Maryland school of alternative medicine to offer new naturopathic program – Baltimore Sun

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The Maryland University of Integrative Health is establishing a school of naturopathic medicine and plans to admit the first students to the program next year.

The school of naturopathic medicine will be the first in the mid-Atlantic region and one of only a handful of schools nationwide that operate within a regionally accredited university, officials with the university of integrative health said.

Naturopathic medicine is an alternative practice based on the idea that the body can heal itself. Naturopathic doctors use a combination of traditional treatments with alternative therapies such as acupuncture and herbal medicines.

In establishing our School of Naturopathic Medicine, MUIH is taking a bold step to address some of the most challenging issues in healthcare, Steven Combs, the universitys president and CEO, said in a statement. We expect the graduates of this program to help fill the gap caused by the shortage of primary care physicians and to provide patients with cost-effective, compassionate care based on preventative and natural methods. Patients are demanding this approach and our nation needs these graduates.

The number of naturopathic practitioners has tripled in the last ten years as more states offer licenses. Nineteen states, including Maryland, and Washington D.C. license naturopathic care providers and several more are in the legislative process toward licensing.

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Police: At Little Rock pharmacy, thief stuffs cold medicine down pants, threatens to kill employee – Arkansas Online

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Little Rock authorities are investigating after a thief stuffed cold medicine down his pants at a Walgreens then threatened to kill an employee who tried to stop him Sunday evening, police said.

An officer was sent at 6:30 p.m. to the Walgreens at 5525 W. 12th St. and spoke with a 21-year-old employee, according to a police report.

The woman told the officer she watched someone enter the store, walk to the medicine aisle and put four boxes of Mucinex down his pants. He then grabbed a box of blank CDs and tried to leave, she said.

The 21-year-old said she confronted the stranger and asked him to hand over the items he took. He reportedly pushed her out of the way, then said, "I will kill your white trash ass b****" before leaving.

The employee handed over photos she took of the person to police.

The thief was described as standing 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds and reportedly had a silver grill in his mouth and was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans at the time of the crime.

No suspects were named on the report.

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From war hero to white coat: A wounded veteran’s journey to Harvard Medical School – ABC News

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Seven years before Greg Galeazzi put on a white coat at Harvard Medical School, he wore Army fatigues while serving a year-long deployment in Afghanistan.

In May 2011 a roadside bomb tore off Captain Galeazzis legs and much of his right arm, just a month before he was expecting to return home.

It felt like I was an empty coke can on train tracks getting hit by a freight train moving at 100 miles per hour, said Galeazzi.

Without a medic on the ground, there was no available pain medication.

All I could do was scream, Galeazzi recalled. Its hard to put into words that sickening, nauseating feeling to see that my legs were just gone.

Due to his units remote position in northern Afghanistan, Galeazzi had little hope of receiving timely medical support.

I put my head back and just thought, 'Im dead,' he said.

He passed out. Upon waking just minutes later, he discovered that his soldiers had successfully applied tourniquets to both his legs and right arm, which had been nearly severed at the shoulder. A half hour later a Medivac helicopter arrived to take him to the trauma bay.

What I found out then was that the real nightmare was really just beginning, said Galeazzi.

He endured over 50 surgeries, hundreds of hours of physical therapy, and numerous months as a hospital in-patient.

But the traumatic experience and new limitations did not diminish Galeazzis dream of becoming a doctor.

Not only did I still want to practice medicine, but it strengthened my resolve to do it, explained Galeazzi.

Over the next few years, Galeazzi took more than 18 pre-medical courses and achieved his desired score on the MCAT entrance.

Galeazzi was accepted into Harvard Medical School this past year and is the only student who uses a wheelchair in his class of 165 students. He has not yet decided what type of medicine hell eventually practice, but is leaning toward a primary care field.

Youre that first line of defense. You need to know a little bit about everything. I like the idea of being a jack of all trades, he said.

Galeazzi also looks forward to marrying his fiance Jazmine Romero next year.

Even though Ive gone through this journey, its not lost on me how unbelievable this ride has been, said Galeazzi.

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UB welcomes largest-ever medical school class – WBFO

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The University at Buffalo has welcomed its largest-ever medical school class for a new semester. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says UB is calling this a "milestone".

WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says UB is welcoming it's largest-ever medical school class.

"We have increased our class size from 144 to 180, so it's a pretty big jump, remarked David Milling, associate professor of Medicine.

Milling is very excited about a new class of medical students. Their "white coat" ceremony took place on Friday where students attended the official "calling of the class", taking an Oath of Medicine to begin their medical school journey in Buffalo.

Milling told WBFO News among the reasons why the school was able to boost its enrollment includes a brand new UB Medical School that will soon open in downtown Buffalo.

With new space that can accommodate them, increase class sizes so a perfect opportunity for us to do this. Workforce issues in our area and outside of our area as well, noted Milling.

Of those new 180 medical students, a majority are from New York State and 78 are from Western New York. 40 received their undergraduate degree at UB.

Yes, I think that is important. We are a state school and part of our mission is to train our local young folks who are interested in medicine, both in the Buffalo area the eight counties surrounding us and New York State in general, Milling explained.

Despite the difficult studies these students have ahead of them, Milling noted they have very few students who drop out in the first year. He speculates that they may lose one or two students.

This is a rigorous process to get students into medical school. Certainly, that doesnt mean that everyone who comes in should become a physician, but we do try to make sure that we support our students as best we can once they are matriculated, replied Milling.

UB medical students also participate in work in the local community, volunteering at Hospice, food pantries or assisting with suicide hotlines. In past years, students have conducted cancer, geriatrics and diabetes research.

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SIU med school administrator to expand diversity promotion efforts – The State Journal-Register

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Dean Olsen Staff Writer @deanolsenSJR

Expanding a program that cultivates high school students interest in the medical profession and helping future doctors avoid unconscious bias are among the goals of a new associate dean at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

This job will give me the opportunity to be a collaborator, a change agent, Dr. Wendi Wills El-Amin said.

Wills El-Amin, 46, a family medicine physician, began her new role Aug. 1 as associate dean for equity, diversity and inclusion. She previously was an academic strategist in SIUs department of medical education and treated patients through the department of family medicine.

The Springfield resident succeeded Dr. Wesley Robinson McNeese, who helped launch SIUs office of diversity, multicultural and minority affairs in 2001.

McNeese, 69, who is African-American, is a Christian minister who pastors a Springfield church. He has been hired to work part-time on diversity initiatives throughout the SIU system, including the campuses in Carbondale and Edwardsville.

Wills El-Amin, who also is African American, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in Houston, Texas. She said she will take on McNeeses role of mentoring minority medical students. Among other duties, she also will oversee the Physician Pipeline Preparatory Program, or P4, which McNeese founded in 2009.

The P4 program enrolls Springfield-area high school students interested in potential careers as doctors. The after-school program provides mentors and exposure to the medical field.

Wills El-Amin said she would like to expand the program so parts of it reach students in the elementary and middle-school grades. Many of these young people would benefit from learning that a career as a doctor is a possibility, she said.

Wills El-Amin said her most influential teacher was in third grade a woman she knows today as Mrs. Creole.

She was the teacher who really made me believe I had a lot of potential, El-Amin said.

McNeese and Wills El-Amin come from different backgrounds.

McNeese said he grew up very poor in East St. Louis. He was salutatorian of his high school class and served in the Air Force in Vietnam before working as a journalist in East St. Louis and a paramedic.

He enrolled at Illinois State University at age 30 and later took part in SIUs Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP) before earning his medical degree at SIU and working a decade as an emergency room doctor. He now is a father of four. His new title with SIU will be system executive director for diversity initiatives.

Since McNeese began his work on diversity at SIU, the school has definitely made strides in the percentage of minority students enrolling and graduating as doctors, he said.

