November 28, 2012 ? a Conference on Theology in Universities: State-Society Cooperation began at the conference hall of Danilovskaya Hotel in Moscow. It is organized with the support of the St. Gregory the Theologian Charity. Its purpose is to systematise the experience of theological education in Russian universities and to elaborate measures for its extension on the basis of church-state and church-society partnership.
The presidium of the conference included Patriarch Kirill, Metropolitan Varsonofy of Saransk and Mordovia, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk in his capacity of rector of the Sts Cyril and Methodius Post-Graduate and Doctoral School, Metropolitan Merkury of Rostov and Novocherkassk, head of the Department for Religious Education and Catechism, Archbishop Yevgeny of Vereya, chairman of the Education Committee, A. Fursenko, presidential advisor, V. Sadovnichy, rector of Moscow University, and S. Karpov, dean of the Moscow University?s Department of History.
The Conference is attended by hierarchs, federal and regional government officials, leaders of church academic institutions and directors of theological academic programs ? altogether over 200 people from over 40 regions in Russia.
In his opening remarks, Patriarch Kirill focused on the renewal of religious faith in Russian society today and the need to respond to it by offering a high quality theological education as it forms an adequate knowledge of religion and the Church. Theology in universities, he said, does not contradict the principle of secularity understood not in the spirit of aggressive secularism but as a neutral worldview and offered to those who freely choose it. ?Theology in university is not an exotic discipline or a whim of some churchmen or an attempt to interfere in the other?s space to impose the religious worldview on students or to put obstacles for teaching traditional academic disciplines. Theology in universities is a cultural imperative for society which for a long time has been actually alienated from religion as a special sphere of human existence?, he said.
Patriarch Kirill called upon ruling bishops to show all possible concern for the development of cooperation between their dioceses and higher education institutions since ?the presence of Orthodox theology in the common academic space and its creative interaction with humanitarian arts and natural science disciplines should help raise the level of academic theology as a complex of educational disciplines and a sphere of research?.
Pointing to the progress made in teaching theology in universities in recent years, Patriarch Kirill draw the participants? attention to the existing problems, the most important of them being the absence of a united system of theological education in higher education schools. As urgent measures for optimizing the situation, he pointed to the need to regulate the partnership between the state and religious confessions in theological education and to elaborate and adopt a long-term plan for the logistic and financial support of theological education in universities as a united system and for inclusion of theology in the list of research specialities recognized by the Higher Attestation Commission. He also called all healthy forces of society including the Church and other religious confessions and the religious and secular education system to unite efforts for solving spiritual and moral problems facing our society.
Mr. A. Sadovnichy spoke about the role of the Russian Orthodox Church in the history of Moscow State University and the cooperation between his university and Moscow Theological Academy. ?From the historical perspective, the Orthodox Church played an exceptional role in the development of public education in Russia?, he said. He also informed the gathering about the work of the Board for Theology established together by the Moscow University?s Department of History and the St. Tikhon?s Humanitarian University and reported that as of today, chairs of theology have been opened in over 30 higher education institutes in Russia.
Mr. Fursenko, in his speech, dealt among other things with the existing experience of cooperation between the government and the Russian Church.
Metropolitan Hilarion, in his remarks, spoke about interaction between theology and other academic disciplines.
Several university rectors and scholars shared their experience of teaching theology in their schools.
On November 29, the Conference will continue working in sections. Section I will deal with the theme ?Church, Society, University: Models and Strategies of Cooperation? and Section II with ?Theological Education: From a Baccalaureate School to a Research Center?.
DECR Communication Service Patriarchal Press Service
Source:
Tagged as: Metropolitan Hilarion, MOSCOW, Moscow University, Patriarch Kirill, Russia
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2012) ? Scientists searching for ways to develop treatments for Huntington's disease (HD) just got a roadmap that could dramatically speed their discovery process. Researchers at the Buck Institute have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology to identify hundreds of "druggable" molecular targets linked to the toxicity associated with the devastating, ultimately fatal disease. The results from this unprecedented genome-scale screen in a human cell model of HD are published in the November 29, 2012 edition of PLoS Genetics.
The work was is a collaboration between Buck Institute faculty members Robert E. Hughes, Ph.D., Sean Mooney, Ph.D., Lisa Ellerby, Ph.D. and Juan Botas, Ph.D. at the Baylor College of Medicine.
HD is a devastating and incurable progressive neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects motor coordination and leads to severe physical and cognitive decline. Currently, there are about 30,000 people in North America diagnosed with HD and another 150,000 people at risk for developing the disease. The disease pathology stems from a mutation in the huntingtin gene (HTT), resulting in the accumulation of a toxic protein leading to neuronal cell death and systemic dysfunction. Buck Scientists screened more than 7,800 genes pre-selected as potential drug targets to identify modifiers of HD toxicity in human cells, using technology that silences specific genes prior to analysis.
Lead author Robert Hughes said that among the diverse range of modifiers identified, this study showed that RRAS, a gene involved in cell motility and neuronal development, is a potent modulator of HD toxicity in multiple HD models. "Our data indicates that the pathogenic effects of the HTT mutation on this pathway can be corrected at multiple intervention points and that pharmacological manipulation of RRAS signaling may confer therapeutic benefit in HD," Hughes said. Follow up work on the RRAS pathway is now underway in the Hughes lab and in the lab of Buck faculty member Lisa M. Ellerby, PhD.
