Posted by Stuart Herbert on March 29th, 2007 in News, Shoot.
As a bit of an experiment, I've added a new link to the bottom of each photo of my walk along the route of the Melingriffith Feeder. When you click on the link, Google Earth will open up and will take you to where the photo was taken. You'll need to have Google Earth installed, and if prompted what to do with the KML file, tell your browser to always open the file using Google Earth.
This uses the FlickrFly service.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on March 28th, 2007 in News.
I've updated the Merthyr Road project page to include a list of planned articles too, so that you can see what's going to be coming up over the coming weeks. There's only time each week to publish one article in the set, but I normally find myself coming back from each trip out with photos for two or three articles at a time. I guess it's one of the advantages of how all the routes between Cardiff and Merthyr – historical and modern – are intertwined.
The original plan was to spend just one year – the whole of 2007 – on the Merthyr Road project. With the photos I've already taken this year, I have enough material today to publish articles right the way through to August. Maybe things will change as the year draws to a close, but today it's looking like the Merthyr Road project will take up a good chunk of 2008 too.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on March 28th, 2007 in Equipment.
My Merthyr Road photography project can see me walk 6 or 7 miles a day on weekends, travelling parts of the route between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales taking a closer look at the many interesting things that are easily missed when you go whizzing by in a car. Lugging a camera bag full of different lenses has quickly become a drag, as has stopping to change lenses.
For most of March, I tried going about with just the one lens – my trusty Sigma 15-30mm. It's a great lens (so long as the sun is behind me!), and in the four years or so that I've owned it, I've taken many pictures with it that I've been very happy with. I bought the lens whilst on holiday in Snowdonia with my Nikon D100 back in 2003. It was the first time I'd been on holiday with a digital SLR, and I learned the hard way that none of my existing lenses gave me anything approaching a "wide" image, because of the 1.5x focal length multiplying effect. I dragged my poor wife around North Wales, looking for a camera shop, just so that I could take this shot of Dolbadarn Castle in the Llanberis Pass at the foot of Mt. Snowdon.
Whilst 15mm has been handy to have, I've found that only having 30mm on the zoom end is very restrictive when I've been carrying only the one lens. So, fed up with the situation, I decided to trawl through the Nikon SLR Lens Talk forum on Digital Photography Review, as well as the reviews on SLRGear.com, to find myself a single walkabout lens.
I've settled on Nikon's 18-135mm DX lens, which is the standard kit lens for the Nikon D80 SLR. When attached to a digital SLR such as my Nikon D200, it's the equivalent of a 27-200mm lens on a full-frame 35mm SLR. It doesn't have the advertised reach of the Nikon 18-200mm lens, nor the built-in VR-II image stabilisation technology, but unlike the 18-200mm lens at least you can buy one today.
There are plenty of folks online who report that both the 18-135mm DX lens and the 18-70mm DX lens (the kit lens from the Nikon D70) produce images with exceptional sharpness – much better than the 18-200mm lens. Some folks prefer the 18-70mm lens because it has a slightly faster aperture at the zoom end, or because it has a metal lens mount ring (the 18-135mm DX lens has a plastic mount ring), or because it has a rubber weather seal (which I must admit appeals to me!). Folks who prefer the 18-135mm DX lens online all seem to focus on the extra convenience of having that extra reach on the zoom – which is exactly what I wanted from my next lens.
I've used this lens on three shoots so far, including half of the images from my shoot at Melingriffith (the other two shoots will be published later in the year). Despite a concern about the build quality, which I'll come onto in a moment, overall I'm very happy with the new lens, and it certainly fits my need of having a single lens I can use for walkabouts. I'm extremely pleased with the sharpness, colour and contrast of the images I've taken so far – three areas where I had no complaints about the Sigma 15-30mm lens that this replaces.
The only problem I've had with the lens has been with the focus ring. This year I've started shooting nearly all my shots using manual focus instead of relying on the D200's excellent automatic focus system. The majority of my lenses are made my Sigma, and if there's one thing that Sigma have consistently gotten right on their lenses, it's the working of the manual focus ring. On Sigma lenses, the focus ring is always nice and tight, and as you get towards the infinity end of the focus range, it certainly feels like it takes more movement of the focus ring to adjust the focus – giving me the feeling of a very precise control. Unfortunately, the focus ring on my new Nikon lens is very loose. All I have to do is touch it and the focus shifts substantially, and I've found that I'd often knock the focus off just by catching the focus ring against my hand when raising the camera to my eye. I've gotten used to it, but I don't like it, and I'm debating giving Nikon a call to see whether they will adjust the tightness of the focus ring for free or not.
There are plenty of other lenses in this range that would also make good walkabout lenses. As well as Nikon's impossible-to-find 18-200mm lens, Sigma has lauched an 18-200mm lens with built-in optical stabilisation, and both Sigma and Tamron sell lenses in the 18-70mm range too. I chose the Nikon lens because of the exceptional rating for image quality – and so far it's proving to be a good choice for me.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on March 28th, 2007 in Glamorganshire Canal, Historical, Melingriffith, Melingriffith Feeder, Merthyr Road, Pentyrch and Melingriffith Light Railway, River Taff, Shoot, Taff Trail, Tin Works, Walking Routes.
View the photos from this shoot as part of my Merthyr Road collection on Flickr.
When it came to working tin in South Wales, Treforrest was the undisputed King. But if Treforrest was King, further south down in the Vale of Glamorgan above Cardiff, the works at Melingriffith were certainly the Crown Prince. Built in 1749, the Melingriffith Tinplate Works sat on or near the site of an old corn mill that had existed as far back as the twelfth century. It was once the largest tin works in the UK, until the construction of the Treforrest Tin Works. The works closed in 1957, and today the only obvious traces that the works ever existed at all are the Melingriffith Feeder that runs down from the River Taff, and the restored Water Pump standing opposite Oak Cottage. The works themselves appear to have been completely cleared, and the site today is a modern housing estate.
Its mills were powered by water taken from the River Taff by the Melingriffith Feeder – a water course that doubled as a canal carrying iron from Pentrych Works until around 1815, when the Pentrych tramroad was completed. The tramroad crossed the River Taff over Iron Bridge. The Feeder lock was permanently closed in 1871 when it was bridged over, but traces of it remain if you don't mind walking out into the (mostly) dry bed of the Feeder to look.
The Melingriffith Feeder makes its way to the old Glamorganshire Canal, where they run in parallel down to the Tin Works and out the other side at Melingriffith Lock. Where they come together to the north of the Tin Works, any overflow from the Canal was designed to flow into the Feeder. This is now the southern end of the Glamorganshire Canal Local Nature Reserve at Forest Farm, and all the water from the Canal now runs into the Feeder before disappearing into a water course that runs underneath the housing estate that has replaced the Tin Works.
At the southern end of the housing estate, the Feeder re-emerges from underground where the Melingriffith Water Pump stands. The Pump was originally designed to pump water from the Feeder into the Canal at Melingriffith Lock. Rowson & Wright's "The Glamorganshire and Aberdare Canals Volume II" has an entire chapter devoted to the many disputes between the Tin Works and the Canal over the supply of water. As I understand it, the Tin Works ran entirely on water throughout its history – water that the Canal itself also needed, as Melingriffith was the last point where the Canal could gather additional water needed for the section down to Sea Lock. Today, the Canal has been totally obliterated (Ty Mawr Road has replaced the Canal here down into Whitchurch), and the Feeder just empties back into the Taff beside the Valley Lines railway bridge just south of Radyr Station.
Melingriffith is a great example of the huge contrast that exists between Cardiff and the Taff Vale in the regeneration of the former industrial sites. Most of the route of the Canal through Cardiff was industrialised, but today you wouldn't know it. The Canal has gone, and the industry has been replaced by the housing estates of Melingriffith, Gabalfa, and Talybont, plus the regeneration of Cardiff Bay. In the Taff Vale, the Canal has mostly disappeared under the A470 trunk road, but where it hasn't, the land has mostly just been left unused until you reach Rhydycar at Merthyr Tydfil and the site of the local Welsh Assembly Government office.
It's a story that mirrors the growth of Cardiff against the decline of Merthyr.
I'd travelled through the Melingriffith housing estate a couple of years ago cycling the Taff Trail, but back then I'd never heard of the Tin Works, or the Feeder, or really of the Canal itself. I'd stopped at the Water Pump, and read the excellent tourist sign that goes with it, but without any background knowledge, I didn't really understand what I was looking at. I didn't know that Oak Cottage on the other side of the road was the old lockkeeper's cottage from Melingriffith Lock, or that the road itself is where Melingriffith Lock once stood. I didn't know that the Water Pump stands in the Melingriffith Feeder, whose route can be traced back up to the River Taff at Radyr Weir. And I didn't know that the Feeder was also used as a canal – with its own lock on the River Taff itself – years before the Glamorganshire Canal was constructed.
If you want to explore this area for yourself, I recommend parking at the southern end of the Glamorganshire Canal Local Nature Reserve. There's a small car park there. Head north into the Reserve, cross the Canal overflow bridge, and follow both the Feeder and Canal until the Feeder starts to veer off to the left. Follow the Feeder all the way up to the River Taff. Here you can see the sluice gate mechanism that once regulated the flow of water into the Feeder, and the remains of the lock. Turn south, past Radyr Weir and its picnic area, and follow the Taff Trail down until it threads its way through the Melingriffith housing estate to Oak Cottage and the Water Pump. If you wish, there's a muddy footpath down the Feeder's east bankside that you can follow down to the River Taff and beyond, but that's really a walk for another day. At the Water Pump, turn north, and follow the road (which lies on top of the old canal bed) back up to the car park. The whole walk will take an hour or two, and should be suitable for most people.
