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Happy Birthday Gracie!!!

Today is Gracie’s birthday. Mom got a cake. Gracie is the old grey dog. She is mostly deaf…and mostly blind. But very happy. Everyone loves her very much. She spent her day doing her favorite things…mostly napping. Mom says when she was younger she was a hunting dog. Now she is retired. She also loves to play ball. But that’s not so easy anymore.. She is great at napping. She moves from her bed, to her favorite chair, to mom’s bed, and then back to her bed. Sometimes I sleep under her bed. (It’s very warm and dark..and Gracie doesn’t seem to mind.)

Happy Birthday Gracie!! We all love you!!!

Snowy Super Bowl Sunday..

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It Snowed!! Not a lot..but enough! I hear it’s pretty..but I’m obviously not interested in finding out. I will leave that to the dogs. Mom likes the snow without footprints- but they couldn’t help themselves. They get so excited.. Dogs are always excited about something.. Cats and turtles- not so much.

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So the puppies are growing! All they seem to do is eat and sleep.. Mom has named everybody. She decided on president names… Mom loves presidents. She always reads books about them. I sometimes find them under the bed.. Lots of stuff ends up under the bed.

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So we now have 11 presidentially inspired puppy names. Dubya,Taft, Abe, Lady Bird, Harry, Rosie, Grover, Reagan, Taylor, Jackie O, and Bess. I wonder if Todd is a president name? (I bet it is….) I can’t tell them apart. But I think mom can. I do know Taft is the biggest and Rosie is the smallest. But we aren’t allowed to pick favorites.

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I enjoyed a warm shower and some yummy strawberries today.. Strawberries are definitely one of my favorites!

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The kids are gone this weekend to their dad’s house…where ever that is. The house is very quiet without them. The yellow dog especially misses them. He lays by the door waiting for them to come home. I think mom misses them too..

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Today is the Super Bowl…but since I don’t like soup I will just take a nap instead.

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Sleepy Sunday….

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Today was a sleepy..sleepy day.. It is rainy and dreary.. and that makes for near perfect nap conditions. Even I have to admit- the puppies are pretty cute when they are napping. They seem to dream a lot. I wonder what you have to dream about when you are a 4 day old puppy? I think eating.. They seem to spend an enormous amount of time eating. Mom says they are ‘Super Cute’. So are turtles.

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I decided to relax a little outside of my closet. The sitting room is always empty.. I think because there is no TV. It’s pretty quiet around here. Even mom seems tired. She seems into her Netflix today. She does something called ‘binge watching’ sometimes.. I’m not sure what that means- but it makes her happy. And when she is happy- I am happy!

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And the teenagers are napping. Napping is something they love to do! They wake up about dinner time. That’s when they have plenty of energy. It’s when they are starving- and when they remember all the things they should have done today but forgot (like homework..)  Then they can’t sleep at bedtime. Which means they are tired in the morning. It’s seems to be a vicious cycle they can’t break. Interesting..

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Yep..Sleepy sleepy Sunday..

Laundry laundry laundry….

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Laundry laundry laundry….Poor Mom. It’s the weekend and we are all relaxing- except mom. She is doing laundry..and dishes..and taking care of us all. That’s apparently what mom’s do in their free time. Kid’s-not so much. They seem to avoid laundry.  I love laundry. It’s the perfect place to hide! The puppies and people have made lots of laundry for me to hide in this week. I’ve noticed that no one but mom seems to do laundry. Interesting…

The puppies are still getting lots of attention. And they are still sharing my closet…sigh. I’m not sure what the big deal is. Everyone knows turtles are way cuter.

Even though it was a beautiful day- one of the cats snuck in to take a nap on his favorite chair…he looked so peaceful- until mom found him. Ha! Outside he went!

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And since it is Saturday- the hedgehogs got out for a snack and play time. Hedgie’s are pretty interesting! Their spikes are almost as awesome as my shell. Almost. They like to have snacks and sniff around and stuff. Cute. But again…everyone knows turtles are cuter.

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I love Saturday’s!

My current situation…

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My name is Todd the Turtle…I live with my interesting.. but often irritating.. and usually noisy family!

We have a mom. A couple teenage boys and a preteen girl. Dogs.. Cats.. Hedgehogs.. Hermit Crabs.. Fish and Turtles of course! I am a house turtle. And sometimes they call me a box turtle..I think because I love my box. Just between you and me..I’m mom’s favorite. I mostly do what I want. I enjoy daily showers and banana’s are my current favorite treat. I keep to myself. Or at least I try to..

Yesterday the dog, the black one that sometimes licks me and steals my hotdogs, had puppies. 11 of them! This has caused quite the commotion around here. And to make it more exciting for me… they are currently being housed in the big closet. My closet. The one with my box.

So…If you can’t beat them..

I don’t think anyone will notice..


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Chikungunya in the Caribbean

Mr. Abromovitz is among at least 800,000 people this year in the Caribbean and surrounding nations who contracted the chikungunya pronounced chik-en-GUN-ya virus, a mosquito-borne illness similar to dengue, which causes fever and muscle pain that is sometimes severe. It is rarely fatal, but some people suffer debilitating muscle pain for months or years.  Chikungunya was spotted on St. Martin in December 2013 and quickly spread across the islands. Although common in Asia, it was the first time the painful disease was detected in the Western Hemisphere. Now, experts say, it’s here to stay and has become an important issue for governments in tourism-heavy countries to tackle.

via A Mosquito-Borne Virus Sweeps the Caribbean –

About mkevane

Economist at Santa Clara University and Director of Friends of African Village Libraries.
This entry was posted in Personal Kevane life. Bookmark the permalink.

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Official News How to make a deposit in MMM Global

Discussion in 'MMM Global - English' started by MMM Global Support Team, Jun 29, 2020.

  1. MMM Global Support Team

    MMM Global Support Team Administrator

    Friends, if you have read the announcement of the launch of MMM Global on Smart Contract, we have prepared a guide of how to create a deposit in MMM Global

    1. Register your account:
    (or ask for a referral link from our leaders listed at

    On the registration page, enter your email and password.
    2 - Copy.png

    You will receive a code by email, which will need to be entered in the registration form.
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    After entering the code, you will be taken to the main page of your Personal Account (Dashboard).
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    2. Install a wallet that supports direct interaction with a smart contract :
    On Windows or iOS desktop, you can download and install the Metamask wallet an add-on for Chrome or Firefox at
    On a cell phone with Android, download and install the Trust wallet:
    On iPhone, download and install the Trust wallet:

    These wallets can serve the purpose. The wallet will enable you to store, send and receive ETH and PAX.

    3. The next thing to do is to fund your wallet with ETH or PAX cryptocurrency.
    Here is a list of sites where you can buy cryptocurrency :

    And some local sites for different countries :
    Canada :
    India :
    Philippines :

    7 - Copy.png

    The PAX coin (a cryptodollar) will be convenient for those participants who have this coin in their wallet and who want to make deposits in dollars without worrying about changing the Ethereum exchange rate.

    4. Login to the Personal Office via Wallet's Browser
    If you install a Metamask wallet, your Personal Office will ask you to connect to this wallet:
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    After that, you can immediately proceed to make a deposit (Provide Help) using the ETH and/or PAX.
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    Our coordinator Lucky (@LuckyPhoenix) made short videos of how to create a deposit
    from Metamask wallet:

    from Trust wallet:

    There is no need to pre-enter your wallet address in your Personal Office. Your ETH address will be displayed automatically on the "Wallet" page immediately after creating a deposit :

    6 - Copy.png

    After creating the deposit, please send a screenshot from the main page of the PO (Dashboard page) to the official telegram group so we will be glad that everything worked out for you and you became a proud participant of the MMM Global on the Ethereum blockchain smart contract :)

    5. Now you can start to create your own referral structure by sending your referral link to your referrals! You can find your referral link at the 'My page' menu.
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    6. When your deposit unfreezes, you can withdraw it (GH) with interest. Your GH will be paid to the ETH address, which you made PH from, and it was assigned to your Personal Office on the Wallet page.

