We, meaning STAIMS COM SRL, have taken all the necessary precautionary measures in order to ensure a lawful processing of your personal data, in accordance with Regulation UE 2016/679 (GDPR) and minimize the risk any unauthorized access to your data.
2. What personal data are we processing?
When we talk about personal data we mean the data which help us identify a natural living person, like name, home address, phone number, e-mail. The identification can be made solely on this information or in corroboration with other data which we poses about you.
If you choose to use our website we might collect the following information about you: name, phone number, e-mail, home address, IP, birth date.
All the data we require when you register are necessary for us to provide you with optimal services and in case you refuse to give us this information, you won't be able to benefit from these services.
a) Directly – when you register on our website superskicavnic.ro (WEB); when you subscribe to our newsletter; when you buy tickets form our WEB/APP; when you contact us. This is why we strongly recommend not to leave your accounts logged in, in order to prevent other people from accessing your account from your devices.
b) Automatically – when you are using our services via WEB/APP, we collect information through our cookies and by logging your activity.
If you have provided us with other personal data, we can automatically associate that information with the data from your account and can identify you using several devices on which you log in, in order for us to ensure the same navigation experience no matter the browser or the device.
c) From third parties – we can collect data about you from third parties, such as information from cookies.
We will not keep your data, no matter the source, more than necessary.
– To send newsletters or alerts, by using your electronic contact info (e-mail, SMS), to manage the WEB/APP, in order for you to use your services, to buy tickets, to inform you about your purchases or to send you any administrative messages regarding your account or the festival.
– We also use your data to evaluate your interests and personal preferences and to offer you a personalized experience when using the WEB/APP.
You data won't be transfered outside the European Economic Space.
Cookies which, in strictly legal terms, are not absolutely essential in order to use this website, do nevertheless fulfil important functions. Without these cookies, features that enable our website to be used easily, such as pre-completed forms, will no longer be available. Settings you make, such as language choices, will no longer be saved, so you will be asked about them every time you change pages. As well as that, we will no longer have a way of presenting offers to you that are tailored to you personally.
You have a right to obtain the confirmation as to whether or not your personal data are being processed by us. In addition, you have a right to obtain more detailed information about the personal data kept and the processing undertaken by us and under certain circumstances the right to receive a copy of this personal data.
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In some cases, you have the right to erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include; i) the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; ii) you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; iii) the processing is for direct marketing purposes and iv) the personal data has been unlawfully processed. However, there are certain general exclusions of the right to erasure. Those general exclusions include where processing is necessary; i) for the exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; ii) for compliance with legal obligation; or iii) for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
In some cases, you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Where processing has been restricted, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it i) with your consent; ii) for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; iii) for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or iv) for reasons of important public interest.
To the extent the legal basis for the processing is your consent, and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for i) the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority; or ii) the purpose of legitimate interests pursued by us or a third party. In such case we will cease processing the personal data, unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing, which override your interests, rights and freedoms or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
You also have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.
To the extent that the legal basis for the processing is your consent, you have the right to withdraw from that consent at any time.
In case you withdraw from a consent given, then we will cease to process your personal data, unless and to the extent the continued processing is permitted or required according to the applicable personal data regulation or other applicable laws and regulations. The withdrawal from your consent will in no event effect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
If you refrain from providing required consents, or later on withdraw from the consents, it might have as a consequence that you may not be able to benefit from some of the service offerings provided by us.
8. What if I am minor?
We are concerned with protecting the confidentiality and security of minors in the information society which is why we invite to read the Rules and Regulations section about minors, which can be accesed here.
If you are not 16 yet, you can use our WEB/APP only under the supervision of your parent/legal guardian.
We also need to obtain their consent before validating your account, by signing a declaration that can be accessed here.
We strongly recommend not lying about your age so that we can take the necessary measures to safeguard your identity online.
When you choose to provide us with the personal data of other persons, such as when buying tickets for other people, you assume full responsibility to the manner in which you collected that data and that you have a legal basis for processing it. We can't be held liable for any infringement to the rights of the persons of which personal data you provide us with.


text:
Q: Determine if given variable is a directory I have a batch file script that needs to verify if the directory that the user enters in is a real directory or path so that I can create it if it dose not exist.
:GetDir
set /p Dir=
if not <is directory?> %Dir% goto:GetDir
if not exist %Dir% mkdir %Dir%

How can I determine if the value given by the user is a directory?
There are millions of things that the user could enter in that is obviously not a directory.
notes for editor:
This note is to be removed after the editor reads it. I apologize ahead of time if I was not supposed to add this note in. Please correct me so I don't do this again if this is the case and I would appreciate being told where to add these types of notes if a similar situation comes up again. I am trying to maintain and recover this question from when I originally asked it in order to fix my bad reputation for asking bad questions on here. This is not a duplicate question because the marked duplicate is in a different scripting language that I am unfamiliar with. I would also like to mention that I did to some heavy research before asking this question on the the issue that I was having. It would also be greatly appreciated if answering this question could be enabled again so that I can answer my own question because I am not sure that anybody else is going to have the answer, and I currently know how to answer it.

A: How do I test if a file is a directory in a Batch script ?
@echo off
set VAR="C:\Program Files"
FOR %%i IN (%VAR%) DO IF EXIST %%~si\NUL ECHO %VAR% It's a directory
pause

A: You can use this to test if it is specifically a directory (and not a file)
@echo off
set "file=C:\someDirectory"
if exist "%file%\." echo directory
pause

A: Here's a way (two ways, really) to determine if a directory exists, and that it's actually a directory and not a file.
set /p "ServerMods=Enter a Directory: "

REM First, make sure the input ends with a backslash (\)
if %ServerMods:~-1% NEQ "\" set "ServerMods=%ServerMods%\

REM Option 1
if not exist %ServerMods% goto :GetDir

REM Option 2
dir %ServerMods% 1>nul 2>nul || (goto :GetDir)

A: if exist "%ServerMods%\." goto GetDir

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Stefanik Honors State Senator Betty Little on House Floor
Stefanik Applauds House for Passage of FY21 NDAA, Highlights Wins for Fort Drum and the North Country
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today voted in favor of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Congresswoman Stefanik has been selected as a Conferee each year since her first term in Congress to negotiate the legislation with the Senate.
Stefanik Helps House Pass ALS Disability Insurance Access Act, Legislation She Cosponsored
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today voted in favor of the ALS Disability Insurance Act, bipartisan legislation that she cosponsored in the House. People with ALS must wait five months before they can receive the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits that they have earned.
Stefanik Announces Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, FCC Awarding Over $99 Million for New York State Broadband Projects
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is awarding $99,891,715 through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction for providers to deploy broadband across 46,647 unserved locations across New York.
Stefanik Speaks on House Floor in Support of FY21 NDAA
Stefanik Requests Permanent Expansion of Telehealth Coverage
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has sent a letter, along with a bipartisan group of House and Senate colleagues, to House and Senate leadership requesting that Congress permanently waive or remove the geographic restrictions on originating sites so that a Medicare beneficiary's ability to receive telehealth services is no longer based on where they live.
Stefanik Requests Solutions to Multiemployer Pension Crisis in Forthcoming COVID-19 Stimulus Package
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has sent a letter, along with a group of her Republican colleagues, to House and Senate leadership requesting assistance to at-risk multiemployer pension plans in any upcoming COVID relief package.
Stefanik Announces National Science Foundation Grant for Clarkson University
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has announced that Clarkson University will receive a $221,517 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The award will be utilized by the Clarkson Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering departments to optimize the aerodynamics of Olympic luge sleds.
Stefanik Requests Funding for IJC Plan 2014 Review
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik sent a letter, along with Rep. Chris Jacobs (NY-27), Rep. John Katko (NY-24), Rep. Joseph Morelle (NY-25), and Rep. Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), to the House Appropriations Committee requesting the inclusion of funding for Phase II of the Great Lakes-St.
Stefanik Helps House Pass Legislation to Hold Foreign Companies Accountable
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik yesterday voted in favor of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, legislation that prohibits securities of a company from being listed on any of the U.S. securities exchanges if the company has failed to comply with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) audits for three years in a row.
Stefanik calls for New York to stop prison visits due to COVID
December 11th, 2020 WCAX
Stefanik signs brief backing effort to overturn presidential results
December 11th, 2020 North Country Public Radio
Stefanik signs on in support of Trump lawsuit
Outgoing state Sen. Little honored for years of service on floor of Congress
Stefanik helps pass ALS disability insurance act
Nearly $100M awarded for broadband to be deployed in unserved locations across New York
December 9, 2020 In The News
December 9th, 2020 ABC 50 Now
House passes veto-proof defense bill
December 9th, 2020 WWNY
Purple Heart commemorative coin to help honor nation's heroes
December 7th, 2020 Sun Community News
Reps in Action: Dec. 7. 2020
December 7th, 2020 Press Republican
Local orgs to receive $5 million in federal funds

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Located on Studio A's mezzanine between the VIP set and the Artists Apartment set lies an enclosed room perfect for a production team's command center. Also available as a location for crafty, holding, green room or make up room. Plenty of outlets, cork boards, wardrobe racks, overhead lighting.


If you need shipping in the USA, Canada, & Puerto Rico it will be $500 additional. We can ship within 2 to 4 business days after receiving the full payment.
See More Photos & Video of Tami!
We always prefer for you to pick up your little ones in person, but we realize that is not always possible. Due to this, we will personally deliver Siberian husky puppies 2-hour distance from our house. We will deliver the Siberian husky pup(s) to your nearest gas station ($1.50 per mile for one way). However, the delivery cost must be paid before we drive the pup to the gas station.


