text:
VA-133 was a short-lived Attack Squadron of the U.S. Navy, nicknamed the Blue Knights. It was established on 21 August 1961 and disestablished a year later, on 1 October 1962. It was based at NAS Cecil Field and flew A4D-2 Skyhawk aircraft.

Operational history

August 1961: The squadron was established as part of a new Air Group to increase the strength of the fleet as a result of the Berlin Crisis of 1961.
8–19 February 1962: A squadron detachment was aboard  for carrier trials and in a standby status for possible assistance during Project Mercury, the launching of Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, USMC, in Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7.
March–May 1962: The squadron participated in Constellation's shakedown cruise in the Caribbean.

See also

 List of squadrons in the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons
 Second VA-134 (U.S. Navy), a "sister squadron"
 Attack aircraft
 List of inactive United States Navy aircraft squadrons
 History of the United States Navy

References

External links

Attack squadrons of the United States Navy
Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Edgar Wright's latest movie Baby Driver is super fun! This is an original, action-packed movie with rocking style.
Edgar Wright is really proving himself to be one of the best modern directors! The Cornetto Trilogy is hilarious, with the first entry, 2004's Shaun of the Dead, being the gem; it's one of my favorite comedies of all time, a solid Fresnerd A in my opinion. In addition, I think 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs the World is one of most underappreciated movies of all time.
Wright's witty humor dialogue, unique characters, and fast camera work are all on display here. Plus, just like James Gunn with the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Wright has strongly incorporated fresh, outstanding music into both the feel and plot of the movie. For all these elements to be used in a car chase movie, it just cranks the energy up to 11. The first act is the best I've seen all year.
My one complaint is that some of the character motivations are a little off. The romance felt so very much rushed that the characters' life or death decisions for one another seemed somewhat unbelievable. I also think the antagonism could have been handled better. Without going into spoilers, a certain character's change in behavior just seemed to come out of nowhere.
Still this is a great, fun movie. A Fresnerd A- from me. Everyone seems to be raving about this movie. What did you guys think???


» Infographic: Is the Future of Mental Health Online?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 at 1:04 pm	and is filed under Accountable Care Organizations, Case Management, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Trends, Hospital Readmissions, Patient-Centered Medical Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.


Pumpkins & Puppies Week: Siblings.
I grew these miniature pumpkins 2 years ago.
They were perfect single serving size and just demanded being stuffed.
Day 1 of Pumpkins and Puppies Week.
This is the last one…..
I still have a few left, but they're just going to be sliced and roasted for a vegetable side dish.
I was thinking I should do something sweet with the stuffing for the last one.


Facebook has bought Microsoft's Atlas Advertiser Suite to get more serious about ads.
The price tag was rumored to be $100 million, according to AllThingsD. However, that's little compared to Facebook's $4 billion ad business. Microsoft acquired Atlas from the $6.2 billion sales of aQuantive, which it's selling off piece by piece.
So why would Facebook buy Atlas? To beef up its internal business or build out its ad network? According to AllThingsD, it's likely both. The likely plan is that Facebook will use Atlas' data tracking to prove the value of its ads and then raise the prices, because Facebook's goal is to compete directly with Google. Once the price is similar, the social network will compete head-to-head with the search titan.
This sounds like a pretty long-range plan, and we think it's ambitious that Facebook's goal is to crush the seeming indestructible Google.


text:
Q: How can I run my Selenium tests with Maven? I'm trying to figure out how to run Selenium WebDriver tests without having to use Eclipse or IntelliJ or any other IDE. I do all my java development using a plain text editor, and don't want to have to install (and learn) an IDE just for the sake of compiling and running tests.
I've tried following the Selenium documentation, but it stops short of actually telling you how to run the tests from the command line.
My brief experience with maven amounts to the following:
    $ mvn compile
    <snip>
    No sources to compile

    $ mvn test
    <snip>
    No tests to run

    $ mvn run
    <snip>
    Invalid task 'run'

The only other one I know is mvn jetty:run but that doesn't seem right as I'm not wanting to run a new web server.
I suspect I just need to set the correct targets etc in my pom.xml, but I don't know what they should be, and surprisingly can't find any online.
Can anyone help please?

A: In short:
mvn integration-test or mvn verify is the thing you're looking for.
Explanation
The goals, you're invoking, are lifecycle phases of maven (see Maven Lifecycle Reference). mvn test is intended for standalone unit tests, mvn integration-test runs after compiling, testing and packaging. That would be also the phase, where you invoke Selenium tests. If you need to start and stop Jetty, Tomcat, JBoss, etc., you would bind start/stop of these to pre-integration-test and post-integration-test.
I usually run my integration-tests using Failsafe and perform there invocations to Selenium and other integrative tests.

A: OK, I finally figured it out after realising that this is actually a Maven-specific question rather than Eclipse or Selenium.
Maven can be made to run the code it compiles by using the exec-maven-plugin and adding the following to the pom.xml:
    <build>
     <plugins>
      <plugin>
       <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
       <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
       <version>1.1.1</version>
       <executions>
        <execution>
         <phase>test</phase>
         <goals>
          <goal>java</goal>
         </goals>
         <configuration>
          <mainClass>Selenium2Example</mainClass>
          <arguments>
           <argument>arg0</argument>
           <argument>arg1</argument>
          </arguments>
         </configuration>
        </execution>
       </executions>
      </plugin>
     </plugins>
    </build>

As you can probably gather from the snippet, arguments can be passed in by listing them in the pom.xml. Also, be sure to use the proper package name in the mainClass element.
You can then run mvn compile followed by mvn test to compile and run your code.
Credit has to go to http://www.vineetmanohar.com/2009/11/3-ways-to-run-java-main-from-maven/ for listing several ways to do this.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death across the globe. It accounted for 17.3 million deaths in 2015 and is further anticipated to claim 23.6 million lives in 2030 (according to an estimation by the World Health Organization). The rise in geriatric population worldwide has resulted in an increased prevalence of the disease. Moreover, change in eating habits, increased stress, smoking, and alcohol consumption, and disturbed sleeping patterns are some of the key factors contributing to the deteriorating health conditions and to the rise in chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiac diseases. The International Diabetes Federation has estimated that approximately 415 million people were diabetic in 2015 while the number is expected rise to 642 million worldwide by 2040. Therefore, increased incidence of cardiac diseases accompanied by the rise in healthcare expenditure in the medical device industry are expected to lead the growth of the interventional cardiology market.
The interventional cardiology devices industry is a multi-billion-dollar market which consists of multitudinous companies involved in the manufacturing of catheters, stents, valves, angioplasty balloons, and other cardiac interventional instruments to meet the increasing demand of people suffering from cardiovascular disorders. The advanced cardiac intervention market provides treatment option for a range of cardiovascular diseases including coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, and peripheral vascular disease, among others.
The purpose of this study is to gain a holistic view of the interventional cardiology market in terms of various influencing factors such as recent trends and technological advancements. The scope of this report constitutes of an in-depth study of the global interventional cardiology market, including a thorough analysis of the products across different regions. The market has been segmented into 'devices', 'end users', and 'regions'. The 'devices' segment consists of both conventional and advanced devices. Advanced devices cover the technologically advanced imaging modalities such as IntraVenous UltraSound (IVUS), Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), and Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT). The report presents the reader with an opportunity to unlock comprehensive insights with respect to the market and helps in forming well informed strategic decisions. The research uncovers some of the substantial parameters that must be taken into consideration before entering into the market.
This research report aims at answering various aspects of the global interventional cardiology market with the help of the key factors driving the market, restraints that can possibly inhibit the overall market growth, and the current growth opportunities that are going to shape the future trajectory of the market expansion. The report includes an in-depth examination of the key ecosystem players and key strategies and developments taking place in this market. Moreover, the report includes chapters on market dynamics (market drivers, opportunities, and challenges) and industry analysis as well.
The research study considers the market share analysis for a comprehensive understanding of the global interventional cardiology market, and assesses the factors governing the same. Detailed product mapping have been included in the report. The market (by region) has been further sub-segmented in various countries, and in each sub-segment the key market trends, list of the key players, and the recent developments that have taken place, have been discussed.
• What are the major market drivers, challenges, and opportunities in the global interventional cardiology market?
• What was the market value of the leading segments and sub-segments of the global interventional cardiology market in 2017?
• How will each segment of the global interventional cardiology market grow during the forecast period and what will be the revenue generated by each of the segments by the end of 2027?
• How will the industry evolve during the forecast period 2018-2027?
• Who are the key players in the interventional cardiology devices and end user market and what are their contributions?
• What are the major benefits of the implementation of interventional cardiology in different fields of applications including angioplasty, stent placement, coronary thrombectomy, valvuloplasty, percutaneous valve repair or replacement, and congenital heart abnormalities?
• What is the scope of interventional cardiology in the emerging economies of Asia-Pacific and Latin America?
• What is the scope for expansion by the key players of the interventional cardiology market in the developed countries of North America and Europe?
The key players who have been contributing significantly to the interventional cardiology market include Abiomed, Inc., ACIST Medical Systems, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., Biotronik SE & Co. KG, Boston Scientific Corporation, C. R. Bard, Inc., Cook Medical LLC, Cordis Corporation, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, GE Healthcare, Life Vascular Devices Biotech S.L., Biostense Webster, Inc., Medtronic Plc, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., Novacam Technologies Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., St. Jude Medical, Terumo Corporation, and W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., among others.
8.2 ACIST Medical Systems, Inc.
8.6 C. R. Bard, Inc.
8.10 Life Vascular Devices Biotech S.L.
8.18 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
8.19 Biosensors International Group, Ltd.
Rising economic burden of chronic diseases is one of the prime concerns that the healthcare and biomedical device industries are currently facing. The high prevalence of chronic diseases such as as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory diseases, among others, poses one of the significant challenges across the globe. Furthermore, change in eating habits, increased stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, and disturbed sleeping patterns are some of the key factors contributing to the deteriorating health condition in individuals and a rise in lifestyle disorders. It has been estimated that chronic diseases constitute approximately 43% of the global economic burden for diseases and accounts for 60% of the deaths worldwide. It further holds approximately 65% of the annual healthcare cost of any country and comprises one-third of the global population at present. By 2020, the global spending on diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and respiratory diseases is expected to reach $4 trillion. Moreover, growing geriatric population has resulted in increased prevalence of lifestyle disease that has led to an upsurge in the demand for advanced medical diagnosis and treatment.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent the leading cause of death globally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), CVD was estimated to claim 17.3 million lives, a number which is anticipated to grow to 23.6 million by 2030. Of these, coronary artery disease and stroke resulted in approximately 7.4 million deaths and 6.7 million deaths respectively. Interventional cardiology deals with the treatment of structural heart diseases specially employing the use of interventional catheters. It involves the treatment of coronary artery disease, heart valve disease, and peripheral vascular disease, among others. With increase in the prevalence of cardiac diseases, advanced interventional cardiology devices are gradually becoming an integral part of the medical device industry.
The purpose of the study is to gain a holistic view of the advanced cardiac intervention market in terms of various factors influencing it such as recent trends and technological advancements of the market. The scope of this report is centered upon conducting a detailed study of the devices allied with the cardiac interventional devices market, which includes both conventional devices and imaging modalities. The global advanced cardiac intervention market is segmented into three different parts: devices, end users, and geography. The global market value was estimated using these three different approaches and was validated with one another. These segments are further segmented into several sub-segments to ease the market estimation.
The global interventional cardiology market was estimated at $14.69 billion in 2017 and is anticipated to reach $24.96 billion by 2027. With the rise in the demand for advanced medical devices to treat cardiovascular diseases, increasing geriatric population with higher life expectancy, and new product launches by several conglomerate companies, the cardiac intervention market is expected to witness moderate growth. The emergence of advanced imaging modalities such as IntraVenous UltraSound (IVUS), Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT), and Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) has led to the growth of the market.
The global interventional cardiology is segmented by the geographical regions into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest-of-the-World (RoW). North America is the leading contributor to the global interventional cardiology market. However, the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.12% in the forecast period 2018-2027. The global interventional cardiology market for advanced devices is majorly dominated by the U.S. and the European players.
The key players who have significant contributions to the global interventional cardiology market are Abiomed, Inc., ACIST Medical Systems, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, Biosensors International Group, Ltd., Biotronik SE & Co. KG, Boston Scientific Corporation, C. R. Bard, Inc., Cook Medical LLC, Cordis Corporation, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, GE Healthcare, Life Vascular Devices Biotech S.L., Biostense Webster, Inc., Medtronic Plc, Merit Medical Systems, Inc., Novacam Technologies Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., St. Jude Medical, Terumo Corporation, and W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., among others.


