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Irisha Jones, Reporter
Jeff Williamson, Digital Content Manager
Tags: News, Roanoke, Local
Man pleads guilty to Bent Mountain triple murder, receives multiple life sentences
Charles gunned down Miranda Trump, Brandon Dekle and Cole Kennedy in June 2018
ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – A 19-year-old man pleaded guilty Monday morning to murdering three people on Bent Mountain last year.
In June 2018, Trevor Charles, who was 18 at the time, gunned down Miranda Trump, Brandon Dekle and Cole Kennedy. The three victims worked together at a restaurant.
Trevor Charles pleaded guilty to all six counts against him and will serve three life sentences, plus 13 years.
He pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder, two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
During his 2018 interrogation, Charles refers to the victims as his "friends," and explains how coming down from a heroin high contributed to his actions.
Charles' attorney, Deborah Caldwell Bono, said it was her client's decision to enter into the plea agreement, "He wanted to spare the families the trauma of a trial and going through it as well as his own. That's what he wanted to do, do ahead and accept responsibility and spare them further anguish."
"The families all expressed their desire for finality in this case and the agreement was entered in to with their acceptance and support," said acting Commonwealth's Attorney Aaron Lavinder
While a motive for Charles' actions wasn't revealed in court Monday, during a hearing in August 2018, Charles said a voice named 'George' told him to kill the three victims.
Below is a statement from the families of Brandon Dekle, Cole Kennedy and Miranda Trump:
Our families would like to thank the Roanoke County Police Department, Roanoke County Fire & Rescue, Virginia State Police, and the Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for working so diligently to provide closure and develop a plea that was healthy for our families and would guarantee that the defendant would never have the possibility of parole.
We also thank the Bent Mountain community for their care and concern for Brandon, Cole and Miranda.
Brandon, Cole and Miranda were all wonderful people.
-Brandon's goofy antics and the way he shared his love for the world.
-Cole's quick wit and the way he always helped others.
-Brandon and Cole were lifelong, inseparable friends and had such a passion for life that will live on in our memories.
-And Miranda's infectious smile, caring heart and love for everyone will always be with us.
Our lives will never be the same and we will miss each of them every single day.
We will always be grateful for how hard everyone has worked to support our families and enable us to take our first steps in healing.
Irisha Jones
Irisha joined the WSLS news team in January 2017 after spending four years as a reporter in Georgia.
Jeff Williamson


If you're looking for options to reduce the amount of your VA home loan mortgage payments, there are several ways to approach the issue depending on whether or not you have already taken out the loan or not.
For example, if you have not closed the deal on your VA home loan yet, making a down payment on the mortgage can help lower the monthly mortgage bill. So can paying costs and expenses up front rather than including them into the loan amount. Were you considering rolling the VA loan funding fee into your loan? Paying that fee up front can save you money in monthly mortgage payments.
Any approved add-ons to the VA loan amount such as the VA Energy Efficient Mortgage option can potentially raise the amount of your monthly payments. It may be a good idea to sit down and do the math on including such expenses into your loan before committing to doing so.
Another way to help lower your mortgage bills is to purchase interest rate discount points as part of the loan–these reductions in interest can reduce your payments. Check the terms your lender is currently offering–know how much reduction in interest there may be as a result of purchasing discount points and for how long the reduced interest rate remains in effect.
If you already have a VA mortgage loan and need to lower your monthly payments, the most effective way to do this is to apply for a VA Streamline Refinancing Loan.
This refinancing loan has a requirement that some benefit comes to the borrower as a result of the new loan. These benefits must be lower payments, lower interest, or both. Applying for a VA Streamline Refinancing loan means there is no VA-required appraisal fee or credit check in most cases, though the lender is free to require one or both depending on circumstances.
Speak to your loan officer about your options to reduce VA mortgage payments, you may be surprised to learn what your options are, whether you're getting ready to purchase or have already closed the deal on a VA mortgage loan.
You can explore your options for applying for VA refinancing at http://www.VAloans.com which is a private company and not a government agency.
Our V A home loan is severely underwater. The house was included in a B K & discharged in 2009.We have asked for a modification 10 months with no decision yet. We are not making payments. Since the B K is over 2 years, can we get another V A loan at today's home prices?
That would depend on your credit and other financial qualifications established since the bankruptcy, but if you have missed payments on your record you would need to wait 12 months from the date of your last missed payment before applying.


Nick Makrides of The Scran Line has been thrilling Instagram and YouTube with his vibrant baked creations, and he's now revealing the recipes in his new cookbook, Sugar Rebels ($20). He breaks down step-by-step instructions for constructing some seriously over-the-top sweets: The cupcakes are layered in various gradients; the cakes are multi-tiered; and everything comes with the type of signature flair only Makrides can conjure.
Makrides pulls inspiration from pop culture and trends, music, and the LGBTQIA community. "Pop divas like Gaga, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj are a constant source of inspiration for me," writes Makrides in the introduction to the chapter "Rebel Pride." "I love the way their music makes me feel empowered and confident. It's also taught me how to deal with life's ups and downs in a healthy way. I try to reflect that feeling in my desserts." His neon-colored confections are often rainbow-splattered and proud of it.
One of the joys of Sugar Rebels is that every creation seems larger than life. Do you eat it or marvel? Whether it's the Voodoo Halloween cake decked out in a realistic golden skull or the Forbidden Donut emoji-esque macaroon, Makrides' creations don't seem like they should be real — but they are. Take, for example, the Cactus Garden Cake, a layered chocolate cake with a ganache drizzle and several different kinds of frosting topped off with cartoon-like blossoming cacti. They are not your everyday millennial succulents, but they're sure to make your heart happy.
Here's an example of a cake trend that I ignored and came back to once it was over, with my own twist and take on it. When I was coming up with this cake design, I didn't want the cacti to look real. I wanted them to look bright, colorful and almost like they were inspired by a cartoon alien planet.
Recipe Notes: This cake is a serious undertaking for any baker, so Brit + Co decided to break the recipe into pieces for your ease of use. Click the links within the ingredients list to automatically jump to the recipe within the page to avoid scrolling. If you need additional photo step-by-step instruction, check out this handy cake-decorating guide which walks through how to add a crumb layer, bench scrape the frosting smoothly, and decoratively drizzle the white chocolate on top.
1. Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the tins, then chill them in the fridge overnight, still in their tins (you can wrap the tins in plastic wrap if you like). Chilling your cakes overnight makes them easier to trim and decorate, so I always bake my cakes the day before I decorate them. You can bake the cakes up to a week in advance and freeze them by tightly wrapping them in plastic wrap. To thaw the cakes, take them out the night before decorating.
Crumb-coat the cake using the raspberry frosting. To prepare the striped frosting, add the peach and white frosting to two separate piping bags.
3. Pipe a ring of peach frosting around the bottom of your cake, then a ring of white frosting above that. Repeat until you get to the top of the cake. Add some more peach frosting to the top. Use a small offset spatula to spread it out, aiming to get it flat. It doesn't have to be perfect, because we're going to come back to it.
4. Use a cake scraper to carefully scrape the frosting around the cake. Scrape any excess frosting off the cake scraper each time you go around the cake to ensure the different layers of colored frosting stay nice and neat. Continue scraping until the cake is smooth on the sides, then gently smooth out the top with the scraper.
5. Fill a piping bag with the teal ganache and drizzle it around the top of the cake, letting it drip down the side.
6. Finish by carefully adding the chilled cacti decorations to the top.
1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 275°F or a conventional oven to 320°F. Spray three 8-inch cake tins with oil spray, and line the bottoms with baking paper. Set aside.
3. Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer until well combined.
4. Next, add the softened butter and mix on low speed until the batter reaches a crumbly, sand-like texture.
5. Add the eggs and milk and mix again on low speed until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds. It's at this point that you can add any additional flavorings or food-gel colorings to the batter.
6. Divide the cake mixture between the three tins. I find that using an ice-cream scoop makes it easy to distribute the batter evenly, ensuring that all three cakes bake at the same rate.
7. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the toothpick is coated with wet batter, continue baking, for 10 minutes at a time, until fully baked.
8. Then, assemble and decorate your cake!
1. Add the raspberry jam, raspberry flavoring (if using) and the pink food gel to the buttercream and mix with a hand mixer until well combined. This is the frosting you'll use to fill and crumb-coat the cake.
1. Divide the frosting between two bowls.
2. To make the peach frosting, color one bowl with the orange and pink food gel and mix until well combined.
3. Leave the other bowl white.
1. Add 1 1/2 ounces sifted unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder when you add the vanilla extract. My cake recipes often call for more than one batch of frosting. Depending on the size of your mixing bowl, you may need to split the frosting into two batches when flavoring and coloring it.
2. Begin by filling a large saucepan 1/4 of the way with water. Let it come to a gentle boil over a medium-high heat.
3. Separate your egg whites from your yolks in a large, very clean, glass or metal mixing bowl. We only need the egg whites for this recipe, so you can store the yolks in an airtight container in the fridge to use for something else. (My go-to recipe for using up egg yolks is custard. Yum!) Add your sugar to the egg whites and use a hand whisk to mix them together.
4. Place your bowl on top of the pan of boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. This is called the double-boiler method and is a very gentle way of cooking or melting something.
5. Gently whisk your egg white and sugar mixture for about 3–4 minutes, or until the sugar is completely dissolved. Check that it's dissolved by running it through two fingers. If you can't feel the sugar granules, then it's time to take it off the heat. If you can, then continue whisking for another 2–3 minutes and keep testing until you can no longer feel any granules.
6. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high speed for about 4–5 minutes. The mixture will become thick and glossy and will begin to cool.
7. Gradually add the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the mixer is on high speed. At first, your egg whites will deflate and look like the butter is causing them to split, but don't panic! It will come back together. It takes a couple of minutes for the butter and meringue to become best friends.
8. Once you have added all the butter, add the vanilla extract and mix first on low speed to combine, then on high speed for 5 minutes.
9. You'll know it's done when the frosting has come together, has turned pale in color (if you're making vanilla) and is nice and fluffy.
10. If you find your frosting is too aerated, then mix at the lowest speed for about 10 minutes and it will become perfectly smooth again.
1. Combine the white chocolate and cream in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 20 seconds at a time, mixing between each interval until smooth. Add a drop of teal food gel and mix until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature.
2. Alternatively, you can make the ganache using the double-boiler method. Fill a large saucepan 1/3 of the way with water and bring to the boil. Place the bowl containing the chocolate and cream on top and gently mix until the two ingredients are completely melted and smooth.
3. To soften the ganache to drizzling consistency, microwave on high, for 5 seconds at a time, mixing well in between each interval. Dip a spoon into the ganache and, if it drizzles down and doesn't look transparent, it's ready to use on the cake.
1. Check out the image to guide you in creating the cacti. Begin by lining two baking trays with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Set about 3 tablespoons of the American buttercream frosting aside. This is your plain white frosting.
3. Color 1/4 of the remaining frosting teal, and another 1/4 of the frosting lime-green. Divide the remaining frosting between three mixing bowls and color them pink, peach, and purple following the coloring formulations in the ingredients list.
4. For the large and small bulb cacti, use your hands to mold a small log out of one of the Rice Krispies Treats. Aim to get one end of the log a little flatter than the other. Fit the end of a piping bag with a Wilton #32 tip and fill it with the lime-green frosting. Add a small bulb of lime-green frosting to the bottom of the Rice Krispies log and stick it to a baking tray. Pipe lines around the log, starting at the bottom and working your way to the top. Continue until the cactus is completely frosted.
5. Fit the end of a piping bag with a small round tip and fill it with the white frosting. Pipe random little dots all over your cactus. To make the smaller cactus, repeat the same process with a Rice Krispies ball about the size of a plum.
6. For the purple spikey cactus, fit the end of a piping bag with a small leaf tip and fill it with the purple frosting. Begin by piping a circle of leaves onto the baking paper, about 2 inches in diameter, then fill that in with more leaves. As you pull away from the bottom, try and pull the piping bag straight up to give the leaves some height. If you feel it needs more volume, pipe some extra smaller leaves on top.
7. For the pickle cactus, pipe some tall pickle shapes about 2 inches in height with the lime-green frosting. Do it slowly so that you don't risk them toppling over. Pipe a little bulb of pink frosting on top using a small round tip.
9. Once you've finished making your cacti, pop them in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill.
1.Add 2 3/4 ounces sifted unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder with the icing sugar.
2. Add your softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use a hand mixer for this recipe, but if you do use a hand mixer, make sure your bowl is large. Mix the butter on low speed to begin with, then switch to the highest speed and mix for 5 minutes until the butter is fluffy and turns pale in color.
3. Stop your mixer and scrape down the side of the bowl using a spatula. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and mix again on low speed. LOW SPEED, PEOPLE! The last thing you need is to end up in a sugar dust storm!
4. Once all the sugar has been incorporated, it's safe to turn your mixer up to high speed. Continue beating on high speed for about 5–6 minutes, or until the butter turns pale in color and becomes fluffy again. If you want to soften your buttercream and make it a little smoother, add the milk and continue mixing for another couple of minutes on medium speed. At this stage, you can also add any food flavorings or food-gel colorings.


