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UAS endorses the Reach Higher 2025 plan Grand Valley Lanthorn – Grand Valley Lanthorn

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Grand Valley State Universitys University Academic Senate (UAS) voted to endorse the revised Reach Higher 2025 (RH2025) strategic plan. After the original document failed to secure approval in October 2021, UAS members came together once again to vote on President Mantellas strategic academic plan.

RH2025 is a guide constructed by the university and its administrators. Academic plans exist to provide information about the direction of a university, including their goals in academia and what their students can expect from them.

For most colleges, these plans last roughly five years before another one is drafted. This gives universities time to implement the document fully and see short and long-term results.

The Reach Higher 2025 website provides a snapshot of thecurrentdraft.This overview of the RH2025 plan includes a statement of five values: inquiry, inclusive and equitable community, innovation, integrity and international perspectives. Next, the plan details GVSUs vision and aspirations, mission and strategies, which include empowered educational experience, lifelong learning and educational equity.

During the vote on Oct. 1, 2021, the RH2025 plan didnt receive approval from the UAS.

This time, 87% of senate members voted to endorse the plan, according to a poll held during the UAS on the Jan. 21 meeting. 7% of members voted not to endorse the plan and another 7% voted to abstain.

After opening reports from Interim Provost Chris Plouff, and Student Senate President Autumn Muller, the Dean of Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies and RH2025 Steering Committee Co-lead, Mark Schaub, began the meeting with a presentation that highlighted the differences between the first iteration of the plan and the updated version.

Schaub also highlighted what steps the university took to allow GVSU community members to voice their concerns and ideas.

Changes to the document include improvements to syntax and clarity, as well as literary fixes regarding parallelism.

Parallelism refers to other plans that work in tandem with RH2025, such as the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan, the Digital Transformation Roadmap and the Division of Inclusion and Equity. All three programs will work alongside the RH2025 plan and help fulfill some of the goals identified in the strategic plan.

Other changes include the removal of certain bullet points that were deemed redundant in regard to the idea of an empowered education experience that the plan presents.

A land acknowledgment was also added to recognize GVSUs existence on the land of the Anishinaabe people, an addition that aligns with the principle of educational equity that is also key to the RH2025 plan.

There was a general consensus among UAS members who spoke during the meeting that the RH2025 plan was improved since October and that many of the concerns had been properly addressed.

When the RH2025 plan was presented to UAS on Oct. 1, 2021, members responded with concerns about vague language used in the document, calling it jargon-laden, unclear or open to multiple conflicting interpretations.

In a memo to GVSU President Philomena Mantella in October, UAS pointed to the lack of language regarding GVSU as a liberally-educated institution, as well as facultys unclear role in the implementation of the plan.

There was positive feedback regarding changes to the specificity of certain intentions, a deeper explanation of the role of faculty in implementing the plan and more.

Professor of Sociology and President of GVSUs American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter, Joel Stillerman, said the revised plan also highlights GVSUs identity as a liberal arts institution, which was a concern voiced by faculty when the first iteration of the plan was proposed in October.

It more forcefully articulates our liberal arts tradition, the essential role of faculty expertise and research in our mission and clarifies some of the language regarding new university initiatives, Stillerman said.

Stillerman said the RH2025 Steering Committee responded to faculty concerns by expanding the RH2025 committee, which he believes contributed to its endorsement.

I suspect this was largely due to the addition of more faculty members on the RH2025 committee who effectively articulated faculty concerns as well as feedback the committee received, Stillerman said.

One of those additions included Janet Winter as a third Steering Committee Co-lead.

Alongside Mark Schuab and Tara Bivens, the Steering Committee was able to continue hosting virtual events to gather feedback and concerns from the GVSU community. This included a faculty leadership series and a staff leadership series.

These events, dubbed Leadership Conversations, encourage open dialogues between community members, forgoing formal presentations in favor of an open forum where anyone with questions, concerns, feedback or suggestions was welcome to share and be heard.

These events will continue to be held throughout the winter semester.

The addition of more events to gather feedback was planned by the Steering Committee after the rejection of the original proposal.

All voices are important in this process, and therefore, the timeframe for working on the plan has been expanded and new opportunities have been developed to provide community members additional means for providing input before finalizing the plan, Provost Chris Plouff said in a prior interview.

Multiple UAS members also acknowledged the commitment they put forth to ultimately endorse the RH2025 plan.

Professor of English, Brian Deyo, said he is proud of the groups determination to improve the plan.

I think it says a lot about us as a community that were coming together and we did our best to be able to improve this document and improve what we do at this university, Deyo said.

With the plan now endorsed, GVSU will move on from the previous academic plan constructed in 2016, when former president Thomas J. Haas was still in office.

However, the endorsement does not signal the end of work on the RH2025 plan. UAS president Felix Ngassa said that minor changes may still be made to the document as it is implemented into life at GVSU.

It doesnt stop today, it doesnt mean thats it,Ngassa said. This is a living document.

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UAS endorses the Reach Higher 2025 plan Grand Valley Lanthorn - Grand Valley Lanthorn

Plans allocating thousands of new Mid Sussex homes set to be paused – Mid Sussex Times

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

It proposed allocating new strategic sites for 1,600 homes at Ansty, 1,400 homes west of Burgess Hill and 1,850 homes at Sayers Common.

A total of 21 other smaller sites were also proposed totalling 1,562 homes.

This is on top of the 11,519 dwellings already allocated or committed.

However amidst uproar at the plan, the Conservatives, who control the district council, are calling for the process to be paused.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, leader of the Conservatives at Mid Sussex District Council, said: The council is mandated by national policy and by the planning inspector who examined the current District Plan to undertake a five year review which is now due. The results of this review have now been published so the community can understand the scale of the challenge we face in Mid Sussex.

It is now sensible to press the pause button given the significant issues which impact the Councils planning. I am writing to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, calling for our housing targets to be reset to a level more consistent with our environmental and infrastructure constraints and liaising with our local MPs to make our case in Westminster. The Levelling Up White Paper will be published shortly and I hope the Government uses this as an opportunity to review the housing numbers currently set for parts of the South East such as ours.

It is essential that the plan maximises the amount of brownfield and windfall development that can be counted, although brownfield sites are limited in Mid Sussex. The amount of unmet need from neighbouring Councils that we are expected to take needs to be thoroughly scrutinised. The rapidly emerging issues raised by Natural England about water neutrality in West Sussex also need much greater clarity and resolution.

Mid Sussex is a great place to live and we must keep it that way by balancing the need for new homes for local people needing to get on the housing ladder with protections for our environment and the critical improvements to our infrastructure that must always come alongside new development.

Robert Salisbury, Conservative spokesman for housing and planning, added: Nationally, the Liberal Democrats have proposed that 380,000 new houses are built every year, a 26% uplift on the numbers currently set by the Conservative Government. This would require over 4,500 more houses to be built over and above the already increased numbers in the draft District Plan review. The Liberal Democrats must now explain to Mid Sussex communities where these additional houses would be built in our district.

Just las week, Mr Salisbury, who is the councils cabinet member for housing and planning, had said: The new plan must identify sites to meet at least 7,000 new homes. The method for selecting sites to be allocated has been via a transparent and robust site selection process.

Reacting to the news, Green district and town councillor Anne Eves said: Had the Conservative councillors taken a more collegiate approach to this whole exercise, they wouldnt have to be back-pedalling quite so furiously now. It is completely unreasonable to expect opposition councillors (many of whom have day jobs) to react to this 250-page dossier with only seven days notice.

The inflated figure of 18,000 new houses is based on the outdated dodgy algorithm, which penalises the South East, is utterly unsustainable and will lead to a haemorrhage in votes from the Tory Party.

Alison Bennett, leader of the Lib Dem group, added: We are delighted that local Conservatives have seen sense and joined us in calling to fix the broken planning system rather than progressing with a review of the District Plan that was clearly flawed and has angered residents across Mid Sussex since the proposals were abruptly published last week.

We are happy to help with the letter to Michael Gove, and welcome their interest in Liberal Democrat policy on this subject.

Liberal Democrats would give the power to build houses back to local authorities and social housing providers, rather than large private developers. That would provide more of the kind of housing that local people need, deliver homes that are genuinely affordable, ensure high sustainability standards are baked in, and give communities more control over where they are built.

We hope that Cllr Ash-Edwards will raise these policies in his letter to Michael Gove.

The District Plan review allocations have been widely condemned since they were publicly revealed last week.

Parish councillor Jon Gilley said: Ansty and Staplefield Parish Council are totally opposed to the draft District Plan proposal of a 1,600-home new town merging Ansty and Cuckfield.

Our parish has always adopted a pragmatic approach and has already agreed to 3,500 houses at the Northern Arc development a short distance down the road.

Mid Sussex District Council has also totally ignored our neighbourhood plan, which took years to compile and was supported by the electorate.

It seems district councillors are happy to put their heads in the sand and accept arbitrary housing numbers based on a central government algorithm.

In the process they are totally ignoring the views of the vast majority of local residents who will not accept this developer-led Cuck-Sty proposal.

The Green Party group on the district council said it deplores MSDCs District Plan which would concrete over large swathes of our Mid Sussex countryside.

They believe the draft plan is full of meaningless words such as where possible and should, pointing to the Northern Arc developers as an example where housebuilders are very rarely prepared to go the extra mile and provide renewable energy sources.

The Greens wanted to see photovoltaic panels planned in at the start, with homes built on the north-south axis to benefit from them.

They also do not want to see developments built with unsustainable gas boilers and suggest statements of intent such as to create and maintain town centres that are vibrant, attractive and successful would read like a sick joke to the people of Burgess Hill.

Meanwhile references to the creation of first-class cultural facilities will ring hollow with the people of both Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath when we have lost the Martlets Hall and are fighting to keep Clair Hall.

They believe the West of Burgess Hill allocation would wreck the rural charm of the Green circle, one of the greatest assets of the town.

On the subject of housing targets, the Greens suggest these are unfairly biased towards building in the South East and take no account of increased likelihood of flooding, water shortages, sewage discharges into rivers, and the release of carbon through the destruction of soil, trees and hedges and the use of concrete.