Bag contains 0.5 oz. (14g) of black and silver star confetti with approximately 40 plastic cutouts of the number "40". Cutouts are printed in large 2" plastic letters that come in 4 different colors (blue, red, green and purple). A bold and colorful decoration for a tabletop or office cubicle.
Availability "40" Large Confetti (142294) Orders placed by 12 PM CDT usually ship same day.
LEVER COSTUMES "40" Large Confetti and interesting games are what make a Halloween party fun. Here are three costumes that are bound to provoke comment and laughter, and a game alled the "spook race" that fits right into the witch-ghost-goblin atmosphere of this October celebration. Dimensions for the costumes can be changed to ccommodate youngsters of different ages.


text:
map3 SHINGLE CREEK LIND-BOHANON VICTORY WEBBER-CAMDEN CLEVELAND FOLWELL MCKINLEY COLUMBIA MARSHALLTERRACE WAITEPARK AUDUBONPARK HOLLAND WINDOMPARK BOTTINEAU LOGANPARK NORTHEAST PARK SHERIDAN HAWTHORNE JORDAN WILLARD-HAY NEAR-NORTH HARRISON SUMNER-GLENWOOD NORTH LOOP ST. ANTHONY WEST EAST BELTRAMI MID-CITY INDUSTRIAL COMO COMO MARCYHOLMES NICOLLET IS./EAST BANK DOWNTOWN WEST DOWNTOWNEAST UNIVERSITYOF MINNESOTA PROSPECT PARKEAST RIVER RD CEDAR RIVERSIDEWEST BANK ELLIOT PARK LORINGPARK STEVENS SQ./LORING HGTS LOWRYHILL BRYN MAWR KENWOOD CEDAR-ISLES-DEAN EAST ISLES LOWRY HILLEAST WHITTIER SEWARD PHILLIPS PHILLIPS SEWARD LONGFELLOW COOPER CORCORAN POWDER-HORN PARK CENTRAL LYNDALE CARAG ECCO WESTCALHOUN LINDENHILLS EAST HARRIET KINGFIELD BRYANT BANCROFT STANDISH HOWE HIAWATHA ERICSSON NORTHROP REGINA FIELD PAGE HALE KEEWAYDIN MINNEHAHA FULTON LYNHURST TANGLETOWN ARMATAGE KENNY WINDOM DIAMOND LAKE WENONAH MORRIS PARK EAST HARRIET 12 4 3 5 7 2 6 10 9 13 8 11 1
Find Your Ward
Meet Candidates
View Candidates By Ward Ward 1 Ward 2 Ward 3 Ward 4 Ward 5 Ward 6 Ward 7 Ward 8 Ward 9 Ward 10 Ward 11 Ward 12 Ward 13 Mayoral Candidates Park Board
This is the city we live in. Where we raise babies and fall in love, play music and grow food. This is the city that we were born in, the city we were reborn in, or just where we've landed for now. This is our city. It is a place that smells like the river, wet rain on concrete, wildflowers and taco trucks. Like sambusas and sage. This is the city where we work. Where we build our businesses and create opportunity. This is our city. This is Minneapolis. And we vote.
Your vote is more than just a ballot; it's a declaration of the values you want Minneapolis to represent. Voices for Racial Justice, Rhymesayers Entertainment, and Pollen have come together to produce a voter guide for the City of Minneapolis elections to help you make the most inspired and informed decision before you cast your vote on November 7.
Vote on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Find your polling place at pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us. You can also vote by mail, or vote early in-person. More information at vote.minneapolismn.gov.
MAYOR meet the candidates WARD ONE Neighborhoods: Audubon Park, Columbia Park, Como, Holland, Logan Park, Marshall Terrace, Mid-City Industrial, Northeast Park, Waite Park and Windom Park WARD TWO Neighborhoods: Southeast Como, University District, Prospect Park, Seward, West Bank/Cedar-Riverside, Cooper, and Longfellow WARD THREE Neighborhoods: Beltrami, Bottineau, Downtown East, Downtown West (part), Marcy Holmes, Nicollet Island – East Bank, North Loop (part), Sheridan, St. Anthony East, and St. Anthony West WARD FOUR Neighbordhoods: Shingle Creek, Lind-Bohanon, Victory, Webber-Camden, Cleveland, Folwell, Jordan, McKinley, and Willard Hay WARD FIVE Neighborhoods: Harrison, Hawthorne, Jordan (part), Near North, North Loop (part), Sumner-Glenwood, and Willard-Hay (part) WARD SIX Neighborhoods: parts of Steven Square, Ventura Village, Philips West, Elliot Park, Seward, and Cedar Riverside WARD SEVEN Neighborhoods: Bryn Mawr, Cedar-Isles-Dean, Downtown Minneapolis, East Isles, Elliot Park, Kenwood-Isles, Loring Park, Lowry Hill, and Stevens Square WARD EIGHT Neighborhoods: Central, Bryant, Bancroft, Field, Regina, Northrop, Lyndale, and Kingfield WARD NINE Neighborhoods: Central, Corcoran, East Phillips, Midtown Phillips, and Powderhorn Park WARD TEN Neighborhoods: East Harriet, East Calhoun, Lowry Hill East, CARAG, and Whittier WARD ELEVEN Neighborhoods: Tangletown, Field, Page, Hale, Northrop, Diamond Lake, Wenonah, Windom, and Keewaydin WARD TWELVE Neighborhoods: Ericsson, Hiawatha, Howe, Keewaydin (northeast part), Minnehaha, Morris Park, and Standish WARD THIRTEEN Neighborhoods: Armatage, East Harriet Farmstead, Fulton, Kenny, Linden Hills, Lynnhurst, and West Calhoun PARK BOARD meet the candidates
Pledge To Vote
Vote Pledge
I am Minneapolis. And I vote. I pledge to vote in the Minneapolis elections on Tuesday, November 7, 2017.
Throughout this guide, find comfort and inspiration in the rhythms of Rhymesayers.
"This Is Our City"
http://www.pollenmidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Ashleys-Manifesto.mp3
Written by Ashley Fairbanks /// spoken by Slug of Atmosphere and Brother Ali
http://www.pollenmidwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/V4RJ-Voter-Guide-2017-1.mp4
This is our city and it is a place where we laugh and dance in the street and ride bikes and cry. Where you are never are far from the water. We're fighting to make it better for all of us. Into a place where everyone can thrive. A city that recognizes it was built on stolen land. A city that honors the dignity of all people. This is our city and we will amplify the voices of our neighbors who go unheard. We will vote because we demand better from people in power. We demand more of ourselves.
ThisIsMpls is a non-partisan voter guide compiled by staff of Voices for Racial Justice, designed by Pollen Midwest with music from Rhymesayers Entertainment. The sole objective of this guide is to provide accurate and direct communication from campaigns to voters. We did our best to include the voices of all candidates. This process involved sending email through tracking software that saw who, when and what engagement campaigns had with our email. We made multiple attempts to contact every candidate using the same process for all candidates. We will continue to update the guide with submissions from candidates who did not respond to our original request up until election day. Contact Ashley Fairbanks with questions.
This project was made possible through financial support from The Minneapolis Foundation.
Ashley Fairbanks
Ashley Fairbanks is an Anishinaabe woman and citizen of the White Earth Nation. She operates as a socially-conscious designer and public artist. She works with a cohort of artists that do racial justice popular education and organizing. She seeks to use her design skills to activate people around issues ranging from police brutality to environmental justice. She has worked with the Energy Action Coalition, Indigenous Environmental Network and Honor the Earth to create campaigns around the KXL and Sandpiper pipelines and protecting our water from mining. Ashley works for Voices for Racial Justice. She went to the University of Minnesota to study American Indian studies and Political Science, and has completed Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute, NACDI's Native Organizing and Leadership Institute, The Humphrey School's Roy Wilkins Community Policy Fellowship and is a 2016 Forecast Public Art Emerging Public Artist Grantee.
Pollen Midwest
Pollen Midwest invests in human connection to fuel momentum for social change by mapping critical narratives, hosting events where essential conversations happen, and linking people to new professional and personal opportunities. We serve and engage a network of 10,000+ Pollenites—individuals who want to make a positive impact in their community, who network with a purpose, who want to tackle thorny issues, and who embrace their civic responsibility.
Voices for Racial Justice
Since 1993, we have built a stronger movement for racial justice organizing in Minnesota and beyond. Our mission is to advance racial, cultural, social, and economic justice in Minnesota through organizer and leadership training, strategic convenings and campaigns, and research and policy tools.
Rhymesayers Entertainment
Rhymesayers Entertainment is an independent hip hop record label based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, founded in 1995. Years after it all began, Rhymesayers boasts one of independent Hip Hop's strongest and most respected rosters in the game. By pushing the boundaries creatively, while maintaining a rigorous touring schedule, significant sales numbers and an ever-growing fanbase, Rhymesayers Entertainment continues to navigate the long but gratifying road of independent success! Through the ROVE initiative, Rhymesayers Entertainment utilizes hip hop as a tool for civic engagement to shift power in politics.
Parks and Power
The Parks and Power Campaign is dedicated to grassroots community organizing for racial equity & justice in Minneapolis' parks system.
Sara Fowler
Sara Fowler is a Minneapolis-based graphic designer and illustrator, working primarily with artists and mission-driven folks. Her great loves are books (designing them and reading them), weaving textiles, and traveling to far flung places of quiet wilderness.
Scott Garrison
Director of Development by day, and freelancer by night, Scott Garrison is a Minneapolis-based Full Stack Web Developer. Scott partners with clients to achieve each of their unique business goals, while putting the highest quality work into each project. He was part of the original development team behind PollenMidwest.org and the developer for the ThisIsMpls.com voter guide.
Andres Guzman
Andres hails from Lima Peru. After receiving his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Minneapolis College of Art + Design in 2009, he has been working as a freelance illustrator/designer in Minneapolis. His clients include MTV, Nickelodeon, Rhymesayers Entertainment, Wired magazine, Dephect clothing, Colossal Blimp, Picturemachine Productions, ditch Edit, The New Republic, Bloomberg—Business, and many independent musicians such as I Self Devine, Greg Grease, I.B.E, K.Raydio & Psymun, The Maykit, and Sloslylove.
Isabela Cruz Holguin
Isabela Cruz Holguin is an Ecuadorian illustrator living in Minneapolis. She is interested in developing complementary designs that support a healthy, conscious and sustainable lifestyle. She draws inspiration from the natural world by studying leaves and flowers during the warmer months, and the fascinating patterns of ice during wintertime. The organic character of her work exemplifies her deep connection to the natural world of her native land, and her new home in the Midwest.
Greta Kotz
Greta Kotz is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer, based in the Twin Cities. Her business includes illustration, graphic design, fine art, art festivals, and gallery shows. In 2016 she earned her BFA from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and is recognized by the Society of Illustrators.
Cori Lin
Cori Lin works in the social sector, the creative sphere, and the overlap between those spaces. Whether she's illustrating, designing, or coordinating programs, her focus is to bring POCI and marginalized narratives to the center. Cori's passions are lists, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and sashimi.
Line Break Media
Line Break works with artists, organizers, and advocates to craft their stories into powerful instruments for transformative social change. Together, we can refine your communications strategy and produce compelling media to advance your vision.
Niky Motekallem
Niky Motekallem is a freelance illustrator originally from Ohio, currently living in the Twin Cities. She specializes in depicting flora and fauna in various stages of life and decay. When she isn't working in her studio, she is exploring forests for new adventures, rummaging through antique shops, and petting neighborhood cats.
Ryan Stopera
Ryan Stopera is a photographer, videographer, social worker, community organizer,and entrepreneur. He has worked in direct social services and grassroots community organizing for over ten years. This privilege has allowed Ryan to build a vast amount of relationships and experiences constructing a deep analysis of the social issues our communities face today. During the Occupy Wall Street movement, Ryan produced a video sharing the story of five homeowners in foreclosure with Bank of America. The video, which included the cell phone number of Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, asked the nation to call and demand he negotiate with the homeowners who were victims of the mortgage crisis. By the second day of the video going viral executives from the office of the CEO contacted each of the homeowners to help them negotiate their foreclosure and avoid homelessness. He recognized the power of media as a tool to create powerful narratives that can be used to create social change.
Melanie Stovall
Melanie Stovall is a Minneapolis based designer with 6+ years experience in branding, interactive, social media, packaging, print and illustration. She served on the Board for AIGA Minnesota as the Committee Chair and later the Associate Director of Sustainable Design. Through her board position, she helped implement annual programming using design to educate the community on environmental issues and train designers to integrate sustainable practices into their client work. A Full-Time Part-Timer, she currently splits her time between her designer role at Pollen Midwest and her Communications Manager role at Juxtaposition Arts.


