text:
Did the Rambam believe in magic?
If you read through Chapter 11 of the Rambam's laws on Idol Worship, you'll see what seems to be the Rambam forbidding anything that even resembles magic, all while calling such practices foolish and saying they have no effect at all, neither good nor bad.
But then you get to Halacha 15, where the Rambam says:
"A sorcerer must be condemned to execution by stoning."
And just in case you thought the Rambam meant that this "sorcerer" was pretending to perform sorcery (since it seems he holds that it doesn't exist), the very next words are:
"This applies when he commits a deed of sorcery. If, however, he merely deludes those who observe him into thinking that he is performing an act although he actually does not, he is given stripes for rebelliousness."
Then in the next Halacha, the Rambam returns to his previous theme:
"All the above matters are falsehood and lies with which the original idolaters deceived the gentile nations in order to lead them after them. It is not fitting for the Jews who are wise sages to be drawn into such emptiness, nor to consider that they have any value as [implied by Numbers 23:23]: "No black magic can be found among Jacob, or occult arts within Israel." Similarly, [Deuteronomy 18:14] states: "These nations which you are driving out listen to astrologers and diviners. This is not [what God... has granted] you."
Whoever believes in [occult arts] of this nature and, in his heart, thinks that they are true and words of wisdom, but are forbidden by the Torah, is foolish and feebleminded."
What's going on? Does the Rambam believe in the efficacy of black magic and sorcery or not? What's the explanation for this seeming contradiction?
(Thanks to @Curiouser and @ShmuelBrill for this question.)
Related: Why is there no magic today?
halacha rambam avodah-zarah sorcery-magic-kishuf
HodofHodHodofHod
Umm, why the downvote? – HodofHod May 2 '12 at 21:04
It may be that Rambam would distinguish between whether the magician actually did some kind of action or not.
Suppose, for example, you have someone who claims that he will use magic to harvest a field of cucumbers (the example given in the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 67a). There are, then, three possibilities:
He performs some action (waving a wand, saying some incantation, etc.), and the results really do happen (the cucumbers really are harvested magically).
He performs the action, but the results don't happen - he's hypnotized the audience into thinking that there is a pile of harvested cucumbers there (or he uses sleight of hand to pick them without being noticed, etc.).
He doesn't even perform any action of that sort, just hypnotizes the audience into believing that they've seen both the action and its result.
Now, Rambam is stating that #1 is impossible, which leaves us with two options. Perhaps, then, he would say that the magician is liable to the death penalty in case #2, for actually performing the action (with the fact that the results weren't, in fact, magical being irrelevant), while he would define #3 as the אוחז את העיניים mentioned in the Mishnah there - he didn't perform any forbidden act (let's assume, for argument's sake, that hypnotizing people is not forbidden) and therefore gets only malkos.
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+1. If this is correct, it would seem to explain the practice of religious Jewish magicians nowadays, who give away (explain) one trick to show that what they're doing is sleight of hand, and then use the usual "hocus pocus" theatrics for the rest of the show: giving away one trick seems to make it that they're doing #3 rather than #2 for the non-given-away tricks (viz, by showing the audience that the wand-waving is actually nothing at all). – msh210♦ Jan 29 '12 at 20:49
@msh210, if that were the reason, they'd still have a problem: אוחז את העיניים is also forbidden (and punishable by malkos). I think it might be more that their giving away one trick results in the rest of their show not falling into any of these categories - i.e., they're telling the audience that no actual magic is being done, nor are they being led to believe that it is. – Alex Jan 30 '12 at 6:29
I don't know.... It seems to me that both 2 & 3 would be "אוחז את העיניים". – HodofHod Feb 7 '12 at 5:18
At least according to the Maaseh Rokeach on the Rambam, the Rambam did indeed believe in magic. (There's also another pirush on that page called דעת ומחשבה which says the same thing, but I have never heard of it.)
His explanation is that the Rambam could not deny something that is stated in pesukim clearly (as evidenced by his halachos on punishments for practitioners of magic), so the explanation of what the Rambam means by "falsehood and lies" is that magic comes from "sitra achra" (lit. "the other side" i.e. the opposite of holiness). He explains that the reason the Rambam chose such strong language is to distance people as much as possible from such practices.
לכאורה דברים תמוהים הם דמעשה דשאול עם בעלת אוב כתוב בפסוק ואין ספק שהיה המעשה באמת וכן בכמה מקומות מוכיח שדברים אמתיים הם ובגמ' אמרו גם כן למה נקרא שמן כשפים שמכחישין פמליא של מעלה וכבר נתעוררו המפרשים ז"ל בזה ולענ"ד נראה כוונת רבינו אינה אלא כלפי שהם מצד הסטרא אחרא וזה הוא השקר והכזב שיש בהם שאינן מסטרא דקדושה כלל חלילה ונקט נמי האי לישנא להרחיק המין האנושי מאלו העניינים לגמרי כמ"ש אחר זה
This is a big stretch IMO :\ Rambam was not afraid to allegorize or refuse literal interpretations of Tanakh. – Yaakov Kuperman Apr 15 '12 at 16:31
@HodofHod This answer solves my issue over here as well (although the premise of the question rules out this as a valid answer) – Y e z Jan 29 '16 at 4:19