The revised plan would also cause yet more loss of biodiversity and fragmentation of habitats. They are unconvinced by the promise of 20 per cent biodiversity net gain and believe nature needs to be looked after to improve peoples wellbeing, catch carbon, reduce flood risk and attract tourism all of which are good for the economy too, but dont count for a bean in the planning laws.

The Greens also question where the new doctors will come from to man the GP surgeries and how hospitals and roads will cope with 50,000 extra people.

Their statement concluded: How would Greens do things differently? We would: focus on brownfield sites, and occupying empty homes; introduce checklists for housing developers to identify those who would go above the statutory requirements: are they prepared to install PV or heat pumps, offer water-saving appliances, rainwater collection, use of greywater, and use of local recycled materials; prioritise ancient woodland, green spaces, wellbeing and wildlife protection.

Last week Lib Dems in Hurstpierpoint and Sayers Common made their opposition to the proposals clearly known.

This week, Robert Eggleston (LDem, Burgess Hill - Meeds) pointed out that of the extra new homes proposed the south of the district is taking more than 70 per cent.

He said: This is on top of the substantial house building target for the area. Looking at the plans overall it is clear the Albourne and Sayers Common effectively becomes one settlement and similarly Cuckfield and Ansty merge.

In his view salami slicing the greenfields of south Mid Sussex is proof the national planning system is broken and not working in favour of the district.

Although some new homes will need to be built, Mr Eggleston suggest the balance of power and rights between communities and giant developers is completely unbalanced.

He thought it was wrong for the district council to entertain proposals from developers without at the same time giving councillors and communities they represent equal time to make their views known before being in the middle of a planning inquiry.

He added: I am very concerned by the amount of greenfield land that is being surrendered in the south of the district and around Burgess Hill and our village neighbours.

I have strongly argued in favour of each community having its own separate identity (see, for example, my views on development south of Folders Lane) but the proposals coming out of Mid Sussex District Council are creating an urban sprawl by stealth.

As a district councillor I am being asked to consider and recommend substantial policy changes which will set the tone for further development in the district forever. I am expected to do this with barely a weeks notice. This is totally unacceptable, and it risks making bad decisions if all of us are not given sufficient time to scrutinise the proposals. A week is clearly not enough time.

Burgess Hill has, in the past, stepped up to the plate and done all the right things when it comes to supporting the housing needs of the district. We have done this, even though, there has been limited investment in the town centre over the years. But yet again these latest proposals do not address the town centre infrastructure gap and effectively leaves Burgess Hill short-changed again.

Although the proposed strategic site allocations have garnered the most attention, a number of smaller sites have also been put forward.

These are: Batchelors Farm, Keymer Road, Burgess Hill (33 homes), land off West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead (45 homes), land at Hurstwood Lane, Haywards Heath (55 homes), land at Junction of Hurstwood Lane and Colwell Lane, Haywards Heath (30 homes), land east of Borde Hill Lane, Haywards Heath (60 homes), land to west of Turners Hill Road Crawley Down (350 homes), Hurst Farm, Turners Hill Road, Crawley Down (37 homes), land west of Kemps Hurstpierpoint (90 homes), The Paddocks Lewes Road, Ashurst Wood (8 homes), land at Foxhole Farm, Bolney (100 homes), land West of London Road, Bolney (north) (81 homes), land rear of Daltons Farm and The Byre, The Street, Bolney (50 homes), land east of Paynesfield, Bolney (30 homes), land at Chesapeke and Meadow View, Reeds Lane, Sayers Common (33 homes), land at Coombe Farm, London Road, Sayers Common (210 homes), land to the west of Kings Business Centre, Reeds Lane, Sayers Common (100 homes), land to South of LVS Hassocks, London Road, Sayers Common (120 homes), Ham Lane Farm House, Ham Lane, Scaynes Hill (30 homes), land at Hoathly Hill West Hoathly (18 homes), Challoners, Cuckfield Road Ansty (37 homes) and land to west of Marwick Close, Bolney Road, Ansty (45 homes).

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Plans allocating thousands of new Mid Sussex homes set to be paused - Mid Sussex Times

‘Yellowstone’: from ‘red state’ to ‘every state’ TV hit – FRANCE 24

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Los Angeles (AFP) With its gun-totin' heroes, elegiac shots of rodeo horses and disparaging jokes about Californians, "Yellowstone" might appear to be a television show aimed squarely at America's conservative heartland.

But the Kevin Costner-fronted Western, which blends soapy melodrama with brutal vigilante violence, has become a rare crossover hit, bridging the stark cultural divisions of the United States.

The show follows the wealthy Dutton family, which owns a Montana ranch "the size of Rhode Island" and must protect it by any means necessary from corporate developers, greedy politicians and displaced Native Americans.

In its first seasons, "Yellowstone" cultivated a devoted fanbase in rural and smaller urban markets, benefiting from cross-marketing with NFL broadcasts in regions where live TV still rules over streaming.

But by the fourth season's premiere in November, a whopping 11 million people across the country tuned into cable TV channel Paramount Network -- numbers higher than "Game of Thrones" at the same stage.

"Just because it's in Montana and there are ranchers, people say it's a red-state show," Keith Cox, the network's president of development and production, told AFP, referring to states that typically vote Republican.

"Now we're seeing it's just an every state show."

This month, the show was finally even recognized by Hollywood, where it received its first nomination from the Screen Actors Guild.

So, how did a series about land rights, livestock officers and bucking broncos win a foothold among the coastal urban elites?

Costner -- a bona fide if ageing movie star in his first multi-season TV role -- is evidently a key draw.

As the show has gained popularity in liberal circles, it has increasingly been talked up as a frontier version of HBO's critically adored "Succession" -- another drama about a wealthy, warring family, set mainly in New York.

But while both shows center on seemingly omniscient patriarchs with political connections, private helicopters and petulant offspring, they preach very different values.

The nihilistic, amoral and selfish siblings vying to betray their father on "Succession" are off-putting to many Americans, said Mary Murphy, associate professor of journalism at University of Southern California.

Despite its wall-to-wall media coverage, "Succession" drew just 1.7 million to its latest finale.

By comparison, "Yellowstone" is essentially the story of a man "who uses all his simple connections with people to keep the land safe," said Murphy.

"The people who watch it, they feel reassured about a simpler way of life," she added, pointing to the "insecurity" of the pandemic-affected time we live in.

According to Murphy, "Yellowstone" is a "throwback" that evokes American values and reflects on "how America was built" -- themes that resonate across the coasts and middle America.

It also benefits from a sense of authenticity in representing the everyday world of ranchers, rodeos and cowboys, even if the violence and scandal are exaggerated to keep the plot moving.

Creator Taylor Sheridan ("Sicario"), a horse-riding, ranch-owning Texan, wrote every episode himself.

"This is his world and he knows it best," said Cox. "Hollywood can't come in and fake it."

Still, "Yellowstone" has been embraced by some on the right as a celebration of "red state" values, and a rejection of supposedly "woke," politically correct Hollywood dramas.

When yuppie coastal transplants in Montana's rapidly gentrifying cities condemn his vast domain and his cattle herds' massive carbon footprint, Costner's ranch owner John flags their hypocrisy and his family's long stewardship of the land.

But according to Cox, the show never "takes a stance."

"It doesn't like outsiders moving in and raising prices and taking away the tradition of the ranchers," he said.

"But I feel like this show is not waving a flag for either side... Anti-woke? I think it's just real."

Cox, whose family hail from conservative bastion states including Missouri and Kentucky, said he has "never spoken to my cousins so much" since the show first aired.

"They haven't watched a lot of my other shows. This one they're obsessed with, and it's brought us together."

And while it has taken them a little longer, many of the Hollywood executives he meets at industry lunches who previously refused to watch "Yellowstone" are now ardent fans.

"It's very funny. A lot of my peers poo-pooed it or dismissed it," said Cox.

"And suddenly, they're in."

2022 AFP

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'Yellowstone': from 'red state' to 'every state' TV hit - FRANCE 24

Coyotes are thriving in Kansas despite competitive hunting events designed to reduce population – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

David Condos| Kansas News Service

KISMET As morning light creeps across this pasture, Bryan Garrison all but disappears into the High Plains landscape.

Motionless and covered in camo, he reclines on a cushion next to a sagebrush.

With a shotgun in one hand and the remote to an electronic calling device in the other, he plays the role of DJ, spinning some of the coyote calling worlds greatest hits from cottontail distress to coyote yip duet.

I start most every set with a howl, Garrison said. Im setting a scene.

This is the opening day of the Southwest Kansas Coyote Calling Contest in Kismet. And Garrison, his son and a friendare competing with other teams to see who can call in and shoot the most coyotes from dawn till dusk.

Calling contests mark just the latest chapter in a centuries-long war between humans and coyotes as both species expand their range across the continent.

The coyotes are winning.

More: Kansas wildlife commission OKs use of thermal imaging, lights for coyote hunting at night

State estimates show the number of coyotes in Kansas has nearly tripled since the 1980s. But just because there are more of them around doesnt mean that outwitting this wily canine comes easily.

Garrisons heavy-duty coyote calling boombox sings out from the valley where he stashed it in a bush. Nearby, a motorized decoy waves a piece of fur back and forth.

After about 15 minutes, Garrison spots a flash of gray 40 yards ahead. He steadies his 12-gauge shotgun and fires twice. But the coyote is too quick. It disappears back into the brush.

Its fun because its hard, Garrison said. You dont turn on a call and every coyote in the country come running to you.

Their intelligence, resilience and extraordinary adaptability equip coyotes to thrive in the modern world,even as many other American mammals havedeclinedordisappearedsince European settlement.

Cutting down forests to create farms gave themmore habitat. Exterminating wolves removed theirchief rival.

Now, they are themost abundantlarge predator in the country.

So coyote callers figure that every animal they shoot means one less potential threat to livestock out on the range. Garrison, for example, said he regularly gets calls from neighbors asking him to come shoot unwelcome coyotes on their land.

(Hunting contests help) ranchers and farmers take care of a serious problem, he said. If somebody was breaking into your house and stealing your goods and messing with your well-being, youd do something about it.

