Outsourcing Trends

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Before it's too late!

Start by asking questions

  3. What costs can be reduced or eliminated?

Good news...

How 20 Minutes Can Save Your Business: 4 of 4

In my previous post, I promised 4 topics that if considered may make you re-think outsourcing IT.  We started with the specialized knowledge required to keep IT running smoothly for a business today.  No one (or two) person will have it all.  If you missed it, check it out here.  Next we covered the strategic role IT should play in your organization.  Here's #2.  In my third post, I covered reducing risk.  Sometimes we don't consider how much key-person risk we have in our businesses.  This post will help you consider that. Today, I'm going to focus on cost.

Reason #4 - Cost is King: Why Managed Services are MORE Affordable

For small businesses, costs are a critical measurement. The cost to maintain an internal employee’s technical acumen can be monumental. Salary, workers compensation, benefits, and payroll taxes are not cheap. Small companies do not have access to healthcare discounts that large enterprises can harness. Adding regular and expensive training for an IT staffer is a significant increase to those costs. Every course sponsored by your company makes an employee more valuable on the open market. Every course neglected creates risk for your business.

If you are making investments in hardware to maintain an on-premise environment, what happens in the event of an economic downturn? There is no better example than that of the ever-changing Oil and Gas industry. I have seen large infrastructure investments made during a growth period, followed immediately by a downturn. Many found themselves paying for hardware they can no longer utilize effectively.

All things considered, outsourcing IT is less expensive than the cost to maintain a full-time employee. If your industry is facing a downturn, a managed services agreement allows you to scale down. When you experience growth you can easily scale up. You gain access to a team of experts instead of relying on the expertise of one person or a small team. A recent Gartner study cited that 80% of small business would “realize significant savings from outsourcing e-mail management alone.” Imagine the savings in outsourcing other technology components.

Bottom line: If you own or operate a small business you should be evaluating IT outsourcing. A 20 minute conversation might just change your life.

How 20 Minutes Can Save Your Business: 3 of 4

Reason #3 - Taking the Stress out of Taking Vacation (Reducing risk)

What would happen if the only employee familiar with your IT environment resigns? Or just goes on vacation? What is the procedure when a server goes down in the middle of the night? Would anyone notice before business was disrupted the next day?

When a small company chooses to use a managed service provider, these questions are no longer relevant. You are not impacted by the loss of an employee or having to scramble when they go on vacation. If a business-critical system goes down, you will be notified and it will be handled quickly. If the power goes down on site your systems are not impacted (depending on your level/type of service). If your company is subject to compliance requirements, you don’t have to worry if you are meeting them. For many businesses, managed services provide peace of mind and value that more than compensate for the cost.

Have you taken a hard look at the cost of a full-time IT employee? Read the last of this series, Cost.

How 20 Minutes Can Save Your Business: 2 of 4

In my previous post, I promised 4 topics that if considered may make you re-think outsourcing IT.  We started with the specialized knowledge required to keep IT running smoothly for a business today.  No one (or two) person will have it all.  If you missed it, check it out here. Today, I'm going to focus on the strategic support you get from the right IT partner.  IT should be a business enabler, not a cost center.  The right partner will provide that support.

Reason #2 - From Password Resets to Profit (Setting an IT Strategy)

If you currently have a full-time IT employee or team, how often do they approach executives to get input on how to better support the business using technology? Based upon experience, my guess would be not very often. Smaller IT shops typically do not have the time to keep all of their systems up to date (not to mention password resets, break/fix, email issues), much less consider how to make the technology profitable. The most valuable function an IT organization can provide is not just keeping the lights on, it is enabling the business to grow.

Outsourcing your IT to a managed service provider gives you access to consultants that will work to align technology with your business strategy. Some even provide virtual CIO services, such as planning a technology roadmap, developing an IT budget, and analyzing and reworking business processes.

How are you mitigating the risks associated with maintaining an IT environment? See our next installment on Reducing Risk.

How 20 Minutes Can Save Your Business (And Your Sanity)

You are busy, I get it. There is not enough time in the day for you to finish the tasks on your plate, much less extra time to evaluate new technology options. Whether you are part of a small internal IT team or your company has added IT maintenance to your ever-growing list of responsibilities, Fluid has you covered.  There are 4 key reasons to consider outsourcing IT that you may not have thought of in the past.  I'll cover these reasons in a 4-part series.  So if you have 20 minutes, read on and we might be able to change your IT life!

Reason #1 - Specialized Knowledge

I recently participated in a meeting with a potential managed services client whose IT staff consisted of two full time IT employees who both left the company unexpectedly. The reasons they exited are common in small business, though are not often considered in decisions regarding outsourcing. For one employee, the responsibilities were just too overwhelming and they could not handle the workload; the other believed that they did not have a vertical career path. Unfortunately, most small companies cannot afford IT employees with the depth and breadth of knowledge required to adequately run an entire IT environment. Many of the good ones don’t stick around because they are offered more money for their skills by larger companies. The damages left in the wake of their departure were systems and hardware that had not been updated in years, creating significant risk for this business and few options to resolve the issues quickly.

With the decision to outsource, you leverage the collective knowledge of a much larger IT organization. You receive the benefit of much broader coverage, access to expertise and skills you would not have otherwise, and reassurance knowing that critical systems will be maintained consistently.

Are you getting the strategic guidance that you need to grow your business? Check out the next installment on General Business Consulting.


Ruler / Helper Lines

(Sebastian) #1

Hey there,

simple Question: Is there a ruler / helper line feature like it is used in Photoshop?
If not, would be great for the future! =)

(Rick James) #2

No, not the way you are thinking, although it has been suggested before. You can add your support for this feature on our voting site.

While not the same, today you can create “guide” lines using the ‘Draw Lines’ tool at the location of choice and place on a separate, non-outputting layer.


One Minute After Midnight...The Crash is On!

October 6, 2016

Past issues

by Diane Sare and Jeff Steinberg

On July 25th, 2007, in a Washington, DC address, Lyndon LaRouche shocked his audience by stating, “There is no possibility of a non-collapse of the present financial system—none! It's finished, now! The present financial system can not continue to exist under any circumstances, under any Presidency, under any leadership, or any leadership of nations. Only a fundamental and sudden change in the world monetary financial system will prevent a general, immediate chain-reaction type of collapse.”

One year later, the U.S. Congress convened in emergency session, not to carry out LaRouche’s advice, but to ram through, under threats of martial law from then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, the first $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) agreement, to be followed by trillions of dollars of quantitative easing until the present.

In 2013, in testimony before the U.S. Congress, Thomas Hoenig, the Vice Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and former President of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, warned that a new financial crash, worse than 2008, was inevitable unless the entire financial system was overhauled—starting with the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall. He pointedly told the assembled Members of Congress that if they waited to act until {after} the crash, it would be too late—as they would collectively cave in to pressure from the Treasury Department and the Fed to enact yet another suicidal bailout.

The failure of America’s nominal leadership to respond to LaRouche’s and Hoenig’s warnings has led to the devastating immiseration of the American people who are committing suicide in record numbers: both physically as measured by heroin and alcohol addiction and death, and mentally, as evidenced by their choice, or non-choice, of Presidential contenders.

The moment of truth has now arrived, and the American people, following the example of the recent crushing defeat of President Obama, with the veto override of the JASTA bill (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act), must act now to force Congress to reconvene immediately to pass the Glass-Steagall legislation, which is already before the House and the Senate.

The CEO of Deutsche Bank has been in Washington making a beg-pitch to the Department of Justice, to reduce the penalty for the bank's widespread mortgage securities fraud, hoping that by paying $5 billion instead of $14 billion, the management can postpone the bank's collapse. The International Monetary Fund, in releasing its annual Autumn "financial stability" report, acknowledged that Deutsche Bank is at the epicenter of a looming global financial crash, but proposed a series of psychotic austerity measures, more aimed at blocking China's Eurasian infrastructure investments, than at addressing the reality of the imminent evaporation of the entire trans-Atlantic financial system.

That imminent blowout is also the key factor, driving the lunatics in the Obama White House and Office of the Secretary of Defense to push for an open confrontation with Russia. A meeting on Wednesday of the Principals Committee was taking up a series of escalating military options in Syria that would all amount to a direct provocation of World War III. And Defense Secretary Ashton “Strangelove'' Carter has been running around, threatening first use of thermonuclear weapons against Russia, as he pushes for a $1 trillion modernization and expansion of the U.S. thermonuclear triad.

What is needed, first and foremost, is a passionate commitment to the future of the human species. That means economics as Lyndon LaRouche has long defined it: increasing man’s dominance over nature through the power of creative discovery of universal physical principles. This qualitative increase can be measured quantitatively by the measured increase in the number of people newly {sustainable} at higher and higher standards of living, in a given land area, as a function of increasingly higher applications of new technologies based upon those newly discovered principles. Contrary to the Satanic outlook of today’s environmentalist movement, there are no limits to the growth of mankind.

