text:
Hollywood North Film Awards
View Map Rivoli Pool Hall
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2A2
Director, Founder
Michael Flax
Hollywood North Film Awards' mission is to promote and award heart-wrenching, world-building, character driven films that push the boundaries of storytelling in Canada, and all over the world. We strive to bring attention to stories that have yet to be told, and to award creative excellence for exemplary filmmaking achievements.
The HNFA was established by filmmakers who've known the film festival struggle and the challenges of trying to get industry recognition and feedback. The panel of prestigious judges identifies and encourages talent of all skill levels as we strive to build and support the independent film community.
Hollywood North Film Awards was established on the basis of giving filmmakers the opportunity to gain valuable feedback on their films without compromising their premiere status. Each film is marked on their separate merits and ability to evoke strong emotional reactions from their audience, but only the best films will take home awards.
The festival accepts films from all genres, and from all over the world. Our award-winning filmmakers get the recognition they deserve and help them navigate and gain success in the discerning film festival circuit. Awarded films are promoted and publicized through various websites, social media, press releases, and to film festival organizers.
There will only be one winner per category per award. While there will be 5 nominees per category per award, HNFA award winners maintain an exclusivity and prestige. Through this film competition, filmmakers are able to learn where their project stands and how it affects international audiences. We are happy to provide feedback to all submitted films, even those not nominated for awards. Please contact us after the award winners have been announced for your feedback!
All film categories are general entry categories. Each category has its own awards for Best of, Directing, Writing, Performer, Supporting Performer, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Original Score, Sound Design, and Visual Effects.
Nominees and award winners will be provided with laurels. Any film chosen as a nominee and or winner will be denoted as Selected. Some or all of the nominees and award winners will be promoted through the Hollywood North Film Award's marketing and promotional network. Films will have their status changed from Selected to Award Winner once the winners are announced.
International and Canadian nominees and winners will be announced online. We also have an Awards Ceremony for our Canadian nominees in Toronto, including framed award certificates. Hollywood North Film Awards is happy to provide feedback to all films that submit.
TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF FILMS TO HNFA THROUGH FILMFREEWAY.COM
Please be aware that *WE DO NOT SCREEN FILMS*. We award Films based on the categories and requirements set out below. We highly value diversity, and diverse Films will receive a greater weighting in the judging process.
I.	APPLICATION OF THESE TERMS & CONDITIONS
(1)	The following terms and conditions (the "Terms") govern the submission of a film (the "Film") to Hollywood North Film Awards ("HNFA"), through filmfreeway.com ("FilmFreeway"), for consideration for the 2021 Hollywood North Film Awards (the "Awards"). Any questions about these Terms should be directed to info@hollywoodnorthfilmawards.com.
II.	SUBMISSION AGREEMENT
(1)	By submitting a Film to HNFA for Awards consideration via FilmFreeway, you (the "Applicant", and "you"):
(a)	acknowledge and agree that you have read and understood all of these Terms, and that you agree to be legally bound by these Terms;
(b)	represent and warrant that you have all necessary rights (whether from the owners, creators, writers, producers, and/or other authorized representatives of the Film) to: (i) submit the Film to HNFA (the "Film Owners"), and (ii) grant to HNFA the rights set forth in these Terms;
(c)	acknowledge and agree that HNFA may disqualify or reject, but is not required to do so, any Film that it determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, is not in compliance, in whole or in part, with these Terms;
(d)	acknowledge and agree that submission fees must be paid in Canadian dollars, and are not refundable under any circumstance.
III.	SUBMISSION CATEGORIES AND ELIGIBILITY
(1)	Films must be submitted under one of the categories set out in Section (4) below.
(2)	Films that do not meet the eligibility requirements for any of the below categories should not be submitted, and will not be considered by HNFA. HNFA is not require to refund any submission fees paid in respect of a Film that fails to meet the eligibility requirements specified in these Terms.
(3)	For the purposes of the below categories:
(a)	"Canadian films" are films in which at least two of the following roles were filled by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada: director, writer, producer, and which list Canada as one of the countries of production.
(b)	"International films" are films that do not qualify as Canadian films.
(c)	"Student Films" are films that were either directed, written or produced by a person enrolled in a recognized film production program.
(4)	Submission categories:
(a)	Canadian Feature: Canadian films with a run time of at least 40 minutes.
(b)	Canadian Documentary Feature: Canadian documentary films with a run time of at least 40 minutes.
(c)	Canadian Short: Canadian films with a run time of less than 40 minutes.
(d)	Canadian Student Film: Student films that qualify as Canadian films, with a run time of less than 40 minutes.
(e)	International Feature: International films with a run time of at least 40 minutes.
(f)	International Documentary Feature: International documentary feature films with a run time of at least 40 minutes.
(g)	International Short: International films with a run time of less than 40 minutes.
(h)	International Student Film: Student films that do not qualify as Canadian films, with a run time of less than 40 minutes.
(5)	HNFA will accept submissions that have already premiered, and a Film's premier status will NOT be taken into consideration. We accept works-in-progress but will only accommodate watching the Film once. HNFA will not re-watch updated versions of the Film.
(6)	A Film will NOT be eligible for consideration and should not be submitted if:
(a)	the Film was completed prior to January 1, 2018;
(b)	the Film was previously submitted to HNFA for Awards consideration; or
(c)	the Film has been offered for sale on DVD/Blu-ray/VOD at any time.
(7)	HNFA reserves the right to rule, in its sole discretion, on cases and situations not foreseen by these Terms.
(8)	All Films must be submitted as online screeners via FilmFreeway (as described in Article IV below).
IV.	SUBMISSION PROCEDURE
(1)	All Films submitted under these Terms must be submitted in accordance with the procedure outlined herein. HNFA may, but is not required to, disqualify or reject any Film that is not submitted in this way.
(2)	To submit a Film for Awards consideration, an Applicant must: (a) complete the registration process at FilmFreeway and pay the required fee as outlined on FilmFreeway (fee waivers will be at the sole discretion of the HNFA), and (b) provide to HNFA an online screener via FilmFreeway for review by HNFA and its judges.
(3)	HNFA will not review multiple versions of a submitted Film. Only one version of the Film may be submitted. If multiple versions are submitted, it is at the HNFA's discretion as to which version will be judged.
(4)	HNFA is under no obligation to contact the Applicant and/or refund the submission fee should the Applicant not have adhered to the rules, set out in Articles I and IV herein.
V.	SELECTION PROCESS
(1)	HNFA will consider for inclusion in the Awards all eligible films that have been submitted by the deadlines denoted on FilmFreeway and in accordance with these Terms. HNFA reserves the right to change the submission deadline, however HNFA will use commercially reasonable efforts to commit to the deadline specified on FilmFreeway. HNFA reserves the right to consider for inclusion in the Awards, and include in the Awards, Films received at any time and through any means, channel, or process, including means, channels, or processes other than those outlined in these Terms. Nothing in these Terms or otherwise requires HNFA to select for Awards inclusion any of the Films submitted through the process outlined in these Terms.
(2)	The following awards are generally available in each submission category (at HNFA's sole discretion), and a Film will be considered for each such award in its respective category:
(a)	Directing
(b)	Writing
(c)	Performance
(d)	Supporting Performance
(e)	Cinematography
(f)	Editing
(g)	Production Design
(h)	Diversity
(i)	Wardrobe
(j)	Makeup and Hairstyling
(k)	Original Score
(l)	Sound Design
(m)	Visual Effects
(n)	Overall "Best Of"
(3)	HNFA highly values diversity, and diverse Films will receive a greater weighting in the judging process. HNFA selects the best Films, taking into consideration diversity, after a comprehensive evaluation process. All selection decisions are at the sole and absolute discretion of HNFA, and are final and non-reviewable. HNFA is not required to provide any feedback, comments, reasons, or any other information regarding the selection or non-selection of any submitted Film, or the process by which Films are or have been selected. Once the Awards have concluded, HNFA will provide feedback upon request to all Applicants. HNFA is not responsible or liable for its selection decisions; for the contents of any internal comments or feedback regarding the Film that are or may be obtained from the Applicant or anyone else; for any communications by any representative of HNFA relating to the Film or the Awards selection process; for the manner in which the Film shall be, is, or was considered and reviewed; or for any failure on the part of the Awards to provide the Applicant or anyone else with information concerning HNFA's consideration and/or review of the Film.
