Monthly Archives: July 2017

Holistic therapy for pets? Traditional vet care being blended with reiki, acupuncture – Georgia Voice

Posted: July 7, 2017 at 2:11 am

In 2012, Americans spent about $30.2 billion on alternative veterinary practices for their pets. (Photo via iStock)

Its a situation many pet parents have faced: Your beloved fur kid just isnt itself and youre at the end of your rope. Youve maxed out on vet visits and overloaded on pet painkillers. Still, your pup is struggling with arthritis, diabetes or some other painful condition that conventional methods arent helping.

You can cross your fingers and turn to another traditional vet. Or you can join the growing number of pet owners looking to aromatherapy, chiropractic and even energy work to sooth their struggling animals.

Its called holistic medicine, and while the discipline which combines Eastern and metaphysical theories to treat mostly chronic conditions has long been common among human patients, animal specialists say its use is exploding among pet owners. They point to younger pet parents and more animal owners who live a holistic lifestyle and increasingly want their dogs, cats and even lizards to do the same.

These pet parents arent replacing stethoscopes and scalpels with pendulums and sage. Rather, experts say they are increasingly blending traditional vet care with things like reiki, color therapy and acupuncture to treat their animals inside and out.

Healing mind, body and spirit

Sometimes referred to as alternative medicine, holistic medical care is best described as treatment focused on healing mind, body and spirit. Where conventional Western medicine focuses on tests and X-rays, holistic treatment is often intuitive, with heavy focus on emotional blockages, energetic imbalances and other less tangible concepts.

The field encompasses a diverse number of specializations, including hypnotherapy, sound therapy, herbal treatments and reiki, a technique in which a practitioner uses touch to channel energy and restore balance in patients.

It may sound a little hokey to newcomers, but lots of Americans have bought into the faith-based healing modalities: An estimated 59 million Americans spent some $30.2 billion on alternative treatments in 2012, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

Four-legged patients are increasingly included in those expenditures, said Tricia Stimac, president of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association and an active veterinarian.

While treatments can be used on exotics think lizards and snakes Stimac said the most common pets are cats, dogs and surprisingly, horses.

Acupuncture and chiropractic have been amazing modules of therapy for that species, she said, explaining horses in particular often suffer chronic pain from wearing saddles.

Years ago, she said holistic medicine was more of a fringe thing, practiced by a select few vets who had personal experience with it. Nowadays, however, its patients demanding botanicals and more for things like chronic ear infections, she said.

You realize as youve been in practice for a long period of time, that there are other options, she said. And the younger generation, they are hearing of these modalities and they are being requested.

Stimac said many pet parents belong to the Whole Foods set practicing clean eating and other holistic lifestyle choices that they extend to their pets. But, others are simply ready for something new.

We see clients that start because theyve been to 15 other regular vets and they havent had any help with their animals problems, she said. We help them and they see the success.

That doesnt mean, however, that alternative medicine is a replacement for traditional medicine entirely, she said. Rather, Stimac said alternative medicine should complement traditional methods in certain cases. Alternative medicine should not be used to replace emergency care if a pet is hit by a car or having acute heart troubles, for instance.

But the beauty is that we can not only utilize the surgeon to fix that bone or that cardiologist to add on pharmaceutical medications, but we can also use our alternative therapies to support that, she said. You can use a homeopathic to help heal the bone post surgery. You can use supplements in conjunction with heart medicines.

Soothing music, crystals used for joint pain, anxiety

It all sounded like hocus pocus to pet lover and mobile dog groomer Mary Oquendo. Then, a decade ago, her miniature pinscher, Marcus, fell sick.

He had Cushings (Syndrome), he was diabetic, every month his medications were increasing, she said. His prognosis was not good.

When she saw some crystals in a local alternative store, Oquendo impulsively grabbed a few she thought were pretty. Weeks later, when she felt her mood lift, Oquendo said she started researching the crystals properties and how they could also help her pooch.

It ultimately lead to a longer, healthier life for Marcus and a new specialty for Oquendo. who now offers crystal and reiki pet therapy, in addition to running her mobile business Pawsitively Pretty, and teaching at events like the Atlanta Pet Fair and Conference, in March.

By the time he passed away, he was off Cushings medication and we had reduced his diabetes medicine by about 25 percent, said Oquendo, who is based in Danbury, Connecticut.

These days, she is sharing what worked for her Marcus with cats and dogs suffering everything from joint pain to chronic anxiety. Sessions typically involve soothing music, placing the pet in a circle of crystals and using a pendulum placed over the animals body to guide her to where healing is most needed.

While her pet patients dont have the words to say thanks, Oquendo said they show their appreciation in their own way.

You can see it in their faces, she said.

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Sudbury woman chooses alternative treatments for stage 4 cancer – CBC.ca

Posted: at 2:11 am

A Sudbury woman is choosing to go the all-natural routein hopes ofhealing her stage 4 cancer.

Thousands of dollars in donations have already poured in to help her achievethat.

Jazmin Ayotte,20, is aLaurentian University student, who was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma when she was 16. Thisisa rare type of cancer which ended up spreading to Ayotte's lungs and one of her kidneys.

Ayotte says she was adamant from the beginning that she wanted to take a natural approach to deal with her cancer.

"Up until this day, I've never tried chemotherapy," she says.

Ayotte says she's tried "western medicine,"but all of those made her feel worse. Instead, she tried changing her diet andintravenous vitamins. Sheeven travelledto Mexico and the Bahamas for naturopathic treatments.

