text:
Cupra est un constructeur automobile espagnol, fondé le  et basé à Abrera en Catalogne. Cupra était auparavant la division sportive du constructeur automobile Seat jusqu'en 2018. Elle appartient au groupe allemand Volkswagen avec Seat.

Préambule

Au Mondial de l'automobile de Paris 1996, le constructeur automobile Seat présente sa division sportive Cupra. La Seat Ibiza est la première de la gamme à recevoir une version estampillée Cupra, équipée de la motorisation de la Volkswagen Golf GTi, le quatre cylindres 2.0 litres 16V de 150 ch, ainsi que des appendices de carrosserie et des packs d'équipements spécifiques. En 1999, au Salon international de l'automobile de Genève, Seat présente son concept-car Toledo Cupra V6, qui ne se concrétisera pas en série. À l'occasion du Salon international de l'automobile de Barcelone 2001, c'est au tour de la Seat León de recevoir une version badgée Cupra avec la León Cupra 280. Celle-ci va battre le record du tour sur le Nürburgring dans la catégorie traction en 2014. Elle est suivie en 2017 d'une version encore plus puissante, la León Cupra R de  présentée au Salon de Francfort 2017. Trois générations de l'Ibiza ont reçu une version Cupra entre 1996 et 2017.

Historique
Seat a annoncé au Salon de l'Automobile de Francfort 2017 que sa division sportive allait prendre de l'importance et se développer. Le , Cupra devient une marque à part entière, à l'instar des divisions sportives Polestar pour Volvo, ou AMG pour Mercedes-Benz, ou DS Automobiles pour Citroën qui ont pris leur indépendance.

À terme, la nouvelle marque disposera de points de vente réservés uniquement pour sa gamme.

La nouvelle marque prend aussi le contrôle de l'ensemble de la division sport automobile et course automobile du constructeur espagnol, qui était jusqu'ici gérée par Seat Sport.

En janvier 2019, Wayne Griffiths, ancien vice-président chargé des ventes et du marketing de Seat, devient président de Cupra.

Au Salon de Francfort 2019, Cupra présente un concept-car préfigurant la Cupra León.

Chiffres de vente
En 2022, le constructeur augmente ses ventes de 92 % par rapport à l'année précédente tandis que sa maison mère Seat voit ses ventes s'éffondrer de 40 %. Le constructeur qui est devenue une marque à part entière en 2018 produit 3 fois plus de modèles que son concurrent direct DS Automobiles devenu une marque en 2011.

Modèles
Le premier modèle de la marque est l'Ateca, présentée au Salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2018 et commercialisée à la fin de l'été 2018. À ses côtés, Cupra présente la Cupra León R ST, version break de la León, ainsi qu'un concept de la future Cupra Ibiza. L'ensemble est accompagné de la voiture de compétition de la nouvelle marque : la León TCR. La Formentor rejoint la gamme en 2020, puis Cupra lance son premier modèle 100 % électrique, la Born, en 2021.

Cupra Ateca

La Cupra Ateca est le premier modèle du nouveau constructeur automobile. L'Ateca est un SUV qui repose sur la plateforme modulaire MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) du Groupe Volkswagen, qu'il partage avec les Volkswagen Tiguan, Škoda Karoq, Audi Q3 et son jumeau le Seat Ateca.

Cupra Formentor

À l'occasion du premier anniversaire de la marque, le , Cupra présente un concept-car de SUV préfigurant une version de série de la Cupra Formentor commercialisé en 2020. La Formentor, qui est le second modèle de Cupra et le premier inédit pour la marque développé en interne, est un SUV coupé concurrent du BMW X4.

Cupra León

La Cupra León est dévoilée le  et devait faire sa première apparition publique au Salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2020, mais celui-ci a été annulé à cause de l'épidémie de coronavirus COVID-19.

Cupra Born

La Cupra Born est dévoilée le . Ce modèle électrique avait été présenté sous forme de concept, mais sous la marque Seat, lors du salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2019. Elle est issue de la Volkswagen ID.3

Compétition

Cupra TCR

La Cupra TCR est la version compétition du constructeur engagée dans le championnat TCR. Elle est motorisée par un quatre cylindres 2.0 TSI turbocompressé de  et  de couple.

Cupra León Competición TCR

Début janvier 2020, Cupra présente la nouvelle génération de Cupra de compétition : la Cupra León Competición TCR. Celle-ci est basée sur la nouvelle Seat León IV qui n'est pas encore dévoilée. Elle est motorisée le même quatre cylindres 2.0 TSI turbocompressé que l'ancienne Cupra TCR avec quelques chevaux de plus.

Concept cars

Cupra Ibiza concept (2018)
La Cupra Ibiza est présentée sous forme de concept-car au salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2018.

Cupra e-Racer concept (2018)

Cupra présente la Cupra e-Racer Concept au salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2018.

Cupra Formentor concept (2019)

Au Salon international de l'automobile de Genève 2019, Cupra présente un concept de SUV sportif : le Cupra Formentor concept. Celui-ci reçoit une motorisation hybride rechargeable de  composée d'un moteur thermique 4-cylindres 1.5 TSI de  associé à un électromoteur de  (), et accouplé à la boîte de vitesses DSG à double embrayage du Groupe Volkswagen.

Cupra Tavascan Concept (2019)

Cupra présente au salon de Francfort 2019 le Tavascan Concept, un SUV coupé 100 % électrique. Son nom fait référence à un village espagnol de la province de Lleida. Le concept car est équipé de deux moteurs électriques, placés sur les essieux, lui octroyant une transmission intégrale et une puissance  cumulée de  ().

Cupra UrbanRebel (2021)

Le concept UrbanRebel est présenté au salon de l'automobile de Munich.

Notes et références

Voir aussi

Articles connexes
 Seat
 Groupe Volkswagen

Liens externes

 Site de l'entreprise

Entreprise fondée en 2018
Marque espagnole
Constructeur automobile ayant son siège en Espagne
Entreprise ayant son siège en Catalogne
Volkswagen
Constructeur de voitures de sport


text:
Archaeodrapetiops mezzalirai är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Martins-neto, de Moraes Vieira, Kucera-santos och De Campos Fragoso 1992. Archaeodrapetiops mezzalirai ingår i släktet Archaeodrapetiops och familjen puckeldansflugor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Puckeldansflugor
mezzalirai

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The Second Vatican Council's declarations on non-Christian religions and religious freedom do not contain "binding doctrinal content," Cardinal Walter Brandmuller said at a press conference on May 21.
The retired president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, along with Archbishop Agostino Marchetto and Father Nicola Bux, is the coauthor of a newly published book, Le 'Chiavi' di Benedetto XVI per interpretare il Vaticano II [Benedict XVI's 'Keys' for Interpreting Vatican II].
Cardinal Brandmuller added that all the conciliar documents "must be taken seriously as expressions of the living Magisterium," while Archbishop Marchetto said that Catholics must offer "at least an adhesion of intellect and will" to all of the documents.
Cardinal Brandmuller said that the Society of St. Pius X, like the Old Catholics after the First Vatican Council, "have in common a rejection of the legitimate developments of the doctrine and life of the Church," but the Society is not "insignificant" like the Old Catholics.
"We hope that the Holy Father's attempt to reunify the Church succeeds," added the cardinal, who offered a solemn pontifical Mass in the extraordinary form at St Peter's Basilica last May.
On the one hand there must be "acceptance of the Council" while on the other there is much that does "not contain binding doctrinal content." "One can dialogue" about the contents. For years there has been great latitude in what this means for bishops, priests and laity; it has proven difficult for the Church to reconcile in practice. And it's in this arena of practice that the work of the salvation of souls can be, and it might be effectively argued, has been imperiled. This is problematic.


text:
UK Report Finds 1 in 4 Female Slavery Survivors Pregnant When They Escape
Photo: Reuters/Alex Lee
One in four female modern slavery survivors in the UK are pregnant when they escape from their captors, prompting urgent calls for the Government to better protect vulnerable victims in the aftermath of their ordeal.
The main organisation supporting victims of modern slavery in London has revealed the majority of these women are routinely unable to access vital support with their pregnancy, with two thirds not receiving antenatal care until they are over seven months pregnant.
This can be the result of traffickers having prevented them from accessing help in the earlier stages of pregnancy, or a lack of knowledge among the women about their rights to access NHS healthcare, said the charity Hestia.
In a sign of the psychological impact of their experiences, a third of the 147 pregnant survivors supported by the charity last year – most of whom had been raped while being exploited by sex traffickers – were suicidal during their pregnancy.
All of them lived in poverty, relying on charity and food banks for their basic needs, with 16 per cent of the women – 24 in total – sleeping rough while pregnant. Four in five of the women were estranged from their families.
One woman received her first antenatal appointment so late in her pregnancy that she went into labour during her first scan. Another woman was so destitute once she had given birth that she had to give her baby cow's milk because she could not afford formula, Hestia said.
The report also revealed that being pregnant meant a victim of modern slavery was 38 per cent less likely to be recognised as a victim than the average for other victims of modern slavery.
Hestia warned that the lack of maternity care puts mothers and babies at risk – particularly because of the complex health issues developed as a result of being a victim of modern slavery.
Campaigners are now calling for "urgent action" from the Government and the NHS to ensure access to critical perinatal mental healthcare and to ensure that no pregnant woman has to survive on food banks or live on the street.
Hestia's CEO Patrick Ryan said: "These harrowing stories and shocking statistics reveal that even after pregnant women have escaped the hands of their abusers, they continue to endure unimaginable horrors. The support provided to these women as part of the Government's National Referral Mechanism (NRM) is vital to improving outcomes for these women and their babies.
"However, we need urgent action from the NHS to ensure access to critical perinatal mental healthcare. We also hope these new findings will feed into the Government's review of the NRM which is currently under way. Pregnancy is a time of increased vulnerability. As a society, we must ensure that these women get the support they deserve."
Kate Roberts, head of the Human Trafficking Foundation, said it was "shameful but unfortunately no real surprise" that pregnant women who have been victims of modern slavery have not accessed antenatal support during much of their pregnancy.
"The 'hostile environment' means that many people avoid accessing healthcare for fear this will result in their being reported to the immigration authorities", she added.
"We must make sure not only that the needs of trafficked women are met while they are pregnant, but also that once they have children, that both children and their parents are properly safeguarded and supported.
"Without this there is real risk that parenthood and the need to provide for their children will increased the vulnerability of women who have already been trafficked to re-exploitation."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "Supporting victims of modern slavery to rebuild their lives after exploitation is a key priority for this Government. Victims of modern slavery receive specialist support and accommodation, including access to legal aid, NHS medical treatment and counselling.
"Pregnant women and women with young families can access specialist accommodation, including essential equipment such as cots, high chairs and stair-gates. Pregnant women also receive help to access local medical services and a birthing partner or doula around the birth of their baby if they wish.
"We are also introducing a £300 grant to meet pregnant women's essential needs around the time of their baby's birth."
Source: The Independent
Brian Rusch2018-03-08T19:11:29-08:00

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Empire of Books: News: Trailer for Inheritance by Christopher Paolini Released!
News: Trailer for Inheritance by Christopher Paolini Released!
Just a few moments ago, Random House books unleashed the teaser trailer for Inheritance, the fourth and final book in Christopher Paolini's fantasy epic, The Inheritance Cycle. And it's a beaut of a trailer. Only 49 second and it doesn't give anything away but it made me a little giddy with excitement. You, along with me and the rest of the world, will be able to get a hold of your copy of the book on 8th November, but until then, chec out the trailer below!!


