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Friends Intelligencer, Том 14
DARE AND DO.
Dare to think, though bigots frown;
Dare in words your thoughts express; Dare to rise, though oft cast down;
Dare the wronged and scorned to bless.
Dare from custom to depart;
Dare the priceless pearl possess; Dare to wear it next your heart;
Dare, when sinners curse, to bless.
Dare forsake what you deem wrong;
Dare to walk in wisdom's way; Dare to give where gifts belong;
Dare God's precepts to obey.
Do what conscience says is right;
Do what reason says is best, Do with willing mind and heart;
Do your duty and be blest.
WONDERS AND MURMURS.
BY S. C. HALL.
Strange, that the wind should be left so free,
To play with a flower or tear a tree;
To range or to ramble where'er it will,
And as it lists, to be fierce or still;
Above and around, to breathe of lite,
Or to mingle the earth and sky in strife;
Gently to whisper with morning light,
Yet to growl like-a fettered fiend ere night?
Or to love, and cherish, and bless, to-day!
What to-rr.orrow it ruthlessly rends away!
Strange, that the sun should call into birth
All the fairest flowers and fruits of earth,
Then bid them perish, anil see them die,
While they cheer the soul and gladden the eye;
At morn its child is the pride of spring—
At night a shrivelled and loathsome thing!
To-day there is hope and life in its breath—
To-morrow it shrinks to a useless death.
Strange doth it seem that the sun should joy
To give life, alone that it might destroy t
Strange, that the ocean should come and go,
With its daily and nightly ebb and flow—
To bear on its placid breast at morn,
The bark that ere night will be tempest torn;
Or cherish it all the way it must roam,
To leave it a wreck, within sight of home;
To smile as the mariner's toils are o'er,
Then wash the dead to his cottage door;
And gently ripple along the strand,
To watch the widow behind him land!
Bat stranger than all, that man should die,
When his plans are formed and his hopes are high;
He walks forth a lord of the earth to-day,
And the morrow beholds him a part of its clay;
He is born in sorrow and cradled in pain,
And from youth to age—it is labor in vain;
And all that seventy years can show,
Is, that wealth is trouble, and wisdom woe;
That he travels a path of care and strife,
Who drinks of the poisoned cup of life.
Alas! if we murmur at things like these,
That reflection tells us are4wise degrees,
That the wind is not ever a gentle breath—
That the sun is often the bearer of death—
That the ocean wave is not always still,—
And life is chequered with good and ill;
If we know 'tis well such change should be,
What do we learn from the things we see 1
That an erring and sinning child of dust
Should not wonder nor murmur—but hope and trust.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHEAPNESS.
THE LUCIFER MATCH.
Some twenty years ago the process of obtaining fire, in every house in England, with few exceptions, was as rude, as laborious, and as uncertain, as the effort of the Indian to produce a flame by the friction of two dry sticks.
The nightlamp and the rushlight were for the. comparatively luxurious. In the bed-rooms of the cottager, the artisan, and the small tradesman, the infant at its mother's side too often awoke, like Milton's nightingale, ' darkling,'— but that ' nocturnal note' was something different from ' harmonious numbers.' The mother was soon on her feet; the friendly tinder-box was duly sought. Click, click, click; not a spark tells upon the sullen blackness. More rapidly does the flint ply the sympathetic steel. The room is bright with the radiant shower. But the child, familiar enough with the operation, is impatient at its tediousness, and shouts till the mother is frantic. At length one lucky spark does its office—the tinder is alight. Now for the match. It will not burn. A gentle breath is wafted into the murky box; the face that leans over the tinder is in a glow. Another match, and another, and another. They are all damp. The baby is inexorable; and the misery is only ended when the goodman has gone to the street door, and after long shivering has obtained a light from the watchman. »
In this, the beginning of our series of Illustrations of Cheapness, let us trace this antique machinery through the various stages of its production.
The tinder box and the steel had nothing peculiar. The tinman made the one as he made the saucepan, with hammer and shears; the other was forged at the great metal factories of Sheffield and Birmingham; and happy was it for the purchaser if it were something better than a rude piece of iron, very uncomfortable to grasp. The nearest chalk quarry supplied the flint. The domestic manufacture of the tinder was a serious affair. At due seasons, and very often if the premises were damp, a stifling smell rose from the kitchen, which, to those who were not intimate with the process, suggested doubts whether the house were not on fire. The best linen rag was periodically burnt, and its ashes deposited in the tinman's box, pressed down with a close fitting lid upon which the flint and steel reposed. The match was chiefly an article of itinerant traffic. The chandler's shop was almost ashamed . of it. The mendicant was the universal matchseller. The girl who led tho blind beggar had invariably a basket of matches. In the day they were vendors of matches—in the evening manufacturers. On the floor of the hovel sit two or three squalid children, splitting deal with a common knife. The matron is watching a pipkin upon a slow fire. The fumes which it gives forth are blinding as the brimstone is liquifying. Little bundles of split deal are ready to be dipped, three or four at a time. When the pennyworth of brimstone is used up, when the capital is exhausted, the night's labor is over. In the summer, the manufacture is suspended, or conducted upon fraudulent principles. Fire is then needless; so delusive matches must be produced—wet splints dipped in powdered sulphur. They will never burn, but they will do to sell to the unwary maid-of-all-work.
About twenty years ago Chemistry discovered that the tinder-box might be abolished. But Chemistry set about its function with especial reference to the wants and the means of the rich few. In the same way the fir.-t printed books were designed to have a great resemblance to manuscripts, and those of the wealthy class were alone looked to as the purchasers of the skilful imitations. The first chemical light-producer was a complex and ornamental casket, sold at a guinea. In a year or so, there were pretty portable cases of a phial and matches, which enthusiasticyoung housekeepers regarded as the cheapest of ail treasures at five shillings. By and bye the light-box was sold as low as a shilling. The fire revolution was slowly approaching. The old dynasty of the tinder-box maintained its predominance for a short while in kitchen and garret, in farmhouse and cottage. At length some bold adventurer saw that the new chemical discovery might be employed for the production of a large article of trade—that matches, in themselves the vehicles of fire without aid of spark and tinder, might be manufactured upon the factory system —that the humblest in the land might have a new and indispensable comfort at the very lowest rate of cheapness. When Chemistry saw that phosphorus, having an affinity for oxygen at the lowest temperature, would ignite upon slight friction,—and so ignited would ignite sulphur, which required a much higher temperature to become inflammable, thus making the phosphorus do the work of the old tinder with far greater certainty; or when Chemistry found that chlorate of potash by slight friction might be exploded so as to produce combustion, and might be safely used in the same combination—a blessing was bestowed upon society that can scarcely be measured by those who have had no former knowledge of the miseries and privations of the tinder-box. The Penny Box of Lucifers, or Congreves, or by whatever name called, is a real triumph of Science, and an advance in Civilization.
Let us now look somewhat closely and practically into the manufacture of a Lucifer-match.
The combustible materials used in the manufacture render the process an unsafe one. It cannot be carried on in the heart of towns without being regarded as a common nuisance. We must therefore go somewhere in the suburbs of
London to find such a trade. In the neighborhood of Bethnal Green there is a large open space called Wisker's Gardens. This is not a place of courts and alleys, but a considerable area, literally divided into small gardens, where just now the crocus and the snowdrop are telling hopefully of the spring time. Each garden has the smallest of cottages—for the most part wooden—which haye been converted from summer-houses into dwellings. The whole place reminds one of numberless passages in the old dramatists, in which the citizens' wives arc described in their garden-houses of Finsbury, or Hogsden, sipping syllabub and talking fine on summer holidays. In one of these garden-houses, not far from the public road, is the little, factory of' Henry Lester, Patentee of the Bomestic Safety Match-box,' as his label proclaims. He is very ready to show his processes, which in many respects are curious and interesting.
Adam Smith has instructed us that the business of making a pin is divided into about eighteen distinct operations; and further, that ten persons could make upwards of forty-eight thousand pins a day with the division of labor; while if they had all wrought independently and separately, and without any of them having been educated to this peculiar business, they certainly could not each of them have made twenty. The Lucifer Match is a similar example of division of labor, and the skill of long practice. At a seperate factory, where there is a steam-engine, not the refuse of the carpenter's shop, but the best Norway deals are cut into splints by machinery, and are supplied to the match-maker. These little pieces, beautifully accurate in their minute squareness, and in their precise length of five inches, are made up into bundles, each of which contains eighteen hundred. They are daily brought on a truck to the dipping-house, as it is called—the average number of matches finished off daily requiring two hundred of these bundles. Up to this point we have had several hands employed in the preparation of the match, in connection with the machinery that cuts the wood. Let us follow one of these bundles through the subsequent processes. Without being separated, each end of the bundle is first dipped into the sulphur. When dry, the splints, adhering to each other by means of the sulphur, must be parted by what is called dusting. A boy sitting on the floor, with a bundle before him, strikes the matches with a sort of a mallet on the dipped ends till they become thoroughly loosened. In the best matches the process of sulphur-dipping and dusting is repeated. Tbey have now to be plunged into a preparation of phosphorus or chlorate of potash, according to the quality of the match. The phosphorus produces the pale, noiseless fire; the chlorate of potash the sharp cracking illumination. After this application of the more inflammable substance, the.matches
«re separated, and dried in racks. Thoroughly dried, they are gathered up again into bundles of the same quantity; and are taken to the boys who cut them; for the reader will have observed that the bundles have been dipped at each end. There are few things more remarkable in manufactures than the extraordinary rapidity of this cutting process, and that which is connected with it. The boy stands before a bench, the bundle on his right hand, a pile of half opened empty boxes on his 1 ft, which have been manufactured at another division of this establishment. These boxes are formed of scale-board, that is, thiu slices of wood, planed or scaled off a plank. The box itself is a marvel of neatness and cheapness, it consists of an inner box, without a top, in which the matches are placed, and of an outer case, open at each end, into which the first box slides. The matches, then, are to be cut, and the empty boxes filled, by one boy. A bundle is opened; he seizes a portion, knowing by long habit tue required number with sufficient exactness; puts them rapidly into a sort of frame, knocks the ends evenly together, confines them with a strap which he tightens with his foot, and cuts them in two parts with a knife on a hinge, which he brings down with a strong leverage: the halves lie projecting over each end of the frame; he grasps the left portion and thrusts it into a half open box, which he instantly closes, and repeats the process with the matches on his right hand. This series of movements is performed with a rapidity almost unexampled; for in this way, two hundred thousand matches are cut, and two thousand boxes filled in a day, by one boy, at the wages of three halfpence per gross of boxes. Each dozen boxes is then papered up, and they are ready for the retailer. The number of boxes daily filled at this factory is from fifty to sixty gross.
The wholesale price per dozen boxes of the best matches, is fourpence; of the second quality, threepence.
There are about ten Lucifer Match manufactories in London. There are others in large provincial towns. The wholesale business is chiefly confined to the supply of the metropolis and immediati neighborhood by the London makers; for the railroad carriers refuse to receive the article, which is considered dangerous in transit. Bat we must not therefore assume that the metropolitan population consume the metropolitan matches. Taking the population at upwards of two millions, and the inhabited houses at about three hundred thousand, let us endeavor to estimate the distribution of these little articles of domestic comfort.
