text:
Craig Medred
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Fees for Chinese
By craigmedred on September 18, 2018 • ( 8 Comments )
Made in China, Salsa Beargrease carbon
Looking to join the Alaska fatbike craze? Buy quick.
A billion dollars worth of bikes and bike components are the latest of made-in-China goods to be hit by Trump tariffs, and some – possibly many – fatbikes are in the mix.
Prices are sure to go up, Speedway Cycles owner Greg Matyas said today. Matyas is the man credited with pioneering the fatbike as riders know it today, and his Fatback brand bikes are well-known in the cycling world.
Luckily, he said, Fatback frames are still sourced in Taiwan. So they will avoid being hit by the new tariffs which Bicycle Retailer reported will start at 10 percent beginning Monday and ratchet up to 25 percent on Jan. 1.
Unluckily, Matyas added, lots of bike parts – handlebars, derailleurs, cranksets, wheels and more – are made in China, so Fatback could end up facing tariffs on the many parts that come together to form a complete bike.
Matyas didn't expect "a big impact on my pricing…but in the short-term, prices will rise," he said. "And who knows how long this will remain in effect."
James Stull at 9:Zero:7, another Alaska bike manufacture with production in Asia, could not be immediately reached. Both Fatback and 9:Zero:7 do their design work in Alaska, but get their frames built overseas.
Matyas once tried to sell made-in-America fatbikes, but the numbers wouldn't work.
"The wholesale cost was as high as the retail cost for a competitor," he said. "The consumer would have to decide they're willing to pay significantly more for it to pencil out."
Despite a lot of people saying they want to a buy made-in-America products, he added, nearly all of them balked at the "signficantly more" payment. Taiwanese manufacturers once faced a similar problem.
China cheap
Many Taiwanese bike and component manufacturers started moving to China in the early-2000s for the same reasons Alaska salmon processors started moving to China in the last decade: cheap labor.
The Taiwanese later moved some operations back to the home island to improve quality control and focus on high-end bikes. But a lot of the bike business remains on the Chinese mainland.
Today, manufacturing comes from a blend of frames and parts manufactured in both countries. Shimano, a company that began in Japan and is today one of the best known names in bike parts, now has a big factory near Shanghai.
Through the 2000s, China was generally considered the site for mass-produced budget bikes, while Taiwan remained the place for mid- and high-end bikes. But that has shifted in the 2010s.
That spiffy, $2,899 Salsa Beargrease Carbon fatbike at REI – the one touted as preferable for "the superlight chassis?"
Made in China, according to Salsa, which says most of its other frames are sourced from Taiwan.
Bicycle retailers dealing with bikes often made with a mixture of parts from China and Taiwan were going a little bonkers Tuesday amid reports of the new tariffs.
"The short time frame before the tariffs take effect means that suppliers will face an unexpected 10 percent charge on imports that are already in transit but arrive after next Sunday," Bicycle Retailer reported.
The tariffs can only cause more problems for a slumping bicycle market. Shipments of bikes to retailers were down about 74,000 units through July, according to Bicycle Retailer, althought revenues were up slightly thanks to growing sales of expensive, battery-powered "e-bikes."
PeopleForBikes, an advocacy group, blasted the new tariffs as "a $250 million annual tax increase. Considering that 94 percent of complete bicycles sold in the U.S. are imported from China, the practical consequences of this announcement will mean higher prices for nearly every American that purchases a new bike.
"At PeopleForBikes, we are deeply concerned that this increase will risk domestic jobs, slow the growth of bike ridership in the United States, and make bicycles less affordable for the millions of Americans who look to bikes for transportation and recreation."
The U.S. once had a thriving bike manufacturing business, but it is long gone with the exception of boutique builders producing, handmade custom bikes. They are enjoying something of a rennisassance with mass-market manufacturers now gone to Asia.
China and Taiwan own the market for mass-produced bikes. Cannondale, a well-known American brand and one of the last of the made-in-America holdouts, started moving its manufacturing facilities to Taiwan in 2009 and was largely gone from the U.S. by 2014.
It's operations are now split between China and Taiwan, according to Business Insider.
"Around 99 percent of bicycles sold in the United States are imported from China and Taiwan," according to Statista.com, which tagged 2016 China exports to the U.S. at more than $3 billion. Fatbikes were a tiny, tiny fraction of that business.
In his official White House statement, President Donald Trump said China has forced him to impose the tariffs.
"After a thorough study, the USTR (U.S. trade representative) concluded that China is engaged in numerous unfair policies and practices relating to United States technology and intellectual property – such as forcing United States companies to transfer technology to Chinese counterparts," the statement said. "These practices plainly constitute a grave threat to the long-term health and prosperity of the United States economy."
Matyas – who like many in the bike business knows too well the propensity of the Chinese to steal designs, copy them and sell other people's intellectual property as their own – was skeptical the tariffs will do much to help the U.S. economy.
Average Americans, he said, just don't want to pay what it would cost to provide for companies to make a profit and pay U.S. work a livable wage to produce bikes.
"Would I like to see manufacturing coming back?" he asked. "Yeah.
"But do I think it ever will? No…Nobody's willing to pay for it.
He noted the huge disparity that now exists between Chinese labor costs and U.S. labor costs. Even with a 25 percent tariff, he said, a Chinese knockoff of a U.S. carbon fiber fatbike frame would probably be cheaper than a name brand U.S. frame.
A no-name, Chinese, carbon fatbike frame with fork could be bought on Ebay today for a cost of $539 with free shipping to the U.S. A 25 percent tariff would boost that cost to $673.75, still well below the $1,299 cost of a Salsa Beargrease carbon frame and fork.
Tagged as: 9:Zero:7, Bicycle Retailer, boutique builders, cheap labor, Donald Trump, Fatback, fatbike, Made in America, Made in China, Matyas, PeopleForBikes, REI, Salsa Beargrease, Shimano, slumping bicycle market, Speedway, Stull, Taiwan, tariffs, tax
Bear spray fail?
carsbikesyou.com says:
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Moki says:
Steve-O, I believe, you sir, should remove your cranium from your anus. I'm not a big fan of carbon fiber and thus don't know a whole lot about "made in the USA" market but I can tell you the last ( non-Ti) American made bike frame that I bought was $1800, that frame was made out of steel. That frame was bought in 2008. People I know who are buying American bikes are paying upwards of $3000 for the privilege of keeping small American frame builders in business. I've had the privilege to meet quite a few of these artisans and can tell you that they are not getting rich, unless driving a 15 year old Subaru and living above a welding shop is your idea of 1st world wealth.
Steve-O says:
Moki,
Fair enough. However I would suggest if you are defending buying a trendy Chinese made bike with fat tires for $2,899, then chances are it isn't me whose cranium is lodged in my anus.
Bitching about the cost of a $2,899 fat bike, only in America and made in China! I bet an entrepreneurial American could make a fat bike for $2,898 very easily. Seriously most the people riding fat bikes are the kind of people who complain that other people should pay more taxes, and now they are complaining about riding a fat American bike made in China…too much.
Call me a hypocrite but, I love Trumps tariffs. Totally a MAGA moment. The chinese have been raping us with their child slave labor for years. But, on the other hand, when I bowhunt, I use Chinese Rage knockoffs for a dollar each as opposed to 3 for $49 made in the USA.
Birdstrike says:
I'm not a Trump fan for many reasons but playing hardball with the Chinese is long overdue. Previous politicians and CEO's gave away the farm a long time ago. Something needs to be done to help the US worker.
craigmedred says:
Bryan: i think you've just explained why slavery survived for so long, and why we've today replaced it with migrant workers and J-1 workers, the modern version of indentured servants. https://www.hcn.org/articles/economy-exchange-or-exploitation-ski-towns-turn-to-foreign-students
Craig, good point..You cannot visot a beach town without it being full of Russian Summer help. I spoke with a Russian woman who has been here 7yrs and is finishing her Master's. She is a hard worker, taxpayer, etc.. and the gov will not even look at her. Yet, come here with a 3rd education and you are welcomed.
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text:
#ifndef SPEED_OVR_MESSAGE_H
#define SPEED_OVR_MESSAGE_H

