Students work on research papers in Melinda Bundy's ninth grade English class at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.
Backers of a proposal to expand Indiana's school voucher program fielded some tough questions during the a Senate Education Committee hearing Wednesday afternoon.
HB 1003 increases the maximum voucher amount from $4,500 to $5,500 and also makes more student eligible for the program, including kindergarteners who receive scholarships from other organizations to attend private school.
Sen. Luke Kenley, who voted for the initial voucher law in 2011, questioned the bill's author, Rep. Bob Behning, whether the proposal would change the originally-envisioned spirit of the program.
"It looks like we're giving up on the one-year, attend-public-school requirement. Is that right?" Kenley asked Behning, who chairs the House Education Committee.
"The one year is still required unless you start in kindergarten," Behning replied.
Kenley asked Behning to explain how the kindergarten eligibility component of the new voucher law would work.
Behning replied that students would be eligible so long as their families met income guidelines or qualified because they were military veterans, foster parents or special education students.
"So we're completely eliminating the requirement that they try out the public schools, which is the condition we actually got the votes to pass that bill the last time?" Kenley asked.
Does Indiana's Voucher Program Need Expansion?
Kenley also questioned whether it was wise to proceed with voucher expansion given that the Indiana Supreme Court still hasn't ruled on the current law.
As we've reported, voucher supporters hope changes in HB 1003 will make it easier for new private schools to open in Indiana.
State education officials will not limit the number of scholarships they make available next year. Still skeptics of voucher expansion say it's unlikely that space in the Choice Scholarship Program will run short any time soon.
We'll have more from Wednesday's hearing in a later post.


JERUSALEM -- The renewed romance between Israel and the United States has suffered its first public tiff.
An embarrassing reprimand of the Israeli ambassador to Washington has left Israel wondering about the value of the good will it has accumulated and left both sides feeling unappreciated by the other.
President Bush expressed this displeasure in a sharp note to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. The White House complained that public criticisms by the Israeli ambassador were "outrageous."
The controversy, which centers on foreign aid, has revealed that each country views its role in the Gulf War in significantly different light.
Israel feels it is making a considerable sacrifice for the United States by being passive. Some here wonder if Washington will pay only lip service to granting political or financial compensation.
Washington has indicated it feels the United States is making sacrifices for the benefit of Israel in conducting the war and that further requests by Jerusalem are ill-timed and ungrateful.
Those opposite perceptions apparently fueled the flap last week between the Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval and U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III.
Mr. Shoval, normally restrained and diplomatic, had harsh criticism in an interview Thursday about delays in getting a $400 million housing loan guarantee the United States had promised for four months.
Mr. Baker reacted sharply. He summoned Mr. Shoval to his office for what an aide described as a reprimand. Mr. Shoval later acknowledged that Mr. Baker "was upset."
The meeting was followed Friday by Mr. Bush's note to Mr. Shamir and the White House statement that the ambassador's remarks were "outside the bounds of acceptable behavior for the ambassador of any friendly country." The statement noted: "We deserve better."
The different prisms being used by Israel and the United States may complicate their cooperation during this war.
"Israelis are beginning to wonder: How much are the points that Israel is collecting worth?" said Gerald Steinberg, a strategic analyst at the Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv.
Israel's decision not to strike back at Iraq for its rocket attacks has won public support here, partly because Israelis have concluded that the political and economic benefits of restraint .. outweigh those of retaliation.
But the United States continues to indicate it will press Israel for a solution to the Palestinian issue after the war ends.
The United States sees requests for financial aid at a time Americans are dying in the war to be unseemly. But Israel feels it has suffered for the benefit of the war effort. It has absorbed missile attacks that have killed four people, injured more than 300, and damaged many homes.
Many citizens feel the Israeli military could do a quicker job of stopping the Iraqi launches. They worry that Israel may lose its deterrent threat if Arab enemies see that it does not always retaliate.
"I don't think the policy-makers in Washington have an understanding of the depth of feeling here," said Harry Wall, who runs the Jerusalem office of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. "Israelis feel they are not only being restrained by the United States, but they are not being recognized for it."
By all indications, that attitude rankles Mr. Baker and, undoubtedly, other U.S. officials.
In testimony Feb. 6 before a congressional committee, Mr. Baker said the United States has "responded very generously" with a huge and hurried airlift of Patriot anti-missile batteries to Israel, manned in part by U.S. crews.
When the Israeli minister of defense visited him last week, Mr. Baker was widely reported to have reacted coolly to any discussion of financial aid above the annual $3 billion Israel already receives -- the most of any country.
He pointedly reminded Mr. Arens that U.S. servicemen are risking their lives to destroy Israel's strongest enemy, according to reports in the Israeli press.
"We are obediently absorbing Iraqi missiles night after night," commentator Yoel Marcus of the respected Ha'aretz newspaper said in a published message to Mr. Baker. "You are withholding from us the right to protect ourselves so that Arab dictators whom you are saving will not, God forbid, be offended. We are a victim of a war that is not ours."
That a $400 million housing loan guarantee would provoke this dispute is not unprecedented. This particular economic aid already has caused conflict and has taken on symbolic and political importance far beyond its cost.
The guarantees, mainly to help settle Soviet Jews, were approved in October. Israel had requested the help of the United States, which long had criticized the Soviets for its restrictions pTC on emigration, but then placed limits of its own when the Soviet Union opened its doors.
But the United States has withheld final approval to get assurances the aid would not be used to build housing for Soviet immigrants in the occupied West Bank. Mr. Baker told Congress this month that the aid would be forthcoming as soon as Israel provides an accounting of where it would be spent.


Which is your favorite, yêu thích Adele song?
my yêu thích Adele songs ; favorite?
What's your yêu thích song on 21?
WHICH IS THE BEST ALBUM OF SHE,21 hoặc 19?
I was wondering if Adele could write a quick note hoặc this is a far stretch but sing to her to Make bạn feel my love. This was our wedding song. This would make her years.
Watch Free Indian drama serial Sajda Tere Pyar Mein Live episode 21 February 2012. All episodes and latest những thông tin cập nhập of Sajda Tere Pyar Mein drama is available online. All episodes of Sajda Tere Pyar Mein Download and watch Free.
Sajda Tere Pyar Mein is set in the beautiful Rishikesh and will also be set in Chandigarh after Jeevika's marriage. This is a story Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hain is two sisters who tình yêu each other enough.
3.) @pilyrodriguezz: You'll never know, if bạn never try.
Old friend, why are bạn so shy?
It ain't like bạn to hold back hoặc hide from the lie.
RUMOUR has it Adele's fourth album will be out tiếp theo summer if her record label Sony gets its way.
a comment was made to the poll: What is your yêu thích song from "25"?
I will change if I ______, Slow it down and bring it home.


Galway is home to an eclectic mix of shops, styles and tastes. One can certainly bank on finding THE dress, suit or outfit in Galway city. Some of the busiest shopping areas in the city are detailed below to give an insight into what you can expect from each offering.
Shop Street: Just 4 Minutes walk from The Skeffington Arms.
The eminent cobbled street in Galway, while it usually brings to mind the famous night life of this vibrant city it is also home to a number of shops with a variety of offerings from crafts, gifts and souvenirs to fashionable clothes, shoes and accessories to beauty products, homeware and everything in between. To top it all off the street is always dotted with lively performers to entertain you during your dash between shops and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants where you can stop and refuel.
Galway's Market: Only 5 Minutes from our Eyre Square Hotel.
For a more authentic experience visit the Galway Market on Church lane. The Market is open every Saturday and Sunday, Bank Holidays & additional days are added during the summer and busy festivals. Tucked away down Church Lane, just off Shop Street, the market holds a magical quality all on its own with tightly packed vendors selling delicious fresh food from deli offering, to crepes, to baked goods to suit every dietary requirement. Another large facet of the market is the crafts – wood, slate, enamel, wool and other natural elements are used to create beautiful handcrafted items perfect to use as a gift or to inject personality into your own home. Galway Market is a must see when you visit the city.
Eyre Square Shopping Centre: On the doorstep of the Skeffington Arms Hotel in Galway City Centre.
Conveniently located in the centre of the city, the fashion forward shopper need look no further than Eyre Square Shopping Centre with a number of high street stores including Top Shop, New Look, JD, Jack & Jones, Penneys and Vera Moda to name a few; this shopping centre is a one stop for all things fashion and trend.
Corrib Shopping Centre: Only 3 minutes walk from our Hotel in Eyre Square.
Another city centre shopping centre, Corrib Shopping Centre, caters to a more mature stylista with Debenhams and M&S under their roof there is loads to choose from in Ladies and Gents fashion, cosmetics and food.
Galway Shopping Centre: A short 12 Minutes walk just outside the City Centre.
Located on the Headford Road outside the city, Galway shopping centre is certainly the most family friendly of the bunch. Asides from the usual ladies, gents and children's fashions, homeware, electricals and restaurants there is also a kids play area, bowling and amusement arcade with a cinema right across the street. All of which spells hours of entertainment for the whole family.
So now that you know where you will be shopping you just need to book where you will be staying. With great value, a fantastic location, look no further than The Skeffington Arms Hotel in Eyre Square.


Karifean's Blog of Visual Novels - Steam Anime Sale!
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance Best Job Combinations?
Who is stronger, Cloud or Zack?
PING MONSTER ON THE LOOSE!
Reduce the 8mths needed to personalise user titles.