At the manufactory at Wisker's Gardens there are fifty gross, or seven thousand two hundred boxes, turned out daily, made from two hundred bundles, which will produce seven hundred and twenty thousand matches. Taking three hun
dred working days in the year, this will give for one factory, two hundred and sixteen millions of matches annually, or two millions one hundred and sixty thousand boxes, being a box of one hundred matches for every individual of the London population. But there are ten other Lucifer manufactories, which arc estimated to produce about four or five times as many more. London certainly cannot absorb ten millions of Lucifer boxes annually, which would be at the rate of thirty three boxes to each inhabited house. London, perhaps, demands a third of the supply for its own consumption; and at this rate the annual retail cost for each house is eightpence, averaging those boxes sold at a halfpenny, and those at a penny. The manufacturer sells this article, produced with such care as we have described, at one farthing and a fraction per box.
And thus, for the retail expenditure of three farthings per month, every house in London, from the highest to the lowest, may secure the inestimable blessing of constant fire at all seasons, and at all hours. London buys this for ten thousand pounds annually.
The excessive cheapness is produced by the extension of the demand, enforcing the factory division of labor, and the most exact saving of material. The scientific discovery was the foundation of the cheapness. But connected with this general principle of cheapness, there are one or two reniaikable points, which deserve attention.
It is a law of this manufacture that the demand is greater in the summer than in the winter. The old match maker, as we have mentioned, was idle in the summer—without fire for heating the brimstone—or engaged in more profitable field-work. A worthy woman who once kept a chandler's shop in a village, informs us, that in summer she could buy no matches for retail, but was obliged to make them for her customers. The increased summer demand for the Lucifer Matches shows that the great consumption is amongst the masses—the laboring population—those who make up the vast majority of the contributors to duties of customs and excise. In the houses of the wealthy there is always fire; in the houses of the poor, fire in summer is a needless hourly expense. Then comes the Lucifer Match to supply the want; to light the candle to look in the dark cupboard— to light the afternoon fire to boil the kettle. It is now unnecessary to run to the neighbor for a light, or, as a desperate resource, to work at the tinder-box. The Lucifer Matches sometimes fail, but they cost little, and so they are freely used, even by the poorest.
And this involves another great principle. The demand for the Lucifer Match is always continuous, for it is a perishable article. The demand never ceases. Every match burnt demands a new match to supply its place. This continuity of demand renders the supply always equal to the demand. The peculiar nature of the commodity prevents any accumulation of stock; its combustible character—requiring the simple agency of friction to ignite it, renders it dangerous for larce quantities of the article to be kept in one place. Therefore no one makes for store, but all for immediate sale. The average price, therefore, must always yield a profit, or the production would altogether cease. But these essential qualities limit the profit. The manufacturers cannot be rich without secret processes or monopoly. The contest is to obtain the largest profit by economical management. The amount of skill required in the laborers, and the facility of habit, which makes fingers act with the precision of machines, limit the number of laborers, and prevent their impoverishment. Every condition of this cheapness is a natural and beneficial result of the laws that govern production.—Hmisclwld Words.
THE MAHOGANY TRADE.
The extent of the mahogany trade is not generally appreciated. The exports form (he port of Oatzacoalcos, in Mexico,) had in the last year increased to 0,804 tons, and thirty-two vessels were employed. In 1850 only one vessel was employed, and only 230 tons exported. At the average price of 612 per ton, the -value of the exports from that single port, which are estimated at 15,000 tons for the present year, will amount to $180,000. Three-fourths of the wood exported is consumed in the United States, and Americans almost monopolize the business. The Mexican Government receives one dollar for every ton exported, and the same for every tree felled. The duty on mahogany, rose, satin and cedar woods, under the old Tariff, was 20 ;,er cent. By the new Tariff bill they are placed on the free list.
PHILADELPHIA MARKETS.
Flour Awd Meal.—Flour is still on the rise. Sales of good brands at $7 37 per bbl., and of better brands for home consumption at $7 37 a 7 50, and extra and fancy brands at §7 50 a 8 50. There is very little demand for export, and little stock to operate in. Sales of Rye Flour at $4 75 barrel Corn Meal at $3 56.
Grain.— Wheat is in demand,and prices firm. Sales of prime Pennsylvania red are making at $1 78 a 1 80, and $1 8S a 1 00 for good white. Rye is firm; sales of Penna. at 95c. Corn is in demaud at 82 a 83c for new yellow, afloat. Oats are dull; sales of Penna. and Delaware at 58c per bushel.
Ct HF.STF.RFIF.LD BOARDING SCHOOL FOR / YOUNG MF.N AND BOYS.—The Summer Session of this Institution will commence the 18th of 5th mo. 1857, and continue twenty weeks.
Terms.—$70 per session, one half payable in advance, ihe other in the middle of the term. No extra charges. For further particulars address, HENRY W. RIDGWAY, CrosswicksP. O., Burlington Co., N. J.
SUMMER RETREAT AT HIGH LAND DALE. The season of the year is at hand, when many citizens leave their homes for the benefit of pure air; the attention of the readers of the Intelligencer is called to the pleasant Retreat of Chaki.es and Catharine P. Foclke, who have again enlarged their premises, and are prepared as heretofore to receive summer boarders.
Their farm and residence is near the crown of one of the mountain ridges in MonroeCounty, Pennsylvania about two miles from Stioudsburg, the county town, and three miles from the Delaware Water Gap, inontof the healthiest situations tobe found in Pennsylvania.
On this high elevation and near the domicile is a large spring of excellent water, which supplies a Bath House attached to the premises,—while within diors there is much to give comfort and create a home feeling, and make this a very desirable mountain Retreat.
The cars leave Camden in the morning and arrive at the Stioudsburg station within two and a hall miles of High Land Dale, early in the afternoon.
5th mo. 16- 6t. T. B. L.
J? LDRIDGE'S HILL BOARDING SCHOOL.-Tiie 'j next Term of this Institution will commence on the 18th of 5th month next and continue 20 weeks.
Scholars of both sexes will be received during the coming Term.
All the branches of a liberal English education are thoioushly taught in this institution ; also the elements of the Latin and French languages.
Terms $70 per session. To those studying Latin or French an additional charge will be made ol $3 for each language.
No other extra charges except for the use of Classical and Mathematical Books and Instruments.
A daily Stage passes the door to and from Philadelphia.
For further particulars address the Pi incipal /or >■ Circular.
ALLEN FLITCRAFT, Eldridge's Hill, Salem County, N. J.
T ONDON GROVE BOARDING SCHOOL FOR
YOUNG MEN AND BOYS It is intended to
commence the Summer session of this Institution on the 1st 2d day in the 5th mo. next. Lectures will be delivered on various subjects, Ky the teacher. Also, on Anatomy and Physiology, by a medical practitioner; the former illustrated by appropriate apparatus: the latter by plates adapted to the purpose.
Terms; 65 dollars for 20 weeks. No extra charge except (or the Latin language, w hich will be Sdollers. For Circulars, including references, and further particulars, address
BENJAMIN SWAYNE, Principal,
London Grove P. O., Chester co., Pa.
3d mo. 14, 1857.
BYBERRY BOARDING SCHOOL FOR GIRL?. The fourth session of this school, taugl't by Jake Hillborn and Sisters, will commence on the 1st Second day in the Filth month, and continue twenty weeks. The usual branches of a liberal English Education will be taught.
Terms: $60 pei session, one half payable in advance, the other Half at the end of the term. !'«"' Circulars, containing particulars, address,
JANE HILLBORN, Byberry P. O., P«.
3d mo. 14, 1857—8t.
Merrihew & Thompson, Prs., Lodg» St, North side Penna-BankEDITED BY AN ASSOCIATION OF FRIENDS.
FRIENDS' MELUGMCER.
VOL. XIV. PHILADELPHIA, FIFTH MONTH 23, 1857. No. 10.
PUBLISHED BY WM. W. MOORE, No. 324 South Fifth Street, PHILADELPHIA, Every Seventh day at Two Dollars per annum, payable in advance. Three copies sent to one address for Five Dollars.
Communications must be addressed to the Publisher, free of expense, to whom all payments are to be made.
An account of the life, travels, and Christian experiences in the work of the ministry of Samuel Bownas.
(Continued from paste 131.)
I was now in a strait, what course to take to get a little money, my linen and woolen both wanting to be repaired. I met with a young man newly set up in his trade, with whom I proposed to work, and he was ready to comply with my offer, supposing it would be a means to improve him : so we agreed, and I began with him, and found it answered much better than harvest-work, so that L stored myself with a little cash soon, and worked hard all that summer, and in thefall of the year prepared mj'self for a journey with my good old friend Joseph Baines.
We set out the latter end of the Sixth Month, and visited some parts of Yorkshire, and so into Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Norfolk, and we did very well together: only I was afraid that Friends took so much notice of me, he would be uneasy; but he wns so entirely innocent, and had so much of the lamb in him, that he never did, that I could find, shew any uneasiness, more than to give me a caution with a smile ; " Sammy, said he, (for I was mostly called so) thou hadst need take care, Friends admire thee so much, thou dost not grow proud;" and indeed the caution was very seasonable, as well as serviceable to me ; which I saw and did acknowledge. This Joseph was (it might be said) an Israelite indeed, as meek as a lamb, not great in the ministry, but very acceptable, especially amongst other people, having a meek, quiet, easy delivery, mostly in scripture phrases, with which he was well furnished^ repeating them with very little or no comment upon them, which some admired very much; and he had great service at funerals, being in a peculiar manner qualified for such services. But he receiving an account of some troubles in his family, it brought a very great uneasiness upon him, and he returned home.
But I visited most c ie meetings over again, and so I returned into lluntingtonshire, Northhamptonshire, and so towards Dorsetshire, and Somersetshire, visiting meetings as I went through part of Oxfordshire. I had many meetings, sometimes fourteen in a week, and generally to satisfaction. In almost every parish where a Friend lived, we had a meeting, besides which sundry offered their houses, who were not Friends, which we embraced. I came through part of Hampshire and Warwickshire, and so back again to Hampshire, visiting Friends, and had many meetings in places where none had been, and the people were much inclined, who were not Friends, to have meetings at their houses in many places, and would desire Friends to conduct me to their houses : so that although I was entirely unknown to most, yet there was very great willingness to receive the doctrine of Christ; and sundry, I found afterwards, were convinced, by accounts I received from Friends. The teachers of the national way, and Dissenters also, were much disturbed, and threatened what they would do, and that they would come and dispute; and some of them came several times, and got out of sight, where they could hear and not be seen; but never any gave me the least disturbance all that journey; but some would say 1 was a cheat (viz.) a Jesuit in disguise; others, that I was brought up for the pulpit, and for some misdemeanor suspended; and so they varied, according to their imaginations: but I was very easy in my service, and found my heart very much enlarged; some of the people took me to have a good share of learning, which, although it was false, served for a defence against some busy fellows, who thought they could dispute about religion and doctrine, which I always endeavored to avoid as much as possible, seldom finding any advantage by such work, but that it mostly ended in caviling, and a strife of words.
t went through part of Dorsetshire, and at Sherborne an old Friend was sick, and not expected to get over that illness, and it came into my mind he would die of that sickness, and that I must be at his funeral, and preach with my Bible in my hand. This made me shrink, as fearing it was the fruit of imagination, but I kept it to myself, and had many meetings about those parts, as at Yeoville, Puddimore, Masson, Weston, &c. Besides this, a young woman,