text:
Afghanistan: Deadly attack on education centre in Kabul
A suicide attack at a tuition centre in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 23 people, most of them female students, police and witnesses say.
Nearly 30 others were wounded at the Kaaj education centre in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in the west of the city.
Students had been sitting a practice university exam when the bomber struck. No group has yet claimed the attack.
Many of those in the area are minority Hazaras, who have often been targeted by Islamic State (IS) militants.
Statement by Neil Turner, the Norwegian Refugee Council's Country Director in Afghanistan:
"We are horrified by this morning's deadly attack on the Kaaj education centre in the Dasht-e-Barchi area in the western part of the capital, leaving at least 19 young students dead and dozens more injured.
"An education centre filled with youth preparing for exams should be a venue for joy, focus and excitement – never awash with blood and horror.
"This assault comes only a few months after the gruesome attack on the Abdul Rahim Shahid boy's high school in the same neighbourhood of Kabul. We call on the authorities in Afghanistan to take steps to ensure that educational facilities are protected against threats and attacks so that girls and boys can fully enjoy their education rights."
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the attack in a tweet Friday.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan calls the attack on Kaj training center in the 13th district of Kabul a big crime, strongly condemns it, and expresses deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of this incident."
"Serious measures will be taken to find and punish the perpetrators," he added.
UNICEF said it was "appalled by the horrific attack" in a tweet Friday.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, there have been multiple attacks against the Hazara community.
The Islamic State of Khorasan Province has claimed responsibility for 13 attacks against the Hazaras and been linked to three more that have killed and injured at least 700 people, according to Human Rights Watch.
"The Taliban authorities have done little to protect these communities from suicide bombings and other unlawful attacks or to provide necessary medical care and other assistance to victims and their families," the report added.
A string of attacks in Kabul have claimed dozens of lives in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, two Russian embassy employees were among six people killed in a suicide blast near the Russian embassy, and in August, an explosion at a mosque during evening prayers killed 21 people and injured 33 more.
'Over-the Horizon' Air Strike Kills 2 High-Profile ISIS-K Targets
At least 64 children killed in UK military Afghan operations
Afganistan War in Afghanistan (2001-present)
Nov 9, 2022 VictoriaMedia
Aug 29, 2021 VictoriaMedia
Explosion on Afghan-Iranian Border Damages IOM Reception Centre, Stalls Services to Afghan Returnees
Feb 15, 2021 VictoriaMedia


