Energy (BTU). Peabody recently purchased 25.5% of holdings from the German mining conglomerate, RAG Coal International, in a deal worth USD $32.5 million. Peabody Energy is the largest coal mining company in the world with annual sales of over 200 million tons of coal and more than $2.8 billion in revenues. According to Peabody’s company profile, their products fuel more than 10% of all U.S. electricity generation and more than 2.5% of worldwide electricity generation.
With the strong presence of these and other multinational energy companies such as Tomen America, TransMar Coal and Keysone Coal in the coal mining business in Venezuela, the push to increase coal production in a country with proven coal reserves of over 600 million metric tons may be too appealing for the national government to pass up.
“Coal mining doesn’t serve the interests of Venezuelans or Zulians. It serves the interests of coal mining multinationals already operating in the country,” says Portillo.
|Puerto America is a key project for increasing coal production.|
Credit: Nicanor Cifuentes
Portillo claims that investments for Puerto America will eventually come from the IMF and the World Bank, running contrary to the anti-globalization policies of the Bolivarian government. “Venezuela is serving the (U.S.) empire at our expense and Zulia is a zone of sacrifice.” The veteran environmentalist said.
Despite serious environmental concerns about Venezuela’s new coal mining plans as well as oil and mineral exploitation, Portillo admits that the environmental movement under the Bolivarian government of President Hugo Chávez is at its weakest point ever, even weaker than during the previous governments. “It’s like ploughing the ocean,” says Portillo, “In an oil culture where we were taught that oil, coal and minerals make us rich, where can you go?,” Portillo asks. “PDVSA (the state oil company) is supposedly ours now, it has been rescued from multinational corporations, this is what people believe, and this makes our work as ecologists even harder,” Portillo said.
Protest at the Presidential Palace
Meanwhile Portillo has pledged to protest the coal mining projects at the presidential palace in Caracas in March of 2005. “Five buses will take indigenous people and social organizations from Zulia to Miraflores (the presidential palace) because Chávez should provide compensation for the people affected by coal mining.,” Portillo said.
The last hope for activists to stop the coal mining plans is direct intervention by the President himself. “Only Chávez can intervene for social reasons,” Portillo said.
President Chávez has so far demonstrated support for Puerto America which is vital to increased coal production in Zulia. Many of those against the coal plans support Chávez and the social programs that are part of his Bolivarian platform. However those same people in the communities of the Sierra Perija, in Zulia`s universities and even his own environmental authorities, say they cannot afford the environmental cost of the government’s enormous coal development projects.


text:
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– Expedition section: 4 days/3 nights
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WHY PEAT RIGG
Peat Rigg is the perfect base from which to run Duke of Edinburgh courses, with direct access to both the spectacular lowland areas of the National Park and the North York Moors. All our instructors have the perfect balance of local knowledge and expertise with the safety, back up and resources of a high quality Outdoor Education Centre.
If you wish to book onto a Training or Assessment, please complete the following documents:

domain: geography


After looking at a variety of different wind forecast models and based upon our local analysis of this wind, this is our wind predictions for the weekend. The forecast can always change at the last minute. To stay as up to date as possible, we recommend looking at iKitesurf and the Baynews 9 marine forecast the night before.
Modest winds out of the NE around 15 kts until about 10am. Winds will begin to taper down to 10-15 kts from 10am to about 12. After 12pm winds remain light.
Another cold front should pass through Sunday night/ early Monday morning. Expect some good southerly winds around 15-20 kts on Sunday. Winds should sustain all day. Winds will be more SE in the morning shifting to straight S midday.
Limited spots left for lessons this weekend. Or call 774-249-8062


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‘Yuletide Brass’ comes to SheldonAs the nights get colder and the snowflakes start to fly, the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band is warming up for its annual holiday concert at the Sheldon.
As the nights get colder and the snowflakes start to fly, the Sheldon Theatre Brass Band is warming up for its annual holiday concert at the Sheldon.
The “Yuletide Brass” performance, which will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 29 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 30, will be filled with seasonal favorites.
“Their shows are always energetic and fun for the whole family, as they play traditional sing-along songs and feature some of their own musicians with great solos,” Sheldon officials said. “The Sheldon Brass Band brings to life the spirit of the season.”
Jim Kurschner is current director of the brass band, which was founded in 1989 as the resident performing ensemble at the restored T. B. Sheldon Theatre.
The 30-or-so-piece group is based on the traditional British brass band, using cornets, flugel horn, alto horns, baritone horns, euphoniums, trombones, tubas and percussion.
The band repertoire’s includes a heritage of great marches, overtures, classical transcriptions, test pieces, jazz and popular tunes, and a wealth of of music originally written for the Salvation Army.
In addition to its regular concert series at the Sheldon Theatre, the band performs at other concert halls, community festivals, parks, colleges, and churches. The ensemble has also participated several times in the annual North American Brass Band Association Championships.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for students. Call (651) 388-8700 or (800) 899-5759 or go online to www.sheldontheatre.org.


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Czech Republic, 2018 / 5 min / Without dialogue / Animation, Short
A grumpy gnome struggles to sunbathe.
Mr. Gnome lives in a small house with a pointed roof under a tall mountain. He is getting ready to sunbathe under the afternoon sun when a small annoying cloud arrives and covers the whole valley in darkness. Fortunately, the gnome is clever and knows how to move the cloud with the help of a great friend.
- Best Animated Film, Zlín Film Festival, International Festival for Children and Youth, 2019 (Czech Republic)
Zuzana Cupova graduated from the Secondary Art school in Ostrava. She is currently studying Animation at Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín. Besides animation, she is interested in comics and illustration.
Filip Diviak is an animator and novice director. He found his passion for animation while studying at the Secondary School of Scenic Art where he was focusing mainly on 3D animation.
- Filip Diviak
- 2018 – Cloudy (short)
- 2019 – Probouzec (short)
- 2019 – Pod mrakem (short)


text:
Tuesday, 12 February 2013 11:29
EarthTalk® E - The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: I understand that there are many kinds of automatic features that can be incorporated into a home—even some that can be operated remotely—that can save energy and provide other environmental benefits. Can you enlighten? -- Robert Goodman, Taos, NM
SOUL FOOD MN | Golden Thyme Coffee & Cafe: Where delicious food is a family affair
Friday, 08 February 2013 14:36
CHEO SMITH, TC DAILY PLANET
Mychael and Stephanie Wright, husband and wife co-owners of Golden Thyme, started up their cafe and coffee shop 13 years ago this March, first serving only coffee and pastries. Before long, people were asking for food to go along with their jazz-legend-themed coffee drinks—and the Wrights delivered.
(StatePoint) When baking for your family, there’s no better way to please everyone than by highlighting every crowd’s favorite flavor -- vanilla. From vanilla cupcakes to cheesecake, you can update the classics with a fresh, bold twist.
Customers boarded Metro Transit buses and trains more than 81 million times in 2012 – an increase of 165,044 rides (0.2%) over 2011. Ridership on the Hiawatha light-rail line was the highest in the line's history at 10.5 million.