The Feeder is just one of the delights to explore in this area. There's the Canal itself, which can be followed up to Longwood Drive (and further north up to Tongwynlais, as covered in another article). From Longwood Drive, there's the disused Cardiff Railway route down to Coryton, which also makes for a great walk. And all of these walks are set in the Local Nature Reserve, which includes two purpose-built hides for watching the local wildlife without disturbing it.
From the two visits I made to Melingriffith, I came away with 305 photos, according to Aperture. Even allowing for the fact I now bracket every shot (so, divide that number by 3), that's still a lot of photos. It was a tough challenge cutting it down to the 26 photos I finally uploaded to Flickr. Picking just one photo as a favourite was harder still.
In the end, this photo showing the Glamorganshire Canal flowing down into the Melingriffith Feeder is my favourite photo from this shoot. It's a photo that's a bit different, for a start. I'm willing to wager there aren't too many other shots of this scene currently around 🙂 I love the colours too. I think it's a great advert for what my new Nikon 18-135mm lens can do (more on that lens in a dedicated article later in the year).
The photos for this shoot come from two separate visits to the area. Because you have the Canal, the Cardiff Railway, the River Taff and the Taff Trail all in the same area, some of the shots are going to be included in other shoots in the future. Rather than lump all these shots into a single folder, I decided to spend a lot of Mother's Day tagging my photos in Aperture, with a view to building a set of Smart Albums based on the tags.
Aperture is a great tool, but if there's one thing that Apple has overlooked, it's the very simple operation of being able to add one keyword to a group of selected photos. I can use the excellent Lift & Stamp tool to copy keywords from one photo to others, but I can't drag and drop a keyword onto a group of selected photos. When you try, the keyword gets applied to just one photo in the selection (the photo that you drop the keyword onto). It would be such a time-saver to be able to do this simple task – it would save me up to an hour a week.
A search for the term 'melingriffith' turned up two great shots of the Water Pump, but no shots of the Feeder at all, and no old photographs showing the Tin Works during their existence.
Maybe my search foo just isn't good enough. I'm really surprised that there aren't more photos up on Flickr covering the same subjects as my articles. These places are part of the Welsh heritage, as well as being historically important both to Wales and the UK.
Posted by Stuart Herbert on March 18th, 2007 in Technique.
First off, just a disclaimer before I go any further. I don't want anyone thinking I'm something that I'm not 🙂 I'm very definitely an amateur photographer. I've had no formal training, and I'm certainly not qualified to teach photography. If you want to know how things "should be done", so to speak, then enroll on a course. I'm sure that there'll be plenty of suitable night courses in your area, and, of course, there is always Amateur Photographer's home study course. Or, you could pick up a good book by a real expert. I always recommend Michael Langford's Basic Photography. What I'm talking about here in these Technique posts are how I work with the camera, and what works for me.
If you're okay with that, then read on!
A camera's automatic mode is exactly what it sounds like: you point the camera at what you want to photograph, and the camera makes all the other decisions for you. Most compact digital cameras only have an automatic mode. Larger digital SLRs all come with automatic modes, as well as the ability for you to take more control should you wish. SLRs have built in databases of many thousands of photographic scenes, and it's often said that SLRs can make better decisions than many photographers.
Using automatic mode is point-and-shoot photography. And there's nothing wrong with it. Don't think for a minute that you're not a "real photographer" just because you currently use automatic mode. I don't even know what a "real photographer" is, or why anyone would want to be one. If you're taking photos on automatic mode, and you're happy with the results, then be happy.
What Does Automatic Mode Do?
It controls the size of the iris (photographers call this the aperture) in the camera lens. The iris controls the amount of light that the camera sees, and has the side effect of controlling the angle that the light hits your camera's sensor.
It also controls how long (in time) that the camera sees the light from the lens. There is a blackout screen inside the camera called the shutter. When the shutter is open, your camera sees light. The longer the shutter is open, the longer your camera sees the light.
A well-exposed shot is a combination of balancing the aperture size against the shutter speed. As the aperture size gets smaller, the camera needs to see more light (the shutter needs to be open longer) in order to get enough light to create a photograph. Equally, the longer the shutter is open, the smaller the aperture needs to be to prevent too much light ruining the photograph. It's a balancing act between the two.
A lot of the art in photography comes from taking control of one (or both) of these key decisions from the camera, and putting that control into your own hands.
Automatic mode – where the camera controls both shutter speed and aperture size.
Aperture priority mode – where you control the aperture size, and the camera controls the shutter speed.
Shutter priority mode – where you control the shutter speed, and the camera controls the aperture size.
So-called "consumer" level SLRs also often come with additional automatic modes for landscape, portraits, sports, night photography, and so on. My camera of choice – the Nikon D200 – does not include these modes, and I won't mention them any further here.
Most of the people I know want to move away from automatic mode because they somehow feel that they are "cheating" by letting the camera make the decisions. Well, I've never yet met a camera that decided what it should shoot and when. A camera is a tool in the hands of a human photographer, simple as that. You're already making many important decisions, even if you don't realise it. If you're getting photos that you like, then don't worry about it. You're not cheating.
The right reason to move away from automatic mode is to take more creative control over your photography.
When I first began taking photos, my friend Hugh had me start with aperture-priority mode. Although I personally shoot mostly in shutter-priority mode today, the majority of fellow amateur photographers that I've spoken to prefer aperture-priority mode.
By controlling the aperture size, you take control over the depth of field that can be seen in the final photograph. The depth of field is the term that photographers use to describe the area of your picture that is in focus. If you imagine that the item you're focusing on is slap bang in the middle of the depth of field, then the depth of field extends in a straight line from there towards your camera, and also from there away from your camera. Items outside the depth of field appear blurred in the final photograph.
A larger aperture (such as F/2.8 – F/6.3) creates a smaller depth of field (photographers call this a shallow depth of field). The depth of field only extends a short distance either side of the area of your picture that is in focus (photographers call this area the focal point). This allows you to deliberately blur things like the background of a photograph, allowing the main subject to stand out a lot more than it would otherwise.
A smaller aperture (such as F/11 – F/22) creates a larger depth of field. The depth of field extends a longer distance in front of (and behind) the focal point of your picture. This allows your picture to include detail not just from the main subject, but also from whatever is around it too. Larger depths of field are particularly useful for landscape photographers looking to capture as much of the landscape as they can see.
As a rule of thumb, I find that an aperture size of F/5.6 creates a depth of field (very) roughly like what the human eye sees when looking at something up to 10 metres or so away, and F/11 creates a depth of field (very) roughly like what the human eye sees when looking at distance objects such as a wonderful landscape view.
Don't Forget The Balancing Act!
In aperture-priority mode, the camera automatically adjusts the shutter speed for you, using information from the built-in light meter to ensure that your photograph is correctly exposed. As you change the aperture, the camera changes the shutter speed.
If the shutter speed gets too low, then the photograph you take will be blurred. The blurring happens because we are holding the camera, and we can't hold the camera absolutely still. One way to solve this problem is to always use a tripod. Even the best tripods are cumbersome, have to be carried about, and the whole rigmarole of setting up the tripod just to take one photo can kill the fun of amateur photography. Another option is to make sure that the shutter speed is always high enough for shooting hand-held.
As a rule of thumb, I never shoot hand-held at a speed of less than 1/80 – that's one eightieth of a second. With lenses zoomed in more than 80mm, the minimum speed goes up accordingly – so, at 400mm zoom, I'm looking for a speed of 1/400. It's not always sunny enough to get that sort of speed, which is where lenses with built-in image stabilisation start to become very useful!
At first, you'll probably forget to check your shutter speed, and end up with quite a few blurred photos. Don't worry about it! Keep practising, and it will stick in the end. Until it does, you have the advantage that you're shooting digitally. Just imagine what it was like when I started photography shooting on chemical film. Digital makes it much easier to practice new techniques over and over until you're comfortable with them.
As mentioned above, I shoot mostly in shutter-priority mode these days. I combine that with the Nikon D200's extremely handy auto-ISO mode to get as many sharp images as I'm able to. In my next technique article, I'll talk about my one and only wedding shoot that I did back in 2003, and why the next feature you need to master on your digital SLR is digital's unique ability to change the ISO setting between each shot.


MassDEP Releases Long-Awaited Source Registration and Greenhouse Gas Lists for Reporting Year 2016!
On July 31, 2018, the MassDEP released its long-awaited list of sites for the 2016 Source Registration & Greenhouse Gas Reporting year, which includes approximately 450 sites throughout Massachusetts. If your facility is included in either the source registration or greenhouse gas reporting list, you will be required to complete and submit the new MassDEP form(s) to MassDEP by October 19, 2018.


text:
Paradox or Pluralism?