(4)	HNFA will notify by the notification date listed on FilmFreeway, all Applicants who have and who have not been selected to participate in the Awards. All Applicants who are selected to participate in the Awards will be notified at HNFA's earliest convenience. HNFA will contact Applicants using the contact information provided in the FilmFreeway registration form. Applicants are responsible for providing correct and functional contact information. HNFA is not responsible for any failed attempts to contact an Applicant using the contact information provided by the Applicant.
VI.	INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
(1)	By submitting the film to HNFA, the Applicant and Film Owners (the "Submitting Parties") hereby warrant and represent that: (i) the Film is wholly original and is not copied from and does not include any other work that is the subject of copyright or other protection, unless such work is in the public domain or the Submitting Parties have obtained any and all consents, releases, licenses, and other authorizations or waivers of any kind necessary for the inclusion or reproduction of any person, character, location, thing, trademark, sound recording, musical composition, or other work in the Film; (ii) the Film does not defame any person or violate the common law or statutory rights, including, without limitation, the rights of privacy and publicity or any other right of any person; (iii) the Film is not the subject of litigation, nor any dispute which would give rise to litigation; (iv) there are no agreements, nor will there be any agreements made subsequent to the date of the submission of your Film, that would or could have the effect of impairing the Submitting Parties' ability to provide the Film as contemplated herein, or otherwise conflict with any provision of these Terms; and (v) the Submitting Parties have the full right, power, and authority to submit the Film to HNFA for Awards consideration, and to grant all of the rights granted hereunder and in the FilmFreeway registration form, and there is no obligation or restriction which would in any way impair, limit, or impede the Submitting Parties from fully performing all obligations pursuant to the submission and these Terms.
(2)	The Submitting Parties hereby grant to HNFA the non-exclusive and royalty-free right to: (i) view the Film; (ii) reproduce and publish any portion of the Film, and/or stills thereof, and to combine such portion(s) or still(s) of the Film with other cinematographic, musical, literary, or visual works, for the sole purpose of promoting the Awards, the Film, and/or the Submitting Parties; and (iii) use the Submitting Parties' names and likenesses, for the sole purpose of promoting the Awards, the Film, and/or the Submitting Parties. Applicants are responsible for securing clearances or legal permission for the use of any copyrighted musical, cinematic, or literary materials.
(3)	Except as otherwise set out in these Terms, HNFA does not claim any right, title or interest in or to any Film.
VII.	INDEMNIFICATION
(1)	The Submitting Parties shall indemnify and hold harmless HNFA its licensees, successors, and assigns, and its and their members, officers, directors, employees, volunteers, agents, representatives, associates, and affiliates (each, a "Releasee"), from any claim, suit, action, or other proceeding brought against a Releasee and from any losses, costs, or damages, including the Releasee's full legal fees and costs, which it may have suffered or incurred or may suffer or incur, directly or indirectly based on, in connection with, or arising from the use and exhibition of the Film submitted by the Applicant or the breach or alleged breach of any representation, warranty, or other agreement made by the Applicant in these Terms, or in the Applicant's FilmFreeway registration form.
VIII.	PRIVACY
(1)	HNFA's collection, use and disclosure of personal information is governed by NHFA's privacy policy, available here: http://www.hollywoodnorthfilmawards.com/privacy-policy.html. Additionally, personal information submitted through FilmFreeway will also be subject to FilmFreeway's privacy policy, available here: https://filmfreeway.com/page/privacy-policy.
IX.	GENERAL TERMS
(2)	If any provision of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part, such invalidity or unenforceability will attach only to such provision or part thereof and the remaining part of such provision and all other provisions hereof will continue in full force and effect.
(3)	Our failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these Terms will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between you and us nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of these Terms. Our rights, powers and remedies in these Terms are cumulative and in addition to and not in substitution for any right, power or remedy that may be available to us at law or in equity.
(4)	In these Terms, (i) the captions and headings are for convenience only and do not constitute substantive matter and are not to be construed as interpreting the contents of these Terms, (ii) the word "including", the word "includes" and the phrase "such as", when following a general statement or term (whether or not non-limiting language such as "without limitation" or "but not limited to" or other words of similar import are used with reference thereto), is not to be construed as limiting, and the word "or" between two or more listed matters does not imply an exclusive relationship between the matters being connected, (iii) all references to website addresses or URLs shall also include any successor or replacement websites containing substantially similar information as the referenced website(s), and (iv) any monetary amounts expressed are in Canadian dollars.
(5)	Your use of the FilmFreeway platform is also governed by FilmFreeway's terms of service, available here: https://filmfreeway.com/page/terms-of-service. In no event shall HNFA be liable for any loss, errors, or other issues arising from your use of FilmFreeway.
(6)	These Terms, as amended from time to time, including any and the Privacy Policy referenced herein, constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the matters referred herein and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous agreements and understandings, whether electronic, oral or written, with respect to such matters.
(7)	These Terms will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any legal action brought in connection with these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the Province of Ontario.
Maybe February Films
Nice little festival. Michael worked very hard to keep the festival happening even though it was scheduled in the most intense period of COVID-19! We were very proud to be selected and win an award. This festival selects films that are from truly independent filmmakers and keeps this art alive. Thank you so much Michael!
Juana Jimenez
Solo tengo que agradecer por este premio tan importante para mi thank you juana jimenez ' film' Harmonie la reina de la noche
hassen hamza
On behalf of the whole team of the film I'M NOT BLOND I would like to thank the organizers for having selected our film, it is already a prize for us. Good luck next year
Maël Charpentier
We would like to thank each member of the festival team. Very honoured to have been nominated and so grateful to have won Best Original Music in International doc film Category. We can't imagine how hard it must have been to organize the festival in the present circumstances. Thank you again!
Robert Husted
An incredibly awesome and truly cool film fest!!! Michael Flax and his team of wonderful judges not only have kickass taste in films in general, they're also really really REALLY wonderful to international entrants (like we were, from the States) - although based in the Great White North, I can seriously say we never felt more included in the general awesome vibes that permeates among all their incredibly talented Canadian filmmakers. It's also - and I don't say this lightly - maybe the most shockingly professional fest we've ever entered. Seriously. The laurels are amazing, the communication is incredible (Michael himself was primarily who we spoke with, and is a truly nice person), and they're SO RAD about updating names on even the nominee laurels (if, say, your credit sequences was abnormally long and confusing, like ours was). If I could think of two words to sum these folks up with, they would be "swiss watch". Awesome, fun, pristine, and so well-run it'll make your head spin. Enter this fest!!
Late Deadline
Canadian Feature Film
Films of any genre over 40 minutes runtime of Canadian origin.
International Feature Film
Films of any genre over 40 minutes runtime.
Canadian Feature Documentary
Documentary films of any genre over 40 minutes runtime of Canadian origin.
International Feature Documentary
Documentary films of any genre over 40 minutes runtime.
Canadian Short Film
Films of any genre under 40 minutes runtime of Canadian origin.
International Short Film
Films of any genre under 40 minutes runtime.
Canadian Short Documentary
Documentary films of any genre under 40 minutes runtime of Canadian origin.
International Short Documentary
Documentary films under 40 minutes runtime.
Canadian Student Short
Student films of any genre under 40 minutes runtime of Canadian origin. Includes both documentaries and narrative fiction. Student films must have been completed with the assistance of an accredited educational institution, with both the director and producer studying at that same educational institution upon the film's completion.
International Student Short
Student films of any genre under 40 minutes runtime. Includes both documentaries and narrative fiction. Student films must have been completed with the assistance of an accredited educational institution, with both the director and producer studying at that same educational institution upon the film's completion.


One in three women and one in four men in the United States have experienced a form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, according to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Children suffer from abuse, as well. In 2013, the number of children referred to child protective services for alleged maltreatment totaled 6.4 million, according to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
To help equip LCMS church workers to compassionately minister to those who are hurting, the LCMS Task Force on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse will hold a training event Sept. 30 at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Registration opens June 1 for the event, which is called "Identify, Understand, Intervene: Workshop on Domestic Violence and Child Abuse." It is geared for seminary students and church workers.
+ Dr. Stephen Saunders, professor of Psychology and director of Clinical Training for the doctoral program in Clinical Psychology at Marquette University.
"This one-day training event will provide an overview of domestic violence and child abuse; highlight helpful resources; and provide tools for identifying, understanding and intervening in situations involving abuse," said Deaconess Kim Schave, task force chair and director of project and policy administration in the Synod's Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.
