Author Archives: Danzig

Synod on synodality to be ‘process of spiritual discernment,’ participants say – Crux Now

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The Vatican office organizing a major 2023 Vatican summit on synodality held a preparation meeting last week, saying the synod of bishops has already begun.

This synod was conceived not as an event that will take place in a moment, meaning October 2023: It has already begun, and this awareness has been assumed by all of us taking part in this assembly, said Colombian layman Oscar Elizalde, spokesman for CELAM, the Latin American bishops conference. We are not preparing for the synod, it has already begun.

Last weeks general assembly was hosted by a 15-person office known as the Secretariat for the Synod, which until Pope Franciss highly anticipated reform of the Roman curia was released last month, was known as the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops.

That is to say, the mission for the secretariat is to promote synodality in all the organisms of the church, and the synods [of bishops] that take place in Rome convoked by the pope are one way to put this synodality in practice, said Father Carlos Galli, the dean of the theology faculty of Argentinas pontifical university, and one of Pope Franciss favorite theologians.

Galli says there are three clear stages in the ongoing synodal process: the preparation stage, which is centered on consultation and listening, perfecting what was already being done; the celebration stage, which will be the actual meeting of the Synod of Bishops in the Vatican in late 2023; and the implementation stage, which will be about the reception in the local churches of what is discussed in the Roman summit.

Officially called Synod 2021-2023 for a synodal Church, communion, participation and mission, the process was launched last October by Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Carmen Pena Garcia, a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Comillas University in Madrid, said that all the synods look at the church, but those we have had thus far, look at the church in its action with respect to a concrete reality: The family, the youth, the Amazon.

This synod, in a way, is a return to the church itself and to the understanding of the church, truly wanting to implement the Second Vatican Council, she said, highlighting that there is both continuity and novelty in the process. The continuity is the development and reception of the Second Vatican Council. The novelty is that much emphasis is being placed on the idea of the ecclesial subject.

Through this entire process, which includes consultations at a parish, diocesan, national and continental levels, the baptismal condition is at the center, Pena said. Baptism is what unites us and makes us members of the church, co-responsible for its action, without taking away the fact that there are different charisms, different ministries and functions.

The hierarchy has its role, which is capital, but it is also very important to point out that it does not detract from the co-responsibility of all the baptized, she said.

As a canonist, she said she hopes that the entire process will help make the faithful aware of their responsibility and their role within the church when it comes to having an active participation. And that the bishops will allow them to be so!

She also wants to see the fullness of the code of canon law be applied, because there are many channels of participation that have already been an option for over 40 years, but are not applied.

Since Pope Francis was elected in 2013, he has convened two extraordinary assemblies of a synod of bishops, in addition to those that have traditionally been celebrated every three years. In an attempt to bring the voices of all the church, not only the hierarchy, into the synod hall, there have been consultation processes and pre-synod meetings, but this time around the pope wanted to make sure that all those who want to take part could have their voices heard.

Before Oct. 2023, the synods office is expected to produce what thus far has been called a working document, a general guideline for the discussions of the three-week summit, though sources have told Crux that among the things discussed last week is a change of the name for this document. This time around, it wont be about what Rome thinks should be discussed, but a summary of what the seven regional assemblies think should be discussed.

Spanish Marist Brother Emir Turu, Secretary General of the Rome-based Union of Religious Superiors and a member of the synods spirituality commission, said that the fact that such a commission exists is a novelty on its own.

It seems incredible that this is new, he said. But we want to give another tone to the discernment the synodal process is supposed to inspire: It is not an intellectual debate on positions already taken. It is about entering together into a process of spiritual discernment. The intention, I believe, is extraordinary. I guess time will tell if we succeed.

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Synod on synodality to be 'process of spiritual discernment,' participants say - Crux Now

Michelle Huneven’s ‘Search’ offers spiritual wisdom and cookies – Frederick News Post

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I would never have believed that I'd review and love a novel that includes recipes. But Michelle Huneven's "Search" and her Midmorning Glory Muffins have made me a believer. Which is appropriate because "Search" is a story about the evolving nature of belief.

Others, though, may feel skeptical about entering this explicitly religious novel. After all, "Search" is about a church looking for a new minister. The chapters present a long series of committee meetings a plot that could test the faith of even the most devout reader, despite the inclusion of Escarole Salad with Favas, Mint, and Pecorino. Indeed, in summary "Search" sounds weirdly ecclesial and culinary, like Marilynne Robinson with a light vinaigrette.

Behold: What follows isn't so much a review as an act of evangelicalism.

Huneven's narrator, Dana, is a restaurant critic and memoirist who belongs to a Unitarian Universalist Church in Arroyo, Calif. The wealthy, highly educated group of about 300 members is liberal to a fault, more devoted to diversity than divinity: Atheists Welcome! They're wholly focused on social action and generally uncomfortable with Jesus-talk. By some heavenly coincidence, the church goes by its initials AUUCC, pronounced "awk."

Although Dana has belonged for 24 years, in the opening pages she confesses to a "midlife spiritual drift," a rising ambivalence about organized religion. "I wasn't sure I still wanted to go to church," she says. "Almost everything in the Sunday worship had begun to annoy me."

The universe, of course, has other plans for Dana.

When the minister suddenly announces his intention to retire, a committee is formed to conduct a year-long search for his replacement. The intense little group must articulate the church's goals, interview ministerial candidates and present the best applicant to the laity.

Dana is daunted and flattered to be asked to join the search committee, though the retiring minister warns her: "Not everyone survives prolonged exposure to all the behind-the-scenes and inner workings of an institution." Still, Dana imagines that participating will enliven her spiritual life and even help her create an organization that interests her more. "I was hungry," she says, for "intense discussions of spiritual issues, theological trends, and ministry itself; subjects that my husband and my a-religious friends were not inclined to explore: faith, surrender, Baptist polity, the flames all mystics see."

Beneath those metaphysical concerns, Dana also harbors a secret motive, which becomes the incarnation of this book. Participating on the search committee, she hopes, will provide her with material she needs for her next memoir: "The Search, or how five or six intelligent, well-meaning people select their new leader. A study of democracy in miniature. A fractal of the national process. Plus recipes."

The stakes may be salvation itself, but, as is so often the case, the real matter of church work is taken up with who's wearing what, whether members should clap for the choir and other earthbound distractions sowed in every congregation by Screwtape's minions. Even Dana wonders, "Who'd want to read a book about a church committee," but the story that develops from this wafer-thin premise is miraculously engaging. Dana finds herself part of a committee divided into older members who know exactly How Things Must Be and younger members who are weary of ministers nattering on about Annie Dillard. One of them is covered in tattoos; another is in a polyamorous relationship. "This was not quite the group of brilliant, wise deliberators of my fantasies," Dana admits. But naturally, everybody imagines they have God or the Goddess on their side.

That theme, explored with light wit and deep humanity, makes this unabashedly churchly novel strikingly relevant to our conflicted political era. Dana is flummoxed and sometimes infuriated that her fellow committee members don't appreciate or dislike the same candidates she does. How do we convince people that they should reject the meretricious puffery they find inspiring? How do we resist the bitterness that comes from knowing we're right while everybody else is wrong? An older member of the search committee gently advises, "Consensus is not just everybody agreeing," but Dana is often too angry to understand what that might entail.

Clearly, there's more than a soupcon of autobiography mixed into this novel. Like Dana, Huneven spent time in seminary and then became a restaurant reviewer and an award-winning food writer. She attends a Unitarian Universalist church herself and once served on a search committee to find an assistant minister. Huneven's fellow congregants must be poring over these pages like Holy Writ searching for signs of their faces and foibles. But I suspect the author is far too experienced to lift her own acquaintances into this story untransformed.

Still, there is something refreshingly candid and transparent about "Search." For all our oversharing, we have relatively few novelists willing to write about the role of religion in contemporary life and even fewer who address spiritual practices with humor, empathy and lived wisdom. Huneven is one of those rare spirits. Religion doesn't bore or frighten her. She knows what a rich and fraught sanctuary the sanctuary can be.

"Church is the one place I know that privileges the soul," Dana says, "that focuses on spiritual values and bases a community on them. Church gives me more capacious and compassionate ways to think about my life and the world."

One could say the same thing about a thoughtful novel like this.

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Michelle Huneven's 'Search' offers spiritual wisdom and cookies - Frederick News Post

Missionary Diary: The spiritual discipline of fishing | The Paradise News – The Paradise News

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Zoe is serving with CMS under the Anglican Diocese in the Northern Territory. In her first year in community, she is focusing on learning language and building relationships. She prays that God will use her in her role as church support worker to encourage Indigenous church leaders in Ngukurr and surrounding areas.

My phone rings.

Zoe, weya yu?

La main kemp. Wanim?

Ai wandi go fishing.

I have this conversation on an almost daily basis. Little did I know when I signed up to become a church support worker in remote Arnhem Land that so much of my time would be spent fishing.

Ive been in Ngukurr for two months and its been a mixed bag of emotions. The delight of being welcomed in and getting to know my Aboriginal family. The frustration of my baby language as I learn Kriol. The natural beauty of this landscape. The constant trickles of sweat as daily temperatures vary between 38 and 40 degrees celsius. The fascinating lessons in bush skills from the church ladies. And all these emotions are rolled into one chaotic Technicolor kaleidoscope when we go fishing.

I finish up what Im doing and pack the car. Hand lines, cold water, bait, billy-can, camping chairs, maybe some bananas if Im feeling peckish and pessimistic about the prospect of fish. I drive to my friends house to pick her up. Turns out her sister and niece are coming too.

Before we go, my friend needs to go to the shop. There we see my Aboriginal sister who asks for a lift home because its too hot to walk. When we drop her off, her mother asks to come fishing too with her grandson. I have to tell her that we dont have room, but Ill try to take her another time. I drive off feeling satisfied with my culturally appropriate no that didnt involve actually saying no, whilst mentally adding her to my ever-growing list of people I need to take fishing.