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Jim Scrivener
Jim has worked in many ELT jobs in different countries, including Kenya, the USSR and Hungary. He has been Head of Teacher Training for IH Hastings, Director of Education for IH Budapest and is currently Head of Teacher Development for Bell International, based in Kent.
He is now actively involved with Cambridge ESOL exams, especially on the TKT and revised DELTA. He designed Cambridge ESOL's online teacher portfolio and has written a number of newsletters for Cambridge ESOL. His publications include 'Learning Teaching' (Frank Bell prize 1995); 'Oxford Basics: Teaching Grammar'; Teachers' Books and "Portfolios" for 'Straightforward' Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Elementary, Upper Intermediate, Beginner and Advanced.
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USA Diving Features DIVING: Boudia/Finch...
DIVING: Boudia/Finchum close out AT,T USA Diving Grand Prix with synchro silver
May 11, 2008, 1 a.m. (ET)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.- David Boudia (Noblesville, Ind.) and Thomas Finchum (Indianapolis, Ind.) claimed the silver medal in men's synchronized 10-meter to close out the AT,T USA Diving Grand Prix Sunday. The U.S. finished the four-day meet with four silvers and one bronze medal. Boudia and Finchum scored 437.52 points to finish just behind the Australian duo of Matthew Helm and Robert Newberry, who won with 443.04 points. China's Yang Liguang and Hu Jia were third at 422.88. Sean Moore (Englewood, Colo.) and Wes Wieser (Chesterfield, Mo.) finished fifth with 341.67 points. Australia also claimed the top spot individually on 10-meter as Matthew Mitcham dominated the contest with 534.45 points. He earned at least one 9.0 mark on each of six dives and scored more than 100 points on two dives. His reverse 3 1/2 tuck earned four 10s. Helm finished second at 502.70, and Germany's Sascha Klein scored 467.90 for third. Boudia just missed the podium with 465.20 points on a day when he upped his degree of difficulty by adding a front 4 1/2 into his dive list for the first time since 2006. Finchum was fifth at 463.35. Yulia Pakhalina of Russia won her second gold of the week by narrowly capturing the women's 3-meter title with 357.90, just edging out China's He Zi, who finished with 357.75 points. Italy's Tania Cagnotto took third at 320.50, with Allison Brennan (Huntington Beach, Calif.) finishing fourth at 314.40. Chelsea Davis (Columbus, Ohio) scored 306.55 points for sixth. In addition to the silver from Boudia and Finchum on Sunday, the U.S. also got silver medals from Jevon Tarantino (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Chris Colwill (Brandon, Fla.) on men's 3-meter synchro, Laura Wilkinson (Spring, Texas) on women's 10-meter and Troy Dumais (Ventura, Calif.) on men's 3-meter. Wilkinson also paired with Jessica Livingston (The Woodlands, Texas) for a bronze in women's synchronized 3-meter. - USA Diving - Featuring America's best divers, USA Diving is the national governing body for the sport of diving. Headquartered in Indianapolis, USA Diving offers diversified programs geared toward the broadest number of diving enthusiasts, from the novice to the world champion. USA Diving conducts approximately 40 regional and national events annually and is responsible for training and selecting teams that represent the United States at international events such as the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup. For additional information please call Jennifer Lowery at (317) 237-5252 or visit www.usadiving.org.