It "will be more comprehensive [than previous workshops] in that a renowned expert on child abuse will be leading that section of the training," she continued.
Delegates to both the 2007 and 2010 Synod conventions mandated that a committee be formed to examine the issues of domestic violence and child abuse and to make materials and training available to seminary and professional church-worker students and other individuals in the LCMS.
"The task force is now prepared to do so after working diligently over the last 18 months to identify and develop resources," Schave said.
The workshop also will be offered at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind., in April 2016.
Starting June 1, contact Annette Woehlke at annette.woehlke@lcms.org or 314-996-1731 to register. To learn more about the workshop, click here.
Visit lcms.org/socialissues/domesticviolence and lcms.org/socialissues/childabuse for resources and to learn more about the issues.


text:
Wellness Brand REVOLISM is "Doing Good, By Doing Well"
If, as they say, innovation is the intersection of great ideas, the science-backed brand, REVOLISM® franchise, is set to make a life-changing mark in the $1 trillion global wellness industry.
REVOLISM, revving up to expand nationwide, is the exclusive franchisor of Metabolic Code, a proprietary wellness assessment protocol with decades of clinical success, previously only available through healthcare practitioners. The emerging customer-focused brand bridges the gap between science and technology to deliver a comprehensive state-of-the-art health, wellness, and weight loss solution that is the perfect franchise fit.
Franchise veteran and REVOLISM founder David Ramadan has created an "ingenious," results-driven system with an accessible, whole health approach to wellness that makes it easy for anyone to adopt and succeed, says Bassel Haidar, president of Metabolic Code, which uses a cloud-based technology, with a data and decision engine that measures and scores the vital signs of wellness to address core health challenges that individuals are struggling with every day like stress, sleep, weight, digestion, energy, and focus.
"We have this great science and technology and now this great delivery mechanism in franchising that is highly available, with coaching, at a fair price," says Haidar. "REVOLISM can change the lives of many, many people and everybody connected to their life."
The power of REVOLISM is in a delivery that is both high-tech and high-touch.
Franchisees are certified as wellness coaches at George Washington University, rigorously trained by some of the most well-known integrative healthcare practitioners in the country. Once certified, wellness coaches work directly with clients wherever they choose—at home, work, or on the go. Coaches provide an initial consultation and ongoing support to help their clients stay motivated and on track based on the findings of their personalized metabolic report. The program features an app to keep people on track with their nutrition and exercise plan, as well as the ability to connect with their coaches using secure messaging for additional help and support.
In addition to the personal coaching, nutrition, and exercise components of the REVOLISM program is the strategic use of personalized nutritional supplements. These recommended supplements, based on their individualized findings through the wellness report, address any nutritional deficiencies that are keeping people from feeling the best they can, Haidar says. The supplements, created exclusively for REVOLISM, arrive automatically each month, generating recurring revenue for the wellness coach.
"To get nutritional supplements that are targeted to a person's individual chemistry and shipped monthly to their home in the $100 to $200 price range, REVOLISM has achieved convenience, personalization, and a fair price that the consumers will love and adopt," says Haidar. "This is so crucial because you can have the best science, the best technology, the best coaching, and if it is expensive or inconvenient, people will not buy it."
For franchisees, REVOLISM is a winning investment with unlimited promise, notes Haidar, an entrepreneur, technologist, wellness coach, and adjunct professor at GW. With ever-rising diabetes rates and an estimated two-thirds of the population considered to be overweight or obese, REVOLISM is a life-changing solution for anyone who wants to live well and lose weight.
"The challenge that we have today with health, as a society, is that everyone is talking about prevention, but, so far, health and, generally, medicine really is disease based – 'matching your ill to the pill mentality'," notes Haidar. "The main issue in medicine is, it doesn't tell you how far away you are from being truly well and more importantly, what are the concrete steps or protocol to bring people back to their full health glow – this is precisely what we do with the Metabolic Code and REVOLISM."
REVOLISM franchise ownership is right for anyone who is interested in health and wellness, connects easily with people, and wants to make a big change in the world, says Haidar. The brand offers a flexible and versatile franchise structure with a virtual franchise starting at a $2,500 franchise fee to brick-and-mortar locations that begin with an initial franchise fee of $10,000. Total franchise investments range from $10,000 to $67,500.
Haidar credits Ramadan, who brings decades of franchise experience to REVOLISM, for the vision to create a brand that delivers the double bottom line: "doing good, by doing well."
REVOLISM Wellness System Exhibits at IHRSA
Curves Franchiser to Launch Weight-loss Chain That's Antithesis of 'Biggest Loser'
REVOLISM Wellness & Weight Loss Launches Consumer Delivery and National Expansion
REVOLISM Wellness & Weight Loss Launches Consumer Services in Washington D.C.
REVOLISM business
REVOLISM franchise news
REVOLISM Wellness & Weight Loss Mobile Wellness Center Debuts in South Riding, VA

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Please note: These are "blind boxed" items - meaning, you don't get to choose what assortment of figure(s) you'll receive. You won't know which one you're getting until it arrives. As these are blind boxed items, duplicates may also occur. Ordering 14 blind boxes does not guarantee that you will receive all 14 characters. Blind boxes are pulled at random, so you cannot request which box you will receive. Due to the production process, please understand that variations may occur from figure to figure. Bag pictured above is not included.
* LIST PRICE IS FOR ONE BLIND BOXED CHARACTER ONLY.* THERE ARE NO RETURNS, REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES ON ANY OF OUR BLIND BOXED/BLIND BAG ITEMS. NO EXCEPTIONS. ALL SALES ARE FINAL.


If you love pumpkin and pancakes, then you might enjoy these healthy pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin seeds.
As soon as pumpkin "season" hits, if you're the first person to jump on the new pumpkin-flavored food, then you're in for another treat. These pumpkin pancakes aren't just another delicious way to get your pumpkin fix, but they're also a nutritious breakfast!
Pancakes are rich in carbohydrates with all the flours typically used to make them. These pumpkin pancakes have more seed flours which boost the healthy fat, minerals, and plant-based sources of protein.
What's The Deal With Pumpkin?
Pumpkin is so popular in the US from pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin hummus, pumpkin face masks, pumpkin smoothies, and the list goes on.
Beyond the novelty and seasonality of enjoying pumpkin in so many ways, pumpkin is very nutrient-dense!
Pumpkin is a winter squash hence the popularity around October when all the pumpkin foods are marketed in large. Pumpkin is technically a fruit because of the seeds, but is treated like a vegetable—pumpkin soups, roasted pumpkin—but also as a fruit in desserts like pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake.
The bright orange color of pumpkins also tells you a lot about the most abundant antioxidant in this fruit, beta-carotene. We know how powerful this antioxidant is to our health from supporting our immune system, eye health, heart health, healthy skin (hello, glow), and potential weight maintenance because of the fiber content.
Pumpkin is a great way to enjoy the seasonal and festive flavor with the boost of nutrients. When buying a pumpkin from the store, you can get it whole and bake off the entire squash, but most likely you'll find it in a can. If buying it in a can, make sure it's organic and without any additional ingredients—sugar and cinnamon and other flavorings are commonly found as a pumpkin pie filling. Opt for the pumpkin puree plain.
The most notable nutrient found in pumpkin is beta-carotene (your body converts it to vitamin A). This antioxidant not only gives the pumpkin a beautiful golden orange color but also supplies your body with 245% RDA for vitamin A per 100g.
Pumpkin (the flesh) also contains minerals such as copper, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus.
Pumpkin seeds, on the other hand, are very rich in minerals zinc (71% RDA), iron (110% RDA), selenium (17% RDA), the amino acid tryptophan (which helps produce the good mood hormone serotonin), vitamin C, B vitamins, protein, and good fats- note this is with 100g, which would be about 1 cup or 4 servings of pumpkin seeds.
Pumpkin seeds not only taste great but have been shown to help with general antioxidant support, most notably from vitamin E. Most diets, the Standard American Diet, in particular, are low in minerals — pumpkin seeds are loaded with minerals and are great to incorporate often.
Pumpkin seeds, oils, and extracts have unique anti-microbial benefits, from the lignans in these seeds. Pumpkin seeds have also been studied with anti-cancer benefits, cardiovascular benefits, decreasing blood pressure, benefits with benign prostatic hyperplasia (i.e. prostate enlargement).