By Peter L. Berger
The Paradox of Liberation: Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions
by Michael Walzer
Yale University Press, 192 pp., $26
The distinguished political philosopher and public intellectual Michael Walzer has written many excellent books, and this slim, suggestive volume is no exception. Walzer is at heart a man of the left, so he is sympathetic to the post-World War II secular revolutions he describes in the newly established secular states of India (1947), Israel (1948), and Algeria (1962). More to the point, he is dismayed by the religious counter-revolutions that have followed them within a generation or two. But he also has an open mind and is bereft of ideological hang-ups. Walzer is of course aware that there are important differences among the three (Algeria is, in several respects, an outlier), but he thinks that the tension between secularism and a resurgent religion in each case makes the comparison instructive. Having been trained in the tradition of Max Weber and thus internalized a fanatical belief in the value of comparison, I cannot help but agree.
Walzer's paradox of liberation, if that is what it is, is that religion is back, or that despite the extraordinary success of secularizing revolutionaries it never quite went away. He writes:
Initially, at least, this is a success story: the three nations were indeed liberated from foreign rule. At the same time, however, the states that now exist are not the states envisioned by the original leaders and intellectuals of the national liberation movements, and the moral/political culture of these states, their inner life, so to speak, is not at all what their founders expected.
India, Israel, and Algeria are far more religious than Nehru, Ben-Gurion, or Ben Bella and their revolutionary colleagues ever envisioned. As Walzer writes a little later, each of the movements these men led promised victory over foreign oppressors and equal standing in the world. To achieve this, "the old ways" had to be repudiated, "[b]ut the old ways are cherished by many of the men and women whose ways they are. That is the paradox of liberation."
Jawaharlal Nehru with Gandhi during a meeting of the All India Congress, Bombay, July 1946. (Photo by Dave Davis, courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.)
The Indian National Congress was led by a thoroughly secularized elite that was essentially tone-deaf to religion in general and to the traditional Hinduism of most Indians in particular. Nehru was its English-speaking, English-educated leader and the first prime minister of the independent state of India. His political ideal was Westminster democracy and Fabian socialism. As Walzer remarks, Nehru once told John Kenneth Galbraith that he was "the last Englishman to rule in India." Nonetheless, Nehru understood that Hindu symbolism was important to the core constituency of Congress and included the Wheel of Karma on the flag of the Republic. But the most important symbol was Gandhi himself, walking around in his loincloth, in the traditional persona of a Hindu holy man, notwithstanding the fact that his philosophy of non-violence owed more to Tolstoy than to the Vedas. I believe that Nehru's respect for Gandhi's moral authority was genuine, but something he is reported to have said about Gandhi in an apparently unguarded moment is revealing: "You can't imagine what it costs to keep Gandhiji in poverty!"
What is essential is that the Indian National Congress from its beginnings emphasized that India did not just belong to Hindus but to all those who lived in it: Muslims, Christians, Jains, and those with weak or no religious affiliations. In the waning days of the British Raj the Muslim League had walked out of a pre-independence meeting called by Congress and proclaimed that Muslims needed their own state. This sharp difference in self-definition between India and what became Pakistan has determined the politics of the subcontinent ever since, at an enormous cost in bloodshed. Incidentally, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who led the Muslim exodus, was just as secularized as Nehru.
The hegemony of the Indian National Congress is now a thing of the past. On the national level, it has been supplanted by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), whose core constituency includes the membership of the RSS, a political militia that marches around in khaki shorts ironically resembling those of the colonial British forces (Walzer quotes the Indian social critic Ashis Nandy calling them "the illegitimate child of Western colonialism"). The RSS and other proponents of Hindutva hold that Hinduism is not just a religion among others but the center of a civilization to which all (notably Muslims and Christians) should "return."
This failure of the forces of secular liberation to "consolidate their achievement and reproduce themselves" is another way of putting Walzer's paradox of liberation, but is it really a paradox? Only if one takes secularity as the norm or thinks, as Nehru, Ben-Gurion, and Ben Bella all did, that their respective new countries had, to quote Nehru, a "tryst with destiny."
Often a joke can illuminate a social reality. Here is one told by Indian traditionalists at the expense of secularists: A skeptical university graduate visits a holy man sitting in a yoga position with his eyes closed. "I understand you people believe that the earth is a huge disk supported on the back of a divine elephant." The holy man continues to sit, saying nothing, keeping his eyes closed, and merely nods. The young man repeats his derisive question and gets the same response. Finally, after the question is repeated a third time the holy man opens his eyes, looks at the young graduate, and chants (first in Sanskrit, then in English): "My Lord Krishna commands me to say to you that in the next three lives you will return as a bedbug." Or at least as junior partner in a parliamentary democracy dominated by religious parties.
Israel declared its independence in 1948, about one year after Nehru declared the independence of India. In both cases, it was the British colonial rulers who, at the stroke of midnight, took down the Union Jack. The founding elites of both countries were very secular and felt little empathy with the piety of ordinary people. Ben-Gurion was no more an observant Jew than Nehru was a practicing Hindu. Their political parties, respectively Labor and Congress, at first thought that religion would not be a major factor in the future. Both also had to cope with large Muslim minorities whom they imagined could be assuaged with citizenship rights. The secularists were surprised when this didn't work and even more surprised when fiercely fundamentalist movements within their own communities challenged the secularity of the state. Those dramas are not yet played out.
Algerian independence was declared in 1962 after a conflict between the National Liberation Front (French acronym FLN) and France, fought with equal bloodthirstiness by both sides. French resistance to Algerian independence was especially bitter because Algeria was legally part of metropolitan France (unlike Morocco and Tunisia, which were French protectorates), its Arabs defined as French citizens of Muslim religion. Yet the state to which the liberation movement aspired was established as a secular republic. A little later the term "Islamic socialism" was adopted; as Walzer points out, it was actually Marxism with some decorations from the Qur'an. There is at least some resemblance between this and the Zionist use of bits and pieces of Judaism—decorations on a secular ideology that Walzer, fairly or not, calls "Jewish kitsch."
Ahmed Ben Bella, the first president of Algeria, was shaped ideologically by French Marxism. The subsequent FLN regime became increasingly authoritarian and "Arabizing," but, official policy notwithstanding, the Algerian elites, including the leaders of the ruling party, remained addicted to the French language. In the early 1990s the regime was fiercely challenged by an Islamist movement, for whom the Qur'an was certainly much more than decorative. The bloody civil war that ensued was an ironic replication of the earlier one, except this time it was not a French colonial force against an Arab insurrection, but an Arab military against jihad. The conflict simmers on in the aftermath of the (prematurely named) Arab Spring.
The following joke comes from Lebanon, but I think it would be understood in urbane circles in Francophone Algiers as well as Beirut: A woman is in labor in her elegant home (she belongs to a class whose physicians still make house calls). The husband and the doctor sit outside the bedroom, both smoking cigarettes (Gauloises, I imagine). Both are reading French newspapers. Cries of pain are heard from the bedroom, the woman moaning: "Je souffre! Oh mon Dieu, come je souffre! C'est insupportable! Come je souffre!" This goes on and on. The husband urges the doctor to go in and help his wife. "Too early," says the doctor, who continues to read his paper. Then a piercing cry comes out of the bedroom: "Ya-Allah! Ya-Allah!" The doctor says "now!" and goes into the bedroom. (A similar joke was, not surprisingly, told by German Jews with the switch to Yiddish indicating the onset of labor.)
Is there a paradox in the return of these liberated societies to religion? And, more generally, does democracy require secularity? Only, it seems to me, if one holds a secularist world view and regards secularism as a societal norm.
David Ben-Gurion with Moshe Dayan, Shimon Peres, and Ya'acov Hazan during the opening session of the 6th Knesset in Jerusalem, November 1965. (Photo by Moshe Pridan, courtesy of the Government Press Office, Israel.)
Near the beginning of the modern period, the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius spoke of formulating international law "etsi Deus non daretur" (as if God were not given). This is an early instance of a purely methodological secularism or atheism (Grotius was a pious Protestant). With this methodological principle in hand, one could formulate international law in 17th-century Europe where different states were Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, Anglican, and, for that matter, Russian Orthodox and Ottoman Muslim. Somewhat analogously, a secular methodology is a prerequisite of modern science and technology: Even a pious Catholic cannot perform surgery using Roman canon law. Like the Orthodox airline pilot, she sets about her task "as if God were not given." This means that a religious tradition in a modern society must accommodate the fact that some areas of human life must be governed by a secular discourse. Democracy in a pluralist society is also clearly helped by a degree of separation between the state and religion, but it does not require secularism as a governing ideology.
Perhaps more importantly, I think that Walzer misses a major reason why secular liberation movements are very often "religionized." Secular ideologies do not in the long run satisfy the need of human beings to give meaning to personal experience, especially that of pain and loss. They do not supply a theodicy in the broad sense given by Max Weber to an originally theological term for God in the presence of suffering and evil.
There is no greater tragedy than losing a child. But it appears that there is some comfort to be derived if the child dies from fighting for a cause that the parents believe in, such as the liberation of the nation. But no such comfort is available if the child dies of a disease or in an accident. I remember a story from the early years of the state of Israel, which I heard from an Israeli woman in tones of unmistakable disapproval. The three-year-old son of a neighbor had drowned in a wading pool. The woman who told the story heard someone express sympathy to the parents, adding: "And this now, when we need every Jew in this country!" The narrator in no way opposed the national cause, but she knew that such a political statement was inappropriate in the face of inconsolable grief.