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Correlates of group sex participation among men who have sex with men in Chongqing, Southwestern China
Jin Chen1 na1,
Hui Fan2 na1,
Huailiang Chen ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0726-51383 na1 &
Feifei Yao4
BMC Public Health volume 21, Article number: 561 (2021) Cite this article
Findings from specific countries indicated group sex was common among men who have sex with men (MSM), and men who reported group sex participation were at increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The purpose of the current analysis was to describe the prevalence and correlates of group sex participation among a community-based sample of MSM in Chongqing, southwestern China.
Convenience sampling method was used to recruit participants and data were collected through an anonymous questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify correlates of group sex participation.
Overall, 1151 eligible participants were enrolled in the study. 14.7% of MSM reported participating in group sex in their lifetime, and 5.8% reported group sex participation in the prior 6 months. Factors positively associated with group sex participation in both the prior 6 months and the lifetime included: monthly income ≥3000 Yuan (adjusted odds ratios [aOR] = 3.67, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.25–10.75; aOR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.21–4.35), initiating anal sex before 18 years old (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.03–3.34; aOR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.31–3.05), using gay apps to seek sex partners (aOR = 7.41, 95% CI 2.57–21.33; aOR = 9.75, 95% CI 4.92–19.33), recreational drug use (aOR = 10.10, 95% CI 5.52–18.49; aOR = 4.75, 95% CI 3.20–7.05) and having condomless internal ejaculation (CIE) (aOR = 3.66, 95% CI 2.01–6.68; aOR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.11–2.35). Factors only associated with group sex participation in the lifetime were older age (age between 26 and 35 years old: aOR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.30–3.26; age > 35 years old: aOR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.10–3.46) and history of STIs (aOR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.37–4.62).
The results of this study suggested that group sex participation was a potentially risky context for acquisition and transmission of HIV/STIs. Close attention should be given to MSM who participated in group sex, and appropriate risk reduction interventions should be developed specific to this subgroup of MSM.
A growing body of evidence has indicated that men who have sex with men (MSM) are one of the groups seriously affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in China. National estimates on the HIV epidemic showed that there were 780,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in China by the end of 2011, 17.4% of which were attributed to homosexual transmission, while sexual contact between men only accounted for 14.7 and 11.0% of PLHIV in 2009 and 2007, respectively [1, 2]. Additionally, recent update on the HIV epidemic in China revealed homosexual contacts accounted for 25.5% of new HIV diagnoses in 2017 [3], which was doubled since 2007 (12.2%) [2].
Findings from Australia, United Kingdom and United States have documented that group sex was a common behavior among MSM [4,5,6,7], and men were more likely to report recreational drug use and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) with casual, HIV unknown or HIV serodiscordant partners in the setting of group sex [7,8,9]. Thus, men participating in group sex were found at higher risk of infection with and transmission of HIV/sexually transmitted infections (STIs) [9,10,11]. A small number of reports from coastal metropolises of China have addressed the issue of group sex among MSM [12,13,14]. However, studies examining factors associated with group sex participation are rather limited in China. Of the existing literature among MSM in China, an online survey from 2014 found men living with HIV, practicing condomless anal intercourse and using mobile phone application were more likely to engage in group sex in 12 the prior months [15]. Another cross-sectional study mainly discussed the correlation between poppers use and lifetime group sex engagement among MSM in the neighboring Sichuan province, southwestern China [16].
Chongqing is the largest provincial municipality located in southwest China. It has a total population of 34.04 million and an area of 82,400 km2 [17]. In the past decades, Chongqing municipality has obtained brilliant achievements in social culture, commerce, economic development and city infrastructure construction [17], which made the city a comprehensive traffic hub and the economic and political center of southwest China. Therefore, a great number of migrant and floating populations nationally were attracted to live and work in this city. Chongqing reportedly has a large population of young MSM. They are sexually active and frequently engaging in sexual risk behaviors [18, 19]. Meanwhile, regular HIV testing level among the subpopulation was low [19, 20]. Thus, the highest HIV prevalence was observed among MSM in Chongqing [21].
In consideration of the severity of HIV epidemic among MSM in Chongqing and the fact that group sex participation within the subpopulation could potentially fuel the severe epidemic, we sought to describe factors correlated with group sex participation, as well as its relationship with risky behaviors, among a community-based sample of MSM in this under-researched area. Understanding the factors underlying group sex participation among MSM might inform future interventions for this subpopulation.
The data used in the current analysis were derived from a larger cross-sectional study aiming to describe recreational drug use, sexual risk behaviors and STIs among MSM in Chongqing. Convenience sampling method was employed to recruit MSM participants through the largest community-based organization (CBO) in Chongqing municipality from March 2019 to February 2020. MSM were requested to join the study when they attended the CBO for voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services. Firstly, potential participants were informed of the purpose, procedures, contents and confidentiality issues of the study, and MSM were guaranteed that they could get free VCT services, no matter they participated in the study or not. CBO staff subsequently checked the eligibility of MSM and asked qualified participants to provide a written informed consent. And then information of participants was collected through a self-administered questionnaire after all these procedures were completed. To obtain necessary sample size, enrolled MSM were encouraged to refer their peers.
Men were eligible for the study if they were at least 18 years old, had sex with males in the prior 12 months and were willing to provide written informed consent. Enrolled participants were paid 25 Yuan (~ 4 American dollar) each as transportation fees. This study was carried out with approval of the ethics committee of the people's hospital of Chongqing Tongliang District and the people's hospital of Sichuan Tianfu New Area.
A self-administered, structured questionnaire was developed to collect information from participants anonymously, and the selected variables for the present analysis could be viewed in Supplementary file 1. In brief, MSM participants were asked to provide their socio-demographics and information on recreational drug use behavior, sexual orientation, main sexual role with males, sexual behaviors, HIV testing and history of STIs.
The main outcome of this study was group sex participation, which was assessed by the questions "Have you ever had sex with three or more men during a single sexual encounter?" and "Have you had sex with three or more men during a single sexual encounter in the prior 6 months?"
Frequencies and proportions were used to present categorical variables, and median and interquartile range (IQR) were used to describe continuous variables. Factors correlated with group sex participation were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Univariate logistic regression analysis was first conducted to examine the odds of factors correlated with group sex participation. Factors significant at P < 0.05 were subsequently included into the multivariate stepwise logistic regression model to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95%CI. Significance level was set at P < 0.05. All analysis was conducted by SPSS 16.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).
Socio-demographics, drug use and sexual behaviors of participants
Overall, 1151 MSM were included in the present analysis. The demographic characteristics of participants are presented in Table 1. The median age of enrolled MSM was 28 (IQR 24–34) years old. The majority of participants were unmarried (79.5%), Chongqing residents (74.4%) and solo business owners or service providers (66.9%). Most MSM had at least a college education level (68.9%) and a monthly income of ≥3000 Yuan (81.1%).
Table 1 Sociodemographic characteristics of participants (n = 1151)
Of the participants enrolled, 18.9% (218) reported recreational drug use in the prior 6 months. The most frequently reported drugs were rush poppers (17.7%), methamphetamine (4.5%) and magu (1.0%). Other drugs used among MSM in Chongqing were less than 1.0% (Table 2).
Table 2 Behaviors and health outcomes among MSM (n = 1151)
Table 2 also demonstrates information on sexual behaviors, HIV testing and STIs of MSM participants. Among all participants included, the majority of (66.7%) MSM self-identified as homosexuality. One-fifths (20.9%) reported initiating their anal sex before 18 years old. Over two-thirds (67.2%) reported using cell phone-based applications especially for MSM (gay apps) to seek male sex partners. Almost three-fifths (59.9%) had more than one sex partner in the prior 6 months, and 41.7% of MSM reported having condomless internal ejaculation (CIE) during anal intercourse in the prior 6 months. Respectively, 2.7, 5.8 and 14.7% of MSM reported having participated in group sex in the prior month, in the prior 6 months and in their lifetime. In this sample, less than two-fifths (37.2%) reported having tested HIV recently and 6.3% reported a history of STIs.
Factors correlated with group sex participation in the prior 6 months
In the univariate analysis, variables significantly correlated with group sex participation in the prior 6 months (P < 0.05) were: monthly income ≥3000 Yuan, initiating anal intercourse before 18 years old, using gay apps to seek sex partners, recreational drug use, practicing CIE during anal intercourse and having a history of STIs (Table 3).
Table 3 Univariate analysis of factors correlated with participation in group sex (n = 1151)
In the multivariate analysis, monthly income ≥3000 Yuan (aOR = 3.67, 95% CI 1.25–10.75), initiating anal intercourse before 18 years old (aOR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.03–3.34), using gay apps to seek sex partners (aOR = 7.41, 95% CI 2.57–21.33), recreational drug use (aOR = 10.10, 95% CI 5.52–18.49) and practicing CIE during anal intercourse (aOR = 3.66, 95% CI 2.01–6.68) were significantly associated with group sex participation in the prior 6 months (P < 0.05) (Table 4).
Table 4 Multivariate analysis of factors correlated with participation in group sex (n = 1151)
Factors associated with group sex participation in the lifetime
Table 3 also shows univariate analysis of factors significantly associated with group sex participation in the lifetime (P < 0.05), including: older age, monthly income ≥3000 Yuan, initiating anal intercourse before 18 years old, using gay apps to seek sex partners, recreational drug use, practicing CIE during anal intercourse and having a history of STIs.
Factors associated with increased odds of lifetime group sex participation in the multivariate logistic regression model were: older age (age between 26 and 35 years old: aOR = 2.06, 95% CI 1.30–3.26; age > 35 years old: aOR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.10–3.46), monthly income ≥3000 Yuan (aOR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.21–4.35), initiating anal intercourse before 18 years old (aOR = 2.00, 95% CI 1.31–3.05), using gay apps to seek sex partners (aOR = 9.75, 95% CI 4.92–19.33), recreational drug use (aOR = 4.75, 95% CI 3.20–7.05), practicing CIE during anal intercourse (aOR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.11–2.35) and having a history of STIs (aOR = 2.51, 95% CI 1.37–4.62) (Table 4).
The current study aimed to describe the prevalence and correlates of group sex participation among a community-based sample of MSM in Chongqing municipality, where the highest HIV prevalence was observed among MSM in the country. Of the 1151 participants included in this study, 14.7 and 5.8% reported having participated in group sex in the lifetime and in the prior 6 months, respectively. The prevalence was comparable with results from online survey and metropolises elsewhere in China [15, 22, 23], but significantly lower than reports in countries, like United States and Australia [6, 7, 24]. The disparity may partly reflect differences in culture and attitudes towards non-mainstream sexual activities.
In the multivariate model, demographic characteristic variables, such as age and monthly income, were found to be positively correlated with group sex participation, which was consistent with prior findings [4, 16]. Older MSM might be more active in sexual sensation seeking and adventurous in sexual behaviors than their younger counterparts [25]. Meanwhile, prior research found group sex was associated with substances use [24], and substances use might be quite an expenditure to lower-income MSM. Hence, it is understandable that men with older age and higher income were more likely to participate in group sex. Additionally, our study found that earlier anal intercourse initiation was significantly associated with group sex participation. Similar to findings in the current study, prior studies indicated that MSM who initiated their sex experience earlier were more likely to practice risky behaviors in their later life [26, 27]. Therefore, MSM with such characteristics should be a priority for further interventions towards group sex participation.
Corroborating the prior findings [15, 16], we found seeking sex partners through gay applications was positively associated with participating in group sex. In recent years, the use of gay applications, such as Blued and Aloha, has been increasingly popular among MSM in China [28,29,30]. These applications use the global positioning system (GPS) to identify nearby peers, which have rapidly expanded social networking and partner-seeking opportunities among MSM. Thus, men could effectively arrange or participate in group sex by using these gay applications. Moreover, MSM who reported recreational drug use were more likely to participate in group sex. It has been previously documented that recreational drug use, especially rush poppers and methamphetamine use, was prevalent among MSM who engaged in group sex [7, 24]. Recreational drugs were reported to increase libido, maintain erection, prolong sexual activity and maximize sexual pleasure [31, 32]. This may explain the reason for higher prevalence of group sex participation among recreational drug users observed in this study.
In accordance with findings from previous studies, we found participating in group sex was associated with increased odds of practicing CIE during anal intercourse. Although it is not possible to determine from this study whether the risk behavior occurred in the context of group sex, existing literature indicated that MSM who attended sex parties practiced higher levels of UAI [7, 8]. Given the severity of HIV/STIs among MSM in Chongqing, the risky combination of group sex participation and CIE during anal intercourse could potentially fuel the epidemics among this subpopulation. Moreover, we found MSM ever participating in group sex were more likely to report history of STIs. The relationship between group sex participation and STIs was discussed in previous studies [33,34,35]. A high partner turnover rate and low condom use rate in the context of group sex might contribute to infection with and transmission of STIs among men participating in group sex. Therefore, our findings highlight the need for interventions on group sex participation and associated risky behaviors.
This study has a few limitations. Firstly, our study may be vulnerable to selection bias, as all participants in this study were recruited by a CBO. Secondly, data on recreational drug use, sexual behaviors and history of STIs were still sensitive in China, and the results might be subjected to social desirability bias. Thirdly, our findings were based on a self-administered questionnaire and recall bias might exist. Lastly, due to the nature of cross-sectional study, we can not infer causal relationships between group sex participation and associated factors. Future research in China should be conducted to collect an event-level behavioral data related to group sex, which may contribute to better understanding of the risks posed by group sex participation.
Although the prevalence of group sex participation among MSM in Chongqing was not comparable with results from western countries, still we found MSM participating in group sex were more likely to report recreational drug use and CIE during anal intercourse. Thus, group sex might be a risky setting, posing an elevated risk for HIV infection and other STIs. More attention should be paid to group sex among MSM, and appropriate risk reduction interventions should be developed specific to this subgroup of MSM.
The datasets used during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
STIs:
aOR:
adjusted Odds ratio
CIE:
Condomless internal ejaculation
PLHIV:
People living with HIV
UAI:
Unprotected anal intercourse
CBOs:
Community-based organizations
VCT:
Voluntary counseling and testing
IQR:
CDCs:
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We are grateful to the staff members from Chongqing Jiangbei CDC for their support in the questionnaire design. We also wish to thank all the staff from Chongqing Bluesky health care work group for their efforts in participant recruitment and questionnaire survey.
This project was funded by joint project of Chongqing Science and Technology Commission and Chongqing Health and Family Planning Commission (2018QNXM044) and Science and Technology Commission of Tongliang District, Chongqing (2018–20). The grant funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, or preparation of the manuscript.
Jin Chen, Hui Fan and Huailiang Chen contributed equally to this work.
Department of Medical Records and Statistics, the People's Hospital of Tongliang District, Chongqing, China
Jin Chen
Department of Preventive Medicine, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
Hui Fan
Department of Infectious Diseases Prevention and Healthcare, the People's Hospital of Sichuan Tianfu New Area, Chengdu, China
Huailiang Chen
Department of STD/HIV Control and Prevention, Sichuan Tianfu New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chengdu, China
Feifei Yao
CHL and CJ conceived and designed the study. CJ, FH and CHL performed the data analyses and drafted the manuscript. FH and YFF helped to critically review the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Correspondence to Huailiang Chen.
The protocol of this study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the people's hospital of Chongqing Tongliang District and the people's hospital of Sichuan Tianfu New Area. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.
All authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Questionnaire for MSM in Chongqing. Questionnaire for MSM in Chongqing.
Chen, J., Fan, H., Chen, H. et al. Correlates of group sex participation among men who have sex with men in Chongqing, Southwestern China. BMC Public Health 21, 561 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10607-0
Group sex participation
Correlates