Today's story more closely fits the serious part of the theme of No Facilities. This story started 50 years ago this week and my telling it is long overdue.
I met Marty on the playground on my first day of 5th grade. Marty and I were not so much drawn to each other as we were both squeezed out like asteroids in the wake of Jupiter's gravity. Cliques were forming around cool kids, around smart kids and around junior jocks but many ordinary kids didn't seem to fit into those nascent groups.
I didn't fit in because I was a new kid and the economy, demographics and the quality of the schools in the town I had come from were just not up to the new standard by which I was being judged. Marty didn't fit in because Marty never fit in. He was awkward. He had unmanageable curly hair at a time when boys were just starting to let their hair grow long and Marty's was funny looking. He stuttered and he was an uncoordinated sports injury waiting to happen – a trait that he and I shared.
Marty was a kind person. Marty was always smiling. Marty couldn't be bothered by cliques and he helped me through some very tough days. Marty personified the notion that one needs to first accept oneself. Unfortunately, he could have been a poster child for the notion that people need to accept all other people, but that was not to be. Marty and I accepted a sideline status at a point where status was just starting to mean something.
Marty and I were close friends in 5th and 6th grade. In 7th grade the scale, speed and logistics of Junior High began to pull Marty and I apart. Neither of us were great students. Marty didn't seem to care, and the system we were in didn't care about him. The system didn't care about me either but I was a bit more scared of failing. Marty's and my academic schedule almost never overlapped. Ironically, our poor athletic ability brought us back together.
You wouldn't think you could make junior high gym class worse, but you actually can. Some administrator had the idea that kids like Marty and me, kids who were always being picked last for the team, should be in a gym class by themselves. What might have been designed to be a compassionate and supportive experience was carried out as a humiliating ordeal by instructors who were loath to respect us. We learned to fence, we learned to dance and we learned exercises that might be called yoga today. We were never told why we were in the class and we were never told how we could get out of it.
We hated being in that class and the experimental nature was palpable. Eventually, I was allowed to rejoin the mainstream gym class. I'm not sure what achievement set me free, I was just told: "you can go back to Mr. Sullivan's class." Marty didn't return to the normal gym class until we were in high school where there were no experimental classes.
Marty and I weren't in any of the same classes in high school. In fact, at some point between 9th and 11th grade, Marty was held back because in January 1971, I was in 11th grade but the article describing Marty's death, listed him as being in 10th grade. Yeah, Marty died.
I had seen Marty about a week before he died. I had been excused from class to go to the bathroom. I ran into Marty in the hall and I stopped to talk to him. He told me about some new friends of his, friends who he said weren't judging him. He didn't tell me that he and his new friends were doing drugs, but it wouldn't have surprised me and it wouldn't have mattered.
He told me about a Saturday when he had been at Point State Park in Pittsburgh. He had been buying popcorn and offering it to people as they walked by. He was pleased by how many people would take popcorn from him – the fact that they didn't avoid him the way so many people in school did made him happy. He sounded hopeful, as if he was looking forward to being released from the artificial environment of our high school – another trait that he and I shared.
That is the image that I still carry of Marty, a lanky kid with crazy wild curly hair and an infectious smile giving popcorn away to strangers in the park.
I remember thinking that it was odd that, in a school with over 2,200 students in 10th through 12th grade, Marty and I stood and talked alone in the hallway. We talked long enough for me to be in trouble when I returned to class. A week later Marty was dead. Several of us attended Marty's funeral but there was no discussion, no grief counselors and no official recognition.
Later that week a story circulated from Marty's gym class. It seems the instructor yelled out "Oppenheim" – when he got no reply, he yelled again and someone yelled back "he's dead." The instructor moved on without a word.
People die from drug, alcohol and substance abuse all the time. Lots of people died from inhaling chemicals in the 60's and 70's. We saw those deaths as a sad statistic of our time. This death was different because I knew why Marty died. He died trying to escape from the world around him. He died because that world didn't have room for him. Even though he's officially listed in the class of 1973, I count Marty in my graduating class. I also count him among the small group of people who made the years I spent in that school system tolerable. RIP Marty.
Pictures – The grassy area outside the center door of Jefferson Elementary school used to be a playground. It's where I met Marty in 1964. The middle picture is Mt Lebanon High School. They were building the 6-story building in the center while we were attending 10th through 12th grade. They were adding on again when I visited in 2012. The green area and the fountain at the bottom are part of Point State Park in Pittsburgh.
Oh my Dan. I knew kids like Marty in school. I was like you, didn't fit on either "side" of acceptable quite well. Fortunately I learned quickly how to fade into the background. And had two great friends. We were sort of like those Square Pegs girls except that none of us desired to be accepted by the "cool" kids. Having four sons, I am very sensitive to the fact that boys' insecurities and traumatic experiences while in school, especially during puberty, are grossly ignored and sadly met with disdain. I have held a son crying over a broken relationship, talked one through bullying and another through theft of his property with no one caring. Another had to learn to stand his ground with inconsiderate and inept teachers. Marty sounds like a wonderful person. It was a blessing for you both that you landed in school together. I always think of the words to Vincent/Starry Starry Night. Sometimes the world is just too small for so much true beauty and light. I am sorry for your loss of a good friend. Thank you for sharing this story, so well expressed. It sounds like a movie script. Hugs.
Thanks so much for your comment. One of the things that bothered me was that if I searched on his name, all that ever came up was the article I included. I wanted something out there that told more of the story. I'm sorry that you have had to struggle with these issues but I am glad to hear that you are supporting your children. It means a lot, even if they don't tell you.
I can certainly understand that. I'm sorry there was nothing to support your memory of him. Had you never met or spoken to his parents or did he have any other family?
I never met his parents other than at the funeral. I moved from the area and rarely went back.
It's possible that more details might be very sad. At least for a time he felt that he "fit" somewhere.
I'm glad you shared this story. Thank you.
Thank you! When I read your post about being the anti-bully, I thought you would appreciate this. That's the kind of person we needed back then. Your daughter might have made more of an impact than she will ever realize. I wanted to say more when I commented but this was already scheduled and I would have said most of it in a comment.
Dan, we never fully know what our "friends" have lived through, lived with. And blog friends even more so. I appreciate you sharing this with us do much. Marty's story needed to be told.
Thanks Katie. That means a lot.
Dan, I hope this helped – to tell your story about Marty.
I'm not sure we "fit" better in later decades, but for some reason those teen years are hardest and can hurt the most. Someone like Marty, who made a difference in your life and lost his own – it's a lot to carry those feelings into adulthood because we never really grasp what it all meant until much later.
You say your telling is long overdue. I actually think your timing makes perfect sense. Not just because of the anniversary, but because I'm beginning to realize that this – the remembering, the understanding, the grieving for past hurts and wrongs and losses – is a huge part of what our 60s are all about. We finally have the wisdom and honesty to see prior relationships and experiences in a way we couldn't previously understand, or weren't willing to acknowledge.
I am glad you wrote about Marty in such an open-hearted, honest tribute. But my guess is you've been quietly remembering him and his short life since the day he died.
Thanks Sammy. I have been quietly remembering him in daily prayers as long as I can remember. Maybe you're right about the timing. I tried to turn this into a short story once in my 20's but only collected a bunch of rejection slips. I don't remember it well but I know that this was closer to what should be said. Thanks for adding your wisdom to this post.
I've always been the odd one out in all the schools and institutes I've been to, the duckling who never blossomed into a swan. I've never known how to fit in, always felt like I said or did or laughed or cried too much or too little. The only place I ever fit in was a library, and that's where you would find me most days, even today.
This post made me cry, it brought back so many memories. It made me want to reach out and hug those two boys chatting in the corridor. I'm sure, whichever world he's now in, Marty has has been made welcome.
From experience, I know that writing this couldn't have been easy. Thank you for sharing, Dan.
Thank you Damyanti. This is among the hardest things I've ever written. I was fortunate to have known Marty and to have had a small group of good friends pulling me in the right direction. I worry about kids who don't fit in today, when it seems that there are so many more places not to fit.
Thanks for sharing this Dan, Marty sounds like a great friend. I really enjoyed this post.
Together with my friend Anton we led a similar life, not quite fitting in anywhere at school. We gave up on fitting in at high school and developed our own kind of (cool). Wearing crazy outfits for sports events, being first up to dance at school balls (prom) and generally having no regard for the things everyone else found awkward actually worked in our favour. Come final year I think we had the respect of many.
Thanks Nick. I did have a small group of friends and while some came much closer to being normal kids, we certainly charted our own path through those years. It's all about finding a way. It's amazing how many people I know who have similar stories. Those years are just difficult all over I guess.
This is so sad, Dan – a reminder of how fragile life is; how vulnerable teens, especially, are.
Just this morning I read this quote from JK Rowling.
Fortunate though I was in many ways, I wouldn't go back either, not for anything.
Thanks Jill. I can't imagine going back to that period of my life. I had some good times, but nothing would make me want to revisit, even for a short time.
So often childhood getting glossed over or painted as a rosy idyllic time of learning and lighthearted struggle when in reality, it's harsher and more brutal than we want to remember or acknowledge. Thank you for a painfully honest rendering of real life growing up in the 70's. I especially like that part of your motivation was to add a chapter to his brief biography. Poignant and filled with love. Well done.
Thanks Kami, I am really encouraged by comments like this. I think Marty would be pleased by how many people have seen this post and especially by the people who have offered supportive words like these. We do tend to gloss over a lot of things from those days. Unfortunately, I don't think much has changed in those settings, we just don't hear much about the kids who are being ignored.
Thanks Amy. It bothers me to this day mainly because I still see / hear about some of the same behavior happening today. I warned you at the start that is wasn't going to be my normal entertaining approach. When I realized that he and I had met 50 years ago this week, I knew I had to figure out how to tell that story. It was hard to tell, but I am so grateful to the comments that I've received (like yours) that suggest that it was the right thing to do.
EXCELLENT STORY—I'VE BEEN THROUGH SIMILAR EXPERIENCES IN SOME ASPECTS….I GRAVITATED TOWARD THE MARTYS….
Thanks for sharing a fine and touching tribute to your friend . Paradoxically , Marty's tragedy probably made you a stronger , more caring individual than you might have become without him .That's what friends are for , eh ?.
His death definitely strengthened my resolve to get out of that school system and work to gain some control over my situation.It is sad. I doubt that I have to point out to a former teacher how unforgiving kids can be at that age. Thanks for the comment.
It's hard to click "like" on such a post, Dan. What a sad story. You're right about the fact that we do acknowldge drug, alcohol and substance abuse in general much better now than in the 70s. We have also learned to be more sensitive and to provide help to the students who witness such tragedies. It is sad but wonderful that you still remember Marty and pay him tribute through your blog, a writing platform where Marty would maybe have liked to share his loneliness, hopes and dreams.
I can appreciate that it was hard to click "like" Evelyne, it was hard to write. I wish I had been closer to him in the upper grades so I might have known what some of his hopes and dreams were. Thanks for reading and leaving a comment.
Sorry that I am replying late. I actually read the article a day ago, but was occupied with some work. Well, there are similar stories and events I have seen and heard here in India. Parents, teachers and peers sometimes put tremendous amount of pressure to succeed. Also I felt sad about what happened with your dear friend. Something similar happened with me, but I reacted differently, but my circumstances were bit different too. Great tribute and superb post. You inspire me to talk about multiple different topics that I have never explored.
Thanks Sharukh. It's sad that this is probably an all-too-common story. Maybe if more people share these stories, things will actually change someday.
So sad, Dan. I didn't know it was going to be this sad. When you posted 'Jupiter Effect', I thought it'd be about a planetary phenomenon. But this leaves me sorrowful. I know what it means not to fit in, to be the odd one out. The worst thing about it is that you are required to fit into a system that is so corrupt and skewed and violent, you should rather be warned against joining it. When the only people who can accept you without judgment lead you to your grave prematurely. It is a heartbreak.
I'm sorry Peter. That's the problem with a somewhat random blog. I go from entertaining to explanations to something like this. This is a sad story. I wanted to share it to put something nice our there about Marty, and also because the underlying situation still happens today – too often. All we can really do to change this is to be more accepting of others. Thanks for reading, for leaving a comment and for your support through the group.
My sister had a similar experience in school for a variety of reasons, which is why I vowed I would be a teacher who saw and tried to reach the beauty of every child who entered my classroom door. Most times I succeeded. Sometimes I failed, and those are the students who haunt me during my sleepless nights. Great story today, Dan.
My brother was a teacher like you. I'm sure he also think of the ones where he didn't succeed. I had a couple of teachers who reached out to me and worked to cultivate something that they saw as being fertile ground. No surprise, a wood shop teacher and a teacher who encouraged me to "find a way to write." On behalf of the kids you helped, I'll thank you for your effort. By the time I realized how important those few teachers had been, it was actually or at least practically impossible to find them and thank them. Thanks also for reading/commenting here.
What a beautiful tribute for Marty! If this was hard to read, I can only imagine how difficult it was for you to write. A gym class just for you and Marty? That is insane. The teacher just moved on when someone shouted that Marty was dead? It makes me sad to think that someone can be so insensitive. I'm glad that you found Marty and that he found you. It's a terrible injustice when children/teens are "cast aside".
Thank you for sharing this story, Dan.
I'm thinking of the post you wrote about Facebook some time back…how do I click the "like" on this post?
Thanks Elaine. There were about 6 (out of 180) of us in the gym class but it was awful. No though at all was given to how it made us feel or look to our peers. Large classes, very large in high school and kids could easily slip through the cracks. I was lucky that he found me in 5th grade. It makes me sad to read about the same things happening today. Thanks again for your comment.
Dan, Nice tribute to Marty. I think at one point or another many of us have met or been Marty. It is good that the Martys fill the gaps that our culture often overlooks. We can survive the effects of Jupiter and sometimes if we are lucky we can even make a minor alteration in Jupiter's orbit. Here is to Marty.
Thanks John. I like to think that we can alter the orbit. Maybe just a bit, but maybe that would be enough.
Like another commentator here, I hesitated in clicking the 'like' button, but did so for the sensitive and honest way in which the post was written. I'll be commenting in a little more detail among our mutual confidants… my compliments though on a very moving post.
Thank you. I appreciate the support. It is hard to like the story itself.
Thank you for sharing this, Dan. It was very touching.