Hughes said many molecular hits identified in the screening were validated in human cell, mouse cell and fruit fly models of HD -- and that all the data from the study will be available to the public. "Our hope is that HD researchers will look at these targets and find modifiers relevant to the areas they already work on," said Hughes. "Ideally, pharmaceutical companies already working on some these pathways could build on their current knowledge and expertise by focusing their attention on the challenge to develop therapies for HD."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Buck Institute for Research on Aging.
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John P. Miller, Bridget E. Yates, Ismael Al-Ramahi, Ari E. Berman, Mario Sanhueza, Eugene Kim, Maria de Haro, Francesco DeGiacomo, Cameron Torcassi, Jennifer Holcomb, Juliette Gafni, Sean D. Mooney, Juan Botas, Lisa M. Ellerby, Robert E. Hughes. A Genome-Scale RNA?Interference Screen Identifies RRAS Signaling as a Pathologic Feature of Huntington's Disease. PLoS Genetics, 2012; 8 (11): e1003042 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003042
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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Charge the Zombie is an iPhone game developed by?Pavel Tarabrin?of Synaptic Wave. Your goal: destroy hordes of rampaging zombies that wanna eat you up!
You could be forgiven for thinking that the gameplay in Charge the Zombie would be all about charging into a horde of the undead, but the opposite is actually the case. You stay holed up in your house, and use a lightning rod that?s up on your roof to fry the zombs into a crispy, gooey mess.
Controls are tap-based. A quick tap can send a quick, stunning blast of electricity to the enemy, while holding down on the zombie allows for a longer energy burst that will kill ?em, instead of just knocking them out. You?ll need to strategize the best way to take out the horde, but expect to use both taps and longer blasts to take them all out.
As the game progresses, you will unlock additional weapons. Beyond your lightning strikes, you can also summon earthquakes, land mines, and freezing powers. That?s good news, because the zombies get better equipped as the game goes on, too.
The overall sound design in Charge the Zombie is good. The background music is inoffensive enough, but what really works are the sound effects for the weapons and the zombies. They make a really satisfying plop when they burst open!
If you?ve ever spent a summer evening watching bugs get zapped by the zapper on your front porch, then you?ll love seeing the zombies in this iPhone game get zapped, too. Charge the Zombie is a great time waster with solid controls, fun graphics, and tons of power ups to keep things fresh.
Charge the Zombie?is compatible?with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 5.0 or later. This app is optimized for iPhone 5.
SPRINGFIELD - I recently sat immersed in work at my computer when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a large manila envelope that a member of my cabinet had left on my desk for me. A teacher had sent it inter-office mail to her. Affixed to the envelope was a note that simply said: "Thought you might enjoy these!"
Inside was a packet of drawings created by a kindergarten class at Beal School. Each drawing was a letter to the student's parents, asking their parents for help in making sure that they would get to go to college when they graduated high school.
Several of the kindergarteners promised to "be good" in college. Some asked their folks to "help them get money" to go to college. A few said they wanted to read big books in college or play college sports.
Others explained that they simply had to go to college because they wanted to be a doctor or lawyer. One child said he wanted to go to college so that he could become president of the United States.
Just two weeks before opening that envelope, I had stood on the front steps of City Hall flanked by hundreds of school children, college presidents, pastors, priests and rabbis, educators, legislators, business owners, community leaders, college mascots, reporters and news crews, community-based organizations, concerned citizens, parents and many other caring adults. We had gathered in support of a city-wide initiative called College?YES!, which was aimed at inspiring and supporting college goals for our students and their families.
The package of kindergarten letters that I unexpectedly received on my desk recently is further proof of what I already knew: that the College?YES! initiative was a worthwhile endeavor with unprecedented participation and success.
Those of us who work in the Springfield Public Schools are lucky enough to see the fruits of that initiative every day. But for many of the businesses and organizations that participated, the weekend-long event may seem to have been just that - just a weekend activity, which existed in a vacuum.
Let the letters that landed on my desk re-assure you of the substantial impact your efforts have made on so many of our students. As a city, we have collectively begun to root college aspirations in the minds of even our youngest students. The children who wrote these letters to their parents, for example, will enter first-grade, sixth-grade, ninth-grade, and become high-school seniors believing that college is a viable, reasonable next step post high school graduation.
Be assured that our schools have built a great deal of college aspiration momentum. Robust conversations continue. Special assemblies highlight career options. The college message is plastered throughout many hallways, classrooms and bulletin boards. We continue to expand our capacities and we are racing to meet self-imposed improvement goals because we are committed to creating a district where all students graduate college and are career ready.
And we thank the Springfield community for sharing in that commitment.
Daniel J. Warwick is superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools; you can learn more about the Springfield Public Schools online at www.sps.springfield.ma.us
The world is seething with a billion cheap, portable Bluetooth speakers. To differentiate itself from the pack, Boom Movement has created this thing. It's called the Urchin, and the silicone cloaked beast looks as bizarre as its name implies. It's also certified shock and water-resistant. More »
Google got into the commerce game last year, debuting its payment service, Google Wallet, in May of 2011. Now it has taken another step in that direction by?purchasing coupon-targeting company Incentive Targeting, which will allow it to offer targeted deals to users. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
The news was first revealed by Mike Dudas, who is ?part of the team building Google's mobile commerce business,? on his Twitter account.
The news has since been confirmed on the homepage of Incentive Targeting, in a note from Ben Sprecher, founder and VP of marketing, and Joshua Herzig-Marx, founder and VP of products and services.
?As part of Google, we will have the resources and expertise to continue the transformation of couponing from a way to?give discounts?to a way to?build business. And, we can now work towards that vision as part of a company that improves the lives of hundreds of millions of people every day,? Sprecher and Marx wrote.
