Taking on Cancer Again, This Time With the Wisdom of Age - NYTimes.com

<div></div><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">After I finished eight months of treatment for testicular cancer in my mid-20s, my psychologist said, "Well, that was like having five years of therapy all at once." What he meant was that you learn a lot about yourself in weekly talk sessions, but during a life-threatening illness, the "issues" come at you nonstop. I relished the slow unfolding of myself in the first, but I resented — no, hated — every step of the second. Nearly two decades later, when confronted with the same diagnosis, I finally understood the benefits of that earlier trial by fire, much as I did the wisdom of Ralph Waldo Emerson when he wrote, "The years teach much which the days never knew."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">To be sure, there were benefits to being young — I was 26 — when I was first diagnosed, not the least of which was my competitive swimmer's body. After almost dying in the I.C.U. and becoming a "patient-in-residence," I plunged back into the pool (and my day job) just a fortnight after my release.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Ah, the determination — and denial — of youth.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">But facing cancer at that young age had more drawbacks than benefits, not the least of which was losing my sense of invulnerability when confronted with the prospect of disfigurement and disability, even death.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Less obvious, but still unsettling, was the loss of my laissez-faire attitude toward life itself. I had always been the kind of guy who focused on the journey (the experience) more than the destination (winning). During backstroke events prior to falling ill I was more interested in watching the clouds race overhead than the swimmer racing in the next lane. This mindset didn't do much for my success in the pool, but it helped define who I was.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">To make matters worse, conventional wisdom says only one thing matters when it comes to cancer: Beating the hell out of it. Suddenly I had to find an emotional depth I hadn't sought before, a passion for a fight that I didn't want.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><em>Am I the kind of person who can win this battle? </em>I asked myself early on.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">To ensure that I was, I did a complete about-face, saying "No way" to the journey and "Hell, yes" to the destination. Every decision began to turn on life and longevity, and for that I tolerated side effects like hair loss, neuropathy and "dry ejaculation" — because I simply had to win.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">I re-read Dylan Thomas, who told me to "rage, rage against the dying of the light," and I did. I became a rager. And it almost ruined my life.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Not in terms of my health, because in fact my treatment was effective. I was "clinically cured" and chalked up that achievement to my new "Top Gun" mentality. Then I jumped back into daily life — and managed to mess everything up. I applied my new approach to relationships ("My way or the highway"), and got dumped by my boyfriend. In graduate school, I aced my studies but lost friends.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Fortunately, my best friends didn't hold back on telling me I had become a jerk, and that got my attention. I had upshifted at the start of my treatment, but now I needed to downshift. I struggled to find my pace, but eventually found a middle gear, more vulnerable than I cared to be but also more human.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The second time I was diagnosed, the oncologist sat me down to give me the new installment of the old bad news. I surprised myself and my friends with a very different approach.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">I did not rage, which isn't to say I was happy about this predicament. And I had moved on from my original question to a new one: How can I go through this and still be the kind of person I want to be?</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">In the intervening years, I had come to realize that cancer victories are not won by personality types, but by a combination of doggedness (choosing the best physician, getting the right diagnosis and treatment), responsibility (doing your own research and taking care of your overall health), and plain old luck.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">From that very first day of my second time around, I challenged myself not to shift into that "win at any cost" mentality. That's where the gift of age and experience came to my aid, even if my older body did not. Over the years I had learned that life was not a series of choices between winners and losers — I knew that way of seeing things to be oversimplified, if not dead wrong. You can be stronger than an ox, never miss a day of work, or swim your lungs out and, damn it, still die.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">I could become a jerk again and focus on the end point, or I could accept that the journey <em>is</em> the destination – which I did.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Two months after I had been diagnosed and two days before the surgeon was scheduled to excise my remaining testicle, I had a dream so vivid — "I am cancer-free!" — that I demanded to go on a "surveillance" protocol. Reluctantly my doctor agreed, but by year's end I had "won" the debate when my so-called tumor was reclassified as a benign nodule.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The years had taught me much — both to listen to my body and to trust in its wisdom. And, most importantly, to find the courage to speak its truth — whether in the doctor's office or out in the world.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "><em></em><em></em><em><a href="http://www.gaymanners.com/" style="text-decoration: none; ">Steven Petrow</a></em><em> writes the Civil Behavior column for Booming, addressing </em><em>questions about gay and straight etiquette</em> <em>for a boomer-age audience. <em><em>You can find him on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/stevenpetrowmanners" style="text-decoration: none; ">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/stevenpetrow" style="text-decoration: none; ">Twitter</a>.</em></em></em></p><div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/booming/taking-on-cancer-again-this-time-with-the-wisdom-of-age.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/booming/taking-on-cancer-again-this-time-with-the-wisdom-of-age.html?_r=0&pagewanted=print</a></div>

Taking on Cancer Again, This Time With the Wisdom of Age - NYTimes.com

After I finished eight months of treatment for testicular cancer in my mid-20s, my psychologist said, "Well, that was like having five ...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/13/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="https://alpha.app.net/coolcatteacher">coolcatteacher on App.net</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Aoo,net is a pay-for Twitter like service. Users pay for it and thus, there are no ads. The API stays open so you don't have lockdowns like Twitter is having. I've been watching this service and my gutt instinct is that some are going to start playing with it over the Christmas break. I just want to look at it and understand it. Here's the link to my account if any of you who are on there want to help clue me in. (Oh, and it also allows people to RSS your feed - something Twitter isn't currently allowing.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apps">apps</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/twitter">twitter</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/app.net">app.net</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.green-talk.com/2012/12/11/conservation-in-education-gp-hosted-panel-discusses-how-biz-help/">Conservation in Education. GP Hosted Panel Discusses How Biz Help | Green Talk®</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">I was part of a panel recently talking about a topic near to my heart, conservation education. I grew up on a farm and taking good care of the earth has been ingrained in me since I was a child pulling weeds and playing with ladybugs. I was impressed with all of the panelists. Of particular interest to many of you is the math teacher using Common Core and integrating conservation. "The panelists were:  Dr. Brian Davis, Vice President of Education and Training  of the Georgia Aquarium;  Daniel Strauss, Nature Conservancy LEAF program; Colleen Ryan, Keystone Center Participant and 8th grade math teacher; Vicki Davis, technology teacher for grades 8-12 , editor of Cool Cat Teacher Blog, and co-founder of the Flat Classroom Project;  and Teresa Walsh , Public Affairs Manager for Georgia-Pacific’s Crossett, Arkansas, facility."</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/conservation">conservation</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/mathchat">mathchat</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stem">stem</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.wikibrains.com">Wikibrains</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Cool brainstorming tool that helps you if you're "stuck." This might be something to use as you do "creative" work to get the juices flowing.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/writing">writing</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/composition.">composition.</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://anamericaninbudapest.com">An American in Budapest | a teacher, a classroom, a city</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Phillip Done, who has written some super cute elementary school teacher-inspired books, is now teaching in Budapest -and has a new blog. He's a great writer - and teaches Third graders. I love teachers who blog and here's one I've put in my RSS reader.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elementary_teacher">elementary_teacher</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/elementary">elementary</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://eracism.flatclassroomproject.org/Debate+Finals+12-2">eracism - Debate Finals 12-2 - Dates</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">The debate dates and times are on this page. Bracket A will be between the Quality Schools International Bratislava - Slovakia and Lounsberry HOllow Middle School on Monday, December 17, 2012 at 9 am. Bracket C will be between Think Global School - Class 2 Argentina and Bettendorf Middle School (USA) on Thursday, December 13 at 9 am eastern. As of right now, Bracket B between Bettendorf Middle School and the American International School of Guangzhou (China) is still being worked out - but it will be posted on this page. When you were in high school you may have had regional or state debate, well, now students debate around the world. You can find out about entering your team in next semester's competition on the website. This project was invented by students at the first Flat Classroom conference in Doha, Qatar. Hope some of you can come.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/debate">debate</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/globaled">globaled</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/flatclass">flatclass</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://eracism.flatclassroomproject.org/Debate+Finals+-+Information">eracism - Debate Finals - Information</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">The finals for the Eracism project debate are being held live this week. The first two teams will be debating this Thursday, December 13 at 9 am EAstern time in Blackboard Collaborate. It is a very exciting experience - my own students did this on the first project! How wonderful. I hope some of you can come. If you want to know more about Eracism and get information on the dates, here's the website and protocols. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/debate">debate</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/eracism">eracism</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/13/2012