While huntings power to actually make a dent in the greater coyote population is questionable, this adaptable animals improbable conquest of America is hard to ignore.

Once limited to high deserts and prairies in the middle of the country, coyotes have colonizednearly allof North America over the past two centuries. Its a feat made even more amazing by the fact that people have been trying to wipe them out just about that whole time.

Organized coyote hunts in Kansas go back more than 100 years, with communities fromLiberaltoMcPhersontoTopekacoming together to round up and kill them. Sometimes the townspeople made a day of it and ate dinner together after.

In the early 1900s, the state of Montanapurposefully infectedcoyotes with mange to see if the mite disease would exterminate them. By the mid-20th century, federal hunters across the West were tossing poison-laced baits fromairplanes and snowmobiles.

More: Kansas coyote-killing competition is so serious you'll need to pass a lie detector test

The USDA shoots downtens of thousandsof coyotes each year from helicopters and kills thousands more with spring-loadedcyanide trapsscented like meat.

Meanwhile, coyote hunting and calling contests remain legal in most states. In Kansas, thecoyote seasonruns year-round with no limit. The state also recentlylegalizedhunting coyotes after sundown with night vision scopes, which makes it easier to spot them during their active nocturnal hours.

Americans kill roughly500,000coyotes each year. But through it all, coyote populations just keep getting stronger.

People always talk about how if theres a nuclear war or whatever, theres going to be cockroaches and rats left. … I always throw coyotes into that, Kansas State University wildlife specialist Drew Ricketts said. Theyve survived as much persecution as any animal on the face of the earth, and theyve just expanded in the face of it.

More: Climate change means Kansas farmers are dealing with hotter nights and rainfall changes

Since the 1950s, coyotes havestretched their territory across North Americaby 40%, making themselves at home everywhere from the Alaskan tundra to the Florida coast to Americas largest urban centers. In his book,Coyote America, Dan Flores describes them as a cosmopolitan species whose adaptability mirrors that of humans.

They have crossed rail lines and bridges to make it to New YorksCentral Park. In downtown Chicago, theyve learned how tonavigate crosswalk signalsand cool off in aQuiznossoda fridge. And because theres no hunting in cities, urban areas have become a sort ofrefugefor coyotes.

Their flexible diet helps too. Unlike other predators like bobcats and cougars which eat strictly meat coyotes will dine on just about anything, from deer, rodents and birds to insects, trash and fruit. Ricketts said they can be a real pest on watermelon farms.

Most people think about them as predators, but really their diet breadth is about as broad as a raccoons, Ricketts said. They are very good at taking advantage of just about any resource that we make available.

More: 'Its got to translate to real climate policy': Kansas farmers could lose millions

Humans have unknowingly given coyotes a helping hand in other ways, too.

Before Europeans settled in America, wolves killed enough coyotes to keep them in check, creating a kind of canine predator equilibrium. But after centuries of government-encouraged extermination, wolves have been nearly wiped out in the lower 48 states. Thatpaved the wayfor coyotes to move up the food chain.

Then theres the biological phenomenon calledcompensatory reproduction. The year after people kill a bunch of coyotes in a given area, the remaining coyotes litters will double in size. And young females will start breeding a year earlier than they otherwise would.

Some studies have even shown that indiscriminate hunting and trapping coulddisrupt coyotes' social orderin a way that may increase the chance of a livestock attack. For example, the territory near a herd might be dominated by resident coyotes who have learned to hunt rodents there instead of livestock. But if those residents are killed, other transient coyotes who are more likely to eat calves could take over that territory.

For every coyote thats removed, Ricketts said, theres another one waiting to take its place.

On the final evening of the calling contest in Kismet, teams line up their coyote carcasses by the dozen on the grass behind city hall.

As coyote populations have grown in recent years, hunting competitions like this one have followed close behind. Just 85 miles up the road in Greensburg, thePasture Poodlescalling contest brought in 150 coyotes during the same weekend as the one in Kismet.

The contests have become more competitive, too.

To curb cheating, contestants need to follow a specific set of rules to get credit for each kill: submit a time-stamped photo of the coyote, zip tie a wooden block marked with the time of death between its teeth.

At the final check-in, volunteers use a small arsenal of kitchen thermometers to make sure the bodies are still warm. Then they check whether the coyotes have the right amount of rigor mortis based on the way their jaws clench those wooden blocks.

Most years, this is also when a scientist draws the dead coyotes blood to test for the bubonic plague. Its a golden opportunity to get a quick scan of how rampant the disease is among the local rodents these coyotes have been eating.

More: Kansas prairie tallgrass is changing with the climate. It's grasshopper-killing junk food.

Finally, theres the lie detector test.

Winning teams draw straws to see which member has to sit down with James Kelly, a retired cop and the contests last line of defense against cheating.

He has strapped thousands of coyote hunting contestants to his polygraph machine over the years. Hes seen teams try to pass off coyotes they didnt hunt themselves. Teams that shot coyotes in nature preserves or with illegal guns or out of moving vehicles.

Kelly said the key to uncovering a cheat is his special recipe of detailed questions that approach the contest like a criminal case and dont leave contestants any wiggle room.

We're not doing polygraph for the heck of it, he said. Were doing it for a specific goal to make sure that people aren't cheating.

On this night, the winners pass the test. Altogether, the teams bring in a total of 83 coyotes. And thats just a drop in the bucket.

Kelly said hell run polygraphs at eight other contests before the end of January.

These competitions draw their share of controversy, too.

A handful of states havebannedcoyote contests. And even where theyre legal, some have chosen to shut down amid pressure from conservation organizations and animal rights groups thatdescribe themas inhumane and detrimental to the natural ecosystem.

But Ricketts, the K-State wildlife specialist, said that, while controlling coyote population numbers through hunting would benext to impossible, the coyotes incredible resilience means that theyre able to bounce back from calling contests, too.

The reasons that broad-scale population control of coyotes doesnt work all that well, he said, those are also the reasons that make the calling competitions and continued intensive harvest of coyotes sustainable.

Meanwhile, predators causeroughly 5%of calf deaths in Kansas, and coyotes are blamed for nearly all of them. For ranchers, it adds up.

Even though that's not a huge percentage of calf losses, Ricketts said, thats still about $4 million annually that Kansas producers are losing.

Nationwide, predators accounted formore than 11%of calf deaths in 2015 up from 3.5% in 1995.

Rancher Bob Davies can hear them howling at night around his pastures in the Cimarron River valley near Kismet. A few years back, they dragged off several of his calves around a watering hole.

It was really bad, Davies said. Thats a big blow when you wait nine months for a baby, and the coyotes get your baby.

The coyotes got so thick that year, he ended up renaming that piece of land Coyote Pasture. He hasnt had as much coyote trouble this season, but hes learned to keep a close eye on his calves.

And ultimately, hes resigned to the fact that everyone who chooses to raise cattle in coyote country has to learn to live with these native predators.

Coyotes have called these plains home for millennia, and they dont plan on leaving any time soon.

They're gonna survive no matter what we do, he said. They're gonna be one of the last critters on earth.

David Condos covers western Kansas for High Plains Public Radio and the Kansas News Service.

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Coyotes are thriving in Kansas despite competitive hunting events designed to reduce population - The Topeka Capital-Journal

States with the most highly ranked colleges – WNCT

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

GREENVILLE, N.C. (Stacker.com) Every state approaches education differently. For some states, investment in K-12 and higher education is paramount. For others, there is simply not enough tax money to both fully fund the states public education system and meet certain requirements for higher educationand how that manifests can speak to a students educational experience in that state.

New York, for example, has experienced ahistoric reshuffling of state-based college funding. Since 2012, the state has been pumping money into its higher education system, with total support for the 2020 fiscal year estimated at $7.6 billion. Beginning in the 20192020 academic year, the Excelsior Scholarship has allowed New York State residents who have a household income of $125,000 or less to enroll in a New York State public university tuition-free.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, California houses some of the best post-secondary schools in the nation. Well-funded up to the 1970s, the University of California and the California State University systems defined international standards.Budget cuts in the last four decades,however, have slowly driven up the cost of tuition, with state funding priorities now directed toward Californias community colleges instead of the states public universities. In recent years, the deficit has forced California to spend more on reinvestments than any other state.

But Californias situation is not unique. As state education budgets ebb and flow, so too do collegiate rankings.Stackerstudied Niches 2022 Best Colleges in America list, released on August 16, 2021, to determine which states have the most highly ranked colleges. For this list, states are ranked by the number of schools they have in the top 250 ofNiches Best Colleges in America rankings. Ties are broken by the highest-ranked school. Nine statesAlaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, and West Virginiaare not included as they didnt have any colleges in the top 250.

Keep reading to find out where your state ranks.

1 / 41Dan Lewis // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 1 Highest ranked schools: Dartmouth College (#10 national rank)

Dartmouth College is New Hampshires Ivy League institution. One of theoldest institutions of higher learningin the United States, the school was founded a full seven years before the United States declared independence. Dartmouth Medical School, in particular, isamong the best in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report.

2 / 41Canva

Schools in top 250: 1 Highest ranked schools: University of Delaware (#144 national rank)

The small state ofDelaware has eight colleges and universities, but the University of Delaware, located in Newark, is the states oldest and largest. U.S. News & World Report ranked the schoolsphysical therapy graduate programas the best in the country for 2020, and it wasthe 38th best public university in 2022.

3 / 41Thecoldmidwest // Wikimedia Commons

Schools in top 250: 1 Highest ranked schools: University of Wyoming (#207 national rank)

Wyoming is home tonine institutions of higher learning. Of these, the University of Wyoming is the only one that is a four-year, degree-granting school. TheUniversity of Wyoming has an acceptance rateof 94% and a graduation rate of 33%.

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Schools in top 250: 1 Highest ranked schools: Middlebury College (#32 national rank)

Middlebury College has deep historical significance for the U.S. One of the best liberal arts schools in America, the college was thefirst in the nation to see a Black graduate,Alexander Twilight, earn a bachelors degree. Twilight would go on to become the nations first Black state legislator.

