text:
Konica Minolta Significantly Reduces CO2 emissions in Fiscal Year 2014
Shows how CSR is embedded in the company's business model throughout its operations, global supply chain, and product development
Ramsey, NJ - September 3, 2015 - Technology leader Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta), is responsibly shaping the future of the environment and has just published its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, showcasing its achievements as a corporate citizen in 2014.
The report reflects how the company is providing integrated and sustainable solutions and shows how CSR is embedded in the company's business model throughout its operations, global supply chain, and product development. Based on its EcoVision 2050, whose main target is to reduce Konica Minolta's CO2 emissions over the product lifecycle by 80%[1] until 2050, the report shows that the company has done further progress in achieving this target.
Konica Minolta reported 54% of sales in Green Products in total throughout the fiscal year 2014[2] across all business areas. This represents sales of 547.1 billion Yen[3] (4.2 billion Euros[4]).
The significance of Green Products increased in comparison to the previous fiscal year, namely by 13 percent points.
In order to be certified as a Konica Minolta Green Product – a certification system introduced in 2011 - a product must pass different criteria such as decreased CO2 emissions or the usage of recycled materials. 33 new models have been brought to the market in fiscal year 2014, bringing the total to 147 products across all business areas. Some of the results of the current CSR report include an astounding 43,000 tons of CO2 reduction during product use.
Green Products play an important role in achieving the next milestone the company has defined in terms of its Medium-Term Environmental Plan 2016: to reduce the CO2 emissions throughout the product life cycle by 40% to 1,216 thousand tons in fiscal year 2016.[5] One example of a Green Product is the bizhub PRESS 2250P made with recycled PC/PET[6]. The company has developed recycled PC/PET plastic, a composite material made with PC and, in 2012, was the first in the industry to use PC/PET in the outer casing of its color bizhub multifunctional periphery devices (MFPs). Another example is toner bottles made out of polyethylene from recycled milk bottles. For this purpose, Konica Minolta developed its own recycling method and established a mass production system in Mexico and Malaysia.
The company intends to increase the proportion of recycled material in the raw material used for toner containers from current 25% to 100% in the future. In addition, Konica Minolta contributes through its textile inkjet printers to environmental protection achieving a 62% reduction in water resource usage and a 57% reduction in electricity usage in comparison to conventional textile screen-printing.
CO2 reduction of 20% in Green Factories with level 2 certification
Through its second certification system, the Green Factory Certification System – an evaluation of the environmental activities at its production sites since 2010 – six additional units (five in Japan, one in China) achieved a Level 2, the highest scoring. Level 2 is the equivalent to a 20% reduction[7] of CO2 emissions and a 50% reduction of waste discharged externally.
Reduction of CO2 emissions during distribution
Konica Minolta's Green Marketing evaluation measures distribution, sales and service, collection and recycling. Konica Minolta has reduced CO2 emissions during distribution by shortening transportation distances through optimization of distribution sites and routes worldwide, reducing the number of containers through improved loading efficiency, and reducing the frequency of air transport.
Konica Minolta is also developing systems for recycling used information technology production in different locations worldwide and striving to increase the recycling rate. In Japan, the company collects MFPs through sales companies nationwide, and dismantles and separates the components: the recycling rate was 98%[8] in fiscal year 2014.
Reduce environmental impact in cooperation with suppliers
Considering the entire supply chain, the company could decrease its CO2 emissions by 2.7% to 1.37 million tons in comparison to fiscal year 2013. The entire supply chain includes Konica Minolta's suppliers delivering raw materials and parts that the company is continuing its efforts to reduce emissions by setting targets in cooperation with them. Among other efforts to achieve this goal, Konica Minolta launched its Green Suppliers Initiative in fiscal year 2014 to provide suppliers with the environmental technology and expertise to help them reduce their environmental impact. Experts in energy and waste measure from Konica Minolta visited the suppliers' factories and proposed reduction measures based on the current situation, working with the suppliers' staff to formulate and implement improvement plans.
"Environmental challenges are global and urgent"
"In order for us to keep growing sustainably over the next 50 years, or even considering the next 100 years, it is vital that we not only create economic value but also contribute to society", emphasizes Shoei Yamana, President and CEO of Konica Minolta, Inc. "Global environmental problems in particular are a pressing issue. CO2 emission reduction, resource sustainability, perseveration of biodiversity – the environmental challenges facing the earth today are global and urgent. Global companies have a big responsibility to create a sustainable society by reducing their environmental impact."
More information: http://www.konicaminolta.com/about/csr/
Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is a leader in information management focused on enterprise content, technology optimization and cloud services. Our portfolio of offerings deliver solutions to improve our customers' speed to market, manage technology costs, and facilitate the sharing of information to increase productivity. Konica Minolta has won numerous awards and recognition, including placement in the Leaders Quadrant on the Gartner 2014 Magic Quadrant for Managed Print Services (MPS) and Managed Content Services (MCS). Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for eight consecutive years. Konica Minolta, Inc. has also been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for three years in a row. For more information, please visit: www.kmbs.konicaminolta.us and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter @konicaminoltaus.
Kristina Marchitto, Public Relations Manager
kmarchitto@kmbs.konicaminolta.us
[1] Based on fiscal year level 2005
[2] April 2014 – March 2015
[3] Based on total sales of 1,011.7 billion yen in fiscal year 2014
[4] As of 31st March 2015
[5] Compared to fiscal year level 2005 with 2,027 thousand tons
[6] Polycarbonate/Polyethylene terephthalate
[7] The base year is fiscal 2005. Based on this (base year) figure, standards tailored to factory characteristics are established.
[8] By weight


text:
John Rea Neill (November 12, 1877 – September 19, 1943) was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series. He did a great deal of magazine and newspaper illustration work which is not as well known today.