SIU currently ranks in the top 3 percent to 4 percent of medical schools nationwide when it comes to the percentage of black students graduating, he said, though the share of doctors who are black nationwide 4 percent remains low.

The P4 program, which has served many students who are minorities since its inception, could produce medical students for SIU eventually, McNeese said.

Its a grow-your-own type of idea, he said.

Wills El-Amin, the mother of three girls, grew up the daughter of an internal-medicine physician, but like McNeese, she said she experienced racism as she grew up and as a professional.

She earned a bachelors degree from Hampton University in Virginia and a medical degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., before completing a family medicine residency at the University of Texas at Houston.

She joined SIU in 2013 and before that was director of the University of Virginias cancer center disparity initiative and the outreach center on health disparities. She is chairwoman of the womens health section for the National Medical Association, an organization of African American doctors.

Wills El-Amin said she will work to help all SIU medical students, minority and non-minority, understand how the health of their patients can be influenced by factors outside the exam room. Those factors, known as the social determinants of health, can include poverty, education and crime.

She said she also wants to equip medical students with tools to avoid burnout a common problem among the ranks of physicians. Im very invested in cultivating resiliency, she said.

Unconscious biases can shape the way doctors interact with patients, Wills El-Amin said. She said she plans to use data on those biases to shape the curriculum for medical students and create a different approach when theyre dealing with their patients.

The medical schools staff already has received some training on eliminating institutional racism. That training will continue and will promote equitable treatment regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, Wills El-Amin said.

My approach is more of how to teach people cultural humility, she said.

Dr. Jerry Kruse, dean and provost of the medical school, said McNeese has done an excellent job for the school. Kruse said Wills El-Amin is an accomplished medical educator. She has a focus in her heart on the students.

Wills El-Amins annual salary as associate dean will be $210,000. The salary for McNeeses salary for his new job was unavailable. His salary as a medical school associate dean was $210,000, according to SIU officials.

Contact Dean Olsen: dean.olsen@sj-r.com, 788-1543, twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.

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SIU med school administrator to expand diversity promotion efforts - The State Journal-Register

Liberty High School hosts grand opening | KGAN – KGAN TV

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The newest school to join the Iowa City Community School District hosted its grand opening Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017.

For nearly a half-century, the Iowa City Community School District has had only two comprehensive high schools.

Iowa City High, home of the Little Hawks, and Iowa City West, home of the Trojans, have been those two schools since 1968.

While the rivalry hasn't gone stale, a new school may be sending a jolt through the district.

Liberty High School -- home of the lightning -- will become the third primary high school in the district as the 2017-18 academic year kicks off.

The first public high school to be built from scratch in eastern Iowa in more than three decades, Liberty took several years -- from planning to building -- and $75 million to erect.

Liberty will serve 700 students in year one, most of which attended North Central Junior High, and would have attended West.

District leaders said City High and West High were at 130 percent capacity last year, and Liberty should provide much needed alleviation.

Further, Superintendent Stephen Murley said the addition of a school brings additional opportunities.

"There are three leads in the school play," said Murley. "There are three firsts in the debate team. There are three starting point guards. There are three starting quarterbacks for the football team."

The school is expected to reach more than 1,000 students by year three.

Depending on the September 12 bond referendum vote, the school could fit as many as 1,500 students (if the bond is approved).

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Liberty Community Services in New Haven introduces new executive director – New Haven Register

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Liberty Community Services in New Haven introduces new executive director

NEW HAVEN >> Jim Pettinelli, as the new executive director of Liberty Community Services, brings to the agency a three-decade background in behavioral health services and programs for the homeless.

He was introduced at a press conference Monday and will assume the position in September, replacing John Bradley, who led the organization for 10 years. Bradley left this summer for Poughkeepsie, N.Y. with his wife, Elizabeth Bradley, who is the new president of Vassar College.

Bradley will head Vassars Urban Education Institute at Vassar, where 100 college students there mentor 250 city children throughout the year.

Pettinelli has been the assistant director for the Community Research and Implementation Core at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS at Yale University for the past eight years.

Before that, he was the vice president and chief operating officer for Victory Programs, a Boston-based nonprofit offering services similar to those at Liberty, part of a long career working in community outreach, behavioral health and housing.

Mayor Toni Harp said Liberty, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, stands out among the citys nonprofits for the range of services it offers and its ability to come through with new approaches in serving the homeless, persons with mental health and substance abuse issues, as well HIV-AIDS.

Liberty always steps up and says let us give it a try, the mayor said.

She said she was also happy that Pettinelli knows how to raise money from the private sector, which is increasingly important.

I have every confidence that they will be around another 30 years, Harp said. They will be nimble and able to provide the services these populations need.

The agency provided services and housing to some 800 persons last year, Harp said.

Jim Travers, president of Libertys Board of Directors, thanked Harp for her ideas that were picked up by Liberty, specifically the RESPECT program which places some 80 homeless individuals into community beautification jobs with the help of a $100,000 grant from Alexion with the aim that half of them will obtain long-term employment.

With private donations, the Sunrise Cafe serves 170 people a day, many of whom are homeless.

Travers said the agency thrives because of the support of the community, but particularly support from the mayor.

Pettinelli thanked the larger community for helping those who are looking for that next step up. It is an amazing community that we are all a part of ... really looking to provide an opportunity, an option.

Pettinelli emphasized housing as the platform that stabilizes our lives that makes us feel at home and safe and that opportunity really needs to be available to everyone.

Liberty Services has some 200 units of housing at Safe Haven on State Street and at other scattered sites.

Travers said the organization is secure in its funding for the next two years and in the meantime it will look for additional funds to expand its programs. I think what we have is a very secure base to build on, Travers.

As for expanding any programs, he said they will look at the needs and proceed accordingly.

Travers did say the Sunrise Cafe has been instrumental in establishing a relationship with people they can then work with on getting housing.

Several men, who attended the announcement at City Hall, complained about various services that they feel are inadequate.

Joseph Strain, who is recently out of prison, said he has been able to get $547 for a security deposit for an apartment, but he said that is not enough and Liberty wont give him any more.

The mayor said those funds come from the state, which caps the total. She said it is something they could take up with the state delegation.

Strain and Robert Dinuzzo both asked about using boarded up abandoned buildings in New Haven to house the homeless with the potential new tenants working on renovation.

This issue has come up before and the city has said putting untrained workers on a site is a liability, while it has no say on private property.

You makes us a liability, Strain said. I can do work.

To the degree that we can, we will. We will do whatever we can to get you the skills that you need, the mayor said.

I have the skills, Strain said.

We will do what we can, but its a competitive world we have out there, Harp said.

Petinelli said his greatest challenge will be identifying as many resources as possible to help as many people as we can.

Another individual, just out of prison, said they used to be able to get vouchers to do their laundry, but no more.

He suggested they start a laundry that released prisoners could use and run as a business and where canned goods and other necessities could be dropped off.

We are about innovative ideas, Travers said, as he connected the person with a case manager.

Another person released from prison eight months ago, said he had problems reapplying for Social Security Disability.

I have been on the street since December, he said. Im in no condition to be on the street. He also was referred to a case manager.

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Liberty Hurricanes preseason football report – Allentown Morning Call

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Three tidbits on the Hurricanes

1. The offensive line looks strong. A lineman in his playing days, Liberty coach John Truby jumped at the chance to single out his trench men when discussing his roster.

The Hurricanes return five offensive linemen who played extensively last season. That group suffered its share of injuries, contributing to a late-season fade after a 5-2 start.

Shane McLaughlin, Keaton Wesley, Jack Fineanfanofo, Anthony Caamano and Mike Warner should all be part of Libertys offensive-line rotation. That group is working with former Hurricanes head coach Dave Brown, who is in his first season as an assistant on Trubys staff.