coolcatteacher on App.net Aoo,net is a pay-for Twitter like service. Users pay for it and thus, ther...

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The WeLoveSchmoop Fund is Now Open!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hola caring and decent folks! Jayman here. So, as you probably know, our friend and Matt-Man’s BFF/OSP Schmoop has been going through quite the medical ordeal over the last six weeks or more. I won’t go through all of it, but you probably remember that she turned yellow back in October. Needless to say Matt-Man and others found this to be a bit disconcerting.</div><br />Schmoop ended up going to the hospital there in Bagwine and after a couple of days of tests and poking and prodding (Ed. Note: That’s Hot!) they said “Welp. You have a blocked bile duct, but we don’t know what to do about it. Better send you over to tOSU Med Center.” <br /><br />After eight days there and tons more tests they finally drilled a hole through the blocked bile duct and put a tube in Schmoop (which is still in her) to drain the bile that was building up. Now that she is back to a normal color and back up to her playing weight, they are ready to go in and remove the mass that was blocking the bile duct. <br /><br />This surgery will last anywhere from 3 to 7 hours and might include cutting out parts of her pancreas, liver and stomach depending on whether or not they can get the mass easily and whether or not it’s cancer. <br /><br />Wait, I said I wasn’t going to go into all the details, didn’t I? <br /><br />Okay, here’s the deal. Schmoop’s boss created a situation where she was unable to draw the unemployment benefits that HE TOLD HER TO APPLY FOR! So, because of that, she has missed out on at least six weeks of UE benefits. Needless to say this lost income has left Schmoop and Matt in pretty dire economic circumstances. <br /><br />On Monday I got an email from <a href="http://amidlifescrises.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dana Lu</a> with an idea of what we could do. She said we should set up a PayPal Acct for people to donate to so that Matt and Schmoop won’t end up homeless. I had been thinking of the same idea so we agreed to <s>see what Matt-Man thought of it</s> tell Matt-Man that we were going to do it. At first he didn’t like the idea, but eventually gave into my reasonable reasoning with him. <br /><br />The idea is to try to help Schmoop recover the income she lost during this time that she has been denied UE benefits. So, with the help of <a href="http://amidlifescrises.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dana</a>, here is a handy dandy little button that you can click on and make a donation to the WeLoveSchmoop Fund! <br /><br />You don’t even need to have a PayPal acct. You can donate using your debit and credit cards. Just click the button and then put in the amount you want to donate (it’s up to you, no fixed amounts or minimums are set) and then over on the left side it tells how to use your debit or credit card. Or, if you do have PayPal you can donate by sending the money to the official email of the WeLoveSchmoop Fund which is ….<br /><br /><a href="mailto:weloveschmoop@yahoo.com" target="_blank">WeLoveSchmoop@yahoo.com </a><br /><br />It’s so simple even I can do it!!! <br /><br />So there you go folks, a chance to help a great human being whom we all love so very much. The donate button will also be on the right sidebar here for the next few weeks. This isn’t an open-ended thing and we won’t badger you (much) to donate. But, GIVE TIL IT HURTS PEOPLE! <br /><br /><form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"><input name="cmd" type="hidden" value="_s-xclick" /><br /><input name="encrypted" type="hidden" value="-----BEGIN PKCS7-----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-----END PKCS7----- " /><br /><input alt="PayPal - The safer, easier way to pay online!" border="0" name="submit" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" type="image" /><br /><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" /><br /><br /><br /></form></div>

The WeLoveSchmoop Fund is Now Open!

Hola caring and decent folks! Jayman here. So, as you probably know, our friend and Matt-Man’s BFF/OSP Schmoop has been going through quite ...

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Aspirin, the 2,000-Year-Old Wonder Drug - NYTimes.com

