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Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly hosts Debunking Evolution lecture – Valley News

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

TEMECULA Nearly two-thirds of students will reject their faith by the time theyve finished college, the result of a constant bombardment of secular lessons. A new nonprofit project, Debunking Evolution, aims to combat that influence by teaching students the scientific case against evolution.

The projects creatorssaidthey are committed to providing Christian families with Biblically and scientifically based answers to the evolutionary theory that many children are taught during sixth, seventh and 10th grades in public schools in California.

The program was designed by experienced professionals and reviewed by scientists at the three leading creation ministries in the United States: Answers in Genesis, the Institute for Creation Research and Creation Ministries International.

One of Debunking Evolutions co-creators, Pat Roy, is slated to share what tenets of evolution are taught in textbooks and the arguments against them as the keynote speaker at the Murrieta Temecula Republican AssemblysAug. 11meeting, which runs from6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m.at the Temecula City Hall Conference Room, 41000 Main Street.

Nearly a decade and a half ago, Roy and his wife, Sandy homeschool parents created the Jonathan Park Creation Adventure Series, an audio drama that has been heard on more than 700 radio stations worldwide and has reached millions with the message of the Creator.

Roy also worked at the Institute for Creation Research for over 12 years, as he and his team took some of the most complex scientific proofs for creation and translated them into everyday language and concepts.

The event is open to the public. The cost is $15 for members, $20 for non-members, $10 for students under 25 and Gold Eagle members and free for active duty military. To RSVP, leave a message at(951) 304-2757, email MurrietaOnlineNews@outlook.com or visitwww.MTRA.club.

Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly hosts Debunking Evolution lecture - Valley News

Mystery deepens after African teens vanish from US robotics fair – USA TODAY

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

On Thursday, Washington police have said that six teenagers from a Burundi robotics team have been reported missing after an international competition in Washington. Wochit

In this July 17, 2017, photo, the Afghanistan team, left, walks past two of the team members from Burundi, at right in black shirts, during the FIRST Global Robotics Challenge in Washington.(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

Six African high school students who vanished from an international robotics fair in Washington remained missing sort of Sunday as investigators tried to determine where they are and whether their own families conspired in their disappearance.

The Burundi team attended the three-dayFIRST Global Challenge that kicked off July 16. The event was supposed to be acelebration of global community and science, and it brought together competitors from more than 150 nations.

Burundi, an East African nation of 10 million people with a history of political and economic instability, was represented bya team of four boys and two girls, ages 16 to 18.The team's page on the First Global website talks about the teens' slogan, Ugushaka Nugushobora, which in their native Kirundi language loosely means 'Where there's a will, there's a way."

"We get our motivation for winning this competition through this slogan, which inspires Burundian team," according to the website.

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Ivanka Trump was among the celebrities to hang out with the competition's kids. President Trump personally had to intervene to ensure the team from Afghanistan got visas to attend. Everything went smoothly until the festivities wrapped up Tuesday night. That's when the Burundi mentor discover his team had left him their dorm room keys, packed their bags and disappeared into the hot, muggy Washington night.

"There were indications that the student's absence may have been self-initiated," First Global said in a statement. Still, the organization quickly notified local police early Wednesday, and the hunt was on.

By Thursday morning,police said two of the teens Audrey Mwamikazi, 17, and Don Charu Ingabire, 16 had been seen crossing into Canada. Police declined to say exactly where or exactly when, but added that there was no indication of foul play involving any of the disappearances.

No information was released on the fates of Richard Irakoze, 18, Kevin Sabumukiza, 17, Nice Munezero, 17 and Aristide Irambona, 18.On Sunday, police had little to add.

"There has been no further updateat this time," police said in a statement to USA TODAY. "The investigation remains open."

The team's mentor, Canesius Bindaba, told The Washington Post he sent panicked messages to the teens' families back in Burundi after the kids disappeared. He said their replies made him suspicious they suggested he relax, that everything would be OK.

FIRST Global President Joe Sestak said he was disappointed the students "chose not to return home" but added that he understood the challenges there.Bindaba agreedbut said his tiny country suffers from brain drain" as the best and brightest flee for better opportunities.

For me, they were some kind of hope for the future of this project in Burundi, Bindaba said. Its an opportunity for my entire country.

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Mystery deepens after African teens vanish from US robotics fair - USA TODAY

At a global robotics competition, teens put aside grown-up conflicts to form alliances – The Denver Post

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

WASHINGTON As six robots battled it out on the floor of the DAR Constitution Halls auditorium during the FIRST Global Challenge competition Tuesday afternoon, a cheer rose above the din of voices echoing across the stands.

Team Hope! Team Hope! Team Hope!

The cheering came from a corner of the stadium where a group of boys from Team Lebanon wearing rainbow clown wigs stood next to Team Palestine. They, and teams from Libya and Jordan, were lending their voices to support a group of Syrian refugees, known as Team Hope. It was one of many times when teens would spontaneously break out into cheers for competitors.

When they werent cheering, hundreds of teens from 157 countries mingled, chatted and leaned in for selfies in the sweltering corridors of the concert hall at the first international Global Challenge competition. In between making final adjustments on their robots, a bonding experience that has become central to this competition, they signed each others T-shirts and exchanged pins. If they did not speak the same language, they all understood the thrill, the frustration and the anxiety that comes with competition.

Salwan Georges, The Washington Post

These are precisely the kinds of friendships FIRST Global founder Dean Kamen, an inventor, hoped to build ones that crossed languages, cultures and geopolitical frontiers. His lofty vision is one in which graduates of this program put aside politics to solve the worlds most pressing challenges, like shortages of clean water and the myriad problems wrought by global climate change. In this years competition, teams built robots to sort contaminated water from clean water actually orange and blue plastic balls to get them thinking about the real-life challenge that many face getting enough clean water.

If we can get kids from around the world to deal with the same issues . . . we could compete on the same team, Kamen said on Sunday evening, in remarks at the opening ceremony. You dont have to have self-inflicted wounds created by arbitrary differences and politics.

This cauldron of competition with countries sending some of their brightest and best aspiring engineers forged plenty of unusual friendships. Team Armenia and Team Turkey, who come from countries whose relations are strained were allied in one match. The Armenian team also helped Lesotho make modifications to their robot.

You have to put politics aside, said Lilit Tarumyan, a 16-year-old team member. Her teammate. Maria Ter-Minasyan, chimed in: They were some cool guys!

The contest is called a coopera-tition, with points given to teams for working together to form alliances.

Salwan Georges, The Washington Post

Under their countrys flag, three young Iranian men tinkered with their robot on Tuesday afternoon, in preparation for the final, nerve-racking matches of the FIRST Global Robotics competition. Just feet away, Team Israel was busily making adjustments to theirs. The two countries have hostile relations. But in this corner of the DAR Constitution Hall, separated by no more than 30 feet, the teens from both countries forged an unlikely bond.

They chatted about robots and politics, and then the two teams huddled together for a group photo with founder Kamen. And then the teens wished each other good luck.

Please, see us today, we Israelis and Iranians were together and happy,said Mohammad Reza Karami, the mentor for Team Iran. You also can see, learn and be together.

The competition capped weeks of drama in which two teams one from Gambia and Afghanistans all-girls squad appeared to be in jeopardy of competing in the U.S. when their visas were initially denied. Their plight garnered international attention and sympathy. The Gambian team finally received their visas in early July, according to the Associated Press. But the Afghan girls did not get their visas until President Donald Trump intervened at the last-minute, granting them passage to the U.S.

Alieu Bah, an 18-year-old Gambian team member from Serakunda, said the team was crestfallen when their visa applications were initially denied. But they did not give up and continued to put in hours of work sometimes seven hours at a stretch on their competition robot, with plans to ship it to Gambians living in the U.S., who would compete in their place.

We worked hard. And even when we didnt get it, we worked hard, said Bah, who added that he was just excited to see Gambia represented in the international competition. But he was still thrilled when he heard the State Department had reversed its decisions. Im proud to be here.

Tuesday, First Daughter Ivanka Trump came to the hall and met with five other all-girl squads, including the teams from Jordan, Brunei, Vanuatu and the U.S. She then pulled the lever to start a friendly match between the six teams.

Kawsar Roshan, a 15-year-old member of Team Afghanistan, said Trump was welcoming, telling her through a translator: Youre most welcome. Im happy you made it to the U.S.

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At a global robotics competition, teens put aside grown-up conflicts to form alliances - The Denver Post

Greater User Flexibility a Key Factor in NetDimensions Talent Suite 13.1 – Benzinga

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Greater functionality for users and learners, and more Artificial Intelligence technology are key features of the newly-released NetDimensions Talent Suite version 13.1.

(PRWEB) July 24, 2017

The latest version of the NetDimensions Talent Suite version 13.1 is here and includes a number of exciting new features, including improved Artificial Intelligence (AI) functionality and revamped forums.

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence in the L&D industry presents managers and learners with unique training opportunities. "Artificial Intelligence uses technology to analyze a situation or environment and to make increasingly intelligent choices based on that information," says Adrian Weaver, Director of Global Product Management at NetDimensions.

Artificial Intelligence in e-learning has been hotly tipped to revolutionize the industry and NetDimensions Talent Suite 13.1 follows on from its first introduction in version 12 in July 2016. Dynamic Load Analysis saw the Artificial Intelligence engine monitoring run-time loads to provide a rating for online and overall activity, so that NetDimensions Talent Suite performance parameters could be adjusted in real-time. In release 13.1, this same engine is used to deliver user-oriented recommendations with a new feature called AI Assistant Recommendations.

AI Assistant Recommendations analyses a user's current training history and then suggests other courses that may be of interest based on their training.

Here are just some of the other new and enhanced features in NetDimensions Talent Suite 13.1: In addition to the new AI feature, the forum functionality has been completely reworked to provide a new user interface and user experience, and specifically to include better capabilities around uploading and moderating user-generated content.

Drag-and-drop support allows administrators to make rapid adjustments to classroom planning using drag and drop, and resizing event chips.

"We're extremely excited about the new features in the NetDimensions Talent Suite version 13.1. With more Artificial Intelligence capabilities than ever before and a forum that's been streamlined with the end-user in mind, NetDimensions Talent Suite 13.1 puts the power of choice and user-friendliness firmly in the user's hands," said Bill Mastin, Senior Vice President of Sales.

/ENDS.

