DAY 10 WEDNESDAY ABOARD THE TRAIN TO TITICACA
We left the lovely ARANWA hotel to catch the 07:10 from Cuzco to Puno.
Again PeruRail have excelled themselves again. All the carriages are a confection of 1920's mahogany and brass. The chairs in each are wing backed and roomy, four to a table and two to a table on the other side of the carriage's central aisle.
Each table has a brass lamp and vase of red alstroemerias. The staff are delightfully attentive and even this early in the morning we look forward to our three-course lunch with wine and our afternoon tea; all as befits a ten-hour journey.
Telegraph poles march across the land
We lumber along through the countryside. People are working in the fields, villages of low buildings some in bright pink or blue. On hillsides there are ruined settlements. Telegraph poles march across the land. Often we are close to a swollen river and then, all of a sudden; mountains crowd in on either side of the track. These peaks then yield to wide plains with small pastures.
This is an enthralling landscape making it hard to look anywhere else but out of our carriage window for the entire three hundred and fifty kilometres.
LA RAYA A SHORT STOP
About half way through the ten and half hour journey we stop at La Raya, little more than a halt comprising a small church and an area crammed with high benches on which the local people display handicraft work for sale. Fellow passengers get off the train, take photographs, and poke around the goods on offer and then re-board, just in time for luncheon, having bought little.
La Raya, small church and a place for the local people to display handicraft
INTO PUNO
We finish this wonderful train ride in Puno a city on the edge of Lake Titicaca. Tomorrow we journey on the world's highest navigable lake. It was dark when we stepped off the train with its usual confusion of people and luggage, outside the station the inevitable line of tour buses. It started to rain, heavily, adding to the gloom. We were soon cheered up by a new tour guide; Tour Guide Sindy.
DAY 9 TUESDAY CUZCO 'Asisto a misa a las 7 am'
I rose early to take Mass in the Cathedral.
Siting inside by the main door with an official of the Cathedral, waiting for the 6:30 mass to finish. The organ boomed out as part of the service.
The official leaned over and said to me with a "Quechuan music". I had my voice recorder ready and so captured most of this lovely sound. It was curious sound, bouncy with a celebratory feel.
The cathedral of architectural confections
The mass, in Spanish, followed the conventions of the Rite so I was able to follow and enjoy the service. Afterwards, to the side of the High Altar, with the rest of the congregation, we gathered round the Priest, he waved his aspergilium over us dispensing a blessing of holy water.
(Altitude sickness struck yesterday manifesting as a sleepless night and shortness of breath. I drink a lot cocoa leaf tea and move very slowly.
Later in the day I visited the main square, made a drawing of the cathedral's upper facade getting this Gothic-Renaissance-Baroque architectural 'mash-up' down on paper was a challenge.
Base camp for Jesuit Order's colonisation
Adjacent to the Cathedral was the Jesuit Church. This was base camp for Jesuit Order's colonisation Eastwards of here. Each settlement was marked with some remarkable architecture, a Baroque blow-out!
This church in Cuzco, La Compañía de Jesus, was built in 1571 and rebuilt in after the earthquake of 1650.
As the guide leaflet informs
'They (the Jesuit architects) left behind the austerity and modesty and instead opted for the grandeur of the Baroque'.
Amen to that says I. Lovely gold and guilt dripped from every ledge, crevice and surface. The main altar is 21 by 12 meters wide, fashioned in wood and covered in gold leaf, it the largest alter piece in Peru.
I left the La Compañía de Jesus completely overawed and overlaying this experience with taking Mass in the morning, I was a little envious of this country's disposition towards and manifestations of it's Christianity.
Altitude sickness continues with loss of appetite added to my symptoms, forcing me to abandon most of my suppertime Pizza.
DAY 8 MONDAY CARE OF CUZCO
Our hotel, which barely registered when we arrived at late last night, is now, in bathed morning sunshine splendid. It is the Aranwa Cuzco. I am luxuriating in the classical music over the sound system, and drinking my forth coffee as I hurriedly catches up on this writing.
Styled as Aranwa Boutique Hotel it is a former monastery with lovely wide corridors festooned with antiques and paintings. There are chandeliers everywhere including a glorious monster-sized one in our room. Our bathroom is larger than our bedroom and dressed out in black marble, very louche.
The hotel was formerly the residence of an Arch Deacon who lived here when the cathedral was being built. In the various sitting rooms and corridors are so many paintings (C17, C18 and 19th) and pieces of furniture the hotel provides a map of their 'museum' and provide an audio guide!
MONDAY CUZCO STONES AND CROSSES
Cuzco was the flash point between the Inca and the Conquistador. The Spanish rode into the city and made short work (well, six months) of appropriating every ounce of gold and silver they could lay their hands on and thus the Inca were completely enslaved.
The Dominicans built over the Inca Sun temple, the Koricancha.
SUN TEMPLE WITH DOMINICAN ADDITIONS
This was one example of how Phillip of Spain and the Church of Rome established Christianity here in 1534, once and for good. Although the conquered Quechuan people put their own twist both on Christianity and its attendant art, this slight of hand most noticeable in the Cathedral.
PUCA PUCARA.
Puca Pucara, in the hills high above Cuzco once served as a staging post (1200-1500) for Inca people travelling over the mountains and trails into the city.
PUCA PUCARA
And less than ten minutes down the road is KENKO an Inca holy place. This second site is smaller and comprises a collection of huge boulders from which were fashions into a cave. Here it is supposed, that with the position of the sun and moon in the right place, sacrifices and mummifications were carried out.
On the morning of our visit there was a traffic jam of tour groups. Their custodial guides shouting at one another to move on. I am happy to report that sacrifices took place that morning!
Again Cuzco is flypaper to the tourist, two million people visit the city each year.
Further back into the city is SACSAYHUAMÁN where the Inca kings build a huge temple and fortress looking out over the city.
SACSAYHUAMÁN
The stones from which this place is build are the height of three people, massive and immovable even by subsequent earthquakes. Here the Inca made their last stand against the Conquistadors and lost.
DELIGHTFUL DOORWAY CUZCO
Down into the city again and our last stop was the Cathedral. Here is where the Spanish brought to bear every device of art and craft to the glory of God and Rome. The facade is an omelette of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque served with a local twist.
DAY 7 SUNDAY DEFEATED BY MACCU PHICU
In the breakfast room the piped music featured '50's Bossa Nova tunes. This was entirely appropriate as a large party of Japanese elderlies shimmied around the central buffet table monopolizing everything on offer.
After breakfast we enjoyed another perilous bus trip back up to MP. The girls made a triumphant walk all the way up to the Sun Gate, which sits high up above the main site. It was a three-hour walk of some nine kilometres, a triumph!
Planning to stay on the lower levels whilst they did their big walk, I barely entered Machu P before the darkness of my fear of heights forced my return back through the turnstile. I gazed down at the crowd entering and exiting, all of them salivating over their iPhone pictures. I nursed my shame over a coffee in the cafe looking out on the mountains surrounding me. One drawing made.
The Girls returned back from their great trek at 11:30 and we were back down in Aguas Calintes by noon. Everyone was hungry. We dived into a place with a grandstand view of Day Two's mountain bike racing through the streets. I had a 'Machu Picchu' piazza.
For several hours we lolled in the hotel lobby. Everyone else seemed to be getting a train out of Aguas Calintes this afternoon. Ours is at 16:43 to CUZCO, well one stop just before Cuzco; Poray station, which is closer to our hotel.
DAY 6 SATURDAY TOWARDS MACHU PICCHU
We caught the 0730 train from Ollantaytambo and had a lovely journey to Aguas Calintes. This small town sits in the Urubamba River Valley. It's known for its thermal baths and as a gateway to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu.
Today is Sian's birthday so the first celebratory cake was served in the hotel breakfast room at 6:30am with the waiters gathering round to sing Happy Birthday; the cake was excellent.
Every member of Peru Rail appeared very well turned out in dark uniforms with gold piping, white shirts and gold ties and shinny black shoes. As we waited for our train elderly male tourists with incredibly large cameras chased up and down the platform photographing the trains as they came and went.
During the journey there were nice safety announcements and information about where we were on the route and jolly Peruvian music helped us along. Sixty minutes into our journey the surrounding country changed. Jungle reared up on side of the train, with mists, huge creepers, ferns, giant tree roots and all manner of green leaves. Occasionally a sheer rock face peered into our carriage.
ASSULT ON MACHU PICCHU
Four to six thousand people visit this site each day. Curiously the Spanish Conquistadors gave it a wide birth. Today's tourists don't. Every nation is represented, ladened with bags, poles. They jabber in loud voices, swarming over this remarkable site, which was only discovered in 1910. It is over discovered now.
LAND OF THE SELFIE MAKERS
We had packed into buses to take us up from Aguas Calientes. The bus ride was a precarious experience. At the top, once through the turnstiles of Machu Picchu with Tour Guide Alex there was a lot to discover. He explained the history and culture of this Inca city and settlement. Although I made two drawings (to my surprise) my acrophobia kicks in almost immediately and Tour Guide Alex often has to help me round most paths and bends.