#include "simple_message/simple_message.h"
#include "simple_message/simple_serialize.h"
#include "simple_message/shared_types.h"
#include "simple_message/typed_message.h"

namespace industrial
{
namespace speed_ovr_message
{

/**
 * \brief Class encapsulated speed_ovr message generation methods
 * (either to or from a industrial::simple_message::SimpleMessage type.
 *
 *
 * THIS CLASS IS NOT THREAD-SAFE
 *
 */

class SpeedOvrMessage : public industrial::typed_message::TypedMessage
{
public:
  /**
   * \brief Default constructor
   *
   * This method creates an empty message.
   *
   */
  SpeedOvrMessage(void) { this->init(); }

  /**
   * \brief Destructor
   *
   */
  ~SpeedOvrMessage(void) {};

  /**
   * \brief Initializes message from a simple message
   *
   * \param simple message to construct from
   *
   * \return true if message successfully initialized, otherwise false
   */
  bool init(industrial::simple_message::SimpleMessage & msg);

  /**
   * \brief Initializes message from a speed value
   *
   * \param speed_ovr speed override value (0-100)%
   *
   */
  void init(industrial::shared_types::shared_int speed_ovr);

  /**
   * \brief Initializes a new empty message
   *
   */
  void init();

  /**
   * \brief Sets speed override
   *
   * \param speed_ovr speed override value (0-100)%
   */
  void setSpeedOvr(industrial::shared_types::shared_int speed_ovr)
  {
    this->speed_ovr_ = speed_ovr;
  }

  /**
   * \brief returns the speed override value
   *
   * \return speed override value (0-100)%
   */
  industrial::shared_types::shared_int getSpeedOvr()
  {
    return this->speed_ovr_;
  }

  // Overrides - SimpleSerialize
  bool load(industrial::byte_array::ByteArray *buffer);
  bool unload(industrial::byte_array::ByteArray *buffer);

  unsigned int byteLength()
  {
    return sizeof(industrial::shared_types::shared_int);
  }

private:
  /**
   * \brief speed override value
   */
  industrial::shared_types::shared_int speed_ovr_;
};

}
}

#endif /* SPEED_OVR_MESSAGE_H */

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I've always loved stories about animals and I always will.
When I was a kid my favorites were the Brian Jacques Redwall Series, the novels Watership Down and The Hobbit, and of course the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics and TV series.
In the Redwall Series, Brian Jacques presents us with a whole universe of animals, each with it's own peculiar habits, moral code, language intricacies, and geographic location. The mice were the regular folk. The rats were evil. The badgers noble and kingly. Otters were a working class, good-natured, lovable species. Ferrets and Shrews and Foxes were tricksters and thieves. Hares were cunning, athletic and witty.
Fantasy worlds are invaluable for kids because they hold a mirror up to the real world.
So here's to all the world creators out there. I don't know how in hell you keep your notes straight.


If your kid likes trains you have to try Train Crazy!
Catch bells and whistles to add sounds.
Change the color of the train and steam.
Add new cars to the train.
Add numbers, shapes, animals and more to the cars.
Our 2 year old tester loves this game!


text:
Мано́метр глиби́нний, або свердлови́нний мано́метр (; ; ) — манометр для визначення тиску нафти, газу, води на вибої і по стовбуру експлуатаційної свердловини.

Манометр глибинний застосовують при дослідженні пластів і свердловин та для контролю тиску при розробці нафтових і газових родовищ. Манометри глибинні герметичні, стійкі до ударів, до дії корозійного середовища, до високої температури.

Класифікація
За видом чутливого елемента розрізняють:
 манометри глибинні пружинні гелікоїдальні,
 пружинно-поршневі,
 струнні
 пневматичні.

Для вимірювання тиску в певному вузькому інтервалі з малою абсолютною похибкою застосовують диференційні манометри глибинні. Межа вимірювання для вітчизняних манометрів глибинних — до 63 МПа. Похибка ±(0,5-1,5)% від межі вимірювання.

Див. також
 Глибинні вимірювальні пристрої

Література

 Орловський В. М., Білецький В. С., Вітрик В. Г., Сіренко В. І. Бурове і технологічне обладнання. Харків: Харківський національний університет міського господарства імені О. М. Бекетова, НТУ «ХПІ», ТОВ НТП «Бурова техніка», Львів, Видавництво «Новий Світ — 2000», 2021. — 358 с.

Бурове обладнання
Прилади для вимірювання тиску

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This project is aimed at the development of sustainable, low carbon, pre-cast concrete infrastructure. It is estimated that concrete products represent at least 5 percent of humanity's carbon footprint from CO2 emissions. Additionally, concrete infrastructure such as bridges, marine structures for coastal defence and off-shore renewables suffer from premature ageing, rapid deterioration, structural deficiency and the safe management of risk. Most of this deterioration is a result of the corrosion of the steel reinforcing bars (rebars) embedded in the concrete. In the UK alone £600m pa is spent on the repair and maintenance of ageing steel reinforced concrete infrastructure.
The major aim of this project is to develop significantly lower energy, durable concrete products for use in civil infrastructure by maximising the inclusion of waste products and to combine with corrosion resistant basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) fibres and reinforcing bars which are stronger, lighter and have a lower carbon footprint than equivalent steel rebar. This innovative research accrues from the technological approach used to develop sustainable concrete products with a significantly lower carbon footprint and the demonstration of this improved sustainability by the Academics Partners from UK and Italy collaborating with a leading pre-cast concrete manufacturer, Banagher Precast Concrete in Ireland and specialists in leading-edge technologies and products for the construction industry, Azichem in Italy. This project will take place over four years and will involve the secondment of researchers from academia to industry and vice versa.


text:
Home News and Analysis People MissionOG appoints Metzger as GP
MissionOG appoints Metzger as GP
Prior to MissionOG, Metzger was a partner and managing director at William Blair.
MissionOG, a Philadelphia-based investment firm, has named Rob Metzger as a general partner. In his new role, Metzger will serve as a member of the investment committee for upcoming MissionOG funds.
For the past five years, Metzger has served as senior advisor to MissionOG. In that role, he successfully helped source portfolio companies Bento, Infinicept, Solovis (which was acquired by Nasdaq) and Venminder.
Prior to MissionOG, Metzger was a partner and managing director at William Blair, where he oversaw over 150 M&A and fundraising transactions within the financial services and technology investment banking groups. Other highlights of Metzger's work background includes stints at ABN Amro Incorporated, A.T. Kearney, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Currently, Metzger is a clinical assistant professor of finance and the director of the Investment Banking Academy at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He's also a senior director at William Blair.
Metzer has an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an MBA from Northwestern University.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: When page load css load after second. Why? controller: test.php
<?php
    defined('BASEPATH') OR exit('No direct script access allowed');
    class Test extends CI_Controller
    {
        function __construct()
        {
            parent :: __construct();
            $this->load->helper(array('url'));
        }
        public function index()
        {
            $this->load->view('header');
            $this->load->view('index');
        }
    }

view: index.php
<html lang="en">
    <head>
        <meta charset="utf-8">
        <title>bootstrap</title>
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
        <meta name="description" content="" />
        <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8">
        <link href="<?php echo base_url(); ?>resources/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    </head>
    <body>
        ..........content..........

        <script src="<?php echo base_url(); ?>resources/js/jquery.min.js"></script>
    </body>
</html>

I am using codeigniter framework to show index file. When the page loads, html code are showing fine. But after loading all the js and css files the page breaks. I have included css files on top and js files at the bottom of the page.
Please anyone help me fixing this issue.
Thank you

A: The very first thing you do in this case is to view your HTML Source in your browser to "eyeball" ( See ) the actual generated paths.
Right Mouse Click on your page and select View Source or press F12 and view the HTML depending upon your browser...
I am guessing you need to add a trailing / in your $config['base_url'] So try
$config['base_url'] = 'localhost/company/'; // Trailing / required

Or you can do this... leaving your $config['base_url']; as it is
<link href="<?php echo base_url('/resources/css/style.css'); ?>" rel="stylesheet" />

If you do add the trailing / to your $config['base_url'] you can use...
<link href="<?php echo base_url('resources/css/style.css'); ?>" rel="stylesheet" />