The Onyx Accessory Collection – SudzBox Co.
The Onyx Accessory Collection includes 4 (365 GSM) 16 x 16" black microfiber towels, 3 Onyx Applicator Pads, and our Contoured Tire Applicator.
Applicator Pads and Microfiber Towels are Machine Washable.


Use the following information to learn how to decode or decipher vehicle identification numbers, more commonly known as VIN numbers.
All cars and light trucks built after 1981 have a unique 17-character VIN number that provides access to valuable information about that vehicle's history. The letters I, O and Q never appear in a VIN. VIN numbers can be found on dashboards and driver's side door jamb stickers. In addition, they are also included on the title documents.
The sequence for characters is first A to Z, then 1 to 9, and last 0. The letters "I", "O" and "Q" are typically omitted.
First Character in the WMI (of three) – The first character in the World Manufacturer's Identification (WMI) sequence represents the country where the vehicle was manufactured. Countries such as the United States (1 or 4), Canada (2) and Mexico (3) are represented by numbers while other countries such as Germany (W), Italy (Z) and Japan (J) are represented by letters.World Manufacturer's Identification (WMI).
The second character in the WMI (of three) refers to the manufacturer. The characters can be either letters or numbers. For example: Jaguar (A), Dodge (B), Chrysler (C), Jeep (J), Buick (4), Cadillac (6) or Saturn (8).
The 9th character is a VIN accuracy check digit which verifies the previous VIN numbers. It is determined by carrying out a mathematical computation developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT).
The vehicle identification section includes the last eight characters in the VIN number.
The assembly plant for the vehicle (11th character). A number or letter may represent the model year. For example: 1998 (W), 2000 (Y), 2007 (7) or 2008 (8).
If you're interested in learning more, try Car Detective. Their site provides easy access to VIN decoders and other helpful tools. Another great site to check out is Carfax. At Carfax, you can order a Vehicle History Report, the first step to protecting yourself against buying used cars with costly hidden problems. CARFAX searches its nationwide database and provides a detailed vehicle history report in a matter of seconds.
You want decode VIN number, but You do not know, where is VIN number in Your car? Look at this page: https://www.vin-location.com Now You can find VIN number!


Setting aside the philosophical implications of this quantum gravity model, which I explore extensively in my philosophy of the bloody obvious, there are some consequences for physics which may make this important science once again accessible to the man of common sense.
We are easily able to draw many conclusions from this model which eradicate the inherent paradoxes of general relativity, but my life's goal has been to hurl quantum mechanics into the conceptual dustbin where it belongs. It has been the most confusing mathematical fiddle in the history of science and a monstrous affront to fundamental reason. Every event has a cause. There are no exceptions. Only existence itself can be self-causal.
It is no easy matter to regard ourselves as hurtling through time at the speed of light like a cosmic missile but if we manage to conceptualise this we see the universe quite differently.
All of the physical structures and forces of the universe result from causal events and this model offers a mechanism for this causality. This mechanism is a necessary phenomenon which allows events in the universe to proceed in an orderly fashion, which is the world of our experience. The laws of physics have thus been programmed into our cosmos by the collapse of the previous cycle. We regard these laws as the software being run on the cosmic computer and this statement is to be taken literally. Without such laws our universe would be incomprehensible, in plain contradiction of the evidence. Since the universe is executing a programme we conclude that the universe mandates its own comprehensibility.
1. Where did we go wrong?
This quantum gravity model of the universe proceeds from some basic principles of fundamental logic. In that sense I regard the problem of quantum gravity as a conceptual one, as opposed to a physical one, but this conceptual approach has profound consequences for the laws of physics.


Some of Kenya's most enduring images have been captured in and around the country's Rift Valley lakes, their surfaces a shimmering mass of thousands of pink flamingos.
The Kenyan section of the Rift Valley is home to eight lakes, the most famous surely being Lake Nakuru, whose algae-rich warm alkaline waters attract thousands if not millions of pink flamingo. Its shores – protected by a national park that shares its name – are home to both black and white rhino as well as a number of rare Rothschild's giraffe.
Lake Elmenteita lies about an hour by road to Nakuru's southeast, a much smaller, shallower soda lake whose waters are a deep blue-green. A RAMSAR site since 2005, Elmenteita is paradise for bird-watchers with over 400 individual avian species recorded in and around the lake including two types of flamingo, African Spoonbill and Great White Pelican. Close to the lake is the Kariandusi Museum, which showcases the prehistoric site where paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey discovered tools used by Early Stone age man in 1928.
Freshwater Lake Naivasha is the farthest south and in addition to prolific birdlife, boasts a sizeable population of hippos. Small but spectacular Hells Gate National Park is situated nearby, and offers visitors an opportunity to hike and cycle amid extinct volcanoes, towering cliffs and deep gorges inhabited by a range of wild animals including zebra, eland and gazelle. Look up, because this park is home to an array of endangered raptors and vultures that are commonly seen circling overhead.
These three Rift Valley lakes lie at quite high elevations, so the climate is relatively mild all year round. If you're hoping to see flamingos, it's worth noting that their population varies according to the alkalinity of the soda lakes. As such, the more rainfall there is, the less alkaline the waters and consequently, the less flamingos there are likely to be. Therefore it might be worthwhile planning your trip to coincide with the drier months (July to October).
The following are some of the safari lodges that we recommend in the Rift Valley Lakes region. For information on additional accommodation not featured, please contact us.
Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp is a tasteful tented property on the shores of vivid blue Lake Elmenteita, whose waters attract thousands of birds including flamingo and great white pelican.
Relive the lives of Kenya's early settlers at Loldia House, a picturesque former homestead with views over an extinct volcano.
Set on a private conservancy bordering Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya, Mbweha Camp comprises of 10 comfortable stone cottages with thatched roofs.


text:
Influenza Surveillance Update – Alicia Budd (CDC)
Other Items – L.J Tan
Alicia provided an update on influenza activity for Week 49, through the week ending December 7, 2019. Flu activity is continuing to increase across the country. Elevated activity has occurred for the last 5 weeks.
Clinical labs reported 11% of submitted specimens were positive for influenza, compared with 10% the previous week. Public health labs reported widespread influenza with a mixture of strains among B Victoria (the most commonly reported), H1, and H3. This mixture varies by region of the country, with 7 of 10 regions reporting B Victoria most frequently, while other regions reported predominantly H1 (2 regions) and H3 (1 region). Strain differences also were reported among different age groups. Overall, for persons 0–24 years of age, B Victoria is predominant, while H3 is reported more frequently in persons >65. Reports from middle age adults were almost equally split between H1 and B Victoria.
Genetic characterization of influenza viruses continues to increase. All H1 strains tested were from clade 6B.1A and were similar to the cell-grown reference virus. Characterized H3 viruses belonged to the 3C.2a1 clade/subclade, which varies from the 3B.3a clade used in the vaccine. In spite of this antigenic difference, 71% of viruses characterized were similar. For B Victoria, there was a split in the triple and double deletion viruses. Sixty-three percent (63%) B viruses were similar to the cell-grown reference virus. Of the small number of B Yamagata viruses tested, all were similar to the vaccine virus. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of viruses tested were susceptible to the antiviral medications oseltamivir, zanamivir, peramivir, and baloxavir.
Outpatient influenza-like illness (ILI) activity was at 3.2%, slightly down from the previous (Thanksgiving) week. Past years have indicated changes to health-seeking behavior during the holidays, so it is anticipated this level will rise during the next week of reporting. Despite this small decline, all 10 regions are now reporting levels at or above baseline rates. State ILI activity also slightly decreased, with 12 state reporting high levels of influenza activity, compared with 13 the previous week.
Cumulative hospitalization rates for the season are at 3.9 per 100,000 for the overall population. Highest rates are seen in age 65 and above, followed by the 0–4 year age group. Rates of reported pneumonia and influenza (P&I) are still below threshold levels for the season.
Four (4) new influenza-related pediatric deaths were reported during the week, bringing the 2019–2020 total for pediatric deaths to 10.
The majority (38) of states are reporting regional or widespread influenza activity. Estimated in-season burden of influenza estimates are 2.6 million persons infected, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 1,300 deaths.
2020 Summit Meeting – This year's meeting will be held on May 18, the day prior to the opening of the National Immunization Conference. Information on registration and other pertinent details is available on the Summit website. Nominations are being accepted for the 2020 Immunization Excellence Awards through February 1, and J especially thanked Mitch Rothholz for his many faithful years of coordinating these awards. The deadline for a poster submission is March 15.
2030 Healthy People Objectives – L.J announced that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has signed off on the 2030 objectives. There are 509 objectives covering 43 topic areas. Of particular interest, the adult immunization objective championed by the Summit, NVPO, and CDC has been added as a developmental objective. In addition, an objective has been included on the importance of incorporating information across the lifespan into IIS. The 2030 Objectives are scheduled for release at the end of March.
Summit Call Schedule – L.J reminded partners that the next regularly scheduled Summit calls will not be held due to the Christmas and New Year holidays. The next call will occur on January 9.


