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US Afghan Policy
America the Egocentric
Zhou Xiaoming, Former Deputy Permanent Representative of China's Mission to the UN Office in Geneva
The world should thank Joe Biden for being straight about the aim of the America's intervention in Afghanistan. It's yet another wake-up call that reveals the truth about America's approach to foreign policy. Uncle Sam will always be for himself.
U.S. Foreign PolicyUS Afghan PolicyU.S.-EU RelationsGeopolitics
China, U.S. Must Meet Halfway
Fu Xiaoqiang, Vice President, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations
Everyone hopes to see the world's two major powers coordinate and support each other in guiding Afghanistan toward the future. They need to come to grips with issues that separate them and present a united front. Together, they should help Afghanistan move on from the chaos of war.
China-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan PolicyRegional SecurityAfghanistan
Terror and the Taliban
Fawaz A. Gerges, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics
By hastily withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan, US President Joe Biden has made a grave mistake, or so many argue. US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, has called the Taliban's swift takeover of the country an "even worse sequel to the humiliating fall of Saigon in 1975." That sequel, top US generals, conservatives, and even some liberals predict, will be characterized by the resurgence of transnational terrorism.
AfghanistanUS Afghan PolicyCounter-TerrorismRegional SecurityISISGeopolitics
Understanding the U.S. Debacle
Sun Chenghao, Fellow, Center for International Security and Strategy, Tsinghua University
Many challenges lie ahead in China-U.S. relations with regard to Afghanistan. The U.S. will most likely perceive any Chinese policies as an effort to gain the upper hand in geopolitical competition. Meanwhile, China is concerned that the chaos could spill over into Central Asia.
AfghanistanUS Afghan PolicyU.S. Foreign PolicyChina-Afghanistan RelationsRegional SecurityCounter-TerrorismGeopolitics
America's Ignoble Retreat
Shen Yamei, Director, Department for American Studies, China Institute of International Studies
The lack of self-reflection in the United States over the haphazard retreat from Afghanistan is nothing short of stunning. President Joe Biden's plummeting approval ratings, a fourth wave of the pandemic, inflation and southern border security could combine to wreak havoc for Democrats in the coming midterm elections.
AfghanistanUS Afghan PolicyRegional SecurityGeopolitics
Opportunity in Afghanistan?
Zha Daojiong, Professor, Peking University
The withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan is not as much of a game-changer for China as some may think. The Afghan people ferociously defend their sovereignty against foreign incursions, and future complications cannot be ruled out.
AfghanistanRegional SecurityGeopoliticsCounter-TerrorismChina-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan Policy
Strategic Failure in Afghanistan
How to deal with the fast-moving political changes is a shared challenge for China and the United States. But the Biden administration needs to learn one obvious lesson, and quickly: The world does not work the way America thinks it does.
AfghanistanChina-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan PolicyRegional SecurityCounter-Terrorism
End of an American Mindset
Zhang Yun, Associate Professor, National Niigata University in Japan
Over the past 20 years, an over-reliance on military power has failed to bring the U.S. anywhere near resolving international conflicts. Now, with the U.S. defeat in Afghanistan, counterterrorism thinking has been defeated as well. Diplomacy must take its place.
Counter-TerrorismAfghanistanChina-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan PolicyRegional Security
As U.S. Prepares Exit from Afghanistan, China Seeks to Establish Stability and Secure Investments
Sampson Oppedisano, Executive Assistant to the Dean, The Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy
After two decades, the United States' war in Afghanistan is finally coming to an end in late August. Though he is defending his decision, President Joe Bi
AfghanistanChina-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan PolicyRegional SecurityGeopolitics
War and Peace in Afghanistan
Su Jingxiang, Fellow, China Institutes for Contemporary International Relations
How things turn out will be a reflection of the success or failure of the U.S. Eurasian strategy. America aims to benefit geopolitically from continued turmoil in Afghanistan, but a common commitment to regional stability and peace by China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran can counter it.
China-Afghanistan RelationsUS Afghan PolicyRegional SecurityGeopolitics
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Do you believe that feelings of abandonment are coming from others abandoning you – or do they come from self-abandonment?
When we think about abandonment, we generally think about being left by someone. But abandonment is about leaving someone we are responsible for – a child or an old or sick person who cannot take care of themselves and whom we have agreed to take care of.
As a healthy adult, another adult can leave you, but they cannot abandon you, since they likely have not agreed to be responsible for you.
It might seem strange to you, but, as a healthy adult, when you feel abandoned by someone, it is not actually about them. It is about having abandoned yourself.
Most people don't think about how they abandon themselves because they don't recognize that they are responsible for themselves – physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, relationally and organizationally.
Sometimes we abandon ourselves in one area and take responsibility for ourselves in another area. For example, you might work hard to make a good living and have learned how to manage your money, which means that you are taking financial responsibility. But you might be abandoning yourself physically by eating poorly, not getting exercise and not getting enough sleep. When this is the case, you are physically abandoning yourself. Or perhaps you take organizational responsibility by being on time and keeping your environment neat and clean, but you abandon yourself relationally by giving yourself up and/or not speaking up for yourself.
One of the most common ways that many people abandon themselves is emotionally. Most people don't realize that they are responsible for learning to lovingly manage their feelings. Few of us had good role models for managing our painful feelings in ways that support our highest good. Instead, we learned many dysfunctional ways of avoiding our feelings.
How often are you aware of judging yourself? Do you tell yourself that you are not good enough, that you are a failure, that you are stupid, or ugly or bad? I don't think I've ever counseled a person who didn't judge their self in some ways.
Do you spend most of your awake time thinking, being unaware of your feelings? Is thinking a way you've learned to avoid feeling your feelings?
Have you learned to turn to various addictions to avoid feeling your feelings? Do you indulge in substances, activities or various forms of controlling behavior to avoid your feelings?
Do you look to others for the attention and approval that you are not giving to yourself? Do you then try to control them with anger, judgment, compliance, withdrawal or resistance, in order to get them to give you want you want?
The problem with emotionally abandoning yourself in any of these ways is that you are bypassing your entire inner guidance system. For example, do you know how you feel when you abandon yourself? Most people feel anxious, depressed, empty, alone, guilty, shamed and/or angry when they abandon themselves, but they rarely connect these feelings with their self-abandonment. Instead, they believe they feel this way due to something external.
If you start to tune into how you feel when you judge yourself, or when you are in your head thinking rather than being present in your body, or you are acting out addictively or making others responsible for you, you will discover how awful you are making yourself feel. You will discover that your feelings of anxiety, depression, emptiness, aloneness, guilt, shame, abandonment or anger are letting you know that you are abandoning yourself.