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Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Arizona State University (#150 national rank), University of Arizona (#174)

Arizona has a strong public university network, withmore than 75 colleges and universitiesthroughout the state. Arizona State University, for example, isone of the nations largest public universitiesby enrollment, andU.S. News & World Report named ASUthe most innovative school in the nation in 2021.

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6 / 41Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Mississippi State University (#154 national rank), University of Mississippi (#186)

Mississippis schools are steeped in tradition and history, for better or for worse. Reflective of the part of the world they reside in, the states schools have struggled with race issues and coming to terms with their segregationist pasts. In recent years,the University of Mississippiand Mississippi State University have both declared themselves to be welcoming and inclusive.

7 / 41Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Kansas State University (#172 national rank), University of Kansas (#204)

Like many of the colleges and universities on this list, the University of Kansas is well known for its athletics along with its educational programs. One of the top Division 1 schools, its mens basketball team regularly participates in March Madness. Success on the court is one thing, but KU also boasts some impressive academics. In 2019,U.S. News & World Report rankedKUs city management and urban policy program the best in the nation.

8 / 41Matthew J Brand // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Creighton University (#180 national rank), University of Nebraska Lincoln (#188)

At 856 acres, theUniversity of Nebraska Lincolnboasts a sprawling campus. The school, which has a strong commitment to research, is also the alma mater of Warren Buffett. Its ranked slightly lower than Creighton University, a private Jesuit university located in downtown Omaha.Creighton has a 97% post-graduation success ratewithin six months and was one of the first schools to offer afinancial technology degree.

9 / 41AlexiusHoratius // Wikimedia Commons

Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Augustana University (#193 national rank), South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (#199)

Augustana University is South Dakotas largest private undergraduate university. The Sioux Falls school was ranked #10 on U.S. News & World Reports list ofBest Regional Universities Midwest 2022. Although Augustana is affiliated with the Lutheran Church, it accepts students of all faiths and promotes academic integrity that is free of religious bias.

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Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Tulane University (#73 national rank), Louisiana Tech University (#210)

New Orleans Tulane University is arguably Louisianas most prestigious school. Founded in 1834 as the Medical College of Louisiana,Tulanes medical and law collegesare among the oldest in the nation.

You may also like:Colleges that are richer than some countries

11 / 41Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Brown University (#8 national rank), Rhode Island School of Design (#122)

Rhode Island is the smallest of the nations states, but its also one of the oldest and as such, it holds a significant place in U.S. history. For example, Brown University, one of the oldest colleges in the country, was thefirst to accept students without consideration of religious affiliation.

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Schools in top 250: 2 Highest ranked schools: Brigham Young University (#94 national rank), University of Utah (#146)

Brigham Young University is one of the few religious schools on Nicheslist oftop colleges. Owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, theschool has an honor codethat forbids extramarital sex, alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine and mandates Bible and LDS scripture studies. The schoolsforeign languageand business programs are among the best in the nation.

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Schools in top 250: 3 Highest ranked schools: University of Tulsa (#118 national rank), Oklahoma State University (#136), University of Oklahoma (#156)

The University of Tulsa manages the Gilcrease Museum, which houses the worlds largest collection of American Western art and indigenous American artifacts. Building on its tradition of conservatorship, the private research universitymade headlines in 2018 for taking over the Bob DylanCenter.

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Schools in top 250: 3 Highest ranked schools: Hendrix College (#151 national rank), University of Arkansas (#179), Ouachita Baptist University (#213)

Arkansas is another state whose schools are known for both athletics and academics, like the University of Arkansas and its Razorbacks. The agricultural university has also earned high ratings for its law and architecture programs.

15 / 41Jon Bilous // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 3 Highest ranked schools: Johns Hopkins University (#22 national rank), University of Maryland College Park (#109), Loyola University Maryland (#201)

Johns Hopkins University is not only thefirst center for researchin the nation, founded in 1876, but its also regarded as one of the finest to this day. The university is named for its first benefactorabolitionist and philanthropist Johns Hopkinsand its medical university is where thecardiac defibrillator was developed.

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Schools in top 250: 3 Highest ranked schools: Georgia Institute of Technology (#30 national rank), Emory University (#35), University of Georgia (#57)

Georgias capital city of Atlanta is a university-dense metropolitan area. Besides Emory, Georgia Tech, and UGA, the city is home to Morehouse Universitywhich is the alma mater of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.as well Spelman College, Clark Atlanta College, Georgia State University, Oglethorpe University, and many others.

17 / 41Nora Yero // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 4 Highest ranked schools: Clemson University (#100 national rank), Furman University (#129), University of South Carolina (#153)

South Carolinas top college, Clemson University,ranked 30th inU.S. News & World Reports 2022 Top Public Schools rankings. The top-tier public research university has also emerged as a football powerhouse.

18 / 41Rob Hainer // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 4 Highest ranked schools: Auburn University (#140 national rank), University of Alabama Birmingham (#191), The University of Alabama (#192)

Yet another state that houses colleges with strong athletics programs, Alabama is home to Auburn University and the University of Alabama. Typically, both schools have starring roles in the end-of-year bowl games. But their football programs should not overshadow the Alabama schools educational prowessboth Auburn University and the University of Alabama have been recognized as top public universities.https://87813263fe6812e78afeefb4320d44ca.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

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Schools in top 250: 4 Highest ranked schools: Bowdoin College (#27 national rank), Colby College (#58), Bates College (#62)

Maine is known for its liberal arts schools. Bowdoin College, for example, which is technically older than the state itself by 26 years, regularly ranks among the top liberal arts schools in the nation. The college has formed an athletic andlibrary-exchange consortiumwith fellow Maine liberal arts schools Bates and Colby Colleges.

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Schools in top 250: 4 Highest ranked schools: Princeton University (#5 national rank), Stevens Institute of Technology (#117), Rutgers University New Brunswick (#137)

New Jersey has one of the highest concentrations of colonial-era schools that are still in operation, among them being Princeton University and Rutgers University, which was originally called Queens College.New Jersey has invested a large amount of moneyin its higher education program. While Princeton is a founding member of the Ivy League, Rutgers is considered to be a Public Ivy,meaning its a top school capable of providing students with an education comparable to the Ivy League.

You may also like:Best value big colleges in America

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Schools in top 250: 4 Highest ranked schools: University of Wisconsin (#65 national rank), Milwaukee School of Engineering (#169), Lawrence University (#195)

Like Rutgers, the University of Wisconsin Madisonor the University of Wisconsin for shortis also considered a Public Ivy. The oldest university in Wisconsin, the school scores high points for research, having yieldedrecipients of the coveted Fields Medalin mathematics.

22 / 41Png Studio Photography // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: Reed College (#108 national rank), Lewis & Clark College (#155), University of Portland (#184)

If you havent heard of Reed College, its worth taking a look at. The Portland-based school is small yet distinguishedaccording to the National Science Foundation,itranks third in graduates that go on to get doctoratesin physical and social sciences, and fourth in humanities, the arts, and all other disciplines.

23 / 41Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: Vanderbilt University (#13 national rank), Rhodes College (#141), Union University (#205)

A legacy school,Nashvilles Vanderbilt Universitywas built from a $1 million endowment from railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, despite the billionaire never visiting the South. The university has emerged as one of the most prestigious private schools in the region, playing a key part in the intellectual heritage of the South.

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Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: University of Michigan Ann Arbor (#25 national rank), Michigan State University (#111), Michigan Technological University (#126)

It is true that the University of Michigan Ann Arbor hasthe largest college football stadiumin the nation. It is also the eighth-best university in the world,per Scimago. One of the best research universities in the U.S., UM is also one of the most well-funded. Ithad a budget of more than $10 billionfor the2021-2022academic year.

25 / 41Chadarat Saibhut // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: Duke University (#6 national rank), Wake Forest University (#45), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#47)

Another legacy school, Duke University was founded from the Duke Endowment, funded by tobacco industrialist James Buchanan Duke. From 1986 to 2015,Duke had the fifth-highest numberof Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and Udall Scholars in the nation.

You may also like:Best value public colleges in America

26 / 41Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: Grinnell College (#60 national rank), Iowa State University (#147), University of Iowa (#149)

Iowa is home tomore than 50 colleges and universities, including Grinnell College, a liberal arts school known for its high endowment,academic rigor, the pursuit of social justice, and diversity.

27 / 41cpaulfell // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 5 Highest ranked schools: University of Washington (#99 national rank), Whitman College (#106), Washington State University (#164)

Sometimes, a university can help a city to develop, like Seattles University of Washington, which played a key role in growing the citys tech industry. Boeing, Amazon, and Microsoft all chose the Seattle area for their main campuses in part due to the proximity to the University of Washington.

28 / 41Evan Meyer // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 6 Highest ranked schools: Washington University in St. Louis (#12 national rank), Saint Louis University (#128), University of Missouri (#166)

One of the best medical schools for research in the nation(ranked by U.S. News & World Report), Washington University in St. Louis is a world-renowned research university. The school has been at the forefront of modern political discussion asthe host of more presidential and vice-presidential debatesthan any other institution.

29 / 41Ken Wolter // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 6 Highest ranked schools: University of Notre Dame (#19 national rank), Purdue University (#77), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (#97)

Any college football fan is probably familiar with Indianas schools. Whether its the University of Notre Dames Fighting Irish or Purdues Boilermakers, Indianas football prowess helps to highlight the academic excellence of these schools. One example? Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon, was a graduate of Purdue, and the tradition holds: At least one person on almost one-third of NASAs space flights has been aPurdue alum.

30 / 41f11photo // Shutterstock

Schools in top 250: 6 Highest ranked schools: Yale University (#4 national rank), Wesleyan University (#53), University of Connecticut (#157)

Connecticut is one of the smaller states in the Union. Its proximity to New York City, however, positions it as a strategic option geographically for students. Take the University of Connecticut, for example. The schools presence in the New York City media market helped its athletics to draw better talent, which is reflected in the success of the schools mens and womens basketball teams. UConns athletic successes highlight the fact that the school has been recognized as a Public Ivy, one of the best public universities in the nation.