text:
Real Housewives of Vancouver - Macleans.ca
Episode 4 finds them burying hatchets — and then digging them back up
by Manisha Krishnan
Birthday girl Amanda arriving at her party
In episode 4, viewers were privy to "a day in the life" of the Housewives and since none of them really have jobs, not a whole lot happened.
Amanda's 34th birthday is coming up so she decides to treat herself. A spa day, you ask? Well, not exactly. Armed with Jody and Robin, she heads to Ambleside Dermedics for a Vampire Facelift, a procedure that draws a person's blood from their arm and injects it back into their cheeks.
She feels "smashing," so I guess it was worth the $1,200 bucks, or, what some people call "rent money."
Afterward, Robin catches up with Mary and Ronnie at Cactus Club Café on English Bay. She gabs about Amanda's procedure, although neither one of them shows much of a reaction — perhaps because their own Botox and fillers won't allow for it.
Robin also warns the ladies of her suspicions about Jody and Amanda.
"I just have this really weird feeling that they're like a little army," she says.
Over at Jody's place, we meet her son Josh, who is getting ready to leave Vancouver for Ryerson University in Toronto. They share as close to a genuine exchange as we're likely to see on the show, with Jody in tears telling her son that she'll miss him and mentioning something weird about breastfeeding.
Mary convinces Amanda to meet up at a coffee shop in West Vancouver so that they can get to know each other without Jody getting in the way.
She tries to come off as the bigger person saying, "I know that Jody probably has some good parts to her." But this only seems to disgust Amanda.
She then hands over a bag full of birthday presents for Amanda, which again is somewhat poorly received.
"Mary gives me a gift and then looks at me expectantly," complains Amanda, who grudgingly invites Mary to her birthday party. Mary says she'll think it over, but it's clear that she wants to go.
Robin, meanwhile, meets up with the organizers of the grand prix event who rejected her from singing The Star Spangled Banner. It turns out that Mary had misinformed her, however, and they want Robin to sing in a duet with a teenage boy.
In one of the strangest exchanges of the episode, Amanda and Ronnie get together for sushi. It's the first time they've seen each other since the nasty exchange at Blue Water.
Things get off to a rocky start when Amanda says that she will continue to call Ronnie out when she's out of line. Somehow, Ronnie starts talking about snakes shedding layers and transforming and Amanda chimes in that she'd like a white snake tattoo. All is forgiven.
At long last, it's party time at Quattro on Fourth in Kitsilano. Amanda hops in a limo with her boyfriend Kyle, his sister Kari and brother-in-law, Troy. After filling them in on the possibility of drama, Troy, a firefighter, remarks, "I won't hit a bitch but I'll shake the shit outta one."
Not to be outdone, Mary, Robin and Ioulia — she's still around — roll up in their own limo.
There's a brief period of normalcy before Mary feels a "cold chill" as Jody and Mia enter the party. Jody quickly pulls up an article about Mary, a former Miss Ohio, claiming she was robbed of her Miss America title. She also disses Mary for supposedly dating a 21-year-old Vancouver Canucks player. "Story is around town that Mary's a bit of a puck bunny," she says with a laugh.
Sadly, Mary's only retort is "At least when I wore a tiara, I earned it."
She almost leaves, but Ronnie shows up, and together with Robin and Amanda, they convince her to go back inside for dinner. Amanda opens up some average presents — Alexander McQueen scarf, tiara, etc.
At this point, Ronnie says she'd like to discuss the fighting that just went down between Mary and Jody. Jody seems all too happy to indulge but that's when the episode cuts off.
Oh, the suspense.
Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter
Previous 'Overpopulation' alarmism marginalizes those most vulnerable to climate change
Next Introducing The Power of One, a new Maclean's podcast
Real Housewives of Vancouver have a train wreck trip in Toronto
Seth MacFarlane's encore
Shocker on Downton Abbey
Stupid people having flashes of insight OR insightful people living stupid lives?
TV characters sing (usually badly)
Popular on Maclean's
My 2020 prediction: Nothing matters and everything will be okay
What's the best Christmas song?
This is the best Christmas song
Netflix Canada in December 2019: What's new this month
The takedown of Andrew Scheer
Donald Trump gets a visit from Jacob Marley and the Christmas ghosts
Netflix Canada in January 2020: What's new this month
Maclean's online yuletide fireplace rankings
What if the Conservatives had a 'centrist' leader?
The end of the oven


[March 7, 2016]–La Brasserie de St-Sylvestre in French Flanders makes a Biére de Noel I'll have to try one holiday season, should I again descend into 12 Beers of Christmas madness and try to crank out a dozen yuletide reviews. No question the effort wears me out for doing more TAP Beer of the Week picks until, say, March.
Hmm, it is March, and some interesting beers have crossed the threshold. Time to get a grip (on my beer glass) and resume writing.
The St-Sylvestre brewery is best known in these parts for its 3 Monts Flanders Golden Ale, a biére de garde, which I didn't have on hand. The 3 Monts Grande Reserve is its darker sibling, also a biére de garde but tougher to find. The Gavroche is called a French Red Ale, which is a new one on me. It has nothing stylistically to do with the sour tartness of a Flanders Red Ale (à la Rodenbach), but works as another variation on the biére de garde spectrum.
All three beers are imported by Eurobrew Inc. of Massachusetts and representative Anne Latchis said, "The Blonde outsells the Amber, and the Gavroche outsells them both, perhaps because of the Victor Hugo tie-in and the popularity of 'Les Misérables.'" News to me, as I've neither read Les Misérables nor seen any production of the "Les Mis" musical. But Gavroche is named after a streetwise urchin who figures prominently in both.
The town, Saint Sylvestre-Cappel, is named after Pope Saint Sylvester I, of whom relatively little is known, although he had a lengthy papal reign from January of 314 until his death in 335. His feast day is January 31, the day he was interred, but the beers are drinkable year-round.
"I've been to the brewery, and it's a lovely little place, family-run [by the brothers Ricour], on a side street in the rustic town, which is a short drive from Lille," said Latchis. The three monts in view might more accurately be called hills—Mont Noir actually in Belgium, while Mont Cassel and Mont des Cats are on the French side of the border.
If unprepossessing and long on tradition (brewing here is said to predate the French Revolution), the brewery is thoroughly modern, right down to the automated bottle corking, the corks held in place by large metal staples. It makes opening them a modest challenge, but the effort is worth it.
I drank the two bottle-conditioned beers on separate nights. There was a touch of oxidation in the early pour of my Grand Reserve bottle, but it quickly drove off, leaving an amber snifter full of swirling sweet, fruity and alcoholic vapors. There are licks of toffee, a slight suggestion of chocolate, visions of plums and pear, a wisp of anise all in a warm and biting mouthfeel. It's quite involving, and I enjoyed spending a couple of hours with it.
The Gavroche is also a treat, similar-looking but tinged with apt red hues. It has a big toffeeish nose, suggestions of honey, berries, plum. But the palate is mainly sweet toasty malt, with a silky mouthfeel, a barely discernible bite, and a mild green apple puckering at the finish. It hides its 8.5% ABV well. It seems a less complex brew than the Grand Reserve, but it's big and engaging. Maybe I should see if another could get me through "Les Mis"?


THREE AIRMEN DIE IN BOMBER CRASH.
Rapid City, S.D., Oct. 21. (AP) -- Names of three midwestern army airmen who died in the flaming crash of a bombing plane near Chadron, Neb., Sunday night, were announced by the public relations office at the Rapid City army air base today, following identification.
Second Lt. WOODROW W. SYVERSON, pilot, son of Albert Syverson, Pelican Rapids, Minn.
Pvt. ELMER W. PUTZIER, passenger, Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.
Pvt. CHESTER F. OBAL, passenger, son of Mrs. Angeline Obal, Chicago, Illinois.
The men were in one of three planes that circled Chadron late Sunday, apparently low on fuel.


text:
use strict;
use Getopt::Long;
use Data::Dumper;

use DB_CONFIG;

my $species = 'Homo sapiens';
my $phylo = "";
my $outdir = "/tmp/$species";
my $verbose = '0';
my $help = '0';

####################################################################
## Parsing command line options	####################################
####################################################################
# USAGE: ./core.pl --species "Homo sapiens" --outdir ../../appl_db/ird_v1/hsa ...

## Parsing command line
GetOptions ('species=s' => \$species, 'outdir=s' => \$outdir, 'phylo=s' => \$phylo,
			'ensembl-libs=s' => \$ENSEMBL_LIBS, 'ensembl-registry=s' => \$ENSEMBL_REGISTRY,
			'ensembl-host=s' => \$ENSEMBL_HOST, 'ensembl-port=s' => \$ENSEMBL_PORT,
			'ensembl-user=s' => \$ENSEMBL_USER, 'ensembl-pass=s' => \$ENSEMBL_PASS,
			'verbose' => \$verbose, 'help' => \$help);

## Checking help parameter
print_usage() if $help;

## Printing parameters
print_parameters() if $verbose;

## Checking outdir parameter exist, otherwise create it
if(-d $outdir){
	print "Writing files to directory '$outdir'...\n" if $verbose;
}else{
	print "Directory '$outdir' does not exist, creating directory...\n" if $verbose;
   	mkdir $outdir or die "Couldn't create dir: [$outdir] ($!)";
}

####################################################################
## Ensembl APIs	####################################################
####################################################################
## loading ensembl libraries
use lib "$ENSEMBL_LIBS/ensembl/modules";
use lib "$ENSEMBL_LIBS/ensembl-variation/modules";
use lib "$ENSEMBL_LIBS/ensembl-compara/modules";
use lib "$ENSEMBL_LIBS/ensembl-funcgen/modules";
use lib "$ENSEMBL_LIBS/bioperl-live";

## creating ensembl adaptors
use Bio::EnsEMBL::DBSQL::DBAdaptor;
use Bio::EnsEMBL::Variation::DBSQL::DBAdaptor;
use Bio::EnsEMBL::Compara::DBSQL::DBAdaptor;
use Bio::EnsEMBL::Funcgen::DBSQL::DBAdaptor;