JULIE SINNAMON (CEO of Enterprise Ireland ) was an inspirational guest speaker at the Dublin chapter of the Lawyers' Business Development Club (LBDC) on Friday 28 November 2014.
Our event was sponsored by Daniel O'Connell and Sean Nolan of Kerman & Co (a leading commercial law firm with offices in London and Dublin). It was our 34th guest speaker Talk at the LBDC.
You may be interested to see some photos from our special LBDC event.
If you would like to receive an invitation to our next LBDC event, please drop me a line.


I have been training with Sean for some months now and am extremely pleased with the programmes he has devised for me, they are not the 'typical' female training regimes that offer no challenges or sweat!! in fact they push me to my limits both mentally and physically. Pushing myself at each session has made me work harder, feel stronger and ultimately see the changes happening week by week.
Sean is encouraging, honest and professional. He works with you to achieve the best results for you and your own shape. At a level he knows you can achieve and improve upon.
I would recommend his training programmes to everyone you will get the results you want with his support and your own hard work and determination. In turn you improve your fitness levels, overall body shape/image and your self-confidence.


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Q: Creating a custom marker menu in google maps api V2 I'm trying to create an app similar to Waze but I don't know how to make a pop up menu for markers
like this
The system I'm trying do is that if a user decides to mark their current location or double tap anywhere on the map a menu will pop up with a selection of my own markers.
I'm using the latest version of Google Maps for Android and iOS

A: You can customize the pop up with an Adapter, just call the setInfoWindowAdapter method and override the following methods, like this:
mGoogleMap.setInfoWindowAdapter(new GoogleMap.InfoWindowAdapter() {
            @Override
            public View getInfoWindow(Marker arg0) {
                return null;
            }

            @Override
            public View getInfoContents(Marker marker) {
                LayoutInflater inflater = (LayoutInflater) getActivity().getSystemService(Context.LAYOUT_INFLATER_SERVICE);
                View rowView = inflater.inflate(R.layout.item_marker_location, null);
                TextView tvTitle   = (TextView) rowView.findViewById(R.id.tvMarkerTitle);
                TextView tvSnippet = (TextView) rowView.findViewById(R.id.tvMarkerSnippet);
                tvTitle.setText(marker.getTitle());
                tvSnippet.setText(marker.getSnippet());
                return rowView;
            }
        });

You can read the documentation of the InfoWindowAdapter interface.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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MGM Studios DVD presents
Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance (1983)
ko.yaa.nis.katsi (from the Hopi language), n. 1. crazy life. 2. life in turmoil. 3. life disintegrating. 4. life out of balance. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.
- from the American Hertitage Dictionary
Review By: Dan Lopez
Director: Godfrey Reggio
Manufacturer: DVCC
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (urban footage, nothing offensive)
Run Time: 01h:35m:20s
Image Transfer
A+ A+ B A- B
Koyannisqatsi, like its creative namesake, is something quite unique and unexpected. Most films tell a narrative story, while some document a specific event, person, or ideal; regardless of genre, we are typically viewers who sit in silence, welcoming the material into ourselves. In this case, however, director Godfrey Reggio struggled to create what is, essentially, something a bit more interactive. Through a densely layered barrage of images presenting the general state of the modern world (or, at least, America), Koyaanisqatsi is only half full. What you see on the screen and what you hear with your ears (Philip Glass' brilliant and haunting score) is only truly complete when the viewer uses his or her mind to fill in the spaces. What do these images mean to you? What thoughts come to you as you watch them? In my opinion, this makes Koyaanisqatsi possibly one of the most immersive films in history, in a very literal sense, because the audience's thoughts, opinions, and views of the world they live in are as much a part of the experience as anything brought to the banquet by the filmmakers. I dare say that if all you see are 'pretty pictures' here, you might be missing the point.
Filmed and assembled between 1975 and 1983, the project was the first major undertaking by Godfrey Reggio, who had previously made a name for himself working on a highly memorable, disturbing, and provoking promotional campaign for the New Mexico Civil Liberties Union. As part of the Institute For Regional Education (located in Santa Fe, New Mexico), Reggio seemed to want to make important statements with a very powerful medium; a medium that has the power to reach virtually anyone. Entitled Koyaanisqatsi in order to, as Reggio puts it, leave it without any linguistic baggage, the project was long in a state of uncertainty until funding and distribution finally allowed it to see the light of day. The end result is probably one of the most important pieces of cinema ever made, though it rarely gets due credit.
To describe the film for those who haven't seen it is difficult, because it is so simplistic to just say, "Well, it's a lot of images of modern society and technology in montage format with no dialogue." It's an apt description, though, and perhaps the best one anyone could give in brief. The film is divided into four different sections. The first, and shortest, is a meditation on the natural world, with footage of mountains, lakes, caves, and cloudscapes. The second section, referred to as "Vessels," jarringly introduces the viewer to the modern world with footage of strip-mining operations, planes, cars, industrial complexes, and decaying ghettos. The third section, known as "The Grid," is perhaps the most famous section of the movie (also ceaselessly butchered for use in television commercials) in which quiet, subtle, nighttime footage of the modern American city is transformed into a blur of motion and light as the footage of everyday, urban activity is sped up to 10 or 20 times normal speed, highlighting the breathless pace people often set for themselves. The fourth and final section, slows down to a grim pace and becomes more personal, focusing on images of people both individually and in groups.
The long answer of what Koyaanisqatsi is largely depends on the individual, though that's not to say Godfrey Reggio was not without some intent here. Obviously not a fan of the modern obsession with technology as a means of daily life, he wants to test the comfort zones of people; poking and prodding them to admit the images here disturb them, or inspire them, or don't particularly affect them at all. For me, the film is a statement about the distance between ourselves and the world we live in; that we have become less dependant on each other and the planet that spawned us, and more dependant on gadgets and devices to get us through the day. Rest assured, the irony that I write this on a computer for publication on the Internet has not escaped me, but I believe technology can indeed be a productive part of a person's life without becoming the nourishment by which he or she lives. The key is: balance.
Koyaanisqatsi is the first in the 'Qatsi' trilogy, followed by Powaqqatsi, an examination of technological development in the third world, and in October 2002, Naqoyqatsi, an examination of how conflict and war define so much of our culture.
Rating for Style: A+
Rating for Substance: A+
Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 - Widescreen
Original Aspect Ratio yes
Anamorphic yes
Image Transfer Review: To begin with, this DVD marks the first time since the laserdisc release that people will see Koyaanisqatsi in the proper aspect ratio with the proper composition which, surprisingly, adds a lot more than one might expect. The transfer itself is quite pleasing. While the original film has aged enough to have some grain, haziness, and physical flaws, the transfer manages to avoid any extreme problems. The colors are most improved, with the more brilliant scenes now even more vibrant, with a renewed clarity that's very nice to see. Obviously, some elements of the movie were stock footage to begin with, so some scenes are heavily damaged and aged even beyond the 1983 footage itself. In all, I doubt fans will be disappointed with this truly pleasing presentation.
Image Transfer Grade: B
5.1 English yes
Audio Transfer Review: Remastered into Dolby Digital 5.1, Philip Glass' eternally classic musical score sounds better than ever. Considering the score is an enormous percent of the film's impact, this upgrade not only allows further immersion into the movie, but also marks a considerable change in the technical dynamics. The end result is a soundtrack very auditorium-like, where the acoustics, especially the surround speakers, are designed to fill in ambience gaps. The few, sparse sound effects the film does get a bit of enhanced treatment as well, but that's pretty limited. The remaster does help, though, to energize an already superb soundtrack.
Audio Transfer Grade: A-
Disc Extras
Static menu
Scene Access with 16 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
1 Original Trailer(s)
2 Other Trailer(s) featuring Powaqqatsi, Naqoyqatsi
1 Documentaries
Packaging: Amaray
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single
Extra Extras:
Interview with Godfrey Reggio and Philip Glass
Extras Review: One extra on this disc that truly surprised me both by its inclusion (MGM's reputation is not exactly great with support of obscure/non-mainstream films) and by its high quality. I am referring to the excellent 22-minute documentary Essence Of Life,, which features current interviews (created for the DVD) with director Godfrey Reggio and composer Philip Glass. I've met Reggio a few times personally, and I'm glad to see he hasn't lost his intense, metaphysical personality. In the interview, he details the elaborate concepts behind his films, as well as briefly discussing his life in the Christian Brotherhood in New Orleans. At the same time, Philip Glass discusses how he came to be involved with Reggio and his opinions on how he wanted his music to function. Glass is really more than simply a composer for this film, and added much more to the editing and overall quality of the eventual release than composers typically do. During these interviews, there is intercut footage from Reggio's NMCLU ad campaign, designed to drive people in the late 1970s into awareness of technology's effect on civil rights and personal privacy.
Normally trailers aren't that big a deal on DVDs, but in this case, fans of Godfrey Reggio will probably go immediately to the trailer for the upcoming Naqoyqatsi, the final element of the "Qatsi" trilogy, which we have been patiently awaiting all these years. Exactly how wide its theatrical distribution will be remains to be seen. The original trailers for Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi are also present, but in quite aged and damaged condition.
Some purists might dislike MGM's decision to change the cover art from the traditional plain black into a more colorful one (a frame from the film in which the moon rises against a skyscraper) but I actually liked it. The back cover features a clever montage of shots from the film and the new look gives a better impression of the actual content of the movie than the rather monolithic appearance of the previous VHS and Laserdisc editions.
Extras Grade: B
Koyaanisqatsi begins and ends with the same image: cave paintings of enigmatic figures by ancient Americans. Ever since I first saw this film in the late 1980s, those figures seem to possess a silent something that makes them intuitively more impressive than all the sights of cityscapes and modern industry featured in the movie. As prophetic now as it was back then, Koyaanisqatsi, the first in the 'Qatsi' trilogy, is a timeless work, despite some of its moderately dated footage. Where does technology end and where do we, as people, begin? Part of the answer could be here, somewhere.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
16 USC 2202: Payments to agricultural producers for carrying out water conservation or water enhancing measures; criteria Text contains those laws in effect on July 16, 2019
§2202. Payments to agricultural producers for carrying out water conservation or water enhancing measures; criteria
The Secretary is authorized to make payments to agricultural producers who carry out emergency water conservation or water enhancing measures (including measures carried out to assist confined livestock) during periods of severe drought as determined by the Secretary.
( Pub. L. 95–334, title IV, §402, Aug. 4, 1978, 92 Stat. 434 ; Pub. L. 101–82, title V, §502, Aug. 14, 1989, 103 Stat. 586 ; Pub. L. 115–334, title II, §2403(a)(2)(A), Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4571 .)
2018-Pub. L. 115–334 substituted "The Secretary is" for "The Secretary of Agriculture is".
1989-Pub. L. 101–82, §502(1), inserted "(including measures carried out to assist confined livestock)".
Pub. L. 101–82, §502(2), temporarily substituted "any fiscal year in which there is a period of severe drought" for "periods of severe drought". See Effective and Termination Dates of 1989 Amendment note below.
Effective and Termination Dates of 1989 Amendment
Pub. L. 101–82, title V, §502(2), Aug. 14, 1989, 103 Stat. 586 , provided in part that amendment by section 502(2) of Pub. L. 101–82 is effective only for fiscal year 1989.
Section effective Oct. 1, 1978, see section 406 of Pub. L. 95–334, set out as a note under section 2201 of this title.