Early life
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John R. Neill did his first illustration work for the Philadelphia's Central High School newspaper in 1894-95. Neill dropped out of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts after one semester because he said, "they have nothing to teach me".

He then turned to advertising art for the Wanamaker department store in Philadelphia. He became a staff artist of the Philadelphia North American newspaper, for which he produced features like the comics strip Toyland, illustrations for the serialization of 'The Fate of a Crown' (a book by L. Frank Baum), Children's Stories That Never Grow Old, and the Sunday comics page 'The Little Journeys of Nip and Tuck' with verses by W.R. Bradford (1909–1910). He was first commissioned to illustrate The Marvelous Land of Oz, the second Oz book L. Frank Baum wrote, published in 1904; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had been illustrated by W. W. Denslow, with whom Baum argued and lost contact afterward.

Career
Originally, Neill's illustrations were slightly reminiscent of Denslow's to bring continuity and familiarity to the characters, although Neill's work in this period was far more reminiscent of the work of his contemporary and friend, illustrator Joseph Clement Coll. Denslow's illustrations had been quite popular. However, as the series expanded, Neill brought his own unique flair to the illustrations, showing more artistic representations of the characters as well as beautiful paintings of numerous scenes. In fact, he was later named the Imperial Illustrator of Oz.

Neill's illustrations were published in the leading magazines of the first few decades of the twentieth century, including Collier's, Vanity Fair, The Saturday Evening Post, The Ladies Home Journal, Century, Pictorial Review, The Delineator, Boys' Life, St. Nicholas, The People's Home Journal, Adventure  and many others. In 1930 and 1931, he contributed a great deal of artwork to Argosy.

Dorothy

Dorothy drawn by Denslow appeared to be a chubby five- or six-year-old with long brown hair in two thick braids that remained untied at the ends. Neill chose to illustrate a new Dorothy in 1907 when the character was reintroduced in Ozma of Oz. He illustrated the young girl in a more fashionable appearance. She is shown to be about ten years old, dressed in contemporary American fashions, with blonde hair cut in a fashionable bob. A similar modernization was given other female characters.

Oz work
Neill continued to illustrate the Oz books after Baum's death, and his artwork was praised for helping give Ruth Plumly Thompson's books "legitimacy" in the eyes of Baum's fans. Neill would eventually succeed Thompson as the designated "Oz historian" and write several books himself.

The Wonder City of Oz, The Scalawagons of Oz, and Lucky Bucky in Oz, which debuted each year from 1940 to 1942, were written by Neill for the firm of Reilly & Lee and are considered part of the Famous Forty. His last work, The Runaway in Oz, was drafted before his death, but the full illustrations were never finished and Reilly & Lee decided not to publish the manuscript. However, Neill's widow kept the manuscript safe, and, in 1995, it was finally published by Books of Wonder and edited and illustrated by Eric Shanower. The book's design reproduces the design used throughout almost all of the Baum, Thompson, and Neill Oz books (without the color plates), and the story itself follows the adventures of the Patchwork Girl with some new characters invented by Neill.

Non-Oz work
Neill illustrated dozens of books that were not written by Baum.  One of the most notable of Neill's non-Baum books was his adaptation of Helen Bannerman's 1899 story, Little Black Sambo.  Neill's edition of Little Black Sambo, which was published by Reilly and Britton in 1908, included a short story called "The Story of Topsy from Uncle Tom's Cabin."

Legacy

In 2018, "The Lost Art of Oz" project was initiated to locate and catalogue the surviving original artwork John R. Neill, W.W. Denslow, Frank Kramer, Richard 'Dirk' Gringhuis and Dick Martin created to illustrate the Oz book series.

References

External links

  – maintained by granddaughter Jory Neill Mason, (c) 2015 John R Neill Illustrator
Biographical information on John R. Neill
Original John R. Neill artwork from the Oz books on www.lostartofoz.com
Piglet Press entry on Neill
Pulp Artists entry on Neill

1877 births
1943 deaths
American children's book illustrators
Oz (franchise)
Artists from Philadelphia
Art Nouveau illustrators

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Wine Source UK has added Champagne Gosset to its portfolio.
Premium bourbon brand Maker's Mark has revealed a new 'bartender engagement' series of workshops hosted by new 'brand diplomat' Amanda Humphrey.
Bombay Sapphire has partnered with ten bars across Europe as part of its recently launched 'A Gin Of Ten Journeys' campaign.
The Rioja control board has given the nod for changes to be made to regulations which will give greater visibility to smaller geographical units.
South African producer Nederburg is encouraging pubs and businesses in the UK to help to 'mobilise' African communities and make it easier for people to access education, healthcare and economic opportunities.
The company behind the Botanist has adapted its offering to four wheels so that it can tour the country with its cocktails and craft beers.
Quintessential Brands has signed a deal as the UK distributor for Cockspur rum.
Edinburgh Gin has unveiled a new design for its fruit gin liqueurs in a bid to bring the the range in-line with the brand's core portfolio.