This was the conception of German space pioneer Krafft Ehricke who believed that our planet Earth was only the biological center of an ever-expanding mankind into the far reaches of the galaxy.

In order to achieve this God-given human potential, certain laws must be put in place immediately, in order to protect people from the hemorrhaging monetary crisis. The first of these laws is a global Glass-Steagall Act. Commercial banking, upon which the lives and productive activity of the population depend, must be protected. Gambling, as in derivatives, does not need to be protected. Reinstating Glass-Steagall would wipe out trillions of dollars of gambling obligations. Bloated investment funds would collapse into nothing, But, under a Hamiltonian system of national banking and credit, as well as fixed international exchange rates, credit can be generated which will enable investment in urgently needed great projects, putting billions of people into productive employment worldwide, with a commensurate improvement in the standard of living globally.

Under these conditions, where the worship of money is replaced with a proper respect for the value of human life, scientists from all nations can collaborate in solving some of the most pressing challenges facing mankind, and develop new forms of technology not yet even conceived. This conception of human economy, as understood by Alexander Hamilton, and developed into the highest of sciences by Lyndon LaRouche, is the only means available to address the existential crisis facing humanity today.

Take Action Now!

Every House Member and one-third of the Senate are up for re-election in a matter of weeks. They are all back home in their districts campaigning. They must be told, in no uncertain terms, that they must return to Washington—before Deutsche Bank, or the Italian, British, or French banks, or Wall Street, trigger the biggest financial blowout in modern history. Those institutions that have endorsed the reinstating of Glass-Steagall must be mobilized to act decisively now. Both the Democratic and Republican party platforms call for the reinstating of Glass-Steagall. The AFL-CIO is pushing for Glass-Steagall. It's time to pony up.

This fight can and must be won—and that means winning before the whole system blows up. This has now reached the point that we are all in a life or death situation, and that, unfortunately, is not an exaggeration.

Economics Isn’t About Money

by Jason Ross

Americans are deeply confused about economics, and this must be corrected. Many think economics is about money. It isn't. Others say it is about allocation of resources. Nope. Economics is the study of that most definingly human aspect of the human species: our ability to discover principles of nature and apply them to transform our relationship to nature and the ability of other members of our species to participate in that process.

Lyndon LaRouche has, over the past half-century, presented a science of economics and economic policy-making that has largely flown in the face of the ideas of America's chief policy-makers. During that time, the US economy has changed from one based on infrastructure-investment, science (as in the space program), and manufacturing, to one based increasingly on money itself. This is seen in the 50% growth of the so-called FIRE “industries” (Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate) as a portion of the US economy over the past 50 years, and the 50% collapse in manufacturing over that same time period.

Since the murder of President John F. Kennedy, US economic policy has been an accelerating disaster, bringing us to the present, where, less than a decade after what was considered the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the banking system is in even worse condition (see Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank) and the physical economy (as measured in manufacturing and the state of our infrastructure) has plummeted still lower.

This system will not self-correct. It must be replaced by a functional system of policies designed to be in coherence with the physical science of economics.

The Science of Economics

Base your understanding of economics on one simple fact: unlike animals, we change our relationship to nature. We discover and use entirely new physical principles (the steam engine, electromagnetism, nuclear science, Einstein's relativity and quantum discoveries) to effect new states of nature via new technologies. In this way, we create entirely new resources. For example, what good was uranium before nuclear science?

At the heart of this process is the act of scientific discovery. This requires a physical standard of living allowing concentrated attention to difficult problems, and it is a process that can be explicitly fostered.

Education, for example, must be based on re-creating creative acts of the past, made by the acknowledged geniuses that brought us to our present knowledge, rather than on unrelenting testing. Imagine if the standard twelve years of school were spent trying to create geniuses, with the opportunity to make and test hypotheses, based on a re-working of the greatest discoveries of the past? And how would our musical culture change if all children participated in choral singing and study of the compositions of J.S. Bach, the creator of well-tempered music?

What could our society accomplish if our efforts were directed, via well-chosen objectives, towards making the needed great scientific breakthroughs of the present, rather than, for example, shuttering our efforts at fusion research?

Starting from the uniqueness of the human individual, we can organize economy towards achieving improvements in our ability to support a growing population, and give that growing population a meaningful, efficient opportunity to participate in that human endeavor of progress.

Implementation Begins with Glass-Steagall

This requires the economic policy of Lyndon LaRouche's "Four Laws to Save the USA Now", which define the crucial points of policy needed for the present. Step one is the reinstatement of Glass-Steagall banking separation, both to avoid the complete disaster of collapse of universal banks, and to set the stage for the necessary role that banks must play.

Banks are not inherently evil! The regulated commercial banking sector that existed from President Franklin Roosevelt's 1933 reforms played an essential, necessary role in the economy, providing loans to allow for expansion of production and infrastructure. Despite the enormous sums provided as bailouts and guarantees to Wall Street, bank lending has decreased since the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Glass-Steagall will ensure that commercial banks once again earn their profit by old-fashioned banking: making loans of otherwise idle capital.

Glass-Steagall’s separation of necessary banking from gambling speculation must be followed by the second and third of those “four laws”: an approach of national banking and federal credit, which are required to be able to fund the necessary recovery measures for the nation, such as low-interest loans for a major upgrade of the nation's infrastructure platform. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ most recent infrastructure report card of 2013 gave the US a grade of D+, saying that $3.6 trillion was needed by 2020 just to bring existing infrastructure up to levels of adequate repair. But we must go far beyond this.

The New Silk Road and a Mission for the US

The frontiers of space and of the atomic nucleus beckon us, with the promise of new discoveries and shockingly powerful sources of power. The moon tempts us with the possibilities for scientific research impossible on earth, such as comparative planetology, easy high-vacuum experimentation, the unique potential for radio astronomy on the moon's radio-quiet far side, and the tantalizing potential of the helium-3 reserves on the moon as a nuclear fusion power source. The breakthroughs waiting to be made in nuclear fusion (and nuclear science more generally) hold the key to the next level of power for the human species, making the use of hydrocarbons for fuel obsolete (not to mention the absurdity of solar power).

Such breakthroughs are the true core of economics: the revolutions in the relationship of the human species to the universe. This, not money, is the true source, and measure, of value.

Make this our priority. Instead of wasting the trillions of dollars that have been sunk in useless, murderous, immoral conflicts in Iraq, Libya, and now Syria, and instead of cowering before the assumed power of financial interests, let us adopt a true mission for our nation, as among our colleague-nations creating a new economic and political outlook under the guise of the New Silk Road. This is the ambitious project led by China (and championed by Lyndon and Helga LaRouche for over two decades), which is sweeping a majority of the people on the planet in an economic direction characterized by infrastructure investment and connectivity.

By building the next platform of infrastructure here in the US, by crossing the Bering Strait and connecting the Americas to Eurasia, and by adopting a vigorous pursuit of space and fusion science, our nation can once again play a meaningful, positive role on the world stage.

Unlike choosing between two appalling alternatives in November, such a demand from the American citizenry holds the potential to change the world.

One Small Step for Congress, One Giant Leap for Mankind

by Dennis Speed

Now that the American people have successfully mobilized their representatives in the United States Congress to override President Barack Obama's "Nero veto" against the families of 9/11 victims, as seen in the Congress's September 28th vote for the Justice Against the Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA)—including a near-unanimous repudiation of Obama's wishes in the United States Senate—the urgent and available political antidote to the impending "new meltdown" of the whole international monetary system has been demonstrated. Obama's humiliation was total, particularly in the United States Senate, where Senator Harry Reid changed his original vote against Obama to one supporting Obama, solely so that the Senate vote against Obama would not read 98-0-2, and be the first time in American history that a President had been unanimously rejected through the override process. This is the major defeat of Obama's eight-year Presidency; the stage for Obama's impeachment is now set.

Politics as Art

Though the 9/11 families and their Congressional collaborators had worked for well over a decade to secure the release of the infamous "28 pages," and to make the Saudi Arabian government accountable, if found guilty in a court of law, those efforts had not succeeded. Something else was added, two years ago, to this fight. The factor that was added was "the Alexander Hamilton principle."

During October of 2014, Lyndon LaRouche initiated what he termed "The Manhattan Project." An October meeting sponsored by Executive Intelligence Review in Harlem that month had focused on the need to release the "28 pages." LaRouche at that time proposed the resurrecting of the George Washington/Alexander Hamilton Presidency, which Presidential system had first been created in Manhattan. It was here that the practice of the United States Constitution had first been established. It was here that Hamilton's reports on the national bank, on the bank's constitutionality, on credit, and manufactures, were not merely debated, but in large part implemented. LaRouche successfully reestablished this Hamiltonian idea of the Presidency through a series of weekly Saturday Manhattan dialogues that began the last week of June 2015 and have continued up to now.