Something is utter idiocy, that is in opposition to the Torah, yet claim that we cant trust the source (Rambam) because maybe he is lying to us and using language that is meant to fool us, then we can never read any text. After all, maybe the Talmud was trying to wean us off excessive rationalism. Lastly, his assumption that Rambam was referencing kabbalistic concepts is extremely tenuous at best. No less than Rav Chaim Vital affirmed the obvious; that Rambam did not have Kabbalah. And even those who invented the legend connecting Rambam to Kabbalah, state that he learned it at the end of his – mevaqesh Jan 29 '16 at 5:33
Life. After completing the MT. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that even given the great shortcomings of this explanation, even Maaseh Rokeach himself does not mention (at least in the cited text) Rambam's statement about a sorcerer only being liable if he performs an act. Evidently he agreed that this line posed no difficulty, and did not indicate belief in magic. – mevaqesh Jan 29 '16 at 5:39
@mevaqesh Indeed it seems the Maaseh Rokeach's argument ("it can't be that someone would take the Shaul story as not having happened literally") is valid but not sound, and thus whether or not his conclusion is correct, his position doesn't count for anything other than historical novelty. – Double AA♦ Jan 29 '16 at 13:44
The rambam is very clear that there is no such thing as sorcery and that it's impossible for a person to do an act of sorcery.
Nevertheless, the Rambam is honest regarding what the Talmud and Torah and halacha say about such a person. He isn't going to pretend that the halacha doesn't exist, just because there is no such thing as sorcery and there never will be.
This isn't any different than the halacha for the Ben Sorer (Rebellious child) which the gemora says never happened and never can happen.
Just because nobody will ever be punished with that halacha, and the situation for the halacha can't arise, doesn't mean that the law must be "removed from the books."
And I imagine the Rambam wan't to be sure that even though such things don't exist, a person should not say to themselves, "Well, maybe it does exist and I will try it." because then they would be liable for the death penalty if they succeeded. So this is just an extra precaution to keep people away from such foolishness. And Gd forbid their faith in Hashem or the Torah is diminished because they think that Magic should exist because of this halacha, but they find it is all fraudulent.
aviavi
+1, sounds reasonable. is it all your own conjecture (and can you make that clear in the answer) or does your main point have a source? – msh210♦ Jan 29 '12 at 20:50
But the Rambam is definitely seeing sorcery as different than a rebellious son. The latter has never happened and may/will never happen. The former can never happen. Therefore applying the same idea of not removing a halacha because it won't happen doesn't apply to a sorcerer, where the forbidden action can never happen. – HodofHod Jan 29 '12 at 21:08
@avi, It's interesting to note, that the same Gemara (Sanhedrin 71a) quotes R' Yonasan as having witnessed several of these things that "never happened", including the execution of the rebellious son. Also interesting to note, R' Yehuda does not say that the parents cannot have the same voice; rather that if the law is to be applied, they must be the same. – HodofHod Feb 16 '12 at 0:15
@avi, Nowhere do any of the opinions say that the case of the rebellious son (or the condemned city, or the leprous house) is impossible, only that the circumstances of one are incredibly difficult to fulfill, and hence they have never and will never happen; but not that they can't. Yes, I believe there is a difference. – HodofHod Feb 16 '12 at 0:15
But the Rambam himself doesn't follow R' Yehuda in saying that they must have the same voice. – HodofHod Feb 16 '12 at 15:44
The Rambam clearly is stating his disbelief in magic, a statement that typifies his rationalist and philosophical outlook. This manifests in practical halacha here where his statement that magic spells are placebos and have no real effect is codified in the Shulkhan Arukh. This source is also notable because the Vilna Gaon (Be'ur Ha'Grah note 13) disagrees strongly and attacks the Rambam as being poisoned by 'accursed philosophy' in his rejection of magic, demons, amulets, etc.
As for the seeming contradiction as to why he states that there exists such a thing as 'a deed of sorcery', 'sorcery' or 'magic' refers to distinct practices. Performing these distinct practices would be explicitly forbidden. Pretending to do these practices would be 'grabbing the eyes'. (Also note that IIRC this is a quote from a relevant mishna in Sanhedrin, not the Rambam's own words).
While I don't know of anything off the top of my head that would be 'kishuf', you can use the example of the ancient pagan practice of consulting entrails to tell the future. In line with Rambam's thinking (and assuming this is 'kishuf'), if I actually made predictions based on entrails I would be a sorcerer. If, however, I made predictions claiming them to be based on entrails, but never did the actual ritual practices to divine with entrails, that would be 'grabbing the eyes'. Either way, the entrails are what they are, the forbidden practice is what it is, and no supernatural event has occurred.
Similarly, just because you're liable for serving a foreign deity doesn't mean that the deity actually exists. The actions of the foreign cult are what is forbidden, not the alleged effects those actions have in the cult's mythology.
Yaakov KupermanYaakov Kuperman
"The Rambam clearly is stating his disbelief in magic, a statement that typifies his rationalist and philosophical outlook." Any source for this? Or is your source the very thing which you claim to be a manifestation of the source? It seems you are taking as a starting point the stance that the Rambam doesn't believe in magic. Do you have any clear source? Since, as you mentioned yourself, the Rambam does seem to differentiate between real magic and slight of hand. – Chaim Jan 28 '16 at 20:54