SAN MARCOS —- Airplanes flying over three mobile-home parks on the western edge of San Marcos create loud noise for residents, but not enough to warrant significant changes to the flight path for the McClellan-Palomar Airport, city and airport officials said this week.
NORTH COUNTY —- A town hall meeting on the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's search for a new regional airport is set for 6 p.m. Monday at Westview High School in Rancho Penasquitos.
Residents living near the Monterey Peninsula Airport are making noise over the prospect of jets landing after 1 a.m., generators cranking in the early dawn hours and low-flying private planes that rattle windows.


text:
South Africans' reasons for not reporting corruption
By Corruption Watch 10 Dec 2014, 13:51
A new report released last week by Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reveals that more than two thirds of South African households believe that corruption has increased during the period 2010 to 2013. However, nearly half of them would not report corruption because they believe it's pointless.
The report, the 2013/14 Victims of Crime survey, is a countrywide household-based survey and has three main aims:
• to provide information about the dynamics of crime from the perspective of households and the victims of crime;
• to explore public perceptions of the activities of the police, prosecutors, courts and correctional services in the prevention of crime and victimisation;
• to provide complementary data on the level of crime within South Africa in addition to the statistics published annually by the South African Police Service.
The survey is seen as adding to the overall crime picture in the country. It interrogates people's perceptions and experiences of crime – including corruption – as well as their views regarding their access to, and effectiveness of the police service and the criminal justice system.
All private households in all nine provinces of South Africa, as well as residents in workers' hostels, were consulted. Other collective living quarters such as students' hostels, old-age homes, hospitals, prisons and military barracks were not included.
Households still very concerned about corruption
StatsSA asked a number of questions relating to the perceived levels of corruption in the reporting period. These included questions on the reasons people are engaging in corruption and the main reasons they are paying bribes.
It found that only 14.5% of households believe that the level of corruption has remained unchanged during this period, whilst 13.6% say that corruption has decreased. Doing the maths, 71.9% of South African households believe that corruption has worsened.
In geographical terms, the Western Cape, North West and Northern Cape provinces have the highest percentage of households who believe corruption is worse, at 82,6%, 81,6% and 79,7% respectively.
On the other hand, the Western Cape at a mere 4.3% and the North West at 5.9% have the lowest percentage of households who are of the opinion that corruption has decreased over the years.
Get rich quick – main perceived reason for corruption
Households were asked about their perceptions of the reasons that people are engaging in corruption. Their options included: real need, greed, get rich quickly or other reasons.
The report showed that 76.9% of households believe that people are involved in corruption to get rich quickly, followed by greed at 71.2%. Most of these households are located in Gauteng, with the Eastern Cape following.
Some 37.9% of households believe that people pay bribes to speed up procedures, while 23% say it's to get better treatment and 20.6% believe bribes are used to avoid paying traffic fines. A small percentage of households, just 3,5%, think that people pay bribes in order to receive information.
Most corrupt officials are working with social welfare grants, say SA households
Households were also asked for their perceptions about which government officials were most likely to be involved in corruption. They responded by saying that 30% of corrupt officials in their experience work with social welfare grants. Another 13.1% point at the police, and 11.2% name officials involved in housing.
Households were asked if there were any government or public officials who asked for money, favours or gifts while they were expected to render services – the response indicates that households are more likely to be asked for money than any other kind of bribe, with gifts the least likely.
Nobody cares anyway
Asked for their reasons for not reporting corruption, 43.1% of households say that it's pointless for them to report corruption because nobody will care. Another 13.4% are willing to overlook the crime because of the benefit they receive from the bribe, and 11.6% believe it is common practice and therefore does not need to be reported.
A new report from Statistics South Africa reveals that nearly half of those polled would not report corruption because they believe that nobody cares. The 2013/14 Victims of Crime survey was conducted in all nine provinces, and is representative of non-institutionalised and non-military persons or households in South Africa.
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Tags: Corruption Watch, corruption, bribery, bribe, official site, Statistics South Africa
Reputation Thieves - a youth story produced with FunDza
CW raises concerns over unchecked corruption at refugee centre
DBE on cheaters' case
A closer look at the Seriti Commission
Survey: what people want from our new protector
Uncooperative education depts stall CW investigations
Call for transparency and meritocracy in public service Getting to the root of foreign bribery

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
La Línea 601 es una línea de transporte urbano de pasajeros de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina. El servicio está actualmente operado por la empresa ERSA Urbano.

Anteriormente el servicio de la línea 601 era operada por T.A.M.S.E. desde 2002, hasta que en Septiembre de 2013 TAMSE deja de operar los anulares y pasan a manos de Aucor, más tarde Aucor deja de existir y pasan a manos de ERSA Urbano donde actualmente opera, hasta el 18 de diciembre de 2022. En esa fecha , T.A.M.S.E, volverá a operar a la línea 601

Recorrido
Anillo Exterior , sentido antihorario

 Servicio diurno.

IDA: De Cno. San Carlos 4500 – por éste – Av. Bernardo O'Higgins – Av. Pablo Ricchieri – Av. Concepción Arenal – Av. Enrique Barros – Haya de la Torre – Ing. Medina Allende – Maestro Marcelo López – Av. Cruz Roja Argentina – Cjal. Felipe Belardinelli – Cnel. José Javier Díaz – Av. Bernardo O´Higgins – Av. Baradero – Morón – Malagueño – Av. Revolución de Mayo – Asturias – Provincias Vascongadas – Sargento Cabral – Int. Ramón Bautista Mestre Norte – Juan Roque – Sinsacate – Remedios de Escalada – José Garibaldi – Av. 24 de Septiembre – Av. Patria – Bv. Eduardo Bulnes – Av. Las Malvinas – Av. Juan XXIII – Paysandú – Av. Juan XXIII – Tarija – Localino – Frankfort – Nuevo Mundo – Hulluman – Los Tintines – Francisco de Recalde – Av. Dr. Arturo Capdevilla – Luis de Góngora hasta Bv. Los Granaderos.