Vegan food brand Wicked Healthy, from brothers Derek and Chad Sarno, has announced it will soon launch new plant-based products to its exclusive Tesco product line.
Sarno, who previously helmed Whole Foods Market prepared foods division, is the head of plant-based innovation for Tesco, the United Kingdom's largest supermarket chain.
The Wicked Healthy range first launched in January at 600 Tesco stores. The introduction of these items has been credited for Tesco's recent revenue spike.
The Sarno brothers highly anticipated forthcoming vegan cookbook, "Wicked Healthy: Free.From.Animals." is set to be released on May 8th.
An increasing number of people in the UK are shifting their consumer habits toward vegan food. In fact, recent data found that the number of vegans in the UK has boosted by 700% in the last two years alone, with more than three-and-a-half million people in Britain now identifying as vegan. Further, another 14% of the population – more than seven million people – are now vegetarian.
In addition to the vegan Wicked Healthy line, Tesco continues to expand its offerings of vegan meat, milk, cheese, and desserts. Most recently it added vegan chicken to its Tesco brand and brought in the popular vegan meat company Oumph!


Paul Stammers gives an update of what's happening at Bartholomew School.
Paul Stammers gives an update on what's happening at Bartholomew.
Bartholomew School students can be proud of their efforts and A-Level exam results once again.
As part of our unremitting focus on safeguarding, last year we undertook a safeguarding audit in conjunction with the Safeguarding team at Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) to review all areas of our safeguarding policies and processes.
The findings were reassuringly very positive. However, one of OCC's recommendations was that our school community would benefit from having a more rigorous entry and exit system at the back of the school site. To support this recommendation, we have now introduced a gate at the back of school that will restrict access to the school site.
From this Thursday, 21 March, the back gate will be open Monday to Friday from 08.00 to 08.30 and from 15:00 to 15:30 to enable large numbers of students to enter and leave the site. At all other times, students will need to enter and exit via the front entrance to the school, off Witney Road.
Year 11s with exeat cards will also be given photo ID cards, programmed to enable them to come and go via the back gate at lunchtimes.
All other students will need to use the front entrance at times when the back gate will be locked.
The back gate will be open during parents' evenings and other major events on the school site. We would ask, however, that at all other times parents and other visitors to the school enter via the front entrance, off Witney Road, and report to Reception.
Please note that access to the Bartholomew Sports Centre from Back Lane will not be affected by the introduction of the new gate.
Thank you for your support with this latest safeguarding initiative.