@Chaim Although his statements in MT could not possibly be more clear as noted by Rav Qafih z"l probably the greatest expert on Rambam in at least 500 years, You could add his comments in Perush Hamishnayot in Avodah Zara which I quoted here. – mevaqesh Jan 28 '16 at 23:41
רבינו בחיי שמות כב:יז-מכשפה לא תחיה. ענין הכשוף הוא חבור דברים חלוקים זה מזה וכאשר יחבר אותם הדברים למטה זה עם זה כן יתחברו ויתערבו הכחות אשר למעלה זה עם זה ותצא מביניהם פעולה נפלאה נכרית. והנה חרטומי מצרים עיקר חכמתם היה ענין הכשוף והיו עושים בהם דברים נפלאים בדרך טבע ודרשו רז"ל למה נקרא שמן כשפין שמכחישים פמליא של מעלה. והכחשת הפמליא הוא כשאדם עושה למטה הרכבת דברים שהם הפך הכחות הפשוטים הנגזרים בתנועת הגלגלים ובגזרת עירין שהם נפש להם והם הנקראים פמליא של מעלה. וראוי לאדם שיניח העולם שיתנהג כמנהגו וכפי טבעו הפשוט, שהוא רצון בוראו יתברך שבראו כך ואם תתעסק בכשפים יש בזה צד הכחשה, וכן דעת הרמב"ם – Chaim Feb 4 '16 at 21:50
@Chaim The kabbalists claiming that Rambam was a closet kabbalist, an overt kabbalist, or a convert to kabbalism is nothing new. They even forged documents to back this up. yawn. Much more significant are the Rambam's own repeated assertions in Shemonah Ferakim, elsewhere in Mishne Torah, in his letter to Provence, etc. To the contrary. Similarly, whose objective it is to explain the Rambam (e.g. R. Qafih who devoted his life to translating explaining, publishing, and following the Rambam) cannot possibly be dismissed on account of those whose goal it was to explain away the Rambam. – mevaqesh Feb 10 '16 at 14:44
I would hardly say Rabbeinu Bachya's goal was to explain away the Rambam. Very often he dismissed the Rambam's rationalist approach, such as in Shemos 23:19. Dismissing a Rishon, on the other hand, would seem to be explaining away a proof. However, in the pursuit of truth, I will tell you that R' Chavel changes the Girsa to RambaN, based on your assertion. – Chaim Feb 10 '16 at 14:49
the rambam in his introduction to zeraim clearly admits to magic
ופן יחשוב חושב ויאמר, כי בקיום הודעת החידושים והעתידות תתקיים הנבואה לטוען אותה, הנה כל הקוסמים והוברי שמים ובעלי הכוחות הנפשיות יכולים לטעון טענת נבואה, שאנו רואים אותם, עין בעין, כל היום מגידים מה שעתיד להיות ואני אומר, שהקוסמים והוברי שמים ואנשל החבורה ההיא, יגידו העתידות ההוות, אבל יצדקו קצתם וישקרו קצתם בהכרה. וזה הדבר אנו רואים אותו תמיד, ויסכימו עליו ג"כ אנשי המלאכה ההיא ואותותם לא ינכרו. אבל יתרון כל איש מהם על חברו, בהיות כל שקרי איש אחד פחות משקרי זולתו, אך שיצדקו בכל דקדוקי העתידות זה אי אפשר להיות. ובעלי הכוחות האלו לא יכנו נפשם, ולא יתהללו שיצדקו בכל חלקי הדברים, אבל אומרים שזאת השנה יהיה בצורת, ושלא ירד גשם כלל, ונמצא שיהיה בה גשם מעט; או יאמר שמחר ירד גשם ונמצא שירד ליום שלישי וכדומה לו, וזה הדבר יקרה לו כשיהיה בקי מאוד, והן הידועים בשם אשר דברו עליהם בספריהם. וזה עניין דברי ישעיהו לבבל (ישעיה מז), יעמדו נא ויושיעוך הוברי שמים, החוזים בכוכבים, מודיעים לחדשים [מאשר יבואו עליך]
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/mahshevt/hakdama/2-2.htm
basically he says there are various levels of these people. the greater the level of the sorcerer the greater percentage of truth and less falsehood in his words. however they are never consistently 100% accurate but the true prophet of God is always 100% true in every detail of what he predicts.
(the Rambam does not need to tell us the difference between a prophet of God and a charlatan. He is talking about people with special powers as he says "baalei kochos haelu", the same type of people referred to by the contemporary kabalist Rabbi Yaakov Hillel here )
@mevaqesh Indeed, modern day meteorologists make predictions about rain all the time which are about as accurate as the Rambam describes. Making a prediction which is possibly true doesn't take magic. – Double AA♦ Jan 29 '16 at 4:17
@mevaqesh i translate the bold "the superiority of one over the other is that his words contain less falsehood than the other.. and those with such powers..". i think you are letting your views distort his words. btw, such people exist even today as rav yaakov hillel also clearly states judaism.stackexchange.com/a/45058/1857 – ray Jan 29 '16 at 6:59
@DoubleAA i am amazed at how you can deny his black and white clear words that people with such prophetic powers do exist. – ray Jan 29 '16 at 12:29
@DoubleAA I'm not endorsing this particularly reading of this particular Rambam, but you can't deny that there certainly are implications both ways, which is what prompted the question, and that there were at least some Torah sources who took the approach in the Rambam to accept the reality of magic and reinterpret the rest (as opposed to those who have to reinterpret the Rambam cited in the question). So calling it black and white seems slightly disingenuous (on both sides) – Y e z Jan 29 '16 at 14:01
This shows that he admits to clairvoyance. But clairvoyance is not magic or sorcery. Some people have the intuition or 'feeling' of things which they couldn't have known naturally. And just as the Rambam describes it, they aren't always right, and they don't always have the feeling. These aren't practitioners. This is not Assur and is therefore not addressed in the MT. – HaLeiVi Jan 29 '16 at 20:14
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text:
Q: What is the equivalent of PL/SQL %ISOPEN in PL/pgSQL? I'm migrating an Oracle PLSQL SP to be compatible with Postgres plpgsql (version  PostgreSQL 13.6 on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-gcc (GCC) 7.4.0, 64-bit).
The exception block of the PLSQL SP has the below code:
exception
    when others then
        if CURR1%isopen then
            close SPV_RECON_INFO;
        end if;
        open CURR1 for execute select sysdate from dual;
END;

