text:
October 2019 Recap: Untrained laborers at over a gp a day? We’re getting skinned!

Surveying the room, which was large, but not huge by any stretch of the imagination, the party noticed that Floon is alive but badly hurt.

The mind flayer, having escaped through the door that the pedestal had opened, was gone. The group surveyed the room. Up near where they first saw the mind flayer was a stone chair, with tattered tapestries surrounding.

Culdock examined the stone eyestalk. It was about three inches in diameter, carved to resemble a the eyestalk of a beholder. Its sole function is to open the portal the mind flayer exited through. Culdock and Lauris split up to check the rooms. Upon entering one, Lauris felt a bolt whiz by him and alerted the group. Geth rushed over and checked on Lauris, who explained what happened. Lauris tried to sneak into the next room over and was greeted with a bolt to the chest and was very badly hurt. Culdock charged into the room and swung his Warhammer at the goblin but missed. Geth cast Cure Wounds on Lauris, healing him completely. Renear muttered about how crowded it was, pushed his way to the front and swung his sword at the goblin but missed. Lauris brandished his rapier at the Goblin but tripped over his own boots. Culdock fumbled over his Warhammer and missed his attack. The goblins dropped their short bows and drew scimitars. Renear took a blow from a goblin and Lauris dodged one from the other. Geth and Renear both swung swords at the goblin, and Lauris slew the Goblin with his rapier. Culdock mashed the Goblin with his Warhammer. Renear took a blow from the Goblin’s scimitar, but Geth brought his own down onto the Goblin’s head and cleft it in two. Geth picked up a short bow and Culdock took the goblins’ clothing. Renear swore at the goblins and returned to Floon. Geth examined Floon. He appeared very hurt, and Lauris placed Vole’s hat on Floon. Floon stood up, scared and clingy and thanked the group, explaining that he had no idea what the hobgoblin and the Mind Flayer wanted from him.

Lauris gave a Goodberry to Floon, who was overcome with gratitude. He very much did not seem an adventurer. Floon said that the Mind Flayer really never left the dais during the entire interrogation. Floon was surprised that he did not take more an active role in it.

Geth wandered off to explore, finding more rooms of no interest. Looking over to the dais, he saw a satchel and a chest. Opening the satchel, he saw an unusual book and took it. Opening the chest, he saw 16 gold, 82 silver, 250 copper and two potions, picking it all up. He showed to book to the group and after much bickering they handed it to Culdock who determined that it was in fact a spell book with Shield, Witch Bolt, Unseen Servant, Burning Hands, False Life, and Disguise Self. They checked the one remaining room and found a hidden door under a loose stone. Following it, they found a room filled with the smell of fermenting hops. Following through the room and up a set of stairs, they found themselves in a tavern called Peabody’s run by some halflings. They, apparently unaware of the secret entrance in their basement, wonder aloud if we wanted to bathe. Lauris, taking the lead, said that we were plumbers and were in need of baths. The halflings, somewhat incredulous, remarked that they had never seen plumbers fully armed, to which Lauris replied that there were enormous rats down there that would require extermination in about 2-5 years, and that he could provide his information for a service call and services so far would cost 10 gold, to which the halflings replied that washing would be 11 gold. We all agreed to settle on services rendered in exchange for soap and clean water.

We returned to the Portal, and were settling in when Volo walked in and joined us at the table, ordering food and drink. Volo brought up the subject of our reward, offering a sheepish look and beginning to stutter and fidget. Volo, not wanting to renege on a promise, offered something far more valuable than the gold offered. Volo presented a scroll case and the deed to a property in Waterdeep. We agree to see the property in the morning, after the party has taken a long rest.

We come to Trollskull Manor, a fine estate on Trollskull Lane that is quite abandoned. We arranged for a transfer of deeds and meet with the magistrate to finalize the deal.

Culdock spent most of his time setting up a shrine to his patron god and spends the rest in his skivvies stone working in the back. Lauris found his accommodations not to his satisfaction and spends some time looking for a handyman to assist in fixing up his lodgings. Geth swore up and down that he would fix all sorts of things around the manor and ends up not really doing any of them, instead spending time exploring the city and chasing other animals in Wild Shape and drinking in unsavory establishments.

After a few days’ time, Culdock notices that some things are amiss around the house. Simple things moved around after use, and Lauris’ painting looked wrong. Someone cleaned Geth’s room and he became furious.

Checking over the house, the adventurers find nothing so out of order. Geth, thinking of what could possibly explain all this, concludes that there could be any number of things.

Geth decides to focus on securing the house and cleaning it. Lauris finds that he can get 5 untrained laborers for 5 gold per day for 4 days to get everything clean. Geth and Lauris split the cost for the laborers, who show up with every cleaning implement imaginable.  Geth offers some direction but the laborers say that they would suggest starting at the top and moving down. They sweep the chimneys, mop the floors, clean the roofs, and create an incredible mess of dust, and by the end of the first day have the attic bedroom, the turrets and half of the third floor cleaned. At the end of the day, the say thanks for the help

The laborers show up the next day, showing up with most of the same tools but asking if we wanted them to clean Lauris’ room too. Geth rips up a floorboard, hides the silver bars down there and uses his mending cantrip to seal it back in. Geth pays them at the end of the day and they again say thanks for the help. Geth asks them if Lauris had helped yesterday, and the worker replied that they didn’t want trouble.

The next day, the workers showed up at our door with all manner of cleaning supplies. They get to cleaning the main floor, mopping and sweeping and packing out trash, even attempting to throw away some of Culdock’s stone working product. Around midday, the leader of the laborers approaches Culdock with the question of what to do with the kegs and wine casks in the cellar. Roughly an hour later, Culdock sees the kegs and casks being hauled out of the cellar by the burlier members of the crew.

As Culdock comes in and out throughout the day, he notices on one occasion a cloud of dust coalescing on its own. Another time he sees a worker cleaning a spot, walking back, nodding and then cleaning it some more. On another occasion, he sees a worker sweeping around a stone chair, then the stone chair moved.

Geth attempted to find some information at the local bar and found instead an abundance of strong drink. He came home late and very drunk and dirty. They spent 5 gold from the community gold to pay the laborers.

Culdock says that there seem to be weird self-cleaning parts of the tavern which should be highly profitable. Lauris also thinks this is weird.

The cleaning crew comes back with chemical cleaners to clean and detail the cellar.

Hanging out around the house, abound halfway through the day, Lauris hears a knock on the door of the master suite and readied his rapier. The crew lead asks if someone would walk through with him and see if there’s anything that needs to be cleaned further.

Some of the end got lost because I was scratching my head too much about the haunted house.


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Herron v. Brennan

United States District Court, W.D. Tennessee, Western Division

September 12, 2019

MEGAN J. BRENNAN, Postmaster General, Defendant.

         Before the Court is Defendant Meghan J. Brennan, Postmaster General's, Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction or, in the alternative, to Transfer Venue. (Docket Entry (“D.E.”) #11). Pursuant to Administrative Order 2013-05, the instant motion has been referred to the United States Magistrate Judge for Report and Recommendation. For the reasons set forth herein, it is RECOMMENDED that Defendant's Motion be DENIED.