ANOTHER CAKE
The El Mapi Hotel was eco-chic affair with piped music in the lobby, Andean Pipes of course. In our room was a second birthday cake for Sian with a bottle of Malbec from the Valle Del Sol. The wine was consumed with a good dinner and yes, at the end of the meal, another birthday cake for Sian. Again this was served with disconsolate waiters in attendance.
PERU: DAY 5 FRIDAY DEEPER INTO THE SACRED VALLEY
Tour Guide Vitoria scoops up from reception and we spend sometime sorting our tickets out for Machu Picchu (the train, bus and the entrance tickets to this celebrated site!)
Then we are off along the valley, parallel to the River Vilcanota. And after sixty minutes through small towns and villages and fields proudly showing crops of maize we go up an almost vertical road to the Pisac ruins. This is an Inca site evidenced of their terracing and 'town planning'.
Pisac - Inca Town Planning
Pisac Market: We met the mayor too
Sadly about twenty other tour buses had beaten us to it. So we sensibly turned off the track at a lower level and looked towards the site. Pisac was an early skirmish with the hoards of tourism; the real battles were to follow in the next two days. The girls walked a little way to explore the lower ruins. I sat and drew.
Looking at the mountains, for the briefest of moments, I felt very close to them and God. As I write this I am tearful at the recall and I will hold this moment for always. It was my first brush with the spirituality of this country.
We returned to our hotel, the swish Casa Andina, via the village of Pisac. We wandered round the village's market there and had our picture taken with the mayor whose stall in the market square was promoting something or other.
The rest of day was spent at the hotel. B feed the llamas in the hotel grounds and I saw my first humming bird. We made a light supper ready for an early departure the next day.
DAY 4 PT 2 INTO THE SCARED VALLEY WITH DOMINGO
The day was characterised by motion as well as mountain sickness, thanks in part to Big D's driving. Added to which my dread of heights and the vertiginous roadsides made sight seeing a test.
Falcon's Rest and a rest for us too!
Falcons' View was our first stop for a view, 12,800 feet above sea level. And it was extraordinary to contemplate, for a moment, the magnificence of these wonderful mountains several of which were capped by cloud. I made a quick drawing and we were off again! 'Hey ho Domingo!'
THE SALT MINES OF MARAS
Though not underground these comprise about four thousand pans through which water flows and is dammed. I stayed on the bus; the others got out, looked down and took pictures it must have been a thousand feet drop. The salt is supposedly the best in the world, much of which is exported to Japan.
The botanical circles of Moray were a curious place. Set in a valley, it is a series of concentric terraces. Built by the Inca people to cultivate crops and see how they grew at certain heights and in certain growing conditions and soils. This was, I suppose, a sort of 12th century crop research institute. I of course was careful not to get to close to the edge of the viewing platform.
Inca crop research station
All around us now was a warm and softer landscape and a very fertile looking soil, a deep red-brown. Wonderful fields and trees shaped by the wind. And everywhere is the protective circle of the Andes.
Tourists, how do they do it?
Ollantaytambo is a village in the Sacred Valley set on the Urubamba River. We are now in the south Peru. It is oldest Inca settlement and on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. The site sits above the small town. The narrow streets of the town are infested by tourism. Heaven knows what it will be like a few years from now. There were huge coaches in the narrow streets marshaled by a curious traffic control system: This operated by policemen brandishing 'stop' and 'go' signs, somehow they make it work.
DAY 4 THURSDAY LEAVING LIMA, HELLO CUSCO
A typical airport check in....
At 06:15am, yes, in the morning! Tour Guide Desi and our driver collected us from the cavernous hotel lobby. Many other people were camped there already, distinguished by their anxious expressions and gigantic suitcases. They were waiting to board a big coach.
On the way to the airport Desi repeated her altitude sickness guidelines:
1. Drink lots of water
2. Eat lots of glucose sweets
3. Avoid too many stairs – I don't have a problem here
4. Avoid too much pork or beef – Easy for her to say
5. Eat lots of vegetables - I suppose so
6. Avoid alcohol on your first day – I am sorry - impossible
7. In case of the need to be sick inform your local tour guide
Desi told us that several years ago there were only some five hundred visitors a year to Cusco, now 400,000 visit each year. Most these people were, this morning, in the airport terminal building. No stranger to busy airport terminals I was mighty glad to have Tour Guide Desi shepherding us through to check-in and departures.
(I checked later: It is estimated that around 1.5 million tourists visit Cusco every year, Machu Picchu and the city of Cusco have become the main tourist attractions in Peru and one of the most visited in South America.)
Source: www.discover-peru.org › cusco
On our flight everyone was chewing or sucking furiously on sweets and confectionary shaped like coffee beans. I felt vulnerable as I packed my prayer book in my suitcase, which I checked in to the aircraft's hold.
LANDING AT CUZCO
Cuzco is 11,150 feet above sea level. Sunshine and heat bore down as we crossed the terminal car park to our minibus with our new handler, Tour Guide Vitoria. Off we sped through streets of Cuzco. Our driver, Domingo, immediately applied his casual approach to fellow road users. This continued for another seven hours. Whether the road was narrow or wide, on coming traffic or no, there was one speed, 'breakneck'.
DAY 3 WEDNESDAY JUST UP THE ROAD, THE SECOND OLDEST CIVILISATION IN THE WORL
If you want to see the second earliest civilisation in the world you have to endure a little pain - 'the traffic' in the five-hour drive to Caral. We traveled through Lima, northwards past various industrial wastelands, sometimes along the Pacific coast and broad plains
Remarkable pyramidal buildings
Caral was a large settlement in the Supe Valley, some 200 kilometres north of Lima. Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009. Source: Wikipedia
THE CITY OF CARAL
This civilisation was established 3000 years back. What remains still nestles in a valley of the River Supe and protected by the lower Andes Mountains. Caral now contains six pyramids and attendant buildings and pathways. The sun was high as we arrived.
Not a soul about apart from us and the archaeologists
Caral is extraordinary and there was not a soul about, aside from us and several small groups of archaeologists. These were busy discovering things or preparing to discover more things. One was busy mapping a part of the site making marks on a large drawing board.
Hey, that's my job sunshine! I thought.
Peaceful, peaceful and at one end of this sixty-eight hectare miracle was a small shelter from the sun. Here we looked westwards out across the valley. We could see in the distance several other smaller archeological sites; there are over twenty sites close by all of the same period. This was construction on a big scale; these pyramids were built for administration, entertainment rather than for entombment. Sacrifices were made of vegetables honoring the Gods for the plenteousness of the Supe valley.
All the time, high sun, breezes, bird song and the occasion tap tap of an archeologist's trowel made Caral so very special.
DAY 2: TUESDAY LIMA - SAND MUD GOLD AND SILVER
Up towards the The Temple of the Sun
Our minivan did its very best to cut through the local traffic. An hour after leaving the hotel we looked out onto a vast stretch of sand and adobe brick. This was the site of Pachacamac.
Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 kilometres southeast of Lima, in the Valley of the Lurín River. The site was first settled around A.D. 200 and was named after the "Earth Maker" creator god, Pacha Kamaq. Source: Wikipedia
As a prelude to the walking around the site we visited the museum. This was full of exquisite pieces, textiles, ceramics and devices and tools for building. A instrument for making measures to cut the bricks for building was series of knotted cords all attached to a longer cord so as to resemble a necklace. Just as efficient as a rule and as easy to carry.
Pachacarmac Museum; Friendly faces
This is pre-Inca Peru although the Incas did turn up eventually in 1400 AD. They came away impressed and let the locals' get on with it. (The Inca's of course had their hands full turning the Cuzco area into a World Heritage Site, for us to visit on Thursday.)
Pachacamac was remarkable, especially when looking towards the Sun Temple high on a ridge.
We repeated the chariot race back into the city. The route ran parallel to the coast, past swamps and low scrub and marsh, then the outskirts of Lima. By the roadside small shops, car washes and repair shops marked our way back into the city and the Larco Museum.
THE LARCO MUSEUM: THE HOUSE OF TREASURE.
Our time at this museum was piteously short, a regret that will last. What we did see were important statutes, masks and funeral attire in textiles, silver and gold. The memory of these will outlast the regrets. These riches were created 1AD through to and including the Inca period ending 1533 with the Spanish Invasion.
A word to the wise; spend a lot of time in the Larco Museum, it is a world-class museum and is free from the rowdy crowds in the British Museum, Prado or the Louvre.
DAY 1: MORE OF LIMA
The splendid churches
Each church vied with one another to be more splendid, and determined not to be out done in the application of every shade of gold, bronze and silver. Statutes gazed heavenwards, or down upon us miserable sinners, strewn with lights, fresh flowers and candles at their feet.