?We didn?t reach this milestone alone. From day one, we have relied on the support and commitment of our retailers, brands, investors, partners, and advisors, as well as the hard work and dedication of our team. We could not have done this without them, and as we look ahead, we are thrilled to be part of Google!?
Founded in February of 2007, Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Incentive Targeting provides tools to retailers and manufacturers of grocery and consumer products that allow them to deliver coupons and discounts to targeted markets.
What plans Google has for the service are not known at this time, but perhaps it will be integrated into Google Wallet, which works at participating retail stations in the same way a credit card does. Google Wallet uses a "tap and pay" function, wherever Mastercard paypass stations are used. Users can pass their Google Wallet-functional mobile devices over the paypass stations to pay for retail purchases, the same way they could with a credit card.
Perhaps Google might use Incentive Targeting technology to give discounts and coupons to customer upon using the checkout service.
"We look forward to working with Incentive Targeting in our ongoing efforts to help consumers save time and money and enable retailers deliver relevant discounts to the right customers,? a Google spokesperson told VatorNews.
Other recent Google acquisitions
Google?s has made a number purchases this year.
Google bought social network?Milk?in March, online payment company?TxVia?in April, along with?mobile app?Sparrow?and social media marketing company?Wildfire?in July.
Google also?purchased?Meebo in June for a reported $100 million, and then?purchased?mobile productivity app maker Quickoffice the next day.
In August, Google?acquired?the Frommer?s travel brand for $23 million and, in September, it purchased malware scanner VirusTotal for an undisclosed amount.
In October, Google bought up Ukrainian-based face-recognition company?Viewdle.
(Reuters) - Mississippi River barge operators and shipping groups on Tuesday asked U.S. President Barack Obama to declare a state of emergency on the river and direct the Army Corps of Engineers to keep the drought-lowered waterway open to commercial traffic to avert an "economic catastrophe."
Water on the Mississippi River along the busy stretch from St. Louis to Cairo, Illinois was expected to recede to record-low levels by mid-December, effectively halting the flow of barges that carry billions of dollars worth of grain, coal, steel, fuel and other products.
In a letter to the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the American Waterways Operators, the Waterways Council, and 16 other groups asked that the president order the Army Corps to immediately remove river-bottom rock at two locations, which posed a risk to boats during low water conditions.
The groups also requested that water releases from dams on northern sections of the Missouri River, which flows into the Mississippi at St. Louis, not be reduced as planned.
The request was made pursuant to section 501(b) of the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988.
ECONOMIC DISASTER IN THE MAKING
The Missouri River normally accounts for about 60 percent of the water in the Mississippi River between St. Louis and Cairo, but that share was closer to 80 percent this year because of the drought-reduced flow on the Mississippi.
The Army Corps is directed by law to adjust the flow from upriver dams on the Missouri to conserve water in a series of reservoirs, which are maintained for drinking water, power generation, navigation, recreation and other purposes.
Water in the reservoirs fell to below-normal levels this autumn due to the worst U.S. drought in 56 years. As a result, the Corps enacted drought conservations measures.
Flows could remain below normal next spring if the drought persists.
A Mississippi River closure in December and January would halt the flow of $7 billion worth of grain, coal, crude oil, petroleum products and chemicals, industry groups said.
The governors of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, 15 U.S. Senators and 62 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have also written the Administration to keep the river open.
"The most immediate effects would be felt up and down the river, but would spread quickly from those that work on the river to those that ship on the river to manufacturing workers and eventually to all of us as consumers," said Mike Toohey, president and CEO of Waterways Council, Inc.
"This is an economic disaster in the making and the Administration needs to act now to stop it."
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)
Mike's blog is MKDO.co. ?He raises some excellent points with this post.
Forget piracy. The music industry?s biggest money-loser is an inability to connect with older people that used to spend money on music, and don?t anymore.
I had a long call with people I work with, and I had ideas about finding my way to new listeners. Having this excellent second-act career, as a middle-aged artist, making singer-songwriter music that some Soul Coughing fans don?t like?and, pointedly, vice-versa?I want to get in front of the audiences of other artists with listeners in their late 30s, 40s, early 50s; to generally find older people that would like the songs. I?d like to widen my audience.
They were all ears?as was I, to their ideas. My agents (at High Road) and my management (Hornblow) are samurais. Unfortunately, our business is utterly focused on strategies to get music in front of people in their teens and 20s. Other than pushing what worked on younger people, and complaining that those avenues are ineffective with those same fans as adults, the bulk of our business isn?t TRYING to reach older listeners. However skilled, there?s only so much rain my peeps can make, without a wider culture built to help.
You get told that adults aren?t interested in music. That?s bunk. People who like art don?t stop liking art. They go to movies. The film industry makes a lot of money on blockbusters that young people love, but they also make money on subtler, artier stuff, that adults like, in a way that the music business hasn?t figured out.
If you put on an awesome rock record, singer/songwriter record, 80s/90s-style hip-hop record, middle-aged (let?s begin by being unafraid of that term) adults will dig it.
Read the rest of the post here.
Me? ?I'd love to see Mike perform this Soul Coughing classic.
TR Garland (pictured with me in the photo below) is a friend of mine and co-author of one of my most recent #1 best-selling books called ?Building The Ultimate Network.?? He?s also considered a top trainer for the Referral Institute.?
For some time now, we?ve both observed a need to drill down on one of the most important and foundational concepts to networking ? The VCP Process?.? Ten months ago, we started a much-anticipated 12-part monthly series of blog posts which addresses this and contains some very timely information for networkers across the globe.? In the past, we?ve co-authored the articles.? Today, I?m proud to share with you Part 10 of the series ? which is written entirely by TR as a Guest Blogger.? Please comment below and let us know what you think.