"Our clients know us to be a trustworthy, strong and solid brand, and this a reputation we aim to keep," says Juan Manuel Cendoya, who leads corporate communications and marketing at Spain's Banco Santander, one of the few financial services companies that can look back at the global crisis of recent years with any satisfaction, having diversified into emerging economies such as Brazil and via acquisition into established markets such as the US and the UK. The bank operated under more than 20 separate names in 2004, but the emphasis since then on building the Santander brand has paid off. Cendoya has played a major role in that, leading the group's internal and external communications, corporate marketing, corporate social responsibility, institutional relations, economic research and public policy and serving as a member of the bank's global executive committee.


This is a complete text dump of a crucial part in Metal Gear Solid 2 (MGS2) last scenes. All of this text was dumped from the actual game, and is copyright by Konami. This intends to be an analysis to clarify some matters by exposing the main ideas from what I think are the original sources, and as an essay of the relationships I have found with other materials.
Your browser must be divided in half. If this is not the case, please click here. The upper part has the text from the game, and on the bottom you can read my research, opinions and thoughts on what is happening, not plot-wise, but some insight on the matters discussed. You can start reading from any of them, since both are cross-linked. The links in this half will only affect the half in the bottom. If you would like to read a plot summary before reading this essay, I highly recommend this document: A complete plot summary & analysis of the Metal Gear series by Grant Morrissey.
Be warned that both parts of the document contain spoilers from this point on, so be sure to play the game first.
This dialogue happens just after finding Snake inside Arsenal Gear. Raiden received some strange messages from the Colonel and asks Otacon to find out his whereabouts..
Otacon: Raiden? About this Colonel of yours -- I found out where he is.
Otacon: I've checked out all the possibilities, but I keep coming back to Arsenal.
It isn't a relay point, it's the origin of the signal.
And, the encryption protocol it uses is exactly the same as that of Arsenal's AI -- the so-called GW.
Raiden: ...What the hell does this mean?
Otacon: The Colonel probably isn't GW per se.
through signal manipulation of your own nanomachines.
Otacon: But it's probably the truth.
The virus may be starting to affect GW, which would explain the Colonel's behavior.
Raiden: Snake -- what's happening around here?
Snake: I don't know. What I do know is that you're standing right here in front of me.
Not an illusion -- flesh and blood.
It's your call. You can drop this if you want.
Colonel: Raiden! They've got Rose!
Colonel: Rose is being held in the holds!
Snake: Raiden, get a grip!
Snake: It's a trap. Since the Colonel doesn't exist, there's no way he can take Rose hostage.
Does Rose -- exist -- ?
Snake: Don't jump to conclusions!
Raiden: You and Otacon are the ones that say the Colonel never existed.
Is this what Olga was talking about?
Colonel: Raiden, are you receiving? We're (1) still here.
Raiden: How's that possible!? The AI was destroyed!
Colonel: To begin with -- we're not what you'd call -- human.
A kind of consciousness formed layer by layer in the crucible of the White House.
It's not unlike the way life started in the oceans four billion years ago.
We are formless. We are the very discipline and morality that Americans invoke so often.
How can anyone hope to eliminate us? As long as this nation exists, so will we.
Raiden: Cut the crap! If you're immortal, why would you take away individual freedoms and censor the Net?
Rose: Jack, don't be silly.
Colonel: Don't you know that our plans have your interests -- not ours -- in mind?
Rose: Jack, listen carefully like a good boy!
Colonel: The mapping of the human genome was completed early this century.
As a result, the evolutionary log of the human race lay open to us.
Rose: We started with genetic engineering, and in the end, we succeeded in digitizing life itself.
Colonel: But there are things not covered by genetic information.
Human memories, ideas. Culture. History.
Rose: Genes don't contain any record of human history.
Colonel: Is it something that should not be passed on?
Should that information be left at the mercy of nature?
Colonel: A small percentage of the whole was selected and processed, then passed on. Not unlike genes, really.
Rose: That's what history is, Jack.
Colonel: Raiden, you seem to think that our plan is one of censorship.
Raiden: Are you telling me it's not!?
Rose: You're being silly! What we propose to do is not to control content, but to create context.
Rose: Billions spent on new weapons in order to humanely murder other humans.
Colonel: Rights of criminals are given more respect than the privacy of their victims.
Rose: Although there are people suffering in poverty, huge donations are made to protect endangered species.
Colonel: Be nice to other people.
Rose: But beat out the competition!
Colonel: "You're special." "Believe in yourself and you will succeed."
Colonel: You exercise your right to "freedom" and this is the result.
Rose: Everyone withdraws into their own small gated community, afraid of a larger forum.
Colonel: The different cardinal truths neither clash nor mesh.
Rose: Not even natural selection can take place here. The world is being engulfed in "truth."
Colonel: And this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but a whimper.
Rose: We're trying to stop that from happening.
Colonel: It's our responsibility as rulers.
to stimulate the evolution of the species.
Raiden: And you think you're qualified to decide what's necessary and not!?
retrieve valuable truths and even interpret their meaning for later generations?
Rose: That's what it means to create context.
Raiden: I'll decide for myself what to believe and what to pass on!
Colonel: But is that even your own idea?
Rose: Or something Snake told you?
Colonel: That's the proof of your incompetence, right there.
You lack the qualifications to exercise free will.
Colonel: Is it? Would you prefer that someone else tell you? Alright then. Explain it to him.
Rose: Jack, you're simply the best! And you got there all by yourself!
Colonel: Oh, what happened? Do you feel lost? Why not try a bit of soul-searching?
every time something goes wrong, you turn around and place the blame on something else.
Rose: It's not my fault. It's not your fault.
more convenient "truth" in order to make yourself feel better.
Rose: ...leaving behind in an instant the so-called "truth" you once embraced.
Colonel: Should someone like that be able to decide what is "truth"?
Rose: Should someone like you even have the right to decide?
Colonel: You've done nothing but abuse your freedom.
Rose: You don't deserve to be free!
Colonel: We're not the ones smothering the world. You are.
-- a single person has the potential to ruin the world.
Colonel: And the age of digitized communication has given even more power to the individual.
Too much power for an immature species.
Rose: Building a legacy involves figuring out what is wanted, and what needs to be done for that goal.
All this, you used to struggle with. Now, we think for you.
Colonel: We are your guardians after all.
Raiden: You want to control human thought? Human behavior?
Colonel: Of course. Anything can be quantified nowadays.
That's what this exercise was designed to prove.
Rose: You fell in love with me just as you were meant to, after all. Isn't that right, Jack?
Colonel: Ocelot was not told the whole truth, to say the least.
Rose: We rule an entire nation -- of what interest would a single soldier, no matter how able, be to us?
Colonel: The S3 Plan does not stand for Solid Snake Simulation.
Colonel: The S3 is a system for controlling human will and consciousness.
S3 is not you, a soldier trained in the image of Solid Snake.
that created a circumstance that made you what you are.
Rose: So you see, we're the S3.
Colonel: What you experienced was the final test of its effectiveness.
You heard what President Johnson said.
(President's Voice) "The Arsenal's 'GW' system is the key to their supremacy."
The objective of this exercise was to establish such a method.
Colonel: We used Shadow Moses as a paradigm for the exercise.
Rose: I wonder if you would have preferred a fantasy setting?
Colonel: We chose that backdrop because of its extreme circumstances.
It was an optimal test for S3's crisis management capacity.
it would be ready for any contingency.
And now, we have our proof.
Colonel: Raiden, there are also reasons behind your selection.
Solidus raised plenty of other child soldiers. Do you know why we chose you over them?
It was because you were the only one who refused to acknowledge the past.
All the others remember what they were, and pay for it daily.
Rose: But you turn your back on everything you don't like.
You do whatever you like, see only the things you like, and for yourself alone.
Colonel: Yes -- Rose can attest to that.
Rose: You refused to see me for what I was. I lied to you, but I wanted to be caught.
Rose: What? "Trying not to hurt me?" Dear, the one you were trying not to hurt was yourself!
Avoiding the truth under the guise of "kindness" is all that you did!
It occurred to you to do nothing but look out for yourself.
Even if you claim that it was for my sake, that feeling was nowhere to be seen.
In the end, everything was for your sake... I was never part of the picture.
Colonel: Ha, ha, ha...exactly right.
So you see, you're a perfect representative of the masses we need to protect.
This is why we chose you.
You accepted the fiction we've provided, obeyed our orders and did everything you were told to.
The exercise is a resounding success.
(Emma's Voice) "Didn't I tell you that GW was still incomplete? But not anymore, thanks to you."
Your persona, experiences, triumphs and defeats are nothing but byproducts.
The real objective was ensuring that we could generate and manipulate them.
It's taken a lot of time and money, but it was well worth it considering the results.
I think that's enough talk. It's time for the final exercise.
(Olga's Voice) "If you die, my child dies. "
The termination of vital signals from your nanomachines means the death of Olga's child.
Not to mention the death of Rose. She's wired the same way.
Raiden: Rose -- does she actually exist?
Colonel: (Rose's Voice) "Of course I do, Jack! You have to beLIEve me!"
Colonel: It will be a fight to the death.
Rose: Solidus, at least, wants you dead.
Colonel: We will collect the necessary data from this last fight, then we'll consider the exercise closed.
Will it be Solidus, the Patriots' creation?
Or you -- Solidus' creation?
Our beloved monsters -- enjoy yourselves.
Colonel: Raiden, do you copy.
You must continue your m-mission.
Raiden: I've lost all my gear. I need to locate Snake.
Colonel: He was never factored into the simulation. Leave him out of this.
Raiden: I can't do much naked, especially in this temperature.
Colonel: That's true -- you won't be able to attack or enter the Hanging mode, either.
Raiden: I think Snake has my gear.
Colonel: Raiden, take out Solidus and his men. You must recover Arsenal intact.
Raiden: Colonel, are you under orders from the Patriots?
Raiden: My role? Why do you keep saying that.
Colonel: Why not? This is a type of role-playing game.
The point is that you play out your part -- and I expect you to turn in a perfect performance!
Raiden: Colonel, I just remembered something.
That I've never met you in person. Not once.
Colonel: Complete your mission according to the simulation!
Raiden: Colonel, who are you?
Colonel: No more questions. We have Rosemary.
Raiden: What do you mean by that!
Colonel: Raiden, turn the game console off right now!
Raiden: What did you say?
Colonel: The mission is a failure! Cut the power right now!
Raiden: What's wrong with you?
Rose: Don't worry, it's a game! It's a game just like usual.
You'll ruin your eyes playing so close to the TV.
Raiden: What are you talking about!?
Colonel: Raiden, something happened to me last Thursday when I was driving home.
I had a couple of miles to go -- I looked up and saw a glowing orange object in the sky, to the east!
-- and when I came to, I was home.
What do you think happened to me...?