"I go to school, but it's on and off, or I'll take a semester off depending on how I'm feeling. Day to day, I deal with pain quite a bit."

The natural treatments seemed to help manage thepainuntil recently.

"I was in the hospital for a week. I was rushed in with extreme pain, and nothing could manage it," Ayottesays.

"That sparked us to research new treatments and get in touch with new doctors."

Jazmin Ayotte was diagnosed with stage 4 adrenocortical carcinoma when she was 16. (Jazmin Ayotte)

Ayotte says her family found a naturopathic treatment centre in Scottsdale, Arizona that seemspromising.

Initial genetic testingwill cost more than $30,000. After that,continued treatment and supplements will costapproximately $1,000 per month.

Treatment prices weren't immediately available on the facility'swebsite, but an initial office visit costs between $350 and$700.

Although she says she isn't exactly sure what the therapies entail, Ayotteis under the impression they include heat, laser and magnetic therapies whichfocus on improving the patient's immune system.

Ayotte says she doesn't advocate against chemotherapy. She just doesn't believe it would work for her.

"[My doctors] have given me options for palliative radiation, but that's not killing the cancer, that's dealing with the pain and other things," Ayotte says.

"I don't feel comfortable going through with that when I already have in mind that it would kill my immune system, make me feel horrible, not let me have a life at all, andnot really treat it the way I hope to be treated."

Because alternativetreatments in the United States aren't covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan,Ayotteand her family have started reaching out to others with fundraising initiatives.

Ayotte's fianc Eythan Henson started a social media trend called 'Burpees for Jaz.'The idea is to post a video of yourself doing theexercise,then tag the family's GoFundMe page.Thepage has already raised $15,000.

Superior Maple Syrup, owned by Henson'sfamily, is raising money from the sale of some of theproducts.

A stag and doe is being held in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.,later this month, with all proceeds going toward Ayotte's treatment.

Lauren Nykilchuk is selling these T-shirts in support of Jazmin Ayotte's trip to the United States for alternative treatments. (Supplied/Facebook)

A friend from high school wanted to help outtoo. LaurenNykilchuk had T-shirts left over from a school project, and isselling themwith some of the profits going to Ayotte'strip.

There's already been a widespread response to the shirts.

"It's definitely not just sticking to Sudbury,"Nykilchuksays.

"I can't put down my phone for fiveminutes without getting multiple messages about people wanting to buy shirts, asking questions about the shirts and about Jazmin. It's probably the greatest problem inthe world to have, seeing howmany people have come together and want to support this cause."

Ayotte and her mother leave for Arizona next week. She says her doctors in Canada have been skeptical of her choices, but she feels they support her in this next trip.

"Ideally, I want to be cancer free," she says.

"But I hope it gets me tobe at a point where I don't have to be on painkillers all the time, and be where Ican go to school and commit to other things where I don't have to be held back because of pain."

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Best food supplements for your gun dog – Gun Dog Magazine

Posted: at 2:10 am

Getting the most out of training and hunting with your gun dog starts with choosing the right exercise program then adding the best nutritional supplements,like krill oil, to their diet to help hard-working hunting dogs to recover faster. Getting your dog in shape is also the best way to ensure your hunting partner stays healthy and injury free. But diet, and the right supplements to help your dog bounce back after a long day in the field, is also essential. Without this two-pronged strategy of proper training and nutritional supplements, your dog will simply not hunt as efficiently or as long. And this may have a big impact on your enjoyment afield as well. A hunt I took with a friend last fall is a perfect example.

My hunting partner and I were two full days into a four-day hunt last November when his dog gave up. She wouldnt even stand when we parked the truck, and while my dog was like bottled lightning, his chocolate Lab was more like bottled mud. It seemed that two days was enough for the one-year-old pup, and after that she wasnt physically capable of hunting anymore. She needed recovery.

My black Lab, a four-year old named Luna, was like a different species. She hunted sunrise to sunset as we coursed through multiple tracts of public land throughout Nebraska. We targeted four species of upland birds in varied terrain, and without her ability to go all day and then do it again, it would have been a miserable trip.

The differences between his dog and mine are many, and something can certainly be said about drive. His dog doesnt have that magical need to go quite like mine does, but there is far more to the difference than that. His dog started out in poor shape, which is always bad.

We ask a lot of our bird dogs throughout the hunting season, especially on extended trips where they go for days on end. Its imperative we address their recovery needs correctly. Quality nutritional supplements can help.

Making An Athlete

Its really not that hard to keep a hunting dog in shape. Theyll run, swim, and engage in training drills all day long if they sport a decent pedigree and their handlers show some initiative when it comes to getting them out and moving. This should be a year-round commitment and is a much better route to take when building a great bird dogs fitness than the ill-advised method of hunting them into shape. Going that route with your dog is like one of us deciding to run marathons after a sedentary lifestyle and zero training. The odds of crossing that finish line after 26.2 miles are slim, but the odds of experiencing an injury and an embarrassing dose of humility are very high.

Not only is keeping a dog in shape the responsible thing to do, its also self-serving. Our bird dogs are expected to perform under a variety of conditions. For example, my Lab will start the season hunting doves, which is a simple pass shooting affair, although it can be hot. From there, she becomes a woodcock and grouse hunter, which involves a lot more physical activity. Not long after, the first duck hunts occur and then its on to pheasants, quail, and just about anything we can get after. She might need to retrieve mallards in a cold river for hours during the morning, and then range throughout a vast series of broken hills to flush sharptails in antelope country the rest of the day. The physical demands are serious, and without a great base with which to start, things can go wrong quickly.