Libertys projected strength on the offensive line plus a three-man running back group of Nasir Legree, Roberto Rivera and Justin Diaz has Truby excited.

Those three are doing just a bang-up job running the football, Truby said. I feel really good with those two spots offensively.

2. Erney has asserted himself. Junior Todd Erney started last season as Libertys quarterback but ended the year sidelined for a school discipline issue. His classmate, Tristan Reinert, finished the year at quarterback.

Erney has re-emerged as the Hurricanes starter with his work during the offseason and early in camp. He completed 57-of-128 passes for 795 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions last season.

This summer, working with [offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom] Wills, really getting into what we want him to do in the offense and showing that maturity, hes done well, Truby said. Hes starting to pick up a leadership role a little bit. We have very good senior leadership, so were not asking him to do too much there, but hes starting to have better command of the offense. Thats the big stuff.

3. The linebackers will lead the defense. Liberty suffered key losses along its defensive line and in its secondary. While it looks to rebuild those units, its linebackers should provide stability and leadership.

Seniors Jayden Vazquez and Will Kandianis form Libertys defensive backbone. Vazquez is a Fordham recruit.

This defense, were up tempo, Vazquez said. We like to hit. Contact is a big thing.

Coach: John Truby.

2016 record: 5-6 overall, 3-5 EPC South.

Whos new: Former Liberty head coach Dave Brown has returned to coach the offensive line. Kenny Weid will coach the H-backs.

Millers first thoughts

Liberty graduated some of the EPC Souths top individual players (Jaohne Duggan, Darian Street, Gunner Anglovich), but that elite talent was surrounded by youth last season. The Hurricanes returning players now know what it takes to navigate a 10-game varsity season and remember the disappointment of ending 2016 on a four-game losing streak.

The Hurricanes need development along their defensive line and secondary the most before EPC South play starts Sept. 1. In a division loaded with playmaking wide receivers, pressuring the quarterback and covering on the outside are musts.

Scrimmage schedule

8/19: at Delaware Valley, 11 a.m.

Regular-season schedule

AUGUST

25: at East Stroudsburg South

SEPTEMBER

1: at Easton

8: PARKLAND

15: at Whitehall

22: BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC

29: at Dieruff

OCTOBER

7: NORTHAMPTON

13: at Emmaus

20: NAZARETH

28: FREEDOM, 1 p.m.

All games 7 p.m. unless noted; home in CAPS

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Liberty Hurricanes preseason football report - Allentown Morning Call

Liberty Global Quietly Shapes 5G Strategy — WSJ – Fox Business

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This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 14, 2017).

LONDON -- Decades after earning the nickname the "Cable Cowboy" for building an American cable-TV empire, John Malone is at it again. This time, he has set his sights on internet delivery overseas.

Mr. Malone's investments have been making plenty of headlines in the U.S. recently. He owns a nearly one-third voting stake in Discovery Communications Inc., the television-programming company that agreed on July 31 to buy rival Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. for $11.9 billion. Another big Malone investment, Charter Communications Inc., last month rejected a one-on-one tie-up with Sprint Corp.

But he and his lieutenants have also been building, more quietly, a cable colossus far from American shores that has the potential to be the backbone for 5G, the next generation of wireless communications that promises to turbocharge mobile download and upload speeds. Liberty Global PLC, which is incorporated in London but run out of Mr. Malone's hometown of Denver, is currently the world's biggest international cable company. Currently, it has 25 million subscribers across 30 countries in Europe and Latin America. The company said Monday it planned to spin off the Latin American business later this year.

The company's ambition when it started in 2005 was to be a cable-TV and broadband-internet provider, but its focus has shifted to include wireless networks, too.

Liberty Global and its investors believe it has positioned its networks to take advantage of 5G technology if and when it gains traction. The strategy echoes Mr. Malone's moves in the U.S. in the 1990s, when he transformed cable into high-speed pipes for the internet.

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Currently, Liberty Global's focus is selling customers its "quad play," a bundle of cable, internet, fixed-line telephone and mobile services, all for one price. Liberty mostly rents the use of cellular towers and other wireless infrastructure from carriers for its mobile offerings. But for the other three products, it owns the infrastructure -- miles of coaxial copper and fiber-optic cables.

It is those cables where more value potentially can be unlocked.

The telecom industry's vision of 5G, which is expected to go live in 2019 or 2020, is to connect the cables to small cellular antennas to transmit the gobs of data required for top-quality videos, self-driving cars, virtual reality and other technologies of the near future. Those antennas would be close to the ground, or atop buildings and streetlights, in contrast to the tall ones now that sit along highways. These smaller antennas would send that data on its final journey -- to customers in a radius as short as 300 feet. The process is similar to how a Wi-Fi router transmits data from a landline connection.

"There are two things that are going great for us," said Balan Nair, Liberty Global's chief technology and innovation officer. "We have fiber to many neighborhoods" and power, he said. The company has utility cabinets in neighborhoods already connected to power, which would allow the company -- or a mobile-carrier partner -- to quickly set up a 5G cellular site there.

Liberty Global's fiber-optic landlines could make the company an acquisition target for a mobile carrier that wants to buy 5G infrastructure, said Citi analyst Simon Weeden. "There's obviously going to be demand for this stuff," he said.

But one potential downside: Many wireless carriers are already building out their own fiber-optic networks for their own 5G services. If that happens, customers might just use their existing wireless carrier's 5G and skip Liberty Global's offerings altogether. "5G may not be good news" for Liberty Global, Mr. Weeden said.

Mr. Nair said it would be difficult for mobile carriers to invest in laying the landlines for their own 5G network. "The economics of building that infrastructure are high," he said, referring to costs. He said Liberty Global would decide whether to partner with a mobile carrier for 5G or whether to become a 5G carrier on its own on a case-by-case basis in each market.

Liberty Global Chief Executive Mike Fries struck a note of caution at a conference in February, saying that 5G wouldn't become a reality soon, at least in Europe. European mobile carriers don't have enough money to invest in 5G upgrades, and many are still in the process of adopting 4G, the current generation of wireless technology, Mr. Fries said.

The challenges extend to building out the infrastructure. Liberty Global's effort to install fiber-optic lines in the U.K., called "Project Lightning," has been delayed. Mr. Fries in May said the company had discovered irregularities in reporting the completion status of some fiber-optic plans by a small group of local managers. This week, he said management changes were helping to remedy the problem.

Mr. Malone, 76 years old, is Liberty Global's chairman, but he delegates responsibilities to the 54-year-old Mr. Fries, who is also based in Denver and occasionally fronts a rock 'n' roll cover band called "The Moderators." Liberty Global declined to make Mr. Malone available for an interview.

Liberty Global's fast growth has been somewhat overshadowed, especially lately, by Mr. Malone's other interests in the U.S.

In 1999, Mr. Malone sold cable-powerhouse Tele-Communications Inc. to what was then known as AT&T Corp. for $46 billion. In 2005, he merged two of his overseas interests, cable-operator UnitedGlobalCom and the international arm of media-investment company Liberty Media Corp., to create Liberty Global. Mr. Malone remains Liberty Media's chairman.

Mr. Malone is also chairman of Liberty Broadband Corp., the largest investor in Charter. Mr. Malone had been trying for a year to get Charter and rival Comcast Corp. to jointly invest in or partner with a mobile carrier, The Wall Street Journal reported in June. Charter on last month, however, rejected an informal offer for a merger with Sprint.

Liberty Global now operates eight brands, the most notable being Virgin Media in the U.K. and Ireland. Since 2005, it has snapped up more than 250 companies, spending $93 billion, and sold about 30, for $11 billion. It bought Virgin Media in 2013 for $24 billion.

