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NHL Draft Scout Series: Sweden

Chugging along steadily with the NHL Draft Scout Series, we cross the pond to Sweden, factory of great defenceman and a seemingly ageless people (yes, I’m looking at you Henrik Lundqvist).

To talk about the 2017 crop of Swedish prospects for the NHL Draft, we are joined by FutureConsiderations scout Chapin Landvogt after the jump.

Christian: Sweden has been churning out top draft prospects for years now. With another 5-6 possible first rounders this year, just how good is Sweden’s crop of prospects for the 2017 NHL Draft and how has a country of just 9.7 million people been able to consistently table elite prospects year in and year out?
Chapin: For this particular draft, Sweden’s crop is just fine. I see a good collection of kids, as in years past, with solid potential and we’ll see a handful of NHLers coming from this group. Finland may see a few more kids taken in the first two rounds, but native Swedes will likely once again build up the largest contingent of Europeans drafted. And then there are very probable picks like Joni Ikonen (Finnish) and Jonas Rondbjerg (Danish), who spent this past season entirely in Sweden.

We shouldn’t forget that Alexander Nylander was the only Swedish first rounder last summer, and he had spent the season in the CHL. A total of five Swedes were gone by the end of round two in 2016. I think we’ll see four taken for certain in this year’s first round and although Nylander may be the best (and I mean “may”) of this and last summer’s first rounders, I personally hold all four of the boys I expect to see go in the first round in higher esteem than Rasmus Asplund, who was taken 33rd last summer.

The country’s national program has been chugging along in a very focused manner with respect to hockey education and organization for a couple of decades now. There’s a large emphasis on station drills in younger years and working primarily and intensively on skating, stickhandling, passing, and shooting – likely in that order – in those crucial initial years of development. When possible, there are a number of (paid) coaches on the ice at the same time for lots of kids teams. These coaches are often among the nation’s best – they are not just the odd parent willing to babysit a group of peewees for a couple of hours.

Tactics are generally introduced around the bantam level. Beforehand, the kids play games implementing the skills that they spent hours working on. The idea is that the raw instinctual play vitally needs that time to develop. This is when the kids start flourishing at the individual level.

Then of course, we’re talking about a winter country that not only includes ice hockey as part of the school sports program (PE) in most areas, but has a number of regions filled with frozen ponds for a good third or more of the year. It’s even quite common for there to be town rinks or open air rinks around cities that are free to the general public at ample times. The access to ice is simply different than in many countries, including most of continental Europe.

C: Elite blueliners have been a staple of Swedish hockey since Nicklas Lindstrom and the 2017 NHL Draft doesn’t seem much different with Timothy Liljegren headlining the class. His stock has taken a bit of a tumble of late, but how good is Liljegren and why might his ranking be falling?
C: I’m not too worried about Liljegren. He’s a right-shooting defenseman with good size and mobility. Much about his game screams of a future as an offensive defenseman. What he lacks in his 200-foot game can still be taught and practiced. He didn’t take a draft year tumble like Oliver Kylington did a few years back. We’re not talking about a kid with all the tools and no tool box. The initial hype was fairly justified as Liljegren possesses a number of skills and intangibles that point towards a solid NHL career to come. Is he the next coming of Erik Karlsson or Victor Hedman? Honestly, that’s for him to decide – but he didn’t spend this season giving anyone that impression.

Certainly, his fall in rankings was due to no less than time missed during the regular season and of course, his absence at the WJC. A top-flight U18 tournament like the one Miro Heiskanen had could have boosted him back up into the ranking region he entered the season at, but his two points and -5 on a decent squad didn’t exactly bury anyone’s doubts on the matter.

But whoever gets him top eight is getting a very fine first rounder with considerable upside. If he actually drops further and is taken after that, much less between spots 12-20, then I can safely say now that he’ll be having a better career than a number of players taken ahead of him.

C: Another top Swedish defenceman this year is Erik Brannstrom, who along with Liljegren dominated the U17s. It seems he has similar numbers and offensive ability as Liljegren but isn’t has highly regarded. Why is that and how does Brannstrom project in the NHL? Is he in an Erik Karlsson mold?
C: I’m careful in mentioning Erik Karlsson, who is this generation’s top offensive defenseman, hands down. Brannstrom is however very mobile and his skating is his chief calling card. He can do a lot with his stick as well and has shown a wonderful understanding of generating offense and running a power play. In fact, he’s shown a great understanding of the game in general. He got into 35 SHL games this season and collected a +10. Sure, the size isn’t what you want it to be, but he has a tremendous skill set and I think he’ll be a real dandy in a few years’ time. And it’s still very possible that he’ll end up being 6′, 200 lbs. when all is said and done.

There’s a lot of upside here and he’s already very exciting for his age group.

C: This class isn’t just about defencemen for Sweden though. Both Elias Pettersson and Lias Andersson are bluechip forward prospects. Both saw SHL time this season and didn’t look terribly out of place. How would you describe the two and who do you prefer?
C: You’re right that both are looking like bluechip prospects and I see a world of upside in both of them. Pettersson didn’t actually see SHL time this season, but he played the whole season in the second-tier Allsvenskan and put up 47 points and a +17 in 46 total games. That’s absolutely outstanding for a league that rarely features a top scorer who scored at a point-per-game clip. Teammate and linemate Jonathan Dahlen had 50 points and a +14 in 48 total games. More importantly is that Pettersson is tremendously smart and can be as creative as anybody. The fans in Timra had a real good time going to the rink this season.

Lias Andersson, the son of former NHLer Niklas Andersson (who currently scouts for the Los Angeles Kings), had a tremendous season taking a regular shift in the SHL for champion HV71. He grew and grew throughout the season and was in full flight in the playoffs, chipping in four goals en route to the championship. What jumps out at me is his shiftiness and ability to protect the puck, often while heading to the net. He just didn’t seem to be inhibited about playing against men in his country’s top league. There was no intimidation as the season progressed.

He can move and do a lot with the puck. He has very solid wrists and snapshots, which he manages to taken often enough, because his speed pushes back defenses.

I see both of these young men becoming NHLers and their impact could be quite similar to that of an Andre Burakovsky or Marcus Johansson.

C: Jesper Boqvist hasn’t gotten the same fanfare as some of the other Swede prospects, but after ripping up the SuperElit, he performed well in the Allsvenskan and even saw 16 games of SHL action putting up six assists. From the outside, he seems like a darkhorse prospect. Do you like Boqvist and do you see him as an underrated sleeper for the 2017 NHL draft?
C: Darkhorse? Sleeper? I’d say there’s a good argument that he’s every bit the prospect Jonathan Dahlen was last summer. I like Boqvist immensely and if a team takes him at the end of the first round, no one should be surprised. If you get him in the third round, you can call it a day and run to the bank. His junior play was outstanding. His Allsvenskan play was very strong, even if he needed time to adjust. His SHL showing was also extremely promising.

If you’ve followed and appreciated the achievements of Flyers pick Oskar Lindblom, you’re going to want to think very seriously about taking Boqvist, because I think he’ll have the same SHL impact within two seasons’ time. This all said, I’m not comparing his style directly to Lindblom or Dahlen, although his play certainly contains elements of both. And this is a kid who just really enjoys scoring goals.

All this said, I’m pretty doggone excited about his brother Adam, a right-shooting 16-year-old defenseman for the same organization who is eligible for next summer’s draft.

C: Which Swedish draft eligible has been your biggest surprise this season?
I’d have to say Lucas Elvenes of Rogle. It’s not that he’s become a superstar prospect, but he has a good shot of going top 90 this summer and he wasn’t really on the map for me coming in, partially due to his older brother not really having taken the steps once expected of him. Lucas got into 12 SHL games, going pointless, and had a less than impressive two points in three playoff games for each of his U18 and U20 clubs, while then chipping in three assists and a minus rating at the U18 Worlds. But I can’t deny that the 45 points in 41 games he had at the U20 level as a player who will first turn eighteen on Aug. 18 were very impressive and a team will be getting a kid who is among the youngest in this year’s draft. He comes from a true hockey family as well and his game includes many of the elements you expect to see from players “made in Sweden”.

He is currently scheduled to play for Oskarshamn of the Allsvenskan next season, but something tells me we may yet see him somewhere in the CHL instead.

C: Who has been your biggest disappointment?
I don’t really have a disappointment this time around, but Olle Eriksson-Ek is considered one of Europe’s top goalies in this draft and we didn’t necessarily see that at the U18 Worlds. He’ll still be taken and is still a solid prospect for this draft, but I was hoping he’d be more heavily talked about at this juncture.

I’d like to mention that I did think overager Jonathan Davidsson would arrive on the scene for Djurgarden in a much more defined manner this past season. He started well, but things just never really got going. His younger brother Marcus scored just as many points as he did (nine) and will likely be among this summer’s top 75 picks. I can’t see anyone taking Jonathan at this juncture, but keep your eye on him for the future. He may one day reach his potential and get a shot via a free agent contract.

C: If you had to choose a most overrated and most underrated Swedish prospect for this year’s draft, who would they be?
It’s extremely difficult to call any of this year’s group overrated. If anybody, it might actually be Liljegren and I’m fairly sure some in no less than the Twittersphere will see the many mock drafts out there that have him going top eight and think, “Oh, they’re overrating that kid,” but we shouldn’t forget that William Nylander had a poor draft year and there were certainly tones of him being overrated when thought of as a top eight pick.

