text:
FCC Asked to Clarify Amateur Rules Governing Encrypted or Encoded Messages
The FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau is soliciting comments on a Petition for Declaratory Ruling filed on behalf of New York University (NYU) seeking to clarify that Section 97.113(a)(4) of the Amateur Service rules prohibits the transmission of "effectively encrypted or encoded messages, including messages that cannot be readily decoded over-the-air for true meaning." Comments are due by December 2, with reply comments (comments on comments already filed) due on December 17. The FCC has requested that all filings refer to WT Docket No. 16-239, which grew out of an ARRL Petition for Rule Making seeking elimination of symbol rate limitations on the amateur bands and is unrelated to the wider encryption issue.
A footnote in the Petition says the efficacy and availability of recently announced software to decode Winlink communications when sent using different PACTOR modes is "unclear" as it applies to existing PACTOR-capable modems. "If any bits or letters are missed or corrupted during the reception — as would be expected under HF propagation — the message cannot be realistically decoded," the footnote asserts. SCS, the company that created PACTOR, recently unveiled its PMON software that it says offers the ability to monitor the content of PACTOR 1, 2, and 3 transmissions over the air.


text:
Farancia is een geslacht van slangen uit de familie toornslangachtigen (Colubridae) en de onderfamilie Dipsadinae.

Naam en indeling
De wetenschappelijke naam van de groep werd voor het eerst voorgesteld door John Edward Gray in 1842.

Er zijn twee verschillende soorten, die beiden worden vertegenwoordigd door twee ondersoorten. De slangen werden eerder aan andere geslachten toegekend, zoals Coluber, Natrix, Homalopsis, Helicops, Calopisma en Abastor.

Soorten
Het geslacht omvat de volgende soorten, met de auteur en het verspreidingsgebied.

Uiterlijke kenmerken
De dieren bereiken een lichaamslengte van ongeveer zeventig tot 120 centimeter, maximaal iets meer dan twee meter. De juvenielen zijn van de oudere dieren te onderscheiden door de puntige staartpunt, die van volwassenen is stomp van vorm.

Levenswijze
De soorten zijn vrijwel volledig aquatisch en brengen veel van hun tijd in het water door. Hier jagen ze voornamelijk op gladde prooidieren, zoals wormsalamanders, palingen, kikkers en Vissen. Als ze worden opgepakt, prikken de slangen met hun staartpunt in de armen van hun belager, ze kunnen echter geen verwondingen toebrengen.

Verspreiding en habitat
De soorten komen voor in delen van Noord-Amerika en komen endemisch voor in de Verenigde Staten. De slangen zijn gevonden in de staten Maryland, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois en Kentucky.

De habitat bestaat uit verschillende typen draslanden en in zoute moerassen.

Beschermingsstatus
Door de internationale natuurbeschermingsorganisatie IUCN is aan beide soorten een beschermingsstatus toegewezen. De slangen worden beschouwd als 'veilig' (Least Concern of LC).

Bronvermelding

Dipsadinae
Endemisch dier uit de Verenigde Staten

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Click here to listen to John and Bob Talbot discuss Talbot's incredible film/photography work!
His compelling storytelling technique, combined with the stunning way he captures underwater life through a lens, gives Talbot the opportunity to do what our ocean-dwelling friends cannot: provide a voice that moves people to action. Presented with the Environmental Hero Award, the Ark Trust Genesis Award and the prestigious SeaKeeper Award, he's dedicated his life to promoting awareness of ocean issues and encouraging conservation of Earth's resources.
We had the honor of hosting Talbot this past Earth Day (April 22) at the Aquarium, as part of our Marjorie Lynn Bank lecture series, where he shared his experiences photographing and filming some of the world's most incredible marine animals. Miss Talbot's lecture? Don't panic...we recorded it for you!
Don't forget to mark your calendars for our upcoming lecture with humpback whale rescuer Ed Lyman on May 7th!


Make sure you follow Tolexo to get amazing offers as soon as they become available. Don't forget to check the Tolexo website to see if any offers are available.
If you're looking for one place to source a comprehensive range of products for your business online, you've come to the right place. Tolexo is your online marketplace for industry and business in India, supplying businesses across the country with all their essential commercial products. You'll be able to shop over 50'000+ products in one place, and with our Tolexo coupons to hand you could make some impressive savings on your budget costs.
They've thought of every eventuality when it comes to running your business effectively, supplying everything from office supplies to plumbing, safety, tools and air conditioning products to create a safe, professional and efficient working environment. Regardless of the type of business you run, you can find the right products to suit your needs and your budgets. Plus, shopping with a Tolexo coupon from vouchercloud could help you afford better quality, long-term solutions rather than quick, cheap fixes, and help keep your staff smiling and happy.
A Tolexo coupon code could get you bigger savings on the necessary small things; including pens, clipboards, notepads, printer ink and more, as well as massive discounts on an endless variety of hand tools including screw drivers, spanners, plastering tools, masonary tools and hand saws. They've got small prices for big items too, including electrical power, air quality and automotive testing kits and safety wear that meets all the exact requirements. All merchants who put their products on Tolexo go through a rigorous scanning and selection process, to make sure you are receiving quality supplies, tools and products at reasonable prices. Their policies for cancellation and returns keeps both seller and buyer in mind, ensuring both parties receive fair treatment.
The advantage of selling on Tolexo is that they will look after the listings, marketing, payment, returns policy and more for you, making it easier you and customers to reap the rewards of the extensive online market place. Shop at Tolexo for the best value supplies today!


Contact us, if you are in search of a high quality Y Type Strainer! We are a prominent Supplier, Exporter and Stockist of Y Type Strainer based in Maharashtra, India. In order to address urgent and bulk requirements, we maintain a huge lot at our spacious warehouse. One can get them at the modest prices, from us!


text:
class vtkCPDataDescription;
class vtkCPPythonHelper;

class vtkCPPVSMPipeline : public vtkCPPipeline
{
public:
  static vtkCPPVSMPipeline* New();
  vtkTypeMacro(vtkCPPVSMPipeline,vtkCPPipeline);
  virtual void PrintSelf(ostream& os, vtkIndent indent);

  virtual void Initialize(int outputFrequency, std::string& fileName);

  virtual int RequestDataDescription(vtkCPDataDescription* dataDescription);

  virtual int CoProcess(vtkCPDataDescription* dataDescription);

protected:
  vtkCPPVSMPipeline();
  virtual ~vtkCPPVSMPipeline();

private:
  vtkCPPVSMPipeline(const vtkCPPVSMPipeline&); // Not implemented
  void operator=(const vtkCPPVSMPipeline&); // Not implemented

  int OutputFrequency;
  std::string FileName;
};
#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A disaster of a season just got even worse for the Indianapolis Colts as they placed star QB Andrew Luck on season-ending injured reserve.
In a move that seemed destined to happen for weeks, the Colts decided to throw in the towel on the season and put Luck on injured reserve. Luck himself is confident that he will be back in 2018, via the official team website.
The Colts are limping badly at the mid-way point of their season. They sit with a 2-6 record, dead last in the AFC South. The roster shows little to no promise in many areas. Their star wide receiver, T.Y. Hilton, has openly criticized his own offensive line and was reportedly shopped to other teams at the trade deadline this past Tuesday.
"I can't say that unequivocally he'll be ready for the Ram game,'' Irsay said. "But I can say I feel confident he'll be ready to start the season. Now that may not be the Ram game, but to start the season, yes.
"He could start out in Los Angeles. I don't want to act like that is a foregone conclusion that he's not going to be starting out there. He could, but he also could not. But again, we don't see an extended delay.
At the time of this quote, Luck hadn't even started a throwing program yet. It's not exactly a crazy thought to think the Colts brass was just trying to make sure fans stayed sort of interested for the first part of the season. After all, Luck is the most indispensable part of the Colts roster. If fans knew he would be out, the season would basically be over before it started. About the only good thing to come from this whole mess is the Colts did land a serviceable backup QB is Jacoby Brissett form the Patriots right before the season started.
Indianapolis has a lot of work to do with the roster as a whole before the 2018 season starts. Hopefully, for them, they'll have their star QB back to full health.