Mr. Fries has kept the company's various businesses for the most part independent, counting on local brand recognition and manager expertise. But the parent company saves on research and development costs by rolling out the same set-top box across all of its markets. Liberty Global also has a stable of cable-industry veterans it can dispatch to its companies to help with technological and regulatory issues. "We are delivering people, we are delivering expertise," Mr. Fries said in a recent interview.

Write to Stu Woo at Stu.Woo@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 14, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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Frenchman’s return: Ambitious two-story restaurant opens in East Liberty – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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For a 29-year-old chef, Andrew Garbarino has simple if ambitious goals: to create a dining experience nonpareil in the city of Pittsburgh and a place where he can retire.

I want to die in this restaurant, he laughed. Thats why I put in an elevator.

Monday was the soft opening of Bar Frenchman on Baum Boulevard in East Liberty, on the ground floor of a grand 122-year-old building that was most recently the Royal York Auction Gallery and in the 1920s a Hudson car dealership.

The 60-seat bar and dining room will be a French-style brasserie that will serve everything from $19 flatiron to $100 Japanese wagyu steaks, and simple oysters and mussels to chilled lobster tail and a sturgeon caviar tasting.

The downstairs, you dont have to have a super extravagant check you can but you dont have to, said Mr. Garbarino, a Johnstown native.

Other items will include escargot and grits, smoked duck breast, duck confit pappardelle, Parisian gnocchi with ratatouille, and vegetarian French onion soup. Sourcing is meticulous, with produce from Chefs Garden family farm in Huron, Ohio, and roosters for coq au vin from a North Carolina farm.

The kitchen downstairs is encased in windows, so diners can watch the staff at work, and Mr. Garbarino said it is the first kitchen in Western Pennsylvania with equipment by Hestan, a California company that has done similar work at elite restaurants Alinea in Chicago and The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif. Equipment in the larger upstairs kitchen is also by Hestan.

In 2015, Mr. Garbarino, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., opened the highly acclaimed but small Twisted Frenchman on the bustling restaurant row on South Highland Avenue. That space closed earlier this summer and will move to the upstairs of this building, opening in about two months. For guests who step off the elevator, the first thing theyll see by design is a gleaming giant new kitchen.

Im literally the luckiest chef in the city because I got to design and build my dream kitchen as I imagined it in my head, he said. This is my muse.

The expansion required Mr. Garbarino to multiply his staff from seven to 35. Its taken as an article of faith among local restaurateurs that a shortage of quality kitchen help exists here.

My solution to this was: We built the most beautiful kitchen in the city. I want them to be proud of it and to call this their home, and I want to be able to provide them a good living. I want this to be a teaching kitchen, he said.

So I was a little nervous when we put the ads out, but we had great cooks from all over the city respond.

There will be no doors on the kitchen because Mr. Garbarino wants to encourage interaction between guests and back of the house staff.

The Twisted Frenchman will again specialize in tasting menus, with a new wrinkle: a 21-course tasting menu with seats right in the kitchen. The cost will be $225 per person, but a more modest and affordable three-course full entre tasting menu will be available in the 42-seat dining room for $50.

The chairs in the opulent dining room were $825 a pop, made by a Manhattan designer and modeled after the chairs at Alinea.

Its like a modern version of a wingback steakhouse chair. I wanted people to sit down and be in luxury, Mr. Garbarino said. If youre going to a do a 14-course dinner with us, youre going to be sitting down for three hours, so we want you to be comfortable.

China and silverware are custom from Steelite International in New Castle. Luxe Pittsburgh of East Liberty did the bathrooms.

A huge window provides a view of the green copper Motor Square Garden dome, and an accent wall has porcelain tile with a green and copper patina that plays off the view of the iconic building.

Its a sexy, clean and modern space thats still warm and inviting, with a lot of light and natural tones, he said.

Mr. Garbarino aspires to be awarded a Michelin star.

If you want to be that restaurant, the atmosphere, the service, the wine list everything has to come into play. You could serve the best damn meal ever, but if you dont have those other things to back it up .... Its not just about food anymore.

Dianne DeStefano, formerly of Bar Marco in the Strip, will be the pastry chef, and Greta Harmon, who helped open the wildly popular Hidden Harbor in Squirrel Hill, will run the bar. Vanessa Cominsky and Kristoffer Lichtenberger will serve as managers and sommeliers. The wine cellar has capacity for up to 3,000 bottles that will be mostly French; Mr, Garbarino hopes to run the gamut from standard $40 bottles to super-luxe $15,000 vintages.

The tasting menus three, eight, 14 and 21 courses will have a price range appropriate for occasions from a first date to an important anniversary.

I want to be a special occasion restaurant, and weve done unbelievably well with them. I want it to be like theater. Dinner is a show, and thats what we do with waves of different flavors and textures, Mr. Garbarino said.

I want people to be able to enjoy it regardless of who you are and what your bank account says. Its not about that. Its about having a special night. Everyone deserves a nice night out.

Dan Gigler: dgigler@post-gazette.com; Twitter @gigs412.

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Frenchman's return: Ambitious two-story restaurant opens in East Liberty - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Religious liberty for all – Religion News Service

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commentary By Curtis W. Freeman | 4 hours ago

A plaque containing the U.S. Bill of Rights. Photo courtesy of Creative Commons/Ted Mielczarek

(RNS) A recent survey found only 2 percent of evangelical Christians indicated that the Bill of Rights made America great, although more than half said they highly value the freedom of religion and less than half said they appreciate Americas Christian roots.

This lack of enthusiasm stands in sharp contrast to earlier generations. The overwhelming number of evangelical Christians during the formative period of our constitutional democracy regarded the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights to be essential for making America great. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights created the environment for the United States to become a Beulah Land where religious dissenters of all sorts flourished because it ensured that liberty was for all.

Evangelical Christians have not lost their mind, but they have clearly lost their memory. If our fragile democracy is to survive this social amnesia, it is important for all Americans to recover our collective memory by learning anew the important stories of the forgotten tradition of religious dissent and the ways it shaped American democracy, and more importantly how dissent ensures democracys vitality.

When the U.S. Constitution was proposed in 1787, Article VI declared in the strongest possible language that no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust. This was the only reference to religion in the entire text, but an important one. It reflected the fact that the conviction of religious liberty in England was forged in the fires of one religious test after another.

Baptist minister John Leland. Image courtesy of ARDA

Religious dissenters, which included anyone not in good standing with the Church of England, were excluded by law from holding public office, attending university or serving in the military. In the event that a dissenter was elected to public office, there was a provision for an exception, as long as dissenting Christians received Communion in the Church of England within a year. Daniel Defoe sharply criticized the occasional conformity of dissenters who engaged in this dubious practice to qualify for the privilege of employment or public office, saying they were mortgaging their consciences and playing a game of Bo-peep with the Almighty.

The application of religious tests to exclude dissenters was something the Framers wanted to explicitly prohibit. But even the constitutional provision against religious tests was not sufficient for John Leland and the Baptists of Virginia. For Leland, true liberty was more than toleration, which presupposes preeminence of one and indulgence of others. Genuine liberty, he argued, must apply equally to Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Liberty must be for all or it is not liberty at all.

To secure this liberty, Leland met with James Madison, who was preparing to run for the Constitutional Congress of 1788. Leland protested that the Constitution had no provision for religious liberty. Madison agreed, but he stated that if elected he would work to secure religious liberty as he had done in Virginia. Leland and the Baptists agreed to support Madison, who was elected by a large margin. Virginia passed the Constitution in June 1789, and Madison went on to write the Bill of Rights, which was approved in 1791. The First Amendment made good on his promise to religious dissenters, declaring that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

Evangelical Christians in the founding of our republic understood something worth remembering. The flourishing of their communities depended on the extension of religious freedom, not only to minority Protestant dissenters like themselves, but to all Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and people of all faiths or none at all.