Its not just what you do during the pre-hunt months that matters either. During the actual hunt, a dog needs proper energy and hydration. Ignore both, and youll put your four-legged compadre in unnecessary danger.

And then there is the need to address recovery after a hunt or rigorous training session.

While proper exercise is the key to building a bird dog that can hunt all day, its also necessary to address their ability to recover after their day-long efforts.

Heal Up, Move On

Four years ago, I embarked on a personal journey to get into much better shape. This involved making a commitment to running, lifting weights and eating healthier. It took months, but I started to feel comfortable with all three. The one hole in my new game, however, was that I felt like I never fully recovered from anything.

During a conversation with a buddy of mine who runs 100-mile ultra-marathons in the Rocky Mountains, I mentioned that I was slow to recover, especially after long runs. He asked me what I was using for supplements and I told him that I wasnt using anything. He was floored.

After the conversation ended, I ordered several products he recommended for pre- and post-workout health. As you can guess, he was spot-on in his advice. And it doesnt apply to just humans. Dogs need recovery help as well.

Their muscles, joints, and bones all take a beating during a hard day of hunting, and while the body is amazingly efficient at rebuilding, it takes time with dogs of all ages. This is why, especially on a multi-day hunt, its necessary to supplement your dogs nutrition to offer them the best chance of a quick, proper recovery.

From training to dawn-to-dark hunting days, our bird dogs put in serious effort to please us. The least we can do is offer them the right supplements to aid in their post-activity recoveries.

For years, an essential step in this process was to offer dogs a fish-oil pill. After all, thats what humans take so it must be good for dogs, right? Not necessarily. Fish oil can benefit a dogs health (or ours), but it can also contain unwanted toxins and doesnt address everything necessary for overall health and joint issues.

A far superior option is krill oil, which is found in Alpha Dog Nutritions Vitality supplement. Like fish oil, krill oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, but unlike fish oil, krill oil contains phospholipids, carotenoid and astaxanthin. In laymens terms, these compounds benefit a dogs mental state, promote heart health, and address joint issues.

Krill oils benefitsdont end there, however. It can also reduce allergies, slow the development of certain cancers, help regulate blood clots, and improve your dogs skin and coat while also benefitting eye function. To truly break it down, krill oil works on a level that benefits cellular membranes and supports overall cell survival, which is the cornerstone of not only staying healthy, but recovering after serious bouts of physical strain and activity. As an added bonus, Vitality also contains the wonder food turmeric. While its benefits are many, turmerics most important role is to combat inflammation, a task it does naturally to the same level of effectiveness that many anti-inflammatory drugs do. Inflammation is linked to a host of issues in dogs and is a road-block to post-hunt recovery, which makes this ingredient essential for hard working sporting dogs.

Unlike fish oil supplements, a krill-oil-based nutritional supplement, like Alpha Dogs Vitality, contains phospholipids, carotenoid and astaxanthin that benefit a dogs mental state, promote heart health, and address joint issues.

More Krill Oil Benefits

Suppose youre still on the fence about whether krill oil is better than fish oil, or if they are basically the same thing. After all, both contain omega-3 fatty acids, so there is no clear winner there, right? Wrong. The omega-3s in krill oil are bound to phospholipids, not triglycerides like those found in fish oil. Research strongly suggests that phospholipids may be more readily absorbed by brain tissues than triglycerides, which means your dog will reap far greater benefits from them.

Alpha Dog sources their krill from Alaskan waters, meaning they are far less likely to be exposed to toxins like mercury, pesticides and PCBs, than fish are. Also, unlike fish, krill are in no danger of being overharvested. In fact, krill fishing could increase 50-fold and still be at safe levels of harvest, which is not the case with most marine life. So, not only is a krill-oil-based supplement, like Vitality, a better choice for your dogs health, its environmentally responsible.

When it comes to helping a worn-out pheasant or duck dog at the end of a day, or even after a mid-summer training session at your local lake, there really is only one choice for offering the best recovery possible Alpha Dogs Vitality.

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Open to changes in new standards for food supplements: FSSAI … – Times of India

Posted: at 2:10 am

New Delhi, Jul 6 () Food regulator FSSAI today assured the food supplements and nutraceuticals industry that it is open to making changes in the new standards to support growth of the sector, but without compromising on consumers interest.

The Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations was issued last December.

Food Business Operators (FBOs) need to comply with these standards by January 1, 2018.

Addressing a Assocham conference on nutraceuticals, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal expressed concern over the increasing number of spurious food supplement products in the market.

"We released standards on food supplements and nutraceuticals few months ago. There were some concerns from the industry but we went ahead and released the standards. But our effort is not to cast them in stone as these are evolving standards," Agarwal said.

"I want to assure the industry that if there are concerns, we are still open to change that. We have 5-6 months time before this regulations come in force. So, hopefully, we will iron out differences," he said.

On the sidelines, the FSSAI CEO said that it has got many representation from the industry seeking some changes in the regulations related to inclusion of ingredients.

"Food supplements is a difficult sector to regulate. But for us consumers interest is paramount and non-negotiable," he said, asking manufacturers to be cautious in declaring any claims about the products.

Stating that a large number of spurious products are available in the market, he said there is no "robust framework" for testing of food supplement products.