domain: food


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- Ethicists are working around the clock to draft guidance for hospitals about how to ration scarce resources like ventilators if they run short because of the coronavirus.
- Governors are making sure healthcare workers won't be held liable for the tough decisions ahead, like taking away one patient's ventilator and giving it to someone else with a better shot at surviving.
- Experts at Johns Hopkins and the American Medical Association are fielding lots of calls from hospitals, doctors and public health officials about what to do.
- Those tasked with the administration of allocation programs are feeling the pressure. "If this has to happen, there's nothing about it that will feel right. And there's all kinds of ways in which it will feel wrong," one coordinator told us.
- New York could be the first state to see ventilator allocation, but hospitals in Washington State, Colorado, Maryland, Nebraska and Wyoming are gearing up for it, too.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Hospitals are preparing to make difficult decisions about which patients to save and how to ration care should they be overwhelmed by the novel coronavirus.
Experts caution that hospitals in the US are at risk of running out of workers, beds, and protective equipment. By one estimate, the US could require up to 400,000 more ventilators in the next month or two — but it has no more than 20,000 left in the national stockpile. Earlier this week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said states were competing to buy ventilators in bidding wars.
"That's literally what we're doing," he told reporters on Tuesday.
Providers in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, and Washington State have been working closely with ethicists in recent weeks to gear up for the worst-case scenario. Some are drafting system-wide rules specifically for the pandemic, while others are dusting off old ones made for handling disasters like terrorism, severe flu outbreaks, and large-scale fires.
But they all deal with similar questions of what's fair to individuals when resources are scarce, and others are dying.
"The models only give you a range. And the range goes from very, very bad to just pretty bad," said Mark Tonelli, a pulmonary and critical care specialist and bioethicist at UW Medicine in Seattle, in an interview. "We're preparing for every eventuality."
'My world has blown up'
During a crisis, doctors will generally try to save the greatest number of lives, but that can require brutal decisions — like taking away one person's ventilator and giving it to someone else with a better chance at surviving.
States like New York and New Jersey have taken steps to protect healthcare workers from liability for actions like that. Others, such as Maryland, are expected to follow.
The US Department of Health and Human Services issued a stern warning over the weekend to hospitals, reminding them not to discriminate against patients as they make these decisions.
HHS told hospitals to "keep in mind their obligations under laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, sex," including in the allocation of healthcare services during the pandemic.
Some guidelines recommend that hospitals care for the young before the old and the relatively healthy above the chronically ill, if only in tie-breaking scenarios. But HHS said that providers can't discriminate against people by age or disability.
Johns Hopkins is working to finish its guidelines for rationing ventilators and other medical care with this notice in mind, according to one of the lead authors, Jeffrey Kahn, the director of the Berman Institute of Bioethics. The guidelines build off Maryland's framework from 2017.
They outline a point system that gives some priority to people who are most likely to survive. "Triage teams," like juries of healthcare workers, are tasked with deciding who gets ventilators, blood, and items that may be in short supply.
Written by a team of ethicists, physicians, nurses, lawyers, scientists, and anesthesiologists, as well as folks in emergency medicine, disaster preparedness, and pediatrics — the frameworks are being coordinated among the hospitals and the state of Maryland, according to Kahn.
But if outside interest is any indication, they could be widely adopted. Kahn has been fielding calls and emails from academic medical centers around the country with growing frequency, he said in an interview.
"My world has blown up in the last week over this," Kahn said. "I've been doing nothing but talking for ten straight days."
Last week, an article in the New England Journal of Medicine described ethical values underlying resource allocation, like maximizing benefits and treating people equally. The American Medical Association also published recent guidance.
Dr. Audiey Kao, the chief editor of the AMA's ethics journal, said he's getting constant questions from institutions, physicians, and public officials trying to address a variety of pandemic-related issues.
"The ethics that apply to a public health emergency are very different than in normal care," Kao said in an interview. "Not only are you looking at potentially limited resources. You're also trying to care for individual patients while at the same time trying to maximize the number of lives saved."
Scoring systems, categories, and machines
Though HHS' warning has thrown some rules into question, according to Kahn, many systems still plan to make decisions based on an algorithm that predicts mortality called the sequential organ failure assessment, or SOFA. New York's guidelines, for instance, use SOFA scores to help prioritize ventilators.
At UCHealth, a project is underway to evaluate a patient's chances in the short-term using artificial intelligence, said Matthew Wynia, director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Colorado and developer of allocation policies for the health system. The idea is to improve on the data available to the triage team.
"My hunch is we can do better than that today," Wynia said in an interview.
Computers will consider data points from electronic medical records like diagnosis, age, and relevant comorbidities. For those with the novel coronavirus, the AI will factor in markers of blood clotting and energy-producing enzymes thought to impact survival.
One of the goals is precision. Another is working around the implicit biases of human beings on the triage teams, who won't see the patient's file.
But there's still no right way to do this, Wynia said. UCHealth's guidelines for rationing supplies and care are not yet complete, Wynia said, and the AI system's output will be just one consideration of many.
At UCHealth and elsewhere, families won't be there when loved ones pass away, due to restrictions on visitors. They'll be notified through videos and phone calls.
Patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, will be asked upon admission if they'd like to be treated for as long as possible, or give up their ventilators to someone else if they take a turn for the worst.
"It's stressful. It's really stressful," Wynia said. "If this has to happen, there's nothing about it that will feel right. And there's all kinds of ways in which it will feel wrong. We're kind of burning the candle at both ends right now because we need to do this in the best way we can."
Canary in the coal mine
New York will probably be the first state to reckon with ventilator rationing, though hospitals have not yet reported total depletions to their supply.
Physicians in the city are steeling themselves should they run out of the machines.
"Probably within the next week we're going to get to that point," said Benjamin Wyler, an assistant professor of emergency medicine in the Mount Sinai Health System, referring to the city's capacity limit as a whole.
Even though triage teams make the final decision, it's likely that bedside physicians will remove the patients from ventilators and notify the families.
"I think it's going to be really hard, but my feeling is that I'm prepared to follow this policy," Wyler said.