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SUMMER MOVIES 2011: 'Captain America: The First Avenger'
I cannot fully express how elated I am by the fact that we have finally reached a point where filmmakers are treating comic books like the modern myths they are. I wholeheartedly stand behind the notion that these stories are the 21st century equivalent of Greek myths – it wouldn't take much digging to unearth the latter day stand-ins for Hercules, Achilles, Theseus, et al – and should be held at the same level of literary importance. We are truly in the "Golden Age" of comic book films, which makes perfect sense, since we have the technical know-how to create literally anything we can imagine onscreen and fully do these stories justice. Nowadays, it's very easy to leave us in awe of these superheroes by visualizing their epic feats with CGI magic; however, it's even more important to cushion the powers that make them "cool" with the qualities and themes that make them human. When this genre is good, it's really good, and the comic book films that truly resonate are the ones that deftly balance the larger-than-life with the intimate.
Marvel Studios obviously realizes how important it is to achieve this balance, since they do it all the time on the page, and the best thing that happened to the comic book movie landscape is the fact that they became directly involved with the cinematic development of their properties. With "Captain America: The First Avenger," Marvel has given us one of the best superhero movies yet, which fittingly features one of their flagship characters.
Set during WWII, the story follows the physically weak but spiritually strong Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). A short, skinny waif of a man, Rogers wants nothing more than to enlist and fight for what is right. Once Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones), and British Intelligence Officer Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) see the greatness within Rogers, he is chosen for a top secret government experiment. Injected with a "Super Soldier" serum, Rogers grows in size and strength and begins the long fight for his country, with his best friend Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and a team of warriors known as the Howling Commandos at his side. Over the course of the war, Rogers clashes with Germany's own demonic Super Soldier, an insane man with a crimson-colored visage and a God complex known as the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).
Right off the bat, I can tell you that the strongest aspect of this film is definitely its scope. Most cinematic superhero stories take place over a limited time frame and within limited locations. "Captain America" follows the titular hero's entire globe-hopping World War II career, and as such, we see this man evolve from weakling to superman to wartime icon to fully fledged fighting hero, culminating in a gut punch of an ending wherein Cap finds himself stuck in the modern world. We're right there with Rogers through every stage of his development, and we walk away with a true sense of having seen someone grow into their destiny. Despite a few patches here and there late in the film that seemed a tad rushed, the story thankfully takes its time to unfold and trace this man's journey, and most importantly, endear him to us.
The action scenes are top notch; in fact, I'd go so far as to say that these might be the best action sequences I've ever seen in a superhero film. With a combination of sweeping camera angles and spectacular choreography, we are given plentiful chases, shootouts, and fist fights that literally take place on land, sea, and air (and they make great use of Cap's signature shield). Director Joe Johnston taps into his "Rocketeer" roots and imbues the film with a palpable sense of swashbuckling adventure. Despite a few blips on his filmography, I always knew that if you gave Johnston the right script he could knock it out of the park, and he has certainly done so here from a visual standpoint. There was only one action-oriented moment that disappointed me – an iconic shot wherein Cap bursts into an enemy stronghold with the Howling Commandos at his back, guns blazing. In the trailer, it looked amazing; in the film, Johnston inexplicably chose a less-than-stellar alternate angle and added a jarring ramp-up effect to the shot, thus sucking some of the power from the moment. Nevertheless, the film downright soars in the action department. In addition, the production design, costumes, pulp sci-fi flourishes, and vivid color palette are absolutely pristine, resulting in a heightened 1940s setting that makes this story feel like it's perched somewhere between fantasy and reality. The look and tone of this thing are absolutely what the material required, and I could not love those aspects of the film more.
Now, I will say that there is a slight lack of depth to the characters here. We pretty much learn three things about Steve Rogers: he is brave, he has an unshakable moral resolve, and he is awkward around women. Don't get me wrong, Rogers is given a few quiet scenes with every significant character, as well as numerous introspective moments that illustrate his dominant qualities in interesting ways. Plus, the fact that he is a goof around girls, despite his physical superiority, is just as endearing as his sense of duty and earnestness. I simply would've liked to have learned more about him – his upbringing, his family life, more of his flaws, etc.
That said, Chris Evans puts his natural charisma to good use and admirably brings the quintessential Steve Rogers to life. Playing the role in a grounded manner, with no smarm or winks to the camera and with just the right amount of light humor, Evans truly gives us a star-making performance (much like Chris Hemsworth did earlier this summer in "Thor"). Chemistry is the key to any great cast, and Evans is the anchor here – he clicks with whoever is on screen next to him. As a result, we WANT to see Rogers kick butt and hang out with the Howling Commandos; we want to see him and Peggy have that dance they often talk about; we want to see him confront Red Skull again. Basically, we want to see more of everyone, because they all elevate each other in the best of ways.
Although the same lack of depth can be said of the supporting characters, the rest of the cast nonetheless fills out their roles nicely. Tommy Lee Jones serves as perfectly craggy comic relief. Stanley Tucci's warmth helps him make a strong impact during his limited screen time. Sebastian Stan brings the required energy and bravado to the table for Bucky. Hugo Weaving instills Red Skull (whose makeup looks fantastic, by the way) with the appropriate amount of menace and intelligence, while managing to play the character in a very different way than his iconic Agent Smith from the "Matrix" films. Most importantly, Weaving deftly manages to make a one-dimensional villain seem like a layered, credible threat.
And, since these movies always have a girl, it's fitting that Hayley Atwell's Peggy Carter was crafted to be the perfect match for Cap – feisty, sweet, smart, and tough. She is quite the damsel who is never really in distress, which is refreshing to see in a comic book film. Another benefit of the movie's epic timeline is that we are presented with a love story subplot in which two people end up getting to know each other over a long while. We truly believe that, over time, their attraction has only strengthened, and that Peggy unabashedly loves the man beneath the muscle. This only serves to make the ending even more heartbreaking and effective.
And so, we come to the elephant in the room: now that Cap's story has been told, now that we've seen him attain the experience needed to be a credible leader, are we ready for "The Avengers"? Yes, I would say. Resoundingly so.
Marvel Studios has raised the bar for the genre by spending the last few years crafting an interconnected cinematic world (starting with 2008's "Iron Man"), leading up to the combination of all their superheroes in a 2012 team up film called "The Avengers." It's probably an understatement to say that they truly took on a mammoth task by attempting to craft a series of superhero movies that are not only GOOD, that can not only stand on their own, but can also serve as an effective build up to "The Avengers" when viewed as a whole, and the main reason they've pulled it off is because they have made us care about these super-powered beings. The only real misstep on the road to "The Avengers" was "Iron Man 2," whose wasted potential has only grown the more I reflect upon it. Regardless, I'm 100% sold on the characters Marvel has given us – including Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Cap of course – and the world around them, and it'll be truly amazing to see all of those charismatic actors once again inhabit their roles and interact onscreen next summer. It's also quite fun to speculate about the story and character arcs, especially when you consider the thematic connections between all the films. These men are hamstrung by love, for example, and they are all born leaders, so it'll be interesting to see how they butt heads and bond.
In the quiet before the storm that will be "The Avengers" next summer, it is quite comforting to look back and see that Marvel has finished laying its foundation in a satisfying way by concocting a potent mix of humor, action, romance, and poignancy. With "Captain America: The First Avenger," they've given us the final building block to what is essentially the most ambitious undertaking in superhero cinema history, and thankfully, they also saved the best for last.
Captain America in the Media Part 5: Captain America the First Avenger
Captain America: The First Avenger – and the first truly good summer blockbuster
Captain America: The First Avenger is the first good 3D superhero movie of 2011
Captain America: The First Avenger - Good summer fun!
A salute to Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) review


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Gilbert Briskine es un deportista francés que compitió en judo. Ganó dos medallas en el Campeonato Europeo de Judo en los años 1952 y 1954.