Do you want to know this? If you do, make a decision to start learning from your feelings, rather than avoiding them. You will discover that when you learn to take emotional responsibility, it becomes far easier to take personal responsibility in all other areas of your life. You will discover that when you start to learn from your feelings, rather than continue to avoid them, your entire life will change for the better.


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Techaeris
YouTubers vs. record labels: How to stay creative and avoid a copystrike
By Techaeris
According to YouTube's Community Guidelines, creators are not allowed to feature music from other artists without their consent.
This is a guest post, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are those of its authors and do not reflect on Techaeris or its staff.
Back in the day before YouTube was an online entertainment giant, creating and uploading a video was a matter of pure, random, harmless fun. And while not all pre-Google YouTube videos aged well, veteran creators can agree that guidelines were much more flexible, and they could post almost everything they wanted. But, in time, the more the Internet changed, and YouTube evolved with it, they had to tighten their terms of service to avoid copyright violations and achieve a balance between user and brand-friendliness. On paper, all of these changes sound great, but in practice, many creators complain that YouTube's automated copystrike system favors record labels and takes down their videos unfairly.
According to YouTube's Community Guidelines, creators are not allowed to feature music from other artists without their consent. If they do, they receive a warning the first time, but the penalties can get even harsher. YouTube also uses Content ID to match newly uploaded content against YouTube's existing library, and, if it finds a match, it sends an alert both to the owner of the original content and the one who uploaded it improperly. The actions that YouTube takes here can be even more harsh. In essence, they can take down the video without notice, mute the video, or also direct the revenue from the video to the original owner.
As many online creators have complained, YouTube's system is far from accurate, and the claims are too aggressive. For example, MrBeast complained that he lost five figures on a video just because he said the lyric "livin' on a prayer," and James Charles said that one of his videos was claimed because he sang an a cappella parody of a song. Hundreds of other creators have complained that videos posted months back were also claimed because a small part of a song was caught on camera while they were vlogging, or because they simply hummed a tune.
MrBeast and James Charles are big YouTubers who have lucrative businesses behind their channels. Still, for small content creators that are now trying to push through, repeated claims can have devastating financial consequences. It's also unfair because not everyone who gets a copystrike intended to break YouTube's guidelines. The general sentiment among the YouTube community is pretty negative, and there isn't too much hope that the platform will ever value individual creators over big companies. They have, however, found new ways to cope with the guidelines and avoid copyright claims as much as possible.
YouTube's Audio Library vs. specialized music sites
Music and sound effects are vital elements in a good YouTube video. They can help you make your video more compelling and express your ideas in a better way when simple words aren't enough. A sound effect or part of a song can make an awesome punchline and even serve as an educational tool. YouTube isn't just about vlogs and challenge videos. Many educators use music in YouTube videos to help people learn, and copyright claims can become problematic. For example, a creator who does guitar tutorials will inevitably use popular songs. When record labels claim all their revenue or the content gets blocked in some regions, that can be discouraging.
YouTube does offer a solution via its Audio Library, which includes a wide variety of songs that creators can add when editing their videos. Now, these songs are free to use, but many creators complain that just a few of them are genuinely royalty-free and don't ask anything in return. Most of them require attribution or allow YouTube to place ads in the video. For small YouTubers, who may not know all the ins and outs of video editing and copyright law, these terms can be confusing and restricting.
For obvious reasons, not using any sounds at all in a video isn't a good idea either. According to melodyloops.com, songs and sound effects can make a video more compelling, more comfortable to watch, and generate more likes and shares. You can't add sounds randomly either because the video can miss its mark and become awkward to watch. Another problem with YouTube's audio library is that too many people use it, and some songs, especially the royalty-free ones, are also ubiquitous. Have you ever recognized one YouTuber's intro music from another YouTuber's vlog? You probably did, and, unfortunately, this isn't a good thing for creators. As a small channel, you have to constantly try to stand out and make your unique content known to the Internet. And you may have a creative voice, but when the background music you use is featured on dozens of other channels, that weakens your personal brand.
To avoid this problem, big YouTubers turn to music from specialized websites, which have huge libraries for every type of content. You can find everything from quirky sound effects and atmospheric tunes to epic trailer music, and once you buy a song, it's yours to use without restrictions. Another solution that YouTubers have found is to reach out to independent artists directly and get permission from them, supporting their work and not having to deal with greedy record labels.
A surprising helping hand from AI
We don't really associate AI with creativity, especially not with something as profoundly creative as songwriting, but this technology is more sophisticated than we thought. Ever since the mid-1990s, when David Bowie helped Apple create the Verbasizer, there were signs that artificial intelligence has music-making potential.
And today, this is possible. Finding background music for a video shouldn't take longer than creating a video. Tired of this struggle, YouTuber Taryn Southern decided to experiment and use software to generate music for her weekly videos. And the results weren't as awkward as she expected. They were so good, in fact, that she continued to rely on this option for her YouTube channel, and, in 2018, she even released a music album produced entirely by AI.
How is this possible? Well, artificial intelligence has come a long way, and software can use machine learning to understand the topic of a video and generate appropriate music for it. So, for example, if you're making a video on mindfulness and meditation, it will create something calm and soothing, whereas if you're reviewing gear for some outdoor activity, it might suggest something more dynamic and upbeat. The result won't always be a masterpiece, and in no way does it threaten the careers of human artists. It won't always rise to the occasion either because this AI software, like YouTube's Content ID, doesn't pick up sarcasm and other nuances in natural speech perfectly. However, the technology is definitely promising, and we'll most likely be seeing more YouTubers use it in the future to avoid copyright claims.
What do you think of getting a copystrike? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
*We use revenue-generating affiliate links and may earn a commission for purchases made using them. Read more on our disclaimer page.
Related Items:Copyright, copyright trolls, featured, technology, YouTube, YouTube Channel
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About Techaeris
Techaeris was founded in 2013 by Alex Hernandez who is the Editor-In-Chief and Owner. Techaeris is fast becoming your new source for technology news, technology reviews and all things geek/nerd entertainment related. We cover movies, comics, books, gaming, tech and industry news all in one clean place.
[CES 2021] ViewSonic debuts new monitors and projectors
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These technologies will allow you to utilize green manufacturing and create more sustainable supply...
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From immersive gaming to professional-level productivity and performance, LG's cutting-edge Ultra monitors have what...