How can %isopen be implemented in Postgres?

A: PostgreSQL cursors do not support %ISOPEN or %NOTFOUND. To address this problem %ISOPEN can be replaced by a boolean variable declared internally in the procedure and is updated manually when the cursor is opened or closed.
http://wiki.openbravo.com/wiki/PL-SQL_code_rules_to_write_Oracle_and_Postgresql_code

A: That is simple. You have to assign a name to the cursor variable, then you can search for that cursor in pg_cursors. If there is a row with that name, the cursor is open.
Here is a self-contained example:
DO
$$DECLARE
   c refcursor;
BEGIN
   c := 'mycursor';
   /* cursor is not open, EXIST returns FALSE */
   RAISE NOTICE '%', EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM pg_cursors WHERE name = 'mycursor');
   OPEN c FOR SELECT * FROM pg_class;
   /* cursor is open, EXIST returns TRUE */
   RAISE NOTICE '%', EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM pg_cursors WHERE name = 'mycursor');
END;$$;

NOTICE:  f
NOTICE:  t

If you do not assign a name, PostgreSQL will generate a name (but you don't know what the name is).

A: I often found it convenient in cases like this to create a function that emulates Oracle. In his case something like:
create or replace function cursor_isopen(cur text)
    returns boolean
   language sql
as $$
   select exists (select null
                    from pg_cursors
                   where name = cur
                 ) ;
$$;

Then your code becomes something like:
exception
    when others then
        if cursor_isopen(cur_name::text) then
            close SPV_RECON_INFO;
        end if;

Of course you need to have preset the cursor name as Laurenz Albe has pointed out. Sample test case.
do $$
declare
   cur1 cursor for select table_name from information_schema.tables;
   cur2 cursor for select table_name from information_schema.tables;
   table_name text;
begin
   cur1 := 'closed-cursor';
   cur2 := 'open-cursor';
   open cur2;

   if cursor_isopen(cur1::text)
       then
            fetch cur1 into table_name;
            raise notice 'First table name: %', table_name;
            close cur1;
       else raise notice 'cursor_isopen(''%'') returned %', cur1::text, cursor_isopen(cur1::text);
   end if;

   if cursor_isopen(cur2::text)
       then
            fetch cur2 into table_name;
            raise notice 'First table name: %', table_name;
            close cur2;
       else raise notice 'cursor_isopen(''%'') returned %', cur1::text, cursor_isopen(cur1::text);
   end if;

end;
$$;

results:
cursor_isopen('closed-cursor') returned f
cursor_isopen('open-cursor') returned t. First table name: task_states

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The Complete Cloud of Unknowing
By Anynonymous, Translation and Commentary by Father John-Julian, OJNCentral to the Christian mystical tradition is the inspired work of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Rich with insights and perceptions of the obscurity and "unknowability" of God, this work reveals God as being on an entirely different plane of existence from human beings and - so different that time-bound human language is inadequate to describe God exhaustively or accurately. Intellect and emotion both fail in seeking God, who can only be encountered by rejecting all common earthly means in a "cloud of forgetting" and the discovery of Godself in the dark "cloud of unknowing" that can be pierced only with a "lance of longing love. " Now, we finally have a translation that captures all of this beauty and complexity, without minimizing the nuances, all of which are explained with extensive introductions and accompanying notes. "If I could keep with me only two books and a journal, this book would be one of the books. As far as I'm concerned it's the most important book (and among the most influential) on Christian prayer in the last two millennia. I'm delighted to endorse this fine new translation and commentary. " and - The Rev. Dr. Chris Neufeld-Erdman, University Presbyterian Church, Fresno, CA , author of Beyond Chaos: Living theChristian Family in a World Like Ours and Returning to the Center: Living Prayer in a DistractingWorld "The Complete Cloud of Unknowing includes two classics of medieval Christian contemplative spirituality and - essential reading for anyone seeking to deepen their relationship with God through the practice of silent prayer. They are rich texts, full of nuanced wisdom that often gets lost in modern translations. Father John-Julian has captured the beauty, humor and literaryelegance of the original versions, but also has supplemented his translation with detailed notes that convey the subtle spiritual insight that makes these works required reading. I'm excited about this book and - it's a title I will recommend both to beginners and to longstanding students of The Cloud. " and - Carl McColman, author of Answering the Contemplative Call and The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader "In his translation of The Cloud of Unknowing, Fr. John-Julian presents us with an edition that is scholarly yet readable, learned yet spiritual. His lived experience as a monk combines with deep insight as a theologian to provide an approach to The Cloud that is contemplative in mind and soul. The book offers a rich introduction and enlightening, provocative notes that will satisfy both novice and veteran readers of the text. Fr. John-Julian's accessible version does not oversimplify the profundity of the text. This edition, with its wonderful resources, will keep the seeker journeying evermore back to the work, on both intellectual and practical roads. " and - Professor Frederick S. Roden, Department of English, University of Connecticut "With his mastery of the subtleties of language and local idiom, Fr. John Julian reclaims a classic of spiritual literature to its rightful place in the 21st century. By rediscovering the nuances that the Unknown Author of The Cloud of Unknowing embedded into the spiritual fabric of hiswork, the reader is drawn into the contemplative life with the fullness of its 14th century origins while being fully relevant in the 21st century. I would highly recommend this spiritual classic restored and recast for a modernworld. " and - Dr. Jeffrey P. Wincel, Author of Climbing the Mountain of God: The Path to Mystical Discipleship
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Medjugorje The Message
By Wayne WeibleWith refreshing candor and self-deprecating humor, Wayne takes the reader with him on the adventure to Medjugorje that radically and...