    Always contact your Guider or our support team via Telegram @mmmglobal_support or @LuckyPhoenix, we are ready to assist if you are ready to explore this new system. Join our Telegram Channel and Telegram Group

    Make charity and love!
    Together we can do a lot and we will change this World!
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    Franco Nero New Member

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Free Plastic Container PSD MockUp in 4k

To use these PSD template you need Adobe Photoshop

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Lumiya 1.3.1: Touch and Pay

lumiya-logoThe Lumiya text client for Android, which I reviewed last month continues to be enhanced with new features. Version 1.3.1, released on the 15th April. These introduce the ability to interact (to some degree) with in-world objects and the ability to carry out payment transactions (i.e. pay other avatars or objects such as rental boxes). These are two potentially useful additions for those who are on the go, and need to access SL to pay tier, etc., but don’t have access to the computer.

Making Direct Payments to Others

You can now pay people directly on Lumiya quickly and directly. From the main screen, tap your phone’s menu button, then tap CONTACTS, select the person you wish to pay from your list of contacts (tap to highlight), then tap you phone’s menu button again and tap PAY to display the payment screen, as shown in the sequence below (some steps abbreviated for clarity, as they say).

Letting my test alt pay me (steps shortened for clarity)

Using Touch

The Touch option within Lumiya is a potentially useful addition to the client and works with menu-driven objects that respond to a left mouse click. When starting Lumiya now, there is a new button displayed at the top of the main screen – OBJECTS. Tapping this opens a list of objects available to you. Be default, this is “limited” to in-world “descriptive” objects, although you can opt to extend it to include your own attachments and “non-descriptive” objects (so prims simply called “object” will be listed for example).

Tapping on the name of an object will open-up a further dialogue box that provides general information on the item – description, creator, etc., and which includes a TOUCH button (below).

Interacting with objects

It’s here that things might get a little confusing. One might expect tapping TOUCH to open the objects dialogue box – but it doesn’t appear to. Instead, an easily missed prompt is displayed at the top of the screen informing you that you have a NEW MESSAGE IN CHAT.

To use the object’s menu, you now need to use your phone’s return key to get back to the Lumiya main screen to see the dialogue box and menu (right).

This is slightly cumbersome but given the way SL works and Lumiya is configured with (obviously) limited screen space, it’s understandable.

However, there are one or two other issues with the approach as implemented. The application polls the entire sim you’re on for touchable objects. This means that you can end up with a very long list of items which cannot be sorted. Also, this list appears to include any sub-components of an object that themselves contain a script. The not only lengthens the list of objects (increasing scroll time), it also risks annoying mis-clicks when trying to access an item.

Both of these issues are negated by the fact there is a search option at the top of the list, allowing you to focus results down to a handful of items – or even the item you want to touch, if you know it’s in-world name.

Paying an object (click to enlarge)

Paying an object is as straightforward as paying a person – once the object is selected from the list, click the TOUCH button from its information page, and a payment page is automatically opened (right).

Currently, the system is restricted to activating your own attachments; I’ve no idea as to whether it will be extended to include attachment on others, which some might find useful.

Channel Recognition and Timestamps

Lumiya 1.3.1also adds channel commands to its capabilities (so “/102 command” will be recognised, for example), and also adds timestamps to chat. The latter can be turned off by unchecking TIMESTAMP IN CHAT in the Settings options (phone’s menu button->SETTINGS).

The addition of interaction capabilities to Lumiya definitely makes it more of an attractive offering, the listing issue notwithstanding. Those on the go who have an Android phone are likely to find having a payment option handy, while the ability to at least interact with objects  helps improve the overall feeling of engagement with SL when one is unable to use a graphical Viewer.

Related Links


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WOW! Must See TV: Congressional JEC panel ripping Geithner apart: Rep Brady (R-TX) first to ask him to resign: MiM starts Obama economic team “shake-up” watch…

Vodpod videos no longer available.

If you look at UE Tim, the US is substantially WORSE off than it was when Obama took office to answer Timmehs whine….In fact someone should tell Tim, taking him at his word that he believes all measures, any measure of economic activity shows things are better since January, the measure of foreclosures and delinquencies has also more than doubled since Obama ‘took charge’:

Update: 12:10pm EST: uh oh. Kudlow says and Steve Liesman confirms, that Geithner is the most fiscally conservative member of Obamas economic advisers.  No wonder we are in a world of hurt! CNBC just ran the Brady Timmeh back n forth so it should come up in a video post shortly. will get it up right away.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Update: 11:!5am OMG OMG Geithner just threw Seniors unda da bus!! He acknowledges to Brownback that yes the CBO score only works if Congress actually DOES the Medicare cuts and he insists they must and should and will DO THE CUTS. He says the costs have to be reduced, Brownback is saying but why cant we save Medicare? Good grief Geithner is a disaster, you aren’t supposed to tell Seniors they are getting thrown under there Timmeh, Obama will be displeased. Good ad for the GOP though!

WOW!! Excellent!!!! Live feed from CNBC here

I am starting Geithner Fired/Resigns Watch now, there will fer shure be some sort of ‘ Obama economic team shake-up’ to placate the rumblings as they get ready to ask for MORE STIMULUS…They can’t get away with it under Geithner IMO, looks like he is marked as sacrificial lamb, but the Progressives will be no happier with Larry Summers, lol….

By dequalss

Typos abound, getting ready while I do this- TImmeh is red and ranting and blaming Bush and Rep Brady made him acknowledge yes he was head of NY Fed when this collapse happened, and they are cross talking, Brady says the public has lost all confidence in Geithner and he reflects badly on his President, he says at some point Geithner has to take responsibility…ohhh excellent!!

Update: 11:04am EST: Rep. Burgess (R-TX) just said “I don;t think you should quit, you shouldn’t have been hired”. Is that a bus engine I hear idling??? This the Joint Economic Committee and is made up of both Senators and House members, double the fun!! Now Sen Brownback is going off about the health care plan and the Yuan peg…

(FD-MiM is a former AIG employee and shareholder and we have followed Geithner’s handling of the crisis as NY Fed-head closely for two years now, our posts on Geithner, Hank Paulson and AIG are legion. Our previous posts on Geithner and the troubled CITI bailout here and  here and here and here and here and even here ….)

Recall Sens DeMint and Isakson called on Geithner to resign last March. As did several members of the House.

This is in keeping with the report in TheHill this morning:

A Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) member said there’s “growing consensus” among liberals that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner should step down.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said Wednesday that he and other liberal House members are becoming increasingly tired of Obama administration economic policies that they say are too focused on maintaining the stability of Wall Street firms and largely ignore “Main Street.”“A growing consensus in the caucus [believe that Geithner should be removed],” DeFazio said on MSNBC this evening, adding that some lawmakers are “considering questions regarding him and other economic advisers.”

DeFazio said that lawmakers have not yet drafted a plan to remove Geithner. The lawmaker also took aim at top Obama economic adviser Larry Summers for furthering many of the same policies favored by Geithner.

“We need a new economic team,” said DeFazio…..

Hey man, live by the populist pitchforks, die by the populist pitchforks. Hard to put that class war genie back into the bottle and it was a HUGE mistake to embolden the populist rhetoric flame throwers in the House…

This drum beat is getting louder. Dodd thinks Geithner is a drag on his polling, lol, and Simmons, Dodd’s GOP opponent called for Geithner’s resignation already:

A former House Republican running for the Senate in Connecticut is calling for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to be replaced over his handling of AIG’s bailout.

GOP candidate Rob Simmons reacted to a report by Neil Barofsky, the inspector general of the $700 billion bailout program, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Barofsky’s report criticized the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which Geithner led during the bailout, for a series of missteps that Barofsky said ended up requiring the government to provide additional support to AIG.

“The report issued yesterday by the inspector general for the TARP program is a deeply troubling account of Secretary Geithner’s failed management of the AIG bailout in which he cost taxpayers $13 billion in unnecessary new debt,” said Simmons, who appears to be the only candidate or office-holder to call for Geithner’s replacement in response to the report.The federal government committed more than $180 billion to AIG, which was crippled by poor investments and trades in credit default swaps, a financial derivative.

Simmons also attacked his opponent, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), in the statement calling on Geithner to be replaced.

“The cozy relationships between the bailed-out financial companies and powerful politicians like Tim Geithner and Chris Dodd are exactly why Americans have lost trust in Washington, D.C., and why we need new leadership with the skills and integrity to clean up their mess and get our economy back on track.”…

More great housing news:

US mortgage delinquency rates and the percentage of loans that entered the foreclosure process jumped in the third quarter, with both reaching record highs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started rose to 1.42 percent in the third quarter, an all-time high, up from 1.36 percent in the second quarter and 1.07 percent in the third quarter of 2008.