Palmarés internacional

Referencias

Briskine, Gilbert

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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ITALY'S SECRET PLACES
Italy is full of marvels hidden in plain sight. Beautiful and Inspiring… Funny and Disconcerting… Glorious and Silly… Every new day brings shocks of recognition. Can I share some of these with you?
L'EBREO / THE JEW
JEWS AND MAGIC
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT...
MYSTERIES OF FLORENCE?
MEDICI?
MUSSOLINI?
ETRUSCANS?
VANISHED PEOPLES?
MYTHIC ROME?
MICHELANGELO'S DAVID?
ON THE GROUND IN MEDICI FLORENCE
SILENT SCREAMS (Pompeii)
City lost... City found...
Pompeii (15 miles east of Naples and 130 miles south of Rome) was an affluent provincial town with some 20,000 inhabitants - and all of the usual temples, baths, theaters, government offices, houses and shops.
It serviced a lush stretch of coastland between Mount Vesuvius and the Gulf of Naples, lined with the opulent summer residences of the Roman elite.
The Palm Beach or the Newport or the Hamptons of Roman Italy...until 24 August 79 A.D.
Karl Pawlowitsch Brülow, The Last Day of Pompeii (1827-33),
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.
This fragile seaside paradise was not wiped off the face of the earth but buried far beneath it, under dozens of feet of volcanic ash. The inhabitants had already been killed - vaporized actually - by blasts of gas reach 250° C.
Pompeii and its neighbors Herculaneum and Stabiae disappeared from sight and then from mind - until 1738. Builders in the service of Carlo Borbone, King of Naples, then began turning up beautiful and intriguing if sometimes shocking remains from the rich volcanic soil of local gardens and vineyards.
A view from the excavations of Pompeii;
a rural family gathers late tomatoes.
Excavations began ten years later in 1748, stripping away layer after layer of earth and ash. Revealing the intact urban fabric of Pompeii, as it was on the last day of its natural life.
F. Piranesi, Temple of Isis at Pompeii (1788).
For two hundred and fifty years, Pompeii has attracted a relentless stream of visitors - from the dilettanti of the Eighteenth Century, to the grand excursionists of the railway age to the mass trippers of today. Two-and-half million tickets to the site are now sold annually to people from every country on earth.
The Forum at Pompeii.
Pompeii is - quite simply - the most famous lost-and-found city in the world. But if we want a direct encounter with the Roman past, we are arriving a couple of centuries too late.
L.-J. Despres, A Street in Pompeii (?1781).
Pompeii has been excavated and restored countless times, then abandoned and neglected and restored again - with archeologists, curators, tourists and even vandals adding new layers of history and meaning.
A Pompeian street, with tourists acting like tourists
and Vesuvius still smoking in the background.
And curious visitors, almost any week, outnumber the cumulative total of Roman dead.
Another Pompeian street, seemingly lost in time.
But still, there are sudden silences - even at the height of the summer season. And unsettling encounters off the main tourist routes.
Locked out of the House of the Vettius;
note the frescoed figure to the right.
Close-up of frescoed figure to the right.
Light falls through an oculus in the bath.
The most astonishing effects, however, were created long after 79 AD. The inhabitants of Pompeii survived as negative corpses, their vaporized bodies preserved as air-pockets in hardened volcanic ash. Giuseppe Fiorelli, an ingenious nineteenth-century archeologist, devised a simple but effective technique - injecting liquid plaster to refill the contours of their vanished forms.
Body cast in a case.
At every turn, we encounter the death throes of nameless beings at three degrees of separation: human body to hermetic vacuum to plaster cast. And now we can add two more: photograph to online publication.
A storeroom in Pompeii; stuff and more stuff.
Close-up of a body cast.
Someone.
Dog.
Meanwhile, there is also the inevitable pile-up of places and associations...
La Villa dei Misteri / The Villa of the Mysteries,
with frescoed scenes of cultic initiation.
Conjured by tricks of light...
A glass case in the Villa of the Mysteries.
...and grim fancy.
Missing plaster? Reflection of the Photographer?
The Ghosts of Pompeii? These are just a few... And 79 AD was only the beginning of their story, not the end.
Leaving Pompeii at Night;
Stazione Pompeii Scavi/Villa dei Misteri
Arrving in Naples: Stazione Porta Nolana
MORE Vanished Peoples?
MORE Mythic Rome?
PHOTOGRAPHS:
17 photos Lyle Goldberg
5 photos from the Web (numbers 2, 4, 6, 10 & 18)
Brilliant photos.I always wanted to visit here.It was one of those places when I was younger that made me want to be an archaeologist (ended up an art student). Those body casts are chilling though, for simply the fact that they were people...great post. Thank you!
Sinead Meehan
The Daily Fishbowl
Edward Goldberg June 27, 2012 at 3:25 AM
Thanks, Sinead! I too think that my brother's photos are brilliant (even if he is looking over my shoulder as I write this.)By the way, Lyle Goldberg is the guy in the green tee-shirt striding over the crossing stones in the mid-ground of Photo Seven.
livius July 18, 2012 at 3:53 AM
I miscounted and thought he was the guy in the green and yellow tunic in photo ten.
Edward Goldberg July 22, 2012 at 2:54 AM
Thanks for the heads-up, Liv! I will keep a close eye on him in case he starts shopping for tunics.
My grandmother always tells me how great the city of Pompeii is. As she keeps on telling stories about the place, I became more curious about it, that's why I decided to visit the place all by myself since she's on vacation at retirement community ny .
#Thelxinoe ~ Classics News for January 15, 2021
Endangered Diego Rivera mural to get landmark status
CultureGrrl
Capitol Offense: Metropolitan Museum Blasts "Domestic Terrorism" by "Treasonous Rioters"
Art History in the Age of the Internet - A Discussion
Jews and Magic in Medici Florence: The Secret World of Benedetto Blanis
FLAIANO PRIZE: UPDATE!
Edward Goldberg
Edward Goldberg is an art historian, an archival sleuth and a long-time resident of Florence. Along the way, he achieved a PhD at Oxford, taught at Harvard, founded the Medici Archive Project (MAP) and published many articles and books. These include Patterns in Late Medici Art Patronage (Princeton, 1983), After Vasari: History, Art and Patronage in Late Medici Florence (Princeton, 1988) and—most recently—Jews and Magic in Medici Florence: The Secret World of Benedetto Blanis (Toronto, 2011) and A Jew at the Medici Court: The Letters of Benedetto Blanis 'Hebreo', 1615-1621 (Toronto, 2011).
(Visit my LinkedIn Profile)


If you want to spice up your parties in a way that none of your friends or family have ever seen before, we've got just the thing. The DotStone Music LED Strip Light looks like any other LED light strip, but it has an awesome special mode. When enabled, the light strip flashes in sync with the beat of whatever music you play. It's really cool, especially if the light strip is well placed in a dim room. You won't find more fun for $16 anywhere.


No more batteries, no more chargers and no more wire spaghetti. This is the future promised by "wireless power", a means of broadcasting electricity through the air to laptops, iPods and other gadgets without the need for cables and sockets.
Untethered lighting, audio speakers and digital picture frames are expected to be among the first commercial products demonstrated in Las Vegas this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show, the world's biggest gadgets tradeshow.
Experts believe this is just the beginning and that eventually wireless electricity - dubbed "WiTricity" by some - could do for battery life what WiFi did for the internet. In a world without wires, laptop users in cafes and airport terminals would be inside an "electricity hotspot" and no longer have to delve past legs, bags and furniture in search of an awkwardly located socket.
"You'd be able to buy a desk that charged any gadget placed on it, or power any PC you put on top," said James Holland, editor of gadgets website Electricpig.co.uk.
"If each room had wireless power, you'd know that once you walked through the front door your mobile would start charging up - even while still in your bag or pocket. You'd never need to hunt for the right charger again."
Among the companies showcasing the ambitious technology at CES is PowerBeam. Its system turns electricity into an invisible laser, then literally beams it, as heat, across the room to a solar cell that converts it back into electricity.
David Graham, the co-founder of PowerBeam, told the Observer: "We're going to delete the word 'recharge' from the English dictionary. If your cellphone is recharging on your desk all day, you won't be thinking about it."
The Silicon Valley company can currently use a laser to generate about 1.5 watts of power to a solar cell 10 metres away. This would be enough to power an electronic speaker or small LED (light-emitting diode) lights, but not enough to operate a laptop, which requires an estimated 30 to 50 watts. However, Graham said that the technology could comfortably be scaled up.
PowerBeam insists its laser does not pose a risk to users' health because it is simply moving heat from one place to another. Graham said that, if someone walked through the beam, it would shut down within a thousandth of a second, then restart once the path was clear.
The technology also promises energy efficiency because it would only power products when needed.
Concerns have been raised about a possible link between electromagnetic waves and cancer, but scientists insist that the energy would only be picked up by gadgets designed to "resonate" with the field.