text:
About Tommy
Best of . . .
Blue Ridge, Greer & Taylors
Defending the Powerless
Pension Reform
Rep. Tommy Stringer
Resolutely Representing the values of Blue Ridge, Greer & Taylors in the South Carolina House
GHS Board of Trustees and Act 432 of 1947
Published September 7, 2015	By Tommy Stringer
Anyone who has paid a visit to one of our fine hospitals in the Greenville Health System can attest that times have certainly changed for the better. As a graduate of the labor and delivery unit at the old Allen Bennett Memorial Hospital in Greer (i.e. – I was born there), I can attest that the new Greer Memorial Hospital is light years ahead.
The same can be said for those who remember Greenville General Hospital which gave way to Greenville Memorial. The only positive childhood memory that I have of Greenville General was the grill and soda shop on the first floor, or maybe it was in the basement. They served, in my mind's childish memory, the best ice cream floats ever created. Before Greenville Memorial set the new standard for hospital care, my parents decided that my much needed tonsillectomy would be performed at St. Francis. As a seven year old, I was quite impressed with the nuns who came by my room to pray. I was less impressed with the post-operation ice cream reward which acted as a poor proxy for a Greenville General float.
GHS has progressed with the times and even when faced with unprecedented healthcare confusion, the GHS Board of Trustees continues to work through the GHS president and administration to ensure that the citizens of Greenville County have access to quality healthcare. Of course, when we are admitted to the hospital, the last thing on our minds is the GHS board. We are concerned that our physicians and medical staff are the best that we can find and it is they that we must thank for making GHS a leading regional healthcare provider. Like many of the people who I talk with, my family and myself have benefitted greatly from the superior medical staff that have made GHS their home.
GHS has proved itself more than capable to compete and prosper in our current healthcare environment that favors regional systems over standalone hospitals. GHS has been successful ever since the Greenville County Legislative Delegation created the GHS Board of Trustees back in 1947.
Having developed a tradition of proactive behavior, we should not be surprised that the GHS board has explored and will continue to explore the most efficient operating structure for the hospital system.
However, the GHS board should be reminded that they were created by Act 432 of 1947 "for the purpose of operating and at all times maintaining adequate hospital facilities for the residents of Greenville County, including those residents in the City of Greenville." To be succinct, GHS is a public hospital system which means its assets belong to the public. They are not non-profit or for-profit. GHS has trustees, not directors.
Act 432 established the board of trustees, defined the duties of the board and gave the Greenville County Legislative Delegation authority to appoint future board members. The act granted broad authority to the GHS board over the operational and fiscal affairs of the hospital system. Though amended by us as necessary since 1947 to accommodate the changing needs of Greenville County, Act 432 remains in effect today.
Act 432 does not give the GHS board authority to change its purpose or transfer any board duty or asset defined in the act to another legal entity. The operation of Greenville Health System must remain the responsibility of the Greenville Health System Board of Trustees.
GHS status as a public hospital has proven very successful in the past. I believe strongly that the citizens of Greenville County expect it to remain so for the future.
Categories:Blue Ridge, Greer & Taylors Healthcare Reform
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Paid for by Stringer for SC House PO Box 2078 Greer, SC 29652

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Congratulations on planning your first Disney Cruise Line vacation! It is so exciting to be in the early planning phases.
One of my best suggestions when planning your cruise vacation is to fly into Orlando the night before your cruise. Then, rent a car at the airport and drive to Port Canaveral that evening. If you stay at a hotel that has a shuttle to the port in the morning, you can return the rental car that night. This really helps to cut down on the stress level on your embarkation day. We have tried flying in on the same day that our cruise departs a few times, and we never really enjoy doing it that way and arrive to the cruise in a rather harried state.
If you decide to fly in the day of your cruise, you can take the Disney Cruise Line transportation from the airport to Port Canaveral. There is a charge of $35 per person to do this. You can also explore the option of taking a private car service, which I have found to be even more expensive than the DCL bus.
After our cruise, our family rents a car from one of the many rental agencies near Port Canaveral. Then, we drive to the airport and drop the car off there. On our next cruise, our flight is not until 7:30pm, so we are planning to spend the day at Downtown Disney, meeting friends for lunch and shopping for a few hours. The DCL bus heads back to the airport on your final day as well, for another $35 per person.
I hope this helps with your planning for your first Disney cruise. I look forward to hearing from you with more questions for the Disney Parks Moms Panel before your May, 2016 departure!


Sometimes we won't sense God's presence. Those are difficult times. In the midst of trouble, Job said: 'If I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him' (vv.8-9 NIV). Job felt far from God. Yet despite his inability to feel God, he ultimately decided that: 'He knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold' (v.10 NIV). Difficult days demand decisions of faith. David said, 'When I am afraid, I put my trust in you' (Psalm 56:3 NIV). When we can't understand the ways of God, we need to trust in the unchanging and loving character of God. So, we need to build up our trust and understanding of God when we're in the good times, so that we've got a foundation for those tough times. If we don't then we'll have fluctuating faith. When things are going great we'll be able to see God's goodness and faithfulness, but when things go wrong and life gets hard we'll ask questions like 'why me?' or 'does God still love me?' And if we're asking questions like that, we're unlikely to make the decision to trust in God and have faith. So how do we avoid fluctuating faith? We need to immerse ourselves in the Bible. There are so many verses which tell us the nature of God. They tell us that He is good, faithful, loving, accepting, fair, and working everything ultimately for good. And that's true no matter what we're facing. In changing times, we need to stand confidently on the unchanging character of God.
Go through your Bible and make a list of God's characteristics. Keep the list on hand to read through on tough days.


text:
SYNONYM

#### According to
Index Fungorum

#### Published in
Trans. natn. Inst. Sci. India 1: (1937)

#### Original name
Rhizopus sontii Reddi & Subrahm. {?}

### Remarks
null


text:
The Re-Resurgence of the Prepaid Wars
SachinEE,
Re : The Re-Resurgence of the Prepaid Wars
@ Liz Greenberg, this is a very good analysis I must say. I also wish that's not true but that seems most likely the case as you have put it quite logically. These carriers will never lose the money. They will make it work for them one way or the other. The shift from CDMA to GSM will produce a lot of confusion among the consumers and carrier will come out the ultimate winner.
@ jabailo, that is the point actually. You have to let go of streaming. That's what these plans are intended for. These seem to be intended for people who use their mobile phones mainly for voice and text and may be keeping presence on social media. The people who use computers and tablets for heavy data use and cell phones for keeping their online presence would like these plans.
Re: Cheap phones
How about satellite Internet for trains?
I've been looking at rural properties such as cabins that are close to off grid, and when I look for Internet providers several satellite ISPs are coming up!
My recollection of satellite internet was Iridium. The Boeing-McCaw venture back in the 1990s. They had planned to launch 220 LEOs...Low Earth Orbit Satellites, but I don't think they ever got that many birds in the sky and it eventually got sold off.
Rip Van Winkling to a decade or so hence, suddenly I see a lot of satellite providers offering service at very low rates ($30/mo). I will have to dig around since their appearance has blindsided me somewhat. I've been told that the basic problems is the speed of light.
If you go with geosynchonous satellites, that's 22,300 miles back and forth added to your internet traffic. The LEO system would have put them very close to the Earth, 200-500 miles or about 2-3x the orbit of the Shuttle or ISS (110 miles), but that means the have to move in relation to the surface. Which means you need a lot of them to cover he planet. Not sure which system the current group uses.
Mitch Wagner,
User Rank: Lightning
Fiber along the rail with the signal transmitted up through the wheels?
Can you imagine the bandwidth that something the size of a rail should provide!
Another option...fiber optic cable with the repeaters you describe.
I can think of a couple of options here to improve service. One would be to install small cells alongside the track, connecting to a small cell or microcell inside the train which would convert the signal from LTE to Wi-Fi.
I also wonder whether would be possible to actually run a data signal through the track itself, and then up through the wheels of the train where the wheels touch the track.
Phil_Britt,
Playing catch-up
Prepaid is commonplace in many other areas of the globe, so the U.S. is just really catching up at this point.
Prepaid is also catching on in financial services. Prepaid enables people who've gotten into credit issues before to better budget their finances. If they are using pre-paid, they can give themselves a hard limit on how much they spend monthly for telecom and data.
Prepaid can help the company gain revenue more quickly, though the recognition of revenue earned gets more complex from an accounting standpoint.
When I took our commuter rail into Seattle every day, about a 20 mile ride, what I tried using my Wimax mobile option.
I found that it would be ok standing still, but had trouble when the train was in motion. LTE was not as prevalent at the time, but there were others who had USB modems from their cell companies. My guess is those were 3G data connections, maybe 1.5Mbps. I think their performance was better than mine, but that could be because there are more cell towers along the route and some dead zones for my Clear service (since the train runs along a fairly unpopulated freight corridor, mostly industrial and warehouses, and it was in a valley much of the way.
Could the Engine host an LTE/Wimax connection and link it up to a hub in the cars? My guess is yes although these technologies must have a max bandwidth close to 6Mpbs and one channel isn't going to help a train full of Wifi connected people!
So, ideally we'd each have our own LTE/Wimax connection and hopefully there are no dead zones along the way!
My phone has LTE, and in my car, when I'm in the LTE zone (my neighborhood isn't fully converted yet) I am able to stream HQ music very well. However, if I drive into the 3G zone, it stalls and skips and becomes nearly unuseable.
Couldn't they just use LTE or some other wireless data to connect the rail car to the backhaul? Make the rail car into a sort of super-MiFi?
Not only have I not seen it work...I'm not really sure how it is supposed to work at all.
They put a Wifi hub on a train car, fine, but what does it then communicate with? Do they use the rail as a communications link? If the engine in radio contract and they run it along some voice band?