…The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.64 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the third quarter of 2009, up 40 basis points from 9.24 percent in the second quarter and up 265 basis points from 6.99 percent one year ago, the MBA said in its National Delinquency Survey. The delinquency rate broke the record set last quarter. The records are based on MBA data dating back to 1972.

The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the third quarter was 4.47 percent, an increase of 17 basis points from 4.30 percent the second quarter of 2009 and 150 basis points from 2.97 percent one year ago.

The combined percentage of loans in foreclosure and at least one payment past due was 14.41 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the highest ever recorded in the MBA delinquency survey….

November 19, 2009. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . CITI, citigroup, Economy, Finance, Foreclosures, Housing, Obama Administration, Politics, Popular Culture, TARP, Taxes, Unemployment Statistics, Wall St. Comments off.

Video: Paul Krugman on Geithner Toxic Asset Plan…

Bloomberg has the exclusive in-depth with Krugman, including a response to Summers’ take on Paul’s position:

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Arts & Culture

Is the “crisis of secularism” in Western Europe the result of multiculturalism?

Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic famously claimed that “…the conglomerate of nation-states/EU has silently handed over one of its most important debates – that of European identity – to the wing-parties, recently followed by the several selective and contra-productive foreign policy actions.” Elaborating on these actions he went further as to claim that: “…sort of Islam Europe supported in the Middle East yesterday, is the sort of Islam that Europe hosts today. (…) and “…that Islam in Turkey (or in Kirgizstan and in Indonesia) is broad, liberal and tolerant while the one in Northern Europe is a brutally dismissive and assertive.”

Western Europe is phasing the outcomes of the development of two different trajectories. On one side, the immigrant presence from the former colonies, growing since the 1960’s, has turned Western Europe into a multicultural and, by extension, multi-faith mosaic. On the other, the permanent decline of religious performance has brought up a wider consensus concerning the privatization of religion as well as its status of invisibility in the public sphere. These two trajectories can be perceived as oppositional if one bears in mind the significant numbers of non- white immigrants residing in Western European states and the paramount importance most of them place on religion for identification, organization and political representation. Several prominent academics refer to the emergence of the aforementioned phenomenon as a ‘crisis of secularism’.

However, I would like to argue that such clear-cut judgments present several problems. To begin with, ‘secularism’ is a complex term with multiple meanings. Western Europe currently sports two forms of secularism; the radical model of French laicité and the moderate form followed by the rest of the states. Within the latter framework, several kinds of state-religion connections have been developed throughout the years. Even in the radical French model some state-religion connections exist, although they are concealed under cultural terms. As becomes apparent, if we take absolute state-religious separation as a crude definition of secularism, it turns out that ‘a crisis’ occurred well before the advent of multicultural presence.

Indeed, this essay will attempt to clarify that although multiculturalism supports and promotes the recognition of minority religious identities, the statement that it puts secularism under crisis is a bit exaggerated, if not purposefully misleading. Multiculturalism does not opt for a complete disestablishment of secularism. On the contrary, multiculturalism supports moderate secularism as it is believed that the various types of religion-state connections within it can be extended so as to accommodate minority religions, as well. All in all, multiculturalism strives for a rethinking of secularism, a renegotiation of the term, for it to become less restrictive for minorities that feel marginalized because of their religious identity.

The defining characteristics of Western Europe’s multicultural reality

Western Europe started to receive exceptionally large numbers of non-white immigrants after the 1973 oil crisis, in order to rebuild its devastated economy. As its capitalist economy constantly demands a cheap labor force, people continue immigrating to Western Europe for the prospect of a better and safer life. Under these circumstances, Western Europe has reached the diversity previously characteristic of traditional immigrant receptacles such as the USA. There is, however, a fundamental difference in this comparison; the large amounts of Muslim immigrants residing in Western Europe. Specifically, Muslims form the majority of non-white Western European immigrants, with a rough estimate putting them at approximately 6% of the relevant total (Pew Research, 2011). Although Muslims appear to be evenly distributed, their presence in the larger cities is far more noticeable and rapidly growing. Regardless of this strong Muslim presence, non- white immigrant minorities in Western Europe, especially those coming from South Asia, seek to identify themselves, while also being recognized by the state and their fellow-citizens, on the basis of their religious identity (Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims). This strong religious assertiveness, despite having gone unnoticed for a long time as a matter of importance concerning group recognition, has become the main topic of discussion in Western European multicultural politics over the last few decades. The matter of controversy is the position of religious or ethno-religious immigrant identities in the public sphere of Western European states.

Multiculturalism, multicultural citizenship and religious identities

Multiculturalism is a political ideology which, during the last few decades in Western Europe, focuses primarily on the need for recognition of immigrant minorities. According to Modood, multiculturalism ‘refers to the struggle, the political mobilization but also the policy and institutional outcomes, to the forms of accommodation in which ‘differences’ are not eliminated, are not washed away but to some extent recognized’. Moreover, as he proceeds to mention, multiculturalism ‘is a politics which recognizes post-immigration groups exist in western societies in ways that both they and the other, formally and informally, negatively and positively are aware that these group-differentiating dimensions are central to their social constitution’. In summation, multiculturalism avoids group-blind approaches and ‘promotes politics of recognition as a means to secure multicultural equalities between groups’.

Members of ethnic minorities with a strong religious character (such as Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus) experience marginalization on the grounds of their religion. For the members of these minority groups, however, religion is a basic element of their self-identity that they are not willing to surrender so as to become accepted. Jacobson, O’Beirne, Fish and Gillat-Ray are just a few examples that illustrate precisely how religion is an aspect that permeates all aspects of Muslim’s life, representing an integral part of their self as well as a tradition offering a sense of belonging. Thus, these groups react with a strong religious assertion in the public sphere, demanding the same recognition and respect previously given to other minority groups, originally marginalized in terms of their ‘different’ identity (racial, ethnic, sexual).

Multicultural politics support equality for all citizens not on the basis of providing equal rights to all but rather on that of recognition of the existence of group identities

According to Modood, ‘multicultural citizenship is the project to make citizenship-inclusion or integration possible on terms that respect all and in particular those […] whose subjectivities are marginalized or dismissed […]’. Bearing this position in mind, multicultural politics acknowledge ‘the importance of religious identities to some non-white ethnic minorities…and…their centrality to some forms of ethnic minority self-assertions, mobilizations and political claims-making’. Thus, from a multiculturalist perspective, in order for these ethnic minorities to be equally accommodated, the state must respect and recognize their religious identities.

Under such circumstances, it becomes clear that state-religion relations can be seen as a matter of recognition. As religious identities (Sikh, Hindu and most notably Muslim) have become one of the most salient minority status markers, Western European states, driven by a ‘multicultural sensibility’, realize that state-religion connections must be rethought according to the needs presented by the new multi-faith reality. This process of negotiation for the place of religious minority identities in public is perceived by many as a violation of the secular norms of religious neutrality and church-state separation, which are deeply rooted in Western European states. However, to what extent this contention is true is a matter of great controversy.
Secularism in Western Europe

Modood defines political secularism as a condition in which ‘political authority does not rest on religious authority and the latter does not dominate political authority’.

Secularism is a principle deeply embedded in all Western European states since the signing of the treaty of Westphalia. In national narratives, secularism has been referenced as the modern developmental process that brought about the emergence of sovereign states. It has been defined as the principle that disentangled individuals and states from their religious beliefs to halt the potential resurgence of the violent wars of the past. Thus, the need for a separate existence of secular and religious spheres has come to be perceived as the alleged sine qua non for every society that wants to be perceived as modern.

‘The separation of Church and State, the neutrality of the state in regard to religion, religious freedom and understandings of secularisation in terms of the privatisation and decline of religion, are all at the heart of discourses about secularism’. The practical implementation of secularism differs across state borders. Thus, in broader terms, Western European secularism can be divided in two different categories; the radical model and the moderate one.

a.    Laicité

Laicité is the radical model of secularism adopted solely by France. In this kind of secularism, religion is essentially banished from the public sphere. Religion is perceived as an anachronistic element, which must be completely marginalized in the name of reason and liberal individual freedom. Religion is strictly differentiated from the public domain, only maintaining a place in individuals’ private life. Accordingly, the state takes a neutral stance on any kind of religion in the name of the liberal value of equal treatment for all individuals. Under these circumstances, the state supports a model of assimilationist, civic integration. ‘Integration here is understood as an allegiance to a common civic identity and the joint pursuit of the common good’. In other words, in order for someone to be fully integrated into French society, the civic element of his/her identity should trump all others in the public sphere. As Bouchard & Taylor aptly put it, such a position ‘demands the removal or neutralization of the identity markers (including religion […]) that differentiate citizens’ and ‘[…] assumes that the removal of the difference is a prerequisite to integration’.