About NetDimensions Established in 1999, NetDimensions is a global provider of performance, knowledge and learning management solutions to highly regulated industries.

NetDimensions provides companies, government agencies and other organizations with talent management solutions to personalize learning, share knowledge, enhance performance, foster collaboration and manage compliance programs for employees, customers, partners and suppliers.

NetDimensions' solutions also include custom content and learning portal development services, as well as off-the-shelf course libraries and regulatory compliance courseware developed by NetDimensions' subject matter experts and content partners.

NetDimensions' award-winning solutions have been chosen by leading organizations worldwide including ING, Cathay Pacific, Chicago Police Department, Geely Automotive, Norton Healthcare, and Fresenius Medical Care.

NetDimensions is ISO 9001 certified and NetDimensions hosted services are ISO 27001 certified.

NetDimensions is part of Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG).

For more information, visit http://www.NetDimensions.com or follow @netdimensions on Twitter.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/07/prweb14531451.htm

Greater User Flexibility a Key Factor in NetDimensions Talent Suite 13.1 - Benzinga

First 10000 Instagram followers: a few valuable tips from the experts – The TechNews

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

First 10000 Instagram followers: a few valuable tips from the experts

If you are a regular Instagram user I believe you have already noticed how drastically it has bridged the gap between businesses and consumers. Businesses now have the ability to knock on the screen of your smartphone through Instagram for reaching your first 1000 Instagram followers.

P.S: This guide is not applicable for users that are already famous.

Select a simple or an easy-to-pronounce name for your business so that others can easily recall and later search for you on Instagram. Keep the name of your business within the first segment of the username as it raises the probability of potential customers to across to your name.

The entire name of a business must be given on the Name field under the Options menu. Also, switch off the Private Account menu for turning it into Public.

Most importantly, the logo is for reminding customers about abusiness or a service; therefore, choose or design a proper logo and use the same logo across other social networking channels.

For users that want to promote their businesses through their respective and personal accounts can attach the URL under their bio section. A customized BITLY or a COINURL shortened link can trigger wonderful results too! Enable notifications option to find out about followers interaction rate.

Investment is mandatory for amazingly fruitful outcomes to occur in the future. As a result, hire an individual that can provide unique graphical contents related to your business so that you can later upload them to your page.

Since youre already paying a content generator, hand over your pictures to the person for editing them before uploading them to Instagram.

Before you decide to upload your contents, download this template for planning out the timing of your posts on Instagram.

Besides, keep in mind that finding an appropriate time for scheduling posts will require several trials before you can find out the perfect timing for maximum exposure.

It is impossible for one person to keep track of contents you wish to share on your Instagram account. As a result, maintaining a cloud space where every member of your team can upload valuable information on the cloud space, and you can designate your content generator later.

Trust me, the practice will truly ensure further efficiency as the number of your posts gets larger.

Along with regular images and vines, a touchy and relatable caption can do wonder for your brand. Captions are like toppings on your favorite pizza; hence, ignorance can never be an option for this case.

A well-thought caption will flaunt your unique personality while making your brand communicate personally with each of your customers to make them aware of your presence.

Hashtags that are relevant to your posts will help in expanding your customer base as a hashtag is meant for connecting different users. The intelligence level of digital strategists can be observed by the hashtags they use; moreover, a smart strategist will always limit the number of hashtags to three while maintaining acute relevance.

For finding out commonly used hashtags for your niche, the Instagram app itself can reveal the commonly used hash tags after tapping on the Explore button (magnifying glass). Check out the suggestions for #inboundmarketing.

On top of everything, once you have accumulated a considerable number of following, your brand can be made prominent through your unique hashtags.

Commenting based on contexts and sharing posts of your followers indicate that youre an actual human being but not a bot. Feel free to interact with posts you may find amusing and this is the most organic way to grow your first 1000 followers over a period of time.

Oftentimes users will choose to follow you simply because youve shared their post(s).

Most of us have been constantly ignoring the Instagram Stories for prolific branding without realizing its huge potential to guarantee success.

These are the information that I have managed to collect over the years through personal experiences and shared knowledge by proficient online marketers. Feel free to comment underneath if youre willing to share your thoughts.

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First 10000 Instagram followers: a few valuable tips from the experts - The TechNews

One Man’s Two-Year Quest Not to Finish Final Fantasy VII – The New Yorker

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

In 2012, David Curry, a thirty-four-year-old cashier from Southern California, came across a post on an online forum by someone who went by the handle Dick Tree. It contained a herculean proposal: Tree planned to play the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII for as many hours as it took to raise the characters to their maximum potential, without ever leaving the opening scene, which unfolds in a nuclear reactor. Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing game, a form popularized in the nineteen-seventies by Dungeons & Dragons, in which players featsbeasts felled, maidens wooedare quantified with experience points. Accrue enough of these points, and your character ascends a level, at which point it confronts stronger opponents worth more points. Curry estimated that, even playing for a few hours every day, Trees attempt to raise a character to Level 99 by fighting only the games weakest enemies would take more than a year to complete.

Nevertheless, Tree attracted a following of forum users, including Curry, who cheered the project on and watched it unfold in sporadic posts. Over time, Curry told me recently, Trees updates became more infrequent. After two years, Tree stopped altogether. I got fed up with Dick Tree, he said. So I declared that I would do it myself.

Curry had first played Final Fantasy VII several years after its dbut, but had set the game down after a few hours, underwhelmed. Although he had participated in a few Web endurance projectshe once provided commentary on twenty-three seasons worth of The Simpsonshe had never undertaken a video-game marathon before. I dont consider myself anything more than a casual gamer, Curry said. But then, on January 18, 2015, he switched on his PlayStation and loaded the game disk. After that first session, I felt confident that I could complete the challenge, he told me. I was also confident that I would teach Dick Tree a lesson about finishing what you start.

Sometimes Curry played every day, and sometimes he went weeks without picking up the controller. Sessions might last one hour or twenty-four. As time passed, the forum users rallied behind him. At one point, Tree reappeared, claiming to have, in fact, completed the challenge already, without telling the group. He couldnt back up his claim with any sort of evidence, so we went on in spite of him, Curry said.

A few months into his endeavor, Curry bought some hardware that allowed him to record his activity. He started uploading the footage to YouTube, then broadcasting it live on the streaming service Twitch . In April, a full two years after he had embarked on the project, his characters reached Level 98. When the final session first started, mostly what I felt was pain, Curry recalled. He had recently undergone surgery on his arm, which was still heavily bandaged and resting in a sling. Using his free hand, Curry began the fifty-six-minute session that would take him past the finish line. It didnt take very long for the Twitch chat to fill up with far more people than usual, he said. Before the finale, I would struggle to keep five viewers, but that day I had around fifty. Just keeping up with reading and responding to comments took most of my attention. When the moment came, Curry met it with an appropriate sense of ceremony. Im going to hit the button and were going to get that glorious half a second where it says Level up, he says in the video , his voice quivering. I want us to savor that level-up, because it is the last one . . . Brace yourselves.

The human predilection for combining tenacity and tedium goes back a long way; in the early twentieth century, for instance, there was a fad for pole-sitting, in which practitioners would sit atop flagpoles, often for days at a time, winking at crowds. Video games offer a new avenue for the old impulse. Indeed, Curry is one of many players to engage in arcane endurance challenges. Every year for the past decade, an Internet sketch-comedy troupe called LoadingReadyRun has driven a virtual bus from Tucson, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada, in Desert Bus , an unreleased video game from 1995 conceived by the American entertainers Penn Jillette and Teller. Tens of thousands of people tune in to watch the troupes progress through the mind-numbing, unpausable game, and their donations have, to date, raised more than $3.8 million for a childrens charity. Another man, Kurt J. Mac, is several years into a two-decade-long quest to walk to the edge of the Minecraft universe . Efforts like this redefine the traditional parameters of success in video games, which typically reward quickness and dexterity. Not everyone can set the world record in Donkey Kong, Curry said. But all it takes to walk to the edge of the Minecraft map or reach Level 99 in the first reactor in Final Fantasy VII is time.

Many have poured scorn on Currys venture, particularly since it doesnt have a charitable component. This is the most pathetic waste of man hours that could have been used for good that Ive seen in a long time, one typical YouTube comment says. On the forum where he first heard about Dick Trees idea, Curry posted a spirited, if nihilistic, rebuttal. To say that our lives are pointless and our achievements meaningless is to state the obvious, he wrote. No matter how grand our achievements or how broad their scope, time turns all to dust and death destroys all memory. But that does not mean we cannot ascribe our own meaning to what we do. For Curry, the Final Fantasy VII challenge proved not only comforting but also instructive. It taught me perseverance, of course, he said. But more important than the ability to finish what you start is what I now see as the moral goodness of finishing what you start.

Curry has already moved on to another endurance challenge, set in the preceding game in the series, Final Fantasy VI. But he may not be done with VIIs opening scene just yet; the game is currently being remade in Japan, at vast expense, and the new version is expected to come out in the next few years. Im already thinking about doing it again, he told me.

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One Man's Two-Year Quest Not to Finish Final Fantasy VII - The New Yorker

Wi-Fi could protect you from getting lost in virtual reality – Science Magazine

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Virtual reality could become easier to navigate, thanks to an assist from Wi-Fi.

alvarez/iStockphoto

By Matthew HutsonJul. 24, 2017 , 3:00 AM

Youre at home playing a virtual reality (VR) game on the Oculus Rift, dodging zombies like a pro. But then you step too far back or look behind you, and suddenly youre frozen in space, as the systems infrared cameras can no longer see the lights on your goggles and it loses track of you. Instant brain food. Now, researchers have come up with a way to spare you such a frustrating end by using standard Wi-Fi technology to enhance VRs tracking abilities. In addition to improving VR, the technology could also help track robots or drones and streamline motion capture for movies.

VR enables a user to move through a virtual 3D world projected through the video screens in the systems headset. To track the users movement, the Rift uses one or more infrared cameras in a room, often on tripods. The headset has accelerometers to measure tilt, and it has infrared lights that the cameras use to track movement forward, back, or sideways. Another VR system, the HTC Vive, tracks movement by projecting infrared light from devices in the corners of the room that are detected by sensors on the headset. A related technology, called augmented reality (AR), maps virtual features onto the wearers view of the real world. So a users living room may be inhabited by virtual monsters. Microsofts HoloLens AR system uses several outward-facing cameras on the headset to track the users movement in relation to the environment

Such systems have their limitations, however. In order for VR games to work without glitches, users often need to stay within a few square meters, and the infrared sightlines cant be blocked by furniture or other people or by turning away. Microsofts AR system doesnt work in all lighting conditions, it can be confused by blank walls or windows, and it cant track your hands if they move out of view.