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Botulinum toxin (Botox)
Botulinum toxin, better known as botox, has been in recent decades as one of the most effective non-surgical solutions for rejuvenating and refreshing the face and neck.
The apparent reduction and largely the elimination of wrinkles between the eyebrows, on the forehead, around the eyes („crow’s feet“) and lips, on the neck and the neckline make botox procedures popular and desirable from patients at a different age.
The aesthetic effect of botox injection is due to the principle action of the product – botulinum toxin partially blocks the contraction of certain groups of muscles on the face. This temporary relaxation of the muscles leads to smoothing the skin lines and wrinkles and preventing their appearance.
As a result, we achieve complete aesthetic improvement with visible reduction of the mimic wrinkles. and and refreshed look of the face.
Besides treating mimic wrinkles, the botulinum toxin can effectively suppress hyperhidrosis – a state of over-sweating provoked by food, heat or emotional factors. For this purpose, a higher dose of toxin is placed in the desired area, such as underarm, palms or feet.
The safety and quality of the injected products should be guaranteed by your dermatologist. Aestheline Dermatology Clinic works only with hyaluronic acid products that are officially registered for use in Bulgaria, clinically tested and with quality certificates. The clinic offers its patients the high quality Vistabel®, Dysport® products.
What does the procedure involve?
Our trained and certified to work with the product dermatologist, will prepare you for the procedure and follow strictly established clinical protocol.
The specialist will mark the face (and neck) and mark the problematic areas where the botox will be injected. They will evaluate the type of skin at rest, and then in typical patient’s facial expression and muscle tension.
Depending on the treatment zones, the injection procedure will take between 20 and 40 minutes. The pricks are light but for a greater comfort an anesthetic cream can be applied.
What are the contraindications?
Botulinum toxin should not be injected into skin infected areas as well as in areas with significantly relaxed, altered or lost muscle mass.
Botox procedures are not recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women, patients with glaucoma, flu and antibiotic treatment.
The side effect from botulinum toxin injection might be a headache that disappears within a few days. After treatment of the forehead, tension and can be felt in the area.
Swelling around the eyes may occur if botox is injected in that area, that resolves within few days.
Very rare asymmetry is seen, eyelid dropping, difficulty in speaking and swallowing.
Extremely rare side effect is double vision.
When does the treatment take effect and how long does it last?
The effect of the procedure occurs within 3-4 days after the botulinum toxin is injected and it lasts up to 4 months afterwards. A partial effect occurs between 6 and 9 months, depending on the individual muscle tone.
What is the recommended post-procedure care?
Immediately after the procedure, it is advisable to do many mimics and grimaces to help the even and complete distribution of botox in the injected muscle.
The treated areas should not be pressed or massaged, the cosmetic procedures, peelings, massages and face cleaning are also forbidden in the next 3 days. For the same period, thermal treatments such as steam bath, sauna, IPL, radio frequency and laser procedures are also undesirable.
2-3 hours after the procedure the pricking areas should not be damped or polluted. It is not recommended to lay down for up to 3 hours after the procedure. Checkup is needed 2 weeks after the procedure, where it may be necessary to place more of the product.
How many procedures should I undergo and how often?
Re-treatment of a zone is recommended at least 3 months after the first procedure.
Since it is undesirable to inject a toxin in the same area more than twice a year, inform the dermatologist about the previous procedures.