?
AUTHENTICITY IS THE ?NEW? AUDACITY
(Part 10 of 12 of the ?Navigating The VCP Process? To Networking? Series)
Have you ever heard the following phrase: ?It?s nothing personal, it?s just business???
I have.? And every time I hear it, it still disappoints me.? Today, business is personal and people do business with ME because of ME, and they should do business with YOU because of YOU ? not because you perfected some PowerPoint presentation or recently attended a Sales seminar on how to overcome a prospect?s objections.
Nowadays the consumer marketplace that fuels the economy sets the criteria on how they wish to be treated.? ?Consequently, to society today the term ?overcoming objections? sounds a lot more like the following descriptive words:
Persuade
Manipulate
Convince
Coax
When it comes to buying, purchasing, or investing criteria, I don?t know about you, but the concept of being ?closed? and the terminology used in the Traditional Sales Model doesn?t translate that well with me ? and probably society overall for that matter.? I don?t want to be ?convinced? of anything and my guess is that you don?t either.? If you?re interested in creating a long-term client/customer relationship, it?s my presumption that it?s probably not in your best interest to start off by persuading, manipulating, or convincing your potential client to do business with you.? Don?t you agree?
Yet the sad truth is that, today, it?s probably a safe bet that we could go to Amazon.com and search books on the topic of Sales.? It?s also probably a safe bet that we?d find hundreds (and potentially even thousands) of Sales books with their title including the words ?Persuasion Techniques?, ?How To Close The Sale?, and even ?How To Overcome Objections.?? Yes, people who employ these tactics will get results.? I?ll concede that point.? But these tactics continue to reinforce the lifestyle of a HUNTER ? behaviors that are long gone as conduct that small business owners and entrepreneurs idolize.
Remember, Business Networking is more about ?farming? than it is about ?hunting?.? It takes time to cultivate relationships.? But once you dedicate the effort, these relationships ultimately allow you to ?harvest? referrals for a lifetime.? Today, people choose to do business with other people because of:
Who they are
What they stand for and
The lessons that life has taught them through their own personal experiences that uniquely qualify them to offer the marketplace a product or service in a way that only they could deliver.
If you seek Client relationships, today?s customers aren?t just buying what you sell. They?re buying who you are. ??If you seek Strategic Partner relationships, people refer other people ? NOT the product or service they offer or the actual company that they represent.
When networking and getting to know other professionals, if you shy away from who you are, what you stand for, and what personal experiences life has revealed to you, then your message most likely will not resonate today and you may not get the results that you expect.? Don?t make a mess of your message by trying to recite the ?About Us? Section of your company?s website when you first meet people.? What is captivating to other professionals these days is congruency with how you communicate that you are a real person through your attitude, behavior, and actions.
The definition of Audacity according to Wikipedia is to be BOLD, COURAGEOUS, or have CHUTZPAH.? I say that it?s pretty bold to be yourself with all your wonderful flaws (nobody?s perfect) because it proves your authenticity and attracts connection.? Everybody has relationships, yet few people relate.? Strive to be one of the few.? If you truly act like yourself all the time and not just in your personal life, then people will be able to relate.? This builds trust, credibility, and camaraderie.? If your behavior is different depending on whether you?re in a personal or professional environment, then you may be attracting people who are attracted to who you?re pretending to be.? And, it?s my belief that this is not the recipe for a long term professional relationship that?ll provide a steady stream of referrals.
In the grand scheme of things, you devote your time networking at the local Chamber of Commerce, Association Mixers, and even weekly BNI meetings to receive a return on your investment (ROI) in the form of regular referrals.? Navigating the VCP Process? to networking from Visibility to Credibility all the way to Profitability would most likely then be your goal.? Based on the marketplace?s value on authenticity today, I personally believe that your easiest path to Profitability is to start by simply being yourself.? Isn?t that a sigh of relief?
In closing, a successful small business owner?s mission is not solely to take the action to network.? It?s about taking the actions to ensure that you connect and relate with others when you network that really counts. ? I thank you for reading today?s post and extend an invitation to be on the lookout for next month?s contribution to this series ? Part 11 called ?Don?t Make a Mess of Your Message.?
Actor David Morrissey tells MTV News that his 'Walking Dead' villain will deal with his new 'noisy neighbors.' By Josh Wigler, with reporting by Kara Warner
Both interior and exterior reflects the style and standard of living and hence home improvement is one of the most common parts in every family. In this process of home improvement work includes works like landscaping, painting, kitchen remodeling, wood paneling, water proofing basement, repairing the foundation, adding any new structure etc. However, it is not that easy as it appears to be. It requires a lot of planning and expenditure. It happens to be rather difficult availing the improvement loans when your credit may go topsy-turvy. Nevertheless, putting forward with various feasible options, the lending authority has come forward with the plans of poor credit online home improvement loans.
Under the provisions of the Poor Credit Online Home Improvement Loans, borrowers are offered two modes of availing these loans i.e., secured and unsecured forms of these loans. For the former, collateral placing keeps an integral part of the poor credit home improvement loans. On the basis of the placed asset, the required sum of money is sanctioned to the borrowers. To the contrary, the unsecured forms of the poor credit home improvement loans, under the conditions, arranging collateral does not remain a headache of the borrowers. And further these forms of loans evade borrowers from the threat of property seizure.
Interest rates incurred upon the poor credit home improvement loans are naturally due to adverse credit scores. However, owing to stiff competition amongst lenders in the money market, availing poor credit home improvement loans on comparative rates has become feasible.