VUELTA: De Luis de Góngora y Bv. Los Granaderos – por esta – Concepción de Bermejo – Benito Quinquela Martín – Manuel Cardeñosa- Rodríguez de Busto – Av. Rafael Núñez – Av. Octavio Pinto – Temistocles Castellanos – José Barros Pazos – Padre Luis Galeano – Nazaret – Domingo Zípoli – Puente Zípoli – Domingo Zipoli – La Rioja – Dr. Juan Cafferata – Maestro Vidal – Av. Fuerza Aérea – Fournier – Antártida Argentina – Rufino Varela Ortiz – Frontera – Talma – Lagunilla – Aconquija – Cerro Cónico – Tronador – Puente Cañada – Belisario Villafañe – Río Negro – Manuel Baigorria – Paso a Nivel Cacheuta – Cacheuta – Rotonda Dr. Lázaro Langer – Cacheuta – Dr. Lázaro Langer – Dr. Manuel Parga – Dr. Pastor Taboada – Av. Armada Argentina – Dr. Oscar Cocca – Bernardo Vázquez Maceda – Cjal. Felipe Belardinelli – Av. Cruz Roja Argentina – Maestro Marcelo López – Ing. Medina Allende – Haya de la Torre – Bv. De la Reforma – Los Nogales – Av. Concepción Arenal – Av. Pablo Ricchieri – Av. Bernardo O'Higgins – Cno. San Carlos hasta el 4500.

Véase también
 Transporte en la Ciudad de Córdoba (Argentina)
 Anexo:Líneas de colectivos Nacionales Interprovinciales en Argentina
 Anexo:Líneas de colectivo del Gran Buenos Aires
 Anexo:Líneas de colectivo de Rosario
 Anexo:Líneas de Colectivos de la Provincia de Santa Fe
 Anexo:Líneas de Colectivos de Santa Fe
 Anexo:Líneas de colectivo del Gran San Juan y alrededores

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Municipalidad de Córdoba
 Secretaría de Transporte de la Nación


Description: I was asked to create a poster for Type Hike, a collaborative non-profit design project. Their Alphabeast series celebrates 26 endangered species in the US - one for each letter of the alphabet. My letter is 'Q' and my animal is the Quino checkerspot butterfly. Check out all 26 posters and pick up a print at typehike.com - 100% of profits from this series will be donated to Defenders of Wildlife!