Although I feel Jesper Boqvist and Rickard Hugg have some pretty good possibilities down the line, the draft-eligible Swede who I feel is the most underrated is overager Linus Olund. He’s 5’11 and 185 lbs., so it’s not like he’s the smallest guy on the planet, but he was considered to be very small the past few years. He’s currently 19 and after ripping apart the U20 league in 12 games, he finished the year for SHL finalist Brynas, for which or for whom he “quietly” collected 17 points and a +9 in 39 regular season games before chipping in another 10 points and +2 in 20 playoff games. Moreover, he was simply very involved and looked like a kid ready for bigger things. Brynas’ run to the final was very unexpected and players like Olund had a heavy role in making that possible.

C: Lastly, who’s your favourite Swedish draft eligible and why?
Elias Pettersson. And Lias Andersson is a close second, but Pettersson has me very excited. I simply appreciate the smarts that Elias has and his understanding for the game and the creation of offense. What he did in the Allsvenskan this year is no easy feat and as a spectator, you always wanted to see more and more. He’s given us good reason to think that had he played in Canadian juniors this past winter, he’d be a fixture in the discussion on the top five players. He still has a ways to go in the department of bulking up, but he’s known that since his Ivan Hlinka performance a few summers back. The height and frame are there. His head for the game is truly above average.

NHL Draft Scout Series

OHL | WHL | USA | Sweden


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Month: February 2013

Travel Philippines Challenge

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This year i plan to travel to as many places as possible. Time and budget are the major challenges for me so it’s been hard to plan especially when you have no idea where you are heading.

Luckily i bumped into Lakbayan which is a helpful lists of places in the country.

Hopefully i could explore more places this year.

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2013 Senatoriables That Will Have my Vote

Posted on Updated on

The 2013 election campaign officially started last February 12, 2013. It’s time to choose and decide which senatoriables to vote. I’m not  into politics but I know my right to vote.

The people has the power to appoint who should take those coveted seats in the Government.

Let’s exercise our RIGHT TO VOTE.

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Happy Anniversary to my blog: 5 Years and still blogging

Posted on

Wow! It’s been 5 years since I started blabbering my thoughts on cyberspace.

5 years

and my first post was… *drumrolls*

I was hoping it would be “Hello, world!” 😀

The Morning Rush Top 10 Book 2 Book Launch and Signing

Posted on

After 7 hours of waiting and lining up, we were able to had our book signed! Some were already in Robinson even before the mall opened.

The event ended great for me but the waiting… argh! that really sucked. The queue for registration was really a mess. We were part of the “Right Side” who thought we were the next ones to register, but no, the form were handed next to the “Left Side”. After few hours, people in our side started to complain. Most of us were there lunch time so the hunger and sore feet started to contribute to our frustrations. We started to argue with the mall security guards why the queue of registration went that way. Even if I can’t accept what they said that they came first, the argument helped vent out the anger and vexation.

After 6 hours, we are inside “The Zone”. The comfort of sitting is just wow! I’ve never appreciated a chair like yesterday. Me and my friends were sleepless because of our graveyard shift schedule. And one of us was up for 34 hours straight! She was already seeing black flashes thankfully she didn’t faint.

And the much awaited moment came. We were on the stage! wooot!

Last year, I went home early and wasn’t able to had my Book 1 signed. The crowd was unbelievable and the line was impossible .

But yesterday, it was a dream come true! 🙂

photo by @CherryTheGreat
photo by @CherryTheGreat
photo by @CherryTheGreat
photo by @CherryTheGreat

The Morning Rush Books

The Morning Rush Book 1

The Morning Rush Book 2

The day ended and thankfully I was able to buy cake for my mom 🙂 It was a really a long day.

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We Were Almost Hacked!

I was online paying bills and I see someone has tried to add an account to use for to/from transfers to an external account I do not recognize.  There’s a triangle with an exclamation point saying signature required to activate. What the what!  We have no external account.  I did not do this.  I ask Billy Bob and he just looks at me, no answer.  I mean really ?!?!  what a question?!?  Him use a computer for anything besides … well besides nothing? Nope.  He does use his phone though, surprisingly.  He checks the weather, watches YouTube clips and sports videos.

Anyway, I call and right away the rep gets to work on deciphering what happened.  As she is checking around she says WOW!  I have seen some checking accounts that have been open for a while but you, you’ve had this account longer than I’ve been alive. Ma’am thank you for your membership, that is awesome!!

Doh! But I laughed out loud because it is awesome.  And I am old.  The year was 1984 baby!  We were just starting out.  Two American kids doing the best that they can.  Wait that’s John Cougar Mellencamp’s Jack and Diane, not J-Dub and Big B.

Anyway, yep 1984 is also the George Orwell novel.  A dystopian story that I read in 7th grade for a book report as my friend for life LAB read Charlotte’s Web.  Her brother comes home to find us camped in her living room working on our reports.  He says “are you kidding me LA? Jill is writing her book report in something I read in college and you are using a 3rd grade primer”  She said something smart ass and he left us alone.  Funny what one remembers.  Her brother is Brad … like the brother Brad from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.  And now I have a visual of Phoebe Cates in a red bikini being watched by someone who works at Long John Silvers :).  How is this for stream of consciousness people?!??  LOL!

Anyway, the rep who is younger than my checking account got us all fixed up.  Account is on hold for 3 days as Fraud does their thing.  It’s likely nothing but better safe than sorry.

As always, more to come.

3 thoughts on “We Were Almost Hacked!

  1. 3 weeks ago as we are filling our basket at HEB, my phone rings and I recognize the number as USAA. The recording says my account has been placed on a security fraud alert and to stay on the line for a rep. I’m still not sure exactly what happened but it only involved my banking and not insurance. Someone had called for a binder for a new car, not sure if they were trying to use my accounts, good luck paying cash with my money….haha! They weren’t calling from a number on ny acct and could not answer security questions. But long story short, at the end the rep thanked me for my 45 years of membership…..WTF? Only old people have been a member that long! That’s the way I remember feeling when I told someone thank you for 40+ years……they were old!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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Our firm provides a unique combination of accounting and campaign reporting services to assure compliance with reporting procedures of federal and state law. We can also provide campaigns or PACs with a controller to oversee all financial aspects of the committee from monthly accounting, processing payroll, accounts payable, managing contributions, securing insurance and banking relationships. In addition to the financial management of committees, we prepare and file all compliance reports with Federal and State agencies.

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Custodian Lead Worker

To apply for this position, select 'Apply for this Job'.

This is a job description. It does not necessarily indicate that this position is open for employment. Visit for current job openings.

Classification Details

Classification Information

Classification Title Custodian Lead Worker
Classification Code 71550
FLSA Non-Exempt

Position Details

Position Information

Position Title Custodian Lead Worker
Position Number 131020
Pay Grade 3
Department Custodial Services - 40320
Expectations for All Employees:

East Tennessee State University pursues its mission based upon core values. An employee’s job performance must support and exhibit the university’s core values: PEOPLE come first, are treated with dignity and respect, and are encouraged to achieve their full potential; RELATIONSHIPS are built on honesty, integrity and trust; DIVERSITY of people and thought is respected; EXCELLENCE is achieved through teamwork, leadership, creativity, and a strong work ethic; EFFICIENCY is achieved through wise use of human and financial resources; and COMMITMENT to intellectual achievement is embraced.

Job Summary

Work performed in cleaning and maintaining assigned areas, supervising other custodians as necessary.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

Knowledge of cleaning methods, procedures and equipment Knowledge of and ability to understand Material Safety Data Sheets Knowledge of the material and equipment used in custodial and minor maintenance work Ability to supervise and inspect the work of subordinates Ability to carry out simple instructions Ability to establish and maintain an effective working relationship with other employees

Required Qualifications

Successful completion of the eighth grade Experience in related work

Preferred Qualifications
Physical Demands
Supervision Given and Received
Version Date January 2003

Job Duties

These are the job duties required of the position.

Description of Job Duty

May lead and supervise a crew performing custodial and related work

Supervises a crew performing custodial work or related projects

Sweeps,mops,strips, waxes and buffs stairs, corridors and floors.

Cleans rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture and draperies using vacuum.

Washes windows and walls.

Dusts and polishes furniture and cleans woodwork and surfaces.

Picks up paper and debris on grounds and in buildings.

Empties trash cans, cleans containers and transports trash to disposal area.

Makes minor repairs to building

Cleans bathroom walls, floors, showers and fixtures, and replenishes bathroom supplies.

Assists in training new employees

Sets up chairs, tables, bleachers and lays floor coverings for special events.

Replaces light bulbs, recycles bulbs and cleans light fixtures.

Cleans blinds, vacuums curtains and removes spider webs.

Locks and secures doors and windows, turns off lights, sets alarms and clears building of visitors, students or staff.
Washes outside porches and entryways.

Shovels snow and salts steps, entrances and walkways.

Blows leaves and debris away from buildings.

Lacquers doors and applies gym finishes.

Makes minor repairs to buildings, and maintains and makes minor repairs to equipment.

Cleans clogged drains and cleans flooded areas.

Moves furniture to clean, and moves furniture and equipment as requested by staff.

Cleans blackboards and erasers.

Removes and disposes of dead rodents.

Uses safety procedures to clean bodily fluids.

Works in other assigned areas as needed.

Makes list of needed supplies.

Job Duty Type Essential
Description of Job Duty

All incumbents are expected to perform these functions except for those qualifying under the Americans with Disabilities Act for a reasonable accommodation.

These functions may vary by institution.

Incumbents may provide backup to various functions within the unit.

May be required to perform related clerical tasks as assigned

Performs other work as assigned

Job Duty Type Secondary


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Partnership Director

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Partnership Director

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Kognitiv facilitates beneficial trading relationships by directly connecting consumer audiences – via brands, corporations and associations – with the owners of travel assets. Kognitiv clients aspire to gain control over distribution and crucial consumer and market data to increased return on assets and to create tangible and meaningful value for their best consumers.