Considerably, there is sufficiency of lenders in the money market for the provisions of the poor credit home improvement loans. However with the advent of the internet, applying and availing these loans have become very simple lesser time consuming. Individuals fill in simple application forms which are available online, and select a lender of their choices keeping their financial budgets into consideration.
Bonnie Castle works as a consultant in Poor Credit Home Improvement Loans. He is proficient in the finance world. To find poor credit online home improvement loans, home repair loans UK, poor credit home improvement loans, low cost home improvement loans, low rate home improvement loans visit http://www.poorcredithomeimprovementloans.co.uk/
Lord Sacks: religion can help sustain welfare state Jennifer Lipman ("The Jewish Chronicle," November 23, 2012)
Lord Sacks has described religion as "the redemption of our solitude" during a parliamentary debate on the role of faith in society.
The chief rabbi, who will retire from his post in less than a year, suggested that while in secular times religion was often misunderstood as "a strange set of beliefs and idiosyncratic rituals", it could be better understood for its teachings about "making sacrifices for the sake of others, through charity".
"Long before these functions were taken over by the state, religious groups, here and elsewhere, were building schools and hospitals and networks of support," he said, referring to Harvard sociologist Robert Putnam's research on the role of faith groups in society.
"Not for a moment do I say that to be good you need to be religious. However, religiosity as measured by attendance at a house of worship turns out to be a better predictor of altruism and empathy than education, age, income, gender or race."
Lord Sacks went on to discuss the "social implications" of religion, for example sustaining the welfare state when the government was unable to do so. And in a remark reminiscent of his criticism last November of Apple's role in the consumer society, he added that religion could "act as a counter voice to the siren song of a culture that sometimes seems to value self over others, rights over responsibilities, getting more than giving, consumption more than contribution, and success more than service to others".
The debate was called by Lord Singh, a Sikh, who said he wanted to counter the fact that "religion today has a bad press", and involved contributions from peers of all faiths. Among those speaking was Labour peer Lord Janner, who spoke of last weekend's Mitzvah day as an example of "the Jewish community's role in society".
"It is a day when the Jewish community comes together to help society, not financially, but by giving our most valuable asset: our time," he said. "The contribution made by religious communities to our society is outstanding and we should recognise and praise their input into our country."
Baroness Neuberger also spoke, urging the government to assess the "broad lack of public understanding of the roles that faith can play in wider society".
The West London Synagogue rabbi added that the government should "consider drawing in people of faith to debates about education for everyone, volunteering for everyone and the need to learn to give and receive."
Responding, Baroness Warsi said: "This Government believe that religion plays a vital role in British society. Not only do we support people in their right to follow a faith if they choose to do so; we also celebrate faith and faith communities' contribution to society."
Arthritis It's no laughing matter, says comedian Ella Kenion whose agonising ?
Dr Richard Hull, spokesman for Arthritis Care, says: 'Patients are hit suddenly by very painful arthritis, usually when they are fairly young. It can be very hard to cope with psychologically.' Ella was badly affected. 'I couldn't walk for weeks ? See all stories on this topic ?
Brave little Evie fights disease on two fronts
Evie has juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a disease more commonly associated with octogenarians, and earlier this year she was diagnosed with uveitis, an eye condition that left untreated would have caused blindness before she entered primary school. See all stories on this topic ?
My son was 3 and bath time meant time with 40 floating toys, lots of bubbles and his snorkeling mask.? It also meant I could make dinner 15 feet away in relative peace.? It was an evening ritual that worked for both of us.? One night he yelled from the tub, ?Mommy! Mommy! Come quick, I need to show you something!?? As I ran tub-side, he sat up and with eyes bright behind his orange diving mask, he pointed down at his penis.? ?Look how big my penis got when I was diving with my toys!? It?s huge!? Is it going to always be this big?!?? I loved his enthusiasm for life and once again I wished I could capture that sense of discovery and adventure in each small moment.? ?No, sweetie.? Sometimes when your penis gets rubbed it gets larger.? Pretty soon it will go back to how it usually is.?? Wanting him to someday be able to appreciate the miracle of his body I added, ?Isn?t it wonderful that God gave you a penis that can change size sometimes??
I often have the pleasure of training parents and youth pastors about the sexual development of children and how to raise sexually, spiritually and relationally healthy kids. ?This is something all parents want ? however most didn?t?experience?a good example of this growing up and now as parents or youth workers feel completely lost in knowing how to coach and love a child through their sexual development.
Recently I had the opportunity to listen to a fishbowl conversation of 6 adolescents discussing what they most wanted the adults in their life to understand about growing up in today?s world. ?Over and over they said, ?Please just talk to us. ?Listen to us. Tell us about your life ? how you learned and struggled through growing up ? how you learned from your mistakes. ?Tell us your stories. Help us know we are not alone and that you understand how hard this must be for us.?
Subsequent to this fish bowl discussion was one with a group of 6 youth workers and parents of teens. ?Together they had a conversation about what it is like attempting to guide and parent adolescents. ?Their resounding message was, ?It is terrifying, frightening, overwhelming. We don?t know what to say, we don?t have the answers and we feel totally lost.?
The beautiful thing the adults could hear from the wisdom of the youth was they didn?t have to have the answers ? they just needed to listen with compassion and offer the youth their own stories of growing up. ?They just wanted the adults to open up the?conversation?and be there with an open and loving heart. No answers needed ? just honesty, transparency and love.
So it is in this spirit of loving and guiding kids as they grow ? that I offer this guideline of normative childhood sexual development based on research and observational data.