Thanks Skye. And thanks for sharing it on Twitter. It was a hard story to write but I'd like people to read it because this still happens today.
You are welcome. All of your writings are worth to be shared! :) I hope you are well.
Dan – I had to step away before I could comment on this story. It hits directly home for me and my family. I can't tell the details about that just yet, but it's so tragic that the needs for escape are sometimes so powerfully effective.
I think we're all meant to see one another, but it's too hard too often for too many reasons. That gym attendance taking story is just crushing, and yet it seems to fit as a blanket statement for Marty's life, at least in high school.
Like the others who've said so, I feel moved that you remember this young man so vividly and have spoken out about him. It's a very powerful story that I hope a lot of people will take to heart too.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment Robyn. This story has hit close to home for many people. Junior High and High School are difficult times, but everybody should have the chance to get beyond those years and make their own life. This is one of the few stories I've told that I try to draw more attention to. The sad thing is, somewhere in this country, this story is playing out again.
You're right about that. I hope that in sharing this story, maybe someone will stop and notice the child going through this today. My daughter managed to survive the cruelty of school until I finally had the sense to pull her out and home-school her. Her disabilities are invisible, and therefore unacceptable to the teachers and administrators, even other parents and students. Oh, she had an IEP. But that only made her a target. Thank you for sharing this sad tale.
I applaud your effort to deal with your situation. Still, it's sad that it comes down to having to intervene so directly. Students will always likely be hard on other students, but when teachers, administrators and other parents join in, I just have to shake my head and wonder. I know people who have children in situations where they need just a little extra attention and my friends have to fight for every bit of it. On the other hand, the law says that schools have to help, and administrators cry all over the place when it's time to prepare a budget about the services they have to provide. Nobody seems to accept that the experience is cumulative and that it can seriously impact a child/young adult. Thank you for adding your comment.
This post is absolutely wonderful, and awful (Marty's loneliness and your accurate summation that he died to escape not fitting in.) Your writing straddles the abyss between emotional and unemotional well. I encourage you to keep going, if you can, because you are an excellent storyteller. I want to know more about you: what was happening when you drifted away from Marty, and what kept your decency intact to keep in touch with him. keep writing. I'll read with pleasure.
Thanks Elizabeth. I wanted this to be Marty's story, not mine. I have more drafts of this post than anything else I've ever written. The short answer is that, in a school system as large as ours was, small differences in achievement separated kids quickly. I was a little bit better (in school) than Marty. We ended up on different sides of the line. I surrounded myself with my family and a small group of good friends who were all better students that I was. Combined, they kept me from falling through the cracks. The rest of my story is strewn about in other posts. If you want to know a little more about the positive influences in my life during that time, search the blog for "Sita" or keep reading. I keep coming back to those days.
Ack, I hit reply as I was about to add- thank you so much for reading, reaching out and commenting. I thought this exchange started with me thinking I might be able to help you a tiny bit.
Such a sad story. I can very well relate. School was not a fun experience for me.
I think too many people can relate to this Sandi. It is a sad story but one that I wanted to tell.
I agree. It's just wrong the way kids treat each other in school. I quit in the 10th grade, went to work, and later got my GED. I've never regretted it.
That's quite a story. The sad thing is that the school system, teachers, coaches and administrators all help to maintain the status quo in these situations (a fact with which I'm sure you're aware). Thanks for adding your thoughts to this post. I'm hoping to keep it in the top 10 so it stays on the sidebar. I want a better story out here for Marty.
Thanks Dan. Too many kids are still falling through the cracks of the system.
Thanks Judy. I was lucky in that our high school was under construction the entire time I was there. They relaxed the dress code to allow jeans and that was good for me as I never would have been able to keep pace with the cool kids if I had to dress like them. It is true about the scars, you carry them for a long time and things periodically bring them to the surface. One of the reasons I wrote this is because, when they were planning our 40th reunion, they did not include Marty among the "Departed" because he was officially part of the class of 1973. I thought "40 years later and they are still ignoring Marty." I know these things resonate with people like you who have experienced something similar. I wonder if the cool kids ever get it?
What an incredible bit of writing. You have done your friend proud. Many of us have our own Marty stories but they are hard to tell. You knocked it out of the ballpark. I just hope your message will make a difference. Your new fan, Jan!
Thank you Jan. I struggled with that story for months. Thank you for reading and for this comment. I just finished reading about the poor Morning Dove on your blog.
Just read this post as I noticed it on your sidebar as one you would like people to read. So glad I did but how heartbreaking. You have done your friend justice by writing this and by being his friend when he was struggling to find one. He was obviously a friend of yours too even if he came and went from your life. School can be so cruel to the kids that don't fit neatly into one group. I think it's getting better in this day and age but things like this still do happen. And there are new ways for kids to torment each other with cyber bullying and social media. I'm sorry Marty didn't make it past high school – I would like to think things would have improved for him.
Thanks so much for reading this one Deb. I think things would have gone better for Marty if he had been able to escape that school. It was a very difficult place to be if you didn't fit in in all the "right" ways. I think there are still a lot of Martys out there. I would like to think it's getting better, but I'm not so sure. I'm sad whenever I read about bullying, in school and in social media, because I know how hard it can be for some kids.
Yes, it's hard to say. It's so hard when you don't "fit in" to a certain mold. Even as an adult you can feel that way sometimes which is kind of ridiculous! We can always use some more acceptance and tolerance in this world.
I am glad you have this as a suggested post to read. That was a raw and touching post.
Thank you, and thank you for reading this one.
Beautiful, sad reflective post Dan. Immediately made me think of my own time in school and that of my own children.
She has been so affected by this, I am considering home school. I am conflicted because I understand that children need to learn resilience, but this rubbish feels so unnecessary and there are enough struggles in store in our lives generally, particularly as we grow into young adults.
Thank you for reading and commenting ML. I leave this one up there on the main page because I hope more people read his story. I'm sorry to hear about your daughter. Kids can be so cruel. People have to learn to be resilient, but it's hard to endure those situations day after day. I was fortunate to finally establish a small group of good friends, but I was very happy to get out of that school system. I don't envy your decision making process over this. I wish you luck.
Thanks for your kind comments, Dan. I try to keep both the children engaged in activities outside of school, so it's not the only 'social' thing where friends can be made. That does help. I was similar to my daughter when I was younger, but I never cared and that confidence seemed to really help me through things.
I worked with my father after school, and I gained confidence from that. It does really help.
I recently found out that my junior high pal died of breast cancer, so I at least have an idea of your sense of loss. I hated high school, too. It can be an extremely toxic environment. Not sure if those who tell you to stick it out are giving the best advice. Fortunately for me, I screwed up so bad I was advised to test out. I went to college two years early. Best decision I ever made.
A little bit of kindness can work wonders. We need to smile more. Thanks for reminding me to take some popcorn from a smiling kid who offers it to me.
Thank you. I managed to stick it out, but I've never gone back, other than to see the building. I wasn't the kind of student that could have gotten an early start on college. College was better, and working was even better. Once I could focus on something I was good at and be evaluated based on performance against expectations, I felt like I was in control.
I too was an awkward kid who didn't fit in. This story resonates deeply.
Thank you so much for reading this post. When I read comments like this, I feel that Marty's life had meaning, and not just for the few of us who new him. I'm happy to connect with you.
Beautiful and tragic. Thank you for pointing the way to this post as one you would like folks to read.
Thanks you. I worry that there are a lot of people like Marty out there today. Hopefully, someone can benefit from his story.
Unfortunately there are too many like Marty. I like the way you choose to remember him, giving out popcorn at The Point. That's a good thing.
Thank you so much for sharing this story, Dan. You've immortalized Marty in a way that I'm sure would make him proud. We, your readers, have become like the strangers taking the popcorn he offered, admiring his smile, his kindness, his humanity. His was a life lost too soon, but thanks to you, not forgotten.
Thanks so much. Marty reminds me that you don't always understand what people bring to your life.
Oh my sadness as I read of this situation, this struggling boy trying to just tread water in a rough stream of unforgivable adults and teens (pre-teens). I usually don't go backwards but for some reason thought I must check out the post Dan recommends we read today.
I am sorry for the loss of Marty. He was a friend to treasure and thank you for his story. Did you ever try to send this post to his parents or was there a sibling?
I wrote about a young man, Benjamin, who killed himself by walking out of our local Delaware (Ohio) high school and waited to stand in front of a train. When my path crossed with his aunt's recently, I guided her to my memorial post.
Thanks for reading this, Robin and for such a thoughtful comment. I think about Marty and how my graduating class abandoned him to the following year. I've never been to a reunion and I'll likely never go to one. Marty was our classmate for 11 years. As he was falling behind, most kids, teachers and administrators didn't care. I know because they didn't care about me either. I had string family support, but I couldn't wait to get out of that school.
I've never reached out to his family. I only ever met his father once, other that the funeral. I think I read that his father had died.
The saddest thing is the degree to which this stuff still goes on today. Your stories are repeated, over and over. Children are so precious – this should never happen. Thank you again.
I'm glad you had such loving and caring parents, Dan. The strength in family bonds cannot be replaced by friends, usually.
It is too bad about Marty and as you mentioned, there are variations of his (your) stories, now in cyber-bullying and hurtful behaviors towards children who are unique. It breaks my heart when you do hear about this happening.
My kids' friend, Benjamin, just had his spirit broken. It happened without his complaining but the cafeteria staff and some teachers looked away. The family is a nice one who had invited my son, Jamie, who was well liked, to join them on camping trips. Ben was a bright and creative young man. I had not babysat him for a few years when this happened.
Sadly, Ben left an older brother with special needs, Zach. He often will come up to me at the library and talk to me about losing his little brother. I'm sure it doesn't make much sense to him and doesn't help him to progress, he is potentially someone who could carry out a job. I live in a multi-generational apt building, where college kids, elderly and some special needs adults live. Those with delays, one cleans the ODOT building, another works at Burger King and another at a local restaurant cleaning tables as a busboy.
As a teacher, I tried to give the ones who were being mistreated "jobs" such as bulletin board designer. I also dwelled on their best talents.
Children are so precious, this was a meaningful statement.
We need lots of teachers like that.
We met a wide variety of students she mentored from Perkins H.S. to Westlake H.S. We learned about "druggies," "hoods" and pregnant girls "in trouble" who she loved and tried to guide to places for help and gave financial support. She didn't call them these names but they would say this was how they felt teachers expected them to be. We had family meetings where she would ask who did we want to help?. . . It meant only one Christmas gift or one birthday gift sometimes.
What a wonderful tradition of helping and, more important, understanding. My father ran a bowling alley, and he employed all manner of "problem children" as pinboys (including me). He helped us to understand the value of education, hard work and he taught us to be confident and, although they didn't talk about it then, to have self-esteem.
Thank you for reading this, and thank you for having been the kind of teacher who reached out to kids like Marty and me. I don't usually try to promote posts that blatantly, but this is one I wish everyone would read. Mainly because there are still Martys out there.
I was fortunate to have a family that was paying close attention and a few teachers who saw something in me I was reluctant to see. I was happy to leave that school, but I did take some lessons with me.
Dan, I am ever grateful that you shared the post with me and I pray others read it as well. I never mind when people say, oh you should read this post I wrote because I know it means something special. And yours most certainly did mean something special.
I am thankful you had your family and some teachers to keep you safe. I am glad you left that school too and even though I know the lessons learned made you the lovely man you are today, I never wish we had such tough lessons to learn especially as children.
Thanks again for sharing such an emotional experience with me/us. You are held in our hearts with much caring.
I'm sorry to write again, but I went back and read the newspaper clipping that you included in the post. We had a young boy here do something similar last year. You'd think that things would be different in 2017 from 1971, but it was the same method to get high. Such a shame. I have had 4 of my former students pass away from O/D or suicide – all young men in their late 20's/early 30's just in the past year. It breaks my heart, truly. I am glad you are still here to tell your story (and Marty's).
I mentioned in the reply on the post that one of the reasons I told that story is because there are still Martys out there and they are still dying. And sadly, not enough people care.
I care and I know you do too. There are more people who care. They just need to be made more aware so your post is perfect!
I didn't mean to sound negative. I know that a lot of people care and I know a lot of teachers do as well. I always think about Marty when school starts. I just wonder how many more are out there?
I'm so glad this story continues to impact people. I don't like making people sad, but I feel Marty deserved more out of life. Thanks for all the kind words. I think I mentioned that my brother is a retired teacher. He approached his job as you did. If we had more teachers like you guys, we'd have less people end up like Marty.
Marty is our sweet reminder who encourages all of us to try harder, to be better teachers and to listen more to the subtle changes in people. Marty's legacy of joy in giving people popcorn, in being your friend and in having a hard time all rolled into one incredible human being's experience reminds us to reach out to connect more, to accept each other and to be kind. I love that your brother is a retired teacher! Hugs from me to all of you!
Thank you for reading this post. It is hard to read. It's hard to remember, but I wanted something positive to be out there about Marty.
I think you explain it pretty well. I didn't want to explore that aspect, because I knew very little about Marty's family life. I did know about mine, and my parents provided the support that you talk about. We never fully cut ties with the neighborhood I was born in and where I lived through 4th grade. We stayed involved through family, though my dad's part-time job at a bowling alley and through church. I had friendships that were somewhat casual, but with people I had known since before I started school. I attended school in our new town, but I was never a part of it. Fortunately, I had somewhere else to go. Marty found somewhere else to go, but it was a bad choice.
I also started working at a very early age. There was a satisfaction that came from being able to learn a task, perform well and be paid for my time. There was also a comfort level when surrounded by coworkers (although no one used that word), because there was an inherent respect that was shared.
Thank you for reading this post and for sharing your thoughts.
He gave you the best part of himself to preserve.
Thank you for reading and understanding, Rob.