text:
A Lament for Our People
By Scott Wright*
"Let my eyes overflow with tears night and day without ceasing; for my virgin daughter — my people — has suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow."
— Jeremiah 14:17
Today we grieve: for the victims and their families; for the nation and for the world. What happened September 11 tore a hole, not only in the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but in our nation's soul. Time and again we have watched the terrifying images of planes crashing into buildings and exploding in flames. We have "suffered a grievous wound, a crushing blow," we struggle to find some shred of life in the ashes, and to rebuild our lives and nation together. Our world has changed.
We join with the families of the victims and the survivors of the September 11 attacks to mourn. We express our deepest compassion for the families, and our indignation at such a massive use of violence against innocent people. In an instant, more than six thousand people are "missing" or dead. We see their faces posted in city parks and newspapers and television screens, we hear their voices and final desperate words, and we struggle to fathom the immensity of suffering and evil. We ourselves have changed.
We join with people of all religious and humanitarian traditions to call for justice, not vengeance; for restraint, not retaliation. Nine days of mourning have passed. All across New York and Washington, indeed the nation and world, thousands of vigil lights dot the sidewalks and parks, strewn with flowers and pictures of loved ones: fathers holding babies, mothers pregnant with life, young newlyweds. We cannot bear so much pain; nor can we bear more pain as we watch our nation prepare for war.
THE TRUTH IS IN THE ASHES
"If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not."
— Jeremiah 14:18 The tragedy that touched our people September 11 is not just a national tragedy, it is a world tragedy, a tragedy of the human family. A line was crossed, not for the first time, revealing the immense capacity of human beings to do evil to one another, and on top of that, to call it good. No violence is good, and no war is holy. The twentieth century has taught us that the majority of casualties in war are civilians. Violence begets violence, and war begets terrorism, bringing with it immense suffering and destruction in its wake. As one witness to the destruction and evil of the twentieth century, Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel, remarked, "the truth is in the ashes."
Many commentators compared what happened September 11 to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, though the casualties of the World Trade Center were twice as high and the victims were civilians, not military personnel. By the time the war ended, Japanese and German war crimes and aggression were met by Allied saturation bombings of cities in Germany and Japan, ending with the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki four years later. Once the destructive consequences of modern war are unleashed, the consequences in terms of human suffering and destruction are far beyond what we first imagined. The truth is in the ashes.
The tragedy that occurred September 11 is a tragedy of the human family, a world at odds with itself, where billions struggle to survive. Globalization has brought our world together as never before; it has also widened the gulf between rich and poor. For the majority of the world's population, "quality of life" means survival. It means dying young, watching your children die from lack of potable water or lack of medicines or lack of food. It means eking out a living in the countryside, migrating to the sweatshops of the metropolitan areas, and crossing borders to seek employment in the North. It means fleeing the myriad number of wars across the globe, living as refugees or displaced peoples or strangers, and adopting a life of permanent insecurity and exile.
We are at a crossroads. We must learn to live together on this planet or we will surely perish together. We still have a choice: "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live" (Deuteronomy 30:19). Will we choose wisely as a nation? Will we choose life?
ALL LIFE IS HOLY
"Have you rejected Judah completely? Do you despise Zion? Why have you afflicted us so that we cannot be healed? We hoped for peace but no good came, for a time of healing but there is only terror."
Perhaps no one is untouched by what happened September 11. Those who died are a cross-section of New York and Washington, certainly, but also of our nation and world. They came from all walks of life, and dozens of countries around the world. Whether or not we know some one who died in the attack, or one of the surviving family members, we identify with the victims. Their faces — black, brown, yellow, red, white — are our faces, and the faces of our mothers and fathers, our children, our loved ones.
All of us are, in some sense, survivors; and all of us, in some way, feel shock, denial, anger, helpless and abandoned. We, too, have experienced the trauma radiating out in expanding circles from what has now come to be known as "Ground Zero" in New York. We, too, know the fear of what could happen in the future as the spiral of violence continues spiraling out of control. We are all in need of healing.
Where do we look for wisdom and strength right now? We look to the poor.
As people of faith who have accompanied the poor and dispossessed in a diversity of struggles for justice and peace, for equality and for life, we have come to know in a very deep and personal way their sufferings and their joys, their compassion for those worse off than themselves and their passion for justice, their struggle to reveal the truth about their lives and their hope for the future.
Our faith traditions teach us that all life is holy. Can we broaden our compassion to include victims around the world, and potential victims of a war in Afghanistan, in Iraq, or in other countries of the Middle East where the immense majority of people are desperately poor? What will we do when we begin to see the faces and hear the cries of the first victims of US military strikes? Every precision strike carries with it "collateral damage," and we have learned to see our own face in the face of the victims, our own child in the child who has become a victim, our own pain as parents in the grieving mother or father who has suddenly become our "enemy."
In times of hardship and crisis, we are a generous people. We witness with pride the outpouring of support, the firefighters and police who gave their lives, the workers and volunteers digging through the debris each day, people far and wide who made donations of blood and food. But in times of war we can also become an insulated people, finding an "enemy" in any face that is different than our own, and looking to violence as the only answer. We witness with shame the — up until now — isolated attacks on persons of Middle Eastern or Arab descent and the temptation to demonize entire peoples and faiths different from our own. We need to be vigilant to protect the lives of all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. All life is holy.
"O Lord, we acknowledge our wickedness and the guilt of our fathers; we have indeed sinned against you. For the sake of your name do not despise us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us and do not break it."
— Jeremiah 14:20-1
We have lived through too many wars in our lifetime. "The whole creation has been groaning... right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22-23). But going to war need not be our only choice. Already there are voices counseling restraint. Family members of the victims of the September 11 attack have raised their voices, calling on our nation to end the cycle of violence. One mother whose son died in the attack on the World Trade Center cried out, "Not in my son's name." And a lonely voice in Congress cast the sole dissenting vote against giving the President a "blank check" to wage a war against terrorism. Can we learn from them?
Do we really know what a long-term unrestrained war against terrorism will do to our people, or to people around the world? Will it not fan the flames and risk provoking another attack on our nation? Or worse yet, become the very thing we are fighting? Gandhi said it so well: "An eye for an eye only makes the world more blind." On the other hand, if we do nothing, will we not risk encouraging similar acts of terrorist violence in the future. So what do we do?
Let us listen to the voices of our religious traditions. In a statement put out by Pax Christi USA, the way is clear: "The perpetrators need to be brought to justice. But we have to distinguish between justice and violence.... Distinctions must be made between the guilty and the innocent, between the perpetrators and the civilians who may surround them, between those who commit atrocities and those who many simply share their religion or political points of view. Justice must be targeted toward those who are guilty and must be done according to the rule of law."
If we want to eliminate terrorism in the world, we must address the root causes of violence in the world. "Terrorism will end when all nations great and small adhere to and are accountable to international law. As long as the strong can lord it over the weak, terrorism will be the choice of the disenfranchised."