         I. Introduction

         On December 18, 2018, Plaintiff Robert Herron filed a pro se Complaint alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”). Plaintiff alleges that he resides in Shelby County, Tennessee and that Defendant resides, or its business is located, in St. Louis, Missouri. Plaintiff alleges that he was employed at a United States Postal Service (“USPS”) location in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He alleges that he was subjected to unequal terms and conditions of his employment on the basis of gender (Male), color (Black), and race (African American) and that he suffered unlawful retaliation. Plaintiff alleges that the discriminatory acts occurred on May 13, 2015 and that Defendant is no longer committing these acts against him.

         On May 1, 2019, Defendant filed the instant motion advancing two arguments. First, Defendant asserts that “[t]his Court lacks personal jurisdiction over claims brought by a Tennessee resident for conduct of the Defendant alleged by Plaintiff that all took place in the Northern District of Mississippi.” Second, Defendant avers that, “[f]or the same reasons[, ] venue is improper here.” Thus, Defendant argues that Plaintiff's Complaint should either be dismissed or transferred to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi.

         On May 30, 2019, Plaintiff filed a pro se Response to Defendant's Motion asserting that this Court may exercise jurisdiction over his claim and that his case should be tried in this Court. Plaintiff further requests that, in the event that this Court does not have jurisdiction over his Complaint or that this Court is not the appropriate venue, his Complaint be transferred to another United States District Court rather than be dismissed.

         II. Proposed Analysis

         A. Personal Jurisdiction

         For this Court to exercise personal jurisdiction over Plaintiff's Title VII claim, it must find that either general or specific personal jurisdiction exists. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Court of California, San Francisco Cty., 137 S.Ct. 1773, 1780 (2017).

         General jurisdiction exists when a defendant's “contacts with the forum state are of such a continuous and systematic nature that the state may exercise personal jurisdiction over the defendant even if the action is unrelated to the defendant's contacts with the state.” Intera Corp. v. Henderson, 428 F.3d 605, 615 (citing Bird v. Parsons, 289 F.3d 865, 873 (6th Cir. 2002)) (emphasis added).

         Specific personal jurisdiction is derived from the case or controversy that establishes subject matter jurisdiction. Bristol-Myers Squibb, 137 S.Ct. at 1780. “An exercise of personal jurisdiction is proper where the claims in the case arise from or are related to the defendant's contacts with the forum state.” Intera Corp., 428 F.3d at 615 (citing Kerry Steel, Inc. v. Paragon Indus., Inc., 106 F.3d 147, 149 (6th Cir. 1997)). In Southern Machine Company v. Mohasco Industries, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit promulgated a three-prong test that guides the determination of whether specific jurisdiction exists. S. Mach. Co. v. Mohasco Indus., Inc., 401 F.2d 374, 381 (6th Cir. 1968). The Southern Machine test provides as follows:

First, the defendant must purposefully avail himself of the privilege of acting in the forum state or causing a consequence in the forum state. Second, the cause of action must arise from the defendant's activities there. Finally, the acts of the defendant or consequences caused by the defendant must have a substantial enough connection with the forum state to make the exercise of jurisdiction over the defendant reasonable. Id.

         Upon review, Defendant relies upon the Southern Machine factors for her position that personal jurisdiction does not exist; however, her position only considers half of the question, namely, whether specific personal jurisdiction exists. However, upon considering the question of general personal jurisdiction, the Court recommends that USPS maintains continuous and systematic contacts with the State of Tennessee, as it operates the postal service throughout the state. Thus, Plaintiff's claim need not arise from Defendant's activities here-the continuous and systematic contacts alone are enough for general personal jurisdiction to exist. Accordingly, it is RECOMMENDED that this Court may exercise personal jurisdiction over Defendant and that Defendant's Motion to Dismiss be DENIED.

         B. ...

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Bostic v. Tennessee Department of Corrections

United States District Court, M.D. Tennessee, Nashville Division

December 4, 2019

          Honorable William L. Campbell, Jr., District Judge

         By Order entered July 23, 2018 (Docket Entry No. 10), the Court referred this pro se and in forma pauperis prisoner civil rights action to the Magistrate Judge for pretrial proceedings under 28 U.S.C. §§ 636(b)(1)(A) and (B), Rule 72(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Court.

         Presently pending before the Court is the motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, motion to dismiss (Docket Entry No. 57) filed by Defendants Katherine Campbell, Casey Dillon, and Austin Rich. Plaintiff has responded in opposition to the motion. See Docket Entry Nos. 62 and 65. For the reasons set out below, the undersigned respectfully recommends that the motion be granted and that this action be dismissed.

         I. BACKGROUND

         James Bostic (“Plaintiff”) is a former prisoner of the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”). He filed this lawsuit pro se and in forma pauperis on June 20, 2018, seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on allegations that his constitutional rights were being violated by prison officials. See Complaint (Docket Entry No. 1). Although Plaintiff appears to have been released from confinement, [1] he was within the custody of the TDOC and was confined at the Bledsoe Creek Correctional Complex (“BCCX”) in Pikeville, Tennessee at the time he filed the lawsuit. In his complaint and in three post-complaint letters that were construed as amendments to his complaint, see Docket Entry Nos. 5, 6, and 8, Plaintiff named several defendants and made multiple allegations of wrongdoing at the BCCX, including the denial of medical care, retaliation, the denial of sentence credits, and the denial of placement in work release programs and specific housing units.

         Upon initial frivolity review of the case under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A, the Court found that Plaintiff asserted colorable claims that his Eighth Amendment right to constitutionally adequate medical care had been violated. See Memorandum entered July 23, 2018 (Docket Entry No. 9), and Order entered September 10, 2018 (Docket Entry No. 20).[2] Specifically, the Court found that process should issue to three defendants - Dr. Dillon, Nurse f/n/u Darrius, and Nurse f/n/u Auston - based on Plaintiff's allegations that he had not been properly treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (“COPD”), lung disease, asthma, hypertension, epilepsy, nerve pain in his feet, and an unspecified eye problem. See Memorandum at 18-21. All other claims and defendants were dismissed. See Order at 3. Plaintiff's subsequent request to amend his complaint was granted to the extent that he identified an additional defendant - BCCX Medical Administrator Kathy Campbell -on his Eighth Amendment medical care claims but was denied in all other respects. See Order entered September 10, 2018 (Docket Entry No. 20).

         Process was eventually served upon Defendants Katherine Campbell (“Campbell”), Austin Rich (“Rich”), [3] and Casey Dillon (“Dillon”) (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Defendants), who filed a joint answer.[4] See Docket Entry No. 56. Process for Nurse f/n/u Darius was returned unexecuted with a notion that there was no one with that name employed at the BCCX. See Docket Entry No. 50.

         Defendants seek summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, raising three arguments. First, they contend that Plaintiff did not pursue the prison grievance process about his claims prior to filing his lawsuit, and thus he has failed to exhaust his available administrative remedies, as is required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. See Memorandum (Docket Entry No. 58) at 5-7. Second, they argue that Plaintiff does not allege sufficient facts against Defendants to state a constitutional claim that they were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. Id. at 7-9. Finally, they contend that Plaintiff's claims actually sound in healthcare liability under state law but that he has not complied with the requirements of the Tennessee Health Care Liability Act, and thus his claims should be dismissed. Id. at 9-12. Defendants support their motion with the Affidavit of TDOC Correctional Program Manager and grievance records custodian Benjamin Bean and documents attached thereto (Docket Entry No. 57-1) and with a statement of undisputed material facts (Docket Entry No. 59).