I listen, praying for wisdom and cultural insight.

An hour after I left my house, were finally ready to drive out to the billabong.

As we drive, the ladies regale me with stories from their childhood. The old mission days were hard in many ways, but there was a simplicity to their childhood and they talk fondly of the whitefellas who were safe people in a world that changed too quickly. They lament over their own kids who seem to be launching straight from children to adults. We discuss family and community life. I listen, praying for wisdom and cultural insight. I long to share life with these ladies and support them, but I know that trust takes time. So I listen and I pray.

Wujay wi gada go? I ask as we get to a fork in the track. Its the first Kriol phrase I learnt and has been one of my most used.

Straight on.

I take the path I think is straight on. Turns out it was the other straight on. I pull up, reverse and take the other road. As the passengers laugh at my mistake, I take a deep breath and remind myself that vulnerable mission is the goal after

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Spice of Life | From strangers to family on a spiritual journey – Hindustan Times

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The colourful notice on a wooden board in one of the offices of the Golden Temple, just steps away from its community kitchen, read: Register here for a free tour by bus of historic Sikh temples. The bus departs every morning at 8 and returns the same evening by 5. Though this service has been on for decades, I learnt about it a few weeks ago during a leisurely walk around the temple. My mind was quick to recall the words of William Wordsworth, Going for a walk is an invitation for surprise.

I began to imagine the experience of the tour. So, the following morning itself, I was at the office to get registered. At the bus boarding point, there were devotees, young and old, from almost everywhere. I was the only local but didnt look like one for I was holding a camera and a diary. As the journey started, we began singing hymns. Though I didnt understand the meaning fully, I could feel the peaceful vibes and hummed along.

To ensure we kept time, our elderly driver reminded us at every temple to stay together, and we did. Though I had seen all the temples on the itinerary, this time I found myself exploring each one of them with a fresh perspective. I came across many facets that I had failed to absorb earlier. For instance, during my many visits, I had walked past the 156-foot-high minaret along the holy pool at Gurdwara Tarn Taran Sahib but I didnt know that it was built by Kanwar Naunihal Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839. At Gurdwara Baba Budha Sahib, I was oblivious to the fact that its land was gifted by Mughal emperor Akbar.

Altogether, we covered six gurdwaras, including Goindwal Sahib and Khadoor Sahib, passing through a scenic country route. The mere sight of vast green fields was soothing to the eyes.

There was a comedian uncle (as Id like to call him) with us. He kept reading a newspaper but his witty comments would leave us in splits. At one moment, he had something to say about the driver, and at the very next, he would remark on the serious expression on a pilgrims face. A native of Sangrur, he looked to be in his 70s but was much younger at heart. At Gurdwara Dera Sahib, known for serving lassi in the langar, he loudly joked, The driver brought us here as he is fond of lassi. He may have many glasses. During the last leg of the journey, I saw him explaining the Punjabi brochure of a gurdwara to a tourist from Delhi.

But what touched me most was the bond we developed on board. It grew stronger as we came out of every gurdwara. We felt like a big family that went on to exchanging our experiences and sharing anecdotes from our lives. Many of us were engrossed in spiritual talks and I stayed alert, soaking in the essence of a beautiful life. We should keep counting our blessings. It can change our destiny, said one of them, who had taken the same journey a decade ago as well.

As we were returning, there was an exchange of phone numbers, some even extending invitations to their homes. We boarded the bus as complete strangers and disembarked as members of the same family, which was such a blessing! I knew it was the effect of spirituality which beautifully bonded us despite our different age groups and backgrounds. Glad I decided to become part of this journey that enriched me with inspiring memories.

rameshinder.sandhu@gmail.com

The writer is an Amritsar-based freelance contributor

Rameshinder Singh Sandhu is a staff reporter based in Ludhiana. He mainly covers administration, besides writing on agriculture, lifestyle trends, culture and travel. ...view detail

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Spice of Life | From strangers to family on a spiritual journey - Hindustan Times

I Traded Traditional Talk Therapy For Spiritual Healing Sessions – POPSUGAR

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I grew up in a culture and in a household where seeking out a therapist meant you were weak or "loca." In fact, the few relatives that were in therapy were often attending either to save their marriage or due to a major life crisis or mental breakdown. It was never perceived or discussed as self-care or life management which is literally what it is. As a result, it took years of me destigmatizing my own ideas around therapy and mental health to finally cough up the courage to see a therapist. But unlike a lot of my Latinx peers, my first experience with therapy didn't come in my 30s or after COVID. I first took the plunge in my senior year of college.

I didn't know what to call it until my 30s, when mental health became more of a mainstream conversation, but looking back I think I first started realizing I struggled with some degree of anxiety my senior year of college. The 2008 recession had hit hard, and it was particularly affecting the media industry, so I had a ton of anxiety about whether or not I'd be able to secure a job after graduation. I started to notice my thoughts would race, and whenever I was overwhelmed I'd feel like I was about to have a heart attack when in reality they were actually panic attacks. So I started privately seeing a holistic therapist who specialized in cognitive behavioral therapy and relaxation therapy. The only people who knew were my parents and my siblings, who were incredibly supportive. I saw her for an entire semester and didn't feel the need to go back to therapy until my early 30s. I've had my fair share of therapists, the most effective ones always being Latina women. I noticed a major difference in how my sessions would go once I started working with someone who understood my cultural needs and challenges. I say all that to say that as much as I advocate and believe in therapy, COVID taught me that I actually needed much more.

Before the pandemic hit, I was just starting on my own spiritual journey. I grew up in a pretty strict Christian Latinx household that became more progressive and open-minded as my siblings and I started to get older. But growing up, it was hard. As a result, I was pretty agnostic most of my 20s. It was after 30 that I really started developing more of a curiosity and interest in my spiritual health. And while I've explored this mostly on my own it was in 2020 that I chose to seek out more spiritual guidance and support.

In 2020, I lost my full-time editor job, the medical insurance it came with, and my apartment in Harlem. I was in my mid-30s, moving back with my folks, and feeling like the world was working against me. I needed support, and so my very good friend Yaqu Rodriguez who is a reiki healer, a curandera, and the founder of Wave of Healing started working with me for free for months. I got more out of these sessions than I'd ever gotten out of traditional therapy sessions.

If you're not familiar with reiki, the best way I could describe it is it's a form of energy healing that is believed to have originated in Japan. It is believed to improve the body's energy flow and help remove blocks that can result in pain, stress, or anxiety. These energy healing sessions are typically done in person, but during COVID, Rodriguez and I did them remotely. They often felt like a mix of talk therapy with spirituality. I would share my struggles, Rodriguez would help me unpack them or work them out, and then we'd go into either a guided meditation or a reiki session, where things would come up for me and messages would be sent to her. It was helpful and healing. I was sold.

In 2021, with my Fidelis insurance, I started working with a traditional therapist again while simultaneously working with spiritual coach and reiki healer Zayda Rivera. After doing reiki for so many months in 2020, I knew that only doing talk therapy was going to feel very one-dimensional for me. So Rivera and I started doing a spiritual life-coaching package where we'd meet every two weeks over Zoom. It was a beautiful blend of talk therapy, life coaching, healing, reiki, and manifestation work. I truly believe that the work we did together helped me heal from things that would have taken me another five years to heal from. I also believe that our manifestation work is what helped me secure my current job and my apartment they were exactly what I was looking for.

Rivera describes the work we do together as "pltica, or a heart-to-heart conversation with spirit messages." During our sessions, she tunes in to me and my journey, and as she listens to my words she begins to receive intuitive messages that she conveys to me in assisting with my healing and growth.

"It's similar to talk therapy because our 60-minute session is created on the foundation that I am here to listen to you first and foremost, and whatever we discuss is confidential," Rivera says. "It's different from talk therapy because of the spirit messages. As an intuitive and a clairvoyant, I'm able to tune in to you so directly that I receive messages from your spirit team that are aimed to offer guidance, reassurance, and protection along your path. I am channeling these messages from a higher power. The therapy I offer is driven by our energy and the ability to shift and shape our energy for healing and growth."

Coaching sessions with Rivera feel three-dimensional to me. They address my mental, spiritual, and emotional health in a way that traditional therapy has struggled to achieve. It's no wonder so many Latina mental health experts who are also intuitive and spiritually gifted have been expanding and incorporating both spirituality and ancestral practices and wisdom into their work. It not only addresses cultural needs, but in many ways it feels like someone is finally speaking my language.

My mental health journey started with having to fight the stigmas associated with seeing a therapist at a time when no one in my life was seeing one. Now, while talk therapy is openly accepted, I have to fight the stigmas associated with spirituality outside of organized religion. It's been a challenge, which is why I was so resistant and so agnostic for so many years. Even attending Buddhist temples in Manhattan at one point had my Dominican mom freaking out.

It was when I focused on my own healing and my own needs and set others' opinions aside that I was able to openly seek the support and healing that I desperately needed, especially during this incredibly stressful and isolating time. "When we realize that it all starts with our energy and we focus on ways to find balance it will positively impact the whole of us. If energetic imbalances are left unattended for too long, they begin to appear in our physical lives as various ailments," Rivera says. "This therapy is based on the idea that when we return home to ourselves through meditation, surrender, movement, mindfulness, and shadow work, which is oh so necessary for true balance, we can heal ourselves mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. But it all starts with going inward and reconnecting with our spirit."

My goal for these coaching sessions is to get to a place where I stop giving my power to exterior circumstances and stop allowing my fears, doubts, and anxieties to take over me. One small disappointment or one stressful circumstance has literally ruined my day in the past. But I'm working through it and getting better. Rivera wants me to be able to experience people coming and going in my life without it impacting the peace within me. "The lessons will never end," she reminds me. "The journey is rough sometimes. Sometimes it's boring. Sometimes it's amazingly adventurous and exciting. We are ever-evolving creatures. So, embrace every part of what makes you you, and take deep breaths along the journey to remind yourself that you're alive. And what a beautiful thing that is."