text:
Przemysław Płacheta (Łowicz, 23 de marzo de 1998) es un futbolista polaco que juega de centrocampista en el Birmingham City F. C. cedido por Norwich City. Es internacional con la selección de fútbol de Polonia.

Trayectoria

Płacheta comenzó su carrera deportiva en el SG Sonnenhof Großaspach alemán en 2017, antes de fichar por el Pogoń Siedlce y por el Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała.

En 2019 fichó por el Śląsk Wrocław de la Ekstraklasa polaca, donde marcó 8 goles en 35 partidos.

Inglaterra

En julio de 2020 fichó por el Norwich City del EFL Championship. Tras dos años en el equipo, en julio de 2022 fue cedido al Birmingham City F. C.

Selección nacional

Płacheta fue internacional sub-18, sub-19, sub-20 y sub-21 con la selección de fútbol de Polonia, antes de convertirse en internacional absoluto el 11 de noviembre de 2020, en un amistoso frente a la selección de fútbol de Ucrania.

Clubes

Referencias

Futbolistas de Polonia
Futbolistas del Pogoń Siedlce
Futbolistas del Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała
Futbolistas del Śląsk Wrocław
Futbolistas del Norwich City Football Club
Futbolistas del Birmingham City Football Club
Futbolistas de la selección de fútbol sub-18 de Polonia
Futbolistas de la selección de fútbol sub-19 de Polonia
Futbolistas de la selección de fútbol sub-20 de Polonia
Futbolistas de la selección de fútbol sub-21 de Polonia
Futbolistas de Polonia en la Eurocopa 2020
Nacidos en Łowicz

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Defending Organisational Values - Townsend Vs. Russell
Written by Andy Goram, Bizjuicer
Photo Taken From bbc.co.uk
There are two sides to every story, but if we can believe the press, there is a fine example of the power and commitment it takes to hold on to your organisational values for the greater good, playing out in the public eye right now.
The Scottish Rugby Union team looks to be in turmoil, as their Coach, Gregor Townsend defends his position in not selecting arguably their star player, Finn Russell, for what is reported as a disregard for the culture, values and behaviours applied to the team. But with 2 losses from their first 2 games in this year's Six Nations tournament; two games in which Russell didn't play, has Townsend cut his nose off, to spite his face?
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" said Peter Drucker, credited as being the father of management thinking. Meaning, you can have the greatest strategy in the world, but if your organisational culture won't play ball in its delivery, then it isn't going to happen. Today there is far more focus on creating and fostering positive cultures within business, that engages employees, promotes discretionary effort and provides an environment where people can be their best, every day. But, just like what is happening with the Scottish Rugby team, this resolve to keep your culture sacrosanct gets severely tested when one of your "greats" doesn't play by these rules of behaviour.
Jack Welch's Performance-Values Matrix (below), referenced in Ken Blanchard's business writings, suggests the bold action to take when you have a High Performer with a Low Values Match. The people who reside in this top-left box are described by Blanchard as "poison within your organisation." They may well exceed performance expectations, which is good, but they demonstrate a very different set of values from those you desire, which is bad. What should you do with these people? You need to get them out of your organisation as quickly as possible. Why? Because they will erode leader integrity and employee and customer trust.
Jack Welch / Ken Blanchard Performance Values Matrix
That's pretty strong stuff. But how many of us have been strong enough to do that? How tough is it to sack a tangible result-getter, in favour of the future protection of an intangible culture? But the thing is, it isn't an intangible is it? You can feel a culture and you can witness good and bad behaviours that align to and show disregard for it. Making compromises today might not break your culture and take you off-course of your goal delivery today, but adding up the series of compromises you've made down-the-line, surely will.
So, the stance Gregor Townsend appears to be taking against Finn Russell, looks on the surface to be a bold defence of his organisation's culture. A culture he believes will get the team to where they want to be in the future. With all the reaction and counter-claim, will he get to see his plan through? Will he get to show us a great example of brave and courageous leadership? Or will the short-term results desire of professional sport blow the whistle before the organisation benefits? I guess time will tell. If the reports are true, and this truly is a defence of team values and culture, then I applaud Townsend's actions and hope he gets the chance to see it through.
Andy Goram is the owner of Bizjuicer – a consultancy that believes people are the often-forgotten internal fuel that can power businesses and brands to greater success. He helps businesses build stronger brands through engaged and aligned people and consults on vision & values, transformational change, brand development and employer branding.


Here are the latest real estate market statistics from Macdonald Realty on Greater Victoria, Parksville/Qualicum, and Nanaimo listings and sales in July 2017.
In July 2017, there were 323 sales of single family homes and 640 active listings in the Greater Victoria. The benchmark sale price was $700,800 with an average days on market of 27. The hottest market for sales was Sannich East with 68 sales. There were also 30 sales and 163 active listings at the end of the month for waterfront homes.
In comparison, the Condo market had 243 sales, 269 active listings at the end of the month. The benchmark sale price was $433,200 with an average days on market of 23. The hottest market for sales was Victoria, 88 sales.
Townhome sales were 80, active listings were 93 and the benchmark sale price was $542,200. The average days on market were 22, and the hottest market was Langford with 22 sales.