Hamilton's economics policies, it should be remembered, were devised to give the new United States economic independence from the British. LaRouche's economic policies, called “The Four New Laws,” are the method to end international debt slavery as practiced by the City of London and its Wall Street offshoot today. This very broadsheet, {The Hamiltonian}, is the flagship New York City publication of Larouche's revolution in economic science and technology that continues and advances Alexander Hamilton's work, exemplified today by the economic/scientific powerhouse that China has become.

LaRouche’s Voice-Placement

This was neither a populist trick, nor an eccentric tangent. LaRouche emphasized that teaching the American citizen how to place his/her voice, to properly sing and speak, was perhaps the only means to defeat the mentality of cowardice and failure that has been the daily fare of the American political process. It was LaRouche's contention, that it was within the capacity of the New York City population to respond in the most profound way to the most profound ideas, if they were directly engaged in reproducing the music of Bach, Handel, Mozart and the African-American Spiritual. Applying the deeper implications behind this properly voiced choral approach to "political organizing" could, and did, provide the basis to secure the Congressional victory that occurred on September 28th. That is the secret.

The Choral Principle

The effect of the performance on those in attendance, in a New Jersey community that had lost scores of people in the World Trade Center, was directly transmitted to the Congress, when people traveled there or spoke to the Congressional offices by phone. The Requiem performances allowed mobilization organizers, many of whom performed in those four concerts, to place, so far as the Congress was concerned, the voices of the dead thousands of the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Pennsylvania into the mouths of persons like Terry Strada. Congress was caused to hear, not the individual voices of wronged people, and not a mere "lobbying group," but a chorus of Justice, like the Erinyes of Schiller's poem "The Cranes of Ibykus." It was an irresistible force that brooked no objection. Only the callously inhuman, like Obama, and those intimidated or deluded by him, continue to pretend, unsuccessfully, to resist it.

Nero-Obama Pushes Nuclear Genocide In Final Days

by Carl Osgood

Barack Obama is in a headlong flight forward towards war with Russia, all the while blaming Russia for his personal collapse. The increasing irrationality of the Obama Administration comes from two realities: the disintegration of the trans-Atlantic financial system of speculative looting which has resulted in a bubble that can no longer be kept inflated; and the successful resistance of Russia, in particular, to a British-system of geopolitical world dominance. The only direction the narcissistic President Obama can go in at this point is war against Russia and China. The danger can only be removed by the Constitutional removal of President Obama from office as soon as possible.

The latest expression of the insanity of the U.S. Administration was the State Department announcement on Oct. 3, that it was terminating engagement with Russia on finding a solution to the conflict in Syria. "The United States spared no effort in negotiating and attempting to implement an arrangement with Russia aimed at reducing violence, providing unhindered humanitarian access, and degrading terrorist organizations operating in Syria," State Department spokesman John Kirby stated in a statement announcing the suspension. Never mind that with the exception of the occasional targeted assassination, the US has not targeted Al Nusra, the Al Qaeda affiliated jihadi group around which much of the armed opposition in Syria has coalesced, in any systematic way, and in fact, has intervened to try to prevent Russian targeting of Al Nusra on the claim that U.S.-backed groups were too close to it. Nonetheless, Kirby's statement claims that it is Russia that has "failed to live up to its own commitments," mainly by the assault on the jihadi-held portion of eastern Aleppo.

Kirby's announcement has been preceded and followed by all kinds of talk about the "options" that the Obama Administration has for militarily intervening in Syria. The options that have entered the public discussion include establishing a no-fly-zone over all or part of Syria, establishing safe zones inside Syria for refugees, bombing the Syrian air force so that it can no longer carry out air strikes against jihadi groups fighting the government, and supplying the jihadis with more lethal weapons, including shoulder-fired anti-aircraft weapons.

Aside from the fact that most of these actions would benefit the Al Qaeda-centered opposition to the Syrian government, the proponents of military action tend to ignore two other realities, however. First, there's no legal basis for any U.S. war in Syria, including the current one targeting the Islamic State. There's no declaration of war issued by the U.S. Congress, as the Constitution requires, and there's no UN Security Council resolution authorizing war against Syria. Secondly, all of the military options under discussion will bring the U.S. into direct confrontation with Russia, to one degree or another, which can only result in a catastrophe for humanity.

Secretary Strangelove

The most dangerous posturing, however, came from U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter who, last week, rattled nuclear sabers while accusing Russia of doing the same, all in an attempt to justify spending a trillion dollars over the next thirty years to advance the entire US nuclear arsenal. During a speech at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, where he had a B-52 parked behind him, Carter expressly called out Russia.

While in Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, went on Polish Radio on Oct. 3 to update Polish listeners on the status of the US force buildup in that country. Hodges reported that an armored brigade will begin arriving from Fort Carson, Colorado, beginning in January, and then part of it will immediately head to western Poland for an exercise. An aviation battalion will also arrive in Poland around March or April, and will be based at the Powidz air base in central Poland.

In addition to the armored brigade, Hodges reported that a Stryker infantry battalion will be placed in Germany as part of the US Army's "enhanced forward presence" or EFP. The battalion is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of April and will be under NATO's operational control.

And what Carter didn't dare admit on his tour was that the U.S. is building a new generation of short-range nuclear weapons, with increased accuracy, for deployment throughout Europe—all pointed at Russian territory. The B61-12 new generation nuclear bomb will have a longer range and far greater accuracy, turning it from a deterrent into a theater combat weapon with a higher chance of use than any nuclear weapon so far ever deployed.

Russia Responds

From Moscow, the leadership of Russia sees all of this clearly and is responding with very clear statements about the irrationality of U.S. policy but with major preparations for another Nazi-like attack on Russia. On Oct. 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended a U.S.–Russia plutonium reduction treaty, in which both sides agreed to destroy 34 tons of weapons-grade plutonium. Putin ordered the suspension, “In connection with the emergence of a threat to strategic stability as a result of unfriendly actions by the United States towards Russia, and the United States' inability to ensure compliance, and also proceeding from the need for urgent measures to protect the security of Russia," reported Tass.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was more blunt why Russia is terminating the arrangement. “I would like to stress that this is a measure of last resort. We considered the agreement an important step towards nuclear disarmament,” Lavrov said. However, "Washington introduced large-scale economic and other sanctions against Russia, citing unsubstantiated claims. NATO military infrastructure is expanding, with an increasing number of US troops in proximity to the Russian border. The United States and its allies openly and freely discuss transitioning to a policy of containing their relations with Russia. They even threaten terrorist attacks in Russian cities.”

Putin's decision to suspend the plutonium treaty is a function of the overall collapse of U.S.–Russian relations brought on by President Obama's British-policy of geopolitical confrontation to reduce Russia to submission. "Our decision is a signal to Washington that it cannot use the language of force, sanctions and ultimatums with Russia while continuing to selectively cooperate with our country only when it benefits the U.S.," Lavrov said.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov then correctly said, “This is a big trauma and a fundamental problem for the American establishment as a whole. They cannot overcome themselves, and also, fortunately, they are not able to subvert the whole world. This is where such a difficult emotional breakdown, which we have to deal with, comes from.” The diplomat noted that the U.S. administration has "stopped being ashamed of some of its directives and now voices them almost openly."

The explicit support for Nazis in Ukraine, as well as the terrorists in Syria, is leading to an accelerating and near threat of nuclear attack and all out nuclear war. This is an unsurvivable war. No one wins. The living envy the dead. This is Obama, and he must be stopped pre-emptively by the American people and their institutions of government. We are already one minute after midnight.

Financial Crisis in October, Pass Glass-Steagall Now

Editorial by Rachel Brinkley


Who Are The Unbanked, Why Do We Care, and What’s Blockchain Got to Do With It

Kelsie Nabben
May 21, 2018 · 7 min read

My Story of How to Get Neck Deep Into Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Technology and the Decentralised Future that is Now

I had my penny drop moment when I realised that everything I cared about to do with macroeconomic trends, politics and technology for good were wrapped up in cryptocurrency. I had to be involved.

Off the back of the annual Ethereum Developers Conference in May, themed ‘Never Forget Why You Started’, this short research piece explains how decentralised technology can help ‘The Unbanked’ and why there is need for all people of all interests and backgrounds to contribute to the space.

Special thanks to the Decentralised Future Fund, founded by the local developer community in Sydney, for supporting me and multiple colleagues with funding to attend, learn, connect and pay it forward in the industry. Learn more about DFF and upcoming funding applications rounds here.