We are an entrepreneurial company with significant growth ahead of us and looking for outstanding people to come and join us. This is an exciting opportunity to work for an international business, in a high energy environment with a collaborative, smart and passionate team.

As the Partnership Director you will provide strategic account management to a portfolio of our key partners and customers. You will be motivated by cultivating and growing relationships, delivering on revenue growth and finding win-win solutions. Your experience in the travel or loyalty sector will enable your success and you will be a curious self-starter who is always looking to push the boundaries to meet client needs and focus on excellence in customer service.

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Tag Archives: New Jersey

What’s your name and where are you from?

My name’s Sam Cardelfe, I’m from Spring Lake, New Jersey

Do you recall your first exposure to skateboarding?

It’s crazy but I can still remember it super vividly, when I first moved to NJ before my friend Joe

Kane and his brother Drew were my friends, they would always skate on this curb that they

waxed up outside my house. I’d always watch them skate it from a far, but eventually I got the

courage to go say hi and from their it just took over every aspect of my life, best decision i’ve

ever made.

We have all had a first “set-up.” What was yours looking like?

It was a Powell Angel boy board where he has flames behind him and he’s flicking a coin in the

air, and god knows what trucks, they definitely weren’t an actual skate brand they were like one

step above K-Mart and same with the wheels, haha. Thinking back, the graphic was so crazy, it

made no sense whats so ever.

What got you interested in drawing and art?

My parents and my grandfather, my grandfather paints portraits and landscapes, my mom and

dad always drew for fun, little cartoons, drawings of people they knew things like that.

Who would you say were some of your early inspirations?

Again i’m going to have to say my parents, at least my sense of humor comes directly from

them, my dad would always draw the funniest cartoons of people doing the most heinous stuff.

But as far as artists, there weren’t to many artists that I really knew until I got to college, which

opened me up to a world of art and artists I didn’t know was there. I like a lot of older cartoons,

they had such a brutal sense of humor that really grabbed you.

Where do draw your inspiration from now?

Mainly just people around me, I live in Philadelphia which has a lot of interesting people from all

walks of life which helps a lot and I also live with a great group of people who provide fantastic

material daily. I like to make fun of things and people too, but for the most part I make fun of

myself or a situation i’ve found myself in, that sort of thing.

sad vampire

Besides Skating and Drawing, what else keeps you busy?

School and work, haha, graduating in May and working on my thesis so things have been a little

all over the place. Also hanging out with my roommates and playing smash brothers takes up a

lot of time too. It’s essential.

Do you have anything special in store for 2015?

Try and have some more shows, I’m currently working towards one coming up in July which

should be a bunch of fun, there’s going to be a lot of great artists involved, I can’t wait to see

everything come together. I also want to try and do more collaborative projects with different

artists, meet new people, travel a bit, and skate a lot more. Trying to keep everything relatively

fresh in 2015.

Last question. If you could travel and skate anywhere in the world, where would you go?

That’s a tough one! I’d have to say i’m stuck between Malmö, Sweden, and Copenhagen

Denmark, because i’ve never been to either and both seem like they’d be fun to skate and

explore. I really appreciate everything Pontus (Alv) does and I’m drawn to that DIY style of

skateboarding. All those DIY spots he’s built out there are something i’d really like to check out.

So, I guess i’m not really stuck at all, Malmö for sure.

Any Final words?

I’d like to just give a shoutout/thank you to all my teachers who have helped me with all aspects

of my artwork and believed in me, Kevin Mercer, Jason Greenberg, and Rossitza Skortcheva

Donesky, my parents for always being there also my crazy siblings,1511 money team mansion

and also thank you John for the interview on your awesome site!

Thank you Sam!  Make sure to take a look at Sam’s online Portfolio if you have a chance, HERE!


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1 November, 2006

Bleenks TV Shows on the Web

Posted in Entertainment, Freeware, Shows, Television, Web at 4:50 pm by johnmcdonald

If you are like me too cheap to buy the DVD Box Set and you don’t mind low quality videos. I have found a site for you http://www.bleenks.com. It is chuck full of TV shows with complete season. If you want to catch a popular show you missed on its original airtime, then this is the answer to your prayers.

So enjoy!

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1 September, 2006

A Whole lotta of Toons

Posted in Entertainment, Freeware, Shows, Television, Web, Web 2.0 at 2:48 pm by johnmcdonald

Well isn’t that a blast, to help keep the kiddies happy when what’s on the tube sucks. Very nice list hope you enjoy http://prezwho.com/watch-full-length-cartoons-online-massive-list.htm. Fall is here and I’m already getting depressed by the weather. So if you’re like me maybe this will bring a smile to your face (for the kid in all of us).


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So You Want to be a Diplomat

June 10, 2011
Vodpod videos no longer available.

OK, I can’t post this without some responsible commentary.

Finding this video was not easy and I suspect the original creator was contacted by authorities to take it down. But the reality of the internet is that once it’s up, it’s up forever up. Ask Mr. “No Pun Intended” Weiner, he’ll tell you the same.

Comedy is funny because there is always an element of truth behind each joke. I hope this video gives you a chuckle, but also wanted to respond to some of the lines and continue to make a case for a career in the Foreign Service.

You will be stamping passports in some god forsaken corner of the world if you are lucky.

Yes, everyone does visa work, and sometimes they have to do it in “visa mills” like Manila, Guangzhou or Costa Rica. You’ll be surprised how interesting these jobs can be though.

You will not experience cultures. You will be hidden from the culture in a well protected office that people will occasionally stone.

Yes, and you can also choose to hide-out in your apartment all day for fear of going out for a walk and getting hit by a car. Staying indoors is your choice. Do many FSO’s stay in protected areas? Yes, they do, but that’s by choice in most posts. If you’re too lazy to go out in the States, then you’ll probably be too lazy to go out in an exotic country.

You will not debate anyone. You will exchange sexual favors to stop Chinese companies from getting mining contracts.

Funny line, but simply untrue.

No one will want to marry you except other Foreign Service Officers who are as pretentious as you are.

Dating and finding a spouse as an FSO can be very challenging so there is some truth to this. And yes, some folks in the Department can be pretentious but not more so than other organizations.

You will have to toe the party line whatever Republican nut job is in office.

OK, I admit, this is absolutely true. No argument from me.

You will die as a mid-level Washington bureaucrat.

You could also die as mid-level manager in any career. It’s all up to you how you live your life.

In sum, Foreign Service life can be tough. But life in a 9-5 cubicle can often be worse. Every job has its downsides. But as Dilbert taught us, we often have to find the humor in our careers to keep our sanity.

I Want to be an Aid Worker

May 22, 2011

So You Want to Join Peace Corps

April 10, 2011

Queen Vs Diplomat

March 27, 2011

Spies Like Them

February 21, 2011


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Jan. 8th, 2017

joreth: (Super Tech)

The more I learn about Moana, the more I like it.

I'm about to say a few things that I just learned about the film and the backstory that I like, which aren't *too* spoilery, but if you're really spoiler averse, you might want to not read the rest of the post.  It's mostly about the background behind the movie and not so much about movie plot points.

First of all, I just learned that the production team recruited "experts from across the South Pacific to form an Oceanic Story Trust, who consulted on the film's cultural accuracy and sensitivity as the story evolved through nine versions." Seriously, more movies need to do something like this.

Next, I learned that one of those early versions had Moana as the only girl in a family of sons and her character arc was gender-based. Now, I'm usually all in for a good examination of how gender roles are expressed and inhibit characters, but something I've been really into lately is just having characters be fully fleshed characters that get into situations and who might happen to be not straight white males. MRA defenses of mostly white straight male protagonists include the justification that the story isn't *about* being a white male, so girls and POC should have no problem getting into the story because it could apply to "anyone". 1) Totally not true on pretty much every level of that assertion; 2) if they really could apply to "anyone", then it shouldn't matter if the character *is* "anyone", including non-male, non-straight, or non-white; and 3) yeah, having "white male" be the default setting where making a character not "white male" is a deliberate choice IS PART OF THE PROBLEM.

So, I really liked the fact that the story of Moana is not about her being "a girl". She wasn't prohibited from her dreams by her father "because she's a girl", she wasn't being forced into her traditional role "because she's a girl", and her story wasn't about either overcoming her gender or teaching anyone else to overcome gender roles. Her story was just an adventure story. That happened to happen to "a girl". The story could have been anyone. And I absolutely loved that she didn't have to "be a girl" and yet, she was one.

Next, I learned that the scene with Moana, Maui, and the ... well, I'll just say the "pirates" ... was a *deliberate homage to Mad Max: Fury Road*! Take that you fucking MRAs! Even Disney sees the financial incentive and storytelling value of Furiosa. Even "chick flicks" are fucking badass feminist action movies now. Because, here's a newsflash (and to blatantly steal from some other post I don't have the link to), women actually like action movies but particularly when the main character isn't a sexualized woman. Just tell our stories and we'll come see them. It's not that we don't like action films, it's that it's fucking lazy storytelling when the only women in the film are there to fulfill the (perceived) male audience members' wet dreams and we're *bored* and uninterested in lazy storytelling like that. The action isn't actiony enough to make up for the fact that your few women are cardboard flat and BORING.

There are legitimate criticisms about the film with respect to cultural sensitivity, and I was concerned about that happening when I first heard of it coming out and again when I saw it, but not being familiar with the communities of the people in the South Pacific (other than to know that there is no great controversy or ownership battle over who gets to use the term "poly" online and I refuse to White Knight them by making it into A Thing on their behalf), I was not able to anticipate or later to pick out what those criticisms might be.