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I Traded Traditional Talk Therapy For Spiritual Healing Sessions - POPSUGAR

Conrad Black: A D-Day-level assault on the intellectual and spiritual freedom of Canada’s soldiers – National Post

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The defence minister's peppy, multi-disciplinary and very opinionated advisory panel clearly wishes to disqualify Roman Catholics from serving as chaplains in the CAF

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The Ministry of National Defences Advisory Panel on Systemic Racism and Discrimination recently produced a somewhat horrifying report. This was probably inevitable; there is not a significant number of genuine racists in Canada, nor can Canadian institutions be considered racist. This is just an abrasive cliche that has become faddish for all those who for whatever reason seek to dramatize, or at least aggravate, internal tensions in the country.

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Of particular concern was Section 6 of the report, titled Re-Defining Chaplaincy. This in itself is unsettling, since there is no need to redefine chaplaincy and the Department of National Defence has no moral authority to do so. Chaplains are usually Christian clergymen attached to different organizations, such as the Armed Forces, who, when requested, assist coreligionists, or anyone seeking spiritual guidance, with the resolution of questions having to do with their religious practices or concerns. The authors of this extraordinary document start hopefully enough with: The Defence Team recognizes the importance of an individuals potential need for effective support in ethical guidance or spirituality through the new Total Health and Wellness Strategic Framework.

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Unfortunately, the storm signals arise immediately after that portentous entree: It is necessary as well to recognize that, for some Canadians, religion can be a source of suffering and generational trauma. This is especially true for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited members of Canadian society. And Indigenous peoples have suffered unimaginable generational trauma and genocide at the hands of Christian religious leaders through initiatives such as Residential School and Indian Day School programs. Those members of the Armed Forces who find religion a source of suffering and trauma are free to avoid it without depending on this panel to conduct its own Reformation for them. The authors of this report manifest no aptitude to distinguish between the ecclesiastical needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirited members of the Armed Forces and those members of the military who could not be so described. The history of Indigenous people in Canada is far beyond the remit of even the most wildly aspirational advisory panel to the Ministry of National Defence. And no one has suffered genocide at the hands of Christian religious leaders in the history of this country, whose civilized laws and principles it is the chief duty of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) to protect, rather than to fictionalize and defame.

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The redefining of chaplaincy by this panel had just begun, but it got worse: At present, some chaplains represent or are affiliated with organized religions whose beliefs are not synonymous with those of a diverse and inclusive workplace. Some of the affiliated religions of these chaplains do not subscribe to an open attitude and the promotion of diversity. For example, some churches exclusion of women from their priesthoods violates principles of equality and social justice, as do sexist notions embedded in their religious dogmas. In addition, certain faiths have strict tenets requiring conversion of those they deem to be pagan, or who belong to polytheistic religions. These faiths dogmas and practices conflict with the commitment of the Defence Team to value equality and inclusivity at every level of the workplace. The advisory panel has observed that there are varying degrees of misogyny, sexism and discrimination woven into the philosophies and beliefs of some mainstream religions currently represented in the cadre of chaplains in the CAF.

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No, your eyes do not deceive you. This peppy, multi-disciplinary and very opinionated panel clearly wishes to disqualify Roman Catholics from serving as chaplains in the CAF, although they represent the largest religious denomination in Canada (representing almost 40 per cent of the population), including the sectarian identification of seven of Canadas last nine prime ministers i.e., the democratically chosen leaders of the organization that funds and commands the Armed Forces and is responsible for governing the country that it is the purpose of the Armed Forces to defend. The panel also considers various other Christian sects that are represented in the current chaplaincy of the Armed Forces to be unacceptable. In its holy crusade against systemic discrimination, this panel has taken it upon itself to decide what clergy members of the Armed Forces may consult, and apparently feel entitled to judge what theology it is acceptable for members of the Armed Forces to be exposed to.

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The report reassures us that the panel does not seek to evaluate or categorize these religions in this report. Rather it is pointing out that the Defence Team cannot consider itself supportive of inclusivity when it employs as chaplains members of organizations whose values are not consistent with National Defences ethics and values. And in its recommendations, the panel urges the rejection of chaplaincyapplicants affiliated with religious groups whose values are not aligned with those of the Defence Team.

It is undoubtedly appropriate for the Canadian Armed Forces, especially given the recent actions of some of its senior officers, to consider any changes that might be useful to eliminate harmful discrimination and generally to make the ambience of the Armed Forces as contented a workplace as it reasonably can be. But the idea that it has any standing to determine which of the worlds Christian and other religious denominations are adequately inclusive suggests that what is required is less focus on inclusivity and a more rigorous administration of tests of the basic intelligence and psychiatric wellness of the Defence Ministrys advisory panel. More precisely: are these people mad?

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It is chilling to think that the taxpayers are funding this hare-brained, wildly misguided intrusion into the religious liberty of the members of the Armed Forces. The analysis and recommendations included in this section of the report are a Vimy or Dieppe or D-Day-level assault on the intellectual and spiritual freedom of Canadas soldiers, sailors and airmen. It is time to stop this nonsense and launch a national and holy crusade to root out and dispose of systemic idiocy, and from the looks of this preposterously self-important and authoritarian document, there is no better place to start than with the CAF, whose almost uninterruptedly distinguished and courageous history appears now to be threatened by a cabal of tinkering lunatics trying to replace our Judeo-Christian and other traditions with contemporary moronic, busybody bureaucratese. This appears to have been recognized by Defence Minister Anita Anands office, which assured Canadians on Friday that chaplains from a variety of faiths will continue to serve in the Armed Forces. Let us all hope she stays true to her word as the very dignity of our military is at stake. Our Armed Forces have made great sacrifices and 112,000 of them gave their lives and over 205,000 were wounded defending Canada and the cause of freedom throughout the world in the two world wars. It would be profoundly unjust if they were to have this scourge of mindless official despotism inflicted upon them by the government of the people that they so admirably serve and represent.

National Post

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Conrad Black: A D-Day-level assault on the intellectual and spiritual freedom of Canada's soldiers - National Post

Spiritual Leader Monsignor Gerard McCarren Appointed Interim Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall…

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SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. The Archdiocese of Newark and Seton Hall University announced that Monsignor Gerard McCarren, S.T.D., will begin a one-year appointment on July 1 as the Interim Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall. Monsignor McCarren currently serves as Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and the seminarys Spiritual Director.

Monsignor Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., will conclude his tenure as Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology on June 30. After Monsignor Reilly steps down, he will begin a sabbatical year during which he will renew his vocation with study, travel, reflection and professional administrative development.

Monsignor McCarren is a well-respected priest, theologian, and seminary spiritual director, with excellent and relevant experiences that will allow him to continue our vital mission of supporting our seminarians as they discern Gods call to the priesthood, said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop, Archdiocese of Newark. I am confident he will guide the men closer to Christ our Redeemer and prepare them to be good shepherds who will minister to the flocks that will ultimately be entrusted to them. I am grateful for his gracious acceptance to join us in the Archdiocese as interim Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology.

Monsignor McCarren is a well-known scholar of Saint John Henry Newman and was a member of the Newman Association of Americas board of directors from 2001 to 2016. In addition to his work at Seton Hall, he has taught and provided spiritual direction at the Institute for Priestly Formation at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

His multifaceted experiences in priestly formation, deep knowledge of theology and esteemed reputation among priests and seminarians made Monsignor McCarren a clear choice for this interim appointment. During his interim year, the University and Archdiocese will advance the ongoing search for the seminarys next full-time Rector and Dean.

We thank Monsignor Reilly for his service in priestly formation over two decades. In 10 years as Rector and Dean, he cultivated an outstanding formation faculty while completing several facilities projects, including the seminary chapel. Perhaps most importantly, the seminary under his leadership instructed scores of young men in serving the people of God as priests and deacons, said Seton Hall University President Joseph E. Nyre.

After his sabbatical year, Monsignor Reilly will take up his new role as Vice Provost for Academics and Catholic Identity, and will continue integrating the Universitys Catholic identity ever more deeply across academics especially in local and international initiatives and academic programs that make Seton Hall an icon of Catholic education worldwide.

The University and Archdiocese of Newark are fortunate to count Monsignors Reilly and McCarren among the servants of Christ who enrich our spiritual lives. We pray for their success in fulfilling these new responsibilities, said Cardinal Tobin and President Nyre.

ABOUT SETON HALL UNIVERSITYOne of the countrys leading Catholic universities, Seton Hall has been showing the world what great minds can do since 1856. Home to nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students and offering more than 80 rigorous majors, Seton Halls academic excellence has been singled out for distinction by The Princeton Review, US News & World Report and Bloomberg Businessweek. Seton Hall, which embraces students of all religions, prepares its graduates to be exemplary servant leaders and caring global citizens. Its attractive main campus is located in suburban South Orange, New Jersey, and is only 14 miles by train, bus or car to New York City, offering a wealth of employment, internship, cultural and entertainment opportunities. A new independent economic analysis of the University found that Seton Hall provides a significant impact on New Jerseys economy, totaling over $1.6 billion annually and creating and sustaining nearly 10,000 jobs. The universitys nationally recognized School of Law is prominently located in downtown Newark. The Universitys Interprofessional Health Sciences (IHS) campus in Clifton and Nutley, N.J. opened in the summer of 2018. The IHS campus houses Seton Halls College of Nursing, its School of Health and Medical Sciences as well as Hackensack Meridian Healths Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. For more information, visit http://www.shu.edu.

ABOUT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARKThe Archdiocese of Newark, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the sixth archbishop of Newark, serves approximately 1.3 million Catholics in 212 parishes and 73 schools throughout the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union. The Archdiocese serves the northern New Jersey community through faith, education, and social services. To learn more, visit http://www.rcan.org.