<div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); ">The inexorable rise in health care spending, as all of us know, is a problem. But what's truly infuriating, as we watch America's medical bill soar, is that our conversation has focused almost exclusively on how to pay for that care, not on reducing our need for it. In the endless debate about "health care reform," few have zeroed in on the practical actions we should be taking now to make Americans healthier.</span><nyt_text><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">An exception is Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, who is setting new standards that we would do well to adopt as a nation. In the last several years, he's changed the city's health code to mandate restrictions on sodas and trans fats — products that, when consumed over the long term, harm people. These new rules will undoubtedly improve New Yorkers' health in years to come.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Such bold moves prompt a provocative question: when does regulating a person's habits in the name of good health become our moral and social duty? The answer, I suggest, is a two-parter: first, when the scientific data clearly and overwhelmingly demonstrate that one behavior or another can substantially reduce — or, conversely, raise — a person's risk of disease; and second, when all of us are stuck paying for one another's medical bills (which is what we do now, by way of Medicare, Medicaid and other taxpayer-financed health care programs).</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">In such cases, encouraging a healthy behavior, or discouraging an unhealthy one, ought to be a matter of public policy — which is why, for instance, we insist on vaccinating children for the measles, mumps, rubella and polio; we know these preventive strategies save lives.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Under that rationale, then, why not make it public policy to encourage middle-aged people to use aspirin?</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Developed in 1897 by the German chemist Felix Hoffmann, aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, has long proved its value as an analgesic. Two millenniums before that, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used its active ingredient — which he extracted from the bark and leaves of the willow tree — to help alleviate pain and fevers.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Since then, we've gained insight into both the biological mechanism and the effects of this chemical compound. Many high-quality research studies have confirmed that the use of aspirin substantially reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. Indeed, the evidence for this is so abundant and clear that, in 2009, the United States Preventive Services Task Force strongly recommended that men ages 45 to 79, and women ages 55 to 79, take a low-dose aspirin pill daily, with the exception for those who are already at higher risk for gastrointestinal bleeding or who have certain other health issues. (As an anticoagulant, aspirin can increase the risk of bleeding — a serious and potentially deadly issue for some people.)</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">New reports about aspirin's benefits in cancer prevention are just as convincing. In 2011, British researchers, analyzing data from some 25,000 patients in eight long-term studies, found that a small, 75-milligram dose of aspirin taken daily for at least five years reduced the risk of dying from common cancers by 21 percent.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">In March, The Lancet published two more papers bolstering the case for this ancient drug. The first, reviewing five long-term studies involving more than 17,000 patients, found that a daily low-dose aspirin lowered the risk of getting adenocarcinomas — common malignant cancers that develop in the lungs, colon and prostate — by an average of 46 percent.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">In the second, researchers at Oxford and other centers compared patients who took aspirin with those who didn't in 51 different studies. Investigators found that the risk of dying from cancer was 37 percent lower among those taking aspirin for at least five years. In a subsection of the study group, three years of daily aspirin use reduced the risk of developing cancer by almost 25 percent when compared with the aspirin-free control group.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The data are screaming out to us. Aspirin, one of the oldest remedies on the planet, helps prevent heart disease through what is likely to be a variety of mechanisms, including keeping blood clots from forming. And experts believe it helps prevent cancer, in part, by dampening an immune response called inflammation.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">So the question remains: given the evidence we have, why is it merely voluntary for physicians to inform their patients about a health care intervention that could not only help them, but also save untold billions in taxpayer dollars each year?</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">For some men over the age of 45 and women over 55, the risks of taking aspirin outweigh any benefits — and patients should talk with their doctors before taking any medication, including something as familiar as aspirin.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">But with such caveats in place, it still ought to be possible to encourage aspirin's use in those for whom the potential benefits would be obvious and the risks minimal. Just as we discourage smoking through advertising campaigns, for example, shouldn't we suggest that middle-aged Americans speak to their doctors about aspirin? Perhaps pharmacists or even health insurance companies should be enlisted to help spread the word about this disease-prevention drug?</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">The right policy will have to be hammered out, of course. But if we're going to address the country's sky-high medical bill, we're going to have to address the need for Americans to be active in protecting their own health.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Everyone may want the right to use tobacco products and engage in other behaviors that are unequivocally linked with disease — or have the right not to wear a seat belt and refrain from other actions that may protect their well-being. But, if so, should society have the obligation to cover the costs of the consequences?</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">As the former Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart once said, "There is a big difference between what we have the right to do and what is right to do." Health care reform should, at long last, focus on the latter.</p></div></nyt_text><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); -webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/opinion/the-2000-year-old-wonder-drug.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/opinion/the-2000-year-old-wonder-drug.html?src=me&ref=general&pagewanted=print</a></span>

Aspirin, the 2,000-Year-Old Wonder Drug - NYTimes.com

The inexorable rise in health care spending, as all of us know, is a problem. But what's truly infuriating, as we watch America's me...

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Firm Faces #18: Bennetts Associates Architects

What a difference a week makes. Last week my friend Eric tipped me off to the crew at <a href="http://www.bennettsassociates.com/">Bennetts Associates Architects</a> sporting some obviously fake 'staches:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bennettsassociates.com/practice/people/"><img alt="bennetts1.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/bennetts1.jpg" title="Bennetts Associates Architects" /></a><br /><br />But today the facial hair is gone (for the most part):<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bennettsassociates.com/practice/people/"><img alt="bennetts2.jpg" src="http://www.archidose.org/Blog/bennetts2.jpg" title="Bennetts Associates Architects" /></a><br /><br />The stunt was actually part of <a href="http://uk.movember.com/">Movember UK</a>, which is part of a <a href="http://www.movember.com/">worldwide network</a> that aims "to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and testicular cancer." Here is Bennetts Associates Architects <a href="http://uk.movember.com/team/901937">profile at Movember UK</a>; looks like they raised just over £800. Not bad.

Firm Faces #18: Bennetts Associates Architects

What a difference a week makes. Last week my friend Eric tipped me off to the crew at Bennetts Associates Architects sporting some obviousl...

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Doors of Ranelagh

<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Christmas wreaths on the street where I live!</span><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Can you guess which is my door?!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kUx0ysCYT3fiuW4EVYd0UqMHAKsHbYZMUGtRt9pp_jbKllCrAG6Qkw7vLaaoDr5Suin0glSUO0jF_gjTyZFrkEd7ugmw4_CgHvZfeiAtFoKcMYeA4ZUIj6U0KilCw2KENQ645bgPHpZC/s1600/20121212_151045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-kUx0ysCYT3fiuW4EVYd0UqMHAKsHbYZMUGtRt9pp_jbKllCrAG6Qkw7vLaaoDr5Suin0glSUO0jF_gjTyZFrkEd7ugmw4_CgHvZfeiAtFoKcMYeA4ZUIj6U0KilCw2KENQ645bgPHpZC/s400/20121212_151045.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sodPAJhufSwa4Qw8qXfcoDa_cwstKgTfHU2JNwEO5FZNuj_OLg0NQWvQmGdTMaPjvF5ysYmxWvF4zHjXWddEZ_yyt_1_-IDP9k6v7tt8yGk5Ih5Io-5iAnIwMaDgIrKmVdNq_zRnqMnf/s1600/20121212_151115.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sodPAJhufSwa4Qw8qXfcoDa_cwstKgTfHU2JNwEO5FZNuj_OLg0NQWvQmGdTMaPjvF5ysYmxWvF4zHjXWddEZ_yyt_1_-IDP9k6v7tt8yGk5Ih5Io-5iAnIwMaDgIrKmVdNq_zRnqMnf/s400/20121212_151115.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Mj5ekvckGDVNetFp7YJcZLFEeNR-gXlZWARs4nlJJgyjGBBnsC0k-v5Z1-ujctVrY27H70rt7g61cwO45BTnZ3Q3Pi_3rOVQaUzksgbEYfEBXhXvjmWWcEUW1tYUfe0h-CT3daWPEDrx/s1600/20121212_151102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5Mj5ekvckGDVNetFp7YJcZLFEeNR-gXlZWARs4nlJJgyjGBBnsC0k-v5Z1-ujctVrY27H70rt7g61cwO45BTnZ3Q3Pi_3rOVQaUzksgbEYfEBXhXvjmWWcEUW1tYUfe0h-CT3daWPEDrx/s400/20121212_151102.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUQUaPgf03DN4asLx1qxsyyKWYvgWNCuDlXnWvj-V_iQ1bog-iG8bpk7vg79bi0Fh5dM_moIQsrsrgE6hmmOX5J9LKrD7E42FKecKvMzNvRO6si_JS9RgOcydT9pNqb5Ytp-19bfH0k3T/s1600/20121212_150911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmUQUaPgf03DN4asLx1qxsyyKWYvgWNCuDlXnWvj-V_iQ1bog-iG8bpk7vg79bi0Fh5dM_moIQsrsrgE6hmmOX5J9LKrD7E42FKecKvMzNvRO6si_JS9RgOcydT9pNqb5Ytp-19bfH0k3T/s400/20121212_150911.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivYbA6oPoWTYWlhB7wr3FmOJqLNujuiOahW3n3j7gn94oZ6M1VD63dmCuxEBL2rp_N1wa1UyDYmIQArCp-nH_voJ0MWMnPR2nCtOAE4B3ouMFp5FqKxSOhlnphJyZ0NFSfsDbBoOwbGJ8V/s1600/20121212_150943.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivYbA6oPoWTYWlhB7wr3FmOJqLNujuiOahW3n3j7gn94oZ6M1VD63dmCuxEBL2rp_N1wa1UyDYmIQArCp-nH_voJ0MWMnPR2nCtOAE4B3ouMFp5FqKxSOhlnphJyZ0NFSfsDbBoOwbGJ8V/s400/20121212_150943.jpg" /> </a> </div><div class='separator' style='clear: both; text-align: center;'> <a href='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYoJRWlZfIFulRTZQ0OQsrPmRcEgwLoeCuzLmM5RijYxRBq4zNco5a2XdctW9hlVYGE5z31kVoaydzzz-h3thMyx1nbzHEYIovLHl8X8rqiMzMCpF8HHR4pqn5dFuzRM3_aoRmkxty9V1/s1600/20121217_083602.jpg' imageanchor='1' style='margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;'> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisYoJRWlZfIFulRTZQ0OQsrPmRcEgwLoeCuzLmM5RijYxRBq4zNco5a2XdctW9hlVYGE5z31kVoaydzzz-h3thMyx1nbzHEYIovLHl8X8rqiMzMCpF8HHR4pqn5dFuzRM3_aoRmkxty9V1/s400/20121217_083602.jpg" /> </a> </div>