Rest stop from cathedralling
Underneath the Cathedral Basilica of Lima, dedicated to St John, Apostle and Evangelist, we saw the bones and shrouds of the dead. Burying people under churches was common practise until the mid nineteenth; while the clergy were given coffins, the rest of us were just laid in earthen graves.
Traipsing around streets we saw Baroque standing shoulder to shoulder with French and Spanish Colonial, Gothic and Classical pastiche and occasionally a delight of Art Deco!
Our hotel is in Miraflores district, modern and populated by tall buildings, which look empty. However the area was not unattractive and round the corner from the hotel is a Starbucks serving great coffee. Our greatest find is a 24-hour supermarket called Metro. This is world-class emporium with its first floor delicacies of fresh produce, a bakery; meat counters displayed a dazzling array of pork and beef products.
Our journey with food reached a pinnacle in the evening, eating at Panchita. Only five minutes from the hotel. Quite wonderful, fish, beef, and for me pork tenderloin, all served with charm. Every permutation of cooking was on the menu, grills stews, roasts, mashed, spiced, very spiced, totally spiced. Each of our choices was bang on the money. Word to the wise, portion size was humungous! None of us finished our choices, yet plates were cleared from the table with a smile and a flourish.
The Mercy Church: The service is about to begin
The hotel, Jose Antonio Deluxe where we checked in on Sunday and leave on Thursday is very good. Much marble and trendy chairs, frequently large parties of tourists drift through like nomads, each with impossibly large suitcases.
A VERY PERUVIAN ADVENTURE: PREFACE
Journey Map
In October Siân enjoyed a significant birthday. She sponsored our Peruvian escapade. She, I and Megan and Bronnie travelled some three thousand kilometres, one thousand nine hundred miles, by plan train and automobile and boat. We were in this remarkable country for twelve days. We started in Lima, arriving one Sunday evening by air 6,316 miles. Our experiences will be celebrated for a long time.
This story is told in parts across the coming weeks
DAY 1: MONDAY LIMA CITY OF KINGS
We had planned a tour of old Lima, the city centre, with Antonio, the first of several guides. Once the Spanish had settled in Lima in the early 1500's there was a frenzy of church building. The Inca's had their Sun God. He had to move over for Jesus. Rome's God was in and has remained so. Over 80% of Peru is practising Roman Catholic. In Lima the result of all this church building was a clutch of Baroque lovelies. These we devotedly visited under the direction of our dear Tour Guide Antonio.
Our first church - across from Starbucks
DAY 3 WEDNESDAY JUST UP THE ROAD, THE SECOND O...


Composer: Giuseppe Matteo Alberti
Format: A4 - Paperback
Genre: Chamber
Instrumentation: Violin
Alberti, Giuseppe Matteo: Sonata a violino solo e basso quantity
Giuseppe Matteo Alberti
A4 – Paperback
Giuseppe Matteo Alberti: (b Bologna, 20 Sept 1685; d Bologna, 18 Feb 1751). Italian composer and violinist. He studied the violin with Carlo Manzolini, and counterpoint with P.M. Minelli and Floriano Arresti. He became a member of the Accademia Filarmonica, Bologna, in 1705, and from 1709 played the violin in the orchestra of S Petronio. His first set of concertos, published in 1713, were first performed under the composer's direction at the house of Count Orazio Bargellini. In 1721 Alberti was chosen president (principe) of the Accademia Filarmonica, a post to which he was re-elected in 1724, 1728, 1733, 1740 and 1746. A set of violin sonatas, op.2 (1721), was followed by a further set of concertos, collectively entitled 'Sinfonie', and issued by Le Cène in 1725 – presumably without the composer's authorization as they are incorrectly designated op.2. (This possibly inadvertent duplication of an opus number led to the renumbering of the violin sonatas as op.3 when published by Walsh shortly afterwards.) From 1726 until his death Alberti was maestro di cappella of S Giovanni in Monte, Bologna, and from 1734 he deputized for G.A. Perti as maestro di cappella of S Domenico. The success enjoyed by Alberti's concertos, particularly in England, doubtless owed much to their clarity of expression, tautness of construction and moderate technical requirements. They were among the first concertos by an Italian composer to show Vivaldi's direct influence, which is seen most clearly in op.1 in the five examples with an obbligato principal violin part. The distinction between ritornello and episode in their outer movements is a notable feature. Similar general qualities characterize the violin sonatas, which remain, however, firmly in the post-Corellian mould. From The New Grove dictionary of Music and Musicians
Agsteribbe, Frank: Suite Hybride, pour le clavecin
Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg: Te Deum in C
Antipov, Vasily: Bagatelle, for Flute and Guitar


Evan Prater finishes with 4 total touchdowns in Wyoming's 33-10 win over CHCA
Evan Prater had 198 rushing yards and threw for 99 in Wyoming's 33-10 win over CHCA on Friday night.
Evan Prater finishes with 4 total touchdowns in Wyoming's 33-10 win over CHCA Evan Prater had 198 rushing yards and threw for 99 in Wyoming's 33-10 win over CHCA on Friday night. Check out this story on cincinnati.com: https://cin.ci/2wTmZDn
Charlie Hatch, chatch@enquirer.com Published 11:49 a.m. ET Sept. 8, 2018 | Updated 12:25 p.m. ET Sept. 8, 2018
Quarterback Evan Prater celebrates his way into the endzone untouched for a Wyoming touchdown, Sept. 7, 2018.(Photo: Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer)
Even Evan Prater was surprised by his rushing numbers.
After leading the Wyoming offense through the air in the first two games, the senior quarterback proved he's just as productive running the ball, finishing with 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 33-10 win against Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy on Friday night at Bob Lewis Stadium at Bernie Barre Field.
Prater, who's visiting Ohio State on Saturday with his family, also passed for 99 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-12 completions in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Showdown matchup. He was named the game's most valuable player and received a plaque afterward.
"I didn't know I was gonna run that much, 'cause last week I didn't really run at all," he said after the game. "We just totally flipped it this week. It feels good."
Part of the switch came with the conditions.
With the game starting an hour later due to a lightning delay, torrential downpour soon followed. Initially, the Cowboys looked unfazed, taking a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But after allowing 10-unanswered points and getting stuffed twice inside the Cincinnati Hills 10-yard line, the team approached the halftime break looking to refocus and respond.
More: Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky high school football scores: Week 3
Led by Prater on a five-yard touchdown run, the Cowboys quickly stretched the lead to 20-10. On the next series, the defense forced a turnover on downs inside the Eagles' 40-yard line. A few plays later, a Prater screen pass to Joey Edmonds went 51 yards and another touchdown to secure the win and a 3-0 start to the new season. CHCA is 1-2.
"We kinda just go off the defense," Prater said of the offense. "If the defense gets stops, we'll turn it around on offense and try putting it in the end zone as many times as we can."
With the win, the Cowboys have won 24 consecutive regular-season games, which dates back to 2015.
Evan Prater of Wyoming steps into the corner of the endzone for a Cowboys touchdown, Sept. 7, 2018. (Photo: Geoff Blankenship for the Enquirer)
"Evan's pretty special," head coach Aaron Hancock said after the game. "Evan's a great kid, he takes control of the game. Not only is he an incredible talent, he's a good leader. ...He put us in a great position and took control of the game and had a good win for us."
The victory coincided with the program celebrating 100 years of football at the high school.
At halftime, players across 72 seasons lined the field and celebrated the school's centennial year of football. In some instances, rosters have included second and third-generation players.
Starting in 1946 and moving forward by decades, accolades rattled off in a rhythm for the school with the state's second-highest winning percentage.
The Cowboys have 33 conference championships and 23 state playoff appearances, which includes a state title.
Additionally, 19 former teams have finished a regular season undefeated. The 2018 Cowboys team could be the 20th depending on the rest of the regular season.
"The thing about Wyoming is we've had such a rich tradition," Hancock said. "This is a community tradition, not just a football tradition. The community supports football and values football, and we try to make good guys on the field as well as off the field. Our kids step up and love that. They love being football players."
CHCA – 0 10 0 0 – 10
Wyoming – 14 0 13 6 – 33
W – Pierson Rogers 2 run (AJ Washienko PAT good)
W – Prater 21 run (Washienko PAT good)
CH – Cole Fisher 78 to Julian Herman (Mike Phillips PAT good)
CH – Phillips 27 field goal
W – Prater 5 run (Washienko PAT missed)
W – Prater 51 to Joey Edmonds (AJ Washienko PAT good)
W – Prater 5 run (Washienko PAT blocked)


Dr. Hasan Abdessamad
Health, Human Rights & I
& I
Home › Health › Blood clot prevention now recommended for all Cesarean deliveries.
Blood clot prevention now recommended for all Cesarean deliveries.
By Dr. Hasan Abdessamad on August 25, 2011 • ( 0 )
On Aug. 22 2011, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College) announced new recommendations to prevent blood clots during Cesarean Deliveries.