         In unsworn responses to Defendants' motion, Plaintiff clarifies that the only claim he is pursuing is a claim is for an approximate seven month delay that he alleges occurred before he was given a sleep study for his COPD after a doctor had ordered in December 2017 that he be tested for this condition. See Response (Docket Entry No. 62) at 1-3 and Second Response (Docket Entry No. 65) at 3. He contends that Defendant Campbell is responsible for this delay, as well as TDOC, see Response at 1-3, but states that the other defendants should be dismissed from the case. Id. at 4. Plaintiff argues that this claim should be set for a jury trial because the claim involves a serious medical need and the Court has already determined that his allegations qualify him for the “imminent danger” exception under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) and raise a colorable constitutional claim. See Second Response at 1-4. With respect to Defendants' PLRA grievance defense, Plaintiff argues that he was not required to pursue a prison grievance because the issue involved the denial of medical care for a serious life threatening condition that put him in imminent danger. Id. at 2. Plaintiff does not respond to Defendants' argument about the lack of merit of any state law claim and also does not respond to Defendants' statement of undisputed material facts.[5]

         In a reply, Defendants contend that Plaintiff's assertion of a delay in treatment fails to support his constitutional claim because Plaintiff fails to allege that he suffered a serious physical injury as a result of the alleged failure to provide him with medical care. See Reply (Docket Entry No. 3).

         A motion for summary judgment is reviewed under the standard that summary judgment is appropriate if “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23 (1986). A “genuine issue of material fact” is a fact which, if proven at trial, could lead a ...

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The Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities (OCDD) serves as the Single Point of Entry (SPOE) into the developmental disabilities services system and oversees public and private residential services and other services for people with developmental disabilities.

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Is a non-profit, family directed resource center for individuals with disabilities and their families. It is a place where families can go that is directed and staffed by parents or family members of children with disabilities or adults with disabilities. It is this common experience that gives Families Helping Families a very unique approach to serving families
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The Louisiana Assistive Technology Initiative (LATI) is a project to promote information, resources and professional development about assistive technology for educators and families (LATI provides funding for regional assistive technology centers across the state. The purpose of the centers is to provide local training and hands-on support to build district capacity for the implementation of assistive technology in schools. In addition to the regional centers, LATI provides state-wide leadership, guidance and resources for district policies and procedures, assistive technology funding and training. To culminate assistive technology activities, LATI hosts an annual Assistive Technology Summer Institute.

This site is designed for educators and family members who support students with significant disabilities.  These students often have complex needs in areas such as communication, health care, behavior support, skill acquisition (e.g., academic, self-help, social, vocational), and generalization. They may experience sensory deficits and motor challenges which require targeted intervention to support their participation in routines and activities. As such, these students typically require extensive services and support to enable them to access and progress in the general curriculum in the context of inclusive environments.

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Todd at Beacon 4/27

Review by NM Morales (Switch to

Well I have to disagree with Lia Corona. The show was good but Todd sucked. Why should I ever pay $75 to hear him say "in NYC you are supposed to be really good but maybe tonight I won't be". Come on Todd! Why bother then? Yes the show at Delacorte was amazing. But this show was dismal. Joe Jackson was extremely good as were Etherl and seemed to take every minute quite seriously. Todd on the other hand could barely get through any song without a joke or a grimace or something equally distracting. I was very disappointed. And if you could hear all the women in line for the loo after the show they were all in agreement I think. Because there was barely a word said. I think Hawaii has made him too laid back. Is anyone in agreement?

Other reviews for Todd Rundgren, Joe Jackson and Ethel 2005
04/27/2005 - Beacon Theater - New York, NY

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The Todd Rundgren Connection is brought to you by Roger D. Linder & The Linder Logo Rocemabra Web Services.


text:
II PUC Crash Course
MBA Entrance 2018-11-14T16:43:12+05:30

Project Description

MBA Entrance

A career in management has a lot to offer. Leading corporates prefer to employ MBAs in managerial positions. The Admission Process to the top B schools in the country is mainly a two step process:

Step 1: CAT/MAT/PGCET/CMAT/Others: The Entrance Exams consists of Reasoning, English, Maths & General Knowledge.

Step 2: GD and PI: Candidates who successfully clear the entrance exams are short listed and called for the second step of selection, the Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview(PI).

A candidate’s performance in the written test, GD-PI, previous academic record are the main criteria employed by top B schools while selecting their prospective students. Preparation of MBA Entrance also helps to crack banking, campus recruitment, and civil service examinations.

PUC 2018-12-01T01:30:45+05:30


text:
Can Kids learn without being lead or learning from home

Can Kids learn without being lead? That is one of the main questions I had for myself when my girls started learning at home. I have only been unschooling or homeschooling for five months. So, I am just starting my homeschooling experience.  I have noticed a difference in attitude with the my two girls.  They seem happier, which I believe is just as important as their education.  How do I know they are learning?  I interact with them daily and ask questions.  Now if we don’t know the answerer they suggest getting on the computer and looking it up.

Can Kids learn without being lead?

My eight year old looks stuff up on google and then tells me about it, or will ask me questions and then tell me about it days later.  She is doing multiplication and is only in second grade she knows most of her states and capitals by playing an iPad game called Stack the States™ and can now read Dr. Seuss books with no problem. This was my child who they told me she would need special help with reading because she was so behind and we (yes both of us) would cry every night  because her homework was so hard.

So how do I know – just by watching, listening to them, if your get the chance do it – you will love it, enjoy it, and ask yourself why didn’t I do this sooner.

What is your story – how do you know if your kids are learning anything?

About Chrissie

Follow our crazy journey across America as we visit roadside oddities, historical land marks and beautiful landscapes. I have ton of ideas and review educational products that will help you get the most on your home school adventure. We are an Unschool family that believes the world is our classroom and is teaching our children to self direct their education to a better future.


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Urban Swaras Strength Training Session #2

Dear Swaras,

What a week this has been! From strength training with Elvis, bringing us all together through the power of technology to get sweaty, achey and proud together, to scouting for new trails with the Whatsapp-based Trail Fox Apprentice Challenge. You only have to log in to Strava or Garmin to see what Swaras have been up to, and also see the incredible encouragement that everybody is getting. Makes me so proud to be a Swara 🙂

This week we have plenty of juicy photos and stories, so be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of the Starting Line to take everything in! We even have a written Show & Tell from Felicita, who beat many an elite to finish the 2018 Boston Marathon despite hellish conditions. Link to Starting Line:

Strength training Part 2 with Elvis Abonyo.

Back by popular demand, we bring you part 2 of Elvis’ home strength training. This week we’re going to be using items you can easily find around your house to help us with our strength training. Fill 2 large water bottles, shampoo bottles, or even cans of pineapple rings, whatever you have that you can comfortably hold and lift, of around 1-2kg. If you have weights, then you can use those of course. Also find a broomstick or other stick or rod you have around the house, and you’re ready to go!

Link to join:

Password: 863305

(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 894 6126 8249 Password: 863305

You can join from your phone or laptop, just ensure you have a stable internet connection. If you have any issues joining, please contact me on Whatsapp +33615209676

Also feel free to invite your running friends and aspiring runners!

Link to Starting Line:

Urban Swaras Strength Training Session

If I had to put a ‘theme’ to last week it was ‘try something new’. For those of us who joined the Kundalini Yoga session on Wednesday we certainly tried something new, and got stuck into it feet first (kind of obligatory when you’re lying on the floor). I hope all of you found something new to try, whether it’s a new route, a new recipe, or a new way of seeing things. Check out some Swaras doing their ‘thang’ in the Starting Line:

This week, I would say the theme is ‘resilience’. We all need to be resilient in the face of what’s happening, which seems to be changing every day, and affecting us all in very different ways.