Doors of Ranelagh

Christmas wreaths on the street where I live! Can you guess which is my door?!

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Mamma Chia

<div style="text-align: center;"><u><b>Mamma Chia Drinks</b></u></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I am never afraid to try a new product whether it's a drink or food. I came across these drinks at Whole Foods last night and bought some to try.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I love learning how products come up with their names. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Let me talk to you about Mamma Chia first.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">What is Mamma Chia?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Mamma Chia is a drink with chia seeds and organic fruit juices in it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Known fact that chia seeds were prominent in Aztec and Mayan diets in pre-Columbian times also a part of religious ceremonies. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Chia seeds is one of the healthiest whole foods around!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">These drinks are packed with nutrients, fiber, protein and calcium to keep you energized.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">So if you are looking to dump the usual energy drinks that are no good for you, try a Mamma Chia today!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">They come in a variety of flavors as well!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tvTgX_tomO5lcYUxzNq8KvxCa7WSuH3ydnMy2SV3FGETwd2XpRYGh0FzlAqYlQqhQdpTqDloUN2tApREkHLN7yoJTxErBCCAkznsmKKx3-zxpgOSUfLQ36Mc-T4mTmE-krbID30nSOE/s1600/Mamma+Chia+Coconut+mango.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0tvTgX_tomO5lcYUxzNq8KvxCa7WSuH3ydnMy2SV3FGETwd2XpRYGh0FzlAqYlQqhQdpTqDloUN2tApREkHLN7yoJTxErBCCAkznsmKKx3-zxpgOSUfLQ36Mc-T4mTmE-krbID30nSOE/s320/Mamma+Chia+Coconut+mango.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Coconut Mango- </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;">My first choice was the Coconut Mango to try because I am a huge fan of coconut products.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">When twisting the cap off it smells amazingly delicious.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I took my first sip and was amazed at how good it was.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">To me it has the texture of Bubble Tea, which I love!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The flavor wasn't too overpowering.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I love how they come in glass bottles, clever idea!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Interested in trying their products?<br /><br />Look them up here on these pages!<br /><br /><b>Raspberry Lemonade-</b><br /><b><br /></b>If you are looking for summer in a bottle then this is it!<br /><br />Loved how you could really taste the lemonade.<br /><br />This drink reminds me of the summer time because it also has Coconut water in it!<br /><br /><b>Guava-</b><br />Love this flavor!<br /><br />It's not too sweet.<br /><br />Made with pineapple juice concentrate, guava puree,lemon and lime juice.<br /><br />Great Guava taste and not strong at all.<br /><br />Such a refreshing drink.<br /><br /><br /><b>Websites-</b><br /><b><a href="http://www.mammachia.com/">Mamma Chia</a></b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MammaChia1?fref=ts">Face Book </a><br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MammaChia1">Twitter </a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>