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The Elements of a Christopher Nolan Film
Wes Anderson's color palette. Quinton Tarantino's trunk shots. Every director has signature trademarks that make their film's uniquely their's. Christopher Nolan is no exception. From his nonlinear storylines to his character's split-personalities, a dozen key characteristics can be spotted throughout the scenes in every one of Nolan's projects.
Professor Marston & the Wonder Women
Gal Gadot is blowing up box offices with her portrayal of the comic book hero Wonder Woman. With the Amazonian Princess back in the spotlight, a film detailing her origin seems like a no-brainer. Based on a true story, this biopic follows the life of Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston during the time he created the fictional character and also reveals the inspiration behind her — his wife and their lover. Starring Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, and Bella Heathcote, Professor Marston & the Wonder Women is due out October 27, 2017.
Creating the Carolina Reaper
Smokin' Ed Currie likes it hot. He loves the heat so much, he bred the hottest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper. Hitting just over 1.5 million on Scoville scale, it's the hottest thing you'll find this side of Dante's Inferno — unless someone tries to take Ed's record. In case that happens, Ed claims to have peppers that are twice as hot as the Reaper and would smoke the competition.
Big Blanket Co. Sateen Dream Collection
At Big Blanket Co., bigger is better. Now, the brand has applied its oversized ethos to bedding. The Sateen Dream Collection reimagines sheets, pillowcases, and duvet covers with their TrueSnooze dimensions to offer the biggest and best bedding out there. Built to completely cover your mattress, the fitted sheet has ultra-deep pockets to wrap around edges up to 20 inches thick and includes an extra wide elastic edge to secure around corners. The top sheet and duvet cover are 25% larger than standard options, while the pillowcases are extra wide to reduce retucking. Each piece is made in India with 300-thread count cotton and features a buttery satin-like finish that gets softer with every wash.
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Man and dogs have been inseparable since the dawn of time — or at least the last 20,000 years. Taking place during Europe's Ice Age, a young hunter makes an unlikely ally in a lone wolf. The pair endures the harsh elements and the dangers of an unpredictable wilderness as they journey back to their tribe in the origin story of man's best friend. Starring Kodi Smit-McPhee, Leonor Varela and Jens Hultén, the film is slated for release March 2, 2018.
Pablo Escobar's Narco Hippos
Hippos are native to sub-Saharan Africa, so how did Colombia end up with a thriving hippopotamus population? It can all be attributed to one man — Pablo Escobar. Along with billions of dollars of cocaine, Escobar also smuggled illegal animals into the country. The collection of exotic wildlife served as a safari for his Hacienda Napoles estate. After his death, all of the animals were moved to zoos with the exception of four escaped hippos. These four have now multiplied into 40 and can be found roaming the Colombian countryside.
Dell XPS 13 Plus Laptop
It sounds too good to be true: double the power, yet longer battery life, all in a razor-thin design. Yet that's the promise of the Dell XPS 13 Plus laptop. It's powered by 12th Gen Intel® Core™ Processors that combine with the latest battery tech to deliver up to 13 hours of battery life, depending on screen configuration. ExpressCharge provides up to an 80% charge in just an hour over one of the two Thunderbolt 4 ports, while the screen can be equipped with FHD+, OLED, or 4K+ options, and stretches edge to edge. The zero-lattice keyboard also stretches edge-to-edge, with a backlit touch function row at the top and a seamless glass touchpad below. Overall, the notebook weighs as little as 2.71 lbs. and measures just 0.60" thick, making it effortless to take all that power on the go.
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Danner Pine Grove Chukka
Versatile and recraftable, the Danner Pine Grove Chukka will be a part of your everyday wardrobe for decades to come. It features a soft, full-grain leather upper, adding strength and durability to the classic silhouette. The brand's signature wedge outsole delivers cushion and lightweight support while offering superior traction and minimal marking on smooth indoor surfaces. A removable footbed made from three layers of open-cell polyurethane enhances comfort and adds heat dissipation and air circulation. Although the boot is built with Danner's trademark quality standards, it's eligible for the recrafting service to extend its life cycle.
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Behind the Scenes with Babish
Take a break from mouth-watering recipes and smooth voice tones. Babish has over a million subscribers, and he's taking you on a tour of his place — and a special look at what's going on above the apron. Also, he shows you how to make some really big tacos.
Freediving the World's Deepest Pool
Hotel Terme Millepini in Italy has a very special attraction: the world's deepest pool. Y-40 measures 131 deep or 40 meters. Guillaume Néry is a former world-record holding freediver, having gone over 350 feet with out any equipment. Guillaume takes a leisurely dive to the bottom of Y-40 in this impressive display.