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Spiritual Leader Monsignor Gerard McCarren Appointed Interim Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall...

Marbled Soles Appears On The Nike Giannis Immortality 2 – Sneaker News

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Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are facing their biggest challenge yet this postseason as theyve dropped Game 4 on their home floor to have the Conference semi-final series against the Celtics completely tied up. Theyll have to win one more in Boston (or potentially two) to advance, and it all hinges on the performance of the one called the Greek Freak.

While the Giannis Immortality 2 signature shoe isnt out on the market yet, were seeing more new colorways that are planned to drop throughout the summer. This achieves a standard black/white colorway, but with university blue accents and golden trim adding some character to the shoes. The marbled soles, mimicking the chiseled statues of Greek mythology, add even more personality to the straightforward colorway.

Full family sizes of this Giannis Immortality 2 are expected; see the official images ahead and well let you know when these are available.

Where to Buy

Make sure to follow @kicksfinder for live tweets during the release date.

Mens: N/AStyle Code: N/A

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Eddie Kingston Wants To Win An NJPW G1 Climax Tournament And Earn His Squared Circle Immortality – Fightful

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Eddie Kingston wants to live forever by participating in the G1 Climax Tournament.

Eddie Kingston bears his soul in everything he does in professional wrestling. It is part of what connects professional wrestling fans to his journey on such a deep level. A huge part of that journey and Eddie Kingstons love of professional wrestling is his fondness for Japanese wrestling. Kingston has openly admitted that he takes a lot of his move set from top Japanese stars such as Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and others.

Another Name Advances To Semi-Finals Of Owen Hart Foundation Men's Tournament On 5/11 AEW Dynamite

In a new interview with Sean Ross Sapp, Kingston further explains his love of Japanese wrestling and how he feels about the working relationship between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling ahead of the Forbidden Door pay-per-view on June 26 and his upcoming match against Tomohiro Ishii at NJPW STRONG Capital Collision.

I dont think people fully understand. Yes, my favorite wrestling was All Japan during the 90s. But I watched New Japan as well, Kingston explained. Cause I remember the Three Musketeers. I remember Keiji Muto, aka the Great Muta, who was the first Japanese wrestler I ever saw. Then, of course, theres Masahiro Chono. I thought the STF was the deadliest move in the world. I remember Jim Ross screaming about it on commentary and Chono learned it from Lou Thesz. Thats a name you know, even if you have never seen him wrestle. But you know the name. Then you had Shinya Hashimoto, who was just a badass. He was my personal favorite.

I know the history and it means a lot, Kingston continued. Thats why I mentioned Tenryu and Riki Choshu to Ishii, to let him know, I know who trained you, dog. I watched them. I studied them as well. So I know who they are. I know the history. Thats why wipe my feet, of course, and I give a kiss to the logo in the middle of the ringtake my hand, put a little kiss on it. out of respect. It feels great. All that political stuff, I didnt see it. As soon as I was able to work with AEW, and I was lucky enough and blessed enough to do it, STRONG hit me up a couple of weeks later and AEW, even before this working relationship, was like, Yeah, okay. Do it. So I never saw all the political side. But for those that did, sorry. Now you dont have to see it.

Speaking more directly about the Forbidden Door event and concept, Kingston size that in his two decades in wrestling, he has never seen promotions come together the way so many have in recent years.

Its amazing. Its an amazing feeling. In my twenty-year career, I have never seen it like this where everybodys working together, he said. "Theres no political B.S. where, I dont like this person because of whatever. Its, Oh, you want to do the show? Fine, go make your money or Thats a really good match-up. Maybe we can show it here. Everybodys starting to work together, which is what I thought wrestling was. Remember, Im an 80s baby. So I grew up at the tail end of the territories. So I saw, at one point in time, all the territories trying to work together to beat Vince. So I thought thats the way it was supposed to be. Not to beat Vince, but to work together and have more places to work. I think its great. Ive never seen it like this.

Kingston did not want to overthink about his potential position on that card on June 26 because he isn't sure if you will even be booked yet. However, he does name a dream opponent from Japan that he would like to face, Jun Akiyama, who although he was never one of the four pillars of AJPW in the 90s, was always across the ring from Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue, and Toshiaki Kawada, and eventually made a major name for himself when NOAH was formed in the early 2000s.

Kingston also said he would like to face Hiroshi Tanahashi or Yuji Nagata, if given the opportunity.

Well, I already have Ishii at STRONG. So, that was number one for New Japan [Shin Nippon Puroresu]. Hopefully, I said it right. Ishii was the guy," said Eddie. "Tanahashi, to me, saved puroresu at one time. Especially for New Japan. Of course, him. Nagata, of course, cause when that whole run he had with the IWGP title going sixty [minutes] with Chono and other matches, facing off against the shooters during a time period that was a little rough. But he was in there. He was a warrior. But for Forbidden Door, I dont know if it can happen, but if we talk about the Forbidden Door, itd be Akiyama. I know he doesnt work with New Japan or hes not with them, I know hes with DDT, but Forbidden Door, right? Thats what everybody [is]."

For now, Eddie remains hopeful that he will be on the card which will emanate from Chicago's United Center.

Yeah, again, I dont know anything about that. I just say, Hey, this is my dream match or Hey, this is the dude I want to work with. Either Chris Daniels comes back to see me and says, Tony says no or Tony said yes or Tony, when he gets excited, hell tell me yes, he said.

Of course, actually wrestling in Japan again remains a huge goal for Eddie Kingston who has not been in Japan in over a decade. During the interview with Sean, Kingston took the time to say that he wants to compete in the G1 Climax tournament, as he sees that tournament as his chance to live forever.

Yeah. The last time I was in Japan was in 2011 for Osaka Pro, at the time," he recalled. "Yeah, G1 has always been a goal. I was talking to somebody the other night, it was a youngin in the locker roomIm not gonna say whobut I was trying to explain that when I broke in my biggest goals were ECW, right before they closed; All Japan, at the time, before the NOAH split; and then New Japan and I wanted to be in all the tournaments. So, of course, the G1s always a goal. If not this year, then itll be a goal next year. For me, personally, the competitor in me, its not just about being invited to the G1. Its about actually winning. Not just doing good. Not just making it to the finals and other people would be happy about that. No, Im trying to live forever. Im trying to have my legacy live forever, so Im trying to win the whole thing. So G1. Theres your answer. To anyone listeningG1! Lets go.

For now, Eddie Kingston turns his attention to Tomohiro Ishii and their match at NJPW Capital Collision on Saturday, May 14. You can view the updated card here. Fightful will have coverage of the event on Saturday beginning at 8 p.m. ET

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Eddie Kingston Wants To Win An NJPW G1 Climax Tournament And Earn His Squared Circle Immortality - Fightful

Old Mice ‘Rejuvenated’ With Injections of Brain Fluid From The Young – ScienceAlert

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While immortality might forever be out of reach, a long, healthy retirement is the stuff dreams are made of.

To that end, a recent study suggests that the kinds of memory problems common in old age can be reversed, and all it takes is some cerebrospinalfluid harvested from the young. In mice, at least.

If this is sounding a little familiar, you might be thinking of a similar series of studies done back in the mid-2010s, which found that older mice could be generally 'rejuvenated' with the blood of younger animals both from humans and from mice. The FDA even had to warn people to stop doing it.

This new study instead examined the links between memory and cerebrospinalfluidfluid (CSF), and the results show considerable promise, even providing a mechanism for how it works, and highlighting a potential growth factor that could mimic the results.

"We know that CSF composition changes with age, and, in fact, these changes are used routinely in the clinic to assess brain health and disease biomarkers," Stanford University neurologist Tal Iram told ScienceAlert.

"However, we don't know well how these changes affect the function of the cells in the aging brain."

To investigate, the researchers, led by Iram, took older mice (between 1822 months old) and gave them light shocks on the foot, at the same time as a tone and flashing light were activated. The mice were then split into groups, and either given young mouse CSF (from animals 10 weeks old) or artificial CSF.

In experiments like this, if the mice 'freeze' when they see the tone and light, it means they're remembering the foot shock, and are preparing for it to happen again.

In this study, three weeks after the foot shocks were conducted (which the team called "memory acquisition"), the researchers tested the mice, finding that the animals that had been given the CSF from young miceshowed higher-than-average freezing rates, suggesting they had better memory.

This was followed up by a battery of other experiments to test the theory, which revealed that certain genes (that are different in young-versus-old CSF) could be used to get the same response. In other words, without needing to extract someone's brain fluid.

"When we took a deeper look into gene changes that occurred in the hippocampus (a region associated with memory and aging-related cognitive decline), we found, to our surprise, a strong signature of genes that belong to oligodendrocytes," Iram told ScienceAlert.

"Oligodendrocytes are unique because their progenitors are still present in vast numbers in the aged brain, but they are very slow in responding to cues that promote their differentiation. We found that when they are re-exposed to young CSF, they proliferate and produce more myelin in the hippocampus."

In the mice, an infusion of a fibroblast growth factor called FGF17 was able to boost oligodendrocyte progenitor cells in a similar way to the CSF injection.

Oligodendrocytes are particularly helpful because they produce myelin, a material that covers and insulates neuron fibers. The infusion of FGF17 was itself able to help the older mice increase memory ability.

A diagram showing the results in the cell. (Nature)

While this field of research has a very very long way to go before we can use such insights to increase memory in older humans, the findings are exciting, and hopefully future studies following these leads can help us live out our retirement without having to resort to the body fluids of young whippersnappers.

"Iram and colleagues have broken ground in the field of brain health and aging by discovering that young CSF contains a factor that aids memory recall in older mice," write researchers Miriam Zawadzki & Maria K. Lehtinen from Boston Children's Hospital in an accompanying News and Views piece.

"Not only does the study imply that FGF17 has potential as a therapeutic target, but it also suggests that routes of drug administration that allow therapeutics to directly access the CSF could be beneficial in treating dementia. Any such treatments will be hugely helpful in supporting our aging population."