In utero and at birth
Prior to birth males can have erections
The capacity for sexual response is present at birth for both genders
At birth girl?s vaginas are capable of lubrication
??Toddlers
Rhythmic manipulation associated with masturbation begins at age 2 1/2 to 3 years and is considered natural sexual expression ? bring comfort and calm
Gender identity (maleness, femaleness) is typically formed by age 2
Little boys and girls can experience orgasm from masturbation although boys will not ejaculate until puberty
They want to learn the names of all body parts
There is increased curiosity of adult gendered social behaviors
Three to Seven
Preschool kids are interested in everything ? including sexuality
The like to urinate in all kinds of positions and places
They are often very affectionate ? love hugging
Lots of curiosity?and kissing other adults and children
May imitate adult social sexual behavior
Very common to play ?doctor? and ?look see?
They understand ?living together? as family and may talk about ?getting married? when they are older
Normal sexual experimentation is spontaneous, silly, and light-hearted, and although may be embarrassing, it is uncommon to involve anger, shame, fear, or anxiety.
Eight to Twelve
Puberty !!!
Girls: breast buds and pubic hair (>10); periods 10 ? 13
Boys: further development of penis and testicles(>11); voice changes; pubic hair
May become more modest even with same sex parent
Masturbation increases and interest in internet pornography often begins.
Lots of questions about intercourse, petting, oral sex, and anal sex, homosexuality, rape and incest ? but may be more shy to ask.? Requires more casual and stealth approaches.? This is a key time to discuss sexuality and reproduction in more detail.
Same gender play and exploration common
In the company of same sex friends, masturbating together or looking at or caressing each other?s genitals is common among pre-adolescent boys and girls.
Some group ?dating?. Interest in social media increases as can secrecy. Be aware and open. Be willing to set boundaries for their protection and to teach them how to manage social media and the increasing complexity in relationships at school.
Increased desire to attend events, parties and may develop public ?crushes? or ?go out?, but this is mostly a social occurrence
Adolescence (13-19)
Between 5% to 10% of adolescent males and 6% of females report sexual experiences with someone of the same gender, usually another adolescent.
Developmental tasks include:
Resolving conflict of identity and role confusion.
Establishing gender identity of manhood or womanhood, or conflict about gender roles.
Developing a sense of stable self.
Managing physical and emotional intimacy in relationships
Girls need additional guidance on the development of purpose/power/voice
Boys need additional guidance?on the development of their emotional intelligence and relational skills
More physiological changes ? growth in genitals and breasts, facial and pubic hair.
Increased desire to relate to romantic partner sexually.
Research on the hook-up culture suggests it can lead to disillusionment in romantic partnership and lasting love
America, Religion & Sex ? average age of initial intercourse based on religious affiliation:
No religion=16.4
Fundamentalist protestant=16.9
Other protestant=16.9
Catholic=17.7
Other religion=18.8
There is no way to predict how a particular teenager will act sexually. Most adolescents explore relationships with one another, fall in and out of love, and participate in sexual intercourse before the age of 20.
Adolescents report less sexual communication growing up than parents thought they did.
Adolescents who have parents that are open to talk and listen about sexual issues describe being closer to their parents overall.
?20 something
Young adults typically experience the greatest number of different partners in their 20s.
During this period the risk for contracting STDs is highest, and the need to practice safe sex paramount.
There is increased desire for intimacy however the current cultural pace of life leaves limited time for relationship complexity.
Young adults are tending to marry later in urban areas ? 28 males; 26 females.
Tina Schermer Sellers is a recognized scholar in the integration of spirituality into a multitude of areas represented in family and career life. As a behavioral scientist, licensed family therapist, medical family therapist, and certified sex therapist, she specializes in helping to craft relationships, organizations and lives that flourish. In the area of sexuality, Tina has spent a career helping people discover what culture has failed to teach them about their bodies, their hearts, their capacity for intimacy and their erotic potential. This entry was posted in God, parenting, Relationships, Sex, sexual health, sexuality and tagged body, children, culture, intention, personal responsibility, sex and Christianity, sex in America, Tina Schermer Sellers. Bookmark the permalink.
Pakistan's internet-using population were slammed today with a systematic take-down of local versions of some of the world's biggest names in tech, and several hours after first going down, Google.pk, Google.com.pk, Yahoo.pk, Apple.pk, Microsoft.pk still do not appear to be working. In all,?it appears that?279 other sites?in Pakistan were hacked by a group that appears to be Turkish and calls itself Eboz. Little else is known about Eboz, but it appears that Eboz has been hacking into many other sites, with Pakistan merely today's target.
Growing your own mushrooms can be a lot of fun and provide you with a new hobby that can help you save money and enhance your cooking skills.
There are three basic types of prerequisites that you should be familiar with. To start with you will require the "do' s", the beneficial aspect, what you should do. To ensure success, you must realize what has to be executed to ensure your success in growing mushrooms at home.
Second would be the "don't s", the detrimental, need-to-avoid aspect. You should also know everything you need to protect against and what to avoid. To maintain from destroying or reducing your ability to succeed, you will have to know this, therefore you specifically want to ensure you never fail outright.
So then let's have a look at three of the "do' s" and three of the "don't s" of growing mushrooms at home:
First "Do": Make sure to research everything about the right growing conditions for your type of mushroom you plan on growing. The reasons behind this are because each of the different types of mushroom species have specific growing conditions regarding their light and temperature requirements, and also they may require certain types of substrate or casings to allow the mushrooms to fruit properly.
First "Don't": Forget to use very sterile conditions when setting up your substrate. This implies learning how to use sterile techniques when inoculating your mushrooms because the results can be detrimental if you fail to do so.