"Wearing the Inside Out ..." by Lebanese graphic designer Rasha Rahal
The new guidelines will be published in Sept. 2011 issue of the Green Journal. Blood clots, medically known as venous thromboembolic events (VTEs), are a leading cause of maternal mortality in USA and Canada. The College now recommends that all women having a cesarean delivery receive preventive intervention at the time of delivery. The most cost effective method would be sequential compressive devices (SCDs) to be placed on the lower extremities of a patient before a Cesarean and removed after surgery only when adequate ambulation is attained.
The risk of developing blood clots is increased four folds during pregnancy and two folds during and after a Cesarean delivery. Blood clots can block blood flow and cause damage to certain organs. The most common site of a blood clot in a pregnant patient is the left lower leg but other sites are commonly affected. Symptoms include swelling and pain in affected limb. If a clot gets dislodged, it can travel to the lungs causing a life-threatening condition known as pulmonary embolism (PE). Symptoms include sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing.
The recommendations explain how to monitor women for these events, address certain risk factors, and treat suspected or acute cases of VTE. "It's important for ob-gyns to adopt these recommendations to help reduce maternal deaths." said Dr. Andra H. James who helped develop the guidelines.
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) has no clear recommendations on using VTE prevention during a Cesarean delivery for patients who are at low risk. Regardless of the plethora of new research on this topic, the SOGC guidelines were last updated in 2000. (See Prevention and Treatment of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) in Obstetrics).
If you or someone you know are undergoing a Cesarean delivery ask the doctor about methods of VTE prevention she/he are implementing.
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Categories: Health
Tags: Blood clot, health awareness, Obstetrics, patient, Pregnancy, Pregnancy complication, prevention, SCD, Thrombosis, Venous Thromboembolism, VTE, womyn
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Franciscan Women's Health Associates
16045 1st Avenue South, Burien, WA 98148
Obstetrician & Gynecologist (MD, FRCSC, FACOG) - Board certified in USA & Canada - Women's Health Advocate - Humanist - Feminist- LGBT rights advocate - AUB & UHCMC alumnus


The original item was published from 5/10/2022 11:05:42 AM to 11/10/2022 12:00:02 AM.
[ARCHIVED] Weekly Update Article May 9, 2022
Between May 1-8, 2022, Eaton County Sheriff's Deputies responded to 809 calls for service/events. Higher call volumes occurred in the following areas: Traffic Stops-155, Suspicious Subject/Situation/Vehicle-52, Assist Citizen/Motorist Assists-45, Traffic Violations-43, Shoplifting Complaints-31, Traffic Hazards-25, Alarms-25, Property Damage Crashes-24, Car/Deer Accidents-18, Larcenies-18, Check Well-Beings-16, Domestic Disputes-15, Civil Complaints-13, Personal Injury Crashes-11, Threats-11, and Harassment-10.
National Police Week 2022
National Police Week offers honor, remembrance, and peer support, while allowing law enforcement, survivors, and citizens to gather and pay homage to those who gave their lives in the line of duty. In Eaton County we have lost three Deputies in the line of duty – Deputy Cleo A. Platt who was killed December 17, 1927 while attempting to arrest a suspect for shoplifting; Deputy Dean Ray Foster who was killed responding to an armed robbery in progress on January 1, 1967; Deputy Donald E. Rice who was killed December 10, 1985, on I-69 changing a flat tire for a motorist. Michigan had 8 fallen officers in 2021. The United States had a total of 600 in 2021.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which that date falls as Police Week. Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
The Memorial Service began in 1982 as a gathering in Senate Park of approximately 120 survivors and supporters of law enforcement. Decades later, the event, more commonly known as National Police Week, has grown to a series of events which attracts 25,000 to 40,000 survivors and law enforcement officers to our Nation's Capital each year.
Yours in Public Safety,
Sheriff Tom Reich
Other News in Office of the Eaton County Sheriff - Weekly Update
Weekly Update Article January 30, 2023
Weekly Update Article December 5, 2022
Weekly Update Article November 29, 2022
Weekly Update Article November 7, 2022
Weekly Update Article October 24, 2022
Weekly Update Article October 2, 2022
Weekly Update Article September 26, 2022
Weekly Update Article August 22, 2022
Weekly Update Article August 8, 2022


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The New Empress LFF 2013 Preview Guide
by Martyn Conterio on 01/10/2013
The 57th BFI London Film Festival kicks off on 9th October at venues around the city. The opening night film is Captain Phillips starring Tom Hanks. The American superstar actor will also be present at LFF 2013 with Saving Mr. Banks and JFK assassination drama, Parkland, which he co-produced.
Team New Empress has been dispatched to the front lines to report on LFF 2013, so look out for our reviews. In the meantime, we've cobbled together a bunch of recommendations that we're very excited about this year.
Maryann O'Connor Selects
The Double (dir: Richard Ayoade)
Screens Sat 12th, Sun 13th & Mon 14th
The Submarine director and IT Crowd cast member returns with a modern adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Double, the story of a dude who feels invisible and then gets his life taken over by a doppelganger. Fans of Ayoade's debut film will have been waiting patiently for another such witty and insightful film. According to the festival blurb this may well be what we've waited for. Stars Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasikowska.
The Congress (dir: Ari Folman)
Screens Thurs 10th, Fri 11th & Sat 12th
This film from the acclaimed director of Waltz with Bashir could pass as an animated version of Charlie Brooker's television series, Black Mirror. Ageing actress Robin Wright worries about the impending end of her career and accepts a strange contract as a result. Wright herself voices the actress alongside a fairly impressive cast, which includes Harvey Keitel and Jon Hamm. Is this art imitating life imitating art imitating life? The Congress is also adapted from a novel.
Wounded (dir: Fernando Franco)
Screens Sat 12th & Mon 14th
Ambulance driver with mental health problems has trouble connecting with the people in her life but seems to have no such trouble connecting with her patients. I have to confess a love for any film which seeks to tackle the thorny subject of mental health in context with life in general and as director Fernando Franco was an editor on the stylish ' Blancanieves last year, I expect there to be full focus on the detail.
Manuscripts Don't Burn (dir: Mohammad Rasoulof)
Screens Sat 12th & Thurs 17th
What do you do if you get banned from making films by the Iranian government? You make a film in secret about vile governments being all corrupt and oppressive, naturally. Manuscripts Don't Burn was shot around Iran (secretly) and is set within the course of one day. It would be rude not to see it really, considering director Mohammad Rasoulof and a whole host of (mostly anonymous) cast and crew members went to such trouble.
Gaslight (dir: Thorold Dickinson)
Screens Thurs 17th
Suppressed by MGM so that their own Ingrid Bergman-starring remake could take centre stage, the BFI will be presenting the original British version of Gaslight that was directed by Thorold Dickinson. You know the story, don't you? It's an iconic one. So much so that the term 'gaslighting' has since entered the dictionary. MGM did their suppression work right good so the BFI had to rely on a donated copy from Dickinson to restore the film. Get seeing it.
Tagged as: 57th BFI London Film Festival, bfi, Blue is the Warmest Colour, Gravity, The Congress, The Double, Wounded
In Review: A London Trilogy: The Films of Saint Etienne on DVD
LFF 2013 Review: Jeune et Jolie
In Interview: Sam Dunn, Head of Video Publishing at BFI Flipside
Silent Screenings in Review: Pandora's Box (1929)
In Review: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
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Forums » Events » Briefings »
Operation Allied Force (Jul. 26/28, 2019)
#14174408 Jul 11, 2019 at 03:49 PM
Where: Airspaces of Serbia and Kosovo
Day 1: Jul. 26th, 2019 from 1800z to 2330z
NATO Base: LIBR
Yugoslavia Bases: LY90 (Kosovo), LY88 (Serbia).
What: The bloodshed, ethnic cleansing of thousands of Albanians in Kosovo by Serbs driving them into neighboring countries, and the potential of it to destabilize the region provoked intervention by international organizations and agencies, such as the United Nations, NATO, and INGOs. NATO countries attempted to gain authorization from the United Nations Security Council for military action, but were opposed by China and Russia that indicated they would veto such a proposal. NATO launched a campaign without UN authorization, which it described as a humanitarian intervention.
On 23 March 1999 at 21:30 UTC, US Amb. to UN Richard Holbrooke returned to Brussels and announced that peace talks had failed and formally handed the matter to NATO for military action. Hours before the announcement, Yugoslavia announced on national television it had declared a state of emergency, citing an imminent threat of war and began a huge mobilization of troops and resources.
On 23 March 1999 at 22:17 UTC, the Secretary General of NATO, Javier Solana, announced he had directed the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), US Army General Wesley Clark, to "initiate air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." On 24 March at 19:00 UTC, NATO started its bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.
ROE: NATO forces must penetrate and clear Kosovo from Serbian air defenses and key military targets, destroying also enemy air bases to gain control of the region.
Every MiG present in the area is to be considered hostile. Once Kosovo has been stabilized, further action has to be done in Serbia to undermine its military and thus forcing them to call ceasefire.