Thankfully, our very own Mr Muscles, the man who can’t help but poke holes in all his Swara t-shirts, and who can run an ultra AND accidentally attend a funeral in the same day (long story), is bringing us just what we need to build our resilience:

Body weight strength training session.

This Wednesday 20th May at 6pm (note the slight change in time), via Zoom. No need for any equipment, so all are welcome, just bring your body, some water, your video (please switch on your video to allow for real-time feedback), and clear enough space to do some exercise!

Link to join:

Password:  412137

(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 835 7070 9295 Password:  412137

You can join from your phone or laptop, just ensure you have a stable internet connection. If you have any issues joining, please contact me on Whatsapp +33615209676

Also feel free to invite your running friends and aspiring runners!

All the latest news and pictures in this week’s Starting Line:

Urban Swaras Kundalini Yoga session

After three amazing editions of Swara Show & Tell, for which we want to thank Sam Mugoya, Amanda Scoville, and Cheruiyot, we now bring you something altogether different:

Google it if you have to, or just show up this Wednesday 13th May at 6.30pm for a Kundalini Yoga session led by Lydia Limbe, a Swara runner and yogi, also known as Onkar Sangeeta in the Kundalini Yoga world.

This is a must-try. As runners we often get carried away with pounding the tarmac, sometimes neglecting our core, our strength, and the energies that we all have within us that sometimes do us good and sometimes don’t! This extraordinary yoga session will help to strengthen your core and take your mind and your body to new levels.

This really is unmissable. Lydia is an experienced yogi, who has been leading classes on Zoom since the confinement period started. Some important tips below before you log on Wednesday 13th at 6.30pm for the session can be found in this week’s Starting Line:

Link to join: 948248

(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 881 9671 1980 Password: 948248)
And this week’s Starting Line with some photos and snippets of what Swaras have been up to:

Urban Swaras Show & Tell #3

Dear Swaras,

It’s like every week Swaras come up with new ways to live their best running lives…we had virgin ultras, birthday ultras (run your age, they say), Strava drawings, running with animals, a Swara Show & Tell all the way from the United States, and even a book published by one of our very own! Whatsapp has been flooded with book signing and delivery photos.

So it’s only fitting that our next Swara Show & Tell should feature none other than Cheruiyot himself, the ultra runner, the writer, and even supporter (many of us know him as a great cheerleader and snack-giver when he’s not running). So join us this Wednesday for his Show & Tell, and to honour his achievement with an online Q&A!

Swara Show & Tell #3

Join us at 6.30pm this Wednesday 6th May to hear Cheruiyot tell us about his superhuman running exploits, some of which are detailed in his new book, ‘An Ultra Marathon Story of the Tor Des Géants’.

Link to join:

Password: 271117

(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 894-5660-3205 Password: 202617

You can join from your phone or laptop, just ensure you have a stable internet connection. If you have any issues joining, please contact me on Whatsapp +33615209676

Bringing refreshments is highly encouraged (none will be provided sadly, though the thought has crossed our mind) 🙂

Also feel free to invite your running friends and aspiring runners!

Urban Swaras 5th May @ Show & Tell 2

The solidarity and resilience of Swaras never ceases to amaze me (and thankfully inspire me to more thoughtful and resilient myself)! This week saw dozens of Swaras clocking 25km and upwards in honour of our former patron’s (MK/Surinder’s) dearly departed wife, who went to rest just one year ago. An incredible show of solidarity, so a warm thank you to all who took part in this informal homage.

On Wednesday we had the first Swara Show & Tell, which was a resounding success, and we are announcing our second edition just below 🙂

Also this week, the final masks from the Maskforce campaign were distributed, bringing the total to 2,160 masks, thanks to all of YOU, so a huge thank you once again! These went to frontline health workers at Tigoni Health Centre, Ngara Health Centre, and Langata Women’s Prison Dispensary. Hats off to Greg Hart and Loice Mbogo and Ranu Waweru, CRE and committee members who were so instrumental in leading this project.

More Swara news in this week’s Starting Line:

Swara Show & Tell #2

This week we will be hearing from the sparkliest, most colourful, and most likely our furthest away Swara right now, Amanda Scoville! She’ll be ‘zooming’ in from the United States to tell us about her running journey, which has not been without obstacles, and which personifies the solidarity and resilience I mentioned above. Tune in Wednesday 29th April at 6.30pm (note the slightly later time), using the details below.

Link to join:

Password: 202617

(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 882-2847-9971 Password: 202617

Check out more photos and full Swara news in the Starting Line:

Urban Swaras 25th April @ Show & Tell

Dear Swaras,
The rains are here! Forgive the note of celebration, but rain is necessary for so many things, and also presents us with new challenges as runners, like ‘not falling in puddles’, ‘cleaning shoes every day and scraping mud off the bottom of our once-shiny new trainers’, and finally ‘not complaining or making excuses’. You’ve gotta love challenges like that.

Check out some photo highlights from runs and Duka La Swara deliveries in this week’s Starting Line:

And now for something completely new:

Swara Show & Tell

We are launching Swara Show & Tell this week, where we dive into the homes, hearts and history of some of our favourite Swaras. First up, this Wednesday 22nd April, we’re hearing from Sam, aka SMD Fly, and you do not want to miss this. Just trust me. The Show & Tell will be online (of course) so install zoom, and join us using this link, at 5pm on Wednesday:…
(Alternatively open zoom and use meeting ID Meeting ID: 839 7128 4241 Password: 186192

You can join from your phone or laptop, just ensure you have a stable internet connection. If you have any issues joining, please contact me on Whatsapp +33615209676

We will be there waiting to see and hear Sam’s story, and then have a Swara get-together online! Feel free to bring a cuppa or a glass of whatever takes your fancy to sip as we listen 🙂 No judgement!

Urban Swaras 19th April @ Happy Easter!

Dear Swaras,

We have come to the last day of the MaskForce campaign, so please, if you have been meaning to donate for 1, 10, or even 100 masks, then now is the time! Details on the poster (please note M-Pesa name is now Samuel Waweru, and not Loise Mbarire. all other details remain the same.

And on behalf of the Urban Swaras Running Club, a Happy Easter to you all! Whether you got eggs, chocolate, a special Zoom call from a family member or a long-lost friend, a Sunday brunch, or a crazy run, we hope you have been having a lovely and special long weekend.

Solo Swara runs have been getting more and more imaginative! We’ve seen plenty an Ultra, some interesting strength workouts, and even some Strava/Garmin artwork, keep it up! Check out the Starting Line for some photographic evidence:

Urban Swaras 11th April @ Maskforce

Dear Swaras,

This week saw the launch of the exciting MaskForce Campaign, which allows us all to do our bit for the fight against COVID-19 aka Corona Virus, from the comfort of our homes (for those of us who have the option to self-isolate.

Please do get involved. We have already raised almost half of our original goal of 1,000 masks, so help us surpass that and set a new goal! And don’t forget, this is not just for Swaras, so please do share on your Strava, Garmin, or other running app, and with any of your friends and family you want to join you, on Whatsapp Facebook etc.

Find full info on the Starting line:

Duka La Swara

The Duka La Swara will be closing at the END OF TODAY (Monday 6th April) at midnight (no point saying ‘close of business’ as that is now a nonsensical term, business is no time and anytime). Place your orders before then! we will then confirm with our suppliers, and send you a prompt for payment. You should have received a confirmation by Whatsapp, so will receive the prompt in the same way.