This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This acquisition is being conducted in accordance with the procedures of FAR Part 12 - Commercial Items.
The solicitation number is HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-CSS-14-341 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ).
The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 325120 with a Size Standard of 1000 Employees.
This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small businesses.
This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 12-Commercial Items. This acquisition is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.
The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-74, dated May 30, 2014. The resultant purchase order will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through this date.
The purpose of this requirement is acquisition of Medical Grade Liquid Nitrogen, Medical Grade Liquid Carbon Dioxide, and High Pressure Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide Cylinders and associated tanks for the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) for the period [Three (3) Years from Date of Award]. Award is anticipated on or about August 1, 2014. These bulk gases shall be used to maintain operation of equipment used by the NCATS for biomedical and translational research.
The Government expects to issue an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for this requirement.
In accordance with an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, bulk gas shall be ordered via records of call/delivery orders. The maximum quantity that the Government may order over the life of the IDIQ contract is detailed in column four of Table 1. The minimum quantity to be ordered for the life of the contract is detailed in Table 2. Please note that the minimum quantity might not be ordered in one record of call, but would be ordered over the life of the contract.
a. All gas and tanks must be medical grade.
b. The contractor shall make all deliveries, including hooking and unhooking tanks, in all required NCATS labs.
c. The contractor shall manage the inventory on a weekly basis. Specifically, the contractor shall be on-site at the NCATS facilities every Monday to reconcile inventory.
d. All gas tanks and cylinders delivered shall have working gauges and shall be certified full.
e. NCATS personnel shall inspect all tanks upon delivery. Faulty tanks shall not be accepted. The NCATS shall receive full refunds and free tank replacements for all faulty tanks.
f. Ordered quantities shall be delivered within seven (7) calendar days of each record of call/delivery order.
g. The Government shall not place orders more often than once every seven (7) calendar days.
Orders issued under this contract may be placed in writing or via electronic mail (e-mail) by the authorized designee(s). The authorized designee(s) shall be identified at time of award. The Contractor representative(s) authorized to receive and accept orders placed by telephone shall be identified at time of award. Each delivery must be accompanied by evidence of delivery/performance.
The period of performance is three (3) years from date of award. Award is anticipated on or about August 4, 2014.
Please note that any clauses requiring fill-ins shall be completed at time of award.
The provision at FAR clause 52.212-1: Instructions to Offerors - Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.
FAR clause 52.212-2: Evaluation - Commercial Items applies to this acquisition.
A completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3: Offeror Representations and Certifications - Commercial Items, is required with any offer submitted. Please note that this requirement may be met by completion of representations and certifications within the System for Award Management.
FAR clauses 52.212-4: Contract Terms and Conditions - Commercial Items and 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders - Commercial items apply to this acquisition.
FAR clause 52.219-6: Notice of Total Small Business Set Aside applies to this acquisition.
(a) Any supplies and services to be furnished under this contract shall be ordered by issuance of delivery orders or task orders by the individuals or activities designated in the Schedule. Such orders may be issued from [To Be Determined].
(a) Minimum order. When the Government requires supplies or services covered by this contract in an amount of less than [dollar figure or quantity to be determined], the Government is not obligated to purchase, nor is the Contractor obligated to furnish, those supplies or services under the contract.
(3) A series of orders from the same ordering office within [To Be Determined] days that together call for quantities exceeding the limitation in paragraph (b)(1) or (2) of this section.
(c) If this is a requirements contract (i.e., includes the Requirements clause at subsection 52.216-21 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)), the Government is not required to order a part of any one requirement from the Contractor if that requirement exceeds the maximum-order limitations in paragraph (b) of this section.
(d) Notwithstanding paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, the Contractor shall honor any order exceeding the maximum order limitations in paragraph (b), unless that order (or orders) is returned to the ordering office within three (3) days after issuance, with written notice stating the Contractor's intent not to ship the item (or items) called for and the reasons. Upon receiving this notice, the Government may acquire the supplies or services from another source.
(b) Delivery or performance shall be made only as authorized by orders issued in accordance with the Ordering clause. The Contractor shall furnish to the Government, when and if ordered, the supplies or services specified in the Schedule up to and including the quantity designated in the Schedule as the "maximum." The Government shall order at least the quantity of supplies or services designated in the Schedule as the "minimum."
(d) Any order issued during the effective period of this contract and not completed within that period shall be completed by the Contractor within the time specified in the order. The contract shall govern the Contractor's and Government's rights and obligations with respect to that order to the same extent as if the order were completed during the contract's effective period; provided, that the Contractor shall not be required to make any deliveries under this contract after [To Be Determined].
The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement.
1. The Offeror must confirm ability to provide all of the gases noted in this solicitation, in the tank sizes and estimated annual quantities, in its quotation.
2. The Offeror must confirm ability to meet the schedule and on-site review requirements detailed in this solicitation.
Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror's capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria. The price quote must include item descriptions and specifications per the requirements listed above as well as associated pricing. Price quotations shall be provided in the attached format.
Offerors shall ensure that fully loaded unit prices are the ONLY prices quoted. Any and all other fees relevant to the requirements, such as delivery or rental fees, if any, MUST be built into the unit prices.
Contractors must provide their Company Name, Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), Business Size, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information in their responses. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov."
All responses must be received by the closing date of this announcement and must reference solicitation number HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-CSS-14-341. Responses shall be submitted electronically to Lauren Phelps, Contract Specialist, at lauren.phelps@nih.gov.
Description: REVISED Price Quotation Format. Please use this format for price quotations.


text:
Home » SFF Reviews » The Curse of the Mistwraith: Astounding depth
The Curse of the Mistwraith: Astounding depth
The Curse of the Mistwraith by Janny Wurts
The Curse of the Mistwraith took me completely by surprise. Based on (obviously mistaken) assumptions, I expected something completely different — epic fantasy, yes, but nothing even close to the gorgeous prose and astounding depth I found in this novel.
The plot of this story is hard to summarize, partly because there are so many twists and turns that it's almost impossible not to run into spoiler territory very quickly. Two half-brothers, Arithon and Lysaer, are on opposite sides of a conflict that spans generations. As they become involved in the struggle against the Mistwraith that keeps the world of Athera in a stranglehold, the reader quickly realizes that the half-brothers' conflict doesn't just go back generations, but literally ages.
The Curse of the Mistwraith is old-fashioned, in a good way: rather than the standard cotton-candy fantasy tomes you find nowadays, here's a book that requires the reader's full attention and engages it on several levels, from the gorgeous prose to the elegant narrative structure to the real challenge of trying to understand many of the characters' motivations.
There aren't many wasted words in this book. I can't remember the last time I had to go back and re-read sections so many times, both from a genuine desire not to miss too many details, and for the sheer pleasure of taking in the richness of the prose again.
Best of all, this is only book one of a longer series, some of which is still in the process of being written. The Curse of the Mistwraith is (thankfully) a solid story on its own, not to say several stories — but at least it has a beginning, an end and no cliffhangers. At the same time, it sows a great many seeds and gives a lot of hints, some more oblique than others, about what will happen in the future. You'll be satisfied by the ending, but at the same time, you'll want more.
The one thing that had me balancing between giving it four stars or five is that, for a long time, I found it hard to connect with the majority of the characters. There are very few ordinary people in this book, not much light dialogue or humor, and early on it was hard for me to think of the characters as actual people. Especially the early part of the book consists of several tableaux in which everyone and everything is larger than life. However, as you read on, you discover that what initially seemed a weakness has a very solid motivation… and as you get into the last 100 or so pages of The Curse of the Mistwraith, the characters will have become very real and understandable. I had to wait a day or so to let the ending of this story sink in before attempting to write about it.
I don't want to hammer home the "old-fashioned" word (which, again, is meant in a very good way here), but I found myself imagining a different fantasy genre… one in which most of the last 30 years hadn't happened. When hearing the word "fantasy," people wouldn't immediately think Harry Potter or sexy vampires or 12 book series that never end. In such a world, you can probably still find an innocent reader, brand new to the genre, who just finished reading The Lord of the Rings and is now eagerly looking for something that has similar depth and elegance. If I were to make a reading list for such a hypothetical reader, The Curse of the Mistwraith would definitely be included.
~Stefan Raets
The Mistwraith has blanketed the world in dank fog for five centuries. But those who believe the Mad Prophet's words keep faith that a descendant of the long ago banished high kings will come from another world to defeat it. Arithon, the son of a pirate-king, has been trained to be a Master of Shadows but his hearts desire is to be a bard. Crown-prince Lysaer has been denied the teaching needed to skillfully wield his powers of light, but is schooled in way of politics and leadership. Despite having the same mother, these princes have been raised as enemies and their personal passions may plunge the very world which is their destiny to save into even deadlier conflicts.
The Curse of the Mistwraith sets the stage for The WarS of Light and Shadow series which is finally being re-released in North America. This is the most unique storyline I've ever read that falls within the realm of traditional high fantasy. (In fact, it's so good that it's made it tougher for other books to get five stars from me.)
Janny Wurts is also a famous fantasy artist and it's as if she uses those same artistic instincts for light and color to create these awe-inspiring tales. She combines vibrant words with a unique prose that paints a story as much as tells a tale. Her writing has a spellbinding elegance that works perfectly for a fantasy story. This world and story is so life-like, that it easily felt like I was really there. The system of magic is very detailed and believable, but still inspires that sense of wonder. The characters are so endearing that their tragedies are truly heart-wrenching and their triumphs heart-warming.
Consider yourself warned; this series requires more commitment than the usual big epics, but its well-worth it and then some. I'm chomping at the bit to start the next book, Ships of Merior, and I know I'll fondly miss this world and these people when it's over. Fantasy doesn't get any more captivating than this, which is a good thing because if it did, I might not be able to bring myself back to reality!
~Greg Hersom
It doesn't get any better than THE WARS OF LIGHT AND SHADOW!
~John Hulet
Published in 1993. The stunning first volume in Janny Wurts's epic tale of two half-brothers cursed to life-long enmity. The world of Athera lives in eternal fog, its skies obscured by the malevolent Mistwraith. Only the combined powers of two half-brothers can challenge the Mistwraith's stranglehold: Arithon, Master of Shadow and Lysaer, Lord of Light. Arithon and Lysaer will find that they are inescapably bound inside a pattern of events dictated by their own deepest convictions. Yet there is more at stake than one battle with the Mistwraith – as the sorcerers of the Fellowship of Seven know well. For between them the half-brothers hold the balance of the world, its harmony and its future, in their hands.
The Wars of Light and Shadow — (1993-2017) Booklist: For more than 500 years the Mistwraith has darkened the world of Athera. Where once were fields, flowers, and unicorns, there now are bareness, poverty, and desperation. The curse can be lifted only by the combined powers of two half-brothers who have been raised apart as enemies. Blond Lysaer, who grew up in the castle, is a born diplomat with a strong sense of justice and latent powers of light. Dark-haired Arithon, called the Master of Shadows, is skilled in music and magic and possesses an overwhelming empathy for all living things. When the two are thrown together in exile, an uneasy bond begins to form between them, and under the guidance of the Fellowship of Sorcerers, they work toward lifting the bane. But the Mistwraith fights back by twisting their talents and turning them against each other, plunging the kingdom into a bloody conflict. Read an excerpt of The Curse of the Mistwraith here. Listen to excerpts here. (Excerpts of other WoLaS books also available.)
July 20th, 2009. Stefan Raets (RETIRED), Greg Hersom and John Hulet´s rating: 5 | Janny Wurts | SFF Reviews, We Love This! | no comments |
STEFAN RAETS (on FanLit's staff August 2009 — February 2012) reads and reviews science fiction and fantasy whenever he isn't distracted by less important things like eating and sleeping. In February 2012, he retired from FanLit to focus on his blog Far Beyond Reality.
GREG HERSOM'S addiction began with his first Superboy comic at age four. He moved on to the hard-stuff in his early teens after acquiring all of Burroughs's Tarzan books and the controversial L. Sprague de Camp & Carter edited Conan series. His favorite all time author is Robert E. Howard. Greg also admits that he's a sucker for a well-illustrated cover — the likes of a Frazetta or a Royo. Greg live with his wife, son, and daughter in a small house owned by a dog and two cats in a Charlotte, NC suburb. He retired from FanLit in Septermber 2012 after 4.5 years of faithful service but he still sends us a review every once in a while.
JOHN HULET (on FanLit's staff July 2007 -- March 2015) is a member of the Utah Army National Guard. John's experiences have often left a great void that has been filled by countless hours spent between the pages of a book lost in the words and images of the authors he admires. During a 12 month tour of Iraq, he spent well over $1000 on books and found sanity in the process. John lives in Utah and works slavishly to prepare soldiers to serve their country with the honor and distinction that Sturm Brightblade or Arithon s'Ffalenn would be proud of. John retired from FanLit in March 2015 after being with us for nearly 8 years. We still hear from him every once in a while.
Initiate's Trial: Stands head and shoulders above 99% of today's fantasy output | Fantasy Literature: Fantasy and Science Fiction Book and Audiobook Reviews - [...] to enter into it without any preconceived notions, you may want to skip this review and instead check out…