The research has been published in Nature.

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‘Moon Knight’ Producer Teases New Kit for the Character’s Next Appearance – We Got This Covered

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Moon Knight has plenty of tools and abilities to use that were shown during the Disney Plus series, but producer Grant Curtis has teased that we could see even more in the heros next MCU appearance.

During an interview with Phaze Zero, Curtis said that theyve only scratched the surface when it comes to weaponizing Moon knight, and theres a lot more to come.

Theres so much groovy stuff out there. We just scratched the surface with the crescent darts and the truncheons and all that Hes got a whole bag of tricks that we didnt even get into. So yeah, Id say when and if and where this character lands, hell have a new tool chest.

Its not clear when fans will see Moon Knight on their screens next as the show has not been confirmed for a second season nor has the character been confirmed to show up in any other Marvel Studios productions.

This being the case, the show was extremely well received and the character has quickly become popular so its likely we will see Moon Knight again.

While the heros toolset was limited during the series, there was still plenty of skills on display. These included the characters healing factor which Curtis explains, isnt the same as immortality. The producer likened Moon Knights current skillset to that of the Green Goblins.

Hes got a healing factor. He bounces back when he gets shot or stabbed, he heals. He doesnt heal right away, hes not immortal. If you get him the right way, hes gonna go down for good, but thankfully in our show, he got back up. He can glide, hes stronger than most people, hes faster. So its a little bit like a super soldier, like my pal, the Green Goblin from Spidey 1. Not quite the same thing but a little stronger, a little faster, heals, glides, kicks ass, takes name. The usual.

Moon Knight is available to stream in its entirety on Disney Plus right now.

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'Moon Knight' Producer Teases New Kit for the Character's Next Appearance - We Got This Covered

Liverpool vs. Tottenham: Premier League 2021-22 Preview and Team News – The Liverpool Offside

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LIVERPOOL VS. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Look, Ive got nerves for this one. The lads are so close to immortality you can almost taste it.

Liverpool dropped points against Spurs this season, and Antonio Contes Spurs have done the double over City (after winning on the opening day). That said, they last won at Anfield in 2011 (picking up two draws in that period, in 2016 and 2018 a draw would be just as bad, really).

In terms of away form, Spurs have played 19, won eight, drawn five, and lost six. Four of those six losses have come against big six sides (and West Ham) over the course of the season. They havent beaten any top six side away in the league other than, you know, Manchester City.

The atmosphere will be key, as we want to make it as hard for Spurs as possible. We know our lads will be up for it. They want the immortality even more than we do on their behalf.

When we played Spurs in December it was an exciting game for the worst reasons: Andy Robertson scored (he could have had a brace after going close in the opening minute), but was later sent off for a challenge on Emerson Royal a fair enough sending off though Harry Kane could well have seen red for a similar challenge prior to this.

The Reds played a much-changed side, with Tyler Morton and James Milner in midfield during the busy holiday period. Spurs had piled the pressure on, with both Ibrahima Konat and later even Alisson (uncharacteristically) not having their best games.

Liverpool will certainly be stronger in this matchup, though Spurs will as well: new boy Dejan Kulusevski has been massive for them, combining well with an in-form Son Heung-min (who is pushing Mohamed Salah for Golden Boot) and Harry Kane. Kulusevski got a breather in Spurs win against Leicester at the weekend, coming on to lodge two assists.

Given the pace (and chemistry) of the Spurs attack, Liverpool will need to look to limit service into them and to avoid complacency in the defensive line.

While Tottenham are certainly dangerous, their form is less consistent than their highlights might make you believe: they won against Leicester at home on Sunday after drawing to Brentford (A), losing to Brighton (H), and winning heavily against both Aston Villa (A) and Newcastle (H). Though these last two wins came in a stretch of four consecutive wins (West Ham at home and Brighton away), for the most part theyve struggled to put two wins together, largely alternating WLWLWL since January.

Tottenham have had more time to prepare and are fighting hard for a top four place. This will most definitely be a challenge, while City, coming off their disappointing (for them) Champions League exit, face Newcastle at home an entirely different proposition.

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Daz

Manager Jrgen Klopp has been making one or two changes each match to maintain squad fitness, and theres no reason to think anything will change now that the Reds have added a game to their schedule (in the small matter of the Champions League final).

Its possible that Andy Robertson could get a breather (despite being the main character in the reverse fixture), and Jol Matip could return to the side though Ibrahima Konats pace would be helpful in dealing with the Spurs front line.

Kostas Tsimikas, who came on to get a few minutes against Villarreal, could well feature here or against Villa at the weekend: notably, the manager has lately enjoyed subbing a player on late in one game to start him in the next (CC: Joe Gomez), and Tsimikas came on mid-week.

The same pattern could hold for Luis Daz, though the front three is anyones guess. Bobby Firmino has returned to full training, though Klopp hinted that he is likely to remain just training for a bit maybe a return to the lineup against Aston Villa? You would think Mohamed Salah will be asked to go again; whether we see Diogo Jota or Sadio Man through the middle is possibly a flip of a coin.

Given the threat that Tottenham pose, I would hope we see as close to a full-strength side as possible; this one feels like a major challenge.

Jurgen Klopp: [Tottenham] have speed like crazy up front, Harry Kane, what a player, they have a blind understanding (the front men). Its probably the biggest challenge for protection weve faced in a long time. We have to find a way to keep them calm as often as possible.

Antonio Conte: Jurgen Klopp is doing a great job with this team, especially for an English team to arrive at the end of the season to stay in the race for all the competitions you compete in, I think that its incredible because you can see Liverpools players. They run a lot and they dont have many injuries. Theyre doing a fantastic job. Their enthusiasm is 200% and you dont feel fatigue at this point.

We need to go there and play our game. We are in the race for a place in the Champions League and we have to find a way to get points in every game. We are playing against one of the best teams in the world away. We prepare like usual.

Referee: Michael Oliver Assistants: Stuart Burt, Simon Bennett Fourth Official: Martin Atkinson VAR: Darren England Assistant VAR: Marc Perry.

Kickoff is set for 7:45PM GMT/3:45AM EST tomorrow. In the meantime, The Liverpool Offside team will keep you updated with all of the team news and match buildup as it becomes available, along with providing a matchday liveblog and post-match recaps and reaction. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account and have your say on the action as it happens.

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. Enters into an Agreement to License up to 12 Million NFTs from Film and TV Content – Yahoo Finance

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. has agreed to license up to 12 million images of video content licensed by the Company from Michelle Ciardulli for the creation of NFT (Non-Fungible Token) digital artworks.

Anderson, South Carolina--(Newsfile Corp. - May 11, 2022) - JZZ Technologies Inc. (OTC Pink: JZZI) has entered a license agreement for the non-exclusive NFT license / production rights for up to 12 million NFTs (100,000 frames with up 120 permutations per frame) of video content licensed by JZZ Technologies, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, JZZ Technologies, Inc. acquired the rights to license at least 12 hours of video for the express purpose of creating, modifying, and selling NFT (Non-Fungible Token) digital artwork. Modifications and production of the NFTs from original frames are at the sole discretion of JZZ Technologies, Inc.

NFTs are a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, digital works and videos. They are bought and sold online, mostly using cryptocurrency. NFTs are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos using blockchains. NFTs are also designed as one of a kind, or one of a very limited run, each identified by a unique code.

The content acquired by JZZ Technologies includes a variety of images, movie stock, TV stock, out takes, and B-Roll footage from the productions of Actor and Cinematographer Michelle Ciardulli. In all, the raw footage accounts for over 1 million raw images from video and stills, each of which can be artistically produced into numerous NFTs.

The Agreement provides that Michelle Ciardulli shall provide a letter of authenticity, permission for publicity and bio information for the content, and Michelle Ciardulli for sales, marketing, and publicity purposes. Michelle Ciardulli will receive an upfront fee of 3 million shares of common stock of JZZ Technologies, Inc., plus 25% of sales compensation in the same manner as received for each NFT derived from the licensed content.

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. plans to create over 12 million NFTs from this material and market them through their online database of 30+ million seniors, and through social media channels.

"The acquisition of the rights to productions of Actor and Cinematographer Michelle Ciardulli is an important point for our planned digital acquisitions", states Charles Cardona. "There is a lot of rare and untapped film footage that is aligned with developing and selling NFTs that we produce. The works can quickly become a major revenue source for our company as we sell through our ready-made marketing channels."

About JZZ Technologies, Inc.

JZZ Technologies, Inc. is a diversified technology company engaged in the following three distinct business sectors: (i) its digital media business which includes online media and apps (activelifestylemedia.com), content creation, and digital marketing, targeted to active adults 55+, (ii) strategic biotechnology and bioscience related to Human Life Extension and (iii) Human Longevity that can be immediately leveraged to support improved quality of life for the senior population. For more information, please visit http://www.jzztechnologies.com.

Press Contact:JZZ Technologies, Inc.Charles Cardona, CEOccardona@jzztechnologies.com

DISCLAIMER and FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and such Forward-Looking Statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the viability of the company's business plans, the effect of acquisitions on our profitability, the effectiveness, profitability, and the marketability of the Company's products; the Company's ability to protect its proprietary information; general economic and business conditions; and the volatility of the company's operating results and financial condition. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the company and the industry. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances or to changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, management cannot assure the public that their expectations will turn out to be correct. Investors are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/123529

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JZZ Technologies, Inc. Enters into an Agreement to License up to 12 Million NFTs from Film and TV Content - Yahoo Finance

UMaine Extension 4-H introduces teens to adulting concepts in June – UMaine News – University of Maine – University of Maine

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University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H will offer a short-term online 4-H club for youth ages 1318 about basic adult life skills 45:30 p.m. Wednesdays, June 22July 27. Required registration closes June 6.