In their different ways all the faiths—certainly Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam—have provided theodicies in the broad as well as the narrow sense for a very long time. I once summed up religion as the audacious attempt to conceive of the entire universe as being humanly significant. Another way of putting Walzer's paradox is that it turns out that we humans find it very difficult to do without something like theodicy, however audacious or metaphysically improbable it may be. It would appear hard to pass on a cultural system or an ideology to the next generation without that audacious attempt.
Of the modern fundamentalists who have "brought backwardness back" in Israel, India, and Algeria Walzer writes that they "claim to embody the ancient traditions . . . oldness is their mantra." He goes on:
And although the claim is false, the sense of oldness must account, at least in part, for the appeal of their program. They connect the liberated people to their own past; they provide a sense of belonging and stability in a rapidly changing world. With the old imperial oppressors gone, they also provide recognizable, even familiar "others" as objects of fear or hate . . . Sometimes the "others" are members of a rival religion, sometimes they are "Westernizing" leftists, secularists, heretics, and infidels—traitors, it is said, in our midst.
This is all true at one level, of course, but nothing Walzer says here or elsewhere seems to really recognize the transcendent claims, consolatory appeal, or experiences provided by the religions under discussion. Nor does it recognize religion as a context in which to express the most basic questions about our place in the universe. Pascal described the human condition as standing at the midpoint between "the nothing and the infinite," and religion has been the principal vehicle through which this truly paradoxical position and our ensuing wonder at the universe have been expressed.
Walzer's central case is Israel. He is both puzzled and frankly disappointed that its founders failed to create a new secular culture "thick or robust enough to sustain itself" without the unwanted help of traditionalism. I am not quite sure that this is the way the issue should be framed. On the one hand, groups that assert their superior wisdom and virtue with great pretensions of certitude always have a tactical edge over those whose convictions are less apodictic and more moderate. On the other, there is, by almost any measure, a robust secular culture in Israel, which is very much alive and tempting to those outside it. I don't know which traffic is larger—that of secularists tempted by the self-assured fundamentalism of Meah Shearim, or that of haredim seduced by the fleshpots and discos of Tel Aviv, which I recently saw advertised in a European travel magazine as "the coolest city on the Mediterranean."
Walzer almost seems to think that things might have been, or might still be, otherwise if only the cultural program of some early leading Zionist intellectuals were followed more vigorously:
[A]longside the ongoing work of negation, the tradition has to be acknowledged and its different parts ingathered, as the poet Bialik argued: collected, translated, incorporated into the culture of the new. Only then can traditional Judaism be pulled apart, its most important features—laws and maxims, ceremonies and practices, historical and fictional narratives—critically appraised. . . . Only then can they become the subject of ongoing argument and negotiation.
In the end, he thinks that although such engagement with the tradition should have been undertaken, it wouldn't have prevented the resurgence of the haredim or the rise of religious nationalism. However, he says, in his characteristically mild, hopeful secularist voice, "it might have improved the odds—it might still improve the odds—for the eventual success of Jewish national liberation."
Rarely does a joke reveal a social and religious reality as sharply as this Israeli one: A woman and her young son are riding on a bus speaking Yiddish sometime in the 1950s. A staunch Labor Zionist fellow-passenger is annoyed and scolds her: "You are in Israel now, not in the diaspora. Why don't you speak Hebrew with your son?" To which she replies: "So that he won't forget that he is a Jew." It is this tension that Walzer would like to ameliorate.
Whether it is a paradox or not, Walzer has focused our attention on an interesting pattern: successful secular liberation movements that seem—though he claims no "covering law"—almost inevitably to be followed by a religious counter-revolution within a generation or two of the founding of the new state. I want to briefly draw attention to another case, that of a liberation movement that was not followed by a religious counter-revolution: the Risorgimento of the 19th century, which led to the unification of Italy and, in time, a modern nation-state. In doing so I am not so much changing the subject as expressing my Weberian penchant for the value of comparisons—the more the merrier. (It will also take us on a somewhat circuitous route back to our starting point.)
Napoleon's invasion of Italy shattered the jigsaw puzzle of kingdoms, duchies, sovereign cities, and the Papal States, and introduced new revolutionary ideas into the territory. Those who had been running the jigsaw puzzle were not amused, and the forces of reaction were powerfully supported by the Roman Catholic Church and the Habsburg monarchy, which between them controlled large chunks of the country. The Risorgimento had no coherent ideology beyond the idea of a unified Italian state. But the state envisaged was to be a modern and secular one, very much in the line of the French Revolution, whose ideas were carried throughout Europe in the writings of intellectuals and on the bayonets of Napoleon's armies. The Risorgimento had diverse factions, among them the utopian one led by the charismatic warrior Giuseppe Garibaldi. But the leadership eventually fell into the cool hands of Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, an aristocrat who ended up in the service of the king of Savoy (later Victor Emmanuel I of Italy).
In 1870 Savoy's elite troops, the Bersaglieri, occupied Rome and made it the capital of Italy. The Papal States were incorporated into Italy and Pius IX, deprived of even the vestiges of his earthly power, declared himself a prisoner in the Vatican. A monument to the Bersaglieri was erected showing one of the troopers with the distinctive plumed hat and running—Bersaglieri never march, they always run—positioned so that its behind was aimed directly at the Vatican.
The Italian state remained secular, even anti-clerical, although the Catholic piety of most Italians continued for a long time. Yet, the state created by the soberly Machiavellian Count of Cavour retained a utopian, even sacred, flavor in its mission of incorporating all Italian-speaking territories. These territories, most of them in Austro-Hungarian hands, were called Italia irredenta (unredeemed Italy). Many of their inhabitants truly believed that becoming citizens of Italy would somehow "redeem" them personally. In fact, my maternal grandfather, who was born in Vienna, and worked as a doctor on passenger ships sailing out of the mostly Italian-speaking city of Trieste, became convinced that Italy was the only civilized country in the world. When Trieste was annexed by Italy after World War I, he became an Italian citizen and fervent patriot.
Despite Mussolini's opportunistic concordat with the Church, the secularism of the Italian state continued under fascism. After World War II there was no religious counter-revolution. The Christian Democrats were merely in favor of Christian values, broadly construed. When the Second Vatican Council liberalized the Church, declaring, among other things, that religious freedom was a basic human right, it certainly did not reverse the secularization of Italian society. Neither has the Church's more recent call for a "new evangelism."
I once believed and propounded a sociological theory of the inevitability of such secularization, but it now seems to me that the secularization of Europe and the educated elites of North America—and, for that matter, New Delhi and Tel Aviv—are exceptions rather than the rule. Modern secularity is, if not exactly a paradox, more in need of explanation than the ashrams of India, the yeshivas of Israel, or the madrasas of Algeria. What I think Walzer has very usefully pointed us to is not the paradox of resurgent religion but rather the inevitability of continuing pluralist coexistence between secular and religious spaces in the modern state as well as in individual lives.
Peter L. Berger
Peter L. Berger is a professor emeritus of sociology at Boston University. His most recent book is The Many Altars of Modernity: Toward a Paradigm for Religion in a Pluralist Age (De Gruyter).
Wishful Republic
David Barak-Gorodetsky
What lessons can be learned from the city of Haifa, and what does its culture suggest about the likelihood and limitations of a binational state?
Love and War
Alan Mintz
David Grossman has for sometime been one of Israel's most talented and important writers. In many of his novels, his feeling for adolescence—one is tempted to say, his identification with it—has been so brilliantly intuitive that the imagining of adulthood has scarcely been possible. In To the End of the Land, Grossman makes his breakthrough.
An Affair as We Don't Know It
Harris retells the "Dreyfus Affair" from Lieutenant-Colonel Marie-Georges Picquart's point of view, dramatically reconstructing how he zeroed in on the true culprit.
Lance J. Sussman
The American religious landscape that Uzi Rebhun sketches out in his new book, Jews and the American Religious Landscape, is marked by virtually boundless freedom and pluralism, as well as increasing fragmentation, due to the growth of "self-searching and religiosity by choice."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I had written this blog post twice already. I am hesitant, uncomfortable, nervous and worried. But then I thought to myself, if I want to be authentic and I want to be me, then I must share all my sides and all my faces including the one that was filled with acne…. Pun intended!
I never struggled with acne as a teenager and was always happy with my skin. One day out of the blue in Jan 2015 (I was 25 at the time), I started getting a few painful pimples. As it got worse, I went to my doctor to see if he can help with it. He agreed that it's off and prescribed me Retin A and an antibiotic!! Now, Retin A definitely works for some people, but for me it just made a bad situation worse! My face just kept having more and more acne each day, it was red, irritated and dry. Each day, I grew more and more insecure and more and more upset. I was literally uncomfortable in my own skin.
I saw another professional who deals with acne, he advised to discontinue the Retin A. He told me this was text book Adult Acne. My inner cynic and paranoia had a field day! Of course this will happen to me. What did I do wrong? I must have caused this somehow. It was the facial I got, it must have been that! Whatever the reason was it didn't matter, my face was not getting better and I grew more and more anxious about the whole situation. I hated going out. Cancelled a lot of outings. Didn't want to take pictures. And yes I cried about it.
This was about the time I started transforming my lifestyle. So I knew it was definitely something on the inside not just the outside. Now, with all the antibiotics I took my gut bacteria was not in balance. I looked at the products I was using and did more research on them. I came up with a holistic plan to save my face.