However, this rigid a context is destabilized when the need to integrate people not previously nurtured with these hard boundaries between private and public religion arises. Such is the case with immigrant minorities claiming a strong religious identity.

The French state reacted to this multiculturalist challenge with a top-down approach, which sought to restrict the public expression of minority religious identities. The state as well as the majority of the public opinion perceived the wearing of religious symbols in public as a political project violating the secular principle concerning the privatization of religion and the neutrality of the public sphere. Consequently, the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols – clearly aimed at Muslims’ headscarves and Sikhs’ turbans – was banned by law in February 2004. The banning of the full-face veil (niqab) from public spaces followed in April 2011.
Both of these legislation initiatives show an inclination to bracket ‘difference’ through the implementation of the historically contingent principles of secularism in a sort of ‘fetishization of the favored institutional arrangements’. Such movements show the unwillingness of the state to recognize that religion can be a representative element of groups or entire cultures. In other words, the state replies to religious assertiveness with a ‘religious-focused version of different-blindness’. The denial of public religious accommodation conceals the cultural privileges of Christian traditions that are deeply entrenched in the notion of secularism, thus sustaining the inferiority and alienation of non-Christian traditions. This is to say that a concept of ‘neutrality’ is impossible, as the state always reflects specific cultural characteristics, which in the case of France are rooted in Christianity.

The strong insistence of French politics on the preservation of secularism, as presented through the application of the aforementioned measures, reifies the secular-religious dichotomy as an unsurmountable opposition, diminishing any potential for a fruitful mixture between the two sides. Based on a secularist argumentation, the state presents itself as acting in the service of an ‘us’ wanting to assimilate (or exclude) an as yet illiberal (or premodern) ‘them’. As Modood puts it, ‘such totalized dualistic perspectives are not conducive to fostering dialogue, to respect for difference, to seeking common ground and negotiated accommodation[…]and above all to multicultural citizenship’. If religious identities are excluded in a way that no other identity (be it racial, ethnic, sexual or whatever else) is, then there is obviously a profound bias against religious identity which clashes with the multicultural principle of equality between identity groups. If one were to use this radical form of secularism as a model, then multiculturalism clearly makes it ‘at risk’.

However, there is another perspective in the French laicité which is worth mentioning, to illustrate that ethnic minorities’ claims for religious accommodation are not all that contradictory to the existing practices of the Republican state. Rather, they are based on pre-existing state-religious relationships. More specifically, since the establishment of the law of 1905, the state is committed to contribute financially to the preservation of church buildings, as it acknowledges that they are part of French cultural heritage. Moreover, since the establishment of ‘Debré Law’ in 1959, the state, to a great extent, sponsors Catholic Church Schools. Clearly, the secular French state both acknowledges and respects, by law, that religion is a part of one’s tradition and culture that needs to be preserved and moreover that it can contribute to education.

Bearing the aforementioned facts in mind, it seems that even in the radical laicité model, some manner of state-religion connections are already active. Consequently, ethnic minorities’ struggle, based on the multiculturalist principles, for the recognition of their religious identity by the state is not an initiative that places secularism under ‘crisis’. What is requested is not the desecularisation or disestablishment of the privileges of the Christian tradition within a secular context. Rather, the challenge is how to add the new faiths alongside the older ones in a process of ‘equalising upwards’.

A relevant initiative has been launched by president Sarkozi with the establishment of the French Council for the Muslim Faith in 2003, whose function is to act as the primary liaison between the French government and Muslims. Despite the fact that the assembly of the council was a state-construct and that it has, to date, failed to become recognized as representative by the majority of the French Muslim population, such initiatives are necessary for the equal accommodation of religious minorities. Even if these initiatives may seem prima facie contrary to laicité, this is not the case for their relationship to moderate secularism.

b.    Moderate secularism

Following Modood, ‘the key feature of moderate secularism is that it sees organized religion as not just a private benefit but as a potential public good or national resource, […]which the state can in some circumstances assist to realise’. Under these circumstances state and church remain autonomous but may still collaborate in several domains. Modood aptly explains what can be perceived as such a state-religion connection; it is a ‘kind of relationship with the state such that a religious organisation participates in the functions of the state or is a partner in governance, helping the state to discharge some of its duties and implementation of policies or it is continuously supported by public funds or it is part of the symbolism of the state in a clearly non-neutralist way’. Through the presentation of a series of empirical examples of states that adopt religion-state connections, an attempt will be made to show that multicultural recognition politics for immigrants’ religious identities do not clash with this manner of arrangements. On the contrary, the latter may be a platform for multicultural integration.

Initially presented to support this argument follows the German example. In Germany, the most important source of funding for religious communities comes from tax receipts. This state financial aid to ‘religious societies being organized as corporations under public law’ is also protected by the law. Moreover, numerous public sponsorships are granted to religious communities. In addition, it must be mentioned that around half of Germany’s welfare provisions are channeled to the public through Church-based organisations, within a climate of a civic society, in which church and state can work together for the accomplishment of common goals. The Muslim presence in Germany is considerable and enduring, especially bearing in mind the large Turkish minority. According to Korioth & Ausberg, Muslims make up approximately 4% of the German population. Of course, Germany is renowned for its anti-multiculturalist sentiments and the ‘Gastarbeiter’ approach in its immigration policy. However, a climate of ‘multiculturalist sensibility’ is present and reflected in ‘corporatist’ forms of Muslim accommodation. More specifically, chancellor Merkel and her government launched the first German Islam Conference in 2006. According to Aslan, this initiative had aimed ‘to restore mutual trust within the society and its Muslim communities’ so as ‘to enhance the religious and social integration of the Muslim population in Germany’. Since then, the conference has been held annually in the form of a dialogue between ‘the state and selected representatives of Muslims in Germany’. Although top-down, such an attempt can be viewed neither as radically secularist nor as assimilationist. Rather, it meets the multiculturalist prerequisites of willingness for mutual negotiation in order to find effective solutions for the accommodation of religious difference. The German state remains secular but understands that Muslims face discrimination on the basis of their religion and that the state needs to take action so as to protect this group. This solution is not sought outside of the secular principles. Rather, the state tries to renegotiate these principles so that Muslim integration can be achieved within them.

England is another relevant paradigm. Religion and the state are first connected ‘symbolically’, as the monarch has also the ultimate authority of the Church of England and can only undertake duties after being blessed by bishops. Accordingly, 26 bishops are members of the House of Lords, the supreme legislative body of the state, having equal rights with the rest of the members. Apart from that, the Church of England has a substantial educational contribution, in which it is almost exclusively supported by state subsidies.

Of import to the argument at hand is the expansion of state connections to incorporate its Muslim immigrant population, as well. During the New Labor governance, the state recognized the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) as the representative voice of British Muslim population (1997). Throughout its period of governance, New Labor in collaboration with the MCB initiated a series of measures that enabled and promoted the smooth integration of Muslims in the national context. They jointly fostered public acknowledgment of the importance of their religious identity, the introduction of state funded Muslim schools (following their Jewish and Christian counterparts) and concentrated policies on tackling religious discrimination, which reached their peak with the establishment of the law against religious discrimination (2003). All of these attempts were backed by the Church in a climate of ‘interfaith respect’ and ‘multi-faith harmony’.

Relevant examples of states that have extended their church connections to accommodate religious diversity can also be found in Belgium’s multi-faith Council of Religions and in Denmark’s model of ‘multiple establishment’, were Muslim religious communities enjoy a formally recognized and approved status as well as state tax benefits.

None of the aforementioned examples drift from the minimalistic definition of secularism presented previously, meaning that a mutual autonomy between state and religion is still ensured. It should by now have become apparent, through the presentation of these empirical examples, that the type of state-religion connections developed within the framework of moderate secularism makes a clear case that religious minorities can be recognized and accommodated without braking the basic secular rule. In other words, multiculturalism and religious diversity do not necessarily equate eradication of established churches or a ‘crisis’ of secularism.