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Mozambique x
Climate Adaptation and Resilience 2matches
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The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical need for a diverse diagnostics strategy.
Harmonized indicators for measuring progress toward more sustainable, healthier food systems
Food systems lie at the intersection of nutrition, population health, environmental sustainability, and climate change.
Healthy food hubs: building sustainable and resilient agri-food systems in Lima and Quito
COVID-19 has exposed the multidimensional connections between economic forces, public policies, and social inequalities.
Science decision-makers dialogue for integrated coastal and marine zone management
Natural environments in the West Indian Ocean region are facing alarming rates of degradation due to human impacts on the environment.
G protein functional selectivity in metabolic disorders
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by elevated circulating sugar levels that result from reduced insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells and reduced sensitivity to insulin.
Metabolic and chromatin reprogramming of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) during day-night oscillations and aging
Humans have enormous demands for blood production.
Transcription factor interplay as a driving force in the hepatic response to fasting and its dysregulation in metabolic disease
Metabolic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are reaching epidemic levels worldwide.
Microbiome mediation of intestinal pathogen virulence through dietary aromatic compound metabolism
The human intestine routinely encounters threatening bacteria that cause disease and death.
Intersectional analyses of gender and health of female-headed households in low- and middle-income countries
The increase in female-headed households in low- and middle-income countries is a result of a range of factors, including male migrant labour, epidemics such as HIV, and armed conflict.
Strengthening the evidence for advancing tobacco control policy in Mexico, Colombia, and India
The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the implementation of which is a specific target (3.
Implementation phase – Strengthening community to health facility care continuum in Marrere, Mozambique
Mozambique has made it a priority to address its high maternal death rate and its high adolescent pregnancy rate.
Development and deployment of low-cost, paper-based Zika diagnostics
The outbreak of the Zika virus highlights the need for low-cost diagnostics that can be rapidly developed, tested and deployed for use in regions vulnerable to this pandemic threat.


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Q: Expressing quartic Dirichlet characters modulo primes $p\equiv 1\bmod 4$ with Legendre symbols Looking through some old notes of mine from two years ago I found some crude notes writing what amounted to the statement that for any prime $p\equiv 1\bmod 4$ one could express for any odd integer $p\nmid n$ both of the order four dirichlet characters $\chi_1,\chi_2:(\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})^{*}\to \{\pm 1,\pm i\}$ at $n$ as follows:
$$\chi_1(n)=i^{\frac{1-\left(\frac{n}{p}\right)}{2}}(-1)^{\frac{(n-1)(p-1)}{8}}\prod_{k=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left(\frac{\left\lfloor pk/n\right\rfloor!}{p}\right)$$
$$\chi_2(n)=(-i)^{\frac{1-\left(\frac{n}{p}\right)}{2}}(-1)^{\frac{(n-1)(p-1)}{8}}\prod_{k=0}^{\frac{n-1}{2}}\left(\frac{\left\lfloor pk/n\right\rfloor!}{p}\right)$$
However I can't locate the rest of what I was writing on the scrap paper and I'm not sure what I did. Though here are some things I tried, with a statement I was able to show is equivalent at the end:

First letting $\zeta=-\left(\frac{p-1}{2}\right)!$ gave me that $\zeta^2\equiv -1\bmod p$ with $\left(\frac{\zeta}{p}\right)=\left(\frac{2}{p}\right)=(-1)^{\frac{p-1}{4}}$ and so I could write $(x-\zeta y)(x+\zeta y)\equiv x^2+y^2\bmod p$ as well as $\left(\frac{x^2+y^2}{p}\right)=\left(\frac{x-\zeta y}{p}\right)\left(\frac{x+\zeta y}{p}\right)$ however this stopped looking useful when I realized that $\mathbb{Z}[i]\to (\mathbb{Z}/p\mathbb{Z})^{*}[i]$ loses the property of being an integral domain when $p\equiv 1\bmod 4$ as the Gaussian integers form a UFD and we have$(a^2+b^2)(x^2+y^2)=(ax-by)^2+(ay+bx)^2$ However the floor functions appearing in the products of both the identities reminded me of the similar looking floor function sums that appear in Eisenstein's lattice point proof of quadratic reciprocity so following up with that idea I tried a similar approach of partitioning out the quartic residues modulo $p$ based on parity yet this wasn't useful so I tried manipulating the character identities, working backwards with latice sums finding if I wrote:
$$s_p(a)=p^2\sum_{k=1}^{\frac{p-1}{2}}\left\{\frac{k^2}{p}\right\}\left\{\frac{ak^2}{p}\right\}$$
Then the original identities on quartic dirichlet characters become equivalent to the proposition:
$$(-a)^{\frac{p-1}{4}}\equiv \zeta^{\frac{1-\left(\frac{a}{p}\right)}{2}}(-1)^{s_p(a)}\bmod p$$
However I'm not sure how to prove this either, so any help in the manner would be appreciated.