On top of one of the sheets hung along a fence in Washington Square in New York, above the vigil lights, flowers and pictures of the "missing," is scrawled this question: "What did we do for this to happen?" That is the right question to ask right now. That is the most honest question to ask, whether in sheer desperation or with conviction. Until we address the roots of the desperation and misery and exclusion in the world, we will never be victorious in a war against terrorism. Because that misery, while it can never justify terrorism under any circumstances, is what feeds it. Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution — and terrorism — inevitable.
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE
"Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, O Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this."
"Every crisis is an opportunity." These words are scribbled on another sheet hung on a fence in New York. The opportunity before us is to address the roots of violence in the world, as well as to ask what is the responsibility we share as a nation for the terrible gulf between rich and poor, for the poverty and misery in which billions are condemned to live, for the exclusion and the violence against people simply because they look differently, speak differently, think differently, or profess another faith like Islam.
There is a phrase in Latin America: "No hay dolor ajeno." "No pain is foreign to us." What happened September 11 can either be an opportunity, from the pain we feel as a nation, to share the pain of so many other people around the world and within our own country — people who are poor, who are excluded, who have lost loved ones to poverty, to violence, to war — or it can be an opportunity to allow our pain to be used to inflict pain on others. The choice is ours to make.
We need to mourn, to comfort, to share the anger and indignation that our people feel as a result of the attack on September 11. Our anger is justified. We do need to be vigilant. But we must also be prepared to dissent to the extent that our nation's response declares war on entire populations, kills innocent civilians, unleashes attacks against Arab Americans and Middle Easterners, curtails civil liberties, or ignores the roots causes of violence.
Some government officials are already asking, "Are we prepared to give up our civil liberties in order to fight this war?" The question ought to be, "Are we prepared to give up our immense wealth and consumer life-style in order to redistribute it according to the world's needs? Are we prepared to work for a more just global economic order that meets the needs of the immense majority of the world's people who are poor?"
We can eliminate the foreign debt that weighs so heavily upon the poor nations of the world. We can restructure trade agreements to be fair and equitable and ensure that every poor nation has the capacity to feed itself and to develop its natural and human resources. We can eliminate racism and discrimination and xenophobia from our planet, and we can even eliminate war and violence. And if we cannot eliminate racism and war entirely, we can at least make them less tolerable by refusing to condone them, and limiting their expression and impact through international law and sanctions.
As our nation prepares to fight "the first war of the twenty-first century," we need to place our hopes with the poor, the dispossessed, with the rainbow spectrum of community and grassroots organizations around the world and the global South such as those who met in Porto Alegre, Brazil last January in the World Social Forum to declare, "Another world is possible."
But we will need much courage to do all this: to hope against hope, to practice justice, to love compassionately, and to choose life.
It is once more "a time to break silence," before it is too late, and heed the words of one of our nation's prophets, Martin Luther King, when he spoke out against the Vietnam War: "I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values... A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies... A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily at the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth... We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now... We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation."
Another world is possible. War is not the answer. All life is holy. The truth is in the ashes, in the victims, in the wounds that cry out for healing, in the tears that yearn for that day when: "God will wipe away every tear. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelations 21:4).
* Scott Wright is cocoordinator of EPICA: Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Matthys Levy
Author Biography: Matthys Levy
Matthys P. Levy is co-author of the best-selling Why Buildings Fall Down, as well as Structural Design in Architecture, Why the Earth Quakes, Earthquake Games and Engineering the City. His new book, Why the Wind Blows, is his latest book making complex topics accessible to the general public. His other works include numerous papers in the field of structures, computer analysis, aesthetics and building systems design.
Levy is a founding Principal and Chairman Emeritus of Weidlinger Associates, Consulting Engineers. Born in Switzerland and a graduate of the City College of New York, he received his MS and CE degrees from Columbia University. He has taught at Columbia University and Pratt Institute and lectured at universities throughout the world. Mr. Levy is the recipient of many awards including the ASCE Innovation in Civil Engineering Award and the IASS Tsuboi Award.
He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and numerous professional societies. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the US and in Europe; and has served as a director of the Salvadori Center that serves youngsters by teaching mathematics and science through motivating hands-on learning about the built environment.
Projects for which he was the principal designer include the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History, the Javits Convention Center and the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the La Plata Stadium in Argentina, the One Financial Center tower in Boston, Banque Bruxelles Lambert in Belgium, the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC, and a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge at Rockefeller University, the WW II Museum in New Orleans and the Marine Corps Museum in Alexandria. He is the inventor of the Tenstar Dome structure, a unique tensegrity cable dome used to cover large spaces with minimal obstruction.
Excerpts from Reviews and Commentaries,
Why the Wind Blows
From the co-author of Why Buildings Fall Down and Why the Earth Quakes (Norton) comes another fascinating look at practical science. This time it's the science of weather.
Like Levy's other books, this is a page-turner. He recounts fascinating true stories of exploration, each affected by weather and mankind's ignorance of its consequences.
Over 70 illustrations by artist Sue Storey help to make the material easy to follow.
Today, he shows, we can no longer afford ignorance of the subject, as we face the greatest weather-related challenge in human history, global warming. Action is needed now to alter its potentially devastating effects on future generations.
In easily understandable prose and through the use of true stories of exploration,Why the Wind Blows looks at how these adventures were influenced by the weather and man's ignorance of its consequences. The science of meteorology is gently interspersed throughout the text, so that understanding weather becomes an integral part of the stories. Concluding with the influence of modern civilization on the changing climate and its world-altering consequences, the author challenges the reader to take action now to alter the effects of global warming on future generations.
"This is a straightforward, fascinating and powerful users guide to the planet, one that leaves us no doubt we need to make some pretty serious changes in our standard operating procedures, and pronto."
"Fun, informative, and, ultimately, gripping, Why the Wind Blows is a welcome addition to the growing voice for action on global warming."
"If you still believe that weather is something that can be summarized on the back page of the first section of the newspaper, I suggest that you pick up a copy of Matthys Levy's book."
—Rachel Lapidow, The Burlington Free Press
"It is a useful and interesting book for a general audience; and clearly written."
—Dr. Alan K. Betts Atmospheric Research
"I recommend that all scientists read this book. It is a sobering look at the impact of society on nature."
—Dr. Gary F. Bennett, Journal of Hazardous Materials
More information and how to contact Matthys Levy
To arrange an interview or to track down Matthys Levy for expert information and advice for a news or feature article, contact Steve Carlson at Upper Access Books. Call 1-800-310-8320 or 802-482-2988, or e-mail Steve@UpperAccess.com. To reach Matthys Levy directly by e-mail, use Levy@wai.com. Additional information can be found at the author's Web site, www.MatthysLevy.com.