First of all I threw away all my expensive Chanel creams, my conventional face wash and my serums. I did extensive research on all of the products that I spent hundreds of dollars on! They are filled with chemicals, parabens (which mess with your hormones) and a bunch of bad news! I limited the products I used on my face, maximum number would be three.
With my face wash I chose a gentle brand called Skin Essence. Its vegan, cruelty free, non-GMO, Certified organic and Canadian. It has 9 ingredients which I can read and understand. They have a few different cleansers but I used the one called "Pure" because my face was so raw and irritated. I love this cleanser. Note I was not using any makeup, this cleanser was solely for washing my face from any build up I accumulated during the day.
To moisturize I alternated between jojoba oil and Green Beavers green tea moisturizer. Jojoba oil is great for acne because it's the most similar to human skin oil (sebum). It is theorized that applying jojoba to the skin can "trick" the skin into thinking it is producing enough oil. And it doesn't clog pores! The Green Beaver cream has super clean and simple ingredients it moisturized without making my face feel greasy. It has Aloe vera concentrate which soothes and renews red, irritated and sensitive skin. Jojoba and grape seed oils keeps skin moisturized and balanced throughout the day.
Green tea provides antioxidant protection to neutralize free radicals.
I can honestly expand on this and write a whole blog post just on probiotics and the connection to acne. But I will just quote Dr. Bowe "By taking oral probiotic supplements or by eating probiotics in your diet, you can theoretically restore a healthy environment in your gut and keep the skin from getting inflamed." In 1961, a case report found that of 300 acne patients given a probiotic, 80% had clinical improvement. 1961 people! This isn't anything new, but yet when we go to the doctor's for acne they prescribe ANTI-biotics. Not going to rant.. Not going to rant.
Because I had inflammation not just in my face but in my entire body. I tried to eat as clean as possible. Organic whole foods that can only contribute to the healing process. Foods filled with minerals and vitamins. I should also mention that I cut out dairy products as well.
Sometimes the body is overflown with toxins and releases them through the skin. I really wanted to help flush out these toxins so I would have a green juice every morning to alkalize and gently detox my body (I still do!).
This was a longer post than intended but I really wanted to detail everything I did in hopes that this can help at least one person!


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Costa Staff Shun Homeless Man
At the Customer Service Blog we believe that providing exceptional customer service makes good business sense because it leads to a higher level of customer satisfaction, which in turn results in long-term customer loyalty and higher rates of customer retention.
So primarily we are concerned with how the customer views an organisation at an individual level, and how that ultimately impacts on profitability
But in addition to how individual customers view an organisation, customer service can also sometimes have an impact at a much wider level. This is where the discipline of 'Public Relations' (PR) comes into play. For example, if your company provides very good (or bad) customer service, this may have an impact on its wider reputation amongst the general public, including people who are never actually going to be customers.
With this in mind, I recently spotted a fascinating article about a PR disaster involving Costa Coffee written by Shané Schutte. The article perfectly illustrates how poor customer service can get very widespread media coverage, and have a negative impact on the wider reputation of a company. I have reproduced an edited version of the article below.
Costa Staff Throw Reputation Recovery Efforts Down the Drain
Costa is back in the news, and unfortunately it's not because of reputation recovery efforts. Instead, staff have decided to show that the company - and National Rail - would prosecute kind behaviour.
Reputation recovery efforts should mostly be composed of three basic fundamentals: (1) show you plan to tackle the issue, (2) make note that you care for society, and (3) ensure brand ambassadors and staff help boost your brand instead of making matters worse.
Costa staff don't seem to have received the memo, further dragging the company's name in the mud after a BBC investigation found "faecal coliforms" in iced beverages. But not even a month has passed and Costa is back in the news - for its 'brand ambassadors' (aka the staff) showing a lack of care and empathy.
Adrian Pinsent, a TV cameraman, was doing a humble act of kindness - one that few people do in this day and age. He took a homeless man to Waterloo station's Costa so he could pick out something to eat and drink.
But according to the Independent newspaper, staff refused him when they found out who the food was for. They said: "If we do that we will get prosecuted. It's not our policy, it's from the security of the station and the police."
Another employee declined to serve him as well before Pinset slammed the money onto the counter and left with the food regardless.
In a world where the Ritz Carlton is praised for allowing employees to spend $2,000 to help guests and make their experience better, it's easy to assume putting such policies in place won't win the station or the company any brownie points. It's like putting a "we don't care" banner next to the logo - not something you want in the midst of carrying out reputation recovery efforts.
The next issue is that National Rail and Costa alike can't remember ever putting such policies in place, meaning there was a misunderstanding somewhere down the line, or staff simply decided on their own to refuse service. Employees need to know that no matter how hard the working day or against certain people they may be, such behaviour should not be tolerated.
Pinsent said of the event: "It was an utter disgrace. I asked the homeless man to pick what he wanted, a sarnie and a Pepsi, and when I tried to pay for it, they refused. This argument went on for some time before I filmed the video."
"I was amazed. As a cameraman and journalist myself, I know that the idea of Costa being prosecuted by either the police or station security, as the barista suggested, is utterly wrong."
To the Daily Mail, he further emphasised the behaviour of the staff member: "I had to get the last train so when I put the money down, I gave the homeless man the food. The employee didn't speak to him, but did ask me 'what about your change' as I left, and I said 'forget about it' as I had to get the last train."
"They seemed concerned for me not getting my change, but until that point none of the staff spoke to him."
With other coffee brands espousing the virtues of giving to society, and while undergoing reputational recovery efforts from last month's scandal, Costa can't afford for its staff to demean customers, whether employed or homeless.
Take Pret a Manger, for example. It launched the Make Someone Smile campaign in January. Every so often, a customer will receive a coffee sleeve with a smile on it. It is up to that person to "nominate" someone, a friend or a stranger that looked like they really needed it, to hand the sleeve in and receive a free coffee.
Kindness is increasingly becoming the new currency, and companies, especially those undergoing reputation recovery efforts, can ill afford to ignore it.
Shané Schutte is a writer specialising in employment and business law, HR, information technology, sales and marketing.
Location: Waterloo Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8SW, UK


Most of the time, if the kids break one of their toys, tough luck for them. But in this case, the crossbow broke on the day after Christmas, so I decided I would try to repair it.
My dad just recently made a repair to a broken bike handle using this stuff, and I was so impressed with how tough it was! I had never heard of it before, but when it came time to repair the crossbow, I knew it would be just the stuff.
Of course, you need to weigh the cost of the item you want to repair with the cost of the FiberFix. Depending on the width you want (they sell it in 1″, 2″ and 4″ widths), it costs between $5-$10 a roll.
For this repair, I used one roll of the 1″ wide wrap.
The box comes with everything you need to make the repair – including disposable gloves to wear.
It couldn't be easier to use. You simple dip the roll in water and then wrap it tightly around your repair.
It cures in about 15 minutes and then is ready to go!
It works so well that I am definitely keeping this stuff on hand for future repairs!


Plastic Packaging Technologies, LLC. - COME SEE US AT SUPERZOO!
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Packaging has never been more important in terms of product differentiation and shelf appeal. Without question, the package is really used to sell the product! As such, Petfood and Treat companies continue to seek new product configurations and innovative printing technologies to ensure their products stand-out on the shelf with PURPOSEFUL, POWERFUL PACKAGING!
Stop by to see us and our innovative production offerings in BOOTH 3664!


i power the camera up and connected it to the router via ethernet. when i go to the app and start the process to add the camera. the camera is found, login info is requested and then the wireless connection process begins. after that i get stuck. i tried all 3 options, wifi+sec, wifi open and LAN. nothing works. after this process the camera can not be added or seen. not even via browser interface.
i tried to circumvent the wireless setup process by setting up and connecting the camera to the wifi network before hand but when i go through the process in the app, it still asks to configure wireless for the camera.
Which app, Android, iOS, Windows?
so i need an iOS device?
I can't say. I don't have an Android device with which to test.
I have the same problem, with the Apple app not communicating with the Hub 2245-222, I am able to view the camera through the IP-camera tool via WIFI..but the App can not find the IP.
I have set all my IP cameras to STATIC IP addressed so I would not have any problems...I was wrong...I' able to access my router settings, but can not access the Hub Settings....to see if its set wrong.....I have deleted the app and started over...to no avail.....still not working...I have other devices set, and they see those, but I can not add this camera......WHY?


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Pass on your compassion, become a Mentor
As a volunteer mentor, you can help transform the life of a young person experiencing difficulties at home or at school.
Home Mentoring (for vulnerable children who live at home)
If you are looking after a young person and you think the Mentoring Service would benefit them, please find some more information below:
What is Mentoring?
The Mentoring Service provides one to one support for vulnerable or at-risk young people in the Bolton area. Through building a trusting, reliable relationship we can support young people through difficult periods in their life and support them to build their confidence, self-esteem and resilience. We enable young people to identify targets they want to work towards, have a voice, feel empowered and create positive memories. Mentoring is about building a quality relationship and giving the young person someone they can talk to.
The Youth Support Coordinator manages the relationship between the volunteer and young person. We work holistically with other professionals, share information and contribute towards multi-agency meetings. It is important that we are part of this process to enable to the best outcomes for the young person and family.
What's the criteria for making a referral?
