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Home Martin Plaut Media Bias Opinion Sophia Tesfamariam Crocodile Tears: Cover for Real Threats in the Horn Region
Crocodile Tears: Cover for Real Threats in the Horn Region
Admin 4:53 AM Martin Plaut, Media Bias, Opinion, Sophia Tesfamariam
Martin Plaut. (Credit: Tesfanews)
By Sophia Tesfamariam
Disinformation about Eritrea has become a cottage industry among Eritrea's quislings and the minority regime in Ethiopia. Not a single week goes by without some kind of mention of Eritrea by the regime, its self-serving think tanks and the Addis based international media, who have now become extensions of its misinformation campaigns. The latest report comes from IRIN and James Jeffrey, an Addis based free-lance journalist and Martin Plaut of the BBC. Eritreans know a thing or two about Plaut and the BBC, but who is James Jeffrey and what does he know about Eritrea?
According to the Guardian, James Jeffrey is:
"…a British journalist based in the United States, where he graduated with a master's in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, in May 2012. He left the British army as a captain in April 2010, having served over nine years in the Queen's Royal Lancers, including operational tours in Kosovo (2002), Iraq (2004, 2006) and Afghanistan (2009)…"
Jeffrey was sent to the United States by African Business to study journalism, and moved to Ethiopia In October 2013 just months after his graduation. Africa Business's Ethiopia bias is found in its latest headlines, which tout Ethiopia's "growing trade and investment". But elevating Ethiopia's stature in the region is not enough-it has to also undermine Eritrea's in order to be complete. Such has been the campaign for the last 20 years… and James Jeffrey is just another addition or is it edition.
It is safe to say that James Jeffrey does not have any firsthand knowledge about Eritrea and that everything he knows has been from his payors, or from the minority regime in Ethiopia. In his March IRIN article, Jeffrey's defers to Ethiopian officials for his story on Eritrea and Eritreans. As with each story about Eritrean refugees, information about them is provided by the Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) and cadres of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). Inputs from the said refugees serve to embellish the reports, which serve to perpetuate the myth about Ethiopia's benevolence and good will towards Eritreans.
This from a regime that deported over 80,000 Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin at the height to the Eritrea Ethiopia border conflict in 1998-2000, and a regime that continues to occupy sovereign Eritrean territories in violation of international law, the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission's final and binding delimitation and demarcation decisions, and an embarrassing and reckless regime that has repeatedly manufactured "evidence" to support its preposterous accusations against Eritrea in international forums. The shameless regime has left no stone unturned to reverse the final and binding rulings of the EEBC and no sugar coated pronouncements can fool Eritreans about its evil intentions.
Jeffrey's article is filled with all the usual spin on Eritrea-and off course, the National Service program, the minority regime's obsession…or is it nightmare. Eritreans who leave Eritrea also know the spill-seems to work for all age groups. The truth is and anecdotal evidence shows that, very few of those who use national service in order to gain asylum, have ever served. For those who absconded while in service, the years served are very few. It took the whole nation to liberate Eritrea and it will take the whole nation to rebuild Eritrea, as no other state of peoples have a responsibility to do that. Eritreans owe it to themselves and for almost two generations who have paid lives and limbs for Eritrea's independence and territorial integrity, to rebuild their nation and lay the foundations for a prosperous future, for generations to come.
Eritrea is a young nation with a very small population and will need to utilize all of its human and natural resources to develop its nascent economy. If Americans and Europeans can send youth to Africa and Asia, to serve in programs such as the Peace Corps, to build infrastructures, teach and provide health care in foreign villages and towns, why is it considered such as crime for Eritreans to serve in their own country? Unfortunately, instead of educating the public on the virtues of national service, western NGOs and their surrogates, with the media in tow, have chosen to disparage it and have engaged in an unprecedented disinformation campaign about the program. Eritrea must be doing something right….why else would they put such efforts to halt a program that instills civic values and enhances youth engagement and participation in development? Is that not what global institutions such as the UN are calling for today?
Another issue that has consumed Ethiopia's leaders and some western media outlets is Eritrea's food security. None has written as doggedly about it, and gotten it wrong each time, than Martin Plaut of the BBC. Ever since the regime in Ethiopia rejected the EEBC's final and binding delimitation and demarcation decisions, Martin Plaut has churned out several articles and reports to undermine Eritrea's moral and legal position, while shielding the minority regime in Ethiopia and its excesses. Relying on Ethiopia's surrogates for his information about Eritrea, as he has not visited the country for over a decade, he has continued to misinform his readers with outrageous claims. His latest being a report about "hidden famine" in Eritrea.
The incessant orchestrated vilification and defamation campaigns by the frightened minority regime in Ethiopia, its surrogates and handlers has had a negative impact on public opinion about Eritrea, but a visit to the country quickly dispels the many lies…and the one about famine is the easiest. Anyone that knows anything about Eritrea can attest to the dramatic changes in Eritrea's landscape-and Eritrea's strategy on the making of a more drought and famine resistant landscape is not one that will be found in any of Plaut's reports on the country or its people.
For Eritrea, food security is a matter of national security, thus a development priority. With water scarcity being one of the most urgent food security issues facing sub-Saharan countries, Eritrea has developed a national strategy to capture and harness water, which includes the building of strategic dams, big and small, throughout the country. These dams have improved irrigation, improved supply of clean potable water, recharged ground water supplies and farmers are growing a variety of profitable crops. Once arid and barren land has now been converted into irrigational land and the financial status of farmers has improved. The dams provided habitat for flora and fauna, electricity (hydro power) and in some areas, provide recreational activities such as boating and fishing.
Martin Plaut's reports about Eritrea have the same recurring theme. Without foreign NGOs and media to validate Eritrea's development, the world will not get an accurate picture of the country or its people. How condescending. The people of Eritrea are not intellectually inferior to their western counterparts, or any other peoples for that matter and are very cognizant of their needs and how to achieve them. Eritrea's multi-pronged food and water security strategy which includes universal education and health care, improved sanitation, building dams and water catchments, restoring land degradation and erosion etc. are making immense contribution to the development of a healthy Eritrean society.
Plaut forgets that Eritrea's concern for food security predates independence in 1991, and with the establishment of the Agricultural Research and Human Resources Development (DARHARD), now the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Eritrea continues to conduct extensive research on indigenous seeds and plants, to ensure Eritrea's biosecurity and increase food production. Eritrea's Agricultural Ministry has shown its commitment to Eritrea's famers by providing agricultural advice, research and information on all aspects, from pre-to post-harvest-including storage and reserves, to mitigate against drought and low rainfall levels. Eritrea always saves for a rainy day…and its food reserves are enough to help it weather any storm.
Plaut and his ilk seem to have forgotten about Eritrea's abundant, yet untapped marine resources. Eritrea's strategic location in the Horn of Africa has been a source of great enmity for the regime in Ethiopia and successive regimes have tried to annex sovereign Eritrean territories at one time or another, with the acquiescence, or tacit approval, of the international community. In its 2015 Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stated the following:
"…Located at the widest part of the Red Sea, Eritrea has an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 121 000 km2. Its mainland coastline is about 1 900 km from the Sudan border to the Djibouti border. Eritrea has a continental shelf of 56 000 km2 with a plateau containing 360 islands that define the Dahlak Archipelago. The latter add another 1 300 km of coastline…The waters of the southern part of the Red Sea are highly productive and rich in biodiversity. This productivity supports substantial populations of over 1 000 species of fish and 220 species of corals…"
Plaut also forgets that Eritrea also has a huge and thriving livestock sector…making famine, an impossible phenomenon in today's Eritrea.
Today, it comes as no surprise that the regime would want to divert attention away from the famine stalking Ethiopia once again, and the Ethiopian people who are not only starving, but also living under an 8 month old State of Emergency decree that has stripped them of their rights. So instead of writing about the country that he now lives in and is witness to, the suffering of the people, James Jeffrey decides to attack Eritrea. Suppose he has to earn his keep…
All those shedding crocodile tears for Eritrea and her people need not fret….their concerns are misplaced… but, the Horn region is in trouble. Despite funneling funds to the minority regime, and providing it diplomatic, political and military shield and support, and feeding its people, the debilitating conditions in Ethiopia, increased malnutrition and disease in the population, increase in famine and hunger, increase in ethnic and religious violence and conflicts, has increased instability and insecurity in Ethiopia, and now threatens the entire Horn region.
Crocodile Tears: Cover for Real Threats in the Horn Region Reviewed by Admin on 4:53 AM Rating: 5
Martin Plaut Media Bias Opinion Sophia Tesfamariam
Sophia Tesfamariam


Greece will return to credit markets next year if the country's international creditors offer debt relief measures at a crucial May 24 meeting of eurozone finance ministers, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told a newspaper on Saturday.
The cash-strapped country, which has been cut off from global debt markets since 2014 and agreed a third multi-billion euro bailout last July, started talks with lenders earlier this week on how to make its debts more manageable, Reuters reported.
Tsipras's government aims to conclude a review of its progress on bailout-linked reforms at the May 24 meeting, a step that would unlock the next tranche of funds in time to meet repayments to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund as well as state suppliers.
The leftist leader, reelected in September on promises to mitigate the impact of austerity on crisis-weary Greeks, also hopes for progress on easing its debt burden, which is set to reach 182.8% of gross domestic product this year, according to European Commission forecasts.
"If we achieve what we seek for the debt on May 24, we will return to the markets in 2017," he told Realnews newspaper.
"We might exit the bailout once and for all a lot before the program expires in August 2018," Tsipras added.
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said last year a long-term commitment to debt relief from eurozone countries was key to restoring investor confidence, and that Athens could return to bond markets by the end of 2016.
Greece's 10-year bond yields fell below 8% for the first time in more than six months on Tuesday after eurozone finance ministers offered debt relief to the country from 2018. They soared to almost 19% at the height of the country's debt crisis in mid-2015.
Treasury bills are currently Greece's main source of short-term funding.
European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told the Kathimerini newspaper that Greece and its lenders were very close to concluding the review on May 24 but no deadline has been set.
Greece last week voted pension and tax reforms, part of a package agreed under its bailout. Dombrovskis said Athens now needed to legislate the remaining measures and contingency reforms which the country will not have to implement unless it falls short of its fiscal targets.
Tsipras's government is expected to submit a bill on the pending reforms and secure a parliamentary approval before the Eurogroup meets to wrap up the review.
The package will probably include a set of indirect tax hikes, setting up a new privatization fund, regulations on Greek banks "bad loans" and the contingency reforms.


Photographs were, for the longest of time, a medium through which to relive moments. But thanks to the digital era that notion has changed. With people having access to video cams and a good story line, it has become easy for one to shoot a documentary or a short film at their own free will, upload it onto YouTube and simply wait for reactions. This is precisely what one such person in love with Puducherry did.
A video documentary on the city and its lifestyle titled, When you're in Puducherry, has gone viral on YouTube and many believe it's because of the manner in which the person behind the camera was able to capture the essence of the city in those five minutes. Though the person behind this video remains anonymous, people for whom Puducherry is home have warmed to it. Says Kiruba Shankar, entrepreneur, who grew up in Pondy, "There are so many memories I revisited when I watched it for the first time. The person behind this documentary has done an amazing job of locating landmarks of the city, he understood the diversity that exists within this small state.
The cycles, cafés, walking down the beach, sharing a beer with friends at the end of a long day, the expats who move around on scooters and cycles -Kiruba points out that the video captures it all without glorifying it in the least bit. "One look at it and you're bombarded with memories, which is something truly admirable," he says. Sankar anand B was another viewer who was cast in nostalgia mode on watching the video.
"Puducherry is all about the ifestyle, the different faces it has, the person behind this video has captured this quite beautifully. If I were to describe Pondy, it's as though he took the words right out of my mouth and put it in the screenplay," he says.


The House will consider a resolution tomorrow encouraging states to ensure speedy special elections in case a terrorist attack or other disaster kills a large number of House members.
"The resolution addresses a critical challenge the nation would face if large numbers of representatives were killed in a terrorist attack," said Rep. Christopher Cox of California, the Republican chairman of the House Policy Committee. "In such a case, it would be essential that the House be quickly replenished to ensure that it can meet its constitutional obligations in a time of crisis."
Mr. Cox has been heading a bipartisan panel with Rep. Martin Frost of Texas, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, to examine ways to ensure government can continue functioning in case of a catastrophe that kills or incapacitates many leaders.
The House, unlike the Senate, does not have a mechanism to quickly replace members. The Constitution allows governors to appoint senators to fill vacancies. But House members must be replaced by election, and special elections in some states can take up to six months.
The resolution urges governors and state legislators to amend election laws if necessary so that vacancies in the House of Representatives could be filled quickly.
"I cannot imagine a more important time for the American public to have secure representation in Congress than in a time of national emergency," Mr. Frost said. "This is a sensible, bipartisan bill that I believe should pass overwhelmingly."
Other issues being examined include presidential succession and defining a quorum, the necessary number of congressional members present to conduct business.
Neither the House nor the Senate has a policy to address a scenario in which many members are "incapacitated" hospitalized, quarantined or unable to travel to Washington because of a catastrophe.
A separate independent commission convened Sept. 23 on Capitol Hill to examine and promote action on the same issues.
"What we really need here is for Congress to adopt a will for the American people, to ensure the functioning of our institutions in case there is a catastrophe," said Norman Ornstein, a constitutional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, which is co-sponsoring the Continuity of Government Commission with the Brookings Institution. "We have a serious gap here."
The newly formed commission composed of a wide range of specialists with experience in government, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala will hear suggestions and make recommendations by January.
The efforts are meant to educate the public, raise public attention to the issue and spur Congress to act, Mr. Ornstein said.
"I think we need to move in a more expedited fashion," he said.
Mr. Ornstein and others have recommended a constitutional amendment as the best way to address the problems. Rep. Brian Baird, Washington Democrat, told the commission on Sept. 23 that he had a proposal to amend the Constitution so that House vacancies could be filled by gubernatorial appointment. Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Republican, is offering a similar amendment in the Senate.
House Republican leaders and the congressional panel have been reluctant to take this path, preferring instead to consider statutory and rules changes.


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Exposing glaring flaws in Expert Committee Report on the medical emergency at Malkangiri
More than 300 Adivasi children have died in Malkangiri in the past two months of Japanese Encephalitis, official figure says 121 but local activists say the number is much higher, what is happening in Malkangiri?
Firstly, 32 children have been confirmed to have died due to JE. This by itself is cause for concern and requires all the necessary action by the Odisha government. The government is only now waking up to training health professionals to carry out immunization. Why was there so much of a gap in response. It shows that the government has not responded in a timely fashion and is now getting out of a difficult situation by hiring experts who minimize the role of JE and therefore the role of the government, which increasingly the burden of responsibility on the community. Safe and effective vaccines are available to prevent JE. WHO recommends that JE vaccination be integrated into national immunization schedules in all areas where JE disease is recognized as a public health issue. Why has the government of Odisha not done this even if, by their own estimates 32 children had died of JE
Of those who survive JE infection, 20%–30% suffer permanent intellectual, behavioral or neurological problems such as paralysis, recurrent seizures or the inability to speak. This requires urgent action by the government even if there are one or two confirmed cases. Instead the government did nothing, allowed many more deaths to occur and then brought in an expert committee which then went on to make the community the violator rather than the government. This is like adding fuel to the fire.
The expert committee makes no mention of how they went about ruling out JE. Did they do IgM Elisa tests on all the children? If yes, what were the findings? And if no, it only points to how delayed government response has been.
Surveillance of the disease is mostly syndromic for acute encephalitis. Confirmatory laboratory testing is often conducted in dedicated sentinel sites, and efforts are undertaken to expand laboratory-based surveillance. Case-based surveillance is established in countries that effectively control JE through vaccination. Why was this not being done in this area??
Safe and effective JE vaccines are available to prevent disease. WHO recommends having strong JE prevention and control activities, including JE immunization in all regions where the disease is a recognized public health priority, along with strengthening surveillance and reporting mechanisms. Even if the number of JE-confirmed cases is low, vaccination should be considered where there is a suitable environment for JE virus transmission. There is little evidence to support a reduction in JE disease burden from interventions other than the vaccination of humans. Following this recommendation by the WHO the government has taken no steps to ensure spread of the disease.
Since Odisha has been shown to have a rising occurrence of JE, all children should be considered to have had JE unless it has been actively ruled out. The expert committee makes no mention of how they went about ruling out JE. Did they do IgM Elisa tests on all the children? If yes, what were the findings? And if no, it only points to how delayed government response has been.
When John claims that 'we found toxin in the urine samples of a few tested children', it is hardly the statement of a researcher. How can few then go on to mean that the toxin itself caused the issue? And how can this be extrapolated to all the other children.
Those children about whom it is claimed to have died due to encephalopathy caused due to consumption of seeds of Bana Chakundi, it is unlikely that a community will have continued to eat a food that causes such high mortality. Local knowledge would have identified if deaths due to this seed was high.
All communities who eat this seed are likely to have traces of it in the urine. The only way of confirming is to rule out JE completely which the expert panel doesn't seem to have done. The traces of anthraquinone in the urine could be a confounding or an aggravating factor.
JE could affect the normal metabolism of this plant Bana Chakundi or aggravate the possible side effects. This plant is being eaten throughout the year and probably by all families. Why are the deaths happening now?
5 urine samples out of 121 children (unofficially the figure stands at more than 300 hundred) who died is hardly evidence
Dr. Jacob John says that the children have eaten the raw seeds and somehow makes that as the cause of the deaths. From finding the toxin in 5 children to making claims that bada chakunda seeds are behind most deaths amounts to misrepresentation and twisting of facts.
Encephalopathy due to any cause will have close similarity. So when the report says that the acute encephalopathy in Malkangiri has close similarity with encephalopathy found in western UP, this doesn't make sense because encephalopathy would have many similar findings even if due to a variety of causes.
The expert committee is premature at best and with a vested interest of placing the locus of attention on the community than on the government which should have responded with much more urgency and seriousness. The committee has recommend further investigation into relative contribution of JE and encephalopathy along with other causes that might affect the CNS. Without having the baseline data, this expert committee cannot make an absolute statement that some cases were due to diet induced encephalopathy and not as a result of JE.
The maximum that the expert committee can say is that confirmed deaths due to JE are 36 and five of the children who died had the toxin in their urine which could or could not have contributed to the encephalopathy. It is important that all children with symptoms are tested for JE and also the government takes cognizance of the 36 deaths and take immediate and adequate response to prevent further JE deaths. Here the expert team seems to be attempting to underplay the role of JE in the deaths and surmise that toxin found in the urine of5 children automatically means that all the other deaths are due to the plant. How is this scientific and evidence based?
His simple suggestion for managing this crisis is that children and their parents have to be advised not to consume raw Chakundibeans. Where is his evidence for this? To expect a community to break a long tradition, without adequate evidence and basis amounts to abuse of expert position. The government somehow then becomes the benevolent guardian who has to educate the community. Why is the expert team not pushing the government to prevent cases of JE when 32 deaths have been confirmed due to the virus?
Why has this expert group not made any comment on the state of disarray and dysfunction of the anganwadis in the area? Have they made any attempts to find out if these children have been receiving adequate foods?
Just because 64 deaths were JE negative doesn't automatically mean that they were due to the toxin.
On this, the tribal leader has questioned the effect of consumption of these seeds. According to him, "The tribals very well know about the roots and seeds they eat. This food habit of the tribals finds its way back to hundreds of years back. Each and every member of the family eatsChakundi seeds, then how come they were not infected for so many years?"
About saying that malnourishment could have compounded the diseases, John says that it has to be verified. This is again a flippant attitude because there is enough evidence that with poor nutrition children have a lesser ability to fight disease that they would normally be capable of fighting. Why has this expert group not made any comment on the state of disarray and dysfunction of the anganwadis in the area? Have they made any attempts to find out if these children have been receiving adequate foods? So on the one hand the expert committee wants to wave a wand to take away traditional foods of people while on the other hand the do not even critique that the state has abdicated its responsibility by not providing healthy hot and culturally relevant food to the children as clearly prescribed by the ICDS guidelines
I completely agree with the tribal MLAs statement that the expert opinion is misleading. I would also add that it may be driven by an agenda. This agenda could be to show that the government had no role in this problem and to minimize the criticisms that have been thrown on the government. In this effort, the expert committee has far overstepped their role of being objective and following due diligence and instead seem to be more focused on giving a report that removes the responsibility from the government.
It is also important to check the credentials of these expert committees and positions that they have taken earlier. The expert committee report has been lapped up by the government and media which is going out of the way to take away the onus of responsibility from the government.
Most JEV infections are mild (fever and headache) or without apparent symptoms, but approximately 1 in 250 infections results in severe clinical illness. Severe disease is characterized by rapid onset of high fever, headache, neck stiffness, disorientation, coma, seizures, spastic paralysis and ultimately death. The case-fatality rate can be as high as 30% among those with disease symptoms. Fever will not occur due to a plant based encephalopathy is it is not infectious. Without correlating with any other clinical signs and symptoms or history, the expert team cannot take one finding of toxin the urine of just five children and then go on to make sweeping statements that the major cause is the plant.
Dr. Sylvia Karpagam is a Public health doctor who works with marginalised communities.
Photo Courtesy: Greeshma Aruna Rai
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Zenith Alpha™ Thoracic now commercially available
The Zenith Alpha™ Thoracic Endovascular Graft is now commercially available in the U.S., following premarket approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015.
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Prestige Awards
The Institution's Prestige Awards celebrate and recognise excellent engineering in both academia and professional practice.
Awards are open to members and non-members of the Institution. The awards champion engineers who have improved the world, or advanced the discipline of engineering both through professional and volunteering efforts.
Discover more about more about each award and how to apply. Each award is open to self-nomination.
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Prize: up to £10,000 plus certificate
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Prize(s) awarded to an individual or group making a significant contribution to the encouragement of young people towards a career in engineering.
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The Verena Winifred Holmes Award (previously the Equality and Diversity Award) is intended to recognise those individuals who have achieved by undertaking a unique challenge or experience, perhaps to benefit people from groups with different needs, or with a past record of disadvantage or low participation.
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This award recognises any eminent engineer who has contributed most in the understanding and/or reduction of risk in any area of mechanical engineering.
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Awarded for the best original papers published by the Institution in the past 12 months.
Contact our Prizes and Awards Team about our awards, scholarships or prizes.
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An inexpensive way to show your cards. Made of corrugated cardboard for vertical cards. Holds 75 cards w/envelopes. 12"x 6" x 4 1/2" Index cards sold separately.


Sagar, PK and Banerjee, D and Muraleedharan, K and Prasad, YVRK (1996) High-temperature deformation processing of Ti-24Al-20Nb. In: Metallurgical And Materials Transactions A-Physical Metallurgy And Materials Science, 27 (9). pp. 2593-2604.
Power dissipation maps have been generated in the temperature range of 900 degrees C to 1150 degrees C and strain rate range of 10(-3) to 10 s(-1) for a cast aluminide alloy Ti-24Al-20Nb using dynamic material model. The results define two distinct regimes of temperature and strain rate in which efficiency of power dissipation is maximum. The first region, centered around 975 degrees C/0.1 s(-1), is shown to correspond to dynamic recrystallization of the alpha(2) phase and the second, centered around 1150 degrees C/0.001 s(-1), corresponds to dynamic recovery and superplastic deformation of the beta phase. Thermal activation analysis using the power law creep equation yielded apparent activation energies of 854 and 627 kJ/mol for the first and second regimes, respectively. Reanalyzing the data by alternate methods yielded activation energies in the range of 170 to 220 kJ/mol and 220 to 270 kJ/mol for the first and second regimes, respectively. Cross slip was shown to constitute the activation barrier in both cases. Two distinct regimes of processing instability-one at high strain rates and the other at the low strain rates in the lower temperature regions-have been identified, within which shear bands are formed.


Fact or Fiction: Biggest threat to Giants vs. Eagles?
Zach Ertz is a bigger challenge than Fletcher Cox for the Giants on Sunday.
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact - Do I have to choose? I am going to go with Ertz here, but this should not in any way diminish the threat Fletcher Cox poses to the Giants offense. He is a game-wrecker at the three technique and will be a huge challenge for the Giants' new offensive line combination, which has been playing well. Ertz is the Eagles' No. 1 option on offense, and a threat in all areas of the field. He is a target on third downs for key conversions and as a big-play threat in the middle off the field. He can find holes in zones and beat man-to-man coverage with good route-running. Plus, he has size, strength and quickness. It is not hard to argue he is the best tight end in football right now. The Giants secondary has struggled defending the middle of the field, and has allowed a lot of chunk plays in recent weeks. Ertz will challenge them in both ways.
DAN SALOMONE: Fiction - The thing that could throw a wrench in all of the good feelings around the Quest Diagnostics Training Center is if the Giants don't win at the line of scrimmage in Philadelphia. As coach Pat Shurmur said this week, the thing that "stirs the drink" for the Eagles is their defensive front, making Fletcher Cox the rod. Things can go south quickly at Lincoln Financial Field, and the main reason is usually the opponent's inability to keep Eagles defenders out of the backfield.
LANCE MEDOW: Fact - The last few weeks, the Giants have had to go up against versatile tight ends and this week is no different. Zach Ertz leads the Eagles in receptions (77), receiving yards (804) and receiving touchdowns (five). He has 31 more catches and 349 more yards than the next closest player (Nelson Agholor). On top of that, Ertz ranks third in the NFL in receptions and 14th in receiving yards. Ertz is, by far, the Eagles most lethal weapon in the passing game because he plays like a big receiver, a tough matchup for any opposing defensive player, regardless of position. While Fletcher Cox is having a solid season and is one of the best defensive tackles in the league when it comes to getting pressure on the quarterback, Ertz is on a whole other level.
If the Giants can't rush for 100 yards, they will not win the game.
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact - As I wrote about in "Cover 3" earlier in the week, the Giants' formula for winning has to start with running the football. Last week they started using a lot more 21, 12 and even 22 and 13 personnel on early downs with Eli Manning under center. They ran a bunch of play-action and traditional inside zone runs in those personnel groupings. It worked because Saquon Barkley was consistently gaining 4-6 yards on his runs, and only had one negative run the entire game. Manning only had to throw the ball 18 times. If the Giants get into a game where they trail and have to go into a mode where they are throwing it 30-40 times, the Eagles defensive front will take over the game and the team will likely lose. Despite the Eagles having a banged up secondary, this is how the Giants have to play.
DAN SALOMONE: Fact - Last year, the Eagles had the top rushing defense in the NFL and went 13-3 en route to their first Super Bowl title. This year, they are 12th and 4-6. But this is more about what running the ball can do for the Giants' offense. It opens up the play-action so Eli Manning can hit some plays down the field. The Giants need to run the ball to come away with a win on the road in a rivalry game, and people better look out because Saquon Barkley said he is just now starting to see the game better. Also, don't forget that wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard have added nice chunks to the rushing totals in back-to-back games.
LANCE MEDOW: Fiction - In Week 6, the Giants ran for 147 yards against the Eagles and they still wound up losing, 34-13, and in Week 10 in San Francisco, the Giants collected 97 rushing yards and won, 27-23. Based on those numbers, I don't think how many rushing yards the Giants produce automatically indicates a win or a loss. The number of carries, yardage per carry, how effective the run game is on first and second downs, as well as in the red zone, are much more important than total rushing yards. The Giants absolutely have to run the ball effectively, but if they get 98 yards, does that mean they won't win? There's so many other factors that will come into play that could easily cancel out an effective run game.
Big Blue will force multiple turnovers for the third consecutive game.
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact - The Eagles have been a little sloppy with the football this season. They have 16 giveaways, more than all but six teams in the NFL. Their pass protection has not been as consistent, and Carson Wentz has been a little careless throwing some late and inaccurate passes into tight windows. He has five interceptions in his last five games. There should be more opportunities for the Giants to make plays on the football this week, and they are going to have to in order to win the game.
DAN SALOMONE: Fiction - I don't know how many times the Giants can go to that well after facing two of the most turnover-prone teams in the NFL. Yes, Philadelphia is tied for the seventh-most giveaways this season, but you know the importance of taking care of the ball is being stressed down there right now. The Eagles have watched film and saw the Giants have six interceptions in the past two weeks. The Giants need to focus on limiting the big plays and then pick their spots on forcing some turnovers.
LANCE MEDOW: Fiction - For the third straight game, the Giants are facing a team that ranks in the bottom five of the league in turnover differential. The Eagles are minus-nine (16 turnovers, 7 takeaways) and they've had at least two turnovers in six of their 10 games. That trend is very promising for the Giants, but the Eagles are coming off a game in which they trailed from start to finish, lost 48-7 and turned the ball over three times. I think Philly is going to look to pound the ball and test the Giants' run defense as opposed to the secondary, like the Bucs did. It's also important to keep in mind, nine of the Eagles' 16 turnovers came in the first five games of the season with just seven in the last five, including three in the last game.
The Giants should be most thankful for their offensive line the past two weeks.
JOHN SCHMEELK: Fact - SLAM! At the start of the season, my refrain about the offensive line was that it only had to be good enough for the team to function efficiently. It didn't have to dominate, only block well enough for Pat Shurmur to call the game how he wants to have a chance to get the playmakers the ball and score enough points to win games. They've done that the last couple of weeks. A lot of pundits want to give Jamon Brown all the credit, and surely he deserves some for how he has solidified right guard, but Nate Solder has played two of his best games of the year the prior two weeks as well. They are getting the job done, and that's something to be thankful for.
DAN SALOMONE: Fiction - As we embark on this holiday season, the Giants must remember it is better to take than give. Some stats are week-to-week or year-to-year, but there is one that always translates to winning: turnover differential. The Giants are minus-6 in their seven losses and plus-8 in their three wins, including six interceptions to no giveaways in the past two weeks. Be thankful the Giants have not been in the giving mood.
LANCE MEDOW: Fiction - The offensive line has certainly played its best football the last two weeks, but if the team should be most thankful for any one thing, it's the presence of Saquon Barkley. His playmaking ability is on another level and the scary part is he's getting more and more comfortable each and every week as his workload has increased. Barkley has collected at least 100 total yards in nine of 10 games and 10 total touchdowns. He's also created something out of nothing several times a game. I rest my case.


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Micro focused ultrasound (MFU) targeted face tightening of the skin and SMAS. This procedure is popular with no downtime . MFU induced collagen shrinkage and remodeling while preserving th epidermis. The ultrasound energy form a precise thermal coagulation points (TCPs) at 60-70 C, which denature collagen and stimulate neocollagenesis . The use of visualization (MFU-V) is very important. We could see the level of the transducer in skin depth. Mostly used transducer are the 4.5mm and 3 mm ,sometime the 1.5mm depth. In some area we can do he double layer such as cheek and upper neck : we used the 4.5mm and 3 mm.
Guidelines for MFU-V for the face and upper neck , from 330 lines to 1200 lines per treatment. In Asian skin were more prone to hyperpigmentation, so it is wise to be more conservative.
In our clinic, we us the 5.0 plus guidelines : around 330 lines for each patient. In our 6 years experience, we got good result wihout any major complications. Immediate result are caused by direct collagen shrinkage. After one month, patients see improvement, and will be better after two and three months. The new collagenesis still happened after one year. Repeated session can be done after 6 months.
Unwanted result with the MFU caused by not knowing he anatomy, not following the protocol ( danger area, etc) . using MFU without visualization, or using inappropiate TCP depth / excessive uneven power.
The MFU –V is very safe if we follow the guidelines, using the proper power and depth to induced the TCP. Until now MFU-V give no long-term side effects. Common side effects: transient erythema (less than 24 hours), mild edema ( 2–4 weeks), dysesthesias (2–4 weeks), and occasional bruising (<0.05%). All the adverse resolve without any sequalae.
Conclusion. A single treatment with MFU-V has demonstrated to be a safe and significantly effective in tightening and lifting both facial and nonfacial skin in Asian patients . MFU-V is FDA approved.
Monopolar radiofrequency (MRF) is an essential modality for aesthetic applications. It induces the electric current in the soft tissue that produces heat to shrink the collagen and stimulate future neocollagenesis. However, the treatment outcomes varied by different operators.
By analyzing the physics and anatomy, we wanted to develop comprehensive techniques to facilitate the safety and efficacy of MRF for aesthetic applications.
For safety analysis, we used high-frequency ultrasound to evaluate the subjects to learn the data of skin thickness. The data can provide the information of thermal relaxation time of dermis and subcutis. The cooling system can protect the skin, and control the MRF depth by changing the impedance of superficial skin. The edge effect is an important property of MRF, and the relevant patents of the manufacturers can inspire us better techniques, such as stamp with superpass or sliding method. SMAS and retaining ligaments play crucial roles in facial aging. We accumulated the heat with multiple-pass vectors based on the mechanics with "highest" tolerable energy according to the patient's feedback of pain for safety concern. The time-temperature curve of collagen determined the required heating time for better results. Models of heat transfer and thermodynamics were applied, and we proposed that the response of accumulated energy to therapeutic effect be an exponential curve. Fibrous septae are the main channels of electric current of MRF which affect the distribution of electric power absorption and electric displacement field. This fact is related to the MRF effect to the fatty tissue.
With the techniques, we have treated more than 1,000 patients with high satisfaction. Only less than five patients appeared mild burn with vesicles, but no sequelae of scar were noted.
We can facilitate the safety and efficacy of MRF for aesthetic applications with specific techniques.
Rosacea is found to be related to oxidative damage from ferritin, vascular endothelial growth factor overexpression, the LL-37 peptide form of cathelicidin and possible foods and environmental exposures.
The low-fluence mode of the pulsed dye laser allows gentle heating of a blood vessel. When a microscopic blood vessel is gently heated, a repair process is initiated without destruction. Our clinical experience has shown this process is effective in treating inflammatory acne vulgaris and rosacea.
Patients were treated with the dye laser of 585 nm, 7mm spot-size, with an energy density ranging from 2.5 and 3.0 J/cm2. The entire face was treated with a single pass with minimal overlap. These patients' acne resolved even after there was no response to oral antibiotics and topical treatments.
Overall, this laser appears to be an effective and long-lasting treatment for both acne vulgaris and rosacea.
RF is very high frequency electrical current which creates heat in the tissue due to the Electrical resistance from the tissue. The more water in the tissue, the more the resistance and the more the heat production. Heat generated from the RF leads to: Tissue tightening (Immediate effect) and initiation of inflammatory reaction and hence collagen synthesis (long term effect). Bulk RF needs huge amount of energy to be able to get the desired effect. This might be associated with pain and complications.
To avoid pain and complications trials to reduce the energy utilized were made but always with loss of efficacy. Bulk heating sometimes is associated with no visible improvement of the skin specially when skin laxity is associated with low fat content because of the lack of precision. Fractional RF is a new concept where RF is delivered either in contact mode or via needles in precise and specific points to exert the effect on specific points instead of the bulk heating.
This is associated with more reproducible results than the bulk heating of the bulk RF and is associated with less discomfort that many other procedures. When the fractional radiofrequency is delivered through micro needles, an extra mechanism of action is added which has a beneficial effect on the treatment outcome. There are clear advantages for this new emerging technology over the fractional lasers in terms of safety and efficacy. Will this new technology replace the fractional lasers is a question to be answered within the coming few years?


text:
Entoloma subcarneum (or Leptonia carnea) is a mushroom native to the Pacific northwest in the United States, belonging to sub-genus Leptonia of genus Entoloma. It is 30–65 mm broad.

References

External links

Entolomataceae
Fungi of North America
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Throughout my life, when I have thought of culture, I have always tied it to a specific area. However, over time I have begun to realize that there is so much diversity in the culture(s) of North America that it really isn't all that easy to pin down.
In North America, you can find food that originated in a whole bunch of different countries. In the Southwest, you have a mix of cowboy chuck wagon, Mexican, and continental, which is usually quite spicy.
In the Northeast part of the country, you are probably going to find foods from all over the world, including Italy, France, Asian countries, and Great Britain.
Why is North American culture so diverse?
The simplest answer to this question is the fact that North America was colonized by a number of European languages. Over the centuries, these cultures converged and created something that can be seen as truly American.
Because I live in the Southwest, if I order a pizza from my local pizza joint, it's probably not going to taste the same as it might if I got a pizza from another part of the country.
Pizza is not strictly an Italian food in the US, as you have Chicago-style and New York-style, as two examples. Chicago pizza tends to be a deep dish, whereas New York pizza tends to have a thinner crust. Interestingly, if you were to actually get a pizza in Italy, it probably wouldn't taste the same as either of these.
Jazz, blues, rock 'n roll, country-western, and hip hop are just a few of the different styles of music that originated in the United States. Many of these very American forms of music are multicultural by their very nature.
Many of these styles of music have also expanded out to other parts of the world, but they are still seen as very much American in their origin.
When I lived in the Northwest, I found myself taking trips to British Columbia regularly. The interesting thing about going up to Vancouver was the fact that there really weren't a whole lot of cultural differences between it and, say, Seattle.
The similarities between Seattle and Vancouver are largely due to the fact that they're so close together. However, when I traveled to Ontario, I noticed that there was a more distinctly French culture there than there was back on the West Coast.
Again, this has to do with the colonization of North America and where specific Europeans settled.
Is North American culture really distinct?
That depends on how you distinguish it. With such a diverse mix of people of different ancestries, it would be difficult to claim that there is no distinct North American culture, but you also have to take into account that different parts of North America also have distinct cultures of their own.
Next time I take a trip across the country, I expect to also take in a culture that's new to me.


text:
52: All in the Family
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Home Sweet Home
To know after absence the familiar street and road and village and house is to know again the satisfaction of home.
~Hal Borland
The drive from Florida to New Jersey had been blessedly uneventful — at least until now. As our Honda struggled through the last few miles of rush hour gridlock on I-95, familiar sights and sounds poured through the open window. It had been a little over a year since we'd moved, and in that short time I'd begun to think of myself as a Floridian. But as I inhaled the cool, exhaust-laden air, my inner Jersey Girl returned with a vengeance. I turned on the radio and searched for my old favorite station. A deejay whose voice I didn't recognize was doing a commercial for Tastykakes. I could almost smell the Butterscotch Krimpets.
"You've been pretty quiet," my husband said. "Anything wrong?"
I shrugged. "It's weird how everything seems different. Like we've been gone for ages instead of just a year."
"Some things never change — like this traffic." My husband muttered a few expletives as he hit the brakes.
We were going back home — or rather, back to our old house, where we had raised three children and transitioned from young parenthood through middle age to what I liked to think of as "active retirement." My daughter and son-in-law were the owners now, having purchased the house from us when we moved on to our new lives in the Sunshine State. Somehow, the thought of returning made me feel unsettled — as if I were trying to put on a timeworn coat that didn't quite fit anymore.
From somewhere up ahead came the sound of screeching brakes and a blaring horn. I rolled up the window and rested my head against the seat back. Then I closed my eyes and exhaled. The monotonous stop-and-go of the traffic was making me drowsy. I let my mind wander, picturing the house as it had been when we pulled out of the driveway a year and a lifetime ago.
"Honey, wake up. We're here." My husband gave my shoulder a gentle shake.
I opened my eyes as the car pulled to a stop in the driveway of a two-story white house on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac. Fat green buds covered the branches of the sugar maple tree, but the old tire swing that my three children had loved was gone. Under the tree that shaded the final resting place of Tweety the parakeet, Flopsy the rabbit, and a series of brown and white hamsters, there was a new wrought iron bench and a large terracotta planter overflowing with petunias.
My husband gave a low whistle. "The old place really looks spiffy," he said. "It definitely needed a facelift."
"It wasn't all that bad," I said.
The green trim that had once framed the garage door had been painted a trendy slate blue, as had the front door and the shutters on the three upstairs windows. I stared at the center window, picturing the chipmunk-cheeked face of my middle child pressed against the glass. That window looked out from his bedroom, and he loved being the first to spot and announce the arrival of visitors. "Com-pa-nee!" he would shout as he pounded down the stairs.
The flowerbeds were still there, but gone were the leggy irises and spicy pink carnations I had planted so many years ago. In their place were neatly trimmed azaleas, their masses of white flowers plumped like little pillows on the ground. The juniper bushes that shaded the bay window had been painstakingly pruned into precise cones, the blue-green berries nestled like tiny ornaments among the branches. The beginning of a smile twitched at my lips as I recalled how my sons would use those berry-missiles to pelt their little sister as she dashed up the walk, screaming protests.
The weeping cherry still graced the center of the front lawn, cascading its pink boas onto the grass. But now it was surrounded by nodding daffodils instead of my frilly purple hyacinths. I could remember the day my husband and I planted that tree; how I had laughed when he broke the shovel trying to pry loose a large rock and landed squarely on his behind. The tree, like my children, had been no more than a sapling then. And, with the passing of the seasons, it had grown tall and strong — just like my three babies.
I shook myself back into the moment, opened the car door, and stepped onto the familiar front walk. Then I pushed the doorbell by the strangely blue front door and heard Westminster chimes instead of the two-toned "Bing-bong" I was expecting. I listened for the ghostly echo of "Com-pa-nee!" but it never came. The feeling was eerie, like being in a dream where everything is slightly askew. Part of me itched to return to the reassuring sameness of the car.
Then the door opened. There was my daughter, tall, strong and smiling. She held out her hand.
"Mom! Dad! Come on in. I've missed you both so much."
I took her hand, crossed the threshold, and I was home again.
~Jackie Minniti
Stories » Chicken Soup for the Soul: Home Sweet Home » 52: All in the Family
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Home Sweet Home
Next: 53: Where the Green Door Goes
Previous: Chapter 6: You CAN Go Home Again


text:
Q: How can I save my [Response] model into a UserDefault for offline persistence? I'd like to be able to persist my data model for offline usage.
I am using a struct that looks like:
public struct Response: Codable {
    var id: String
    var title: String
    var message: String
    var user: User
}

Is it possible to store the entire Response object into UserDefaults? I want to display this data even when offline. I am using SwiftUI with a State var called responseObject which will react to changes on the UI. I created a List and looping through the items from the responseObject:
 @State private var responseObject = [Response]()

    List(self.responseObject, id: \.id) { item in
        HStack {
            Spacer()
            VStack {
                URLImage(url: item.message)
                    .frame(width: 240, height: 240)
                    .aspectRatio(contentMode: .fit)
                    .cornerRadius(10)
                Text(item.title)
                    .font(.headline)
                    .multilineTextAlignment(.center)
                    .foregroundColor(Color(UIColor.white))
                    .padding(.horizontal, 8)
                Text(item.user.name)
                    .font(.subheadline)
                    .multilineTextAlignment(.center)
                    .foregroundColor(Color(UIColor.white))
                    .padding(.horizontal, 8)
            }
            Spacer()
        }
    }

I am trying to store the decodedResponse from json into a UserDefault like:
UserDefaults.standard.set(decodedResponse.stories, forKey: "responseData")

and then if offline, update the responseObject state var like
self.responseObject = defaults.object(forKey: "responseData") as! [Response]

It's crashing when offline. Think I might be using the defaults incorrectly. Want to avoid something too complex like CoreData.....
Or is there a more "SwiftUI" way to achieve this?
Any info would be really appreciated! Thanks!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Non-Fiction Author
MayMay 13, 1947
MayMay 13, 1947 (age 72)
Author Born in Minnesota#44
Taurus Named Charles#32
An American author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, he is best known for novels such as First Light (1987), The Feast of Love (2000), and The Soul Thief (2008). His poetry collections include Chameleon (1970) and Imaginary Paintings (1989).
He received his PhD in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo and subsequently taught high school in Michigan for a year.
For many years, he was the director of the University of Michigan's creative writing graduate program.
He married Martha Ann Hauser in 1976.
He wrote his dissertation on the work of Nathaniel West.
Charles Baxter Popularity
Charles Baxter Is A Member Of
First Name Charles
Charles Baxter Fans Also Viewed
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text:
The Reticuloendothelial System in Health and Disease
The Reticuloendothelial System in Health and Disease pp 237-245 | Cite as
Electron Microscopic Cytochemical Localization of Intravenously Injected Liposome-Encapsulated Horseradish Peroxidase in Rat Liver Cells
E. Wisse
G. Gregoriadis
W. Th. Daems
Part of the Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology book series (AEMB, volume 73)
Liposomes have been studied extensively during the last few years because of interest in their ability to act as a vehicle for various substances. Their structure, consisting of concentric lipid membranes enclosing aqueous compartments (2), enables them to carry both lipid and water soluble components. After intravenous (i.v.) injection, the liposomal membranes can prevent undesirable interaction between the entrapped substance and the blood or tissues, and vice versa (5–8). The entrapment permitted demonstration of the reduced toxicity of actinomycin D (11) and nitroblue tetrazolium (14); serum sickness and Arthus type of reactions could be avoided by encapsulation of the antigens concerned (1,5,6). Among the substances enclosed in liposomes, the anti-tumor drugs (11) and enzymes (5,7,8,10,13,16) seem to give promising results, the latter being introduced into cells for enzyme replacement therapy in lysosomal storage diseases (5,13). By varying the lipid composition, the surface charge of the liposomes can be varied at will and as a result, the i.v. clearance rate can be influenced (5,9). In addition, the coating of liposomes with (de)sialylated glycoproteins or antibodies against certain types of cells together with the variation in diameter seem to offer ways to control their clearance rates, organ distribution and direction to a certain tissue or cell type (5).
Parenchymal Cell Kupffer Cell Enzyme Replacement Therapy Lysosomal Storage Disease Liposomal Membrane
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© Plenum Press, New York 1976
1.University of LeidenLeidenThe Netherlands
2.Clinical Research CentreHarrow, MiddlesexUK
Wisse E., Gregoriadis G., Daems W.T. (1976) Electron Microscopic Cytochemical Localization of Intravenously Injected Liposome-Encapsulated Horseradish Peroxidase in Rat Liver Cells. In: Reichard S.M., Escobar M.R., Friedman H. (eds) The Reticuloendothelial System in Health and Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 73. Springer, Boston, MA
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3297-8_20


Bahrain's ambassador to France on Wednesday denied "unfounded allegations" he had groped a former domestic worker in his exclusive Paris residence.
Naser Al Belooshi's statement came the day after French authorities launched an initial investigation into complaints made by a 44-year-old female former worker.
A judicial source has said the alleged sexual harassment occurred from July 2010 to October 2011, with the woman saying she was fired soon after, along with her husband.
A police source told AFP on Monday the husband had also filed a complaint.
"His Excellency Naser Al Belooshi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to France, forcefully refutes the inaccurate and unfounded allegations of assault that former domestic workers have made against him and his son," the embassy said in a statement.
The statement added that the ambassador was available to French investigators "to shed light on these false accusations."
The ex-worker said the incidents took place at the ambassador's home in the swish Paris suburb of Neuilly.


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Arts & SciencesMilitary Science
W&M makes history at Ranger Challenge
W&M makes history: In only its second year as a standalone team, William & Mary finished second in the All-American Brigade Ranger Challenge in October to qualify for the exclusive Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, April 17-18. Submitted photo
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by Nathan Warters | December 5, 2019
If 10 hours of intense physical activity against some of the region's top ROTC programs weren't enough to take down William & Mary, the suspense might have done the trick.
W&M's team waited, the cadets' stomachs in knots, as the top finishers of the All-American Brigade Ranger Challenge were announced in descending order. Ten. Nine. Eight. W&M waited to hear its name. Seven. Six. Five. Did the Tribe not do as well as it thought? Four. Three. Something had to give.
Then second place was announced. William & Mary's name was called, setting off an emotional celebration.
"When we heard second place and William & Mary, that was a very emotional moment for everybody," said cadet Jonna Reinhardt '07, an Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class who is enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at William & Mary's Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
The Tribe, competing as a standalone team for only the second year, placed second out of 48 teams at the Ranger Challenge on Oct. 20 at Fort Pickett in Blackstone, Virginia. The event starts with a three-mile run and includes more than a dozen challenges, from ruck marches to skills tests, over an 18-mile course.
Each challenge is worth up to 25 points, with additional points awarded to the first 10 teams to finish the course.
W&M finished behind James Madison University by only two points and ahead of third-place N.C. State by a single point.
"We were so close it was painful," Reinhardt said.
The top-two finish qualified William & Mary for the 52nd annual Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, April 17-18. Sandhurst is an ultra-exclusive competition involving roughly 50 teams from around the world, including 16 ROTC programs.
This will be the first Sandhurst appearance for W&M.
"It's one of those things where if you run the Ranger Challenge 10 times, we may have won eight out of 10 times. It's just the way it played out," Reinhardt said. "So Sandhurst is a chance for us to go head-to-head with James Madison again, along with 15 other ROTC programs. And now let's really see how we shake out."
Reinhardt is one of 12 team members for William & Mary. The other cadets are captain Ryan Fameli '19, associate captain Mackenzie Corcoran '21, Jessie Clatterbuck '21, Erin O'Hara '21, Ethan Thayer '21, Elliot Larson '21, Sam Hawkins '22, Sam Updike '22, Sam Lu '22, Parker Ennis '22 and alternate Dylan Gurl '23.
"To compete that well just goes to show you how much effort was put into the training, into the preparation that these young men and women do," said Lt. Col. Dustin A. Menhart, chair of W&M's Military Science program.
"It's a lot of early wake ups, a lot of weekends, a lot of late nights. For them to have that kind of result was overwhelming because nobody expected them to be in the top five."
William & Mary's ROTC program has grown significantly in the last few years, allowing the university to beef up its Ranger Challenge team.
W&M and Christopher Newport University partnered together for several years in the Ranger Challenge as members of the combined Revolutionary Guard Battalion, but they have competed independently the last two years.
William & Mary finished 10th as a standalone team last year, while CNU finished fourth. It was the first time two teams from the same battalion finished together in the top 10. This year, W&M and CNU finished second and 16th, respectively.
Second matches the highest finish by a Revolutionary Guard Battalion team.
"When they announced second place and our name was called, our excitement was immeasurable," Corcoran said. "We aren't like most teams. Our physicality is not the same, but we come from William & Mary, a smart school, and that gave us the advantage in this year's competition, shocking people and even ourselves."
Reinhardt is in his second year in the Ranger Challenge program. He received his undergraduate degree from William & Mary and could have joined the Army as a commissioned officer, but he enlisted with the aspiration of becoming an Army Ranger.
He spent 10 years in the Army, doing seven tours of duty in Afghanistan with the 1st Ranger Battalion, before returning to W&M to get his MBA through the Army's Green to Gold scholarship program. Upon receiving his master's, Reinhardt will return to the Army as a commissioned officer.
Needless to say, he's been a tremendous asset to the ROTC program and Ranger Challenge team.
"This year, Jonna Reinhardt was my mentor, my motivator and my teammate," Corcoran said. "Having a Ranger on the team has, to say the least, been the best thing that happened to William & Mary's Ranger Challenge team. Jonna stays humble and allows Ryan Fameli and me to still lead the team while he takes a back seat and helps us only when called."
Reinhardt assisted Fameli and Corcoran in devising a strategy for this year's Ranger Challenge. They created a training regimen that emphasized fast running with heavy backpacks and equipment, aka "rucking," for long stretches of time.
That preparation paid off during the competition. William & Mary was the third team to cross the finish line, earning it precious bonus points.
"Last year, we missed two of the stations just because we didn't get to them in time before the clock ran out," Reinhardt said. "So we went about rucking a lot more, rucking a lot faster, pushing people to do everything expeditiously."
W&M's training will ramp up again soon, as it prepares for Sandhurst in the spring.
Ranger Challenge is a 10-hour event that covers 18 miles. Sandhurst is a 36-hour competition over a course of more than 30 miles against the best teams in the world. The degree of difficulty increases significantly.
"I would wager to bet we are the smallest program to compete in the Sandhurst Military competition," Fameli said. "The William & Mary ROTC program currently has 49 cadets, 12 of which are on the Ranger Challenge team. Compare this to programs we are competing against like University of North Georgia, last year's top ROTC team at Sandhurst, that has a pool of more than 700.
"We will be competing against international academies and ROTC programs that are 10 times the size of the program we have here at William & Mary, so the competition will be tough for sure. However, our small team was able to beat out over 45 other teams in October, and we are ready to perform again in the spring."


Being back – Let Us Live Like We Mean It!
It's a little weird, being back on my blog. I hope my computer will allow me to type a little longer before it freezes. I uninstalled some programs, maybe that will help? Otherwise, I'll have to take it into a shop, since my IT-savvy son hasn't unlocked the mystery. Meanwhile I'm doing almost everything by smartphone, which my other IT-savvy son's girlfriend gave me when she upgraded. Bless them. But some things are just too difficult for *me* to manage on the phone.
I was really happy to see likes and comments from you, my blogging buddies! 🙂 ❤ Thank you so much!
Tomorrow I'm starting a new, two-week personal improvement project that I hope will bring me out of this slump. Wish me luck!
I'm scrolling through a few images I haven't posted since I've been gone. Let's see if I can come up with something?
"Portrait of a Daughter of Dieterich Bromsen,: (ca. 1638), Michael Conrad Hirt.
I discovered this 17th century Dutch painting in the permanent collection of the Dayton (Ohio) Art Institute, where I had gone with Claude-Wayne Cossin, an SCA buddy of mine, to see the special exhibit on Alphonse Mucha, the famed Czech Art Nouveau artist.
The Mucha show was a rewarding exhibition, although a bit brief. After we toured it, Claude and I wandered through the regular collection, where I was astounded to find this painting!
"Astounded" because I had used only the head and bust of the young woman, with her amazing bridal ruff and headdress, which I had come upon randomly online, as the frontispiece of my notebook for my Medieval Lit class last year.
I did a Google search on the image and came up with nothing, so you can imagine how truly astounded I was to find the original in my veritable back yard (Dayton is an hour away from me)!
Unfortunately this tiny image, above, is the only one of Mucha's that I could put in my post, but I am positive that you will recognize his style from it. I simply had to buy the 2018 Mucha calendar in the gift shop; I had one many years ago when I was in my 20's and used the outdated months' pages to decorate my walls, which I will do with this calendar, too, since all those old pages are now lost to the past.
Here I am sitting on the front porch for Trick or Treat on Halloween, in my Viking garb with the addition of a gold lace mask! I don't think I scared anyone, but you never know. I should have reserved some of the snack-sized Reese's Cups for myself, though, because every last one (and every Kit Kat) was snapped up by munchkins in their own costumes.
I brought out my Renaissance lute to see if my hands are good enough to play it now (alas, they are not). Ophelia made herself right at home in the lute case.
I have canceled the classes I was going to teach in the next couple of months for the SCA, on The Amazing Princess Ol'ga, who was a Viking/Slav/Rus' princess in the founding dynasty of Western Russia, Belarus and Ukraine in the late 800's and the 900's. I did teach the class at our event called Red Dragon, where I think it was well-received, and I will probably teach it again when I am feeling better. Meanwhile a version of the handout I prepared for the class is being published as an article in our SCA Kingdom's December newsletter.
And because I love maps, and not many people in the US seem to be able to envision the area of the Eastern Slavs, Ukraine, Belarus, and Western Russia, here is a map for you. Then I must quit, because the lag is getting bad!
Glad to see you back in the blogging world.
Let's hope the computer allows you to write another post soon.


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September 24, 2018 by NOW National
Christine Blasey Ford: "I Thought He Might Inadvertently Kill Me." Christine Blasey Ford Deserves Justice
Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:
WASHINGTON–"I thought he might inadvertently kill me," Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has said about the sexual assault perpetrated by Brett Kavanaugh. Dr. Blasey was afraid for her life, and criminal conduct that put her life in danger must be investigated.
NOW supports calls made by Anita Hill, among others, for a truly independent, neutral investigative body with training in trauma-informed investigations to make a report to the committee. Dr. Blasey has said she is willing to appear before the committee next week, and she deserves to be treated with respect, and sensitivity to the trauma she has endured as a result of her assault.
Dr. Blasey also deserves the full measure of justice for new threats to her life and safety. She and her family are unable to safely occupy their home, and she continues to receive death threats and vicious attacks on social media. We know that these threats can spread like wildfire, inciting violence and extremism. NOW calls for law enforcement to investigate these threats and to provide protection for her and her loved ones.
NOW supports Dr. Christine Blasey Ford as she seeks an appropriate and serious hearing. And we also support her right to justice from a legal system that has failed for too many, for too long. Enough is Enough.
Brittany T. Oliver, comms@now.org, 202-628-8669
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