## loading the registry with the adaptors
#Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->load_all("$ENSEMBL_REGISTRY");
#Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->load_registry_from_db(
#    -host => 'mysql-eg-publicsql.ebi.ac.uk',
#    -port => 4157,
#    -user => 'anonymous'
#);
#Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->load_registry_from_db(
#  -host    => 'ensembldb.ensembl.org',
#  -user    => 'anonymous',
#  -verbose => '0'
#);
if($phylo eq "" || $phylo eq "vertebrate") {
    print ("In vertebrates section");
    Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->load_registry_from_db(
      -host    => 'ensembl-db',
      -port => 3306,
      -user    => 'anonymous',
      -db_version => 85,
      -verbose => '1'
    );
}else {
    print ("In no-vertebrates section");
    Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->load_registry_from_db(
        -host => 'mysql-eg-publicsql.ebi.ac.uk',
        -port => 4157,
        -user => 'anonymous'
    );
}
####################################################################

## variables definition
my (%dbnames, %dbnames_cont, %xrefs);

## everything is allright:
&createCoreTables();

my ($ngene, $ntrans, $nxref, $north, $ndbname) = (0, 0, 0, 0, 0);
my $trans_ext_name;
my @ordered_dbnames = ();
my @trans_ext_name = ();

sub create_orthologous {

}

sub createCoreTables {
	my ($gene, $exon, $dblink, $translation, %uniq, $gene_adaptor, $transcript_adaptor, $translation_adaptor, $probefeature_adaptor, $pba);
	my (@dbentries,@arr_dbnames);
	my $orth_gene;
	my %exon_trans = ();

	## reset dbnames and xrefs
	%dbnames = ();
	%dbnames_cont = ();
	%xrefs = ();

	$gene_adaptor = Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->get_adaptor($species, "core", "Gene");
	$transcript_adaptor = Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->get_adaptor($species, "core", "Transcript");
	$translation_adaptor = Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->get_adaptor($species, "core", "translation");
	$probefeature_adaptor = Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->get_adaptor($species, "funcgen", "ProbeFeature");

	$pba = Bio::EnsEMBL::Registry->get_adaptor($species, "funcgen", "ProbeSet");

    open (GENE_DESC, ">$outdir/description.txt") || die "Cannot open gene_description.txt file";
    open (XREFS, ">$outdir/xrefs.txt") || die "Cannot open xref.txt file";

	## for all the genes in the specie
	foreach my $gene_id(@{$gene_adaptor->list_stable_ids()}) {   #fetch_all_by_biotype('miRNA')
		$ngene++;
		$gene = $gene_adaptor->fetch_by_stable_id($gene_id);

		print $ngene."\t".$gene->stable_id."\t".$gene->description."\n" if $verbose;

		##### Gene Info and sequence ######################
        print GENE_DESC $gene->stable_id."\t".$gene->description."\n";

		########################################################################
		##### XREF TRANSCRIPTS #################################################
		########################################################################
		foreach my $trans(@{$gene->get_all_Transcripts}) {
			$ntrans++;

			print "\t".$ntrans."\t".$trans->stable_id."\t".$trans->description."\n" if $verbose;

			# Si el trancript es un microrna lo introduzco en xref tambien:
			if($trans->biotype eq 'miRNA') {
				print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$gene->external_name()."\t".&get_dbname_short("miRNA gene")."\t"."miRNA gene"."\t".$gene->description()."\n";
			}

			# Referencia al ensembl gene id
			print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$gene->stable_id()."\t".&get_dbname_short("Ensembl gene")."\t"."Ensembl gene"."\t".$gene->description()."\n";

			# Additional synonyms
			my ($display_xref_entry);
			$display_xref_entry = $gene->display_xref();
			if ($display_xref_entry) {
				foreach my $synonym_str(@{ $display_xref_entry->get_all_synonyms }) {
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$synonym_str."\t".&get_dbname_short("Ensembl gene")."\t"."Ensembl gene"."\t".$gene->description()."\n";
				}
			}

#			print XREF $ntrans."\t".$gene->external_name."\t".&get_dbname($gene->get_all_DBEntries->[0]->{'db_display_name'})."\t".$gene->get_all_DBEntries->[0]->{'description'}."\n";
#			print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$gene->external_name()."\t".&get_dbname_short($gene->get_all_DBEntries->[0]->{'db_display_name'})."\t".$gene->get_all_DBEntries->[0]->{'db_display_name'}."\t".$gene->get_all_DBEntries->[0]->{'description'}."\n";
			foreach my $dbentry(@{$gene->get_all_DBEntries}){
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$dbentry->{'display_id'}."\t".&get_dbname_short($dbentry->{'db_display_name'})."\t".$dbentry->{'db_display_name'}."\t".$dbentry->{'description'}."\n";
			}

			# Referencia al ensembl transcript id
			print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$trans->stable_id()."\t".&get_dbname_short("Ensembl transcript")."\t"."Ensembl transcript"."\t".$trans->description()."\n";

			##### Translation ######################################################
			# Referencia al ensembl prot id
			$translation = $trans->translation();
			if(defined($translation)) {
				print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$translation->stable_id."\t".&get_dbname_short("Ensembl protein")."\t"."Ensembl protein"."\t".$trans->description()."\n";
#				foreach my $dblink(@{ $translation->get_all_xrefs }) {
#				    print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$dblink->display_id()."\t".&get_dbname_short($dblink->db_display_name())."\t".$dblink->db_display_name()."\t".$dblink->description()."\n";
#				}

				%uniq = ();
				foreach my $df(@{$translation->get_all_ProteinFeatures()}){
					if( $df->interpro_ac() ne "" && not defined($uniq{$df->interpro_ac()})) {
						print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$df->interpro_ac()."\t".&get_dbname_short("InterPro")."\t"."InterPro"."\t".$df->idesc()."\n";
						$uniq{$df->interpro_ac()} = 1;
					}
				}
			}

#			foreach my $dblink(@{ $trans->get_all_DBLinks }) {
			foreach my $dblink(@{ $trans->get_all_xrefs }) {
				print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$dblink->display_id()."\t".&get_dbname_short($dblink->db_display_name())."\t".$dblink->db_display_name()."\t".$dblink->description()."\n";

				if($dblink->display_id() =~ /(\w+)\.\d$/){
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$1."\t".&get_dbname_short($dblink->db_display_name())."\t".$dblink->db_display_name()."\t".$dblink->description()."\n";
				}
				if($dblink->display_id() =~ /(\w+)\-\d$/){
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$1."\t".&get_dbname_short($dblink->db_display_name())."\t".$dblink->db_display_name()."\t".$dblink->description()."\n";
				}
				if(defined ($trembl_species{$species}) && $dblink->display_id() =~ /(\w+)_$trembl_species{$species}/){
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$1."\t".&get_dbname_short($dblink->db_display_name())."\t".$dblink->db_display_name()."\t".$dblink->description()."\n";
				}
			}

			## MICROARRYAYS
			if(defined $pba) {
				my @probesets = @{$pba->fetch_all_by_external_name($trans->stable_id)};
				foreach my $probeset (@probesets){

	#              my $arrays_string = join(', ', (map $_->name, @{$probeset->get_all_Arrays}));
				  my @arrays_string = map $_->name, @{$probeset->get_all_Arrays};
				  my $dbe_info;

				  #Now get linkage_annotation
	#              foreach my $dbe(@{$probeset->get_all_Transcript_DBEntries($trans)}){
					#This will return all ProbeSet DBEntries for this transcript
					#There should really be one max per transcript per probeset/probe
	#            	$dbe_info = $dbe->linkage_annotation;
	#              }

	#              print "\t".$probeset->name." on arrays ".$arrays_string." with Probe hits $dbe_info\n";
				  foreach my $array_string(@arrays_string) {
					print XREFS $trans->stable_id()."\t".$probeset->name."\t".&get_dbname_short($array_string)."\t".$array_string."\t\n";
				  }

				}
			}

		}
		########################################################################
#		last;
	}
	close(GENE_DESC);
	close(XREFS);
}

sub get_dbname_short {
    my $display_name = shift;
    my $dbname = $display_name;
    if ($display_name =~ /Affymx Microarray/) {
            $dbname =~ s/Affymx Microarray/affy/;
        }elsif ($display_name =~ /MIM/) {
            $dbname =~ s/MIM/omim/;
        }elsif ($display_name =~ /Codelink/) {
            $dbname = "codelink";
        }elsif ($display_name =~ /Swiss-Prot/) {
            $dbname =~ s/Swiss-Prot/swissprot/;
        }elsif ($display_name =~ /MEROPS/) {
            $dbname =~ s/MEROPS - the Peptidase Database/merops/;
        }
        $dbname =~ s/ /_/g;
        $dbname =~ s/-/_/g;
        $dbname =~ s/\(//g;
        $dbname =~ s/\)//g;
        $dbnames{$display_name} = lc($dbname);
    return lc($dbname);
}

sub print_parameters {
	print "Parameters: ";
	print "species: $species, outdir: $outdir, ";
	print "ensembl-libs: $ENSEMBL_LIBS, ensembl-registry: $ENSEMBL_REGISTRY, ";
	print "ensembl-host: $ENSEMBL_HOST, ensembl-port: $ENSEMBL_PORT, ";
	print "ensembl-user: $ENSEMBL_USER, ensembl-pass: $ENSEMBL_PASS, ";
	print "verbose: $verbose, help: $help";
	print "\n";
}

sub print_usage {
	print "Usage:   $0 [--species] [--outdir] [--ensembl-libs] [--ensembl-host] [--ensembl-port] ";
	print "[--ensembl-user] [--ensembl-pass] [--verbose] [--help]\n";
	print "\tDescription:\n";
	print "\t species: scientific name, i.e.: Homo sapiens\n";
	print "\t outdir: default directory /tmp/species\n";
	print "\t ensembl-libs: Ensembl libraries path\n";
	print "\t ensembl-host: Ensembl database host\n";
	print "\t ensembl-port: Ensembl database port\n";
	print "\t ensembl-user: Ensembl database user\n";
	print "\t ensembl-pass: Ensembl database pass\n";
	print "\t verbose: print logs\n";
	print "\t help: print this help\n";
	print "\n";
	exit(0);
}