BANNED WEAPONS: AGM-158, GBU-54
NATO jets are tasked to conduct SEAD missions over Kosovo alongside with counter-air operations including airfield bombing. Once the area has been cleared from air defense batteries, proper A/G ops against military targets can be executed.
Day 2: Air strikes and DCA missions over Kosovo continue till Serbian forces surrender.
Day 3: Yugoslavia is heavily undermined. With a handful of aircrafts remaining and no more SAMs left, destroying the remaining targets over Serbia should lead NATO to a clear victory and put an end to the conflict.


The Canada Border Services Agency is temporarily closing two ports of entry in the Atlantic region due to COVID−19. (The Canadian Press)
Border Agency Closes Two Atlantic Offices Due to COVID-19 Infections, Close Contacts
OTTAWA—Canada's border agency said it is temporarily closing two ports of entry in the Atlantic region due to COVID−19.
The Canada Border Services Agency said the affected offices are in Bathurst, N.B., and Charlottetown, P.E.I.
CBSA spokeswoman Judith Gadbois−St−Cyr said service at the offices is being suspended because of COVID−19 infections and close contacts among staff.
"They can't work when they're sick from home because they have to provide the service on−site," she said
Most of the staff at the two small offices had either tested positive or forced to isolate due to their proximity to someone who has COVID−19, she added.
Anyone trying to enter Canada by those two ports of entry are being told to contact alternative CBSA offices for service. Those seeking service in Bathurst are being asked to call the CBSA office in Moncton and speak to an officer there.
The agency said most services can be provided over the phone, though in−person services may require travelling to another office. Officers may also be physically deployed from elsewhere if needed.
"Everybody still can come to Canada, but your business is going to be handled somewhere else," said Gadbois−St−Cyr.
The closures are the first to hit Canada's border agency since the start of the pandemic, and come as the country has seen a surge in new infections fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Gadbois−St−Cyr said it's unknown whether other port of entry closures might be on the horizon, but added that the agency is monitoring the situation and will keep the public updated on any further changes.
By Erika Ibrahim


Film Fetish Foto
Pop Culture Quotes
Walking Dead creator launching new graphic novel publisher for up-and-coming creators
Zombie shot from The Walking Dead
Robert Kirkman – creator of The Walking Dead, which is being adapted into an AMC television horror series – announced today that he is launching and will direct a new division of Image Comics called Skybound, which will give a new generation of comic book artists and creators the opportunity to publish their works as Skybound Originals.
With Skybound, Kirkman will handpick up-and-coming creators and maintain an active role in promoting and expanding the projects of the growing talent pool. Artist and company alike will be fully vested in the development of their properties into new mediums, including potential television and film projects.
Image Comics, which published Kirkman's original works, including the New York Times bestselling series The Walking Dead and Invincible, will provide publishing and distribution support to Skybound. Kirkman will continue his duties as a partner at Image Comics, and use the Skybound imprint to release his own titles as well as every "Skybound Original" to follow.
Robert Kirkman plans to preview the first Skybound Original, Witch Doctor, during his spotlight panel at San Diego Comic-Con this Thursday.
Kirkman himself found the creators of Witch Doctor online and will continue to play a personal role in the ongoing search for a constant stream of new talent to sign under the Skybound umbrella. Skybound will focus on cutting-edge, creator-owned stories that are outside of the normal spectrum of mass-market genres. Looking forward, Kirkman recently secured the second exclusive Skybound Original, titled Thief of Thieves, a collaboration between Kirkman and Forgetless writer Nick Spencer.
Witch Doctor will hit store shelves at the beginning of 2011 and Thief of Thieves will follow shortly thereafter.
Find out more about Skybound at skyboundent.com.
more on Comic Con International: San Diego (San Diego Comic Con), comics, fan conventions, graphic novels, Image Comics, San Diego Comic-Con 2010, Skybound Book Fetish, News, Resources
posted July 19, 2010 by René Carson
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Energy @ Rio
Rio de Janeiro's energy boom discussed in London
9th August 2012, London: During the London 2012 Olympics, Rio Negocios, the business investment and facilitation agency for the city of Rio de Janeiro has been hosting a number of events in London to showcase the opportunities available to investors in this exciting city. On Wednesday 8th August 2012 an event was held at Somerset House, the home of Casa Brasil, to discuss with prospective investors the business opportunities available in the energy industries in Rio de Janeiro.
Event attendees heard from a number of speakers as part of a panel discussion, including Marcelo Haddad, Executive Director, Rio Negocios; Mauricio Guedes, Founder and Executive Director of the Rio de Janeiro Science Park and of the Technology Business Incubator; Adriana Machado, President of GE Brazil; Roberto Ramos, CEO Odebrecht O&G; Daniel Moczydlower, CEO Siemens/Chemtech and Francisco Nepomuceno Filho, Head of E&P Petrobras UK.
With the huge hydrocarbon deposits just off the Rio shoreline as well as the fact that Petrobras, Brazil's biggest energy company, corporate headquarters is in Rio the investment opportunities are enormous. Coupled with this, major global events such as the FIFA World Cup 2014 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 will see the world's focus fall squarely on Rio.
Petrobras has already committed to investing $110 billion in to its Rio operations. This opens up a plethora of opportunities to bid for contracts for businesses that specialise in aspects of the supply, exploration and transportation of hydrocarbons. Brazilian law also means that any company generating revenue through hydrocarbons must invest 1% of profits in to R&D. With its highly educated talent pool, Rio is well placed to act as a hub for innovation in the hydrocarbon industry. GE, Siemens/Chemtech, Schlumberger and BG have all built substantial R&D facilities on the Science Park and with more than 5,000 workers is now the biggest concentration of R&D efforts in energy globally.
All of the panel were in agreement that Rio's unique position, with substantial hydrocarbon deposits and the significant investment being made by Petrobras means that the city is a highly attractive proposition to those looking for business opportunities in the energy industry.
Below are some of the key quotes and facts which came out of the discussion. If you are interested in speaking to Marcelo or anyone else about the opportunities in Rio, please let us know.
Key quotes from the panel discussion
"Chemtech chose Rio for three main reasons, firstly it is epicentre of oil and gas in Brazil, secondly there is good co-operation between the government, the state, the municipality and private investors. Finally being in Rio is being where the clients are, it's where both national and international business is done." Daniel Moczydlower, CEO Siemens/Chemtech
"GE chose Rio because of the talent available in the city, in particular at the science and technology park." Adriana Machado, President of GE Brazil
"Throughout Rio state there are extensive plans for infrastructure developments for receiving and storing of oil and gas." Marcelo Haddad, Executive Director, Rio Negocios
"Our business plan states that we will make $236.5 billion investments. $225 billion of this will be in Brazil and of that $110 billion will be in Rio." Francisco Nepomuceno Filho, Head of E&P Petrobras UK
"Brazil already has one of the cleanest energy matrixes in the world because of our use of hydro-power. Oderbrecht controls a company called ETH which is the biggest producer of ethanol. We also have interests in wind farm contracts. Sustainable energy production is definitely an area of focus for us." Roberto Ramos, CEO Oderbrecht O&G
"We like to think of ourselves as an island of engineers. We have 2,500 PhD students and these all help to make the science park a tremendous draw to international companies." Mauricio Guedes, Founder and Executive Director of the Rio de Janeiro Science Park and of the Technology Business Incubator
Key facts about the Rio Energy industry
Pre-Salt proximity
The location of these recently discovered oil fields is ideally reached from Rio
One of Latin America's biggest oil companies is HQ'd in Rio
67% of E&P companies have a presence in the city
O&G R&D Excellence
Rio hosts several universities of excellence and R&D centres, such as Petrobras´ CENPES focused on O&G
More than 2,600 students enrolled in E&P related courses
Access to market
With two large new ports being built and road connectivity to 60% of Brazil's GDP in a 500km radius, Rio is perfectly situated
With the growth of activity in the Pre-Salt region demand for supporting equipment is set to grow substantially
Click here to download the "Media Bulletin – Energy" in word format
TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS FOR CHALLENGES FACED BY…


The Mystics of Mile End
Sigal Samuel
Freehand Books, 296 pages, $21.95
Meghan Bell
In the early pages of The Mystics of Mile End, the first of four narrators, eleven-year-old Lev Meyer, quotes the Talmud: "a word is worth one coin but silence is worth two." It's an idea that Samuel beautifully deconstructs in her stunning debut—Lev's earnest voice alone earns the author the back-cover comparison to Nicole Krauss's acclaimed novel The History of Love.
After the death of his mother, a "yeasty silence filled the house and rose, inch by inch, until it filled the space" between Lev, his older sister, Samara, and his father, David, a professor of Jewish mysticism who rejects his former faith. When each member of the Meyer family becomes obsessed—in their own way—with the Kabbalist concept of the Tree of Life, another tragedy threatens to tear them further apart. Mile End explores themes of faith, loss, and healing—and touches on feminism and queer identity through Samara's storyline—but at its core this is a moving and evocative story about the ways we communicate and the ways we sometimes fail to.