text:
Want to fix the trade? Get rid of OTE.
Car dealerships are a mess – here's how we'd fix them.
Published 1 year ago in May 24, 2018
Back in the day, before smartphones and three million channels of nothing on the telly, we used to work in a dealership. This was great, because having been obsessed with cars since popping out of Mother, we always wanted to be in one. It was, to us, the hub of automotive activity. It would be the perfect way to live out our passion for cars. And for a while, it was. Then journalism and car magazines happened, so we did that for ten years instead. And in that decade, a lot happened.
OTE. On. Target. Earnings. That's what happened, and it happened in seemingly every department, resulting in pretty much every dealership up and down the country now being nothing more than a sickly, one-dimensional, single-minded hideousness with nothing but a junkie's lust for profit glinting in its eye. It's horrid.
Now don't get us wrong, we're no masters of industry, but even so, we know a business needs to make money. But there are ways to go about that properly, and the motor trade doesn't use any of them. Work in a modern-day dealership and you'll be sickened by the largely two-faced nature of the place. Like siblings that behave for mum and dad, but then kick the shit out of each other when they leave.
Customer = mum and dad. Siblings = staff.
And you might think 'yeah, well, that's sales' and you'd be right. It is. But these people have been screwed down so hard, they've had their basic salary reduced to so little, and they've had their commission structure amended 'for the long-term good' so many times that they have become hyenas.
Heavy stuff, right? But probably speculative, given that we're just a little motoring website dedicated to cheap cars. What would we know? Well here's the thing, we've done pretty much every job in a dealership, including selling cars. And do you know what? We were good at it. But we were never good enough. Because that's how it works. You do well only to be rewarded by goalposts that keep moving. It's draining. Imagine being set a target, then hitting that target, then being told it's still not good enough. Nice.
And then there's the culture. There were a few bad weeks, we had some stuff going on at home, it was sub-optimal. The Sales Manager called us in for a chat. Fair enough. His advice? Get into debt. Because if we had debt, we'd work harder. That's the culture.
And it goes deeper. Years and years ago, we worked as a service advisor. Our job was to book cars into the the workshop and then keep the customer up to date with what was going on, if any extra parts were needed, that kind of stuff. We were under no obligation to sell. It was just good, wholesome, customer service.
Now though, you can't do that. You have to up-sell. Service plans, tyres when the customer doesn't really need them. Brakes when the customer doesn't really need them. Wipers. Fluids. All of it, from bumper to bumper, is now unsympathetically mashed into the department. And it's being put on people who don't have a sales background, so it inevitably gets done wrong. And then the customers are unhappy.
We never had an OTE. But we cared. There was pride at stake, so we just did a good job. We didn't need an incentive.
Actually, that's wrong. An incentive to get a little bonus would have been nice, it would have pushed us all to work a bit harder, to check every 't' and 'i' that bit more carefully. Because that's how incentives work. Incentives don't frighten, they inspire.
But the ever-raising targets given to staff across dealerships today don't inspire. They instil fear and a sense of insecurity. And as such, these targets have bred a culture of dishonesty and lies, of 'you can't trust a garage' chatter never more than a stone's throw from a dealership. The staff are pressured into selling no matter what, just to keep their job, or to bring in enough money for the 'big shop'.
They create environments where the dick-waving, big-watch wearing, pointy-shoed slime-balls of the world can thrive. But to what end? These people never do a good job. They charm sales out of people. Then when those people get home and away from the fake smiles and 'power' handshakes, they come to their senses and come back to the dealership full of anger and vitriol. How's that a good business model?
How does the industry fix itself? Quite simply, it does it by getting rid of targets. Pay the staff a decent, living wage and let them work. Let people come to work because they enjoy doing it, not because they have to, just to sell one more car, please god, one more car, it's month end, I need one more sale, I'll do anything to get that customer into that car… do you see where we're coming from?
Offer incentives by all means, and yes, there should be a minimum expectation from all the staff, but hey, that's no different than any business. But get it right and you watch those dealerships flourish. You watch the staff become a cohesive team that genuinely want to help each other and ultimately the customer, too. You watch that acrid, distrusting undertone of your dealership melt away. And then you watch the customers come back, tell their friends, buy from you again and again. You just watch.
Admittedly the current pointy-shoed, big watched, slick haired, deal-stacking, FCA failing, Matalan suit-buying, demo car ragging, GAP insurance touting sales lot won't like this suggestion one bit. But sod'em. It's time for a change, and they're not part of it.
automotive / autotrader / buying advice / buying guide / car / car buying / cars / classic car / comission / dealership / ebay motors / featured / garage / money / not 2 grand / not2grand / retro car / sales / second-hand car / used cars / www.not2grand.co.uk
older GUEST BLOG: Cars and our connection...
newer BUY A STICKER! Please.
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Because driving isn't much fun unless you look like a gangster. […]
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Mad as a box of frogs. […]
The Lupo GTi…
The Lupo GTi was a 'blink and you miss it' machine, and that's a shame, because it was brilliant. […]
The W220 Mercedes-Benz S Class…
Look like a mob boss or Sir Lordypants Alan Sweetner, despite the fact you work part time at Greggs. […]
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Let's Talk About Immune Health!
I hate to be "that guy," but winter is here. Depending on where in the country you live, you may be contending with incredibly short days (pitch-black at 5pm!), frightfully cold temperatures, or even some snow. But regardless of your current geographical status, it's likely that you're beginning to encounter a bit of that holiday stress that Thanksgiving seems to kick off so well.
Stress gets a lot of press, and it is something we talk about with a lot of familiarity. It's simply a part of our modern life. What we don't often talk about, however, is what really happens in the body when it's Christmas Eve and you still can't find the perfect gift that shows your mother-in-law exactly what she means to you (take that how you will).
Stress is an amazing adaptive response to the dangers of the world. When something stresses us out - when we are alarmed, overwhelmed, or dealing with a trauma - our body works to propel us to safety with a burst of energy in the form of adrenaline. This is great when the stressor is a hungry bear, less-so when it's your niece's birthday party (clowns are scary, but not THAT scary). Our stressors have changed in this modern-age, but our evolutionary response has not. Over time, this constant demand on our adrenals for more and more adrenaline can start to wear us down.
A by-product of this heightened stress response over a long period of time is a weakened immune system. Perfect timing, of course, as winter is often considered "cold season!" Toss a nasty cold on top of party-planning and gift-buying, and *BOOM* we've just created MORE STRESS. It adds up quickly!
This winter, take care of yourself first so that you can take care of your family and friends. Below are some quick and easy ways to bring down your stress level and get back to soaking in that winter joy.
I'm not suggesting you plan out each hour of each day, however having a consistent bed- and wake-time is a great place to start! Ritual is comforting to the mind and body, and some predictability can be a good thing when it comes to our health.
I mean, this should probably be first on the list. Who doesn't feel more stressed and strung-out when you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a few days? Allowing our body time to rest and restore is so important in maintaining a healthy response to stress, as well as a strong immune system.
It's cold and dark out. I get it. But the more you can get out and get moving, the more favors you're doing for your health. Exercise, in addition to being incredibly important for our physical health, plays a big role in our mental health. Exercise releases feel-good hormones that help to mitigate stress. Even if you find snowshoeing to be nothing more than difficult walking in the cold (like me!), I promise you'll feel better afterward!
Adaptogens are botanicals that help the body respond, or adapt, to stress. Consider a supplement with Ashwagandha, or (and you can make this a ritual!) enjoy a warm mug of Golden Milk (rich in turmeric and ginger) before bed to help you unwind.
Sometimes we can't do it all on our own, and that's okay. If you're feeling stressed, run-down, and like you're one handshake away from contracting the latest batch of the sniffles, let MegaFood help! Below are a list of products that can help you in the good fight of Winter Wellness. Click the links to learn more about each!
Vitamin C - The ole standby. Vitamin C has long been an immune-supportive favorite, and it gets even better when it's delivered with oranges from Uncle Matt's Organic!
Probiotics - What don't probiotics do? In addition to supporting healthy digestion, they also play a big role in our immune-function.* Talk about a holiday two-for!