So, as someone who is not disinfranchised by whatever gaffs the movie makes, the more I see, read, listen, and think about this movie, the more I want to include it in my top Disney favorites alongside Brave (my #1 favorite for the tomboy struggle), Maleficent (#3 for the lack of romantic love driving force and the nuanced look at a villain without ignoring her flaws) and Frozen (#4 for the lack of a husband and romance plot).

If I didn't list your favorite Disney princess movie, chances are it's because I either didn't like it or because I haven't seen it, so you don't have to ask me "have you seen...?" to find out why it's not listed.

joreth: (Misty in Box)
Ever since the presidential campaign trail, the effort to work alongside people and make happy small talk yet avoid important topics takes more spoons than normal.

I'm fucking exhausted and distressed at the end of work days because I'm forced to coexist alongside of people who I now know to be truly terrible people. So I can cut off all non-essential contact with my coworkers and lose one of the main reasons why I love my job, or I can very carefully manage dozens of relationships per day to stay within very specific parameters so as to be able to laugh with my coworkers and not be reminded that they honestly don't care about my existence on a daily basis.

I used to love my job. It was one of the things that gave me meaning. It wasn't just a paycheck to me, it was a passion. I still love doing the physical act of my job, but I don't look forward to each day the way I used to anymore.  I used to say that being at work was where I could be the most "me". I had the fewest filters, was the most authentic, and enjoyed life most often. Even a bad day at my job was better than a good day at any other job (and I've worked in something like 30 other industries, so I can say this with some authority).

I no longer feel that I can be my most authentic self at work. I have more filters now, and I have to put on more of an act. This takes a lot of emotional energy and I'm less happy to be working than I used to.

I once said (OK, more than once) that even if I were to win a lottery big enough to live in style for the rest of my life, I would still work at my job because I love it that much and I like staying busy. I don't think I would do that now. I have enough other hobbies that I also love, and enough other interests that I'd like to try, that tip the scales once we add on the weight of managing coworkers' awfulness.

Now, since I still need an income, this is still the job that I love the most and I'd rather do this than any other job. But if money weren't an object, I no longer love my job so much that I'd do it for free. I'd rather be costuming or photographing something or dancing (as long as I don't have to talk to those people either, because here in the South, the dance community is filled with some awful people too), than putting up with my coworkers' bullshit just to be able to climb some truss or fight for a seat behind a camera watching another talking head lecture about quarterly projections.

And I'm sad that my job is no longer one of the greatest passions of my life, or rather that the passion has been dimmed with prolonged exposure to the reality of my coworkers' bigotry and ignorance. After 25 years in the business, I guess the honeymoon is finally over.
joreth: (Bad Computer!)

#Irony: #Polyamory is explicitly supposed to be about "more than two", and yet every resource we have, every discussion, every fear, every relationship rule, everything centers around couples. We have to "protect the primary couple"; we have to "respect the original or preexisting couple"; we have to develop communication so that we can improve our relationships (implied to be between couples); we assuage fears by talking about how the new relationship can improve the old *couple*'s relationship; singles and solo polys wonder how to get into couples "of their own"; and dog forbid we neglect to discuss how to "open up" an existing couple! ...

"The Couple" takes on a life of its own and soon it's a battle between The Couple and everyone who is not part of The Couple. That goes for the single interloper who is a threat to The Couple and yet is also the same person they want to "include in their relationship" and that goes for everyone who has seen this story play out a million times before and tries to warn The Couple that we already know the ending to this story.

Y'know what? Fuck "The Couple". I don't give a rat's ass about your relationships anymore. I certainly don't "respect" your coercive, destructive, exclusionary relationship. I care about the people in the relationships, and that includes everyone that the people in The Couple are about to sacrifice on the alter to The Couple. I have partners of my own. I have life partners. I have entangled partners. I have partners I care deeply about and who share significant portions of my life with me. Fuck those "couples" too.

I want to focus on building *partnerships* with my lovers and metamours and friends and family. A partnership isn't *inherently* limited to a "couple" and no one dyad gets to take precedence over anyone else and certainly no *relationship* gets to take precedence over any *person*. The partnership must always exist to serve the people in the partnership and never the other way around. Sometimes my partnerships do include just two of us, and that's fine, but fuck The Couple as its own entity. I care about the people, even the two who make up The Couple, but I do not care about The Couple as if it were a living, breathing person in its own right. I do not grant The Couple personhood status. People are more important than The Couple.

And fuck those cousins of The Couple who elevate The Triad or The Quad or The Tribe or whatever fucking group name you have to the same status as The Couple. You won't have as much social support as The Couple, so you might think that your little relationship unit deserves to be in a protected class, but a bully is still a bully even among minority groups so fuck your application of The Couple filter over your technically-more-than-two relationship too.

And if you try to argue semantics with me over what you think makes a "couple" and whether that's different from a "partnership" or not, fuck you too, you're missing the point.

joreth: (Dobert Demons of Stupidity)

Hey filmmakers! I know this is a complicated, nuanced concept that takes years of study in advanced academic institutions, but I'm going to spoil the ending for you now:

It is not only possible, but likely, that two people of complimentary genders can be thrown together in a situation and not want to have sex with each other.
I know, I've seen this happen. Like every single mixed-gender office ever. They don't all pair up, even if they're not already married. Even if they genuinely like each other as people. And sometimes, even if they are actually attracted to each other.

Now, some of y'all script writers appear to have advanced doctorates in Non-Trope Writing, because I've seen a couple movies lately where you didn't do this. And I appreciate you. But the rest of y'all need to get your shit together and get some schoolin' because the obligatory romantic subplot that serves to support the male character's story arc is boring, trite, lazy writing, overdone, and way out of proportion to reality. It's like watching a movie set in Harlem around the turn of the last century and seeing only 1 black face (of someone who happens to be in power during Jim Crow and yet not a main character). Like, do you even history bro?

The population is more than 50% "woman" - there needs to be more than 1 female character in a cast of dozens. When you add up all the various ethnicities together, white men are a minority - there needs to be more than 1 or 2 black dudes and possibly that 1 hot Latina in a cast of dozens. And I know that this one will be some seriously high level thesis work for you, but all those women and non-white people have their own stories going on that have nothing to do with supporting some white dude's personal growth, which even white dudes in the audience can relate to if you tell the story well (and if they don't just refuse to relate to on principle).

And when you look at all the times that people don't hook up with each other just because their genitals are complimentary, there needs to be more than 3 movies in the last 10 years that feature a mixed-gender cast that doesn't have the token woman character having sex with the lead male character or any sexual tension leading up to will-they/won't-they subplots.

Because it's totally possible to put an attractive woman and an attractive man* in a room together and have them not want to bone each other.

*I'm not even going to address the problem with body diversity or gendered double standards of age and/or "attractiveness" here - I'm mad enough already.

September 2017

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October 21, 2017

The Endless Flow of Society

The Endless Flow of Society: A Brief Introduction

The world has always been an elongated spectrum of something we arbitrarily call ideas. Thoughts, inventions, the process of all social matter, the creation of us as a civilized and coordinated society, and every stake we’ve thrust into the heart of intellectual progress. Some have been more dominant than others, being accepted by most of humanity – an infrastructure composed of millions, and at this point even billions, of individuals who all go through the eternal struggle of complex interactions. These ideas are accepted and therefore thrive on the unquestionable majority rule we can see throughout our own society. Others, on the other hand, have been burned at stake and lost to the endless flow of our own ignorance and arrogance, leading factors in what will surely be the beginning of the demise of our intellectual progress in this era of great transition.

The Endless Flow of Society: On the Topic of Society

What matters to us is the river. Not the independent, microscopic drops of water which, without, the river would not exist. Now, to us, the river will always look the same. Day after day, year after year, era after era; the river looks the same to us all. We see nothing more than an endless stream – reflecting its surroundings, of course, but still nothing more than a river. However, what cannot be seen by us – or in some cases what is refused to be seen – is the nonstop growth of the river. Little by little, day by day, the individual drops of water, each representing an idea, a concept, a revolution, a person just like yourself, erode the banks of the river. Thus, we allow for growth along with destruction. Our own society begins to chip away solemnly at itself through the ideas that continuously fight from within. This, of course, is the continuation of the ideological war on our psychological sovereignty.

The Endless Flow of Society: On the Topic of Religion

Religion itself is an institution. It fits the quota perfectly, if you look closely at the goals pertaining to faith as an in-group. The whole point of an institution is to regulate the laws and ideas of society while spreading its own influence towards the general population of individuals to stay dominant. We see the institutions attempt to work around personal philosophy in order to stake claims into the society itself, growing more powerful in nature and appearing strong to those who consider themselves apart of it. Those individuals within an institution oftentimes wish to be protected by such. Those who are against powerful institutions oftentimes keep opinions and ideas to themselves in fear of being placed into an out-group that cannot participate within the interdependence of society. Religion has all of these points and then some, creating the perfect manifest to become a literal face of the institution itself.

The Endless Flow of Society: On the Topic of Mental Health

Thus, I encourage everyone to write what they think. Write what they believe. Write the endless amounts of personal philosophy, and write the ideas that pour from your mind on a daily basis. I encourage the open endorsement of others’ ideas – of difference and of opinion, of factual basis and foundational changes. I encourage within these words to draw and paint and create longlasting impressions of your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. For those remnants of your life, the words and the speeches; the canvases and scrap pieces of paper; they will outlast you. They will be seen, heard of, mentioned, by those who live long after you. The river will then endorse such idealism, and the widening of the river may be accredited to any amount of individuals. Perhaps then the noticeable shifts in society will open up to the minds of those who have never once wrote, never once spoke, or never once drawn their own opinions, personal philosophies, and ideas.