domain: biology


text:
There’s only ever really one story arc in Washington. A new face arrives in town, impresses people, and reaches dizzying new heights. Before too long, however, the capital becomes disillusioned and turns on him (or occasionally her).
That’s the story of Rob Porter, the White House staff secretary, who announced his departure on Wednesday after published allegations of abuse from his two ex-wives. And more broadly, it’s also the story of John Kelly, the White House chief of staff who was Porter’s boss and defender.
Unlike many members of the White House cast, Porter is not a household name, but he had rocketed to an important role directly by President Trump’s side. He controlled the flow of information to Trump and spent a great deal of time with him. “Porter had good relationships across the ideological spectrum of the White House—from Stephen Miller to Gary Cohn, was one of Kelly’s most trusted aides, and was in charge of the weekly trade policy meetings,” Jonathan Swan reports.
According to two ex-wives, Porter was also abusive. The women gave interviews to the Daily Mail describing both physical abuse, including punching and choking, and verbal abuse. On Tuesday, the White House staunchly defended Porter. Kelly called Porter “a man of true integrity and honor and I can’t say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante, and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.”
On Wednesday, after The Intercept published photos provided by Colbie Holderness, Porter’s first wife, that showed a black eye, Porter announced he was resigning from the White House, though he declared his innocence. “These outrageous allegations are simply false,” he said in a statement. “I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described.”
The case once again brings unwanted attention to the president’s own record with women, just as many of the stories in the #MeToo movement have—most recently, the resignation of RNC finance chairman Steve Wynn, a Vegas mogul whom Trump handpicked for the job. Ivana Trump, the president’s first wife, once accused him of marital rape, though she later backpedaled on that claim.
But Porter’s story also brings fresh scrutiny to Kelly, who was promoted from secretary of Homeland Security to White House chief of staff last summer. In addition to Kelly’s surprisingly unequivocal statement on Tuesday, Axios reports that Kelly was among White House officials urging Porter, in an unfortunate turn of phrase, “to stay and fight” rather than resign.
If Kelly did not know about the allegations in Porter’s past, then his unflinching defense is a matter of bad judgment, but there are reasons to believe that Kelly should have known. Both of Porter’s ex-wives told The Intercept that they had informed FBI agents vetting Porter about the past abuse. A senior administration official also told Politico that Kelly was aware of a 2010 protective order against Porter.
In fact, Porter had reportedly not received permanent security clearance because of the order, which is notable because his job was to handle all documents that went to Trump, which included a great deal of classified material. Staffers can receive temporary clearance to view classified material while waiting for final clearance. (White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders refused to comment on the status of Porter’s clearance during Wednesday’s briefing.) Despite these issues, Kelly hired Porter on, kept him, and defended him to the hilt. Kelly is the same man who, during an emotional briefing in October, fumed that when he was young, “Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor. That’s obviously not the case anymore as we’ve seen from recent cases.”
This is not the only turn in the spotlight this week for Kelly, a generally press-shy individual. The chief of staff, rejecting calls for the White House to extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, said that “Dreamers” should have registered during the Obama administration, and those who did not were “too lazy to get off their asses.” Democrats lashed out at Kelly about the comments behind closed doors, but rather than try to set the incident aside, Kelly repeated what he’d said to reporters. As even rigorously nonpartisan reporters noted, Kelly was invoking shopworn stereotypes about immigrants and people of color.
Only a few weeks ago, Kelly reportedly torpedoed a deal between Trump and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to extend DACA. After a productive meeting between Schumer and the president, Kelly called Schumer and informed him that the deal was insufficiently tough on immigration, eventually leading to a brief government shutdown.
It seems as if scales are falling from some eyes in Washington, allowing them to see Kelly more clearly—just the same arc of meteoric rise followed by disillusionment that Porter followed. When Kelly was moved to the White House in July, at the time of the political murder-suicide of Reince Priebus and Anthony Scaramucci, he was hailed as the “adult in the room.” With his military background and baseline competence, this was true—but, as it turned out, this was more of a commentary on what came before. Adoring press coverage portrayed Kelly as a patriot who was taking on an impossible job with an impossible president out of love of country and out of desire to protect the nation from its own president.
It quickly became clear, however, as I wrote in October, that Kelly is a true Trumpist. Early on, he was caught on film appearing to grimace as Trump offered aid and comfort to white supremacists; it didn’t take too long for it to become clear that this was just Kelly’s default facial expression, and he had no compunctions about the president’s actual comments.
In October, Trump was slow to speak about the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Niger, only delivered condolences in a delayed fashion, and then inexplicably got into a feud with the widow of one soldier. The president then crassly invoked Kelly’s son’s death in action, and much of the press—still convinced Kelly was a moderate voice of reason in the White House—waited anxiously for the chief of staff to set the president right.
Instead, Kelly came out and staunchly defended Trump. In the process, he escalated a feud with Representative Frederica Wilson of Florida, a black woman, telling an anecdote that portrayed her in a negative light and calling her an “empty barrel.” (This was the same occasion on which he lamented that women were no longer sacred.) Video proved that Kelly’s attack was false, but the White House refused to acknowledge as much. Sanders scolded reporters, “If you want to get into debate with a four-star Marine general, I think that is highly inappropriate,” a chilling suggestion that military officers (even retired ones like Kelly) are above criticism, and one that foreshadowed Trump’s more recent accusation of “treason” against congressional Democrats who didn’t applaud his State of the Union address. Kelly also defended Robert E. Lee, who led a treasonous armed revolt against the United States, as an “honorable man.”
Leon Panetta, the Washington wiseman and White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, had advised Kelly early on, but in late October, he said, “John is a great Marine … but he is not a politician, and one thing he lacks is the ability to look at the big political picture and understand what you should and shouldn’t say as chief of staff.”
There had been plenty of warning signs that Kelly was no moderate, even if they went largely unheeded in the mainstream press. These included his devotion to the drug war, his hard-charging if brief tenure as secretary of Homeland Security, and his prior defense of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. (Some Obama administration officials accused Kelly, at the time commander of the U.S. Southern Command, of sabotaging the prison’s closure.)
Kelly has brought new discipline to the West Wing, but he has not moderated Trump’s behavior. While that is in part, as Kelly takes pains to point out, because his job is to manage for the president, not to manage the president, it is also because Kelly seems to be on the same page as Trump on most issues. One crucial element of Kelly’s successful management is that insofar as Trump has any ideology, Kelly shares it. More than any other West Wing aide, past or present, Kelly is a true Trumpist. Reince Priebus was a classic establishment Republican; Trump was until recently a registered Democrat. Stephen Miller is a hard-line conservative ideologue; Trump has no such consistent views. Steve Bannon tried to impose his own confused nationalist-populist melange on Trump and found himself kicked to the curb. (Bannon’s genius-to-outcast path follows the Washington arc, too.)
Kelly shares the same worldview as Trump. Both men have a reflexive social, rather than political, conservatism, grounded in nostalgia for a former era. (They are close in age, and both from northeastern cities.) As a result, they are more pragmatic on some issues than conservative ideologues, while bringing less political finesse to matters of race. They are reflexively disdainful of immigrants and tend to pick fights with women, especially women of color. Each reveres the military (Kelly as a career veteran, and Trump despite, or perhaps because of, his draft-dodging), and each detests Congress. In forcing the president to stick to his campaign line on immigration when he was ready to compromise with Schumer, Kelly even showed himself to be a steadier Trumpist than Trump himself.
By last fall, it should have been clear that Kelly was a better disciplinarian than Priebus but had no intention of trying to slow Trump’s project. In the wake of his defense of Porter, his “lazy” comments, and his intervention in the immigration debate, many observers who had stubbornly clung to hopes that Kelly would deliver the nation from chaos are finally abandoning those hopes. It’s Washingtonian physics: What goes up must come down.

domain: news


text:
Now that you’ve got a crypto wallet, your next Learn Crypto Quest will help you buy some crypto. There are many ways to do this. One of the most common ways is through something called an exchange, where you can buy crypto with regular money.
Sign up for an exchange accountStart quest
Verify your exchange account
Buy crypto from an exchange