Make a decision and stick to it.
This is only one possible suggestion but something to look into.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
NCA Nationally Recognized as Project Lead The Way Distinguished School for Excellence in STEM Education
Jun 29, 2020 | Fine Arts & Enrichment School, STEM Education | 0 comments
As an integral part of our STEM and Engineering program, Northshore Christian Academy is excited to announce that we have been Nationally recognized as a Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Distinguished School. This recognition is for providing broad access to transformative learning opportunities for students through PLTW Launch.
NCA is one of only 404 elementary schools across the entire U.S. to be recognized as a PLTW Distinguished School
"It is a great honor to recognize NCA for their commitment to providing students with an excellent educational experience," said Dr. Vince Bertram, President and CEO of PLTW. "They should be very proud of their work to ensure students have the knowledge and skills to be career ready and successful on any career path they choose."
Inspiring, engaging, and empowering science students is what Project Lead The Way Launch is all about
PLTW Launch's 28 interdisciplinary modules bring learning to life. The program empowers students to adopt a design-thinking mindset through compelling activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the world around them. And as students engage in hands-on activities in computer science, engineering, and biomedical science, they become creative, collaborative problem solvers ready to take on any challenge.
Since NCA began boosting up our STEM program in 2014, our K-5th grade students have enjoyed PLTW's science curriculum. The use of four modules in each grade gives students access to entirely new knowledge while learning to manipulate the module tools and work together as a team to accomplish exciting achievements.
Raine Sherwood, NCA's own PTLW Lead Launch Teacher, says "We are so honored to be recognized for our PLTW program. NCA has supported having an engineering program from the beginning and believes in growing opportunities for our students. I am so passionate about teaching this curriculum, and this is a great honor for our school!"
Studies show that students decide as early as elementary school whether they like math and science
According to PLTW, studies show that students decide as early as elementary school whether they like, and think they are good at math and science. Whether designing a car safety belt or building digital animations based on their own short stories, PLTW Launch students engage in critical and creative thinking, build teamwork skills, and develop a passion for and confidence in STEM subjects.
Why does Northshore Christian Academy shine so bright in the area of STEM?
Every K-5 student learns STEM through PLTW. All of our students take our PLTW Engineering classes every year with a focus on collaboration and teamwork.
Grades 6-8 profit from our state-of-the-art High School level Science lab. Our middle school students are offered PLTW classes, such as 'Medical Detectives' which delves into the world of hands-on scientific methods, research, and statistics.
NCA 8th grade graduates lead the pack. By the time our NCA students graduate from 8th grade, they are typically one to two entire grade levels above the average U.S. student in all areas of STEM. Thus, giving them a huge step up towards succeeding in High School.
Future STEM careers begin at NCA. An ongoing survey of NCA Alumni who are high school 2020 Seniors, shows awesome proof that our students remain interested in the STEM fields even as they head off to college: All 27 surveyed Seniors are college-bound, and 17 of 25 have chosen majors in the STEM fields (68%), with specific majors including Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Construction Engineering, Mathematics, Biology, Informatics & Nanoscience, Pre-Medicine and Medical Surgeon.
NCA is the place to jump-start your child's future! We hope you will share the news about NCA's PLTW Distinguished School 2019-20 Award with your friends, and invite them to come to see our exciting STEM and PLTW programs!


Replace DJ Intelligence with WordPress and WooCommerce!
I have been working with Chris Koval since June of 2015 on his website, Future Sounds. When I first met with him, his site was built from scratch with PHP and a MySQL database.
It worked, but without regular updates, more and more of the PHP functions became deprecated, and the site faced quite a few regular Fatal Errors that required constant fixes. After meeting with Chris, we decided to rebuild the site in WordPress and set up a system much easier to maintain and keep updated.
The new site brought many improvements to the efficiency of Future Sounds, leveraging the power of Gravity Forms to process quote requests and payments (with Stripe).
When a Quote Request was submitted, a Custom Post Type Event would be generated, where clients could enter details about their events, additional contacts, schedules, itineraries, and even select music for their event.
WooCommerce Bookings is used to ensure Chris never gets double-booked.
Grabs extra Event Information from clients during checkout.
Paying a Deposit will confirm the Booking for a selected Event Package.
Extra event options can be selected for each Product Package.
Clients can create accounts / log in with / link social profiles.
Securely receive payments from clients directly to a Stripe account.
The Gravity Forms Siganture add-on allows clients to sign their event contracts.
Completed client contracts are saved beautifully in PDF form, for easy future access.
Users browse Package Pricing on the Pricing Table Page and select the Package they want for their event.
Clients are then able to check availability for each Package (using WC Bookings), so that Chris doesn't get double-booked.
Some custom code on the back-end means they can select their start time in 30-minute increments.
Event Extras can be selected on the Product page with Product Add-ons.
Users also enter the Event Venue Zip Code, and a travel fee is dynamically calculated and added to the Cart Item Meta (using WC Hooks and Google Maps API).
Event Details are gathered with Checkout Field Editor. The user either pays a $500 deposit, or event total. Either will confirm the event date in WC Bookings.
A Contract Number is automatically generated based on the event date and added to the Order / Event, and added to the Event meta / WC Order meta / WC Booking meta.
An 'Event' custom post type is automatically generated from the WC Order. Details from checkout populate the Custom Fields in this event.
In the WordPress Admin, this 'Event' contains a side meta box with links to the corresponding WC Booking and all related WC Orders.
Users can now log in to a custom-styled Account Dashboard to pay off their remaining balance order, view other orders, and update event details in a tabbed interface, using the Advanced Custom Fields framework.
Site Admins can now print out a table view of Event details to take to the Event for reference. Users can also update a variety of details for their event.
Users can now sign a dynamically created Event Contract (with Gravity Forms), and save a beautifully designed PDF, generated from the 'Contract' form submission (using GravityPDF).
No more need to manage and send manual documents with Word/Excel macros!
While Chris normally had to manage an Excel Spreadsheet with his clients' information in order to generate a Word file Contract for them to sign, this site update brings along enhancements that will save him time and money, by automatically generating a Client Contract based on their filled-out Event Details.
The system will not allow a user to sign the contract unless all the required fields have been saved on their event (contact info, venue info, etc). Once they do sign the contract, they are presented with a beautiful PDF version of the contract, containing not only their digital signature, but also Chris'.
This digital version of their contract is now available for download from their Event dashboard at any time!
Here are a couple snippets of code that made this integration really shine.
Hooking into woocommerce_checkout_update_order_meta, I was able to grab everything I needed from the Order Details, and create my Custom Post Type with its unique Custom Fields. This is what most of the integration is built on.
Checkout Field Editor makes it pretty easy to grab its values from the order meta, which is just what I did to save them in an array that would later be filtered into individual Post Custom Meta Fields for the 'Event' Custom Post Type.
The user enters the zip code of their Event Venue on the product page, and after tabbing out of that field, they will immediately see their travel fee. This fee will also be displayed as a line item on the checkout page.
As a starting point, only one product is allowed in the cart at a time. The most common purchase on this site will be for only one Booking anyway, but in the future, we might upgrade the system to allow more than one Event to be purchased at a time.
To make it easier for Chris to navigate his site's admin area, I created this meta box that shows up on on the side of an 'Event' Custom Post Type, making it very easy to get to the corresponding Booking / Order(s) tied to the currently viewed Event.
This also makes it easy to see if a customer is paid up or not, without needing to leave the 'Event' admin page.
This was a huge project, so please leave your questions / comments below!