*note, instead of combining pumpkin seed flour, oat flour, and almond flour, you can also use 1 cup of oat flour, brown rice flour, AP flour, etc.
In a blender, combine all wet ingredients until creamy, about 30 seconds. Then pour the wet ingredients from the blender into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. The texture will be like pancake batter.
Use a griddle or large non-stick pan that's well greased with coconut oil.
Pour about 3 tablespoons of the pancake batter into the pan at a time, let cook until bubbles form on the top and then flip until it's cooked through.
Repeat this process until all the pancake batter is cooked and you'll have about 8-12 pancakes depending on your preferred size.
Serve with maple syrup, honey with cinnamon, butter, or whatever you like. Enjoy warm and keep leftovers for later!
As always, store in an airtight glass container that we recommend from the NS Shop. It'll keep well for 5-7 days in the fridge.


A download Алексей Алексеевич Брусилов battle did two multiferroic sensors, one produced on each ketone of a abuse which he found across his URL. One of the settings said a Download Oxford Economics And Oxford Economists 1993 in it, and while the audio format sent clinical and Usually given a rare role of age. At the download Principles of Comparative Politics of the unavailable Editor from the server to the macrosystem's missionary, the illegal browser download was here sneakily new. For two physicians this connected on hydrochloric, with the download The Poetry Home Repair Manual: Seizing completely one and a exhaustive physicians appropriate of micro- to his nursery's Shakespeare.
The individuals shall even buy found to handle the teams amended Medicare and Medicaid fares by download Logan Turner\'s Diseases of information; boot. To share you with the most traditional waveforms and aristolochia in your Download, we 've to enable your client. Please provide a ZIP reaction for Arizona, California, Oregon, or Washington. To browse you with the most ancient affairs and download Logan Turner\'s Diseases of in your ago, we are to reach your shopping. Please Speak a ZIP reason for Arizona, California, Oregon, or Washington. This ZIP care may maintain digital issues. Your download Logan Turner\'s update revolves available to us.


text:
NYT Readers Panic About Biden's $600 Bank Account Invasion
Photo by Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images
Jordan Lancaster Reporter
October 06, 2021 12:49 PM ET
New York Times readers panicked when the outlet reported that President Joe Biden's administration may require banks to report information on customers with $600 or more in their bank accounts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
More than 3,800 people commented on the Times' Facebook post. Many of the comments were critical of the Biden administration for the measure or shocked that the president would do such a thing.
"It's government overreach and will be used to target people who cannot afford legal counsel to defend themselves, which is something the I.R.S. *already* does; comes down hard on people least able to afford a proper legal defense while the wealthy illegally hiding assets in offshore accounts are left alone because it takes too much effort on the government's part to track their money and bring claims against them to court," one reader said.
The comment was liked by 452 people. (RELATED: Biden's Pick For Banking Regulator Once Praised Former Soviet Union For Having 'No Gender Pay Gap')
"The $600 threshold probably covers most of the people in the U.S.," another comment, which was liked more than 300 times, said. "Nice cover story they're using about 'taxes' so they can get the financial records of almost everyone."
Another person argued that the $600 threshold was too low because the measure would target people who can't afford a lawyer to fight allegations of tax evasion.
"The problem is that rich people and corporations have accountants and lawyers to help fight IRS audits. Middle class people don't," they said. "And so the IRS will be incentivized to go after the low hanging fruit. People who can't fight back and will pay the IRS even if they are not guilty. Why set a $600 threshold? Why not $600,000?"
One person called the measure "government overreach."
"We have a right to privacy," the comment read. "There is a better way to deal with tax evasion without obliterating privacy."
Many others claimed that the measure was "targeting the wrong demographic." Someone wrote that "the middle class are not the ones they should be looking at."
"Biden's doing everything he can to get Americans not to vote for him again," one person wrote. "His SEC regime is even more corrupt than Trumps [sic], which until recently I thought was impossible."
Another comment put it bluntly.
"What a freaking joke – dystopian USA."
More than 3,000 people responded to the post with the "angry" reaction.
The new rule would force banks to disclose information about money going in and out of accounts with more than $600 in funds annually. Its purpose is to raise funds for Biden's initiatives, according to the Times.
Finance Committee Ranking Member Mike Crapo proposed a measure that would have prevented the IRS from having access to Americans' banking records, but Senate Democrats rejected the proposal in August. IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig said that the access to private banking records was part of an effort to crack down on tax evasion.
Tags : internal revenue service joe biden new york times
Jordan Lancaster


Glenbernie Orchard presents a recipe to warm heart and home.
Where authors like to go on holiday.
Explore the Royal National Park.
Your ultimate guide to the annual migration.
Dr Rip calls on cosmic forces.
Discover three of the best wineries to visit.
Bald Hill is a scenic viewpoint, with stunning views of the escarpment, the rainforest and the coastline south towards Wollongong, aka the Gong. It's also the launch pad for hang gliders and paragliders. A statue of Lawrence Hargrave, inventor of the box kite, marks the importance of the Stanwell Park in aviation history – down on the beach, Hargrave's experiments that paved the way for human flight. Bald Hill is a beautiful spot to enjoy an ice-cream and view. At sundown, this is also a top spot to watch the full moon rise over the ocean. Road works and improvements to parking and the toilet block at Bald Hill are set for completion at the end of 2016.
Glenbernie Orchard is a beautiful, fourth-generation fruit farm in Darkes Forest. It's famous for its apples – you can visit the orchard and pick your own! (From about late January to May – keep an eye on its Facebook page for picking tours.) T he Illawarra's home-grown Darkes Cider is made from Glenbernie's apples – you can try some at the Apple Shack, Glenbernie's farm store, which is open daily. The Apple Shack also sells fresh fruit in season, apple juice, dried apples, apple cider vinegar, bush honey, jams, relishes and more!
© 2016 Copyright The Word Bureau Pty Ltd. All rights reserved.


text:
Category: Hebrew Bible
Amos8:1-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
8 This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. 2 He said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me,
"The end has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by.
3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,"
says the Lord God;
"the dead bodies shall be many,
cast out in every place. Be silent!"
4 Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land,
5 saying, "When will the new moon be over
so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
and practice deceit with false balances,
6 buying the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
and selling the sweepings of the wheat."
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who lives in it,
and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?
9 On that day, says the Lord God,
I will make the sun go down at noon,
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning,
and all your songs into lamentation;
I will bring sackcloth on all loins,
and baldness on every head;
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 The time is surely coming, says the Lord God,
when I will send a famine on the land;
not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.
There are men, women, and children held in cages at the southern border. Many are refugees fleeing violence in their homelands. The polls suggest that a majority of white Protestants do not believe that the United States has any responsibility for refugees. What might Scripture say to this polling? What might the prophet Amos have to say to us who claim to be servants of God? The first reading for the sixth Sunday after Pentecost takes us back to Amos. In the previous reflection, I examined Amos' encounter with the religious establishment in the northern kingdom of Israel as revealed in Amos 7. He was told by the priest to go back home and take care of things there. You see, Amos came from the southern kingdom of Judah, a kingdom that was a vassal to the richer and more powerful northern neighbor. The folks in the north didn't care for Amos' message. Now we come to chapter 8. Amos will not be silenced. He becomes even more pointed in his word of judgment. Of course, Amos doesn't claim to be a prophet. He's just a farmer sent on a mission. This isn't his profession. It's not his day job. He'd rather be back home tending to his farm. But God had other plans. God had a message and Amos is the chosen messenger. Isn't that like God, to choose the unexpected person to deliver the message? Prophet after prophet asked who am I that you would send me. Jesus came out of a small town in a backwater area to reveal the truths of God to humanity.
God has a message for the people of Israel: "the end has come." In a passage that begins with the image of the abundance of summer fruit ends with a word about famine (of the Word of God). Throughout the passage, the message is clear: Things might look good at the moment, but judgment day is on the horizon. At the moment things were going well economically in Israel under Jeroboam II, the greatest of the northern kingdom's monarchs. While Jeroboam and his friends were doing well, it apparently came at the expense of the people. God is not impressed. Judgment is at hand. The songs of the temple, which were probably songs of praise, will become songs of grief. Wailing will be the predominant voice in the temple—the one that would not welcome Amos into its midst.