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As you can probably tell, we really enjoy our avant-garde. We dedicated a whole week to it, and many of the writers here, this one included, have countless favorites. One of the bands that many of us really enjoy, however, is Norwegian blackjazz avant-garde specialists Shining. Their last album, 2010's Blackjazz, completely blew us away, and their live DVD that followed was every bit as good. However, it's been nearly three years since the band have put out a new studio record, and the question remained: how could they possibly top such a phenomenal record?
One One One is every bit heavy as it is catchy. From track one, which became the first single, to the closer 'Paint The Sky Black', this record has everything you could ever want. At first, the appearance of songs around three to four minutes long may scare some of you. Gone are the tripped-out musical journeys, such as 'Blackjazz Deathtrance', and in its place there are catchy songs. If black metal went pop, this record would be definitive. However, the lack of long experimental songs is completely fine; each song on this record is just long enough to become imprinted in your memory. The sheer catchiness that is exemplified on this record is really a testament to how well these guys can run the gamut as far as style goes. It may seem as if these songs were fabricated as some sort of ruse to break into the mainstream, when it is actually quite the opposite, further solidifying them as one of the best, and most interesting, metal bands out there.
Another thing to note is the overall sound from this record. Jørgen's voice cuts through the mix like a knife, but is well-placed in relation to everything else. You can definitely tell that this album is every bit as collective as before, perhaps even more. Whereas before it seemed that they just wanted to see how far they could take this shift in sound, on this record they kind of pulled back on the experimentation and went ahead with the hooks, which there are plenty of throughout this record. This record is hook city. Each song has one, and they're all fantastic. A personal favorite is the main riff of "Off The Hook', which is really fun and bouncy, and sounds like something that Shining would never write, but they did. The best part about this record? Each songs has a definitive chorus, and it's going to make their live shows that much better. Hopefully they tour stateside soon so that we can all go and bask in their Norwegian, blackjazz glory.
It's not to say that this album is devoid of all forms of experimentation, however. There's a crazy sax solo in "I Won't Forget', sax on the opening part of 'How Your Story Ends', there's some off-time riffs here and there. This record is one giant experiment: to see whether or not the fans like their short and sweet route as much as the experimental, prog-laden route. Even the garish bright orange artwork is an experiment (it gets a bit much at times). They said they did it to reflect their experience with recording in California, which is all well and fun, but a smaller dose would have sufficed. However, the simplicity of the artwork is also captivating; it leaves a lot to the imagination for virgin ears that have yet to behold the magic of Shining, and gives them no reason to say no.
One One One is going to end up on many different year-end lists, and for good reason. It's one of the best metal albums to come out this year, and it's also the most memorable. All of the hooks on this record are enough to last you another few years until they decide to release another great record. This record is not only a step forward, but also a step in the right direction. There's no telling what else this band is capable of in the future, and here's to hoping nothing but great things happen to them!
Baroness Are Going Back On Tour!


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Community Health Speaker Series: Featuring Dr. Louise Aronson
Free Community Health Lecture, Thursday February 9th 2023 New York Times Bestselling author of "Elderhood" Dr. Louise Aronson is coming to Salem, Oregon on February 9th 2023 to talk about how to be an advocate through the life stage of Elderhood. Geriatrician and expert on aging, Dr. Aronson will illuminate how we look at aging, how we think and feel about medicine, and what it means to be a human being across this lifespan. Reserve your FREE TICKET for this event at https://communityhealthspeaker.eventbrite.com Doors Open at 6:15 pm. No Assigned Seating.
Community Health Speaker Series: Feat...
Thursday February 9th, 2023 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Hudson Hall, Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center 900 State Street Salem, OR 97301
Free (Please reserve ticket in advance)
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-health-speaker-series-featuring-dr-louise-aronson-tickets-432
Jill Munger Salem Health Foundation foundation@salemhealth.org


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The Consulate hosted on March 24th, the non-profit organization, K9s4COPS, for the donation of a 18 months-shepherd malinois to the number 2 of the RAID, Eric Heip and in the presence of Colonel Benoît Ferrand, member of the GIGN. After the death of the dog Diesel in the assault of Saint-Denis on 18th November, the K9s4COPS association decided to donate "Liberté", prepared and trained to participate in RAID interventions.
Find all the pictures of the event on Flickr.


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First Generic Naloxone Nasal Spray Gets FDA Approval
Steve Duffy
Naloxone nasal spray does not require assembly and delivers a measured dose.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted final approval for the first generic version of Narcan (naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray; Adapt Pharma) to Teva Pharmaceuticals. The Agency had granted tentative approval to the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) in June 2018.
Naloxone hydrochloride reverses the effects of opioids, including respiratory depression, sedation, and hypotension. In a statement announcing today's approval, the FDA outlined steps to prioritize the review of additional generic applications "for products intended to treat opioid overdose."
In addition, the agency is continuing to take action to facilitate the creation of an over-the-counter (OTC) naloxone product. Although approved naloxone formulations have instructions for use in the product labeling, they do not have a consumer-friendly Drug Facts label (DFL), a requirement for OTC products.
Novel Treatment for Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Gets Breakthrough Status From FDA
New Tool Helps Alert the Public to Unlawfully Marketed Dietary Supplement Ingredients
New-Onset Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy Linked to Gabapentin Use
To expedite the approval of life-saving naloxone products, the FDA will grant priority review to all ANDAs for products indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdoses.
"All together, these efforts have the potential to put a vital tool for combating opioid overdose in the hands of those who need it most – friends and families of opioid users, as well as first responders and community-based organizations," said Douglas Throckmorton, MD, deputy center director for regulatory programs in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
For more information visit FDA.gov.
This article originally appeared on MPR
Endocrine Society Supports European Parliament's Call for Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Regulation
Close more info about First Generic Naloxone Nasal Spray Gets FDA Approval


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TAG: CBS
D. Bevers - January 17, 2020 0
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of FBI: Most Wanted episode "Caesar" (1.04) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 28 at 10:00-11:00...
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of FBI: Most Wanted episode "Hairtrigger" (1.03) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 21 at 10:00-11:00...
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of FBI episode "Studio Gangster" (2.14) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 28 at 09:00-10:00 PM. OFFICIAL...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of MacGyver episode Fire + Ashes + Legacy = Phoenix
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of MacGyver episode "Fire + Ashes + Legacy = Phoenix" (4.01) that will be aired on Friday,...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of Magnum P.I. episode A Game of Cat and Mouse
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of Magnum P.I. episode "A Game of Cat and Mouse" (2.14) that will be aired on Friday,...
CBS released Promotional Photos of FBI: Most Wanted episode Hairtrigger
CBS Entertainment has released six Promotional Photos of FBI: Most Wanted episode "Hairtrigger" (1.03) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 21 at 10:00-11:00...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of All Rise episode What the Bailiff Saw
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of All Rise episode "What the Bailiff Saw" (1.13) that will be aired on Monday, January 20...