YouTube channel Wisecrack takes a look at the driving forces (excuse the pun) behind Anakin's turn to the Dark Side and the philosophical origins of his tragic arc.
It also looks at the psychology behind what kept him such an evil villain right up until his end in the 1983 Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi.
We communicate increasingly by using emojis, so Disney decided to remake the Force Awakens using the ideograms and smileys.
The result is undeniably entertaining but it also takes some liberties with the plot—but it's something you can forgive because it's so damn cute.
If you thought Darth Maul was not only the best thing in The Phantom Menace but was underused too, this film readdresses that imbalance.
It sees Darth Maul as a Sith trainee taking on Jedi Knights who have found his secret hideout, ensuring plenty of awesome lightsaber duels in the process.
Kylo Ren came across a bit like a petulant child in The Force Awakens, so imagine having him as your boss?
Well that's what SNL does in this very funny sketch which sees the Commander of the First Order go undercover to attempt to bond with his subordinates. It doesn't go so well.
Behind all the action and drama, Star Wars is essentially a story about a family, albeit a family that likes to attack each other with lightsabers.
This Lego stop motion animation imagines the behind the scenes where Luke is just another stroppy kid getting fed up with his dad who so doesn't understand him. Gahd!


Rewind to March 2010. My husband and I welcomed our second daughter into the world. Everything was great. We were all healthy and happy and couldn't wait to start our life as a family of four.
Our world however, came crashing down just a few short months later.
Our oldest daughter, Alexis (who was 3 at the time) , was starting to go to the bathroom more and more. I kept taking her to her pediatricians office, and they kept telling me it was a bug and to come back in a week if it hadn't gotten better. Eventually we started noticing blood in her stools, and she was waking up several times throughout the night to use the restroom (and falling asleep on the potty!). I went back to my pediatricians office, and demanded them to run tests. We were sent to Nationwide Childrens Hopsital (in Columbus, Ohio) and a colonoscopy was preformed. I still remember the pit that grew in my stomach when the Dr told me Alexis had Ulcerative Colitis. Never in my life did I think *I* would be the one to have a sick kid. I cried alot the weeks following that appointment, I felt as if I let my baby girl down.
The next year and a half we encountered a few mild flares, then everything (once again) came crashing down.
Alexis started having the symptoms again in January 2012. Joint pain, going to the restroom 20-30 times a day, loosing more blood than I thought was possible, persistent vomiting, fevers, loss of appetite and being so tired and weak she could barely stay out of bed for more than 20 minutes at a time. She was eventually admitted into the hospital and given a strong course of IV medication. We were hopeful that after a few days she would turn the corner, but that never did happen.
After spending about a month in and out of the hospital we were forced to try Remicade. The steroids were no longer effective, and Alexis was not getting any better. I read all the side effects and again, cried. How are you supposed to put a medication in your child's body that could eventually cause cancer? I was so angry. I didn't know what to do! However, I knew that there was nothing I could do besides a total colectomy and I knew I was not ready to put my daughter through something so drastic, so I gave Remicade a fighting chance.
Now, I will fast forward to present day. We have had multiple Remicade infusions, as well as several blood transfusions. Alexis' UC just isn't responding well to it, and again, isn't getting any better. Our next step is surgery which will be done 7/12/12.
I could write for days on how I feel about this. First and foremost, I am scared. Scared for how she will adapt to living her life with a bag at her side, I am also terrified for her to feel any pain. What I wouldnt do to take it all away!
I am still very angry that Alexis has had to deal with this. Shes 5 years old and to her, this is normal. Being in pain and going to the Drs several times a month (if not more) is completely normal. She asks to be in dance, and cheerleading and gymnastics and I have to explain to her that she is sick, and its just not possible right now..and that's just not fair. She deserves to live a normal life!!!!
But, alas all of our struggles, my husband and I do our absolute best to keep it together. Not only for our 2 daughters, but our families as well. We know they are scared but we want to reassure them that despite our scary this all is, this is what Alexis needs to live that normal life I so long for her to have.
And thats it for today, I am sure this is completley unorganized, but I had ideas running 500 mph through my head that I needed to hurry up and get out before nap time was over! I will focus more on the ostomy and what we have done to prepare later on tonight or tomorrow!
So sorry your beautiful little girl has UC. As an adult with UC, I can't imagine hearing my 3 yr old child has this disease. I was already in my mid-50's when diagnosed. She has been through so much and I hope that the surgery will help her to be able to live a normal life. It's just not right for this to happen to young children. I will pray for her, you and Dad hang in there.
I found this blog through a facebook page. And I have to say, what you and your family are going through with Alexis...Its exactly what my family and I were going through at her age. I was 5 when I was diagnosed with UC, with in the span of a year things got worse. I had my colon removed, a colostomy, and then they reversed it. I had no problems for years and years after that.
Then when I hit 15 my world was turned upside down, and I was soon diagnosed with Crohn's. I am in remission now, and I hope things go well for your family and little Alexis!
God Bless you and your family and your little girl. My daughter, Rachel was also diagnosed with UC at 3 years of age, failed Remicade..and is now diagnosed as Crohn's. Her disease is large intestine almost 100%...so we are still looking at surgical options...perhaps diversion for now.
It is so heart wrenching & difficult to make these decisions. They are all huge.
Best wishes & I pray this is the beginning of a great new chapter for you all.
I understand your pain and frustration. My son was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 1984 at the age of 5. After trying everything he had surgery 18 months later and wore an ileostomy bag the rest of his life. I thank God every day that I was his mother for the 45 years he was on this earth. With your love and support Alexis will go on to lead a happy, productive and normal life. Best wishes for happy days ahead.