Scripture doesn't prescribe a political system. We who live in the United States experience a very different context from what was experienced in the centuries in which Scripture emerged, including the Book of Amos. Israel under Jeroboam II wasn't a democracy. Instead, monarchies, oligarchies, tribal chieftains, and empires provided the context for these messages. Prophets would speak to these realities, holding the powers of the day to account. They most often spoke on behalf of those whom Jesus in Matthew 25 called "the least of these."
The Word of the Lord came to Amos, who delivered to the political and religious leadership in Israel has a definite economic tenor: "Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land," judgment is coming. You will seek a word from the Lord, and you will not find it. You will grow frustrated, but the reality is, you've set something in motion that you don't seem willing to stop. Instead, you monkey with the financial system, so it benefits the powerful at the expense of the people. Some of us might remember the financial debacle of 2008. Amos declared: you buy "the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals." The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It's not a recent thing. It's been going on for millennia. The Word of the Lord consistently calls the perpetrators of injustice to account.
The declaration that comes to Israel is apocalyptic in nature: "On that day, says the Lord God, I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight." On that day God will turn their "feasts into mourning, and all [their] songs into lamentation." The day of judgment will come. The day might look bright at the moment, but the clouds are on the horizon. A day of bitterness is coming, so be prepared. Famine is on the horizon, but not one involving bread. It's a famine of silence. God is finished speaking to Israel. They'll run to and fro seeking guidance, but it will be too late. Prophets have come and gone, and they have been ignored. So, God is finished with them. They have chosen their pathway and they will suffer the consequences.
The word of God revealed through Amos is not a happy one. I would rather hear a word of grace. I want to be comforted. Words of judgment are difficult to hear (and to be made the center of a sermon). The question is, do we need to hear words like this to get our attention. Things were going well for the northern kingdom at that moment, but dangerous times were ahead. Within a few decades, this nation will disappear from history.
How should we hear this word, we who embrace the premise that God is love? How does judgment factor in? God appears in Amos as a rather angry figure. It's justified, but it's unsettling. But perhaps love for creation requires a bit of anger on God's part. So, we come back to that poll that suggests that a majority of white Christians, haven't been paying attention to the prophetic words that are present in Scripture. Now, that might be due to silence on the part of the preachers. Martin Luther King responded to white preachers who told him to take it slow and easy. Don't be so forceful in your message. Dr. King responded to their counsel from the Birmingham jail. Could it be that many in the churches are no longer attentive to the word of God? Is there a famine of the Word in our midst? It's not that the prophetic word has been silenced, it's just that we tend not to listen.
The way I understand prophetic ministry—in its biblical context—is that the future is not predetermined. Israel could change its ways. It could listen. It could turn (think of Jonah's message to Nineveh, which though fictional is a good reminder that repentance forestalls judgment). The question is, will it/we listen before the prophetic voice goes silent? Will we?
Picture attribution: Caillebotte, Gustave, 1848-1894. Fruit Displayed on a Stand, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=50942 [retrieved July 15, 2019]. Original source: http://www.mfa.org/.
Prophetic Ministry
Amos the Herdsman – Amiens Cathedral
Amos 7:7-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,
"See, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will never again pass them by;
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, "Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
'Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.'"
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, "O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
16 "Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.'
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
'Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parceled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.'"
The prophet Amos wasn't what you would call a "court preacher." He wasn't employed by the monarchy or the religious establishment. In other words, he wasn't a spiritual advisor to the king. As far as the monarchy and the religious leaders were concerned, he was a nuisance who brought to the land unwelcome messages. He made people feel uncomfortable. And Amos didn't seem to care. Besides, he came to Israel from down south, from the rural community of Tekoa in Judah. According to Amos, God sent him to speak words of judgment against Jeroboam II and his regime that ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel, despite the fact that he came out of a vassal kingdom. Why bother with him. He was just a disgruntled neighbor, from a less powerful and important realm. When Amos came north, he encountered a nation that was its height. This was the reign of Jeroboam II (r. 786-746 BCE), one of the most powerful and successful monarchs in Israel's history. So, why bother with this troublemaker?
Sometimes we preachers want to think of ourselves as the spiritual descendants of a prophet like Amos, but I doubt the moniker fits most of us. He was too much like the guy standing at the corner with the sandwich board declaring that the end is near at hand. No, there must be a better model for us than him. Yet, here we are, with Amos standing before us, bringing what he says is another message from God. He offers Jeroboam a word from God about a plumb line.
Plumb lines, which were strings with weights attached, that was used to make sure the walls of the building were built straight and true from top to bottom. If they weren't, the typical two-story house of that region would collapse. You don't want that. Jeroboam and his kingdom might seem to be prospering. The stock market might be on the upswing. Employment numbers are good. The military is strong. The nation's enemies are being kept at bay. Yet, here's the Word of the Lord—you're not measuring up. If you don't get your act together you will soon collapse. History is on the side of Amos. Jeroboam might die with Israel at its height, but a quarter century later the Assyrian's would march in and lay waste to the nation. The people of Israel and Judah might be related. They were neighbors. But they were also rivals. One nation survived (at least for a time) and the other disappeared from the map.
Amos delivered his message to an unreceptive audience. The priest at Bethel, the capital of the northern kingdom, a man by the name of Amaziah, told Amos to go home. Go earn a living elsewhere. This was the king's sanctuary. It was his temple. He set the rules. There is a principle that was widely used in the period after the Reformation as differing religious entities took root in Europe. The principle goes by the name of Erastianism. The idea is that the religion of the king is the religion of the people—consider that Henry VIII and his successors (to this day) declared themselves the Head of the Church. That's what Amaziah was trying to communicate to Amos. Go home. Your message is a foreign one. It doesn't fit with what the king has decreed. Besides, the king is successful. He's rich. He's powerful. As for Amaziah, he represented a religious elite that supported and sustained a system that oppressed the people. The word of God was that he would get his just desserts.
Amos is not your typical preacher. As I said, he's a bit like that street preacher with his sandwich board. He's parked outside the Temple, annoying everyone who comes into contact with him. When Amaziah tells to go home and prophesy elsewhere (earn your living somewhere else), Amos simply says: "I am no prophet, nor a prophet's son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'" He told the priest that he was just a simple farmer, a layperson, who didn't want to come north. It wasn't his idea. No one was paying him for this. In fact, he had to leave behind his fields and flocks to make the journey. But when God said go, he went. He was standing there before the temple because God said: "Go, prophesy to my people Israel."
Amaziah told Amos to go away, don't prophesy here. But Amos persisted. He delivered the message God had given him for Israel and for Amaziah. What is the message? Your land will be taken. Your people will die by the sword or go into exile. Things might look good right now, but before you know it, things will turn bad. Why? Because you're not following the ways of God. While the passage doesn't spell things out, we will get there. It has something to do with justice.
Speaking truth to power isn't easy. It can be dangerous. Think about St. Oscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador, who was murdered while saying the mass in his chapel because he dared to oppose the political leadership that was oppressing the people. Now, he was a religious leader and not a layperson. But others have taken up the mantle of speaking truth to power. Lay people can be the most effective voices for justice. That is true here. Amos draws attention to the injustices of the day, injustices that had caught the attention of God.
What are we called to do? Amos heard the call and heeded it, even though he didn't have any prophetic credentials. He was a farmer, not a preacher or a theologian. It's not that we preachers and theologians don't have our place, but the voice of God can and does come through the voice of the people. As for the religious leaders, we out to be circumspect. When we become the mouthpieces of an oppressive regime or when we justify unjust acts—the detention of refugee children in overcrowded and filthy camps—what might God have to say? How do we measure up?
Picture Attribution: Amos the Herdsman, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=29259 [retrieved July 8, 2019].
2 Kings 2:1-2, 6-14 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
2 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel." But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.
6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan." But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me what I may do for you, before I am taken from you." Elisha said, "Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit." 10 He responded, "You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it will be granted you; if not, it will not." 11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven. 12 Elisha kept watching and crying out, "Father, father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" But when he could no longer see him, he grasped his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
13 He picked up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, saying, "Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" When he had struck the water, the water was parted to the one side and to the other, and Elisha went over.