FSSAI has set up a technical panel, which includes representation from industry as well, to prepare a framework for Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

"We do hope that it will bring greater clarity to have a more robust ecosystem for manufacturing, processing and distribution of food supplements in the country," he said.

Agarwal said there is immense opportunity in this industry, but cautioned that "bad name to food supplements sector by few dubious players can hamper the growth of this sunrise industry".

Speaking at the event, Food Processing Secretary JP Meena said the size of this industry is currently USD 3-4 billion and is growing at 20 per cent.

He said there is a great potential for this sector as the market is huge for these products in India as well as overseas.

However, Meena said there is a need to keep the price of food supplements and nutraceuticals at an "affordable" level.

He also spoke about challenges before the sector and said that consumer confidence about these products is "still to be gained".

The industry should be in a position to verify claims made about these products through evidence, he said, adding that "traceability is important".

He emphasised on industry focus on backward linkages to ensure traceability and also on organised cultivation of plants required for nutraceuticals production.

Meena highlighted that the government has recently launched Rs 6,000 crore Sampada scheme to boost food processing and asked industry to avail benefit of this scheme.

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Short gearbox life now steadily lengthening as technology matures – Windpower Engineering (press release)

Posted: at 2:10 am

Wind turbine gearboxes once had a well deserved bad reputation for their short working lives. Not long ago, a two or three-year life was about normal.

Moventas ExtraLife gearbox will provide a four-fold overall life improvement according to computational testing by Sentient Science.

Things are looking up, however. Two companies recently announced improvements to gearboxes that stretch their working life to much longer periods. First, Moventas took the wraps off its Extra Life 1.5-MW gearbox last year and more recently, produced simulations by Sentient Science that point to a four-fold improvement in life. Then at the Wind Energy Update O&M Dallas conference, Gearbox Express unveiled an upgraded version of its proprietary gearbox, Revolution 2.0.

Moventas says that premature failures in the GE 1.5-MW gearboxes have led to unexpected downtime and increased costs. Moventas developed upgrades for the gearboxes, now called Extra Life, that can reduce premature failures on all types of gearboxes. To qualify its modifications, the company enlisted Sentient Science to validate the technology and life-extension claims and quantify the improvements in performance, durability, and reliability.

Computational testing shows a four-fold overall gearbox life improvement because of improvements made to the case-carburized ring gear, integrated planet-gear bearings, high-speed-stage bearings, tooth surface roughness, and material upgrades in bearings and gears. Sentient Science used its DigitalClone, a material science-based program that predicts the earliest time when cracks initiate in the microstructure of rotating gearbox components. The key analysis factors used in DigitalClone computational modeling included material quality, surface roughness, and stresses based on a full gearbox model subjected to real turbine operating conditions. These are not explicitly accounted in industry standards.

Simulation by Sentient Science shows that the planet bearing will have better load carrying capacity versus conventional bearings due to lower contact stress The results also showed an 8% reduction in contact stresses.

Take the case-carburized ring gear, for instance. The method is used instead of another, such as case hardening. To demonstrate improved durability, simulations considered case-carburized microstructure, geometry, operating conditions, lubricant properties, surface finish, and residual stresses. More than 1,000 contact and bending simulations were conducted in DigitalClone software. The results demonstrated an improved L10 life from seven to 20 years, mainly due to better surface finish and material quality without detrimental defects or inclusions.

Also, a two-row arrangement of cylindrical roller bearings is used in each planet of the new gearbox, instead of a four-row arrangement typical of conventional designs. About 2,000 fatigue-life simulations were conducted in DigitalClone to compare the two-bearing arrangement. The planet bearing showed better load-carrying capacity compared to conventional bearings, thanks in part to an 8% reduction in contact stresses. Moventas says its planet bearings now offer superior fatigue life and attribute it to cleaner material quality and relatively lower contact stress.

Gearbox Express says its Revolution 2.0 is available 1.0 to 2.3 MW across several platforms that the company supports, such as MHI 1000A, GE 1.5 S, Sle, Xle, 1.X, Vesta V80 and V82, and the Siemens 2.3. About 20 so far are in the field.

And speaking of cleaner material, a white-etching-resistance steel is used in the Extra Life gearbox instead of a black-oxide or a conventional bearing material. DigitalClone also validated that the white-etching resistance bearing material was superior to the black-oxide coating against white etch cracking due to heat treatment and improved microstructure. The black-oxide coating showed a 3% probability of failure in less than 20 years at the high-speed shaft and high-speed intermediate shaft positions due to non-metallic inclusions. DigitalClone verified the white-etching resistant bearing is superior to other bearing materials in these positions. Furthermore, Moventas can replace these bearings up-tower, which lowers O&M costs and downtime.

Moventas add that its Clean Steel tech has also been showing good result against IMS tooth fractures. The company reports no IMS tooth fractures with the upgraded material spec. In conventional steels, non-metallic inclusions can be as large as 100m on the intermediate-speed pinion. Contact fatigue life simulations in DigitalClone showed that the enhanced material doubles the life over the original design. Rolling contact fatigue simulations demonstrated that the sun pinion used in the new gearbox with an Ra (surface roughness) of 0.3 m increases L10 fatigue life by a factor of 2.2, compared to the original Ra of 0.6 m.

The Revolution 2.0 uses integral tapered rollers instead of cylindrical rollers. The tapers permit preloading, which increases system stiffness and improves load sharing.