I stopped calling her Tassa, perhaps, within a few months after we met in the mid 1990's. I'd only recently started working as a reporter at The Barbados Advocate and I was extensively covering the entertainment beat through which I met Tassa – as part of the line up of the House of Soca calypso tent. It was easy to be drawn to her dynamism on stage. Away from the crowd and the lights, her energy was even more magnetic. It was this presence: a gregarious nature; sharp intellect; delightful laugh; quick wit and compassionate spirit that drew me to Carolyn.
Over the years we telephoned each other from time to time, be it at home or at work. We never confided deep secrets or spoke for long hours. Hers was always that call when you least expected it, but consistent with bringing cheer. In particular, I remember when I was dealing with a very traumatic personal experience while working at The Nation newspaper. Carolyn heard about it through the grapevine and called just to let me know she was thinking of me and keeping me in prayer. Our most frequent encounters were during the Crop Over festival, when she'd be performing and I'd be reporting. We always greeted the other by calling out a full name, "Carolyn Forde," I'd always shout.
The years went by and our telephone calls became less frequent, as did our "running into each other." This of course got worse after I moved to New York a few years ago. Carolyn and I eventually lost contact. But then, thanks to the modern magic of social networking, we reconnected on Facebook about two years ago. Carolyn wasn't one to post greetings on my wall, but just like in the past, she would check up on me. It was clear she kept in tune with my status updates and ever so often – when I least expected – I'd sign into Facebook and see a private message from her. Depending on the occasion, she was wishing me good luck on an exam, extending congratulations on an accomplishment, complimenting me on a photo, encouraging me to continue to pursue my dreams, or as always extending the best to me. I was ever mindful to ask her about Chad – her beloved son of whom she was so proud and mentioned in perhaps every conversation we ever had.
Yes, I called her Carolyn. Because even though she wasn't my bosom buddy or my lifelong friend, she was a friend to me. I called her Carolyn because that big beautiful smile was always genuine to me and that big beautiful heart always gave love to me. I called her Carolyn because she was a great inspiration to me. To me, she was Carolyn because her incredible personality stole a piece of my heart. I will miss you Carolyn. I convey my sincere condolences to your son Chad, all your relatives and friends. May you rest in peace, my friend, Carolyn.


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PM Imran to meet US President Trump on July 22: Foreign Office
Islamabad (Web Desk): The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday confirmed that Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on July 22.
During his weekly briefing, FO Spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said that the PM will be visiting Washington on the invitation of US President. He said that the focus of the meeting would be to refresh the bilateral relationship.
Regional and international issues would be discussed between PM Imran and US President Trump, the spokesperson added.
The meeting between the two leaders has been confirmed a day after the US on Tuesday declared the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a global terrorist organisation.
The US State Department, confirming the decision, said it was classifying the BLA as a global terrorist group, making it a crime for anyone in the United States to assist the militants and freezing any US assets they may have.
When asked about the declaration of BLA as a terrorist outfit by the US, the spokesperson said this is acknowledgement of Pakistan's stance on the outfit.
Dr Faisal said that Pakistan has proposed July 14 to hold talks with India regarding agreement on Kartarpur Corridor.
Responding to a question, the FO spokesperson said Pakistan has played a pivotal role in facilitating and taking forward the Afghan peace process.
He added that both Pakistan and Afghanistan attach high importance to enhancement of their bilateral relations.
This is pertinent to mention that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced on June 27 that President Trump had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan. However, the prime minister could not travel to Washington earlier because of the budget session.
The US president expressed his desire to meet PM Imran to review bilateral ties and to discuss regional matters, Qureshi said.
Tagged Pakistan US Imran Trump neo tv