How Decentralised Technology Can Help ‘The Unbanked’

Who are ‘The Unbanked’?

‘The Unbanked’ refers to people who do not use, or do not have access to banking institutions. Two billion people in the world still do not have a bank account. This results in reliance on a cash economy, and limited access to credit ratings, loans, interest, insurance, and other financial services.

Only 54% of adults in developing countries reported having a bank account with account ownership particularly lacking in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. India is host to 21% of the world’s unbanked population and China to 12%.

This phenomenon does not just apply in developing countries. Approximately 9 million American households are unbanked. An additional 24.5 million households in the US are underbanked, meaning individuals still lack adequate access to the financial services a bank can provide.

Inequality amongst the population of unbanked people is also a major concern. Women comprise 42% of unbanked people worldwide, commonly facing additional barriers to accessing finance, including adequate identity documentation, or cultural barriers. This is despite research findings that women are competent fiscal stewards, that are more likely to assume financial responsibility for entire households and communities. Minorities are also commonly disadvantaged in terms of access to financial services in developed and developing contexts, leading to the need to understand why this is so.

Why Are People in the Adult Population Unbanked:

According to the World Bank, predominant reasons that people don’t have a bank account include:

  • Not enough money,
  • Reliant on the account of another family member,
  • Financial barriers, such as fees and interest,
  • Can’t access financial institutions, e.g. rural or remote communities,
  • Lack of necessary documentation, e.g. identity documents for immigrants or refugees,
  • Lack of trust in institutions to manage their finances.

Why Do We Care?

Financial inclusion is key for reducing poverty. Without access to savings and credit, people remain in a cycle of poverty and cannot participate in the mainstream economy.

Personal accounts have an important part to play in the founding and expanding of businesses, earning income, making transactions more efficient, secure and transparent, and managing savings (although, savings and accounts do not necessarily reduce inequality within a country).

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said:

“Financial inclusion allows people to save for family needs, borrow to support a business, or build a cushion against an emergency. Having access to financial services is a critical step towards reducing both poverty and inequality, and new data on mobile phone ownership and internet access show unprecedented opportunities to use technology to achieve universal financial inclusion.” — 2018

The development and adoption of new technologies is already having a significant, positive impact on these concerns.

Technology Is Enabling Opportunities:

Technology innovation and adoption is a critical enabler of development. Technology enables giant leaps forward, especially in developing countries where access to network infrastructure layers, hardware and retail merchants is limited.

Between 2011 and 2014, the unbanked population fell by 20%, as 700 million adults became account holders. The Global Findex database shows that 515 million adults worldwide opened an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider between 2014 and 2017. This means that 69 percent of adults now have an account, up from 62 percent in 2014 and 51 percent in 2011.

Mobile money services are one example of how technology can improve people’s ability to earn an income and manage their funds. Mobile eWallets allow users to store and transfer funds from one mobile phone to another via mobile networks or third-party payment provider. Digital transactions through mobile digital wallets enable less reliance on expensive physical infrastructure, such brick-and-mortar bank-fronts. This is particularly meaningful in rural areas where it can lead to shorter travel distances and lower costs, thus allowing participation in the economy and reducing financial exclusion. Another way that eWallet technology is impacting the unbanked is via microfinance, such as the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, which offers phones, credit loans and financial literacy training through their network.

About 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked — without an account at a financial institution or through a mobile money provider. In 2014 that number was 2 billion.

Practical use cases are evident in both developing and developed countries. Sub-Saharan Africa is the global leader in the use of mobile money (despite the persistence of financial, social and practical challenges, such as loan and interest repayments, and access for remote communities). Digital financial service providers furthering financial inclusion in the region include MPesa, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money and Orange Money.

Developed countries are using digital money technology to create a cashless society as well. The trend away from physical currency in Sweden has provoked conversations about launching a national cryptocurrency, the e-krona.

The movement towards decentralised technology, including blockchain and cryptocurrency, represents a pivotal opportunity to address some of these concerns on multiple levels.

Enter Decentralised Technology (The Web3 Revolution)

As blockchain technology matures; alternative solutions to the traditional banking system that are efficient, transparent and scalable are becoming possible.

Blockchain technology enables access to financial services with numerous potential solutions, including payment gateway infrastructure, security, scalability and identity requirements (KYC) needed to access financial services.

A reality where individuals own their sovereign identity to manage their finances, savings, and transactions in a decentralised, peer-to-peer network with meaningfully lower fees and barriers to entry is being built. To read more on examples of self sovereign digital identity solutions on blockchain, see Civic, Sovrin, Humaniq, Alastria, and uPort. To learn more about tools to address the ethical implications of blockchain technology, see The Blockchain Ethical Design Framework for Social Impact by Georgetown’s Cara LaPointe.

It is a pertinent time for people from interdisciplinary backgrounds to consider the impacts of decentralised technology, including the potential for it to create positive social impacts, while this technology is still in its infancy. Adoption is gaining momentum and the technological infrastructure challenges of security, and scalability are being addressed. The space needs experts across a range of disciplines to contribute to shaping and applying technology in meaningful ways.

What Can/Are We Doing About It?

The opportunity to unbank the bank is not just a social cause, but an economical business case. There is a strong market oriented opportunity for existing financial institutions to explore how to capture the benefits of new technologies. Accenture estimates that bringing unbanked adults and businesses into the formal banking sector could generate about $380 billion in new revenues for banks. This is the same opportunity that exists for providers that offer an alternative to the existing banking system.

Decentralised technology is a revolutionary opportunity for social and economic transformation. The industry is highly relevant to both developers, investors and non-technical talent, who are passionate about application in real-world use cases.

Examples of Ethereum based Blockchain projects are making headway in serving the unbanked.

OmiseGO is building a peer-to-peer financial transactions network, a white-label eWallet software development kit and decentralised exchange for any currency or digital asset. The protocol removes centralised middlemen to allow for cross-border payments with lower fees and wildly better efficiency.

WeTrust is enabling a more inclusive financial system with a suite of decentralised apps (DApps). The first product is a Trusted Lending Circle decentralised applications that allows users to collaboratively save money with their peers. Benefiting from the finality and transparency provided by Blockchain, this instrument could a transition to enable individuals to build a Blockchain powered credit score.

Humaniq has created biometric identity verification on mobile through face and voice. Bio-identification eliminates the need for formal documentation. The Humaniq ecosystem also features a chat system, contacts (referral) system and an eWallet, to allow users to send and request funds directly without fees.

This is your invitation.

Unbank the Banked

Unbanked is not just about poor people in developing countries gaining access to the existing financial system. Unbanking the banked refers to the concept of moving existing users of the current banking system towards alternative payment and financial models. Decentralised financial solutions also need to attract users to truly challenge the status quo of high barriers to entry and multiple handlers per transaction. Adopters of the traditional banking system now have the choice to investigate an alternative banking infrastructure solution, that is decentralised, high transaction volume, international, and currency agnostic. Blockchain networks could outperform the incumbent system.

It is important to emphasise that technology solutions alone do not increase financial inclusion or mitigate against persistent inequalities in wealth, gender, and other factors.

‘To ensure that people benefit from digital financial services requires a well-developed payments system, good physical infrastructure, appropriate regulations, and vigorous consumer protection safeguards. And whether digital or analogue, financial services need to be tailored to the needs of disadvantaged groups such as women, poor people, and first-time users of financial services, who may have low literacy and numeracy skills’.
- Global Findex, The World Bank

There is still a way to go to overcome the barriers of access to financial services for the unbanked population.

In an effort to support the mission to Unbank the Banked, and continue to pursue my personal ‘why’, I joined the OmiseGO project in Bangkok.

Read more at omisego.network and ask about how you can get involved in the Ethereum Community.


Macbeth Research Paper Topics

List of 25 Macbeth Research Paper Topics

  1. Characters obsessed with power in Macbeth and how it affects them
  2. Choose any two minor characters of the play and examine the ways in which they contribute to the drama’s overall action.
  3. Discuss the importance of the witches’ role in telling Banquo that he will be the father of future kings. What does his reaction to this news reveal about his real character within the play?
  4. Dramatic irony used in the play
  5. Elision technique used in the play
  6. Imagery usage in the tragedy
  7. King Duncan and his contribution to the play
  8. Macbeth as a moral play
  9. Macbeth’s mental deterioration is an extremely important personal characteristic. But how does it relate to the rest play? Is there an underlying madness that Shakespeare is trying to address about greed and power in all people?
  10. Social issues addressed in Macbeth
  11. Symbols used in the play and their effectiveness in passing the intended message
  12. The characteristics of Macbeth as a leader
  13. The effectiveness of language used in the play
  14. The main themes addressed in the play
  15. The motive of betrayal in the play and its consequences
  16. The presentation of social hierarchy in Macbeth
  17. The prophecies in the play and how they are fulfilled
  18. The role and characteristics of the setting in Macbeth
  19. The role of the supernatural in the play
  20. The seven deadly sins described in the play
  21. The theme of manipulation in Macbeth
  22. The various dreams in Macbeth and their significance to the plot development
  23. Three main characters in Macbeth and their relevance in the play
  24. What contributions does King Duncan make to the play? How does his influence and power affect the way characters plot against one another or are their actions independent of King Duncan’s characteristics?
  25. Who is more responsible for King Duncan’s murder? Lady Macbeth or Macbeth? Do you think that Lady Macbeth is a more evil or plotting character than her husband? Cite specific examples to support your argument.