In the last post we discussed the first 3 advantages of email marketing that you simply cannot ignore.
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While the big guns of 1970 were 60s' icons (The Doors had 3 LPs in the top 100, the Beatles and Stones were in the top spots), there was plenty of new talent on the horizon (understatement of the year, 1970). Maybe you'll recognize this one.
As a young boy, Reginald Dwight spent five years at the Royal Academy of Music, his natural talent leading to an audition that left everyone awestruck. But Elvis and Buddy Holly would change the direction he'd take as a teenager, and then, in 1968, as part of a band called Bluesology, Reg answered an advertisement that read, "Liberty Wants Talent."
In the audition for Liberty Records, he was asked his name and chose Elton, just because he liked it, and John because of John Lennon. He was handed a stack of hand-scribbled poems by Bernie Taupin and asked that he write the music for them, the most famous among them, "The Border Song," truly classic Elton. His collaboration with lifelong lyricist, Bernie Taupin, had begun, and they'd never even met.
Fifty-one years ago, Elton's first LP, Empty Sky, was released in the U.K., an album that would not be released in America until 1975. The moderate success of the first LP left him doing session work for acts like The Hollies. Elton's debut in the States was his sophomore effort, Elton John, which had three hits in "Take Me To the Pilot," "The Border Song," and most famously, "Your Song," which remains as popular today, if not more so, than 50 years ago - the song has been streamed more than 100,000,000 times on Spotify alone.
A tremendously influential series of live performances at L.A.'s Troubadour proved that John - who'd been a huge Jerry Lee Lewis fan - could rock as hard as anyone, and before long his solo career was taking off on stage in both the U.K. and the U.S. and in the studio.
Bernie Taupin was born in 1950 at Flatters Farmhouse in the southern part of England. He was anything but a diligent student yet showed an early flair for writing and an appreciation for nature, for literature and narrative poetry, all of which influenced his lyrics. At age 15, he left school and started work as a trainee in the print room of the local newspaper, The Lincolnshire Standard with aspirations to be a journalist. He soon left and spent the rest of his teenage years hanging out with friends and hitchhiking the country roads. At age 16, he answered the advertisement that eventually led to his collaboration with Elton John.
Bernie's unique blend of influences gave his early lyrics a nostalgic romanticism that fit perfectly with the hippie sensibilities of the late 1960s and early 1970s. "Ballad of a Well-Known Gun," the lead song on Tumbleweed Connection, Elton's third LP, addresses the concerns of a man arrested for unspecified crimes yet showing deep remorse when he's thrown in prison by the Pinkertons. That kind of dusty verisimilitude seeps into "Song of Your Father" and "Talking Old Soldiers," and of course later in songs like "Sweet Painted Lady," "Roy Rogers" and "Have Mercy on the Criminal." Funny that Americana is captured so well by two nerdy Englishmen. Taupin's romantic lyrics are superb and brought to life with Elton's rising and falling piano chords, the mark of incredible teamwork. Elton, of course, is the voice and the music, but for me, as a writer and a teacher, it's Taupin's lyrics that bring me back and lately, bring me to tears. I love the storytelling in songs like "Blues For Baby and Me," kind of a follow-up to Springsteen's "Born to Run," about a young couple who run away by Greyhound, like in Paul Simon's "America."
50 years ago we had not yet heard or heard of Elton John, but six months later, we'd start singing "Your Song" and never stop.
Posted by rjsomeone at 1:35:00 PM
Labels: Bernie Taupin, Elton John, Troubadour, Your Song

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In this article I'll show you how to configure the ADSL/Cable router of E-Tech for use with ADSL by KPN (MXStream). It will take you about 5 minutes to configure the router.
By the way: this is a pretty cheap router/switch: app. $120.
LINK Green if the ADSL/Cablemodem is connected properly.
ACT Blinks orange when data is exchanged between router and ADSL/Kabelmoden.
Port 1 is connected (Orange = 10 Mbps, Green = 100 Mbps) and blinks at data transfer.
Port 2 is connected (Orange = 10 Mbps, Green = 100 Mbps) and blinks at data transfer.
Port 3 is connected (Orange = 10 Mbps, Green = 100 Mbps) and blinks at data transfer.
Port 4 is connected (Orange = 10 Mbps, Green = 100 Mbps) and blinks at data transfer.
Keeps burning orange when using full-duplex data transfer between router and PC.
Blinks orange when PC and router use a half-duplex connection. Sometimes this causes so called collisions.
A switch to cross the Ethernet port nr 4. It switches between a normal (straight) connection and a uplink (crossed) connection.
1 WAN Port (for hookin' up the ADSL/Cablemodem).
Reset button. For restarting the router (brief single click) or restting to factory settings (keep it pressed for 3 seconds).
The DIAG will briefly go on and off.
Duplicate the settings show in the image above, for use with ADSL van KPN (MXStream). Copy all settings and click "APPLY".
Check 'PPTP' and enter username and password.
After doing so, start on the PC, a browser, for example Internet Explorer, and open a great website (http://www.weethet.nl/). The router LEDs will now reflect activity.
Tip: remove any dialup adapter on your PC and configure Internet Explorer to use LAN only!