text:
The Alamo (1960)
Action, Western
John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey, Frankie Avalon, Patrick Wayne, Linda Cristal, Hank Worden
The Duke's Mission to Save The Alamo
John Wayne's "The Alamo" is what I refer to as a cheeky western, an adventure movie which takes its lead from the history books but embellishes the fact with fiction to create a movie which blends action, with drama and a touch of comedy. As such whilst the overall story of "The Alamo" is the legendary battle where a small group of men and militia including Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett did their best to stop the much larger army of General Santa Anna what we get making up this story is various episodes some fact, some fiction. And it basically works because whilst you do get the basis of the legendary battle, the dislike of Col. William Travis for being a man of military procedures and the wait in hope of reinforcements you then get adventure such as Bowie and Crockett leading a night time assault to destroy one of Santa Anna's huge cannons. All of which is good and whilst it maybe cliche with the various episodic adventures be it the boozing, the brawls and the romances which all occur before we get the main action it delivers that western scenes which you expect. But sadly "The Alamo" is blighted by John Wayne working as director trying to make a point, deliver some sort of religious or political message which comes across as so forced it's painful.
The year is 1836 and General Santa Anna (Ruben Padilla) and his Mexican forces are making their way across Texas. In order to stop them, General Sam Houston (Richard Boone) needs more time to recruit men and form a larger force. In order to do so he orders Colonel William Travis (Laurence Harvey - Expresso Bongo) to defend the Alamo Mission at all costs even if he and his small band of men are seriously out numbers. Even with the help of Jim Bowie (Richard Widmark - Warlock) and Davy Crockett (John Wayne - The Horse Soldiers) and their loyal men they are still vastly out numbered and everyone knows that if they stay and fight their chances of survival are slim.
So as already mentioned the basis of "The Alamo" unsurprisingly comes from the history books as we have a retelling of the legendary battle. Now I am no expert on American history but I do know that in the telling of the story there has been some poetic licence used in the order of events and to what exactly happened. But it works because on one level it delivers this tribute to the bravery of the men who fought to save Texas from General Santa Anna whilst also filling you with a desire to know more, know what was fact and what was fiction. It doesn't quite capture what I would imagine it felt like, the desperation of those men who knew they were going to die, whose rations were running short long before battle commenced but it still makes you aware of the difficulties and their bravery.
But the actual battle of the Alamo is only part of the movie because on the other hand it is what you could call a cliche western although cheeky western adventure movie sounds better. You get all those elements which became engrained in the western genre especially those which John Wayne starred in. There is the drunken rabble rousing, the brawls with a touch of slapstick, the pretty women who add a touch of romance as well as moments of daring do and of course some minor humour. But none of this cheapens "The Alamo", it doesn't take anything away from the powerful story it just makes it a fun adventure which in a cliche way gets you cheering for the good guys and booing at the bad guys.
But John Wayne's "The Alamo" is not perfect and part of the issue is that it was to be a labour of love for Wayne, putting him into debt to make. Part of the issue is that coming in at over 2 and a half hours it is the length of an epic but this is by no means an epic movie. Whilst all the build up, the ambiguity of romance between Crockett and Flaca helps establish character as do other scenes it also ends up stretching things out much longer than needed. And so whilst "The Alamo" is an entertaining movie you do come to a point where you wish that the focus would stay on the brave men defending the Alamo rather than all the other fictitious things.
And that is not the only issue when it comes to John Wayne's "The Alamo" because he also mishandles things when it comes to delivering a moral message. A scene which sticks out like a sore thumb is when the men are discussing death the night before they know they will most likely die, it is so forced so scripted and manufactured that sadly it borders on the cheesy. It spoils what otherwise is a good movie, a good mix of fact and fiction.
Now when it comes to direction you have to say that John Wayne delivers a movie which has a touch of the John Ford about it on a visual level. He captures the impressiveness of the location and the sheer size of General Santa Anna's armies quite brilliantly whilst also sneaking in that touch of humour. But I am sure he was helped by having a strong cast who could deliver character without direction, who knew what was expected and delivered it. As such Richard Widmark is solid as John Bowie delivering a character who is very much a hero, a man who will fight and drink like any other man, whilst Laurence Harvey gets across the pomposity of Col. William Travis, a man who lives life by military rule. And then there is John Wayne himself as Davy Crockett playing the former congressman in a similar way to many a character he played in his career, the down to earth hero whose equal treatment of one and all brings him respect and loyalty.
What this all boils down to is that John Wayne's "The Alamo" is a good but also flawed movie. The mix of fact and fiction works nicely so whilst you do get the story of the brave men who fought at the Alamo you also get the various fictitious western elements which deliver fun and adventure. But it is overly long and sadly John Wayne's handling of the moral message side of the movie is so forced it ends up cheapening it.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)
With just a few days left to his retirement, Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne - True Grit) finds himself out on one final patrol in the hope of stopping a huge attack by the native Indians. Forced to take women on the patrol thin ...
The Comancheros (1961)
After a failed attempt to bring in gambler Paul Regret (Stuart Whitman - Wounded Heart) for murder, Texas Ranger Captain Jake Cutter (John Wayne - The Searchers) finds himself trying to track down a group of criminals known as The C ...
The Searchers (1956)
The year is 1868, 3 years after the end of the war and Ethan Edwards (John Wayne - The Cowboys) returns to the family home where his brother Aaron (Walter Coy) and wife Martha (Dorothy Jordan)live with their children. But not long a ...
The Shootist (1976)
When legendary gunfighter J.B. Brooks (John Wayne - Rooster Cogburn) learns from Dr. E.W. Hostetler (James Stewart - Fools' Parade) that he has not long to live due to a cancer, he takes up residence in Carson City renting a room at ...
McLintock! (1963)
As local landowner and cattle baron GW McLintock (John Wayne - How the West Was Won) has as many friends as he does enemies and as such finds himself not only drawn into the difficulties which a band of settlers bring with them but ...
VAMPIRE MOVIES ON THE MOVIE SCENE
The Lost Boys (1987)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Stake Land (2010)
Daybreakers (2009)
The Smurfs 2 (2013)


Slated on Backbone Radio, June 28 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.
"O beautiful for pilgrim feet, whose stern impassioned stress a thoroughfare of freedom beat across the wilderness!" So wrote Katherine Lee Bates in the inspiration of climbing Pike's Peak on a summer day in 1893. Have you been to a mountaintop lately? A friend of mine recently did his first 14'er and came back all aglow. But it's easy to lose the lofty vision in the flatlands of daily life. Time overtakes nations as it does individuals. If we allow America in its third century to grow soft and tired, the thoroughfare of freedom could become a road to serfdom. What a betrayal of our trust that would be; what a tragedy for the world.
This Sunday, Backbone Radio gets you ready for Independence Day with viewpoints from "stern impassioned" patriots helping relate the news of 2009 to the spirit of 1776. I hope you'll be listening.
** I'll talk about Iran with Steve Schippert of ThreatsWatch.org and North Korea with Chuck Downs, an expert on human rights violations in that hellhole.
** Plus health care and the "cap & tax" bill with former congressman Ernest Istook of the Heritage Foundation and Jeff Crank of Americans for Prosperity.
** Plus a report on the Wounded Warriors project from Col. John Folsom and another lesson in History 101 with our own Dr. Bill Moloney.
"Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law," prayed Katherine Bates for our country in her famous poem. Scandals, celebrity headlines, and the Obama agenda all suggest we're not quite there yet. We're not about to quit, though -- not while we have breath.


The holidays are that time of year that affords many the opportunity to interact with family members and friends they don't often get to see the rest of the year. And with that opportunity comes the realization that, "Man, I think Uncle _ needs some therapy!" Chances are that it's not just Uncle _ who needs some help, but we ourselves could use a little "couch time" as well. Praise God, Jesus offers complete, holistic salvation. Take it from a guy that use to be Uncle _ (and still is at times), God is able to go deep inside of you and minister to those broken places that hurt you so.
Our lives are made up of things we have done to ourselves as well as things others have done to us. I think back to being sexually abused by my grandfather (and others), memories of things I saw and heard as a child, sexual issues, drug addiction, the way I hurt and used others, and the overall brokenness that sin brought into my life, and now; it causes me to fall on my knees and worship the One who saved and healed me. Because of my "Divine Therapist," I am no longer held captive by shame and guilt. Because of the grace, mercy, and forgiveness Jesus extends to me; I can now be used as an instrument of reconciliation in the lives of others. But it was not always like this.
There was a time when I found it hard to talk about the past, about the sin, and addiction I had endured. I felt dirty and ashamed. I remember even feeling that somehow, my grandfather's abuse was my fault. I was defensive and disingenuous. But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. Looking back, I can see how that all of my life, God was there, wooing, healing, and drawing me to himself. Then, that night came when I was truly born again by his Spirit! Now, because of his love, salvation has come. And as a result of the deliverance he gave (and continues to give) to me, I can be open and honest with others, letting them "in" so they can see the salvation of the Lord. There are people that need to hear about how Jesus has saved and healed you. They feel like they are all alone, different, and that no one understands. But if you will come to Jesus for the "divine therapy" that only he can give, and allow him to save and heal you; you will experience the freedom that allows you to open your mouth and tell them of the beauty of the Lord.
So this year, as you gather with your family for the holidays, and good ole crazy Uncle _ is in rare form; why not share with him some of what you have learned from your "Divine Therapist." Let the healing Jesus has given you be that which affords you the freedom to extend His love to your family and friends.