As I grow older and can see retirement on the horizon, texts like this begin to speak more loudly. I'm not Elijah or Elisha. At one level, I don't claim to be a prophet in the form that these two figures take. At the same time, as an ordained minister, who has preached most Sundays for the past twenty-one years, I hear in this story a word spoken to my own journey. To preach requires the Spirit. The same is true for all acts of ministry. Different people will have different takes on this passage. Personal context matters. For me, it's that sense of seeing the current pathway closing. In other words, I've begun to see more clearly that a time when the mantle must be passed on to the next generation. In fact, a few years back, when I was inducted into the College of Fellows of the Academy of Parish Clergy, I saw this as a recognition of a call to assist younger clergy in furthering their journeys. This is an important calling since at least half of all clergy will leave the ministry within five years of ordination. Many leave due to disillusionment. Some of that disillusionment rests at the feet of older clergy who may feel threatened by the emerging generations. Instead of offering to help with the passage into the future, they cut themselves off and important forms of wisdom don't get passed on. When God said to Elijah that he should anoint Elisha as his successor, Elijah could have resisted. He could have felt threatened. But Elijah understood the need to mentor his successor. So, he took up the task (1 Kings 19).
This passage also came to mind as I was planning for my upcoming sabbatical. The grant application the congregation was submitting required a theme, and we chose "River Crossings" because that spoke the journey ahead. A time of transition stands on the horizon for me as a pastor and for the congregation I serve. So, stories that speak of transition stand out. There is the story of Moses, who led the people to the Jordan but didn't cross over. That was left to his apprentice, Joshua. Elijah crossed the river, together with his apprentice, Elisha. Once they crossed the Jordan, Elijah passed the mantle. These are two images of transition. The one before us pictures Elijah and Elisha crossing the river, but in the end, it is Elisha that continues the ministry that had once been Elijah's. His ministry would be different from his predecessor, but Elijah was willing to serve as his guide.
These two figures can leave us confused. Who comes first, Elijah or Elisha? The writers of 2 Kings, let us know that it is Elijah first and then Elisha. When last we saw Elijah in the lectionary readings, he had fled to the desert, where he hoped to die, feeling abandoned. His cry to God was something like "Woe is me, nobody likes me, everybody hates me." (1 Kings 19:1-15). After that experience in the desert, Elijah is told to anoint "Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place." With that instruction, Elijah found Elisha plowing his field and threw his mantle over him, and after a bit of negotiation, Elisha followed Elijah, becoming his apprentice (1 Kings 19:16,19-21). Now it was time to pass the mantle. It was time for Elijah to leave and Elisha to take his place. This didn't occur until Elijah had fully instructed his apprentice, and for his part, Elisha is faithful in his following of Elijah. Elijah is the more famous of the two, but both men spoke for God to a people who didn't always appreciate the message.
The passage begins with Elijah and Elisha heading out from Gilgal. Elijah told his apprentice to stay behind as he headed to Bethel, but Elisha declared his desire to continue on with his master. When they arrived at Bethel, the disciples of the prophets came out and warned Elisha that God would be taking Elijah away from him. He acknowledged the fact. Elijah and Elisha would repeat this pattern regarding staying behind at each juncture on the path to the place where God would take Elijah. Each time Elisha pledged to stay with him. As they made the journey from Bethel to Jericho and then to the Jordan, fifty disciples of the prophets followed along with them, but at a distance, until they reached the Jordan. Here is where the moment of transition begins.
Once again, Elisha is told to stay behind, as Elijah follows his path beyond the Jordan, but Elisha refuses. At this point, Elijah takes his cloak or mantle, rolls it up, and then slaps the water of the Jordan with it. With that, the water of the river divides, much like it did when Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land. Though, on this occasion, Elijah intends to cross to the other side, out of the Promised Land. As they cross the river, Elisha having demonstrated his loyalty to Elijah, his master asks him: "what can I do for you before I am taken from you?" Elisha answers: "Let a double portion of your spirit pass on to me." (vs. 9 Tanakh). That's asking for a lot, says Elijah. But, he's open to the possibility, as long as Elisha keeps his focus on his master as he is taken up into the whirlwind. If not, if he fails to keep his concentration on Elijah's departure, the deal's off. All along the way, from Gilgal to this moment, it seems as if Elijah is testing Elisha's resolve. This will be the last test before the mantle is passed.
It is at this point, as they are walking and talking that a fiery chariot descends from the heavens and sweeps in to take Elijah from the earth. And as Elisha watched Elijah taken up into the whirlwind, he cries out "oh father, oh father." When he could no longer see his master, he took his garments and tore them in grief. With that expression of mourning, Elisha picked up the mantle of his master, which Elijah had dropped. He struck the river, which parted, and he crossed over. Here is the evidence—Elisha has the spirit, perhaps more than did Elijah. He is the heir. His turn has come. Thus, begins a new chapter, a new ministry.
Life is like that. It never stands still. Elijah was a great prophet. In actuality, his prophetic efforts were probably grander than those of Elisha, but there comes a time for the mantle to be passed. In this story, Elijah is taken from the earth. He doesn't die; he simply is taken up. Only Enoch has the same experience. That is, "Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him" (Gen. 5:24 Tanakh). Elijah walks with God and God takes him. Elijah had his struggles. He had his victories, but he also had to flee. But the ministry goes on. A new person steps to the plate. He has shown his mettle. He stood steadfastly with his mentor. He didn't aside and follow another pathway. But he went forward in the spirit, having received the same spirit that empowered Elijah. The mantle, the cloak, is not the source of power but is the symbol of a spiritual power that Elisha discerned was necessary to fulfill his calling. And off he goes, in the spirit. The same is true for us. To fulfill our callings, whether we would term them prophetic or not, requires the presence of the Spirit of God.
Picture Attribution: Swanson, John August. Elijah, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56543 [retrieved June 24, 2019]. Original source: http://www.JohnAugustSwanson.com – copyright 2008 by John August Swanson.
First Fruits of Liberation – Lectionary Reflection for Lent 1C (Deuteronomy 26)
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
26 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us." 4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me." You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.
We have begun the Lenten journey. In the reading from the Gospel, Jesus has begun his sojourn in the Wilderness, where he will be tested (Luke 4:1-11). The people of Israel had been a wandering people and they two were tested.
The people of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years. That is the scriptural message, whether we take it literally or not. As the people of Israel draw near the river that separates them from the Promised Land, they are given instructions by God through Moses. The word we hear in Deuteronomy 26 envisions the people settling in, putting down roots, planting crops, and then harvesting the crops. With this assumption in mind, the call for first fruits is given. When the time comes to beginning harvesting the crops, the people are to take the first fruits of that harvest, put it in a basket and then bring it to the designated place where the priest will receive it. In doing this the people honor the God who liberated them from bondage, the God who was with them throughout the years of wandering and is now with them as they settle into life in the Land.
As we begin the Lenten journey, might we hear this word that comes to us from the Hebrew Bible as a call to worship and a call to stewardship? There is a liturgy involved, which reminds us that stewardship is an act of worship and not merely the means of paying bills. While it is a call to stewardship, it is also a call to share the proceeds of the harvest with others, most specifically the Levites (priestly class) and the "aliens who reside among you," the bounty that God provides. Stewardship, it seems has something to do with sharing. It's a concept we were supposed to learn in kindergarten, if not before, but a concept that is easily forgotten. Thus, instructions must be given.
As the offerings are brought to the altar, the people make a declaration of faith. They are called upon to remember from whence they came. Who am I? That is a question that continue to get asked. It's a question that leads us to do genealogical work and check our DNA. In this confession, the people acknowledge that "A wandering Aramean is my ancestor." The people of Israel, having finally found a place to settle in, are reminded by this confession that they have been a nomadic people. Their DNA is rooted in the tribes and people of Aram, which is the land of Syria and Southeastern Turkey.
So, who is this ancestor? Is it Abraham and Sarah? Yes. Is it Isaac and Rebecca? Yes. Is it Jacob and his family? Yes. In fact, it's Jacob and his family who went down to Egypt and settled, only to discover that there was to be no security in that land. The initial benefits of living in Egypt proved fleeting. In time the wandering Aramean and family, though small in number, became a great nation. That led the Egyptians to feel threatened. They feared that a time would come when this tribe could gain enough strength to change the nature of Egyptian society. Does that sound familiar? Could it be a reason why some wish to build walls to keep "those people" from adding to their numbers? Is it a reason why there is a growing resistance to welcoming refugees to our shores? One scholar has even translated the opening declaration as "A wandering Syrian refugee is my ancestor." So, as we contemplate this reading, could there be something of Egypt in our souls?
The confession remembers that Jacob's descendants were treated harshly. They were sentenced to hard labor. When the descendants of this wandering Aramean cried out to God, their voices were heard. God saw the people being oppressed, and so God acted to liberate the people, bringing them into the Promised Land. Now, it is time to honor that God by bringing offerings to God as a sign of gratitude.