CBS released Promotional Photos of FBI episode Hard Decisions
CBS Entertainment has released twenty-five Promotional Photos of FBI episode "Hard Decisions" (2.12) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 14 at 09:00-10:00 PM. Get...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of S.W.A.T. episode Ekitai Rashku
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of S.W.A.T. episode "Ekitai Rashku" (3.13) that will be aired on Wednesday, January 29 at 10:00-11:00 PM. Portions...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of FBI episode Payback
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of FBI episode "Payback" (2.13) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 21 at 09:00-10:00 PM. Guest Stars...
CBS released Promotional Photos of God Friended Me episode BFF
CBS Entertainment has released thirty-five Promotional Photos of God Friended Me episode "BFF" (2.12) that will be aired on Sunday, January 12 at 8:00-9:00...
CBS released Promotional Photos of Hawaii Five-0 episode There was a Lull, and Then the Wind Began to Blow About
CBS Entertainment has released nine Promotional Photos of Hawaii Five-0 episode "There was a Lull, and Then the Wind Began to Blow About" (10.14)...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of Hawaii Five-0 episode There was a Lull, and Then the Wind Began to Blow About
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of Hawaii Five-0 episode "There was a Lull, and Then the Wind Began to Blow About" (10.14)...
CBS reveals Official Synopsis of NCIS episode Sound Off
CBS Entertainment has released the Official Synopsis of NCIS episode "Sound Off" (17.13) that will be aired on Tuesday, January 21 at 08:00-09:00 PM. OFFICIAL...


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play@tricycle.co.in
Madhukamal Lifestyle
Creating a sense of distinction
A new real estate company from Belagavi was about to come up with its signature project and called upon us to help them define their offering. The easy option was to do what was prevalent in the market, where a brand led approach was hard to find. But the vision differed and it called for a different approach. The founder through his offering wanted to build a legacy, one that would create a sense of distinction and generate preference amongst his audience. He had already developed the project keeping in mind the minutest of details and ensured that the product is better than what was offered in the market. Care was taken to bring in a sense of lifestyle into the design and amenities offered as he wanted to be synonymous with being the provider of 'lifestyle'. He had set his benchmark high and we had to represent his vision through our work.
CONTEMPORARY YET EMOTIONAL
The name 'Madhukamal' represented the first names of the founder's parents and therefore brought in a strong sense of emotion into it. We strongly believed that by retaining the value resonance we could surely create a contemporary rendition which could depict lifestyle. The form was created to replicate a solid 'M' that stood for confidence and determination, while the 'lotus' inspired motif brought in the values, emotions and the aspect of relationships.
The design language was further created to bring in a sense of balance and design.
'Crafting legacies' was again a positioning that resonated with the higher objective and reinforced the vision this company wanted to pursue. It was more than commerce, it was about setting new benchmarks.
The design language was carried forward across all the collaterals and brand touch points.
It was subsequently extended to communication design and messaging across various platforms.
'New can also be different' is the objective that was achieved and this exercise gave the company the head start they needed to make the most of the opportunity.


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Saturday, 16 January 2021 10:19:45 pm
Пребарување за
EuropeEurope.PortalSvet.Slajder
Moscow to begin mass vaccinations against coronavirus within days
Moscow will this weekend begin mass vaccinations against the novel coronavirus for at-risk individuals, particularly medical workers and teachers, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday.
Silvana Kochovska 4 December 2020 9:14
Moscow, 4 December 2020 (dpa/MIA) – Moscow will this weekend begin mass vaccinations against the novel coronavirus for at-risk individuals, particularly medical workers and teachers, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Thursday.
"In the coming weeks, as large quantities of the vaccine arrive, this list will be expanded," Sobyanin said in a statement on his website.
Individuals were to begin making appointments for the mass vaccination drive from Friday, according to the statement. The vaccinations will begin on Saturday.
Russia's capital and largest city, Moscow, has been the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. Russia has recorded more than 2.3 million cases of the virus, the world's fourth-largest caseload.
Russia's state-developed Sputnik V vaccine, introduced in August, was the world's first to be approved by a government for widespread use against the coronavirus.
The vaccine, endorsed by officials while it was still undergoing clinical trials, has courted controversy among the international scientific community amid questions of whether it was sufficiently tested.
The vaccine's producer has said it has shown an efficacy rate above 90 per cent without significant side effects. About 40,000 people were said to be participating in the trial run.
Russia reported on Thursday another single-day record of new coronavirus cases, 28,145, amid a surge in recent months, according to a federal monitoring service that provides daily statistics.
Russia's two largest cities, Moscow and St Petersburg, have been toughening restrictions intended to prevent the spread of the virus during the holiday season.
"We are lowering the city's attractiveness to tourists," St Petersburg Vice Governor Yevgeny Yelin said in comments carried by the Russian news agency Interfax on Thursday.
St Petersburg's historic city centre with its picturesque canals have made it a popular domestic tourist destination for New Year, Russia's most widely celebrated holiday, a legacy of the secular Soviet Union.
St Petersburg has ordered restaurants and bars to close by 7 pm from December 25 to 29, and close completely from December 30 to January 3, Interfax reported, citing the city's administration.
Russia's largest city and capital, Moscow, has ordered restaurants and bars to close by 11 pm and advised residents to avoid going to large public events. Masks must be worn in all crowded public areas.
Sobyanin announced on Wednesday that even outdoor ice-skating rinks in Moscow would have to comply with precautions on preventing large crowds.
Indonesia's Semeru volcano spews gas; nearby residents on alert
Trump retreats from his job, and Pence fills the void
Armin Laschet to become Merkel's successor
Interior watchdog to examine Jan. 6 Capitol riot, events before
India begins world's biggest Covid-19 vaccination drive
Pentagon: Goal met of cutting troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq
Провери го и ова
Covid-19: 361 new cases, 14,461 active, 2,116 recoveries, 14 deaths nationwide
Pendarovski: EU is the right direction as we need political experience and democratic values
Our Action Plan contains no identity markers, Bulgarian response reiterates their old positions, Pendarovski tells MIA
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Maine's electricity prices rank 11th-highest in the country
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that Maine customers pay an average of 13.02 cents per kilowatt hour.