Kinfonet Quote of the Day: I feel it is very important and necessary that one should not have within oneself any barriers which create division, disagreement.
I feel it is very important and necessary that one should not have within oneself any barriers which create division, disagreement. These barriers create confusion and struggle in the individual, and also prevent united and intelligent action in the world. Intelligent agreement is essential for concerted action; but it is not agreement when there is any kind of compulsion or authority, whether subtle or gross. Please see why such deep understanding is necessary, and also please find out whether you are profoundly in agreement with what I say. By agreement, I do not mean a superficial and tolerant acceptance of certain ideas which I express. You should consider the whole implication of what I say and discover whether you are deeply in agreement with it. This needs thought and careful analysis, and then only can you accept or reject. As the majority of us seem to yield to emphatically repeated assertions, I feel it would be a waste of time if you merely allowed yourself to be convinced by certain statements which I often repeat. Such surrender on your part would be utterly useless and even harmful.


"Keep your head up, keep your heart strong." A much needed and much overdue escape down south to my favourite city in Australia. A whirlwind visit catching up with all of my incredible friends (thank you for everything) and overloading on the best coffee / all my old local restaurants. Nostalgic road trips down to the Mornington Peninsula, car sing-alongs and the always amazing Peninsula hot springs.


3/4"" Give Away key rings 1,000pcs per bag. Made from nickel plated steel spring wire with 1/4" overlap on split ring. Give Away key rings are the most common key ring in the market due to the low cost and many applications they can be used in.


If you would like to become an apprentice*, Tri-County Literacy Council (TCLC) can help by providing a free educational assessment as well as Literacy Basic Skills training, as a first step in preparing for apprenticeship in a trade or occupation. Trained staff are also available to help explore apprenticeship choices. TCLC training options include a small group classroom environment or one-on-one tutoring.
For more information, call Tri-County Literacy Council today at 613-932-7161.
* An apprentice learns the skills of a trade or occupation in the workplace (practical hands-on experience), as well as in-class at a college of applied arts and technology (theoretical). Apprenticeship training programs take from 2 to 5 years to complete, depending on the trade or occupation.


Great Kid Books: Welcome to Poetry Friday!
Welcome to Poetry Friday, a weekly event hosted by the Kidlitosphere online community. Below you'll find a wonderful treasure of resources to share great poety with children. I also have a review of an inspirational poetic picture book, Our Children Can Soar. My review of this books follows.
As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. this weekend, I would like to highlight the inspirational book Our Children Can Soar: A Celebration of Rosa, Barack, and the Pioneers of Change. Thirteen leading African American artists collaborated to honor the achievements of African Americans, paying tribute to 10 individuals, including George Washington Carver, Ruby Bridges, and Jackie Robinson. These individual's accomplishments are shown linked together, in a way part of a seamless continuum building on one another. The illustrations are each in a different style, recognizing the unique work of each artist. For more on what it meant to the artists, see Jules' interviews at Seven Impossible Things.
Our Children Can Soar is certainly striking for its illustrations (striking is an understatement - amazing, is more like it), but the poetic text also lends to its power. The simple patterned text is so effective because it repeats the central mantra that each of these figures did what they did so that their children could stand on their shoulders.
As Doret wrote at The Happy Nappy Bookseller, "It takes the reader through the cumulative story of the US Civil Rights Movement, expanding the popular slogan beyond these three heroes to include more key players in the struggle for equality. Spare prose and vivid imagery make this a truly moving and accessible picture book to be savored by readers of all ages."
You can find Our Children Can Soar at a local public library with WorldCat. I would love feedback to see if this link helps you find this at a library near you. It is also available in bookstores and Amazon.
We have many new reviews and poems to share today. If you have a review, please leave a comment and link below or email me at greatkidbooks (at) gmail.com. I will update these throughout the day.
Charles Ghigna shares an original poem, "A Poem Is A Metaphor" on his Father Goose blog.
Bookie Woogie reviewed The Cuckoo's Haiku, and the Z-Kids were inspired to write some great bird haiku of their own.
Greg has a new poem about "firsts" to share on Gotta Book inspired by the poetry stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
Susan Taylor Brown has a poem, "First Kiss", also inspired by the poetry stretch at The Miss Rumphius Effect.
Carol shares a a Martin Luther King poem called "Standing Tall" by Jamie McKenzie.
Laura Salas shares a poem by Mary Oliver called "The Swan."
Playing by the Book shares a review of All Join In, a collection of poetry and illustrations by Quentin Blake.
Mandy reviews a professional book, Playing with Poems, at Enjoy and Embrace Learning.
At Random Noodling Diane Mayr remembers those who have died in Haiti with Dylan Thomas's "And Death Shall Have No Dominion."
Kurious Kitty has a poem, "Pebble," from The Poetry of Our World: An International Anthology of Contemporary Poetry.
At Write Time, Linda shares a poem by Lyn Lifshin called "The Other Fathers".
Deo Writer shares an original poem about trembling firsts, also inspired by Tricia's poetry stretch.
Sara at Read Write Believe has an entry is about keeping a commonplace book, which enables "wits with short memories" to keep poetry and other important things close.
Karen Edmisten shares a poem by Jane Kenyon, "Briefly It Enters, Briefly Speaks".
Jone at Check It Out: Life in a K5 Library School Setting celebrates William Stafford's birthday with one of her favorite poems: "The Trouble with Reading".
Irene Latham celebratres her 500th post with "To a Skylark" by Percy Bysshe Shelley found on page 500 of the book she'd want with heron a deserted island: The Top 500 Poems, edited by William Harmon. Hearty congratulations for 500 posts!
ShelfElf reminds us that hope matters so much, especially this week, sharing the poem ""Hope" is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson.
Jeannine Atkins writes about how Margarita Engle blends poetry and verse with her novels-in-verse.
Brian Jung, aka Mr. Chompchomp, shares one of his favorite poems for January, "These" by William Carlos Williams, found on PoemHunter. As he writes, it seems especially fitting right now as we face "desolate, dark weeks / when nature in its barrenness / equals the stupidity of man"
Welcome to Kathy B at Forwords Books - this is her first Poetry Friday. She is recommending several books for for Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish birthday of the trees, including a Cybils finalist: The Tree That Time Built.
At Becky's Book Reviews, Becky is sharing a speech from Julius Cesear by William Shakespeare from Manga Shakespeare's edition of Julius Caesar.
At Wild Rose Reader, Elaine Magliaro shares "Mouse: An Original Acrostic Poem". Over at Blue Rose Girls, Elaine also also shares "Winter Dusk," by Walter de la Mare.
At Bildungsroman, Little Willow has posted an Emily Dickinson poem: "The pedigree of honey."
Tiel Aisha Ansari shares an original poem this week about Haiti.
Over at The Miss Rumphius Effect, Tricia shares a poem by Stephen Edgar that she hasn't been able to get out of her mind: "Nocturnal"
Lisa in Little Rock shares a Joyce Sidman poem, "Spelling Bomb" from This is Just to Say; Poems of Apology and Forgiveness.
At Here in the Bonny Glen, Melissa Wiley has a post about Rilke, with an excerpt of "The First Elegy," from The Duino Elegies.
At Writing and Ruminating, Kelly Fineman has written a post about Marmion by Sir Walter Scott.
At Semicolon, Sherry has a poem called "Christ in the Universe" by Alice Meynell.
Kelly Polark has a limerick and a word game to share.
Miss Erin is sharing an original poem called "i see invisible magicians."
At A Year of Reading, Mary Lee has sent a poem about making mistakes by Fleur Adcock.
That's all, folks. Thanks so much for sharing great poetry.
Please note: if you click on the Amazon links for the Cybils finalists, the Amazon Associate links will contribute a small percentage toward the Cybils organization. If you click on a link on my review, a small percentage will go toward Great Kid Books.
Thanks, Mary Ann! Love your blog.
Here's "A Poem Is A Metaphor"
Love to see those Cybils books.... (says one of the five final judges!).
I'm up with a quick original this week, inspired by a prompt at the Miss Rumphius Effect.
Like Greg, I'm in with an original poem inspired by a prompt at the Miss Rumphius Effect.
Thanks for hosting. OUR CHILDREN CAN SOAR looks like a book I need to own. I'm in with a Martin Luther King poem by Jamie McKenzie (I think he is going to be one of my new favorite poets!).
Thanks for hosting, Mary Ann. I'm in with a Mary Oliver poem called The Swan.
http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/01/15/making-a-racket/ - a review of All Join In by Quentin Blake. Thanks for hosting!
This week I reviewed a professional book, Playing with Poetry. Thanks for hosting and guiding our sharing.
Yes! Our Children Can Soar is a great choice. Thanks for the mention and thanks for hosting.
I will definitely check out Our Children Can Soar, thanks for the review.
At Random Noodling I remember those who have died in Haiti with Dylan Thomas's "And Death Shall Have No Dominion."
Kurious Kitty has a poem, "Pebble," from The Poetry of Our World: An International Anthology of Contemporary Poetry..
It's a poetry stretch inspired poem.
Thank you for hosting and featuring the Cybils Poetry finalists!
My Poetry Friday entry is about keeping a commonplace book, which enables "wits with short memories" to keep poetry and other important things close.
Thanks for hosting. I'm in with Jane Kenyon this week. It's here.
Congrats Cybils finalists and thank you Cybils panelists.
January always makes me think of this poem, but after both the desolation and stupidity of the last couple of days it seems especially poignant.
Thanks for hosting -- and posting the Poetry Finalists. Marilyn Singers' "Wells" and Rusted Root's song "Send Me on My Way" came to me this morning as I try to process the horrible news from Haiti.
This is my first time participating in Poetry Friday. I am thrilled to see that "The Tree that Time Built" is a Cybils finalist. It is one of the books I am recommending for Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish birthday of the trees, at http://forwordsbooks.com/bal-tashchit-do-not-be-wasteful/.
I'm in with a speech from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare.
At Wild Rose Reader, i have an original mouse acrostic.
At Blue Rose Girls, I have "Winter Dusk" by Walter de la Mare.
I posted an Emily Dickinson poem here at Bildungsroman.
I'm in today with the Stephen Edgar poem Nocturnal.
I promptly put one of the Cybils books in my (eternally busy) shopping cart. Thanks for pointing us to them! I'm looking forward to perusing this week's Poetry Friday posts.
Thanks for hosting, and for featuring the CYBILS finalists - what a lovely thing for you to do! Love the King portion of the post as well.
I'm in with a post about Marmion by Sir Walter Scott. Here's the link: http://kellyrfineman.livejournal.com/518457.html.
Congrats to the Poetry Cybils finalists!!
Thank you for hosting, Mary Ann.
I'd like to check out that book by Mary Ann Hoberman and LInda Winston, as Ms. Hoberman is one of my favorite children's poets. I love A House is a House for Me.
I'm late joining in. I posted one from Emily Dickinson today.
I'm really late, but I did write a review today of a book of poetry for kids. I figured I might as well mention it even though it's the end of the day!
Play with your food? Play with your books!
Have a Fresca! Let's toast Jon Scieszka!