Featuring old-school PUMA styling with modern enhancements, the PUMA Classic Suede can be dressed up or down for daily wear.
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I was invited to have a solo show at the Sports & Society Conference this Summer. The show will be up in May & June of 2012 at St. Norbets College. The conference is taking place at Lambeau Field and St. Norbets College and will have Bud Selig (MLB Commissioner) and George Bodenheimer (Executive Chairman of ESPN) as the keynote speakers.
Very honored to be a part of the conference and looking forward to it!
Conference info and Exhibition info.
The reception for Bases Loaded was a success! Great turn out and all of the Chicago Hot Dogs were consumed.


Around 80 to 90 per cent of the 700,000 square meters on stock this year are for BPO operations, but the country is well-positioned to be the site in 2016 for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) headquarters as the economies of the region integrate next year, said Rick Santos, chairman and chief executive officer of property consultancy firm CBRE Philippines, on September 23.
The bulk of the office stock will come from major developers Ayala Land Inc, Megaworld Corporation, Robinsons Land Corporation and SM.
Megaworld pioneered in the development of BPO hubs starting with Eastwood City in Libis, Quezon City.
The highly skilled labour pool has likewise piqued the interest of foreign locators in expanding their operations to the country.
According to the 2014 AT Kearney Global Services Location Index, the Philippines ranks 7th among 51 countries as a prime BPO location.
Supply is tight as shown by vacancy rates as of the second quarter of the year.
Santos said vacancy rates will continue to be in check to about 5 per cent by 2015 as demand continues to grow, even as an additional 500,000 square meters of space come on stream that year.
Makati City, still the most attractive site for global firms, has a vacancy rate of 1.35 per cent where the average lease rate is the highest at 970 pesos ($21.77) per square meter per month.
Makati's lease rates are at $29 per square foot per annum, one of the most competitive among 19 central business districts in the region.
The Philippines' biggest competitor in the call center/BPO industry, India, charges $31 to $118 per square foot per year, depending on the city.
Hong Kong charges five times the Philippines' rate, at $221 per square foot per year.
Makati is followed by Fort Bonifacio, where the vacancy rate has gone up to 3.78 per cent from 2.23 per cent in the first quarter, and where the lease is at 797.12 pesos ($17.89) per square meter per month.
Ortigas' vacancy rate went up 0.72 per cent in the first quarter to 8.75 per cent in the second quarter as it has the cheapest rate of 572.87 pesos ($12.87) per square meter per month.
At least 170,000 square meters of new retail space was introduced in the first quarter of the year, and more than 100,000 square meters of new space will be completed before 2014 closes.
The upbeat tourism of the country, with international tourism revenues at 109.8 billion pesos ($2.47 billion) in the first half of 2014, has increased the demand for more hotels and retail establishments in tourist spots and central business districts (CBDs) of the Philippines.
Similarly, the strengthening of the global manufacturing sector, coupled with stable lease rates, are boosting industrial operations in the country, with players looking into areas outside the usual CBDs, such as in Clark and Cebu.
Also, Japanese locators, in particular, are showing interest in expanding their operations in the country, CBRE Philippines reported.


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CityPage
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Book Cheap Flights to Sao Paulo
About Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo is a bustling metropolis located in Brazil. In addition to being the financial hub of Brazil, Sao Paulo is the most populated city in the southern hemisphere, with a population of 12.4 million residents. A cosmopolitan melting-pot of cultures, Sao Paulo is home to the largest groups of Italian, Arab and Japanese expats in the world.
Cheap flights to Sao Paulo are now available for a limited period of time, so prepare to be captivated by the beauty and energy of this city! Sao Paulo is home to Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) located 25 minutes from the city centre by car.
Why visit Sao Paulo
Renowned for its delicious and versatile street food, Sao Paulo offers some of the best local cuisine, like Moqueca (fish stew) on hot rice and spicy Feijoada.
Street art in Sao Paulo has turned many of the city's districts into walk-through works of art. Expect to be dazzled at buildings transformed into colourful, ornate murals by local artists.
Sao Paulo is within driving distance to some of the world's best beaches. Enjoy some tanning or a refreshing swim. Nearby parks offer walks and hikes with breath-taking mountain views.
Essential details you need to know before your trip
Hub Airport
Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU)
GMT -03:00
Best time to visit Sao Paulo
Blessed with a subtropical climate, Sao Paulo enjoys warm weather throughout the year, making any time an ideal time to visit. Winter time in Sao Paulo (June to September) is high-season due to comfortable temperatures and minimal rainfall. The best times to visit are autumn (March to May) and spring (October to November), when temperatures are at their mildest and the tourist crowds have dispersed. Take advantages of the low-season specials on offer and enjoy the city for less!
Weather & Climate in Sao Paulo
Average temperature (°C) & rainfall (mm) per month
Rainfall (mm)
170 170 120 50 30 20 20 10 60 90 110 150
Often overlooked by travellers in favour of its more well-known sister city, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo is a versatile and eclectic city with a melting-pot of different cultures. Its diverse population of locals lend a friendly and welcoming atmosphere to the city, particularly to travellers. The streets of Sao Paulo are a chaotic but exciting bustle of people who have a reputation for loving to lend a hand to lost visitors.
Travellers are spoilt for choice with city landmarks, museums, art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants, as well as gorgeous beaches, peaceful parks and an array of walking trails in the surrounding areas. Must-see attractions include Museu Afro-Brasil, the Theatro Municipal and the Sao Paulo Carnival taking place in February (giving the Rio Carnival a run for its money!).
Compare several airlines, and book your cheap flights to Sao Paulo online at Travelstart!
As a city that sees hundreds of thousands of visitors per year, Sao Paulo can be affected by pick-pocketing and petty theft. Always remain vigilant of your surroundings and be aware of individuals around you. Keep a close eye on luggage and valuables, particularly in busy areas like bus stops and train stations. Be wary of individuals offering to carry your luggage or other goods. Do not walk the city streets at night; rather take a clearly-marked taxi cab. Do not leave drinks unattended in bars and restaurants.
Visitors are advised to stay out of the Sao Paulo favelas unless they have a genuine interest in visiting. If so, it is safest to arrange a guided trip with an experienced tour guide.
Sao Paulo's eclectic nature is reflected in its diverse range of neighbourhoods and accommodation options. Travellers wanting to be near Sao Paulo's must-see attractions should look for accommodation in trendy Jardins where endless streets of stylish restaurants can be found, in addition to many of Sao Paulo's most popular museums.
Those looking for a more bohemian atmosphere will feel right at home in Vila Madalena, Sao Paulo's most artistic neighbourhood, filled with boutique shops, trendy coffee houses and traditional Brazilian Botecos, featuring live Samba bands.
Sao Paulo offers safe and convenient public transport for locals and visitors alike. The buses follow a multitude of routes mapping across the city and run from 4am to midnight every day. Keep in mind that traffic and congestion can sometimes slow buses in transit.
Sao Paulo's metro rail is one of the finest in South America with local and national lines available to take passengers around and out of the city. It is not advised to take the metro at night if you are by yourself, rather use it in groups.
Taxis are also available, be sure to check that the taxi has the word "TAXI" printed on the vehicle and also be sure that the cab driver matches the vehicle's identification sticker and license plate information.
Main attractions in Sao Paulo
Sao Paulo Cathedral
Monumento às Bandeiras
Ibirapuera Park
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Honda has started new operations for the upcoming series of Solar Hydrogen Station first sample in the Honda R&D Americas, Inc. in Los Angeles. They have proposed an excellent use for home replenish products which are capable of refilling the fuel cells of electric vehicles overnight.
It is a vertical unit, incorporated to be installed in the consumer's garage. This new generation Hydrogen Station is making the smaller systems but producing more energy of hydrogen from filling in 8 hours during the night for everyday use. It will provide 10'000 miles in a round year to drive an electric fuel cell vehicle.
There were previously designed hydrogen system that were more space consuming because they were coming with a separate compressor and an electrolyzer to produce more pressure hydrogen. It was very expensive and the compressor was a large component and eventually minimizes the systems performance.
Honda has now removed the compressor from the new system, and this is the World's first system can be used at home. It is also minimizing the size of other main components and improving the efficiency. It is now a pure compact version with improved capacity of at least 25% after calculations based on simulations.
This is easily moveable by an average user and very easy to use its operations and can easily remove the fuel hose as well.


Vintage pottery dish, use for any none food purpose. Would be a great coin collector on a gentlemans dresser. the days jewerly collection at a ladies dressing table. So many places this mischief trio could do duty and remind us ….
See No Evil, Speak No Evil and Hear No Evil. Beautifully patina'd color, no chips or cracks.
12.5″ wide x 7.25″ deep x 6.5″ tall.
$ 38.00 Pick up on Bainbridge or check for shipping cost.


text:
Query: NC_014029:3958811 Yersinia pestis Z176003 chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Yersinia pestis; Yersinia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: It was isolated from a dead marmot in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Gram-negative straight rods, sometimes approaching a spherical shape. Y.pestis is always nonmotile. It is the causative agent of plague which is primarily a disease of wild rodents. Y.pestis is transmitted among wild rodents by fleas, in which the bacteria multiply and block the esophagus and the pharynx. The fleas regurgitate the bacteria when they take their next blood meal. Bacteria are transmitted subcutaneously to humans by the bite of infected fleas, but also by air, especially during pandemics of disease. Infective flea bites produce the typical bubonic form of plague in humans.
Subject: NC_010159:3120642 Yersinia pestis Angola, complete genome
General Information: This strain was isolated prior to 1985 and belongs to the antiqua biovar. It can ferment rhamnonse and melibiose which is a property usually associated with Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Strain Angola belongs to a group of atypical Yersinia pestis strains with genotypic similarities that are intermediate between Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberuclosis strains. Genotypic studies indicate that strain Angola is the oldest Y. pestis strain analyzed to date. It carries three plasmids that are similar to other Y. pestis plasmids but have aberrant sizes. The critical virulence factor, the V antigen, is different than that encoded by typical strains of Y. pestis and there is a deletion that affects the F1 operon. Strain Angola has been shown to be virulent by aerosol in mice.