Author: Chris Costa
Published: 1/9/2019 4:30:27 PM
Updated: 9:57 AM EST January 10, 2019
Maine's average price for electricity ranks it 11th highest in the country, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In New England, Maine's average price per kWh was the lowest:
Connecticut: 17.55 cents per kWh
Massachusetts: 17.12
Rhode Island: 16.42
New Hampshire: 16.17
Vermont: 14.60
Maine: 13.02
In Maine, electricity generation (supply) and transmission (delivery) are two different services. The major companies that handle delivery are Central Maine Power and Emera Maine.
There are more than 70 options for suppliers, including well-known companies such as C.N. Brown Electric or Giroux Oil Service Company. Customers can buy electricity supply from one of these companies. If they do not choose one of these companies, they receive the "standard offer."
The standard offer is the rate that the Public Utilities Commission puts out for bids by other big electricity companies, such as NextEra or New Brunswick Power.
This year, the standard offer is about nine cents per kilowatt hour for Central Maine Power customers. It is about 8.4 cents for Emera Maine customers.
Harry Lanphear with the PUC said that there is one common misconception: that CMP or Emera Maine is supplying the electricity, and getting paid for it.
He said that is not true. It is simply a pass-through.
The customers purchase the power through the larger companies, and CMP and Emera show that price on their bills. CMP and Emera are compensated for doing the billing on behalf of these companies, according to Lanphear.
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A few days after a viral infection, countless killer cells swarm out to track down and kill infected body cells. In this way, they are highly effective at preventing pathogens from being able to spread further. An international research team has now explained an important mechanism behind building this army. The work under the aegis of the University of Bonn is published in the journalImmunity.
Killer cells — called cytotoxic T cells in the technical jargon — are somewhat like a well-trained police dog: as long as they don't know that an infection is currently spreading somewhere in the body, they behave peacefully. They only become active and multiply when forensics rubs a "piece of property" of the pathogen under their nose. Only then do they head out to destroy the intruder.
The role of forensics is assumed by the dendritic cells. They patrol around the clock and keep a lookout for molecules that should not actually be inside the body. When they make a find, they present the foreign molecule on their surface. Then they wait for a killer cell, to which they can show their find.
Could You Have a Fractured Bone?
Any crack or break in a bone is considered to be a fractured bone. Although auto accidents are a common cause of fractured bones, most fractures actually occur inside the home.
The most common fractured bone in children is an arm bone, because kids hold out their arms when they fall. For people over age 65 who fall, the most common fractures are hip, spine, arm, and leg fractures.
Fractured bone symptoms depend on what bone is fractured and the type of break you experience, from a stress fracture in the shin or a compression fracture in the spine. The shin bone is the most commonly broken long bone in the body, but fractured leg symptoms from the shin bone can range from mild swelling to a bone actually sticking out through the skin.
Onions Make Us Cry|Why ?
For some people, slicing a raw onion is no big deal, but for others, it causes a stinging reaction that results in tears and mild discomfort.
What's to blame for this teary reaction? Enzymes in the onion that release a pungent gas when you slice into it, and when the gas comes into contact with your eyes, it forms sulfuric acid, which is responsible for that telltale stinging sensation. "The more pungent the onion is, the more likely it will make you tear up," says Irwin Goldman, PhD, department chair and professor of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
That means that yellow onions popular in cooking are the biggest culprits, and sweet, mild Vidalia onions are the least likely to trigger tears. Luckily, onions are the only type of vegetable that cause this crying reaction, because of their unique sulfur compounds.
Primary care doctors should be selective in offering lifestyle-change behavioral programs aimed at preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) to healthy patients who have unhealthy habits, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended.
"Although the correlation among healthful diet, physical activity, and the incidence of CVD is strong, existing evidence indicates that the health benefit of initiating behavioral counseling in the primary care setting to promote a healthful diet and physical activity is small," according to Virginia Moyer, MD, MPH, and other USPSTF members writing online in Annals of Internal Medicine.
"Clinicians may choose to selectively counsel patients rather than incorporate counseling into the care of all adults in the general population," they concluded.
The recommendations applied to what the task force called "medium- or high-intensity behavioral counseling interventions in the primary care setting," not to simple, brief advice to exercise more and cut back on ice cream.
Medium-intensity programs were those that involved from 31 minutes to 6 hours of direct patient contact. Interventions with more than 6 hours of contact were considered high-intensity.
Analysis of a large prospective study of more than 400,000 people found that men who drank four to five cups of coffee daily reduced their risk of death over a 13-year period by 12 percent, while women's risk dropped by 16 percent, according to Neal Freedman, PhD, of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues.
The inverse associations were seen for deaths due to heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections, but not for deaths due to cancer, the researchers found.
On the other hand, a suite of other behaviors that often go hand-in-hand with coffee drinking – smoking, lack of exercise, and poor diet – usually combine to mask the benefit, the researchers noted in the May 17 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
Freedman and colleagues cautioned that the study could not prove that coffee is good for you.
"It may be that there's something that goes along with coffee-drinking that's affecting our results that we couldn't take into account in our analysis," Freedman toldMedPage Today.
Zebras evolved from all black to striped in order to repel insects that distract them from feeding, a new study contends.
Researchers from Hungary and Sweden said that zebras' black and white stripes are the least-attractive hide pattern to disease-carrying bloodsuckers known as tabanids or more commonly, horseflies.
The researchers found that horseflies are drawn to horizontally polarized light resembling reflections from water. They explained that this is how insects find areas of water where they can lay their eggs. Female horseflies also use the light reflected from animals' hides, particularly black hides, to detect their victims, the study noted.
The study, published online in the March issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, pointed out that as embryos, zebras start out with dark skin. They go on to develop their white stripes before birth. The researchers suggested this was an evolutionary adaptation to help them avoid bug bites.
A federal judge ruled Monday that the new U.S. health-care reform law is unconstitutional, saying the federal government has no authority to require citizens to buy health insurance.
That provision is a cornerstone of the new legislation, signed into law in March by President Barack Obama.
The judge's decision was not unexpected, and both supports and opponents of the legislation anticipate the validity of the new health law ultimately will be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson, a Republican appointed by President George W. Bush who had seemed sympathetic to the state of Virginia's case when oral arguments were heard in October, the Associated Press reported.
Last week, White House officials said a negative ruling would not affect the implementation of the law because its major provisions don't take effect until 2014, the AP reported.


text:
Download Audio SotJ_007_Hedonism_and_the_Flesh.mp3
As I finished my last program I was listing some of the characteristic that distinguish the arational, non-reflective animal mind from the rational, reflective human mind. Before proceeding with the rest of my analysis, let me review some key concepts that I have already established in previous talks.