The Endless Flow of Society: On the Topic of Government

What is government? An idea. An institution. An elitist opinionated group – whether it be through royal blood-reigned monarchy or iron fisted tyranny or elected democracy. How the power is exhumed is unimportant when it comes to the advantages perceived by those of status. This idea, one that has banded our society together since the very first settlements in our society, is a remnant of the original Old. Along with fetishism, the worship of trees and water and such, came the primitive thought of social status. Of social rank. We see early chieftains and village elders, ones who led simply though respect, and eventually early kings and emperors, ones who led oftentimes through pulling the strings of the early versions of theology or through power. In short, an institution which connects the string of other institutions.

The Endless Flow of Society: A Conclusion

We, in general, search for autonomy. We search and crave for a form of individuality that sets us free from the shackles of social connections. We want to be unique, to such an extent that we express ourselves in a multitude of different ways. We express our thoughts, our personalities, and our ideas. But the sad fact is that institutions, who desire – nay, they crave – power in a society that sets itself up for it, need the individuals to work together.


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Journalists Covering Protests Arrested, Assaulted in Ferguson

After police killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown last weekend in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo. protests erupted, then violence broke out and looting ensued.

In the time since Brown’s death,  journalists have descended on the town to cover those events and protesters have continued to call for justice in the killing of the college-bound teen. Meanwhile, law enforcement has become increasingly hostile to the media and demonstrators alike.

The most recent evidence of that hostility came Thursday with the arrest of two reporters at a Ferguson McDonald’s — near where Brown was shot and killed — and a video showing police in riot gear firing tear gas and rubber bullets at a television crew, then dismantling their equipment after they fled for safety.

In any free country the balance between providing police protection with integrity and over-zealous enforcement is delicate. It is one thing for officers to act when there is reasonable suspicion; it is quite another to abuse that discretion by chilling free speech and creating a climate of fear and distrust under the pretext of safety and security.”

Mickey H. Osterreicher, General Counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, from a letter to Chief Thomas Jackson Ferguson Police Department

Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery and Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly were both arrested at a McDonald’s near the scene of demonstrations as they tried to work and recharge their cell phones. Both media organizations condemned the arrests. And both reporters were interviewed on MSNBC on Thursday describing their violent removal by heavily armed police in riot gear.

He was illegally instructed to stop taking video of officers. Then he followed officers’ instructions to leave a McDonald’s — and after contradictory instructions on how to exit, he was slammed against a soda machine and then handcuffed. That behavior was wholly unwarranted and an assault on the freedom of the press to cover the news. The physical risk to Wesley himself is obvious and outrageous.”

— Martin BaronExecutive Editor of The Washington Post, from a statement about the arrest of reporter Wesley Lowery

Journalists have a constitutionally protected right to work without the government interference, We call on — and fully expect — the authorities to investigate what appears to be a violation of the First Amendment and to hold the officers involved to account, if necessary.”

Bob Butler, President of the National Association of Black Journalists, from a statement about the arrests of Lowery and Reilly

Lowery posted a video to Twitter showing an officer demanding that he leave the restaurant and ordering him to stop filming, prior to his arrest. Reilly posted photos of an officer he says assaulted him during the arrest — a law enforcement official Reilly also says ignored repeated requests to identify himself by name and badge number.

Compared to some others who have come into contact with the police department, they came out relatively unscathed, but that in no way excuses the false arrest or the militant aggression toward these journalists. Ryan, who has reported multiple times from Guantanamo Bay, said that the police resembled soldiers more than officers, and treated those inside the McDonald’s as ‘enemy combatants.’”

Ryan Grim, Huffington Post Washington D.C. Bureau Chief, from a statement about the arrests

Call for Papers: The Peace Journalist, October 2013 Edition

Try to Do it ! حاول

The Peace Journalist is a semi-annual publication of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University in Parkville, Missouri USA.

The Peace Journalist is dedicated to disseminating news and information for and about teachers, students, and practitioners of peace and conflict sensitive journalism.

Submissions are welcome from all. For the October, 2013 edition of The Peace Journalist, we are seeking short submissions (300-550 words) detailing peace journalism projects, classes, proposals, academic works in the field, etc.

The Peace Journalist will not run general articles about peace, but rather invites only those with a strong peace media/peace journalism/conflict sensitive journalism angle.
Please submit your article, a 2-3 sentence biography of the author, as well as a small head and shoulders photo of the author. Please also submit photos and graphics that could accompany your article.
The submission deadline is Sept. 7. However, given the limited space available in this…

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Posts Tagged ‘gifts for men’

The 2009 Luxury Holiday Gift Guide

December 16, 2009

Tis the season to show loved ones you care! Follow us on the journey to find something for everyone on your list.  Our favorite part? No need to stand in those long, aggravating shopping lines at the mall – many of these great holiday gift finds are available online!


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Boomers, Millennials, and the McMansions No One Wants

As baby boomers look to downsize out of their suburban McMansions, a generational showdown is looming: Millennials might be coming into their own as the nation’s biggest group of first-time home buyers, but they aren’t exactly lining up with bids in hand for those large, expensive homes in the sleepier suburbs. Instead, they’re looking for a different kind of home—the same ones, in fact, that the empty nesters are looking to buy.

It’s a battle of the millennials vs. baby boomers playing out in the nation’s suburban housing markets.

Younger and older generations alike are gravitating toward smaller dwellings in more urban, walkable suburbs and cities, with restaurants and coffee shops around the corner. It’s leading to a real estate traffic jam: Increasingly, boomers are getting stuck, because most can’t buy the home of their dreams until they unload their current ones. And many millennials have neither the desire nor the means to help them out.

“What you have is everyone chasing the same type of home,” says Rick Palacios, director of research at John Burns Real Estate Consulting. “More and more buyers of all ages want to avoid having to deal with a huge yard and all the upkeep and the costs to maintain [a larger] home.”

It’s creating an odd imbalance in a real estate market—a disruption to what has long been considered the traditional generational housing life cycle. And it’s leaving many would-be buyers out in the cold.

Millennials seek a new kind of suburban community

There’s no question that millennials are moving to the suburbs. About 57% of buyers 36 and under closed on homes in the suburbs last year, compared with just 15% of those who became homeowners in cities, according to research from the National Association of Realtors®. But their vision of suburban living differs from the sprawling domains of the boomer generation.

For one thing, many younger Americans are reluctant to give up the excitement of urban life to settle down and start having kids. About 45% of millennials who plan to buy a home in the future are waiting because they aren’t ready to settle down yet, according to a survey of 24,000 millennial renters by the rental website Apartment List. (Other top reasons were not being able to afford to become homeowners and preferring to wait until marriage.)

So when they do make that move to the suburbs, millennials often seek more walkable towns that have many of the urban amenities they’re used to, like bike lanes, social events, and lots of shops and restaurants.

“What’s really attracting millennials are the communities that are bringing the urban flavor out to nonurban towns,” Palacios says. “They don’t want the traditional  massive homes and big yards. They want smaller homes and cool things to do.”

“It’s more important to have proximity to the lifestyle they want,” says Jason Dorsey, president and researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics, focused on millennials and Generation Z. “Their living room is actually the park outside the condo.”

The type of home that everyone wants today

It’s not just the size of boomers’ homes that is a turnoff; it’s also the style. Times and tastes have changed, and today both boomers and millennials are attracted to modern, open floor plans—which aren’t common in the older homes that boomers are hoping to unload. Boomers like the flexibility of these spaces for aging in place, and millennials like the clean design.

And while they’re willing to compromise on size, millennials are less willing to bite the bullet on amenities. Weened on HGTV, they want high-end finishes, nice countertops, upscale appliances, and luxurious bathrooms.

“They’ll buy a smaller house with fancier amenities, close to town, rather than chase square footage,” Dorsey says.

Why boomers struggle to sell

All of these factors mean that while it’s a seller’s market in many areas, plenty of boomers are having trouble selling their homes, says Chris Porter, chief demographer and researcher for John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Even if they want these larger homes, many younger buyers simply don’t have the financial means to buy them.

The average college graduate in 2016 owed a whopping $37,172 in student loans, according to Student Loan Hero, a website that provides tools for managing college debt. Plus, with less work experience and shorter credit history, they aren’t likely to qualify for a big mortgage.

As for Generation X, having weathered the Great Recession during what should have been their prime earning years, they now have to save for their kids’ college expenses, their retirement, and caring for their aging parents. So they’re not likely to trade up from their starter homes. And if they do, many prefer an easier-to-maintain smaller home in a community with activities they enjoy—just like those millennials and boomers, Dorsey says.

Meanwhile, since the boomers see their home as their nest egg, they’re not all willing to reduce their asking price and shortchange their retirement accounts, says Dorsey. So more of them end up staying put.

“There certainly was a lot of speculation about what would happen if the boomers tried to sell their houses en masse, and whether that would flood the market with a supply of large homes that the younger population didn’t want—or couldn’t afford—to buy,” Porter says. But “the boomers do seem to be moving less and aging in place more.”

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An Interview in the UK on Creation, the Imago Dei, Eschatology—and Jamaica

Some weeks back I blogged about my two-week trip to the UK, during which I gave a series of lectures, beginning in Scotland (St. Andrews and Aberdeen) and continuing through various stops in England (Durham, Mirfield, Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge, Cheltenham, and Bristol).

At one of the stops, in Cheltenham, after speaking at the University of Gloucestershire, I met up with Matt Lynch, an Old Testament scholar, who is Dean of Studies at the Westminster Theological Centre.

The morning after the lecture, Matt interviewed me for a podcast called On Script: Conversations on Current Biblical Scholarship.”

The interview focused on topics related to my books The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos, 2005) and A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014).