Convenient to Annapolis, Davidsonville, Edgewater, Crownsville, Millersville, and Arnold.
Cornerstone Counseling Center is conveniently located off Aris T. Allen Boulevard. (Route 665) and Solomons Island Road (Route 2). It is a short distance south and diagonally across the road from the Annapolis Harbour Shopping Center.
From the Eastern Shore: Take US-301 S/US-50 W over the Bay Bridge. Take exit 22 for MD-665 toward Riva Road/Aris T Allen Boulevard. Continue on MD-665 E for 0.8 miles, just beyond the Annapolis Harbour Center. Use the right lane to take the MD-2/Solomons Island Rd ramp to Parole/Edgewater, but then at the light stay in the center lane. Continue straight across MD-2 onto Grand Oak Drive. Immediately at the T in front of the United Church of Christ of Annapolis, turn right, continuing on Grand Oak Drive. Turn left onto Wilelinor Drive. Turn left onto Carvel Circle. The Cornerstone Counseling Center is on the left, just beyond the church building.
From Route 2 North (Severna Park and points north): Take Route 2 S to the MD 2 S/US 301/US 50 W ramp to Annapolis/Washington. Merge onto US-301 S/US-50. Take exit 22 for MD-665 toward Riva Road/Aris T Allen Boulevard. Continue on MD-665 E for 0.8 miles, just beyond the Annapolis Harbour Center. Use the right lane to take the MD-2/Solomons Island Rd ramp to Parole/Edgewater, but then at the light stay in the center lane. Continue straight across MD-2 onto Grand Oak Drive. Immediately at the T in front of the United Church of Christ of Annapolis, turn right, continuing on Grand Oak Drive. Turn left onto Wilelinor Drive. Turn left onto Carvel Circle. The Cornerstone Counseling Center is on the left, just beyond the church building.
From Route 97 North (Millersville and points north): Take I-97 S, using the left two lanes to take the exit toward US-50 E/US-301 N/Annapolis/Bay Bridge. Keep right to continue on Exit 22, following signs for MD-665 E/Riva Road. Continue on MD-665 E for 0.8 miles, just beyond the Annapolis Harbour Center. Use the right lane to take the MD-2/Solomons Island Rd ramp to Parole/Edgewater, but then at the light stay in the center lane. Continue straight across MD-2 onto Grand Oak Drive. Immediately at the T in front of the United Church of Christ of Annapolis, turn right, continuing on Grand Oak Drive. Turn left onto Wilelinor Drive. Turn left onto Carvel Circle. The Cornerstone Counseling Center is on the left, just beyond the church building.
From Edgewater, MD and points south: Take MD-2 N/Solomons Island Road to Wilelinor Drive, near the Annapolis Harbour Center at MD-665. Turn right on Wilelinor Drive. Turn left onto Carvel Circle. The Cornerstone Counseling Center is on the left, just beyond the church building.
From Crofton, Bowie, and points west: Take US-301 N/MD-50 E from points west. Take exit 22 for MD-665 toward Riva Road/Aris T Allen Boulevard. Continue on MD-665 E for 0.8 miles, just beyond the Annapolis Harbour Center. Use the right lane to take the MD-2/Solomons Island Rd ramp to Parole/Edgewater, but then at the light stay in the center lane. Continue straight across MD-2 onto Grand Oak Drive. Immediately at the T in front of the United Church of Christ of Annapolis, turn right, continuing on Grand Oak Drive. Turn left onto Wilelinor Drive. Turn left onto Carvel Circle. The Cornerstone Counseling Center is on the left, just beyond the church building.