ETIAS Lithuania

European visa waiver for Lithuania

Lithuania is the largest of the three Baltic States situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. It shares 1273 km of border with Latvia on the north, Belarus on the east and south, and Poland and the Kaliningrad region of Russia on the southwest. Its major warm-water port, Klaipėda is at the mouth of Curonian Lagoon which runs southwards to Kaliningrad where the Curonian Spit separates it from the Baltic Sea.

It is here the Kuršių Nerija National Park is found, incorporating the region’s extraordinary sand dunes. Internal shipping is conducted on the Neman River and some of its tributaries. Inland ships transport tons of cargo annually, making up under 1% of the total goods traffic.

Lithuania is glacially flat with the exception of low-lying morainic hills. Assorted forests cover more than 33% of the country, which is further punctuated by 21 rivers, an abundance of small lakes and swamps.  Industry makes up 21.5% of GDP, Trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication make up over 30% of GDP and Agriculture has dropped to below 5% of GDP over the years.

Lithuania’s population is 2,728,686, and it is a member of both the EU and the Schengen zone. It experienced rapid socio-economic and political transformation since re-establishing its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. The country’s Social Security Rate pays for social programs including health care and welfare funded by taxes related to labour income.

Educational institutions are state subsidised according to the ‘pupil’s basket’ or ‘student’s basket’, a principle whereby the money follows the pupil. For Lithuanians and the European Union nationals, most medical services are without charge.

Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940 after which mass deportations of residents and cultural and ideological genocide were the norm. Nazi Germany occupied the country during the Second World War, after which it was again occupied by the Soviet Union. A partisan war ensued resulting in more deportations. In 1990 Lithuania re-established its independence and has consistently instituted reforms to speed up integration into Europe’s political and economic structures, including NATO and the EU.

About Lithuania

Capital: Vilnius

Area: 65,200 KM2

Population: 2,944,459

Timezone: UTC/GMT +2 hours

Currency: Euro (EUR)

Calling Code: +370

Languages: Lithuanian 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, Other 0.9%, Unspecified 3.5%

Travel in Lithuania

Lithuania is scattered with abundant castles and historic buildings going back to the middle ages and before. Medieval towns are also abundant, with atmospheric cobbled streets and architectural heritage blending baroque, gothic, renaissance and Russian elements. Four Lithuanian sites are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Old Town of Vilnius, the Curonian Spit, the Archaeological Site of Kernavė and the Struvė Geodetic Arc.

Not on the list is the Hill of Crosses which dates back to a battle in 1831 and boasts over 100,000 crosses and crucifixes of varying sizes left by Catholic pilgrims.

Australians will be glad to hear that this country offers one of the lowest beer prices abroad.

ETIAS in Lithuania

Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004, together with other East European countries, and became the member of the Schengen area in 2007. These steps have resulted in the previously Communist bloc country enjoying closer economic and political ties with the Western European countries. As a Schengen country, Lithuanian nationals benefit from the Schengen borderless policy which allows them the freedom to travel within the zone.

The European Union Commission’s answer to growing insecurity in Europe is the European Travel Information Authorisation System (ETIAS) In effect it will be a European visa waiver for the nationals of those 62 countries, including Australia, currently benefitting from the visa liberation policy. These travellers will have to apply online for permission to travel to Europe once it is implemented in 2021.

The application will cost a small fee for anyone between the ages of 18 and 70. The authorisation is electronically attached to the passport and is valid until the passport expires or 3 years, whichever comes first. Schengen restriction and requirements will remain the same, and European Union citizens will still be free to visit each other’s countries as they currently do.

ETIAS will address the rising problem of terrorism and uncontrolled immigration within Europe which impedes the security and safety of citizens and tourists in Europe. Risks will be identified before the traveller leaves his country and reaches the European borders.

Australia and Lithuania

The first Lithuanians arrived in Australia in 1833 as refugees fleeing exile to Siberia after the insurrection of 1831. Approximately 10,000 Lithuanian migrants came to Australia as refugees in the 1940s and 50s, mostly to escape the second Soviet occupation. Most post-war Lithuanian immigrants, all over the age of 18, had to enter into a two-year work contract with the Australian government.

Bilateral relations between Australia and Lithuania are underpinned by agreements covering Trade and Economic Cooperation and Investment Promotion and Protection. Two-way merchandise trade between the countries includes imports from in the form of animal feed and electrical circuits equipment. Imports Exports are mainly wood and wood manufactures, furnishings and electrical distributing equipment.

Approximately 16,300 people in Australia have Lithuanian ancestry.

Australians interested in visiting Lithuania for short stay tourism and business purposes can do so at present for up to 90 days with just a valid passport. When ETIAS is implemented in 2021, Australians will require this electronic pre-authorisation before embarking on the trip.

List of Australian diplomatic offices in Lithuania

The Embassy of Australia in Warsaw, Poland

Address: ul. Nowogrodzka 11 Warsaw 00-513 Poland
Phone: +48 22 5213 444
Fax: +48 22 6273 500

The nearest Australian Embassy is located in Warsaw, Poland.

Consulate of Australia in Vilnius, Lithuania

Address: 23 Vilniaus St LT-2001 Vilnius Lithuania
Phone: +370 5 212 33 69
Fax: +370 5 212 33 69
Email: [email protected]

List of Lithuanian diplomatic offices in Australia

The Embassy of Lithuania in Tokyo, Japan

Address: 3-7-18 Moto-Azabu; Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0046, JAPAN
Phone: +81 3 3408 5091
Fax: +81 3 3408 5092
Email: [email protected]
Facts: Gediminas Varvuoli – Ambassador

The Embassy in charge is located in Japan.

Consulate of Lithuania in Melbourne, Australia

Address: 39 The Boulevarde Doncaster VIC 3108 Australia
Phone: +61 3 98400070
Email: [email protected]

Consulate of Lithuania in Sydney, Australia

Address: 11 David Street Clifton Gardens NSW 2088 Australia
Phone: +61 29 9696232
Email: [email protected]

Consulate of Lithuania in Adelaide, Australia

Address: Suite 4, 191 Melbourne Street North Adelaide SA 5006 Australia
Phone: +61 408 761 546
Email: [email protected]


What causes sleepiness when sickness strikes?

PHILADELPHIA — It’s well known that humans and other animals are fatigued and sleepy when sick, but it’s a microscopic roundworm that’s providing an explanation of how that occurs, according to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A study published this week in eLife reveals the mechanism for this sleepiness.

Working with a worm’s simple nervous system shows how a single nerve cell named ALA coordinates an organism-wide response to sickness. During sickness, cells are under stress, and organisms experience sleepiness to promote sleep and recover from the cellular stress. In the worm, this sleepiness is caused by release from the ALA neuron of FLP-13 and other neuropeptides, a group of chemicals that send signals between brain neurons.

“Sleep is vitally important in helping both people and animals to recover during sickness,” said senior author David M. Raizen, MD, PhD, an associate professor of Neurology and a member of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology. “Similar signaling may operate in humans and other animals to regulate sleep during sickness. These findings create a launching pad towards future research into the mechanisms for illness-induced sleepiness in humans and other organisms.”

These findings reveal that FLP-13 causes sleep by turning down activity in the nervous system cells that help keep an organism awake. Researchers examined genetic mutations to determine which genes cause the worms to fall asleep when FLP-13 is released. This revealed that worms with mutations that cause them to lack a receptor protein called DMSR-1 on cell surfaces do not become sleepy in response to FLP-13. This indicates that DMSR-1 is essential for FLP-13 to trigger sleep.

Next experiments will target whether illness-induced sleepiness in humans and other mammals is triggered via a similar mechanism. If so, this research may be a critical step towards developing drugs to treat human fatigue associated with sickness and other conditions.


Mammoth Dill

Mammoth Dill

Variety generally grown for its seeds. Can also be used as dill weed, but the foliage is slightly darker, coarser and stronger-tasting than that of Bouquet. Otherwise, differences between the two in plant height and habit are barely discernible. Especially attractive to pollinators.