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Red River is a 1948 Western film which tells the story of the first cattle drive along the Chisholm Trail in the fictional framework of a cattle man who feuds with his surrogate son over ownership of their cattle in the middle of a drive. It stars John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey, John Ireland, Noah Beery Jr. and Harry Carey, Jr..
The movie was written by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee from Chase's story The Chisholm Trail. It was directed by Howard Hawks and Arthur Rosson.
Thomas Dunson (John Wayne) is a stubborn man who wants nothing more than to start up a successful cattle ranch in Texas. Shortly after he begins his journey to Texas with his trail hand, Nadine Groot (Walter Brennan), Dunson learns that his love interest (Coleen Gray), whom he had told to stay behind with the wagon train and that he would send for her later, was killed in an Indian attack. Despite this tragedy, Dunson and his trail hand press on and soon come across a young orphaned boy by the name of Matthew Garth (played as an adult by Montgomery Clift), who Dunson takes in under his wing. Together, with only a couple head of cattle, they enter Texas across the Red River and Dunson proudly proclaims all the land that they see as his own; however, two Mexican men appear on horseback to tell them the land already belongs to their boss. Dunson rejects this information and ends up killing one of the men and telling the other to go back to his boss to let him know that Dunson now owns the land. He calls his new spread the Red River D, the name which he uses to brand the first cattle of his herd, promising to add Matt to the brand once he has earned it.
Fourteen years pass and Dunson now has a fully operational cattle ranch. With the help of Matt and Groot, he has managed to raise an impressive herd of well over a thousand cattle, but unfortunately he is broke in the aftermath of being on the losing side of the American Civil War. With the price of cattle in Texas not to his liking, Dunson decides to drive the massive herd hundreds of miles north to Missouri, where he knows he can fetch a much better price. He hires some extra men to help out with the drive and soon enough they all set off on their perilous journey northward. Along the way, the men run into many troubles, including a stampede caused by one of their own men who was trying to steal sugar and attacks from the surrounding Indians. During one of these encounters, the men save a wagon train from the onslaught of the Indians. One of the women they save is Tess Millay (Joanne Dru), who both Dunson and Matt begin to fall for.
Deeper problems arise when the tyrannical leadership style of Dunson begins to affect the rest of the men, especially Matt, at which point Matt takes control of Dunson's herd in an attempt to lead the herd and the men to a closer destination in Abilene, Kansas, leaving Dunson behind. Naturally, this infuriates Dunson, who vows to track down Matt and murder him. Matt succeeds in delivering the cattle to Abilene, a town that has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of such a herd; there he receives an excellent offer and willingly accepts it. Unknowingly, Matt has just completed the first cattle drive along what would become the Chisholm Trail. Meanwhile, Dunson acquires a posse and arrives in town shortly after. He attempts to follow through with his promise to kill Matt. The two men engage in a fight to the death, but Tess interrupts the battle, drawing a gun on them and forcing the two to realize the love that they share for one another. Dunson and Matt realize their errors and make peace with each other. When they get back to their ranch in Texas, Dunson follows through with his promise and finally incorporates Matt into the brand.
Red River (1948) is a classic and complex western (and considered by many critics to be one of the ten best westerns ever made). It is a sweeping, epic story about a cattle drive (historically based on the opening of the Chisholm Trail in 1867) and a film of rivalry and rebellion, spanning a time period of fifteen years. Red River was Howard Hawks' first western, a story often compared to its parallel epic on the high seas, Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). Later westerns he directed included The Big Sky (1952), Rio Bravo (1952), El Dorado (1967), and Rio Lobo (1970). Hawks was well known for his storytelling and his versatility in film genres, spanning screwball comedies (Bringing Up Baby (1938) and His Girl Friday (1940)), romantic comedies (Twentieth Century (1934)), crime/gangster films (Scarface: Shame of the Nation (1932)), mystery-detective noirs (The Big Sleep (1946)), adventure films (Only Angels Have Wings (1939)), and war films (The Dawn Patrol (1930)), to name a few.
The film's well-written screenplay (by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee) was based on Chase's novel/Saturday Evening Post serialized story (in six installments from December 1946 through January 1947): The Chisholm Trail. This was one of producer/director Howard Hawks' most extravagant and ambitious films, and cost over $3 million (overbudget) at the time - an exorbitant sum, but became a top-grossing film of the year. Gary Cooper was originally chosen to portray Tom Dunson - ultimately played by John Wayne, but refused on the role because of the character's ruthlessness and contemptibility. And Cary Grant also turned down the role of gunslinger Cherry Valance, ultimately played in a reduced part by John Ireland.
The film, shot on location in Arizona (near Elgin) and Mexico, authentically chronicles an epic, bleak and tough journey, similar to the ones in The Odyssey or in Exodus (in the Old Testament), that is fraught with external dangers, threats, tests of strength, and internal contentious tensions between its two strong-willed, conflicting leaders: a hard-nosed, bitter, ruthless and tough commanding father (John Wayne in one of his best performances and his first film, of five, for Hawks) and his men, defiantly led by his less harsh, surrogate, adopted son (Montgomery Clift, in his first film, after being noticed acting in the Broadway stage production of Lillian Hellman's The Searching Wind).


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