It is ironic, perhaps, that a book that warns against looking for patterns and symbols would appear to be so full of them—"When you are studying [the Tree of Life], it is easy to become obsessed," Hebrew teacher and Holocaust survivor Mr. Glassman warns Lev. "Suddenly everything you see looks like a sign from above." As the story moves from one narrator to the next—from Lev to David to Samara to the eponymous Mile End—it is peppered with little revelations that pull the reader deeper into the story and closer to the enigmatic members of the Meyer family. Samuel is an expert at foreshadowing; while a close read of the first section arguably provides enough information to guess—but not know—the major plot points in the other three, the details serve to build the multiple mysteries. However, the care put into pulling all the threads taut arguably comes at the expense of secondary characters: the Glassmans, for example, feel more like thematic devices than people.
The Mystics of Mile End is a smart, compelling, and, at times, magical read—a promising introduction to a young author who might one day be counted among Canada's finest.
Sigal Samuel,
Mystics of Mile End,


Briarwood, Plaza Towers Elementary Schools Hit By Tornado In Moore, Oklahoma, Rescue Efforts Underway
By Craig Kanalley
Two elementary schools were directly impacted by a massive tornado in the Oklahoma City area on Monday, according to local media reports.
Plaza Towers Elementary School was flattened by the storm and Briarwood Elementary School was also reportedly severely hit. It is unclear at this time how many people were at the schools when the damage occurred, but search and rescue efforts are underway.
"Apparently some kids were being sheltered there [at Plaza Towers]," local TV station KFOR reported during its live coverage of the tornado. The local news outlet later confirmed that children were being pulled from debris at the Plaza Towers site.
According to News 9, an Oklahoma City Police Department representative has stated that there are currently no reports of injuries at the Briarwood Elementary scene. The school did, however, suffer "extensive damage."
UPDATE #3: KFOR is reporting that there were no fatalities at Briarwood Elementary and all students are accounted for.
UPDATE #2: An representative for Oklahoma Emergency Services confirmed in a press conference Monday night that there were casualties at the Plaza Towers Elementary School.
UPDATE: The AP is reporting that several children have been pulled out of the rubble alive at Plaza Towers Elementary School.
More from earlier:
Plaza Towers is located on the west side of Moore, just south of Oklahoma City. Briarwood Elementary is not far away, also on the same side of the town.
A local affiliate in Denver shared a photo of one of the impacted schools on Twitter:
Our thoughts & prayers to all in OKC. School is destroyed from OKC tornado. LIVE: http://t.co/DAATcInkwa pic.twitter.com/eYQn5NgZQ5
— 9NEWS Denver (@9NEWS) May 20, 2013
This is a developing story. Scroll down for updates.
Craig Kanalley
Senior Editor, Big News & Live Events, The Huffington Post
Extreme Weather Oklahoma Oklahoma City Moore Tornado Natural Disasters


United Health Products Inc. Recognized as Vendor Supplier to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Receives Order for HemoStyp™ Gauze
Colts Neck, NJ – March 11, 2013 – United Health Products, Inc.(OTCQB: UEEC) which develops and markets products and technologies in the healthcare sector has been recognized as a vendor/supplier by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). United Health Products has provided LDS with initial orders of its HemoStyp™ Gauze that is being incorporated into aid packages for Humanitarian Relief and Assistance.
The Church's Humanitarian Center, established in 1991, prepares emergency relief supplies for worldwide shipment to disaster victims, works to establish a global sense of self-reliance, and offers service opportunities to both church members and non-members. The emergency relief supplies that the church donates typically include clothing, personal care kits, and medical supplies. According to the LDS Humanitarian Center website, it ships about 12 million pounds of shoes and clothing, 1 million hygiene kits, and 1 million pounds of medical supplies per year to relieve suffering in more than 100 countries. When a disaster strikes, the church works with local government officials and other organizations to determine the immediate needs, and sends the necessary supplies and food to the affected area within hours. Missionaries are then sent to help alleviate other long-term damages by assisting injured persons and reconstructing damaged buildings. The church works in these efforts without regard to the nationality or religion of the recipients, and 100 percent of the financial contributions donated to the church by members and non-members are used for humanitarian purposes.
Dr. Phillip Forman, CEO of United Health Products, Inc., stated, "Being chosen by such a reputable organization, to have our HemoStyp™ on the frontlines of disaster and humanitarian relief, is exactly what we were looking for. It validates our wound care products' applications and efficiency in a broad range of markets and situations."
The church has been involved in providing relief aid for victims of several disasters in recent years, including Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. In 2005 the church partnered with Catholic Relief Services to provide aid for struggling families and individuals in Niger, and it has also partnered with Islamic Relief to help victims of flooding in Pakistan. In addition, the church works with local government agencies and other religious and secular organizations such as the American Red Cross and UNICEF.
Dr. Forman believes that the Company's gauze was chosen by LDS "precisely because of HemoStyp's™ flexibility in terms of use as a wound care product." He went on to say that, "To us, this is proof that our product goes well beyond your average bandages use in the Commercial and Consumer Marketplace. The future looks bright for HemoStyp™."
Newer PostUnited Health Products, Inc. Initiates Investor Relations
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Café Society Review
by Noah R. Taylor | July 22, 2016, 9:21 am
I have a confession to make: I like Woody Allen movies. Unfortunately saying that today doesn't mean the same thing it did 20 years ago. It used to mean you consider yourself to be intellectual enough to get the often pretentious humour of his films. Nobody considered an Allen comedy to be a guilty pleasure, like say an Adam Sandler movie might be, but something that film buffs announced loudly and proudly. While he has consistently put out a film every with year (albeit with inconsistent quality), the conversation has changed. Now when one announces an affinity for the work, you're not saying that you have good taste or that you're smart enough to 'get it', you're saying that you choose to disregard the allegations.
It's a tricky situation when an artist's personal life becomes inseparable from his or her art. In this case it doesn't help that Woody Allen puts so much of himself in his films. Even his latest, Café Society, which he doesn't act in, features his unmistakable voice as the narrator. This is also his third film in a row that features an older man with a younger woman (Emma Stone and Colin Firth in Magic in Moonlight, Stone again and Joaqin Phoenix in Irrational Man, and now Kristen Stewart and Steve Carell). The age differences of these romantic pairings are barely even acknowledged, but that speaks to a larger issue in Hollywood than Allen's personal preferences.
I don't pretend to know who or what to believe when it comes to the public accusations of Allen's wrongdoings, but I still can't help but feel a twinge of guilt for continuing to enjoy his output. Having said that, I really enjoyed Café Society.
Set in the 1930s and bouncing back and forth between New York and LA., the film contains many classic Allen staples: a love triangle (with the aforementioned age difference), jazz clubs, the movie business, gangsters, an eccentric Jewish family, and a fetishism for the past. Jesse Eisenberg plays Bobby, a young man who moves from New York to L.A. in hopes of working for his uncle (Steve Carell) who happens to be one of the most powerful agents in Hollywood. Bobby falls for his uncle's secretary (Kristen Stewart), whom it turns out his uncle is also in love with. Nothing much new here, just another love story with some of Allen's trademark witticisms and insights into how relationships work out (or don't).
What really sets Café Society apart from the rest of Allen's filmography is the cinematography of DP Vittorio Storaro. Even though Storaro has been shooting movies as long as Allen has been directing them, this is the first time they've worked together, and the DP makes his presence known with some of the nicest images in an Allen film since Manhattan. While Café Society is no Apocalypse Now (which Storaro also shot), he captures the era with such beauty and warmness that it's almost impossible not to relate to Allen's nostalgia for the period. Café Society also marks the first time Allen has shot on digital, and yet it looks more cinematic than any of his films have in decades.
Second only to his writing, casting has always been Allen's greatest strength. Eisenberg is an excellent Woody proxy and adopts the author's voice in a natural way that doesn't come off like an impersonation. Steve Carell continues to surprise and impress in roles you wouldn't imagine he'd be right for, and Allen once again proves that nobody is using Corey Stoll to his full potential. As Bobby's gangster brother, Stoll steals every scene he's in just as he did as Hemingway in Midnight in Paris. Adventureland, American Ultra and Café Society now form a sort of odd trilogy of comedies that Eisenberg and Stewart have played romantic interests in. Just by virtue of our familiarity with them onscreen together they at the very least give the impression of "chemistry."
Café Society is easily Woody Allen's best work since Midnight in Paris, hopefully the mysterious series he's working on for Amazon can reach some of the same heights. In my opinion, you shouldn't deny yourself the pleasure of seeing it based on principle. If you don't want to support Allen or get caught with a ticket stub for Café Society, you could always just steal it*. No one will know.
*stealing is illegal.
Blake Lively • Cafe Society • Corey Stoll • film • Jesse Eisenberg • Kristen Stewart • Parker Posey • review • Steve Carell • Vittorio Storaro • Woody Allen
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In Nationwide Swoop, Five Rights Activists Arrested, Several More Raided
The Delhi high court stayed Gautam Navlakha's transfer to Pune till Wednesday. Sudha Bharadwaj too won a two-day reprieve. Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Varavara Rao were also arrested and are due to be produced in a Pune court today.