Hello Pretties! ;) Today I have swatches and comparisons of the new Gelish Hello Pretty Collection. This collection has six very bright, fun colors inspired by Japanese style pop art. These shades are all available for purchase individually or in duos with matching Morgan Taylor nail lacquer shades.
Each swatch is shown with three coats of color. I found the formula of these to be on the thin side and they applied a bit patchy, so I used three coats for full coverage. Some of these colors caused my camera to freak out a little, so please be sure to read the corresponding notes.
Gelish Do You Harajuku? is a minty pastel green with a subtle shimmer.
Here is a comparison picture that shows Do You Harajuku? next to some other pale greens and teals. Do You Harajuku? is lighter than Gelish Kiss Me I'm a Prince and is more of a pure green than teal. I added some yellow-leaning greens on the left side to show that it's not yellow either. It's a nice unique shade.
From left to right: Gelish You're Such a Sweet-Tart, Gelish Lime All the Time, Gelish Do you Harajuku?, DIY Minty Fresh, Gelish Kiss Me I'm a Prince, OPI That's Hula-rious, and Gelish Seafoam.
Gelish Look at You, Pink-achu! is a bubble gum pink cream. My camera may have made this one appear slightly brighter than it is.
From left to right: Gelish Ella of a Girl, LeChat Cotton Candy, OPI Suzy Shops & Island Hops, ibd Funny Bone, Gelish Look at You Pink-achu!, LeChat Paradise (from the new Oasis collection), Gelish Make You Blink Pink, and Gelish Sugar 'n Spice.
Gelish Anime-zing Color! is a gorgeous blurple cream. My camera really freaks out when I try to photograph blue-leaning purples and it always makes them look more blue than they are. I tried color correcting this photo so that it has more purple tones, but I can't guarantee the accuracy at all. It's not quite that glow-y. The comp photo below may be a closer match.
I put this color next to some blues and purples to try to show how it compares. You can see that it's somewhere right in the middle… a perfect blurple. I love these shades, I just wish my camera did too. Gelish doesn't have any other shades that are quite like this one. LeChat Sweet Iris is probably the closest match that I own.
From left to right: LeChat Frozen Cold Spell (mood), Gelish You Glare I Glow, LeChat Sweet Iris, Gelish Anime-zing Color, LeChat Into the Deep (new Oasis collection), Gelish Mali-Blu Me Away, Shellac Purple Purple.
Gelish Tokyo a Go Go is a pink-leaning purple cream… another awesome shade.
Tokyo a Go Go is nice and bright compared to other similar colors in my stash. I was hoping to compare it to Carnival Hangover, but I can't find my swatch stick or my bottle. TruGel just launched a color called Hypnotic that's pretty similar in shade in their Neon Daze collection (swatches coming soon).
From left to right: Gelish It's a Lily, Couture Glam Squad, ibd Cashmere Cutie, Gelish Tokyo a Go Go, TruGel Hypnotic, and Gelish Tahiti Hottie.
Gelish Pop-arazzi Pose is a bright red-leaning neon pink cream.
Below is a comparison photo that shows Gelish Pop-arazzi next to some other red-leaning Gelish pinks. It's not obvious from this photo, but Pop-arazzi is a little brighter than most of these other shades. It's a great beach-going color.
From left to right: Gelish Gossip Girl, All Dahlia-ed Up, Pop-arazzi Pose, A Petal for Your Thoughts, and Passion.
Gelish Manga-round With Me is a coral-leaning neon pink cream. My photo may glow a little more than real life, but this color is definitely bright!
I put this color side-by-side with some other bright coral-leaning pinks and oranges for comparison.
From left to right: Gelish Rockin' the Reef, Gelish I'm Brighter Than You, LeChat Sunkissed (from the new Oasis collection), Gelish Manga-Round With Me, LeChat Rose Glow, TruGel Beach Club Babe (from the new Neon Daze collection), Gelish Brights Have More Fun, and Gelish Shake it Til You Samba.
These colors pop all on their own, but I wonder how they would look when applied over white. I may have to do some experiments, and I definitely want to try some nail art with these!
I found most of these colors available on Amazon.com in the duo sets (linked to above). You can also purchase the color individually from Esther's Nail Center, and if you buy all six from this site you can get a free Gelish travel case.
Which colors are your favorites?
Thanks for these swatches!! I absolutely need Anime-zing Color! Do you know if these will be available at Sally Beauty Supply?
Yes they should be available in MINI size at Sally's.
Did you do any fading tests on them?
I just received them and haven't had time to do fade tests yet. I will report back if I find any issues.
How does Do You Harajuku compare to revel envy?
Hi just wanted to give everyone a heads up Sally has a buy One get One Free sale until Friday May 14 going on right now on the gelish. Also the retail me not app gets you 20% off your entire purchase this coupon expires Friday May 14, 2015.
I would agree with your assessments of Anime and Pop-arazzi. Manga is more pink than Flip Flop Fantasy, but it has that bright neon glow about it for sure.
I wonder if Gelish change formulations for Brights have more fun? In all your swatches Brights have more fun is very similar to Shake it till you Samba. But I just purchased 6 colors tonight from Sally's (both these colors) and they are nothing alike. My Shake it till you Samba looks like yours but my brights have more fun is a lot lighter…In fact I can't hardly tell Brights have more fun from Manga-round with me….they are almost identical….
I think my camera may pull out more of the red tones in Brights. I just checked and it's almost smack in the middle of Manga-round and Shake it Til You Samba. I'm not sure if the formulas have changed.
I have the same. My old bottle of shake it till you samba was more neonpink, similar to brights have more fun.
Would you say look at you pink-achu is a lot less bright than make you blink pink? In you comparison picture look at you pink-achu also looks more pink. I love make you bank pink but I'm always looking for a new bubble gum pink color.
Pink-achu is a lighter shade of pink, but I wouldn't say it's brighter. Make You Blink Pink has more neon qualities.
Absolutely fabulous colors , I love all . I often change so many colors , it deppends on the color of my outfit, truly great fun to do that :) !!!
Maybe somethings up with the mini bottles from Sally's because my Bright's have more fun and Manga round with me are almost identical. My husband couldn't tell them apart but to a more experienced eye you can see that Bright's have more fun is very slightly darker.
My Bright is a MINI size and the Manga-round is full size. There are sometimes differences in the shades between the full size and MINI bottles.
Of course I want all of them!
Thanks for these great swatches, Andrea! I don't think I am quite in love enough to get them as I am trying to cut back on my Gelish addiction.
There's no sign of this collection being released in the UK yet, but we have the Ooh La La collection. Any sign of that in your part of the world, and are you planning to swatch it?
Hi Jane – I will swatch it when I can get my hands on it. I haven't seen it available for sale yet, and my PR rep said they didn't have samples last time I checked in.
Hello everyone! Can anybody please tell me, does this collection bottles have a Harmony logo on the left side, as usual? Because I bought recently and mine hasn't it… Is it fake then?
I don't think they do. Mine doesn't have it, but it has a green "gelish authentic" box on the backside.
Thank you for answer! But I thought any Gelish bottle has Harmony logo, isn't it? The problem is, suddenly it's began an allergy, so I thought maybe it's because my new product is fake.
Has anyone ever bought Gelish off Ebay? They have a lot of these nail colors and I was just curious since I don't see some of them on Amazon. I wonder if they are legit?
I have purchased Gelish colors off of Ebay. I haven't checked for specific marks like Andrea speaks about, but have not had any issues with any of the bottles that I have received.
That does help! Thank you Stacie!
Would you do a fade test on these?
Anime-zing Color is purple and not blue, though it has some blue tones. Into the Deep is a close match to Mali-Blu Me Away – they are both dark cobalt blues. I prefer Into the Deep of the two since it has better coverage.
Could you please explain how you do fading tests?