A team of researchers from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, wanted a simpler, cheaper, more robust system. So they turned to the common radio technology Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has been used to localize people and objects in space before, but only with an accuracy of tens of centimeters, says Manikanta Kotaru, a computer scientist at Stanford, and he and his colleagues thought they could do better.

Their solution, which they call WiCapture, requires two parts: a standard Wi-Fi chip, such as the one you might find in your phone, and at least two Wi-Fi access points, which are transmitters such as the ones found in home routers. Communication between the chip and a transmitter comes in high-frequency radio waves. In order to track a Wi-Fi signal source with millimeter-level accuracy, one needs to measure the time it takes a signal to travel from the chip to the transmitter with picosecond-level accuracy. However, the chip and transmitter have different clocks, and no two clocks in Wi-Fi devices are perfectly synchronized.

To get around this problem the researchers took advantage of the fact that signals reach the transmitter through many paths. Some radio waves travel directly to the receiver to create the main signal, whereas others bounce off walls to create echoes. Kotaru wrote an algorithm that looks at signals from two different paths, identified by triangulating among the transmitters multiple antennas. Those signals will be equally affected by clock asynchrony, so the algorithm can just compare their relative change as the chip moves and ignore the drift of the clocks timing. Still, this method measures distance to only one transmitter; using two or more transmitters in combination allows the algorithm to use triangulation to track motion in two dimensions. (The researchers will eventually expand WiCapture to track motion in three dimensions.)

To test the idea, scientists placed the Wi-Fi chip on a mechanical device that could move it with high accuracy in an office 5 meters by 6 meters with four Wi-Fi transmitters in the corners. As they moved the chip around in various patterns, WiCapture tracked its position to within a centimeter. Next, the researchers tried an office in which all the Wi-Fi transmitters were occluded by furniture or walls. As long as two were in the same room as the chip, WiCaptures median error was still only 1.5 centimeters. Outside, the median error was again less than a centimeter, the team will report this month at the Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition in Honolulu.

It was really nice to bridge work in the wireless community with work in the virtual reality community, says Dina Katabi, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge who was not involved in the experiment. Yuval Boger, a physicist and the CEO of Sensics, a VR hardware and software company in Columbia, Maryland, says, the need is real for a robust hi-resolution position tracker. He notes that 1 centimeter is not a high enough accuracy for head tracking, but would work for hand tracking. In a fighting game, Im not sure Im going to do any small delicate movements with a sword.

The authors acknowledge that WiCapture still has a slower reaction time and lower accuracy than infrared cameras, but they think they can improve both by combining it with an accelerometer to add another source of data and fill in the gaps. In any case, Kotaru says, the technology is basically ready to use.

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Wi-Fi could protect you from getting lost in virtual reality - Science Magazine

IMMORTALITY & RESURRECTION, INC. – Giza Death Star

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Just when you thought the aspirations and plans of modern science couldn't possibly become more diabolical (or, if one prefer, sacrilegious), an article comes along to renew your hope that the world continues on its path of normalcy, and that many scientists are, indeed, just as wild-eyed-nuts as you always thought them to be. And this week, apparently many people were relieved and reassured that the mad scientist is not a thing of the past or a species that died out, but a real, living creature deserving of our awe and respect. Ms. M.W. and many others found this, and shared it, doubtless because they were concerned that I was losing hope that there were no more mad scientists:

Could we soon REVERSE death? US company to start trials 'reawakening the dead' in Latin America 'in a few months' - and this is how they'll do it

Way back when I first started writing about these strange topics in The Giza Death Star, I made the observation that physical immortality might not be such a good thing, without a commensurate and corresponding improvement in human spirituality and morality. In this, I took my cue from an ancient Greek Church Father named St. John Chrysostom, who warned about the same thing, and who stated that it was death, in fact, that formed the crucial condition for the possibility of human repentance and a change of mind, for it cut off further progress in evil. Taking this as my cue, in the final pages of that book, I asked people to imagine if such immortality were possible, or even a dramatically extended life span were possible - both of which are now being openly discussed and touted in serious and not-so-serious literature - what it might mean for the resulting civilization? One thing that would result, I pointed out, was a vastly expanded and accelerated scientific and technological development. One individual would, in such a condition, be able to learn and to master several academic disciplines, not just one.The explosion of technology and science would dwarf anything we have seen thus far. But the other consequence would be for moral progress. Imagine, I said back then, an Albert Schweitzer having not a century, but centuries or even millennia to do good things, or, conversely, a Mao Tse-Tung, a Josif Stalin, a Pol Pot or an Adolf Hitler, having that long to "perfect their progress in evil," and one gets a clear picture of the sharp moral contradictions such a society would be in. And please note: this problem is not a problem that, to my knowledge, is receiving anything close to the attention it needs in the transhumanism-virtual immortality community. The sole focus is on the science; if we can do it, we should do it.

Now we have this:

Bioquark, a Philadelphia-based company, announced in late 2016 that they believe brain death is not 'irreversible'.

And now, CEO Ira Pastor has revealed they will soon be testing an unprecedented stem cell method on patients in an unidentified country in Latin America, confirming the details in the next few months.

To be declared officially dead in the majority of countries, you have to experience complete and irreversible loss of brain function, or 'brain death'.

According to Pastor, Bioquark has developed a series of injections that can reboot the brain - and they plan to try it out on humans this year.

They have no plans to test on animals first.

...

The first stage, named 'First In Human Neuro-Regeneration & Neuro-Reanimation' was slated to be a non-randomized, single group 'proof of concept' study.

The team said they planned to examine individuals aged 15-65 declared brain dead from a traumatic brain injury using MRI scans, in order to look for possible signs of brain death reversal.

Specifically, they planned to break it down into three stages.

First, they would harvest stem cells from the patient's own blood, and inject this back into their body.

Next, the patient would receive a dose of peptides injected into their spinal cord.

Finally, they would undergo a 15-day course of nerve stimulation involving lasers and median nerve stimulation to try and bring about the reversal of brain death, whilst monitoring the patients using MRI scans.

Light, chemistry, and stem cells and DNA. If one didn't know any better, one would swear one was looking at the broad chronological progression of Genesis 1.

Did You Read: THE DREAMS OF THE RUSSIAN COSMISTS MAY JUST HAVE COME TRUE

But I digress.

The problem here is, one notices, the almost complete avoidance of the moral question. Let's assume the technology works and that one can, literally, resurrect the dead scientifically. And let us assume the project reaches the stage of perfection envisioned by the Russian Cosmists, like Nikolai Fedorov. The cosmists, recall, want to extend the resurrection-by-science principle to the entire history of one's ancestors. But should this occur, then what about resurrecting people like Stalin, Mao, or Hitler? The sad truth is, some people still "revere" those twisted and murderous people as heroes. The sad truth is, some people would attempt to do it, if given the means to do so.

But there's an even bigger problem. The entire project is predicated on the materialist assumption that "brain function equals the person." Regular readers here know that I have never subscribed to such a view, nor have I subscribed to the view, conversely, that there is no relationship between a person's "personhood" and the functions of their soul, which would include, of course, the functions of their will, intellect, emotions, and brain. It is, I suspect, a very complex phenomenon not neatly divided into tidy Cartesian dualisms, with numerous feedback loops between the two. This said, however, the problem arises then that the brain is not the creator of individuality, but rather, its transducer (and, if I may employ a more ancient version of the term, its traducer). Thus, the possibility arises that one might "revive" a brain, and traduce or transduce a different individual than one "recalls" being present prior to brain death. Already some psychologists have written - and published - papers suggesting that certain mental disorders such as bipolarity and schizophrenia might not be disorders in any standard sense, but rather a phenomenon where an individual is inhabiting two very different and parallel universes at the same time. In this they draw upon the many worlds hypotheses of qauntum mechanics.

In short, for my money, I have no doubt that ultimately, some sort of "scientific" resurrection technique might be possible. But I suspect it will be a Pandora's box of spiritual phenomena which, once opened, will be difficult if not impossible to close again, and that before we open it, we should give lengthy, and due consideration to all the moral problems it will engender.

See you on the flip side...

Joseph P. Farrell has a doctorate in patristics from the University of Oxford, and pursues research in physics, alternative history and science, and "strange stuff". His book The Giza DeathStar, for which the Giza Community is named, was published in the spring of 2002, and was his first venture into "alternative history and science".

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President John Evans Atta Mills: 5 years of ascending into immortality! – Myjoyonline.com

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

The reluctant politician (as is known to close associates) that he was, President Atta Mills, however, never failed to dig into his inner being and offer the needed the leadership at all times.

If my statistics is right; in the 25 years of the NDC, President Atta Mills holds the record as the longest serving Leader of the Party.

He led the NDC into the 2000 elections; led the NDC into the 2004 elections; and led the NDC into the 2008 elections, and also led the Party for the three and half years he served as President of the Republic of Ghana.

Call on duty: President Atta-MIlls attending an event at the Castle Gardens. With him is myself, Koku Anyidoho, Col Lawson, Emmanuel Agbozo and DSP Emmanuel Dade.

As the speech writer for the President, I was under very strict instructions to always ensure that I got all speeches ready at least four days before major events because the President never wanted to go to any function without fully internalising his choice of words and simulating his thoughts.

Little did I know that Tuesday was going to come with its own heavy dark clouds that will hang around the neck of the nation for a very long time!

I got into by car; drove to the Castle; went straight to my office and locked up so as to prevent any form of disturbance.

I did no go to see the President at his residence that morning as was the norm, because I did not want to give another excuse for not having the speech ready.

A little while after I settled in, and started engaging the keyboard of my laptop to complete the speech, I heard a sustained aggressive bang on my door and had no option but to walk to the door with a very stern look on my face ready to eat up whoever it was that was disturbing my writing rhythm.

The stern look I wore, broke into a look of morbid trepidation when I was told the earth-shaking news that the health condition of President John Evans Atta Mills had hit a very low level and he had been rushed to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the 37 Military Hospital in an ambulance (and not in the boot of my Ford vehicle as was vilely rumoured), by his Medical Team.