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What to Look for in a Christian Drug Treatment Center
Home » Families' Guide to Drug Addiction and Treatment Centers » What to Look for in a Christian Drug Treatment Center
Addiction is a complex disease that affects the brain and the way you process stressors and triggers. It changes the way you think about drugs from a medication or recreation to a need. When you are are in active addiction, the disease is out of your control and, in many ways, you are oppressed by it. Even when you want to stop using, it keeps pulling you back. This experience is talked about in the Bible.
The apostle Paul describes sin in a way that may be very familiar to someone who has been through active addiction. In Romans 7:15, he writes, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."
How Christian Rehab Works
Do You Need Christian Drug Rehab?
What Should You Look for?
Addiction Statistics in 2019: Landscape of Drug Abuse in the U.S.
Addiction Treatment for Firefighters: What Are the Rules & Considerations?
Addiction While Pregnant: Will Drug Use Affect My Child's Well-Being?
Affording Drug Rehab
Are NAC and Other OTC Vitamins Helpful for Withdrawal Symptoms?
Behavioral Addictions: What's Real & What Isn't?
Can Family Members and Couples Attend Addiction Treatment Together?
Can I Go Through Rehab While Having Pets?
Can Short-Term Residential Treatment Be a Better Option Than Long-Term Treatment?
Can You Be Too Old For Drug Rehab? Options for Seniors and the Elderly
Choosing a Medical Detox Center: What You Need to Know
Choosing the Right Level of Treatment
Drug Addiction Hotlines: Will They Actually Help You?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vs Dialectical Behavior Therapy
Demographics of Drug Abuse: Rates in Men vs. Women
Do Drug Rehabs Use Suboxone?
Does Art Therapy for Drug Addiction Work? How Effective Is It?
Does GIGNA Insurance Cover Addiction Treatment Costs?
Does United Healthcare (UNH) Cover Addiction Treatment?
Does WellPoint (WLP) Cover Drug Rehab?
Drug Rebound Anxiety: What Is It & How to Recover From or Avoid It
Drug Rehab Options For Middle-Aged Adults
Drug Rehab Options for Those Suffering From Chronic Pain
Drug Rehab Options for Those With a Health Condition
Drug Trafficking in 2019: Who's Really to Blame?
Faith-Based Addiction Recovery Programs: Everything You Need to Know
Family Therapy for Drug Addiction: How to Make It Effective
Family's Role in Substance Abuse Recovery
Finding a Drug Treatment Center That Accepts Your Rehab Insurance
Finding a Free, Insurance-Covered Addiction Treatment Center
Finding a Treatment Center with Anthem Insurance
Finding an Addiction Treatment Center with Aetna Insurance
Help for Domestic Violence & Substance Abuse (Alcoholism & More)
How A Family Can Support the Addiction Treatment Process
How Effective Is the 12-Step Method for Drug Treatment?
How Effective Is Therapy for Drug Addiction? Which Types Work Best?
How Long Does It Take to Get Addicted to a Drug?
How to Convince a Loved One to Go to Rehab
How to Convince an Employee to Go to Rehab
How to Deep Cleanse Your System
How to Discuss Going to Rehab With Your Friends
How to Find a Publicly-Funded Drug Treatment Center
How to Find an Effective Treatment Center
How to Identify Drug Use in the Workplace
How to Take Time Off Work for Rehab
How to Use CAGE for Substance Abuse
Is Caffeine (or Coffee) Addiction Real? The Science in 2019
Is JUUL Really Marketing to Children? (Get the Facts)
Is Luxury Drug Rehab Only for Celebrities?
Is Luxury Drug Rehab Worth the Money?
Is Video Game Addiction Real? The Science in 2019
Is Wilderness Therapy Effective During Rehab?
LGBTQ-Friendly Treatment Centers
Nutrition Programs in Recovery: What to Expect
Practicing Yoga During Drug Treatment: Is It Helpful?
Questions to Ask a Drug Treatment Center Before Admitting
Sending a Family Member to Drug Rehab: What You Need to Know
The Best Prevention Methods for Drug and Alcohol Abuse
The Link Between Addiction, Alcoholism, and Anxiety
Therapeutic Community Drug Rehab – Everything You Need to Know
Top 10 Nonprofits in the Rehab (Addiction Treatment) Space
Traveling Out of State for Rehab: Is It Worth It?
Understanding Chronic Relapse & How to Treat It
UnitedHealth Group Addiction Treatment Center Options
What is Drug-Induced Serotonin Syndrome?
What Kind of Drug Rehab Center Offers the Best Treatment?
What Kind of Drug Treatment Center is Best for Young Adults?
What to Look for in an Inpatient Drug Treatment Center
What You Need to Know About Treatment Success Rates
What's It Like to Have a Family Member in Rehab?
What's It Like to Send Your Mother or Father to Rehab?
When Does Humana (HUM) Cover Drug Rehab?
Why is Nicotine So Addictive? (Understanding the Science)
Why Use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Substance Abuse
Will Centene (CNC) Help With Drug Rehab Costs?
The message of the gospel is that Christ's death and resurrection pay for our sins when we would otherwise be stuck, powerless to change. Through the redemptive power of Christ, we are pulled out of the oppression of sin. In addiction treatment, the gospel message can have the same redemptive power in the life of someone seeking addiction recovery.
Learn how Christian drug rehab works and how to find a treatment program that meets your specific needs.
Christian rehab treatment options follow the same evidence-based therapies and levels of care that other recovery tracks do. However, since treatment must be tailored to individual needs to be effective, Christian rehab employs a Christ-centered approach to treatment. Addiction is a complicated disease and it requires a serious commitment to recovery to overcome. Through different levels of care that are appropriate for your needs, you will progress through various addiction therapies to learn long-term relapse prevention strategies.
The Levels of Care
When you first enter a treatment program you will go through an assessment to determine your appropriate level of care. This will involve an intake process and a session with a therapist to build a personalized program that meets your needs as an individual. The placement process is largely based on a set of criteria developed by the American Society of Addiction Medicine. If you are considering a Christian drug treatment center that does not have an intake process that seeks to meet your needs, you may want to pursue treatment somewhere else. There is no one uniform treatment program that works for everyone, and there needs to be a process that connects you to treatment that meets your specific needs.
For many, the first step in addiction treatment is medically managed treatment. This is the highest level of formal addiction treatment and involves 24/7 treatment from medical professionals. Detox is important for anyone who has any pressing medical needs when they enter treatment. Some drugs, especially alcohol and other central nervous system depressants, can even cause dangerous symptoms during withdrawal that can be life-threatening. Medically managed care can also help people with simultaneous injuries or diseases that need treatment whether they are related to their substance use disorder or not.
Medical detox can also address patients with cognitive, psychological, and emotional needs that require immediate treatment. Clinical services on staff at medical detox facilities can help treat pressing needs and help you find the next step in treatment after detox.
The next level of care after detox is inpatient services, which include clinically managed high-intensity treatment and low-intensity residential services. This also involves 24/7 medical care but is mostly for monitoring your health to avoid any medical complications. Medical detox typically lasts for about a week but some medical concerns need longer-term monitoring. Inpatient services are capable of meeting needs associated with both mental and medical health.
Intensive Outpatient Services
In intensive outpatient treatment (IOP) services, you will have access to more than nine hours of clinical services every week. While you live independently, you will continue to have access to various therapies, providing intensive structure and support. IOP may involve a variety of individual and group therapies that will continue to deepen your understanding of your addiction and develop strategies to prevent relapse.
Outpatient treatment is the lowest level of care in addiction treatment and involves fewer than nine hours of clinical services every week. Through OP treatment, you will continue to build on your foundation of relapse prevention as you prepare for independent life after treatment. OP is an important step in readying yourself for independent life and helps to ease you into aftercare services.
Recovery centers across the country use the principles of 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that were pioneered in the 1930s. The 12-step model has proven to be a valuable tool in addiction treatment and it has been used in a variety of settings without much alteration. The 12-step model seeks to provide spiritual healing in addiction recovery, so it's a helpful supplement to traditional evidence-based therapies that focus on medical and psychological healing. Twelve-step programs have shown to help people maintain sobriety, especially after treatment is completed. Connecting with a 12-step community in treatment is a good way to forge relationships that can keep you accountable in long-term abstinence from drugs and alcohol.
In the traditional 12-step model acknowledges a nondescript God and a "higher power." But many people seeking a Christ-centered approach to treatment find the traditional 12 steps too vague in its approach to spirituality. Organizations like Celebrate Recovery have adapted the existing 12-step model to acknowledge the God of the scriptures and the message of the gospel.
The wording of each of the 12 steps is very similar to the original 12-steps of AA and the biggest change involves adapting the wording to include all addiction rather than just alcohol. However, each of the steps is backed up by a verse from scripture that gives each goal a biblical context. For instance, the first step, "We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable," is backed up by the verse from Romans 7:18, "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out."
This depicts the parallel between a person in sin and a person in active addiction. However, it is not to say that addiction is a moral failing, though it can lead people to do things (like lying to and stealing from friends and family) they never thought they were capable of. Rather, both addiction and sin are traps that continuously pull you back into them and oppress you. Both require help from beyond your own willpower to escape, which is seen in the second step, which says, "We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." The verse that supports this step is from Philippians 2:13, "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
"The message of the Bible is about what Christ did to redeem His people who were stuck under the oppression of sin. The application to overcoming addiction is clear. The redemptive power of Christ and the message of the gospel can be a valuable part of your recovery."
Identifying a need for treatment depends on several of factors. Substance use disorders come in a variety of different stages and it's important to recognize the signs, especially if you have been using illicit or prescription drugs. The first sign that you might be developing a problem with a chemical substance is tolerance. When you use a psychoactive substance, you introduce chemicals to your brain that disrupt and alter your nervous system's messaging process. After long-term or heavy use of addictive substances, your brain will start to get used to the effects of the drug and might even counteract them. When you experience this, you will feel like you need more of the substance to achieve the same desired effects.
A chemical dependence develops when you start needing the drug to feel "normal," rather than for recreation. If you stop using the drug during dependence, you will start to experience withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms can vary from substance to substance but they can be anything from uncomfortable to life-threatening.
Dependence becomes an addiction when you have experienced negative consequences of drinking or drug use and you still can't seem to quit. If you have a desire to stop using but you keep getting pulled back into drug use, you may have reached the point of addiction. Both dependence and addiction are serious substance use disorders that need help to overcome.
What Should You Look for in Christian Rehab?
If you are looking for a Christian treatment program that will work for you and your needs, it's important to know that not all addiction treatment programs are equally effective. There are several things to consider when you are seeking recovery, but the first factor you should think about is its efficacy. Your success in addiction treatment and afterward will largely depend on your commitment to recovery; however, it's important to attend a treatment center that will give you the tools you need to achieve and maintain sobriety.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are a few specific principles that make a treatment program effective. In order to choose a Christian rehab center that will give you the help you need to make it to lasting recovery, you should consider the following important factors in drug and alcohol addiction treatment:
What is the addiction philosophy? Until the 20th century, most people looked at addiction as a moral failing or a bad habit that could be broken through force of will. Today we understand it as a chronic disease that affects the brain which makes it extremely difficult to overcome on your own. Though a lot of heartache, regrettable behaviors, and even legal issues can come out of addiction, it's important to treat chronic substance use disorders as a disease.
Is treatment personalized? There is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan and it's shown to be ineffective to try to fit individuals into a treatment modality rather than fitting treatment to a person. Addiction is extremely complex and it can come with or be caused by a plethora of underlying issues. For treatment to be effective, it needs to address problems on an individual basis. You should be instrumental in the creation of your own treatment plan.
Are multiple needs addressed? Addiction also affects multiple areas of your life including your health, social life, family, and mental health. Addiction treatment can't exclusively treat addiction without addressing other issues. In some cases, secondary issues may be more crucial to recovery than they appear. For instance, co-occurring disorders like depression can feed into a SUD and if the depression isn't addressed it will inevitably lead to relapse. Addiction treatment should be dealing with medical, psychological, social, vocational, and legal problems.
Are evidence-based therapies used? There are a number of great alternative therapies in the addiction treatment industry, many of which have not yet been supported by scientific study. While these therapies may be beneficial to some, they should not make up the foundation of your treatment. Evidence-based therapies like behavioral therapies should make up the majority of your treatment strategy. Behavioral therapies are often recommended because they are able to address multiple behavioral, cognitive, and psychological issues and they have been proven to be effective in studies.
How long does treatment last? Treatment needs to last for an adequate amount of time to be effective. Even if you are able to breeze through your treatment plan, if you aren't in treatment for enough time, you are more likely to relapse. Studies show that the most effective amount of time in treatment is at least 90 days. Like other aspects of addiction treatment, the length of time you send in a program will largely depend on your specific needs, but three months is generally the best option.
ASAM. (n.d.). American Society of Addiction Medicine. from https://www.asam.org/resources/the-asam-criteria/about
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018, January). How long does drug addiction treatment usually last? from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/frequently-asked-questions/how-long-does-drug-addiction-treatment
National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2018, January). Principles of Effective Treatment. from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/principles-effective-treatment