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States with the most highly ranked colleges - WNCT

BAM Marine – Mercury Marine & Mercruiser engines and parts …

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

')); var a = function (t) { var n = e(".nivo-caption", s); if (i.currentImage.attr("title") != "" && i.currentImage.attr("title") != undefined) { var r = i.currentImage.attr("title"); if (r.substr(0, 1) == "#") r = e(r).html(); if (n.css("display") == "block") { setTimeout(function () { n.html(r) }, t.animSpeed) } else { n.html(r); n.stop().fadeIn(t.animSpeed) } } else { n.stop().fadeOut(t.animSpeed) } }; a(r); var f = 0; if (!r.manualAdvance && o.length > 1) { f = setInterval(function () { d(s, o, r, false) }, r.pauseTime) } if (r.directionNav) { s.append('"); e(s).on("click", "a.nivo-prevNav", function () { if (i.running) { return false } clearInterval(f); f = ""; i.currentSlide -= 2; d(s, o, r, "prev") }); e(s).on("click", "a.nivo-nextNav", function () { if (i.running) { return false } clearInterval(f); f = ""; d(s, o, r, "next") }) } if (r.controlNav) { i.controlNavEl = e(''); s.after(i.controlNavEl); for (var l = 0; l ') } else { i.controlNavEl.append('' + (l + 1) + "") } } e("a:eq(" + i.currentSlide + ")", i.controlNavEl).addClass("active"); e("a", i.controlNavEl).bind("click", function () { if (i.running) return false; if (e(this).hasClass("active")) return false; clearInterval(f); f = ""; u.attr("src", i.currentImage.attr("src")); i.currentSlide = e(this).attr("rel") - 1; d(s, o, r, "control") }) } if (r.pauseOnHover) { s.hover(function () { i.paused = true; clearInterval(f); f = "" }, function () { i.paused = false; if (f === "" && !r.manualAdvance) { f = setInterval(function () { d(s, o, r, false) }, r.pauseTime) } }) } s.bind("nivo:animFinished", function () { u.attr("src", i.currentImage.attr("src")); i.running = false; e(o).each(function () { if (e(this).is("a")) { e(this).css("display", "none") } }); if (e(o[i.currentSlide]).is("a")) { e(o[i.currentSlide]).css("display", "block") } if (f === "" && !i.paused && !r.manualAdvance) { f = setInterval(function () { d(s, o, r, false) }, r.pauseTime) } r.afterChange.call(this) }); var h = function (t, n, r) { if (e(r.currentImage).parent().is("a")) e(r.currentImage).parent().css("display", "block"); e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").width(t.width()).css("visibility", "hidden").show(); var i = e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").parent().is("a") ? e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").parent().height() : e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").height(); for (var s = 0; s

').css({ left: o * s + "px", width: t.width() - o * s + "px", height: i + "px", opacity: "0", overflow: "hidden" })) } else { t.append(e('

').css({ left: o * s + "px", width: o + "px", height: i + "px", opacity: "0", overflow: "hidden" })) } } e(".nivo-slice", t).height(i); u.stop().animate({ height: e(r.currentImage).height() }, n.animSpeed) }; var p = function (t, n, r) { if (e(r.currentImage).parent().is("a")) e(r.currentImage).parent().css("display", "block"); e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").width(t.width()).css("visibility", "hidden").show(); var i = Math.round(t.width() / n.boxCols), s = Math.round(e('img[src="' + r.currentImage.attr("src") + '"]', t).not(".nivo-main-image,.nivo-control img").height() / n.boxRows); for (var o = 0; o

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The RoboCop Scene That Had To Be Cut To Avoid An X-Rating – /Film

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

According to Neumeier, the scene where Murphy is shot to death by Boddicker and his gang saddled the film with an X-rating ... multiple times. After all, it's a scene where the main character is gruesomely blown to pieces:

"The interesting thing about this film is that we got an X-rating eight times and finally we had to cut a scene which I didn't even think looked particularly good. That was when Robocopwhile still fully humangets his arm blown off in the steel mill. It was done with a wire yanking the arm away as the arm gets shot at and I thought it looked terribly corny but it was the scene that scaled it back enough to get an R-rating. That scene actually scared the s*** out of my wife last time we watched it."

As an avid lover of the original film, I definitely see why the scene had to be recut it features the film's hero being brutally murdered by a group of sociopaths. Even knowing that Murphy will be reconstructed as a cyborg doesn't ease the horror I feel seeing him scream in pain and beg for his life. But as depicted in the final cut, it adds even more weight to the scene where Murphy visits his old house and gets hit with a flood of memories from his old life; his wife and child, his humanity all of it was stolen from him by Boddicker and his thugs, making his eventual vengeance all the sweeter.

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First Look At Teen Titans Go Undead – A Kids Version Of DCeased? – Bleeding Cool News

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Teen Titans Go Undead? DCeased was a series of comic book series spanning a parallel DC Universe where Cyborg's body is used as a carrier for a technological virus version of the Anti-Life Equation that turns the population of the world into zombie-like creatures. And that includes a lot of superheroes and villains. Created by Tom Taylor with Trevor Hairsine, Lois Lane acts as the series' narrator, detailing how the events took place over the course of a few weeks.

But later this year, DC Comics are publishing a kids version of this sort of thing, by way of Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead. This is a kids comic remember. So the origin of zombieness is a falling comet and they actually go to the shopping mall becaus they know from watching these films that's where zombies all hang out. And Bleeding Cool has a first look inside those pages. The creative team of Teen Titans Go Undead, writer Michael Northrop and artist Erich Owen have been named, but they will be joined by other as-yet-unnamed artists.

TEEN TITANS GO UNDEAD TP(W) Michael Northrop (A) Various (CA) Erich OwenJump City is full of strange, shambling creatures muttering about sales and dead set on brains. The Teen Titans saw a comet fall from the sky and can think of nowhere better to hang out and see what happens than the mall. If their theory is correct and people start turning into zombies, they want to be preparedand we all know zombies love the mall! But as the situation grows ever more dire, Robin and his team take to the streets, trying to save the city from the bargain-hungry undead. But these zombies really bite: the cemetery isn't safe, the H.I.V.E. Five are not alive, and Robin's teammates are about to succumb to shopping fever! Can Robin keep it together long enough to cancel this apocalypse?Retail: $9.99 In-Store Date: 6/28/2022

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What Happened To Fennec Shand In ‘The Mandalorian’? – We Got This Covered

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Ming-Na Wens Fennec Shand is one of the coolest new Star Wars characters to debut in the last few years. The master assassin began her career during the age of the Galactic Empire, with The Bad Batch showing her building a reputation as a ruthless and skilled bounty hunter.

The fall of the Empire didnt slow her down one bit, though, and by the time The Mandalorian arrived, she was still a feared adversary, even to a warrior as skilled as Din Djarin. We saw her tangle with him in Season 1 episode The Gunslinger, in which she demonstrated her sharpshooting skills, as well as giving audiences a crash course in the morality needed to succeed in Star Wars cutthroat underworld.

Shand currently has a starring role in The Book of Boba Fett as his second-in-command and bodyguard, proving her worth on multiple occasions.

However, the most recent episode showed it hasnt been smooth sailing for her. In The Gunslinger we saw her take a blaster bolt to the chest, and by the time of The Mandalorians second season, she was sporting robotic enhancements. Now, courtesy of The Book of Boba Fett episode The Gathering Storm, we know how she got them.

Fett overheard her confrontation, discovering her close to death in the Tatooine sands. Apparently recognizing her, he realized she could be a valuable ally, and carried her to a cybernetic chop shop. Here, she underwent a drastic cybernetic procedure on Bobas dime.

The operation appears to have completely replaced her digestive system with robot parts, as well as strengthening her abdomen with hydraulics, which means she retains flexibility. Subsequent action scenes prove that going under the knife hasnt affected her deadliness, while the way she quickly accepted her new body indicates that its not exactly unexpected for bounty hunters to end up part cyborg. Weve also seen her eating regular food, so it doesnt seem to be a huge inconvenience.

Her only real weakness could be the surgeons vanity. He left her chest cavity open to show off his work, which may allow an opponent to inflict some serious damage. In addition, theyre on a desert planet, and as all Star Wars fans know, sand is coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.

I suspect Shand has a big role to play in the remaining episodes of The Book of Boba Fett, and the wider Star Wars universe, provided she makes it out alive. That being said, perhaps shell be a little more cunning from now on, unless she wants to lose other major internal organs.

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What Happened To Fennec Shand In 'The Mandalorian'? - We Got This Covered

Phthalates Interfere with Developing Fetus, Mother – Legal Reader

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Phthalates, used to make plastics, could negatively impact a healthy pregnancy.

Phthalates are a group of chemicals used to make plastics more durable. They are commonly called plasticizers and are used to help dissolve other materials. Phthalates are in hundreds of products, such as vinyl flooring, some oils, and personal care products including soaps, shampoos, hair sprays, according to federal data. However, exposure to phthalates may upset an important hormone needed to maintain a healthy fetus and leading to complications that could impact a developing baby as well as be harmful to the childs mother.

It is like having a cyborg baby: no longer composed only of human cells, but a mixture of biological and inorganic entities, said Antonio Ragusa, director of obstetrics and gynaecology at the San Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome, who led the study. The mothers were shocked.

The journal Environment International published the work and it was one of the first pieces of research to take a look at the impact that phthalates have on the placental corticotropin releasing hormone (pCRH), which increases throughout the course of pregnancy. The placenta is key for providing nutrients to an unborn child. It develops in the uterus during pregnancy and provides what the baby needs as well as removes waste products from the babys blood.

The pCRH hormone helps with promoting labor as well. However, when levels are high or increase rapidly, it could induce preterm birth and fetal growth problems as well as high blood pressure, diabetes, and postpartum depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The team analyzed data from 1,018 low-risk pregnant women with one fetus at mid- and late pregnancy.

We are all exposed to phthalates in our environment through the products we use and the foods we eat, said Emily S. Barrett, an associate professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health and member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Our findings show that these chemicals may alter the production of essential placental hormones, which has important implications for the course of pregnancy as well as subsequent child health and development.

The data revealed that the presence of various phthalates was associated with higher pCRH hormone levels in mid-pregnancy, but lower pCRH later in pregnancy. Moreover, These levels were strongest in women who developed pregnancy complications like gestational diabetes and high blood pressure, suggesting that women who develop complications may be particularly vulnerable to this hormonal disruption.