text:
Brack, Victor Hermann.
The organiser of the Euthanasia Programme, Action T4, where the Nazi state systematically murdered disabled German people.
09-11-1904, Haaren.
02-06-1948, hanged, age 43, Landsberg prison.
Spöttinger Cemetery Landsberg am Lech. Hindenburgring 24, 86899 Landsberg am Lech.
germanyGestapo
Brack, Victor Hermann, born 09-11-1904 in Haaren , the son of a physician in Haaren (now part of Aachen) in the Rhine Province. In 1928, he completed a degree in agriculture at the Technical University of Munich and shortly thereafter began managing the estate attached to his father's sanatorium; he also was a test driver for BMW.
In 1929 at the age of 25, Brack became a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and the Schutzstaffel (SS). Throughout 1930 and 1931, Brack was one o f Heinrich Himmler personal drivers, having become acquainted with the Reichsführer-SS as a consequence of his father having delivered one of the SS leader's children. Sometime in 1932, he became adjutant to Philipp Bouhler band by 1934, Brack was his chief of staff. In 1936, he was appointed chief of Hauptamt II (main office II) in the Chancellery of the Führer in Berlin. The office handled matters concerning the Reich Ministries, Wehrmacht, NSDAP, clemency petitions and complaints received by the Führer from all parts of Germany.
Brack became a Nazi war criminal, the organizer of the Euthanasia Programme, Action T4 , where the Nazi state systematically murdered disabled German people. Aktion T4 was a postwar name for mass murder through involuntary euthanasia in Nazi Germany. The name T4 is an abbreviation of Tiergartenstraße 4, a street address of the Chancellery department set up in the spring of 1940, in the Berlin borough of Tiergarten, which recruited and paid personnel associated with T4. Certain German physicians were authorised to select patients "deemed incurably sick, after most critical medical examination" and then administer to them a "mercy death" (Gnadentod). In October 1939, Adolf Hitler signed a "euthanasia note", backdated to 01-09-1939, which authorised his physician Karl Brandt and Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler to implement the programme.The killings took place from September 1939 until the end of the war in 1945; from 275,000 to 300,000 people were killed in psychiatric hospitals in Germany and Austria, occupied Poland and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
Following this, Brack was one of the men responsible for the gassing of Jews in the extermination camps, and he conferred with SS Obergruppenführer, Odilo Globocnik about the practical implementation of the Final Solution. In 1929, Viktor Brack became a member of the NSDAP and the SS . In 1936, he was Chief of Office 2 (Amt II) in the Chancellery of the Führer in Berlin. The office handled matters concerning the Reich Ministries, armed forces, Nazi Party, clemency petitions and complaints received by the Führer from all parts of Germany. In November 1940, Brack was promoted to the grade of SS-Oberführer . In December 1939, Brack gave SS Obersturmbannführer August Becker, a mid-ranking functionary in the SS, the task of arranging gas killing operations with perpetrated buses,of mental patients and other people that the Nazis deemed "life unworthy of life."
SS Obersturmbannführer Becker helped design the vans with a gas chamber built into the back compartment. Because of his membership in the SS, Becker was sentenced after end of war to a three years prison sentence. Afterwards he worked as a salesman and industrial worker. In 1959, he suffered a stroke and moved to a nursing home in the upper Hessian town of Laubach.In 1959, the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart began a preliminary investigation into offenses committed by Becker, SS Sturmbannführer Albert Widmann and Paul Werner, the T4 chemists. Becker was condemned to ten years prison, but on 15-07-1960, due to his bad state of health he was released from detention and admitted to the home for the elderly at Butzbach. When in 1967, the State Criminal Court in Stuttgart sent a summons to Becker, it turned out that Becker had been taken out of the Butzbach home on 03-1-1966, by persons unknown, and his current whereabouts could not be determined. On 16-06-1967, the Baden-Wurttemberg State criminal police agency issued a bulletin to be on the look out for Becker. By then, however, Becker had been checked into another nursing home where he remained in a state of almost complete mental and physical breakdown. August Becker died on 31-12-1967, age 67.
Albert Widman ultimately served six years and six months in prison and lived a long life and died 24-12-1986, aged 74, in Stuttgart,.
This operation later became known as Action T4. During the Doctors' Trial Brack testified from the witness stand that after 1941, when the extermination of Jewish population by Nazis was at full capacity, Heinrich Himmler
ordered him and Hitler's physician SS Gruppenführer, Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Karl Brandt to contact physicians involved previously in the Euthanasia Program to find out a way of sterilizing young and strong Jews capable of labor for use in the German war effort. Brandt was hanged in Landsberg 02-06-1948. The idea was to develop a method by which the victim could be sterilized without being aware of the process. In March 1941, Brack fulfilled his assignment and prepared a report for Heinrich Himmler, in which he described the method of sterilizing patients using X-rays on a large scale and without the subject's knowledge of the fact until the effects made themselves felt. On 23-06-1942 Brack wrote the following letter to Himmler: Dear Reichsführer, among tens of millions of Jews in Europe, there are, I figure, at least two to three millions of men and women who are fit enough to work. Considering the extraordinary difficulties the labour problem presents us with, I hold the view that those two to three millions should be specially selected and preserved. This can, however, only be done if at the same time they are rendered incapable to propagate. About a year ago I reported to you that agents of mine had completed the experiments necessary for this purpose. I would like to recall these facts once more. Sterilization, as normally performed on persons with hereditary diseases, is here out of the question, because it takes too long and is too expensive. Castration by X-ray however is not only relatively cheap, but can also be performed on many thousands in the shortest time. I think that at this time it is already irrelevant whether the people in question become aware of having been castrated after some weeks or months, once they feel the effects. Should you, Reichsführer, decide to choose this way in the interest of the preservation of labor, then Reichsleiter,
Philipp Bouhler would be prepared to place all physicians and other personnel needed for this work at your disposal. Bouhler committed suicide age 45, on 19-05-1945. The mass murders took place in the euthanasia centre Hadamar, Bernberg, Grafeneck, Sonnestein and Hartheim.
Likewise he requested me to inform you that then I would have to order the apparatus so urgently needed with the greatest speed. Heil Hitler! Yours, Viktor Brack. Following the letter, Himmler ordered the procedure to be tested on prisoners in Auschwitz. Since Brack was transferred to an SS division, his deputy Werner Blankenburg would undertake the task and "immediately take the necessary measures and get in touch with the chiefs of the main offices of the concentration camps. Werner Blankenburg, alias Bieleke, died on 28-11-1957 in Stuttgart. His funeral at the Michaelskirche in Stuttgart-Wangen was attended by several old comrades from T4 who were secretly filmed by the Kriminalpolizei.
In spite of his last wish that he should be buried under his real name, Blankenburg lies in grave No. 2058, rows 5-6, under the name of Werner Bieleke.
Viktor Brack testifies in his own defense at the Doctors' Trial in Nuremberg in 1947. From testimony given by a French physician of Jewish descent, who was a prisoner in Auschwitz from September 1943 to January 1945, it can be found that sterilization of Jewish inmates was carried out in Birkenau camp by SS doctors. SS Hauptsturmführer, Josef Mengele "The Angle of Death" infamous for performing human experiments on camp inmates in Auschwitz, including children, for which Mengele was called the "Angel of Death". About 100 male Poles who had been sterilized at Birkenau were attended to by the witness after the operation. According to the witness, members of the group were later castrated by camp physicians. The first condemned prisoners arrived at Landsberg prison in December 1945. These war criminals had been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity at the Dachau Trials which had begun a month earlier. Between 1945 and 1946, the prison housed a total of 110 prisoners convicted at the Nuremberg trials, a further 1416 war criminals from the Dachau trials and 18 prisoners convicted in the Shanghai trials. (These were military tribunals conducted by the American forces in Japan between August 1946 and January 1947 to prosecute 23 German officials who had continued to assist the Japanese military in Shanghai after the surrender of Nazi Germany. In five and half years, Landsberg prison was the place of execution of nearly 300 condemned war criminals. 259 death sentences were conducted by hanging and 29 by firing squad. Executions were carried out expeditiously. In May 1946 twenty eight former SS guards from Dachau were hanged within a four-day period. Bodies that were not claimed were buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery next to the Spöttinger chapel.
Death and burial ground of Brack, Victor Hermann.
Brack who was also responsibly for the death of the cyclist champion Albrecht Richter, was sentenced to death in 1947 and executed/hanged on 02-06-1948, age 43, in the prison in Landsberg am Lech and also buried on the prison Spöttinger Cemetery of Landsberg. Next to him the graves of SS Standartenführer, Rudolf Brandt, Gauleiter Meckelen and SS Obergruppenführer, Adjudant from Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler, Karl Hildebrandt, SS Hauptscharfführer, head of the Crematoria of Auschwitz , Otto Moll, Waffen SS Brigade Führer, Kommandant of Einsatzgruppe B, Erich Naumann, SS Obergruppenführer and Chief des SS Wirtschaftsamt, Oswald Pohl, SS Standartenführer, Sonderkommando 4 A of Einsatzgruppe C, Paul Blobel and Reichsgeschäftsführer, Wolfgang Sievers.
Bong, Richard Ira "Dick".
Albers, Hans Philipp August
Busse, Theodor Ernst Hermann August.
Kleist, Paul Ludwig "Ewald" von.
Cochenhausen, Conrad von.
Mohnke, Wilhelm Heinrich Johannes.