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Wikitruth és un lloc web crític amb Wikipedia. Funciona en el programari de MediaWiki desenvolupat per a Wikipedia, però no pot ser editat pel públic.

El lloc postula que hi ha problemes fonamentals amb l'estructura de Wikipedia, centrant-se en part en accions i declaracions des de membres Wikimedia Foundation prominents com Jimmy Wales, el concepte de vandalisme, censura reclamada i aspectes de la cultura de Wikipedia.

Propietat i editors
Wikitruth manifesta que és dirigit per un grup d'editors Wikipedia desencantats, incloent-hi uns quants administradors, que han gastat centenars d'hores en edició de pàgines de Wikipedia. El cap de Wikipedia Jimmy Wales anomenava el lloc "un engany", i els seus creadors "gairebé trolls a qui ha prohibit Wikipedia", els editors de Wikitruth han respost que els administradors de Wikipedia actuals han contribuït a Wikitruth, dient que no es podrien haver escrit uns quants articles sense que algú tingui estatus d'administrador.

Wikitruth corre en el programari de MediaWiki i utilitza un tret que prohibeix edició per usuaris anònims, i el lloc no és obert per a comptes nous. Els lectors es poden contactar amb els editors a través de correu electrònic, o els lectors que són també editors Wikipedia poden utilitzar les seves pàgines de xerrada.

Publicitat
La primera referència de mitjans de comunicació essencial a Wikitruth era un article en el The Guardian per Andrew Orlowski, el cap d'oficina de San Francisco per a The Register, que ha escrit també articles crítics amb Wikipedia. L'article del diari The Guardian manifesta que, entre altres coses, Wikipedia és "un exemple d'una sobreproducció d'informació."

L'efecte Slashdot
Wikitruth guanyava avís més ampli quan enviava Slashdot, un lloc web de notícies relacionat de tecnologia, publica un element el 16 d'abril del 2006 de titulats "Wikipedia Articles Appear On Protest Site censurat", que referenciaven la peça de Guardià. El correu específicament esmentat la supressió i modificació significativa per País de Gal·les i altres d'articles sobre anterior el director de pel·lícula adulta Paul Barresi. Deute en part a ser esmentat en una notícia de pàgina del davant en Slashdot, els servidors de Wikitruth s'envaïen amb una inundació d'atenció. Posterior, Wikitruth s'esmentava en Metafilter, Digg, i diversos altres llocs de notícies com ell.

L'article de Caixa|Registre
L'endemà, Orlowski publicava un altre article, aquesta vegada a The Register, titulada "Wales and Sanger on Wikipedia". Aquest article repetia unes quantes crítiques sobre Wikipedia de "Skip", que Orlowski descrivia com un administrador Wikipedia que és una part de Wikitruth. Algunes de les crítiques anivellades pel "Skip" a l'article inclouen comentaris sobre la manca de Wikipedia d'una prova de resposta de desafiament de CAPTCHA per a la matrícula que assegura o edició i preferència per inclusió de certes classes d'articles com Pokémon.

Referències

Enllaços externs
 WikiTruth.Info Pàgina web
 La resposta de Wikitruth a aquest article
 Article del Village Voice

Wikis
Wikimedia


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Profiles of Ohio Women 1803 - 2003
Univ of Chicago Dist Ctr
Profiles of Ohio Women 1803-2003
Jacqueline Jones Royster
Ohio University Press, 2003, 240 pages, hardcover
The state of Ohio has produced an impressive number of remarkable women, women who have moved to the forefront of their professions or have enriched their communities or have made a difference in myriad ways. Among the more recognizable names are Toni Morrison, Annie Oakley, Halle Berry, Maya Lin, and Judith Resnick, but there are others as well, less recognizable, perhaps—Florence Ellinwood Allen, Hallie Quinn Brown, and Mary Jobe Akeley—who have made unique and important contributions to our culture.
Although women constitute at least half of the population, they are still largely overlooked or underrepresented in documented history. Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803-2003 makes a substantial step in providing a record of women's achievement. Developed by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission's Advisory Council on Women, this collection profiles a few of the many women who have left their imprint on the state, nation, world, and even outer space. It celebrates and documents the achievements of two hundred women of many races, religions, and regions, who have broken barriers and records, been "firsts," and started movements and institutions. They are leaders and role models who will inspire all Ohioans to reach higher, dream deeper, and achieve what otherwise might seem beyond their possibilities.
Professor Jacqueline Jones Royster presents the historical portraits of these fascinating and memorable women in an accessible and highly illustrated format. Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803-2003 will be a significant legacy of the Ohio Bicentennial and a valuable reference work for years to come.


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Joseph Silverman, a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) at the University of Maryland (UMD), passed away on Wednesday, November 6, 2019, at the age of 97. Professor Silverman significantly impacted the lives of countless individuals – family, colleagues, friends, and students - throughout his long and distinguished career. His knowledge and expertise gained him well deserved worldwide recognition, yet he was always kind, thoughtful and considerate, which showed that he truly cared about the people in his life.
Professor Silverman earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Columbia University in 1951. He served eight years in industry, and a year as an associate professor at Stony Brook University before he was recruited by Dick Duffy (a chemical engineer and a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Army who worked on the Manhattan project) in 1960 to help launch the University's fledgling nuclear program as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering. He was a faculty member in the College from 1960 until his retirement in 1991, and then continued with his research and interacted with students as an emeritus professor.
Silverman, an expert in the interaction of ionizing radiation with polymers, was there on the day the reactor first went online, and subsequently built much of what the nuclear program was from the ground up, including the University's first radiation facilities and supporting laboratories, and the program's first curriculum. He is largely responsible for developing the reactor and radiation vaults still in use today. Dr. Silverman was a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society and the American Physical Society, and served as the director of the University of Maryland Institute for Physical Science and Technology from 1976-1983. He was a winner of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966, was appointed as distinguished professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo in 1974, and received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his fundamental and applied work in radiation physics and chemistry at the 9th International Symposium on Ionizing Radiation and Polymers in 2010.
Silverman was the longest-serving faculty member of the MSE Department at UMD, helping to shepherd new, innovative ways of transforming materials through the use of ionizing radiation.
"Professor Silverman was my mentor in navigating through the many requirements that came with being chair of the Materials and Nuclear Engineering Department," said MSE Professor, Aris Christou, who served as Department Chair from 1993-2003. "His first and most important advice was to always put the students first - 'Ensure that the chairman is always meeting the needs of the students and one can never go wrong.' I always remembered, and adhered to those wise words."
Over the course of his career, Professor Silverman acted as a consultant to numerous organizations including the United Nations, International Atomic Energy Agency, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Defense, Southern Regional Education Board, Danish Atomic Energy Commission, South Korean Atomic Energy Commission, Boris Kidric Institute for Nuclear Science of (Yugoslavia), U.S. Department of Commerce Cooperative Technology Program, and several industrial companies. Silverman published hundreds of papers in prestigious peer-reviewed journals in radiation chemistry and radiation engineering, radiation-induced polymerization, radiation modification of polymers, pulse radiolysis, and nuclear engineering. During his tenure, he directed more than 40 Ph.D. dissertations, and tens of M.S. theses. Indeed, he was one of the most distinguished radiation chemists in the world.
Professor Silverman was an outstanding person in every sense of the word. He will be sorely missed.