Evangelical Christians are not alone in suffering from a severe case of historical amnesia. It is a condition afflicting many Americans who have no memory of the inclusive vision in the Bill of Rights.

Even more importantly we are in danger of losing the recognition of, and capacity for, living with fundamental religious differences, which is a foundational condition to the basic political tolerance on which American democracy depends. Religious pluralism is a legacy of religious liberty. Both were crucial in the formation of American democracy, and both remain essential for its flourishing today.

We must not allow a misremembering of history to change religious liberty into a presumed privilege of a religious majority (real or assumed) or to become a tool of exclusion used against religious minorities (no matter how different from us they may be). To do so turns our founding principles on their heads. It was just such a bad idea that called for the creation of the lively experiment that became America. Lets celebrate and defend religious liberty for all, and make America great again.

(Curtis W. Freeman, research professor of theology at Duke Divinity School, is the author of the new book Undomesticated Dissent: Democracy and the Public Virtue of Religious Nonconformity from Baylor University Press. The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service)

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Religious liberty for all - Religion News Service

Charlottesville white nationalist demonstrator loses job at libertarian hot dog shop – Washington Post

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A campaign to identify the marchers spread on social media following the bloody right-wing rally in Charlottesville. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

Updated 3:15 p.m.

A white nationalist who participated in the torch-lit march through the University of Virginias campus this weekendhas lost hisjob at a Berkeley, Calif., hot dog restaurant after Twitter users posted his photo and place of employment. The employee, Cole White, was identified online after he was photographed among a shouting and torch-wielding mobduring the march Friday night in Charlottesville.

After being inundated with inquiries, his former employer, Top Dog, in downtown Berkeley, posted a sign on its door that reads:Effective Saturday 12th August, Cole White no longer works at Top Dog. The actions of those in Charlottesville are not supported by Top Dog. We believe in individual freedom and voluntary association for everyone, multiple news outlets reported. The shop has a political bent of its own, as its well-known in Berkeley forthe libertarian stickers and articles posted on its walls, and website.

Top Dogissued a statement to the Washington Post that read, in part:

Colechose to voluntarily resign his employmentwith Top Dogand we acceptedhisresignation.There have been reports that he was terminated.Those reports are false.There have been reports that top dog knowingly employs racists and promotes racist theology.Thattoois false.Individual freedomand voluntaryexchangearecore to the philosophy of Top Dog.We look forward to cooking the same great food forat leastanother50 years.

Another part of the statement noted: Wedorespect our employees rightto theiropinions. They are free to make their own choicesbutmust accept the responsibilities of those choices.

When asked by The Post if White would have been permitted to keep his job had he not resigned, the shop declined to comment further.

White wasin Charlottesville for the Unite the Right rally, which turned deadly on Saturday.James Alex Fields Jr., 20, who was described as a Nazi sympathizer by one of hishigh school teachers,is accused of ramminghis car into a group of counterprotesters, injuring 19 and killingHeather Heyer,32.Two Virginia state troopers H. Jay Cullen, 48, and Berke Bates, 40 were killed while doing surveillance work during Saturdays rally when their helicopter crashed.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) on Aug. 13 said Charlottesville is "stronger" a day after violence erupted in the city. The organizer of a white nationalist rally said clashes occurred because police declined "to do their job." (Whitney Leaming,Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

[Discomfort food: Using dinners to talk about race, violence and America]

The mostly male crowd that participated in Friday nights tiki-torch-lit rally did not cover their faces, and they were widely photographed. A Twitter account,@YesYoureRacist, began posting photographs of participants and uncovering their identities. White was among the first itnamed.The account would soon identify students enrolled at the University of Nevada and Washington State University, leading both of the schools to issue statements condemning racism.

Top Dog, a Berkeley campus fixture, isnt shy about its libertarian values. The walls are covered with libertarian bumper stickers, yellowed newspaper articles urging the privatization of the postal service, and hand-lettered signs with statements like, Beware the leader and Theres no government like no government,' wrote SF Weeklyin 1996.

A section of the restaurants website is dedicated to Propergander, posting articles about sanctuary cities, nuclear war and diversity.A recent article about an anti-diversity memo circulating at Google read, in part, Jim Crow is long gone, but it seems that Progressives (which gave us Jim Crow in the first place) now are imposing what essentially is a new form of segregation, that being ideological and religious segregation that is more reminiscent of how the former USSR treated dissidents than anything we have seen in private enterprise. The website was down for a time after the weekends incidents but was online as of Monday afternoon.

[In good hands: How immigrants craft your favorite restaurant dishes]

The restaurant wrote to one Twitter user that it had been overwhelmed with inquiries about White:

The restaurants Facebook page has been deluged with complaints about White, and its Yelp page is under active cleanup alert, due to the high number of people posting negative comments about him (Yelps note says it tries to remove comments related more to news events than users experience with the business). One sample review: Great place for Neo-Nazis. For people who arent Neo-Nazis? Not so much. A hot dog is a hot dog, but a hot dog place thatnot only employs Neo-Nazis but posts alt-right screeds on their webpage is a place that makes me want to vomit. But if you hate minorities, you might have a friend in Berkeleys Top Dog.

By the way, the hot dogs arekosher-style.

Charlottesville residents respond to the violence that erupted in their city Aug. 12. (Elyse Samuels,Zoeann Murphy/The Washington Post)

More from Food:

The new political battleground: Your restaurant receipt

Restaurants show diners what a day without immigrants tastes like

Discomfort food: Using dinners to talk about race, violence and America

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Charlottesville white nationalist demonstrator loses job at libertarian hot dog shop - Washington Post

Libertarian Party In Damage Control Mode After Praising North Korea As Example Of Freedom – The Daily Caller

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The Libertarian Party is in full damage control mode after sparking backlash by praising North Korea as an example of more freedom than the United States for its marijuana laws.

In a now-deleted Aug. 7 tweet, the party wrote: Its sad that we can look to #NorthKorea for an example of more freedom than the United States. The tweet linked to a Business Insider article that actually undercuts the argument that North Korea has laxer marijuana laws than the United States.

Screenshot/Twitter

After a wave of criticism online, the party deleted the tweet Sunday night after leaving it up for almost an entire week and issued an apology (although the apology tweet now appears to have been deleted as well.)

The Libertarian Partys official New Hampshire arm sent the exact same tweet praising North Korea on August 7. That tweet has not been deleted and remains on Twitter.

Contrary to widespread rumors online, the Business Insider article stated that marijuana appears to be illegal in North Korea.

The Libertarian Party has struggled to establish itself as a credible third party.

The party convention last summer turned into a spectacle after a candidate for party chairman stripped down to a thong during his two-minute speech.

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Libertarian Party In Damage Control Mode After Praising North Korea As Example Of Freedom - The Daily Caller

Libertarian Party Apologizes After Saying North Korea Has More Freedom than the United States – Townhall

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The Libertarian Party has apologized after a tweet praising North Korea as having more freedom than the United States. In a series of now-deleted tweets, the official Twitter account of the Libertarian Party tweeted praise at North Korea last week for its marijuana-friendly policies, saying that it was an example of "more freedom" than the United States. On Sunday, the account backtracked and apologized for the tweet, saying that in "no universe" could the totalitarian regime be viewed as a symbol of freedom.

Both tweets could not be found on the account by Monday, but the same tweet from the New Hampshire Libertarian Party's account was still online.