The On Scrip website made it a bit more zippy, however, and advertised it as an interview on “biblical eschatology, creation, heaven, hell, Elijah’s escape of death, theology in Jamaica, whether our pets go to heaven, and much more.”

I think I did talk about everything on that list except pets going to heaven. And I lapsed into a pretty thick Jamaican accent at one point.

The podcast is now available for those who want to listen online or download the mp3 file.

One thought on “An Interview in the UK on Creation, the Imago Dei, Eschatology—and Jamaica

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Games that lack a localization for no comprehensible reason

This is a short list of games which by all means should have been localized, or at least announced for localization, because they would have sold, sometimes enormously, thanks to big fanbases in the west and quality content. But for inexplicable reasons their publishers thought it would be wiser to limit their audience to a single country, Japan.

Fatal Frame: The black haired shrine maiden

A mystery survival-horrorgame with stellar graphics for the Wii U which is in desperate need for every additional title. It makes no sense whatsoever to not localize this.

The Idolm@ster One For All

A phenomenon in Japan which also has a big followship in the west, which is present in multiple forms like rythm-games, an anime, live-concerts, etc. There is no way Bandai Namco wouldn’t at least break even, especially considering the amount of pricey DLC most hardcore fans would buy.

Puyo Puyo Tetris

Allegedly the best Tetris game there is, with little translation effort and the possibility of a huge success as a cheap downloadable game. Still no dice. Reason: Sega.

Phantasy Star Online 2 / Nova

An awesome, popular and revered games series, so why wouldn’t you want to localize it and make lots of money? One answer: Sega

Yakuza 5 / Ishin

One word: Sega

Fate/Stay Night

Possibly the most popular Visual Novel ever and there is no commercial release of it. Just let that sink in.

Time Travelers

Certain kinds of Visual Novels for the Vita sell well in the west, look no further than Danganronpa 1+2 and Virtue’s Last Reward. It’s a mystery why Level-5 wouldn’t localize this game when 999 and VLR showed that those kind of titles can perform better in the west than in its domestic market.

Dragon Quest VII for 3DS

“It’s not Final Fantasy”, I guess that’s Square Enix’s main reason to not publish this title in English. Also it wouldn’t sell 5-6 million copies and therefore would only create a smaller profit.

NIS America to publish some of Atlus titles in Europe in the future

NIS America recently published Persona 4 Golden, developed by Atlus and also published in the U.S. by Atlus, in Europe and is going to do the same with Etrian Odyssey 4, which is also an Atlus game.

As siliconera reports this might happen to other titles in the future, since Atlus and NIS America formed a strategic partnership to bring titles to Europe. The only downside is, that this will happen on a title to title basis in the near future, which means that we might not see all Atlus titles here in Europe after all.

This is still an enormous improvement to the previous situation, so European fans should be happy about this news.


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Boys Lacrosse Wins Division II Championship

JSerra Catholic High School’s lacrosse team won the school’s first divisional title in any sport this week.

The Lions beat San Clemente High School 11-9 in a dramatic match in Irvine that wasn’t settled until the final whistle.

“The game was close, but the leaders showed up late in the game to contribute a few key defensive and offensive plays to turn the game in our favor,” said coach Mike Hutnick.

The victory came a day after JSerra’s baseball team clinched the Trinity League title. Earlier this year, JSerra’s boys soccer team clinched the school’s first-ever league title.

The 2009 Division II Champions
The 2009 Division II Champions


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Outdated Business Models

On today’s episode of the podcast, we debate Outdated Business Models and whether or not someone is creeping up behind you with a better way of doing the things your business does. We talk about photographers, graphic and interior designers, cleaning, publishing and property letting agents. No need to be scarce because modernisation and change is all around us all the time, and quite slow… but do keep an eye out! Whose businesses were impacted by Uber and AirB&B? Could they have seen that coming? If you are an in-room trainer or consultant, is it time you considered webinars and […]

Keep Reading »


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Since the beginning of the year I have a energy renewal. Many people have gone through a pretty difficult year in 2013 and attack 2014 with a different perspective.

I’ve continued to submit my designs to the Spoonflower weekly challenge, gave sewing classes, submitted my artwork to fabric manufacturer and refurbished a chair.

FABRIC DESIGN : Since the beginning of the year there has been 7 contests, the most difficult is yet to come. Toile de Jouy is this weeks contest. Famous female scientists is added to the theme making it interesting but still very hard to achieve. So until the deadline you’ll find me at my drawing table!

SEWING CLASSES : It’s going great. I have a little less students that I hoped for, but all is not lost : I manage to finished almost half of my un-finished projects and still going at it. I should be able to put up some of my work for sale on ETSY pretty soon and I got time to do an interior design concept. (It was awesome to return to my design expertise which wasn’t lost at all)

ARTWORK SUBMISSION : I pushed myself to submit the best of my artwork done in the past year to fabric manufacturers. I decided to submit once a month to a different company every month, for 12 months /or until one offers me a contract for one fabric or a collection. It’s officially my 2014 resolution. We’ll see what will come out of this experience.

FURNITURE REFURBISHING : I was always very drawn to vintage furniture and refurbished chairs, tables and other pieces to my tastes. But lately, I have so many ideas, I surprise myself looking at little adds on the web to find vintage, unloved or ugly (at first look) furniture. Last week I refurbished a chair and the Facebook response to it was amazingly hear warming!!!

Here’s a before / After photo of it :

I already have another chair lined up for a make-over.

Keep you posted on ALL my projects lined up and hope you have the same enthusiasm towards what will 2014 bring us in projects and other exciting+teaching+learning+humbling moments!

RESOLUTION 2013 done!

Today, on Sponflower.com the last contest of a full year participation, will be put up for voting. I’m so proud of myself. I managed to enter every contest that I could for an entire year.

Even if I’ll continue entering in the contests, this one is a step stone (or a mile stone?) The theme was AMAZING : magic show… So I challenged myself to the max and sat down on my drawing table and got to work. It took me a long time to come up with the idea of a collage of hand-drawings, newspaper background and textured-rich foreground .

Rabbits drawings

I draw 8 rabbits, first pencil, than pen to look as much as the old engraving (or etching prints). And the finish design submitted looks like this… tadaaaaa :

Really happy about the result. I hope I’ll be in the top ten with this “out of the box” textile design.

Since December, I’ve been adding to my textile designs library with basics like polka dots and chevrons. I now have more than 200 designs to sale. All of it done in my 2013 resolution. I plan to keep on adding to my library so it can become a little extra income (it never hurts).

At the beginning of this year I came in first place for the second time. I hope this performance won’t go un-noticed when I’ll knock on manufacturers doors.

I hope to everyone a resolution that’s kept, it’s a very rewarding feeling…

Resolution 2013 almost finished 92% , resolution 2014 coming along…

So this week finishing my entry for Spoonflower contest “Ugly Sweaters” I was curious of how much more left to complete my resolution…?  4 contests if Spoonflower does one due the 31 of december.

4 Contests left… I held on and did all the contest except one (I went back and realized that I skip one), the zodiac one! So because I’m the kind of person who want’s to be able to say I completed my 2013 resolution, I’ll continue competing in the weekly contest until it’s complete year ! It means that I’ll do 2 contests in January 2014 en then I’ll be able to say a full year! I’ll continue competing but on a lighter scale throughout out 2014. The mental exercise of directed creation is good for my brain but I want to set myself a new challenge/resolution!

I’m thinking, for my 2014 resolution, to apply to each of those 12 fabric manufacturers  ( in non-specific order ) :

Alexander Henry, Andover fabrics, Bernatex, Clothworks Textiles, Michael Miller Fabrics, Hoffman Fabrics, RJR Fabrics, Robert Kaufman, STOF, United Notions (Moda), Westminster Fibers, Windham fabrics

While tipping the list, the resolution takes form… I could submit my portfolio to each of these manufacturers once a month. Because elaborating a portfolio (and adding or taking some designs) makes it a few days project at each submissions, it’s not an easy task. Every month would be a different submission and a more focused to there needs one. And also some of those companies don’t put there “submissions” forms online, it means I have to communicate with many of them to enquire on ” how to submit my designs” I think it makes the amount of work challenging enough to be a good resolution.

My hopes would be to have at least one contract, from one of them, on at least one of my fabric design… Is that to hopeful?  We’ll see!

To leave you on a picture, here’s my “cozy” entry for the Spoonflower’s  “Ugly Sweater” contest that I draw this despite being sick (flu) :

Spoonflower entry to Ugly Sweater contest

Spoonflower entry to Ugly Sweater contest

Make your own curtains with big grommets (DIY sewing project tricks)

Here is a step by step how I did my 2 colours curtains for a patio door :

I’ve pre-ordered 5 yards (4,5m) of one of my textile design on linen-cotton canvas and put my curtain pole up.

1: 1Coupe 2: 2mesureF

1) Once it has arrived I cut it in 2 equal parts of 2,5 yards (90″) or 2,25m each

2) Then I measured the width of the window (72″ or 1,8m) and the height from the floor to the top of the pole (90 ” or 2,25 m)

The width of the fabric is ( 56″ or 1,4m) so 2 panels will add to a (108″ or 2,7m)

so perfect to cover the entire patio door!

But the height  after the hemming won’t be enough so I’ll add a black fabric header to both parts and it will add a bit of drama to it 🙂

3: 3HEM 4 : 4FoldOnce

3) First I’ll overlock all the cut edges so it won’t fray and I like the overlock professional finish but a simple zigzag will do the trick.

4) I fold the BOTTOM (take car of the direction of the fabric ) and measure the fold so it’s 9,5 inches or 23,75cm  from one side to the other, I do so for the 2 panels

5 : 5Refold 6 : 6Pinit

5) I re-fold outwards a lip of 1,5 inch or  3,75cm and as I go along …

6) I pin it in place sir all my measurements are not in vein.