Writer and activist Gautam Navlakha being taken in to custody by the Pune police on August 28, 2018. Photo: PTI
29/Aug/2018
Mumbai/New Delhi: In a coordinated operation that has drawn fierce criticism from civil society and opposition political parties alike, the Pune police on Tuesday launched simultaneous raids on the homes of several people in Mumbai, Delhi, Ranchi, Goa and Hyderabad, including activists, priests, writers and lawyers.
By the end of the day, five prominent rights activists – Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao, Gautam Navlakha and Arun Ferreira – had been arrested on a host of charges, including terrorism-related ones, prompting cries of a witch-hunt.
Bharadwaj is a prominent trade unionist and lawyer. Navlakha, a widely published writer and civil liberties activist, is 65 years old while Rao, a celebrated Telugu poet and Marxist intellectual and activist, is nearly 80 years old, according to his family.
There is only place for one NGO in India and it's called the RSS. Shut down all other NGOs. Jail all activists and shoot those that complain.
Welcome to the new India. #BhimaKoregaon
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2018
The FIR on the basis of which the arrests were made relates to the violence which followed the Bhima-Koregaon commemorative event held in Maharashtra on January 1 this year.
Three of the arrested – Ferreira, Rao and Gonsalves – are due to be produced before a Pune court today.
On Tuesday morning, the home of lawyer and trade unionist Sudha Bharadwaj near Badarpur in Delhi was raided and she was taken into custody. According to the panchama, Bharadwaj has been charged under Sections 153a, 505, 117 and 120 of the IPC and several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Orders for the arrest came from Swargate police station, Pune, acting on a First Information Report filed in January 2018, according to the police, and five policemen from Pune were part of the team that went to her house. The police were at her home from 5:30 am and all electronic devices were seized.
Sources told The Wire that the police took away Bharadwaj's laptops, mobiles and a pen drive, as well as a diary with empty pages, and Bharadwaj expressed concern that these could be tampered with. Her daughter said that the police asked both of them to write down their email and social media passwords. When Bharadwaj's daughter later tried to access her social media accounts, she reportedly found that they had been blocked.
Despite a high court stay on her transit remand for two days, there was high drama as the Pune police sought to fly her out of Delhi before they could be formally served notice. Bharadwaj's counsel, Vrinda Grover, told The Wire she was eventually driven back to Faridabad and kept in a van outside the chief judicial magistrate's residence past midnight. Inside, her lawyers sought a direction from the CJM to the police – as the high court had noted – that she be allowed to return home pending resolution of her plea before the Punjab and Haryana high court. The stay will be in place till August 30.
Sudha Bharadwaj conferring with her lawyer, Vrinda Grover, inside the Faridabad CJM's residence on Tuesday night. Credit: Special Arrangement
In Mumbai, the activist-turned-lawyer Vernon Gonsalves was also arrested in the morning. His 23-year-old son Sagar Gonsalves told The Wire that a police team comprising of nine policemen from Pune and two from the local MIDC police station reached their home at 6:10 am.
"My father, like always, had gone out for a morning walk. He reached home and within less than five minutes the police knocked at our door." Sagar said their phones were confiscated and that they were not allowed to make any calls until 1:30 pm when Gonsalves was finally taken away.
Gonsalves' wife Susan Abraham is one of the lawyers who is appearing for the five individuals arrested in June in the same case. Sagar said that when the police arrived at their residence, they were not sure if the police had come for Abraham or Gonsalves.
"But as soon as they took away his phone and sat down with him and asked him several questions, we knew he would be arrested," Sagar added. The police have taken away Gonsalves' laptop, CPU of two old computers, his mobile phone, two spare phones, three pen drives and several books from his house. "Any book with Mao's name on it or mentions of 'Naxal' and 'political prisoners' was taken away. A popular book on the Bolshevik revolution which was lying in the house was picked up too," Sagar told The Wire.
In Hyderabad, the veteran Marxist poet and intellectual Varavara Rao was arrested from his home on Tuesday afternoon and taken to Nampally court. His family has alleged that their house was ransacked by a team from the Pune police.
Varavara Rao being taken away by the police on Tuesday. Credit: PTI
Rao's nephew Venugopal, editor of Veekshanam Telugu magazine, told the TV channel Sakshi, "This is an attempt to stifle voices that talk about murders of Dalit and Adivasis in areas like Gadchiroli. There is a cooked up story that V.V. Rao was connected with an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There is no truth to it. Apart from V.V. Rao, his two daughters and son-in-laws have been targeted. They do not have any connection with V.V. Rao's politics. The Central government, Maharashtra government, aided by the Telangana government, are engaging in intimidation to stifle democratic voices."
Also read: 'He's Almost 80, How Will He Be in Jail?' V.V. Rao's Family Condemns Arrest
The Delhi-based writer and activist Gautam Navlakha was arrested from his home at around 2 pm. The police wanted to transfer him to Pune and obtained an order of transit remand from a court in Saket, but his lawyers, Nitya Ramakrishna and Warisha Farasat, managed to file a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi high court which the chief justice marked for prompt hearing. Since the documents produced in court were in Marathi – with only the transit remand in Hindi – the bench of Juatice S. Muralidhar and Vinod Goel said that it was "not possible to make out from these documents what precisely the case against the petitioner is". It has asked for the translated documents to be presented in court on August 29.
The high court said that it would hear the case Wednesday morning, and ordered that Navlakha be allowed to return to his own home under the supervision of the police till then. On Wednesday morning, however, the state of Maharashtra said it had been unable to prepare a translation of the Marathi documents, following which the court gave it time till afternoon.
"Yesterday you seem to have had no problem with getting a translation," the bench noted – a reference to police claims made in court on Tuesday that they had translated the FIR for the Saket magistrate who granted them transit remand.
Arun Ferreira was arrested from his home at around 3:15 pm. "I am been arrested in the same case as [Sudhir] Dhawale and [Surendra] Gadling. I will be taken to Pune now," he said while being arrested.
Police constables had been stationed outside Ferreira's house in Thane. Around 15 officers from the Pune police landed up at Arun Ferriera's place around 6 am. Ferreira, who stepped out briefly around 2 pm, told The Wire that he was then still under interrogation. "The police is inquiring and the process is still on. I can't say anything concrete right now," Ferreira said. Ferreira, his wife Jennifer, his son and mother-in-law were home when the Pune police reached their residence.
Arun Ferreira being taken into police custody on Tuesday. Credit: PTI
According to Ferreira's family, the police told him to cooperate and said that they would only be carrying out search raids. It was only around 3 pm that he was told that he would be taken to Pune. His wife's laptop and pen drives have been seized, and the entire family's bank details have been noted, they told The Wire.
The panchnamas say that the arrested individuals will be taken to Pune later today.
Ferreira spent five years in jail when the police in Maharashtra filed 10 UAPA cases against him. In 2012, he received bail and in 2014 was acquitted of all charges.
From Jharkhand to Goa, police raids
Among those whose residences were raided by the Pune police on Tuesday were Susan Abraham, journalist Kranthi Tekula in Hyderabad, Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde in Goa. A relative of Varavara Rao confirmed that his daughter Anala and son-in-law K.V. Kurmanath's house had also been raided, and their laptops and hard drives seized. A relative of Abraham's said, "Susan and Arun are defending the accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence of last January."
Dipak Nikam, inspector, crime branch Pune, led a team of eight Maharastra police accompanied by the local Ranchi police to the residence of Father Stan Swamy with a search notice written in Marathi. The team searched Swamy's room for about three hours. Nikam said that there is case in the Vishambagh police station in which Swamy is a suspect. "We have seized a laptop, memory card and compact disks. We had only a search order, and we did not have any arrest order for Stan Swamy."
Nikam said there is an organisation called Elgaar Parishad which is suspected to have links with the Dalit movement in Maharastra, and the Vishambagh police suspects that Swamy has links with Elgaar Parishad.
When The Wire spoke to Swamy, he said he has never heard of, let alone had links with, any organisation called Elgaar Parishad.
Swamy has been actively speaking and writing against the BJP government's alleged excesses against tribal people in Jharkhand. Recently, the state police had lodged a sedition case against him because of his support for the Pathalgadi movement in which adivasis inscribe passages from the Constitution on stone slabs and place them at the entrance to their villages.
Dayamani Barla and Vasavi Kiro, noted social activists who reached Stan's residence when the search operation was on, said the BJP using these methods to harass Stan as he is fighting for the rights of the Adivasis.
Police outside Arun Ferreira's house in Thane, Maharashtra. Credit: The Wire
Teltumbde's house in Goa, on the premises of the Goa Institute of Management, was raided while he was not in town. "He is out of Goa and his house was locked. He was informed by an official at the Institute that police had arrived at the campus with sanction to raid his house," The Hindu quoted a source as saying.