In my state of consternation at hearing the scary news, I screamed for my driver and rushed to the 37 Military Hospital.

The short distance between the Castle and the 37 Military Hospital, seemed like and endless journey, with by thought processes running in a multiplicity of wild directions amidst a deluge of phone calls from all angles.

I shall never be able to blot out the picture of the lifeless body of my, boss, mentor, friend, advisor, and teacher, when I was allowed to enter the ICU to see for myself that, the President of the Republic of Ghana, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, had taken his final breath. Phew!!!!

Weeping, wailing, and finding myself lost in a labyrinth of misty theories and postulations, I could only hold on to my strong acceptance of the words as put out by the Prophet Isiah in his preaching in the Holy Bible.

Isiah 55: vrs 8-9; For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

Most certainly, it is only God who knows why the flesh of the sitting President of the Republic of Ghana, had to leave this world of sin, and for his spirit to move into higher realms of sanctity and tranquility.

I cannot forget how my biological father, Major General Henry KwamiAnyidoho.

Anyidoho, deeply appreciated what I was going through and rushed to the Castle to console me and give me his shoulder to cry on, after we left the 37 Military Hospital back to the Seat of Government to quickly work at getting Vice President John Dramani Mahama sworn-in as President of the Republic of Ghana and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, so as not to create a constitutional hiatus.

In other words, my biological father had come to accept the fact that President John Evans Atta Mills and I, had an extremely close and binding attachment that, was beyond a master/servant, relationship.

It is already five years since President John Evans Atta Mills passed on to glory, and the memory keeps flooding into the forefront of my thought process as if it happened only yesterday.

Certainly, after five years, I am not shedding tears anymore but I cannot get over such a monumental loss that hit me as a person, and hit the nation in general.

Incidentally, the 5thAnniversary of the passing-on of President Atta Mills coincides with the 25thAnniversary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and as the Party celebrates its year-long Silver Jubilee, there is no way we can forget the stoic leadership role the late President played in the 25 years of the existence of the NDC.

The reluctant politician (as is known to close associates) that he was, President Atta Mills, however, never failed to dig into his inner being and offer the needed the leadership at all times.

If my statistics is right; in the 25 years of the NDC, President Atta Mills holds the record as the longest serving Leader of the Party.

The first time I got hit very hard by death; was, after the passing away of my late mother, Mrs. Mercy Abla Mivormawu Anyidoho (Nee Tsegah), in 1993, when I was in my final year at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Nothing can be more excruciatingly painful than losing a mother, and I shall forever miss her.

May the soul of my loving mother continue to rest in perfect peace!

The second time death that hit me at a very close range again like a thunderbolt, was when President Atta Mills passed away.

To watch a sitting President, and Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, pass away, only reinforced the fact that, death will come when it chooses to come, and there is nothing any human being can do about it.

Were it possible to fight death; the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces would have sent out the Army to fight death by land; sent out the Airforce to fight death in the air; and sent out the Navy to fight death on the sea.

Alas, it was not so!

No man can fight death; and this is a fact of life we all have to understand and know that, one fine day, we shall have no option but to beckon to the call of our ancestors and depart to the Land Beyond.

As fleeting and ephemeral as life is; our sole duty on earth is to leave our memories positively etched on the mind of the people we encounter.

Of course, for those of us who have the opportunity to serve as leaders of the Nation, our sole duty is to leave a positive memory properly etched on the mind of the nation.

I can say without any equivocation that, President John Evans Atta Mills, has left his memory eternally etched on the right side of the nations mind andNOTHINGcan erase that solid memory.

As a political party, the NDC canNEVERforget that immaculate role President Atta Mills played in leading the Party in the dark days of Opposition when the NPP Government did all it could to decimate, dismember, and totally annihilate the Party.

As Opposition Leader, the more the NPP referred to him as a Serial Loser (because the NDC lost the 2000 elections, and allowed the NPP to steal the victory in 2004), the more Candidate Mills got energised to work and win the 2008 elections so as to prove to the world that he was not born to be a Serial Loser.

Opposition leader Asomdwehene Atta-MIlls with an admirer.

Very often, he will say to me; Koku, I am not a loser ooo; dont worry, we will win and I will prove to the NPP that Gods time is the best.

When the NPP stole the victory in 2004 via Jake Obetsebi Lampteys (may his soul rest in peace) infamous speech at the Castle Gardens, Candidate Atta MillsREFUSEDto make this country ungovernable, and kept telling us that; I will never want to become President by shedding innocent blood so let the NPP take the victory. If it is Gods will that I should become President, four years will soon come and Ghanaians will vote for me to lead them.

Indeed, the prophecy of the Asomdwehene, came to pass, and Ghanaians gave him a joyous mandate in 2008 in spite of all the dirty machinations of the NPP to once again rig an election.

The immense struggle President Atta Mills went through to lead the NDC to win back political power in 2008 is a story well known.

Even the near-nation-wrecking move by the then Chief Justice, Georgina Wood, to get a court to sit on the 1stof January, 2009 (New Years Day and a public holiday), to create a backdoor path for the NPP to stop the Electoral Commission from declaring the results of the 2008 General Elections, did not stop the victory of President John Evans Atta Mills and the NDC.

For sure, the NDC has a strong and resilient spirit, and President Atta Mills made a solid contribution to giving more verve to the resilient spirit of the Party.

I will forever miss eating from the table of wisdom, and drinking from the deep fountain of knowledge, of the late President.

He was indeed a good man!!!

I thank the Good Lord for the divine opportunity to have served President John Evans Atta Mills in a very high capacity at the Seat of Government, and I am grateful to the late President for giving me the rare opportunity to work closely with him as a close aide and confidant.

I am also thankful to the NDC for giving me more opportunities to continue to serve the Party.

I have no doubt that the NDC shall see many more brighter and better days as the Party begins another phase of rebuilding towards, Unity, Stability, and Development.

The lights, of anchoring nation-building to the pillars of decency that President Atta Mills, lit, continue to glow especially in the current dark dispensation of evil Invisible and Delta Forces running amok and drowning the nation in a sea of lawlessness.

There is no denying the fact that, the legacy of the good old Professor, shall continue to stand tall!

Adieus sir.

May your good soul continue to rest peacefully in eternity till we meet again at the Feet of Jehovah!!!

Koku Anyidoho Deputy General Secretary (NDC) Founder/CEO, Atta Mills Institute (AMI)

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Vargas: Weeding out herbal remedies for our pets – News Chief

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

By Mitsie Vargas Ledger correspondent

What are the effects of cannabis in our pets? Could we use it as a natural pain reliever or as a natural aid to control seizures in dogs and cats? I have written about this topic previously and my passion for alternative medicine prompts me to continue to explore this potential source of natural pain control and healing.

Marijuana toxicity is a fairly common pet emergency, causing seizures, uncoordination and sometimes death. It is then hard to expect anything good to come out of the marijuana plant when we see what people sharing their stash does to those pets. In Colorado, the number of dogs admitted for marijuana poisoning has increased dramatically as pet owners try using it for old, arthritic dogs and users leave their pot stash unattended resulting in dogs ingesting large quantities.

THC is very toxic and within a half hour of ingestion, you could see drooling, agitation or depression (depends on dose), hypothermia and slower heart rates. The treatment is mainly intravenous fluids and monitoring the heart rate. There is no antidote for the poisoning but some patrol police dogs carry atropine to fight the bradycardia that sets in with THC poisoning. People who smoke near their pets can cause irritation of their upper airways.

The main psychoactive constituent of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but that is just one of 483 known compounds in this plant! There are other non-psychoactive compounds including cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids and the famous CBD. According to the book ''Cannabis and CBD Science for Dogs'' by Caroline Coile, PhD, these hemp derived oils are very safe and appear to help manage a myriad of conditions including anxiety, joint pain, and mobility issues, seizures, and even cancer. The main benefit in chronic, debilitating diseases is an appetite stimulant, which can play a big part in the pet's quality of life. The many phytonutrients extracted from the whole plant will also be full of antioxidant chemicals that will aid in healing.

The anecdotal evidence is accumulating, and it may turn the tide of professional opinions on the use of marijuana in pets. Some companies are producing products that are definitively NOT pot for pets, yet they are high-quality formulations that are effective. One such company is Canna-Pet and its CBD is available without a veterinarian's prescription.

I admit being more at ease recommending Chinese herbal formulas that have scientific research backing their effectivity. In my practice, we see miraculous healings, extended longevity and improved quality of life using herbals and acupuncture and other TCVM modalities. I truly believe in the antioxidant and regenerative power of whole plants, especially green veggies and recommend to add those (spinach, kale, seaweed) to the sick pet's diets to improve healing.

I remain cautiously optimistic that CBD and products derived from hemp oil will become a widely accepted natural cure and more research will be done. It is up to veterinarians in states where marijuana has legalized to start pushing for more research into the medical applications of cannabis.

Dr. Mitsie Vargas is at Orchid Springs Animal Hospital in Winter Haven. She can be reached at drv@osahvets.

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Vargas: Weeding out herbal remedies for our pets - News Chief

Dietary supplements lead to calls for help every 24 minutes – 10TV

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

U.S. Poison Control Centers receive a call every 24 minutes, on average, regarding dietary supplement exposures, according to a new study from the Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Central Ohio Poison Center, both at Nationwide Childrens Hospital.

The study, published online today in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, found the rate of calls regarding dietary supplement exposures increased (46.1%) during 2000 to 2002, decreased (8.8%) during 2002 to 2005 and increased again (49.3%) from 2005 to 2012. The decrease from 2002 to 2005 most likely resulted from the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) ban of the botanical stimulant ma huang previously found in some dietary supplements.

Seventy percent of dietary supplement exposure calls occurred among children younger than six years old and the majority of these were unintentional. Most exposures (97.3%) occurred at home, and in more than 97 percent of the cases, the child swallowed the substance. Serious medical outcomes accounted for 4.5 percent of exposures and the most serious outcomes (95.0%) occurred among children six years and older.

"Many consumers believe dietary supplements are held to the same safety and efficacy standards as over-the-counter medications," said Gary Smith, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and director of the Center of Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Childrens. "However, dietary supplements are not considered drugs, thus they are not required to undergo clinical trials or obtain approval from the FDA prior to sale, unless the product is labeled as intended for therapeutic use."