I mean, seriously? While I certainly don't disagree with North Korea's (apparent) liberal policy on marijuana, I'd still rather live in Virginia, where marijuana may be illegal, but other, more important things (such as my religion, the ability to say what I want, and the ability to actually leave the country at my whimsy) are. I think most mainstream people--including members of the Libertarian Party--would prefer to live in the United States rather than North Korea. This isn't too difficult, and it's absolutely absurd to call a country with no basic freedoms whatsoever a "beacon" due to the fact they (might) permit people to grow and smoke a drug. I mean, come on.

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Libertarian Party Apologizes After Saying North Korea Has More Freedom than the United States - Townhall

Libertarian Party Praises North Korea As Less Oppressive Than the US – MRCTV (blog)

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The Libertarian Party has issued an apology for portraying North Korea as a shining beacon of freedom compared to the allegedly oppressive United States.

In a now-deleted tweet, the Libertarian Party shared a Business Insider article about how North Korea has been dubbed a weed smokers paradise. In their assessment of the article, the Libertarian Party said the totalitarian dictatorship can be looked to for an example of more freedom than the United States:

While the Libertarian Party accurately read the headline of the article, the article itself notes that North Korea may not be as pot-friendly as the Libertarian Party may like:

In January, the AP's Eric Talmadge provides some of the most conclusive evidence yet that marijuana is illegal in North Korea.

Torkel Stiernlof, a Swedish diplomat living in North Korea, told the AP that marijuana is a controlled substance in the same category as cocaine and heroin. He rejected the idea that government looks the other way when it comes to drug use, as some online stories suggest.

"There should be no doubt that drugs, including marijuana, are illegal here," Stiernlof said. "One can't buy it legally and it would be a criminal offense to smoke it."

In fact, the lack of knowledge surrounding the legal enforcement of marijuana laws in North Korea is an example of why North Korea is an oppressive, repressive regime that should not be heralded as an example of freedom. Since Business Insider relies partially on anonymous internet reports to discuss whether North Korea is actually a safe-haven for pot smokers, it shows that the government cracks down on the free exchange of information beyond the borders and the bureaucrats.

It should also be noted that North Korea is famous for the hero-worship cult of personality surrounding its Dear Leaderand that the country routinely punishes any dissent of any kindwith work camps. These are, obviously, not libertarian principles.

After outrage over the tweet, the Libertarian Party reportedly issued an apology nearly a week later. The apology, like the original tweet, appears to have been deleted:

This is far from the Libertarian Partys first time making a social media faux pas. In April, the official Facebook account for the Libertarian Party praised Satanism as an example of libertarian principles.

The Libertarian Party is also famous for allowing a man to strip on stage during a live broadcast of its 2016 National Convention and for musing about whether it should be legal to sell heroin to children during its 2016 presidential candidate debate.

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Libertarian Party Praises North Korea As Less Oppressive Than the US - MRCTV (blog)

Solomon Islands signs security deal with Australia to protect against unrest – The Guardian

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Manasseh Sogavare, prime minister of the Solomon Islands, inspects a guard of honour during a ceremonial welcome at Parliament House in Canberra. He and Malcolm Turnbull signed a security deal. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Australia and the Solomon Islands have signed a new security treaty one the Solomons prime minister hopes will collect dust and never be used.

In Australia for a week-long visit, the Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, said the bilateral security agreement he signed on Monday with the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, would provide for the rapid deployment of Australian security forces in the case of civil and ethnic unrest of the kind witnessed in the Solomons in the early 2000s.

The security treaty is just in case, Sogavare said Monday, if the Solomon Islands goes back to what it was in the 2000s.

But were determined to ensure that the treaty will collect dust. We will not allow the country to go down that way. The treaty is about if we fall back into a situation where we were in the 2000s, Australia would come back and assist us.

Turnbull told parliament the treaty will enable defence, civilian and civilian personnel to deploy operationally in emergency situations to provide security or humanitarian assistance at the Solomon Islands governments request.

Sogavare said he was in Australia to thank the country for its unswerving support over 14 years of Ramsi, the $3bn Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands, which pulled the country back from the brink of civil war from 2003.

The Tensions, as they are known in the Solomons, saw increasing ethnic violence between 1998 and 2003, in which militants from Guadalcanal island and nearby Malaita fought over land, jobs and economic development. Two hundred people were killed, hundreds more were beaten and tortured, sexual violence was widespread and several thousand people were displaced from their homes.

In 2003, with the Solomons on the verge of collapse, the government formally requested assistance from its regional neighbours.

Over 14 years until June this year, when Ramsi formally concluded, more than 7,200 Australian soldiers and 1,700 police served in the Solomons. Two Australians died and more than 30 police were injured during election protests in 2006.

Forty-four unarmed Australian federal police remain stationed in the country.

Turnbull said Ramsi had been a success. In 2017 we see a very different Solomon Islands, he said. It enjoys what is by global standards a very low crime rate, it has a high-quality police force, Solomon Islands markets are bustling, children are back at school, medicines are available.

Sogavare agreed Ramsi had restored law and order to the Solomons but said the underlying issues faced by the archipelago nation in particular ethnic tensions and the Honiara-centric development of the country remained.

Ramsi came to the country with specific mandate and has accomplished what it came to do. Law and order was restored, he said. The responsibility now lies with the government and the people of the Solomon Islands to take it from there. The environment is there for the Solomon Islands government and private sector to take the country forward.

Sogavares relationship with Australia has not always been so cordial. He was a staunch critic of Ramsi initially, arguing it undermined Solomons sovereignty. In 2006, during his second term as prime minister, Sogavare expelled Australias high commissioner and defended his attorney general, Julian Moti, whom Australia wanted to extradite on child sex charges.

Sogavare threatened to expel Australian peacekeepers from Ramsi and, a week later, Ramsi peacekeepers raided his office, kicking in a door and seizing a fax machine, in a search for evidence on Moti.

In a speech at the Lowy Institute on Monday evening, Sogavare said his governments primary challenge was simply to hold the country together while it pursues constitutional change to create a decentralised, federalist system of government that has widespread support across the archipelago.

Its only when we go out to play soccer outside that we see ourselves as Solomon Islanders thats a very big challenge for us. If youre not united, addressing development will be very challenging.

He said the Solomons Islands was very worried about a proposed independence referendum in the neighbouring Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville, because the result would likely not be respected by the Port Moresby government, and it could spark reanimated unrest and violence in the province, spilling over into the Solomons.

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Solomon Islands signs security deal with Australia to protect against unrest - The Guardian

How Island Nations Are Bound Together by More Than Water – Cond Nast Traveler

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Britains referendum on EU membership in the summer of 2016 was a landmark voteand the "Leave" result was largely unexpected . But should it have startled observers (and, indeed, many Brits themselves) so much? A year later, while much around Brexit remains muddled, many reasons behind the outcome are becoming clearand beyond politics or economics, one clear driver could be psychology.

Consider how Britons have long distanced themselves from the landmass across the channel, othering it as "the Continent" with ambiguous affection. The much-repeated mantra of the victorious Brexiteers, was "Vote Leave, Take Back Control"; right-wing Brexit champion Nigel Farage declared that Britain could claim its own Independence Day and even half-jokingly suggested that June 23 become a national holiday, like July 4.

Put simply, ask an island nation if it prefers to stand apart, to reaffirm its island mentality, and it will likely seize the chance with gusto. Of course, Britain isnt the only country with borders defined by nature rather than nurture (or at least political deal-making). Theyre scattered across the world, from Malta to Madagascar , Japan to Australia . The Caribbean is home to a cluster of island countries, whether large like Cuba and Jamaica, or smaller standalones including Saba and Dominica; over the course of centuries, the region's islands have fought for independence from forced European oversight (the most recent, St Kitts & Nevis, broke away just over 30 years ago). But what characteristics, if any, define an island nations mentality? What traits might water-limited countries share?