7 : 7SewSides 8 : 8Clipcorners

7) I stitch both side of the bottom fold, I do so for the 2 panels

8) I cut the corners not getting closer than 1/8 of an inch or 4mm

9 : 9FlipCorners 10 : 10PinitMesure

9) I flip the fold outwards pushing the corners all the way out to make them perfect and square

10) I make sure that my bottom fold now measures 8″ or 20cm from the bottom to the inwards flip, and I pin it from one side to the other.

11 : 11Sewfold 12 : 12ironsides

11) I stitch the closest I can the the border 1/16 of an inch or 2mm

12) I iron inwards the 2 side of the 2 panels

13 : 13Pinsides 14 : 14SewSides

13 ) I pin my ironing so it won’t move while I sew and move the panels

14) I stitch near the finished edge of the fabric (away from the fold) from the bottom fold to the top, I do so for each sides of the 2 panels

15 : 15MesureLenght  16 : 16MesureWidth

15) I measure to length of the panels it gives me 80,5 inches or 2,05 m

16) I measure the finished width that gives me 54″ or 1,35m

17 :  17CutBlackFab 18 : 18PinCurtaintoBlack

17) I cut 2 pieces of black fabric 55″ or 1,375m wide (54″ + 1/2″ seam allowance on one side + 1/2″ seam allowance on the other side) or (1,5m + 1,25cm  and seam allowance on one side + 1,25cm seam allowance on the other side)

by 26″ or 65cm in height (90″ *from pole to floor* – 80,5″ = 9,5″ + 2 x1/2″ seam allowance = 10,5″ +2,5″ on top of the pole= 13″ x 2 because I want to double it EQUALS 26″) or (2,25m *from pole to floor* – 2,05m = 20cm + 2 x1,25cm seam allowance = 26,25cm +6,25cm on top of the pole = 32,5cm x 2 because I want to double it EQUALS 65cm)

18 ) I pin Right side of the black fabric to wrong side of the of printed fabric leaving the extra hanging equally on each side

19 :  19SewblacktoCurt 20 :  20FoldBlackBack

19 ) Stitch 1/2″ (1,25cm) from the the edge All the way from one side to the other, I do so for each sides of the 2 panels

20) I fold the black fabric backwards and pin the sides

21 : 21SewSidesBlack  22 : 22Flipcornes

21 ) I fold upwards the bottom edge of the black fabric 1/2″ (1,25cm) before stitching over it 1/2″ (1,25cm)from the sides

22) I fold back outside in the black folded part pushing the corners to make them square

23 : 23Mesure&pin 24 : 24StictchOver

23) I measure the fold making sure that 1/2″ (1,25cm) is folded inwards at the seam and that it measures  12,5″ or 31,25cm I do so for each top of the 2 panels

24) I stitch the closest I can the the border 1/16 of an inch or 2mm

25 : 25IronTop 26 :  26MesureGRometes

25) I press the black fabric flat on each panel

26) I measure the width of the panel 54″ or 1,35m  and I divide it by 8 (8 grommets) = 6,75″ or 16,9cm (always put an even number of grommets so your curtains sides will point the walls)

I make a mark with a chalk  at 3,5″ or 8,75cm from the top so the top of the grommet will end up at 2, 5″ or 6,25cm from the top of the panel. The first mark will be 3,375″ or 8,45cm from the side, the second 6,75″ or 16,9cm from the first mark, and so on… I repeat for the other panel

27 : 27Stencil  28 : 28-CutCircles

27) I use the stencil to make the circle putting my mark in the middle of it and do so for all 8 marks on each panel

28) I cut carefully all of my 16 circles

29 : 29-Pushgromets

29) Each grommet comes in 2 parts, one positive one negative. I put the positive on the right side facing down, the negative part underneath facing upward and then press until I hear “click” and hang them

30 : 30Resultat

30) RESULTS!!!! 🙂 Really happy about it.

86% of my resolution pasted, sum up of creating a textile design weekly…

As written before, I took the resolution at the beginning of 2013 of participating to all the weekly contests of Spoonflower.

The contests are : design a fabric in the proportions asked (8″x8″ * if its a swatch or most of the time 21″ x18″*  if its a fat quarter and rarely 42″x36″*  if it’s a full yard). The theme is given by Spoonflower. Sometimes a colour palette is restricted (you have to use and only use the colours specified), other times it is asked to create a pattern within the dimensions with explanations written on the fabric and seam allowances included. Most of the time it’s create a fabric design that fits a fat quarter (21″x18″ * horizontal) that respect the theme and considers repetition. (depending on the repetition, half drop, hal brick, mirror or basic it’s all in the mathematics!)

Since January 1st I submitted over 40 designs. It’s an exercise for the creating muscle, let me tell you!

Here’s the resume of my performances (yellow frame : made it into the top ten, red : FIRST place):

1-Snake 2-ToileJouy3-Australia4-MardiGRas 5-LoveLetters6-Africa7-Critter 8-LionLamb 9-GirlPower10-PaintedEggg11-JaneAusten 12-BabyAnimals  13-GardenTools14-PopChick15-Sailing16-Birthdays  17-Geek18-GREek19-Mod 20-FRogs  21-Farmers22-Midsummer23-Citrus24-Picnics  25-Horses26-Crickets27-Byways 28-bit 29-Fireflie 30-fashion31-Pencil32-DimSum33-dino   34-Kuler35-Geo 36-Constellation  37-Pies38-Costume 39-Ghosts 40-Calendar

The resolution I made with myself had many purposes  : force myself to create weekly, create a portfolio to knock on textile printers doors and challenge myself to a year contract and keep my word.

CREATION wise : The more you create the more you’re creative!!! It’s a muscle. Yes, I had themes that were really difficult, but the thing is though it! And no matter what, enter the contest with the design you came up with no matter what.

PORTOFOLIO wise : I have 40 designs of really out of the box themes, so I can show that no matter the theme I can create and be inspired. So Christmas fabric here I come! On top of my resolution,  I manage to challenge myself to add to certain really inspirational designs that I made. By doing so, I design  a few collection with blenders fabric, and mid scale fabrics. So, then again, It shows in my portfolio that I can decline an idea into a viable collection yey!!

CHALLENGING MYSELF wise : At first I thought and said to myself if its to difficult or a boring theme or it doesn’t fit with my schedule I could skip 1 design per month. But you know what? I couldn’t do it. I did all the contests that I could enter. And by doing so I’m proud of myself by not giving up or giving myself excuses.

There’s 8 contests to go before the end of my resolution. For sure I’m going to prepare my portofolio in 2014, to show the fabric printers and hope for a collection contract or even just a try at first. But I think I’m going to continue entering the contests. Maybe not all of them but I think I’m going to miss it 😉

After all of this my conclusion is :

– When it comes down to voting on-line, don’t beat yourself if you don’t perform. Sometimes your best design won’t do so well and a design that you did without “suffering” will be in the first ones. Be aware and honest. If others a clearly better accept it, and study there success, try to observe what makes it so great is it details, out of the box thinking…? (don’t copy!)

– Fame comes in waves… surf it. But don’t despair when it goes away and don’t wait for it, it will always come as a surprise!

– Keep your word, make the challenge big enough to be proud of overcoming it, but not to big that you set yourself for failure that’s not the point.

That was my reflexion, my resolution is almost over… I’m wondering if I’ll give myself another one for the next year. I’ll have to think about it…

For now, this week challenge is Film Nor (it took me 5 designs before being happy with what I’ve done, but submitted it just in time)

I really hope it gave you the will to challenge yourself with a 2014 resolution!

* 8″x8″ = 20cmx20cm          * 21″ x 18″ = 52,5cm X 45cm             * 42″ x 36″ = 105cm x 90cm

On my way to a working sewing studio

One of the most exciting part of putting together a room is the last details that brings every thing together.

I’ve always had a soft part for antiques and “the old days” and how we use to do things right. Don’t get me wrong, I looove this days for technology, communication and accessibility. But through out all the flea markets and pass down stuff, I gathered a few beautiful elements that I decided to put on a stage wall for my sewing studio. First I managed to save a few frames by repainting them. I bought a few new empty ones.

I used every single and last element that was from near or far related to sewing that I gathered over the years and decided to either frame them or simply screw them directly on the wall.

I started with a shallow frame that was given to me and pined the best needle booklets I had in it. I’m so thrilled with the result :

I’ll put a photo to show you soon all the frames and other old stuff up on the wall once is totally finished. (I still have 2 holes to fill in) and still doing my weekly challenge of participating on the Spoonflower contest.

This week is small geometric shapes. And the winner has custom made shoes… that speaks to my girly side!!!

Keep you up to date!

Back from my vacation, what a human experience

I have been back from my vacation for a couple of days and been running like a crazy lady since.

To sum it up :

I didn’t re-do my website. I started to plan my sewing lessons, I almost finish the way for the students. I”m down to decoration and lighting details in the sewing studio (I’ll have photos soon and even a video). I had fun going to farmers markets to buy antique sewing accessories to put in my frames.

I didn’t had time to create my fabric website. A friend told me about Béhence, so I’ll try it as soon as I can have a day for it. I’ll post the link for sure!

Family came over, and I took the time to learn and know about them which was refreshing. Unfortunately the vacation started with funerals so it was brutal.

I visited family too and took the time to be self-centred for 4 mornings, by doing my yoga on a pier giving on mirror like water (that was so grounding!)

As for my Spoonflower contests entries : “Fireflies” I came up in 13th place (246 entries),  for the “Fashion” contest I was 68th on 314 entries, and I manage to enter “Cut and Sew Pencil Case” again I was in 13th place (81 entries). It was a low participation contest because it required a full pattern with explanations so that will eliminate a lot of the “easy” entries.