This essay aimed to evaluate the contention that the ‘crisis of secularism’ in Western Europe is the result of multiculturalism. To this end, several points, facts and empirical examples were presented. The presence of immigrants in Western Europe has undeniably brought with it both multiculturalism and religious diversity. Moreover, some immigrants brought, and continue to bring, with them religious beliefs totally alien to Western Europeans, which can lead to their being discriminated against on the basis of their religion. Muslims are the most notable example of the aforementioned observance, since they form the majority of non-Christian immigrants residing in Western European states, with Sikhs and Hindus also sharing similar experiences. It is therefore clear that the minority statuses of the aforementioned immigrant groups are due to their religious identities.
Multicultural politics support equality for all citizens not on the basis of providing equal rights to all but rather on that of recognition of the existence of group identities. Accordingly, multiculturalism acknowledges the fact that for immigrant groups with a strong-religious character to be recognized, the state needs to recognize religious difference and seek to tackle the problem of religious discrimination. Some people, and more specifically adherents of crude secularism, believe that this brings the whole notion of ‘secularism’ under crisis. However, as Modood aptly puts it, multiculturalism’s focus on recognition of immigrant groups’ religious identities ‘is based on recognition and inclusivity, not the truth of doctrines’ and ‘is not opposed to secular or non- religious identities but is additional to them and is not meant to suggest any inherent superiority or desirability of religious over non-religious identities – or vice versa’.

Multiculturalism interacts with two different kinds of secularism in Western Europe. On the one hand, there is the French laicité, which reacts to the multi-faith challenge with religious-blind policies that sustain the inequalities faced by immigrant religious minority groups. On the grounds of an alleged principle of state neutrality as well as the liberal principle of individual freedom, the French state seeks to banish the presence of minority religions form the public sphere. As it becomes clear, if this is the prototypical model of secularism taken into consideration, multiculturalism definitively puts it under great strain. However, the challenge is not one of forcing France to lose its Catholic character or abandon the idea of secularism on the whole. What is requested, is some form of state-religion connection within the secular framework, which would provide some sort of recognition to the Muslim immigrant community.

Such state-religion connections have been a part of the prevalent, moderate, form of secularism implemented in most of the Western European states for some time now. In moderate secularism, religion is not only understood as a private matter but also as a potential public good, which the state seeks to assist. Germany, England, Denmark and Belgium are just some of the states that have positively and effectively responded to the challenge of multicultural religious diversity by extending their state-religion connections so as to accommodate immigrant religious minorities.

In summation, multiculturalism may bring religion to the forefront anew but it does not do so in ways necessarily totally alien to secularism. As it has been shown, several kinds of long-lasting state-religion connections have been developed, especially in moderate forms of secularism, even before the expression of immigrant demand for some sort of public recognition of their religious identities. Seen in this light, multiculturalism cannot be seen as seeking a “crisis of secularism”, but rather as calling for nothing more than an extension of tenets already present in secularism, so that new faiths can be brought into any given secular state model alongside their older, preexisting counterparts.

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Arts & Culture

Architecture Reflecting Culture: The Alhambra

Dr. Arshad M. Khan

Throughout history civilizations have been overtaken by successors.  These in turn decline and fall as time marches on.  Often all that remain are monuments, an occasional palace or temple often a tomb, usually in ruins unless of relatively current vintage.

The ancient Egyptians built massive pyramids to bury their pharaohs, projects lasting a lifetime and ensuring a reliable source of income for the workers and others involved.

The Greeks favored exquisitely proportioned temples and statuary rendered with a skill that was not matched again until the Renaissance.  One would be remiss not to mention their vast output of the mind from philosophy and logic to the poetry and drama played out in the amphitheaters.

If Roman entertainment relied on blood and gore, it was part of a culture of brutal wars, subjugation and suppression of foreign peoples welded into an empire.  Then there was Roman law, even if it applied only to citizens.

Of more recent vintage are the great cathedrals of Europe like Chartres, tall, massive, constructed in a span of time unimaginable in our era of haste.  Preceding them were the great mosques of the Muslim era decorated in geometric shapes and colors to dazzle the eye.  Damascus and Isfahan come to mind.

Then there are the Nasrid kings of Grenada in southern Spain, al Andalus to these descendants of North African Berbers and Arabs who ruled there for several centuries.  A time when the three Abrahamic religions coexisted in relative harmony it saw the flowering of a civilization noted for its mixture of opposites.

The city of Cordoba with its great mosque was an early fruit of this admixture becoming the largest city in Europe during the 10th century, although civil wars had diminished it considerably by the 13th century.  Yet the 13th century began the growth of a city on a hill now called Alhambra probably due to the reddish color (alhamra in Arabic) of the rock face.  Housing some 40,000 citizens then, not many of the buildings survive.  Notable are the defensive citadel Alcazaba, three palaces — the Mexuar, the Comares and the Court of the Lions — and an encircling wall with battlements and towers.  The great mosque was replaced by a Franciscan monastery in the 15th century and is now a parador — a government-run hotel that was formerly a castle or palace or the like.

The Courtyard of the Lions is justly famous as the symbol of Alhambra.  The twelve lions at the center appear to be holding up a water basin right in the center of a network of channels …  on the periphery, colonnades supporting delicately carved arches form an abbey-like cloister.  But the walls in the adjoining rooms hold their own surprise in intricately carved geometries of colored tiles and plasterwork.  Glancing up, the ceilings are designed to take your breath away.  Even more intricately constructed, they comprise thousands of meticulously carved sections of wood rising layer upon layer to feast the eye as small apertures allow in shafts of sunlight or moonlight.  Watercourses run through many rooms spilling across portals into pools among enclosed gardens melding interior with exterior and joining it with nature.

The architect LeCorbusier called it ‘the intelligent, just and magnificent interplay of volumes made harmonious by daylight.’  Henri Matisse exclaimed, ‘The Alhambra is a marvel’ and Washington Irving captured imaginations throughout the western world with his 1832 book, The Alhambra.  At the time going to rack and ruin, his romantic vision helped to trigger an effort to preserve the precious gem.

Now a magnet for tourists, it remains a precious reminder of what an intermingling of cultures can produce — just as the Taj Mahal does in India where Mughal emperors often married Hindu Rajput princesses and Shah Jahan (whose mother Manmati was one) built his own marvel.

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Arts & Culture

Don’t avoid what is easy – diplomacy meets art

Tiiu Meiner

Harbour for Cultures - Yerevan cards

Individuals should and need to feel like they have the right to want. That is the message that artist Anastasia Lemberg-Lvova is continuously expressing through her artwork. Exemplifying socially-engaged art, Lemberg-Lvova aims to be a part of a much broader political movement which discusses important historical and modern-day social processes through creative means.

The second-wave feminist movements from the 1960s is one example of such a powerful movement. With their infamous quote, ‘The personal is political’, authored by millions of voices of women collectively rather than one feminist author, the message that every individual has the right to a voice was heavily stressed. As personal experiences took center stage and the individual became a political platform during the feminist movements, crowds of individuals also gained new meanings of courageous collectivity. Ultimately, the movement gave opportunity for previously ignored and taken-for-granted personal circumstances to be framed in a bigger picture – a picture that women as minorities were often left out of.

Continuing to portray the central message that movements such as the feminist strikes and many other historical crusades have fought for, Lemberg-Lvova uses her own art to focus on the younger European generation, highlighting the vast diverseness of the voices that live in Europe and sending a bold message that evidences a heterogeneity which needs to be more thoroughly discussed amongst the European community. With her projects, she is able to recognise the ways in which the systemic infrastructures that exist around the individual leave them feeling insecure or insignificant in relation to their voice and its right to exist in public. By initiating healthy conversation and focusing on this very elemental act of daring to express one’s desires towards public space, she has created a platform that encourages individuals to learn to voice their opinions more often, ultimately leading the person to be engaged as the multiplicities of voices are amplified to lead to more diverse discussion and perhaps outcomes.

Anastasia avatud stuudios Kogo galeriis (foto Mariia Nedosekova)

Her exhibition, ‘Don’t Avoid What is Easy’, on show from August 14th – September 9th at the Freedom Gallery in Tallinn, Estonia, is thus the result of 2 years of research conducted mainly through interviews of younger generation individuals during her own expenditures through Europe. Although seemingly humble in its outcome as portraits, there is a strong message behind Lemberg-Lvova’s work, depicting the notion that we should feel more confident to voice our opinions about our public surroundings, Lemberg-Lvova uses art and representations to give a voice to over 100 participants from 24 European countries.