Miscellaneous substances found in commonly used dietary supplements accounted for the majority of exposure calls (43.9%). Other substances involved in exposures included botanicals (31.9%), hormonal products (15.1%), and other supplements (5.1%). Amino acids, cultural medicines and energy products each account for less than (2.0%) of exposures.

The dietary supplements with the highest proportion of serious medical outcomes were energy products, botanical and cultural medicines. Within the botanical category, yohimbe accounted for the largest proportion of serious medical outcomes (28.2%).

Nearly 30 percent of yohimbe exposure calls resulted in moderate or major effects. Yohimbe can cause heart beat rhythm changes, kidney failure, seizures, heart attack, and death.

Energy products, including drinks, advertised to increase energy and mental performance, can cause bad clinical effects as well. Many energy product exposures were unintentional and occurred among young children, causing heart and breathing problems, seizures, and other clinical problems. Findings support the need for improved energy product regulation, child-resistant packaging, and caregiver information, according to the study authors.

"Lack of federal oversight has led to inconsistencies in the quality of dietary supplements, product mislabeling and contamination with other substances," said Henry Spiller, MS, D.ABAT, a co-author of the study and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Childrens. "Although the majority of these exposure calls did not result in serious medical outcomes, exposures to yohimbe and energy products can be dangerous, suggesting the need for child-resistant packaging, caregiver education and FDA regulation of these substances."

Data for this study were obtained from the National Poison Data System, which is maintained by the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC). The AAPCC receives data on calls to participating poison control centers that serve the US and its territories. Poison control centers receive phone calls through the Poison Help Line and document information about the product, route of exposure, individual exposed, exposure scenario, and other data.

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Dietary supplements lead to calls for help every 24 minutes - 10TV

Laws and Policies Governing Performance Enhancing Supplements – Gurdon Times

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Jacque Martin

Editors Note: This is the second in a series of articles regarding the use of supplements in high school football programs.

The FDA exists to protect the public health by regulating human/animal drugs and biologics, medical devices, tobacco products, food, cosmetics, and electronic products that emit radiation. FDA enforcement usually occurs after a product is already on the market and safety issues become apparent. The FDA doesnt review the effectiveness or safety of dietary supplements unless a supplement may contain a new ingredient not marketed in the United States. A notification must be filed with the FDA 75 days prior to the marketing of the ingredient and include information that the manufacturer or distributor of the new ingredient is reasonably safe. If safety issues occur with the new ingredient, then the FDA evaluates product safety through research and adverse event monitoring. FDA regulations require that food labels be present on most foods, including dietary supplements. Any claims on food products are required to be truthful and not misleading. Manufacturers must list the serving size and the nutrients contained in each serving in the Nutrition Panel or the Supplement Facts for dietary supplements. Nor does the FDA approve structure-function claims on dietary supplements and other foods. An example of a structure-function claim is the statement, Protein builds muscle mass. Dietary supplements must provide a disclaimer regarding structure-function claims that the claim hasnt been reviewed by the FDA. The product label must also state that the product isnt intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The Arkansas School Board Association (ASBA) provides updated school policies that are generated from educational laws passed by the Arkansas General Assembly after every legislative session so that policies are consistent across the state. School districts are required by law to electronically post all school district policies and student handbooks or to make them available in a hard copy format. Heber Springs School District Policy 4.35 Student Medications states, Unless authorized to self-administer, students are not allowed to carry any medications including over-the-counter medications or any perceived health remedy not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration while at school. This statement occurs on page 54 of the student handbook. Last December a girls volleyball coach, Deborah Clark, resigned her position from the Westside Consolidated School District when she learned that Superintendent Scott Guantt recommended termination because she sent a group text to volleyball players instructing them to mix C4 in a water bottle and consume it before the game without the knowledge of the head coach or consent from the parents. C4 contains caffeine. The documents that the Bryant News obtained from the school district state that some of the players felt shaky, unwell, and jittery and even reported their vision was effected by the drink not to mention crashing as the caffeine wore off. C4 is banned by the National Federation of State High Schools Association (NFHS) and the Arkansas Athletics Association (AAA). According to a DHS investigative report provided to The Sun Times, Dusty Combs admitted to providing a non-FDA regulated product, BCAA EnergyTM, to a student. Like C4, BCAA EnergyTM contains caffeine, a substance banned not only by the NFSHSA and AAA, but also by the NCAA and the NFL. Coach Combs was recommended by Superintendent Alan Stauffacher for promotion to Junior High Head Football Coach and Senior Assistant Football Coach. The School Board approved the promotion 4 to 1 with the one opposing vote coming from Judy Crowder. All members of the school board knew that DHS was investigating the allegations against Combs. In the same DHS report, the investigator wrote, Brad Reese stated that the coaches were selling the supplementsIt would appear that the school is providing work out supplements without consent of the childrens parents based on these statements. Calls were placed and messages left for Brad Reese and Dusty Combs requesting interviews and to give them an opportunity to explain the school district football program. There was no return phone call from either as of the publishing of this article. The Arkansas Athletics Association website links to the NFHS position statement on dietary supplements, which states, The NFHS SMAC strongly opposes the use of supplements by high school athletes for performance enhancement, due to the lack of published, reproducible scientific research documenting the benefits of their use and confirming no potential long-term adverse health effects with their use, particularly in the adolescent age groupIn order to discourage dietary supplement use for athletic performance: school personnel, coaches, and parents should allow for open discussion about dietary supplement use, and strongly encourage obtaining optimal nutrition through a well-balanced diet; remind athletes that no supplement is harmless or free from consequences and that there are no short cuts to improve athletic performance; and, because they are not strictly regulated, dietary supplements may contain impurities and banned substances not listed on the label. The NCAA Nutritional/Dietary Supplements Warning states: Before consuming any nutritional/dietary supplement product, review the product with the appropriate or designated athletics department staff! Dietary supplements, including vitamins and minerals, are not well regulated and may cause a positive drug test result. Student-athletes have tested positive and lost their eligibility using dietary supplements. Many dietary supplements are contaminated with banned drugs not listed on the label. Any product containing a dietary supplement ingredient is taken at your own risk [in bold]. The NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances, Appendix D, Use of Supplements, states: Over the past several years, we have made a special effort to educate and warn Players about the risks involved in the use of nutritional supplements. Despite these efforts, several Players have been suspended though their positive test result may have been due to the use of a supplementAs the Policy clearly warns, supplements are not regulated or monitored by the government. This means that, even if they are bought over-the-counter from a known establishment, there is currently no way to be sure that they: (a) contain the ingredients listed on the packaging; (b) have not been tainted with prohibited substances; or (c) have the properties or effects claimed by the manufacturer or salesperson.For your own health and success in the League, we strongly encourage you to avoid the use of supplements altogether, or at the very least to be extremely careful about what you choose to take. States are beginning to regulate and ban performance enhancing drugs and supplements in the public-school systems as well. Michigan was the first to initiate this legislation in 1999 when Act 187 prohibited public school employees and volunteers from promoting or supplying dietary supplements which carry claims of enhanced athletic performance. In October 2005, then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB37, which required any person interested in competing in high school sports to sign a pledge that they would not use performance enhancing supplements. It also banned any supplement manufacturer from sponsoring any school events. The bill established the high school coach education and training program as well as prohibiting the marketing, sale and distribution of prohibited dietary substances. Michigan passed Act 216 in 2006 in which the law requires all public school districts and academies to include in their local codes of conduct that possession or use of any National Collegiate Athletic Association banned drug is not permitted. Any student found with banned substances suffer the same penalties established by Michigan school districts for the possession/use of tobacco, alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs. In July 2007, Governor Rick Perry of Texas signed into law a bill that required random steroid testing of public school athletes. Any athlete who tested positive for anabolic steroids could be suspended and permanently banned from participating in athletics. Besides Texas, New Jersey and Florida also mandate steroid testing. Eight other states have passed laws for testing, but didnt mandate it, and seventeen other states have testing policies at the state or local level. There is no law in Arkansas mandating anabolic steroid testing. As the NCAA and the NFL performance enhancing policies have warned, dietary supplements may be contaminated with banned substances, putting athletes health and sports eligibility at risk.

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Laws and Policies Governing Performance Enhancing Supplements - Gurdon Times

Aging for Amateurs: Too good to be true? Health scams are out there – Charleston Post Courier

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

It is a shame that we even have to write about this subject, but it seems that we aging amateurs are frequently targets of scam artists. I am especially interested in health scams, but there are plenty of other types out there, too.

It turns out that there are probably several reasons that those of us who are experienced taxpayers are more likely to be taken in.

A study several years ago led by UCLA psychologist Shelley Taylor found that older individuals were less likely to recognize untrustworthy facial cues than younger adults (a smile in the mouth, but not in the eye, an averted gaze or a backward lean). In a follow-up study using brain imaging, Taylor found that older adults appear to have less activity in the area of the brain that processes risk and subtle danger. She hypothesizes that this may be part of an effort to make life more positive (those rose-colored glasses) as we age.

Whatever the reason (or reasons) that make us more likely to fall for them, we are exposed to scams on a daily basis, whether we read magazines, newspapers, junk mail," surf the web or watch most television channels.

What are the most common health scams?

Treatments for diseases that are difficult or very complicated to take care of or require significant lifestyle changes for successful management like many cancers, diabetes or obesity. These scams are potentially dangerous and may cause harmful delays in getting proper diagnosis and appropriate therapy.

Treatments for illnesses that we lack highly effective medications or other interventions for like dementia or aging itself. In addition to potentially delaying diagnosis of treatable or reversible causes of decreased mental acuity or illnesses that may mimic standard aging, costs for many treatments are substantial.

Treatments for diseases that wax and wane in severity for reasons that are often difficult to understand or predict such as multiple sclerosis, many forms of arthritis and even low back pain. Since the symptoms come and go, treatments like magnets, copper bracelets, special diets, dietary supplements and electronic devices may appear to work, and many people spend many dollars with very limited benefits.

Dietary supplements are an element in all of the health scams listed above. While they are intended to ensure that a person gets enough essential nutrients, they are often promoted to do much more than this.

They are not regulated as drugs and may not claim to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure diseases (except the appropriate use of vitamins folic acid, for example, prevents neural tube defects when given to pregnant women).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have the authority to review dietary supplement products for safety or effectiveness before they are marketed. So it is buyer beware when using these products.