Mamma Chia

Mamma Chia Drinks I am never afraid to try a new product whether it's a drink or food. I came across these drinks at Whole Foods last ni...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/12/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://blog.bufferapp.com/new-iphone">How to get the most out of the new Buffer iPhone app | The Buffer blog: productivity, life hacks, writing, user experience, customer happiness and business.The Buffer blog: productivity, life hacks, writing, user experience, customer happiness and busines</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">A refreshingly basic guide to the new buffer from the Bufferapp people. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/buffer">buffer</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/social">social</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/media">media</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/12/11/introverts-video-million-views/">'Power of Introverts' Video Is a Surprise Viral Hit</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">The new viral video doesn't show spunky, loud people showing out -- no, it is a non-native English speaker dubbed over a hand-drawn video about the Power of Introverts. With over a million views, this video is being shared and reshared. It is vital to value those of us who tend to be more introverted. This has definitely resonated. As quoted from Mashable, "Still, less than two weeks after its release, "The Power of Introverts" has racked up an impressive 1 million views on YouTube. Based on the book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain, the video is illustrated and narrated by Daniel Widfeldt Lomas, a Swedish-born former student at the New York Film Academy. It's the first in a series of videos that expounds on Cain's theories. (The second one just launched and can be found here.)"</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/introverts">introverts</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/video">video</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/viral">viral</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/12/11/the-apple-microsoft-spat-over-app-store-fees-could-shape-the-future-of-both-office-and-ipad/">The Apple-Microsoft spat over App Store fees could shape the future of both Office and iPad - The Next Web</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">In a huge turn of irony, at least if one considers how Bill Gates began his programming career, a spat over Office 365 coming to the ipad and Apple's desire to get 30% commissions for anyone signing up for the service if it originates on the ipad, may mean that office 365 won't come to the ipad at all. The evolution of the platform to tablet devices is critical to software companies and yet, many balk at the steep cut some like Apple take. It is interesting to watch, but there is a bigger issue here. Microsoft continues to have the best Office suite, but, as with Google Drive, many move because of a lack of ubiquity and collaborative ability driven by the walls erected by Microsoft in their traditional, but understandable proprietary system. I have to think that there are bigger issues at stake for Microsoft here. These are interesting times, to say the least, as I sit here watching Batman on my Apple TV streaming via the wifi and read this article on my ipad as I blog in the den using a bluetooth logitech keyboard. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/microsoft">microsoft</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apple">apple</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/blog/destress-for-success-christopher-pepper">Help Students De-Stress for Success | Edutopia</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Often schools are very good at adding stress to the lives of students, but do we teach kids how to handle stress? This article from edutopia talks about how to help students de-stress.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/stress">stress</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/health">health</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/health_teacher">health_teacher</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/12/11/twitter-photo-filters-hands-on/">Hands On With Twitter's New Photo Filters</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Twitter has new photo filters powered by Aviary (an incredible tool that you can add for free, the last time I checked, to your school's Google apps for education account) it is easy to use. This article from mashable covers the changes but wonders if it is enough to pull people away from Instagram, who pulled the "twitter cards' feature earlier this week as more social media organizations try to claim "mine mine" over their users and don't want to share. Meanwhile, those who benefit, tend to be those who share the most. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/twitter">twitter</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/photography">photography</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/social">social</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/media">media</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.ncwit.org/resources/ruthefarmer/k-12-packet">K-12 Packet | National Center for Women & Information Technology</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">Computer science is the innovation engine today, while right now most schools just ask students to use computers. This K12 resource pack from NCWIT (National Computing & Women in Technology) is a great set for all guidance counselors and curriculum coordinators to review to understand career tracks and advice to give students who want to move into the very important STEM fields. Base your facts on education not on describing the only person you know who ended up in computers. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/computer_science">computer_science</a></p> </li> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://marketingland.com/buffer-upgrades-web-iphone-app-with-new-look-features-28325">Buffer Upgrades Web & iPhone App With New Look, Features</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">If you're an educator and you want to manage a Twitter account and share with others, I highly recommend the Buffer app. This tool lets you schedule tweets when most people read (later in the day into the night) even if the only time you have to schedule tweets is early morning or late afternoon (like me). You can also tweak buffer with other apps.This article gives an outline to the updates that have just happened to the app. </p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/social">social</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/media">media</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/apps">apps</a></p> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 12/12/2012

How to get the most out of the new Buffer iPhone app | The Buffer blog: productivity, life hacks, writing, user ...

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The Great News: SchoolNet won the WCED tender to supply all schools with one tablet per school! The Scary News: to be delivered within a week!

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>submitted by janet Thomson CEO of SchoolNet</i><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SchoolNet SA was delighted to be awarded the WCED tender to supply every government school in the Western Cape with one tablet computer and to conduct training for WCED department officials. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The drawback however was that the deliveries had to be concluded within one week! Finding 1 527 schools on a map was going to be difficult enough let alone tracking down the principals in order for them to sign to verify delivery.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTqYf1N58xqZlCzUaCJ1BgXHKguU_MRSTG5pPCp9pziPyLLsOyTSV7ep17W6m_1jcxTN20X9SrwXz9o95i8y9nb6Djzy5rgDiCT29oH134XGzk52243Z7lBWaUWIcz_qNHDuKjE6CV68/s1600-h/clip_image002%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="clip_image002" border="0" height="184" hspace="12" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLG4SqHmUnP9XRcOnYuIXA3mC-Jv4umM3haXTliZgL0zOe6xxiVgNvU7yB4CKYv41dFLIgCGDl7_PuQMCVfNSBd38Z0zFwAYxsAYDXeeGugLktFLOb5J-MKAqy984CaiJQ9bK1biybQjM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image002" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donald Grant handing over a tablet</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nirvanen Moodle, the Managing Director of Softstart which is SchoolNet’s hardware partner, described the process as being “just like delivering credit cards”. Not surprisingly the process has had some hiccups, but the majority of devices were delivered within the deadline. The MEC for Education in the Western Cape, Donald Grant, was even able to make three of the deliveries himself. Here Donald Grant is seen handing over an Android tablet to Mrs Booi, Principal of Phandulwazi High School in Phillipi. Looking on is the District Manager for Phillipi, Ms Thandeka Jafta and Janet Thomson CEO of SchoolNet SA. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqyIpNuxLv7e3xtWe6YVbOixGBKk13E2odQoWzgWRgbtaf1pLFO6J1Jb0Z3acIwj_KtH5EhzxekKVkIcti5nCSxuHeFAMQHXYmcy2riHbnmm_exrAi_yizVlo_E0zBBD176yYzuHdhkEM/s1600-h/clip_image004%25255B3%25255D.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="clip_image004" border="0" height="152" hspace="12" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-Yd5McKc6mowUBMhLMeem-v3nxYZZCfUDdQpd8MlvVXoPID7Zo2gKfM8Rl4cIbI9nQhDck-CXePKmPkQyNOAHNiiXbXaYz0_mAbJvcLzQLx79TrCfkKVrtZTodVaXlexY4f-jQI4dS8/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="clip_image004" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Training of  WCED officials at Kuilsrivier</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SchoolNet SA’s core business is teacher training with a focus on improving learning through the effective use of technology in the classroom. It was logical therefore for SchoolNet to offer a higher level of training for schools than that specified in the terms of the tender. SchoolNet is currently developing a professional development course for teachers using tablet devices in the classroom. Fuel Online is partnering with SchoolNet on the digital design of the course which will use a blended model of delivery and have flexible choices of study from twelve modules about the effective use of tablets in education. The first training in this course for the Western Cape schools will commence in January 2013. Basic Training on the Tablet for WCED department officials has already taken place in Kuilsriver as can be seen in this photo. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SchoolNet is anticipating that there will be a great demand for this courseware as more teachers, schools and provinces recognise the value of using tablets, not only for improving communication between schools, districts and provincial officials but also for enhancing learning in the classroom. </span><br /></div>

news The Great News: SchoolNet won the WCED tender to supply all schools with one tablet per school! The Scary News: to be delivered within a week!

submitted by janet Thomson CEO of SchoolNet SchoolNet SA was delighted to be awarded the WCED tender to supply every government school in th...