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Additional Information

Anethum graveolens

~500 seeds/g. Name derived from the Norse dilla, meaning ‘to lull,’ as the plant is said to have soothing properties. Best known in this country for pickling, but essential for Russian, Polish and Hungarian cuisine. Annual, sometimes classed as biennial, grows to 4–5'. Self sows. Upright plant branches out from single stalk; the feathery leaves known as dill weed. Likes well-drained moderately rich soil.


Manufacturer: UK Generics manufactures Paroxetine - UK .

The uses of Paroxetine - UK include:

Medical Information:

Paxil is used for: Treating depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized and social anxiety disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and panic disorders with or without the fear of being in open or public place.

Paxil relieves a variety of emotional problems. It can be prescribed for serious, continuing depression that interferes with your ability to function. Symptoms of this type of depression often include changes in appetite and sleep patterns, a persistent low mood, loss of interest in people and activities, decreased sex drive, feelings of guilt or worthlessness, suicidal thoughts, difficulty concentrating, and slowed thinking.

Paxil is also used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a disease marked by unwanted, but stubbornly persistent thoughts, or unreasonable rituals you feel compelled to repeat.

In addition, Paxil is prescribed for panic disorder, a crippling emotional problem characterized by sudden attacks of at least four of the following symptoms: palpitations, sweating, shaking, numbness, chills or hot flashes, shortness of breath, a feeling of choking, chest pain, nausea or abdominal distress, dizziness or faintness, feelings of unreality or detachment, fear of losing control, or fear of dying.

Paxil can be prescribed for generalized anxiety disorder, a disease marked by excessive anxiety and worry that persists for at least 6 months and can't be easily controlled. True cases of generalized anxiety disorder are accompanied by at least three of the following symptoms: restlessness or a keyed-up or on-edge feeling, a tendency to tire easily, difficulty concentrating or spells when the mind goes blank, irritability, muscle tension, or sleep disturbance.

Paxil can be used in the treatment of social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), a condition marked by shyness or stage fright so intense that it interferes with an individual's work and social life.

Paxil is also prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder--a crippling condition that sometimes develops in reaction to a disastrous or horrifying experience. Symptoms, which stubbornly refuse to abate, include unwanted memories and dreams, intense distress when confronted with reminders of the event, a general numbing of interest and enjoyment, jumpiness, irritability, poor sleep, and loss of concentration.

Paxil CR, the controlled-release version, is prescribed for major depression, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and severe premenstrual symptoms classified as premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

Paxil belongs to the class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Serotonin is one of the chemical messengers believed to govern moods. Ordinarily, it is quickly reabsorbed after its release at the junctures between nerves. Reuptake inhibitors such as Paxil slow this process, thereby boosting the levels of serotonin available in the brain.


LAFAYETTE — It's easy to think Ichiban is just another example of ethnic restaurants having trouble with the health code.

Chinese restaurant Harbor City closed in 2016 after cockroaches and maggots were found on the floor. Another Chinese restaurant, Tasty Buffet, faced a hearing a few months ago because it had repeatedly stored food inappropriately.

A woman sued Agave Azul Authentic Mexican Restaurant in October because she believes its food had poisoned her and her daughter and eventually killed her husband.

Ichiban will learn its fate in a hearing Wednesday. The restaurant faces potential closure due to repeated critical violations such as preventing contamination. The restaurant vowed to change.

More: Ichiban Restaurant closes after food permit is revoked

More: Ichiban food license in jeopardy after long history of critical health violations

More: How 'critical' are health code violations at restaurants?

From 2016: Official: Cockroaches, maggots found at Lafayette restaurant

Tippecanoe County Health Administrator Craig Rich said the county does not have data on whether ethnic restaurants have more violations than others.

However, several pieces of research show that ethnic restaurants in the United States score lower in sanitation scores and have more violations than other restaurants. As to why that's the case, the story gets a bit more complicated.

Why ethnic restaurants have more violations

Junehee Kwon, a professor at Kansas State University, spoke to 20 Chinese restaurant owners and operators. She asked them why many of them don't offer food safety training to their staff.

Lack of time, money, labor and the staff's language barrier were identified as a few of the main causes.

But there's another cause: Restaurant owners don't see a need.

For instance, the owners told her that their workers store fried rice at room temperature, a direct violation.

"My mom does it all the time (too), and it drives me crazy," Kwon said.

But doing so rarely led to foodborne illness, the owners told Kwon.

"Even though you don't do it right, often times, you don't get sick," she said. "We are dealing with a very remote possibility, and when they don't see the risk ... it's hard to change."

Cultural differences also are a factor. For instance, Korean cuisine stresses son-mat, or "flavor of hand." Older Koreans are inclined to touch food with their bare hands to bring son-mat to their dish, as they believe putting on gloves detracts from the flavor, Kwon said.

Ichiban acknowledged the role that cultural differences played in their problems with inspections.

"What we have in China doesn't work here," said the restaurant's manager, Echo Yim, last week.

The restaurants also prepare and cook foods differently, sometimes with ingredients that had never been seen in the area. Rich said the county wrestled a few years ago on inspecting duck eggs, commonly used in Chinese cuisine.

Ichiban's owner, Will Weng, said last week that he hopes Wednesday's hearing will clarify how the restaurant should use ingredients, such as pork blood, that are not as familiar to health inspectors.

But Kwon said she can't deny the existence of bias against ethnic, especially Chinese, restaurants. A 2012 research found that people tend to trust Mexican restaurants more than Asian restaurants, despite Mexican restaurants having a higher incidence of foodborne illnesses.

Many inspections arise from complaints, which may be biased because of complainants' relative lack of familiarity with ethnic food or perception that ethnic restaurants are less clean therefore less safe, Kwon said.

"You can have a sparkling clean kitchen and not follow any of the safety practice," she said.

How Tippecanoe County Health Department approaches the subject

Rich said violations represent a snapshot of how restaurants operate. But the focus should be on whether the restaurants correct their violations, he said.

Some restaurants may employ methods – such as pre-cooking stock – that may be more conducive to violations, Rich said, but he doesn't believe ethnic restaurants to be less safe than non-ethnic restaurants.

Out of 25 complaints the county had received this year, only five of them were from ethnic restaurants.

But Rich acknowledged the cultural, culinary and language barriers his staff faces with ethnic restaurants.

"Even the state code has a lot of gray areas," he said.

He said his inspectors are getting training in cultural competency. The health department has recently signed a contract with the translation and interpretation company Luna, based in Indianapolis.

A staff from Luna will be present for Wednesday's hearing.

He said his staff's primary goal is to educate, through inspections early in a restaurant's life and continued training. He said his inspectors have developed a strong relationship with many of the ethnic restaurants.

Ake Waratap and Nan Jayaphorn have owned Basil Thai and Thai Essence for more than a decade.

They are sympathetic toward the struggles faced by restaurants like Ichiban. But they said they have found working with the health department to be helpful.

When a customer complained to the restaurant about food safety a few months ago, Waratap asked the health department for an inspection.

"You can't think they are the enemy," Waratap said.

Contact J&C reporter Jeong Park at 765-420-5339, and follow him on Twitter: @jeongpark52.

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Apple and Qualcomm are not the best of friends at the moment, and the relationship breakdown is playing out in the courts. Earlier this week, Qualcomm saw some success in the Chinese courts and got most iPhones banned from sale and import into China due to patent infringement. However, Apple believes it can overcome the ban with a software update.

As Reuters reports, Apple intends to release a software update in China early next week that will address "the minor functionality of the two patents at issue in the case." In so doing, Apple could render the ban void before it even starts to have an impact on iPhone shipments and sales.

The ban as it currently stands means the iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone 6s can't be sold in China. The two patents these smartphones infringe cover how users adjust and reformat photos and how apps are managed using a phone's touch screen.

It's important to note that the infringement only applies to handsets running iOS 11 and not the more recent iOS 12. The software update next week will therefore be targeted specifically at iOS 11 users. At the same time, Apple filed a request for reconsideration with the court which invoked the preliminary injunction.

For now, Qualcomm believes the ban is already in force, but all models of iPhone remain available to purchase in China. By next week, the ban could be irrelevant, but that doesn't mean it will be removed immediately. As part of the reconsideration request, Apple offered to pay a "counter security" of roughly $87 million to get the ban lifted.


What Are Some Confirmation Gifts for Boys?

Some of the best Confirmation gifts for boys include crosses, rosaries, Bibles and wall paintings or pictures. Since Confirmation is celebration of a young person's spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ, most of the gifts tend to focus on a spiritual level.

If the goal is a non-traditional gift, there are other avenues to take. A dog tag with a Bible verse printed on it can provide the boy with a more masculine gift. A statue of the boy's patron saint can be a good decoration for his room. For a personal touch, a picture frame with a verse or another theme is a great idea.