The 4-H Adulting 101 Series will introduce basic adult life skills by exploring a different topic each week, including life/work balance and stress management; saving, spending and credit; nutrition on a budget; resumes and interviews; rent and roommates; and a topic chosen by the participants. UMaine Extension 4-H staff will lead the discussions.

The club is free; limited to 20 participants. Register by June 6 on the event webpage to receive the link and at-home materials. This series is supported in part by the Maine 4-H Foundation. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact 207.324.2814; erin.mcdonald1@maine.edu. Additional information also is available on the Extension 4-H Virtual Learning webpage.

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UMaine Extension 4-H introduces teens to adulting concepts in June - UMaine News - University of Maine - University of Maine

Gov. Newsom open to extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant’s life, but analysts differ on feasibility and need – Utility Dive

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, D, is open to the possibility of delaying the closure of the states last operational nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, according to media reports, but some industry players remain skeptical about the feasibility of such an effort.

Last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that Newsom may try to delay the retirement of the plant, currently scheduled to occur in 2024 and 2025 when the federal licenses for its two units expire. Newsom told the newspapers editorial board that California could try to tap into the $6 billion in federal funding announced in February for nuclear reactors facing retirement, noting that the state would be remiss not to put that on the table as an option.

Some experts, however, are skeptical about whether the plant can and should be kept open, given the process that would be required to get its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license extended, as well as recent efforts in the state to build gigawatts of clean energy generation to replace it.

There have always been groups in California pushing to keep the 2,240 MW Diablo Canyon plant open, because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas-free generation it provides, but its somewhat surprising to change course at this point, given the work that the California Public Utilities Commission has done to replace that resource, Seth Hilton, partner at Stoel Rives, said.

And the fact that [Diablo Canyon] is supposed to retire in 2024 and 2025 thats not a long runway to change course, he added.

Pacific Gas & Electrics (PG&E)Diablo Canyon plant provides roughly 15% of Californias carbon-free electricity. In 2018, state regulators approved a settlement to shutter the plant completely in 2024 and 2025, but some experts have maintained that there are benefits to keeping the plant online. Last November, a report from experts at Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that California could reduce its power sector emissions by over 10% from 2017 levels and save $2.6 billion in electric system costs by continuing to operate the plant through 2035.

PG&E in 2009 applied to the NRC to extend the Diablo Canyon plants license for another 20 years beyond the 2024 and 2025 expiration dates. However, the utility withdrew that application in 2018, following the decision to shutter the plant. The Stanford and MIT study stated that NRC staff typically conduct license extension reviews in less than 22 months, and the Diablo Canyon review could be shorter, given that some work was completed on it when PG&E first submitted its renewal application. Moreover, the report stated that if the plants current license expires while a new application is being reviewed at the NRC, the facility could continue operating until that process is completed.

Its very tight, but its possible, Jacopo Buongiorno, Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and lead author of the study, said, on whether Diablo Canyons license renewal process could be completed before the plant is scheduled to retire.

If PG&E were to opt out of pursuing such a process, an alternative is that another company could buy the plant and do so, he added.

In response to Newsom's comments, PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said in an emailed statement that the utility is proud of the role that the Diablo Canyon power plant plays in California.

We are always open to considering all options to ensure continued safe, reliable, and clean energy delivery to our customers, Corral said.

Other experts, however, dont think that pursuing a license renewal process for Diablo Canyon is feasible at this point.

If they were going to extend the life of the plants, theyd have to reapply to the NRC and that would mean preparing the applications again. And I think enough has changed since they originally submitted, that that would be a pretty heavy lift, Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said.

If the decision to keep the plant open were made tomorrow, it is highly unlikely that Diablo Canyon's Unit 1 would receive a renewal before its license expired, although that would still be possible for Unit 2, according to Lyman.

And on the issue of whether another party could take over ownership of Diablo Canyon and move forward with the renewal process, they would have to transfer the existing license to a new entity and that in itself is a regulatory action that could be subject to challenge, he said.

Any application for license renewal requires detailed plans to account for the effects of aging on plant systems, and an environmental report that requires time to develop, NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell said in an email. The agencys staff currently aims to complete the safety and environmental review of a docketed license renewal application in 18 months.

If a plant applies for renewal more than five years before its license is set to expire, it could get the benefit of continuing to operate even if something delays the final NRC decision past its expiration date, he added but if the application is filed with less than five years remaining on the license, the plant would likely have to lay out a legal and technical justification for this treatment, he said.

While Newsom does not have authority over Diablo Canyons license, he is in support of keeping all options on the table to ensure we have a reliable grid, especially as we head into a summer where CAISO expects California could have more demand than supply during the kind of extreme events that California has experienced over the past two summers.This includes considering an extension to Diablo Canyon, which continues to be an important resource as we transition to clean energy," Newsom spokesperson Erin Mellon said in an email.

However, in the long term, the Governor continues to support the closure of Diablo Canyon as we transition to clean energy while ensuring the reliability of our energy grid, Mellon added.

Another issue is that while Newsom talked about tapping into federal funding for nuclear plants with the Los Angeles Times, the Diablo Canyon facility may not be eligible for that funding, according to Ralph Cavanagh, energy program co-director with the Natural Resources Defense Council, who was involved with the negotiation of the original joint proposal to retire and replace the plant. The federal subsidies are only available to plants that are operating with short-term losses and arent recovering their operating costs, which PG&E is fully recovering, he noted.

Theres also the broader question of whether, even if it could, California should consider extending the life of Diablo Canyon to help bolster reliability as well as decarbonization efforts.

Californias energy agencies have concluded that the California Independent System Operators grid is short around 1,500 MW to 2,000 MW of needed generating capacity between now and 2026, CAISO spokesperson Anne Gonzales said in an email. The past two summers, she added, have demonstrated that the state needs additional resources to account for extreme conditions and supply delays that are not adequately captured in the traditional planning metrics.

Although Californias grid is in better shape than last year, it requires additional resources to ensure reliable energy during the summer months, when it could face extreme temperatures, drought, wildfires and low hydroelectric supplies, Gonzales said.

Last year, the CPUC issued a procurement order for 11.5 GW of clean energy resources the largest ever capacity ordered by the agency in one shot to help replace the Diablo Canyon plant as well as a suite of natural gas plants that are expected to retire soon. The agency and load-serving entities are well into procuring resources to replace that capacity, Hilton pointed out.

That order will help replace Diablo Canyons capacity, and its ability to meet grid reliability requirements, Mark Specht, Western states energy manager and senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, agreed although regulators could be more carefully thinking through what it means to replace the plant without an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, he added.

If all else remains the same, thats an easy question to answer, whether youre replacing it without an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, Specht said. But the grid is changing very rapidly so there are a lot of other factors at play here, and its not all that straightforward to determine whether were replacing Diablo Canyon without an increase in emissions.

In addition, the retirement of the Diablo Canyon plant is tied into Californias offshore wind plans, Hilton noted regulators are currently looking to preserve some of the transmission capacity off the Morro Bay area that will be freed up after the nuclear plant goes offline and use it for offshore wind.

Meanwhile, efforts to build out renewable and storage projects have faced their own share of challenges, including interconnection issues, soaring commodity prices for lithium, and tariff issues.

At the same time, Diablo Canyon isnt scheduled to shut down for another few years, Specht said, and so unless those supply chain issues really continue year after year, Im hopeful those wont be a huge barrier to getting resources online to replace Diablo."

Another source of hope for Californias longer-term reliability needs is the continued progress on Western grid integration and better coordination among all the power systems in the region, according to Cavanagh. This week, for instance, he noted, two major regional electric providers the Bonneville Power Administration and Tucson Electric Power joined the Western Energy Imbalance Market, a real-time wholesale energy trading market in the West.

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Gov. Newsom open to extending Diablo Canyon nuclear plant's life, but analysts differ on feasibility and need - Utility Dive

Home for life, with light and space in Blackrock, for 2.25m – The Irish Times

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Houses on Granville Road in Blackrock tend to be family homes for life, and this is evident in the fact that since the Property Price Register commenced on January 1st, 2010 only seven houses on the road have changed hands.

Lying on a quiet leafy avenue off the busy Newtown Park Avenue, which connects to Granville Park via Knocksinna Park, houses here are always in demand. Traditionally they were generous in size and sat on good-sized gardens.

For Ravenna, which occupies Number 13 Granville Road, the property sits on a generous site measuring 0.4 of an acre, which has the benefit of a southwesterly aspect. Set back off the road, and accessed through electric gates via a gravelled driveway, the property was given an entire overhaul and extension in 2001, under the guidance of architect Eamon Regan of Regan & Associates.

It went from its original size of 240sq m (2,583sq ft) to 392sq m (4,219sq ft). In addition, there is a further 83sq m (888sq ft) in the attic space currently used as a gym that occupies the second floor along with a store room. This area is accessed by a full staircase.

In testament to Regans design, the property looks as good from the rear as it does from the front and despite its size, it never has that too big a feeling when rooms can feel overwhelmingly large.

Its double-height reception hall, with polished marble flooring, brings much light into the front of the property and its lovely eyebrow window brings light to the upstairs landing, as do a number of Veluxes that flood the attic with light.

On the ground floor, a dining room and family room straddle the front hall, both of which have bay windows. To the rear lies an eat-in kitchen with plenty of storage, a playroom/TV room and a very large drawing room. All three rooms have French doors that open out to a sunken sandstone patio which extends the full width of the house.

The kitchen/breakfastroom has a large Britannia stove with a six-ring hob, an American fridge and oodles of storage. The design of the house allows for entertaining on a grand scale, which the current owners have done on occasion.

We have had 40 for lunch in the hall, and the fact that two sets of double doors open into the drawing rooms means there is a great flow, says the owner, who is right-sizing due to an empty nest. In addition, the patio to the rear gets sun all day so offers a lovely space for entertaining on summer afternoons and evenings.

The owner loves the sense of space and light the two things that Regan has really achieved with his design and the fact that the rear garden is permanently in sunshine.