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Turn That Frown Upside Down

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Cheers Chuckleheads…Matt-Man here.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDQSfFAfcJbrxTErojj0jQf0-Yp_m2CpvnDCMKQgCw9mR_SLHfl2MZiJ-1wY-vMOvf6_Z6dQvVO1at3lXMAkqCHLNGz3HaoXFFBFFrk4SKmQvY18xDykUZS2eSuvn74Io0lHGtr-tv1Y/s1600/Turn+that+Frown+Upside+Down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIDQSfFAfcJbrxTErojj0jQf0-Yp_m2CpvnDCMKQgCw9mR_SLHfl2MZiJ-1wY-vMOvf6_Z6dQvVO1at3lXMAkqCHLNGz3HaoXFFBFFrk4SKmQvY18xDykUZS2eSuvn74Io0lHGtr-tv1Y/s320/Turn+that+Frown+Upside+Down.jpg" width="320" /></a>Those of you who know me, know that of late, I have been a grumpy stump.  Mr. Crabby Appleton.   One pissed off muthha---Shut Your Mouth!!<br /><br />Concerns over Schmoop’s health, her upcoming 4-7 hour surgery, and our tenuous financial state of affairs, has recently caused me to become a bitter, angry, and worrisome middle-aged man.<br /><br />So…<br /><br />Today I am going to think positive, try to stem the tide of doom and gloom, and perk myself up by listing upon these revered pages of the IWS website, some things that make me happy.<br /><br />A longtime friend of mine asked me the other day if I still enjoyed baloney sandwiches topped with cottage cheese and Cheetos.  That brought a smile to my face because I love them!!<br /><br />And then I realized, due to my advanced state of gum disease and rapidly deteriorating teeth, I can no longer enjoy the cheesy crunch of Cheetos, nor bread if it is crusty, and the baloney?  It has to be sliced into small bits…so, well…I can still enjoy a bowl of cottage cheese, I guess.<br /><br />One of the goings on here in the Bagwine digs that makes feel all warm and happy, is that sometimes early in the morning, our cat Corky will hop on my chest and sleep on me while I am doing the same.  I like that a lot, or at least I did.<br /><br />The other morning at roughly 7:15 in the AM as I was comfortably slumbering with Corky resting upon my chest, I was awoken by a sound that can be described only as, <i>“Shizzzz-Pffft!!”</i>   Uh-huh, my cat had sneezed on me, and not a cute, gentle, little feline sneeze.  Noooooooo.<br /><br />It was as if Sarah Jessica Parker had been lying on my chest and blew a sneeze out her uber-ample sniffer which covered my face with every drip, drop, and lining of her equine-sized sinus cavity.  A Ding-Dang-Do. Oh well.<br /><br />Oh!!  Here ya go…this made me very happy.  Schmoop and her brother got a hotel room for Thursday night in Columbus which is only 3-5 minutes away from the hospital.  It’s nice to know that they won’t have to get up at 3 in the morning on Friday, and drive from Bagwine to Columbus in order to be there for her surgery check-in time of 5 AM.<br /><br />Of course, since her brother has the car and will be staying with her throughout the surgery and her 7-10 day recovery, that means that instead of walking back and forth to work for <b><i>7</i></b>-10 days, I’ll be walking back and forth to work for <i><b>8</b></i>-10 days.  WTF?<br /><br />It is nice to know that Schmoop and I beat the man and unemployment eventually took her word over her boss’.   Damn right!!  Unemployment finally approved her claim!!  Of course, she can’t receive any money until her Doctor clears her to look for a job, and that won’t be until mid-January at the earliest.  Uuch.<br /><br />Okay, okay…I gots one for you, and yes, this one makes me happy without any negativity.<br /><br />As I am typing this, I am bitching and whining to myself about having an extremely sore throat, and the fact that I am losing my voice.  Well, while greatly saddened about Schmoop, I should be grateful, that I, unlike Schmoop, am suffering from a minor medical malady.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtD8LInO4PeS5z-aGC1jRnMwFDVYgEO8_dbb3n4aQ02CUeC4miwuUzZeXctdkpN1kRQEDW8l93Vv3HcmTmofFWG1AbbPEWOVidHLpYqfV7XNW9jpgMqPAZnb8tieHdZMQG95Ui_ptU5Lw/s1600/Anatomy-of-the-larynx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtD8LInO4PeS5z-aGC1jRnMwFDVYgEO8_dbb3n4aQ02CUeC4miwuUzZeXctdkpN1kRQEDW8l93Vv3HcmTmofFWG1AbbPEWOVidHLpYqfV7XNW9jpgMqPAZnb8tieHdZMQG95Ui_ptU5Lw/s320/Anatomy-of-the-larynx.jpg" width="299" /></a>I am grateful and will be vastly more grateful if sometime Friday, I get a call at work from Schmoop’s brother telling me that the surgery went well and there is no cancer.  With soreness and raspiness of voice, I am going to laugh, cry, and celebrate in loud and jubilant song.<br /><br />Of course…<br /><br />After dropping a throat lozenge to ease the pain of my vocal outburst of joy, I will say to myself…<br /><br /><i>“I am so happy that my Schmoopie is cancer free, but this “sore throat” I have?  I bet it’s cancer of the larynx God Dammit!!”</i><br /><br />Man…this finding my happy place thing is going to take more effort.<br /><br /><i>Cheers!!</i><br /><br />Matt-Man<br /><br /><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com"><i>mattmaniws@ymail.com</i></a><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/MattMan_IWS" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: blue;">@MattMan_IWS</span></i></a></div>

Turn That Frown Upside Down

Cheers Chuckleheads…Matt-Man here. Those of you who know me, know that of late, I have been a grumpy stump.  Mr. Crabby Appleton.   One piss...

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USA, CHINA AND THE GULF STATES: WHO SHOULD BE DOING THE GEOPOLITICAL HEAVY LIFTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