text:
Analysis: One year after McCarrick, what's next for the Church?
By JD Flynn
June 19, 2019 Catholic News Agency The Dispatch 14 Print
Then-Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, is pictured during a reception for new cardinals at the Vatican Feb. 22, 2014. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Washington D.C., Jun 19, 2019 / 04:20 pm (CNA).- Exactly one year after revelations about the sexual abuse of then-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick were made public, the Church in the U.S. remains in a state of serious scandal, and Catholics remain angry and discouraged. But what's next for the Church – what happens after McCarrick – depends as much on the decisions of ordinary Catholics as it does on the policy decisions of the U.S. bishops.
In 2002, McCarrick told the Washington Post in 2002 that to address the scourge of clerical sexual abuse that had been uncovered that year, "ieverybody has to have a plan, everybody has to have a procedure, everybody has to have a policy."
His fellow bishops needed to begin "really tackling this in a more comprehensive way," McCarrick told reporters.
It was April 2002 when McCarrick made those remarks. In the months that followed, he would become an architect, and a tireless promoter, of the U.S. bishops' plans and policies to address clerical sexual abuse.
"I think we have to somehow make sure that our people know what we're doing, that the people know that the bishops are taking this seriously."
People did not, in fact, know what McCarrick had been doing. By April 2002, Theodore McCarrick had serially sexually abused at least two minors, and sexually coerced dozens of young priests and seminarians.
Knowing now what he knew then, it seems incredible that McCarrick was celebrated in the Post as a "national leader" on clerical sexual abuse.
But he was.
In 2002, a scholar from Notre Dame told the Washington Post that McCarrick "understands the depth of the problem and the need to address it transparently…If his style of leadership were emulated, I think the church would be in better shape."
One year ago, one June 20, 2018, the Church learned far more than about McCarrick's "style of leadership" than was expected. And the revelations about his decades of sexual abuse and coercion gave the Church a new look at the "depth of the problem."
Since June 20, 2018, the Church in the U.S. has reeled from the Pennsylvania grand jury report, allegations of startling misconduct, neglect, or outright cover-up from many trusted or influential bishops, from the August letter of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, international reports concerning Bishops Gustavo Zanchetta, Jose Pineda, and Franco Mulakkal, from revelations concerning large cash gifts proffered by a bishop abuser, and from a USCCB and Vatican response to these disclosures that, in the judgment of many observers and commentators, has been tepid, at best.
It seems likely, even now, that more scandals, especially regarding finances, are likely to emerge.
One year after McCarrick, what's next? What will the Church face, and how will she face it?
It should be noted that the U.S. bishops' conference has, despite multiple serious setbacks, passed some norms and policies intended to respond to this crisis. Those policies, are, in the view of many experts, a good start to policy reform in the Church, though only in the limited spheres they deign to address.
Those reforms have been panned by some critics as insufficient, merely reactionary, and totally inadequate to addressing an apparently complex constellation of problems, which includes immoral sexual activity, some of it coercive, by some priests and bishops, an apparent reluctance to stridently address those matters when they arise, a clerical culture that sometimes includes self-interest and self-protection, financial malfeasance, and a lack of accountability regarding those matters.
McCarrick called for policies in 2002, and in 2019, the bishops now have policies to address McCarrick.
But just as 2002's policies did not stop the McCarrick or Bransfield scandals, the USCCB's measures are insufficient to resolutely address the scandal's cluster of problems.
The bishops would be wise to recognize more publicly and directly the limited impact of policies and procedures, and the importance of personal integrity, virtue, accountability, and personal holiness.
But many Catholics say that while they have heard some bishops articulate that sentiment, they remain skeptical about even the just implementation of the bishops' own reform policies. And their discouragement over those norms reflects a broader shift.
In fact, the most striking effect of the Church's year of scandal is the degree to which faithful and practicing Catholics – among them priests, religious, and lay ecclesial staffers – have become discouraged, demoralized, and hesitant to trust.
And it has become clear that the U.S. bishops are unlikely to regain that trust in one fell swoop – through one grand or dramatic gesture of transparency, accountability, contrition, or condemnation. They had an opportunity for such a gesture at their November 2018 meeting, when they considered a resolution calling for the Vatican to release all available material on McCarrick. But that resolution failed.
It is clear that reform, and holding malfeasant bishops to account, will be a long-term project of limited success. Catholics will continue to call for greater accountability, transparency, and for basic answers to basic questions, but it remains to be seen whether their calls will be answered. If they are not, the scandal will be prolonged, and Catholics will likely grow even more demoralized.
In the meantime, the Church will suffer the loss of some Catholics, who have or will become less engaged in the practice of the faith in the wake of this scandal.
Of course, it is not only bishops who are responsible for preserving the bonds of ecclesial communion.
The Church has before faced crises occasioned by the sinfulness of its leaders. In each of those crises, believers have had to decide whether or not to remain in the communion of the Church, and to work themselves for reform and renewal. This case, is no different.
No policies or procedures can overcome the reality of fallen humanity. Each Catholic must ask himself, in the wake of the McCarrick scandal, what it is reasonable and just to expect of a Church predicated on the premise that each of its members is a sinner in need of redemption.
This exercise should not make excuses for malfeasance and ineptitude, but it should be an honest assessment of the limits of all human endeavors for reform.
One year after the initial disappointment, and then the compounding disappointments of cover-ups, denials, and missed opportunities, Catholics must begin to ask themselves whether they will still commit to communion with a Church of woeful sinners, and whether they will commit to its mission.
And, in this moment, each Catholic must ask himself whether his righteous indignation has become self-righteous hubris. After the initial shock of the last year has worn off, a protracted hermeneutic of suspicion or reactive anticlericalism is not likely to contribute to a renewal of the Church in the United States. But it is a temptation.
Also a temptation is endless bureaucratic tinkering, empty promises, or covering-up for a culture of cover-up. Bishops must ask themselves how radically committed they are to their promises of reform.
In short, saints will move the Church forward, and each Catholic must ask himself whether he wishes to actually become a saint.
The project of the new evangelization is that of reproclaming in the Gospel in once Christian cultures. As the influence of the Church wanes – even on the moral and spiritual lives of Catholics – the secularity of American culture is, for many Catholics, laid clearly bare.
The McCarrick scandal could be the moment in which the Church steps back, to ask more fundamental questions about why so few people baptized as Catholics practice the faith into adulthood, and what can be done about it. Some bishops seem to have seriously taken up those questions in recent years, and others have not. Some bishops will see in this scandal the bigger picture, and others will not.
But nothing precludes laity, religious, and clerics aggrieved and angry about scandal to ask that question, and to look for answers that will bear more fruit than perduring fulmination against the failures of bishops.
Answers will be diverse. They should include ongoing and serious efforts for reform, but they should not be limited to those efforts.
Doubtless, some Catholics will say that a renewal of the Church will come from a resurgence of more traditional liturgical forms. Others will make mention of ecclesial movements like the NeoCatechumenal Way or Communion and Liberation. Still others will suggest evangelical initiatives like Focus or Word on Fire. That diversity – a motley flurry of evangelical activity – is likely the key to real renewal in the life of the Church in the U.S.
The history of the Church proves that there is not one methodology or program that has the corner on evangelization – that instead various spiritualities and movements can be fruitful, if they are rooted in the person of Jesus Christ.
That focus – which points toward a renewal far beyond hurried policy documents – is the key to a fruitful and living Church after the McCarrick scandal. Some bishops may lead on those fronts, while others disappoint, or seem to miss the mark. Some scandals will be addressed, while others may long go unresolved, and new ones will emerge. The life of the Church will be often messy, often disappointing, often frustrating, and always in need of renewal, reform, and conversion. Catholics, bishops included, will face the choice of working towards those ends, or not.
But a serious commitment to apostolic and evangelic activity- to the proclamation of the Gospel – is also the best prospect for reform. A holier Church, dedicated more zealously to mission, will also be a more just and less corrupt Church.
A great deal has changed in the aftermath of the McCarrick scandal. But sin, corruption, betrayal, and failure are not new to the Church. Nor is Jesus Christ, the source of grace, justice, and renewal, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
About Catholic News Agency 230 Articles
Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)
One year since the McCarrick allegations: A CNA timeline
Botched abortions at Missouri's last abortion clinic raise questions
Chris in Maryland
The USCCB – the toy plaything of McCarrick – exists to suffocate the Catholic faith…and it has been steadily killing it for 50 plus years.
Conferences exist to deny Jesus to the world, and promote frauds, and confect the counterfeit Church of 2013.
Tom Tapp
How very sad all of this is!
Edward Peitler
I am convinced now more than ever that the only weapon we have to counter malfeasance in the Catholic Church is to speak out about what we believe to be the unvarnished truth. It is said that the health of a family is measured by the degree of the secrets it harbors. The same holds true about our Catholic Church family – the Church will only heal when the secrets it strives to keep hidden are removed. Not until.
smk, ofs
I think the USCCB needs to give this issue their *complete* focus. I know there are many other issues that they delve into, some quite political, and that is a worthy thing (and sometimes, perhaps not). But for now, until they can take immediate, concrete, definitive action on this, and unambiguously and fearlessly lead us in accord with Catholic doctrine, I and many others fear their current agenda is simply delaying and distracting the faithful laity and clergy from what many of us consider the major attack on our Faith. We see this as a demonic attack from within – betrayal by our own leadership, from our parish priests to the very top. It is very difficult to be loyal when we do not know who we can trust. We are also getting conflicting leadership from our bishops and representatives of the Church on moral issues, such as homosexuality (looking at you, Fr. Martin, and wondering why he was rewarded with a responsible position in the Vatican after making statements clearly at odds with Church teaching). We want very much to support our Church and our parish priests, but the hierarchy must prove themselves worthy of our trust.
samton909
Before we begin rebuilding everything about the church, lets do one thing first – the thing that no one has done up to now. The thing that synods and meetings and policies were supposed to divert our attention from.
Let's find out all about McCarrick, what he did, how he rose to power, who his promoters were, where did they get their money, how did they hide in plain site, how did they get their men appointed as secretaries to the great and powerful in order to keep info from getting to the Pope. That is where we start. You can rebuild the church in its entirety later
Debra Brunsberg
Nothing will change with the problems in the Church until the Bishops can show that they have solidly turned their faces to Christ and start teaching the Gospel instead of spending their time looking for publicity when the comment on secular interests. We watch Dolan still allowing the Church to be involved with the gay pride parade and letting Cuomo and others to go their merry way while they pass laws to murder babies and then still call themselves Catholic. We see Cupich persecuting good priests and supporting those who promote his homosexual agenda. We watch Fr. Martin preach his love of sodomy without any interference and with Bishops actually supporting him. Until the Bishops undergo a true conversion and start taking on the real issues, the Church will continue to decline. They are not authentic shepherds anymore and they cannot draw anyone into a Church that they themselves are willing to stand by and watch be destroyed. The truly faithful will never leave because they do know who the Eucharist is and they do worship God. They are the ones however who will bear the burden of the evil in the Church.
Mary Nygard
Amen to all of the above, except I really wonder if they were ever "authentic shepherds".
Symptoms vs. Cause: funny that everyone has a solution to … nothing but symptoms. How can you address something, anything, without knowing it's trigger\cause?
A faithful son of St. Dominic
Let's see … what's happened over past the year since the McCarrick-induced Summer of Shame?
1-lavendar mafia Cardinal Kevin Farrell has been promoted to Cardinal Camerlengo
2-lavendar mafia Cardinal Joseph Tobin has been promoted to Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education
3-lavendar mafia Cardinal Cupich was able to impose his self-serving, self-protecting "Metropolitan Plan" for the oversight of bishops at the expense of USCCB credibility
4-D.C. has installed another lavendar mafia Archbishop to succeed Wuerl
5-Since the fix is in on the Amazon Synod, Pope Bergoglio is on the verge of sanctifying "synodality" now that he's stacked the deck.
Unless the devil is asleep at the wheel, he's going to be able capitalize big on having a chaos pope and a chaos (U.S.) president making a gargantuan messes at the same time.
Matt. 16:23. Maybe this is blessing in disguise for the American Catholic faithful who were confused by the likes Martin and their calls for a Rainbow bridge – Turns out their was a heinous, clever, rotting-soul of a Troll living under that bridge named McCarrick.
The author and the CNA, in general, seem very reluctant to step on the USCCB toes. McCarrick has been saved only by the time limits of law. He deserves to be in criminal court, nothing less.
If the friars in Victoria, KS want to help an elderly man, they should go to any homeless shelter and have their pick.
McCarrick is not poor. McCarrick is very well connected. He has apologized for absolutely nothing.
Think on that, good friars.
George Blakeslee
The Church must come under the governance of lay Boards at all levels–the Vatican, Diocesan, local church. These Boards would oversee the relevant Church entity in the same way 501c-3 organizations utilize Board members to oversee their operations. That the Church is not a 501-3 is irrelevant. Organizations that accept funding from donors must be held accountable for their spending and the pursuit of their missions. Just as in Hospitals, where doctors heal, but non-medical professionals manage and oversee, so must the Church be governed. Lay members would not make spiritual decisions, but would ensure compliance with all appropriate governmental laws. The Catholic Church has demonstrated it cannot govern itself
Analysis: One year after McCarrick, what's next for the Church? -
THVRSDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit
Best Corapi post I've seen yet
Catherine Harmon June 22, 2011 0
Jennifer Fulwiler has the single best take on the "Once-Called-Father" Corapi kerfuffle that I've seen yet. She doesn't wallow in some of the more bizarre elements of the unraveling of the priest's public persona (and […]