hashao> > 不知哪位能用它在 Emacs 中成功地输入中文(简体/繁体).
hashao> protocol. kterm, emacs-mule use it. It is only popular amount japanese.
hashao> Most other people use XIM style input server under X.
hashao> is what you are looking for.
tool for us to input Chinese.


text:
package com.google.sps.servlets;

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;

// See for more details: https://developers.google.com/calendar/v3/reference/events/delete

/** Delete a specific event */
public class DeleteEvent {

    // We should be getting the DATE
    public String createDeleteEventURL(String calendar_id, String eventId, String accessToken) {
        return new StringBuilder("https://www.googleapis.com/calendar/v3/calendars/" + calendar_id +
        "/events/" + eventId + "?access_token=").append(accessToken).toString();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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SKETCH: Peter Tapsell Remembers His Time as Eden's PPS
Students of unintended consequences will thoroughly enjoy the new Crimean War – it can be blamed on the European Union.
Peter Tapsell made a decent start today, attacking the organisation that draws its self-esteem from having kept the peace in Europe for 50 years.
He suggested that "the already over-enlarged Union" was "trying to extend its boundaries to Mongolia" and that would result "in a third world war."
People laugh at Tapsell because he was a personal assistant to Anthony Eden during Suez – around the time the Crimea was handed over to the Ukraine. That isn't history for Tapsell, it's current events.
People talk about the "inviolability of Ukraine's borders", the treaties, declarations and accords that councils and supra-nationals have put together.
But Tapsell says, "Every Russian knows the capture of the Crimea was the greatest achievement of Catherine the Great – that's why she was called the Great!
"No Russian government could ever give up Sebastapol, and the Russian people are passionately in support of President Putin."
That has more explanatory power than a treaty signed in 1954, and an inky Memorandum issued from Budapest.
Ian Austin suggested a search party be sent out to look for backbone in Europe's governments. Never had there been a time when the West was less inclined to defend it values, he said and called Putin a "KGB thug". High praise from Ian Austin.
The plan seems to be a calm, united, reasonable response. A "graduated hierarchy of costs and consequences."
Wish them luck. The Russian president poses shirtless on horseback. He makes George Bush look like Barack Obama.
Hague said consequences would include no officials going to Sochi for the Paralympics and possibly suspending Russia from the G8.
Putin will live with a suspension from the G8. He might just come along anyway. With tanks.
Labour's Douglas Alexander didn't try to link the invasion of the Crimea to the cost of living crisis facing this country. This was prudent. If war causes a spike in energy prices, it will play havoc with Miliband's 20-month price freeze.
If the Labour noodle is prime minister, that might even cause World War Four.
mdi-tag-outline Gallery Guido
mdi-timer March 4 2014 @ 15:28 mdi-share-variant mdi-twitter mdi-facebook mdi-whatsapp mdi-telegram mdi-linkedin mdi-email mdi-printer


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NGC 5008 est une très vaste galaxie spirale barrée relativement éloignée et située dans la constellation du Bouvier. Sa vitesse par rapport au fond diffus cosmologique est de , ce qui correspond à une distance de Hubble de . NGC 5008 a été découverte par l'astronome prussien Heinrich Louis d'Arrest en 1862. Cette galaxie a aussi été observée par l'astronome français Stéphane Javelle le  et elle a été inscrite à l'Index Catalogue sous la cote IC 4381.

La classe de luminosité de NGC 5008 est III-IV et elle présente une large raie HI. C'est aussi une galaxie active (AGN). Selon la base de données Simbad, NGC 5008 est une galaxie LINER, c'est-à-dire une galaxie dont le noyau présente un spectre d'émission caractérisé par de larges raies d'atomes faiblement ionisés.

Avec une brillance de surface égale à , on peut qualifier NGC 5008 de galaxie à faible brillance de surface (LSB en anglais pour ). Les galaxies LSB sont des galaxies diffuses (D) avec une brillance de surface inférieure de moins d'une magnitude à celle du ciel nocturne ambiant.

À ce jour, quatre mesures non basées sur le décalage vers le rouge (redshift) donnent une distance de , ce qui est à l'intérieur des valeurs de la distance de Hubble.

Groupe compact de Hickson 51

La galaxie NGC 5008 fait partie du groupe compact de Hickson 71. Les autres galaxies de ce groupe sont IC 4382 (HCG 51B), PGC 50640 (HGC 71C) et PGC 50641 (HCG 71D).

Notes et références

Notes

Références

Voir aussi

Articles connexes
 Liste des objets du New General Catalogue

Liens externes

 NGC 5008 sur le site du professeur C. Seligman

5008
Constellation du Bouvier
Galaxie spirale
Galaxie spirale barrée
Galaxie à faible brillance de surface
Galaxie LINER
Objet céleste découvert en 1862
Objet céleste découvert par Heinrich Louis d'Arrest


text:
Online bets off on 'Survivor'
By By David Bauder - Associated Press Writer
New York — An offshore bookie who takes wagers on the outcome of CBS' "Survivor" decided not to take bets Thursday, suspicious that someone who knows the winner is spreading inside information.
The reality series, which premiered its seventh edition from Pearl Island on Thursday, has been relatively free of security problems despite an Internet cottage industry in guessing winners and losers.
The Antigua-based company, BetWWTS.com, has taken bets from as many as 1,000 people for past editions of "Survivor," consistently television's most popular reality game.
The company rarely does any action with "Survivor" before the show gets on the air. Betting usually heats up after the show has been on for at least a month and viewers get to know the characters, said Simon Noble, the company's CEO.
"If we get five bets (before the game), I'd be stunned," Noble said. "Nobody can relate to any of the contestants or develop a strong opinion."
Yet in the past few days, the company took more than 15 bets on the same contestant, all from people who lived near each other in Vancouver, he said. The company shut the game down.
Noble wouldn't identify the contestant they were betting on, but said it was a woman who lives near Vancouver.
The CBS Web site identifies one contestant, Sandra Diaz-Twine, as living in Fort Lewis, Wash. She's a 29-year-old U.S. Army veteran who now works as an office assistant. She's married with two children.
CBS spokesman Chris Ender pointed out that although filming for the "Pearl Island" game is complete, the results are sealed.
"The truth is, only ("Survivor" executive producer) Mark Burnett and a couple of CBS executives know who won," he said. "Certainly, Mr. Burnett doesn't need the money you could win from an offshore bookmaker."
Can 'Survivor' survive bad hype?
'Survivor' admits using stand-ins for contestants
'Survivor' kicks into final four mode


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text:
layout: text/callout
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You should make it clear that you welcome participants with access needs and low digital skills. This is important because recruiters often exclude these groups by default.