I like the NIT's format of having home games for top seeded teams, leading to Madison Square Garden and the Final Four there. If, for example, WSU goes to the NIT, or Gonzaga sometime in the future, they'll likely be hosting no less than two games in their home arena, against real good teams like, say, BYU and Ok State, those bubble teams that just miss the NCAAs, and are actually better than about a third of the teams in the NCAAs.
For a Zag fan, it wouldn't be all that bad to be able to enjoy the comfy confines of K2 a couple more times, instead of having to travel to who-knows-where.
Anyway, if/when the day ever comes that the Zags miss the NCAAs and are a top seed in the NIT, I, for one, won't be bemoaning it much.
Now, I do draw the line with paying $60,000 to be in the CBI, home of the chickens.
I disagree. It creates such an advantage to be at home, not just in crowd, but travel time, comfort level, etc, that upsets would be LESS frequent than now. And lets face it, we live for the upsets.
I do draw the line with paying $60,000 to be in the CBI, home of the chickens.
Don't agree with that statement, they weren't there long enough to call it "home."
Oh, Bob, you always keep us chuckling.
Turn the NCAA into a double-elimination!
That is the only way I could be really enthusiastic about the Zags being in the ..... "Not Important Tournament"
The "Not Invited to the real Tournament" tournament? I hope I don't see that anytime soon. I've seen maybe 10 minutes of action from the NIT in my life. I'm obviously spoiled by the Zags, but I just can't seem to care about the second rate tourny. And the CBI could be flushed down a toilet and go down to the deepest sewer where it belongs with Jerry Jones and the two "guys" from Nelson.
I'm obviously spoiled by the Zags, but I just can't seem to care about the second rate tourny. And the CBI could be flushed down a toilet and go down to the deepest sewer where it belongs with Jerry Jones and the two "guys" from Nelson.
If there was a "fair weather fan constitution," this would be the preamble.


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text:
"What an opportunity this is for so many people in our community who would like to have a job," Commission Chairman Jean Monestime said at the start of the debate that ended with an 11-2 vote.
Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez cast the dissenting votes, saying there wasn't enough time to consider a project that was only made public about two weeks ago. Administration officials and county lawyers circulated revised deal documents in the hours leading up to the meeting.
"This was negotiated in secrecy beyond public scrutiny, and there is insufficient time for the public to express its concerns," Levine Cava said. "We have not provided the neighbors enough time to weigh in."
The project would rise on the western edge of Miami-Dade's development boundary, on vacant land that's currently covered by trees and cow pastures. American Dream does not plan to hook into the county's water system, and instead will rely on water from nearby Hialeah and its new water plant, county and company officials said. (The county's sewer director, Lester Sola, later told commissioners that the project could tap into Miami-Dade's water system if it wanted to. )
Tuesday's proceedings marked the local debut of Triple Five and the feisty head of its family-owned conglomerate, Eskandar Ghermezian. While most speakers make a show of accommodating commissioners' inquiries, the developer behind two of North America's largest shopping destinations made clear he wasn't there to entertain demands.
"Members of the council, I do not need to build here. … We are a family that is very well off," said Ghermezian, whose family also owns a shopping theme park in Edmonton, Canada, that's even larger than the Mall of America. As commissioners began pressing him on local hiring requirements in the proposed land deal, the developer questioned why he would need to offer more than the American Dream itself. "Please don't create any problems for me," he said.
Commissioner Barbara Jordan noted Ghermezian had agreed to pay for three people to monitor compliance with hiring and vendor targets mandated by the land package. Jordan asked whether such a large venture needed more oversight. "We really need to have at least six people," Jordan said.
"I don't want even those three people," Ghermezian replied, his voice rising. Jordan laughed. "I don't understand it," he continued.
The developer's remarks struck a chord for some supporters on the dais, who noted Miami-Dade was mostly acting as a conduit for Triple Five to purchase state land that it wants to house a theme park big enough to be the county's largest private employer.
Commissioner Rebeca Sosa said trying to put more obstacles in front of Ghermezian helps explain why large businesses steer clear of Miami-Dade. "When people out there say they go to other counties, it's because of how hard we make it for them," she said. "We should welcome whoever comes here and invests without using taxpayer dollars."
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he turned down Triple Five inquiries on county subsidies, but that he expects the company to seek state help. He also said Miami-Dade will hold at least five public hearings on the American Dream project as it works through the county's regulatory process, which includes the zoning change needed to approve the complex.
Triple Five still has some minor hurdles to clear for the land deal. The county's school board takes up the matter Wednesday, but it is expected to approve surrendering its lease on about half of the state land in exchange for a $7 million payment from Triple Five. State officials also must approve the transaction. Miami-Dade would use its right of first refusal to buy state surplus land to obtain the 82-acre parcel from Florida, then sell it to Triple Five.
Triple Five predicts 25,000 jobs at the American Dream complex, but the land deal approved Tuesday included a requirement that it create just 7,500 full- or part-time positions within 15 years. If the hiring goals aren't met, the company must pay Miami-Dade $5 million. Gimenez said the lower figure reflected the chance that Triple Five couldn't clear regulatory hurdles for building the 200-acre complex.
Gimenez's 2016 challenger, school board member Raquel Regalado, has criticized him for championing the mall project, saying Miami-Dade needs more than low-wage retail jobs. Gimenez pointed to high-wage engineering and computer positions that would come with such a large enterprise, but defended the need for positions on the lower pay scales, too.
"Rather than demean those positions, and the people who occupy them, I welcome them," Gimenez told commissioners. "As a teenager, I began parking cars. I didn't start off as mayor. I pumped gas."
Commissioner Dennis Moss said later: "I would certainly love to have 7,500 high-paying, high-tech jobs in Miami-Dade County. Where are they?"
Triple Five has not released any specifics tied to its proposal; a development brochure given to the county uses interior renderings from a similar project under way in New Jersey. In his comments, Ghermezian said Florida's Turnpike is an ideal artery for the project, and that there should be no worries about traffic.
"Traffic, traffic, traffic, traffic," he said. "Not one day have I had a traffic jam at the Mall of America."
Esteban "Steve" Bovo, the commissioner representing Miami Lakes, said Ghermezian should expect scrutiny on his traffic plan once it is made public.
"I have a serious transportation concern," he said. "Not today, but we're going to need to address the transportation concerns."
Also on Tuesday, commissioners:
Rejected a proposal to end free rides on the county's Metromover transit system in Miami. In 2002, Miami-Dade ended 25-cent fares for the automated cars after promising free rides to voters if they approved a half-percent sales tax dedicated to transit projects. With most of the other promises tied to the tax campaign still on the to-do list, including expansion of Metrorail to the western suburbs, proponents argued it was time to make Metromover passengers pay for rides, too. The measure failed 10-2.
Unanimously approved a $10 million settlement for a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by a fired Miami-Dade transit official who raised objections to mishandled transportation grants several years ago.
Proceeds from the $9.9 million payout go to both Marjan Mazza and the federal government itself. In 2010, Mazza filed a lawsuit against Miami-Dade on behalf of the United States. The lawsuit claimed that she was fired as assistant director of financial services after raising the alarm over county misconduct involving millions of dollars in federal grants. Her inquiries came amid a well-publicized scandal over federal transit funds, which led the U.S. Transportation Department to briefly freeze payouts to Miami-Dade. The scandal reached a head in 2010, a year before Gimenez took office after the 2011 recall of then-mayor Carlos Alvarez.
A memo to commissioners for Tuesday's vote said the settlement will pay $6 million to the federal government and $3 million to Mazza.
Largest mall in the nation proposed for Miami
Mega mall plan heads to Miami-Dade school board
fabiola-santiago
Fabiola Santiago: Mayor's mega-mall push ignores impact on northwest Miami-Dade communities
American Dream Miami mega mall aims to defy grim fate of others
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez shakes the hand of American Dream Miami developer Eskandar Ghermezian after the developer won county backing for a land deal needed to bring Northwest Miami-Dade the largest mall in the United States. Ghermezian's Triple Five, owners of the Mall of America in Minnesota, still needs zoning and regulatory approval for the $4 billion American Dream project. The Miami-Dade vote took place on Tuesday, March 17, 2015. MIAMI HERALD DOUGLAS HANKS
Eskandar Ghermezian, whose family-owned company, Triple Five, wants to build a mega mall in Northwest Miami-Dade, speaks to the Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday accompanied by his son Shimon "Tony" Ghermezian. WALTER MICHOT MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Miami Dade College Medical Campus opens its Center for Learning, Innovation and Simulation
Doral opens new Emergency Operations Center
U.S. immigration officials deny residence to prominent Cuban exile
PAMM's chief curator is resigning. What happens next?
By Rob Wile
Tobias Ostrander, chief curator of the Perez Art Museum of Miami, has resigned.
MORE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY
These mannequins aren't for fashion. They're for medical training at new MDC center
Miami Beach bans specials boards from sidewalk cafes, introduces new code of conduct
Tourism & Cruises
Their condos were missing a room — so they're suing real estate giant Related Group
After visiting kids at Homestead center, Miami-Dade leaders are "pleasantly surprised"
Diaz-Balart votes against House resolution condemning 'racist' Trump tweets