Need to live in the Bolton area and have a Bolton postcode.
Be between 8 years old and their 18th birthday.
Have to want to engage with a Mentor.
Have to be able to work safely with a volunteer on a 1:1 basis.
We need to be able to safeguard both the young people and Mentor in a 1:1 lone working setting.
Early Help to be open and remain open. Mentoring should not be used as a pathway to close an Early Help or when a multi-agency approach is not needed.
Professionals from – social care, education, health.
To refer a young person to the Mentoring service you need to complete the LAH Mentoring referral form where you will find here (Click Here) and email it to Mentoring@blgc.co.uk. You should get an automatic acknowledgment to say we have received it.
Each Coordinator can only work with a limited number of young people at any one time, they will then be placed on the waiting list until a space becomes available.
What happens when a place becomes available?
The young person will be allocated to a Youth Support Coordinator who will complete their assessment of needs and risk which will determine whether they are suitable for our service.
The Coordinator will then arrange to meet the young person, explain the role of a Mentor and check to see if the young person needs a Mentor and is ready to engage.
Who are our Mentors?
Mentors are volunteers who are recruited from the community. They go through a stringent recruitment and vetting process and received comprehensive training for the role.
They are managed by the Coordinator and receive regular supervision and ongoing support.
What is a volunteer Mentor's role?
A Mentor is there to build a positive relationship with the young person and support them by building confidence, self-esteem and resilience. They are there as a positive role model, a listening ear and there just for them. They are not there to provide respite or become involved with other family members.
Throughout the Mentoring journey, the young person will be encouraged to identify targets that they would like to work on with the support of their Mentor. We realise that some young people may find this difficult, particularly those who have been through trauma or struggle to understand how they feel. Research has shown that a consistent, reliable adult who will listen to them can have a positive impact on many areas of their life. Our Mentors enable young people to recognise the positive qualities and continue to build on these.
The impact we have on young people is measured on a regular basis through using the 'My Star Outcome Tool.' This is a useful tool as young people can visually see how far they have come.
How often do Mentors meet their young person?
Mentors meet their young person for approximately 1 – 2 hours on a fortnightly basis.
Where do Mentors take their young person?
Mentoring is about building a positive, meaningful relationship with the young person and supporting them with any challenges that are going on in their life. Mentors are guided by the young person's interests so they may do things such as arts and crafts, sports activities or just going for a walk or a brew and chat.
Mentors and young people can access the facilities at Bolton Lads and Girls Club however a lot of our work is based within the community.
How long will a young person have a Mentor?
The young person can be matched with a Mentor for 1-2 years. The Coordinator reviews and monitors the relationship throughout. The match end process will be planned and transitioned gradually.
Can I have the Mentors contact details?
No. Mentors do not have any contact with professionals and have limited contact with parents/carers. All communication is done through the Coordinator who will liaise with professionals and attend any meetings. The Coordinator manages the Mentoring relationship and will share relevant information.
What if I have a concern about a Mentor?
Any concerns you have about a Mentor should be directed to the Coordinator.
Useful Information Leaflets:
Information Sharing Leaflet (Click Here)
What is a mentor leaflet – children young people (Click Here)
LAH Mentoring Full Referral Form – (Click Here)
Interested in becoming a mentor?


For small companies struggling to raise capital, a collaboration with a well-known and established company is a valuable fact to market to potential investors. Investors may reasonably presume that established companies are skilled at screening and selecting collaboration partners. Only those deemed worthy may collaborate. A collaboration therefore acts like a stamp of approval and a signal that the little company may be positioned to join its larger peers. It is therefore tempting for small companies to exaggerate or even fabricate collaborations with established companies. This type of misrepresentation, when used to raise investor funds, can be securities fraud. The SEC recently brought such a claim against BioChemics, Inc., and its CEO John J. Masiz, for allegedly touting collaborations with Cynosure, Inc. and Unilever United States, Inc., long after the collaborations had ended.
On December 12, 2012 the SEC filed a civil fraud complaint against BioChemics, Inc. of Danvers, MA, its founder, CEO and Chairman John J. Masiz of Topsfield MA, and two promoters, Craig Medoff of New York City, and Gregory S. Kroning of Norwood, NJ. The complaint alleges a fraudulent scheme to sell BioChemics securities to approximately 70 investors in 19 states that raised at least $9 million. Note: as with any SEC complaint, the facts recited are mere allegations; they may not be true and the defendants have a right to challenge the allegations in court.
The situation looks bleak for BioChemics. For starters, as summarized in the SEC complaint, each of the individual defendants has had a prior serious run-in with a securities regulator. In 2004, for example, the SEC charged Masiz with fraudulent statements in the securities filings of VASO Active Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a BioChemics subsidiary. Masiz settled, agreeing to an $80,000 civil penalty and a bar from serving as an officer or director of a public company for five years. Craig Medoff, who allegedly helped solicit investors, was sued by the SEC in 1993 for selling unregistered stock to the public through the use of materially false and misleading documents. In 1995, the SEC permanently barred Medoff from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, investment company or municipal securities dealers. Medoff also pled guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal securities fraud. Gregory Kroning, who also allegedly solicited investors for BioChemics, had previously been barred from the securities industry for one year by the New York Stock Exchange.
The complaint alleges that one or more of the defendants: (1) falsely claimed that two drugs were under FDA review; (2) misrepresented the progress and results of clinical trials; (3) misled investors about valuations of BioChemics purportedly prepared by reputable investment banks; (4) misrepresented Masiz's background and compensation; and (5) used investor funds for Masiz's personal expenses (meals, massages, clothing and sporting goods) and for a leased BMW for Kroning. Most interesting, however, is the allegation that BioChemics misrepresented its collaborations with Cynosure and Unilever.
Misleading Claims of Collaboration with Cynosure and Unilever.
The SEC complaint also references similar misrepresentations concerning collaboration with Nanobac Pharmaceuticals, Inc. If the SEC's allegations are true, BioChemics is a good example of a company that yielded to the temptation to misrepresent its collaborations with established companies. In such cases, not only are investors harmed but the established companies may also suffer reputational harm. It is a significant problem in securities law.
The Problem of Falsely Claiming Business Affiliations.
In cases such as BioChemics, however, the false claim of collaboration can be more difficult to detect and prevent. BioChemics did, after all, apparently have a previous collaboration agreement with these other companies. For example, a BioChemics collaboration with Cynosure is reported here and with Unilever here. The problem is that BioChemics allegedly kept touting these collaborations after they were defunct. This creates a particularly risky scenario, even for investors who follow the industry. The investors may recall the press reports on these collaborations and thus be disinclined to doubt assertions of current collaborations. Similarly, it may be difficult to recognize when the extent of collaboration is exaggerated. With this type of fraud, there may be fewer "red flags" that a scam is afoot. The false claim may be entirely believable, even to knowledgeable investors. As a law professor might point out, when a type of fraud is difficult to detect, a higher penalty is needed to achieve the desired level of deterrence. For this reason, the false collaboration claims will likely be vigorously pursued by the SEC.
This type of fraud also harms more than just the investors. It harms the established company. The small company making the false claim is, in essence, stealing an implied endorsement from the established company. Further, where the small company is disreputable, potential investors may be surprised to learn of the ill-advised collaboration, but may be disinclined to inquire further. Like campaign advertising, however, the negative association may remain in the investors' minds. It is a recurring problem, and one with no simple solution. Companies can of course search the Internet for improper claims of business collaboration. But this helps little when the claims are oral, in written brochures, or are only in email. As with trademarks, copyrights and patents, policing false claims of collaboration or affiliation is a constant battle. If the SEC is successful against BioChemics, however, it may cause executives to think twice before making exaggerated or false claims of collaboration.
The case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. BioChemics, Inc., John J. Masiz, Craig Medoff and Gregory S. Kroning, Case 1:12-cv-12324 (Dec. 12, 2012, D. Mass.).
« B&B Brothers Seeks Legal Help with its Fiscal Cliff Short.


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Ethics Question Of The Month
Commonly Asked Legal Questions
Texas EthicsExchange
Mandatory New Texas Attorney Course
Spotlight on Ethics
On The Merits
The Ethicists
Profile in Professionalism
Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award
Local Bar Professionalism Awards
The India-based technology outsourcing giant Infosys recently agreed to pay the U.S. government $34 million in a record civil settlement for what prosecutors called "systemic visa fraud and abuse." The company, while admitting nothing, was accused of bringing temporary workers from India into the U.S. to fill jobs here illegally, using mere business visitor visas. Those are cheaper and far easier to obtain than the longer-term employment visas the law requires. Companies that get away with such practices can pay the prevailing local low wage, undercutting competitors and keeping U.S. citizens out of jobs.
Infosys' alleged abuses were undone by one man: Jack Palmer, an American employee of Infosys in Alabama. Punished, harassed and sidelined by Infosys executives after he quietly complained through internal channels that he had witnessed widespread visa fraud, Palmer filed a whistle-blower lawsuit.
Whistle-blower protections aren't available in every Western country. Thankfully, the U.S. justice system is often well-equipped to defend ordinary citizens from powerful interests who use that power to perpetuate wrongdoing and silence their truth-telling critics.
And what will Palmer get as a reward for his bravery, isolation and months of self-doubt over his decision to make Infosys abide by the law? People familiar with the case have told the media that he could receive as much as $5 million from the Infosys settlement. That, too, is justice.