domain: economics


text:
We wanted to know which antibiotic was more effective in treating sore throats caused by bacteria (group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GABHS)).
Most sore throats are caused by viruses, but many people carry throat bacteria, which sometimes causes bacterial throat infection.
GABHS infection can have serious complications including rheumatic fever and kidney disease. Antibiotics are often prescribed to prevent complications, but provide modest benefit for sore throat, even if GABHS are present. Most throat infections resolve without treatment, and complication risks are extremely low for most people in high-income countries. However, sometimes antibiotics are needed. Penicillin, an inexpensive antibiotic, has been used to treat GABHS for many years. GABHS resistance to penicillin is rare.
We searched the literature to 3 September 2020.
We included 19 trials (18 publications) that involved 5839 people. The included trials studied different antibiotics for people with sore throat who tested positive for GABHS, and were aged from one month to 80 years. Nine trials included only children, and 10 trials included people aged 12 years or older. Most studies were published over 15 years ago, and all but one reported on outcome measures relevant for patients.
Study funding sources
Twelve trials reported funding from drug companies. Authors of six trials (in five publications) were employed by drug companies. Seven trials (in six publications) did not report funding sources.
Antibiotic effects were similar, and all antibiotics caused side effects (such as nausea and vomiting, rash), but there was no strong evidence to show meaningful differences between antibiotics. Studies did not report on long-term complications, therefore it was unclear if any class of antibiotics was better in preventing serious but rare complications.
All studies were performed in high-income countries with a low risk of streptococcal complications, so there is a need for trials in low-income countries and Aboriginal communities, where the risk of complications remains high. Our review supports the use of penicillin as a first-choice antibiotic in people with throat infections caused by GABHS.
Certainty of the evidence
We judged the certainty of the evidence as low or very low for all outcomes when macrolides or cephalosporins were compared with penicillin. We have concerns about the rigour of the study methods, the fact that estimates were not very precise and about the differences between studies.
We are uncertain if there are clinically relevant differences in symptom resolution when comparing cephalosporins and macrolides with penicillin in the treatment of GABHS tonsillopharyngitis. Low-certainty evidence in children suggests that carbacephem may be more effective than penicillin for symptom resolution. There is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regarding the other comparisons in this review. Data on complications were too scarce to draw conclusions. These results do not demonstrate that other antibiotics are more effective than penicillin in the treatment of GABHS pharyngitis. All studies were conducted in high-income countries with a low risk of streptococcal complications, so there is a need for trials in low-income countries and Aboriginal communities, where the risk of complications remains high.
Antibiotics provide only modest benefit in treating sore throat, although their effectiveness increases in people with positive throat swabs for group A beta-haemolytic streptococci (GABHS). It is unclear which antibiotic is the best choice if antibiotics are indicated. This is an update of a review first published in 2010, and updated in 2013, 2016, and 2020.
To assess the comparative efficacy of different antibiotics in: (a) alleviating symptoms (pain, fever); (b) shortening the duration of the illness; (c) preventing clinical relapse (i.e. recurrence of symptoms after initial resolution); and (d) preventing complications (suppurative complications, acute rheumatic fever, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis). To assess the evidence on the comparative incidence of adverse effects and the risk-benefit of antibiotic treatment for streptococcal pharyngitis.
We searched the following databases up to 3 September 2020: CENTRAL (2020, Issue 8), MEDLINE Ovid (from 1946), Embase Elsevier (from 1974), and Web of Science Thomson Reuters (from 2010). We also searched clinical trial registers on 3 September 2020.
Randomised, double-blind trials comparing different antibiotics, and reporting at least one of the following: clinical cure, clinical relapse, or complications and/or adverse events.
Two review authors independently screened trials for inclusion and extracted data using standard methodological procedures as recommended by Cochrane. We assessed the risk of bias of included studies according to the methods outlined in the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions, and used the GRADE approach to assess the overall certainty of the evidence for the outcomes. We have reported the intention-to-treat analysis, and also performed an analysis of evaluable participants to explore the robustness of the intention-to-treat results.
We included 19 trials reported in 18 publications (5839 randomised participants): six trials compared penicillin with cephalosporins; six compared penicillin with macrolides; three compared penicillin with carbacephem; one compared penicillin with sulphonamides; one compared clindamycin with ampicillin; and one compared azithromycin with amoxicillin in children. All participants had confirmed acute GABHS tonsillopharyngitis, and ages ranged from one month to 80 years. Nine trials included only, or predominantly, children. Most trials were conducted in an outpatient setting. Reporting of randomisation, allocation concealment, and blinding was poor in all trials. We downgraded the certainty of the evidence mainly due to lack of (or poor reporting of) randomisation or blinding, or both; heterogeneity; and wide confidence intervals.
Cephalosporins versus penicillin
We are uncertain if there is a difference in symptom resolution (at 2 to 15 days) for cephalosporins versus penicillin (odds ratio (OR) for absence of symptom resolution 0.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.55 to 1.12; 5 trials; 2018 participants; low-certainty evidence). Results of the sensitivity analysis of evaluable participants differed (OR 0.51, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.97; 5 trials; 1660 participants; very low-certainty evidence). We are uncertain if clinical relapse may be lower for cephalosporins compared with penicillin (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.30 to 0.99; number needed to treat for an additional beneficial outcome (NNTB) 50; 4 trials; 1386 participants; low-certainty evidence). Very low-certainty evidence showed no difference in reported adverse events.
Macrolides versus penicillin
We are uncertain if there is a difference between macrolides and penicillin for resolution of symptoms (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.35; 6 trials; 1728 participants; low-certainty evidence). Sensitivity analysis of evaluable participants resulted in an OR of 0.79, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.09; 6 trials; 1159 participants). We are uncertain if clinical relapse may be different (OR 1.21, 95% CI 0.48 to 3.03; 6 trials; 802 participants; low-certainty evidence).
Azithromycin versus amoxicillin
Based on one unpublished trial in children, we are uncertain if resolution of symptoms is better with azithromycin in a single dose versus amoxicillin for 10 days (OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.55 to 1.05; 1 trial; 673 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Sensitivity analysis for per-protocol analysis resulted in an OR of 0.29, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.73; 1 trial; 482 participants; very low-certainty evidence). We are also uncertain if there was a difference in relapse between groups (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.43 to 1.82; 1 trial; 422 participants; very low-certainty evidence). Adverse events were more common with azithromycin compared to amoxicillin (OR 2.67, 95% CI 1.78 to 3.99; 1 trial; 673 participants; very low-certainty evidence).
Carbacephem versus penicillin
There is low-certainty evidence that compared with penicillin, carbacephem may provide better symptom resolution post-treatment in adults and children (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.99; NNTB 14.3; 3 trials; 795 participants).
Studies did not report on long-term complications, so it was unclear if any class of antibiotics was better in preventing serious but rare complications.

domain: literature


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Daflorn LLC, enters the American market with the launch of Café Viva, Probiotic Coffee 3-in-1, a delicious mix of coffee, nutrients and probiotics. Each single-serve sachet conveniently boosts energy, metabolism, digestion and immune health. Café Viva is a multi-benefit solution covering almost all demographics. It has no GMOs, gluten, preservatives or artificial ingredients and requires no refrigeration.
Without refrigeration, each serving still guarantees 4,000,000,000 colony forming units (CFUs) of eight strains of four clinically tested probiotics past the two year shelf life. Café Viva stands apart from the industry standard of synthetic coatings, preservatives and the nonsensical CFU measure at manufacturing, not at consumption.
The secret of how Café Viva’s friendly bacteria remain viable was born from a biotech breakthrough under the Soviet Space Program. Daflorn’s founder, Professor (Ret.) Major General Nikola Alexandrov, Dr. Sc, invented the process while creating probiotic spacefood to address the extreme physical demands of space travel on the human body. Dr. Alexandrov’s freeze-dried probiotics offered a nutrient complex of vitamins, minerals, protein and other key nutrients to energize the body and sate hunger. At the collapse of the Soviet empire, Dr. Alexandrov was granted intellectual property for what he has subsequently patented around the world as Laktera®, a bioavailable nutrient-dense probiotic functional food bereft of preservatives, genetic engineering or needless human meddling.
If Americans are beginning to grasp the benefits of probiotics, they clearly understand the benefits of coffee. The 2013 annual trend report by the National Coffee Association states coffee consumption jumped by 5 percent as 83 percent of Americans say they drink coffee on a past year basis. More than half of Americans over 18 years of age enjoy it daily at an average of three plus cups a day. The coffee in Café Viva is spray dried solely with water, no chemicals.
The story behind Café Viva is one of an American husband and Bulgarian wife who travel often to visit her family in Bulgaria. During a particular 7,000 mile flight with their two year old toddler they wondered about a natural solution to solve all the common traveling problems. How to mitigate the bloating and digestive risks of airplane food and local cuisine? How to deal with jet lag and rebound from their toddler’s upside down body clock? Visiting family and friends inevitably happen around snacks and meals, so how to boost the metabolism? How to support the immune system through a whirlwind of airports, public transportation, sleep issues and general stress? Lastly, how to make it both simplistically convenient and pleasurable?
They then realized their transatlantic trips were a microcosm of everyday American lifestyle, bookended at 30,000 feet. The process evolved into creating a convenient, tasty, all-natural wellness product to naturally boost energy, gut health, metabolism and the immune system adaptable to a daily routine.
The answer, of course, is Café Viva Probiotic Coffee 3-in-1. Customers are enjoying Café Viva as a standalone health drink as well as a multi-boost ingredient in protein shakes, smoothies and frozen desserts.
Contact us for info on how the husband and wife partnered with Dr. Alexendrov in a story about shipwrecked soldiers and the bone marrow of chemo patients.