SCCM/ConfigMgr dynamic collection query can be real evil in some scenarios. It's very easy to make mistakes while editing already existing dynamic queries. It's better with device based dynamic collections (as it gives a warning pop up as you can see in the above video!) in SCCM CB environment but it's not very good user based dynamic user collection.
I have created a quick video to demonstrate this issue here. I have got a blogger Kannan C S to share his experience on this topic. He is Sr. Infra Architect with several years of SCCM and System Center experience. I will let Kannan C S explain his experience in details.
I'm Kannan C S and working as Sr. Infra Architect in leading IT Company having 15 years IT experience. I have been with Configuration Manager [Designing, Implementation, Migration and Support], System Center Orchestrator [Designing and Implementation], Windows Server support. You can refer to my blog here.
I have seen the dynamic collection query update issues in different organizations. Mainly with L1 and L2 teams where we don't have real SCCM expertise.
I am looking the issue/design from SMS 2003 to SCCM 2012 (even SCCM CB) version. I am not sure if any purpose must be behind of this design of collection default query select * from sms_r_system/select * from sms_R_User. In case a user creates the query based device or user collection if there is any modification in the query. He/she should remove the entire query and apply OK.
If a user applies ok, it's automatically select * from sms_r_system/select * from sms_R_User query will enable, it will be targeted to all system which is "All system"/"All Users" as limiting collection. It has serious issue in most the companies; deployment is performing by L1 or L2 engineers. It is nowhere documented in the MS TechNet or Blog. I would strongly recommend having some mechanism to avoid this kind of changes in upcoming released.
By Default it will return with Select * from SMS_R_System/select * from sms_R_User query. By then, the deployment targeted to specific collection will be mapped to All devices which include workstation and server.