Madeleine Bunting is a British writer who specializes in islands, and her most recent book , Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey , was published in 2016. Islands produce very powerful, contradictory emotional responsesyou can fall in love passionately with them and then be desperate to get away from them, Bunting explains to Cond Nast Traveler . Take Australia, immigrations Shangri-La, where the population has ballooned to 24 million in the last year, largely thanks to an uptick in incomers; yet it also hemorrhages citizensthe diaspora sits at around one million , or about 5 percent of those who hold Australian passports. Bunting believes that the true island mentality is a paradox, comprised of such contradictory impulses. Naturally isolationist and happiest when standing apart, islands are still forced to be outward looking for their very survival, sustenance, and supplies, relying on trade by sea. Self-sufficiency is an alluring, but almost impossible, illusion.

Ambition is another core component of island mentality, at least according to Lucille Turner. The Anglo-French writer explored this idea in its historical context in the wake of the Brexit vote, notably highlighting the fierce opposition the Romans encountered when first trying to steamroller into the British Isles from mainland Europe. Islands are usually relatively small, and it makes you want to punch above your weight, she suggests. Historically, at least, easy access to oceans only facilitated that instinct. If you want to impose yourself on the wider world in some way or other, the sea is a good vehicle for that, Turner continues. Japan and Britain both had quite strong navies. Look, too, how commonplace castles with moats were in both nations past. Holing up there with a moat of water is not too dissimilar from holing up in your country, with the sea around you.

Writer Louisa Leontiades has experienced that assertiveness first hand, hopscotching between different islands throughout her lifethe tiny Swedish isle of Brnn that she now calls home, and Cyprus in the Mediterranean, where she lived in the 1990s with her Greek-American father. She believes that such instincts manifest as much in the everyday as the imperial past. Greek Cypriots, for example, would fiercely declare loyalty to Athens when challenged by Turkish rivals; at all other times, though, their island identity came first. Instead of Turkish delight or Greek coffee, they had Cypriot delight and Cypriot coffee, Leontiades tells Traveler . Theyre first Cypriot, then Greeknever the other way round.

Look more closely, though, and the question of an island mentality becomes more complex. Many such nations are themselves comprised of other islands: Malta plus Gozo , for instance, or Australia, which has more than 8,000 islands within its maritime borders. Indonesia is a country made up of so many islands, its government can't even settle on a number. As for Great Britain, beyond the two major landmasses that comprise the British Isles (and are home to Eire, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England) it oversees almost 200 standalone, inhabited islands. What is the island mentality within the island mentality? Do islands within an island react against those impulses or embrace them with extra fervor? Even waterways arent essential to creating this mindsetjust look at Switzerland, the landlocked, steadfastly neutral nation that forms the hub of continental Europes spoke of countries. It has proudly stood apart for centuries, its Alpine peaks as effective a boundary as any ocean.

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How Island Nations Are Bound Together by More Than Water - Cond Nast Traveler

Japan, Russia mull cruises around disputed islands as part of joint economic activities – The Japan Times

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Japan and Russia are exploring the idea of conducting cruises around the Moscow-held, Tokyo-claimed islands off Hokkaido as part of envisioned joint economic activities, a diplomatic source said Monday.

The two countries will hold a vice foreign ministerial meeting Thursday in Moscow to discuss joint activities before their leaders meet in Vladivostok in early September.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in December 2016 to start joint economic activities on the islands. Japan hopes the activities pave the way for settling the decades-old territorial dispute, while Russia hopes to attract Japanese investments.

However, as the two sides remain far apart in their stances on sovereignty over the islands, they would need to work out ways to conduct joint activities in a way that does not raise judicial problems.

A group of Japanese government officials and experts from the public and private sectors visited the islands in late June to study possibilities for joint activities, including tourism.

I saw its potential as a tourism resource, Eiichi Hasegawa, a special adviser to Abe, told reporters at the time.

The disputed islands have an ecosystem similar to the neighboring Shiretoko Peninsula of Hokkaido, a scenic UNESCO World Natural Heritage site.

The islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan and the Habomai islet group were seized by the Soviet Union after Japan surrendered in August 1945, ending World War II.

The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from ever signing a postwar peace treaty.

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Japan, Russia mull cruises around disputed islands as part of joint economic activities - The Japan Times

4 Outdoor Adventures in California’s Channel Islands National Park – HuffPost

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Many live in Southern California for years and even a lifetime without knowing that America's very own version of the Galpagos Islands exists approximately 25 miles from shore. It may not be Darwin's oceanic playground exactly, but it is a remarkable evolutionary tale all the same. Its isolated location from the mainland has enabled the evolution of endemic species of plants, animals, birds, and marine life to thrive and reproduce without incident. It is Earth as it should be a parallel universe running aside the bustling southern California collaborative that exists on the mainland.

There are eight islands that make up the Channel Islands and five that make up the national park: Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara islands. Each has its own unique contribution to the marine and terrestrial ecosystem. On the sea floor surrounding the islands, mounts, basins, escarpments and submarine canyons enable a rich bionetwork to rise to the surface in the national park. There are enormous populations of bird species living on land and offshore and large forests of sea kelp that grow in the aquatic perimeter. Sea caves battered by trade winds and oceanic waves form cavernous passageways within the island chain. There are enormous seal and sea lion populations across the islands as well as unique species of land mammals; and countless other phenomenal examples of a world where the footprint of humanity has barely adulterated its original makeup. Once you set foot on the islands, unique finds are everywhere undiscovered artifacts from ancient times, remnants of the 19th century ranching era, dramatic panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, and vibrant sunsets and sunrise skies that are part of nearly every day in the Channel Islands.

In this article, we outline each of the five islands that make up Channel Islands National Park; an provide recommendations of four awesome adventures to seek out while visiting there. Off we go!

Jonathan Irish

Jonathan Irish

Anacapa is the closest island to the mainland positioned 12 miles offshore and is best known for having the largest breeding colony of California brown pelicans in the world. It is home to the Anacapa Island Light Station which was the last permanent lighthouse built on the western coast of the United States. This island is teeming with birdlife, dramatic cliffs, and easy walking paths around the island.

Santa Barbara is one of the least visited of the Channel Islands due to a limited passage schedule, and with no services or development on the island, it's a great place to experience a Channel Islands backcountry wilderness adventure. There are beaten trails that weave through interesting vegetation while offering dramatic coastal views in every direction. Wildflowers burst with color during winter and early spring, and there are plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities to experience year round.

Jonathan Irish

Santa Cruz Island is Californias largest island and is also the most visited of any of the islands in the national park. It is home to one of the largest known sea caves in the world called the "Painted Cave" and also to the highest peak on the Channel Islands: Diablo Peak which rises to 2,450-feet. Because of its large size, there is a wider breadth of landscape to explore on Santa Cruz. There are deep valleys, canyons, streams, springs, long stretches of beach, tide pools, terrific hikes and view points,and a wealth of wildlife peeking around every corner. For paddlers, the coastal perimeter tees up world class kayaking opportunities. The eastern end of Santa Cruz is managed by the National Park Service; the western end is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy.

On the westernmost island of the chain is a 27-mile coastline where more than 30,000 seal and sea lions (of at least five different species) bask on the beaches at Point Bennett. Together, they make up one of the largest concentrations of wildlife in the world. The best way to get up close to the colony is to hike a 16-mile round-trip route on a ranger-led hike across the island. Along the way you will have an opportunity to see a number of archeological sites that tell a small part of the story of the Chumash Indians whose ancestors lived on San Miguel almost continuously for nearly 12,000 years.