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Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing Blog
Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing
Visit Project Website
About ASSA
Anthropology & COVID-19 Responses
Anthropology of Smartphones and Smart Ageing Blog »
From hands clean to hands-on: Coronavirus and ideas to support older people in São Paulo
By Marilia Duque E S, on 3 April 2020
Isolated, not alone
In Brazil, 15.3% of people aged 60 years and over live alone. When I conducted my 16-month ethnography among older people in Sao Paulo, I came across many of them. Most are extremely active and engaged in social activities and in the WhatsApp groups I participated. They have many friends, enjoy their freedom and independence. However, there are also a few who are living in a kind of semi-quarantine. The reasons for this are many. Some are widows. Some chose not to have children, some had children, but the children moved abroad. Some self-isolated after retirement. Their social interactions are sometimes restricted to speaking to shop assistants and people at the market, the drugstore, and the bank. There are many nuances among people in those two groups, and I was worried about both when social distancing was imposed by the coronavirus outbreak. How could I help them? The answer came from my fieldsite, where I observed how people like Marta and Bete below, were using WhatsApp to create networks of care.
Marta, aged 54, told me she does volunteering work. Every morning she sends a "good morning" messages to three older ladies who she knows are leaving alone. The WhatsApp messages work as a daily check to ensure the three are doing alright, as well as being a demonstration of affection and bringing joy to them.
Bete, aged 66, experiences a similar routine, but with her daughter, who lives in Spain. Everyday the daughter waits for a message from her mother to arrive before 10 am, when the mother writes to confirm that she slept well and that she is fine. The same procedure is repeated at night. If Bete doesn't answer the message, her daughter has some friends in Brazil that she can count on who can support her mother if necessary. In addition to this, Bete, who had an aneurysm two years ago, also receives occasional calls from her health insurance provider. During the call, she updates the doctors about the state of her health and receives advice. Despite living alone in São Paulo, far from her daughter and grandson, Bete feels safe and assisted.
I learned a few things from these simple, but successful models of care:
They take place on a platform people are already used to (in the Brazilians' case, this means WhatsApp).
They are based on care providers who shift from a reactive to a proactive role (including family, friends, or institutions)
They create a daily routine of care
They show even simple text messages can make a difference.
Based on that, I created an awareness campaign which replicates those models and provides support to older people living alone during the coronavirus crisis. The campaign is called "Angels on WhatsApp" because "angel" was what some of my informants used to call me when I helped them solve a problem.
Prototyping Wings
The campaign was launched on the 14th of March on my social media channels, but my focus was my WhatsApp groups and people I knew working on the topics of ageing or health. The campaign consisted of an image and a text message with instructions on how to become an Angel for older people living alone during the quarantine.
There is a guardian angel on my WhatsApp. Adopt an older person who lives alone during the coronavirus crisis. All you have to do is to be available on WhatsApp. Acess: http://www.saudeeenvelhecimento.com.br
The message describing the campaign that was sent out to my contacts can be read below. Because the message was translated from Brazilian Portuguese, some of the content of the message will relate to Brazilian healthcare infrastructure.
AN ANGEL ON WHATSAPP, BECAUSE SOLIDARITY IS ALSO CONTAGIOUS 😇😇😇
Social distancing can be a great preventive measure against the Coronavirus, especially for the population over 70, which has the highest mortality rate. The feelings of loneliness, abandonment and helplessness that it can bring are an immediately visible downside. But that does not mean that older people have to go through this alone.
The idea of the initiative is simple: you can become a guardian angel on WhatsApp 😇 and help support older people who live alone. The idea can be applied anywhere in the world, but it is important to do as the virus would do, and start with the people you have contact with. So, forget your country, and forget your city. Think small: start with your WhatsApp contacts.
DO YOU KNOW OF AN OLDER PERSON WHO LIVES ALONE AND WHO IS ONE OF YOUR WHATSAPP CONTACTS? 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 GREAT! NOW YOU CAN BE HIS OR HER GUARDIAN ANGEL:
👉 Text him/her in the morning and in the evening. Ask how he/she is, whether he/she slept well, whether he/she has eaten.
👉 Be available to chat.
👉 Be ready to guide him/her on how to seek medical advice. In Brazil, the Ministry of Health developed an app with a questionnaire for screening patients based on symptoms and a map of treatment centres using geolocation. Search for 'CORONAVIRUS SUS' in your app store.
👉 You can also keep him/her informed by sending news from reliable sources. The Ministry of Health has prepared a page on the Coronavirus that can be accessed here: https://www.saude.gov.br/saude-de-a-z/coronavirus. The CORONAVÍRUS SUS app also offers reliable news and tips.
👀 PLEASE NOTE: the volunteer cannot make a diagnosis or give any medical recommendations. The volunteer is a bridge for connect older people to reliable information and professional medical assistance.
WHY IS THIS REALLY IMPORTANT? 💪💪💪💪💪
You can help support older people and make them feel less lonely during their period of self-isolation due to the Coronavirus.
2. Two heads are better than one: you can both discuss the news about Coronavirus and double-check their reliability and trustworthiness before sending them on to friends.
3. The SUS application is really good, but one of the biggest difficulties older people (mainly over 70) have is downloading and installing new applications. You can be a bridge between an older person and the information and guidance contained in the SUS application.
WHERE DID THE INSPIRATION FOR THIS INITIATIVE COME FROM? 👽
My name is Marília, and this idea is based on my PhD research. For 16 months, I observed the use of smartphones among older people in Sao Paulo. If there is an app that they universally use, it is WhatsApp, including using the app to build networks of care and solidarity. Want to know more? Access: http://saudeeenvelhecimento.com.br/anjo/ (in Portuguese)
The message above went viral, and people I knew started asking me for older people's WhatsApp numbers. Some of them decided to focus on their neighbours, reproducing the notes that were spreading all over the country[1]. Then, the campaign reached the media, and I ended up getting 150 emails from people interested in becoming an angel. That was how my problems started.
"Hello, neighbours! If you are in a risk group, I am available
to help by going to the drug store or market. You can count on me."
From Heaven to Hell
On the one hand, I had 150 people wanting to volunteer. On the other, I had hundreds of older people I worked with and some I knew would be alone during the quarantine. So what did I do? Nothing. Firstly, I couldn't breach the terms of confidentiality of my research. Secondly, because older people are a common target for scammers, I could only intervene directly when three older people wrote to me asking for an angel, when I managed to get close friends of mine who I knew were trustworthy, to take care of them. And what about the rest? I couldn't take the risk of having a swindler mistaken for an angel, so I started looking for existing platforms that could facilitate this match between people. I found two.
The first one is the startup "Mais Vivida", which connects young people who get paid to help older people with their shopping or computer skills, for example. Mais Vivida created a free service for the coronavirus crisis which puts volunteers and older people in touch for free, but their service has a problem. To ask for help, older people need to fill in a six step form on Google Forms. I tried to use Google Forms to create a survey for my research participants before. It didn't work well, especially for those older than 75.
Screenshot from Google Forms used by Mais Vivida.
I continued searching and I found "Os vizinhos do Bem" (The Good Neighbours), a platform developed for the quarantine which matches those who can offer help to those who need help. In this case, the first question the website asks is why you are seeking help and there, the user has the option to inform the service that he or she is 60 or older. The questionnaire is simpler, with only 11 fields, but it could be still a challenge to complete for older people.
For now, I keep giving guidance to volunteers to check their WhatsApp contacts, to ask friends, and to pay attention to their neighbours and I am also encouraging them to engage with one of those platforms. In the perfect scenario, older people wouldn't have to leave WhatsApp or install any other app to inform others that they want help. After teaching three semesters on a WhatsApp course, it was clear the platform is where they become connected, where they feel comfortable and confident. So I am still waiting to find an alternative which considers this 'smartness from below', but this won't stop angels being angels. I keep receiving feedback from people and it confirms what one woman aged 66 once told me: "In volunteering, you think you are giving something, but you are the one who is always winning."
Below, you can read the testimonials of some of the Angels who have taken part in the initiatives, where they reflect on their positive experience.
"When I discovered that an action as simple as sending messages, calling or video chatting with older people could make such a difference, I was overjoyed. I adopted three lovely "aunts" with whom I started to speak every day. Today, one got emotional and thanked me saying that before that, she only had her dog to talk to. Then I was the one who got emotional". – E. S. Forbes
"At first, I thought that she did not need help, as she was very attentive and has children living in the same city. As the conversations went on, I came to that old truth – we all need it. We always learn that we can help others and that would fulfilment and calm the soul. We also learn that there is always something new to be learnt. Taking care of an "older lady", even if virtually, also helped me to manage the absence of my own parents who are not here anymore. In the scariest moments, like the ones we are living in now, I think about them and what they would say to me. So now, I listen to my older lady. All of this also gave me that really made me want to help more, to send messages to those uncles we never speak to and to the neighbours in the building". -S. Prevideli
Filed under Brazil
Tags: #care, communication, digital, elderly, isolation, living alone, older people, pandemic, sao paulo, support, technology, WhatsApp
Woman, interrupted
By Marilia Duque E S, on 9 January 2020
The "Menopause Kit" developed by Rosana Galvão, who has faced a decade of hot flushes. It includes an elastic hair band, a hair clip, a hand fan, tissues and a bottle of water. Photo (CCBY) Rosana Galvão.
Three weeks ago, The Economist published an article[i] addressing all the symptoms menopausal women face, often unnecessarily. The article talks about some of the arguments in favour of the hormone replacement therapy ('HRT' hereafter), highlighting that misinformation about the treatment can often lead to its demonisation. In the author's words, HRT constitutes a "cheap, alternative" treatment with significant "long-term benefits" for women entering menopause.
The article also discusses the two publications that are responsible for various turning points in terms of the reputation of HRT in the past decades. The first book to discuss the symptoms caused by the deficiency of oestrogen and as well as its potential use in alleviating these symptoms was "Feminine Forever" by Robert Wilson, published in 1966. The second turning point was the publication of the study known as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI hereafter), published in 2002. This publication was the first to seriously emphasise the harms caused by HRT and has had a long-term effect on the reputation of the treatment, associating it with an increased risk of breast cancer. According to a 2006 BMS (British Menopause Society) article, after the WHI study came out, 'most women' stopped having HRT. The most recent turning point in terms of the perception of HRT is the launch of the book "Oestrogen Matters" (2018). The book's co-author Avrum Bluming (an oncologist) reframes the findings of the original WHI study, arguing that the women recruited for it were already unhealthy or well beyond the ideal age for starting HRT. This publication, along with other recent findings, may be the key to redeeming the previously controversial treatment after all. This is great news for those entering menopause now or in the near future, but what about those to the women who went through it in the last 20 years?
The WHI study has undoubtedly had a long-lasting effect on the reputation of HRT all over the globe. This includes Brazil, where I conducted a 16-month ethnography with older people, among them women aged 50 to 72. When the findings of the WHI study were published back in 2002, the Brazilian journal Folha de São Paulo[ii] published an article where the Brazilian Ministry of Health proudly informed its readership that the Brazilian public health system (called 'SUS') was aware of the risks involved in recommending HRT, only having done it for very specific situations or cases (such as when women were suffering from osteoporosis) since 1995. At the time, the Women's Health Coordinator in the Brazilian Ministry of Health was quoted as saying: "The risks are bigger than the benefits. Any serious person would recommend the therapy with precaution". It is interesting to note that in Brazil, menopause as an issue had been included on the public health agenda since 1993, as part of Brazil's Women's Integral Health Assistance Programme (PAISM)[iii]. This marked a shift in the overall approach to women's health, from an emphasis that was previously focused on maternity, to a more holistic approach that took into consideration all stages of a woman's life and health. This can be seen a consequence of the ageing of the population in the country.
Nowadays, the official guidance published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, summarised in a document called the 'Handbook of Care for Women in Menopause'[iv], recommends a mix of physical and educational activities as well as eating a special diet as the main approach to managing the menopause. The material also contains healthcare professional facing information, addressing therapies including hormonal treatment (followed by a discussion of its side effects), acupuncture, phytotherapy (a type of herbal medicine) and anthroposophic medicine (a distinct special therapy system that has recognition in some countries).
The Ministry of Health issued handbook also encourages women to be informed about the risks of HRT so they can make a decision about the type of therapy they want to have. From the perspective of the research participants in my field site (a middle-class neighbourhood in São Paulo), I can say that this is very much a secondary problem. This is because there is first of all a lack of reliable information and support about menopause in the first place, and about what its effects on a woman's quality of life may be. A quarter of the women I interviewed had gone through it with no information or support, and confessed they didn't have much time to pay attention to the changes in their bodies because they were focused on work or family. At the time (10 to 20 years ago), many of them were taking care of their children and older parents. Moreover, menopause is a taboo even among women. Some women I spoke to are from a generation that didn't talk about menstruation or menopause with their mothers or with their cousins or friends. They were alone. Some of them only realised during the interview that the time they stopped having their menstruation actually coincided with the time they started to experience depression, insomnia, weight gain, and a loss of libido. Decades later, I can see that the new generation of menopausal women have started talking more about the subject, but the level of professional support hasn't improved very significantly, especially for those who rely entirely on the public health system. Take Maria's case: aged 52, she has been having hot flushes for a whole year, but she can't say if she is experiencing menopause or not, because she has got her period twice during this time and her doctor says her diagnosis is unclear. Without professional support to guide her at this time, she has started drinking blackberry tea, while she trying to manage the embarrassment and discomfort she faces when the hot flushes come in public. The tea was recommended by her friends, who are her primary source of information. Maria asks them for advice, but each one tends to suggest different things, since they experience menopause in different ways with distinct symptoms.
Menopause is also a class issue in Brazil. The meaning attributed to menopause and the treatments available differ from one social class to the other. A study conducted in a low-income and religious community in the Northeastern region of the country[v] showed that in the community in question, menopause can be seen as an act of God, with God being the one helping them accept it with resilience. In that specific example, women are subjected to a set of stigmas related to loss of fertility, leading to situations where some are seen as 'dry women' or even 'non women', primarily from the perspective of men. In a peripheric urban area of Sao Paulo, another study[vi] shows women experiencing menopause as a totally unexpected event, almost as if it is something one has 'caught', and is not directly associated with ageing. These women tend to use basic public health clinics to manage their physical symptoms without having access to a specific programme or assistance for menopausal women. In their case, HRT is rarely recommended because of its cost and because there is a gap in local resources that means clinics are not able to manage patients in a more long-term way – HRT would involve having routine medical tests, for example. Another study conducted in an upper middle-class neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro[vii] shows that here, the situation couldn't be more different: menopause is swiftly 'treated' with HRT almost by default, because these women are in the prime of their lives and want to get on with things. This doesn't mean this group of women considers menopause something problematic or unnatural. They just want their bodies to have the ability to carry them through the new experiences and projects they aspire to do during this period of their lives – and they can afford to pay for it.
A moral dilemma
When access to information and the cost of treatment are not an issue, having HRT still seems to raise a moral dilemma that goes beyond the choice between hormones or cancer. Having HRT can be seen as an act of vanity or an irresponsible decision on the part of women who simply can't accept the fact they have aged, with HRT symbolising the selfish and dangerous choice to pursue youth. The moralising dimension to the consequences of that choice can be seen in the following paragraph, taken from another official document published by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, the 'National Policy for Integral Attention to Women's Health'[viii]:
The medicalisation of women's bodies, with the use of hormones during menopause, finds a fertile field in the female imagination due to the false expectations it places, such as eternal youth and beauty. Medicalising women's bodies, in the name of science and supposed well-being, has always been a practice of medicine, which will only change when women are aware of their rights, of preventive and therapeutic possibilities and of the implications of different medical practices over their bodies. Oestrogen abuse for menopausal symptoms causes serious health problems, and women should be properly informed so that they can decide whether or not to do hormone replacement therapy.
In my field site, the moralising discourse around HRT is expressed even among women who do decide to have the treatment. Even as they describe the way in which they suffer from menopausal symptoms and how HRT provides them with a better quality of life, there is still an attempt to justify their choice using expressions like "I only used the bare minimum", "I only had it for a bit", or "I wish I had prepared for menopause better with more natural alternatives", quickly adding that they are either trying to quit HRT or have already done so. Claudia, aged 65, is one of them. She is convinced that women don't have to go through all the suffering menopause can bring, and that HRT is an important ally in supressing symptoms, but she too feels the need to emphasise that she doesn't take it anymore, even if later in the interview she says she is still under treatment.
In the same National Policy for Integral Attention to Women's Health, menopause is addressed as a challenging experience for women, who are now having to deal with the loss of their ability to have children as well as the end of their youth. Combined, these factors would be enough to trigger a crisis in some women, as highlighted in the paragraph below:
"There is a systematic discrimination in our society based on people's chronological age. In the case of women, this discrimination is most evident and occurs not only in relation to the physical body – fuelled by the overvaluation of motherhood in relation to other capacities and the myth of eternal youth – as in other aspects of life. In a patriarchal society where youth and beauty are related to success, entering "middle age" can give many women the impression that "it is all over"."
I have had the opportunity to listen to the stories of seven women over 50 who don't have children. Three of them had experienced fertility problems (either them or their husbands) although the couple decided to keep having sex without any intervention. The fourth woman I spoke to was married, but the couple decided not to have a child. The other three women were single. Two of them said they didn't have a partner they could feel committed to and could start a family with and the third just can't imagine herself being a mother. All of these women are now thinking about the children they didn't have, but that is just because, like any other person at this stage in their lives, they have begun to think about who is going to take care of them when they get older. There is no evidence among these women or among my own female research participants that they are experiencing the feeling that "it is all over". On the contrary, they are living their lives to their fullest and many of them are discovering new passions and engaging with new projects. While it is true that they complained about their bodies, this is not because they miss their beauty or their youth – in fact, they usually complain about the disposition they used to have (and for some, this includes the disposition for sex).
When sex matters
Menopause isn't only about the end of motherhood or the loss of beauty. For some women, sex is huge part of their identity, although that is not true of the majority of the cases in my field site. Most women I spoke to recognised the changes in libido that they experienced after menopause and accepted them. In some cases however, the loss of libido can represent a sort of loss of the self. That was the case with Carla, aged 70, who had HRT for five years before her doctor decided it was time to stop the treatment, leading to her spiraling into depression, noticing changes in her hair and skin and also in her libido. Carla defines herself as a person that is extremely connected to sex.
"Do you know a person who is good in bed? That is who I am, and I am not talking about sleeping. I know what pleases me, I know how to please my partner, and I know how to make him please me", she says.
As an example of an upper middle-class participant, Carla challenged her doctor's authority. She researched alternative doctors and found one who she knew was in favour of recommending HRT. She then pursued all the necessary tests in order to be prescribed the treatment again, and found that this enabled her to go back to who she was.
"I am not just a statistic. I have the necessary tests every three months, and I have decided to take the risks".
Another participant, Gisele (aged 61) like Carla really enjoyed sex, but her journey took her in the opposite direction. Her doctor didn't recommend that she have HRT, given her family history of breast cancer and because she was a former smoker. "If there is even a 0.5% chance of getting breast cancer, I won't take the risk", she says. Since then, and despite 11 years of hot flushes, Gisele has tried to reinvent herself:
"I am glad I enjoyed sex so much, I am glad that I never held back. It was good because at least I have something to remember today. That person – me – I really existed. Because it's so hard today without any libido, zero. Where did all that desire go? Did I really live all that? Was it me? It was me, right? It's very hard to recognise myself. So I'm in much need of psychotherapy, because it's all so strange to me. How can I start to think about myself without sex?"
The original Economist article sums up the harm that can be caused to women's bodies very well, noting that menopause can harm "brains, hearts and immune systems. It is associated with a higher risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures, increased abdominal fat, and a heightened risk of contracting diabetes". It is here that I would like to highlight the ways in which menopause can also harm women's self, going well beyond the issues of motherhood, beauty, youth or diseases. In some cases, having or keeping a disposition for sex really matters to women, an aspect that I thought was missing in the original article. As the author says, "the symptoms of menopause can include hot flushes, depression, aches and pains, insomnia, anxiety and transient memory loss". Indeed, but what about the loss of libido? In the study conducted in a peripheric urban area of Sao Paulo I mentioned before, women don't think something like the loss of libido justifies the time and effort they would have to invest in scheduling a medical consultation and the researchers argue that even if they do so, they wouldn't find a professional willing to listen to their sexual complaints. Even among my informants, women face the loss of libido with resilience, as if it was something they would expect at this age, or as if it was something they are not supposed to resist. Beyond the benefits for the symptoms of menopause and related chronic diseases, maybe that is something HRT could also challenge: the lack of attention paid to desire and sex in latter years of life. Not because women 'need' it, but because some of them want it.
[i] The Economist (2019, December 12). Managing Menopause: Million of women are missing out on hormone replacement therapy. https://www.economist.com/international/2019/12/12/millions-of-women-are-missing-out-on-hormone-replacement-therapy
[ii] Brasília Branch Office. (2002, July 12). F. de São Paulo.
https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/fsp/cotidian/ff1207200215.htm
[iii] Lopes, Cristina Garcia (2007). Integralidade na Saúde da Mulher – A questão do Climatério. Fiocruz. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro.
[iv] Handbook on Care of Woman in Menopause
Brasil. Ministério da Saúde. Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Departamento de Ações Programáticas Estratégicas. Manual de Atenção à Mulher no Climatério/Menopausa / Ministério da Saúde, Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde, Departamento de Ações Programáticas Estratégicas. – Brasília : Editora do Ministério da Saúde, 2008. http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/manual_atencao_mulher_climaterio.pdf
[v] Costa, Gabriela Maria C, Gualda, Dulce Maria Rosa. 2008. Menopause Knowledge And Experience For A Group Of Women. Rev Esc Enferm USP, 42(1), 81-9.
[vi] Trench, Belkis, & Rosa, Tereza Etsuko da Costa. (2008). Menopausa, hormônios, envelhecimento: discursos de mulheres que vivem em um bairro na periferia da cidade de São Paulo, estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Saúde Materno Infantil, 8(2), 207-216. https://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1519-38292008000200008
[vii] Pereira, Cláudia; Penalva, Germano. 2012. "Mulher-madonna" e outras mulheres: um estudo antropológico sobre a juventude aos 50 anos. IN: Corpo, Envelhecimento e Felicidade. Org. Mirian Goldenber. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira.
[viii] National Policy for Integral Attention to Women's Health
MS (Ministério da Saúde/ Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde/ Departamento de Ações Programáticas Estratégicas), 2004. Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde da Mulher – Princípios e Diretrizes. Brasília: Ministério da Saúde.
http://bvsms.saude.gov.br/bvs/publicacoes/politica_nac_atencao_mulher.pdf
Tags: #medicine, anthropology, Brazil, ethnography, health policy, healthcare, hormone treatment, HRT, menopause, sao paulo, treatment, wellness, women, women's health
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Dalmannia vitiosa är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Daniel William Coquillett 1892. Dalmannia vitiosa ingår i släktet Dalmannia och familjen stekelflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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HOUSTON, TX (August 1, 2016): David Weekley Homes, the nation's largest private home builder, released the winners of its 12th Partners of Choice Award. The honor recognizes those suppliers that have operated at world-class levels through the year, and have been recognized by the supplier evaluation platform created by the home builder. This rigorous, comprehensive process anchored by the National Trading Partner Survey, evaluates companies in the areas of quality, service, performance in reliability, communication, timeliness, follow-through and other areas critical to the business relationship.
Dow Chemical Company has received the Partners of Choice award each year since the award's inception in 2004. Christopher Parmele, Residential Regional Manager for Dow, said this honor is the result of the strong relationship and collaboration between the companies.
Another company with a longstanding reputation of excellence is Simpson Strong-Tie, which received the award for the 12th time this year.
First-time recipients in 2016 are Blanco and SRS Distribution, Inc. Daniel Rucker, director of Builder Sales with SRS Distribution, Inc. said this award is an exciting measurement of the company's success as well as other national builder partners.