The personalization requests are very entertaining, so keep them coming! And so many of you are taking the full package, so we can’t wait to see Nairobi flooded with Swara stash post-COVID!

Full info and pictures in the Starting Line:

Subs and club finances

We will not be collecting Quarter 2 (April-June) subs from members at this time, but will resume collections when runs resume. We would also like to assure all members that the club continues to support the Trail Fox with his full salary during these difficult times.

Urban Swaras 4th April @Duka la Swara!

You would think that with a nationwide curfew, Swara runs suspended, and general pandemonium, running activities would grind to a halt. But then you forget that we’re Swaras. Instead, what we’ve seen is an upsurge in innovative ways to keep running, keep active, and share some precious moments together as a running community, even if only virtually!

Some highlights:

1. Team Wakimbizi pushing themselves to new limits in South C

2. Swaras narrowly missing each other on Southern Bypass, only realising after sharing their routes on the Whatsapp group

3. Avani Patel’s General’s Challenge garnering huge success across the running community

4. The most positive and encouraging week yet on the Whatsapp group.

Let’s keep it up!

And to keep us all motivated, we’re opening a Duka La Swara (Swara shop). No, we’re not selling live animals, but Swara gear! Check out what’s on offer now and place your orders! We will be able to deliver to you (circumstances permitting) within Nairobi. Check it out in the Starting Line:

Duka La Swara

Even if you don’t like our cheeky pun, you’ll LOVE what you can get your hands on now to rock the Swara colours and name…and even your own name! See below for the full range of t-shirt, hoodie, and cap in different colours and sizes. Get one, get several, or get the whole package, just browse below and fill in your order details here. Please note, we cannot guarantee 100% that your size and colour will be available but we will do our best 🙂

You have ONE WEEK to place your order so we can set the Duka to work, and once we confirm your order with you one on one you will be asked to make payment via m-pesa before any printing begins.

Details on each item in the Starting Line, but you can also get the WHOLE PACKAGE of t-shirt, cap and hoodie in the colours of your choice for 5,000ksh, including your name printed on the back of your t-shrit and hoodie (4,800ksh without personalisation).

Fill in the order form here:

Happy Swara shopping!

All that and much much more in the Starting Line:

Urban Swaras 28th March @ DIY run!

There are only a few words on everyone’s lips these days, but because this is a Running Club, I won’t even mention them, and instead concentrate on the amount of solo, small-group, and inspirational, motivational running that has been going on across Nairobi this weekend! Talk about #RunningIsLiving. Even those who aren’t leaving the house, and respecting all official guidelines (myself included) managed to get some healthy kilometres in. Whether it was a brief jog around the compound, or a private ultra from one town to the other, we applaud you all! The Swara spirit was abound, and you can’t help but feel hopeful in the face of such togetherness. Please, please, keep sharing your runs and personal successes. If you’re not yet on the Whatsapp group, just send me an email ( or Whatsapp (+33615209676 and I’ll make sure you’re added.

Thanks to all who shared their selfies, routes and breakfast snaps! Do keep them coming, and keep encouraging each other with challenges and cheers.

As always, please do listen to the advice and instructions given about maintaining your own safety and the safety of others. We will be back to our normal Saturday Swara runs soon, but in the meantime, let’s all do our bit!

See some of the selfie highlights in this week’s Starting Line:


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Home / Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Moving toward a multi-currency system

By Zhang Monan | China Daily | Updated: 2018-09-14 07:30

Even a decade after the global financial crisis, the world economy has not fully recovered because the structural problems that precipitated the crisis have not been entirely eliminated. Complicating the matter is a series of policies the United States has adopted to shift trade and financial risks.

The US dollar has dominated the global financial system due to historical reasons. The exchange rate system that pegged other currencies to the dollar served as the cornerstone of the Bretton Woods system. However, the Bretton Woods system itself collapsed after the US terminated convertibility of the dollar to gold in 1971, ushering in the era of free-floating currencies and making the dollar a reserve currency.

But the Trump administration's protectionist and unilateral policies, together with the US' massive debts, have exposed economies to the risks of the free-floating dollar, prompting many countries to break away from the "US dollar regime" and shift toward a multipolar currency system.

US could use the dollar to impose new sanctions

The US has imposed steep tariffs on imports from a number of economies including China, Russia, Brazil and India and its traditional allies such as the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The resultant of this move on the global industrial chain could necessitate the reconstruction of the world trade order. There is also widespread concern that the United States might use the reserve currency status of the dollar to impose new sanctions on some countries.

The prospects of the US' financial resurgence, on the other hand, has dimmed because of the tax cuts the Trump administration has implemented. According to the US Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, the tax cuts will increase the country's fiscal deficit by $1.45 trillion in the next 10 years. And although fiscal easing to boost the economy, combined with tightening monetary policy, will accelerate the growth rate of US treasury bonds' yield rate, the policy would be unsustainable in the long run.

Also, along with the shrinking trade surplus in emerging markets thanks to the Trump administration's tariff wars, the demand for US bonds might be suppressed. The growth of the US bonds' yield rate would further raise the financing cost and create more systemic risks. In fact, countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland have recently taken back or announced they would take back the gold reserved in the US.

So developed countries, emerging market economies and oil-producing states are all unhappy with the fluctuating dollar.

The "de-dollarization" trend seems to be gathering speed. First, the use of other currencies in oil trade is becoming increasingly popular. In November 2016, Russia introduced the Urals crude oil futures denominated in roubles at the Saint-Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange. The Iranian Oil Bourse has been using the euro, the Iranian rial and a basket of other currencies to settle oil deals since July 2011. And Chinese crude oil futures denominated in the yuan became tradable at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange in March this year.

Second, the US' creditor countries have sharply reduced their dollar assets. Apart from the US' two biggest creditors－China and Japan－a dozen other countries including Russia and Turkey have reduced their dollar assets. This has caused the US government bond to drop to its lowest level since October 2011. Surprisingly, even the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Canada and Mexico have either sold or have decided to sell the US bonds in their possession.

Moreover, the share of the dollar in the global currency reserves has declined. International Monetary Fund data released in July showed the ratio of the dollar reserves fell for the fifth consecutive quarter in the first quarter of this year－from 62.72 percent of the allocated reserves in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 62.48 percent－while non-dollar reserves increased. For instance, reserves held in the yuan grew in the third quarter to 1.4 percent of the allocated reserves from the original 1.2 percent, while the shares of the pound sterling and euro jumped to 4.68 percent and 20.39 percent, respectively.

Internationalization of the yuan gathers pace

From a settlement currency to money of account to a reserve currency, the internationalization of the yuan has entered a new phase. By January this year, more than 1,900 financial institutions had listed the yuan as a payment currency. European countries, including Germany, France, Spain and Belgium, have in succession announced they would add the yuan to their foreign exchange reserve pool and accordingly reduce their dollar reserves.

Furthermore, along with the internationalization of the Chinese currency, global investors have increased their holdings of bonds denominated in the yuan. According to China Central Depository and Clearing Co, by the end of August overseas investors held 1.41 trillion yuan ($205.54 billion) worth of such bonds－which accounted for Chinese national debt of 1.03 trillion yuan thanks to an increase of 53.95 billion yuan in a single month in its 18th month of growth. The share of foreign investors in China's government debt market has jumped from 0.88 percent last year to 5.85 percent now. Which shows the status of the yuan in the global market has increased and yuan-denominated bonds have become a safe bet for investors.