########################################################################
########################################################################
########################################################################

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


TRANSFORMATION IS THE NEW BUZZ WORD THESE DAYS. WHAT DOES THE WORD ACTUALLY MEAN? ACCORDING TO THE CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY, TRANSFORMATION IS DEFINED AS: A COMPLETE CHANGE IN THE APPEARANCE OR CHARACTER OF SOMETHING OR SOMEONE, ESPECIALLY SO THAT THING OR PERSON IS IMPROVED. THEN WHAT DOES DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MEAN? SALESFORCE HAS DEFINED IT AS THE PROCESS OF USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES TO CREATE NEW - OR MODIFY EXISTING BUSINESS PROCESSES, CULTURE, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES TO MEET CHANGING BUSINESS AND MARKET REQUIREMENTS.
For many decades, the education industry in Australia remained stagnant, not changing with the times, failing to compete with other industries. It is only in recent times that the status quo has been challenged within the sector. Primary schools through to higher education institutions are being pushed to change to remain competitive both domestically and internationally. Most industries have been through the growing pains of digital transformation, but the education industry is only going through it now. What are the reasons that this industry has been late to the game?
Human beings by nature get used to doing things a certain way and there is a fear or reluctance to leave their comfort zone. When a new system or technology is introduced, we are afraid to learn new skills, we are afraid of failure. Education institutions have historically been built on tradition and letting go of those traditions, systems and processes of how things have always been done has been a road block to the industry progressing and growing.
The right knowledge, skills and experience are at the very core of innovation. The lack of expertise and resources has been the biggest challenge in the digital transformation age. Education institutions are having to compete with other higher paying industries for highly skilled talent.
The importance of existing legacy systems within organisations are undeniable. They hold vital information that education institutes can't afford to lose. New systems however are not always compatible with legacy systems and this is where organisations have no choice but to pay more for a custom integration or an upgrade.
Translating strategy into an actual plan of action is the biggest challenge for any organisation. A business process needs to be identified and it shouldn't be too complicated or too simple, there needs to be substance to it and realistic budgets, timelines and goals need to be set to ensure the digital transformation succeeds.
The success of digital transformation within the education industry starts with leadership and not technology. If the people at the top promote and embrace change, it will have a domino effect onto the employees. Board of directors, C-suite level executives, business partners and academics all need to be advocates of technology in order to truly transform the education industry.
If you would like to know more about the education industry, are looking for new opportunities or would like assistance with project resourcing, please don't hesitate to reach out.


text:
"Ghana the land of Freedom and Justice."In Ghana we say………AKWAABA"!!!
AKWAABA" is not a strange word to those who have been to Ghana before,it is an expression which simply means "WELCOME".Ghana is a place of abundance sunshine and exquisite atmosphere mixed with vibrant and archetypal Cultural heritage and traditions,Ghana is a country with the reputation of friendliness and hospitality.
The Ghana Map
THE GOLD COAST/GHANA DURING COLONIAL DAYS
Ghana was called the Gold Coast by the British,on the contrary to this,the Portuguese who came to Ghana in the 15th Century found so much gold between the rivers Ankobra and the Volta that they named the place El-Mina,meaning The Mine.Later,The English colonizers took the name Gold Coast,all this signifies clearly how rich Ghana was before the Europeans arrived and this notion also determine the aim and purpose of their mission to Ghana.
In 1482,the Portuguese built a castle in Elmina. Their chief aim was to trade in Gold,Ivory,Meleguetta pepper also known as the grains of paradise and the diabolic and inhuman slave trade.King John II of Portugal sent Don Diego D'Azambuja to build the Elmina castle in 1481, It started in a form of trade between the coasters.The Dutch joined them in 1598 and built forts at Komenda,Kormantsi,Sekendi etc,they also captured the Elmina castle from the Portuguese In 1637 and Fort St Anthony at Axim in 1642.Later,other European traders followed the trend in mid 18th century.They were the English, Danes,Swedes,Brandenburg(Germans) etc.By the latter part of 19th century the Dutch and the British were the only traders left in the Gold Coast and when the Dutch withdrew in 1874, Britain made the Gold Coast a crown colony until Ghana's independence in 1957 AD.
ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE
In the early 40s,the consciousness and intention of Ghanaians to be free from the autocratic and imperial rule of their colonial masters got intense.They wanted to be free to control their own affairs and dignity,Africans and the then Ghanaian leaders took this inspiration of gaining their independence from the Ethiopians,they were the only country in Africa that never got colonized by the Europeans and they even went on to shutter and defeated the Italians during the battle of Adwa.
Emperor Menelek II,Emperor of Ethiopia during the battle of Adwa
The battle was led by His Imperial Majesty emperor MenelikII. Remember that,Ethiopia is also the first to convert to Christianity and Islam(Bilal is from Abysinia/Ethiopia)during the emergence of these religions,for this reason,they were really a beacon of hope for the African leaders at that time to also emulate their traditions and norms that factored them to defeat the Italians.The speech in which His imperial majesty Haile Selasie gave during the league of nations was the main paradigm that triggered the spirit of Africans to fight for their right.It also pinched the European powers to also beware of the maturity of the Africans at that time.
the big six who began the struggle to independence.
In Ghana,our leaders during that time were the famous,radical and influential "BIG SIX",they are;Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,J.B.Danquah,Ako Adjei,Obetsebi Lamptey,Edward Akuffo Addo and Sir Nana Wiliam Ofori Atta,these courageous and patriotic citizens decided to use that privilege to fight for their rights and Independence from the British rule.During that time,a lot of disturbances broke out,like the boycotting of all the European goods,killing of Coporal Atipoe,sgt Adjettey and corporal Odartey Lamptey and other demonstrations all over the country.The example and bravery of the Ethiopians prompted most African leaders to also use the color of Africa which is the RED,GOLD(YELLOW) AND GREEN color which most African countries have in their flags as a sign of African-ism and consciousness of their African identity.
Ghana during those times took their inspirations from the Ethiopians and the great black African thinkers of that time,like Henry Sylvester-Williams,Beman Family,W.E.B. Du Bois,Marcus Garvey,Malcolm X,Dr. Kwegyir Aggrey etc.Upon the heat and uprising during that time,THE BIG SIX collectively decided to lead Ghana to freedom and independence after the formation of the United Gold Coast convention(U.G.C.C).
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah
In 1957 something remarkable in our history today took shape and that thing which happened is MYGHANAMAN (Ghana my country),what happened gave birth to the name Ghana and the image Ghana,because the name GHANA signifies the position and future of Ghanaians and Africans as a whole.That is why Ghana's independence aided other African countries to realize the wave of consciousness which is driven Africa at that time.
On the Eve of 6th of March 1957 Ghana finally became an independent nation and free from the British rule.Though not free in Socio-political view but free to control their own affairs in their own country.
The first person who became the president or prime minister of the new Ghana Republic was Dr. Kwame Nwiah Nkrumah with the ticket from the Convention People's Party(C.P.P) after breaking away from the U.G.C.C,stating the fact that the latter party and leaders wanted independence gradually but He,Kwame Nkrumah want self-government now.
On the south of the Sahara is a Peaceful and Historical country called Ghana,former British colony,shares boundary to the west with Cote D'ivoire,to the east with Togo,to the north with Burkina Faso and on the south with the Gulf of Guinea. Ghana abounds with varied cultures stretching from the various ethnic groups in the north to the Akans in the south.
The capital city of modern Ghana is Greater Accra Region,the country Ghana is also divided into Sixteen provinces or regions,these are:the Greater Accra,Central region,Ashanti region,Bono-Ahafo,Bono East,Ahafo region,Volta region,Oti region,Eastern,Northern,Savanna,Western region,Western North,Upper East,upper West and the North East.
Note:Before,there were ten regions/provinces but six newly ones was created recently.
Ghana is a Haven of amazing and tropical beaches combined with the cool and soothing breeze from the Atlantic Ocean,a paradise with immense Tourism,historical monuments and fascinating wildlife.The origin of the ancient Ghanaians is traced back to nomadic migration from Nubia along the Sahara desert then to the south,it is said that the first permanent state in present Ghana was around 10th and 11th century AD to the 16th century AD.According to history the name Ghana was borrowed from the old Ghana empire.Before Ghana was colonized by the Europeans,there were great independent kingdoms or empires such us the Bono manso Empire,the Asante Empire,the Akwamu,the Denkyira,the Fanti/Mankessim Kingdom,Ga Adangbe,The Gonja etc.
ETHNIC GROUPS IN GHANA
There are about ninety-two separate ethnic groups in Ghana.These groups are often classified into a few large groups,these are Akan, Mole Dagbani, Ewe, Ga Adangbe, Guan and Gume (Gurma),Grusi,Mande-Busanga.
The current population of Ghana is estimated to be 30.42 million, up from the official 2010 census figure of 24.2 million.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS OF THE ETHNIC GROUPS IN GHANA
Ghana's main ethnic groups are sprung regionally across the country. The Fantes are located in the central region of Ghana covering towns such as Cape Coast, (Oguaa) Kormantse,Abandze, Mankessim, and Elmina among others.The Ga-Adangbe is a small group in the South-Eastern parts of Ghana, in particular the Eastern and the Greater Accra Regions. The Ewes predominate in the east, near Ghana's border with the Republic of Togo, a country where Ewes also constitute one of the major-ethnic groups. Despite the fact that Ewes are found largely in the Volta region, there are many minority ethnic groups – such as the Likpe, the Avetime,Krachie and Nchumaru – that also live there. Much further to the north, located in Ghana's Savannah zone, are two other major ethnic groups,the Gurma in the North East and the Mole-Dagbani to the West.
These various ethnic groups also exhibit plenty of culture which makes Ghana one of the Culture hubs in Africa,this beautiful culture has breed a lot of religious and Agricultural Festivals and the love for these festivals makes Ghana one of the best and most visited tourist destination in Africa and the world as well.Some of the noted festivals are the Oguaa Fetu Afahye,Ga Homowo,Edina Bakatue,Odwira.Adae,the PANAFEST and the Year Of Return etc.
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Ghana can also boast of some mouthwatering and awesome tourist attractions and UNESCO heritage sites,these noted tourist attractions are the Cape Coast,Elmina,and the Christianborg castles,Fort Victoria,Fort William,Fort Orange,Fort Amsterdam,Fort Dixcove etc,Cape Coast Kakum Canopy Walkway,Kwame Nkrumah mausoleum,Mt. Afadjato,Lake Bosumtwi,Boti,Kintampo and Wli waterfalls,Assin Manso Slave River and many more.