Why are supplements potentially risky products? Many supplements contain ingredients that have biological effects in the body that could lead to harmful consequences: when several supplements are combined, when supplements and prescription medications are used together, when supplements are used instead of prescription medications, or when supplements are used in larger doses than recommended.

So, if you take dietary supplements, use them as directed and be sure that your health care provider knows what products you are using and how much. It will be helpful to bring your supplements with you to your appointments.

The FDA has a list of Tip-Offs to Rip-Offs

1. Be suspicious of these red flag claims and others like them: quick fix," all natural, miracle cure," one product does it all," scientific breakthrough," new discovery," what your doctor doesnt want you to know," secret ingredient," shrinks tumors," lowers blood sugar," or lose weight without diet or exercise.

2. Be wary of personal testimonials by real people or doctors claiming amazing results. Testimonials are not a substitute for scientific proof.

3. Be careful. If a product claims to cure a wide range of unrelated diseases, its probably a scam.

Scams are out there, dont let yourself or your family members fall victim to one of them.

Bert Keller and Bill Simpson write the occasional column, Aging for Amateurs. Simpson, a retired physician, wrote this installment. Comments, questions and suggestions are welcome atagingforamateurs@gmail.com.

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Aging for Amateurs: Too good to be true? Health scams are out there - Charleston Post Courier

Randgold continues to seek out Tongon life extension prospects – Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) With the Tongon gold mine, in Cte dIvoire, operating to plan, West Africa-focused gold miner Randgold Resources has shifted its focus to the discovery of additional reserves and resources.

Tongon continued to ramp up production, tracking the 2017 output target of 285 000 oz of gold, CEO Mark Bristow said in a statement on Monday.

In line with this, the company is seeking to replace depleted ounces and extend the mines life beyond its current four-year horizon.

Bristow previously highlighted the high resource potential of the exploration programme at Tongon.

Meanwhile, with eyes on what Bristow described as potentially the most exciting gold prospect in West Africa, the companys exploration programmes have defined a large target at Boundiali in the Fonondara corridor.

The company has just completed its yearly review of its exploration targets . . . [which also] highlighted very positive results from its other holdings in the country, underlining again Cte dIvoires exceptional prospectivity, Bristow said.

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Randgold continues to seek out Tongon life extension prospects - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly

Local veteran shares colorful past – Martinsburg Journal

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Wayne Gooden holding up a photo of his time in the service.

Editors note: The Journals Unsung Heroes series spotlights a local veteran each week from Memorial Day to Veterans Day. If you would like to nominate an Unsung Hero, email news@journal-news.net.

MARTINSBURG Wayne Gooden, 75, is a decorated Vietnam War Veteran with a colorful military history and police background.

Gooden said he remembers his time in the service vividly, entering the military at age 19.

I went into the military at such a young age, Gooden said.

I actually wanted to travel a bit before I went in, but then I just decided to stay in and serve. In 1967, I was sent to Vietnam and once I got there, I was assigned to the food service. After I was there about three months, I decided I wanted to go into combat arms, which was an infantry unit. I served with the infantry unit for about four months. They sent me back to the NCO Academy (Non-commissioned Officer Academy) and once I graduated from there, I heard that they were looking for volunteers for LERPS (Life Extension Refurbishment Program). The LERP is a four-man recon unit and I was with the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division LERPS. It was a volunteer thing, one assignment and you can quit at any time.

Gooden was awarded the Bronze Star medal for heroism on March 24, 1968 from his commanding officer Charles R. Swiffin, Colonel, GS-Chief of Staff.

I was awarded the Bronze Star award for heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, Gooden said.

Gooden was participating in a long range enemy reconnaissance patrol when the men observed an enemy platoon moving toward their position.

Knowing that contact with the numerically superior enemy force was unavoidable, the team leader deployed his men to the most advantageous positions, assigning Sgt. Gooden with the responsibility of rear security, said Col. Swiffin in a letter recognizing Gooden for his heroic efforts. Throughout the ensuing engagement, Sgt. Gooden prevented enemy soldiers from breaking through his area of responsibility. When a fellow soldiers weapon malfunctioned, Sgt. Gooden gave the man his own rifle. Courageously, he continued to hold his position, using hand grenades against the threatening enemy. Largely through his heroic efforts, the four Americans effectively repelled the enemy platoon. Sgt. Goodens personal bravery and exemplary devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.

Gooden said he is very proud of his military service.

When I served my first tour over there in 68 everyone knows that was a bad year but I served it proudly, Gooden said. The only way we got out was because of the chopper. It was literally pulling each of us up by our arms. After that, I went back home for a bit, then went to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri to start training. It was there I decided I wanted to go back to Vietnam, so I asked my commanding officer if I could return and I did. On my second tour, I was assigned to a security outfit and then after four months I decided I wanted to go into law enforcement.

Gooden was then assigned to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Office as a military police investigator.

I served my tour there, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Gooden said. I decided to go back to Vietnam a third and final time to the same CID office. After I finished my tour there, I was awarded the Army Commendation medal twice, for involvement with solving drug cases, things like that. Then I went back to the states for a while. That time I was assigned to the military police school in Fort Gordon, Georgia. I was assigned there because they came up with a formal class for the military police investigators, and I was chosen to help write the first lesson plan for that class.

From there, Gooden went to complete a tour in Germany, and from there he landed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Gooden then found himself in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

I was assigned there as a military police investigator, Gooden said. So I finally got to do my traveling that I have always wanted, just in a different capacity.

Gooden then came close to home.

I was lucky enough to get close to Martinsburg, where I was assigned to Fort Ritchie, Maryland, to the Post Marshals office, Gooden said. There I was a crime prevention officer, a physical security investigator and court liaison officer.

Gooden stayed there until 1981 when he retired.

After staying out 10 years, Gooden decided he wanted back in.

He went to the federal law enforcement academy in Brunswick, Georgia, and was assigned to the Pentagon as a federal police officer and then earned a spot on the protective service detail agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, where he stayed until 2004 when a vehicle accident forced him to retire.

When I was working at the Pentagon, I enjoyed my time on the protective service detail and all aspects really. I met a lot of amazing people and formed great relationships, Gooden said.

Now that Gooden has officially retired, he said he has no plans of slowing down.

Gooden said he plans to take many vacations with his wife and children, but he also has more exciting projects for this upcoming year.

Gooden has a love for gospel music.

According to Gooden, he has recorded two gospel albums already and hopes to record his third, to be released next fall.

I have always had a passion for writing and performing gospel music, Gooden said. I am currently recording for my third album and I am happy I finally have the time to really pursue my music.

Gooden said he is also working on writing a book about his life.

The book will be called God and Country,' Gooden said. I hope to have that out within the next year or two.

Looking back, Gooden remembers his military service fondly.

To me, I have had a great career and I am grateful for the career that I have had, Gooden said. I am not saying all of it was easy, but I truly gave my life to this, I gave the federal government 33 and a half great years and I just cant wait for my next adventure.

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Local veteran shares colorful past - Martinsburg Journal

Britain’s Challenger 2 Tank Is One of the Bestbut It Needs Some Serious Help – The National Interest Online (blog)

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

The United Kingdom did more than any nation to pioneer armored warfare, and its Challenger 2 stands amongst the best tanks in the world. The sixty-two-ton tank established a reputation for exceptional toughness during combat in Iraq. But despite being a newer design than the Leopard or Abrams, the Challenger 2 has not been lavished with the extensive upgrades that its NATO peers have, and is generally perceived as having fallen behind.

In January 2017, the Ministry of Defense declared it had short-listed competing proposals from BAE Systems and German Rheinmetall for a modest Challenger 2 Life Extension Program (LEP) to improve the vehicles sensors and fire control computers. While the LEP is meant to increase the Challenger 2s service life until 2035, neither proposal addresses the most glaring issues with the vehicle.

The Challenger 2 entered service only fifteen years after the Challenger 1 in 1983. At the time, it was the first British tank to benefit from state-of-the-art Chobham composite armor, which decisively restored the defensive primacy of modern tanks. However, the Challenger 1 still shared many systems with the preceding Chieftain tank, including a sluggish fire control system. The new tank performed poorly in exercises and suffered from extravagant teething issues. The Ministry of Defense was inspired to sign on to a more thoroughly modernized design in 1989.

Ironically, the Challenger 1 performed brilliantly under actual combat conditions in the Gulf War, destroying 200 to 300 Iraqi tanks without suffering any losses. The Challenger and Abrams were simply more than the Iraqis could handle. The Iraqi army was fielding older Soviet tanks that could not defeat such formidable armorthey might have had a fighting chance if they had improved ammunition. In return, the 120 millimeter guns on both vehicles could effortlessly pierce opposing armor. A Challenger 1 crew even achieved a record long-range shot during the conflict, destroying an Iraqi tank from 3.2 miles away.

But the Challenger replacement was already well underway. Despite its similar appearance, the Challenger 2 that entered service in 1998 had very few parts in common with its predecessor. It featured a longer barrel L30A1 cannon with a longer fifty-five-caliber barrel, and an upgraded composite package known as Dorchester armor, mixed with extra Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) tiles. The latter type of armor involves metal plates sandwiched with explosives that explode outward against incoming projectiles, diminishing or deflecting the blast of shaped-charge warheads. In addition to the main gun, the crew of four can fire machineguns.

The Leopard 2, Abrams and Challenger are all considered to be broadly similar in capability, but the British design has some distinguishing quirksnotably, it was formerly considered the best armored of the three tanks, but also the slowest with a maximum speed of thirty-seven miles per hour. This latter trait is related to its underpowered 1,200 horsepower engine, compared to 1,500 horsepower powertrains on other top Western tanks.

The Challenger 2 is also noted for being one of the only modern tank design in its weight class to use a rifled gun. A rifled gun allows for greater accuracy, but the spinning motion it imparts leads to lower muzzle velocity, diminishing penetrating power for the kinetic armor-piercing sabot shells favored by most countrieswhich are quite stable anyway. But British tankers in the 1980s were more interested in their own unique form of ammunition, the High Explosive Squash-Head (HESH) which does not depend on kinetic energy for penetration, but still could benefit from the greater accuracy of a rifled barrel. HESH rounds employ a plastic explosive that generates a shock to the interior vehicle, causing metal to spall.