First, the word "sin', as used in the New Testament of the Bible, comes from a Greek word, used by Greek archers, which means, "to miss the target or mark". This implies that behavior has a rational, logical end and that when we miss that target or end, we sin. Therefore, sin was defined in the Baltimore catechism as " an offense against the will of God" meaning that God, as a rational being, made things with a purpose in mind and that when we ignore or violate that purpose, we sin against His Will.
Second, Jesus, according to the teachings of the Church, is the Wisdom, mentioned in Proverbs 8 and other proverbs, who created the universe in accordance with the Will of His Father. As this Divine Wisdom, He is the source of all Natural Laws in the universe as well as the moral laws that govern human behavior. Because of this, His role is one of judgment since He must evaluate whether the universe in general and humans in particular are acting in accordance with these laws. Thus, in John 5:22 Jesus says "the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son." Later on, I will talk about the significance of this in light of modern psychological findings.
Third, the role of Jesus, or Wisdom, is to lead human beings out of the Kingdom of Darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Therefore, His role is one of salvation, not condemnation. In the Bible, light and darkness are used to refer to mental states associated with ignorance and understanding. Thus, the Kingdom of Darkness is ruled by the devil who is pictured in art as half man and half animal possessing horns, a tail, and cloven feet, and he is also called "the Father of All Lies" The Kingdom of Light, on the other hand, is ruled by Jesus, the Incarnate Wisdom of God, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, which suggest that Truth is the Way out of Mental Darkness towards the "fullness of life."
Fourth, Jesus is also referred to in John I as the Word that was used to create the universe. This Gospel was originally written in Greek and in Greek, Word is spelled LOGOS or logos. From this word we get the word Logic and all of the sciences are based on it. Thus, we have bioLOGY, anthropoLOGY, socioLOGY, pharmacoLOGY, etc.... . This implies that there is an intimate connection between the LOGOS of God, who is Jesus, and all of our sciences.
Fifth, according to Proverbs I, sinners, who are "missing the target or mark" of wise behavior will "reap" the consequences of their stupidity because they would not listen to Wisdom attempt to instruct them. This implies that any punishment connected to sin is built into the consequences of the sin and not by any vindictive motive of God's. Stupid behavior leads to stupid results.
Sixth, this suggests that Jesus, or Wisdom, saves people from the punishment due to sin by enlightening them and releasing the necessary graces to empower them to "repent and reform." As long as people continue in doing their sins, the consequences or punishment connected to the sin will continue to result. That is why the Bible says, "You will reap what you sow."
Seventh, this being true, people who believe that they can continue sinning and then be saved by some magic formulae of faith without reform are deluding themselves. The only way to be saved from the punishment of sin is to stop doing it.
Eighth, the Church talks about the "reparation of sin" because it realizes that "sin" is a disorder in our world that interferes with its proper functioning. Therefore, even though a sin is forgiven, one still has an obligation to make reparation or "to repair", as far as possible, the harm and disorder caused by the sin. Alcoholic Anonymous is well aware of this because they required the recovering alcoholic to make all reasonable attempts to repair the damage that his or her drinking has caused to other people.
Ninth, the major influences that lead us into sin, according to the Bible, are "the world, the flesh, and the devil." The "world" refers to power structures in the world in which the strong abuse and dominate the weak. The "flesh" refers to our hedonistic nature that relates us to the animal kingdom that operates according to feelings. Do you remember the incident concerning my wife in which she read that feelings dont count.? Feelings are for animals, knowledge is for rational beings. However, knowledge carries its own danger.
The devil refers to an intellectual spirit, who was once an Angel of Light, who fell from grace when his own Pride caused him to place his will before God's will. In Matthew 4 it describes how Jesus was tempted by the devil with all three temptations.
The first temptation involved the "flesh" because after fasting for forty days, He was at the point of starvation and his "flesh" was obsessed with food and the Bible says:The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
In other words, man does not live by feeding his flesh bread but by feeding his spirit the Bread of Life, or Wisdom.
Then the devil tempted Him with Pride. The scriptures say: Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, "It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test. In other words, we are supposed to serve God's will not to require God to serve our will.
The third temptation was with the "world" The scriptures continues: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
When I ended my last program I was identifying the "basic difference between animals and human beings" by listing qualities that differed between them and us. The major difference, you might remember, was that animals had arational, non-reflective minds that were unable to dialogue with themselves and therefore they were inclined to follow their impulses.
Second, they operated according to the principle of hedonism that says whatever give me pleasure is good and whatever gives me pain is bad. Obviously, this is not true because drugs will give you pleasure in the short term and destroy you in the long term while a needle that inoculates you against smallpox will give you pain in the short term and protect you in the long term. Young children, who are closer to our animal nature than most adults, have to be given medication that is heavily sugared and they live in fear of needles that inoculate them Therefore, it seems that one of the deficiencies of animal logic is that it is based on "immediate gratification" and has trouble dealing with "delayed gratification." If you want a dog to jump through a hoop, you better reward him immediately if you want him to learn the connection between his action and the reward. The same is true of little children and that is why elementary school teacher used gold stars and other emblems to paste on the homework and tests of their students. The final goal of promotion has to be interspersed with a lot of intermediary goals, like finishing home works and passing tests, and each step has to be rewarded immediately or the child will not stay on task.
The third characteristic of the animal mind is that it was amoral in that, because it didn't even consider the moral goodness of an act was incapable of being held morally responsible. For example, a German shepherd can be trained to be either an "attack dog" or a "seeing eye dog" but in both cases his actions, according to the philosophers, has no moral significance. You can't blame him it he attack and maims a person, because that is what he was trained to do, and, for the same reason, you can't really give him personal credit for his humanitarian efforts as a "seeing eye dog." In both case, reward and punishment were used to teach him to do whatever he did and, in a sense, he was programmed and does not conscious reflect on the moral goodness or badness of what he does.
I know that there are animal lovers out there who are going to challenge this because they impute human feelings and thoughts to their pets and maybe its more complex than what I have described. However, I think that they will agree that animals can be trained by humans to act in ways that serve human ends. However, we have to be careful when we interpret animal behavior in human terms. There are many things that they do which seem to have a rational intent which may not. For example, the beaver has a great reputation as an engineer because he builds dams that seem to indicate rational intent. However, experiments have shown that beavers will pile up sticks even if you play a record of running water even though there is no water present. Later on, when I get into the recent discoveries concerning the human brain as contrasted with the brain of animals, I hope to present a fuller explanation of this.
Of course, human beings also respond to the principle of hedonism and can be trained to perform through the use of reward and punishment and this is, as I have already suggested, is the "flesh" part of us that the scriptures say "can not please God." In fact, according to the scriptures, if we follow the "flesh", it will lead us to damnation.