True, a multi-polar currency system is emerging, and the trend of countries reducing their US debt holdings and signing bilateral currency swap agreements is gaining pace, but expecting a massive selloff of US dollars would be unrealistic.

The author is a senior fellow and professor at China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

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Green drivers

Updated: 2011-11-27 07:28

By Lan Lan (China Daily)

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Vice-Premier Li Keqiang says the country's economic growth is directly linked to its green policies and that energy conservation and environmental protection are part of China's long-term growth strategies.

BEIJING - Energy conservation and environmental protection is a long-term strategy as well as an urgent practical option for China, said Vice-Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday, two days ahead of the climate change summit in Durban, South Africa.

Green drivers

Two days before the climate summit in South Africa, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang speaks on Saturday at the sixth China-Japan forum on energy-saving and environment protection in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

The global economic scenario has become more complicated, Li said. The possibility for a long-term downturn has expanded and the process of global economic recovery may see more twists and turns.

"To maintain robust growth, it's a necessity to innovate the mode of development and nurture new driving forces," Li said at the sixth China-Japan forum on energy-saving and environment protection in Beijing on Saturday.

Energy-saving and environmental protection is in line with China's economic development transition.

Without structural adjustment and transformation, it's unlikely to maintain sustainable economic growth and a robust momentum of economic development, Li said.

China will further improve the quality of its economic growth by promoting energy efficiency and energy saving, reducing consumption and pollution, improving environmental protection, he said.

China is committed to improving "the quality of economic growth", and with this as a prerequisite, to maintain the economy with a long-term, steady and relatively fast growth.

Countries are rethinking and exploring future driving forces in economic growth amid the worsening economy, while promoting green economy has seen common consensus among countries, Li said.

Promoting energy conservation and environmental protection, as well as merging it into all sectors of society, is a strategic task, as well as a practical urgent option for China, he said.

Energy conservation and environmental protection will be a key "breakthrough point" for China's economic transformation and is beneficial to forming new driving forces.

Zhang Jianping, senior researcher at the Institute for International Economic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission, said the increasing eurozone debt crisis and financial turmoil had posed greater pressure to China's economic transition.

"It's become more urgent for China to highlight innovation and reduce its reliance on exports as all of its major trading partners are facing bleak economic outlooks," Zhang said.

Energy conservation and environmental protection are among the seven strategic emerging industries in advancing China's economic development.

China has huge potential in the energy-saving and environmental protection market, offering many opportunities for both domestic and international companies.

The output value of China's energy conservation and environmental protection is estimated to be 4.5 trillion yuan ($709 billion) by end 2015.

Zhang Ping, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency, said China is taking "building an economic society and environment friendly society" as its basic national policy.

According to China's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), it targets to reduce energy consumption per-unit GDP by 16 percent as compared with that in 2010.

China will take active measures in combating climate change, a common challenge facing humanity, said Zhang.

China emphasizes both mitigation and adaptation in addressing climate change, synergizing industrial structure and energy structure adjustment, in its efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions effectively, Zhang said.

China will extensively expand international cooperation in this area to strengthen abilities in tackling climate change, under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", he said.

Fifty-one projects related to energy-saving and environmental protection were signed between China and Japan during the forum, which was attended by about 1,000 officials and entrepreneurs from China and Japan.

Edano Yukio, Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry minister said it is crucial to further the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship.

The nuclear energy crisis, spawned by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, caused power shortages in Japan and also pushed the government to make stern determinations in energy conservation, he said.

Japan is willing to share technology and experiences with countries facing energy constraints and environmental problems, Yukio said.

"China's market advantage and Japan's technology complement each other. Much can be done in this area," said Li. China also pledged to strengthen efforts in intellectual property protection to create a healthy environment for technology cooperation. Cooperation in energy and environment has become crucial in bilateral trade.

China is Japan's biggest trading partner. Japan is China's fourth trading partner and the third largest investor. Bilateral trade increased 17.7 percent year on year to $281 billion in the first 10 months this year.


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Watch Videos of Xerox WorkCentre 4265 Reviews given by Buyer’s Lab (BLI)

Get in touch with us

When a new multifunction printer has to be selected and to really know what it can do and what to expect of it – talking about it is good, but action is better.

That’s why Xerox worked with Buyer’s Lab (BLI) to produce two new videos. Together they give you a detailed view of the WorkCentre 4265 through the eyes of one of the leading sources for unbiased and reliable intelligence for the global digital imaging industry.

BLI is the imaging industry’s leading independent authority and provider of competitive intelligence, testing and reviews on multifunction (MFP), copier, printer, scanner and software solutions and products.

Xerox was pleased to learn that the WorkCentre 4265 had received BLI’s highly recommended and highly reliable ratings, two very impressive and hard to achieve distinctions, and only after careful testing and inspection. They based their ratings on several factors, starting with its flawless performance over 125,000 printed pages during BLI’s lab test. BLI also recognized the WorkCentre 4265’s class-leading scan performance, and that it is one of the best buys for mid-size to large workgroups who do not require 11×17 printing.

The WorkCentre 4265 : An MFP That Helps You Simplify Your Workflows

A highly desirable pairing of performance and value, the WorkCentre 4265 is part of Xerox’s monochrome workgroup Multifunction Printer class. With a five star customer rating, the WorkCentre 4265 black and white MFP can print, copy, scan and email, with some models (the WorkCentre 4265 /X and WorkCentre 4265 /XF) also offering fax capabilities. It also features a 7” capacitive color touch screen, which allows for easy access to scanning workflow tools.

The WorkCentre 4265 is an ideal choice to help you simplify both your digital and paper-driven processes securely and efficiently. You can see it in action, and see a full breakdown of BLI’s testing process and the basis for their outstanding ratings in both the abbreviated and full format videos.

Magnum is an exclusive platinum level Xerox dealer and our clients span across the United States. We can service and support your Xerox devices anywhere in the United States with a guaranteed same day / next day on-site service guarantee.

To learn more about how Magnum can help your organization evaluate your existing copier leases or provide a quote for new copier and printer equipment, please call (800) 893 1183 or send an email to

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Home Family Matters Muslimah’s Guide An Address to Young Girls (Part 2)

An Address to Young Girls (Part 2)

“A Muslimah’s Guide to Living a Blissful Life” by Sayyidah Khairun Nisaa (rahimahallah) #3

My dear daughters! I do realise that (even if you do not prepare yourself while in your parents’ home, then) the day will eventually come when you will have improved, acquired the skills that you need and learnt what you need to know. As time passes, your weaknesses will transform into skills, because you will learn from the difficulties that you underwent and the mistakes that you made. However, of what good will it be, when people who wished well for you and had aspirations in you would no longer be around? It is my aspiration that you begin, from now, acquiring all the qualities and skills that will shield you from the challenges and difficulties that you will face later on.

If you think that you ‘know it all’, and you will be able to deal with the demand of every occasion, then you are absolutely wrong and mistaken, even though you may have occasionally sewed yourself an outfit, or cut out the draft and design of a garment, or cooked a pot of food now and again, or embroidered on a kurta, topi or purse at some point, or you learnt to read the Quraan Majeed and a few kitaabs in some madrasah and then left, and let alone understanding the kitaabs – you did not even know what subject the kitaab was written on! Can this ever be regarded as capability, and can such a person be considered competent? If someone has to ask you a question, then you will be left speechless.