Posted: 12/6/2013 12:00:00 AM by TCLE Editor | with 0 comments
Thanks for stopping by On the Merits, the first blog from the Texas Center for Legal Ethics. On the Merits will take a close look at significant legal stories with an eye toward addressing the legal myths and misconceptions that turn up in news stories, movies, TV programs, websites, anonymous emails and other forms of mass communications. Our goal at On the Merits is to provide readers with a thoughtful examination of what the media and others are saying about the legal profession and to apply the frequently-absent context of how the legal system actually works.
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LDS Entertainment
CDs & Hymnals
Talks on CD
Products 1-36 of 136
Hymns Made Easy
Price: Price: $9.99
LDS Distribution Center Item #: LDS-31249000 -
This book contains simplified two- and three-part arrangements of 60 standard hymns for the developing pianist (it includes the same hymns that are in Selected Hymns). These arrangements can be used to accompany congregational singing or at home. The book is spiral bound and is published in an 11″ x 8½″ landscape format.
The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos DVD
This DVD contains 50 short selections from The Life of Jesus Christ Bible Videos, portraying key scenes of the Savior's life and His teachings from the four Gospels. Six longer compilation videos are also included. This resource may serve as a helpful supplement for family home evenings and for family and classroom study of the New Testament.
Large Hymn Book - Spiral Bound
This is the Church's official hymnbook. It is designed for use by congregations, choirs, families, and individuals. It includes several indexes and a section on using the hymnbook. The large-print format may be useful to organists, pianists, music directors, and the visual impaired.
LDS Hymn Book
This is the Church's official hymnbook. It is designed for use by congregations, choirs, families, and individuals. It includes several indexes and a section on using the hymnbook.
Pocket Sized Hymn Book - Black
Availability: On Order
This is the Church's official hymnbook bound in genuine leather. It includes several indexes and a section on using the hymnbook. A pocket sized hymnbook makes a great gift for missionaries or a great addition to a new set of scriptures. The pocket-size edition is 3 ¾″ x 5 7⁄8″.
The Cokeville Miracle DVD
On May 9, 1986, in the small, ranching community of Cokeville, Wyoming, David and Doris Young took an elementary school hostage for several hours before detonating a bomb inside a classroom that held every teacher and student in the school. In the wake of the madness, Ron Hartley, whose children were inside the classroom, must fight his skepticism and unbelief as he hears eyewitness accounts from the students about miraculous, heavenly intervention during the crisis. When tragedy strikes ......
Saturday's Warrior DVD
Cedar Fort Publishing & Pioneer Plus Item #: CF-713419197529 -
This Saturday's Warrior DVD is a beautifully done re-make of the classic musical. Fall in love with this movie all over again!It's the well-known story of two siblings who make promises to each other in the pre-earth life, but come to earth and find that they are on very different paths. Available on DVD and Blu-ray.
Living Scriptures
Candlelight Media Item #: CL-LIVINGSCRIP -
Enjoy four of your favorite Living Scriptures remastered and digitally restored on DVD. These four special DVDs include 'Journey to the Promised Land', 'John the Baptist', 'Esther' and 'The Joseph Smith Story'. The Complete Learning System™ with enhanced DVD features include adventure quizzes with 3 skill levels and movie clips, optional scripture reference subtitles, and English and Spanish subtitles. These DVDs play both English and Spanish audio that can be played in DVD players worldwide....
Once I Was A Beehive DVD
Lane Speer is a 16 year old girl who spends her family vacations camping in the mountains. She takes the memories for granted until she loses her father to an unexpected bout with cancer. Only a year later, as Lane is still reeling from her father's death, her mother remarries a guy that Lane hardly knows. Worst of all, he is a Mormon. To top it off, while they are on their honeymoon, they arrange to have her stay with her Mormon step-aunt who takes her away to a bible-themed girls camp with a...
Mortality Board Game
Vision Wear Item #: VWI-MORTAL -
Mortality is an uplifting LDS board game about life rather than strictly a "church" game. It isn't made to teach a list of "facts" about the gospel. Instead, gospel principles are woven into the very fabric of the game. It doesn't give any advantage to the scriptorians or historians. Succeeding at the game requires cooperation, caring for other players, knowing how to build a solid foundation in one's youth, and an understanding of how faith and testimony help you endure trials, and any player...
Children's Songbook: Music & Words CD
LDS Distribution Center Item #: LDS-CHILDSONG -
The compact discs include all the songs in the songbook.
Saratov Approach DVD
Cedar Fort Publishing & Pioneer Plus Item #: CF-14061 -
The Saratov Approach is the extraordinary, untold story of Elders Travis Tuttle and Andrew Propst and their week-long abduction in Saratov, Russia. On what seemed like any other day during their two-year LDS missions, Elders Travis Tuttle and Andrew Propst are approached by Nikolai to meet a friend. But then the missionaries experience the unimaginable -- kidnapped, beaten, and held for ransom for nearly a week -- on the other side of the world in Saratov, Russia. While their family, friends...
Pocket Sized Hymn Book - Burgundy
This is the Church's official hymnbook bound in genuine leather. It includes several indexes and a section on using the hymnbook. A pocket sized hymnbook makes a great gift for missionaries or a great addition to a new set of scriptures. The pocket-size edition is 3 ¾″ x 5 7⁄8″. Available in Black, Brown, and Burgundy.
Children's Songbook
This is the official songbook for Primary. It is suitable for Church and home use. It includes color illustrations, scripture references, indexes, and a section on using the songbook.
Ephraim's Rescue DVD
From T.C. Christensen, director of the sensational pioneer film, "17 Miracles", comes the heroic true story of a simple man who was called to do the work of angels. "Ephraim's Rescue" relates the story of Ephraim Hanks: a rescuer of the Martin Handcart company. Follow Ephraim as his adventures lead him to join the Mormon Church and to ultimately lead one of the most heroic rescues in American history. With a unique desire to help and strengthen others, Ephraim learns...
BYU Men's Chorus: Set Apart CD
At a time when more missionaries than ever are answering the call to serve, the BYU Men's Chorus is releasing this unique album of powerful missionary hymns. This free album is offered as a gift to missionaries and to all who share in the growing spirit and energy of the work. In this way—through music—the BYU Men's Chorus invites every listener to come unto Christ. To make the message as accessible as possible, the choir has chosen to release the recordings as free mp3...
17 Miracles DVD
Soundburst Audio Item #: DBD-5063066 -
As part of the Willie Handcart Company, Levi Savage (Jasen Wade) feared that leaving late in the season would lead to despair and death. What he came to find out is that for every tragedy, there is a multitude of miracles. Based on unbelievable actual events, and brought to you by filmmaker T.C. Christensen (Praise to the Man, The Work and the Glory), 17 Miracles will open your eyes to the stories of the Mormon Pioneers as you have never seen them before. Something extraordinary is about to...
He Knows My Name DVD
Covenant Communications Item #: CC-2700903 -
Little Rebekah is fascinated by the man her neighbors call Jesus and she wants to hear all he has to say. But her mother, Sarah, wants Rebekah to keep her distance from the man some call Master and others label a heretic. Sarah has heard rumors that some factions wish to harm Jesus of Nazareth. But Rebekah is persistent, and one day she brings Jesus home to meet her mother and grandfather – a simple act that will forever change all their lives.
Liahona Figurine
Latter Day Designs Item #: LDD-03010 -
These plastic figurines are excellent for teaching scripture stories and values to young children. The Liahona compass was given to Lehi to direct his family through the more fertile parts of the wilderness to the Promised Land. And it came to pass that as my father arose in the morning and went forth to the tent door, to his great astonishment he beheld upon the ground a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was of fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the...
Standard Hymn Book - Spiral Bound
The Piano Guys: A Family Christmas Deluxe Edition CD With DVD
Soundburst Audio Item #: SBT-888837802222 -
The newest offering from the world wide sensation - The Piano Guys! A Family Christmas contains 12 beautiful tracks of some new and some old but all loved Christmas songs like you have never heard them before and never will again! These guys put their whole heart and soul in every note they play and you can definitely hear the love! This incredible deluxe edition includes the 12 Christmas tracks from the album: Angels We Have Heard On High O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Good King Wenceslas Carol of...
Legacy DVD
LDS Distribution Center Item #: LDS-LEGDVD -
This DVD of the motion picture Legacy portrays the joys, sacrifices, hopes, and trials of early Latter-day Saints and describes the legacy of faith of early Church members. 52 min.
Book of Mormon Speed Scrambler
Cedar Fort Publishing & Pioneer Plus Item #: CF-P13378 -
Expand your mind and your vocabulary as you and your family play Speed Scrambler! This boardless game allows family members of all ages to learn more about the people, places, and things in the Book of Mormon. To play, you and your family can use the tiles to spell any name from the list provided in the box. You can even expand your knowledge of the Book of Mormon as you discover new names and places you hadn't noticed before!
BYU Vocal Point: Lead Thou Me On
Referred to by some as "an optical illusion for your ears," BYU Vocal Point's inventive style, innovative arrangements, and incredible vocal percussion continue to wow audiences worldwide. They have performed before millions on national television (on NBC's The Sing-Off) and in concerts across the country.While Vocal Point mostly showcases popular songs from yesterday and today in their concerts, the group always includes hymns and inspirational songs as part of their shows. Now for the first...