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Attention all Forum Users.
We’re working on a brand new shiny tool to make your experience as simple as possible.
Which means the community forums is now read only whilst we work on a new & improved ‘My Contiki’ space.
Asian vietnam trip
- 2 responses so far
The first Vietnam tour ever doesn’t kick off until the 16th of March so unfortunately you won’t get any replies from people that have done one of the tours for a while.
In regards to the accomodation, you stay in hotels nearly every night and here is a description of some of the places that you stay in: http://contiki.com.au/contikipedia/articles/departure-p…-where-you-stay-asia
The travel is done with a boat, trains, planes and coaches. If you check the itinerary of each of the tours it’ll tell you what the mix is.
They’re pretty flexible on what you do each day so if you want to sleep in any day you can.
We are no longer accepting new responses to this discussion thread.

domain: travel


Spanish manufacturer of heating systems.
In the last few years, CLIMASTAR has revolutionised the sector by introducing an ecological heating system which combines low-power consumption, avant-garde design and high benefits in technology, comfort and design.
Innovation and quality are the key factors that have taken Climastar to a leading position in the residential heating systems market. From 2001, they have been awarded several international prestigious prizes. Their products have the most important international patents.
They have over 11,000 m² of floor space where they concentrate innovative, design and national and international logistical facilities.
But their most valuable success is to have gained the satisfaction of thousands of customers that, like you, look for the perfect heating.


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2501 East Telawa Trail
Phoenix AZ 85016 USA
At the heart of Wrigley Mansion, visit Geordie’s Steak restaurant and Geordie’s Lounge for simple-yet-delicious dining, prime cuts of beef, handmade pastas, distinctive cocktails, well-curated wines, and unmatched 360-degree views of the city. Enjoy happy hour, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch at Geordie’s Steak. Whether dining in the main restaurant, the lounge or in one of our intimate private dining spaces, Executive Chef Robert Nixon thoughtfully infuses his signature Italian-inspired menus, featuring beautifully grilled steaks, fresh seafood and house-made pastas, with the season’s best ingredients. Our vibrant Sunday brunch experience also includes sparkling wine, select red and white wines, and domestic beers.


This year we continued to refine the entire Process line, and we gave the 111 a bevy of new abilities. With a slackened head tube angle and lengthened top tube, we created a more progressive geometry that ups the travel to 130mm of front-end fun, and the combination means a bike that wants to go bigger than ever. So gear up for your next big ride and dish out all the abuse you can muster—this new Process 111 may be the fastest trail bike in our lineup.
“The Kona Process 111 DL is the most fun bike I’ve ridden in the last 5 years.” — factoryjackson.com (United Kingdom)
- Frame Material: Kona 6061 Aluminum Butted 111mm Travel
- Wheel Size: 29
- Wheels: WTB STS i29 TCS
- Suspension Platform: Rocker
- Front/Rear Suspension: 130mm/111mm
- Shock: RockShox Monarch RT
- Fork: RockShox Pike RC 130mm
- Crankset: Shimano SLX
- Drivetrain: Shimano SLX/XT 1x 11spd
- Cockpit: Kona XC/BC 35 bar and stem, ODI Ruffian MX grips
- Brakes: Shimano SLX
- Front Tire: Maxxis Minion DHF EXO DUAL TR 29x2.3"
- Rear Tire: Maxxis Ardent EXO DUAL TR 29x2.25"
- Saddle: WTB Volt Sport (Volt 250 Sport size S)


Marsh Harbour International Airport, Abaco, Bahamas
Provides sub-consultancy support service for the review of existing design for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport projecting traffic to 15 years. The analysis evaluated the size required for the terminal building in Marsh Harbour (MHH) based on a peak design and a conceptual design report submitted including the terminal building, control tower and access road and parking lots.
(Source of rendering Stantec Architecture Ltd.)
- Existing Design Review Total Infrastructure
- Duration3 Months
Nassau (Bahamas) Cruise Port Construction Site Surveying
Mayaguana Regional Airport Runway, Mayaguana, Bahamas
Lynden Pindling International Airport Expansion Project
Grand Bahama International Airport Landside and Airside Damage Assessment
Bahamas Air Transport Reform Program (BH-L1027)
Family Island (Bahamas) Airport Master Plan
error: Content is protected !!


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If you would like to receive Perspective - our monthly newsletter – which brings you all of our latest news and views as well as interviews and opinion pieces then please follow the link below...
Charities exploit interim management specialists
The value for money offered by interim management specialists has been significantly exploited by the UK's charity regulator over the past decade.
That is according to figures obtained by Charity News Alert, which revealed that the Charity Commission has appointed interim executives at 35 not-for-profit companies in the past ten years in an effort to safeguard £40.8 million of charitable money.
Six transitional executives are still occupying positions within a number of charities, including Cancer Care Foundation, Relief for Distressed Children and Young People and Brent Education and Recreation Support Youth Challenge, Charity Finance reported.
In total the fees related to the recruitment and employment of these interim executives has reached £1.9 million.
The Charity Commission disclosed that it appoints interim managers on a circumstantial basis when their abilities are warranted, the news provider revealed.
According to a report released by the organisation in June 2009, interims are usually hired in a two-tier tender process that searches for executives with "the right skills and experience at a cost that will provide the charity with value for money".
Categories: Central Government