5/09/2008 · my dog is going to turn 8 years old in November. It's a german shepard/Labador Retriever its Black for the past 2 weeks he has been acting weird he has a hard time laying down he can't walk up the stairs anymore & he always barked at dogs that past by the house but he doesnt do that anymore & he doesnt want to play anymore we... 27/12/2009 · I know that sounds like a depressing question but I'm curious. We live in a neighborhood where you get to know the other dog families. Just like humans, I've noticed that dogs choose friends.
I'm sorry that you have to ask this question. As an adult, I've had two dogs who needed to be put to sleep. Both were diagnosed with cancer, so I knew that their decline could not be reversed. how to know if its a boy or girl My tree is dying. I believe it is from my male dog urinating on the tree. We have tried watering to clear the soil and pruning the tree. What can we do now, as nothing seems to be helping? I believe it is from my male dog urinating on the tree.
Can Dogs Tell When Another Dog is Dying? Wag!
For humans, it is usually obvious when a fellow pet is sick and its life is coming to a close. They may be lethargic, have a loss of appetite, or your pet may even have a terminal diagnosis from a veterinarian.
Death is not my strong suit. It might just be my lesson in life this go around, to learn how to feel about it, and know that in death there is completion in the circle of life.
I am sorry your beloved dog is feeling so sick. When a dog dies from "old age" it means they died from a disorder such as organ failure or cancer and we often refer to it as "old age" but it is really a death caused by a disorder somewhere in their body.
The soul of the dying animal begins the final process of release from the body, its immediate environment and all attachments. This release tends to follow its own priorities. At this time you may 'feel' the animal requesting permission to go. The animal may whimper or howl, not necessarily in pain, but as a release of energy as the soul disengages from the body.


Calliditas's vision is to leverage its interdisciplinary expertise in pharmaceutical product development to identify, develop and market high value new medicines in niche indications in which there is a significant unmet medical need and where the company can partially or completely participate in the commercialization.
Calliditas focuses on projects which fulfill the criteria of addressing niche indications where there is also a time and cost-effective path to market, including through reformulation and repurposing of existing compounds, and/or to address orphan population needs, as it has done with Nefecon.
Calliditas's strategy is to progress Nefecon through Phase 3 clinical development and towards regulatory approval and subsequent commercialization. Upon potential accelerated approval, Calliditas intends to commercialize Nefecon for IgA nephropathy on a standalone basis in the United States market and most likely through partnerships in other regions.
Calliditas will also selectively explore line extensions for Nefecon in other diseases where there is a strong scientific and clinical rationale and attractive commercial opportunities, such as in certain liver diseases. Calliditas may also selectively consider leveraging the company's capabilities through accessing additional product candidates with a strong strategic and commercial fit with Nefecon for development and commercialization.


What Do Product Leaders Worry About?
Heads of product management teams worry about a different issues than their individual-contributor product managers. More organizationally focused, less product-focused. What's at the top of their issues backlog?
Rather than focus on managing individual products/services, this workshop is for people managing teams of product managers: organizations, issues and strategies. Organizations are complex; getting things done is hard; evidence-based validation may not be enough.
Agile Cork Dublin is hosting me for a talk on "Four Laws of Software Economics" that should drive executive-level decisions about business and software product strategies.
Product Tank Dublin hosted me for a talk on "Four Laws of Software Economics" that should drive executive-level decisions about business and software product strategies.


Long before Portland was here the Willamette River ran hard, draining snowmelt and rain all the way up to Waldo Lake in the central Cascades and connecting, north of us, with the Columbia. Its waters were clear, ropey with migrating fish, a lure to tribes.
Now we're here: A teeming city of people, steel bridges and concrete highways along and over the river, and an industrial port humming with ships, barges, bulkheads, tugboats, cranes, clanking steel, signal horns. In the dark running beneath it all are the fish, the salmon, fewer in number but federally protected, and their passage takes them over polluted sediments, through foul stormwaters, and often into the teeth of invasive bass lurking amid wharf pilings.
The city of Portland, to its credit, is trying to stitch the past with present as it closes in on a river plan nearly a decade in the making. But this is no gray government document to be ignored. It's a map of aspiration: an expression by our elected leaders that we can feed the economic engine providing so many jobs while repairing and sustaining the mother river. Few places have tried it at this level, if at all.
considers it. Industries situated along the river's North Reach, which includes the Portland Harbor undergoing a Superfund cleanup, have decided the city wants too much. And the city, after eight volumes of planning, wants to zoom ahead with morphing environmental standards, some amended and distributed to commissioners only last week.
The sticking point is money. The city wants environmental regulatory involvement over the expansion of any harbor industry -- only then, the plan's advocates reason, will an ecologically functioning river segment be assured.
That means several things, but foremost that any industry situated in a newly designated environmental zone meet habitat protection standards or fix, on site, the damage or pay for mitigation. For industries within and outside the zone, however, the city seeks habitat restoration fees set at 1 percent of any expansion's cost -- with a cap set at $200,000. Central in this is a patchwork of 18 land parcels along the river's North Reach in which money would go to work rebuilding habitat.
, representing big waterfront players, says no. It wants the city out of its members' wheelhouses and proposes paying a flat 1.5 percent-of-project fee to the city for habtitat improvements in those 18 parcels known as pearls. Regulatory reviews by the city are viewed as onerous and complicated -- with unknown outcome.
The fish know nothing. Baby salmon float backward downriver on their way to the sea, following current and the banks, eddying out in shallows to regain strength and avoid toothy bass. The degraded habitat of the North Reach owes mainly to the loss of such shallows and riverbank.
Good news: Both sides already know better. The fish and the ships needn't collide. We can have both.
Though state and federal agencies already regulate river industries, it's only reasonable to ask the city and the river's marine captains to forge the same language when it comes to managing expansion and stewardship. They can write into any environmental review protocols ripcords to be pulled in the event either party oversteps it or takes actions proving pointless -- as we have seen already in so many window-dressing greenway "improvements."
Only a healthy river and humming economy ride on it. As Portland River Plan fatigue sets in, the hardest work -- slowing down to get the habitat standards and money details right -- begins this week.


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Home News Giving Life Costs Some Afghan Mothers their Life or a Life of Misery
Giving Life Costs Some Afghan Mothers their Life or a Life of Misery
"I didn't know what happened to me after I gave birth to my first child. I had uncontrollable discharge of faeces and urine," said Arifa, 22.
Arifa was afflicted by obstetric fistula, a child birth injury, usually caused by prolonged and/or obstructed labour. It is an injury that affects women who are among the most vulnerable populations in developing countries, mostly illiterate, poor, young women, living in rural areas with no access to healthcare facilities.
"Obstetric fistula leads to shunning of the women afflicted by the ailment, leaving them ostracized, with many people around them believing that they are cursed by God. Which is why they don't seek medical care in time, worsening the situation further," says Dr. Rahmatullah Niazmal, UNFPA program officer.
Arifa lives in the remote Tejab village in Almar district of Faryab Province, where access to healthcare is a luxury for most people, rather than a common service. In such remote areas, deliveries are attended by a Daya, traditional birth attendants, with very poor skills of managing normal deliveries, more so complicated ones.
"I got married when I was 21, and got pregnant soon. Everything was going well, until it was time and the labour pain started", Arifa recalls, "I was in grave pain and the daya said the baby was too big, after many hours of pain, I had no energy left, the baby was born forcefully after the daya pushed on my stomach. My baby survived, but I soon realized my state."
The desperation and shame associated with obstetric fistula
Arifa and her mother were at the end of their tether until they visited a doctor in Maimana who referred them to Malalai Hospital in Kabul. There they met Dr. Shukria Zaman, an obstetric fistula surgeon trained by the United Nations Population Fund. "When I first met Arifa, she felt embarrassed, I knew she had been through a lot of suffering. I explained what had happened to her and what obstetric fistula was. I tried to comfort her by telling her that she was not the only one who suffered the condition," said Dr. Zaman. Soon Arifa went through surgery for her injury.
When I first met Arifa, she felt embarrassed, I knew she had been through a lot of suffering.
The estimated cost of treating fistula per patient is 400 US Dollars. UNFPA covers round trip and living costs of the patients and accompanying family members during the treatment.
"Obstetric fistula is preventable in most cases if the pregnant woman delivers in a health facility where a C-section is possible. Antenatal care is vital so that midwives and doctors can discover early signs of an obstructed labor and advise the women to go to hospital on time.
Obstetric Fistula Treatment Centre at Malalai Maternity Hospital is one of the two Public Fistula Treatment Centres across the country funded by UNFPA. The other is the newly established centre in Herat provincial hospital, as part of UNFPA's efforts to increase access to fistula treatment to all zonal hospitals in the country, so that patients don't have to trek for long journeys to access treatment in Kabul.
UNFPA Afghanistan Annual Report 2017
The fourth country programme was signed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of...
National Family Planning Summit Report


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Sera Chung is an accomplished preacher, speaker, musician, and spokesperson for the values of justice and liberation. She currently serves as the Associate for Gender and Racial Justice in the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), where she works to expand and enrich the church's relationships across racial, cultural, class, gender, and generational lines. Sera's extensive contribution to intercultural and justice ministries includes her work at Princeton Theological Seminary, where her research on the revitalization of the Asian American Program was incorporated into a five-year institution-wide diversity action plan. Prior to joining the Presbyterian Mission Agency, Sera collaborated with United Nations agencies and faith-based NGOs on human rights issues. Sera also engaged in congregational ministry with two intercultural worshipping communities: United Presbyterian Church and Iglesia Presbiteriana Nuevas Fronteras of Plainfield, NJ.
This sermon examines the intersection of food, race, and class with hopes of embracing diversity in the body of Christ.