Article of Faith Superstar Game
Memorizing the Articles of Faith has never been this fun or easy! Bright and exciting game cards are worth from one to four points, depending on the level of difficulty. Get together with your family, primary class, and friends, and see who will become the Articles of Faith Superstar!
Angel Moroni Figurine - Large
These plastic figurines are excellent for teaching scripture stories and values to young children. Angel Moroni stands atop many Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The statue is a symbol of John the Revelators vision where he records, And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth. (Revelations 14:6; Doctrine and Covenants 133:36-37) In his left hand, he holds close to his heart the golden...
Redeemer: A Nashville Tribute to Jesus Christ CD
Soundburst Audio Item #: SBT-0783027027822 -
The latest album from the Nashville Tribute Band focuses on Jesus Christ by way of fourteen new songs composed as a tribute to the Savior. Each song presents a unique perspective on Christ through the eyes of those who walked and talked with Him, including John the Baptist, a blind man on the street, the woman taken adultery, the soldier and the thief at the Crucifixion, and the Apostle Peter. Several songs are written to be stand-alone numbers that focus on the big picture of Christ's...
Captain Moroni Figurine - Small
These plastic figurines are excellent for teaching scripture stories and values to young children. Captain Moroni became the commander of the Nephite army at the young age of 25. He is best known for the "Title of Liberty" which he made by tearing off a piece of his coat and writing on it: "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." The Book of Mormon tells how he used this flag to rally his people toward righteousness....
Saturday's Warrior Soundtrack CD
Two Little Hands Item #: TLH-858164006013 -
Saturday's Warrior Special Edition Motion Picture Soundtrack CD is here! It includes Saturday's Warrior songs like you've never heard them before. All of the brand new songs from the film and beautiful instrumental tracks from the score are included.Songs: Blink of an EyeThe Circle of Our LovePullin' TogetherHumble WaySailing OnZero PopulationDidn't We Love Him? Line Upon LineSummer of Fair WeatherNever EnoughThere's Got to Be MoreFeelings of ForeverBrace Me UpSaturday's WarriorMore to This...
Joseph & Hyrum Puzzle
Ringmasters CTR Rings & Gifts Item #: RM-PUZ009 -
This puzzle contains 500 pieces that creates a picture of the statues of brothers Joseph and Hyrum , featuring the photography of Robert Casey. This puzzle is 15" x 30".
16 Stones DVD
Candlelight Media Item #: CL-16STONES-DVD -
The exciting journey of faith in 16 Stones comes to life in a time fraught with persecution. In 1830s Missouri, James vows to protect the people of his village after it is attacked. He embarks on a quest to find the 16 Jaredite stones, but it is a trail filled with danger and challenges. With the help of two friends, they find peace in the face of turmoil and faith in the face of doubt.
Prophets of the Bible Game
Learn fun and unique facts about Old Testament prophets in this entertaining and educational new game! Match prophets with the correct facts and gather the most cards to win. Easy to learn and fun to play, the Prophets of the Bible card game is perfect for the whole family.
Article of Faith Superstar Flashcards
Memorizing the Articles of Faith has never been simpler! Make learning the Articles of Faith fun and exciting with these uniquely designed and easy-to-use flash cards. Fill in the missing words and race your classmates, friends, or family to become the Articles of Faith Superstar! Great for all ages, this game's perfect forfamily home evenings, primary, or individuals.
Salt Lake Temple Rainbow Puzzle
Altus Fine Art Item #: AFA-RB00442PZ500 -
Featuring your favorite LDS artists and photographers, our collection of LDS puzzles is fun for the entire family! This 500 piece puzzle by photographer Robert A. Boyd measures 18"x24" and is made from the finest high-quality puzzle materials. Our puzzles are the perfect way to invite the Spirit into your home and have an enjoyable time. It also makes a great gift for primary children, parents, teachers, and the young in heart.
Children's Songbook - Pocket Size
This is the official songbook for Primary. It is suitable for Church and home use. It includes color illustrations, scripture references, indexes, and a section on using the songbook. Available only in English.
Missionaries Figurine
These plastic figurines are excellent for teaching scripture stories and values to young children. Mormon Missionaries are representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They labor in cities throughout the world, often on bicycles, sharing the joy found in the truths of The Book of Mormon and The Bible. In Matthew 28:19, the Savior taught, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. At 19 to 21 years of age, missionaries volunteer and pay their own way for 18 months or 2 years...
LDS Bookstore is your resource for the latest in LDS entertainment, offering a large collection of music, movies, and games. From Family Home Evening activities to music for missionaries to the latest in LDS films, we have products that are bound to delight and entertain your entire family. Grab some popcorn, turn up the music, and have a some fun today with our high-quality LDS entertainment.


A cute pair of Christmas bears, ideal for mantelpiece, shelf or windowsill display. One of each included, one with a lantern and the other with a bell. Made from detailed and textured resin in traditional colours.


Moving home is listed as one of the most stressful things a person will do in their lifetime, but why is this? A lot of the time it is because of being let down by a Buyer or Seller, or timescales being delayed and target moving dates missed, however it can also be due to the whole process seeming complicated and difficult to understand.
I always say to my clients that there is no such thing as a stupid question when it comes to Conveyancing, as after all some of us may only move once or twice in our lifetimes, and so why would this make us experts in such matters?!
Every day when speaking with my clients, I am asked a variety of questions that come up time and time again, and so I wanted to share some of these common queries with you in order to try and explain the Conveyancing process in more detail, and break down some of the areas that often cause the most confusion.
Each week I will be sharing with you examples of some of the questions that have been raised by my clients* during the course of their property transactions, and the advice and explanations given to them to help them understand the process of moving home.
Unfortunately until the contracts have been exchanged, there is no guarantee that the purchase will proceed through to completion, as it is the exchange of contracts that makes the purchase legally binding on both the Seller and Buyer. Therefore, our advice would be that you should not give notice to your Landlord until you have had confirmation that the contracts have been exchanged.
It can be frustrating as this can often mean that you need to have a longer gap between exchange and completion than you or the Seller would ideally have liked, to allow for the notice period to elapse with your tenancy agreement, however you can agree the completion date to take place whilst the notice on your rental property is running – it all depends on how much of an overlap of both the rent and mortgage payments that you can afford.
It can sometimes work to your advantage to have an overlap of both properties as you can then move between the two properties whilst your tenancy is still running, rather than to have to do all of the move on the one day.
If however, you do not want to wait until the contracts have been exchanged before handing in your notice, then you must be prepared to accept the risks associated with making this decision, and our advice would be that you should always have a "plan B" in mind, such as moving in with friends or family, should the tenancy expire before you are able to complete your purchase and get the keys to your new property. This is not of course ideal, and there will also be costs such as storage costs for your furniture to take into consideration.
This concludes the FAQ for this week. Visit next week for more answers to your questions. If there are any conveyancing issues you'd like Band Hatton Button's assistance with please get in touch.
We've also recently added a new section to the Residential Property section of our site, about the different types of survey you can choose to have carried out. Please click here to find out more.


Commercial Flooring, Stone - Top-Joy International Trading (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Top rubber is constantly developing new and innovative rubber floor cover for the global market, committed to matching your site with the most suitable and attractive floor.
TOP Rubber is specialized in rubber flooring for over 8 years. Our main products are GYM floor, Functional floor, Rubber running track and Garden system.
We have a good reputation for stable delivery, high quality, competitive price and good service. OEM is available.We currently provide service and products for westen countris.
TOP Rubber specialized in rubber flooring for over 8 years as a leading manufacturer and trading company combo worldwide. Our main products are GYM floor, Functional floor, Rubber running track and Garden system. We have a good reputation for stable delivery, high quality, competitive price and good service. OEM is available.


Hello industrial-minded pilots! Today we will be talking mining. Many players consider it boring, but it is one of the ways to play EVE, and no one would be able fly any ships if not for the fearless miners, who keep drilling asteroids, despite being ganked left and right.
Some time ago, to help my corp members, I have created an "Ore value chart", which shows which ore is worth most ISK, and thus is the best to be mined at any given time. Since I don't mine myself very often, I don't often check the chart.
Moreover, to promote player trading between regions, high sec ores were not distributed evenly. Instead, some high sec ores like Kernite or Pyroxeres only appear in specific regions of space.
CCP probably assumed, that only a handful of miners will be bold (or powerful) enough to mine in null, so the supply of high end minerals will guarantee their high price. In order to further reinforce this system, blueprint mineral requirements were set accordingly.
From theoretical point of view (hi Game Theory!), this made a very well designed crafting system: it offered meaningful choices (where and what to mine, and how much to risk) and also promoted player interaction by the means of trading.
But no more. What was impossible to predict, was player behaviour. Firstly, game designers couldn't predict which blueprints will be utilized the most. Each blueprint has a specific material list, and the global production affects global demand for specific minerals, for example Mexallon. Secondly, right now mining in nullsec is most often safer than mining in high sec (hi, James!), which affects the supply. All these small reasons ultimately affect the prices of the minerals and cause shifts in the table. High demand for Mexallon is what moved Kernite and Plagioclase to the top ten. In the end, this is good for EVE, because it makes mining a viable profession. I know people who easily PLEX their accounts, and they do nothing else but mining and occasional manufacturing.
But Can I haz the Ore Value Chart?


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