PVC Cable for cable travelling chains with high mechanical performance
Now with UL and CSA certifications
Extra flexible shielded cable for control, power and instrumentation regulation for use in machine tools, as well as assembly chains, production lines, etc.
Regulations | General Properties
- UL and CSA Style 21179
- Flame retardant according to UL758 and test according to FT-1 CSA C.22.2 nº 210
- Low halogen emission according to IEC60754 y EN50267-2
- Resistance to industrial oils according to EN60811-2-1
- Water resistance according to EN60811-1-3
- Bare copper conductor, extra flexible, Class 6, according to UNE 60228
- PVC insulation, Class 43, according to UL1581
- Conductor identification DIN 47100 (<0.34mm²) and with black numbering (>0.50mm²)
- Tinned copper braid, minimum coverage of 85%
- Separator / anti-slip protection
- PVC outer sheath, Class 43, according to UL1581
- Colour grey RAL7040
- Rated voltage 0.6/1kV
- Test voltage 3,000V C.A. for 5 min.
- Temperature range –20ºC to 80ºC en fixed installation
- Temperature range –5ºC to 80ºC in mobile installation
- Speed 200 m/min.
- Acceleration 15 m/s²
- Insulation resistance>200 M?·km
- Electrical resistance according to UNE 60228


Pristina, 24 July 2015/Independent Balkan News Agency
By Elton Tota
Prime Minister of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa accused today Belgrade of postponing the application of the agreement on insurance policies.
Mustafa said that the agreement reached in the Brussels talks was scheduled to take effect on July 24.
But according to him, Brussels had notified Kosovo’s government that Belgrade was not yet technically ready to start the application of this agreement.
“Serbia didn’t deliver the deadlines of the agreement. It’s not just an issue of the cancellation of the agreement, but the lack of readiness by Serbia to meet the obligations of this agreement”, Mustafa declared.
Kosovo’s PM declared that the agreement will not be discussed in Brussels, as it has been already finalized.
He said that Pristina has demanded the EU to put pressure on Serbia in order for the agreement to take effect.
However, PM Mustafa said that the talks with Serbia will continue.
“Talks must continue but there must be an implementation of existing agreements. We have also discussed this with EU and US representatives, who also believe that implementation is necessary”.
Kosovo has often complained that Serbia has not applied the agreements reached in the framework of the talks in Brussels. /ibna/


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Tunji Balogun, popularly known as Teebillz has announced the addition of another son to his life.
Teebillz, who was once married to Nigerian singer, Tiwa Savage, took to his Instagram page on Sunday to announce that he was happy to be a father again.
The manager shared a picture of himself feeding the baby with the caption, “Blessed to experience the most amazing feeling once again. King Zayn.”
See post below:
Teebillz had announced the birth of a son three months ago in October 2021.
According to report, his first marriage to Kenea Udoh, gave Teebillz two children and his union with Tiwa Savage produced her son, Jamil Balogun.
Though the number of children by the talent manager is not certain, Teebils had last year appreciated his lover for taking care of his five children named Khalil, Gaetano, Jamil, Bisi, and Ona.

domain: celebrity


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Free RP Forum: Where Fantasy and lore meet Sci-fi. Legends become real and the imagination runs wild. And much much more!
A free D&D RPG site. All ages are welcomed here, literate and non-literate. We host a Dungeons & Dragons Game and entire site is solely based on it.
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A site for the roleplaying of the all time favorite anime, Soul Eater
An RPG site that is based off of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series! Come join Camp Half-Blood and RP, chat, and meet new campers! Have fun and watch out for monsters!
WiiWareWave is a rapidly growing Nintendo fan site with the latest Nintendo news updates, game reviews and an active forum to chat about Nintendo.
After the destruction of the multiverse, Portal Breach was created to be a safe haven for those that survived and managed to make their way here. Join us as any canon or original character!
Here at Alpha Knights Academy, we play Yu-Gi-Oh! Come and join us. Have fun!
A fan site and play by post roleplaying group for popular fictional universes—reanimated!
RP as a warrior cat on this blooming site! We're a fun group of people looking to role play
Free forum : This is a realistic warrior roleplaying site with active users and fun plot lines. Featuring these four clans, Hawkclan (Moor), Eagleclan (Mountain), Vultureclan (Swamp/river), and Owlclan (forest).
The official site of Bay View Game Studios.
Largest Sonic fan site/fan forum on Forumotion. Created and founded by Sega of America members. The
The Friendly Clan is dedicated to the enjoyment of the BF2 Game.
Shadowrun Online is a Shadowrun play by post (PbP) site where running the shadows is a way to survive. Shadowrun 4th Edition RPG.
Free forum : A forum for teens and adults to discuss TV, movies, music or any of their personal hobbies and interests. A spin-off of http://www. all-together-now. net/ that began a Doodlebop fan site.
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Free forum : Wellcome To Our black Team Site any Nimbuzz soft Video Audio Mp3 Download by Black Team all admin : P : )
Sea fishing forums, reports, resources, chatroom, and friendly folk. . .
The community site for the Mighty Animal Kingdom. When not making content for the internet the Animals come here, and invite you all to join them.
A warrior cats roleplay site.
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Free forum : This site is for the written works of JT Montague.
we are a trading card game online tournament site our main site is at http://www.worldoftcg.cf/ go check it out!