text:
Buy A Rolex And The Lamborghini Will Follow
After success with several businesses, Freddie Achom aims to invest in 20 start-ups by 2017 and is confident of finding some in Africa.
Freddie Achom does not look like the stereotypical investor or entrepreneur. Sporting dreadlocks that tumble to his shoulders, he is dapper, yet relaxed, in a blazer over a shirt and jeans. Achom is articulate and humorous as he recounts his journey to the pinnacle of global enterprise. He might not have got there if he wasn't encouraged to take a chance while moving from studying medicine to business while at university.
"I started working for a stationery company and it was then that a more senior member of staff said to me, 'you are really good at business development. How long have you been doing it?' And I said, 'this is my first job. I'm just here for the summer and when university starts again, I'm off.' Then he said to me 'you should consider it. Your bosses are not telling you that you are doing something really special.'"
"There was a commission sheet where you recorded what you brought into the company and for me it was never enough so I had to flip it over and fill it out all the way to the bottom of the next page. I did that week in, week out. He said 'I've been here five years and I've never seen anyone do that, so you should consider it.' He actually encouraged me which is strange because here's a man getting all the accolades of training me and he's telling me, 'you need to get out of here.'"
Aware of his talent, Achom moved to work for a surveying firm. While there, he was headhunted to join a professional business development firm, an experience which he credits for developing his self-confidence.
"The director was pretty quirky but he had a lot of faith in me. I think I got most of my conviction and belief there because he was self-made; an interesting guy from up north (of England)… He said I could do whatever I wanted. He said 'you should set yourself a target where you can touch things.' And he said to me 'what watch are you wearing?' I said 'just some regular watch.' So he said 'buy yourself a Rolex watch. How long do you think it's going to take you?' I said 'I don't know.' He said 'just set yourself that target and do it.'"
Six weeks later, Achom saw the director sitting in his office and showed him his watch.
"He went 'you've bought the watch already!' I said 'yes, I bought it a couple of weeks after I saw you.' I set my target and I checked how much it was and I think I bought it about a fortnight after he told me. He was genuinely impressed."
The next phase of the journey saw Achom establish his first company in partnership with a group of associates. They built a consultancy and strategic funding agency and sold it after three years. Cash in hand, Achom went on to explore other ventures that led to the establishment of his private fund and flagship company, Rosemont Group Capital Partners. Achom serves as the chairman of the group which holds a diverse portfolio of companies including Communication Power Engineering Company (CPEC), a renewable energy service company and one of the oldest listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Other companies under the group include BWC Management, a wine brokerage company and Hershey Pascual Fashion, a high-street women's fashion brand. Achom's interests also reach into the restaurant and nightclub industry where he holds stakes in a number of leading spots, including Jalouse in Mayfair and the famous Scotch of St. James in Westminster.
Recently, Achom has diversified his interests by switching his focus to the technology industry. Never one to play small, he announced plans to invest in 20 start-ups by 2017, an excursion that will see him invest around $9.2 million. Considering the skyrocketing valuations in the industry, he is aware of the pitfalls that lurk beneath opportunities.
"The technology space is almost like back in the Wild West where everyone has got their tools out searching for gold. And we all know that though everyone went out, only few came back with lorries of it. Everybody wants to be the next Google and Facebook, but that is not going to happen. But, if you have the right kind of mechanisms in place, if you are looking at the market with your entrepreneurial brain fully on it, I think you'll do ok," he says.
"What I find is that the early technology entrepreneur success stories are stumbled upon. Those guys are always guilty of labeling themselves as entrepreneurs and they then embark on this continuous journey to replicate their success, disregarding the fact that the first one was an accident. It just doesn't work. The people that are really replicating success within the tech space are those that are genuine entrepreneurs and have criteria that they follow and a philosophy that really works for them."
Achom is also keen to have an impact in Africa where he believes there is significant opportunity.
"We specialize in is renewable energy, so we are looking at Ghana, Nigeria, because West Africa will be our focus. Secondly, technology. We look at what we are learning here in the tech space and at some point it will be our ambition to create an incubator where we nurture ideas at the early stage. The telecommunications infrastructure has laid the foundation. The fundamentals and the user base are there, so this will be hugely profitable."
Achom was born in Nigeria in the 1970s and moved to Britain in 1982. His parents ran an insurance firm together and sent all four siblings to boarding school. Achom credits the love and support shown by his parents with imbibing a sense of responsibility. They often flew to visit the children at short notice. With two children of his own now, Achom is determined to raise kids with these strong values.
His sense of responsibility extends to society. Achom recently launched the Rosemont Group Foundation. His aim is to encourage young people to believe in their dreams and focus on their passion despite potential distractions.
"About six years ago, I was driving a Lamborghini and I was at the petrol station filling it up. These kids came past on their bicycles and they were like 'wow!' I thought to myself, 'ok, kids love cars,' but I didn't think there was anything special about the guy driving the car until they asked me what I did. I said 'I'm an investor.' They went 'wow! How did you get into that?' And I said to them 'study hard, stay in school.'"
"They asked me again, 'you are not a footballer?', and I said 'no'. And I thought to myself, 'is that the only way they think you can drive a car like that?' That's when it hit me and I started to think I could do something to change that perception."
"I wanted people to learn from my experience doing business in the UK, where the cards are stacked against you, where the pitfalls are, how you maintain your focus, your dignity, your true God-given character, because I come from Africa and we don't succumb easily."
"I've experienced prejudices doing business, where people had preconceived ideas of me but spent a few minutes with me and those perceptions changed. The foundation was about letting people know that people exist that you can look up to and call up if you need to and draw from and learn from their experiences, and I hope I can contribute a little towards that."
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Karen Mwendera
In Johannesburg, city-dwellers like Linah Moeketsi have taken the future of sustainable farming into their own hands. Where land is becoming scarce, they look to the skies.
Doornfontein is one of Johannesburg's older inner-city suburbs with decaying buildings and dingy alleys that wear a dour, monochrome look.
Daily commuters and street surfers jostle with delivery vans and mountains of metal scrap but the grey of the concrete city makes it hard to believe that there could be a patch of green in a most unlikely location.
READ MORE| No Seat At The Global Table For Indigenous African Cuisine
Above the humdrum of life here is a rooftop hydroponics farm looking down on the city, but upwards to a new route to restoration and urban preservation.
Atop the eight-floor Stanop building – offering a breath-taking view of the city and the landmark Ponte Towers in the distance – one woman has made it her mission to turn a grimy grey terrace into a green lung on the city's skyline.
"City life is taking on a totally new direction… even people who think they couldn't one day farm, find themselves on rooftops," Linah Moeketsi tells FORBES AFRICA.
Moeketsi grows herbs, used to treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in a 250m x 500m greenhouse on the building's terrace. But her rooftop farm is sans any soil – it uses a hydroponics system.
"I think because we are in the city and we would like to produce for people in the city, hydroponic farming is one of the answers because you can actually harvest more than twice the produce, and the growth rate is quicker and there is produce that you can have throughout the year that people demand because it is in a controlled environment," she says.
On a windy Wednesday morning in October, we meet Moeketsi at her aerial green facility, a couple of days before she is to send some of her plant produce to the market.
She talks about her journey as an offbeat farmer. It all started when her father fell ill in 2013, when doctors failed to correctly diagnose his disease.
"They couldn't see that he was diabetic. He didn't show the signs of diabetes, but he had this foot ulcer that just wouldn't go away," she says.
"The future of city farming is great simply because we have more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it's farming, they are looking at it from a very different angle.
Moeketsi decided to do her own research, so she read up books on African medicinal plants and used some herbs that belonged to her late mother, who had been a traditional healer.
"It took me a good eight months to help my dad and I actually saved him from having an amputation."
The news of Moeketsi curing her dad's diabetes using herbs spread. Sadly, her father died in 2016, at the age of 87. But she is proud to have helped prolong his life.
"So he passed away in his sleep, not sick, nothing, he was just old. But he was always grateful; he was like, 'even when I die, I'm going to die with both my limbs', so we would make a joke about it."
READ MORE| Businesses At The Heart Of A Greener Future
After her father's demise, Moeketsi rented some land and turned her knowledge on natural herbs into a fully-fledged farm. However, when the owner of the land returned, she was forced to vacate.
Land was always going to be a problem in the city. But instead of giving up, Moeketsi looked to the skies.
"Because of this passionate drive for an answer, I found myself researching what's happening outside Gauteng and South Africa, and I saw in Europe, they were farming on rooftops," she says.
In 2017, her dream became a reality when she secured a deal with the City of Johannesburg as part of an urban farming program, and started the rooftop project a year later.
When we visit her greenhouse, we are welcomed by the sweet lingering scent of herbs. It's hot and humid, and two fans whir away to cool the air.
Moeketsi walks around the greenhouse wearing dark glasses and a white jacket, with a syringe in hand – she could easily pass off as a medical doctor.
She elaborates on the hydroponics system. There are four pyramids, each attached to their own reservoirs of water. On each pyramid, different plants, ranging from spinach, lettuce, sage, parsley, basil and dill, rest on beds with pipes connecting them to the reservoirs. Moeketsi plucks out one of the pipes and inserts the syringe; water spouts out of the tube and she returns it to the bed.
"Twice a day, you have to check that water is actually going through the pipes, because that's how the plants get water and nutrients," she explains, as she unblocks a pipe using the syringe. She says it's one of the best ways to farm using little water.
"When you put in certain plants in the greenhouse, you know you are guaranteed sustainable farming because you can produce those plants and harvest them," she says.
Moeketsi adds that this allows her produce to stay consistent season after season.
"So, from that point of view, it makes the city more sustainable in terms of food produce that is easily accessible and cost-effective for the consumer because not everyone around here can afford the high prices of food but they can at least afford what we sell, whether it is at R10 ($0.5) or R15 ($1)."
As Moekesti continues to tend to the plants, a farmer she works with walks in and begins filling up the reservoirs.
Lethabo Madela has known Moekesti for almost six years.
"When you look around Johannesburg, there is no space, so rooftops have saved us a lot, especially those of us that love farming," says Madela. "I'm learning a lot and I think she [Moekesti] changed the whole concept of farming for me because I used to farm vegetables. I didn't know culinary herbs or medicinal herbs."
Moeketsi speaks of other farmers around the city who have taken to the rooftops to farm plants such as strawberries, lemon balm, spinach and lettuce.
READ MORE| Everything You Need To Know About The Future Of Pesticides And Bees
In a suburb called Marshalltown, a 10-minute drive from Moeketsi's farm, Kagiso Seleka farms lemon balm also using hydroponics.
He produces sorbet and pesto from his produce which is then used to make ice cream.
"It [hydroponics] is great for farming sensitive plants in terms of temperature. Lemon balm does not like frost. But it's better to grow even out of season so you can set a higher price," he tells us.
However, he says hydroponics farming is a luxury not many farmers can afford.
"It [hydroponics] does have a bit of a higher capital upfront, but you get a higher yield and higher quality, so people are willing to pay more. Hydroponic planting saves about ninety five percent of water soil farming in a water-scarce country," says Seleka.
READ MORE| Local Solutions Can Boost Healthier Food Choices In South Africa
"We do have water shortages, and I know people are on the whole 'organic trip' but, is it more important to have an organic plant versus a water-saving environment?"
The Program Coordinator for Agriculture at the City of Johannesburg's Food Resilience Unit, Lindani Sandile Makhanya, says there certainly are more rooftop farmers in Johannesburg now than ever before.
Converting idle terraces into avenues of profit is becoming a norm. There are new rooftop farms being set up every day, offers Makhanya.
He regularly visits Moeketsi's farm to check on the progress and collect produce to sell.
"Urban farming in Johannesburg is rising, mainly because the idea of producing our own food is very important because most people are moving to urban areas and therefore it stands to reason that we have to try to produce as much as possible," says Makhanya.
"[There is growth] even in animal production, although we are moving away from the bigger numbers, but we are involving the smaller ones; because of the space issue, they are increasing overall."
For Moeketsi, her farm has changed her life and given her hope for a better future. In addition to the teas, tinctures, ointments and medicinal products she processes from her plants, she plans to include more by-products such as syrups in the future.
"The future of city farming is great simply because we have more and more young people getting into this space. Even though it's farming, they are looking at it from a very different angle," she says. "That is why the city is changing and rooftop farming is going to get bigger and bigger."
Clearly, farming in Africa is covering exciting new ground.
He was one of the big names in business in Africa; as gentlemanly. as he was shrewd. He fought the odds and apartheid to stake his place in business and inspire millions of his countrymen to do the same.
Richard Maponya – the doyen of black business in South Africa – passed away in the early hours of January 6, after a short illness. Maponya turned 99 on Christmas Eve near the end of a long and fruitful life that saw him dine with the Queen, laugh with Bill Clinton and chauffer his old friend Nelson Mandela. Mandela asked Maponya, who owned a car dealership, to pick him up at the airport in Johannesburg after his release from prison in 1990.
Ï picked him up at the airport and that was the most frightening time of my life. We were chased by people on foot, helicopters, motorbikes and cars. Everyone just wanted to touch Mandela. They could kill him just trying to touch him," Maponya recalled to Forbes Africa in a cover story in March 2017.
Mandela was a close friend of Maponya since the 1950s. The future president, then a young lawyer helped Maponya set up his first business against the restrictive apartheid laws that shackled black business.
Maponya wanted to open a clothing store in Soweto, Johannesburg; the authorities said no. Mandela lost the fight for the clothing store, but did manage to secure him a license to trade daily necessities. This opened the way for Maponya to start out with a milk delivery business that was to prove the foundation of his fortune.
More than half a century on, Mandela, then a former president of South Africa, beamed with pride, in 2007, as he opened the first shopping mall in Soweto.
Maponya Mall had taken the canny businessman a good deal of patience to put together. He acquired the land in 1979 – the first black man to secure a 100-year lease for land in Soweto – and spent many more years building up the mall.
"Ï fought for 27 years for that mall and was many times denied; they actually thought I was dreaming. When Nelson Mandela cut the ribbon to open the mall, that was the highlight of my life," Maponya said years later.
It was a mile on a road less travelled by Maponya in a long journey from the tiny township of Lenyenye in Limpopo in northern South Africa where he was born. He moved across the province to Polokwane to train as a teacher and then, like many young men of his generation, moved south to Johannesburg in search of his fortune.
In those days, the gold mining city was booming, but only the few saw the fruits. Maponya was blocked at every turn as he tried to make his way in business; he won through making a fortune from property, horse racing, retail, cars and liquor.
Maponya mentored many black entrepreneurs and inspired many millions more he had never met. One of them was Herman Mashaba, the former mayor of Johannesburg, who made his own fortune with hair care products.
"To myself and the people I grew up with he was an inspiration to all of us to get into business…If he had started out in business in a normal world there is no doubt he would have been even bigger than he was," Mashaba told CNBC Africa.
Maponya will be mourned by the millions who were inspired to follow him and by a business world that is richer, in more ways than one, for his nearly a century of hard work in which retirement was never an option.
"People who retire are lazy people. You retire and do what? Bask in the sun? I am not that type of man," he said in 2017 at the age of 96.
He could never be.
– By Chris Bishop