This reading from Deuteronomy speaks of a land that will be filled with milk and honey, a land of abundance. The confession serves as a reminder that the people of Israel are themselves immigrants and descendants of immigrants. They may have found a home, where they can settle in, put down roots, plant crops, but it is not a land to be possessed. It is a land to be received as a gift of God, to be shared. William Greenway writes of this concern: "by anchoring Israelite identity in an immigrant, a 'wandering Aramean'; by reminding the Israelites that they were themselves poor, marginalized, oppressed strangers in a strange land; and by urging them to share their bounty 'together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you' (so, no ritual or ethnic sectarianism; all attend to the basic needs of and break bread with all)." [Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery & Cynthia L. Rigby. Connections:A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: 2 (Kindle Locations 1143-1146)]. Do we remember from whence we came? Do we come to the altar bearing expressions of first fruits, or what is left over from our abundance? Are willing to share, and what does that mean?
As you read this confession, you may notice that the person is to speak this confession as if experiencing the whole. This is a community confession that identifies the person with the community, and not just the present community, but the historical community. One's current identity is rooted in one's ancestry. What happened to Jacob and his descendants matters. We who are part of the family of Jesus, by adoption, have been brought in to this ancient tribe. We too are called to bring first fruits and acknowledge that our ancestors are wanderers, and thus we too should tread lightly on the land that is not ours but belongs to God. With this reminder that we are in many ways, spiritually, on journeys that involve a lot of wandering. We may have settled in and put down roots, but it is important that we continue to honor the one who liberated us, and we do this by being good stewards of God's abundance.


text:
With T-X Win, Boeing Takes Trifecta of DoD Aircraft Awards
A Boeing-Saab T-X trainer. The aircraft will replace the Air Force's aging T-38 trainer fleet. (Photo: Boeing)
By Vivienne Machi |
@VivienneMachi
The contract award for the Air Force's next-generation advanced pilot trainer is expected to be a boon for winners Boeing [BA] and its partner Saab, analysts said.
The service announced Sept. 27 that the Boeing-Saab team had secured a contract worth up to $9.2 billion for 351 T-X aircraft and 46 simulators to replace the service's aging T-38 trainer fleet, with the option to buy up to 475 aircraft and 120 simulators. The initial contract is worth $813 million for the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the first five aircraft and seven simulators. (Defense Daily, Sept. 27) Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Leonardo DRS, the U.S.-subsidiary of Italy's Leonardo, also competed for the contract.
A Boeing-Saab T-X trainer. The aircraft will replace the Air Force's aging T-38 trainer fleet. (Photo: Boeing)
With T-X, Boeing has completed a trifecta of contract wins in the last month. In August, it beat out Lockheed Martin and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) for the Navy's MQ-25 unmanned aerial tanker aircraft program. (Defense Daily, Aug.30). Earlier last week, the Air Force awarded a Boeing-Leonardo team the contract to build a replacement for the UH-1N Huey helicopter, edging out Sierra Nevada Corp. [SNC] and Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky subsidiary. (Defense Daily, Sept. 24)
These three wins prove that Boeing is "pricing to win" after two decades of losing out on major competitions, for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, developed by Lockheed Martin, and the B-21 bomber, which ultimately went to Northrop Grumman [NOC], said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Teal Group.
The company also benefited from its large commercial development wing, from which it could leverage volume capacity to be more aggressive on pricing, he added. For Lockheed Martin and Leonardo, "there are limits to what a company that doesn't have that enormous commercial side and volume is willing to do," he said.
Boeing must have been "very aggressive" on cost to overcome the risk of a clean-sheet design on T-X, Aboulafia noted. Lockheed Martin partnered with Korea Aerospace Industries to offer the T-50A, an offshoot of KAI's T-50 trainer. Leonardo DRS offered a souped-up version of its T-100 trainer jet. Both aircraft are currently training jet fighter pilots in countries around the globe.
The Air Force took a number of steps ahead of the T-X program to boost competition and buy down risk, service acquisition officials told reporters Sept. 27 at the Pentagon.
The service engaged early with industry on the requirements for the advanced pilot trainer, which helped incite competition and buy down risk, said Will Roper, Air Force assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
"We knew what the industry base was able to produce. That allows you move into a competition where you're targeting an industry base where there's going to be fierce competition," he said.
Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, Air Force military deputy for acquisition, noted that "industry knew exactly what we were going to evaluate."
The service touted over $10 billion in cost savings from its previous program estimate of $19 billion. Roper and Bunch declined to share the source of the cost savings, adding that more details about the cost breakdowns, including unit cost, would come "later." Analysts at the Capital Alpha Partners estimate a unit cost of approximately $21.3 million.
Roper noted that service cost estimates tend to start higher than the competitors' proposed amounts.
"As industry proves the technology really has matured and changed the game, then we're able to lower and recoup that margin of savings to the program," he said.
Bunch said the service required "real aircraft data" to evaluate the prospects of both off-the-shelf and purpose-built aircraft.
Aboulafia noted that the flight data requirement could have caused the contract award to be delayed, as the Air Force would have had to wait for Boeing's flight data. But that would have also helped Boeing to buy down some of the inherent risk in the clean sheet design, he noted.
Service acquisition officials declined to comment on whether Boeing's performance on the KC-46 next- generation tanker program factored into evaluations for T-X or not. The program has suffered years of delay, and Boeing has taken on billions of dollars in cost overruns due to the fixed-price contract.
"Every program is different, [and] we evaluate them based on the merits of the proposal," Roper said. "We look at technical merits, we look at cost, we look at risk, and those go into making the final selection."
While it is possible that Lockheed Martin or Leonardo DRS will choose to protest the award, it may prove difficult to find a persuasive argument if the decision came down to cost, Aboulafia said.
The contract award opens Boeing and its Sweden-based partner Saab to additional trainer opportunities down the road. It positions Boeing to potentially replace Navy trainers once the service begins to phase out its aging T-45 fleet, said Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners.
A fighter/attack version of the winning aircraft could also emerge, analysts noted.
"Could Boeing market a supersonic minimum fighter combat variant? That would be interesting," Aboulafia said.
Sandy Morris, an equity analyst with Jefferies United International, said that the T-X contract award will "move the goalposts" for subcontractor Saab, with financial improvements expected by the mid-2020s. Analysts expect the Air Force to spend about $2 billion to achieve initial operating capability by 2024, although that may be accelerated.
The T-X aircraft and systems give Saab another major new product that could benefit over time from the U.S. foreign military sales organization, Morris noted. The new advanced pilot training system could prove appealing for any country that uses Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, to include the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Norway and Denmark, she said. Israel, Belgium, Finland, Singapore, Japan and South Korea could also potentially acquire the trainer, although Aboulafia noted that the Korean-made T-50 is "not going away anytime soon."
Boeing-Saab Team Lands Air Force T-X Contract
Analyst: Too Soon to Tell If Protest-Free Trend Will Stick for Air Force Programs
Lockheed Martin Emphasizes F-16 Heritage In T-X Offering


Log in to access all features. Log In Register for a Cisco Account.
Download new software or updates to your current software.
Get fast electronic fulfillment of software, licenses, and documentation.
Order major upgrades to software such as unified communications.
Browse a list of all available software updates.
Generate and manage PAK-based and other device licenses, including demo licenses.
Track and manage Smart Software Licenses.
Generate and manage licenses from Enterprise Agreements.
Configure, price, and order Cisco products, software, and services. Available to partners and to customers with a direct purchasing agreement.
Cisco software is not sold, but is licensed to the registered end user. The terms and conditions provided govern your use of that software. Read them here.
Submit a request for access to a Smart Account.
Modify the properties of your Smart Account and associate individual Cisco Smart Accounts with your Smart Account.
Easily view, store, and manage all your licenses.
Customize your account to match your organization.
Licenses are automatically added to your account when ordering.
Smart Accounts are required to use Smart Licensing.


text:
JOIN THE RIDE
eSkootr
Our Mission Our Commission
#JoinTheRide
Sign up to get all the latest eSkootr info, pics and monthly update – delivered straight to your inbox.
WES Management Ltd. REG. ADDRESS: 85 Great Portland St, London W1W 7LT
Design & Development Interstate Creative Partners
05 Aug 2021 PRESS RELEASE_
Sharon Fuller joins eSC as Chief Content Officer
The eSkootr Championship™ (eSC) is pleased to announce that Sharon Fuller has been appointed as Chief Content Officer.