Best Types of Rifles for Women
After my first deer hunting experience, I realized just how much I enjoyed the concept of being able to place a single bullet in a specific spot. It was a huge transition from my experiences with a shotgun and the gratification was entirely different, but I really enjoy shooting rifles.
I recognized from my experiences with shotguns that rifles that work well for men might not be ideal for women. Since we generally have smaller frames, we need lighter-weight, more compact dimensions, and less recoil. Assuming the average woman weighs 150 pounds and the average man weighs 200 pounds, we normally need about a 25-percent reduction in weight and size for a woman’s rifle to be proportionate. There are different types of rifles that make sense here.
Basic Bolt-Action Rifles
We’ve been blessed in recent years because firearm manufacturers have recognized that women are the fastest-growing segment of the shooting market. They’ve responded with some excellent compact guns. I suppose my old .243 Winchester Model 70 Featherweight would have been a precursor to those guns, even though it still has standard stock dimensions.
Now, almost every major manufacturer of hunting rifles makes compact versions perfectly suited to smaller-framed women. Also available are full-sized rifles in lightweight versions for those of us who can comfortably handle full-sized rifles but still need a lightweight option.
Of these, probably the most versatile models for hunting are the modern, compact bolt actions. They’re slim and graceful, making them easy to carry. The bolt action is generally considered to be the most accurate of all rifle action types. Almost all the popular current bolt actions feature excellent triggers, convenient detachable box magazines, and durable polymer stocks.
For those who like a more traditional look, wood stocks are available on most models. Bolt actions are also typically the most economical class of rifles, with many models available for under $400. Many are available in a scope/rifle combination with the scope already mounted to the rifle. All you have to do is sight in and you’re ready to hunt.
Bolt actions lend themselves well in all forms of hunting, but they’re especially suited for longer-range shooting in open country. They come in a wide range of calibers known for a longer range, good knockdown power, and moderate recoil. They’re simple to maintain, and mounting optics is a straightforward (no gunsmith needed) process.
For deer-sized game, the .243 Winchester is a great caliber. It has the versatility to work well for varmints with light bullets and deer-sized game with heavier bullets. Another great caliber is the .260 Remington. Flat shooting and capable of handling bullets up to 120 grains, the .260 has proven itself as a great caliber, particularly in its accuracy.
For larger game, like elk and moose, the .308 Winchester, the round the .243 and .260 are based on, is a proven performer. While these calibers lack the excitement of the magnum calibers, they all work well with the shorter barrels of most compact rifles. Reduced-recoil ammunition in most of the popular calibers is now available. It offers even lower recoil and can allow you access to a lower-powered, more comfortable load to shoot when you don’t need the extra knockdown power.
For hunting where cover is heavy and longer shots are rare, lever-action rifles are a great choice. Almost all are light and handy, easy to load, and fast on follow-up shots. Marlin, Winchester, Mossberg, and Browning all make quality lever rifles. Most are chambered for the excellent, if somewhat dated, .30-30 Winchester, a caliber that’s probably taken more deer than any other. Marlin also offers lever-action rifles in the new .308 Marlin and .338 Marlin Express. Meanwhile, Browning rifles are chambered for almost all popular calibers.
Modern Sporting Rifles
Probably the most versatile of all rifles are the modern sporting rifles based on the AR-15 platform. They are lightweight, easy to handle, and offer more options for customization than any design in the history of firearms. Most all models are available in .223 Remington, but other popular choices are 6.8 SPC, .300 AAC Blackout, 7.62x39mm, and .450 Bushmaster. The .223 Remington is an excellent varmint caliber. It can be, and often is, used on deer-sized game, feral hogs, and coyotes, but always remember that good shot placement is critical.
Effective loads for deer-sized game are now available from several manufacturers due to modern bullet technology. The 6.8 SPC is probably a better choice for deer-sized game, with bullets available from 85 to 115 grains. Premium 110-grain bullets, such as the Nosler AccuBond or Barnes Triple-Shock X, can provide deep and straight penetration. They are an excellent choice in AR-platform rifles.
A Modular Platform
What makes AR-platform sporting rifles so attractive is their fully modular construction. They allow you to buy upper receivers and use the rifle for almost any purpose up to medium-sized game.
You can switch from .223 Remington, an excellent target and varmint cartridge, to .22 LR for economical practice, or go in the other direction to 6.8 SPC for medium-sized game or even .450 Bushmaster for a powerful and effective short-range rifle suitable for shooting in thick cover.
AR-platform rifles that are excellent for taking big game are chambered in .308 Winchester and greater. Modern AR-10s are only slightly heavier than AR-15s, though most calibers have heavier recoil. However, they are accurate, more powerful, and still easy to shoot and operate.
Final Thoughts on Different Types of Rifles
As the old Virginia Slims commercial said, “We’ve come a long way, baby.” With women being the fastest-growing segment of the firearms market, the shooting industry is paying attention. While most types of rifles work for women without alteration, the industry noticed that there’s a market for guns, ammunition, and accessories specifically designed to work better for us.


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The Oscars will be on Sunday and Black history could be made. If “Black Panther” wins they would be the first Black superhero film to win the award and Spike Lee could possibly be the first Black director to win an Oscar.
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This documentary will allegedly tell the stories of kids being allegedly abused by the singer. We will keep you posted if his estate is able to keep the network from airing it.
Check out the “Black Panther” cast on the red carpet below!


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Caring Cooks says it has been 'blown away' by a £30,000 donation to keep them operating during the coronavirus crisis.
It's been pledged by Saltgate Giving as part of a £100,000 package to support the local communities it serves.
The charity says this gives them a fighting chance of being here in six months' time, as it plans to cook more than 2,000 meals a week to help islanders in need.
They've recently diverted their resources to provide a community meal service to ALL islanders in need during the coronavirus pandemic. Normally they work to provide nutritious meals for children.
CEO Melissa Nobrega admits she cried when she was told of the donation.
"We're only a small charity and we don't keep a lot in the bank so to enable us to scale this up, we really needed financial support from the public and businesses locally. To get this donation from Saltgate Giving was incredible.
"The one thing that was really important for us was to step up to our community at this time and try to find the money from somewhere.
"Our main thing was just making sure that vulnerable islanders and people that have lost their jobs and didn't have any money could access this two-course nutritious meal every day because it's important."
More than £11,000 has also been raised through a crowdfunding page.
The charity is working with existing referrers, schools and other Island agencies to identify those most in need.
"Working in collaboration with the Government of Jersey and a group of volunteers, the Charity will properly coordinate Island-wide distribution using non-contact methods of delivery to protect the safety of those receiving the food. Distribution points will be set up at key locations across the Island and all delivery drivers will be DBS checked in line with the charity’s policies." - Caring Cooks.


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- Badawy said religion was very clear on LGBTQ that are people who deserve to be wiped out from society.
- Badawy also condemned the Supreme Court judges for coming up with a judgment that does not reflect their education status.
Muslim clerics in Kilifi county want President William Ruto to compel the National Assembly to enact a law that will criminalise LGBTQ as a capital offence.
Led by Omar Al-Mihdhar Ahmad Badawy, a Muslim scholar, they said there is a need to overturn the ruling of the Supreme Court that allowed members of the LGBTQ to be free to assemble, and ensure that whoever will practice the ‘bad behaviour’ is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Addressing faithful during prayers at Masjid Al Noor in Malindi, Badawy said he was impressed by the President, his deputy and leaders from National Assembly, Senate, and leaders from the various denominations in the country, in the manner in which they condemned the Supreme Court ruling.
However, he said action has to be taken to prevent the ungodly practices be legalised in Kenya as it could encourage other unlawful organisations such as drug barons, murderers, and human traffickers among others to demand their right of assembly in the country.
“We urge the President and our MPs to make sure the ruling is overturned. Thereafter a new law should be enacted to criminalise the act and be equal to a murder offence, and whoever is found guilty is jailed even for life,” he said.
Badawy said religion was very clear on LGBTQ that are people who deserve to be wiped out from society and deserve to rot in jail.
He said parents are to blame for the increased cases of LGBTQ because some of the people are in the society and are known to them but no action is taken to condemn the acts.
The scholar said parents need to visit schools and find out what morals their children are being taught regardless of whether they are Muslims or Christians or any other religion so as to ensure they live in a proper environment.
“The President emphasised on religious leaders Sheikhs, priests and others to begin visiting learning institutions such as universities, and schools, to go and preach good morals of life to the children,” he said.
Badawy also condemned the Supreme Court judges for coming up with a judgment that does not reflect their education status or their religious beliefs.
He said it is sad that the same judges were born and brought up in Kenya until their appointment, adding that had they been born at times when LGBTQ was legal, they would never have existed.
-Edited by SKanyara