Around 120 kms from the lake city of Udaipur on the way to Jaipur is this sleepy little village, Deogarh. One finds the beautiful fort, almost immediately after reaching the place. The Deogarh fort, now converted in to Heritage Hotel property, is the life line of the Deogarh village today. This 17th century imposing and magnificent fort located high up on a hillock, a relic of medieval Rajasthan, with small domes, windows, jharokhas and gateways flanked by great wooden doors and towers, has been known as one of the old Thikanas of Mewar. It is surrounded by the history of Rana Pratap and the battle of Haldighati. <br />This place has been the stronghold of the Rawats of Deogarh for generations and also marks the convergence of the borders of Mewar, Marwar and Merwara. The nearby Raghosagar lake and the fort are the center of activity of this town now.


will make consistent pips with it.
Does it always work? I will leave it up to you to find out.
run its course until the Frankfurt and London Opens.
As you can see I have marked the Daily Open at 5pm EST.
The Frankfurt Open is 1am EST and the London Open is 2am EST.
We begin by drawing a line on the Daily Open Price.
Then we measure 96bars on m5 or 8 hours of distance into the future.
trend back to the daily open.
Frankfurt opens we get short and ride it back to the Daily Open.
We then sell this off again until we reach the Daily Open.
GBP/CAD and GBP/AUD as well for additional pips while reducing risk.
Remember to focus on making pips and not making money.
Good luck and many pips to you.
me directly so I can know about it to include it in future charts.
can see the best times to exit your positions.
I've noticed something to this effect for some time. I live in London and always afraid of waking up to a position that was stopped out on the early morning spike, often there will be an aggressive spike followed by a bounce back.
Currently trawling through charts, primarily pairs with at least one european currency. Will try to post something back here.
I trade mainly EN, EC, EA, EU, GA, GC and GN. I will take trades on other pairs but they don't move enough to keep me strongly interested in trading them. Why trade AU when EA and GA will produce 200 pips for the same amount of time?
Hey Charlie, like you idea of countering marketing gurus. Keep it up, I m ready to help anyway possible. Also I will surely spread the word about this. Now about this strategy of your, I have couple of question. 1] Does it work on all pairs / commodities ? 2] When & how will we identify if the price is not going to go to daily open ? In other words when can we book losses (considering no system will be 100% theory) 3] Do we enter immediately at 1.00 am EST at Frankfurt open or we wait for any specific PA, namely pin bar, mother bar, doji or significant bull/bear bar ?
Thanks for your commitment towards keeping retail forex trading world clean & free.
I don't normally fade the Asian market myself but it's a good setup for people to do from a professional stand point. During London open the way to trade this is exactly the opposite. If price is above the daily open then only take long trades away from it. This is where professionals are stacking long orders and why often times price catapults away from the daily open. It does work on every pair but you want to make sure you have confluence with other indications such as trending MAs over sold stochs etc. I find best pairs are GBP and EUR since they have the most volatility.
Thanks again for posting this, I'll be giving a shot!


Inspired by Asian art viewed in my hometown of San Francisco, I began collage making in high school.
This new Kimono collage is featured in the John Muir Tourism Center's benefit auction on Friday, May 30, 2014!
I discovered the rich trove of Japanese papers in the late '90s, incorporating images to create new works.
This represents my attempt to incorporate several images, hiding the edges of each to create a new piece.
Balance and flow, incorporating Japanese papers and leaves with a stunning batik printed dragonfly.
and the many varieties of Japanese papers.


text:
Q: Specific HTML code generator using Jquery I made a website, but now I came with an idea to make a code generator. You have to insert text in text boxes and it will generate code.
$("input").keyup(function() {
    $("#result").text(
        '
' + $("#content").val() +
        '
');
});

I found this solution on http://jsfiddle.net/NzFeb/ but it doesn't work somehow with my code.
You can see what I did (CSS and Markup) at http://go.filiparag.com/mnmuis-generator but now I need Jquery code.
What I have done with Jquery (it doesn't work):
$("input").keyup(function() {
 $("#code").text(

        '

            <text id="post-title">' + $("#title").val() + '</text>

            <text id="post-short-story">' + $("#short-story").val() + '</text>

            <text id="post-text">

            ' + $("#story").val() + '

            </text>

        '

        );
    });

These id's are from <input type="text"> and <textarea>.

A: If i understand your problem correctly, this is the desired code or result http://jsfiddle.net/NzFeb/
if so then your problem is here
' width="'IMAGE_WIDTH'" height="'IMAGE_HEIGHT'"'
 // is IMAGE_WIDTH a variable or part of the string

 // if its a variable use the plus sign
 ' width="' + IMAGE_WIDTH + '" height="' + IMAGE_HEIGHT + '"'

 // if its part of the string remove the single qoute
 ' width="IMAGE_WIDTH" height="IMAGE_HEIGHT"'

if the fiddle i pointed to is not the desired code then, change text() to  html()
$("#code").html(

side note: <text> is not a valid html tag

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
/* jshint node:true */
'use strict';

var path = require('path');
var ioc = require(path.resolve('lib/registry'));

ioc.register({
    name: 'Jordans',
    signature: 'tickle me',
    primary: true,
    chanined: false
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub