text:
Mapping world’s soil worms

2 min read
  1. According to the global analysis of nematodes published in Nature,there are about 57 billion nematodes for every human being on Earth.
  2. The researchers have said that Sub-Arctic regions have the highest abundance of nematodes followed by temperate regions and tropical regions.
  3. Nematodes prefers colder region as soil organic matter content is the key driver for nematode abundance.
  4. Further,the low temperature and high moisture in the sub-Arctic regions reduces the decomposition rate of organic matter.This leads to accumulation of organic matter and the nematodes happily thrive on them.
  5. Nematodes are worm shaped nearly microscopic animals,many of which are virtually invisible to the unaided eye when they are in the soil or within plant material.
  6. These are roundworms and their size can vary from a tiny 0.2 millimetre to a few metres.They are responsible for around 2.2% of the total carbon emission from soils.
  7. The nematodes play a crucial role in the environment as they are responsible for production of ammonia of the soil and also a bioindicator of soil ecosystem’s health.


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Tell Pres. Obama and Congress: Defund bad police departments

This month, we’ve witnessed the brutal murders of several Black people by police— including Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, Delrawn Smalls, and Alva Braziel.[1] And guess what? The federal government has been bankrolling the police departments that killed all four of them.

Yes. Congress and the Obama administration are spending millions of dollars every year giving grants to the same police departments that are killing and over-incarcerating Black people–and it has to stop.

Politicians can’t keep promising the change we need in local police departments and quietly maintain the status quo by failing to take real action. Pres. Obama and Congress have real power to hold police departments accountable with their funding—if they are really about stopping police terror in Black communities, this is how they show it.

Tell Pres. Obama and Congress: Stop funding police departments that fail to make critical reforms for Black lives.

Baton Rouge PD, the very police department that killed Alton Sterling, has been under investigation by the Department of Justice for civil rights violations TWICE—including for its harassment of Black people following Hurricane Katrina.[2] Yet, federal officials continue to give them money. In fact, Baton Rouge PD has received 3 million dollars from the DOJ over the past five years.[3]

In the aftermath of his death, it was revealed that Philando Castile had been stopped by police 52 times in 14 years—and subject to the same profiling, criminalization, and extraction of wealth detailed in the Department of Justice’s report on Ferguson police and replicated everywhere in the US.[4,5]

The federal government knows exactly how police departments are terrorizing Black communities—it’s past time they do something about it and hold these police departments accountable.

After thousands of people spoke out against the Department of Defense giving police military equipment, following the highly militarized brutalization of Ferguson protesters, Pres. Obama signed an executive order banning the federal government from providing certain kinds of military gear to local and state police.[6] So we’re calling on President Obama and Congress to take action again and pull all grant funds from any police department that doesn’t make reforms to protect Black lives.

Sign the petition: Withhold all federal funds from police departments that don’t adhere to simple reforms.

The reforms we’re calling for are simple ones that President Obama himself has supported and funded research to create with the 21st Century Policing Task Force.[7] It’s time for Pres. Obama to step up and ensure these critical reforms actually happen—and he can do that by withholding funds from any police department that doesn’t do the following:

Embrace a culture of transparency

  • Make all department policies available for public review, and publish demographic data on all stops, frisks, summonses and arrests.
  • Collect, maintain, and analyze demographic data on all officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths.

Hold the police accountable

  • Adopt policies that require all officers to seek written consent before any search & provide their name, reason for stop or search, and contact information for the civilian complaint board.
  • Police cannot and should not police themselves. Require independent criminal investigations into all officer-involved fatalities and in-custody deaths.
  • Enforce policies prohibiting profiling and discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, age, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, immigration status, disability, housing status, occupation and/or language fluency.

With four Black deaths in a matter of days, we’re in—and have been in—a state of emergency. We can’t afford to spend millions of dollars on police departments that will continue killing, criminalizing, and incarcerating Black people.

Sign the petition.

Until justice is real,

–Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Clarise, Enchanta and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.

1. “Why Alton Sterling and Philando Castile Are Dead,” The Nation, 07-07-2016
“Video surfaces of NYPD cop’s road rage shooting,” New York Post, 07-08-2016
“Police Said They Shot A Man Because He Pointed A Gun At Them, Video Shows He Had His Hands Up,” ThinkProgress, 07-10-2016
2. “Feds: We’re Investigating Baton Rouge Police Too,” Pro Publica, 03-26-2010
“Alton Sterling Shooting Exposes Racial Fractures in Baton Rouge,” NBC News, 07-07-2016
3. “Audit of the Office of Justice Programs Justice Assistance Grants Awarded to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office,” Office of the Inspector General, 11-01-2014
4. “Philando Castile stopped by cops in Minnesota 52 times in past 14 years for a slew of misdemeanors,” NY Daily News, 07-09-2016
5. “The 12 key highlights from the DOJ’s scathing Ferguson report,” The Washington Post, 03-04-2015
6. “Obama bans some military equipment sales to police,” USA Today, 05-18-2015
7. “Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing,” U.S. Department of Justice, 05-01-2015

17 thoughts on “Tell Pres. Obama and Congress: Defund bad police departments

  1. The “Strategy of Tension” is applied inside and outside the USA by US “Deep State”!
    „Police Brutality Against Black Americans: Is There „More“ Behind it Than „Only“ the Inherent Racism?“:
    „Staged „prevented“ Terror Attacks – Staged Terror?!“

    Cordial regards
    Andreas Schlüter
    Berlin, Germany

    1. Strategy of Tension is working but to what end? Seems the US will bring about it’s own downfall as tension is very contagious and does not discriminate.

      1. Well, in the end, as I always say, all common People, whether Black, Brown, Yellow or White, are just like vegetables for that Power Elite. But depending on the various methods, the strategy discriminates in the sense of dividing, White against Black, Christian against Muslim and so on. With all their riches (of which part is only virtual) they have less and less real basis (apart from the destructive force of Military incl. Biowar, Cyber war, manipulation and Food destruction), which is shrinking compared especially to BRICS states. For their final aim of shrinking mankind they have to busy the majority in the US and the Western countries with fear, one Group for the other! If knowing the true course, a majority would stand against them, because that course means chaos and instability for allmost all of mankind.
        Great Troubles ahead!
        Weekend hugs

    1. They cover each other’s back, one reason this problem, now an epidemic, is longstanding. If Congress will not act, it’s time to vote them out of office. However, voting is rigged: ballots thrown out, tampered machines, legal voters denied access and MSM intentionally disseminating false and biased information. The future is not looking so good these days.

      I see your point about the 2 symbols, did not appreciate it before.

    2. Above the flag it says: “In God we trust”. Is that the same God who allowed the transatlantic slave trade? (Just to name one abomination, eh?)

      Given all those fine God abiding citizens hanging around in Congress (and other eerie places), as well as that most members of the African-American population worship that God too, no matter what, nothing will significantly change for a long time to come. Yeah, some people will (again) make a lot of noise from the safety of their living rooms, keep ranting ad nauseam, and even predict some kind of apocalypse, but Prophet Roald says: “Tomorrow it will be a little dirtier, and then a little cleaner (or vv), but when it comes right down to it, there will simply be more of the same old shit.”

      Um…….did y’all sign that petition already?

      1. Yes, I signed it despite not agreeing with the suggested policies. Seems to me the threat of defunding some police departments is a good counter measure that could reduce police brutality and police corruption.

        Can’t be a defeatist. Never, ever give up!

            1. Oh that one. Well, I would fly away. Or I wouldn’t fly at all, but would join the force, monitor its members’ actions closely, and invade the mind of the rotten apples in such a way that they either would commit suicide or leave the force in agony.

            2. Join the force? Like Frank Serpico, you could end up hiding in Amsterdam, or, ..Aruba, like some other whistle blowers have done. Then there is Mark Dougan, who like Ed Snowden, is enjoying his freedom in Moscow. Flying away seems like a good option to me.

            3. Huh? “whistle blowers”? I could/would never be one. I would be one of the gang, dude. Nobody would suspect anything.

              Since you threw in a couple of names, think, for instance, of a remotely related version of Abed al-Hader.

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Chandler Banks and Grady Walters from Guardians Bass Club WIN FAN South Qualifier #1

Oct 6, 2020

Presented by Kistler Rods, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Amenity Solutions and Berkley Fishing!

The first FAN South Qualifier of 2020-2021 was held last Saturday on Canyon Lake and it was one for the books (literally)!!

It was a picture-perfect day for a tournament with amazing weather for the teams who came to compete for a spot in the Championship with over $12,000.00 in Scholarship and prizes.

This season-opener was also the largest FAN South Tournament ever, with 85 teams competing.

The team of Chandler Banks and Grady Walters from Guardians Bass Club took 1st place with 9.24 lbs, which included the Kistler Big Bass of 7.62 lbs caught by Grady Walters. The black bass caught by Walters ties the Junior Lake Record for Canyon! Captain Bradley Banks. They each took home a newly released Kistler Graphite Series Rod plus the Kistler Big Bass Rod. Captain Banks won the Academy Sports+Outdoors Gift Card

Earning a VERY close second place with 9.30 lbs was the team of Turner Matkin and Luke Wyle from Boerne Greyhounds, Captain Aaron Wyle. Each angler won a Abu Garcia Rexo X

Third place was Kase Kramer and Rance Penick from Fredericksburg Battlin’ Bass with a nice 8.68 lb bag. Walters’ record-tying fish wasn’t the only record fish brought in. Avree McFarland caught a 2.32 lb smallmouth bass which is being submitted to TPWD for the Junior Lake Record as well! Captain Clint Bronson- They both took home a very nice Berkey Tackle System.

Congratulation to captain award winners.

The next FAN Qualifier will be the FAN Central tournament on Lake Travis held Saturday, October 24th. By all accounts, Travis is fishing well and we should see some big bags come in that day.

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Chronicle of the Middle East and North Africa

We’d better help the Arab millennials

Arab Spring – Only by supporting Arab millennials on their terms, Europe can help the brave youth in the Middle East, Laila Al-Zwaini writes.

Iraqi men sit by a graffiti mural
Iraqi men sit by a graffiti mural depicting protesters wrapped in a national flag at the anti-government sit-in in the capital’s Tahrir Square on December 24, 2019. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP

Riham Yaqoub, nutrition expert and sports instructor, began massive women’s marches in the Iraqi city of Basra in 2018, where corrupt local leaders deprived residents of clean water and electricity. Through body workouts in the gym, she gave women not only muscles but also mental strength and self-confidence. This empowered the women to stand up as equal citizens for a new Iraqi homeland, a watan, and to call their negligent governors to account.

Riham paid for her ambition and vigor with death. She was murdered in broad daylight by masked men on August 19, 2020, as if she were a dangerous opponent from a powerful cartel. And indeed. Young, spontaneous and hopeful as they are, young people just like Riham turn out to be formidable opponents of repressive, negligent regimes, as well as of recruiting Muslim extremists and murderous militias.

How? Since the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in 2011, millions of youths in the MENA and beyond have risen to their feet time and again in their ‘civil guerrillas’ against authoritarianism and corruption, sectarianism and extremism, violence and impunity, poverty and hopelessness. And against their own taboos.

Unlike their extremist peers, these fearless youths fight for a new form of democracy, for their unique identity and personal fulfilment, for the simple freedom to be who they want to be, and with whom.

Will they succeed in getting closer to their dreams? There is hope. But only if the West, especially Europe, radically rethinks its Middle East policy, and considers these youths as serious allies, also at political negotiating tables, and supports them on their terms.

We see the Middle East and North Africa as a ‘ring of instability’ around Europe, and focus our MENA policy mainly on terrorists, refugees and Islam, all ‘threatening our existence and national identity’. On that basis, we close migration deals with dictators, not to solve migration problems but to keep them away from us. We write special anti-terrorism laws which the dictators then use to round up these brave youths as ‘terrorists’, torture them to death, or force them to flee.

To turn this vicious cycle, we must tightly knit together our policy of ‘Security First’ with ‘People First’. Arab millennials (60 percent of the MENA population are under the age of 25) should no longer be viewed as a cause of instability but as drivers of a positive ‘virtuous cycle’ that can keep other youths away from the lure of terrorists and our shores. Over the years of above- and underground youth protests, I see a slow but unmistakable movement towards a ‘civil state’, rooted in their own local cultures, religions and histories. Or, in Arabic, towards a dawla madaniya.

During the Arab Spring, madaniya started as a popular cry. In July 2011, singer Ramy Essam, also known as ‘the Voice of the Egyptian revolution’, engaged a hopeful crowd of Egyptian youths from far-left communists to ‘Islam First’-Muslim Brothers and even Salafis, to sing along in the sweltering heat in Cairo’s Tahrir Square:

„Kullinâ îd wahda (We are all one hand) / Wa-talabnâ hâga wahda (And we have only one demand) / Madaniya! Madaniya! Madaniya! Madaniya!

Ramy would later be tortured by the police, and now lives in exile in Sweden. I was there in the Square and felt how ‘Madaniya!’ echoed so powerfully.

Algerian anti-government protesters chant slogans
Algerian anti-government protesters chant slogans as they gather with national flags during a demonstration in the centre of the Algerian capital Algiers on December 31, 2019. RYAD KRAMDI / AFP

Why madaniya? Literally, madaniya is Arabic for ‘civilization’, ‘urban’, ‘citizen’ or ‘civil’ (as in civil state, civil law, citizenship, etc.). Madaniya also hides a reference to the seventh-century Holy City of Medina, where the first Islamic Ummah started as a pluriform community. And to the 21st century Liberation Squares, Midan, where the common goal unleashed an unprecedented energy and solidarity.

As a slogan, madaniya popped up everywhere: in Cairo, Tunis, Tripoli, Sana’a and Damascus and then, in the second wave of protests since 2018, in Khartoum, Baghdad, Algiers and Beirut. Visible as graffiti on walls, on banners (“We dream of a dawla madaniya!”), and in trendy cafes that became the new debate scenes: “Do you want your coffee salafiya (black) or madaniya (latte)?” People across the region use it mainly for what they don’t want: a non-military, non-authoritarian, non-corrupt, non-theocratic, but also non-atheist, non-tribal, non-sectarian, and likewise no western secular government.

But are they also united in what they do want? That is by no means settled. Still, I argue that the modern ànd historical term madaniya is a powerful carrier to build a new civil state of mind among societies with mainly, but not only, Arab and Islamic origins. This mindset precedes the creation of a civil state. The Arabic madaniya gives local meaning and an ethical basis to global values and concepts as rule of law, citizenship, and human rights. It shows that these values are also defended from within other (than Western) traditions.

Take Sudan, where a new wave of uprisings flared up in late 2018. The protesters explicitly called their revolution the ‘Madaniya Revolution’. They used traditional poetry to formulate new ideas and unity – despite their ethnic, religious, and political differences. They also painted colorful murals to spark public debate, while young women dressed in the white robes and golden earrings of the historic Nubian kandaka queens, symbolizing their own prominent role in the revolution.

In this way, art and culture became catalysts which, along with the remarkably active role of the Sudanese diaspora in bringing the protests to global attention, accelerated the fall of President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. In Sudan, madaniya thus actually led to a transition to civilian-led rule, even though half of the government is still military, including Bashir-veterans.

The fact that the call for madaniya is heard throughout the region, is because most people experience the same problems. First, the seriously fractured relationship between citizens and their leaders. There is excessive corruption and cronyism, especially in countries such as Lebanon and Iraq. This can be traced back to the disintegration of the so-called authoritarian bargain, the tacit agreement between the state and its citizens, whereby people (forcibly) exchanged their political and civil rights for social and economic rights, such as free education, public sector jobs, public housing, land reforms, free healthcare and cheap water, energy and fuel supplies.

In reality, this deal – this ‘social contract’ – became the engine for economic and social inequality, nepotism, self-enrichment (fuelled by Western money), persecution of critics, and impunity of perpetrators. This ultimately led to such poverty and hopelessness, especially among the new generation, that this ticking bomb burst in December 2010.

Alaa Salah
Alaa Salah, a Sudanese woman propelled to internet fame after clips went viral of her leading powerful protest chants against President Omar al-Bashir, flashes the victory gesture and shouts slogans while marching during a demonstration in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum on April 10, 2019. AFP

Second, there is the highly sensitive and heavily contested relationship between Islam and the state. As a religion, moral compass, and way of life, Islam occupies a very important place in the daily lives of most people in the MENA. But that does not mean that all Muslims, let alone non-Muslim minorities, would accept that Islam and Shari`a become compulsory by law and governance of the state. Certainly not in the draconian form of Daesh (ISIL).

Sudan’s new civilian government was quick to abolish the harsh Shari’a-penalties for apostasy and, as was the case, for drinking alcohol by non-Muslims. But abolishing laws does not change overnight the mindset of an entire population. Moreover, abolition can give ammunition to Islamists and extremists who use such harsh Shari`a-laws as a political tool to regain their position of power.

Therefore, Muslims must overcome their fear that discussing Shari`a is taboo, or reserved to scholars and men only. In its turn, Europe is also getting nowhere by its parochial attitude towards Shari’a and Islam, which paves the way for Islamic ultra-orthodox fanatics and right-wing extremists.

Third, madaniya addresses the deep-rooted patterns of social organisation, such as kinship, tribe, class, ethnic, religious, or regional affiliations. Is it possible to assert one’s personal autonomy within these established patterns (or by opposing them) without provoking honor killings, forced marriages, repudiation or other misery? An active Arab civil society already exists, but has not replaced these strong traditional loyalties. As a result, both worlds still operate in parallel, which causes serious frictions between tradition and change. Here too, a dynamic concept like citizenship can only acquire meaning if it is understood from, and interwoven with local values and patterns.

Progress has been made in the latter area. During the street protests, young people who normally lived in separate worlds, met and talked seriously for the first time. On online platforms, these curious millennials share their stories and discoveries, thereby amplifying their individual voices and interconnectedness. With increasing fearlessness, these youths also fight persistent taboos such as gender roles, dress codes, freedom of expression, and ‘being a good Muslim’.

In his raw song Huna al-Basra (‘Here is Basra’) from 2018, Iraqi rapper Mr Guti challenged even the highest Shi`a religious leaders:

“Now that we young people need your help, you forget our loyalty in the jihad against Daesh, which made us orphans. Where is your fatwa now, where is faith? Our people are thirsty!”

Unsurprisingly, the profiteers from the authoritarian bargain hold out stubbornly. But so do these youths. In Iraq, for example, they are forming their own political parties to join the 2021 elections. They have no experience whatsoever, are less unanimous about their ideals than they appeared on the streets, and are in danger of being devoured by the established sectarian parties. So, what they need is help in formulating one unifying vision, and (cultural) strategies to gain broad support for this.

However, the Netherlands cannot offer this help directly. That would undermine their local credibility and even put them at risk, as they could be seen as ‘Western agents’. Here I see an essential role for my second ‘we’: the strongly involved (young) Iraqi and other Arab diaspora in the Netherlands and Europe. We, Euro-Arab intellectuals, students and creatives, are essential links. We know the local mindset, social patterns, and political contexts from within, and can translate the local needs in alignment with Dutch and European interests.

That is why I call for the creation of a Madaniya Embassy by Arab diaspora ‘think forces’, a merger of a think tank and task force, to complement the current landscape of think tanks and country ambassadors. Location: The Hague, International City of Peace and Justice.

This window of opportunity, however, will not stay open for long, neither for the Arab youths nor for us in Europe. If we persist in our ‘Security First’ agenda, countless more Rihams will die and our doom scenarios will last forever.

About the writer

Laila Al-Zwaini is an arabist and lawyer of Dutch-Iraqi descent.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the writer(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Fanack or its Board of Editors.

This article has been published at NRC in September 18, 2020.

In this article: Social Justice - Society - Youth
written by
Mohammed Abdullatif
All Mohammed Abdullatif articles


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From Fanlore
< Harry(Redirected from Snape/Harry)
Jump to: navigation, search
Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Alternative name(s): Snarry, HP/SS, RMS Illegal Substances[1]
Gender category: slash
Fandom: Harry Potter
Canonical?: no
Prevalence: popular
Archives: Walking The Plank (fanfic and art)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Harry/Snape is a slash pairing in Harry Potter fandom. From a slow beginning, the Harry Potter/Severus Snape pairing has grown into a huge fandom.

Snarry wasn't initially popular in the Harry Potter fandom at large. Because Harry was underage (or just barely of age) in many stories, and because Snape was in a position of authority over Harry, many fans claimed that all Snarry stories were non-con, even the schmoopiest. Others merely complained that the Snape in the book was completely unattractive and that, therefore, Snape/Harry fans were really just writing about their attraction to the actor who played Snape in the movies, Alan Rickman. Many fans simply thought Snape cruel, and the pairing distinctly unlikely.

From the start, many writers wrote futurefic in order to have a legal or nearly-legal Harry in a relationship with Snape. As the fandom has grown older along with Harry, and the source series has been completed, most Snarry fanworks focus on post-Deathly Hallows, adult Harry. And while perhaps not as common as Qui-Gon Jinn's almost inevitable survival in The Phantom Menace fan fiction, Snarry writers regularly save Snape. (See also Denial fic.)

A brief history of the Snarry fandom and fiction

art for the Harry/Snape Fuh-Q-Fest

The first Harry/Snape fic posted was called Midnight Confessions by Majolique. It was posted October 23, 2000 to the HPSlash mailing list.[2]

The beginning of the popularity of the Harry Potter/Severus Snape pairing is often credited to Telanu. In 2001, Telanu posted the first installment of the Tea Series, A Most Disquieting Tea. In November that same year, around the time the first movie was released, Luthien posted Aftermath. Other influential works that year included McKay's Too Wise to Woo Peacefully, and Sushi's Civil War 'verse.[2] All of these early stories were considered major works at the time. But while Telanu's Tea series was certainly one of the more influential of early Snarry stories written, no one story creates a pairing. In fact, without a growing body of work to draw fans in, no pairing will move from rare to major as Snarry has.

The movie, too, attracted an influx of fans and fan writers to the ship. According to Luthien, an early Snarry fan, Snarry was still considered a rare pair during the first round of the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest that she and tboy ran in early 2002. But in the second round, later in 2002, Snarry had grown considerably and more stories were submitted for the pairing.[3] In the fall of 2002, 59 stories were written for the first round of the From Dusk until Dawn (or via the backup website [backup website link here]) the Snape/Harry Fuh-Q-Fest. Several significant stories were also published during that year, including the beginning of the extremely popular WIP, Mirror of Maybe by Midnight Blue.

The Snape_Potter LiveJournal community was created in December 2002. The community, which friendslocks all adult content, continues to be a "first stop" for fans who enter the pairing, since most new Snarry authors post their work there; browsing the community gives a good overview of the various genres and tropes popular in this pairing.

In 2003, a few days before the publication of book 5, Order of the Phoenix, Telanu published the novel-length story A Wizard's Song, the fifth piece in the Tea series; the series spun off of book 4, Goblet of Fire, and took no account of later canon. The Tea series did have a major impact on the pairing. However, many other influential works were published that year, as well as the last round of the Severus Snape Fuh-Q-Fest and a few more rounds of From Dusk until Dawn.

The publication of Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix saw a new influx of people into the ship. The new canon increased fans' attention to the pairing because of the tense and complicated interactions that take place between Harry and Snape during the Occlumency lessons. Their canon relationship becomes even more attractively complicated when Harry discovers how badly Snape was treated by his [Harry's] father and Sirius, his godfather. Because more writers were drawn into the pairing, new influential works were published, which both drew people into the fandom and kept them there, since the amount of good stories in the pairing was constantly increasing. The pairing had now achieved a "virtuous cycle" in terms of the evolving relationship between Harry and Snape in canon, the growing number of new and good writers attracted to the pairing, and the number of readers flocking to read these stories and celebrate the ship.

The continuing expansion of the ship and its fan base was reflected in the growing infrastructure for the ship, based largely (but not entirely) on LiveJournal. In February 2004, painless_j, who would become the best-known and most thorough reccer for all HP slash ships, began her rec lists. The Snape/Harry lists on painless_j's site became a gateway for many readers attracted to the pairing. The LJ community Snarry Reader was also created during this period in order to list classic Snarry stories and as a resource for incoming Snarry fans. The pairing has inspired far too many stories to be listed or linked in one place, but the Reader can act as a sort of "filter" for newcomers, since it includes links to better-known stories, and groups stories by genre or themes.

The publication of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in July 2005 brought a new wave of people into the fandom as well. As Snarry fans delighted in pointing out, the very title of the book celebrated the pairing, since the Half-Blood Prince was Snape. This new canon gave people a much richer background to play with, drawing new writers like tryfanstone, rinsbane, and pir8fancier into writing for the pairing.

In December 2005, The Detention archive shut down practically without warning, leaving hundreds of dead links in many recs and resources lists. A number of leading Snarry fen, led by Snapetoy, banded together to reopen Walking the Plank as an automated archive; the new Walking the Plank picked up the original archive's stories and most (but not all) stories that had been added to Detention. To make sure that the debacle with Detention never happened again, there are now several moderators for the website, with a clearly articulated organizational structure and policies.

In April 2006, the Snarry Olympics (later renamed the Snarry Games) held its inaugural fest. It was a 'competition,' with teams (Angst vs. Romance) competing for gold and silver metals. The Snarry Games has proven to be a successful fest, and expanded to include an art competition, which alternates with the fiction competitions; each fest organizes authors and writers into opposing thematic teams (e.g., Wartime vs. Postwar). This fest was retired in 2009.

The publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in July 2007 brought another wave of Snarry fans, but it also marked the departure of many as well. Some readers and writers were devastated by Snape's death in canon, while others became adroit at writing around it. The 2011 release of the film "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2" also brought with it a new influx of Snarry fans, and the overwhelming emphasis in more recent stories has been on a post-DH world in which Snape somehow survived the attack by Nagini, rather than Hogwarts-era stories.

The pairing has also attracted attention in East Asian Harry Potter fandoms, deriving as much (if not more) from the films as the novels. In Japan, the 2004 release of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," which featured prominently the backstory of Snape and the Marauders (James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew), was the impetus for the production of yaoi doujinshi centering on such pairings as SS/JP, SS/SB, and Harry/Snape (rendered in katakana as SuneHari). Then, as today, the vast majority of Japanese doujinshi stories with an emphasis on Harry/Snape are gen or chan set within Hogwarts. Of Japanese artists, Yukipon is widely recognized for her doujinshi translation of Cybele's If You Are Prepared. More recently, Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese artists such as Somachiou and Zjackt have produced art works with a softer, more romantic Snape that derives from a Japanese yaoi aesthetic.

Today the ship sails on, undeterred by deaths, epilogues, or the end of canon as we know it.

Terms used in the fandom

Slash Severitus stories are a subset of Snape/Harry where Snape proves to be (secretly or not) Harry's father. While some of these stories include incest, most Severitus stories are actually gen.

Previously used with a slightly different meaning in media fandoms such as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the term Chan started to be used in Harry Potter fandom to describe child!Harry/Snape stories. Used on its own, or as Chanslash.

EWE ("Epilogue? What Epilogue?") is a post-Deathly Hallows term that refers to stories in which Harry's canon marriage to Ginny Weasley never happened (and, consequently, his children with her were never born).

Influential Snarry fans

Front cover of Sigma 4 by Master and Pupil LOVER

Notable Works

"Wake up, Potter," by Сатанатам

The pairing is known for its large percentage of novels. Some have hypothesized that given all the reasons they shouldn't be together, it takes a novel to justify getting them into bed; others that the Tea series was largely novel-length pieces, and it set its stamp on the fandom's story types.

Fan Communities

  • Snarry Games is one of the most popular challenge communities for the ship (retired in 2009).
  • The Snarry Reader is a comprehensive recs list of fan fiction, art, and vids for the pairing, updated monthly. Includes gen and Severitus.
  • SS/HP Prophet is a newsletter for the pairing.
  • Walking The Plank is a Harry/Snape archive that hosts fanfiction and art.
  • Snape_Potter hosts annual fests (Snarry-a-Thon; Snarry Swap, Secret Snarry, etc.) for the pairing.

External Resources

  1. ^ FictionAlley Park. SCUSA Master Ship List and Ship Registry Submissions. Updated 19 April 2010. (Accessed 30 January 2011.)
  2. ^ a b ptyx. Snape/Harry: The Beginnings, 13 November 2003. (Accessed 27 December 2008)
  3. ^ Luthien in meri_oddities: Snarry Question, 25 October 2008. (Accessed 27 December 2008)


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ノーラ, Nōra
"A mysterious woman who tries to appear older than she is. She seems to be hiding her true feelings."
Character information
Gender Female
Nickname(s) Crybaby*
Miss Snooty Butterfly*
Hometown Lunares
Relatives Yuelia (twin-sister)
Divinus (father)
Celestia (mother)
Rank Mysterious Girl
First appearance Fantasy Life

Noelia (Japanese: ノーラ Nōra) is the daughter of Divinus and Celestia. She is the younger twin sister of Yuelia. She is the most organised and most knowledgeable out of the two sisters. She sometimes comes across as being tough and mean to people such as her sister, but she actually has a soft side. When she is first met hurrying after Yuelia as a butterfly in the Drysand Desert, she is worried about whatever she must be doing. Just like Yuelia, she gathers wishes in order to save Reveria. She has missed her mother greatly ever since she passed away.

Noelia also befriended a blue Fluffkin, and even knew how to communicate with him. She later had to leave him once he fell in love with the pink Furlin, Peachy, in the Origin Island.

Profile[edit | edit source]

Appearance[edit | edit source]

Noelia has the same hairstyle (with two long ponytails) as Yuelia, albeit purple instead of blond, and slightly more pointed. She wears a small black cloak and a hood that goes over her head. She also wears some sort of necklace, which is made of purple diamond-shaped crystals. On her cloak is a white crescent moon with a gold outline. The same thing goes for her sleeves as well. Noelia's dress is tied with some sort of belt. There is also a red piece of clothing on her dress with more gold outlining that goes past her knees. She also wears black sandals with no socks. Unlike Yuelia, she has yellow eyes and a regular oval shaped cornea. Her skin is also noticeably darker than her sister’s and parents’. As a butterfly, she looks just like Flutter, but instead of brighter colors, she is yellow and black.

Personality[edit | edit source]

Noelia is rather organized and knowledgeable, unlike her sister, who is scatter-brained and forgetful. She appears cool and collected, but in reality is very sensitive and easily gets emotional. This is hinted at by Celestia, when she calls Noelia her ‘little crying angel’. She also has a tendency to lie in order to mask her feelings. When both she and Yuelia were crying during their time at Lunares, Yuelia finally asked Noelia if she was crying. She said she was crying because of her allergies (also including that Divinus never dusts his place).

History[edit | edit source]

Exclamation mark logo.png This article contains huge spoilers!

With Reveria on the cusp of another dark age, with Doom Stones falling from its sky once more, Yuelia pleaded with Divinus to allow her to enter the realm in order save it; in honour of Celestia's legacy and love for Reveria. Overhearing Yuelia's plan, Noelia insisted she accompany her sister. However, her purpose in travelling to Reveria was to learn more of their Mother's decision to live in Reveria, who had abandoned her family in Lunares in the process.

Under strict conditions ruled by Divinus, Yuelia and Noelia descended to Reveria in the form of butterflies, forms he deemed would be more appropriate in collecting its denizens' wishes. Not concerned at all with collecting wishes nor with the fate of Reveria, Noelia focused her attention on finding Levitania, the floating island of Reveria's myth and legend where Celestia was said to have resided after guiding the realm.

At some point in the beginning of the story, the two sisters were separated as they entered Reveria. Noelia met Robin and Aurora, two airship mechanics in Port Puerto. After discovering the two shared the same dream of finding Levitania, Noelia assisted them in their endeavors by collecting purified Doom Stones, which they would repurpose as a superfuel to power an airship capable of reaching Levitania.

Story[edit | edit source]

Starting with a BANG![edit | edit source]

Noelia makes a brief appearance at the end of the first Chapter of Tales of Lunares, at the location of the second Doom Stone that had fallen into Castele. She finds that it is no longer there, but spots a human-shaped indentation in the ground and mutters "she's here".

Al Maajikan Nights[edit | edit source]

Noelia is properly introduced in the third chapter of Tales of Lunares. Detecting a Doom Stone in the depths of the Ancient Ruins in the Drysand Desert, Noelia encounters Magnificus, who had been separated from the player's Avatar and Flutter. After confirming from the unwitting would-be hero that Yuelia was present, she enslaves him with her magic and enters the ruins.

Meanwhile, the player, Daemon Helbourne and Odin manage to shatter the Doom Stone and revert the Doom Stone-affected Lord of the Dead back to normal. In the aftermath of the battle, Noelia makes her appearance, much to the shock of Flutter, and beckons to an enthralled Magnificus to retrieve the now-purified Doom Stone's shards. With the shards in her possession, Noelia departs via teleportation and abandons Magnificus in the middle of the desert.

In Yuelia's evening chats with Pam, she laments over Noelia's attitude towards her, but is assured by the latter that both sisters truly care for one another.

As an Ally[edit | edit source]

Noelia can be recruited into the player's party as an Ally once the player completes Tales of Lunares Final Chapter, Goodbye and Goodnight, and fulfills an additional requirement of reaching level 45.

Upon meeting these prerequisites, Noelia will send a letter to the player detailing that Divinus has repaired the Goddess' Airship and that it can be piloted by the player to reach Lunares. Revisiting Starlight Garden and speaking to Noelia will make her an available Ally.

In battle, Noelia fights similarly to (but is still the polar opposite of) her sister Yuelia. Her attacks consist of a blasting orbs of dark magic, which come in two variations (differing in size and strength), and a charged lightning spell which covers a large area.

Stats[edit | edit source]

Attack 180
Defense 280
Magic Attack 310
Magic Defense 375
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


text:
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Kokabe’s Expressions is back with latest dresses for women and girls. Kokabe’s Expressions was founded in 2012 and extends fashionable women dresses of Kokabe’s Expressions. Kokabe’s Expressions is famous not only in Pakistan but also in United Kingdom, United States of America, New Zealand, Canada and Australia. The dresses collection we are describing in this article is named as “Kokabe’s Expressions Elegance Stylish Women Wear Clothing”. In this collection, stylish purple colored kurta with grey contrasting sleeves, straight outline and a stylish bold grey with embossed print collar and daaman has some unique style silver print.

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text:
About Us

Fathers Building Futures is a social enterprise based in Albuquerque, NM. They are led by non-profit professionals as well as a team of formerly incarcerated parents who serve as mentors and supervisors to parents (mostly fathers) returning home from prison.

Our mission is “to ensure parents and families experiencing barriers from incarceration receive the best opportunities for stability — emotionally, socially, and financially.”

We believe that by giving the moms and dads who come through our program a true second chance, they can fulfill their potential and become role models for their children as well as productive members of our community.

Fathers Building Futures (FBF) is an entity under The Atrisco Companies. The Atrisco Companies evolved from the historic Atrisco Land Grant, one of the most storied Spanish land grants common to our southwestern states. This 17th Century land grant system established settlement and economic development in the New World, and early settlers of New Mexico gained their livelihoods from the land. Today, the Atrisco Companies continue the rich traditions of their ancestors by providing community based business services in all of their entities. The Atrisco Companies have bridged their past with their future. To learn more about the Atrisco Companies go to www.atriscocompanies.com.

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text:
En Ru Ro

Plum Paste

Plum Paste

Plum Paste

Plum paste is made by concentrating or dehydrating plum pulp.

The fresh ripe plums are brought to the factory, washed, inspected and finished to remove skins, stalks, pips and any foreign material to finally be mashed into homogeneous pure. This mass is vaporized under vacuum at about 80°C until it reaches the refractometric dried substance of 56% Brix – ideal for storing in normal conditions. It is then when the plum paste is poured into 220l metal barrels with polyethylene double sacks inside. The product is packed in polyethylene double sacks of 240 kg barrels.

Plum paste is produced 100% out of plum pure and does not contain any other ingredients or food additives. Processing takes place during August to September.

The plum paste is a dark purple-brown color, typical of the variety of plums used. It has a sweet sharp plum taste, is viscous but with a smooth texture with the Brix 56%.

Plum paste is commonly used as an ingredient for the production of fruit leathers, fruit bars, pie fillings and as a base for fruit drinks and sauces. It can also be used in the manufacture of fruit ingredients for breakfast cereals, snack bars and similar products etc.

A regular truck can pick 20 tons of plum paste and is accompanied with the following export documents:
  • Invoice, CMR , export declaration
  • Quality certificate and conformity certificate with analysis protocol
  • Certificate of Origin from Moldova EUR-1 (22,4% customs tax exemption for this product)
Toate drepturile rezervate de
Fabrica de Conserve din Călăraşi 1994-2012
Developed by: Agenţia WebConsulting.md


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/rss+xml

text:
<![CDATA[Health Wellness Retreats | Natural Detoxification Alternative Events | Zunzun Caribbean Retreat Spa - Blog]]>Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:45:30 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Chief Benefits of Colon Cleansing ]]>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthWellnessRetreat/~3/XH-noH4lORE/chief-benefits-of-colon-cleansingFri, 03 Apr 2015 14:42:48 GMThttp://www.healthwellnessretreat.com/blog/chief-benefits-of-colon-cleansing Whether it’s our Health and Wellness Retreat guests or client at our brick & mortar business in St Thomas, US Virgin Island, A Touch of Wellness Health Center, we get this question a lot! Or at least variation of this question: What are the benefits of doing a Colon Cleanse?

The question is a great one and the answers, of course may vary from person to person. However doing Colon Cleansing does have many universal benefits. Let’s cover them one-by-one shall we?

  1. Makes the digestive system more effective

As the colon is cleansed, through a system called peristaltic pushes undigested waste through your GI system, clearing the way for good nutrient absorption. If waste remains in the body for too long, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and illness. A clean colon from a colon detox allows undigested waste to pass easily through your system.

  1. Maintains regularity and prevents constipation

Constipation — especially when it's chronic — causes a sluggish digestive response, which in turn leaves waste in the system longer. This increases the likelihood that toxins will be released into the bloodstream. It is also a cause of other illnesses and irritations, such as hemorrhoids and varicose veins.

  1. Increases energy

Releasing the toxins from your body is rejuvenating because it refocuses the energy usually used for forcing waste through your intestines to other parts of your body. People who have undergone colon detoxification say they have better blood circulation, more restful sleep and a boost in energy.

  1. Increases the body's absorption of vitamins and nutrients

A colon that has been cleansed allows only water, vitamins and nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream, rather than releasing toxins and bacteria through the colon walls. When the colon is detoxified, it clears the way for essential nutrients to filter into your body unobstructed.

  1. Improves concentration

Poor diet and ineffective vitamin absorption can cause you to become distracted and lose your concentration. The buildup of mucous and toxins in your colon can keep your body from getting what it needs to function, even if you eat a consistently healthy diet. Cleansing the colon with a detox diet can be the difference between feeling alert and not being able to focus. This has far-reaching ramifications for work, your relationships and your overall health.

  1. Kick-starts weight loss

Foods lacking in fiber move through the digestive tract at one-quarter the pace of high-fiber choices. This slow-moving food produces excess mucous that literally sticks to the intestinal walls, weighing the intestinal tract down with pounds of decaying fecal matter.

Colon cleansing has the potential to aid weight loss; some people claim to have lost up to 20 pounds over the course of a month. The average human colon weighs about four pounds empty and can hold up to eight meals' worth of food before digestion finally occurs. A colon cleansing can result in significant weight loss and kick-start your metabolism, as well as refocus your attention on better food choices and whole-body wellness.

  1. Decreases risk of colon cancer

All the toxins that you eat, drink, breathe in and absorb through your skin end up being processed by your gastrointestinal system and liver. If they are not forced from your colon and liver as quickly as possible, they can wreak havoc on your body's systems. By releasing stagnant body waste, you reduce the causes and the risk of polyps, cysts and cancerous growths in your colon and gastrointestinal tract.

  1. Increases fertility

Colon cleansing, as well as increased fiber intake and healthy food choices, improves regularity and helps keep your weight under control. Fat is estrogen-based, and if too much is present, becoming pregnant becomes more difficult. A colon that is weighed down by years of buildup can also press on the uterus and surrounding reproductive organs in women, causing strain.

Colon cleansing rids the body of many chemicals and toxins that affect the egg and sperm. Many naturopaths recommend that both partners undergo colon cleansing before attempting pregnancy.

  1. Maintains pH balance in the bloodstream

Foods that cause colon blockages are acid-forming — particularly high-protein diets without enough fiber. This leads to general malaise in the body. The tissue of the colon eventually becomes diseased and inflamed, reducing the colon's ability to do its job, which is to allow only water, minerals and vitamins to pass into the bloodstream. If yeasts, molds, fungus, bacteria, parasites or fecal material enter the bloodstream and connected tissue, the body's pH will be thrown out of balance.

  1. Improves whole-body well-being

Ridding the colon of waste and toxins by releasing layers of colon buildup can lead to feelings of lightness, strength and overall good health.

So there you have it… a brief list of the massive Benefits of doing Colon Cleansing. Please feel free to add your comments below, share this post with others and of course contact us to learn more about our next upcoming Health & Wellness Retreat in the gorgeous Virgin Islands
<![CDATA[Free Screening of a MUST SEE Movie (view it right here)]]>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthWellnessRetreat/~3/inhRozbmgps/free-screening-of-a-must-see-movie-view-it-right-hereFri, 20 Mar 2015 15:05:02 GMThttp://www.healthwellnessretreat.com/blog/free-screening-of-a-must-see-movie-view-it-right-hereHave to admit, we are floored…!

Just got finished watching an amazing documentary called “Vitality” and it has NAILED IT. All of the things we’ve been talking about around health and lifestyle, succinctly said in a punchy, fun, informative, and short feature film.

So what did we learn?

To start off, that the “sickcare” model in the West is designed to make money off of illness and that’s why people are getting worse every year. Why drugs can’t actually “fix” anything…

The solution?

VITALITY  (view it FREE right here - see below <<<)

This movie teaches us how to increase the vital energy in our lives so we can thrive instead of merely survive and stumble along. It breaks lifestyle down into the “wheel” of Vitality and gives a great structure for us to understand health in a simple yet powerful way. It is a sane look at an insane problem…very refreshing.

Who is this movie for?

EVERYONE. Whether you’re a physician who knows most of this already or someone who’s ailing and needs all the help they can get, Vitality’s message will move you. The country of Namibia is sharing this movie with school-aged children in order to help them thrive. There are governors of a couple US states in discussion to have this movie shown to families in need and foster children. It is endorsed by the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) and the American Academy for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM).

Long story short- doctors love it. Teachers use it. People are raving about it…and we recommend it highly. The movie is available on amazon, iTunes, and various stores to buy/rent but we’ve got a gift for you.

We’ve arranged a FREE screening of the FULL MOVIE for you to see it immediately.  That’s how important this movie is. The link will only be available for 72 hours so please CLICK HERE NOW to redeem your free screening of Vitality.

Yours in health,  Rich & Jill

PS- we’d love to hear what you think about the movie…we’ve gotten great feedback and it certainly stokes some interesting dialogue.

(view it FREE right here - see below <<<)
<![CDATA[That 'feeling tired all the time' has a name... Adrenal Fatigue]]>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthWellnessRetreat/~3/nfaIHIysBZI/that-feeling-tired-all-the-time-has-a-name-adrenal-fatigueWed, 08 Jan 2014 14:38:43 GMThttp://www.healthwellnessretreat.com/blog/that-feeling-tired-all-the-time-has-a-name-adrenal-fatigue A growing number of people come to our Health & Wellness Retreat complaining of being tired all the time. We seem to hear it more and more these days. They say things like” my mind is always racing but my body just won’t keep up, I’m just so tied all the time”. Or they mentioned how ineffective they seem with their workload versus how productive they sued to be in their lives.

So since we at Zunzun Caribbean Wellness Retreat are all about the CAUSE and not just covering up the symptoms, let’s address one of the major causes of being sick, tired and in pain, shall we? We’re talking about Adrenal Fatigue and its challenges. We’re going to lay out some foundational issues in these next few Blog post so let’s get started.
What is Adrenal Fatigue?

Adrenal Fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a "syndrome", that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary and appropriate level. Most commonly associated with intense or prolonged stress (not necessarily sleeplessness), it can also arise during or after acute or chronic infections, especially respiratory infections such as influenza, bronchitis or pneumonia.
As the name suggests, its chief symptom is fatigue (that non-stop feeling of always being tired) that is not relieved by sleep but it is not a readily identifiable entity like measles or a growth on the end of your finger. You may look and act relatively normal with Adrenal Fatigue and may not have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of unwellness, tiredness or "gray" feelings. People suffering from Adrenal Fatigue often have to use coffee, colas and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.
Side note: at our Health & Wellness Caribbean Retreats we don’t give you these stimulants but we do show you how to boost your energy level naturally. Most people are amazed how easy it really can be

This syndrome has been known by many other names throughout the past century, such as non-Addison's hypoadrenia, sub-clinical hypoadrenia, neurasthenia, adrenal neurasthenia, adrenal apathy and adrenal fatigue. Although it affects millions of people in the U.S. and around the world, conventional medicine does not yet recognize it as a distinct syndrome.

Adrenal Fatigue can seem to wreak havoc with your life. In the more serious cases, the activity of the adrenal glands is so diminished that you may have difficulty getting out of bed for more than a few hours per day. With each increment of reduction in adrenal function, every organ and system in your body is more profoundly affected. Changes occur in your carbohydrate, protein and fat metabolism, fluid and electrolyte balance, heart and cardiovascular system, and even sex drive. Many other alterations take place at the biochemical and cellular levels in response to and to compensate for the decrease in adrenal hormones that occurs with Adrenal Fatigue. Your body does its best to make up for under-functioning adrenal glands, but it does so at a price, and your body pays the bill so to speak. Solutions? Contact us to learn more about our Immersion-Style Health & Wellness Retreat always held in exotic locations like the gorgeous and health Caribbean.

Stay tuned for the next blog post in our series as we’ll be covering the topic: ‘What causes Adrenal Fatigue’

Please do share this post with anyone whose health and well-being you do care about – they’ll Love yu for doing so. The Zunzun Team www.HealthWellnessRetreat.com

<![CDATA[A Touch of Wellness Massage Spa & Health Center is Expanding – St Thomas, USVI]]>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/HealthWellnessRetreat/~3/vZ4f3-M9GZE/a-touch-of-wellness-massage-spa-health-center-is-expanding-st-thomas-usviSun, 05 Jan 2014 21:18:50 GMThttp://www.healthwellnessretreat.com/blog/a-touch-of-wellness-massage-spa-health-center-is-expanding-st-thomas-usviHealth & Wellness Comes Surging into the Virgin Islands – like a Tidal Wave.
After learning that a matriarchal colleague had passed-away, 37 year veteran Wellness Specialist Jill Scott (not the singer) moved to the Virgin Islands to take up the torch. Dr. Scott recently purchased already established ‘A Touch of Wellness Massage Spa & Health Center’ and meeting demand among islanders and visitors alike is already expanding.
Effectively doubling the existing space A Touch of Wellness will be far better suited to serve any health needs, no matter the condition.  And through their Zunzun Caribbean Wellness division, they have introduced Immersion-Style Health Retreats with massive success. People from all walks of life, no matter their health condition, can now come to the Caribbean and re-boot their body, mind and soul for optimum health.

Find out more by visiting http://www.atouchofwellnessvi.com and


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Ad de Bruijne - Featured Author - EJT

May 03, 2020   •   author profile of Prof. Dr. Ad de Bruijne journal

Ad de Bruijne is professor of Ethics and Spirituality at the Reformed Theological University Kampen (The Netherlands). This institute is one of the birth places of Dutch Neocalvinism (Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, Klaas Schilder, Jochem Douma). One of its aims is offering an MDiv for the education and formation of pastors. De Bruijne writes a monthly column in a Dutch newspaper.

De Bruijne was born in Amsterdam but spent his youth mainly in Amersfoort. As a child of the sixties and seventies he has always been very interested in the so-called ‘Third World’ and in mission, evangelisation, overseas development aid, politics and justice. He started his study of theology in order to become a missionary, but later felt guided towards local ministry in a big city. As a minister he has served two congregations (Nijverdal and Rotterdam) before being appointed at Kampen University; however, he continues to preach regularly. De Bruijne is married; he and his wife live in Kampen and they have six children, four of whom are married.

De Bruijne is involved in the international Neocalvinist movement and the connected ‘Kuyper-renaissance’. His article ‘Values in our society – with social, historical and anthropological aspects’ appears in the October 2015 issue of European Journal of Theology.

Article Summary Drawing on empirical social scientific research, this article first presents a picture of the dominant values in contemporary European societies. Building on this, a historical-philosophical approach (MacIntyre) explains this picture’s fragmentary and incoherent character as resulting from the post-Christian condition. However, anthropological considerations (moral biology, moral psychology, cultural anthropology) uncover some shared and lasting moral convictions in humanity, which should teach Christians not only to complain about decay but also to be open to the possibility of progress. Furthermore, a theological analysis of (post-)modernity detects both the highest cultural fruits of the Christian truth and their most deplorable post-Christian distortions at the same time (Kuyper, O’Donovan). Modernity with its high self-esteem is secularised eschatology, which should make Christians careful not to mirror its inflated optimism with one-sided pessimism. Prevalent values turn out to be morally ambiguous, as is shown in values such as individual self-realisation, freedom, tolerance, equality, privacy, democracy, free enterprise and compassion. The article concludes with a discussion of possible Christian ethical approaches and specific challenges for Christians with respect to the values of (post-)modern Europe. Christians are called to be prophets, not only to criticise but precisely to clarify the specific moral deadlocks of our society.

Prof. Dr. Ad de Bruijne


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ExEm Foam Inc announced today that ExEm Foam (air polymer-type A intrauterine foam), the only FDA-approved contrast agent for ultrasound tubal patency testing, is now available at select fertility clinics in the U.S.. The Foam procedure, a new ultrasound technique of hysterosalpingo foam sonography (HyFoSy), uses ExEm Foam to assess whether there may be a blockage in the fallopian tubes in women with known or suspected infertility. The innovative imaging technique offers a less complicated and less invasive alternative to laparoscopy and dye, the gold standard for diagnosing tubal patency. The outpatient tubal assessment is also associated with significantly lower pain scores as compared to the standard of care, X-ray hysterosalpingography (HSG), and does not require the use of radiation and iodine.

For couples experiencing infertility, we must evaluate a number of different aspects of the reproductive system to determine the root cause. Unfortunately, this evaluation can involve a lengthy process and several uncomfortable procedures,” said Professor Mark Hans Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., Department Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, The Netherlands, and co-inventor of the Foam procedure. “Cutting-edge, safe and effective diagnostic procedures, like the Foam procedure, allow us to quickly and as comfortably as possible identify fertility issues and plan the next step in a patient’s fertility journey.”

Blockage of the fallopian tubes accounts for infertility in approximately 20% of couples who are having difficulty conceiving. HSG using iodine and X-ray, laparoscopy or saline/air hysterosalpingo contrast sonography (HyCoSy) are commonly used to determine tubal patency but have several limitations. For example, X-Ray HSG is generally a more painful and time-consuming procedure, and HyCoSy uses an unapproved air-saline mixture that can produce lower image quality and accuracy.

“With a growing demand for assisted reproductive technologies and a downward trend for using radiation in women trying to conceive, there is a huge need for a gentler and more patient-friendly tubal patency test,” said Johan Remmerswaal, President, ExEm Foam Inc. “We are proud to be able to fulfill this need with the Foam procedure by quickly, safely and accurately assessing the patency of the fallopian tubes in the comfort of a patient’s gynecologist office.”

ExEm Foam, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2019, has been used in more than 500,000 tubal patency procedures worldwide since it first launched in Europe in 2011.

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Nothing Ever Lights Forever

Echo and the Bunnymen. It's Sunday night and it has been a really hot day in West London as we venture round the corner to The Shepherds Bush Empire to watch Echo And The Bunnymen play a rescheduled date. We get there early when the doors open this is for two reasons one is to get a decent seat upstairs and the other is to watch Black Submarines who l thought was the opening band, wrong instead we get an unknown band to me called Then Thickens who as it turns out are pretty good, a young band who are on the move. l love new bands as I'm one of those who wants the music scene to prosper so thumbs up to the bunnys for bringing em on. The Bunnymen take to the stage in virtual darkness, it is hard to see em but that's the way they like it. Playing new numbers in amongst their classics such as The Cutter which sounds good and fresh, new songs are pretty good especially Holy Moses and the middle eastern sounding Constantinople work well with the older more well known songs played tonight like Killing Moon. I dont know why but l find that when I'm watching upstairs from my balcony and getting the flash hits from the stage lights, l find it hard to focus on Big Mac (Ian McCulloch) singer and charismatic frontman of the Bunnymen. I'm not sure if my eyesight is getting poorer or if it is just the lack of stage lights, l hope it's the latter. They play a great encore of Nothing Ever Last Forever which segues into Lou Reeds classic Walk On The Wild Side. They even come back and play one more new number, then it's home to bed as it's closing time on a Sunday, early to bed late to rise or is that something else? Anyway please go and see Echo And The Bunnymen whenever you can, maybe bring some torches the ones with batteries as l don't think Health and Safety not to mention Fire safety Officers would allow the use of fire branded torches like they had in olden times in caves and castles. p.s The photos l took all came out too dark so maybe my eyes are gonna be ok phew Chris McDougall


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PPS School Board Suspends SRO Agreement

The PPS Board of Education engages in a discussion of issues around the district at their January 29 meeting.
Photo by: Leo Baudhuin

On January 29, the Portland Public Schools (PPS) Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of Resolution No. 5807, suspending the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between PPS and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) that they had approved on December 11, 2018. The IGA created a formal contract between PPS and PPB, delegating one full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) to each of the nine high school clusters for the cost of $1.2 million every year. As defined in the agreement, an SRO is a sworn law enforcement official who serves to promote public safety, as well as informally filling the roles of a counselor and educator. SROs undergo specialized training in “restorative justice and trauma-enforced practices” to allow them to more effectively work with students with the goal of keeping youth out of the juvenile justice system. Prior to the IGA, SROs worked in PPS schools without a contract or funding from the district.

Proposed by board member Julia Brim-Edwards, Resolution No. 5807 cites a false deadline from the City of Portland, claiming that PPS was under the belief that the IGA had to be “approved no later than December 31, 2018; otherwise [existing SRO] services to PPS and its schools would terminate,” and pointing out that the city has yet to vote on the agreement. At the board meeting on January 29, Brim-Edwards explained her three main reasons for proposing the IGA’s suspension: providing the board with more time to discuss the agreement with students, signaling that the board is reconsidering the cost shift to PPS, and formally removing the current version of the IGA from the table. Specifically, the shift in SRO funding seemed unreasonable to Brim-Edwards, considering PPS’s primary role as an educational entity. “We should devote every last dollar to [educating students],” she said. Many board members echoed Brim-Edwards’ financial concerns. “[The board has] made it clear that PPS is unwilling to use our limited resources to subsidize the police, since public safety is an essential city responsibility,” said vice chair Julie Esparza Brown. Esparza Brown also indicated that she would not endorse any future resolution allowing for SROs, emphasizing her worries about the presence of armed officers in a school environment.

The board also addressed the heavy pushback from students and community members who claimed that student feedback was not properly taken into account regarding the IGA’s approval. “This was a rushed decision that was based on a faulty deadline,” Brim-Edwards said. Others on the school board acknowledged failed student engagement sessions and a lack of publicity around the initial vote as a result of this false timeline. “There shouldn’t be a time when expediency trumps student voice in our decision making,” board member Amy Kohnstamm said.

Students at the board meeting expressed their frustration with the lack of community input on the IGA, with seven students and one teacher speaking during the resolution-specific public comment section of the discussion, and one student offering thoughts during the general public comment session earlier in the meeting. The general stance among those who testified was one critical of the IGA, although Ben Snead, a junior at Grant High School, and Mika Schow, the Grant student who spoke at the beginning of the board meeting, expressed their support. “Just because some people have the louder voices doesn’t mean they’re the only ones with opinions,” Snead said, criticizing the board for changing their vote on the IGA.

Students in favor of the resolution to suspend the agreement referenced the board’s inadequate outreach ahead of the IGA vote, and concerns regarding a lack of comfort and safety—especially from students of color—around armed officers. “[Jefferson students] were able to get more community input in 24 hours than the board was able to get in two months,” said Camila Arze Torres Goitia, a social studies and leadership teacher at Madison High School. She described a conversation about the IGA she had with her students, explaining that “not one of them said an armed police officer would make them feel safe and secure.” Students echoed this sentiment. Roosevelt senior Breely Buttitta, testifying on behalf of herself and two of her classmates, stated that, “cops in schools lead to students being criminalized for behavior that should be handled inside the school,” and emphasized her belief that “students should be educated, not incarcerated.” Buttitta also pointed out the board’s lack of effort in engaging students. “If students come out wholeheartedly against a proposal, it is your duty to hear us out and take our voices into consideration when you make decisions that affect us students more than any other group,” she said. “If you don’t, you are knowingly and willingly betraying the students you claim to stand for.”

The board expressed their desire to actively incorporate student voice before approving another agreement with the PPB. “We want to be very intentional with regards to this process to ensure that students have decision making supports in place for continued conversation,” said Jonathan García, the Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs. García outlined a three-step process for engaging students. First, they plan to reach out to high schools, working with administration to identify student groups that would be interested in creating a dialogue about the presence of SROs and “ensuring students of color have intentional voice.” The board then plans to request two student representatives from each school to have “serious dialogue with staff and with the board to really address [student] concerns.” Finally, they want to engage students district-wide “to ensure all students have access to this information and really have an opportunity to share opinion and thoughts.” García explained that strategies for the last step of this process have yet to be determined.

At Franklin, PPS has scheduled a Student Forum on February 28, from 2:15-3:30pm, tentatively located in the library. Although space may be limited, PPS hopes to provide information and engage in an open dialogue with students about SROs, campus safety, and how best to elevate student voice on these issues. Students are encouraged to reach out to García at jgarcia@pps.net if they have further questions.

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The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray

Stop the world…

😀 😀 😀 😀

When a rogue white dwarf star passes through the solar system, its gravitational pull affects the Earth’s rotation on its axis. Gradually over a period of years it slows, with days and nights lengthening; and then it stops completely, leaving half the earth’s surface in endless burning day and the other half in endless frozen night. Humanity scrabbles to survive and Britain comes out on top, lucky to be in the small habitable zone that surrounds the growing desert in the centre of the sunlit side. But when scientist Edward Thorne, on his deathbed, gives his old pupil Ellen Hopper a cryptic message, she is sucked in to uncovering secrets about how Britain has ensured its survival – secrets the authoritarian government will do anything to keep hidden…

There’s a lot to like about this promising début, so let me get my criticisms out of the way first. The book is drowning under the weight of words, being at least a third too long for its content. Murray describes everything in detail – he does it very well but a lot of it is unnecessary and it slows the pace to a crawl. In order to thrill, thrillers have to maintain a good pace and to speed up towards the climax. This is so self-evident that it always stuns me that editors don’t pick up on it even if writers make the basic mistake of getting too involved in their own descriptions of the settings at the expense of maintaining escalating forward momentum. The scene should be set in, say, the first third to half, and from there on the focus should switch to action. And the climax, when it comes, has to both surprise and be dramatic enough to have made the journey worthwhile. Here, unfortunately, the climax is one of the weakest points of the book, both in execution and in impact.

However, there are plenty of strong points to counterbalance these weaknesses. The writing is of a very high standard, especially the descriptions of the scientific and social effects of the disaster. Not being a scientist, I don’t know how realistic the world in the book is but it is done well enough for me to have bought into the premise. Murray shows how science during the Slow and after the Stop becomes concentrated on immediate survival – developing ways to provide food and power for the people – while less attention is given to research into how the long-term future may turn out. As Ellen, herself a scientist, begins to investigate Thorne’s hints, Murray nicely blurs whether this neglect is because of lack of resources, or because the government specifically doesn’t want researchers happening on things they want to conceal. In a world where the government brutally disposes of anyone who threatens them, it’s difficult for Ellen to trust anyone or to involve anyone else in her search for the truth for fear of the consequences to them, but her brother and her ex-husband both get caught up in her quest, and both are interesting relationships that add an emotional edge to the story.

Andrew Hunter Murray

The characterisation is excellent, not just of Ellen but of all the secondary and even periphery characters. I was so pleased to read a contemporary book starring a strong but not superhuman woman, intelligent and complex, who is not the victim of sexism, racism or any other tediously fashionable ism. The only ism she has to contend against is the authoritarianism of the government – much more interesting to me. Murray handles gender excellently throughout, in fact, having male and female characters act equally as goodies and baddies, be randomly strong or weak regardless of sex, and keeping any romantic elements to an almost imperceptible minimum. He also shows a range of responses to the authoritarianism, from those who think it’s essential in the circumstances, to those who dislike it but remain passive, to those who actively or covertly resist it; and he makes each rise equally convincingly from the personality of the character.

So overall a very strong début with much to recommend it – if Murray learns, as I’m sure he will, that there comes a point when it’s necessary to stop describing everything and let the action take over then he has the potential to become a very fine thriller writer indeed. I look forward to reading more from him.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Random House Cornerstone.

Amazon UK Link
Amazon US Link

Bookish selfie…

A snapshot of my reading week in quotes…

….Now, thirty years after it all ended, the Slow seemed the most natural thing in the world. It felt quaint to imagine people reacting to it with shock.
….Hopper knew she was one of the last ‘before’ children: born four years before the planet’s rotation finally stopped. She was a rarity. There had been plenty born since, of course, but the birth rate had plummeted in those final years. The world had paused, waiting for the cataclysm, and those children already young had been treated like royalty – fed well, treated whenever possible, as if in premature apology for a spoiled planet their parents could not mend.
….But during those years, new children were perceived at best as an extravagance, at worst as a cruelty. Why bring a child into a world winding itself down? The chaos and shortages at the end of the Slow had kept the planet’s libido in check.

~The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray

* * * * *

….Mrs. Dreed was not a housekeeper; she was an atmosphere. She was a chill wind blowing down a corridor. A draught under the door. A silence descending on a cocktail party. A shadow on the grass. Mrs. Dreed was always present before she was actually noticed. A premonitory shiver went down the spine, a turn of the head, and there she was – tall, gaunt and usually disapproving. Her dresses were severe and tubular. She wore them with the air of a prison wardress. If Sam’s theatrical guests, in a general sense, be looked upon as Royalists, then Mrs. Dreed was without question the Roundhead in their midst.

~Death in White Pyjamas by John Bude

* * * * *

….The divisiveness of the new ideologies could turn brothers into faceless strangers and trade unionists or shop owners into class enemies. Normal human instincts were overridden. In the tense spring of 1936, on his way to Madrid University, Julián Marías, a disciple of the philosopher José Ortega y Gasset, never forgot the hatred in the expression of a tram-driver at a stop as he watched a beautiful and well-dressed young woman step down onto the pavement. ‘We’ve really had it,’ Marías said to himself. ‘When Marx has more effect than hormones, there is nothing to be done.’

~The Battle for Spain by Antony Beevor

* * * * *

….His wife replied very emotionally, “No man has ever seen either of my daughters since they stopped going to school when they were little girls.”
….He struck his hands together and shouted at her, “Not so fast…. Slow down. Do you think I have any doubts about that, woman? If I did, not even murder would satisfy me. I’m just talking about what will go through the minds of some people who don’t know us. ‘No man has ever seen either of my daughters…’ God’s will be done. Would you have wanted a man to see them? What a crazy prattler you are. I’m repeating what might be rumoured by fools. Yes… he’s an officer in the area. He walks along our streets morning and evening. So it’s not out of the question that people, if they learned he was marrying one of the girls, would suspect that he might have seen one of them. I would despise giving my daughter to someone if that meant stirring up doubts about my honour. No daughter of mine will marry a man until I am satisfied that his primary motive for marrying her is a sincere desire to be related to me… me… me… me…”

~Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

* * * * *

….“Well, let me tell you, Jeeves, and you can paste this in your hat, shapeliness isn’t everything in this world. In fact, it sometimes seems to me that the more curved and lissome the members of the opposite sex, the more likely they are to set Hell’s foundations quivering. Do you recall telling me once about someone who told somebody he could tell him something which would make him think a bit? Knitted socks and porcupines entered into it, I remember.”
….“I think you may be referring to the ghost of the father of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, sir. Addressing his son, he said ‘I could a tale unfold whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, thy knotted and combined locks to part and each particular hair to stand on end like quills upon the fretful porpentine.’”
….“That’s right. Locks, of course, not socks. Odd that he should have said porpentine when he meant porcupine. Slip of the tongue, no doubt, as often happens with ghosts.”

~Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse

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So… are you tempted?

TBR Thursday 227…

Episode 227

Hurrah! The awful rise in the TBR has been reversed this week due to me finally finishing a few books – down three to 213! I’m sure success is finally within my sights…

Here are a few more I’ll be banging into soon…

The Siege by Helen Dunmore

I’ve already been to Moscow for my Around the World challenge, but given the size of Russia and the fact that both Moscow and St Petersburg/Leningrad have been considered capital cities, sometimes simultaneously, with Moscow looking east while St Petersburg looked west, I wanted to visit both. Doctor Zhivago took me back to the Revolution; this one is set during WW2.

The Blurb says: Leningrad, September 1941. Hitler orders the German forces to surround the city at the start of the most dangerous, desperate winter in its history. For two pairs of lovers – Anna and Andrei, Anna’s novelist father and banned actress Marina – the siege becomes a battle for survival. They will soon discover what it is like to be so hungry you boil shoe leather to make soup, so cold you burn furniture and books. But this is not just a struggle to exist, it is also a fight to keep the spark of hope alive…

The Siege is a brilliantly imagined novel of war and the wounds it inflicts on ordinary people’s lives, and a profoundly moving celebration of love, life and survival.

* * * * *

Classic American Fiction

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

One from my Classics Club list. I must admit I’m dreading this one – the blurb and reviews make it sound quite awful. But I know many people love it so (despite the fact that many people also love Gone with the Wind and East of Eden, making me doubtful about whether many people were reading the same versions as me 😉 ) I’ll give it a go. If it surprises me, it can only be in a good way…

The Blurb says: Carson McCullers’ prodigious first novel was published to instant acclaim when she was just twenty-three. Set in a small town in the middle of the deep South, it is the story of John Singer, a lonely deaf-mute, and a disparate group of people who are drawn towards his kind, sympathetic nature. The owner of the café where Singer eats every day, a young girl desperate to grow up, an angry drunkard, a frustrated black doctor: each pours their heart out to Singer, their silent confidant, and he in turn changes their disenchanted lives in ways they could never imagine.

* * * * *

Historical Fiction

The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd

Courtesy of John Murray Press via NetGalley. Hmm, this sounds good but early reviews have been very mixed. Still, maybe the many people who didn’t like it are Steinbeck fans, so there’s still hope…

The Blurb says: In 1815, a supervolcanic eruption led to the extraordinary ‘Year Without Summer’ in 1816: a massive climate disruption causing famine, poverty and riots. Lives, both ordinary and privileged, changed forever.

1815, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
Mount Tambora explodes in a cataclysmic eruption, killing thousands. Sent to investigate, ship surgeon Henry Hogg can barely believe his eyes. Once a paradise, the island is now solid ash, the surrounding sea turned to stone. But worse is yet to come: as the ash cloud rises and covers the sun, the seasons will fail.

In Switzerland, Mary Shelley finds dark inspiration. Confined inside by the unseasonable weather, thousands of famine refugees stream past her door. In Vermont, preacher Charles Whitlock begs his followers to keep faith as drought dries their wells and their livestock starve. In Britain, the ambitious and lovesick painter John Constable struggles to reconcile the idyllic England he paints with the misery that surrounds him. In the Fens, farm labourer Sarah Hobbs has had enough of going hungry while the farmers flaunt their wealth. And Hope Peter, returned from Napoleonic war, finds his family home demolished and a fence gone up in its place. He flees to London, where he falls in with a group of revolutionaries who speak of a better life, whatever the cost. As desperation sets in, Britain becomes racked with riots – rebellion is in the air.

The Year Without Summer is the story of the books written, the art made; of the journeys taken, of the love longed for and the lives lost during that fateful year. Six separate lives, connected only by an event many thousands of miles away. Few had heard of Tambora – but none could escape its effects.

* * * * *

Science Fiction

The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray

Courtesy of Random House Cornerstone via NetGalley. I don’t know anything about either book or author – I just took a fancy to try some contemporary sci-fi for a change…

The Blurb says: The Last Day is set 40 years into the future after the planet’s rotation has slowed to a halt, resulting in half the earth facing the constant light of the sun while the other half lives in an endless, frozen night. The plot centres on a young scientist who is called back to London from the frozen Atlantic and begins to uncover a truth which could change the future of the human race.

* * * * *

NB All blurbs and covers taken from Goodreads or Amazon UK.

* * * * *

So…what do you think? Are you tempted?