Winter may be coming, but spring is all set to follow and the lawn care services you put in place now make all the difference at that point. Consider the value of these four essential lawn care tasks before the snow flies.
Even though grass grows slower in the cooler autumn months, mowing remains an important maintenance step. Keep trimming the lawn as required and plan to lower the lawnmower blades for the final two cuttings. Your lawn care company knows how well grass responds to this trick, allowing maximum sunlight at the crown of your grass and optimizing growth for next year. Be careful not to trim too short or skip from standard length to a close crop; gradual is best in this case.
As you've probably seen around your neighborhood, many homeowners invest in aeration during the fall. This process of punching small holes in the soil allows for the greatest absorption of water and fertilizer over the lean months. It can be a big job, depending on the size of your property, and hiring a professional lawn care services contractor ensures uniform coverage with quality equipment.
Even though the leaves keep on falling, try to get them cleared off your lawn well before a heavy snowfall. Ideally leaves need to be raked up dry, as dew, rainfall and light snow wreak havoc on leaf piles, creating a suffocating blanket over your lawn that attracts all sorts of pests and disease. Use a mower to mulch the leaves, a blower to move them or a good, old fashioned rake to sweep them away.
Lawn care services pros and industry experts agree that autumn provides the ideal time for an annual lawn fertilization. Spring is excellent as well, but roots continue to grow throughout the colder months and need nourishment. Speak to your local lawn care company about the best fertilizer choice for your property and budget. The investment is well worth it come springtime.
Even though you've packed away the summer gear and are getting ready for winter, now is the time for these four lawn care services. Plan now, call your lawn care company and enjoy a healthy, lush lawn all year long.