Two of my best friends, a married couple, used to pray every day after dinner and both were blessed with extraordinary spiritual gifts. The wife often received spiritual visions during these prayer times and, on one occasion, she saw the Lord standing at the beginning of a road. He turned to her and asked her to follow Him. They hadn't gone very far, she said, when the road divided into two roads: one went left and the other went right. He turned to her and said, "Follow me down the left road, May." She said they started down the road and it was glorious. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and it was like a Walt Disney fantasy. After a short while, they came to the end of the road, where there was a door: Jesus instructed her to open the door and when she did, a terrifying, bone-chilling darkness came through it and frightened her near to death. Then Jesus closed the door and took her back to where the road split. This time, they took the road to the right and it was as difficult as the other was easy. They traveled over rocks, up mountains, down into valleys, through thorn bushes, and it seemed to her that the road would never end. Finally, they came to the end of the road and, once again, there was a door. When she opened it, a brilliant, warm light embraced her and gave her a sense of peace and contentment. Then she and Jesus returned to where the road split and Jesus turned to her and said, "May, I give every human being the choice of these two roads and they are free to travel either one. However, once they reach the end of the road, they must go through the door. Do you get the message? One road was the road of hedonistic pleasure and it led to darkness. The other was the road of struggle and sacrifice and it led to the light. And, of course, our "flesh" does not understand this and is repulsed by it.
We believe that Jesus had come to show us the way to eternal life. And what He showed us, our "flesh" didn't want to see or understand. First He asked, "Do you want life and want it fully?" To which the obvious answer is "Yes!" Then He said, "Then pick up your cross and follow Me." And, in case we didn't understand what He meant, he showed us the way in His passion and death; which raises an interesting question. We are fond of saying that Jesus died for our sins, and no doubt this is true. However, was it just His death that mattered or was it the manner of his death. Suppose he had been hung, or poisoned, or decapitated, or strangled, or bludgeoned to death. Would His death have had the same significance? Or was the manner of his death just as important as the fact of His death?
The "cross" in Western culture has become a symbol for all the difficulties of life and we have been taught that there is something redemptive in these difficulties. Crosses, we are told, are to be embraced rather than rejected because after the crucifixion comes the resurrection. The truth, of course, is that whether you want them or not, crosses will come so the only issue is what will you do when they arrive? Will you sit and curse your fate or use them in some productive way to deepen yourself?
I know that, as the child of two alcoholic parents that I never would have chosen it and, as a youngster, I often questioned God as to why this should happen to me. For many years, I suffered from mental torment because of what was happening in my life. However, now that I look back from my present vantage point, I wouldn't give any of those difficulties back because they made me who I am today. I wonder if I am the only person who feels this way. I doubt it because I have heard many people say the same thing and I have witness the same effects in other people's lives.
My neighbor was in a very bad automobile accident that left her with physical problems that will reoccur throughout her life. She has suffered greatly because of this yet, one day she said to me, "You know. That accident and the difficulties that I have had because of it have deepened my life in many ways."
Our "flesh" has given God a bad rap throughout human history because we have blamed Him for creating a world filled with difficulties and problems. John Paul Sartre, an existentialist philosopher, declared himself to be atheist because he couldn't accept that there was an all-powerful God who would allow the Holocaust to happen. Helen Keller, on the other hand, who was blind and deaf, rightly observed that only people who were willing to surrender their freedom to a dictatorial God would accept a world in which human free will would be eliminated. The price of freedom is sin because without freedom we couldnt sin. Eliminate free will and not only does sin disappear but also the capacity to love and choose. God must think that freedom is worth the risk, even if we dont always like the results.
Victor Frankl, a German, Jewish psychiatrist who was in a concentration camp himself said that the experience transformed the lives of many of the victims. Just prior to the rise of Hitler, German culture during the 1920's was going through its own version of the "The Roaring Twenties." There was widespread decadence and the Jews were as much a part of it as anyone else. This period was portrayed in the movie "Cabaret."
Now, from the point of view of our "flesh" it was a wonderful time of fun and pleasure But, if the Jews are correct about their being two dimensions to every human being, the outside or flesh, which lived by bread alone, and the inside or spirit, that fed off of Wisdom, then from God's point of view, who was looking at the spirit, it was a terrible time because the people were laughing on the outside and dying on the inside.
One might wonder if the same observation could not be made about our own culture at the turn of the century when so many of us were forging ahead with the rising wealth and record breaking stock market, only to be shocked back to reality by corporate scandals and a record declining stock market. When, Bill Clinton ran for a second term, the Catholic bishops warned us that it would be morally reprehensible for any Catholic to vote for any candidate or party that supported abortion or block any efforts to ban partial-birth abortion. Catholics, it appears, in large numbers ignored their bishops and voted for Clinton. It appears that they were more persuaded that the major issue was the economy and their reply to the bishops was "its the economy, stupid!" Later, we learned it was the economy and the stock market that were stupid, not the Catholic bishops.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta, who visited our country during the period of rising wealth and soaring economy, saw it differently too. She declared that she never experienced in India and Third World countries the level of poverty that she found in the United States. And she wasn't talking about our ghettos. She was talking about the spiritual poverty among our affluent members and saw that, in large part, we were spiritually bankrupt. We had traded off people and relationships for "things". It appears, that Germany, during the 1920's, had done the same thing and eventually their "bubble burst" and the moral decadence and bankruptcy became personified in the person of Adolph Hitler, who rescued the economy and built the autobonn with one hand, as he imprisoned and eliminated the innocent with the other.
The Jews and others were sacrificed on the altar as a Holocaust to personal ease and security. They say that those who dont learn from history are destined to repeat it. We certainly have learned that you dont sacrifice innocent human beings to protect and assure your material comfort. Or have we? The slaughter of innocent children versus the economy? Its the economy, stupid.
Now, we would be wrong to think that God created the Holocaust or the economic woes of the Great Depression or any recent economic decline as a punishment for our sins. When we feed our animals natures, we have no one to blame but ourselves if inhuman, stupid or chaotic conditions result. We have simply "reaped what we have sown. As I often say to my students, "If don't want to live in a zoo, then don't feed the animal within you. If anything, according to the Bible, God's involvement in our difficulties is that He can create good even from great evil because when things begin to fall apart, then we are most open to repentance and reform.
According to Dr. Frankl, the Holocaust brought out the best and the worst in people. Those who accepted the challenge, changed from frivolous, hedonistic, surface livers to serious, compassionate, saintly people who discovered inner resources deep that they didn't know existed. Others, who were defeated by the challenge, deteriorated into brutish animals that were willing to survive at any cost to their humanity. There is a record from the Nuremberg Trials of a Jewish man who survived by assisting the Nazis in the extermination of other inmates by holding them down while a death producing hypodermic needle was injected into their hearts. One of victims whom he held down was his own father.