A few months ago, Pres. Obama proposed a new save-for-retirement program called MyRA. It is designed for the millions of low- and middle-income workers that work for companies that don't have retirement plans. The White House estimates that this is half of all workers and about 75% of part-time workers. The idea behind it is to give these people the opportunity to save money for retirement. On the face of it, MyRA seems like a good idea. If you choose this program you could use it to put away money for your retirement knowing it would be protected by the full faith and credit of our federal government. But before you ask your employer to implement this program, it's important to know how MyRA works and its pros and cons – to make sure it would be good for you.
How this program works is very similar to traditional retirement programs. Assuming your employer signs up for it, all it has to do is make payroll withholdings according to your direction. If your company uses an outside payroll service, the cost to offer this program should be a negligible. If it has an in-house payroll department the costs to accommodate this program should be very modest. Your employer won't administer your plan. However it can create and distribute information about MyRA to its staff. The money that is withheld from your paycheck will be sent to your account via direct deposit. Like a Roth IRA the money you invest will be after tax dollars and when you retire it will be tax-free. However, unlike a traditional Roth IRA your money will be invested in government savings bonds.
While the MyRA program is targeted towards people who don't have a conventional retirement program, anyone that has their paycheck direct deposited will be eligible. This means you could use the plan to supplement your existing 401(k) plan – assuming your household income is less than $191,000 a year.
We've already mentioned one of MyRA's biggest pros, which is that your savings would be totally secure.
A second pro is that you would be able to take your MyRA account with you when you change jobs or if you have several part-time jobs and contribute to your account in each of them. You would also be allowed to withdraw your contributions at any time without paying a penalty. Of course, if you withdraw the interest you've earned before age 59 1/2, you will have to pay taxes and possibly get hit with a penalty just as is the case with a Roth IRA.
Third, unlike a traditional Roth IRA there won't be a lot of expenses to administer it as the program won't have any fees.
Another plus is that you can initially invest as little as $25 and then contribute just $5 out of each of your paychecks through an automatic payroll deduction. And like a Roth IRA, you could contribute as much as $5500 a year.
If you choose to put your money into a MyRA, this can help you learn to save for retirement. When you save through an automatic payroll deduction, this could start you in the habit of saving money.
This program offers some tax relief. When you contribute to a MyRA you may be eligible for the retirement savers credit so that the government is, in effect, paying part of the cost of your contribution.
One of the disadvantages of a myRA is that when your account reaches a total of $15,000 or if you have had it for 30 years you will need to move to a regular Roth IRA. When you do this your money will continue to grow tax-free. Plus, you have the option of switching to a regular Roth IRA whenever you would like.
A second con is that all you can expect to earn on your money is an average of 2%. This means if you were contributing $100 a month, you would have around $6300 in savings after five years, which would include about $300 in interest. In other words, a myRA offers no risks but you're never going to earn a lot of interest on your savings either.
Unlike a 401(k) where the money you save is pretax, this program does not offer this benefit. Plus, there is no employer contribution. As noted above, contributions to this program are made with money you've paid taxes on. You can't exclude or deduct anything.
Since the cap on a MyRA is just $15,000 there is no way this program can provide you with a secure retirement. The sad fact is that there is no way that $15,000 can give you a meaningful amount of income when you retire.
This program offers the same interest rate as the government's Thrift Savings Plan Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund) that it offers federal workers. It is so modest at 2% that it might not even beat inflation. For example, in 2012 the interest rate on G Accounts was 1.5% and inflation that year was 1.7%. The G Account interest rate in 2013 was 1.74%, which is just a bit more than the rate of inflation, which was 1.5%.
One of the bigger cons of a MyRA is that you can't invest the money in stock mutual funds or bonds and earn a better return. The G Fund returned an average of just 1.89% over the past year. This means your savings will never grow the way it would if you were able to invest in a well-managed 401(k).
As written above the program has an income limit of $191,000 for families or $129,000 for individuals. If you're making that much and not already putting away an adequate amount of money for retirement, you might need a tougher accountant or to have a long talk with yourself.
Finally, if you're nearing retirement and you're just now starting to think about putting money away, this program is not going to save you.
Would this make sense for you?


Personal Injury: Auto Accidents | The Ashmore Law Firm, P.C.
?I was injured in a car accident and their insurance company told me not to get a lawyer. What should I do?
Protect yourself and get the compensation you deserve!


In our afternoon reading: revisiting the music of Alice Coltrane, an interview with Tom McAllister, and much more.
In our morning reading: revisiting the music of Gill Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, thoughts on collections by Carmen Maria Machado and Denis Johnson, and more.
In our morning reading: thoughts on books by László Krasznahorkai and Jenny Diski, new writing by Brandon Taylor, and more.
In our afternoon reading: reviews of books by László Krasznahorkai and Louise Erdrich, new writing by Victor LaValle, and more.
In our morning reading: an interview with Tom Gauld, a playlist from Celeste Ng, and much more.
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Samantha Hunt and Clancy Martin, thoughts on new books from Laird Barron and László Krasznahorkai, and much more.
In our afternoon reading: new writing from Teju Cole and Greil Marcus, an interview with John Carpenter, and much more.


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Denver Neighborhood With Ties to KKK Recommends Name Change
The neighborhood was named for Benjamin F. Stapleton
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
A Denver neighborhood voted Wednesday to recommend changing its name after a yearslong debate over its association with a former mayor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan.
The 11 elected neighborhood delegates of the Stapleton Master Community Association voted unanimously in favor of the change and to work with the registered neighborhood association to come up with a new name.
The neighborhood was named for Benjamin F. Stapleton and built beginning in 2001 on the site of the former Stapleton International Airport. Stapleton was Denver's mayor for 20 years between 1923 and 1947 and was a member of the KKK.
More than 65% of voting property owners opted to retain the Stapleton name in a referendum last summer. But the death of George Floyd and the ensuing unrest renewed the debate.
"A lot of people have woken up to the social injustice and the endemic racism that permeates through the society," said Keven Burnett, executive director of the community association. "Things have changed in a major way."
Floyd, a Black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck while he was handcuffed and lying on the ground. His death prompted protests across the U.S. and around the world against police brutality and racial injustice.
Christie Spilsted, a delegate on the Stapleton neighborhood's community association, said she initially was against changing the name because it would cost too much and the community had decided against it.
"I had a change of heart. ... By not acting more decisively on this, I was holding up the process of racial equality," she said at Wednesday's virtual meeting.
The community association's recommendation will be followed by a vote by a community board of directors. The community's master developer and the City and County of Denver also need to approve a name change before it can take effect.
Former gubernatorial candidate and state treasurer Walker Stapleton, the great-grandson of the former mayor, tweeted Sunday that he was disappointed the democratic process represented by previous resident votes was being overlooked.
But Stapleton said he supported the name change if it "brings more equity, fairness and opportunity" for Denver residents and Colorado residents of color.
george floyd protestsDenver