text:
Rav Itamar Eldar: Simplicity (Part 2)
This three-part shiur was first published online by Yeshivat Har Etzion: Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash (VBM). It is posted here with their kind permission.
Introduction to the Thought of Rav Nachman of Breslov
By Rav Itamar Eldar
Simplicity (Part 2)
In the previous shiur, based on the first part of the story of "The Clever Man and the Simpleton," we focused on R. Nachman's view of intelligence and simplicity. We related these concepts to a person's status vis-a-vis the world and his daily life. The continuation of the story introduces another aspect, which is interwoven between these two. The story continues as follows:
It once happened that the king came upon the royal chronicles and discovered that two sons were recorded, one named "clever" and the other named "simple." It was astonishing in his eyes that these two individuals were known as "clever" and "simple," and the king desired to see them.
The King thought to himself, "If I suddenly send for them and ask them to come before me, they will be very afraid. The clever man will not be able to think properly, and the simpleton may lose his mind altogether for fright." So the king decided to send for the clever man by the agency of another clever man, and to send for the simpleton by the agency of another simpleton. But how could he find a simpleton in the royal capital, since the inhabitants of a royal capital are for the most part intelligent? As it so happened, the keeper of the treasury was a simple man. No-one wanted someone too clever to be the keeper of the treasury lest, through his cleverness and intelligence, he spend the kingdom's assets; thus, this simple man had specifically been selected.
The king called for a clever man and for the simple keeper of the treasury, and sent them off to the two sons, respectively, giving each of them a letter of appointment. He also gave them a letter for the governor of the region, explaining that these two sons were under his rulership and asking that the governor send them each a letter in the king's name, so that they would not be frightened. The king asked the governor also to write that this was not an official summons; rather, it was up to them to decide whether or not they wished to come. If they so wished, then they should come, since the king desired to see them.
The two messengers - the clever one and the simple one - set off; they reached the governor and gave him the letter. The governor asked about the two sons, and they told him that the clever one was an exceptionally intelligent and very wealthy man, while the simpleton was extremely simple and owned just one cloak, (as we mentioned). The governor decided that it would certainly not be appropriate for the simpleton to be brought before the king dressed in his shabby cloak, so he had suitable clothes made for him, and he placed them in the simpleton's wagon. Then he gave the letters to messengers, and the messengers traveled and reached their destinations. They handed over their respective letters - the clever messenger to the clever man and the simple messenger to the simpleton. The simpleton, upon receiving his letter, immediately said to the simple messenger who had brought it "I do not know what is written here; please read it for me."
The messenger replied, "I will tell you what the letter is about: the king wants you to come before him."
The simpleton begged, "Please, no foolishness!"
He replied, "This is really the truth, with no foolishness."
The simpleton was filled with joy, and ran to tell his wife.
Wife, the king has sent for me!"
She asked him, "For what reason?"
He had not even the time to answer her; in his great joy he hurried to set off immediately with the messenger. He got into the wagon and sat down, and found the clothes that had been placed there. His joy increased even more.
Meanwhile, rumors were circulating that the governor was corrupt, and the king decided to replace him. The king felt it would be better if the governor was a simple man, since such a person would govern in truth and uprightness, and lack guile and trickery. And so the king commanded that the simpleton for whom he had sent be made the governor, and he sent orders to this effect. The simpleton would travel via the governor's city: the guards would await his arrival and as soon as he reached the city he was to be detained and told that he had been appointed governor. And so it was. They waited at the city gates and as soon as he arrived, they stopped him and told him that he had been appointed governor.
He pleaded, "Please - no foolishness!"
They answered, "Certainly - no foolishness."
And so the simpleton was made governor on the spot, with all the appropriate pomp and circumstance. Now, his luck had begun to increase, and since luck makes one wise, he began gaining some understanding. Nevertheless, he made no use of his cleverness. He simply governed in all his customary innocence and administered the area with wholehearted truth and uprightness; no corruption was found in him. After all, the administration of a county does not require any great intelligence or cleverness; it requires uprightness and wholeheartedness. When two people came before him for judgment, he would say, "You are innocent, and you are guilty," in accordance with his wholeheartedness, with no guile or deceit, and so he conducted everything in truth. And the citizens of the county loved him greatly.
He had advisors who loved him, and it was out of love that one of them counseled him as follows: "It is inevitable that you will be summoned before the king - after all, he has already sent for you once, and in any case it is normal for a governor to come before the king. Therefore, despite the fact that you are entirely proper and there is no corruption whatsoever in your handling of the county, nevertheless, it is the manner of the king that when he speaks, his words are inclined in a certain way: he speaks of all kinds of wisdoms and in other languages. Therefore, it is proper and polite that you be able to answer him. Therefore, allow me to teach you wisdoms and languages."
This advice was acceptable to the simpleton, who replied: "What do I care if I learn wisdoms and languages?!"
Immediately after acquiring such knowledge, it occurred to him that his clever friend had once told him that he would never be able, under any circumstances, to exceed his clever friend's intelligence. Now he had already achieved such cleverness (although, despite the fact that he had learned wisdoms, he made no use of them at all, but rather continued to run everything with his customary innocence.)
Some time later the king sent for the simpleton, now the governor, and he went to him. At first, the king spoke to him about his administration of the county, and the king was very pleased with what he heard, for it was clear that he governed with uprightness and great truth, with no corruption and deceit. Thereafter, the king spoke of wisdoms and in other tongues. The simpleton answered him appropriately, and the king was pleased with this, too, saying: "I see that he is so clever, but nevertheless he governs with such uprightness!" And so the king was exceedingly satisfied, and he appointed the simpleton over all his ministers. He selected a special palace for him, where he would live, and commanded that beautiful and grand walls be built around the palace. The king then gave him his appointment as minister in writing. And so it was: they built him quarters where the king had commanded and he received great honor.
When the clever man received the king's letter, he said to the clever messenger who had delivered it: "Stay over here tonight, and we shall talk and decide." That evening he prepared a great feast for him. During the feast, the clever man thought with great intelligence and philosophy, and said:
What is this, that such a king should send for such a lowly person as myself - who am I, that the king should send for me?! The king has his kingdom and his greatness, while I am a lowly, despised being in comparison with such a great and awesome king - how can it be logical that such a king would send for such a lowly one as me? If he did so because of my wisdom - what am I in relation to the king? Has the king any lack of wise men? And the king himself must also be very clever, so how can it be that he would send for me?
It puzzled him very greatly. And then the clever man said (i.e., the first clever man; the friend of the simpleton, for all of this is what that first clever man, the friend of the simpleton, said). After being greatly puzzled and baffled, he answered his own question, and then said to the clever messenger:
"Listen to what I have to say. I think it is obvious and clear that there is no king at all, and everyone is mistaken in this regard, for believing that there is a king. Look and understand: how can it be that everyone subjects himself and dedicates himself to one person - the king? There is surely no king in the world at all.
The clever messenger replied, "But did I not bring you a letter from the king?"
The first clever man answered him with a question: "Did you personally receive the letter from the hand of the king himself?"
The messenger replied, "No. Another person gave me the letter in the name of the king."
He answered, "So you can see for yourself that what I am saying is true: there is no king."
Then he questioned further: "Tell me - are you not from the capital city? Did you not grow up there? Tell me - have you ever seen the king?"
The messenger answered, "No." (For this was true; not everyone managed to see the king, for the king showed himself in public only on very rare occasions.)
The first clever man said, "Now it is clear that what I say is true, that there is no king - you yourself even admit that you have never seen him."
The messenger asked, "Then who runs the country?"
The clever man answered, "I will tell you. It is good that you have asked me, for I am an expert in this since I have visited many countries. I was once in Italy, and the practice there is to have seventy advisory ministers. They ascend and rule the country for a certain period, and all the citizens of the country have a chance to hold this position, one after the other."
His words began to make an impression on the wise messenger, and eventually they were in complete agreement that there was no king in the world at all.
The clever man spoke once again: "Stay until morning; I will continue to demonstrate proof after proof that there is no king at all."
The clever man arose early in the morning (we refer here to the clever man who was the friend of the simpleton; we always refer to him as the clever man) and woke up his friend, the clever messenger.
He said to him, "Come with me outside; I will demonstrate to you how the whole world is mistaken, and that there is truly no king at all, and everyone is making a big mistake."
They went to the marketplace and saw a soldier. They stopped him and asked, "Whom do you serve?"
He answered, "The king."
"Have you ever seen the king?"
The clever man exclaimed, "See, have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?!"
They went on to another soldier and began talking to him, until eventually they asked, "Whom do you serve?"
"The king."
The clever man remarked, "See for yourself, it is clear that everyone is mistaken, and there is no king in the world at all."
They all agreed that there was truly no king at all. The clever man spoke again: "Let us go and travel about the world, and I will demonstrate further how the whole world is greatly mistaken."
They traveled around the world, and wherever they went they found everyone mistaken. And this saying, that there was no king, became a parable between them, and wherever they went they mentioned the king as a parable: "Just as it is true that there is a king, so this is true." They traveled on and on until their means ran out, and they began to sell their horses one after the other until they were all sold and they were forced to travel by foot. And still they would study the world and find that everyone was mistaken. They became wandering paupers, and their importance was gone, and they were not held in esteem for no-one paid them any attention, for they were regular paupers....
In the above section of the story, R. Nachman has introduced a new character - the king. As in most - if not all - of R. Nachman's stories, the "king" here represents the King of the Universe. With the king's appearance, the focus of the story changes. From here onwards, the principal relationship is not between man and the world, man and society or even man and life, but rather between man and God.
The section opens with the king paging through the royal chronicles, where mention is made of each individual citizen. In the wake of his review, the king decides to call upon the clever man and the simpleton.
In these two sentences alone, R. Nachman opens a front which, as the story develops, will become more and more openly an attack on philosophy.
God addresses man and calls on him to come to Him. Moreover, God "desires to see him" - but He does not force him; He gives man free choice: "[T]his was not an official summons; rather, it was up to them to decide whether or not they wished to come."
The idea of God's interest in man and His desire for man's closeness stands in direct contrast to the "God of Aristotle" as expressed by many different philosophers. We shall quote here the philosopher in Sefer HaKuzari:
And truly, God is elevated - according to the philosophers - beyond knowledge of details (individuals), for details change from one moment to the next, while there can be no change in the knowledge of God. Thus God cannot know you, and He certainly cannot know your intentions and deeds, and obviously cannot hear your prayers nor see your movements. (Kuzari, Section I:1).
For R. Nachman, however, the foundation of the world, its basis and its point of departure are God's desire to reveal Himself to man and to rule over him. In the words of the prophet Yishayahu:
For so says the high and lofty One who dwells in eternity and whose name is Holy: I dwell on high and in a holy place, but with him that is of downtrodden and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the downtrodden. (57:15)
This is the starting position of a religious person, and without this view it one cannot take even a step into the infinite abyss between him and God. It is the basic assumption without which man immediately plunges into the depths of this abyss - as happens to the clever man in the story.
R. Nachman does not deny a certain degree of absurdity in God's appeal to man, and even more so in His "need" for him. Recognition that the situation is illogical finds expression in the simpleton's response to the messenger: "Please, no foolishness." He has learned from bitter experience, time after time when people have fooled him and misled him. His innocence has been exploited over and over, and therefore he asks of the messenger, as is his custom, that he not engage him in foolishness. As we saw in the first part of the story, the simpleton is aware of the fact that people deliberately mislead him, but in his innocence he cannot remain critical once he requests to not be mislead. When the person before him insists that his words are true, the simpleton accepts them - and falls into the trap, time after time.
This fault, which until now was a liability, now works to his advantage. For this time, too, the simpleton suffices with his standard request, and when the messenger continues to press his message, he accepts it without question.
And so, quite absurdly, the innocence that normally would prevent the simpleton from understanding, and from absorbing and processing reality; cutting him off from what is going on around him, actually allows him to accept something completely unintelligible, the greatest absurdity that can be imagined - the great king's appeal to a lowly individual. This idea is expressed elsewhere in R. Nachman's writings:
It is preferable to be a simple fool, believing every thing - i.e., believing even nonsense and lies - in order to believe also the truth, than to be clever and to deny everything, heaven forbid - i.e., to deny nonsense and lies. For by means of this latter trait everything becomes foolishness in one's eyes, and he denies even the truth, heaven forbid. 'I would rather be called a fool all my life and not be considered wicked even for one hour before God' (Eduyot 5:6). (Sichot HaRan 103)