Associations between phthalates and pCRH among women with pregnancy complications grew stronger across the course of pregnancy. We know very little about how women with pregnancy complications are affected by environmental exposures. This study sets the stage for future research in that area, Barrett said.

When pCRH is generated from the placenta, it is identical in structure to a corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) produced by the brain when responding to stress. While this study did not find that women with other vulnerabilities were more susceptible to this response, previous research found that pCRH levels were higher in women who have experienced childhood trauma. This could suggest that there are mitigating factors other than being exposed to plastics which could impact both the mother and the developing fetus.

Chemical commonly found in consumer products may disrupt a hormone needed for healthy pregnancy

Phthalates Factsheet

Exposure to Plastics During Pregnancy Can Raise Blood Pressure

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Thich Nhat Hanhs teachings will continue to be important in a divided world facing large transitions, challenges – The Indian Express

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

The eschatology of religious orders that originated in the Indian subcontinent Advaitism, Buddhism, Jainism, etc is often seen to ignore the social and political turmoil of the time, focussing instead on enlightenment and salvation. Thich Nhat Hanh, who died at 95, put paid to that idea and illustrated time and again his model for a spiritual politics what he called engaged Buddhism. His teachings and actions, the notions of interconnectedness and awareness he provided, can continue to serve a divided world that faces global challenges.

Born Nguyen Xuan Bao in 1926, he was a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk. At the peak of the US invasion of Vietnam in 1966, he travelled to the country to tell Americans of Vietnams suffering and had a deep influence on Martin Luther King Jr. In Singapore, after the war, he helped Vietnamese refugees find safe harbour. He met Popes and presidents, activists and leaders, and was instrumental in setting up the Paris peace talks for a settlement of the Vietnam war. At the core of his engagement was the idea of mindfulness, of being in a state of meditative awareness about the self and the world. His concept of interbeing, that all life is part of a singular whole, is a crucial element in the discourse around addressing climate change.

The contemporary moment often seems like one that is dominated by the cynical use of religion for polarising politics, by international relations predicated on irrational self-interest visible in global warming and vaccine hoarding. It is precisely because of the pervasive moral and spiritual deficit in public life that figures like Thich Nhat Hanh and Gandhi and Desmond Tutu are more relevant than ever. For them, religion became a tool to expand justice and empathy, not a means to build exclusive identities or focus only on individual salvation. For that reason, among so many others, he will be missed.

This editorial first appeared in the print edition on January 25, 2022 under the title Spiritual activist.

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Thich Nhat Hanhs teachings will continue to be important in a divided world facing large transitions, challenges - The Indian Express

Non-ordinary States with Breathwork: The shift in perception that is changing lives. – Digital Journal

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

For spiritual seekers, meditators, and those looking to heal themselves the world over; reaching an expanded state of consciousness is the ultimate goal.

Throughout history, human beings have been using natural resources, especially plants, to induce non-ordinary states of consciousness for healing and gaining spiritual wisdom but did you know that the human body is capable of reaching this level of consciousness without using substances?

The answer hasis (almost literally) under the nose this whole time: breathwork.

So, what exactly is a non-ordinary state, and how does breathing help people to dissolve worries, heal and find inner liberation?

Stanislav Grof, a Czech psychiatrist who coined the term non-ordinary, first began researching the effects of psychedelic substances in the 1970s and discovered that his patients underwent cathartic release, spiritual enlightenment, and ultimately reached a place of healing.

Most interesting of all, Grof noticed a change in the patients breathing which coincided with spiritual emergence and eventually led to his pioneering method of breathwork therapy: Holotropic Breathwork, which loosely translates to moving toward wholeness.

Fast forward to now and a new wave of pioneers has emerged, sharing breathwork for modern spiritual seekers around the world

Owaken Breathwork has become popular among celebrities like Travis Barker, Kourtney Kardashian, Jake Paul and Julia Rose, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, just to name a few.

Helle Weston and Lukis Mac are the founders of Owaken Breathwork and teach specialised breathwork techniques that their clients describe as completely life changing.

When guiding people to access non-ordinary states with breathwork, were spending 2-6 hours working with them to safely open up to feeling emotions that may have been suppressed for many years. In a non-ordinary state, their perception of what happened and whats possible starts to shift. The breath regulates the entire system as all kinds of grievances, fears and phobias are released. Forgiveness can happen in an instant during Owaken Breathwork sessions and give people a whole new understanding of themselves, says Lukis.

How does something as seemingly simple as breathing do this?

Science is still trying to completely understand non-ordinary states and spiritual experiences, and by studying the benefits reaped during a good breathwork session, they are are one step closer to navigating the unconscious.

A 2018 study speculates that the psychophysiological effects of breathwork could have something to do with a shift of activity in the default mode network (DMN); the area of the brain that also has an activity shift during sleep, meditation and under the influence of psychedelic substances.

As individuals tap into the DMN, they begin to alter their brainwave patterns. There are five widely recognised brainwave types: gamma, beta, alpha, theta, and delta. Each brainwave follows a different frequency range and its within these waves that the mind begins to explore and realign. As individuals open the door to the unconscious, They can heal their unhealed trauma, understand how and why they do things, and ultimately take another leap forward on their spiritual journey.

The psyche heals itself when given the chance, just like the body heals itself when given the chance, says renowned psychiatrist James Eyerman. breathwork may seem innocuous, but it will blow peoples socks off.

Ready to try breathwork? Check out the Owaken Breathwork to learn more about their Virtual Events and classes.

by: Perrie Kapernaros

Media ContactCompany Name: Owaken BreathworkEmail: Send EmailCountry: AustraliaWebsite: https://owaken.com

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Non-ordinary States with Breathwork: The shift in perception that is changing lives. - Digital Journal

New York’s Rubin Museum of Art hosts an unusual spiritual and creative experience – Architectural Digest India

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

The bright and airy 2,700 square-foot space was designed by architects Miriam Peterson and Nathan Rich of the Brooklyn-based architect and design firm Peterson Rich office. Their design was inspired by mandalasbuddhist visual symbolsmeant to be contemplated during meditation. A geometric diagram of the universe, a mandala usually has four quadrants and a circle at its centre. Tibetan mandalas also contain deities, with a principal deity at the heart of the mandala. In this case, it's the Sarvavid Vairochana Mandala, with the deity Maha Vairochana at its centre. The remodelled third floor of the museum, a rectangle with a spiral staircase at its centre, lent itself perfectly to the concept.

Like a mandala, the space is divided into four quadrants pointing in four directions and a central space. Each quadrant is divided by metal mesh screens that encourage openness. This space is designed for collective experience. The floor is deliberately more open and connected than the other five levels of the museum. Individual spaces are separated from one another by a translucent scrim, allowing for interactive experiences that are physically distinct but visually interconnected, explain the designers.

In the West Quadrant, visitors will encounter a curved counter custom made by PRO with six stations, each with a scent selected by an artist and created by master perfumer Christophe Laudamiel. Visitors will be invited to contribute their emotional response to each scent, then view a two-minute video created by the artist about their memory attached to this scent. By watching these videos and reading previous visitors memories associated with the same smell, visitors will perceive how diverseand sometimes radically differentour reactions can be to the same stimulus.

Each quadrant of the lab is associated with a different colour, emotion (keisha), element and wisdom. Each is home to unique experiences associated with those emotions, and encourages a new learning and understanding from participants. The experiences were created in consultation with collaborators from around the world, including spiritual healers, artists and even a professor of psychology.

Visitors get to witness the work of multidisciplinary artists, including Indian experimental filmmaker Amit Dutta and percussionist Shivamani, musician Peter Gabriel, video installation artist Wang Yahui, and even master perfumer Christopher Laudamiel. In one of the quadrants, New-York based visual artist Palden Weinreb creates a sculpture that pulses with light in pace with synchronized breathing. This is just one of the many incredible experiences, including a gong orchestra, that the lab promises. Each activity aims to encourage participants to see, smell, touch and work through and process difficult emotions like pride, attachment, envy, anger and ignorance, and find ways to develop calm and connection.

As we start to see some light at the end of the Covid tunnel, it's connections like these and spaces like these that will continue to heal the world, for a long time to come.

Mandala Lab at the Rubin Museum of Art runs until 1 October, 2031.

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New York's Rubin Museum of Art hosts an unusual spiritual and creative experience - Architectural Digest India

Inside the eerie rise of Witchtok as TikTokers share spells to hex cheating exes – New York Post

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Heres a look inside the eerie rise of Witchtok as TikTokers across the globe are sharing spells to hex their cheating exes and promote the occult to millions.

Fans ofWitchTok, which is the name of a group on the app, are into witchcraft and all that it entails magic, spells, manifestations and other related activity associated with witches.

Videos shared with the TikTok community and accompanied with #WitchTok have obtained more than 23 billion views.

Witchtok gained popularity back in April 2021, as an author with theFinancial Timessaid the hashtag surpassed #Biden by more than 2billion views.

And now TikTok witches are sharing spells online and promoting their supposed magic across the internet.

Tiktok userThee Musesrecently took to the app to share a video with the text reading: Aunties my bully got hit by a car.

The footage was accompanied by OMCs How Bizarre song and the TikTok post was captioned: Strange how stuff like that happens.#theemuses#auntiesoftiktok#lgbt#witchtok.

The video, which appears in one of the top viewed Witchtok videos, has obtained 2.8 million likes.

Videos shared with the TikTok community and accompanied with #WitchTok have obtained more than 23 billion views.

Witchtok gained popularity back in April 2021, as an author with theFinancial Timessaid the hashtag surpassed #Biden by more than 2 billion views.

And now TikTok witches are sharing spells online and promoting their supposed magic across the internet.

Tiktok userThee Musesrecently took to the app to share a video with the text reading: Aunties my bully got hit by a car.

The footage was accompanied by OMCs How Bizarre song and the TikTok post was captioned: Strange how stuff like that happens.#theemuses#auntiesoftiktok#lgbt#witchtok.

The video, which appears in one of the top viewed Witchtok videos, has obtained 2.8 million likes.