Those already arrested for the Bhima Koregaon violence include human rights lawyer from Nagpur Surendra Gadling, Dalit rights activist and journalist Sudhir Dhawale, former Prime Minister Rural Development fellow Mahesh Raut, prisoners' rights activist Rona Wilson and associate professor from Nagpur University Shoma Sen.
Kavita Srivastava, president of the Rajasthan chapter of the People's Union of Civil Liberties, told The Wire on the raids and arrests, "We are outraged at what happened. This is a complete witch hunt. Completely false and baseless charges against top human rights activists. The Modi government is showing its fascist side. We are really going to fight back."
V.S. Krishna, Human Rights Forum Andhra Pradesh and Telangana coordination committee member, told The Wire, "The letter produced by the police alleging assassination threat to Modi seems fabricated. The charges against those arrested today also seem outlandish and the UAPA has once again been used to clamp down on dissent."
Also read: Politicians, Civil Society Groups Condemn Arrests, Raids Carried Out By Pune Police
A number of activists and political leaders including Swami Agnivesh, Teesta Setalvad, Jignesh Mevani, Shehla Rashid and Sanam Sutirath Wazir had issued a statement condemning the police action. " The arrests should be seen in continuation with the recent attacks on pro-justice voices such as Swami Agnivesh, Umar Khalid and many other student activists from Delhi to Lucknow. A BJP lawmaker from Karnataka even advocated the murder of "intellectuals." Both the arrests and the physical attacks on justice loving people must be seen in a series of attempts to stifle dissent and deny social justice. We demand immediate release of the arrested individuals, dropping of all false and malicious charges, as these arrests are politically motivated and unjustified," the statement said.
In March, Milind Ekbote, president of the Samata Hindu Aghadi, had been arrested. He is the prime accused in the violence against Dalits which had left one person dead. He was released on bail in April. Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh's leader Prakash Ambedkar had accused Hindutva groups of attacking Dalits who had gathered on the spot outside Pune to commemorate the 200th anniversary of a historic victory against the Marathas in which Dalit soldiers had taken part. The other leader named by Ambedkar, Sambhaji Bhide, has not yet been arrested. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had said investigations had shown that Bhide was not involved.


Growing strike solidarity networks in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester has been home to an unusual number of major strikes in the last couple of years. Local activists and rs21 members Ian Allinson and Derek Fraser discuss what we can learn from these and the development of solidarity networks around them.
Britain has seen an increase in strike activity as inflation has risen and after lockdown rules were relaxed. Within this picture, Greater Manchester has seen two epic battles. The first was the twelve-week continuous strike at Go North West buses in Manchester which defeated 'fire and rehire' last year but left many workers dissatisfied with the concessions in the deal. Secondly, workers at the CHEP pallet factory in Trafford Park have been on continuous strike over pay since 17 December, making it the longest strike in Unite's history – they will soon be reballoting for their third 12-week period of action.
There have been numerous shorter strikes too. Five universities in Greater Manchester are involved in UCU's disputes – the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Salford, the Royal Northern College of Music and the Open University. RMT members at TransPennine Express have been striking every weekend for months, and members at Atalian Servest on the West Coast Mainline have repeatedly struck in recent months.
Other strikes have included GMB members at Polyflor in Bury and British Gas in Stockport, Unite members at Evonik in Manchester and First Bus in Oldham, PCS members at the British Council and NEU members in several local disputes. Manchester's refuse collection workers employed by Biffa are due to strike from 3 May.
Workers learn about the wider movement and solidarity by taking part in action. It has been inspiring to see workers from various recent disputes visiting each other's pickets and protests to offer support, advice and encouragement. While workers are learning from each other, this doesn't seem to be the motor of the recent strikes – none of which have been big enough wins to really impact popular consciousness and generalise. Instead, the uptick in strikes seems to be primarily the result of accumulated grievances and shared pressures such as fire and rehire and the cost of living crisis.
Traditions of solidarity had never completely died out in Manchester, thanks in part to maintaining a functioning trades council which always made it a priority. But solidarity networks have developed far beyond that. The process probably began with the 2018 First Bus strike in Rusholme. The First Bus strike coincided with disputes at IT services company Fujitsu and at Mears, who carried out maintenance on former council housing in north Manchester. The three strikes held a joint march and rally in the city centre which helped build support and solidarity. The Mears workers achieved a major victory after more than 80 days on strike.
The First Bus depot was situated on Oxford Road, home to the Rusholme 'curry mile' and the main campuses of the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University. When the employer threatened Unite over allegations that strikers were obstructing scab buses, Unite told strikers to move to the opposite side of the road, but to their delight, local residents and trade unionists repeatedly mobilised to blockade the depot.
Initially the police response was aggressive, including arrests. The participation of Labour Party activists (one of those arrested went on to be a left Labour councillor) helped legitimise the protests and the police had to back off. To be effective the blockades could not be pre-announced or publicly advertised, so their organisation relied on existing networks and private social media conversations. One of the lasting benefits of Corbynism was that it created and strengthened a variety of networks of the left.
The next big development in solidarity networks was in support of the Go North West bus strike. Unlike First, Go North West made no attempt to run scab services out of the depot that was on strike. Instead, they rented space in an out-of-town distribution park for their own scab operation and subcontracted running scab services to coach companies operating from their own depots. This meant that there were a variety of targets for protesters – from Rochdale to Stockport.
The dispute revived and grew the networks remaining from the Rusholme First Bus strike, involving people from a wide range of organisations in solidarity that involved more than just sending messages or raising money. Activists had to evolve their tactics in response to police claims that walking across gates was obstructing the highway. They copied 'slow walking' tactics from anti-fracking protesters who had tested them in court.
These methods of solidarity are not without their problems. Where the union is complying with the anti-union laws, supporters have to take great care to avoid involving the strikers or their union in their plans or actions, so they have 'deniability' if challenged in court, at the same time as ensuring they aren't doing anything that the strikers aren't happy with. Getting this right has required the building of trust between different groups involved in delivering solidarity.
Another problem is that community solidarity action is substituting for action by the strikers themselves. When strikers feel confident to mount pickets that block entrances or to picket other locations, they are far more likely to have the numbers and time to be effective – which is precisely why the law seeks to deter such action.
One lesson we might draw from these disputes is the importance of sustained strike action to building solidarity networks. It's more obvious to everyone why they should prioritise solidarity with a continuous strike, and it's easier to get involved if you aren't struggling to keep track of which days workers are striking. A long dispute enables networks to form, trust to be built and relationships to develop. But of course a long strike is a sign of weakness – we want to win quickly. It is not a good sign that we have seen so many long disputes, not all of which have ended with clear victories.
Perhaps the biggest danger with substitutionist tactics is that they can distract from what is needed to decisively win a dispute. Despite Sharon Graham, the new Unite General Secretary, being committed to building 'combines' across employers and industries, it remains too common that individual workplaces are left fighting national or global employers in isolation. In the Go North West dispute, Unite could have lawfully found local disputes at other Go Ahead operations around the country. Or they could have piled pressure on mayor Andy Burnham by finding disputes with other local bus operators. During the ongoing CHEP strike, other sites (organised by Unite and GMB) have reached pay settlements without coordinating with the strikers.
The traditional way strikers spread action is to send delegations to other sites. The pandemic presented real barriers to this, leaving workers more dependent on official channels or on national solidarity networks which are rarely as effective. Unions often discourage strikers from visiting other workplaces for fear it will be portrayed as unlawful 'secondary picketing'. This is paranoid nonsense – it's not picketing unless you are seeking to dissuade people from crossing and going into a workplace. It's perfectly lawful for strikers to leaflet wherever they like as long as they aren't doing that.
In the current CHEP strike, activists haven't felt confident that strikers would welcome direct action from the community, so solidarity has been largely limited to picket visits, rallies, a march, online events and fundraising. But the solidarity networks have continued to grow. There isn't one centralised organisation – the overlapping networks include the far left, the Labour left, trades councils, some of the more active union branches, the People's Assembly, students, the recently launched Strike! Manchester, and there are links with national attempts to promote solidarity such as Strike Map.
One of the most important and positive developments has been the involvement of Extinction Rebellion (XR), whose activists got involved in supporting the Go North West dispute. This experience contributed to the launch of XR Trade Unionists who have already turned out in force to support striking workers at the Fawley oil refinery. The statement issued by XR centrally about this marks a welcome shift to solidarity for a just transition. In the past XR had often appeared disinterested or even hostile to workers, particularly those in polluting industries. Convergence between the workers' and climate movements represents the best hope for tackling the climate emergency.
The cost of living crisis appears to be contributing to a modest uptick in strike activity, and there is no sign of this easing soon. The RMT are gearing up for strikes across most of the rail network. Activists should seize every opportunity to build and develop solidarity networks in every area.
Download this leaflet for more information about how to support the CHEP strike.
Since this article was written CHEP has made an improved offer which Unite members are voting on.