By painting vibrant oil portraits of a selected 7 individuals whom she interviewed, she touches on the concept of art and its political capacity by explaining “There will be portraits of participants with a visual interpretation of their wish as the background. The experience of, as we often say, “putting a face to a name” has a profound effect and is more intuitively understood than just going through text or trying to grasp abstract ideas. Painting as a form of expression is immensely malleable and useful when getting ideas across.”The desire to initiate discussion and give it a platform within the context of a gallery means Lemberg-Lvova’s art is inherently social and public. These qualities make for an intriguing space where the audience can identify small changes that resemble the tip of a much bigger iceberg– or at least the ignition of confidence and curiosity.

This focus on the first and easiest step sometimes being the hardest is something of great importance for Lemberg-Lvova as she explains “An inhabitant of a city logically has the right to express ideas or wishes when it comes to their surroundings – it is, after all, their home. But they are often stuck in the belief of not being able to change anything. In this instance, I am not talking about taking action or creating a plan. This is about the simplest first step that does not require anything – feeling like one is entitled to express a wish. It doesn’t have to lead anywhere; just remember that you have the right to want something. What follows is a different matter, but it is clear that nothing will happen without this first step.”

An interactive wall installation where participant answers are projected for all to see will pay homage to the importance that Lemberg-Lvova holds for communities to listen to the expressions of their surrounding civilians. She explains “From an early age, our heads are flooded with subliminal messaging and that often diminishes internal self-worth. Let me explain this from the point of view of a woman – a frame of reference I am most familiar with. As a woman one feels that unless they have perfect dazzlingly white teeth, flawless hair, a tiny waist and the right kind of shoes they are not worthy of expressing an opinion. Because if you do not fulfill all of the criteria above, no one will listen to you or even consider you worthy of attention. This is a cliché, yet it exists because it is true. It describes the reality of many women, because we are surrounded by sources reaffirming it – adverts, friends, sometimes parents or spouses, fitness centers and the list goes on. At the exhibition, I am striving to fill the space with messaging that reiterates one’s right to express their wishes whoever they are.

What to maintain_ – Lemberg-Lvova 2020

Her message is clear – we should not avoid formulating our wishes in matters that concern us. Her persistence to initiate discussion and to give it a platform within the context of a gallery means her art is inherently social and public. These qualities make for an intriguing meeting space for the artist as well as her audience amongst each other.

Open Studio at Kogo Gallery, Widget Factory (Aparaaditehas), Tartu, Estonia: 08.07-01.08

Exhibition “Don’t Avoid What is Easy – Diplomacy meets art”at Vabaduse Gallery: 14.08-09.09

*Valeriya Billich also contributed to this article. Photos:Mariia Nedosekova

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Arts & Culture

Life of a Bon Vivant

Ankit Malhotra

Gentleman Sitting in Wingback Chair Enjoying a Brandy Fleece Blanket, John Lyes

Uncertainty and summer saunter in with its retinue of rules, so I am told. While philistines slip into their shorts. Gentlemen don’t do that. At least the ones I know, or rather, admire. I am strongly of the opinion that summer requires meticulous management and planning. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the sartorial preferences, dietary habits, and recreational regime. Additionally, and rather, increasingly significant nowadays, at the bar cabinet, which must gracefully welcome fresh grog.

Change, I am reminded of being told is a perpetual challenge. This is true now more than ever before. This summer shall be different for me; No travel to new or old destinations, no steeps into rich heritage which are pulsing with an unparalleled artistic spirit, no gastronomic sensations and beautifully landscaped parks and gardens that beautifully manicured and most of all, a restricted consumption regime of spirits and smokes. There is no doubt about the fact that the perfection of a sufficient dose of sensual stimulation shall be missed, dearly.

In times of such glaring uncertainty, many of us find ourselves in the rigour of isolation. Yet one mustn’t drown in sorrow, for that pernicious jump into the rabbit hole of total despair will drive to insanity. Instead, in the spirit of making hay while the sun shines, I find myself deeply grasped in my hobbies and interests of art, culture, fashion, and even interior design. In furtherance of my interests and passions, I plan future trips to the European continent for study and debaucherously pleasurable activities while my folks worry about the thickness of their chequebook.

Despite countless hours spent on my multiple whims and fancies devoting time to the daily duties is an art. An art that is similar to the fine tailoring abilities of the talented gentlemen with the extraordinary skill of Hunstman, Savile Row. Managing the split of time is learned and perfected over time, like the of cutting cloth. This skill, over which I have achieved mastery, I am lucky to say, I received at birth from my mother who hails from a decorated family of army officers. For me, it runs my veins to be fastidious. For novices, here’s a hint; Avoid morning lie-ins, afternoon naps, and daytime Netflix binges while leaving tasks to complete after the evening meal. Have some self-discipline, dude.

These days after supper, I find myself sitting back in my armchair engrossed in a new book with either a Cohiba or something out from my patriarch’s prized whiskey collection, resting on my mahogany piecrust tripod table helping me fulfil the senses. Millennial Chilling is not for me. I have often been told that I am an old soul trapped in a new body. To me, that is madness, but I often see the method in it. That is because, I do not find any sense of gratification or contentment in doing nothing but, for those who do, remember, one simply can’t make love seven days a week, much as one’s partner might desire it. Other forms of vigorous exercise are sometimes required.

While I happily drown myself in pursuit of knowledge, I turn to the literary world to share my final thoughts to share a contrary tale. The words of Ernest Hemingway: “No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”. For me, contrarily, the gleeful effect of the fine cognac and Erik Satie’s mastery on the piano has its drowning effect. You hear only what you wish to hear much like my most favoured ruler, Napoleon. To that, I’ll drink.

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Mama's Holiday Gift Guide

Gifts for HER

What is on your wish list this year? These are my favourite things I’m either loving right now or asking for from Santa! (all items are Amazon affiliate links unless otherwise noted below)

From left to right, top to bottom…

Happy Holiday Shopping Mamas!

Gifts for HER with overlay

You May Also Like


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Shop THE SILTED COMPANY men's shorts with price comparison across 250+ stores in one place. Discover the latest THE SILTED COMPANY shorts for men at ModeSens.

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A world of fashion, powered by technology. ModeSens pulls from the racks of 18,058 luxury brands, aggregating every product at the item level for a seamless, transparent and secure shopping experience

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Give Dad Tickets to the D/FW Summer Boat Expo!

You probably can’t buy Dad a new boat for Father’s Day, but you CAN surprise him with tickets to the upcoming DFW Summer Boat Expo at Dallas Market Hall, July 20-23.

It’s the largest boating event in North Texas and features more than 450 boat and watercraft models from over 20 North Texas boat dealers and lots of vendors with great deals on boards, skis and tubes. Plus learn about available private lessons and camps.

Go HERE to purchase your for Saturday or Sunday! But guess what??? You’ll get FREE admission if you attend on Thursday and Friday. Whoop!

Thursday, July 20, 3-8 p.m. (Free admission)

Friday, July 21, 3-8 p.m. (Free admission)

Saturday, July 22, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Sunday, July 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Dallas Market Hall

2200 Stemmons Freeway

Dallas, TX 75207

Cost & Ticket Information:

$12 Adults

$6 Children (ages 5-13)

Free (Children under 5)

Tickets for the show are only available at the door

Parking is always FREE!

dfw boat show expo


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Choose Your Location

& the Rest of the World

Dive Deep & Discover The MollyDooker Wow Factor

The Mollydooker

    01 Pour a Small Amount
    Start by opening the bottle and pour a small amount into a glass until the wine is halfway down the neck of the bottle. This allows some room in the bottle to effectively shake the wine.
    02 Replace the Cap
    Now, if you’re serving one of our sparklings, whites, or rosé you’re done! No shake necessary. But if you’ve got one of our reds, now that you’ve made some room in the bottle, put the cap back on. (Note that shaking is not necessary two years after the vintage date. If you’re not sure when this is, check the back of the label!)
    03 Shake It, Baby!
    Invert the bottle and SHAKE! Vigorously, for about 5 seconds. Why are you doing this? We use nitrogen in our winemaking process to protect the wine and to minimise sulphites. If you think of flavour like a big round ball, nitrogen flattens that ball. So by doing the shake, the nitrogen is released and the flavour ball pops back out to its full size!
    04 Open the Bottle
    Notice the fine layer of nitrogen bubbles that have risen to the top of the wine. Those are good–they mean you’re on the right track. Open the cap to release the nitrogen out of the bottle.
    05 Do It Again
    For best results, repeat steps 2, 3, and 4. By now you might be wondering... how is the Mollydooker Shake different than aerating or decanting? Great question! Nitrogen acts antagonistically to oxygen, so by not shaking our wines, you’re neither removing the nitrogen nor effectively aerating.
    06 Pour a Full Glass
    Here it is, the moment you’ve been waiting for! Pour yourself a full glass and discover the Mollydooker difference. We recommend tasting it side by side with the glass you poured out in step one. The difference will amaze you!