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font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJqdI5Ajaah5TQ0DDRTjeDtBuouh85jJtKMp09LJmRdjiISHC23FSQ8njrzK75MCFZ3KnFQP5MRiRoIVkJOVX0w73Z1s4dYke6kurgxCJoAfK6Xy3A-lCEmwZmqPFtOdWihbO7DiE-5Tf/s1600/China_USA_tensions-300x250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzJqdI5Ajaah5TQ0DDRTjeDtBuouh85jJtKMp09LJmRdjiISHC23FSQ8njrzK75MCFZ3KnFQP5MRiRoIVkJOVX0w73Z1s4dYke6kurgxCJoAfK6Xy3A-lCEmwZmqPFtOdWihbO7DiE-5Tf/s400/China_USA_tensions-300x250.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">EXTERNAL SECURITY PROVISION IS STILL PROVIDED BY THE WEST, WHILE ECONOMIC PULL HAS SHIFTED TO THE EAST.</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Source: Oilprice By Matthew Hulbert </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">‘Stick or twist’ sums up the changes of political power in AMERICA and <a href="http://www.forbes.com/places/china/">CHINA</a> in November 2012. President Obama won another four year term in <a href="http://www.forbes.com/places/dc/washington/">Washington</a>, while <a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/xi-jinping/">Xi Jinping</a> assumed stewardship of CHINA. This intricate ‘CHIMERICAN’ relationship is fundamental to the global outlook anywhere you care to look, and nowhere more so than the MIDDLE EAST. External security provision is still provided by the West, while economic pull has shifted to the East. Sounds a simple division of labour, but the ‘roles’ actually become very mixed up once you take a closer look. Squaring this awkward ‘CHIMERICAN’ circle is going to be a tough task for GULF STATES to get right, but it’s absolutely critical to their geo-economic and geopolitical future to do so over the next four years.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">MIDDLE EAST: IS IT REALLY ALL ABOUT OIL AND GAS?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">From the U.S. perspective, the old mantra has always been that a threat to MIDDLE EAST oil supplies correlated to a direct threat to AMERICAN national security. This was explicitly spelt out in the 1980 Carter Doctrine that’s been the cornerstone of Washington’s role in the GULF ever since. But times are now rapidly changing, and doing so, precisely because the U.S. has seen enormous hydrocarbon production growth on home soil. The initial energy ‘revolution’ was in natural gas, making AMERICA the world’s largest single (651bcm) producer, and is now shifting towards liquids. U.S. oil production growth has been 500,000b/d over the past four years, with total liquids output expected to hit 11.4mb/d next year and onto 13-15mb/d towards 2020. That will make AMERICA the largest single liquids player in the world, surpassing even SAUDI production numbers, with the obvious upshot that Washington no longer sees MENA oil as the valued prize it once was. Whether you’re like the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/international/">International</a> Energy Agency and fully signed up to the ‘U.S. energy independence’ narrative or not doesn’t really matter: The Obama Administration believes it has sufficient ‘hydrocarbon’ space to pick and choose what it does or doesn’t decide to do to underwrite global energy supplies in future. That’s exactly what it’s going to do over the next four years.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Background Information</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: <b><span style="color: red;">T</span></b></span><b><span style="color: red; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">HE SECRET WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND THE US FOR AFRICA'S OIL RICHES</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/usa-china-and-africa.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com.ar/2012/12/usa-china-and-africa.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">LIBYA was the first warning shot where the U.S. took a back seat in ousting Colonel Ghaddafi in 2011, while in IRAN, AMERICA has deemed on-going nuclear containment as a higher political priority than oil market stability. Extreme SYRIAN instability sits uncomfortably somewhere in between. In a new age of AMERICAN priorities, securing global oil supplies no longer axiomatically tops of the list, in what’s been coined the ‘KUWAIT Question’</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE CORE THREAT TO GULF STATE STABILITY IN THE COMING YEARS IS THE PROSPECT OF FALLING OIL PRICES</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">AMERICA steps in to shore up a major oil producer in the region if things go wrong? The answer is not just highly uncertain, but extremely pertinent when we consider the core threat to GULF STATE stability in the coming years is the prospect of falling oil prices. And you’ve guessed it; <b>the main ‘supply side shock’ traditional producers face, comes directly from AMERICAN liquids supply growth creating downwards pressures</b>. Look at it like that, and Washington’s position comes full circle in the GULF. It’s still paying billions of dollars on external security to maintain open sea lanes from the MIDDLE EAST, only to see OPEC states internally implode under the weight of (U.S. inspired) lower oil prices. Contradictory stuff, at best.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CHIMERICAN CONTRADICTIONS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Yet the ‘contradictions’ run far deeper when you bring US-CHINESE relations into the equation, and does so on two strategic levels. First, AMERICA is busy strengthening its military presence in SOUTH ASIA and AUSTRALASIA in what’s been coined an AMERICAN ‘pivot’ as a direct affront to growing CHINESE regional interests in the SOUTH PACIFIC / SOUTH CHINA SEA. The GULF is merely the secondary line of naval defense that Washington holds over Beijing, and one that gives AMERICA a useful bargaining chip to exact political concessions in CHINA’S backyard. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">EVERYONE KNOWS AMERICA HASN’T NEEDED MIDDLE EAST OIL FOR YEARS; IT NOW IMPORTS LESS THAN 12% OF ITS OIL FROM THE SAND</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But its position on the map still makes the MIDDLE EAST an important geopolitical asset for the State Department to maintain. Stay planted in the GULF, and AMERICA can make its presence felt more acutely in ASIA-PACIFIC and EURASIA. What was once a game of oil has turned into one of power for Washington.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE ONLY REASON AMERICA CAN MAINTAIN A STRONG PRESENCE IN THE GULF IS THANKS TO CHINESE PURCHASE OF U.S. DEBT</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Dnd3KlyHffqh15Di0dDAsCRl8GV9YzlDaQi5khXlJAAYertwdBZvvR3VdKeYPv82McMSU_VR_uM1W0oyk6-DxSDhigcbX-Gl15Omyg7qQqX_fk_Xj8la12mEYJQ8gNHva2I1OBYiZnDb/s1600/mideasyofchina1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Dnd3KlyHffqh15Di0dDAsCRl8GV9YzlDaQi5khXlJAAYertwdBZvvR3VdKeYPv82McMSU_VR_uM1W0oyk6-DxSDhigcbX-Gl15Omyg7qQqX_fk_Xj8la12mEYJQ8gNHva2I1OBYiZnDb/s400/mideasyofchina1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></b>That raises our second, deeply ironic strategic factor: The only reason AMERICA can maintain this position in the GULF is thanks to CHINESE purchase of U.S. debt. In geo-economic terms, CHINA holds the aces. It’s entirely Beijing’s call as to how long Washington plays an overlord regional role, letting AMERICA have its geostrategic cake and eat it. Outgoing President, Hu Jintao, was perfectly happy to keep a low profile, ‘free riding’ on the back of U.S. military muscle to quietly build up Beijing’s supply side links. MENA states account for more than half of CHINA’S 5.6mb/d total oil imports, and Hu wasn’t particularly picky about where he’s done business. KUWAIT, UAE, QATAR, YEMEN, OMAN are all on the list, as are SAUDI ARABIA, IRAQ and IRAN. But as the IRANIAN ‘supply option’ highlights, the lines are becoming increasingly blurred for CHINA between purely commercial relations and political imbroglios in the GULF. At some point Beijing needs to reconcile where its political preferences rest between the vast bulk of ARABIAN oil production and PERSIA’S predilection for proliferation. Just as Beijing needs to decide how engaged it’s going to be in regional political reform and how much maritime muscle it’s willing to invest in the region. The more CHINA plays a central economic role in the GULF, the more Beijing will be expected to take up some of the security slack. Regional players all know the U.S. can no longer be categorically relied on to cover their backs beyond conveniently sticking their finger in the Hormuz dyke. The ARAB flag will inexorably follow CHINA’S trade. Beijing needs to be ready.</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">HIDDEN DRAGON</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But that’s Xi Jinping’s entire problem. It’s not that CHINA has been throwing its weight around too much in the MIDDLE EAST, but that it still sees the Gulf largely in commercial terms. For all the hype around CHINA’S ‘String of Pearls’ strategy spanning from the PERSIAN GULF to the CHINESE mainland via the Strait of Hormuz to the Malacca Straits, this amounts to little more than a maritime insurance policy should the U.S. 5th fleet in Bahrain haul anchor too quickly, not a blueprint for ensuring global oil supplies. Internal dynamics across the GULF are no different. Sure, CHINA consumes a vast amount of GULF oil, but it remains highly unlikely to do any heavy lifting rebuilding states such as IRAQ, YEMEN or LIBYA beyond narrow confines of energy infrastructure. When you strip CHINESE external energy policy down to its essentials, you get three core aims. ‘Security of supply’, ‘diversity of supply’ and ‘reducing price risk exposure’ through equity deals. That doesn’t mean meddling in the internal affairs of producer states, nor does it mean dropping the façade of ‘business is business’ ‘politics is politics’ line. But it does mean keeping as many supply side options open for as long as possible, irrespective of the political costs. Xi isn’t about to change that formula anytime soon. Military bulk and political swagger in its own backyard is one thing, but CHINA will remain a consumer of geopolitical stability, not a provider when it comes to the ‘big, bad, energy world’.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CHINA'S INVESTMENT IN THE AMERICAS</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Obviously none of that sits particularly well for the MIDDLE EAST’S security posture, but where the picture turns particularly ugly, is that CHINA’S also working very hard to avoid structural dependency on MENA oil thanks to global unconventional gains elsewhere. Beijing is under no illusions that it needs OPEC to fill its incremental supply gaps in the years the come (the vast majority of oil demand growth is going to come from the MIC markets (MIDDLE EAST, INDIA & CHINA)), but one of its key hydrocarbon investment targets is the AMERICAS. Not just in VENEZUELA, ARGENTINA, ECUADOR, BRAZIL and BOLIVIA, but NORTH AMERICA as well, deep into CANADA and AMERICA. The economic rationale is simple; CHINA has no compunctions supporting NORTH AMERICAN supply growth, even to the point of investing in uneconomic fields, so long as it hedges CHINA’S upstream energy portfolio, and in the long term, continues to provide downward pressures on benchmark prices. Cynics could even argue that CHINA is looking to repeat the U.S. shale gas experience that’s made gas a perennial buyer’s market and apply it to oil. The true prize is shifting liquids from a price based game to one of volume, with AMERICA acting as the lightening rod. Achieve that, and Beijing has secured nothing short of an ‘import’ miracle: with supply dependency set to run at 80%, CHINA still gets to drive through its industrial revolution on the cheap, rewriting the rules of the energy game as they go. Play to Washington’s energy independence dreams, all while working towards CHINESE interests.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THE U.S. IS SLOWLY WINDING DOWN ITS POSITION IN MIDDLE EAST</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Obviously it remains to be seen how far that narrative will stick given rampant ASIA demand side growth, but if nothing else, it brings our ‘CHIMERICAN’ relationship full circle. The U.S. is slowly winding down its position in MIDDLE EAST on the back of AMERICAN liquid supply growth; investment for which will increasingly come from CHINA. The GULF is left holding the incremental oil baby, with Washington and Beijing not merely unwilling to underwrite security arrangements, but inadvertently working towards an oil market based on volumes, not price.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ENTROPIC FUTURE?</span></b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To say that would be a disappointing outcome for GULF STATES would be an understatement. Back in the real energy world where OPEC – and more specifically – GULF STATES, are fundamental to the functioning of world energy markets, it would be remarkably helpful if Mr. Obama and Xi Jinging sat down to work out who should be doing the geopolitical heavy lifting for what (and where) in the GULF. IRAQ massively reduced U.S. stock in the MIDDLE EAST, as much as LIBYA has raised serious questions over AMERICAN resolve. Put the AMERICAN ‘energy independence’ narrative into the mix, and it’s abundantly clear that vacuums need to be filled. Instead of fighting CHINA for geopolitical primacy in the ASIA-PACIFIC, AMERICA should be pro-actively bringing CHINA into the international security fold: A shared division of geopolitical labour in the MIDDLE EAST would be a perfect place to start given CHINA’S economic significance in the region. Beijing has to start filling inexorable AMERICAN gaps, not just with ongoing treasury purchases from the Fed, but with military hardware to boot.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">But leave this all to chance by playing narrower ‘CHIMERICAN’ games, and things are going to end very badly. Not just for GULF STATES struggling to maintain political stability in a lower price environment, but more explosive issues on IRAN where no common approach has been agreed. When the political powder kegs explode, it’s only then that markets will realise how crucial GULF STATES remain to balancing oil markets on a daily basis. Everything else will prove to be hot air; U.S. energy independence rhetoric won’t match supposed pricing power with market practice. Scorched earth. Scorched markets. Everyone loses out.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Despite the long odds, there could still be a final twist in the tale for the GULF here though. If Washington and Beijing end up passing the MIDDLE EAST buck in favour of their own perceived interests, as brutal as that might be for the region, once we finally enter a volumes based energy world thanks to U.S. supply growth, OPEC will almost certainly come out on-top. MIDDLE EAST oil vs. the U.S MID-WEST? The sand wins hands down in a utilitarian race to the ‘bottom of the barrel’, with OPEC not just reclaiming, but enhancing its share of global production to over 50% by 2030. That’s something that Mr. Obama and Xi Jinping would do very well to bear in mind in the years ahead. The MIDDLE EAST might be stuck between two hopeless ‘CHIMERICAN’ claimants right now, but writing the GULF off full stop, would be a very big mistake for the energy world indeed.</span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