Encourage the development of your kid's brain – Few must-have brain-friendly foods

Encourage the development of your kid

Parents are extremely worried about the trend that they see is coming for their children and that which is...

Parents are extremely worried about the trend that they see is coming for their children and that which is totally getting out of hand – the electronic overload. As more and more kids get engaged in iPods, video games, smartphones, laptops and endless texting between friends, they are eventually moving farther from activities which are actually meant to stimulate their bodies and brains. As we know that this is the digital age, there's nothing wrong in letting your kids indulge in electronic devices but you can't forget that electronic moderation is the key and parents have to encourage their kids to arouse their bodies and brains on a regular basis.

As long as the development of a kid's brain is concerned, there are mainly 4 areas of development, language & communication, motor (physical), cognitive and social & emotional. The development of the human brain is a part of cognitive development and it includes the way in which a child's intellect grows- his learning, thinking and problem-solving skills. These are the key skills which have a strong impact on the other developmental areas.

Make your child's brain agile and sharp without any fancy gimmicks

Here are few tips that will help your child's brain to sharpen without the use of any costly gadgets or fancy gimmicks. Try to utilize them on a daily basis to witness an improvement.

Read anything you get in front of you

Probably one of the biggest gifts that you can give to a brain that is hungry is knowledge. There is still no other way of learning new things apart from reading. Though their school books are definitely interesting, you should also give them other materials like nutrition labels, cookbooks, newspapers, movie schedules, travel itineraries, menus and several other things to expand their knowledge. Take a test of their knowledge by asking them to summarize what they understood.

Give him short math activities in the store or in the kitchen

Most families spend a long time with each other inside the kitchen and any mom can leverage this opportunity to allow the minds of their kids to think in a mathematical way. Provide them with small jobs inside the kitchen so that they need to do a little bit of math in their heads. For example you may take a look at the nutrition label along with your child and then decide the number of servings and the serving size of each package. Ask your kid to calculate the total number of crackers or cookies he would get per each serving.

Give them activities to keep them active

Those kids who constantly engage themselves in playing games, or swinging on the swings, doing something in the jungle gym, riding their bikes are always engaging their bodies along with their imagination. On the contrary, kids who are watching television and watching TV are not engaging their imagination or body. Hence, parents should always involve them in physical activities which also stimulate them mentally. Plan new things to keep your kids moving.

Make them acquire a new hobby

Watch out for a hobby which is appropriate for your child's age and which he has never tried before. This could be painting or building a model airplane or taking to pottery classes as this is one of the newest trend which is soaring in popularity these days. You can teach them to knit, sew and crochet as this will sharpen their brain.

Try to involve him in memory games

We can't deny that there's nothing better than good memory as it keeps them focused on one thing. You can put 10 items inside a box and let them see the box for 45 seconds before you put it away. Ask them to recall the items that they saw inside the box. This game is effortless and easy yet too effective. If you can involve more than one kid, the competition gets tougher and the game gets interesting. Other games can also be tried out for improving concentration of your kid.

Make him solve puzzles and construction blocks

Word searches, crossword puzzles and the famous game of Sudoku are few of the best ways in which you can exercise your brain. Even though you may not be able to allow them hours in doing them but 15 minutes every day is just perfect. One more way in which you can make their brains sharper is by letting them go creative with the construction games like wooden blocks, Legos, constructing sand castles, building houses of cards or playing with huge foam blocks. Building blocks tend to be perfect for every age-group and most pediatricians think so.

6 Must-have brain-friendly foods – Give them the right nutrition

There's no doubt about the fact that your brain is certainly a big deal and it is the control center of your entire body, it keeps charge your beating heart, your breathing process and lets you feel, move and think. Here are the foods which play a role in maintaining proper health of your brain. Take a look at the list.

#1: Fatty Fish

Whenever there is a discussion on brain foods, fatty fish is certainly at the top of the list. Such fishes include trout, salmon and sardines which have an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. If you don't have access to such fishes, you may also try having fish oil supplements which are available at stores. Almost 60% of your brain is made up of fat and half of this fat inside your brain is omega-3 kind. Omega-3 is used by your brain to build nerve and brain cells and hence these fats are vital for memory and learning. If you don't get enough omega-3s, this can lead to learning impairment and also depression.

#2: Blueberries

There are several health benefits of blueberries and some of them are specifically vital for the brain. Blueberries provide your body with anthocyanins which are compounds from plants with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidants act against inflammation and stress which are the two main conditions which lead to aging of the brain and other neurodegenerative diseases. The antioxidants that are found in blueberries usually accumulate and gather in the brain and they also help in proper communication between the brain cells.

#3: Coffee

In case you can't start your day without having a cup of coffee, there's good news for you. Did you know that the two main components of coffee – antioxidants and caffeine help your brain to function properly? The caffeine that you find in coffee has several positive impacts on the brain which include increasing brain's alertness, improving your mood and sharpening your focus and concentration. If you can drink coffee over a long period of time, this can also reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

#4: Broccoli

Broccoli is something that is packed with powerful and effective compounds from plants, including antioxidants. Broccoli is also high in Vitamin K and it delivers the entire amount of your daily intake which is recommended by doctors. This is a fat-soluble vitamin which is vital for forming sphingolipids – a kind of fat which is packed inside the brain cells. Apart from Vitamin K, broccoli also comprises of several compounds which give it the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. It protects your brain against any form of damage.

#5: Turmeric

There is a lot of buzz around regarding turmeric and this is a dark yellow spice which is one of the main ingredients in cooking. But apart from this, it also has several benefits for the brain. The most active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin and it can cross the blood-brain barrier which means that it can enter the brain directly and help the brain cells. It is one of the main anti-inflammatory compounds or antioxidants which have been linked with benefiting memory, easing depression and allowing new cells of the brain to grow.

#6: Pumpkin seeds

The seeds of pumpkin contain extremely powerful antioxidants which safeguard your brain and body from facing any radical damage. Not only that, pumpkin seeds are also a vital source of iron, magnesium, copper and zinc. Each of the aforementioned nutrients is vital for the health of the brain. Zinc is extremely vital for signalling nerves, magnesium is vital for memory and learning, copper is useful for controlling the signals of the nerve and iron deficiency is often linked with impaired functioning of the brain and brain fog.

There are several foods which can maintain the health of your brain. Some foods like vegetables and fruits and coffee and tea are rich in antioxidants which guard your brain from damage. Other foods like eggs and nuts also comprise of nutrients which help in development of the brain and supporting your memory. So, if you wish to boost the alertness of your brain, your mood and memory, make sure you include all or at least few of the above listed foods in your diet. Regardless of whether you're worried for your kids or for young adults, including the right foods in your diet is imperative.

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How to Get Better at Retaining Choreography

It’s hard enough to remember certain patterns in ballroom dances, but when you start putting choreography together, things can get even more complicated.  Because many different dance pieces can have varying levels of difficulty, everyone can have trouble picking up steps at some point.  The good news is that there are some techniques you can use to improve your ability to retain choreography.  So if you’re having some trouble remembering certain sections of your dance, or if you can’t do the steps without your instructor, these eight tips might help you!

Revisit your Learning Style

The first step to getting better at a skill is figuring out how you learn best.  In a previous post, we discussed seven different learning styles and how to determine what’s best for you.  To review, the learning styles are auditory, visual, verbal, physical, logical, social, and solitary.  If you’re having a hard time remembering steps, take some time to figure out which learning style is most effective for you and apply it when learning choreography.  For instance, if you are a visual learner, make sure you can clearly see the steps when your instructor does them.  Once you figure out the learning techniques that work best for you, it’s possible that you’ll see improvement in your retention.

Observe First

It’s pretty common to want to dance along with your instructor as they are showing you the steps, but sometimes it’s best to just stand back and watch their movements closely if you are having trouble picking up the steps.  There is a possibility that you could miss something if you are also moving along with the instructor (especially if there are turns or spins in the choreography).  After you’ve carefully observed enough times, you can then try doing the moves yourself.  By observing multiple times, you may catch some details that you might have missed before.

Look in the Mirror

Many dancers don’t spend enough time watching themselves when they dance.  They are often focused on the instructor or other dancers in their class.  Besides the choreography and steps, your body should be the main thing to focus on during rehearsals.  Of course you will need to watch your instructor to learn choreography, but you shouldn’t get too accustomed to them being in front of you.  When you spend all your time focusing on the instructor or another dancer, you might find that you have trouble recalling the steps when they go away.  This is because you’re mimicking their movements as they do them and aren’t actively remembering the steps.  As you are learning, watch yourself in the mirror and pay attention to how you are moving.  When you recognize how the movement feels in your own body, you will get more acquainted with the steps and you’ll have an easier time remembering them.