The Challenger 2 soldiered on in the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, where it once again steamrolled opposing tanks around the city of Basra without suffering any losses to hostile fire. The British tank faced the greatest danger from roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. One Challenger 2 was allegedly struck by seventy RPGsand emerged with its crew unscratched. Another survived seventeen RPGs and a Milan missile, and despite the battle damage, was back in combat the next day.

The Challenger 2s reputation for indomitability created somewhat unreasonable expectations. In 2007, it was revealed that a few years back an insurgent using an RPG-29an especially powerful 105 millimeter warheadhad pierced through the belly armor of a Challenger 2 as it crested a dune. The belly armor is one of the weakest points on any tank. The penetrating warhead mauled the drivers footthough the vehicle remained in operational condition and was able to back away from the ambush. Another Challenger 2 was disabled in 2007 by an IED, but restored into operational condition. The only Challenger 2 to be totally destroyed was hit by another Challenger 2 tank by accident.

The Ministry of Defense was lambasted for having tanks that were not actually indestructible, and slightly more reasonably, that they had covered up the initial incident. Afterwards, the ERA armor on the lower front-hull was replaced with heavier Dorchester composite armor. Presently, the armor packages on the Challengers 2 breaks the scales at around seventy-five tons!

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Britain's Challenger 2 Tank Is One of the Bestbut It Needs Some Serious Help - The National Interest Online (blog)

Have we been ‘expiring’ perfectly good drugs? – Times of India

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Would you spend a rupee if it saved you Rs 677? Eagerly, perhaps. The US Department of Defense has been saving billions of dollars for 30 years by continuing to use 'expired' medicines in its stock after testing them. Last year, the tests--part of its Shelf Life Extension Program--cost $3.1 million and saved $2.1 billion. Are drugs safe to use past their 'expiry' date? If they are, why do they come printed with expiry dates only 2-3 years from the date of manufacture? A recent article on ProPublica 'That Drug Expiration Date May Be More Myth Than Fact' shows why drug companies ought to revise their expiry schedules.

When Lee Cantrell, a toxicologist who helps run the California Poison Control System, and Roy Gerona, a University of California, San Francisco researcher who specialises in analysing chemicals, started testing leftover stocks of pills from the 1960s, they were surprised to find that "a dozen of the 14 compounds were still as potent as they were when they were manufactured, some at almost 100% of their labeled concentrations."

Have we been 'expiring' perfectly good drugs? - Times of India

The George Zimmerman Juror Haunted By Trayvon Martin’s Death – Daily Beast

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

In The Jury Speaks, a four-part true crime series airing this week, Oxygen is delving into a handful of the most infamous cases in American history. The cases range from celebrity spectacle (Michael Jackson) to eerily topical (O.J. Simpson). But one casethe 2013 George Zimmerman trialstands apart as a singular moment in our national zeitgeist that still reverberates. While other trials before and after have captured the attention of the entire country, they didnt spark a movement.

The Jury Speaks seeks to reexamine the George Zimmerman trial through the eyes of the jurors who deliberated on the case; jurors who, unlike much of the country, hadnt been closely following the extensive media coverage of Trayvon Martins death. The irony, for the six women who ended up delivering a not guilty verdict, is that the two names that they had barely heard of before reporting for jury duty have followed them ever since. Its hard for me to sleep, its hard for me to eat because I feel I was forcefully included in Trayvon Martins death, juror Maddy explained in an interview following the trial. She continued, And as I carry him on my back, Im hurting as much [as] Trayvons Martins mother because theres no way that any mother should feel that pain.

Four years later, Maddy is still horrified by the tragedy of Martins death, but maintains that she had no choice but to adhere to the law as she understood it. Its a point that comes up time and time again in The Jury Speaksthe painful chasm between a personal urge to administer justice, and a citizens responsibility to go by the letter of the law.

As Maddy tells The Daily Beast, They give you this paper, and the five women were explaining it to me, saying, This is the way it has to goyou cant look at the situation from where George Zimmerman was calling 911 and was chasing him or, you know, hovering over himthats not necessarily intent to hurt anybody. You have to look at it when Trayvon Martin was on top of him. Did he feel like his life was in danger? So you look at the rules they gave you, and youre stuck in a box. You have no choiceits not emotional, its not what we want. In other words, The decision is made before we even get there.

Still, Maddy has doubts. I was the only juror who openly gave my objections and opinions to the world, she muses when asked about her post-trial interview. I just didnt have the chance to do it with [my fellow jurors], because they were very vocal, they said because I didnt know the law they were gonna help me. Was I manipulated? I dont know.

It bears mentioning, as so many did in the wake of the trial, that Maddy, who is Puerto Rican, was the only person of color on a six-woman jury. Maddy divulges, If were being totally honest, that she felt very different from her fellow jurors, although race wasnt the only factor: I was around high-maintenance women, women who were very educated, women who were not my color, women who were not raised with the struggle that I was.

While Maddy admits that she was not the only juror who struggled with the verdict, there was one woman whose motives she questions to this day. The only person who I can honestly say that I felt in my bones was racist, was the one who came out on TV, B37, she confesses. During an infamous CNN appearance, Juror B37 said that she believed Zimmermans heart was in the right place on the night of the attack, and that Martin probably threw the first punch.

[B37] tried to argue with me about a TV show that I taped, and then was like, Oh my god, there she goes with those ghetto shows, Maddy recalls. Me and her were constantly going at it. She would talk to me like I was five years old. We used to go out to restaurants to get something to eatour field trips, I swear to god I felt like I was seven years old. And when I would save my food to take it back to the hotel, she would say, Why are you saving food, you act like youre poor. So those comments, after a while, it got to the point where in the deliberation, I wanted to knock her teeth out. Everything that came out of her mouth was like, Hurry up! Hurry up! We need to hurry up with this! You guys know the answer already!

Maddy chuckles, concluding that, Me and her, we did not have a nice relationship.

What Maddy and her fellow jurors did have in common was a shared ignorance of the Trayvon Martin shootingbefore the trial, they were ostensibly unfamiliar with the details of the case, as well as the larger cultural significance of the shooting. Maddy explains that her lack of prior knowledge was equal parts preference and practicality. She was living in Chicago at the time, and I never watched the news, because in Chicago, all you see in the news is the same things: gangs, shootouts, another person passing away. After a while the news got repetitive. Being a mom and working over 40 or 50 hours a week, I used to just come home, go to sleep, wake up, take care of my kids, and then get ready to go to work again.

When she moved to Florida and showed up for her first day of jury duty, Maddy had no idea what she was in for. It was my first time ever having jury duty. Im sitting there thinking, I hope this goes quick. And so when they asked us to come back the next day, Im like, Why do I have to come back the next day? I thought this was a one-day process? On the second day I came in and filled out more papers, and there were like forty of us, and then little by little, they told us Were choosing you. And again, I was so naive, I thought, This sounds cool! How long is it gonna be? And theyre like no, youre getting sequestered, and Im like, Ok, what does that mean? I dont even know what sequestered is!

At the time, her youngest daughter was only three months old, and Maddy gets understandably emotional describing the toll that the forced separation took on her: When my husband was allowed to come visit me for thirty minutes on Sundays, my three-month-old hardly knew me! And thats time you cant get back.

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Once Maddy and her fellow jurors, along with George Zimmerman, were free to go, Maddy began to experience a new kind of pain. When I came out of deliberations, they put us in the car, and then I saw the helicopters, Maddy recalls. Im coming home, and Im like, What is going on? And they explained it to me, they gave me a big red folder, and in the folder there were a bunch of different news channels that wanted to speak with me, and I was like, About what? In my mind, Im thinking that when you go to court, its private, not knowing that half of the people at that trial were news people. She continues, When I came out, when I got home, and I started watching the TV, I started panicking. I had no idea it was more about black and white, about racismI realized how big it was. In the months and years after the trial, Maddy went through it all losing my home, work, friends and some family. She was harassed, threatened, and treated like I was a contributor to Zimmerman killing.

These tough words were very hard to handle, Maddy says. Again, I had no knowledge of how big the trial would bewere victims of the society that brings us into this situation. For three years of my life I had to feel like Im carrying a child on my back.

These days, Maddy feels as though shes finally channeling the stress of the trial and the personal reckoning that followed into positive change. Shes studying to become a teacher and working at a kids after school program. Im just trying to protect another child from being victimized, she explains. I want to make a difference.

As for George Zimmerman, Maddy feels sad every time she sees a new troubling headline: It causes me to think he doesnt value his own life, so it was easy for him to take someone elses.

Link:

The George Zimmerman Juror Haunted By Trayvon Martin's Death - Daily Beast

Carolyn Leckie: SNP now has to learn from Corbyn’s rise or face being left behind – The National

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

THE last three years has been a roller-coast ride for the independence movement. We had the great upsurge towards independence in late August and early September 2014, followed by the bitter disappointment of coming so near, yet so far. Then we had the incredible General Election of 2015, which left Scottish Labour almost dead and buried, and the SNP looking like an unstoppable runaway train. And then the slow-down of 2017.

If we have learned anything from the twists and turns of recent politics, not just in Scotland, but across the UK, Europe and the wider world, it is to expect the unexpected. We live in volatile times, and the staid, predictable politics of the past are gone, possibly forever.

But amid the turbulence, one trend stands out with crystal clarity. Politics is deeply polarised, right and left. These days, the centre ground is the most dangerous terrain for any political party or movement to occupy.

Many people feel uncomfortable whenever the issue of social class is raised. Theyll talk freely about other divisive issues gender inequality, Brexit, racism, independence, sectarianism, war and peace. But class is not a favourite topic for conversation at polite dinner parties. For some people on both sides of the independence debate its the word that dare not speak its name.

Yet class is a deep faultline that runs right through the heart of society we live in. It was summed up in a Guardian headline this weekend: Your state pension in Dorset 124,000. In Glasgow? 38,000. The point it flagged up was that the average male in the prosperous coastal county in south-west England can expect to live ten years longer than his counterpart in Scotland biggest city.

Yes, one is in England the other in Scotland. But this is about class, not geography. Scotland may have a stronger egalitarian tradition than England, but we live in grossly unequal country. Some of Jock Tamsons bairns have luxury yachts, lavish mansions and private helicopters, while others have to queue up at foodbanks to stave off hunger. Yes, the independence cause crosses class boundaries. And theres nothing wrong with that.

Politics is not just about occupation and background, its about morality and values.