The company adds that the Extra Life gearbox showed a lower cost of ownership compared to the legacy platform. Also, the units come with five-year warranties. ExtraLife features can be applied to larger gearboxes as well says the company. One example is Siemens 2.3 MW platform where Moventas has upgraded the design by using own core tech such as case carburized ring gear and combined two row bearing on the planet gears.

The more recent introduction comes from Gearbox Express. The wind industry has wrestled with gearbox failures since its inception, said Gearbox Express CEO Bruce Neumiller at the conference. That led us to create our company and meet these challenges head-on. We are succeeding. The company unveiled its initial Revolution gearbox in 2013 to address frequently seen failure characteristics. Since then, the company has successfully installed more than 200 of the designs across the United States. Neumiller says all are running well with the oldest about five years old.

For more than three years, we have has been researching why the planetary configurations in some gearboxes were not reaching half of their designed lifespan, said Neumiller. Those development efforts are now in the Revolution 2.0.

All planet gears in the Revolution 2.0 gearbox will have super finished gear teeth.

He says the top features of the new gearbox include:

A redesigned planetary gear and bearing interface in which the bearing outer races are machined into the gear. This reduces the number of components and opportunity for failure.

Integral tapered rollers are used in lieu of cylindrical rollers. The tapers permit preloading, which increases system stiffness and improves load sharing. The bearings also reduce internal bearing stresses, improve life 170%, and reduce rim deflection by 460%, which reduces bending stress and the propensity to crack planet gears.

The use of steel that is cleaner than ISO 6336-5 ME. Cleaner steel improves contact and bending-gear ratings, letting planet gears run with a higher safety factor and significantly reducing the risk of failing from material inclusions.

In-house super finishing improves as-ground surface finishes by 50%, ensuring bearing life while improving the gear rating.

Gearboxes are now outfitted with a metallic wear debris monitor from Poseidon Systems, letting GBX remotely monitor and proactively address oil cleanliness issues. In addition, the gearbox is backed by a five-year warranty, which includes crane and labor expenses.

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FOX 40 WICZ TV – News, Sports, Weather, Contests & More … – WICZ

Posted: at 2:10 am

OWEGO, N.Y. -

United States Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) visited Lockheed Martin's helicopter production hangar in Owego on Thursday afternoon to get an update on the company's projects and to reassure employees that he's working to keep jobs in the Southern Tier.

"We will be spending a few minutes with him, later on, to talk about the progress of our programs and more importantly to share with him the incredible accomplishments of the women and men of this Owego workforce," said Paula Hartley, Lockheed Martin Owego General Manager.

He has been a wonderful partner to us and a big believer of growing the economy in New York State. He has been a very good, long-standing partner with Lockheed, with this facility, and our Rotary Wing programs including MH-60, the Combat Rescue Helicopter and the Presidential Helicopter.

Paula Hartley

There are three projects that the Senator calls his "pet projects" because they are important to the economy in New York as well as for National Security.

Lockheed Martin Helicopters

"Our fighting men and women are the most wonderful people in the world, many of them come from this area, so they need the best equipment in the world," said Schumer.

The Senator expects the Military Budget to increase for the second year in a row and as a result, he plans to direct more money into Owego, the Southern Tier, and Upstate New York.

"The budget is coming up very soon and I'll be working very hard to maximize the budget dollars that go into these three projects," said Schumer.

Whenever I can help with jobs, I do it and there's no more important job magnet in the whole Southern Tier than this plant right here.

The Owego Facility, which has 2,600 workers is one of the most important pieces of the State's economy, according to Schumer.

"This is by far and away the largest and most important private employer here in Tioga County," said Schumer. "This is one of our economic mainstays, not only in Tioga County but of all of Upstate New York."

"It's always important whenever we have the support of our elected officials for any big company that's in our area," saidGwen Kania, Tioga Chamber of Commerce President. "We're happy that he always supports Tioga County and we hope that he can convince the budget people to continue to support us here."

Schumer wrote a letter to the Secretary of Defense, Jeff Mattis, urging him to continue to support the three helicopter programs that come out of Owego.

Dear Secretary Mattis:

I write to urge your continued support for three helicopter programs that are important to our national security and to regional economies across the country: The Air Forces Combat Rescue Helicopter (CSAR Recapitalization), the Presidential Helicopter (Executive Helo Development) and MH-60 Romeo Helicopter programs. Each of these platforms has an important presence in New York, supporting over 1,000 engineering, manufacturing, and production jobs. While the Departments support of funding for these programs is important to industry and rural economies in places across our nation, like Owego, New York, a continued investment is more important as these aircraft age and new security threats emerge.

The Combat Rescue Helicopter performs critical combat rescue and personnel recovery operations across the services. Over the past few years, these helicopters have participated in countless missions in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of our Joint and Coalition forces. The USAF needs to replace the current aging combat rescue helicopter fleet with aircraft capable of performing the demanding personnel recovery missions, including combat rescue and casualty evacuation. I ask for your support of this program in Fiscal Year 2018 and beyond.

The Presidential Helicopter Program (VH-92A) is the replacement helicopter for the VH-3D and VH-60N. This new fleet of VH-92A helicopters will continue providing safe and timely transportation for the President and Vice-President of the United States, as well as other heads of state and support the Presidential world-wide vertical-lift mission. I ask for your continued support of this program to ensure that replacement remains on schedule.