Second "Do": Make sure you have all of the proper equipment for growing mushrooms in your home. You have to make sure to provide a consistent environment for your mushrooms to thrive.
Second "Don't": Use low quality ingredients for your substrate. Instead you should make sure to use high quality nutrients for your mushrooms, to get the best tasting mushrooms.
Third "Do": Learn the proper techniques for making a good quality spore print. You really need to use this since you will want to continue to keep growing mushrooms in your home. And also, be able to keep the highest quality mushrooms while being able to save money by growing them in your house.
Third "Don't: Allow the substrate to get too old or dry out while you are growing mushrooms. You need to remember that the substrate conditions must be keep moist, but not over saturated to allow the mushrooms to fruit. You can give your mushrooms the most optimal conditions by using a mushroom grow kit.
You will certainly improve your chances for being successful and greatly lower the probability of failure in growing mushrooms at home. All you need to do is to pay attention to the "do' s" and "don't s" defined above. Make sure to do the all of the "do' s" and avoid all of the "don't s! Just adhere to these suggestions and you will be assured that the final results are going to be a lot better than you would typically expect!
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Saxby Chambliss this week became the latest Republican lawmaker to loosen his ties to Grover Norquist, the anti-tax lobbyist famous for getting elected officials to sign a "taxpayer protection pledge."
The rebellion, albeit a modest one, comes as Republicans prepare to negotiate with Democrats and President Barack Obama on a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff - some $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to start jolting the economy at the beginning of 2013.
"I care more about this country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge," Chambliss told Georgia television station WMAZ on Thursday. "If we do it his way, then we'll continue in debt, and I just have a disagreement with him about that."
A vast majority of elected Republicans have signed the pledge Norquist created in 1986, which commits them to voting against tax increases, and it became a type of litmus test among U.S. conservatives.
But its influence, and that of Norquist's organization, Americans for Tax Reform, may be waning following Republican losses in this month's elections and acknowledgments from Republican leaders that revenue must be raised to pare deficits topping $1 trillion.
"Grover Norquist has no plan to pay this debt down. His plan says you continue to add to the debt. I just have a fundamental disagreement with him about that," Chambliss said.
Norquist, in response, noted that Chambliss was an author of an open letter to him last year from three Republicans promising support for revenue generation from the "pro-growth effects" of lower tax rates.
"Senator Chambliss promised the people of Georgia he would go to Washington and reform government rather than raise taxes to pay for bigger government," Norquist said.
Some Republicans contend they are only open to raising revenue through economic growth, an impact hard to quantify and which Democrats and many economists say is not nearly enough.
Republican aides on Capitol Hill have been grumbling privately about the attention Norquist gets, worrying that it weakens their ability to negotiate across the aisle.
Representative Scott Rigell, a Republican who won re-election despite disavowing the pledge, expressed similar sentiments publicly in a November 17 interview on CNN.
Rigell said he was a businessman and would "go where the numbers lead me. And a careful analysis of our budget and trying to reconcile that with the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge led me to the clear decision that the pledge itself is an impediment to meaningful tax reform."
Norm Ornstein, a political scientist at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, said such comments showed taking on Norquist was not as risky as it used to be.
"Taking on Grover Norquist at this point is not the kiss of death it was a year or five years ago," Ornstein said. "Especially when you have a president winning re-election after making raising taxes on the rich a centerpiece of his campaign."
DEBT, POLARIZATION
By signing the pledge, lawmakers agree to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business," and "oppose any net reduction" or elimination of deductions and credits, unless it is matched dollar for dollar with further tax rate cuts.
Chambliss is a member of the so-called Gang of Eight group of senators, a bipartisan alliance working for deficit reduction, formed last year when the country was on the verge of default thanks to a partisan battle over raising the country's borrowing limit.
Among the other Republicans who have expressed misgivings about the pledge in recent months are Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Steve LaTourette, who is leaving the House, citing the polarized climate in Washington.
The new House of Representatives, which starts work in January, has 16 Republicans who have not signed the pledge, up from six in the outgoing Congress. One new Republican senator, Jeff Flake, also has not signed.
Democrats believe they have the upper hand in talks, after Obama's win over Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a campaign in which Obama stressed the need for the wealthy to pay more in taxes.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Washington event last week, Norquist told Reuters: "People don't always take the pledge first when they run. A lot take it after they have been there for a while. The pledge isn't the only vehicle for stopping tax increases."
Chambliss, who is up for re-election in 2014, was asked in the interview whether Norquist would retaliate against him.
"In all likelihood, yes," Chambliss said.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai; Editing by Fred Barbash and Peter Cooney)
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) - Alberta, Canada's oil-producing heartland, and Quebec's separatist government will study the benefits of shipping the western province's crude to refineries in Quebec, a shift that could help cut the industry's dependence on the U.S. market.
The development is a shift from previous comments by Quebec officials that had cast doubt on the energy industry's quickly evolving plans to get oil sands-derived crude to Eastern Canadian refineries, which now handle mostly imported oil that arrives at a much higher price.
Alberta Premier Alison Redford and her Quebec counterpart, Pauline Marois, agreed on Thursday to set up a working party to look at the issue ahead of a Marois visit to Alberta next year.
"It's exactly the evaluation we will do, to see if it's advantageous for both sides to have Albertan oil refined in Quebec," Marois said on Thursday evening on the sidelines of a meeting of Canada's provincial premiers.
Redford, along with New Brunswick Premier David Alward, want to send Albertan crude to the Irving Oil Ltd refinery at Saint John, New Brunswick, which would mean using pipelines through Quebec. The refinery, Canada's largest, has capacity of 300,000 barrels a day (bpd).