Then it was “DimSum” which had a restricted color palette. I was really proud of this design. It gave me a dumpling craving for a week 🙂 but I came out 21st on 144 entries. The top ten was of uneven quality, but hey now that I know it’s more a “friendly” vote contest than a quality of design and repeat, I’m still very proud of my design. This week is the “dinosaurs” contest.

I still managed to draw a water-colour/illustrated japanese cranes on winter background for Spoonflower’s book interviews, and a 30 fabric designs line of retro polka dots

Here’s some images of my entries :

Cut & Sew pencil case

Tonight I had to deliver the “Kuler” one. We had to determine a colour palette from a random photo using Kuler Application and from that palette design a fabric. I was really happy to discover Kuler’s application. It opened up an entire new branch of possibilities and ignition of creation for me so it had its purpose!

I took the weirdest photo I had taken to make it a challenge. It was a dumpster full of old mannequins in the old fashion district. It gave me a few palettes (you can choose from color moods) I chose the “DEEP” one. I then elaborated a birdcage design with lace in the background giving a little bit of “chinoiserie” feeling.

Kuler'sPickdeep Julie'sKuler'sPickDEEP01

So it was a fruitful vacation after all, even if it was an emotional roller coaster. Of course I wish I had drawn, sewn , taken pictures, painted and web designed  twice as much… but what are vacation for? let loose! So I did manage to forget which day it was for about 2 weeks…


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Tampering with Timelines

So if you use social media, you’ve probably seen and/or heard about websites like Facebook and Twitter showing you only certain posts. The site uses some sort of algorithm to decide which posts it thinks you want to see, instead of just showing you everything.

It’s been announced that Instagram is going to be doing this as well.

According to polls, most users don’t like this. I’m not sure about others, but I don’t want a computer deciding which of my friends posts are more important than others. According to a Mashable article, Instagram will show you photos with the most likes, and photos from the users that you interact with the most. Other posts may be shown later in your feed.

As someone who doesn’t use Instagram very much, with only a few followers, this means that hardly anyone will see my posts. And for those of you who use it a lot, the photos from your best friend who only posts every now and then? You probably won’t see those photos anymore. Instagram will deem them unimportant because they don’t have as many likes as other people that you follow.

I understand that Instagram is probably trying to get people to use their app more, but honestly, this kind of makes me want to move away from it. When this change does take place, I’ll be getting fewer likes on my photos, and none of my friends will see my photos anyway, so why bother posting them? If I’m just going to be pushed off of people’s feeds by a more popular user, I’ll find somewhere else to spend my time.

Maybe this sounds a little childish. If you won’t pay attention to me, then I don’t like your app. But honestly, Instagram is being a little childish. You don’t post enough so we’ve deemed your photos less significant that this person who posts daily.

All of this reminds me of high school. The posts with the most likes gets the most attention and all of the other posts are scooted out of view and forgotten.

You could also compare it to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. After all, the photos with more likes will be seen by more users, and the photos with fewer likes just won’t show up any more. How is a less frequent user supposed to get more likes, or more followers if their posts won’t show up anywhere?

Instagram isn’t the first to do this. Facebook has been doing this for years. And Twitter has started doing it more recently. Just yesterday, I had to turn off some new setting on Twitter to stop it from showing me “important” posts firsts.

The people I follow on Twitter and Instagram are all important to me. That’s why I followed them. If I didn’t want to see someone’s posts, I wouldn’t have followed them. Just show me what my friends have posted, in the order that they posted it. I’m tired of missing big news in my friends lives because Facebook decided that the complaint about someone’s boss was more important. I’m tired of missing tour announcements from my favorite bands because Twitter decided that the latest Trump meme was more important.

I followed people because I wanted to see their posts. Let me decide what’s important. If I don’t care about it, I’ll just keep scrolling.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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7 Muslim Groomers Charged In Oxford

Another load of Muslim grooming gang members charged with deviant child sex offences against schoolgirls. With at least one victim being under the age of 13 at the time of the crimes.

It seems there is no end in sight to the never-ending cycle of Muslim paedophiles sexually abusing and exploiting British children

Seven men have been charged in connection with a major child sexual exploitation investigation in Oxford.

Police officers carried out arrests on Thursday in connection with alleged sex offences against females which occurred between 2008 and 2015.

Six men were charged with the rape of a girl under 16 as well as other sexual offences, while a seventh man was charged with conspiracy to rape.

Six men – all from Oxford – will appear before Oxford magistrates.

They are: Shabir Dogar, 22; Shabaz Khan, 23; Shohab Dogar, 23; Yasin Hamid, 20; Usman Iddris, 22; and Joseph Suraina, 22.

Waqas Hussain, 24, of no fixed abode, will appear at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on 4 April.

Mr Hussain has also been charged with the attempted sexual assault of a girl under 13, as have Shabir Dogar and Shohab Dogar.

The raids were part of what the police are calling Operation Nautical.

A further 10 men were also arrested on Wednesday as part of the same operation.

Muslim Grooming Gang From East Lancashire On Trial

muslim grooming gangs target british schoolgirls. islam allows sex with children

The Islamic enclaves of East Lancashire is the latest area to be infected by the rape jihad cancer that is rapidly spreading throughout the UK. Where a Muslim grooming gang are currently on trial at Burnley Crown Court for the systematic rape and sexual exploitation of a school girl.

The victims ordeal lasted a number of years as the Muslim sexual predators passed her around and raped her at will. As a result of the abuse the female made several attempts to take her own life.

  • Abbas Khan, 59, of Hubie Street, denies six rapes and 10 indecent assaults
  •  Ijaz Khan, 47, Casterton Avenue, both Burnley, denies one rape and eight indecent assaults
  • Javid Raza, 59, of Crosshill Road, Blackburn, denies six indecent assaults.
  • Amir Amin, 36, from Manchester, denies one count of rape
  • Nadeem Arif, of St James Court, Blackburn, denies one rape.
  • Mohammed Rafique, of Moss Avenue, Rochdale, denies rape and indecent assault.
  • 1 Un-named Person deemed unfit through ill-health to stand trial

Reports of the ongoing Muslim grooming gang trial are currently confined to the local press with little mainstream media interest in exposing these vile Islamic rape jihadists.

Continue reading Muslim Grooming Gang From East Lancashire On Trial

First Muslim Grooming Gang Trial Of 2017: 5 Rotherham Nonces In The Dock

Only a matter of days into 2017 and already we have the first Muslim grooming gang trial of the year underway. Five Muslim paedophiles are in the dock from the notorious grooming scandal town of Rotherham. Like Rochdale, the South Yorkshire town has been ravaged by years of Muslim grooming gangs abusing vulnerable white British schoolgirls at will.As Police, Social Services and the local Labour Party controlled Council did nothing about it in fear of being accused as racist.

One of the victims who was abused from the age of 12 fell pregnant and was unsure who the  father was as ringleader Basharat Dad and his older brother Nassar Dad had both raped her around the time.

kafir crusaders interactive Muslim grooming gangs and muslim paedophiles map of the UK
Kafir Crusaders interactive Muslim grooming map

Child sex abuse trial: Five in court over 23 offences

THREE brothers and two other men have gone on trial for historic child sexual exploitation (CSE) offences.

The five men have been charged with a total of 23 CSE offences, including one joint charge of false imprisonment, which allegedly took place in Rotherham between 1999 and 2001.

The men deny all the offences.

The defendants and charges are as follows:

Basharat Dad (32), of Eldon Road, Eastwood, six counts of rape, two counts of sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 13, five counts of indecent assault and false imprisonment.

Nassar Dad (36), of Cranworth Road, Eastwood, two counts of rape, two counts of sexual intercourse with a girl aged under 13, two counts of inciting indecency with a child and false imprisonment.

Tayab Dad (34), of St Lawrence Road, Tinsley, rape.

Matloob Hussain (41), of Doncaster Road, Thrybergh, charged with sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13.

Mohammed Sadiq (40), of Oxley Grove, Broom, charged with sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13.

The offences relate to two girls who were aged 12 to 14 years-old.

Miss Sophie Drake, prosecuting, opened the case today (Wednesday) at Sheffield Crown Court and said the two girls were not known to each other.

Miss Drake said it was the crown’s case that between 2000 and 2001 Hussain, Sadiq, Basharat Dad and Nassar Dad sexually abused a 12-year-old girl.

She added: “In the late 90s and early 00s the defendants Basharat Dad and Tayab Dad sexually abused the other girl, who was aged 13 to 14 years-old.”

The connection between the two girls, Miss Drake said, was Basharat Dad who raped the complainants on separate occasions.

“The girls also had in common that they were young teenagers growing up in Rotherham and were sexually exploited by a number of men, they were vulnerable young girls given alcohol and cannabis and told to perform sexual acts,” said Miss Drake.

The trial is due to last six weeks.


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Michael Douglas Describes Anti-Semitic Attack Against His Son

Driven by the recent anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, Michael Douglas wrote a powerful op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, calling for action from religious and political leaders.

The actor, 70, decide to express himself because of the anti-Semitism his young son, Dylan, experienced in Southern Europe on a family vacation. Now just 14, Dylan was driven to tears by a man who was “hurling insults” at him – all because was wearing a Star of David.

Douglas had to tell his son that he had just had his “first taste of anti-Semitism.”

Michael’s mother, Diane, is not Jewish, though his father, veteran leading man Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch), is; “While some Jews believe that not having a Jewish mother makes me not Jewish, I have learned the hard way that those who hate do not make such fine distinctions,” said Michael.

Michael Douglas wrote in his op-ed piece…

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