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Elderly man hopes to reconnect with old friends during the holidays
By Alma McCarty |
Posted: Thu 6:15 PM, Dec 17, 2015 |
Updated: Thu 6:18 PM, Dec 17, 2015
News 12 First at Five / Dec. 17, 2015
MARTINEZ, Ga. (WRDW) -- During the holiday season, it's not uncommon to get the blues.
Doctors say Seasonal Affective Disorder can be a trigger to underlying major depression. During the winter months, they recommend medication, light exposure treatments, and psychotherapy.
Doctors say shorter days and stress can lead to depression in people of all ages. But, especially in older folks, isolation and lonliness make this time of year more difficult.
For many, it's the most wonderful time of the year. Decorations line the porch, and deck the halls at Ann Tapley's Personal Care Home in Martinez.
"I've lived in several of these places. But this here is the best I've every been in," said James Roton, known as J.P. to most.
He is looking forward to seeing the few familiy members he has left on Christmas.
"I know they'll all be here some time that day. Or the day before. But they've all got families that they've got to live at home with and take care of. They're not like me, you know," he said.
"Sometimes [the feeling is] loneliness," said Dr. Nagy Youssef, psychiatrist at GRHealth, "Decreased daylight can definitely correlate with depression, especially in vulnerable people to depression."
He says even minor holiday blues can be cured with a little socialization.
"A lot of people can get well by just support from friends from family, and spending time relaxing," Youssef said.
"I've outlived all my family and all my friends, and I don't know how many I got out there. I might not have any," said Roton.
At the age of 81, he has one Christmas wish: to reconnect with old friends he hasn't seen in years, to share in some holiday cheer.
"Maybe this will bring them out in the open. And let them know I'm still breathing," he said.
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text:
Humor Narratives UR Joking
Choose Your Own Adventure: D-Day!
By John Pinto Humor Editor
A1: You wake up to a glorious, balmy Rochester spring day (only one nor'easter scheduled to tear through this afternoon!) What do you do first?
Drink, of course. Gotta start early! D-Day! Hell yeah! (proceed to C1) or Yoga by the river, to limber up my central nervous system before its big day (proceed to A2)
A2: During the transition from downward to upward-facing dog, your buddy Xander slides you a scrap of tin foil. Inside is either a tiny blotter of LSD or the corner of a Forever stamp of Mr. Incredible. What do you do?
Lick it (proceed to B1) or Slide it on back (proceed to A3)
A3: Xander takes back Schrödinger's Acid and gives you a dirty look. Still, can't give in to peer pressure, right?
Right! (proceed to A4) or Well, on second thought… (proceed to B1)
A4: Wait, are you a DARE kid?
Yes, 'til I die! (proceed to C1) or Yes, but like, ironically (proceed to A5)
A5: Ah, so you're one of those kids whose personality is mostly just weed and t-shirts with cartoon aliens on them, very cool. I bet your room has a totally normal number of crystals in it.
Yeah, maybe, and on second thought give me Xander's acid (proceed to B1) or Are we done with yoga now or what? (proceed to B2)
B1: Your tongue feels a little stickier than usual and everything tastes like glue — so it goes. What now?
Drinking time! (proceed to B2) or Explore the various family-friendly aspects the University has set up around campus! (proceed to B5)
B2: It's now [INSERT TIME OF DAY YOUR FLEXIBLE SENSE OF MORALITY ALLOWS YOU TO START DRINKING]. Where do you go?
Darty in some frat's filthy driveway, so we can bother the area residents and simultaneously uphold a paranoid misconception of the 19th Ward and PLEX founded in classism and racism (proceed to B3) or Sneak alcohol into a place on campus where there is usually not alcohol (proceed to B6)
B3: You're here and it's exactly like all the Snapchat stories. Are you happy?
I'd be happier if I was committing property damage against some poor random family's house (proceed to B6) or Making fun of people for trying to let off steam doesn't make you morally superior, it just makes you an asshole (proceed to B4)
B4: Shit, you're right. Sorry. The end
B5: It's now 10 minutes later and you've seen everything. Now what?
Drinking time! (proceed to B2) or Why can't I just do this over and over until I get tired? (proceed to C1)
B6: Wow, epic prank bro.
It's not a prank; it's alcoholism and I'm feeling a little sluggish all of a sudden (proceed to C1) or I know, I'm invincible! (proceed to B7)
B7: Whoops, looks like Xander's acid wasn't a dud after all. Through a convoluted chemical reaction that my English degree doesn't require me to understand or prove, the LSD reacts with the alcohol and you explode in a comic and bloody fashion (you still die if you didn't take Xander's acid, but years later and because of heart disease or an auto accident). The end
C1: It is suddenly four in the afternoon and you are asleep. You miss the whole rest of the day and your friends all make fun of you for being both insane and boring at the same time. The end
Tagged: choose your own adventure D-Day
John Pinto is a member of the Class of 2020.
Squash takes victory in first home match
By Ethan Busch on Jan 19, 2020
Varsity squash snapped a three match losing streak with a 7-2 win over the University of Western Ontario.
UR Snapshots Vol. 5: New Year's resolutions
By Abhishek Makhun and Evelyn Pineda on Jan 19, 2020
"I'd say my resolution is to live a year of unapologetic happiness."
Student podcast 'Classically Black' builds bridges to classical world
By Michelle Shuai on Dec 9, 2019
Harris and Brown started "Classically Black" to create a community for African-American classical musicians, an often underrepresented group within the field. Harris remarked, "these people have been [there]; we are still here."