The MH-60 Romeo Naval Hawk is designed to support multi-mission helicopter requirements. The Romeos primary missions are Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) and SUW as well as Search and Rescue and Humanitarian Missions. Additional aircraft are needed per the Navys new Force Structure Assessment. The current fleet of MH-60 aircraft are approaching the end of their service life due to high demand on the fleet. Based on age and aircraft utilization rates, the Navy will have to replace their in the mid-2030s. This will result in an inventory gap in the mid-2030s. To mitigate this shortfall, the Navy is planning a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) beginning with the MH-60S in approximately 2023. While a SLEP is required to extend the life of the current fleet taking these aircraft out of service to perform the SLEP creates an inventory shortfall. To avoid a shortfall in inventory, I ask for your support SLEP Research and Development funds in FY18, as well as funding for mid-life upgrades.

Thank you for your attention to these items. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office for any questions.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer

United States Senator

Schumer says all three projects "are strong right now," but there is always room to grow and he doesn't want to miss that opportunity. In his closed-door meeting with Lockheed Officials, he discussed some of the new Plans that the Armed Forces are proposing, but he couldn't discuss them publicly.

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Visual Art: True to Life British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 1930s at Scottish National Gallery of Modern … – Herald Scotland

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THE BEST known story of British art in the 1930s is in the grounds outside the National Gallery of Modern Art. A reclining figure, a rock form with holes Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth these are the sculptors, the artists which we remember. But it is not the only story of art in the 1930s, as this new exhibition amply and rather fabulously demonstrates.

There are 58 painters in this large but not unwieldy show, the first-ever exhibition of a forgotten generation working in the realist tradition. The realism was not just in their staggering detailed technical attention to the depiction of the world around them, but in their subject matter, from changing technology to the evolving role of women. A diverse grouping never a movement these disparate artists flew in the face of abstraction and expressionism to convey their own perceptions of life in the interwar period, often deliberately evasive (yet not entirely dismissive) of the horrors of the war which much of the population had just been through.

And what a hugely surprisingly and eye-opening show it is. The aesthetic is in many ways instantly familiar, for this is partly the art of the iconic 1930s railways posters, of the age of the new leisure pursuit, of fitness and health in the face of austerity and poverty. This is the age when the lido became popular, when swimsuits, so we are told in the blurb next to Harold Williamsons stylishly posed swimmer, Spray (1939), were made from a new latex fabric, rather than baggy wool.

In similar vein, James Walker Tuckers Hiking (c.1936), a healthy vista of young women in shorts and what passed, then, for walking shoes, pouring over a map of the Cotswolds, rucksacks and billy cans on their backs. Its a scene so overflowing with health, cleanliness and a curious freshness of light (which is, in part, down to Tuckers choice of tempera as medium) that it seems to echo the calls of those such as the Sunlight League, founded in 1922, to restore sunlight to our malurbanized millions, to those residing in the dirty, polluted cities which Ruskin had once denounced.

There is much cleaning up of dirty situations in these frequently luminous images, much idealizing of (nonetheless realistic) landscape. Edward Wadsworths view, again in egg tempera, of the notorious red light district, Rue Fontaine de Caylus, Marseilles (1924), is a pastel-hued vista of vertiginous clothes lines hiding the dark doorways off the street below.

Darkness is more evident in the portraits of Gerald Leslie Brockhurst, a society painter society that included Marlene Dietrich and the Duchess of Windsor whose luminous oils are represented here by Dorette (1933), a striking portrait of the woman who was to become his lover, and By the Hills (1939), a painting so glamorous the word was that the painter had used real lipstick for the lips. Both are painted in front of Italianate backgrounds, reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci.

Brockhurst, who also worked as a printmaker, was just one of many looking back art historically to the classical period, to Italy, to the Netherlands in an attempt to reinvigorate, to mark a sea change from the time and reality of war.

There are many striking portraits here, sometimes of athletes or gymnasts, sometimes of wives, families, evacuees and domestic scenes. Meredith Framptons immaculate Woman Reclining has a glossy luminosity, a pared-back classicism emphasized by the simple white dress, the red shoes, the almost complete absence of visible brush strokes.

Further on, there is Bernard Fleetwood Walkers more tactile, vulnerable and human portrait of evacuees, Children in the Country (1942). And then, subverting but reinforcing the genre, there are Alan Beetons curious but striking oils of lay figures posed or left in a chair, doll humans given the scrutiny, as his peers noted, of a Dutch master.

Stanley Spencer is the name most will know from this era of realism, and there are a number of his works here, not least in a room of religious tableaux. These works, by various artists, are all largely transposed to more modern or contemporary classical (the 1920s equivalent of a theatre director putting everyone in grey suits) settings, notably Spencers unfussy St. Veronica Unmasking Christ (1921).

In a further change in style, the dour brilliance of Winifred Knights (1899 1947) whose The Deluge is a masterpiece of balletic, angular movement, an instant sombre rush of figures and supplicant hands, moving in one wave away from the flood which threatens to consume them.

In the final room, harking back to Victoriana in its very traditional tableaux yet capturing the zeitgeist, there is Charles Spencelayhs stoic First World War veteran, sitting in his lonely parlour on the eve of World War Two, staring into the distance as if the cipher for all the unexpressed fears of all the painters and workers, hikers, debutantes and swimmers of the interwar years. It is an emotive image, quietly capturing the futility, the remembered horror, and placing it right in the heart of the realists intricately detailed domestic arena.