What is required of you is that when you need to perform some task, then regardless of how difficult, complicated or intricate the task may be, you must be able to accomplish it with complete ease and competence. You must neither require the assistance of people, nor should you be dependent and reliant on a domestic worker. It must not be such that you cannot complete your domestic work without burdening your elders or the men folk of the family to help you.  Instead, you must display such intelligence and energy in attending to your domestic work and tasks that even the men folk of your family will be impressed with you and marvel at your ability and efficiency.

Look after your children, raise them correctly and care for them well. When they are sick then nurse them to good health while also seeing to the running of the home and other domestic responsibilities. You should not become so engrossed in attending to one responsibility, that in the process you neglect a hundred other responsibilities. Instead, you should be mindful of all your responsibilities and show due attention to everything. You should also enquire and find out what is happening out of the home from time to time[1].

If you acquire all these qualities and skills, then even if you encounter an unfavourable situation, you will be able to turn it to your advantage. If something gets damaged, you will be able to apply your intelligence to find the solution and remedy it. You will know who your friends are, and you will similarly know who your enemies are. When you speak, then you will not utter anything that will put yourself into a problem or that will hurt others. You will completely avoid all fights, arguments and quarrels. You will find people all over welcoming you and receiving you with warmth and love. In fact, you will even win the hearts of your enemies and turn them into your friends. Nobody will have a chance or opportunity to complain about you.

On account of you behaving intelligently at all times, people will show love and affection for you. Thereafter, even if perchance you do something unintelligent, people will not regard it to be irrational, since the occasional foolish action of an intelligent person is overlooked. On the other hand, when a person is foolish, then even if he happens to do or say something intelligent, many people will still view his action or statement in the light of his foolishness. Furthermore, because a fool lacks intelligence, then he often causes problems where none existed. He turns his friends into enemies, whereas an intelligent person turns his enemies into his friends.

In order for you to correctly understand and practise on the advices that I have given you thus far, as well as the advices that I am still going to give you, it will be necessary for you to apply your mind and intelligence and ponder deeply over what I have mentioned. You must realize that every virtue of this world and the next can only be attained if you learn to think and reason correctly. Intelligence and hayaa (modesty and bashfulness) are two invaluable gems. This quality of hayaa is also such that it will save you from many wrongs.

[1] This will refer to those things that concern us, relate to us and will benefit us. For example, we should know if any woman in our locality is sick so that we could visit her and help her, or if any person passed away, so that we can console them, or if any person is in need so that we can render them assistance, or if there is a Deeni programme taking place in the locality, we could attend it, etc.


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Sunday, March 8, 2015

Celebrating our Heritage

This month of February is our month of stewardship. From this pulpit, I've talked about caring for that which is not ours, UUism as a way of life, and our responsibility of stewardship to preserve that way of life. Today I'd like to hold up our inheritance. What have we inherited from those who founded this Congregation, and all the others who came before us?  The Ross Room, in this building, has been newly dedicated as a record of our history. It is filled with memorabilia from our archives, most of which have -- until recently -- been hidden away gathering dust. It is a room of our inheritance.

Our story for all ages this morning was called "The Keeping Quilt." The dresses and aprons and shirts and shawls from loved ones in "backhome" Russia, were wearing out, or outgrown, so their fabrics were transformed into a beautiful quilt, preserving the stories of the people who made or wore them, and the love that went into them.

When someone is planning a quilt, they have to think about the whole project. How big a quilt? Who is it for? Are you going to reuse old clothing, or use only new fabric? Will you buy it or ask your friends for their leftovers? What patterns will you use? Are you going to make your own or use something already created? What colors do you want? How thick a stuffing do you want? Will the fabric on the back be the same as on the front? Will you hand-quilt it, or use a machine? Some of these questions need to be decided in advance, and some of them can be figured out along the way.

This month of stewardship, the final days of our campaign, is the time to examine our heritage, our inheritance, all the dresses and aprons, that make up our beloved community and think about how to keep it a beautiful, warm, comforting, and inspirational quilt.

To acknowledge our ancestors means we are aware that we did not make ourselves, that the line stretches all the way back. We remember them because it is an easy thing to forget; that we are not the first to suffer, rebel, fight, love and die.

Author Alice Walker writes: The grace with which we embrace life, in spite of the pain, the sorrow, is always a measure of what has gone before.

We honor the people who gave so much of themselves, to create and sustain the foundation of what we cherish today; we will also take the time for a little spiritual reflection on what we hope that we ourselves are bringing to birth as we live our lives here in this community.

In the Book of Deuteronomy we read:

We are ever bound in community:
We build on foundations, we did not lay.
We warm ourselves at fires, we did not light.
We sit in the shade of trees, we did not plant.
We drink from wells, we did not dig.

These words are an ever-present reminder to us of the blessedness of the time and place we find ourselves in, and at the same time a profound reminder of the responsibility we hold to those who will follow. We sit here in worship this morning in this beautiful sanctuary, and we become part of this beloved community because someone else, many someone elses, laid the foundation, dug the wells and planted the trees. We have this place and this community so that we may have a time and place where we may "rest in the grace of the world and be free". We have this community where the beauty we love can be what we do and where we may find ways to kneel and kiss this ground.

We have, this place, this Congregation, this very life, on loan from those who came before us, and we hold it in trust for those who will come after us. That is the meaning of stewardship -- to hold in trust.

The big question then is what are you going to do with what you have been given? How are you going to hold on to it? The poet Mary Oliver in her poem "This Summer Day" asks this question of us in the way only a poet can do. She writes:

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper,
I mean the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth

instead of up and down
who is gazing around with her

enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms

and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention,
how to fall down into the grass,
how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed,
how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last and too soon?
Tell me what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

I know that what I wish to do with my one precious life and that is to leave the world a bit better for those who follow after me, to know I have made a difference, to keep digging wells, laying foundations and planting trees so that they will be there after I am gone. I want to care for the present while honoring the past, in order to embrace a future that is bright, has meaning and hope.

The kind of ministry I have chosen is focused on helping congregations honor the past and clarify the present so that you may embrace the future with health, strength and passion.

There is a legendary image from Africa called the Sankofa Bird. Visually and symbolically Sankofa is expressed as a mythic bird that flies forward while looking backward with an egg (symbolizing the future) in its mouth. Sankofa teaches us that we must go back to our roots in order to move forward. That is, we should reach back and gather the best of what our past has to teach us, so that we can achieve our full potential as we move forward.

You have entered into the spirit of Sankofa. You have chosen to set forth in a bold new direction. You embodied the aspect of Sankofa that moves forward. I've been here nearly 20 months, watching you stretch, resist, stretch more, and embrace me in my sometimes impulsive guidance. So now what?

You still hold the egg of possibility in your mouth. Where will you take it?

Like the Sankofa bird, holding the egg in it's mouth and looking back at its past as it flies forward, you too are flying forward with a fuller and deeper understanding of where you have been and have the opportunity to better understand the people and events that are our inheritance, an opportunity to examine your heritage. It begins just beyond that door.

So imagine with me for a little bit about what the future of this Congregation might look like. In my minds eye I see a thriving liberal faith community, with exciting and varied programs, stable ministry and dedication to service and justice that is a vital an integral part of Palm Beach County.

I see -- in many different possible forms and images -- a church building that is striking in beauty and versatile in use, with lots of space for programs, worship, education and especially people.