Another TikTok user,pheobemcegan, shared a video of herself using energy work to make the smoke in front of her move in a certain way.

Another user of the app commented on the video and said Pheobemcegan was using TELEKINESIS / PSYCHOKINESIS which supposed ability to move objects at a distance by mental power or other nonphysical means.

However, pheobemcegan responded by explaining the energy work is a similar concept to what the other Tiktoker was describing.

TikTioker Kiley Mann toldUSA Todaythat seeing WitchTok on the video-sharing app is not very shocking.

It just feels like anatural progression of what people have been really yearning for, which is accessible information around these esoteric topics that at any other point in history, before the internet, were super guarded and super hard to access, Mann explained.

Adam Wethington, a 33-year-old tarot reader, told the news outlet that Witchtok is a fabulousTikTok community of spiritualists from all different walks of life.

He continued: WitchTok content is so relevant right now because we learnedlast year we cant control (things).

All you can control is what you do, all you can control is what you think is truth in the world.

Were in thisgreat spiritual renaissanceof enlightenment Many of us are looking inward.

Back in 2020, TikTok witches cast a spell on the moon that could bring bad luck for all life forms dependent on the moons energy.

The Witches Moon Hex are spells that TikTok witches are trying to cast toward the moon.

Twitter user Jupiterwrote that a hex had been put on the moonby baby witches, which could be bad luck to those who rely on the moons natural power.

Jupiter went on to say that the group of four newbie witches went on to hex fairies, the planet, and the moon.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.

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Inside the eerie rise of Witchtok as TikTokers share spells to hex cheating exes - New York Post

Contentment is the ultimate goal as we age, but it’s not something that comes automatically – The Topeka Capital-Journal

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Connie Mason Michaelis| Special to The Capital-Journal

I remember vividly the day I spoke at a senior citizen luncheon with about 75 people in attendance. It was an enthusiastic group, and I gave a rousing presentation about successful aging.

I presented all my customary admonitions about staying active, socializing, staying curiousand trying new things. It was an excellent cheerleading session, and I could see lots of affirmative nods and smiles in the audience.

After it was over, many people came up to me to thank me and share their stories. Those are some of my most rewarding experiences. But this particular time, something unusual happened.

I saw a beautiful older woman approach from the back of the room. She had gorgeous wavy white hair and crystal blue eyes the kind you can see through. She smiled at me graciously, reached out, and we held hands for a few minutes. She thanked me for all of the encouragement but wanted me to know that at 85, she was completely content. She said if she never did another thing, it was just fine because she was utterly at peace.

Looking into her face, I knew it was the truth.

That was probably five years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. She had reached an ultimate goal that I dont talk about or think about enough. She did not chastise me, but I knew what she meant. There was something more important than being able to age well in the external sense. She was talking about an inside job.

What kind of journey would we be on if our goal was inner peace, calmness, serenity, enlightenment and, yes, contentment. I need to be reminded of that daily.

The Buddhists say contentment is the greatest wealth. The apostle Paul says, I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

So from a spiritual point of view, contentment is the ultimate goal as we age. Still, it does not automatically come to us as we age. It is another thing that we pursue. Taking more time to meditate, practice mindfulness and engage in silence are ways to find contentment.

Contentment may be in the small things of life like a beautiful sunset, a good cup of coffeeor holding hands with a wise, white-haired Elder. Pearl Buck says, Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.

Find Connies book, Daily Cures: Wisdom for Healthy Aging, at http://www.justnowoldenough.com.

Contentment is the ultimate goal as we age, but it's not something that comes automatically - The Topeka Capital-Journal

Our Words of the Year 2021, and What They May Be Telling Us – Psychiatric Times

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS

In my January 11th column on My Word of the Year for 2021 is Instability. Whats Yours?, our readers provided many word answers to my question, for which we are very grateful. I was especially curious to see how these words might compare to those you sent in for the first year of our pandemic, March 2020 to March 2021. The results of that first pandemic year were presented in a word cloud and discussed in a posting on March 28, 2021, titled The Pandemic Project: Our Readers Describe the Year of COVID-19. In both polls, responses came from a mixture of psychiatrists, other mental health professionals, the public, and patients. Some responders contributed to both polls, some only in 1 or the other.

One of the goals of both polls is that, psychologically speaking, when we name something, it usually provides some comfort in describing what we are dealing with, especially if it is unusual, stressful, or confusing. Of course, some of our reactions also reflect our personal histories and current social circumstances.

The First Pandemic Year Poll

In the first pandemic year poll, I chose the word BEWARE because I was thinking of March 15th being the Ides of March, the day when Julius Caesar was assassinated after ignoring the warning of a seer. My other choice was EGAD because its definition combined anger, affirmation, and the surprise of the period.

In the rest of our over 50 collected responses, 1 word stood out for being chosen 5 times: INTROSPECTION. That was followed by ENLIGHTENMENT, picked 3 times. Both of those words seemed to reflect the essence of psychiatry. Two words seemed striking by their omission: LOVE and ZOOM.

The 2021 Year Poll

What a difference almost a year makes! The only word that appeared in both polls is WHIPLASH. This time there was nary a word about introspection or enlightenment. Maybe enough thinking about this is enough. Rather, the words covered run the gamut of perspectives and emotions, suggesting that each of us was having a very unique reaction to the year. Although some of the words suggested that it was overall a positive year, the acronym FUBAR conveyed a more negative trend in the extreme: Fd Up Beyond All Recognition. LOVE and ZOOM were missing once again.

The Commentaries

Some readers provided detailed explanations for the word they chose without any suggestion to do so, and gave us permission to name them and publish their commentary. Here they are.

ACCEPTANCE: Michael Mantell explained his choice, which seems to sort of be a transitional word from last year to this one.

Great article. As for my word for 2021 (2022) . . . if you want to test positive for peace and negative for disturbability this year, I suggest my micro-compass, well anchored and firmly planted word, Acceptance.

Flexible, non-extreme, non-dogmatic, open-minded unconditional Acceptance will go a long way to prevent you from disturbing yourself about yourself, others, and your life.

While it may be preferable for something toor not toexist, it does not mean that it therefore must be different. The principle of emotional responsibility makes clear that life offers many opportunities for you to disturb yourself. How does doing so help you lead a more optimal life? Things may be unpleasant, and you can bear it, so what benefit comes to you from demanding, awfulizing, and convincing yourself that you cannot tolerate life, others, and yourself? Must you truly have control over life when it deviates from how you would prefer it to be? Is it honestly awful and terrible if the outcome is not what you would have wished for, or is it only too bad?

Acceptance does not mean liking, condoning, or thinking something is good. It means recognizing that it exists. Perhaps considering the good inside of what happens may make that an easier experience. I believe, firmly, that what happens is for me, not to me. It is my job to search for the good and Acceptance helps fuel that voyage.

Adjusting constructively to adversity means building discomfort tolerance, which will in turn result in 2022 being a far healthier, more emotionally peaceful, and overall, more enjoyable experience.

WOOBLY: Barry Marcus explains his choice of this unusual word for an unusual year.

In a physical sense, in terms of chronic pain, dizziness, and imbalance as well as heart and gallbladder issues. Also in terms of looking to the end of my life in a societal sense related to the alternative facts world we live in as well as the vulnerability of our democracy.

Woobly like a boxer who is reeling from a blow that almost floored him, yet through determination and resolve, is still standing.

REMINDER: Out of a thousand plus words, Randall Levin chose this one and explains why.

It was a reminder of the good that comes from the clear pathway to our inner strengths and spirit, as it was unfortunately a reminder of what has escaped from the pandoras box and what it could still contain. It was a reminder to listen to the warnings so that we are not taken by surprise. It was a reminder of how others have affected our lifes journeys when they are gone, to appreciate true connections in our social experiment.

It is a reminder of how we can all bring positive energy and love to not only others but to ourselves and our families. A reminder that a newborn grandchild (etc) may have that special piece of the spiritual puzzle that surrounds all of us (and our earth), has so much hope, love, and happiness to offer to those who themselves have a clear pathway to their own inner spiritual beauty. A reminder that their extra smile and laughter can light the way along our own journeys.

The Conclusions

What these words, collected in an accompanying word cloud, and some commentaries, mean to me is that we have to keep in mind how individual the assessment of 2021 is, just like it is crucial to consider each patient as an individual even while using generic expert guidelines to diagnose and provide treatment. The message to the public might be to understand and empathize with our individuality and give everyone some slack in this challenging time.

Radical hope looks for contributing to a better year, and though we do not know how and when that may occur, we should do what we can to move in that direction. The content of the commentaries suggest ways to do so.

Dr Mofficis an award-winning psychiatrist who has specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry. A prolific writer and speaker, he received the one-time designation of Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association in 2002. He is an advocate for mental health issues relate to climate instability, burnout, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism for a better world. He serves on the Editorial Board ofPsychiatric TimesTM.

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Our Words of the Year 2021, and What They May Be Telling Us - Psychiatric Times

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom Review: Remote Learning – The New York Times

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

In Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, an indifferent young teacher, Ugyen, is assigned to a school high in the mountains of Bhutan. This is far from where hed rather be Australia and its an eight-day schlep by foot from where he currently lives, the modern Bhutanese city of Thimphu. As Ugyen makes the trek with two guides, the director, Pawo Choyning Dorji, shows the declining population and rising altitude along the way. Lunana numbers less than 100 residents.

Ugyens charming, yak-herding hosts are an internet-free picture of serenity against the backdrop of verdant, misty slopes. Parables about teachers sent to the provinces are usually a two-way street: education and advancement for the students, life lessons for their instructor. Ugyen (plainly played by Sherab Dorji) is especially undistinguished, and despite teaching the children about math and toothbrushes, he receives the brunt of the storys enlightenment about the upsides of traditional living.

The gently efficient story feels like an attempt to illustrate Bhutans real-life Gross National Happiness initiative. (The film gives credit to the noble people of Lunana, as well as School Among Glaciers, a 2003 Bhutanese documentary about a teacher sent to the mountains.) Ugyens aspirations to a singing career are amusingly unremarkable in Lunana, where locals croon songs to the valleys as spiritual offerings.