USA, CHINA AND THE GULF STATES: WHO SHOULD BE DOING THE GEOPOLITICAL HEAVY LIFTING IN THE MIDDLE EAST?

EXTERNAL SECURITY PROVISION IS STILL PROVIDED BY THE WEST, WHILE ECONOMIC PULL HAS SHIFTED TO THE EAST. Source: Oilprice By Matthew Hulber...

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Today's archidose #639

Here are some photos of the <a href="http://www.tamuseum.com/">Tel Aviv Museum of Art</a> in Tel Aviv, Isreal, by <a href="http://www.pscohen.com/">Preston Scott Cohen Architects</a> (2011). Photographs are by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/">Pedro Kok</a>, who also shot some <a href="http://www.domusweb.it/en/video2/mediterranean-vortex/">videos of the building for domus</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/6892372862/" title="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel by Pedro Kok, on Flickr"><img alt="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel" height="423" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7118/6892372862_7f0f6dbaf0_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/6232770603/" title="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel by Pedro Kok, on Flickr"><img alt="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel" height="423" src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6211/6232770603_aa07617a98_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/7044546095/" title="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel by Pedro Kok, on Flickr"><img alt="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel" height="423" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5039/7044546095_e34e7d3b9b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/8247488772/" title="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel by Pedro Kok, on Flickr"><img alt="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8347/8247488772_3cc498f819_c.jpg" width="606" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kuk/8206513770/" title="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel by Pedro Kok, on Flickr"><img alt="Museu de Arte de Tel-Aviv, Israel" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8206513770_c1cb2a5480_c.jpg" width="606" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #639

Here are some photos of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Tel Aviv, Isreal, by Preston Scott Cohen Architects (2011). Photographs are by Pedro...

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