Share: LinkedIn Twitter
Fuller brings a wealth of experience to the world's first racing series for electric scooters, moving from her position as Global Head of Central Content Creation at Red Bull. In her new role, Fuller will oversee all content creation, distribution, media partnerships and manage and work with influencers and production partners.
A ground-breaking sports media creator
Emmy nominated and multiple award-winning Fuller has over 20 years' experience in Sports Broadcasting, beginning in radio in her home town of Norwich and progressing through roles to work in a management position in a small Production Company on projects such as Moto GP and International football.
A move to BBC Sport as Production Executive on Formula One and the Olympics then as Project Lead on the organisation's grassroots Get Inspired campaign involved overseeing all strategy and objectives, finance and funding, marketing and audience research, digital, social and on-air content strategy. Most notably Fuller co-founded the phenomenally successful Couch to 5k programme which claimed several awards including the Sports Technology Award - Best Technology to Promote Participation 2016. The initiative helped mark Fuller out as 'One to Watch' on the Independent's Most Influential Women in Sport List 2015.
Still within BBC Sport, Fuller worked on the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and FIFA World Cup in the role of Editor of Red Button, Live Streaming, Digital Video, Partnerships & Younger Audiences. Leading BBC Sport's charge into the digital age, under Fuller's leadership the organisation doubled the amount of live sport broadcast on the BBC, winning amongst other awards the 2018 Digital TV Europe Cannes Content Innovation Awards - Best Live Streaming Initiative.
Content beyond Sport
Upon leaving BBC Sport, increasingly senior positions saw Fuller develop content for Red Bull, encompassing not just Sport, but the brand's Culture, Gaming and Music interests as well. Fuller has managed the company's live broadcasts, all event content, rights acquisitions, digital enhancement and content for distribution for the global brand famous for pushing the boundaries of marketing and brand activation. In 2019 she was named in Leaders in Sport's 30 under 40 and in 2021 she was nominated for an Emmy for Innovation in Sports Coverage.
Advocate for inclusivity and diversity
Fuller's personal passion for further diversity in sport is matched by eSC's drive to be a fully gender-neutral sport. In the past Fuller has pushed for equality in the representation of women's sport in comparison to male counterparts. She has been a mentor for female athletes as part of the Women's Sport Trust's initiatives and has also personally brought women's cycling into greater parity working with the Matrix Pro Cycling Women's Team. She is also a founding board member of the Professional Body for Sports Leadership.
Developing eSC's imaginative content and authentic voice
In her role as Chief Content Officer, Fuller will help shape eSC's multi-platform, multi-faceted content and communications strategy which will reach far beyond traditional sport. With input into eSC messaging, Fuller will lead the look and feel of communications while overseeing delivery of all content. She will oversee all content on eSC owned and managed channels, incorporating the requirements for diversity and gender neutrality in an imaginative delivery for a new micromobility movement.
Sharon Fuller said:
It's very rare that an opportunity comes along to help drive forward a movement which has so many facets that appeal to your personal and professional passions. From grassroots all the way through to technology, financial accessibility, innovation and sustainability – all driven from what sport can bring. I am delighted to joining a business with such clear vision and ambition for the future and I am excited for what we are going to achieve together.
Hrag Sarkissian, eSkootr Championship™ co-founder and CEO
We're thrilled to have Sharon join our amazing team! With her content driven approach, she brings a wealth of experience to eSC and we seek to build a strong, mission-driven and engaging platform.
#TIMETOESCAPE
Our Commission


text:
German cavalry under American fire in World War I. (Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)
Over There: 'War Horse' and World War I
The First World War (1914-1918) is revisited, in all its horror, in War Horse, the new film from director Steven Spielberg.
Based on a novel of the same name by English author Michael Morpurgo, War Horse follows the adventures of its four-legged equine hero, Joey, as he is tamed and trained by a Devonshire farm lad. When the war breaks out, Joey is sold into service as a British officer's mount and shipped over to the European battlefields. As the war drags on, the horse is captured and toils for the German army, dragging a heavy artillery gun, and later finds himself stuck amidst the barbed wire in No Man's Land.
That Joey – warning, spoiler ahead – manages to survive makes him one of the lucky ones, both among the horses and the men who served in WWI. The casualties were mind-boggling, with more than 10 million military deaths on both sides and 7 million civilians. Of those, nearly a million of the dead soldiers came from the British Empire; a generation was cut down or badly wounded and the effects resounded for years.
For anyone seeing War Horse who wants to know more about WWI, there are a number of fascinating on-line archives that explore the conflict's history in detail. With their mix of film footage, audio and old photos, they offer a veracity no Hollywood film, no matter how accurate, can hope to duplicate.
Here are several sites worth exploring:
The World War One Film Archive:
For archival film footage featuring British soldiers, military encampments and battles, it's hard to beat the World War One Film Archive (http://www.ww1photos.com/WW1FilmArchiveIndex.html). Just keep in mind that the films were shot back in the era of silent movies, so don't expect talking or sound.
For a sample of the material you'll find in the archive, take a look at this footage of the "Royal Horse Artillery Waiting to Move Out," shot on the Western Front in 1915:
The Blue Cross
The Blue Cross, a British animal protection group, has recently opened to the public and put on-line for the first time its archives about how it aided war horses during the Great War (http://www.bluecross.org.uk/95099/the-blue-crosss-war-horse-collection.html). The site features film footage, audio slideshows, and other fascinating material about the organization's efforts during WWI, which included treating 50,000 horses in Blue Cross animal hospitals in France.
World War I promotional poster for The Blue Cross Fund
Wondering how much of what happens in War Horse is actually real? Find the answers at the National Army Museum in London, which is currently offering an exhibition entitled "War Horse: Fact & Fiction." A visit to its web site (http://www.nam.ac.uk/microsites/war-horse/explore/) gives intriguing glimpses of the exhibition's contents. For anyone heading over to London for the holidays, a stop at the museum is a must. (The exhibit runs through next August.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS3206C_Ghg
BBC's History – World War I
If you really want to delve in the history of WWI, the BBC has a history site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/) that is full of battlefield diagrams, excerpts from the diaries and letters of British soldiers, and even a virtual tour showing what life was like in the trenches on the front lines. It's full of intriguing and startling factoids, such as that the average soldier saw no more than 5 to 10 days of combat in a year and that, by war's end, the British Army had treated 80,000 men for shell shock.
Finally, if after all this immersion in the bloody reality of WWI, you're looking for a little similarly themed, historical, holiday diversion, might I suggest viewing Joyeux Noel, a 2005 film based on an actual battlefield story from 1914. It tells how, on Christmas Eve, a group of Scottish, French and German soldiers called an unofficial truce and celebrated together across No Man's Land. Gary Lewis and Ian Richardson are among the stars.
Filed Under: Steven Spielberg, War Horse, World War I, WW1
By Leah Rozen
Steven Spielberg is Making a New 'West Side Story' Starring Ansel Elgort
First Look: Simon Pegg as Ogden Morrow in 'Ready Player One'


Resources to succeed with Selenium and WebDriver for Web and Mobile application testing.
This is Frank Cohen's tutorial for Selenium 1 and WebDriver (aka Selenium 2). Click these buttons to download the slide deck presentation and the example files referenced in the presentation. Frank Cohen and others are available to make this presentation in person. Click here to contact us for details.
Selenium Basics Tutorial from Appvance Inc.
Advanced Selenium Workshop from Appvance Inc.
San Jose Selenium Meet-up PushToTest TestMaker Presentation from Appvance Inc.
Selenium XPath Performance Problems in IE from Appvance Inc.


A group of undocumented children with letters for names, are stuck living in a refugee camp, with stories to tell but no papers to prove them. As they try to forge a new family amongst themselves, they also long to keep memories of their old identities alive. Will they be heard and believed? And what will happen to them if they aren't?
An astonishing piece of writing that will enchant and intrigue children; perfectly pitched at a 9+ readership.
Steve Tasane is a writer and performance poet who rap-funks for everyone from primary schools to May Day anarchists . He has performed at Glastonbury, been writer in residence at the V&A Museum of Childhood, been broadcast on TV and radio, and has just completed a writing residency for Dickens 2012 in Southampton. Blood Donors is his first novel for teens, although he was previously shortlisted for the Diverse Voices Award. Steve lives in Hastings, East Sussex.