Which side are you on? sang Billy Bragg during the 1984 miners strike. That was another time of intense political passion and there were plenty of affluent professionals, footballers, entertainers, artists and business people who raised money to support the mining communities. And there were also plenty of poorly paid manual workers who believed what they read in The Sun.

Ive never been a member of the SNP, or the Labour Party for that matter. Unlike some passionate SNP members, I believe that the diversity of the independence movement is one of its greatest strengths. But unlike some passionate non-SNP Yes voters, I believe that diversity wont deliver independence without a strong SNP as part of the mix.

Right now, the party is caught in a pincer movement. In the rural, wealthier and more conservative constituencies many of them in the north east the Tories are resurgent. If that was the only problem the SNP faced, then we could look forward with confidence to the next referendum, whenever that may be.

But the Tories have reached their peak helped by tactical voting in the Unionist camp and will struggle in the future to hold onto the gains of 2017. Far more serious is the resurrection of Labour, thanks to a man who was until recently even more hated than Nicola Sturgeon by many of his own politicians and activists in Scotland.

Overnight, hordes of tartan Blairites have been converted to Corbynism. The party that in Scotland denounced universal benefits, boasted of the success of their privatisation programmes, dismissed rail public ownership, built six council houses in the whole of Scotland between 2003 and 2007 and backed Tony Blairs catastrophic war in Iraq, has now discovered socialism.

Its like Nigel Farage suddenly demanding that the UK join the eurozone, or Donald Trump appearing at press conference wearing Refugees Welcome Here badge.

But voters have short memories and the Labour Party has the luxury of opposition in both Holyrood and Westminster.

Had Corbyn actually won the General Election, rather than run close, the independence cause would, I believe, have been strengthened.

Not because Corbyn is incompetent or unprincipled, but because he would have been left to run a government dealing with the enormity of Brexit, surrounded by hundreds of his own MPs who would be happy to see him fail, and with the whole weight of the establishment ranged against him.

EVEN Clement Attlee, who established the modern NHS, only lasted six years in power, while Harold Wilsons left wing 1974 manifesto was jettisoned within two years as the IMF stepped in to run the British economy and enforce draconian sending cuts and a pay freeze for public sector workers at a time of rampant inflation.

But it will be a long time before Labour is put to the test at Westminster and I fear that unless the SNP takes a sharp turn to left and starts to project itself as the party of the Scottish working class, it will lose further ground and weaken the entire independence movement.

Yes, I anticipate disagreement, especially from some of the old guard of SNP activists, who think the party can defy the laws of gravity by standing above such vulgarities as class and left-right politics.

So, in advance, I suggest they peruse the Scottish Social Attitudes surveys of the past few years where they will discover that on a whole range of issues, the people are far to the left of the politicians.

And they will further discover that two in three Scots define themselves as "working class" while just one in four who say they are "middle class".

This is no time for panic, defeatism, or recriminations. On 13 August 2014, TNS published an opinion poll that showed support for independence at 32 per cent. Just over a month later, 45 per cent voted Yes.

We are in stronger position today than we were just a month before the 2014 referendum. But unless were prepared to move forward boldly and be part of the radical zeitgeist which took Jeremy Corbyn from back-bench obscurity to the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, we could be left behind.

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Carolyn Leckie: SNP now has to learn from Corbyn's rise or face being left behind - The National

Russian cities court Indian tourists – The Pioneer – Daily Pioneer

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Danzig

Sunday, 23 July 2017 | Rinku Ghosh | St Petersburg

The Runwals are not like the dysfunctional Mehras on a fancy cruise in the Mediterranean as embodied in Dil Dhadakne Do. If anything, they are conventional. But they are quite a merry bunch, choosing to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary in the family along the Gulf of Finland, blazing through the white nights of the North Pole, cruising along the rivers and canals of St Petersburg. They booked a premier floor of the Four Seasons, had the ballroom for the celebrations done up with classic floral arrangements and harps and had flown in their chefs for the event. Not only that. As part of a weekend of extended family revelry and bonding, they even watched The Swan Lake at the Ballet Palace Theatre, teary-eyed and fulfilled.

We caught up with Indian students, who had invited their peers for a group summer outing, techies and 30-plus professionals with associative memories of the Soviet times from Bengal, some of whom were doing a recce for a luxurious trans-Siberian Railway tour spanning the Orient and the Occident. That is precisely where St Petersburgs appeal lies as a city of 342 bridges. Besides the mechanical ones, the city bridges eras, the imperial grandeur of Tsarist Russia with its modernist reinvention, the Oriental sweep with Occidental interpretations, refined European heritage with contemporary sub-cultures, opulence with functionality.

Russia, particularly St Petersburg, is increasingly figuring as a must-do hotspot in the Indian travellers itinerary as that country has been aggressively courting the top travel markets of the world since last year. That has largely been prompted by Russias re-prioritisation post the Western worlds sanctions over Ukraine, falling oil prices and over-dependence on a resource-based economy. Asian countries, like China, are moving in with new investment in infrastructure thats having an inevitable spinoff in emergent sectors like tourism. No country can beat China when it comes to boosting Russias tourism industry, and the country has topped the list since 2014. Yes, the airports have Chinese signages and announcements, there are brochures in Chinese at tourist kiosks and dedicated hotels for Chinese tourists.

Indians still have to notch up the numbers to get specialised attention at this point but tourist officials are now targetting them, what with Indian companies investing in businesses and tourism officials keen to tap into Indian visitors with their highest spending traits.

We are increasing accommodation options, expanding schedules at heritage sites, easing visa and transit norms, allowing pitstop experiences by extending visas up to 72 hours and setting up friendly trouble-shooting kiosks. We know Indians like their micro-staples, like tea in the morning, and are making sure our hotel rooms stock beverage packs and kettles. We are profiling their interest areas and working out tour specials. We hope that Indians can rank second among Asian arrivals, says Evgeny Pankevich, Director-General, City Tourist Information Bureau.

Customisation has begun with tourism officials surveying Indian tourist behaviour, hotels allowing chefs for group tours and city officials considering destination reunions and wedding shoots though not the wedding fire rituals as yet. Indian restaurants like Oh Mumbai, whose Bengali chef is becoming a hot favourite among expats and locals, are quickly climbing up the fine-dining charts and endorsed by the city tourist board. On their part Indians have begun classifying St Petersburg with the A-category European experience, that is the London-Paris-Milan club class, according to Prashant Chaudhary of Salvia Promoters, the official partner of the Visit St Petersburg campaign and office in India. Ever since the Russian Tourism Board began aggressively wooing the Indian traveller over the last year, Indian interest and arrivals on the Moscow-St Petersburg circuit have gone up by 100 per cent, he says.

Chaudhary, who has been developing this market over the last 14 years, considers St Petersburg an experiential destination. It is clearly the worlds culture capital with its history, palaces, museums, cathedrals, gilded baroque art, its pavilions, parks and literary retreats. But theres much more. This is one city that is fiercely protective of its facades and architecture discipline as it looks out to the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea the same way it has done through centuries. Climb the Issac Cathedral and there are no jarring outcrops. Commercial or residential district, the facades have a contiguity of design depending on the imperial or Soviet blocks. The city has a vibrant night life, day and night river cruises, jazz bars, sailing and yachting prospects for the adventurous and fascinating activities for children. It is called Venice of the North and is much cleaner than the original. And the polar white nights are spectacular, the summer twilight extending into dawn and the waters of the Neva river a bright cerulean even at midnight.

As a river civilisation and with a maritime history of our own, St Petersburg is an example of how water tourism can be developed. With its founder Peter The Great developing grid-like embankments along the citys rivers and canals leading up to the gulf of Finland, portside pleasures abound. There are day/night cruises that let you float past the panoramic skyline of the city, while sipping wine or having dinner, halt-and-go boats at key banks besides conversations and music gigs at riverside cafes. Of course, there are the commercial cruiseliners on the Baltic, which can dock well into the bay and the deep Neva delta and offer such on-board entertainment like water surfing and bars tended by robots and Disney characters. Eighteen new ships are to be built and commissioned over the next few years.

The waterworld museum at the port is an interactive 4D experience of the creative and destructive forces of the earths primal element on giant LED screens and simulated chambers. Touch a pre-historic fish swimming by and watch it become the first amphibian! Or perform an experiment to understand the properties of water.

The city administration has even turned the rather mundane function of raising drawbridges across the city for letting cargo ships through into a midnight tourism event, taking advantage of the extended diurnal phase of the sun. Around seven drawbridges are lit up in national colours and raised up to the notes of Tchaikovsky in a rhythmic manner as cruise boats and jet skis pass under history and the earliest engineering feats of the modern world. With all heritage buildings lit up, the bay is garlanded by a string of jewels as it were and makes for a profoundly cinematic experience. Then there are sea festivals and fireworks. But given the activist citizens, there is strict compliance of environmental and sanitary norms and restricted licences for yachting clubs.

St Petersburg is the home ground of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is actively encouraging soft and cultural diplomacy to make it the most coveted postcard brand. So there is peaceful co-existence of the Lenin-Stalin legacy, be it in terms of Soviet tours of architectural blocks or outposts, a sign that the city has matured into taking the middle path. Youngsters at speakeasies even talk of the good and bad of both open and socialist economies.

Interestingly, the tourism offices are manned and headed by young, dynamic, English-speaking Russians, who are recasting the image of St Petes as a happening destination. Midnight walking tours, fusion food (Russian fine-diners are a treasure trove of soups and salads), vodka tasting tours, Russian alternative rock and adventure sports are all on offer.

The city administration is offering cost-effective packages for the value-conscious Indian traveller. St Petersburg will provide bang for the buck to the Indian traveller. The rouble and rupee are almost equivalent i.e. 1 rouble = 1.09 rupee. Compared to the other tourist destinations, the Russian experience is going to be light on the pockets, says Chaudhary. Which is why Russian tourism officials are looking to penetrate not just metro cities but Tier II and Tier III cities as well.

Then theres the FIFA world cup next year that is expected to change the scenario for Indians visiting Russia. Many have booked their tickets already to the host country.

There are nationalist T-shirts and souvenirs of a bare-chested or covered Putin astride a bear in the wilds. As the tenth most visited nation worldwide, Russia is heaving out of its bearish days and charging ahead like a bull.

Originally posted here:

Russian cities court Indian tourists - The Pioneer - Daily Pioneer

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