…But Don’t Become Dependent on the Mirror

Watching yourself in the mirror is important, but don’t watch yourself too much.  If you become dependent on the mirror, things can become difficult when you try to perform without it.  This is especially true in group dances; dancers will often figure out spacing by looking through the mirror, but once the mirror is gone they might have a harder time with spacing.  At first, you may not even notice that you are mirror-dependent, but you can try dancing away from the mirror from time to time to see if you can do well without it.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Obviously, you will need to practice a lot if you want to get better at any skill.  Muscle memory happens when you repeat a certain task to the point where your body can do the action without conscious effort.  The only way to achieve muscle memory is through lots of repetition, so you must practice often.  Your instructor will likely go over a step multiple times, so you should use those moments to fully go through the steps.  If you aren’t retaining in class, it’s also important that you practice as much as possible while you are at home.

Take Videos

Recording videos of yourself or your instructor dancing can greatly help when you are trying to recall steps after your lesson has ended.  If you record and watch yourself you can see exactly how you are moving and fix any spots that are giving you trouble.  If you record your instructor, you also might be able to catch small details in their movement that you didn’t see before.

Allow Yourself to Make Mistakes

Even if you mess up while dancing in class, follow through and continue your movement.  It’s not good to get into the habit of stopping every time you make a mistake.  Even if you forget or miss a step while going through choreography, continue with the movement and come back to the section that you forgot at a later time.

Ask Questions

If all else fails and you have tried all of the previous tips, just ask for help.  If there is something you do just not understand, ask your teacher or another peer and they just might be able to help you out!

Happy Dancing! ^_^


Clinical Practice Points

J Hum Lact December 7, 2015  0890334415619439
  1. Ann M. Witt, MD, IBCLC1,2,3
  2. Maya Bolman, BA, BSN, IBCLC1,2
  3. Sheila Kredit3
  4. Anne Vanic, MSN, CPNP, IBCLC1,2
  1. Ann M. Witt, MD, IBCLC, Breastfeeding Medicine of Northeast Ohio, 2054 South Green Road, South Euclid, OH 44121, USA. Email:

Background: Many women in developed countries do not meet their breastfeeding goals and wean early because of breast pain.

Objective: This study aimed to describe clinical response to therapeutic breast massage in lactation (TBML) in the management of engorgement, plugged ducts, and mastitis.

Methods: Breastfeeding women presenting with engorgement, plugged ducts, or mastitis who received TBML as part of their treatment were enrolled (n = 42). Data collected at the initial visit included demographic, history, and exam data pre-TBML and post-TBML. Email surveys sent 2 days, 2 weeks, and 12 weeks following the initial visit assessed pain and breastfeeding complications. A nested case control of engorged mothers (n = 73) was separately enrolled to compare engorgement severity.

Results: Reasons for the visit included engorgement (36%), plugged ducts (67%), and mastitis (29%). Cases, compared to controls, were significantly more likely to have severe engorgement (47% vs 7%, P < .001). Initial mean breast pain level among those receiving TBML was 6.4 out of 10. Following TBML, there was significant improvement in both breast (6.4 vs 2.8, P < .001) and nipple pain (4.6 vs 2.8, P = .013). All women reported immediate improvement in their pain level. At the 12-week survey, 65% found the massage treatment very helpful. The majority of the women with a new episode of mastitis or plugged duct during the study follow-up found the techniques learned during the office visit very helpful for home management of these episodes.

Conclusion: In office, TBML is helpful for the reduction of acute breast pain associated with milk stasis. Mothers find TBML helpful both immediately in-office and for home management of future episodes.


4U: The Music of Prince with Symphony

Biology affects all art. In the case of music, of course no rock star lives forever. It will be increasingly rare to see a legacy artist in concert. Many bands that rose to prominence in the 60s or 70s and still touring sport only a few original members (Eagles: 1, The Who: 2, Queen: 2, KISS: 2, Chicago: 2 or 3 depending on the night). U2 and ZZ Top are the outliers, all members are intact.
What to do if you are charged with managing the estate of a singular artist? In the case of Prince the answer is to celebrate his music with musicians capable of doing it justice. In this case, several crack musicians accompanied an orchestra performing arrangements by Prince acolyte Questlove. As the only symphonic Prince show approved by the artist’s estate, the concert website said, the gig is not intended to impersonate the artist but to celebrate his “boundless creative output.”

The evening mostly satisfies, given the inherent limitations especially evident for those blessed to have seen his Purpleness live in concert.
The mostly effective visuals supplemented the music, which was well amplified. Song titles were helpfully provided for most of the instrumental versions. The visuals reminded some folks that Prince rose to prominence in the MTV era. Interview snippets were used as interstitials.
Earlier in the tour the first half was apparently built upon deep catalogue tracks, done without vocals. But by the second song last night a guy came out to sing “Delirious” and “Pop Life” among others. He was competent.
Comparing 4U to the recent David Bowie post-mortem tour, the latter was non-orchestral but was comprised of an evolving band anchored by a couple musicians with definite ties to Bowie.

The orchestra assembles for the San Diego performance of 4U

The local symphonic musicians in San Diego were cohesive in tackling Questlove’s arrangements. “The Beautiful Ones” was especially effective in exploring the orchestra’s range.

An authorized purple beverage is another good revenue generator

The evening’s last song was inevitably “Purple Rain.” The house guitarist wisely left the stage, allowing Prince to assay a live rendition of his signature song, recorded somewhere on a previous tour. As the orchestra surged, Prince’s guitar did most of the talking.

It reconfirmed for me that seeing Prince perform “Purple Rain” live is one of the most evocative concert experiences ever.

Merging an orchestra with a rock band has a dodgy past (Moody Blues made it work, The Who not so much). The elements come together in 4U better than expected. One goes into these experiments with a fair degree of trepidation.
There was plenty of purple in the attire of the audience, and there was more sex in San Diego last night.


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Everyone Can Make Use Of A Desktop Computer Using The Proper Assistance

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Everyone Can Make Use Of A Desktop Computer Using The Proper Assistance

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Criterion 37: #176581

In one example submitted, the provider describes its collaboration with the state health department to develop and implement an educational campaign to address obstacles to primary care physicians' and nurse practitioners' optimal use of the state’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) as a tool to identify and intervene with persons addicted to prescription drugs. The provider includes qualitative data that show the process improvements achieved by practice teams that participated in the educational campaign, such as putting a link to the database on each desktop; better staff coordination during office visits to ensure time for practitioners to consult the PDMP; and increased utilization of a screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) checklist.


Bond Readiness Programs

Surety Bonding

Understanding the World of
Surety Bonding

MBDI was launched specifically to prepare MWBE construction contractors to become surety bond-ready, grow sustainably through systemic change, and become prime contractors.

Many government construction agencies and private developers require that contractors be "surety bonded" in order to participate on their projects. A surety bond is a rigorously underwritten credit-based product requiring that a business demonstrate capacity and excellent financial presentation to qualify. The requisite high standards present a difficult hurdle for many emerging businesses looking to enter the public and large private-works arena. MBDI programming is designed to demystify the bonding process and make bonding attainable for a subset of contractors that have historically been unable to secure bonding on its own.

A bond program can be viewed as a pre-qualifier for success on a given project. Even when a bond is not required for a particular job, the owner or prime may rely on a bond program as an independent endorsement that the contractor is equipped to successfully perform. The surety decision to bond a project or provide a bond program results from a contracting firm having built the infrastructure and financial presentation to illustrate capability. When a contractor cannot get bonded, or struggles to grow past its present bond program, that contractor generally needs assistance. This is where MBDI can step in to help.

MBDI helps motivated contractors to build their firm's infrastructure and presentation. Through coursework and advisory services, MBDI's support focuses on achieving sustainable growth, getting bonded and increasing bond lines.

What is a surety bond? And other key facts...

A surety bond is a three party agreement between the Guarantor or Surety, the Obligee or Project Owner, and the Principal or Contractor. The bond acts as a guarantee that a project will be completed, and as such protects the taxpayer and investor dollars that fund the project. The Surety issues the bond guaranteeing that the Contractor will perform the job for the Owner according to the contract terms. If the contractor fails to complete the bonded project, the surety steps in to resolve issues on the bonded project.

How is suretyship different from more common lines of insurance?

How does a surety underwrite?

What is Personal Indemnity?

It is common for a surety to request the indemnity, or guarantee, of the owners of a closely held corporation. Typically, the spouse's indemnity also is required because personal assets are jointly owned. The two main reasons for this requirement are that the surety requires all personal assets to be available to back the guarantee and that there is less chance a principal will avoid his or her responsibilities if personal assets are at stake.

How does collateral security relate to a surety bond?