True to Life: British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 1930s

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two), Edinburgh until October 29

http://www.nationalgalleries.org

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Dan Delmar: How some polling can breed discrimination – Montreal Gazette

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Modern politicians recognize that an abundance of demographic data can pollute policy decisions, Dan Delmar writes. Dario Ayala / Montreal GAZETTE

Political polling can be informative and enlightening when it gauges public opinion with relative accuracy. When political parties and media rely too heavily on polls that divide electorates along cultural lines, however, demographic data could inspire less enlightened ideas.

One such idea, still far too accepted in pluralistic democracies, is that the views of minority citizens are worth less than views of those who belong to the cultural majority.

In Quebec, polling among francophones is common practice, but it merits some reflection ahead of next years provincial elections. Though reflexively dividing the electorate along linguistic lines could in part be a reflection of institutionalized nationalism, it is widely accepted industry practice and by no means unique to Quebec pollsters.

Political prognostication might not be an exact science, but it is a legitimate private-sector endeavour. Works like Le Code Qubec can reveal fascinating truths about this society, truths that work in favour of arguments for diversity.

As unimpeachable as pollsters believe their methodologies to be, surveys are often commissioned by political parties and others interested less in demography and more in manipulating data to further exclusionary narratives.

There is nothing inaccurate or unethical with, for instance, a Quebec newspaper reporting on polls like last months describing, as the Montreal Gazette did, the key francophone-only category, which actually decides who wins the election because it is spread in many ridings across Quebecs capacious political map.

What is less ethical is having much of the political class fostering a climate where its encouraged to shamelessly appeal almost exclusively to the majoritys perceived sensibilities over the long-term collective interests of Quebecers.

Anglophones also receive unwarranted preferential treatment.

Just as attempting to capture the francophone zeitgeist can be myopic, prioritizing anglophone concerns as the second-most relevant category also contributes to repressing the views of less historically privileged minority groups. In polls, they are often lumped into the allophone or other category, a smorgasbord of ethnics whose identities and priorities are rarely worth quantifying, let alone considering in legislation.

One neednt look far to find examples of destructive demographics.

South of the border, Donald Trumps presidential campaign relied heavily on mass outrage but it was also successful because of the sophisticated microtargeting of white voters in key Rust Belt districts. The consequences for minorities of his narrow appeal, from travel bans to the elimination of basic social services, are becoming more frightening by the day. Gerrymandering electoral districts based on racial demographics will only further cement institutional discrimination.

While language-based policies are less toxic than the racial kind, both are discriminatory. They are also becoming less effective by the day, as millennials and younger Canadians children of multiculturalism defy long-held stereotypes.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and French President Emmanuel Macron could be seen as examples of successful millennial-driven leadership with more universal appeal. Modern politicians recognize that an abundance of demographic data can pollute policy decisions and, since all citizens are theoretically equal in a democracy, much of this data should ultimately be considered immaterial to crafting truly successful political movement.

All polling could be limited in the days or preferably weeks leading up to a vote rather than only the day of (the guideline currently enforced by Elections Canada), but unfortunately, there are few simple solutions. Bans on cultural polling would be unfeasible in an age of widely available Internet metadata, and possibly unconstitutional.

The onus is on political parties and, to a lesser extent, the polling industry to self-regulate and resist the temptation to use data to place greater value on one group of citizens over another. Political polling is most valuable when it measures impressions, not identities.

Dan Delmar is a political commentator and managing partner, public relations, with TNKR Media

twitter.com/DanDelmar

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Putin’s weak economic hand – The Boston Globe

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Foreign currency mortgage borrowers rallied against banks in Moscow in 2014, holding balloons reading Mortgage.

As President Vladimir Putin of Russia meets President Trump this week at the G-20 summit, it will hardly be from a position of economic strength. Despite the steep drop in oil prices that began three years ago, Russia has managed to escape a deep financial crisis. But while the economy is enjoying a modest rebound after two years of deep recession, the future no longer seems as promising as its leadership thought just five years ago. Barring serious economic and political reform, that bodes ill for Putins ability to realize his strategic ambitions for Russia.

Back in 2012, when Putin appeared onstage with the Nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman at a Moscow bank conference, Russias 1998 economic crisis seemed a distant memory. With oil prices well over a $100 a barrel, the governments coffers were bursting. So Putin could proudly contrast Russias government budget surplus with large recession-driven deficits across the West. He surely delighted in having Russian audiences hear Krugmans view that Western democracies had come up badly short in handling the global financial crisis.

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In a different session, Russian academic economist Sergei Guriev (who later had to flee the country) argued that there was no hope for diversification of Russias resource-based economy as long as institutions such as courts were so weak. Too many key decisions rested with one man. Speaking in the same session, I emphasized that without fundamental reforms, a sharp drop in global energy prices would create profound problems.

Inevitably, that drop came, with prices plummeting from $119 in February 2012 (for Brent crude oil in Europe) to $27 in 2016. Even the current level (under $50 at the start of July 2017), is less than half the 2011-2012 peak. For a country that depends on oil and natural gas for the lions share of export revenue, the price collapse has been a massive blow, rippling through the economy.

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The fact that Russia has avoided a financial crisis is remarkable and largely due to the efforts of the Central Bank of Russia. But the burden of adjustment has largely fallen on consumers, owing to a roughly 50 percent drop in the rubles value relative to the dollar; real wages and consumption both fell sharply.

The attorney general gave a vote of confidence to Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation.