With Albertan crude production expanding rapidly, Redford has actively pushed for a national energy strategy to get Alberta oil to market through pipelines or other means.
Neighboring British Columbia has resisted a plan by Enbridge Inc for the C$6 billion ($6 billion) Northern Gateway pipe to the Pacific Coast, for export to Asia, and U.S. President Barack Obama has, temporarily at least, blocked TransCanada Corp's $5.3 billion Keystone XL pipeline to Texas refineries.
Greg Selinger, premier of the Prairie province of Manitoba, through which some crude already flows, praised the idea as a way to build energy security in Canada.
"Providing energy into the Atlantic and Eastern provinces I think would be very positive for the country, both from a private investment point of view in the East, but also to provide further market opportunities for Canadian producers in the West," he told reporters on Friday in Halifax.
"So I think it's a good story for all of us if we do it properly."
CHEAP IN WEST, PRICEY IN EAST
Current pipelines routes oil from landlocked Alberta south rather than east. Eastern Canadian refineries pay prices tied to more expensive North Sea Brent, while Albertan producers, reliant on the U.S. market, sell their crude at a deep discount.
Redford said changing the routing for the oil might allow Quebec to get cheaper oil than its current imports.
Marois' newly elected separatist and left-leaning government had initially signaled resistance to the idea of taking oil from the Alberta tar sands. But Marois pointed out the potential employment benefits and noted Quebec's petrochemical industry.
"If we continue down this path, it's important that each side comes out a winner," she said.
Quebec is home to two big refineries, Suncor Energy Inc's plant in Montreal and Valero Energy Corp's facility in Quebec City, with capacities of 130,000 bpd and 265,000 bpd respectively.
Enbridge Inc plans to file an application with Canada's National Energy Board later this year for a project that would reverse the flow direction of its Line 9 so crude could flow to Montreal from Sarnia, Ontario, north of Detroit.
Enbridge would also increase the capacity of the pipeline to 300,000 bpd from 240,000, using what is known as a drag reducing agent, where a polymer is injected into the crude to cut friction.
That would mean the company would require little new construction on the pipeline, which was built during the energy crises of the 1970s. Originally, it shipped Western Canadian crude to Quebec.
The direction of flow was changed in the 1990s, allowing imported crude to flow to several refineries in southern Ontario and the U.S. Midwest. The premium price of such oil has rendered that uneconomic and the line has been idle.
TransCanada Corp has also proposed shipping Western Canadian crude to Quebec and beyond by converting one of the pipelines on its cross-Canada natural gas mainline to oil transport.
Last month, Chief Executive Russ Girling said the company would decide next year whether to go ahead with a project to carry up to one million barrels a day.
(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Writing by Randall Palmer; Editing by Janet Guttsman and Leslie Gevirtz)
How do you get at ?ground truth? in the Arctic when it is melting right beneath your feet?
Over the summer I set out on a journey with documentary journalist and filmmaker Caitlin McNally to do our best to get at a story that is as vast as the frozen tundra of the Arctic itself. We arrived in the Arctic just as scientists were recording a historic melting of the sea ice due to global warming, a perilous development for the environment that has become a potential boon to the oil industry as shipping lanes and drilling operations open up amid the great melt.
To document the story, we traveled over the Bering Sea by plane and landed in remote islands and coastal villages where we met with everyone from whaling captains to oil industry executives.
With her own Canon 5D and a small crew accompanying her for part of the trip, McNally was constantly looking for the best way to bring the story home visually. We both ended up agreeing it is simply too big of a tale to try to tell in just one trip. We will have to go back.
As the ice begins to set in again and the shipping lanes return to their locked, frozen state, we find ourselves waiting for the spring thaw and hoping for a chance to return to the Arctic. The place, the people and the story are gripping and they draw you in. In this GroundTruth video, McNally shares ?the story behind the story? of our continuing GlobalPost Special Report ?The Melting Arctic: An Oil Rush at the Top of the World.?
McNally, who has worked on numerous documentaries with PBS FRONTLINE, is working with GlobalPost to continue covering the titanic struggle for power and influence that has pushed its way to the surface in the Arctic. This battle at the top of the world is unleashing peril for a delicate environment and the way of life for the indigenous people who live here, but it is also unlocking opportunity for exploration of vast untapped mineral resources. Hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake. Observers of the Arctic are hopeful that a real debate might get underway next month in the US congress on the Law of the Sea Treaty and that ratification will finally happen.
We will be closely watching this and other big developments. The Arctic is a vast, complex narrative unfolding as quietly as melting ice and it requires great storytellers like McNally to get at it. We look forward to working together in the future and we will keep you posted on our future travels to the High North.
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My son was 3 and bath time meant time with 40 floating toys, lots of bubbles and his snorkeling mask.? It also meant I could make dinner 15 feet away in relative peace.? It was an evening ritual that worked for both of us.? One night he yelled from the tub, ?Mommy! Mommy! Come quick, I need to show you something!?? As I ran tub-side, he sat up and with eyes bright behind his orange diving mask, he pointed down at his penis.? ?Look how big my penis got when I was diving with my toys!? It?s huge!? Is it going to always be this big?!?? I loved his enthusiasm for life and once again I wished I could capture that sense of discovery and adventure in each small moment.? ?No, sweetie.? Sometimes when your penis gets rubbed it gets larger.? Pretty soon it will go back to how it usually is.?? Wanting him to someday be able to appreciate the miracle of his body I added, ?Isn?t it wonderful that God gave you a penis that can change size sometimes??
Pakistan's internet-using population were slammed today with a 