I hear music -- lots of music. I see a beloved community of people who live with each other in diversity with kindness, gentleness and encouragement.

I see dynamic ministry taking place both through the work of your minister and through the ministry that each one of you are doing. I see people of all ages being spiritually fed and intellectually challenged in their faith and beliefs, children, youth, young adults and students, parents, mid-lifers and elders.

In other words I see you thriving. Embrace that Future.

We build on foundations, we did not lay. We warm ourselves at fires, we did not light.  We sit in the shade of trees we did not plant. We drink from wells we did not dig.

Whatever future you envision whatever future you embrace for this Congregation will depend on the foundations you prepare today.

Stewardship means to hold something in trust, something that we have been entrusted with, and to care for it. It means holding that precious egg of possibilities as you fly forward into your future. It means honoring the past and those who have gone before us; standing firmly in the present; and, most of all, embracing the future.

May it be so.

Traditions, Achievements, Beliefs: Celebrating our Heritage. a sermon by the Rev. CJ McGregor delivered at 1stUUPB on Feb 22, 2015.

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Wed, 11/29/2017 - 13:38

If you have been living in Sofia for a while, you must already be familiar with the name.

pirogov hospital.jpg

Monument to Pirogov at the eponymous hospital in Sofia

It belongs to the largest emergency hospital in the country. The tall, rather drab building on Tsar Boris III Boulevard has seen countless casualties arrive by ambulance or taxi after suffering accidents or becoming victims of crime, to be treated by some of Bulgaria's finest medical specialists.

The Pirogov Hospital was founded in 1951 to replace the older Red Cross Hospital as a centre for accident and emergency. It was modelled after similar institutions in the USSR, as a result of the trend in the first decade after the 1944 Communist coup, when Bulgaria's economy, institutions and culture were remodelled along Soviet lines.

Its namesake, surgeon Nikolay Pirogov (1810-1881), however, had nothing to do with the USSR. He was a pioneering physician who revolutionised war-time field surgery and played a significant role in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which restored the Bulgarian state.

A prodigy in medicine, Pirogov graduated at the age of 18 from Moscow University and at 26 was already a professor at the University of Dorpat (today's Tartu in Estonia). He then specialised in surgery, created the first anatomical institute in Russia and wrote two studies on anatomy, which collectively comprised 16 volumes. He made headlines, too. One of his most famous operations was an aesthetic one, where he used skin from a patient's chin to replace a missing part of the man's nose.

Pirogov came up with some of his most significant innovations while caring for the wounded of Russia's wars. In 1847, during the seemingly endless Caucasus conflict in which Russia was embroiled, Pirogov performed the first field surgery in the world under ether anaesthesia. This happened only a year after this ground-breaking method of anaesthesia was publicly demonstrated at the Ether Dome in Boston, Massachusetts.

Monument to Pirogov and his work near Svishtov, marking the place of one of the hospitals he organised during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878

When the Crimean War broke out, in 1853, the Russians soon found themselves overwhelmed with wounded soldiers suffering and dying in horrendous conditions. In 1854, Pirogov arrived in Sevastopol, in the Crimea, to help. He had to fight not only for the lives of thousands of soldiers, but also against the corruption that was rife in the medical administration. He succeeded in providing a smooth organisation, and introduced the triage system, which divided the wounded according to the severity of their injuries.

This system is still in use in emergency hospitals, including in Sofia's Pirogov.

Another innovation of Pirogov's during the Crimean War was the plaster cast for injured limbs. It sounds like nothing major now, but at the time it saved many legs and arms from being amputated.

Pirogov's achievements were widely praised after the end of the war in 1856, but this did not make life easier for him. The surgeon became the victim of political manoeuvring in top medical circles and fell out of favour with the tsar. Isolated and left without a pension, in 1866 Pirogov went to Vishnya, or Sour Cherry, his family mansion near Vinnytsia, in today's Ukraine, and opened a free hospital for the poor.

He continued travelling and learning more about the human anatomy and the ways a surgeon could help. Pirogov visited Europe, became an honorary professor at a number of universities and academies, and went to the battlefields of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. His fame grew, and his list of well-known patients included Giuseppe Garibaldi, the leader of the Italian unification movement.

In 1877, Russia began a new war against the Ottoman Empire, and the skills and devotion of Pirogov were again much needed.

The surgeon went to one of the most difficult front lines, that at Pleven, and in only two months made significant improvements in medical care for the wounded.

Pirogov's hospital for the poor, Vinnytsia. It is closed to visitors, but in the nearby surgeon's mansion there is an informative museum dedicated to his work

Pirogov spent the rest of his life in Vinnytsia. In 1881, the 50th anniversary of his scientific career was celebrated officially in Moscow and St Petersburg, the cities where previously he had had so much trouble. By this time, however, Pirogov was dying of upper jaw cancer. As a surgeon, he knew that this was incurable and he prepared for death in a rather eccentric way.

He developed an embalming solution and declared in his will that his body should be preserved. This was duly done after his death on 23 November 1881. His body was later laid in the crypt of the family chapel his widow built near the mansion at Vishnya.

The body of the surgeon is still there, in the crypt. The room has no equipment for preserving a specific temperature or humidity, yet Pirogov's body is in perfect condition. It seems as if the years since 1881 have barely passed.

Later, Pirogov's successful embalming technique was put to political use. When Lenin, the first Soviet leader, died, he was also embalmed. After the Second World War the practice was followed by Communist Bulgaria, with the dead Stalinist dictator Georgi Dimitrov, and by Czechoslovakia with Klement Gottwald. Of these, today only Lenin is still in his mausoleum. However, in spite of the controlled conditions and the constant care in his grandiose tomb on Red Square, Lenin's body is deteriorating – not just symbolically.

 Pirogov's mummy

The chapel built to preserve Nikolay Pirogov's mummified remains

Goat herder on the outskirts of Vinnytsia. The area was called Pirohove, after the surgeon who lived, worked and died there

Pirogov Hospital, Sofia

Issue 134 Bulgarian history

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 Flickr.com Downloader - How to download flickr.com videos?

Flickr.com Downloader - How to download flickr.com videos?

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the mirrors of the witches
by Stefano Coluccio
Dorsoduro 1173
telefax +39 0412770617

All the mirrors are designed by me and produced in my workshops in Venice.

The artisanal process which makes each pieace unique is due to a continuing research and experimentation with shapes, ideas, and designs have led me to abbandon the idea of a catalog, which would have compromised, in my mind, the unique character of each mirror.

My priceless font of inspiration is art history.

In paintings of the most celebrated Flemish artists, Jan van Eyck, Quentin Metsys, to name a couple, or Italians like Parmigianino, Bellini, and Caravaggio, these witch's mirrors, known also as "Sorcière", were depicted frequently.

I sell these mirrors exclusively from my shop in Venice, Dorsoduro 1173, between Ca Rezzonico and the Accademia Gallery.


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Who will be Vero Beach’s next mayor?

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Joining Councilman Brian Heady on the dais will be Tracy Carroll, who won the one-year term seat, former Vero Beach Mayor Craig Fletcher, Jay Kramer and Pilar Turner. On Monday, they will be sworn into office and choose amongst themselves who will serve as Mayor and who will be Vice Mayor.

That process begins at 10 a.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Though the city’s residents do not get to choose who will be Mayor, VeroNews.com is interested to see who you think should serve in that position.

Should the decision be based on experience? By the number of votes the winners received? By their ability to bring about consensus?

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