Fulton Ousler wrote a book called Modern Parables in which he collected true stories that, like Jesus parables, conveyed important lessons about life. According to the story, when the Allied forces entered Germany in 1945 and began to free the inmates of the concentration camps they were surprised when many of the inmates, who were living skeletons, instead of cheering when they saw our soldiers, seemed to be in a listless stupor, seemingly unaware of what was happening. However, in one camp, there were impressed by one inmate who, although he was as physically deteriorated as the other inmates, was psychologically alert and responsive to what was happening. Curious about his mental alertness compared to the other listless inmates, they asked him how he managed to maintain his psychological composure. He said that when he first arrived in camp, he and the other inmates were being treated like animals by the guards who beat and humiliated them. Throughout the day, they were worked to near exhaustion and were fed starvation rations of thin soup broth and a piece of bread. At night they nearly froze to death as two of them slept on a plank barely wide enough for them. They slept with their feet in each others face with a thin blanket barely large enough to cover them. As time passed, he and the others, faced with the meager rations and inadequate facilities, began to sink to an animalistic level in their desire to save their lives. They stole food from the weaker members; at night they fought with their bedmate for a larger share of the meager blanket in order to stay warm. When one of them died, they pounced on him like vultures and stripped him naked of everything he had. And they groveled before the guards for little favors. He said that he became depressed because of what was happening to him psychologically and he got on his knees one night and prayed to God to save him from the deterioration of his humanity. Suddenly and idea occurred to him as to what he should do. From that point on, he gave half of his food away to other inmates and shared with them whatever he had. He said, What the Nazis forced me to do made me feel like an animal; what I forced myself to do made me feel like a man.
It reminds me of two scriptures. The first one says "Man does not live by bread alone". And the second one says, Whoever tries to save his life will lose it and whoever loses it for My sake, will save it.
There were saints and sinners among both the inmates and the guards. What one became depended on how one reacted to the situation?
We Christians have tried to get God off the hook by blaming all problems and difficulties on the devil because we too have trouble understanding why, if God is all powerful and good, didn't He make a world without any crosses. It does not occur to us that "crosses"- meaning problems and difficulties- might be an important and integral part of God's plan for creation. Is it possible that what we perceive as a punishment is really a gift? Is it possible that what we perceive as a curse is really a blessing? If not, why did Jesus say, "If you want life and want it fully, pick up your cross and follow Me?"
If our "flesh" had it way, it would have created a world of ease and comfort, based on what we try to do with our own children. We protect them from every difficulty and give them everything to make their lives easy and then we can't understand why they don't have any character. I wonder if God knows something that our "flesh" doesn't know. He said my ways are not your ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts." In other words, there is some paradoxical difference about God's way of thinking and our way of thinking. For example, He says "the first shall be last and the last shall be first"; "He who tries to save his life will lose it and He who loses it for My sake will save it"; and "it is in giving that your receive and it is in dying that you gain eternal life."
Statements like these contradict our perception of reality and challenge us to look at reality from a different point of view. And probably the most difficult point of view for our flesh to consider is that there might be value and redemptive power in pain and suffering. It contradicts the hedonistic principle upon which our flesh operates. Even as I say this to you, I can feel my own flesh being repulsed and rebelling against the thought and an unconscious prayer springs spontaneously from my flesh pleading that the truth of my statement might not be applied to me or to those I love.
There is a song whose title is "Sing to the Lord a New Song" and whenever we sung it I used to wonder what the old song was. Now I think I know. The old song went something like this:"Please Lord, make my life easy. Take away all the difficulties. Optimize my pleasure and minimize my pain. Save me from all difficulties and suffering and give me a life filled with amusement and fun. And I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen."
Now we have to understand that when we ask anything in Jesus' name that what we really are saying is "I ask this in the name of Wisdom" which means, "don't give me what my stupid flesh and limited knowledge wants but rather give me what Your Wisdom knows that I, or those that I pray for, need."
The reason we have to end all our prayers this way because the flesh is always seeking the easy way and God's Wisdom knows that strength and character are built in the stress and storm of challenges. It has been said that "anything that doesn't kill me, strengthens me" and there is certainly a lot of evidence to support that.
There is a prayer entitled "The Prayer of the Confederate Soldier" which demonstrates the large gap between the way we think and the way God thinks. It goes like this:
I asked God for strength that I might achieve
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy;
I was give poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life;
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything that I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men richly blessed.
So, if the old song was about giving me pleasure and comfort, what is the new song about? John Garner, former head of HEW had this to say:
"Despite almost universal belief to the contrary, self gratification, ease, comfort, diversion and a state of having achieved all one's goals do not constitute happiness for man. We are coming to a conception of happiness that differs fundamentally from the storybook version... The storybook conception tells of desires fulfilled; the truer version involves striving towards meaningful goals... goals that relate the individual to a larger context of purposes. Storybook happiness involves a bland idleness; the truer conception involves seeking and purposeful effort. Storybook happiness involves every form of pleasant thumb twiddling; true happiness involves the use of one's powers and talents. Both conceptions of happiness involve love, but the storybook version puts greater emphasis on being loved, the truer version more emphasis on the capacity to give love."
Put into Gospel terms, the new song probably goes something like this: The Prayer of St. Francis...
Make me a channel of you peace.
Where there is hatred let me bring Your love
Where there is injury, Your pardon, Lord.
And where there's doubt, true faith in You.
Make me a channel of Your peace
Where there's despair in life,
Let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, only light.
And where there's sadness, ever joy.
Oh, Master, grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console.
To be understood as to understand.
To be loved as to love with all my soul.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
In giving to all men that we receive.
And in dying that we're born to eternal life.
(Refrain)
Of course, this is the prayer of St. Francis and it illustrates that the animal heart has been replaced with a servants heart. Why, he didnt even ask for anything for himself.
If there is any doubt remaining that there is a war going on between our flesh and spirit consider this. We reenact this conflict between the flesh and the spirit every year when, just before Lent, our animal nature demands one last fling. The Germans call it Fat Tuesday, because their idea of a wild time is eating donuts. The people of New Orleans call it the Mardi Gras and the people of South America call it Carnival. No matter what you call it, it is our hedonistic animal nature resisting the attempts of our spirit to bring it under control through self-denial.
Well, I see that my time is up. Remember, "Sing a new song unto the Lord!" Heres Dom