R. Nachman's recommendation that a person be "a simple fool, believing everything" in order that he also believe in the truth, is not coincidental. Faith in the truth, as we have seen above, is difficult, even absurd, and a great degree of innocence - even simplicity - is the only way to attain it.
The price of the lack of innocence - cleverness - is, in R. Nachman's eyes, unbearable. The significance of this price is expressed in relation to the clever man.
The clever man, too, upon hearing the messenger's words, points out the absurdity of the mighty and elevated king's appeal to a small and lowly individual. But before he even begins to grapple with this question, which draws him into a sea of doubts, R. Nachman presents the clever man's first problem, procrastination: "Stay over here tonight, and we shall talk and decide."
The clever man does not give an immediate answer. Decisions such as these require due consideration. He invites the messenger to a great feast, during the course of which he will be able to decide.
Procrastination as a significant obstacle to Divine service is found almost universally in chassidic works. We shall quote a famous excerpt by R. Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin in this regard:
The beginning of a person's entry into service of God must be in haste, as we find in the Pesach sacrifice celebrated in Egypt, which was consumed in haste, as opposed to the Pesach established for all future generations. Because in the beginning, in order to cut oneself off from all the desires of this world to which he is bound, he must preserve the moment when God's will arises in him, and to grab that moment and hurry to escape their clutches (his earthly desires), for perhaps he will succeed. And thereafter he can once again conduct himself temperately and at ease, as is the way of Pesach for all future generations. (Tzidkat HaTzaddik, 1)
R. Tzadok maintains that haste is required at the beginning of a person's path in serving God. For awakening the desire to serve Him is rare and fleeting, while one is immersed in the material world and its temptations, and in the routine of daily life. If one passes up the moment to shake off the dust that clings to him, the desire for spirituality will most likely slip away, leaving him immersed in his materialistic swamp. The force pulling a person downwards is constant, so that in order to overcome this force a sudden spiritual energy is needed. Therefore temperance and gradual progress will not help.
R. Nachman elucidates the danger of procrastination on a deeper level. Grabbing in haste involves "unthinkingness," concerning which we learn: "Three things come through unthinkingness, and these are they: mashiach, finding what is lost, and the scorpion" (Sanhedrin 97a). Unthinkingness is a moment when the mind is "switched off." It is clear why the scorpion's sting comes at such a moment, for the scorpion waits for a moment when a person's defenses are down. The phenomenon of finding a lost article in a moment of inattention likewise cannot be denied: children often complain that no matter how many times they have looked for something it is inevitably found by someone who wasn't looking for it at all. But why is mashiach, the coming of redemption, also dependent on unthinkingness?
R. Nachman would perhaps explain this teaching according to his own interpretation. Unthinkingness is a moment in which the channels leading to a person's consciousness are burst open for that moment. The sword of the tree of knowledge stops guarding the entrance to his mind, weighing and examining every piece of information, impression and revelation that reaches him on a scale of logic. This is the moment when a person can digest even things that are not logical. Even recognition of things that would not pass the test of his knowledge at that moment. The skepticism that accompanies those who have consumed the fruit of the tree of knowledge is asleep and off guard. At that moment everything is burst open and accessible.
Unthinkingness, clouding of the senses and blurring of definitions are a nightmare for the thinker. These are moments of loss of control, and an educated person runs from such situations with all his strength.
This is also the fear of the clever man in the story. Haste is appropriate to a fool, since time for consideration in any case will not give him the advantage of better judgment. But the clever man wishes to wait, and with his delay come doubts.
The most basic doubt that gnaws at a person is, as we have said, both the root of faith and the root of heresy: the assumption that God is interested in and desires an encounter with man. When the clever man refuses to accept this assumption - and, as we have said, logic indeed rejects such an idea - the way is paved to skepticism, ultimately leading to denial of the very existence of the king. And here, again, attention should be paid to the details of the story.
The clever man's justified question should place the onus of proof on the messenger: "It is not logical that the king would wish to see me specifically, and therefore you, the messenger who claims so, are lying." But the clever man does not stop there - in fact, he skips this stage altogether. The first doubt leads directly to the final and ultimate doubt - denial of the very existence of the king.
R. Nachman may be teaching us here that one doubt leads to another, but based on some of his other writings a deeper idea may be hidden here.
Denial of God's revelation to man, in R. Nachman's view, is tantamount to denial of His existence altogether. A God who has no connection with the world, whose whole existence is "for the record" only, as the primal cause of the chain of existence, has no relevance for man. And if He has no relevance for man then He does not exist for him. Why should a person believe in something that has no relevance for him? And so the conclusion is that the world has no King at all. This is the philosopher's claim, and from this point of view religion is perceived as the "opium of the masses." The masses need a banner, a figurehead, an image that they themselves have formed in order that they will have something to serve, something to live for and something for which to sacrifice. But in truth He does not exist.
But, as we learn in the story, such skepticism also requires certain supports. The clever man reaches his conclusion while still sitting at the table with the messenger, but from that moment onwards he is compelled to prove his conclusion at any price - not just his revelation concerning the king, but all the errors to which human beings are subject. This absurd wish, which leads him eventually to penury, is described by R. Nachman in one of his teachings:
"Know that there are some wicked people who toil and endeavor all their lives to remove themselves completely from God and His Torah, for the holy spark of the holiness of Israel that is still within them, although they are completely wicked, confuses them and arouses within them thoughts of teshuva and fear of the great judgment. Because of this they have no pleasure from their sins and their desires. And so they aspire and toil to achieve complete heresy in their minds, heaven forbid, such that they will have no more doubts to incline them towards the truth. But this requires a very great amount of work, and several years, for the Divine spark within them gives them no rest and confuses them constantly." (Likutei Moharan Kama 274).
In these words R. Nachman turns the cards and reveals an astounding truth. The clever man's absurd search, his stubborn wish to prove to himself and to his friend that the whole world is laboring under a misconception, and the brazenness that appears to us as intentional wickedness and stubbornness, arise specifically from the Godly, believing internal spark that gives no rest to the heretic. The studious philosopher who wishes to anchor and strengthen his heresy is actually conducting a war against his internal Godly spark, which constantly disturbs him.
In our previous shiur we described the restlessness of the clever man in his desire to learn more and more; a tragic unease that turns him into a wanderer with no home and no permanence. Here R. Nachman presents the philosophizing clever man's restlessness in relation to his theological views. The philosopher, to R. Nachman's view, is engaged throughout his life in contradiction rather than in positive construction. This is not a question of motivation. As we have mentioned, R. Nachman himself admits that the whole world is full of absurdity, contradiction and doubts, from the tiniest particle to God Himself. A person who chooses the path of rationalism, and who seeks thereby to encounter and solve the great questions of the world, will find himself mired in these doubts all his life:
Sometimes a person falls into such doubts and contradictions that it is completely impossible for him to know how in truth he should act, and the more he tries to find proper guidance the more confused he becomes. For no sooner does he decide that it is clear that he should act in such and such a way, then a different reasoning arises in his mind, such that his first decision is totally negated, and proofs arise in his mind that he should act in precisely the opposite way to what he thought originally, and this is what is referred to by the "contradictions" mentioned above. And sometimes such contradictions become so strong that he has no idea at all how to decide one way or the other. When a person sees in himself that he has foundered in the dark for a long time and has no idea how to get out of what he needs to get out of, and his thoughts are greatly divided, heaven forbid, then this itself is his correction - that he should cry out over this very situation to God, that he has fallen so low that he no longer has any clear guidance as to how to leave the darkness for the light. (Etzot Yesharot, Etzah 4).
A person who chooses to address the questions of the world, clarify the truth, and find the errors of all the world and of all people, will sink in these doubts with no ability to raise himself up - just as the clever man is mired in mud at the end of the story.
How is one to extricate himself from this mud? There is no logical solution or rational explanation. A person must cry out to God. He must break the cycle of the intellect, strike it with a stick as one strikes a madman (Likutei Moharan Kama 1), and seek a totally different channel. Knowledge of God, teaches R. Nachman, is not given to man through logical and intellectual proofs, for no end of doubts can challenge these. Knowledge of the Creator is achieved by throwing logic aside, through innocence - even simplemindedness - which may appear to lower man's human potential, but it is in this lowly place God addresses man, and man, in this lowly place, is capable of listening: "I dwell on high and in a holy place, but with him that is of downtrodden and humble spirit."
Posted by Admin at 8:36 AM
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text:
Some Questions and Answers about Vila
Why was Vila known by his first name?
People have suggested this was because of his low status (Delta service-grade 'boy'), or because there may have been a relative widely known as Restal. I think the answer's simple. He has been wanted all his life under the name of Restal, so he'd avoid its use.
I can imagine him living in obscure comfort in a sub-leased apartment, always using cash, and being known only as Vila to acquaintances and drinking buddies at the local pub. The law's enquiries for a Restal wouldn't turn him up easily. After that, it would be pure habit; he'd be very uncomfortable being called Restal.
Why didn't Vila know about the palm-print lock on the London?
I'm sure he did—after all, he doesn't have much problem with the Central Control locks, and they must have been among the best the Federation could devise. He just preferred to play it safe rather than find himself one of the major players in a dangerous game so early on.
Why didn't Vila go with Kerril?
Vila did try to explain in the little time he had, which made him sound like the compulsive thief he isn't (although he may be a compulsive lock-picker). He says first that there's nothing to steal on Homeworld, then goes on to say that he breaks into safes and vaults etc. because he can and no one else can. He depends on technology and its intellectual challenges, and what would there be for him on a pioneer world? Kerril has seen him at his best—breaking into a very difficult vault, solving problems, and being brave, charming and kind—she probably wouldn't like 'what was left'—Vila would not be good at whacking nails into wood and raising barns, and he'd miss his civilised pleasures: chess, reading, good conversation.
Why did Vila's clothes change after he teleported to Terminal?
Vila is a cautious lad, and when Zen informed him and Dayna that the Liberator was so damaged by enzymes that it could not even leave orbit, he remembered his mother's advice always to have clean underwear and a change of clothes. So he went to his cabin, stripped off his loose Russian-style tunic and trousers, put on several pairs of clean underpants over the ones he already had on, put on an outfit he'd worn earlier, and finally the looser 'Russian' one on top. Before leaving his cabin, he also grabbed his emergency lockpicks. I wouldn't be surprised if he made a detour to the kitchen on the way back and grabbed a snack or two. Once down on Terminal's underground base, he of course got overheated and took off his top layer. Well, hey, it's an answer!
Vila's 'kill' and the 'blooper'
Vila's credited with one kill, of a Federation trooper on the Feldon crystal planet, and it looks very callous, especially for him. People also complain that the trooper has disappeared in a later scene. However Vila had a Scorpio gun, and they had different clips. Vila would have only used a stun clip; anything else would be out of character. I notice that even so, he lets almost all the troopers run by, attracts the last one's attention with a whistle, then stuns him—with his eyes squeezed tightly shut! The trooper isn't there later because he's come round and crawled off.
Why couldn't Vila be conditioned?
Why could Cally feel Vila's pain?
Why was Vila 'got at' on Ultraworld?
Why did Vila go on his Space City binge?
Why did Vila have so many teleport accidents?
I don't know why Vila couldn't be conditioned, but he must have had some unusual mental ability to avoid it. As I think he did, which nicely answers the other questions in this group, I'd say he had a method of shutting his mind off from the conditioning.
Cally said she could receive only from another Auron, but she could sense Vila's pain when he was on Chenga. He was also mentally 'got at' by the Sarcophagus alien (more so than anyone but Cally) and by the brain in 'Ultraworld' (the only one in the crew besides Cally). So I think he has some form of telepathic sensitivity, perhaps without knowing it. He can probably pick up and receive vague impressions from others, though certainly not thoughts as such—perhaps a heightened awareness of others' feelings. He seems to be quite a sensitive person.
Perhaps he could sense danger as well; he said he did, and was always right, though there were a few times when he failed to sense it.
If he was more susceptible than the average human, perhaps the other-dimensional alien who influenced Cally in 'Shadow' also was able to induce him to hide Orac and go on his binge (which was an attractive thought to him anyway)—an incredibly stupid action, and very out-of-character as it was dangerous for him personally and for the others, with a million credits on each of their heads.
Vila was also prone to teleport accidents, starting with landing on his backside (Avon says 'head' as either a joke or mistake) when teleporting to the alien vessel in 'Sarcophagus'. That accident was due to the alien's influence; Avon and Vila were only able to teleport back with Cally's help, so she was obviously able to control it, implying that mind or belief has an influence. Vila's real teleport malfunctions start after that (landing with one foot in the water is just chance). I think he lost his trust of the teleport, and somehow this affected its working properly for him. Teleports must be sensitive to telepathy, as Cally was able to make it work with her mind-power, so Vila's subsequent distrust and fear could have affected it adversely.
It's speculation, but it fits a lot of the facts, and I use it in my fiction.