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by Charalambos Pissouros
Weekly Outlook: Mar 04 – Mar 08: RBA, BoC and ECB Meetings, US NFPs Also in Focus
This week, we have three central banks deciding on monetary policy: The RBA, the BoC and the ECB. It will be interesting to see whether the RBA will introduce the rate-cut chance within the statement, and whether the BoC will maintain its plan for more hikes over time. With regards to the ECB, investors may be eager to see whether the Bank will alter its interest-rate guidance and whether there will be any announcement on new TLTROs. The US and Canadian employment data for February will also be in focus.
Monday appears to be a relatively light day in terms of economic releases, with the only worth mentioning being the UK construction PMI for February. Expectations are for the index to have ticked down to 50.5 from 50.6 in January. The case for a lower print is supported by the manufacturing index, released on Friday, which slid to 52.0 from 52.6. That said, we repeat for the umpteenth time that usually investors tend to focus more on the services PMI, which is released on Tuesday, as the service sector accounts for around 80% of the UK economy.
On Tuesday, during the Asian morning, the RBA decides on monetary policy. At the preivous meeting, the Bank kept interest rates unchanged, and while the statement had a somewhat dovish flavor compared to the previous one, it included no hints with regards to a potential rate cut in the months to come. That said, just the following day, Governor Lowe put that prospect well on the table, noting that interest rates could move in either direction, with the probabilities of an up and a down move evenly balanced, something that was mentioned in the meeting minutes as well. What's more, in its quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy, the Bank slashed its GDP and inflation forecasts, also noting that financial market prices suggest that interest rates are likely to stay unchanged over the months ahead, with some expectation of a decrease by the end of this year.
Since then, then only top-tier data we got related to the labor market. The wage price index for Q4 rose +2.3% yoy, the same pace as in Q3, while the employment report for January showed that the unemployment rate held steady at 5.0% and that the economy gained more jobs than in December. Bearing in mind that the Bank has put the prospect of a rate cut on the table, already acknowledging the strength of the labor market, we don't expect the statement to paint a much different picture than the previous one. Having said that though, it will be interesting to see whether the cut-case will be included in the statement this time, and not just in the meeting minutes.
As for Tuesday's economic data, during the Asian day, Australia's current account balance for Q4 and China's Caixin services PMI for February are due to be released. Australia's current account deficit is expected to have narrowed somewhat, while China's Caixin index is forecast to have ticked down to 53.5 from 53.6 in January.
During the European morning, we get Switzerland's CPI for February, which is expected to have slowed for the 4th consecutive month, to +0.5% yoy from +0.6%, which is well below the SNB's target of 2%. With the Bank itself not seeing that target being hit even in Q3 2021, we believe that policymakers are unlikely to be tempted to alter their loose policy with such a low inflation rate. The SNB is scheduled to hold its first monetary policy meeting for 2019 on March 21st, when we expect officials to keep interest rates unchanged, reiterating that they will stay active in the foreign exchange market as necessary and that the franc remains highly valued.
From the Eurozone, we have retail sales for January and expectations are for a +1.3% mom rebound after a 1.6% slide in December. This may drive the yoy rate up to +2.0% from +0.8%. We also get the final services and composite PMIs for February from several European nations and the bloc as a whole, but as it is usually the case, the final prints are expected to confirm their preliminary estimates.
The UK services PMI for February is coming out as well. The forecast suggests that the index slipped into contractionary territory. Specifically, it is expected to have declined to 49.9 from 50.1, something that may amplify concerns on how Brexit uncertainty is weighing on the UK economy. Nevertheless, with a disorderly exit most likely to be averted, at least on March 29th, we don't expect the PMIs to prove game changers with regards to the pound's forthcoming direction. Remember that the pound fell when the January services print disappointed but surged in the second half of February on hopes that a no-deal exit can be eventually avoided.
Therefore, we expect GBP-traders to keep their focus locked on developments surrounding the UK political landscape and the vote-series PM Theresa May promised to Parliament. Remember that last week, PM May told lawmakers that they will have a new deal on the table by March 12th, and if it is not approved, another vote will take place the on March 13th. The second vote will be on whether Britain should leave the EU with or without a deal. If Parliament rejects the option of a disorderly withdrawal, a third vote over extending the process will be held the following day.
In the US, we get the final Markit services and composite PMIs for February, as well as the ISM non-manufacturing index for the month. As it is the case most of the times, the final Markit prints are expected to confirm their preliminary numbers, while the ISM index is anticipated to have risen to 57.4 from 56.7. New Home sales for December are due out as well and the forecast suggests a slowdown to +2.9% mom from +16.9%.
On Wednesday, the central bank torch will be passed to the Bank of Canada. When they last met, BoC policymakers left interest rates unchanged and kept the door open for further rate increases. Latest CPI data showed that inflation slowed in both headline and core terms, while economic activity contracted in both November and December, with the qoq annualized rate for the final quarter of 2018 tumbling to +0.4% from +2.0%.
Seen in isolation, these releases raise concerns over the BoC's ability to raise borrowing costs further. However, bearing in mind that, in a recent speech, Governor Poloz noted that the Bank's plan remains for higher rates over time, we believe that officials could keep their forward guidance unchanged at this meeting. They may prefer to wait and see whether the softness continues before they go ahead with such a move. That said, we don't expect an upbeat narrative either. In the same speech, the Governor said that the timing of future rate increases is "highly uncertain", which combined with the aforementioned data may prompt policymakers to strike a more cautious stance compared to the previous time, even if they stick to their guns that further rate increases are needed in the foreseeable future.
As for the rest of Wednesday's data, Australia's GDP for Q4 is due to be released and the forecast suggests an uptick to +0.4% qoq, after tumbling to +0.3% in Q3 from +0.9%. That said, this would still drive the yoy rate lower, to +2.6% from +2.8%, which is slightly below the RBA's projection of 2.75% and, conditional upon a dovish meeting statement on Tuesday, may increase speculation with regards to a rate cut by year end.
Later in the day, in the US, the ADP employment report for February is due to be released. Expectations are for the private sector to have gained 190k jobs, less than January's 213k. This could raise bets that the NFP number, due out on Friday, may also come in below its prior stellar print of 304k. At the time of writing, the forecast for non-farm payrolls is at 185k. That said, we repeat once again that, even though the ADP is the only major gauge we have for the non-farm payrolls, the correlation between the two time-series at the time of the release (no revisions are taken into account) has been low in recent years. Taking into account data form January 2011, this correlation stands at 0.46. The US trade balance for December is also due to be released and expectations are for the nation's trade deficit to have widened to USD 57.8bn from 49.3bn.
On Thursday, it's the turn of the ECB to decide on monetary policy. At the January meeting, the Bank made no changes to interest rates and the accompanying statement, but at the press conference following the decision, ECB President Mario Draghi noted that the risks surrounding the bloc's economic outlook have "moved to the downside". He also said that the fact that the market places the first hike in 2020 shows that investors understood the Bank's reaction function, something that was mentioned in the minutes as well. With regards to whether they have started looking into a new round of TLTROs (Targeted Long-Term Refinancing Operations), which are cheap loans to banks, Draghi said that several policymakers raised the issue, but no decision was taken.
Since then, economic data continued to suggest a weak economic outlook. Headline inflation ticked up to +1.5% yoy in February, but the core CPI rate slid back to +1.0% yoy from +1.1%, which is well below the Bank's objective of "below, but close to 2%". According to preliminary data, the composite PMI rose to 51.4 in February from 51.0 in January, but this is the first rise after six consecutive slides, and in our view, it is far from suggesting a decent rebound in Eurozone's economic activity.
Having all that in mind, investors may will be looking to see whether the Bank will push back its interest-rate forward guidance and whether it will introduce a new round of TLTROs. Although given the market consensus for a hike in 2020, officials could alter their forward guidance at this meeting, we believe that they may prefer to wait for a while more before they do that. After all the "at least through summer of 2019" notion is an open ended one, which, in our view, means that interest rates could start rising in September the earliest, but also well thereafter. With regards to the TLTROs, bearing in mind that the latest minutes suggested that decisions in this respect shouldn't be taken "too hastily", we believe that officials could also wait a bit longer before taking such a step. However, we may get some hints on whether they consider acting in the upcoming months. The meeting will be also accompanied with new staff macroeconomic projections, where we expect downward revisions in both GDP and inflation forecasts.
As for Thursday's economic indicators, during the Asian morning, we have Australia's trade balance and retail sales, both for January. The nation's trade surplus is expected to have decreased, but retail sales are anticipated to have rebounded 0.3% mom after sliding 0.4% in December. Later in the day, we have Eurozone's final GDP for Q4, which is expected to confirm the second estimate, and the US Labor Costs Index for the quarter, which is anticipated to have accelerated to +1.6% qoq from +1.2%.
On Friday, investors are likely to lock their gaze on the US employment report for February. Expectations are for nonfarm payrolls to have risen 185k, less than January's 304k, but still a healthy number. The unemployment rate is forecast to have declined to 3.9% from 4.0%, while average hourly earnings are anticipated to have accelerated to +0.3% mom from +0.1%. Barring any revisions to the prior monthly prints, this is likely to drive the yoy rate up to +3.3% yoy from +3.2%, as the monthly print of February 2018 that will drop out of the yearly calculation is +0.1%.
Overall, the numbers point to a strong report, consistent with further tightening in the labor market. Although Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida noted last week that wage gains are no putting upward pressure on inflation, further acceleration in earnings may eventually lead to somewhat higher consumer prices. Following last week's GDP data, which eased concerns of a severe slowdown, a robust employment report could cause the likelihood for a Fed rate cut in 2019 to vanish and may even push slightly up the hike percentage. According to the Fed funds futures, the market is nearly 92% confident that the Committee will refrain from pushing the hiking button this year, while there is a 7% chance for an increase. The chance for a cut has now dropped to 1%.
We get employment data for February from Canada as well. The unemployment rate is expected to have ticked down to 5.7% from 5.8%, but the net change in employment is expected to show a decline of 5k jobs after a 66.8k gain in January. Given that the participation rate is expected to have declined as well, we believe that the potential slide in the unemployment rate may be owed to unemployed people stop looking actively for a job, instead of more people being employed.
With regards to the rest of the data, we get Japan's final GDP for Q4, and China's trade balance for February. China's CPI and PPI numbers for the month are also coming out, but during the Asian morning Saturday.
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Promising ALS Therapy Moves Closer to Clinic
An experimental drug first tried at Columbia University Irving Medical Center as a last-ditch effort to help a 25-year-old woman with juvenile ALS is now being tested in ALS patients in a global, phase 3 clinical trial, based on promising results from a new study at Columbia.
The study found that the drug—informally named jacifusen—lowered levels of FUS, a toxic protein in the woman's neurons and in mice with the disease.
The clinical trial will be pivotal in determining if the drug can slow the progression of the disease.
"Though the drug did not save the life of the young woman who first received it, the study found that "it had a profound effect, virtually eliminating the toxic proteins in the central nervous system and reducing the burden of FUS pathology dramatically," says study leader Neil Shneider, MD, PhD, the Claire Tow Associate Professor of Motor Neuron Disorders in the Department of Neurology and director of the Eleanor and Lou Gehrig ALS Center at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
"Together with our animal data, this study suggests that the drug has the potential to delay or prevent ALS caused by mutant FUS before symptoms appear or slow clinical progression after disease onset."
The story of jacifusen
Jacifusen gets its name from Jaci Hermstad, the first person to receive the drug, but it was already in development before Jaci was diagnosed with ALS.
ALS is usually associated with adults, but a rare and aggressive form of the disease can affect individuals, like Jaci, in their teens or 20s. The disease attacks the patient's motor neurons, which control the body's muscles, until the patient can no longer move or breathe unassisted.
Several years ago, researchers discovered that most adolescents and young adults with ALS have mutations in a gene called FUS.
In a study of a series of mouse models with ALS-related FUS mutations published in 2016, and in another series in the current study, Shneider found that the mutant FUS protein is toxic to motor neurons, suggesting that lowering FUS levels by silencing the gene that makes the protein might protect neurons in ALS patients with the mutation.
In 2018, Shneider met Jaci, a young woman from Iowa whose identical twin sister had died of ALS caused by a genetic mutation in the FUS gene. Soon after, Jaci began to show signs and symptoms of ALS. Shneider immediately reached out to Ionis Pharmaceuticals—a leading developer of antisense therapeutics—looking for a drug that shuts down production of the FUS protein to slow the progression of Jaci's disease. This led to the identification of ION363, a compound that effectively lowered FUS levels in the mouse brain and spinal cord and prevented disease onset in the mouse model of FUS-related ALS. However, this drug had never been tested in humans.
With remarkable speed, Shneider won special permission from the Food and Drug Administration to give the drug to Jaci through the FDA's compassionate use program, which makes experimental treatments available to seriously ill patients outside of clinical trials. There was no time to waste, Shneider says. "People with these mutations usually die within a year of diagnosis."
Jaci received the first of several doses of the drug in 2019. "We saw a significant slowdown in her functional decline, suggesting that the drug was working as intended, but sadly, her disease was already advanced by the time she began the treatment and she died about a year later," Shneider says.
For one young ALS patient, jacifuson may offer hope.
In a podcast interview, Neil Shneider explains how one young woman with a rare form of ALS started to improve after treatment with the ASO therapy.
New study suggests jacifusen eliminates toxic proteins
In his new study, published Jan. 24, 2022, in Nature Medicine, Shneider found that a single infusion of jacifusen at birth in a mouse model effectively silenced the FUS gene, reduced FUS protein levels in the brain and spinal cord, and delayed motor neuron degeneration in the mice—all with no apparent side effects.
In Jaci, jacifusen also caused profound changes in the brain. Examination of Jaci's brain tissue, donated by Jaci and the Hermstad family, found that treatment with the eponymous drug markedly reduced FUS protein clumps—a hallmark of the disease—in her brain cells. "At a cellular level, jacifusen was extremely effective at doing what we hoped it would do," Shneider says.
The findings, along with encouraging signs from 10 other patients who received jacifusen under the compassionate use program, convinced Ionis to sponsor a pivotal phase 3 clinical trial at Columbia and multiple other sites in the United States, Europe and Asia. The trial, led by Shneider, will enroll at least 64 patients.
"This trial will determine if jacifusen is safe, and if it can effectively slow disease progression in symptomatic FUS-ALS patients. If approved, jacifusen would be the first treatment for this highly aggressive form of early-onset ALS," Shneider says.
Future studies will determine whether jacifusen works if given to people with ALS-associated FUS mutations before they become symptomatic, as it did in the mouse studies.
"This study is an example of truly personalized medicine in the 21st century."
The study was published online Jan. 24, 2022, in Nature Medicine.
The study is titled, "Antisense oligonucleotide silencing of FUS expression as a therapeutic approach in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis." The other contributors are: Vladislav A. Korobeynikov (Columbia), Alexander K. Lyashchenko (Columbia), Beatriz Blanco-Redondo (Columbia and Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany), and Paymaan Jafar-nejad (Ionis Pharmaceuticals).
The study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01NS106236) and the Tow Foundation. Support for the FUS ASO (ION363) expanded access program was provided by Project ALS and the ALS Association. Additional funding was provided by Nancy Perlman and Tom Klingenstein and the Judith and Jean Pape Adams Charitable Foundation.