    The Marquis

    Fruit Weight

      What is it?
      The Marquis Fruit Weight is our measure of quality. It’s the percentage of your palate (from the tip to the very back of your tongue) that’s covered by the velvety sensation of fruit that occurs when a wine’s tannins, alcohol, and acid are all perfectly balanced.
      Flavour & Acidity Curves
      We constantly assess & record Fruit Weight throughout the entire growing & winemaking process. In the vineyard, we’re looking for the perfect intersection of the increasing flavour curve and the decreasing acidity curve.
      The Sweet Spot
      As time passes on the vine, acidity begins to drop and flavour and sugars dramatically increase. In a span of about 10 days, we find the ‘Sweet Spot’ that we’re looking for. It’s then that we harvest.
      The Mollydooker Quality Guarantee
      Each of our wine tiers have a minimum fruit weight. Our very best fruit, with a minimum fruit weight of 95%, is reserved for our Velvet Glove. Love wines are between 85-95%, Family wines are 75-85%, Lefty’s are 65-75%, and the Fun wines are 55-65%. Anything below 55% is not used in any Mollydooker product.

      The Marquis Vineyard

        Canopy Growth
        Each spring, we begin inspecting our vines twice-weekly and supplying ample water in order to grow a protective canopy.
        In late spring, as the vines start to produce grapes, we reduce the water supply. As the soil dries, vines begin protecting their grapes by conserving energy and cutting off all growing tips in the canopy.
        Fruit Development
        It is at this critical transition point that we resume watering. As the vines go slowly back through the reproduction phase, the fruit begins to flesh out and change colour, and the vine is able to store excess energy.
        Flavour Creation
        At the peak of reproduction, we turn the water off, causing the stored energy to dump into the fruit. We then repeatedly turn the water on and off, each time releasing excess energy into the fruit.
        Just after harvest, we water for 8 hours per day for three days, then 8 hours per week until the last leaf falls. This is crucial to help the vines rebuild & store energy before winter dormancy.
        Our magical tale begins with a love story & a dream to create something fun.
        The Marquis Vineyard Watering Program is first implemented.
        Read More
        Sarah and Sparky Marquis are named Australian Winemakers of the Year.
        “The greatest red wine values in existence...anywhere!” - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate
        Shop Wines
        The first vintage of Mollydooker, founded by two left-handed winemakers, Sarah and Sparky.
        The Violinist is rated the Best Value White Wine in the World and The Boxer the Best Value Red Wine in the World - Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate.
        Purchase The Boxer
        Carnival of Love Shiraz 2007 is rated #8 in Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines in the World.
        Purchase Carnival of Love
        The next year, Carnival of Love Shiraz 2008 is rated #9 in Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines in the World.
        Sip it Forward is created, focused on supporting communities locally and abroad.
        Read More
        Carnival of Love Shiraz 2012 is awarded Winestate’s #1 AUS & NZ Wine of the Year and #2 in Wine Spectator’s Top 10 Wines in the World.
        Check out the Top 10 of 2014
        Setting out on their own Enchanted Paths, Sarah takes the reins at Mollydooker.
        Sarah is awarded ‘Owner/Operator of the Year’ at the Australian Women in Wine Awards.
        Read More
        Mollydooker is named the ‘Telstra South Australian Business of the Year.’
        Read More
        The talented & experienced Mollydooker team continues the magic!

        Family Owned

        Sarah Marquis
        Owner & Chief Winemaker
        Sarah began her career with a degree in winemaking and after building many successful wine brands, she founded Mollydooker. With a focus on the vineyard and a flair for creativity, Sarah and her wines have earned numerous awards both locally and internationally. When she’s not busy tasting wines, her passion through Mollydooker is to support and help their three major charities. Today, the mother of the real-life Blue-Eyed Boy and the Gigglepot will introduce herself in true Mollydooker style, with a left-hand shake.
        The Team
        Luke Marquis
        The Blue-Eyed Boy
        Starting out in the vineyards to now managing Global Sales, he can be found at music festivals or jumping out of aeroplanes!
        Holly Marquis
        The Gigglepot
        When she’s not writing our Gigglepot News or helping out around the winery, you can find her at music festivals with her brother Luke or camping at the beach.
        Peter Tavella
        Senior Winemaker
        Peter is a vinyl-collecting, veggie-growing, golfing family man. This is his 14th vintage with Mollydooker!
        Peter Constantine
        Vineyard Manager
        While not at Mollydooker (growing his 18th vintage!), Peter can be found at the gym where he doubles as a personal trainer.


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Meet Molly

Owner, Baker, Sugar Flower Artist

The daughter of a potter and a goldsmith, as I handcraft sugar flowers and frost cakes on my turntable, I see my parents’ life work reflected in my own.

I love crafting. I love food. Cake decorating seemed like the perfect combination. I started using baking as an outlet at a young age. It felt like meditation. Focusing on a recipe, tinkering with the ingredients till it was just what I was looking for brought me peace of mind. My experience with baking grew as I worked in several different bakeries. Eventually, I discovered the wide world of decorating cakes and found myself jumping down the rabbit’s hole.

I’ve sunk my roots in the Methow Valley in North Central Washington, a truly magical place that inspires my creations. Living in a destination wedding town, I am so excited to offer beautiful, delicious cakes perfectly customized to each individual couple’s vision and their guest’s dietary needs. Let’s get a cup a tea or a glass of wine, meet at the park, or your favorite coffee shop and dream up an edible work of art.


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How we treat each other, the spirit of benevolence, of service, of contribution. If we ignore the moral foundation and allow economic systems to operate without moral foundation and without continued education, we will soon create an amoral, if not immoral, society and business. Economic and political systems are ultimately based on a moral foundation.

Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics), Wealth Without Work.  This refers to the practice of getting something for nothing – manipulating markets and assets so you don’t have to work or produce added value, just manipulate people and things. Today there are professions built around making wealth without working, making much money without paying taxes, benefiting from free government programs without carrying a fair share of the financial burdens, and enjoying all the perks of citizenship of country and membership of corporation without assuming any of the risk or responsibility.

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I don’t really get 6N .COMs

There have been a slew of high-priced 6N .COM sales over the last couple of quarters and I’ll be honest, I don’t really get it. Yes, I understand the value of numeric domains, and sure I agree a meaningful 3N and 4N .COM makes a lot of sense, and some 5N .COMs, but I do think a lot of these 6N .COMs are going for much higher than an investor would be able to sell later down the road.

Right now there are 6N .COMs with starting bids north of $5,000 and yes, there are lots of nice repeating numbers but still, over time do we really think these will go up in value?

So is it just me or does the value of 6N .COMs seem a little strange right now? What do you think, comment and let your voice be heard!

{ 12 comments… add one }

  • Jijo Pappachan March 17, 2016, 9:08 pm

    You agree these are traded as stocks and they go up in value over time JUST LIKE 5N.COMs DID.

    Back when Ali Z. wrote about 6n.coms in NP many people ridiculed him. I went ahead and hand regged about 300 of them at 1 dollar each. I regret I didn’t do it in thousands. I was nervous as a newbie.

    A lot of people said same thing about 5n.coms but they are trading at high XXXX now. This would go to XXXXX range and then the the neighboring category has to pick up, that is, 6n.coms. They got regged in anticipation of the same and are at XXX range now. That is how it works.