Santa Rosa is known for its diverse endemic plant and animal species, including a subspecies of one of the rarest pine species in the world, the Torrey pine a remnant of the once widespread Pleistocene forest. With more than 100 species of birds, this island is a birder's paradise! And for those keen on wildlife sightings, there are plenty of opportunities to commingle with land-based species while hiking the island. Off the coast lives extensive forests of sea-kelp and other marine wildlife in the cold Pacific waters. This is also a prime spot for backcountry camping. There are no public phones, accommodations, services, or any other signs of man, really, offering visitors a chance to completely untether from the outside world.

Jonathan Irish

Jonathan Irish

Concessionaire Boat Ride to Anacapa Island

Anacapa Island is the second most visited island of the five that make up the national park and is the easiest to get to from the mainland.During the one-hour voyage (each way), travelers experience marine wildlife sightings while learning about the national park from knowledgeable Island Packers guides the entire way. Most head to Anacapa for a day trip to explore island trails, watch bird activity, and to see the west coasts oldest operating lighthouse. The Anacapa Island Light Station is perhaps the most well-known landmark on the island and in the national park. It was turned on in 1932 and the bell still chimes loudly 24 hours per day. After landing on shore and climbing the steel-rung ladder to the dock on the east side of the island, most visitors head to the light head first before making way to the opposite side where views of the Channel Islands sprawl into the ocean from Inspiration Point. For those looking to dig into this island a little deeper, they can stay behind after the day-boat leaves to camp overnight (advanced reservations are required.)

Jonathan Irish

Hiking on Santa Cruz (guided/self-guided)

Santa Cruz Island is the the most visited of the five islands in the national park, has the best weather, and has the most frequent ferry schedule coming in from the mainland. The top recreational activity on Santa Cruz is hiking. Hitting the trails in the Scorpion Valley allows for relatively easy outings on maintained trails; while the trails in the mountainous Montaon area are much more rugged.Along the 4.5-mile Scorpion Canyon Loop trail in the Scorpion Valley network, trekkers have the unique opportunity to see the island scrub-jay, a species of bird that can only be seen on Santa Cruz Island. We recommend hiking clockwise from the trailhead near the boat dock at Smugglers Cove to avoid a brutally steep climb that begins at the Scorpion Ranch Campground. Along the hike you will see endemic Santa Cruz Island foxes, beautiful flora, and incredible views of the California coastline.

Stefanie Payne

Camping on Santa Cruz Island

The Scorpion Ranch Campground near Smugglers Cove is one of the best developed camp grounds in the park system. Obviously, it is not RV equipped as there are no vehicle passenger ferries nor is there road-equipped infrastructure on the islands. You must carry in all of your gear on your back and rangers will meet you at the boat dock to assign you your spot (advanced reservations are required.) Scented items including food will be kept in food storage lockers to prevent scavenging birds, mice, and Santa Cruz Island foxes from making a meal out of your reserves. Starting from the multi-tiered camping area there are several excellent hiking trails that suit a variety of ability levels. At Scorpion Beach nearby, you can comb for shells and historical artifacts, watch for island foxes, and launch a sea-based adventure into the coastal marine sanctuary that skirts the island.

One place not to miss on Santa Cruz if you are camping there is the Cavern Point overlook on the high point of the island, where for us the sky opened up and blessed us with one of the most glorious sunsets of the year (and maybe our lives.) It just continued to explode with color with every passing second (see featured photo.) It takes about one hour to walk there from the campground, allowing you to get back just as night falls.

Jonathan Irish

Jonathan Irish

Kayaking through Caves on Santa Cruz Island

Some of the best aquatic wildlife and bird-viewing opportunities on the western coast of North America can be found while kayaking the rocky shorelines of Channel Islands National Park; it is also a prime spot to kayak through sea-based cave systems!Our guide for the day, Laird, from the Santa Barbara AdventureCompany was exceptional and weve been with plenty of guides in our traveling lifetime. What made him so great was his keen attention to detail and his knowledge and insistence upon safety. We never felt as though we were missing something really cool, even when we couldnt enter certain areas due to rough conditions. For the better part of a day, we paddled through kelp forest habitats,navigated countless sea caves and rock formations, came face-to-face with seals and sea lions, and glided across dynamic waters beneath seabirds that soared with wild abandon. This adventure was one of our favorite of the year and is a must if you love sea kayaking.

Jonathan Irish

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4 Outdoor Adventures in California's Channel Islands National Park - HuffPost

Why I’ll Keep Returning To My People’s Haven, The Twin Islands – Huffington Post Canada

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Ten miles from the shores of Attawapiskat are the Twin Islands. All offshore land on the James Bay and Hudson Bay used to be part of the NWT, but are now part of Nunavut. This includes the Twin Islands, even though they are situated closer to Ontario than anywhere else.

The Twin Islands are traditional territory of the Attawapiskat Cree, and so is the largest island in the James Bay (Akimiski Island). For as long as I can remember, Attawapiskat people have been going to the islands. I go about three times each year, and the last trip I took was last month, when I went there with my family for tea and lunch. There's comfort in being there, miles from any other people. It's a peaceful place.

The kids loved every minute of it, combing the beach for mysterious rocks and treasures. My son Jr. asked me, "Why are all the rocks so round and smooth here?" I tell him it's the sea that makes them that way. Conversations and places like this remind me that the world holds many mysteries and lessons to be learned.

One of my most vivid memories of Twin Islands was a hunting trip I took with several other young lads in the fall months. My brother and I were travelling in a 16-foot boat with a six-horsepower outboard, and the others were in a larger canoe. I was 16 years old, and it was our first big trip without grownups. We were a little nervous being on our own, but groomed well enough to handle a trip as such.

We ended up in a creek system near Twin Islands. The hunting was good, but then "Old Man North Wind" decided to crash the fun, and brought bad company with him, too. You see, there are no trees along the coast, just brush, bog, mud flats and grass. So our tents kept blowing over because we were in the open. And then the horizontal rain hit! We got soaked, and it was a miserable time.

The wind and rain would not let up for days, so we decided to cross over to Twin Islands once high tide came. The logic behind this decision was that we would take shelter in the trees, find dry wood to make a fire and wait out the bad weather.

We set a course due west and headed out. Boy, it was a rough ride over! The other boat took in lots of water, and was having engine problems, too. We had to rush to aid them for fear their boat might sink, and towed them to safety. I remember thinking that trying to make this crossing was a real dumb move on our part, but we lacked experience and better judgement.

At long last we were out of the wind and rain, and quickly rounded up wood for a fire. Most of the wood was very wet, and no matter what we did, we couldn't get the fire going. We even starting burning small bills as a desperate measure. Eventually we decided to swallow our pride and used gasoline to get the fire going. It didn't take long for that fire to burn hot, and we all curled up as close as we could, grateful for the warmth, safety and solid ground.

As the tide was heading out, three of us suddenly decided to try for home. I can't recall exactly why, but off we went. It took a few tumultuous hours, and by the time we arrived home, we were hypothermic trying to hide it as we walked up the bank. We must have look like zombies, slowly dragging our lifeless limbs every inch of the way home. We learned some very valuable lessons that trip. We also got an earful from our parents.

Today, most people visit the Twin Islands for family gatherings, spring hunting, weekend camping, berry picking, medicine picking and even just to walk the beautiful shoreline. Historically, villagers used to collect seagull eggs there, hence the Cree meaning "Minawanan" (collecting eggs). It's also a place where the southern tide meets the northern tide, and quite often hunters travelling north or south will stop for a brief layover while waiting for tides to sync up.

Being close to the sea, it calms your soul and eases your mind. In ancient times, the old people could call on the sea ("Weeneebaygo") for help. She's a powerful spirit that could ward off evil and sickness. When she is ill, we must acknowledge her power and be grateful for terra firma. When she is calm, you can feel her kindness.

Twin Islands is a special place for many, and I'm always glad when I get to spend quality time there with my family.

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Why I'll Keep Returning To My People's Haven, The Twin Islands - Huffington Post Canada