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Posted on April 4, 2020 by sarahshade
Straight White Male: the Lowest Difficulty Setting
I'm not sure how many of you like playing video games, but I know for me it's definitely one of my favorite activities. One thing I haven't really thought much of though, is the connection of video games to history, even more, the connection to video games and race and gender. Maybe this is because I play games that don't have any overarching themes of race such as any of the Mario series, or Animal Crossing, or maybe it's because I haven't thought deep enough into how race and racism are actually very apparent in both the creation of video games as well as the culture that surrounds them. In this post I'll be telling you about two of this week's articles: "Modeling Indigenous Peoples: Unpacking Ideology in Sid Meier's Colonization" by Rebecca Mir and our very favorite Trevor Owens, and "Gender and Race Online" by Lisa Nakamura. I also used the title for my post from John Scalzi's essay via Nakamura's article (it was too good not to use).
In "Gender and Race Online," Nakamura evaluates both race and gender regarding videogames and she does this by looking at both the creation of video games as well as the people who play them. Much of her discussion revolves around the fact that we live in a supposedly "post-racial" society and the creation of traditional gender roles we see surrounding playing video games. Beginning with race, Nakamura cites the fact that minorities are actually represented more often in video games than white males. On the surface, this fact seems to fall in line with the idea that we live in a post-racial society, until you read deeper to find out that these groups are usually represented as the antagonists or enemies in games. This produces the argument of "racialized pedagogical zones," which is a term I think is really interesting. It essentially means a place, such as a video game, "that teach[es] young players the proper place for race and criminalized bodies" (Nakamura, 84). With teaching young players, either overtly or covertly, about the commonality and acceptability of racism, it lends to them using racialized terms to other players, which according to the article, is a much bigger problem that we see it to be, proved by the creation of crowdsourcing websites against these types of remarks. This same type of thing happens with gendered terms as well. Many of these games and culture around video games promote masculinity and often exclude women both in the actual game and from the culture itself, claiming that video games are for boys. One player was even quoted saying he has the right to say whatever he wants about women because it was part of the video game culture. Because video games have been traditionally masculine creates a sexist atmosphere around gaming that often men can't shake, causing for this overt sexism to be present in these cultures.
While Nakamura focuses on culture and game creation in general, Mir and Owens focus specifically on Civilization IV: Colonization, a game revolving around the colonization of the Americas. Mir and Owens argue that this game "presents a particular ideological model of the world. Specifically, Colonization's model restricts potential readings to a limited and Americanized colonist ideology," and they also aim to understand how ideology is created (Mir and Owens, 92). With this, it glorifies conquest and suggests through the actual gameplay that the colonization and subsequent murder of indigenous people was inevitable. One of the ways they reinforce this notion is with a "strict and problematic win condition" where the player is forced to play as a colonial power and cannot be a native group unless they were to modify the game themselves (Ibid., 94). This forces the player to reenact what happened with colonization but only through the colonizers' point of view. Even if the game is modified to play as the natives, they still have limited abilities which reinforces their "inferiority" and inability to advance as a people. Natives can also assimilate to literally change races and become a European if they are educated in the game, again reinforcing their inferiority and their "need" to be educated by a white man. In contrast, a white European can never assimilate to native culture in the game, suggesting their culture dominates over the natives and is impenetrable by outside forces. Even with all of these issues, Mir and Owens believe that because the game essentially requires you to reenact history, it puts a level of guilt upon the player for having to do horrible things in the game. They do argue, however, that there is not enough guilt placed upon the player because many events recounted in the game are whitewashed and you also cannot experience the colonization from the native point of view.
Part of the Colonization gameplay. You can see how many controls there are. I tried playing Civilization VI and I had no clue what was going on. In this respect, it's certainly understandable leaving things out for better gameplay.
Reading both of these articles really got me thinking about the video games I play and how they might fall into these problematic categories of promoting racism, even if it's not incredibly noticeable. Many of you might be familiar with the Animal Crossing series, especially because Animal Crossing: New Horizons just came out on the Switch. The game seems like a relatively problem free game considering it is just a bunch of cute cartoon animals running around an island. But before Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you could not change your skin color, making your character consistently white (unless you went to the island too long, then you'd get a sunburn). This is certainly a minor issue regarding race, especially compared to other games like Colonization, but the lack of being able to create a character that truly represents yourself can be a harmful thing because it shows that the creators of the game don't acknowledge your race as a viable player. Another game I play that I thought of was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. While this game doesn't have traditional races, it has races that are its own and based on the race you choose at the beginning, you will be treated a certain way by other characters in the game. This isn't incredibly noticeable either, and if you're a casual player it's probably even more unnoticeable. Either way, these ideas exist in this game and even if it's not an attempt to be overtly racist, it still has the potential to instill the belief in young players that some races are superior to others.
The beginning of Skyrim where you choose which race you want to play as
What do we do with all of this? Games like Colonization have a lot of potential to be played as historically accurate simulations to help young gamers understand history, but only if they are truly representative of what happened. It feels like Colonization is only halfway there. They remove and whitewash a lot of factors in the game and some of it is understandable so the game isn't messier than it needs to be but that's what history is. Should Colonization or games like it include perspectives of the colonizers and the colonized? Are these games profiting off simulating the terror that happened to these groups? What would we think if there was a slavery simulation? Do you think that most people playing these types of games are doing it to educate themselves about history? Or are they playing simply for the entertainment value? Do games like these glorify historical events such as colonization and suggest that it was inevitable to kill millions of natives? How do we as historians promote these games as learning tools rather than entertainment? Should we be doing that? I have all of these questions and more about video games and history and I really want to discuss with you all!!!
16 Replies to "Straight White Male: the Lowest Difficulty Setting"
jadavis says:
Hi Sarah, thanks for a great, thoughtful post! As someone who has only recently gotten into video games, your questions at the end resonated with me. The tension between what to promote as historians, and how to value entertainment and education (edutainment as some have dubbed it) is something that should be considered by everyone. I find myself unsure of if a video game can be developed that would appropriately portray the colonized, without profiting from some of the terror they experienced. I think that's where the motivations behind the players of these games would come into question, if taught in a specific way to potentially college students (who are old enough to deal with more complex ideas). However, I hesitate to say there's a way to have these games exist outside of an educational setting and instruction from someone to give more context to the game itself. Maybe I'm wrong and someone else has an idea for how it could work without active instruction.
sarahshade says:
I totally agree with you. I think it would be REALLY hard to have a game that teaches history well and exist solely for entertainment. I think there's too many complications with profiting off of these situations and being sure that players won't use these games to justify racism. I would love to see a genuinely good history game for education but ultimately I think game creators are way more interested in creating a fun playable game than they are making something historically accurate and teachable.
sfling says:
This was so interesting– there's so much to unpack that I don't even know where to begin! One method that might make historical video games a bit less sexist/racist/imperialist is to create games that are less intrinsically linked to violent episodes in history. It seems to me that the history games I can think of off the top of my head have to do with very masculine, violent moments (war, colonization, piracy, vikings, etc.) If games dealt with historical moments less linked to these problematic white male spheres, perhaps they would be more educational and less crude.
I completely agree! I think maybe if games were made from more triumphant things, maybe like women's rights (idk everything seems violent now that I'm actually thinking haha), maybe then we could take some of these aspects out of play. As much as I would love that, I think game creators are more interesting in creating fun games and for whatever reason violence is a huge part of that
animurray says:
Hi Sarah, I really enjoyed these readings, and your post! I'm not a video game person, but maybe this has something to do with being exposed to more 'masculine' games when I was younger that I did not identify with. (Like Halo and some other zombie game that I was REALLY bad at playing. But Mario Cart? I'm pretty good at that one.)
I find it really interesting that Nakamura avoided a discussion of the violent nature of a lot of these video games (like Grand Theft Auto), and chose to focus on other aspects of video game culture.
Something that disturbed me in the article is that, as implied on page 86, trash talk is essentially meaningless. "If 'trash' doesn't deserve notice or interpretation, as some players maintain, it is because it lacks meaning." So why keep on using trash talk? It certainly doesn't add anything to the game or the environment. But then again neither does racism or sexism… Nakamura also acknowledges the "ineffectiveness of industry regulation" (88), which only contributes to the problem.
Connor's practicum post on Mission US is a great example of how historical games can be effective and appropriate, unlike Civilization in the Mir and Owens article. I think it is appalling that this kind of blatantly ignorant and racist material is still produced in the 21st century. I'm sure it has something to do with apparently living in a post-racial society and not understanding the consequences of one's actions. While reading "Modeling Indigenous Peoples" I kept thinking about the 'glitching' practicum I did a couple of weeks ago, and how users can look at the code behind something to find the intent of the creator. Mir and Owens make it clear that the intent of the creators is to follow one path of colonization while giving off the illusion of choice.
As a historian, I do have to wonder about the dangers of speculating about changing the past… What are the implications of changing the relationship between colonizers and native peoples? Allowing the player to act as a native person with a full gameplay certainly upholds the fact that some agency existed in colonial times, but it does not change the fact that native peoples were slaughtered and displaced for centuries with those consequences experienced today.
To answer your questions (kind of) I think we can use public history practices of memorialization in how we tell certain stories. Perhaps these games should be presented in more of a narrative format so that players have to gain the proper/correct material in order to continue in the game?
I might be wrong, but I think in Colonization you can basically change how colonization happened, but I know you definitely have to be a colonizer. So I definitely agree with your point that it could be potentially problematic giving players the option to literally change the history of how colonization happened because ultimately it might teach these young players something totally wrong (apart from all the wrong and awful things that the game already teaches, like how natives aren't worth being a playable character)
I personally like your idea of a more narrative game, but on the other hand, as someone who plays games, I hate narration because I just want to play so that might be an issue for players being turned off to the game.
jennagoff says:
Hi Sarah, thanks for a great post! I really enjoyed these readings and your post gave me an even greater appreciation of the issues they raised.