    Any doubt on the length of the numbers? Have a look at the Chinese guy’s whois email and count the digits in them. 🙂

    If anyone interested, give me some bulk deals. https://goo.gl/yWNvaJ

  • Donny March 17, 2016, 11:34 pm

    5n with out 0, 4 and one 8 your sitting at nearly 10k. Double 88 20k.

  • Kassey Lee March 18, 2016, 12:31 am

    Even some investors in China are giving the warning bells on the numeric domain name bubble. I just read one in Chinese: http://mt.sohu.com/20160312/n440178405.shtml. Basically, what he said is that for domain names to be sustainable, they must have value in being used for website development. Some numbers are known to Chinese people, such as 163(used to be the number to dial to get online) and 360(in all angles). They have value, but those that have no meanings can only be speculated, thus creating a bubble.

  • karl March 18, 2016, 1:57 am

    the bs on zero and 4 perpetuated by domainers have screwed up a lot of values and chip garbage along with it. look at all the sales with zero and 4 in them .

  • Joseph Peterson March 18, 2016, 2:07 am

    That may not be true in all cases. For instance, consider these recent NameJet sales:

    92187.com $2400 3/11/16
    79558.com $6720 2/21/16

    $6.7k is “nearly 10k” if you add an extra 50%. But that $2.4k is much more recent. Clearly there’s a lot of variability in this asset class.

    Will 6Ns appreciate in the future? What a question! “Down” doesn’t exist. China is King Midas. 17-digit domains are worth their weight in gold.

  • M. Menius March 18, 2016, 8:13 am

    I’m not knowledgeable of how the Chinese navigate the internet, but it is counter intuitive this registration of long numeric strings. Because numeric strings are difficult to remember, we have the domain “name” system to simply internet navigation – so someone can type in Hotels.com instead of I admit there could be logic represented in Chinese numbers that I don’t understand. But on face, long number domains make no sense as convenient end user portals. I can barely remember my own phone number.

  • Colin Campbell March 18, 2016, 8:38 am

    Ultimately it all has to come down to brandability for entrepreneurs. Speculators need to think of the end user. In China it is common to see 3,4, even 5 numbers especially if numbers have some meaining. Numbers are preferred domains in a country where IDNs are essentially shunned.

  • Donny March 18, 2016, 9:00 am

    Yep that is true. You got to include a double repeating number for it to be in that range. And must end in an 8 cannot be in middle. Now if that started off with a 1 or 2 like 19558 or 29558 we could see 7-10 maybe not on NJ but on private sale. To many scenarios I guess. It is all pretty amazing but 5N or below is where I would stay. 6N to me is like a penny stock you can make a lot of money but man you better be able to dump those quickly if things turn.

  • Joe March 18, 2016, 12:45 pm

    Good question do you Morgan?

    This remember that phrase of Jose Feliciano’s song “Que sera, Que Sera”.

    It will be a strategy that managed to 6N with a value of $ interesting figure and know that it is easy to summarize, few prefixes, and telephone numbers of private companies have been copied to register many.

    This is one reason whether to call as Example FM “Frequency Modulation” Radio 1000 times a day have 1000 click insured.

    This is the matter of learning and being a professional “Strategy psychology keywords” and now numbers etc, .for to use in many online applications.

    This is what we require me get alone with my experience in sales strategy, and advertising before, I apply it to Internet I get now in the US is an academic article, it hurts not having lived or been born in your country.

    It is the fate of each of us in life, “we took birth written on our skin” this last write a paragraph of a letter from one of his songs my brother (RIP) who died 17 years ago.

    Good weekend.

  • Joseph Peterson March 18, 2016, 1:14 pm

    Where the numerals appear matters, as you say. And, in fairness, 97088.com did sell for $22.5k in mid-February. So the price range goes as high as you say – even a bit higher.

    @M. Menius,

    Numerical domains serve a mnemonic function. That’s 1 reason why repetition is valuable; it makes the address catchy. Then there’s Chinese numerology – lucky “8”, unlucky “4”, etc. IP addresses are fairly arbitrary; but someone in China can control the string of numbers in a domain, getting something catchier or “luckier”.

    A third reason for the popularity of numerical domains is that they’re sometimes a way of writing words and phrases, owing to similar pronunciation. China does this more than we do. But here’s an English example: “1i41i” = Revenge.

    @Colin Campbell,

    Numerical domains are used in China. That makes sense. What I’m skeptical about is the speculative way they’re traded, which has almost nothing to do with usage. Price points have surpassed the wholesale values tied to any real chance of retail, end-user flips. And the number of domains being registered in the past year far exceeds China’s capacity to absorb them as websites.

    The only thing that has sustained market appreciation in this sector is a continual influx of new traders. But supply is growing faster than demand, even by that measure. As prices decline, recruiting more buyers becomes problematic.

  • Morgan March 18, 2016, 6:52 pm

    Thanks for sharing your feedback everyone, while I agree with @Jijo that numeric domains are being traded like stocks, I think of each category of numeric .COM (i.e. 4N, 5N, 6N) as a stock itself, and like the stock market, not all stocks go up in value over time.

    I think it’s safe to say that 2N, 3N and most likely 4N .COMs will continue to go up in value but once you go above that I think it’s anyone’s guess since the data isn’t there yet.

  • Joseph Peterson March 19, 2016, 2:20 am

    They’re trading like stocks … but in a company that doesn’t exist.

Leave a Comment


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All for one and one for all
My brother and my friend
What fun we have
The time we share
Brothers ’til the end.
~Author Unknown

Ellsworth was not feeling well on Monday. (Don’t worry, he’s fine now.) When I came home for lunch, he refused his mid-day apple slice and any other feed.

I could see in his eyes that he didn’t feel well. I called the vet right away, then Don, who headed straight home, and then Carson.

While Don and I waited for the vet, the other boys stood just outside the barn stall door to keep Ellsworth company.

Patrick included. See how handsome he is? The wind was blowing the hair out of his face.

Fergus and Nigel too.

Bernard was extremely upset to be separated from Ellsworth.

He even insisted on giving Ellsworth a kiss.

Thankfully, in the end, Ellsworth was feeling better yesterday. Dr. D thinks that Ellsworth most likely picked up a short-lived bug either from Patrick or our adventure on Saturday.

I’m learning as we go along when I should panic and when I shouldn’t, but I learned a big lesson on Monday. The boys will always be there for their brothers when it matters most. All for one and one for all.


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Tag: donation

Compliance – Non-Profit Donations: Is it legal to advertise that a certain portion of our profits go to a non-profit organization?

Answer: This is a complex issue, so we will do our best to add some color to this to help you make your decision. Ultimately, as with any legal issue, we strongly recommend that you discuss your final decision with your legal counsel prior to implementation. There are two sets of laws that need to […]

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Soil Erosion Soil Stabilization Mudjacking Underpinning

Settlement and erosion of the sub soil eventually affects the concrete structures on top of it causing them to weaken and fail. This leads to all kinds of damage to your homes like sinking floors, cracks, leakages, to sunken pavement, tilting foundations and causing all kinds of damage on buildings, industrial structures, bridges, embankments, dams, among others.

The best solution available using the latest technique for underpinning, concrete repairs and the latest technology in soil and structural stabilization, which are not only less disruptive but also cost effective.

Cracks, Leaks, Sinking Floors, Sinking Foundation, Sunken Pavement, Damages on Dams, Embankments, Soil Erosion Underpinning Methods and Concrete Repair Solution

  • Soil settlement and soil erosion are the usual culprits in weakening the soil base of many concrete structures. Re-stabilising and strengthening them with grouting and polyurethane materials is the best answer to the problem. Polyurethane grouting foam or grouting liquid is injected into the soil to fill upthe voids and fissures in the soil.This process reduces the moisture and consolidates all the loose materials which will strengthen,stabiliseand reinforces the soil base for home, concrete structures, roadways and seawalls.
  • Seepages and leaks in concrete can be sealed by injecting polyurethane acrylic and epoxy grout in drilled holes and pushed through the cracks. The substance reacts with the moisture that will produce a water tight material that will plug the leaks.
  • Underpinning solution like slab lifting or slab jacking is performed by trained personnel, injecting highly expanding foam through several small drilled holes under the slab and foundations to raise them to a desired level. Careful release in injecting the material controls the precise lift of the concrete slab / foundation.
  • Polyureas and Epoxies are also used to coat, repair, seals, protect and strengthen surfaces of walls and tanks, industrial structures and other concrete facilities