text:
CREATE PROCEDURE [aad].[az_User_Add]
	@oid varchar(36),
	@tid varchar(36),
	@upn varchar(512),
	@unique_name varchar(512),
	@family_name varchar(256),
	@given_name varchar(256)
AS
begin
	declare @UserId int
	insert into [Users] ([oid], [tid], [upn], [unique_name], [family_name], [given_name])
	values (@oid, @tid, @upn, @unique_name, @family_name, @given_name)

	select @UserId=SCOPE_IDENTITY()

	select @UserId
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Craspedolepta intermedia är en insektsart som beskrevs av Loginova 1962. Craspedolepta intermedia ingår i släktet Craspedolepta och familjen rundbladloppor. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

Källor

Rundbladloppor
intermedia


Suffolk County Constable's Office, Inc. (SCCO) was founded in 2003 by Suzanne Morrison. The company's mission was to fill a void we felt existed in the industry. We sought to build SCCO based on the simple idea of truly understanding our clients needs and wants and what role we played in providing that. What was their expectations and preferred outcome for each service we completed? What would make their work easier and more effective? We understood our role was more than just completing service when needed. It was to create a product that would provide our clients with solutions for their problems.


text:
3755 Tonawanda Creek Road | Amherst, NY 14228 | Directions
phone: 716-689-1440 | fax: 716-689-1409 | Contact
Heritage Village Guilds
Community Art Gallery
Historic Village
Join our Adopt-a-House Program
The Community Art Gallery
at Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village
The Community Art Gallery at Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village strives to encourage artistic expression and foster appreciation for art. It endeavors to strengthen and sustain our community by celebrating the people and organizations of the Buffalo Niagara region who express themselves through art.
Exhibitions in the Community Art Gallery are sponsored by the Town of Amherst and managed by the Curatorial Department of Heritage Village. The Community Art Gallery invites people and organizations of the Buffalo Niagara region to submit proposals for exhibits.
For more information, please contact Curator Rachel Ravago at rravago@bnhv.org or 716-689-1440.
3755 Tonawanda Creek Road
Our mission is to preserve, interpret, and exhibit the agricultural history and rural heritage of the Buffalo Niagara region.
Major Funding Provided By
Please click here to view our Admissions Policy.
Wednesday, 10:00am – 5:00pm
Thursday, 10:00am – 8:00pm
Friday, 10:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday, 10:00am- 5:00pm
Museum open. Historic Village closed for Winter Season.
Closed Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays & Holidays.
$8 Adults, $6 Children, Military & Seniors
3 and Under are FREE
Please click here to view our Cancellation & Refund Policy.
© Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village


Whether you need a full roof installation project or just maintenance and repairs for the roof on your home in the Collinsville, Illinois area, Daech & Bauer Roofing is the company to turn to. Designated as one of the Top 100 Roofing Contractors in the U.S. by Roofing Contractor magazine, Daech & Bauer is a full-service contractor that has completed more than 10,000 projects in the region.
Daech & Bauer also looks out for its customers by offering an "apples to apples" price guarantee. This states that we will match any local roof installation contractor that quotes a lower price for the same products and services. Additionally, we offer a standard five-year labor warranty on the work we do to give our customers peace of mind.
Contact Daech & Bauer Roofing today if you would like to receive a free estimate on a roof installation or repair project for your home in the Collinsville, IL area.


text:
Verica Šerifović, cyr. Верица Шерифовић (ur. w 1963 w Kragujevacu) – serbska piosenkarka muzyki folk (serbskiej i romskiej).

Jest matką i pierwszą nauczycielką śpiewu zwyciężczyni Konkursu Eurowizji w 2007 roku – Mariji Šerifović.

Nagrała jedenaście płyt i zyskała znaczną popularność nie tylko w Serbii, ale też w innych krajach byłej Jugosławii.