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Vol.IV No.VI Pg.12-15
Contributorial
The Swing Of The Pendulum --Fanning Yater Tant
"I thank heaven for a man like Adolph Hitler." So spoke the founder of Buchmanism to a New York reporter in 1937. And these words have had no little part in proving the undoing of the movement started in the 1920s by Dr. Frank Buchman, baldish, plump, Pennsylvania-born Lutheran. The sect has been known under many names, among, them being "Buchmanism," "First Century Christian Fellowship," "Oxford Groups," and "Moral Rearmament."
There have been persistent rumors that Vidkun Quisling, the Norwegian traitor, as well as Rudolph Hess, who lately 'sailed against England,' and certain others high in the Nazi party were either members of, or sympathetic to, the Oxford Groups. This was partly brought out in a recent debate in the British House of Commons, when the Hon. A. P. Herbert remarked that Buchman had never publicly condemned Hitler. "He loves Hitler as well as he loves us," said the Britisher, "and there is in all his preaching a strange tendency toward flabbiness and fascism." The issue of the debate was whether the Buchmanite "lay preachers" would be granted military exemption. They weren't.
With practically the whole world regarding Hitler as the arch-enemy of all civilized values, and all decency and honor in both individual and national relationships, it is understandable that Dr. Buchman's impetuous admiration for Der Fuehrer should come back to haunt him. His movement, which spread like a house afire through the Protestant world about a decade ago, has gone into an eclipse which promises to be even more spectacular than its rise. In New York City on November 8th, Dr. Samuel M. Shoemaker, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church, and leading American exponent of Buchmanism, wrote a letter to his parishioners explaining his withdrawal from the movement, and denying the Buchmanites any further use of his parish house which had been their headquarters. His action was typical of that being taken by prominent Buchmanites all over the nation. And now the retreat from "Moral Re-Armament" threatens to become a debacle.
Swing of the Pendulum
Buchmanism, like, nearly every false doctrine that has cursed the earth since the day of the apostles, represented a "swing of the pendulum" movement. One has but to look into church history to discover what a large proportion of heretical movements have had their genesis in the same sort of situation that brought the "Groupers" into existence. It has been the practical neglect of some phase or section of Christian doctrine, followed by a long felt need for the thing being stressed, then the emergency of someone to emphasize that particular thing, with a consequent over-emphasis which amounts to heresy.
For example, can there be any doubt that the reformation started by Martin Luther, with its heretical overemphasis on "faith" (salvation by faith only) was a swing of the pendulum away from the Catholic church's neglect of that doctrine? Because Catholicism had virtually eliminated personal faith, and had made salvation dependent almost entirely on doing the "works" of the church, Luther found a fertile soil for his emphatic preaching on the importance of faith.
Then there was Calvinism with its heretical overemphasis on the sovereignty of God. In rebellion against the accepted idea that mankind could work out his own scheme of redemption, and that careful observance of the decrees of "the church" would bring salvation, Calvin declared the whole thing was in the hands of God. Not only could man not save himself, he couldn't even help to save himself. Before time began, God had settled everything by his divine decree. All was predestinated and foreordained according to his will.
Later on, Wesley came with his enthusiastic emotionalized version of "whop-'em-up" religion. Which was a clear case of the "swing of the pendulum" away from the cold formalism of the Anglican church. His movement resulted in a heretical over-emphasis on the "feeling" side of religion.
In our own country Mary Baker Eddy secured a tremendous following by putting great emphasis on a phase of Christian doctrine that was very generally over looked and neglected--meditation and prayer. By staking her so-called "Christian Science" on these two points, and building her whole cult around them, she was able to snare a large number of people who had felt there was something lacking in their denominational teaching, without knowing exactly what it was that was absent. This writer has yet to meet a Christian Scientist who was not a member of some other denomination before he fell under the wiles of Mrs. Eddy.
Cardinal Points of Buchmanism
In much the same way, Dr. Buchman in the '20s and '30s pounced upon certain phases of Christian doctrine which were largely being neglected, and with these as a frame work, built up an impressive following among religious people in nearly all the larger denominations. A study of the cardinal points of his teaching will show them to have been nothing more nor less than an over-emphasis on parts of the Christian religion which had been long ignored and abused:
1. The "quiet time." This is the name the Buchmanites gave to a period of meditation and earnest devotion which they pledged themselves to observe each day. Usually it is early in the morning. This time may be spent partly in prayer, and partly in an inner searching of the soul. Devout men have long since recognized that our modern high pressure living has practically eliminated this sort of experience from the life of the average Christian. And successful Christian living simply isn't possible without it. Every soul must have some method of retreat and withdrawal from the noisy clatter and swift rush of daily living. Because our generation has virtually lost this technique of Christian living, the Buchmanites were able to capitalize on it. The result was an over-emphasis that made of the "quiet time" a sort of mystical, unearthly, experience in which the "Grouper" thought he would receive a direct message (guidance) from the Holy Spirit.
2. "Sharing" was the word the Buchmanite used to describe his attitude toward others in the movement. In "sharing" he purged his soul by a confession of sins. Nothing was kept back. Everything from the most trivial peccadilloes of behavior to the most revolting of crimes was laid bare. Again, thoughtful men have long recognized the actual, psychological, prophylactic value of a full and free - confession. Modern Christianity has seemed much more willing to confess the faults of others than its own guilt. But Christ and the apostles taught, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another," (Jas. 5:16) and "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, our sins," (I Jno.1:9). Dr. Buchman was quick to sense the weakness in the modern attitude, and to emphasize this neglected portion of the gospel. But, as is usual with such "swing of the pendulum" movements, he over-emphasized the idea to the point of heresy.
3. Individual evangelism. Because modern denominationalism is frozen in its stiff formality of "called" and "ordained" clergymen, the Buchmanites saw a golden opportunity to return to the primitive conception of every member being an evangelist for the movement. In this attitude and conception Dr. Buchman gave a tremendous emphasis to a long neglected teaching of the scripture that--it is the solemn duty of every disciple to teach and influence all he meets to accept the new doctrine. But here, once more, the pious doctor went beyond the truth in his over-emphasis of this neglected principle. He has tried to make all his movement dependent on the work of the "lay preachers"--giving no place at all to evangelists or teachers whose sole duty would be to spread the teaching.
How the Church can Profit
Although Buchmanism is clearly a heretical movement, it has none-the-less certain points well worth the Christian's sober consideration. Can anyone deny that the church of Christ would profit immeasurably if all the members would give greater emphasis to the cardinal points of the "Groupers"--periods of meditation and prayer, honest confession of faults, and intense, flaming, individual evangelism? Not because Dr. B. taught them, but because Jesus Christ himself taught them.
The chief value of Dr. Buchman to us moderns has been to show us that the plan of Christ works. Even handicapped as it was by all the errors and wrong ideas of denominational teachings, it was undoubtedly the zealous individual evangelism of Buchman's followers that made hundreds of thousands of converts to his movement within a short decade. And if the church of Christ in our day could develop the same intensity of enthusiasm on the part of every member that characterized the Buchmanites, who can say how rapid would be her growth throughout the world?
Dr. Buchman's admiration for the goose-stepping Nazis and his lack of any solid doctrinal framework has doubtless doomed his movement to an early extinction. But the incredible speed with which his "Moral Rearmament" swept the world has been one of the outstanding religious phenomena of our day. It shocked and astonished our easy-going religionists into stupefied wonder. Two things were clearly demonstrated: first, our sophisticated twentieth century is certainly not hardened and immune to all religious influence; second, if people, are won to a new religious life it must be by a return to the flaming, passionate intensity or individual evangelism which characterized the church in the first century. The way of Christ and the apostles the way of the early disciples--is the way that get results. Let the church of Christ take notice!
Only to the extent that the church is kept militant (not in the persons of her preachers and leaders, but in the rank and file of her membership) can we hope for the church to become triumphant.
God's Call To Expansion Homer Hailey
The Bible continues ever fresh and adaptable to man in all ages; containing its message to all classes of men, and to men under all kinds of conditions. Solomon said, "there is no new thing under the sun;" and experience verifies the claim. If we delve deeply into the distant past, we find conditions and experiences coming and going about the same as today. Our study of the Bible should therefore reveal to us that which meets the need of the hour, then with the issue clearly before us, we should be able to meet it with all our might.
During a particular period of Israel's history the people could not help being very disheartened. Sin had robbed them of power, and at the moment Sennacherib stood on the threshold of the land with his Assyrian army, threatening to wipe out the national life of Judah. The days of which I speak were the gloomy days of 701 B. C. In the midst of those trying times, Isaiah stood as the gigantic representative of Jehovah among the people, preaching, pleading, denouncing, threatening. Yet in the midst of his declarations of impending punishment and suffering, he encouraged them with promises and exhortations of the future.
In the fifty-third chapter of his book, the prophet pictures for Judah and Jerusalem the suffering Messiah, which he followed with a picture of glorified Zion in the days of that Messiah, following His suffering. "Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith Jehovah. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shalt spread abroad on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall possess the nations, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited." (Isa. 54:1-3).
One need not speculate here, for Paul quotes the first verse in Galatians 4:27, applying the promise to the children of the new covenant, the covenant of promise. The fulfillment of the promise is realized in the church; and it is the church that should find inspiration in such a promise and command even now, as it faces its present day task and mission in the world. Amidst trying times the church was established, and when driven from Jerusalem by the enemies of truth did "spare not," but "lengthened the cords" and "strengthened the stakes" till they had "spread abroad on the right hand and on the left," "possessing the nations" and "making the desolate cities to be inhabited."
And now, today, when God's people are again threatened, this time by the spiritual "Assyrians" led by the various "Sennacheribs" of the hosts of darkness, shall she withdraw from the conflict, to leave the field to others? Or shall she put the utmost faith in God, and "spare not," but "lengthen the cords, and strengthen the stakes," in anticipation of ultimate victory when the thousands of Sennacherib's host shall lie prostrate in death, slain by "the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone?" The very spirit, thinking, and tendencies of the times are going to have their influence upon the church and its life today, which influence will be felt for years to come.