The garden, which has been used as a football pitch when the children of the house were young, has lots of potential for green-fingered enthusiasts due to its size and aspect.

The property, in turnkey condition, with five bedrooms and a Ber of B3, has now been launched by Lisney seeking 2.25m.

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Home for life, with light and space in Blackrock, for 2.25m - The Irish Times

UMaine 4-H to introduce teens to adulting concepts in June – Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

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University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H plans to offer a short-term online 4-H club for youth ages 13-18 about basic adult life skills at 4 p.m. Wednesdays, June 22 through July 27. Required registration closes Monday, June 6.

The 4-H Adulting 101 Series will introduce basic adult life skills by exploring a different topic each week, including life/work balance and stress management; saving, spending and credit; nutrition on a budget; resumes and interviews; rent and roommates; and a topic chosen by the participants. UMaine Extension 4-H staff will lead the discussions.

The club is free and limited to 20 participants.

This series is supported in part by the Maine 4-H Foundation.

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, call 207-324-2814 or email [emailprotected].

To register to receive the link and at-home materials, or for more information, visit extension.umaine.edu.

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UMaine 4-H to introduce teens to adulting concepts in June - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel

Medical tourists are travelling the world in search of the elixir of life – The Guardian

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Every year millions of people cross borders to undergo medical treatments that are either unavailable in their home country or too expensive. For many, this is a last resort to ease the pain of a debilitating disease or defy a terminal diagnosis; for others the goals are purely cosmetic. But in the past few years a new type of medical tourist has emerged: those seeking to radically extend their lives.

There are more older people than ever before and more people in search of longevity. In the UK, people over the age of 65 made up 19% of the population in 2019, a jump of 23% from 2009, in a period when the total population only increased by 7%. And recent advancements in the science of ageing have given them hope that they dont have to go so gently into that good night after all.

But while science has made some promising breakthroughs in studying the causes and implications of ageing, real solutions are some way off. In that gap between supply and demand, a host of fraudsters and scam artists are ready to take advantage of anyone gullible enough to believe they can pay a little extra for a few extra years among the living. Many offer their services abroad, in countries where regulation is light.

Medical tourism has produced a steady stream of horror stories since cheaper air travel kickstarted a rise in its popularity, from botched nose jobs and broken smiles to a fair number of deaths. Despite this, it remains a gigantic industry. According to Patients Beyond Borders, the global medical tourism market was worth $74bn-$92bn (59bn-73bn) in 2019.

A prime example is stem cell therapies, regenerative treatments aiming to use the bodys building-block cells to rejuvenate and fix damage caused by disease or deterioration an area of research with a lot of potential but relatively few established and approved treatments available to patients. However, the potential effects, most often exaggerated or unsubstantiated, lure the desperate to travel far and wide to seek treatments, sometimes from practitioners of ill repute. According to research published last year, the leading countries for stem cell tourism are the US, China, India, Thailand and Mexico. The same report states that stem cell technologies are often associated with inflated expectations of their therapeutic potential.

Stem cell therapies can also help with cancer and other illness, but during my reporting for my book The Price of Immortality: The Race to Live Forever, I found a number of examples of US-based stem cell companies offering miracle cures and solutions to ageing. One clinic in Iowa was found to have made outrageous claims in presentations to potential clients. Anti-Aging: Mesenchymal Stem Cell infusions turned back the hands of Father Time about three years! Would you like to get back three years? read one slide of sales material, collected by the state attorney generals office that was suing the company for false advertising.

Even when prosecuted or disciplined in one country, stem cell practitioners have been known to move on and continue to offer the same services elsewhere. One in Florida had his medical licence revoked in 2015, after two of his patients undergoing stem cell therapy had died. When I looked up the name of the doctor, he was listed as the chief science officer at another stem cell company. A cheerful receptionist told me on a call that the clinic was still operational and carrying out procedures in the Dominican Republic, a medical tourism hotspot.

Stem cell therapies are not the only anti-ageing offerings luring people abroad for treatment. The nascent field of gene therapies is in a similar position, where promising research has yet to result in accessible interventions. I also recently heard from a life extension enthusiast in the US who planned to travel to France to undergo plasmapheresis, a procedure he claimed would rejuvenate his blood and give him a better chance of living until he was 500.

In some cases, patients dont need even need to fly abroad to access drugs that have the potential to make them live longer. I spoke to an elderly woman in London who buys the cancer drug dasatinib from a website in India, and takes it in the hope it will destroy senescent cells, which are thought to play an integral role in the ageing process.

Gerontologists and other researchers find the practice frustrating. Several scientists I spoke to, particularly in the stem cell field, are worried these clinics are making a quick buck on the back of their breakthroughs while damaging the reputation of these nascent medical technologies. They preach patience, a virtue in short supply for people who see the end of their lives on the horizon.

Medical tourism presents clear dangers. Patients may not find the same standard of care they are used to at home, and it is harder to establish that the doctor or clinic is legitimate. Patients can also suffer from side-effects if they fly home too early after a procedure; communication barriers can also cause issues.

For someone seeking treatment they cant afford at home or a last-gasp unapproved cure for a deadly disease, these risks are worth taking. But for people merely seeking to improve their chances of living radically extended lives, the gamble is much larger, particularly when theres no evidence that any medical intervention could work. In a best-case scenario, they leave with a lighter wallet. In the worst, their quest to live a little longer is cut ironically short.

The Price Of Immortality by Peter Ward (Melville House, 20). To support The Guardian and Observer, order your copy at guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply.

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Medical tourists are travelling the world in search of the elixir of life - The Guardian

Eskom pins hopes on returning Koeberg and Kusile power station units – POLITICS – Politicsweb

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POLITICS Eskom pins hopes on returning Koeberg and Kusile power station units

Eskom Media Desk |

11 May 2022

Power utility says these will hopefully reduce pressure on constrained power system

Eskom pins hopes on returning Koeberg and Kusile power station units to reduce pressure on constrained power system

11 May 2022

Eskoms presentation during the State of the System update today revealed that the national electricity grid remains constrained, with an elevated risk of loadshedding over the winter period, particularly during the morning and evening peaks. During the next few weeks, Eskom will return to service two units at Kusile Power Station and Koeberg Unit 2 is expected to return by the end of June 2022. These three large generation units will add approximately 2500MW to the power system.

Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, together with the two generation units expected to return to service following the modification and correction of the design defects on one unit and repairs to the Flue Gas Desulphurisation technology on the other unit at the Kusile Power Station, will significantly ease the demand pressure in time for the high winter demand. These Kusile units will add a combined 1600MW to the power system while Koeberg 2 will add another 920MW when it returns to service by the end of June.

Since January Eskom has had to operate with only a single unit, or half the capacity, of Koeberg, while the other unit has been undergoing a routine refuelling and other Long-Term Operation activities. Added to this Koeberg capacity being offline for this period, Eskom has also had to cope without the 794MW normally contributed by the damaged Unit 4 of Medupi Power Station. Together, these two units are responsible for the implementation of almost two stages of loadshedding.

As Eskom grapples with loadshedding and other operational challenges, we remain committed to the principles of openness and transparency about our operations. As such, the State of the System update, the Eskom DataPortal and the regular media briefings give us an opportunity to provide insights about the state of the power system and keep South Africans and all stakeholders informed and enable them to plan ahead, are consistent with this commitment accountability, remarked Eskom Group Chief Executive, Andr de Ruyter. Eskom also wishes to thank all South Africans for continuously heeding the call to use electricity sparingly, thus assisting in alleviating the pressure on the power system.

Due to low plant availability Eskom has increasingly relied on the usage of diesel-powered open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) to limit the implementation of loadshedding, from 1 January to 10 May this year, loadshedding has been implemented for 32 days. This is six days more than the 26 days of loadshedding during the same period last year.

The increase in the implementation of loadshedding came on the back of higher levels of unplanned plant breakdowns, which averaged 26% of the fleet in the period ended March 2022. During this period the energy availability factor (EAF) averaged 62%.

As Eskom has consistently communicated, the high levels of planned maintenance are its major internal response to limit the breakdowns by increasing the reliability of the plant. During the summer months approximately 12% of the generation capacity had been taken offline for planned maintenance in preparation for the winter.

Planned maintenance is Eskoms only weapon to try bring reliability and predictability to a neglected plant, said Eskom Chief Operating Officer, Jan Oberholzer. In order to create space to effectively execute on the Reliability Maintenance Recovery (RMR) programme while fully powering a growing economy, South Africa desperately needs additional generation capacity of between 4 000MW and 6 000MW. With power stations reaching the end of their operational life, the gap will only increase. Bringing on new capacity onto the grid as soon as possible is therefore critical and requires an SA Inc. approach.

Long-term solutions were implemented on coal handling to effectively address coal stock challenges which have long been a contributing factor to poor plant performance. Coal stock levels are healthy with average of 38 days worth, excluding Medupi and Kusile. Coal stocks jump to an average 77 days worth of stock when those two are included.

Significant progress is also being made in the completion of the new build Kusile Power Station. Unit 4 achieved full load of 800MW on 11 January 2022 and successfully accomplishedthe 30-day reliability run on 27 April as commissioning tests continue towards commercial operation. The unit was first synchronized to the national grid on 23 December 2021 and ison course for commercial operation by July 2022.

Modification and correction of the major design defects on the boiler plant at Medupi have been completed. This has significantly improved the performance of the power station, helping to limit the implementation of loadshedding.

Medupis energy availability factor (EAF) rose to 67% by the end of April 2022, up from 46% in April 2020, before the modifications.

Each of the six generation units had to be switched off for 75 days to perform this work. This will indeed prove to be a worthy sacrifice for the people of South Africa, who have had to endure long hours of loadshedding in order for Eskom to correct these poor designs, said Oberholzer. This consistently higher EAF is the clearest testament to the correctness and accuracy of the agreed technical solutions and the corrective work of what had hobbled the performance of the power station.