Linki zewnętrzne

Urodzeni w 1963
Serbskie piosenkarki
Ludzie urodzeni w Kragujevacu


text:
Beta | About
Lima Charlie – What does it mean?
Veteran Stories
MENA | MIDDLE EAST / NORTH AFRICA
RUSSIA | FSU
U.S. | WASHINGTON D.C.
The Art of Foreign Influence: The Russian Military Adviser
History's superpowers have long employed military advisers around the world as extensions of a country's power and influence. Russia has a wealth of experience when it comes to optimizing and maximizing the use of advisers. A prime example is the advisory operations of the former… Keep Reading
Putin's Great Game in the Balkans, and Beyond
OPINION | Russia's Vladimir Putin has a clear vision of his international objectives and how to achieve them. The Balkans and Turkey play a role in these plans, especially those aimed at weakening NATO, stopping its expansion, and diminishing the desire of countries to join… Keep Reading
Russia and China's ongoing 'hybrid warfare' – When does it cross the line?
With the subtle and clandestine methods of 'hybrid warfare' available to any nation, from disinformation to influence operations to election interference, Russia and China continue to be very creative. Some argue that amid the increased onslaught of hybrid warfare tactics by Eastern powers, Western style… Keep Reading
Crimea crisis escalates after Russian Ukrainian naval incident
With a naval engagement, wounded seamen, and a Ukrainian election looming, Russia and Ukraine's recent clash off the Crimean Peninsula threatens war. Events continue to escalate between Russia and Ukraine. In the past 48 hours the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) Border… Keep Reading
Workers Unite! Cold War Chronicles and Reflections on the Prague Spring, Part 2
Part 2 of a 2 part series. On the 50th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia after the failed Prague Spring, Dr. Gary K. Busch reflects on the Cold War and old East-West rivalries fought not on the battlefield, but in factories, ports, schools,… Keep Reading
Workers Unite! Soviet Influence, Eastern Europe and Reflections on the Prague Spring
On the 50th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia after the failed Prague Spring, Dr. Gary K. Busch reflects on the Cold War and old East-West rivalries fought not on the battlefield, but in factories, ports, schools, universities and cultural centres across the world.… Keep Reading
Armenia has a Velvet Revolution, so how does Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Russia and Instagram fit in?
Armenia's Velvet Revolution has thrown off an autocratic pro-Russian regime, yet, Russia has remained silent. With Armenia's new government making diplomatic overtures to Moscow, this revolution has taken the style of a Colour Revolution, without the substance. If Twitter, Facebook and Youtube were the platforms… Keep Reading
Cocaine sting at Russian embassy highlights challenges for Russia's war on drugs
A joint Russian-Argentinian investigation that followed the seizure of 850 lbs. (389kg) of cocaine on the grounds of Russia's embassy in Buenos Aires, led to 6 arrests this Thursday. The December 2016 seizure, with a street value estimated to be worth about $60 million, sparked a… Keep Reading
Trump refusal to sanction Russia despite bi-partisan mandate 'perplexing'
On Monday, January 29, the Trump administration reached a deadline to respond to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine and Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The administration's response, serving as a political Rorschach test, has sparked various reactions across the political… Keep Reading
Pro-Russia populist president Milos Zeman wins second 5 year term in Czech Republic
The Czech Republic's pro-Russia, right wing populist President Milos Zeman won a second five-year term today, after beating opponent Jiri Drahos, former head of the Czech Academy of Sciences in a run-off election. The Czech Statistics Office reported that Zeman received 51.5 per cent of the… Keep Reading
Putin squashes main political opponent, but at what cost?
On December 6, 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the industrial city of Nizhny Novgorod, approximately 250 miles east of Moscow, to address an enthusiastic crowd of auto workers. Surrounded by supporters, Putin made the widely anticipated announcement that he would seek re-election in the… Keep Reading
Russia's recession ends as Putin prepares for another term
Lima Charlie Business | Russia As 2017 comes to a close, Russia will have attained positive growth for the first time in two years, signaling the end of its economic depression. Placing this malaise behind them, the Russians are preparing for another milestone, the re-election… Keep Reading
UK backs Poland over European Union sanction
Just hours after the EU began moving to sanction Poland, British Prime Minister Theresa May assured Poles that the U.K. supports them, and affirmed their right to amend their constitution. Mrs. May cemented her government's support for Poland by signing a defense-intelligence cooperation treaty on… Keep Reading
Russia remains a resourceful ally to North Korea
At the beginning of 2017, trade between North Korea and Russia more than doubled to $31.4 million. Just this month, a Russian company has started routing North Korean internet traffic. This deal gives the solitary nation a second connection to the outside world, in addition… Keep Reading
Russia strikes Syrian Democratic Forces near Deir Ezzor
Forces from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were struck by Russian air assets near the Deir Ezzor frontline on September 16th, this according to a statement made by the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR). The attack resulted in several SDF… Keep Reading
Zapad 2017 kicks off as Russia's "West" war games challenge NATO
Russia began its newest round of war games, "Zapad-2017" (the Russian word for "West"), on Thursday. According to Russian officials the exercise will involve 13,000 troops, but some NATO representatives assert that Russia will be using over 100,000 troops. Either way, Zapad-2017 will be Russia's… Keep Reading
Imagine a Global Space Community … The Space Foundation Can
Vietnam to Iraq – America's Lessons Never Learned
Organised Crime in Asia – An [In]convenient Relationship: Part 2
The Kurds – Betrayal and an ignored report highlight US policy failures
Blossoming Russo-Turkish alliance leaves U.S., NATO behind
Cyber Warfare Now – Tales from the Digital Battlefield
Israel-Hamas Cyberwar, when old warfare meets new
Huawei – China's telecom giant hits a giant wall
Netflix series 'The Paper' (Novine) reflects reality of politics, corruption and freedom of expression in Croatia, the Balkans and beyond
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piyaneeiyan made another little rambling post. And I have two thoughts of how to continue it, of which only this one is in any shape fleshed out. Expect a second soonish, unless I lose the idea. The italicised part at the beginning is hers.
I was fine before I met them, back in November when the world actually made sense and I could control everything around me - but it's now. And now is March, when there's no black and white, just a hazy shade of grey shot through with thin red threads of guilt.
There's a new dichotomy here: self-preservation versus old debts. And the only question is which one'll win out over the other. It's so easy to get caught up in harmless games and laughter and fun; so easy to let them sweep you along with their music, to dance and sing and drink; to fall into their glittering eyes and never even know that you are drowning. It's so easy to take their gifts with a thank-you and a smile and to never even look for the strings attached. I was fine, in November, in a world where I moved at my will and answered to my own whims - but that was November, before the snow and the cold numbed my heart; before they stole away my soul.
I have it back now, in a secret place, dark and protected within me. I stole it back as the days grew longer, the ice melted around me, and they do not yet know. In their eyes, I have not yet seen the thin threads of manipulation and deceit that they clutch in their narrow fingers; I still move, in their eyes, at their command. That is the dark side of the precipice on which I find myself: the thoughtless gaiety of being their puppet, of closing my eyes and allowing that tiny protected space within me to wither and die once more in the dark recesses of my heart. That is the easy side, the side that redeems what they have promised me - the side that guarantees that I will live, and live a long and merry while. All I have to do is return what I have stolen back from them: a tiny thing, a worthless trinket; I would hardly miss it at all, my soul. They will see to that. Self-preservation, you see, is a surprisingly strong force within me - even now, in March, after all that I have done.
Despite all that, this haze which surrounds me - the haze which has thickened over the winter, blurring away the world into its soft and muted grey shades - is threaded with unforgiving red, unavoidable lines of guilt. They have come slowly, in these days and weeks of thawing spring, fine crimson that limns each of the marionette-strings tied to me, bleeds up over their clawing fingers and mounts in sanguine halos behind their heads, threading into oblivion. I cannot now look at them without seeing their eyes glittering and mocking the naïve puppet they believe me still to be; cannot ignore the threads that spiderweb every aspect of my being with fire and blood, ultimately coming to rest in the clutching grasp of their arachnoid fingers.
It is part of my soul, this vision of guilt; the remembrance of old debts however briefly forgotten, stems from that dark and secret place, that protected well within me. In my mind I hear the catalogue of broken promises and shattered dreams that I have wrought in these months - has it only been those few short months that I was in their thrall? Under their tutelage I have carved a path of betrayal unlike any I would have ever dreamt myself capable of inflicting; and I have done it gaily, dancing and drinking down their honeyed words of praise and adoration all the while, unseeing and uncaring. If I cease to nurture this tiny thing within me, this worthless trinket that I have cached away in silence and secret, then it is to that pitiless existence I will return; and I am unwiling to leave these rendered debts of fidelity unpaid.
This is the other side of the precipice, bright and anticipatory: the return to myself and the life I had so carelessly discarded; the rebuilding of trust and faith in the wake of this destruction I had wrought; the chance to embrace once more the autonomy of thought and action whose revival I now cherish almost more closely than my life. If I could, one thread at a time, untangle myself from their glittering eyes and cloying hands, I could return - if not to the ancient days of black and white simplicity, at least to a life freed of these trabeculate workings of guilt and shame. If I could slip from their grasp and their notice without rendering my own life a debt forfeit unto them, I could begin to make the restitution my flowering soul craves.


Some reactions to Saturday's presidential candidate forum on health care from around the blogosphere.
Taylor Marsh and Eteraz.org say Sen. Hillary Clinton had the strongest presentation, while Nevada Today's Hugh Jackson (link via Nevada Caucus 2008) talks up former Senator John Edwards and Rep. Dennis Kucinich, and Critical Condition ranks all the candidates with Sen. Chris Dodd heading the list.
Liberal Values offers an overarching take from the perspective of a doctor running a private practice.


text:
Good Enough: Build Yourself Up by Tearing the World Down
Therapist: "From what you tell me about your mother, I get the impression that she thought the world wasn't good enough for her."
Client: "That's true. She didn't like anything. She never had anything good to say. But why is that so serious?"
Therapist: "It becomes very serious when an individual appoints herself to stand in judgment on the world and find it disappointing. Not only does the world fail to live up to her high standards and expectations, but it is her responsibility to point out the world's deficiencies at every opportunity."
Client: "That was her full-time job."
Therapist: "It's a very heavy, unfulfilling responsibility, but one that she could not help but pursue."
Client: "Why couldn't she?"
Therapist: "Because nobody ever told her that she could stop. And because she used this phony, self-appointed, super-responsibility to exempt herself from the more mundane tasks of life at which there was a chance that she might fail."
Client: "Such as."
Therapist: "Such as being an adequate mother."
Client: "Amen."
Therapist: "Another reason was that she did not know what would replace this supercritical lifestyle if she were to give it up. It was the only role she had, and it was better than nothing. In addition, she used this behavior to overcompensate for her own feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy to cope with the real responsibilities of the adult world."
Client: "How so?"
Therapist: "She appointed herself to the role of judging the world and people. Then condemning them for their failure to live up to her high expectations. She was setting herself above her fellow human beings. This phony superiority was her way of relieving the pain of her underlying convictions of inferiority and worthlessness."
Client: "That's right. Who was she to criticize everybody else? She was no better than the neighbors that she ran down all the time. I can see that I have been behaving the same way, and for the same reasons. How can I stop it?"
Therapist: "You can catch yourself behaving as if the world weren't good enough for you. Instead, I want you stop focusing on the potential and to decide that the world is good enough, which in reality it is."
Client: "I can see how absurd it is for me not to accept the world as it is. Who am I to decide how the things should be? I have enough problems trying to figure out what is good for me, it's absurd to think I know what's best for the entire world."
Therapist: "If we have contempt for the world we live in, it rubs off on us. We are no better, no matter how badly we try to elevate ourselves above others. The world is good enough as it is. It can always be better; it will never be perfect, but it is good enough for us in the meantime."
Client: "I can see complaining and criticizing isn't the way to make the world a better place anyway. It only turns people off and makes things worse."
Therapist: "Your mother's ambition to teach the world the error of its way comes under the heading of 'good intentions.' She deceived herself into thinking that she knew what would make things better when the truth was that she was trying to make herself feel superior with her self-appointed role as judge and jury. She only made things worse with her continual complaints."
Client: "I guess there's no such thing as constructive bitching."
Therapist: "It's a contradiction. Can you catch yourself about to say something that you imagine will improve someone and decide not to?"
Client: "It's so tempting."
Therapist: "Can you resist the temptation? You do not have to build yourself up by tearing the world down. The world is good enough as it is, and so are you."
My client did his homework. He caught himself about to criticize his mother for being so critical! This would have been absurd. Instead he chose to do the unexpected. He did not fight and he did not give in to his mother's absurdity. He took a third path, to live on his own valid terms. He said, "It must be awful for you, Ma." It was not said sarcastically, it was the truth.
Life is awful for people who cannot even have the hope of happiness because of their inappropriate attitudes. His mother's tone of voice changed, it softened, she came down from her fictitious perch and began to talk like an equal member of the human race. They had a civil conversation for the first time.
Critical woman image available from Shutterstock.
Visit original source for complete post.
Shared by: Aaron Karmin, LCPC, Contributing Blogger March 18, 2014
Tags: Anger Management, Archive