The shock to the real economy has been severe, with Russia suffering a decline in output in 2015 and 2016 comparable to what the United States experienced during its 2008-2009 financial crisis, with the contraction in GDP totaling about 4 percent. Many firms went bankrupt, and in 2016 the International Monetary Fund estimated that almost 10 percent of all bank loans were nonperforming (a figure that surely understates the severity of the situation).

In many cases, banks chose to relend funds rather than take losses onto their books or force politically connected firms into bankruptcy. At the same time, though, the Central Bank moved aggressively to force smaller banks to raise capital and write down bad loans. And, in the face of intense lobbying by powerful oligarchs, the Central Bank kept interest rates up to tame inflation, which had reached more than 15 percent but has since fallen to close to 4 percent.

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Of course, Western sanctions, particularly restrictions on banks, have exacerbated the situation. But the media tend to over-emphasize this aspect of Russias economic woes. All countries that rely heavily on energy exports have suffered, especially those, like Russia, that have failed to diversify their economies.

In a Western democracy, an economic collapse on the scale experienced by Russia would have been extremely difficult to digest politically, as the global surge in populism demonstrates. Yet Putin has been able to remain firmly in control and, in all likelihood, will easily be able to engineer another landslide victory in the presidential election due in March 2018.

Russias state-owned media juggernaut has been able to turn Western sanctions into a scapegoat for the governments own failures, and to whip up support for foreign adventurism including the seizure of the Crimea, military intervention in Syria, and meddling in US elections. Most Russians, constantly manipulated by their countrys schools and media, are convinced that conditions are much worse in the West (a hyperbolic claim even in the era of fake news).

Unfortunately, such disinformation is hardly a recipe for generating reform. And, without reform, there is little reason to be optimistic about Russias long-run growth trend, given its poor demographic profile, weak institutions, and abject failure to diversify its economy, despite having an enormously talented and creative population.

Where will future growth come from? If the world continues to move toward a low-carbon future, Russia will confront an inevitable choice: Launch economic and political reforms, or face continuing marginalization, with or without Western sanctions. No meeting between the US and Russian presidents can change this reality.

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Alberta hits the trifecta for GHG emissions – REMI Network – REMI Network – Real Estate Management Industry Network

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A newly released communiqu from the National Energy Board highlights Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario as standouts among mediocre performers aiming for Canadas greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target. In particular, the two Atlantic provinces are hailed for already achieving a 30 per cent drop in GHG emissions within their borders compared to 2005 levels, but accompanying federal sustainability indicators accentuate that more populous and economically productive areas of the country are well off that pace.

Nationwide, Canadas annual GHG output fell from 738 (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) to 722 Mt CO2e over the first 10 years of its commitment period under the Paris Agreement. This leaves a substantial gap still to close to reach the targeted 523 Mt CO2e by 2030.

Canada must reduce its GHG emissions by 28 per cent within the next 14 years, the National Energy Board release affirms.

Differing populations, economic drivers and sources of electricity generation are easily discernible in the provincial/territorial breakdown of emissions statistics. Together, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia accounted for just 4.2 per cent of national emissions in 2015. However, even before their impressive curtailment, they contributed less than 6 per cent of national emissions in 2005.

A move away from coal-fired electricity generation underpins much of the improved performance in the three provinces receiving kudos. Ontario registered the largest volumetric decline in emissions, which fell from 204.4 Mt CO2e in 2005 to 166.2 Mt CO2e in 2015. Across Canada, emissions from coal-fired electricity generation dropped from 95 to 61 Mt CO2e in the same period, with 21 Mt of that decrease occurring within Ontario.

Economic malaise and restructuring fill in the rest of the GHG reduction story, with decreased manufacturing activity, shut-down of the Dartmouth refinery and Ontarios declining emissions from heavy industry credited.

British Columbia, Manitoba and Quebec all enjoy a low-carbon hydroelectric-based electricity supply, but had somewhat disparate emissions tallies, as Quebec registered a 10 per cent decrease, B.C. saw a 5 per cent drop and Manitoba edged slightly above its 2005 emissions output with a 0.9 per cent increase. Saskatchewan the lone provincial/territorial holdout onthe Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change recorded a more significant jump, with emissions growing to 75 Mt CO2e in 2015 from 69.5 in 2005.

Meanwhile, Alberta hits the GHG trifecta with a resource-based economy, surging population growth and a carbon-intensive electricity grid. The oil and gas sector is the single greatest national source for GHG emissions, representing 26 per cent of the 2015 national tally, and it has also become more carbon-intensive as the industry expands in Albertas oil sands. The provincial population rose by 26 per cent between 2005 and 2015 surpassing the 11 per cent national average and adding to the emissions output of both the transportation and electricity sectors. Annual GHG emissions rose nearly 18 per cent over the 10-year period, from 233.8 to 274.1 Mt CO2e by 2015.

Pulling the lens out 25 years, the sustainability indicators report further outlines the Ontario-Alberta GHG divide. In 1990, Ontarios GHG emissions were higher than those from other provinces because of its large manufacturing industry. Albertas emissions subsequently surpassed Ontarios, increasing 56 per cent since 1990, primarily due to the increase in the oil and gas sector for export markets, it explains.

Nevertheless, they have simply traded places in the big-two rankings of provincial/territorial emitters. In 2015, the combined emissions from Alberta and Ontario represented 61 per cent (38 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively) of the national total, the report notes.

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