text:
Malodelskaya () is a rural locality (a stanitsa) and the administrative center of Malodelskoye Rural Settlement, Frolovsky District, Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The population was 1,348 as of 2010.

Geography
Malodelskaya is located on Bezymyannaya River, 58 km northeast of Prigorodny (the district's administrative centre) by road. Zapolyansky is the nearest rural locality.

References

Rural localities in Frolovsky District


text:
Вечеслав Степанович Казакевич (родился 26 сентября 1951 года в посёлке Белыничи Могилевской области, Белоруссия) — русский писатель и поэт. Член Союза Писателей (c 1989 года). Лауреат премии имени М. Горького за лучшую первую книгу.

Биография
Окончил Ленинградское Высшее военно-политическое училище, служил в армии замполитом роты.

С 1974 по 1979 годы учился на филологическом факультете МГУ, окончил отделение русского языка и литературы.

Сменил несколько мест работы: музей-заповедник Чехова в Мелихове, НИИ (переводчик), архив.

Стихи публиковались в журналах «Юность», «Литературная учёба», в сборнике «День поэзии», в альманахе «Поэзия» и др. Участник VIII Всесоюзного совещания молодых писателей.

С 1993 года проживает в Японии.

Работал в Университете иностранных языков Осака.  Работал  приглашённым профессором, затем полным профессором в Университете Тояма. В настоящее время оставил преподавательскую должность.

Жена: Маргарита Казакевич, профессор в Университете Тояма. Сын: Всеволод (Сева) Казакевич.

Библиография

Книги стихов
 Праздник в провинции: Стихотворения / Предисл. Р. Бородулина. — М.: Молодая гвардия, 1985. — 32 с. — 8000 экз. (Молодые голоса).
 Кто назовет меня братом?: Книга стихов/ Художник Г. Басыров. — М.: Современник, 1987. — 108 с.: ил. — 8000 экз. (Новинки «Современника»).
 Лунат. — М.: Межрегион. центр отрасл. информатики Госатомнадзора России, 1998. — 80 с.: портр. — 1000 экз. ISBN 5-86522-011-X
 Ползи, улитка! — М.: Футурум БМ, 2004. — 80 с.: ил. — 1000 экз. (Новая поэзия). ISBN 5-98126-009-2
 Жизнь и приключения беглеца: Избранные стихотворения. — М.: Изд-во Н. Филимонова, 2006. — 126 с. — 750 экз. ISBN 978-5-9900419-3-6
 Сердце-корабль: Избранные стихотворения. — М.: Альманах"Рубеж", 2010. — 132 с. — 1000 экз. ISBN 978-585538-49-1
 Из вихря и луны: Пятая книга стихов. — : Изд-во Н. Филимонова, 2013. — 76 с. — 1000 экз. ISBN 978-5-905549-07-6

Книги прозы
 Ракудзицу райсан 『落日礼讃』 (Прославление заката)/ В переводе на японский язык. — Токио: Гунзося, 2004.
 Охота на майских жуков; Наедине с тобою, брат. — М.: Изд-во Н. Филимонова, 2009. — 188 с. — 2000 экз. ISBN 978-5-9900419-8-1
 За мной придёт единорог. - М.:Изд-во Н.Филимонова, 2016. - 256 с. - 2000 экз. ISBN 978-5-9900419-8-2

Ссылки
 Биография на сайте издательства Филимонова
 Биография на сайте Поэзия Московского университета
 Произведения в журнальном зале
 Видео. Казакевич читает стихи
 Видео. Казакевич читает стихи в Москве. 2012
 Видео. Казакевич читает стихи и прозу в Москве. 2018

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Поэты России
Поэты Японии
Русские поэты
Выпускники филологического факультета МГУ
Педагоги Японии
Преподаватели вузов Японии
Музейные работники СССР
Члены Союза писателей СССР


"I've carried it for so long."
Los Angeles radio host Leeann Tweeden, who accused Sen. Al Franken of "kissing and groping" her while the pair were on a USO tour in the early 2000s, spoke to press Thursday afternoon about her ordeal.
Tweeden, who says Franken forced his tongue into her mouth during a "rehearsal," and later groped her breasts for a photo while she was asleep, told media that she'd carried the accusations inside for "so long," and that even her essay didn't do justice to the pressure she felt from Franken.
She encouraged others who have suffered sexual harassment or sexual assault to speak up.
"This is happening to women who have no power and no way to speak up," she said. "I think the tide is turning, and what about all the women who don't have microphones and a voice and can say something and it's all over the news?"
Tweeden says she isn't asking Franken to step down, nor for there to be an ethics investigation. She merely wanted to tell her story, and whatever consequences Franken faces will be up to those who employ him.


text:
Poor People in India Struggling During Lockdown
Gurneel Kaur
The 21-day lockdown is taking a toll on more than a quarter of 1.3 billion people of India living below the poverty line. Poor people in India are struggling during the lockdown with no savings and unemployment.
Poor People Struggle
A three-week nationwide lockdown has disproportionately hurt the poor due to lack of food, shelter, and other basic needs. The decision has resulted in thousands of jobless migrant workers stranded with transport services shut in the country. Further, the closed borders of states have resulted in the disruption of the supply of essential commodities and inflation due to fear of shortage. Besides, police taking action against the violators have turned in abuses against the marginalized section.
Poor People Struggle as Informal Sector Faces Mass Unemployment
Informal Sector Workers
With economic activity grinding to halt due to lockdown, millions face indigence and hardships. 80% of the Indian workforce employed in the informal sector are the most at need. The unemployment among daily wage workers has forced them to flee cities and walk to their villages. Besides, thousands have been forced to leave their rented homes as they are unable to pay the rent.
Criticism by the Opposition and Experts
Though the government released an economic relief package for the most vulnerable sections of the society, the opposition party, analysts and citizens continue to criticize with the government's decision. Rahul Gandhi stated that the government has no contingency plan for the prevailing exodus. Further, he stated that millions of migrant workers running back to their villages will increase the risk for the elderly, resulting in catastrophic loss of life. Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, two of the three noble prize winners in Economics (2019), stated that the government needs to provide more for the needy for successful implementation of the lockdown.
Citing the destitution, PM Modi apologized to the entire nation on a radio address. Further, he stated that though the decision has brought challenges, it was essential to win the battle.
The Indian government is facing challenges to protect the huge population of the country. The poor will be forced to defy the lockdown once they have no resources left to survive. In all, the lockdown will exacerbate the economic woes of the country.
Tags: abhijit banerjee, closed border, daily wagers, Economic Relief Package, economic worries, economics, elders, employment, essential commodities, informal sector, lockdown, migrant workers, noble prize, poor people, population of country, poverty line, Rahul gandhi, rent, transport services, villages, workforce
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7 thoughts on "Poor People in India Struggling During Lockdown"
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Pioneering America's live edge wood and resin movement - Fashioning hi caliber residential furniture commissions and commercial art installments made from the highest quality, sustainably sourced timber in America.
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