I'd be interested to hear y'all's insight into how the game Jamestown Adventure addresses some of the questions Sarah asks. While a much simpler game than Colonization, I was kind of torn about its portrayal of natives. You play as a (presumably white) settler making decisions about setting up the Jamestown colony. The game gives you the option to ask natives (among others) advice on the decisions you take. I played the game basically only asking natives their opinions, and ended up with a "good" colony, unlike the real Jamestown settlers.
However, besides this — the representation of natives is very limited and the game really only glosses over the extreme devastation they experienced at the hands of the colonists you play as. I think it could have been worthwhile to have the option to play as a native facing incoming settlers — surely there were decisions to be made there, as well, and these decisions are often erased from the historical narrative.
So, you all think that this game (while simple) should have better represented native populations? The intended audience for the game seemed to be elementary/middle school. Do you think this game has the responsibility to educate them about an often gruesome history of colonization? As Sarah asked, should games (as a genre) do that in general? If done right, I think I learn towards yes.
Considering the game is aimed toward younger players, I would understand leaving out some of the gruesome details but they also shouldn't be lied to. A simple "we didn't treat natives very nicely" or something I think would be fine for younger kids. I hate teaching young kids the whitewashed history so much. I totally get not showing them pictures of lynchings and stuff, but why do we need to lie? To answer your question about responsibility, I think if you're going to decide to make a game about something in history, game creators 100% have a responsibility to do research, hire historians, whatever, to make it an appropriate game that tells the truth. And to answer your question about native populations, I wish these games, both Jamestown and Colonization (and probably others) allowed you to play as natives. It would allow young players to learn empathy and understand what natives went through. And if I were a Native American player, it would be a way to learn about my own history during colonization. There are so many good reasons to be including the native perspective in these games.
madilieb says:
This is a great post, Sarah! I think a lot of people don't consider that racism is often "baked into" video games simply because of the perspectives of those who created it. Creators may see their reality as predominantly white (or be living in a self-created predominantly white reality), so they don't consider the roles of people of color that aren't those typically portrayed in other types of media. All they're basing their video games roles off are the stereotypes that have been fed to them, and their willingness to accept those stereotypes. For this reason, I think the best way to change this trend in video games and make them more inclusive and less racist is to have diversity in those creating them. This would allow people to represent themselves and represent their race accurately and with compassion, rather than basing representations solely off of the news and movies (although the news and movies should get their act together, too). However, I think topics like colonialism and slavery should probably be off limits for video games. I doubt that many people are seeking these games because they're interested in history or really facing their white guilt. To me it seems like they've probably grown up with games glorifying war and white masculinity, and a video game like Colonization probably just exacerbates this. I think Mission US and other video games like it might be a better way to represent historical events on this platform, but any game that seeks to tackle these issues needs to be full of context, represent multiple perspectives, and offer additional resources for further learning. Otherwise, I believe it's irresponsible to have games that tackle these topics and can potentially reinforce white washed perspectives of history.
That's a great point Madi!! In the same way that women need representation in society or African Americans need representation in government, etc, there needs to be diversity in creating these games! My guess is most video game creators are white males although I don't know the statistics.
I also think you're so right about topics that shouldn't be included in video games like colonization and slavery. Like you said, I doubt these players are buying these games to face their white guilt or learn about the history. I do wonder how you (or anyone else who wants to comment) feel about the general idea of things like colonization and slavery being portrayed in regular video games, as in not American slavery but just the general idea of one person owning another, etc? Is it appropriate in a fantasy game for colonization to be happening? Or slavery? Or misogyny? Do these themes have the potential of teaching younger players that these things are normal? For me, as a 22 year old who studies cultural history, I can distinguish that certain things are unacceptable in real life. But maybe younger players don't have that ability?
JNSanders1209 says:
Hey guys! The conversation on this post is super interesting and these articles remind me of some articles I read when I was an undergrad about race and video games. Sarah, excellent job summarizing these articles and really bringing up some interesting questions. Madi you beat me to mentioning how the video game world is often wrapped in this white male perspective because this is the perspective of most of its creators, which is slowly changing. I think that when it comes to the question of creating games where people can play as Indigenous people (or any underprivileged group) within history I think that it depends on the purpose of the game. Assassins Creed III has players spend some time playing as a half-native American man who is an assassin (I do not remember the complete storyline sorry), the reason why I mention this game is because the purpose of the game is not completely wrapped up in the actual historical conflict is used as its backdrop. However a lot of people did learn about the historical time its set in just by playing the game. Through games like this where the stakes are not completely wrapped up in actual events but are placed in the past, people can be shown to some extent what life back then looked like. I feel like part of the allure of video games is their divorce from reality, which means that when using it as a tool for people to learn history it doesn't have to be completely wrapped up in a narrative that has actually occurred. This might be kind of a weird idea considering that we all want historical accuracy, but maybe there's some room for flexibility in video games. (Also I hope I am not completely wrong about the purpose of Assassins Creed iii I did not get to play it all the way so please be nice when telling me I'm wrong if I am)
I actually really like the idea of including subtle histories into games that aren't at all historical. I think we and young players absorb a lot more than we think from things like video games. In that sense, it might be beneficial to include general historical subtleties to educate. Like if we take that Native American character from Assassin's Creed, maybe if they included traditional and accurate dress for the character, it would just be a subtle, but historically correct, image of a Native American that might get stuck in your brain, thus having the potential to show their culture and break stereotypes.
Great post and discussion! I think all of this highlights the extent to which taking a critical perspective on games and gaming culture is to thinking about public history. As several of you have noted, mass media games like Grand Theft Auto and Civilization are increasingly key media tied to thinking about places, people and the past. In that vein, it's important for us to be engaging with them and engaging in dialog about them.
As a few folks have noted, the aspects of interactivity of games can draw out different challenges in thinking about them as a medium. Not to mention the concept that games are "fun." That is, if someone says they are making a film about the Holocaust we can think of a wide range of ideas about how that could be serious or significant. But if someone says they are going to make a game about the Holocaust it immediately raises questions in our mind about if that is something that should be "played."
Ultimately, I think talking about these two readings together does a nice job drawing out how there is work for history/humanities scholars to do that involves critical engagement with both the culture and the content of major commercial video games.
I never thought about how we perceive topics in certain mediums like that. I probably wouldn't question a movie about the Holocaust, other than hoping they were being respectful and accurate, but if I heard a game about the Holocaust was coming out, I would probably be livid. But why? We get entertainment out of both and we would probably get some degree of knowledge and education from both. Maybe it's because video games aren't traditionally methods of education in the same way we think movies can be with documentaries. Now I'm really thinking about this….
emacias says:
I really enjoyed your post, Sarah! I think you raise interesting questions and points about the ethics of history edutainment and education, and I definitely don't know the right answer. While I haven't looked extensively, I would be hesitant to use a mass-marketed history video game for educational purposes because of the reasons you stated. I wonder if there are educational non-profits working on this with the capacity to produce high quality and entertaining games.
Lisa Nakamura's piece was fascinating and also felt very pre-2016! Not that I blame her, I think she captured much of the discourse at the time, but wow — times have changed. I thought it was interesting that she published this piece about 6 months before the "Gamergate" controversy which was a gender-based harassment campaign against women in the video game industry. It seems like that was a pretty well-publicized example of some of what Nakamura was discussing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamergate_controversy
Jack Del Nunzio says:
What a wonderful post! Subsequent discussion is evidence of the thoroughness of your contribution!
Your discussion of "racialized pedagogical zones" is spot-on, and your observation of the prevalence of these "zones" in Civilizations, Skyrim, etc. is apt. What we find in these sorts of games is the kind of nuanced racism that is, on the whole, just as destructive as overt racism. Some of the older iterations of Sid Meier's Civilization (the ones that I used to play) unabashedly depicted indigenous people as ditzy/scatterbrained, lazy, overweight, etc. When stereotypes & archetypes are repeated in media representations, those who play these games (especially children) begin to internalize/accept these interpretations.
Many commenters have also noted the gendered implications here. It is unfortunately widespread in video game design for female characters to be sexualized. In addition, women who play video games themselves are often stereotyped as "girl gamers," perpetuating cycles of sexism within video games–through characters–and marginalizing players who do not fit within the confines your apt blog title: "straight white male."
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He was waiting, searching and looking to strike. This was the mighty and powerful monkey king Vaali of Kishkinda. He was looking to defeat and destroy Sugreeva, his younger brother. A small misunderstanding was the cause of the enmity. Sugreeva was safely lodged in the Rishyamukha mountains on the outskirts of Kishkinda, because Vaali had a curse that he would drop dead if he set foot anywhere near Rishyamukha, which in Sanskrit means the abode for many Rishis and their ashrams.
Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism is replete with beautiful symbolisms from our sacred texts. In this case, Sugreeva is our individual identity or 'Jiva.' The terrible Vaali signifies distractions of the world's negative forces acting on us. Rishyamukha signifies 'Satsang' or the company of pure-hearted and learned people to help us attain 'moksha' or freedom from the ill-effects of worldly distractions.
This also is a subtle pointer that the only cure for the maladies of the world is spiritual education. Individuals are the thread woven to make the fabric of the community, society, country and ultimately humanity.
One of the foremost modern Vedantic masters, Swami Chinmayananda, said, "Worldly problems can be solved only by spiritual solutions." The Swamiji, through the Chinmaya Mission he founded, dedicated his entire life for imparting spirituality to people's lives through Gnyana Yagnyas and Spiritual camps. He emphasized the balance of head and heart, pointing out selfless work, study and meditation as the cornerstones of life. To celebrate the life and teachings of this 'second Vivekananda,' the Mission organizes an annual 'Chinmaya Mahasamadhi camp' for the entire family.
In 2019, Pittsburgh's Chinmaya mission hosts the camp from July 29 to August 4, 2019. Children will be in Balavihar classes and fun activities in the camp while adults get to be in Satsang, mingle with like-minded people in a Sattvik ambience. The topics covered in the camp will be on 'Sri Krishna Leela,' Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita.
For registration and other details, visit www.Mahasamadhi2019.org. Please register to take advantage of the early-bird registration. There is also an option to spread the payments over six months.
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