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SEVENTEENTH LORD S DAY.
Question 45. What doth the resurrection of Christ profit us?
Answer. First: by his resurrection he hath overcome death, that he might make as partakers of that righteousness which he had purchased for us by his death. Secondly, we are also by his power raised up to a new life. And lastly, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection.
EXPOSITION.
We have thus far spoken of the humiliation of Christ which reached its last point in the article of his descent into hell. We must now speak of his glorification, which began with his resurrection from the dead on the third day. The humiliation of the mediator was not to continue for ever. It was sufficient that he should once suffer, and die. But the efficacy and power of Christ, in preserving the blessings which flow from his humiliation, will endure for ever.
There are two things which particularly claim our attention in treating upon the article of the resurrection of Christ its history and benefits. In considering the history of the resurrection of Christ it becomes us to enquire, 1. Who was it that rose from the dead? It was Christ, the God-man who rose in the same body in which he died. This the Word never laid aside. 2. In what manner did he rise? He, who was truly dead, revived, recalling his soul to his body, and came forth gloriously from the sepulchre in which his body was laid on the third day, according to the Scriptures; and that by his Father's, as well as by his own peculiar strength and power, we mean, the power not of his humanity, but of his Divinity. For he was raised by the Father through himself; inasmuch as the Father works through the Son. 3. What are the evidences of his resurrection? The evidences of the resurrection of Christ are such as these: that he showed himself openly to many women and disciples; that the angel testified to it, &c. The benefits of the resurrection of Christ are enumerated in the Question of the Catechism now under consideration, which we must explain more fully; and in doing this, the following questions claim our particular attention:
Did Christ rise from the dead?
How did he rise?
For what purpose did he rise?
What are the benefits, or fruits of his resurrection?
I. DID CHRIST RISE FROM THE DEAD?
Infidels believe that Christ died, but do not believe that he rose from the dead. That Christ, however, did rise from the dead is proven by the testimony of angels, women, evangelists, apostles, and other saints, who saw him, felt him, and conversed with him after his resurrection. And even if the Apostles had not seen Christ after his resurrection, we ought still to believe them on account of their divine authority.
II. HOW DID CHRIST RISE?
The following circumstances explain the manner of the resurrection of Christ:
1. Christ did truly rise, that is, his soul did truly return to his body, from which it was separated by death, and he did truly come forth from the sepulchre in which his body was laid, notwithstanding the vigilance of the guards; yea, he even struck them with amazement and wonder.
2. He rose the same person, the same Jesus Christ, very God and very man, which had died; he rose according to the nature in which he had suffered, which was his human nature, his true human nature, the very same which it was in essence and properties, not deified, but glorified, having laid aside all the infirmities to which it was subject. "Behold my hands and my feet, it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24:39.) And truly nothing different from that which had died, could rise again. The very same body, therefore, which had fallen a victim to death rose again; and it is this which affords us such great comfort. For it was necessary that he should be one, and the same mediator, who would merit for us those blessings which we had lost by sin, and who would restore them unto us, by applying them to each one singly. Yea, had not the flesh of Christ risen, ours could not rise.
3. He rose by his own power, that is, he vanquished death, throwing it from himself, quickened his dead body, reunited it with his soul, and restored to himself a blessed, heavenly, and glorious life, and that by his own divine virtue and power. "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." "I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again." "As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." (John 2:19; 10:18; 5:21.)
Obj. But Christ was raised by the Father; for it is said, "If the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you," &c. (Rom. 8:11.) Therefore Christ did not raise himself. Ans. The Father raised the Son through the Son himself, not as through an instrument, but as through another person of the same essence with himself, and of infinite power, through whom the Father ordinarily works. The Son was raised by the Father through himself; he himself raised himself by his Spirit. "For what things soever the Father doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise."
4. He rose on the third day in the manner just described: 1. Because the Scriptures which contain all the predictions and types relating to the Messiah, declare that he would rise on the third day; as the type of Jonah, &c. 2. Because it was proper that his body should rise free from corruption; and yet not so soon after his death as to leave any doubt that he was truly dead. It is for this reason that he rose on the third day, and not on the first. The circumstance of his rising on the third day is, therefore, added in the Creed that the truth might correspond with the type, and that we might know that Jesus is the Messiah promised to the fathers, because he rose from the dead on the third day.
III. FOR WHAT PURPOSE DID CHRIST RISE?
Christ rose: 1. For his own glory and for that of his Father. "Declared to be the Son of God, by the resurrection from the dead." "Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." (Rom. 1:4. John I7:1.) The glory of the Son is the glory of the Father.
2. On account of the prophecies which had been uttered in relation to the death, and resurrection of Christ. " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor suffer thy holy One to see corruption." "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed; he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied." "No sign shall be given to it, but the sign of the prophet, Jonas; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." "For as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead." (Ps. 16:10. Acts 2:27. Isa. 53:10, 11. Matt. 12:39. John 20:9.) In view now of these and other prophecies, it was necessary that Christ should die, and rise again, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled: "How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be ;" (Matt. 26:54,) viz, on account of the unchangeable decree of God which he has revealed in the Scriptures, of which it is said in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 4:27, 28, "Of a truth, against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together; for to do whatsoever thy hand, and thy counsel determined before to be done. "The predictions which Christ uttered in relation to his death and resurrection, may also be here appropriately cited. "And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again." "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (Matt. 17:23. John 2:19.)
3. On account of the dignity, and power of the person that rose. It was in view of this, that the Apostle Peter declares that it was not possible that Christ should be held under the power of death: 1. Because he was the beloved, and only begotton Son of God. "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hands." "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son." (John 3:35, 16.) 2. Because Christ is true God, the author and fountain of life. "I am the Resurrection, and the Life." "The Father hath given to the Son to have life in him self." "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." "I give unto them eternal life." (John 11:25; 5:21, 26; 10:28.) If Christ now was to give life to men it is absurd to suppose that he should remain under the power of death arid not rise. 3. Christ was in himself a righteous man, and has by his death satisfied for our sins which were imputed unto him. But where there is no sin, there death does not any longer reign. "For by one offering, he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." "For in that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God." (Heb. 10:14. Rom. 6:10.)
4. Christ arose that he might carry on the office of mediator, which he could not have done had he remained under death. 1. It became the mediator, who was true God and man, to reign eternally. "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre." "I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his Father, and he shall be my Son." "Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever, as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven." "They shall be my people, and I will be their God ; and David, my servant, shall be king over them forever." "And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him." "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." "And of his kingdom there shall be no end." (Ps. 45:6. 2 Sam. 7:13, 14. Ps. 89:36, 37, 38. Ez. 37:23. Dan. 7:27. Isa. 9:7. Luke 1:33.) It was necessary, therefore, that the human nature which was made of the seed of David should rise from the dead and reign. 2. It was necessary that the mediator, who is our brother and very man, should continually make intercessions for us, and appear before God in our behalf as an everlasting priest. "Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedek." "It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Ps. 110:4. Rom. 8:34.) 3. It behooved the mediator, who is true man, to be mediator both by merit and efficacy. It was not sufficient for him merely to die. It became him also, by his power, to confer upon the church, and upon all of us, the benefits which he had purchased for us by his death. These benefits are righteousness, the Holy Spirit and eternal life and glory. For it belonged to the office of the mediator both to merit and to confer these blessings. But if he had remained under the power of death, and had not risen from the dead, he could not have conferred these gifts upon us, because then he would have had no existence, and hence could have effected nothing in our behalf. It is for this reason also, that these blessings are deposited in Christ by the God head, that he should make us partakers of them: "And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." (John 1:16.) Nor can it seem strange that Christ should bestow upon us the same blessings which he has, by his death, obtained from the Godhead for us: for a man may obtain a certain thing from some one, and may also confer it upon another. A certain one, for instance, may intercede in behalf of another, with a Prince, for a gift of a thousand crowns. The Prince may grant the request for the sake of him who intercedes, and may also confer the gift upon him that he may bestow it upon him for whom intercession has been made. In this case he obtains the gift from the Prince and confers it at the same time. So it is in relation to Christ although he could have conferred his benefits upon us by the power of his Godhead, through which he regenerates and justifies us; yet as God has decreed to raise the dead by man, (for by man came also the resurrection of the dead) and to judge the world by man, so he also determined to bestow these same gifts by the man Jesus, that he might be and continue mediator, very God and very man. It was on this account also necessary that Christ should forever remain our brother, and our Head; and that we, on the other hand, being engrafted into him by a true faith, might always continue his members. "Abide in me and I in you." (John 5:4.) Our salvation has its foundation in the seed of David, as it is said, "My servant David shall feed them for ever." (Ez. 34:23.) But if his human nature had remained under the power of death, he would neither have been our brother, nor would we have been his members. Obj. But Christ, under the Old Testament, before his in carnation, conferred without his human nature upon the lathers the very same blessings which he now under the New Testament bestows upon us; and was mediator no less before he assumed our nature, than he is now since he has taken it upon himself. Therefore it was not necessary that Christ should, for this cause, become man and die. Ans. But it would not have been possible for Christ to have done the things which he did under the Old Testament unless he had subsequently become man, and unless he would also remain such for ever. Nor could he now do these things if he had not risen from the dead, or if he would not for ever retain our nature which he has assumed. "The Father hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man." (John 5:27.)