Rematch time, but I'm not sure this one is going to work like a typical revenge spot. The Pacers did EVERYTHING in their power to beat the Heat, and still came up just a hair short. This game reminds me an awful lot of the Heat's recent trip to Detroit, with a few small differences. One, the Pacers are still playing pretty well. I'm not willing to crown Coach Vogel the hero of Indianapolis, but the team is hot, and that can't be argued. Two, the Heat are coming off a loss in Boston that snapped the team's 8-game win streak. You all know how I like to fade teams off a long win streak, though the Heat have shown some solid resiliency off a loss this season, aside from when 2/3 of the Heatles got hurt. And three, the Heat just fell out of the top spot in the East, and something tells me LeBron doesn't take kindly to that. I know this line is inflated, and I also realize that the 5.5 is a dubious number, but I think Indy fired their bullets in Miami - lean to the HEAT and the UNDER.
I find it unfair that oddsmakers would force two of the hotter teams in the NBA to play one another. Throughout most of the season, these two teams have been some of the best ATS wagers in the League, so picking between the two seems almost sacrilegious. Hoowwweevverr, the Grizzlies beat the Sixers on a ridiculous comeback effort on the road just about 3 weeks ago, and something tells me Philly hasn't forgotten that game, even if a lot of us have. I love the way Memphis is dominating the painted area (quoth the Hubie Brown), but with this being the Grizzlies' final game before the All Star Break, and Philly on revenge with another game to go before their own hiatus, I can't help but like the SIXERS and the OVER.
It would appear Durant's day-to-day status is keeping this line off the board, and I suppose he's high profile enough to warrant it. Between his injury and the potential revenge angle, I'm not 100% sure what to make of this game. The Thunder beat Sacramento by just 2 points in Northern California only a couple days ago, but Sacramento destroyed Oklahoma on the glass, and it almost seems like, from looking at the box score, the Kings should have won that game. So, do we see an extra-motivated Thunder team coming home, trying to show that Sacramento "hanging tough" was an aberration, or do we see the Kings come out with confidence, feeling like if they make a few shots, they can beat the vaunted Thunder? Tough to say, and without knowing Durant's status, and given the locker room mess coming from the Kings side, they would be a tough team to back. PASS on the side, most likely, small totals lean to the OVER, line depending.
Fatigue versus sluggishness in the ultimate battle of who can be more off their game. In general, I'd probably err towards backing the team that could be considered fatigued, but this matchup is striking in that the better of the two teams is actually 0-2 against the lesser. Is that a sign that Charlotte just matches up well with Chicago? Maybe. Did Charlotte catch Chicago at a couple of bad times? That's tough to argue, really. I would certainly argue that Chicago coming home off a 5-game road trip isn't a particularly good spot for the Bulls, but Charlotte traveling to Illinois off a game with the Lakers. This total is probably pretty close to where it should be, but given how poorly the teams have shot in both previous meetings, I could see this squeaking by. Slight leans to CHARLOTTE and the OVER.
We'll keep this one relatively simple - the Jazz got beat by Phoenix like a schoolyard bully takes down the first kid to get glasses, and the post-Sloan era kicked off with a whimper. Luckily, Utah gets to travel to Phoenix on a ton of rest and try to atone for that loss very, very quickly. It's rare when a team can make up for an ugly effort so quickly, but Utah has this opportunity, and I expect them to shoot a whole heck of a lot better than they did at home. Utah forced only 6 turnovers by the Suns (committing 14, themselves), got beat on the offensive glass, and shot only 12 free throws. That is some weak, weak aggression. Utah turns it up in this one, there's zero question in my mind. Is that enough to overcome the lack of true leadership? Only time will tell, but I have to like UTAH on revenge, and some significantly less hideous offense from both sides leans me OVER.
So far, the road team has won each game in this series, this year. And, if it wasn't completely evident by the short paragraph that follows, this is not one of the games on the card that I find particularly compelling. The Hornets have been wholly unimpressive since losing Emeka Okafor to injury, and while they did pick up a somewhat unexpected road win in Orlando, they came right back home and got spanked by Chicago. The Warriors can't beat Phoenix, but they're playing alright against everyone else. I happen to think this game is, in fact, decided by a bucket or two, and while I think Golden State has the better offensive firepower to get it done (certainly without Okafor defending the paint), it's not among my list of games I want to bet. Tiny, and I mean tiny side lean to the WARRIORS, and with both previous meetings going well over the total, I think this one is a little more plodding, lean UNDER.