Once the agreed technical solutions are complete at both stations, Eskom expects both Medupi and Kusile to form the backbone of an evolving and greener power system that will be able to take South Africa into a more sustainable and dynamic energy industry. Similar technical corrections to the design defects of the first two units of Kusile Power Station have also been successfully concluded, the last one (Unit 2) having been completed during May. Corrections to the design defects on Unit 3 are currently under way.

The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station continues to operate efficiently and within the required safety parameters. Unit 1 has been operating without interruption for 196 days since its last refuelling and maintenance outage.

Apart from the postponement of the Steam Generator Replacement (SGR) on Unit 2 due to the significant risk to the grid posed by delays in carrying out the SGR installation according to the outage plan, other maintenance and refuelling outage activities, including the replacement of the reactor vessel head, are progressing as planned.

The unit, which produced electricity for 454 days without interruption ahead of the January 2022 refuelling and maintenance shutdown, is expected to return to service by end June 2022, which will add a great boost to Eskoms efforts to reduce loadshedding and meet the high winter demand. The SGR on this unit has been postponed for the outage next year.

In addition, the Koeberg Long-Term Operation (LTO) activities to enable Koeberg to operate for another 20 years beyond 2024/25 are underway. Eskom will by June 2022 submit the required supporting documentation to the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) for evaluation. Eskom has been consistently working with the regulator and is clearly aware what is required to meet the regulators expectations in this regard.

As part of the review of Koeberg life extension programme, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of nuclear experts carried out a review of the life extension activities during March 2022. Eskoms preparations and efforts received reassuring feedback from IAEA team.

Sharing the Winter Plan, Eskoms Group Executive for Transmission, Segomoco Scheppers, highlighted that the outlook shows an elevated risk of loadshedding remains. One thing counting in favour of the country is the world class and effective management by the transmission system operator, whose main task is to maintain the balance between supply and demand, said Scheepers. In executing its duties, the System Operator will unfortunately continue to rely on the usage of the Open Cycle Gas Turbines, which burn expensive diesel to mitigate the impact of loadshedding. The distribution system continues to provide good and sustainable performance.

Meanwhile, the Ingula Nature Reserve was included in the International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. This international acclaim is a product of the Ingula Partnership, which comprises Bird Life South Africa, Middelpunt Wetland Trust and Eskom), local and national government and other key environmental stakeholders. This Ramsar status shows responsible industrial activity can be of significant benefit to nature conservation and the protection of wetlands, such as the Ingula.

Once again, Eskom wish to express sincere gratitude to outgoing Group Executive for Generation, Phillip Dukashe for his contribution to Eskom and the country over the past 26 years of his employment at Eskom. We also thank the interim Group Executive, Rhulani Mathebula, for readily stepping into the role and accepting this critical responsibility.

Issued by Eskom Media Desk, 11 May 2022

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Eskom pins hopes on returning Koeberg and Kusile power station units - POLITICS - Politicsweb

STEALTH is reinventing the way humans Learn, Work and Play. – Benzinga – Benzinga

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STEALTH is building 1000 companies that are going to change the world forever.

STEALTH is aiming to reinvent the way we learn, work, and play and redesigning the constructs of a new society with a portfolio of companies in AI, VR, Media, Fashion, Wellness, CleanTech, EdTech, and a slew of complementary businesses for the new Metaverse.

Our companies have been voted Best, Top or Most Innovative and Featured in over 50 lists. Heres an introduction to a few of them.

HARD SHIVER is a publishing house that has released 6 books and 10 Albums.

Book Soundtracks are created using C3POE Audio. C3POE Immersive Audiobook Technology can turn any book into an audiobook. Not just any ordinary audiobook claims CEO Ali Sina, this is Immersive PoetryTheater of the Mind for a new age!

C3POE is not only disruptive, its lightning fast. Theyve completed 10 albums in 10 weeks with hopes to get the conversion time down to a few hours an album.

Protagonist Art is an NFT Art gallery with 3 exhibits and over 200 originally minted NFTs.

Olly Olly Oxen Free is a new era production company, creating content for the competing streaming platforms. With a pipeline of 100 projects in a multitude of different genres, Olly Olly functions as a content factory essential for any brand in a digital age.

Olly Olly has created 9 commercials and their first official release, RAGE is streaming on Youtube.

Protagonist Art and Olly Olly are collaborating to make the first ever NFT movie.

STARTUP X is a popular online Startup School. Short online courses teach everyday people how to launch their ideas and turn them into profitable enterprises. Startup X is gamified to keep you engaged with teaching techniques customized to help you better absorb the material. And its fast; made for the modern world.

This is the first school of a series of academies that the STEALTH team envision will supplant a crumbling, out-of-date and improbably expensive college education system. 5000 Students and counting.

Neon White is a modern design studio that captures, influences and fuses the culture of today with the products of tomorrow. Weve designed everything from album covers and movie posters to brand new tech and consumer products.

Forkaia is a one of a kind Work Experience platform that has helped thousands of college students gain work experience, get into grad school and land the jobs they want. The workplace is rapidly changing; remote work has emerged as the new norm. Forkaia has always believed that the Future of Education is Experiential and the Future of Work is Remote so they created a virtual, interactive learning platform that provides college students with a multi-faceted online working experience.

With limitless access to industry mentors, innovation labs, incubators, think tanks and technology to help students unlock their full potential; theres truly nothing that exists like Forkaia. They have collected over 1000 testimonials.

Rise Capital is a Bitcoin & Crypto Asset Investment Fund. Managed by Amadeus One, a built-in crypto Robo-Advisor, RC holds a cryptocurrency portfolio of various digital coins, NFTs and investments in a multitude of blockchain companies.

Round Z is a Robinhood for Startup Investing so you can make money before companies go public. With one dollar, you can invest in 100 startups.

Launchpad is a Talent Agency and Career Accelerator platform that helps college students launch their careers. Launchpad believes college students deserve better tools to assist them in their career journey. So they built a vast ecosystem of talent, tools and resources to help them prosper. Over 500 fellows have successfully landed jobs at Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, LinkedIn, etc.

FASCIA is an AI research and Deployment company with a goal to advance digital intelligence to improve human existence and move humanity forward. Their mission is to crack the ASI code. They want to build an AI that can outperform humans at our most economically valuable work so people can free up their time to focus on new ways of finally moving the human race forward. FASCIA aims to solve planetary-scale problems in areas where humanity is failing and there is no obvious solution today. The FASCIA Teams research focus is on basic income, the future of work and education, building new cities, anthropogenic climate change, gene therapy, life extension, braincomputer interfaces and mind uploading. FASCIA believes what theyre working on will result in products and services that are hard to imagine today.

INSOLAR is making the world greener everyday with an innovative online solar adoption platform that makes buying solar simple and affordable. Their cost plus model is a hit; solar shoppers are seeing up to 50% savings. With cheaper and more accessible solar panels, more people can switch to sustainable energy alternatives. INSOLARs SaaS platform is also helping solar companies close more deals, faster and cheaper. Weve transacted well over 1000 successful residential and commercial solar installations and have 3000 reps on our platform.

mooVRoom (Cinema 4D) is the theater of the future with an aim to give moviegoers the ultimate cinematic experience. So you can enter a movie instead of just watching it.

Side Hustle is a Smartphone App for side money gigs. But the gigs are customized, and they come to you. No more browsing. There are currently 1500 freelancers on our platform.

STEALTH has also built a career accelerator that nurtures, trains, and manages a new type of talent the Business Athlete. BAM (Business Athlete Mode) is a health and wellness brand that doubles as a new kind of Athleisure Apparel company: Business Athletics.

We believe AI will transform everything so we are preparing people for these changes with BAM Talent, where the worlds greatest resources in a soon-to-be AI-driven world (young, talented human brains) will be trained, drafted, managed, compensated and placed (traded) where they may maximize the application of their skills for the betterment of humanity as a whole.

And PANDA is a Plug N Play Startup Platform that makes it easy for anyone to bring their ideas to market. So far weve helped 15 founders launch their businesses.

STEALTHs companies span across multiple sectors including TMT, EdTech, Clean Energy, NFTs, Crypto, health and fitness, BCI, VR, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Digital ecosystems, Future of work and education, new work paradigms, immersive learning; the teams at STEALTH like new ideas and pushing boundaries. They claim to have some of the most talented humans on the planet working on the most interesting, challenging and groundbreaking projects by breaking the limits of whats conventionally thought impossible.

So whos funding all of this? How much has Stealth raised from investors?

Zero, says STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina, Ive invested my own savings. When asked about future fundraising plans Sina says, I dont think well need it. Our companies are doing well, if we need more money well just sell more products. Im a firm believer in bootstrapping because it forces companies to develop organically instead of synthetically juicing them up with cash so Im not a big fan of the current VC landscape. Were the only VC not only steroids. So were never in a rush.

STEALTH says theyre going to keep building companies whenever inspiration strikes.

STEALTH Founder and CEO Ali Sina says Artificial Intelligence will change the world more than electricity and the internet have, combined. He continues, Deep learning will learn to do everything humans can, thus transforming the workplace by automating a sweeping array of human activity. At STEALTH, were building companies that will reshape work and education to meet the nature, speed, and dynamics of these changes and rethinking the role and purpose of human workers in an age of informational abundance, process automation, and machine autonomy.

STEALTHs mission is to destroy the conventions, rules, and orders of the past that are no longer sustainable and make space for something new. We like using AI to improve life on this planet and make it more interesting. While Billionaires are racing to leave the planet Mr. Sina says, were building the future, here on Earth.

Media ContactCompany Name: STEALTHContact Person: Ali Sina (Founder and CEO of STEALTH)Email: Send EmailPhone: (310) 994-1511Country: United StatesWebsite: http://www.stealth1000.com

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STEALTH is reinventing the way humans Learn, Work and Play. - Benzinga - Benzinga