5. Christ rose for our salvation, and that in three respects: 1. For our justification. "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Rom. 4:25.) The resurrection of the mediator was necessary for our justification, first, because his satisfaction would not have been perfect without it, nor would the punishment which he endured in that case have been finite. And without such a satisfaction and punishment it was not possible that we could have been freed from everlasting death, from which it became the mediator to deliver us in such a manner as to overcome it entirely in us. But in order that he might vanquish death in us it was necessary that he should first overcome it in himself, and so fulfill that which had been predicted: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "death where is thy sting? grave where is thy victory." (Hos. 16:14. 1 Cor. 15:55.) By so doing he confounded his enemies who had reviled him when hanging upon the cross, saying, "He saved others, himself he cannot save." (Matt. 27:42.) And still further: if he had not conquered death, he could not have bestowed upon us the benefits which he had merited for us by his death. It belonged to the office of mediator as we have already shown, both to merit and bestow benefits. Yea, had he not risen from the dead, we could not have known that he had satisfied for us; for this would have been a certain argument that he had not made this satisfaction, but was overcome by death and the burden of sin; because where death is there is sin; or, if he had made satisfaction for us, and yet remained under the power of death, it would have been inconsistent with the justice of God. Hence it was necessary that Christ should rise again, as well that he might make satisfaction for us, as that we might also know that he has fully accomplished this, and merited benefits for us; and finally, that he himself might be able to apply these benefits unto us, or what is the same thing, that we might be perfectly justified and saved by his merits and efficacy. 2. Christ rose for our regeneration. Justification or the remission of sin is not sufficient without regeneration, and a new life. 3. Christ rose for the preservation of the benefits which he had purchased for us by his death, and that he might secure our resurrection and glorification. It is in this way that God has purposed eternally to quicken and glorify us, that being inserted into the body or humanity of his Son we may be perpetually borne by it, and draw our life from it. "By man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." (1 Cor. 15:21.) It was for these reasons necessary that Christ should rise again, that is, that his soul, which was separated from his body by death, should again be united therewith; for the resurrection is nothing else than a re-union of the same body with the same soul.
IV. WHAT ARE THE FRUITS OR BENEFITS OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST?
The questions, for what purpose did Christ rise, and what are the fruits of his resurrection, are different. For not all the causes of his resurrection are fruits thereof. The causes of his resurrection too, are considered in one way and the fruits thereof in another. And besides, the benefits which Christ has secured for us by his resurrection are the causes of it in as far as it was necessary, in order that he might confer these gifts by the power of his resurrection.
The fruits of the resurrection of Christ are, moreover, two-fold, having respect both to Christ and to us. As it respects Christ, he was, by his resurrection from the dead, declared to be the Son of God, the only begotten and natural Son of God, who is also himself God. (Rom. 1:4.) For he revived by his own power, which is peculiar to God alone. "In him was life." "As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." (John 1:4; 5:26.) And still further, the human nature of Christ, by his resurrection, was adorned with heavenly gifts, with immortality, and with that glory which becomes the nature of the Son of God. "That ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be Head over all things to the church." (Eph. 1:18-23.)
The fruits of the resurrection of Christ, which have respect to us, are various. Speaking in a general way, it may be said that all the benefits of Christ s death are also fruits of his resurrection; for his resurrection secures the effect which his death was designed to have. Christ by his resurrection applies to us the benefits which he has merited for us. In this way the benefits of his death and resurrection are the same, unless it be that they have been merited for us by his death differently from what they are conferred upon us by his resurrection. It was not necessary that the act of meriting should continue through the entire period of both the old and new church. But it was different with the act of bestowing and applying these benefits. This was to continue for ever. And hence it was necessary also that the mediator should exist in every period of the church, that he might always confer the blessings which he was once to merit, and which it was not possible to confer without a mediator. As it respects the church which existed before the incarnation of Christ, the mediator be stowed the benefits of his death which had not yet taken place, by the power and efficacy of his resurrection yet to come ; but now he confers these benefits upon us by the power of his resurrection as having already taken place.
It now remains for us to specify particularly the principal fruits which the resurrection of Christ secures unto us.
1. The resurrection of Christ bears testimony to his merit that he has perfectly satisfied for our sins. One single sin unatoned for, would have kept him under the power of death; for he was cast into such a prison as to make it entirely impossible for him ever to have escaped thence, except by paying the very last farthing. But he did come out of this prison. Therefore he must have paid the uttermost farthing. In view now of this his merit we have remission of sins, and are justified before God. The resurrection of Christ also assures us as to the application of his benefits, which he could not have conferred had he not risen from the dead; for, as we have already shown, it became the same mediator, being man, both to merit and bestow gifts, and for this reason to rise from the dead. In as much, therefore, as he has risen, we are assured that he has not only merited, but is also able to bestow upon us the benefits of his death; for, says the Apostle Paul, "Christ was raised again for our justification," that is, to confer and apply unto us his righteousness. (Rom. 4:25.)
2. Another benefit resulting to us from the resurrection of Christ, is the gift of the Holy Spirit, through whom Christ regenerates us and raises us up unto eternal life. It behooved him first to throw off death from himself, and then from us; and it is necessary for us to be united to him as our Head, that the Holy Ghost may thus pass over from him into us. Hence he now obtains and grants unto us, since his resurrection from the dead, the Holy Ghost, and through him unites us to himself, regenerates and quickens us. It is true indeed that the godly also in the church of old were endowed with, and regenerated by the Holy Ghost; yet the influences of the Spirit were not then enjoyed to the extent to which they now are under the New Testament, and that by the power of his resurrection which was then still to come. The Holy Ghost, by whose virtue alone we are regenerated, could not be given without the resurrection and ascension of Christ into heaven. Hence it is said, "The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7:39.)
3. The resurrection of our bodies is another fruit of the resurrection of Christ. The resurrection of Christ is a pledge of ours, 1. Because he is our Head, and we are his members. Much of his glory as our Head depends upon, and results from the glory and dignity of his members. It is true indeed that Christ would exist and would be glorious in and by himself, even though his members were to remain under the power of death, yet he would not be a head, or king, &c., in as much as no one can be a head with out members, nor a king without a kingdom. Christ therefore is head only in respect to his members. 2. If Christ be risen, he has abolished sin; not, however, his own sin, for he was free from all manner of sin; but he has abolished sin as it respects us. And if he has abolished our sin, he has also abolished death; for in removing the cause he has, at the same time, removed the effect. "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23.) And further, if he has abolished death, and that by a sufficient satisfaction for our sins, as his resurrection fully testifies, then his resurrection is most assuredly a certain evidence and pledge of our resurrection, in as much as it is impossible that we should continue in death since Christ has rendered a full and sufficient satisfaction in our behalf. 3. As the first Adam received benefits for himself and all his posterity, and lost these same benefits for all his posterity; so Christ, the second Adam, received life and glory for himself and us ; and will, therefore, also communicate this life and all his other gifts to us. 4. That the resurrection of Christ is a pledge of our resurrection, may also be inferred from the fact that the same Spirit dwells in us which dwelt in Christ, and will also work the same in us which he wrought in Christ our head. The Spirit is always the same in whomsoever he dwells. He does not work effectually in the head, and sleep in the members. Seeing, therefore, that Christ raised himself from the dead by his Spirit, he will also without doubt raise us. "If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." (Rom. 8:11.) 5. Christ is our brother and will not, there fore, on account of his tender love and affection, leave us under the power of death, especially if we take into consideration his power and glory. For if he raised himself when dead, much more will he be able to raise us, in as much as he is now alive. And if he had power to raise himself from the dead when existing in a state of humiliation, much more can he now raise us, seeing that he reigns gloriously at the right hand of the Father. There are, however, besides these three, other fruits which the resurrection of Christ secures unto us, such as the following :
4. The resurrection of Christ confirms his claims to the Messiahship inasmuch as there is in his resurrection a most complete, and exact fulfillment of various prophecies.
5. We are assured by the resurrection of Christ, that he now performs the different parts of the office of mediator, that he applies unto us the benefit of redemption, that he constantly preserves us in the righteousness which he has made over unto us, that he commences a new life in us, and thus confirms us as to the consummation of eternal life, which he could not do, had he not risen from the dead.
6. Seeing that Christ now lives, and reigns for ever, we may be certain that he will preserve, and defend his Church.
7. The last, though not the least, benefit resulting from the resurrection of Christ, is the consummation of all his benefits, and the glorification of the Church. It was for this reason that Christ died, rose again, and has delivered us perfectly from sin, that he might make us heirs with him in his kingdom and glory. "He is the First-born from the dead." "Heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." (Col. 1:18. Rom. 8:17.) He shall conform us to himself, because both he and we live by the same Spirit. And this Spirit is not unlike himself. For "if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he that raised," &c. "I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." (Rom. 8:11. John 14:3.)
The sum of what we have now said as touching the fruits of the resurrection of Christ is this, that seeing he has risen from the dead, it is evident that he is declared to be the Son of God, and that his humanity is endowed with that glory which becomes the nature of the Son of God; and also that he bestows upon us his righteousness, regenerates us by the influence of his Spirit, and will perfect the new life which he has begun in us, and make us partakers with himself in his glory, felicity and ever lasting life.
Obj. 1. The resurrection of Christ, according to what has been said, can neither be an argument in favor of the resurrection of the wicked, nor the cause of it, inasmuch as they are not members of Christ. Therefore the wicked will not rise. Ans. The wicked will not rise on account of the resurrection of Christ, but for other causes, viz: on account of the just judgment of God, for which they will be raised from the dead, that they may be eternally punished. For there may be in regard to the same thing many effects, and different causes.
Obj. 2. But the things which have been specified, are the benefits of his death, and cannot, therefore, be regarded as the fruits of his resurrection. Ans. They are benefits of his death in as far as he has merited them by his death; and they are the fruits of his resurrection by the manifestation which he thus made of them ; for he declared by his resurrection that he had purchased these gifts for us. By his coming forth from the punishment under which he was laid, he declared that he had fully satisfied for our sins. And they are still further the fruits of his resurrection by the application which he makes of them, having risen. He being rich was made poor, and being poor was made rich again, that we might become rich. (2 Cor. 8:9.)
Obj. 8. The cause is before the effect. But the cause of these benefits which is here said to be the resurrection of Christ, was not before the justification of the fathers, and the resurrection of the saints under the Old Testament. Therefore the effect, which comprehends these benefits, can not be sooner than the cause itself. Ans. We deny the minor proposition; for whilst the cause did not exist as to its completion, yet it did exist in the counsel of God, and as it respects its efficacy and virtue, even under the Old Testament dispensation: because even then the fathers were received into divine favor, and enjoyed, to a certain extent, the influence of the Holy Spirit and other gifts, for and through the mediator, who was to come into the world, humble himself, and be glorified.
What then is the meaning of this article of the Creed: 1 believe in Christ y who rose from the dead on the third day ? It means that I believe: 1. That Christ did truly recall his soul to his body which was dead, and quickened it. 2. That he retained a true soul and body; and that both are now glorified, and free from all infirmity. 3. That he rose by his own divine virtue and power. 4. That he rose for the purpose of making us partakers of the righteousness, holiness, and glorification, which he had purchased for us.