About that yak: hes a gift to Ugyen (to produce dung fuel), and he sits and chews in the background of classroom scenes, just happy to be there. The film basks in a similar mood of mild-mannered contentment.

Lunana: A Yak in the ClassroomNot rated. In Dzongkha, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes. In theaters.

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Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom Review: Remote Learning - The New York Times

Parables of Time and Eternity by Keith Ward – Church Times

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

THE veteran Professor Keith Ward begins this consideration of the Gospel parables of Jesus with the characteristically challenging question whether the story of Jesus himself is itself a parable: a fictional account of what an ideal human being would be, though founded on a real historical figure.

Basing himself on the work of John Dominic Crossan, with a glance at Marcus Borg, the author places Jesus as a spirit person, comparable to the leading figures of the Vedanta, Buddhism, and Chinese spiritual traditions. The early part of the book is full of challenges: for example, that the portrait and explanations of Jesus in John are not strictly historical, but are projections back into the life of Jesus, based on the data of the Synoptic Gospels, but transformed by the experience of a risen and glorified Jesus.

Ward can ask tough questions: are the parables deliberately obscure? How can a loving God permit evil? Did Matthew, with his typical brutality, get the idea of eternal punishment wrong? Or does the eternal punishment really mean punishment for an age, an age that will pass as swiftly as the Age of Enlightenment? Do the just need to be religious?

Some of these questions have been answered in more recent scholarship than he employs; for he deliberately bases his discussions on Dodd, Jeremias, Crossan, and Bernard Scott all, except Crossan, from the last century. For instance, the quotation of Isaiah 6.9 at Mark 4.12 (as at John 12.39-40 and Acts 28.25-27) to explain the obscurity of the parables is currently held to be a reflection on the failure of Israel to respond to the message of Jesus rather than the expression of Jesuss intention of obscuring the message by teaching in parables.

The greater part of the book, Part Two, gives the text and commentary on each of the Gospel parables under six headings (judgment, reconciliation, etc). The commentaries are gentle, solid, open-minded, reassuring, sometimes provoking, sometimes surprising (when did Peter deny Jesus after the crucifixion, p. 117?). Questions raised sharply in Part One are sometimes passed over in Part Two with the comment that expressions are secondary features of the parable and have no spiritual significance.

Fr Henry Wansbrough OSB is a monk of Ampleforth, emeritus Master of St Benets Hall, Oxford, and a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

Parables of Time and EternityKeith WardCascade Books 15(978-1-72528843-0)Church Times Bookshop 13.50

Did you go through a breakup, divorce recently? If yes, here are some ways to deal with heartbreaks – Asianet Newsable

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

First Published Jan 21, 2022, 8:00 AM IST

The issue with breakups is the problem of not understanding the true meaning of love. So, here are some of the best ways to deal with a breakup

One of the biggest problems in the world today is breakups and seperations/divorces. Why we first fall in love and then breakups? Why do we fall in love, only to fall out of it? When will we human beings stop and realize the truth? The problem with breakups is the problem of not understanding the true meaning of love.

True love is bliss, not just a kiss. True love is not a transaction. In true love, you dont say, I love you, because I need you. In true love, you say I need you because I love you. It is very strange, that people have a live-in relationship for six years, and then within six months, they get seperated, why? This happens all over the place, why so many breakups, why so many separations, why so many divorces, what is the cause? We talked to AiR Atman in Ravi, a spiritual leader and founder of AiR Institute of Realization and AiR Center of Enlightenment to get some light on this subject.

The problem is in expectations; because our expectations are wrong. We become disappointed and then our disappointments defeat us. It breaks a beautiful relationship, what we dont realize is that nobody is perfect, everybody has their flaws. But somehow, especially, a relationship becomes a contract, then the expectations change, and then it leads to a breakup.

The challenge is how to deal with breakups. The first way to deal with the breakup is not to 'break up'. We should only break up when it is impossible to stay together.Here are some of the best ways to deal with a breakup:

First: Accept Accept that what is done is done and you cant change it. Realize that the law of karma controls whatever happens. So, dont nurse and curse and rehearse your hurt, reverse your hurt instead. When the breakup has happened, wipe off that past. And create a new future.

Second: Dont cry over a breakup The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. The future depends upon you and me. We cant control the road on which we are driving the car, but we are in full control of the car.

Finally, for those who are on a spiritual path, all this is a drama, everything is a show, we come and we go. There are no make-ups and breakups. Everything is a movie. We come with nothing, we go with nothing.

In the end, every relationship has to break up. The one who reaches this spiritual realization called enlightenment doesnt take a breakup seriously. He doesnt even fall into a relationship since it makes him a prisoner in a cage. He loves one and all. The Sufis called it Ishq haquiqui. The Greeks called it Agape. The world has not learned this divine love, which goes beyond breakups and makeups. Relationships are all transitory, all momentary. The one who is on a spiritual path transcends all relationships. For him, there is nothing like a breakup, because it a shows and in the end we all have to go.

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Did you go through a breakup, divorce recently? If yes, here are some ways to deal with heartbreaks - Asianet Newsable

A Glimpse Of What History Of Science Would Look Like If It Wasn’t Averse To The ‘H’ Word – Swarajya

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Danzig

Ancient Hindu Science: Its Impact On The Ancient And Modern World. Alok Kumar. Jaico Publication House. Pages 212. Rs 410.

There is a renewed interest in the non-Eurocentric historiography of science these days. Historian of science, Joseph Needham, brought the focus on the contribution of the Chinese civilisation to the process and the global institution we call science today. There have been studies which have brought out the Native American and African contributions to science too.

However, the ancient Chinese civilisation is no more a living civilisation. It is now a Marxist-Maoist society that has been uprooted from its Taoist-Buddhist substratum. In fact, the Communist Party of China passed a resolution in 1927 that China was no longer an Asian nation.

African spiritual traditions exist in periphery and are often demonised in popular culture.

Native Americans are no longer a civilisational alternative to the dominant Western civilisation.

India, on the other hand, is a living nation still attached to its civilisational roots, despite centuries of aggressive challenges. So, presenting the contribution of India, and hence Hindus, to the sciences is problematic unless it is presented as a kind of museum exhibit. India can be presented as wonder that was but not as a living continuity. In fact, there is a particular aversion to the 'H' word Hindu.

Prof. Alok Kumar faces this bias and records this in the introduction itself:

Professor Kumar is a physicist, teaching at SUNY Oswego and his book on ancient Hindu science is important for both the students of Indian culture and students of the history of science.

The chapter Building Blocks of Science brings together two important aspects of the Hindu worldview: inner happiness and the quest for truth. These two intersect at a vital point. Hindus understood that. Writes the professor of physics:

Very aptly the author draws the parallel between this Hindu core value and the celebrated statement of Einstein:

The importance of this book should be understood by the reader both in its intrinsic value and also in the larger context of the battle for narratives. For example, I had the misfortune of reading the following line in a book, published by a very prestigious publishing house, regarding the discovery of zero:

The reader should forgive the reviewer for moving from sublime to obscenely ridiculous but the above passage was written by an academic who is regularly quoted by historians of a particular dominant school in India and the academic also regularly graces TV debates when he is not giving testimony against India in the human rights commissions in the United States. This is the standard of the discourse of science historiography with respect to ancient India.

Now read what Prof. Alok Kumar writes:

One can now understand the value and importance of the book in the larger context of narrative building as also in terms of its intrinsic worth.

The chapter on mathematics also has a section on how Indian ideas travelled to Europe and fertilised the mathematical conceptions of late medieval Christendom. Thus, Hindu contribution to the Enlightenment era in Europe, particularly in terms of core mathematical ideas, from the Hindu numerals to the Madhava series of Kerala mathematicians, is a subject which should be studied by historians and highlighted in our history textbooks.

In the chapter on astronomy again the book brings out a stimulating picture. The way Hindu astronomers combine beautiful poetic examples with their discoveries is worth studying by modern popular science writers:

Instead of giving interpretations from the advantage of hindsight, the author gives proof of the claims through the statements of non-Indian scholars like Strabo and Al-Biruni. This is quite important. In the chapter on physics also, it is on the authority of Al-Biruni that the author notes the following:

The chapter on biology needs some attention here. Hindus are as a people quite comfortable with evolution. Pew Surveys often point out this fact that Hindus and Buddhists are the largest religious groups which do not find evolution uncomfortable. At the same time the author notes an important point that the ancient Hindus systematically studied various life forms and noticed inter-dependencies and commonness in them (p. 218).

Though Hindus had a strong conceptual notion of natural evolution because of the Sankhya Darshana, the book is silent on this vital subject.

The book discusses the work of Acharya J C Bose in detail. The concept of plant-soul was part of pre-Christian Western philosophy also and it kind of existed in the peripheral memories of the Western thought even during medieval and late medieval Christendom. However, it was Charles Darwin who, along with his son Francis Darwin, who came with what was then (and perhaps even now) an audacious hypothesis the root-brain hypothesis.

Bose, while as a student in England, definitely came in contact with Francis Darwin as his teacher. While the British physiologists and botanists were having mental blocs in exploring the cognitive abilities of the plants as forming a continuum with the mental life we see in animal kingdom, Bose had no such mental inhibitions. Vedanta provided him with the sense of unity and Darwinian science reinforced the Vedantic vision.

Bose in fact openly expressed this Vedantic vision of non-duality. This then is the importance of Bose. One can be sure the later editions of the book will have added chapters/sections on evolution and ecology.

The book also deals with the global impact of the natural philosophical conceptions of Hindus. The chapter has two sections. One deals with the ancient period and the other with the modern period. The latter again has two sections one dealing with the transcendental movement and the other deals with the impact on the modern physics. The emphasis is on Erwin Schrodinger. And rightly so.

The book ends with an emotional plea to the reader:

This is indeed as significant as rest of the book and carries a vital message for young students of history of science and also educators. The understanding as well as highlighting of Hindu contribution is important because it is a constructive and corrective measure. It is not a means to claim cultural superiority. Nor it is a claim of religious chauvinism. Instead this will make science a more universal inclusive human endeavour that belongs to all humanity.

A Glimpse Of What History Of Science Would Look Like If It Wasn't Averse To The 'H' Word - Swarajya

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