The present war is purely an economic war; but involved in it are moral and spiritual values. The primary concern today is for material things; but to the Christian the concern must be for the things eternal. The spirit of war tends to do two things: (1) draw men into a superficial alliance, in which for the moment differences that previously existed are laid aside. This is to be commended and wished for, if there are no principles involved in the compromise. (2) At the same time it breeds suspicion toward all who differ with them in their spirit, and develop hatreds for enemies, and unbalanced thinking in vital matters. Hatred, suspicion, compromise of principles, are all contrary to the Spirit of Christ, and the Christian calling. In the midst of these conditions and dispositions there is going to be the constant temptation to compromise convictions and positions by alliances with denominations in various movements and efforts, and to slacken the fight against sin "in the high places."
Our question in the affairs of the day is, what is the place of the church and the Christian life in the midst of such conditions? The reply: The church must be a rock of refuge in the midst of the storm. It must be the preserver of faith and righteousness at all costs, as it loses not its bearing, but constantly holds forth "the word of life" in the "midst of a crooked and perverse generation." It must be the "leaven" hidden in the three measures of meal, working always to influence lives for good. Our task is the same as always, the removing of hatreds, suspicions, and malice by changing the hearts of people through the gospel; planting in the stead of these the principles of Jesus Christ. This presents the challenge of the prophet of long ago, as he cried "Enlarge the place of thy tent... stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes."
Spare Not
The definite goal of the church must be one of "all out for Christ." The world today is stopping at no cost to gain victory; should the church with a vastly greater responsibility than that of any secular power, be miserly in its effort? Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth;" salt is consumed in accomplishing its purpose. Jesus further said, "Ye are the light of the world;" the light burns itself out giving light to others. It is consumed in its task, in achieving its objective. Both of these illustrations of Jesus intimate the accomplishment of Christianity at the cost of self.
Paul said, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls;" this must be the "spare not" spirit of the church today, if a remnant is to be salvaged from the spiritual chaos of the times. This may demand suffering, but Peter said, "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which cometh upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened to you: but inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice." (1 Peter 4:12, 13) Suffering has ever been the common lot of Christians in all ages; we need expect no less today.
Lengthen thy Cords
The scope of the church's service must be enlarged to include all men. If such a catastrophe as is at present befalling humanity is to be averted in another generation, the hearts of men must be changed by the gospel. The whole world of unredeemed becomes our challenge. "The World is the field," said Jesus; while the Prophet visualized Him as a King ruling a "dominion...from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." This not in a "future dispensation" from the present, but now.
The church possesses all the essentials for the accomplishment of the task, unless it be one: the realization of the magnitude of its task and responsibility. It possesses the gospel, "which is the power;" the promise of God's presence at all times, "For himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee;" and the promise that our labor shall "not be in vain in the Lord." The thing needful then, is greater vision and harder work. Standing on the threshold of a new year, with far-reaching challenges before us, every congregation should "lengthen thy cords" to the very limit.
Strengthen thy Stakes
But it must not build loosely, rather, it must build for permanence. Stability is the thing that counts in a storm, not size. While stretching out in various directions, the stakes must be driven deep. There must be the development of a right conception of God if permanence is to be secured. God is not a tribal deity, interested in one race because of color more than in another; He is universal, interested in righteousness and faithfulness rather than color and race. Neither is He interested in the mere ritual of outward worship; He delights in sincerity and truth.
There must be home training, where principles of righteousness and loyalty to the truth are instilled from childhood. The sanctity of the home, and the integrity of the church must be emphasized if the stakes are to be strengthened.
Then, there is ever the dire need for thorough indoctrination in the fundamental principles of redemption. Catholicism is going to make a tremendous effort to "come back" out of the chaos of the day. Protestantism has failed, its compromising and modernistic tendencies have proved its undoing. In the midst of these facts, it is still true that only the truth can make men free. The church must "strengthen the stakes" as it prepares for the real shock of frenzied feelings, hatreds, and suspicions of coming days, and for the aftermath of present conditions.
Musings From The Motor City-- A. B. Keenan
"The restoration of the primitive church is neither possible nor desirable." This pearl of worldly wisdom, Satan inspired, is from the hand of a learned divine associated with the extreme broad-gauge wing of the Christian Church. If it is not representative of the philosophy of that denomination as a whole, it is at least typical of what that communion breeds and too frequently tries to tolerate. It is, of course, the counsel of despair on the part of those who have sought for unity in the Church, but have sought for it, naturally without success, in the wrong place. They have tried to remove "bones of contention," they have attempted fraternization they have tried to impress the impressible with tomes of stodgy "research," they have tried to keep "up with the Joneses" on the fashionable avenues, they have robed their "clergy" and bedecked their choirs, they have precluded and postcluded, and all in vain. Their fielders have let the ball drop between them. They have sought the Lord in the wrong place. They could have with as much success looked for oysters in the Sahara. The Lord prayed for the unity of believers. The Apostles preached one doctrine, and the immersed became members of one church. Both Paul and John pronounced anathemas on any who should alter the sacred teaching delivered unto them. The whole tenor of the New Testament from Matt. 1:1 to Rev. 22:21 is the oneness of Christ's teaching, church, and work among men. Restoration of the church of Christ is not only possible, but in the face of the punishment incumbent upon our failure to do so most desirable indeed. An' we don't mean maybe.
"Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." One of the beauties of New Testament Christianity is that, under God, we are responsible to no one, that is no synod, board, group, clique, claque, publishing house, editor, paper, or leaflet. We heard a good brother remark the other day that such-and-such a commentary was good, but put out by "sectarians." Now we're not here taking up your time reading this column with the recommendation of the least jot or tittle that's sectarian. But what a pretty picture we'd have in the Church if the only thing we dared to read was something that bore the official imprimatur of authorities at A.... or N.... (or save the mark!) L........ Of all the insane things among the brethren an index expurgatorious would, if you don't mind the French, be the most indubitable. In the search for truth, we're at liberty to take a leaf from any man's book. In our study to show ourselves approved unto God, that we may be unashamed workmen, let us bring to bear on the subject of the meaning of the Bible anything that will help us--from any quarter, including the Roman Catholic,--though we grant you, that might be rare. Let us keep the good and cast the bad away. Let our first study be the Sacred Books themselves. In their light let us cautiously use whatever helps are thrown our way. We said cautiously. Another brother, in pique or desperation, recently averred, "No commentaries are of any value," but did not realize that his own was thereby included. Let us listen, read and learn all we can. By the way have you reviewed your Neal-Wallace debate recently? Therein the bastions of righteousness truly withstand the aerial blitz of error.
"No doubt some adults who have a mind-set induced by training in religious argumentation will give a legalistic interpretation of the 'forerunner'." (Statement discovered
in a Christian Board of Publication quarterly.) We surmise that no one quite dreads the descent of a discussion into the "realm of mere argument" quite the way one who has nothing upon which to support his religious position does. Isn't it the perspicacious editor of this periodical who frequently allows in his preaching that hornless cows are most averse to any kind of hooking? "Mind-set:" now that's a good one, isn't it? Anybody who disagrees with me, --I should conclude the argument involved to be--, is suffering from an idee fixee. Or to vary it: "My position is right because my mind is open. Your position is wrong, and therefore you have a closed mind, to wit, a 'mindset'." And then some more: "Training in religious argumentation." If we were of a betting disposition, we would gladly wager our last thin dime that that fellow, whoever he may be, has been worsted at one time or another by one or more of the brethren. But again: "A legalistic interpretation." That expression to this scribe's knowledge is used as a two-directional club only by embattled Christian Church-men, and that when they have to beat down Judaism's advances upon them through the avenues of Roman Catholicism and conventional Protestantism, proposing infant "baptism," say, on the one hand, and unadulterated New Testament Christianity's assaults from the other side because of their extra-marital relationships with interpretation will stick to loyal brethren like feathers to a flat car. We'll beat them backward home on whatever unscriptural proposition they elect to defend. Yes, of course they'll holler, but it's not unamusing to see them run off like whipped mongrels, emitting whelps with every bound.
Preaching: when is it mere entertainment? In every city which can boast more than one faithful congregation of the Lord's people, a certain type of brother makes him self sooner or later conspicuous, both by what he does and by what he doesn't. This type is a lover of sound preaching, eloquently delivered; a lover of excitement and something (although the figure is unlovely) of a campfollower. What we mean is this: Whenever a visiting preacher comes to a neighboring congregation, or to neighboring congregations, this unstable brother immediately betakes himself to the place most likely to provide the best entertainment for the day, or days. If the work in his own local church depended upon him and his ilk, we'd give it until next Tuesday night to survive. No, this high-minded brother would never think of agreeing to take a Bible school class or in any other way, shape, or form, assuming responsibility for something specific. He must keep himself free from entangling alliances,--for what? That he might skip with the light heartedness of a zephyr from place to place, --wherever the work for him will be the lightest and the entertainment the best. Would this brother, having moved into a community, ever identify himself with a local church and come under the oversight of local elders? It's a cold day in June when he does. When he does dain to visit you, he exudes patronage: why he knows the best preachers, he's heard so-and-so-and-so-and-so-and-so-and-so preach. As a matter of fact, his grandpappy on his mother's side was a pioneer preacher, and two of his brothers were preachers before entering the real estate business. Say, gentle reader, this nimble Jack couldn't be you, now or could it?
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