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Halsey's hit song may claim she's "Bad at Love," but when onstage with superstar chef Giada De Laurentiis at BottleRock's Williams Sonoma Culinary Stage in Napa Valley, De Laurentiis made sure the singer was NOT bad at pasta. De Laurentiis dropped sage Italian advice as expertly as Halsey drops a pop beat…or a F-bomb. (It's a festival in California, so anything goes.) The two were a hotly anticipated chef + celeb pairing for BottleRock's high-energy culinary stunts, and we can confirm that the ladies definitely delivered both sass and substance.
De Laurentiis whipped up some Aperol spritzers before getting to work on a spicy rigatoni pasta tutorial for the crowd. She passed on some pasta best practices, including salt the boiling pasta water liberally — like way more than a comfortable amount. Next, always cook your pasta to al dente, which usually takes about seven minutes. As the pasta bubbled away, she gave Halsey a quick onstage tutorial on grating cheese; the key is using GDL's Williams Sonoma Conical Grader ($20), pictured above, that the Food Network star designed herself.
Once the pasta is cooked (but not quite finished), De Laurentiis said to strain it, reserving the pasta water, then add the rigatoni back into the pot and start stirring in the the cheese. Yes, before the sauce! That way, the parm can really stick to the pasta. Next, stir in the sauce, and allow it to cook slightly, absorbing into the pasta and softening it to that perfect texture. If the sauce becomes too thick, loosen it with a little of the reserved, starchy, and salty pasta water.
Halsey tried to absorb all of De Laurentiis's guidance as she cracked jokes while stirring the spicy rigatoni. And the heat wasn't just from all the Calabrian chili paste (one of the Italian chef's favorite pantry items, which she recommends over red pepper flakes). The Napa wine country sun was blasting the crowd and the celebs during their demo. Luckily, the duos' mega-watt smiles and witty kitchen banter kept the atmosphere light and lovely as GDL's famous lemon ricotta cookies.
OMG THOSE LEMON COOKIES. We were lucky enough to try some backstage thanks to the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen and let us just say, the hype is DESERVED. The lemon glaze is bright and tart, and the ricotta keeps the cookies moist and fluffy. So yummy. Sure you can eat them in several bites, but they are dangerously easy to pop into your mouth as a single flavor bomb. We went back for seconds, and thirds…and well, festivals are just super exhausting, so you really have to take advantage of pick-me-ups. If we're really being honest, we probably ate… maybe seven each. Don't judge! You would've done the same. If making them homemade isn't your thang, De Laurentiis has a Lemon Ricotta Cookie Mix ($11) at Williams Sonoma (it also comes in gluten-free too).
The lemon love didn't stop there; we also got to enjoy De Laurentiis's flavorful alfredo crudité. Crispy, tiny toast topped with her signature Lemon Alfredo Pasta Sauce ($17) stirred into some ricotta cheese and accented by lemon zest, fresh tendrils of basil, and freshly ground pepper. Again, dangerously easy to maul in one bite and seemingly super-easy to recreate at home for summer festivities.
If you're whipping up De Laurentiis's phenomenal lemon-y finger foods, tag us @BritandCo on Instagram.
BottleRock Napa and Williams Sonoma provided media passes for the purpose of this article.


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