Inflation for the month of May 2017 dropped marginally to 12.6 per cent as against the 13 per cent recorded in April 2017.
The monthly change rate in the May 2017 inflation was 0.7 per cent while that of April 2017 was 1.6 per cent.
Inflation rate measures the average rise in the prices of all consumer goods and services that households acquire for the purpose of consumption.
The acting Government Statistician, Mr Baah Wadieh, who disclosed this at a news conference in Accra last Wednesday said the major contributory factor was the slight reduction in fuel prices during the period under review.
Other factors were the combined effect of the food and non-food inflation rate changes within the period.
"There was a general decline in prices for almost all the major subgroups. A significant driver is the price of fuel which recorded a slight decline in price and inflation and that might have triggered so many of the groups to reduce the inflation rate," he said.
The year-on-year food inflation rate for May 2017 was 6.3 per cent, compared to the 6.7 per cent recorded in April 2017.
However, the year-on-year non-food inflation rate (15.8 per cent) is more than two times that of the food inflation rate (6.3 per cent) and is more than two times that of the food inflation rate.
"In May 2017, the year-on-year inflation rate for imported items (14.5 per cent) was 2.7 percentage points higher than that of locally produced items (11.8 per cent).
"The main price drivers for the non-food inflation rate were transport (23.6 per cent), recreation and culture (21.4 per cent), furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance (20.7 per cent), clothing and footwear (16.5 per cent) and miscellaneous goods and services (16.4 per cent)," he said.
Mr Wadieh added that five regions (Greater Accra, Upper West, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Western) recorded inflation rates higher than the national average.