PASSIVITY photos on Flickr

11

C.M. Russell Museum, Great Falls Montana

Museum signage:

Keeoma

1898, oil on canvas

Between 1896 and 1899, Russell painted five images of reclining Indian maidens referred to collectively as the Keeoma series. In each, Russell pairs the exoticism of Native women with Orientalist motifs that emphasized lounging women, bright colors, and rich interiors popular with artists in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Like Keeoma here, Oriental women became ideal proxies for male fantasy because they existed outside Victorian-era sexual constraints and gendered roles, which demanded passivity, modesty, and motherhood of women.

by enilffo raeppa photography

12 34

[...] Being aware [...] at all times and of all things, but not being judgmental. passive perhaps is not the way or the only and main manner with which to approach life. There is a fine line bw passivity and contemplation/ acceptance. it is hard. . . bc we need to, as we've said before, to accept who we are. and we , to a certain extend , do accept it!, but when we are reminded by external sources of features that so well describe us, we still react confrontationally, especially if these reminders fail to feed the ego. this type of reaction only serves to neutralize all of what has been said before, and done so far.

wind water fire earth. which one is the supreme victor. or is it a compromise? you see the brutality and the passion, the destructive force of fire. it boils the water, which just sits there with a perverted smile. at the end, if present in copious amounts, it will extinguishing the fire. The wind gives them both power, feeds the fire and waltzes the water. Without him they both cease to be. The earth, is the mother of them all. Were it not to exist, the elements would be a parody of sorts, perhaps even irrelevant.

They / We, all depend on the platform of the earth as actors on the scene. It is an intricate pattern, just as our path towards liberation. We want to walk away from it all, but if we do, then whose scene will we be playing on?, and will we be satisfied with our soliloquy?

The War Memorial by Srimoy Bhattacharya

13 4

"Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism." :: Dorothy Thompson

Nihilism is our passivity* by incandescente boy

6

Nihilism is our passivity* by incandescente boy

3 3

by Traci Matlock

12 2

from the Passivity of the Experience to the Activity of the Game

If the social forms are in conformity with man’s highest goal and correspond to man’s deepest needs, why shouldn’t they be as good as, or better than, anything novel that the passage of time may bring forth? by Traditional Quotes and Symbols

4

Leaving aside any political overtones which the word may have, the conservative is someone who seeks to conserve. In order to say whether he is right or wrong, it should be enough to consider what it is he wishes to conserve. If the social forms he stands for—for it is always a case of social forms—are in conformity with man’s highest goal and correspond to man’s deepest needs, why shouldn’t they be as good as, or better than, anything novel that the passage of time may bring forth? To think in this way would be normal.

But the man of today no longer thinks normally. Even when he does not automatically despise the past and look to technical progress for humanity’s every good, he usually has a prejudice against any conservative attitude, because, consciously or unconsciously, he is influenced by the materialistic thesis that all “conserving” is inimical to constantly changing life and so leads to stagnation.

The state of need in which, today, every community that has not kept up with “progress” finds itself, seems to confirm this thesis; but it is overlooked that this is not so much an explanation as a stimulus for even further development. That all must change is a modern dogma that seeks to make man subject to itself; and it is eagerly proclaimed, even by people who consider themselves to be believing Christians, that man himself is in the grip of change; that not only such feeling and thinking as may be influenced by our surroundings are subject to change, but also man’s very being.

Man is said to be in the course of developing mentally and spiritually into a superman, and consequently, 20th century man is looked on as being a different creature from the man of earlier times. In all of this, one overlooks the truth, proclaimed by every religion, that man is man, and not merely an animal, because he has within him a spiritual center which is not subject to the flux of things.

Without this center, which is the source of man’s capacity to make judgements—and so may be called the spiritual organ that vehicles the sense of truth—we could not even recognize change in the surrounding world, for, as Aristotle said, those who declare everything, including truth, to be in a state of flux, contradict themselves: for, if everything is in flux, on what basis can they formulate a valid statement?

Is it necessary to say that the spiritual center of man is more than the psyche, subject as this is to instincts and impressions, and also more than rational thought? There is something in man that links him to the Eternal, and this is to be found precisely at the point where “the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9) touches the level of the psycho-physical faculties. If this immutable kernel in man cannot be directly grasped —anymore than can the dimensionless center of a circle— the approaches to it can nevertheless be known: they are like the radii which run towards the center of a circle. These approaches constitute the permanent element in every spiritual tradition and, as guidelines both for action and for those social forms that are directed towards the center, they constitute the real basis of every truly conservative attitude. For the wish to conserve certain social forms only has meaning—and the forms themselves can only last— if they depend on the timeless center of the human condition.

In a culture which, from its very foundations (thanks to its sacred origin), is directed towards the spiritual center and thereby towards the eternal, the question of the value, or otherwise of the conservative attitude, does not arise; the very word for it is lacking. In a Christian society, one is Christian, more or less consciously and deliberately, in an Islamic society one is Muslim, in a Buddhist society Buddhist, and so on; otherwise, one does not belong to the respective community and is not a part of it, but stands outside it or is secretly inimical to it.

Such a culture lives from a spiritual strength that puts its stamp on all forms from the highest downwards, and in doing this, it is truly creative; at the same time it has need of conservational forces, without which the forms would soon disappear. It suffices that such a society be more or less integral and homogeneous, for faith, loyalty to tradition, and a conserving or conservative attitude mirror one another like concentric circles.

The conservative attitude only becomes problematical when the order of society, as in the modern West, is no longer determined by the eternal; the question then arises, in any given case, which fragments or echoes of the erstwhile all-inclusive order are worth preserving.

In each condition of society (one condition now following the other in ever more rapid succession) the original prototypes are reflected in some way or other. Even if the earlier structure is destroyed, individual elements of it are still effective; a new equilibrium —however dislocated and uncertain— is established after every break with the past. Certain central values are irretrievably lost; others, more peripheral to the original plan, come to the fore. In order that these may not also be lost, it may be better to preserve the existing equilibrium than to risk all in an uncertain attempt to renew the whole.

As soon as this choice presents itself, the word “conservative” makes its appearance (in Europe, it first received currency at the time of the Napoleonic wars) and the term remains saddled with the dilemma inherent in the choice itself. Every conservative is immediately suspected of seeking only to preserve his social privileges, however small these may be. And in this process, the question as to whether the object to be preserved is worth preserving goes by default.

But why shouldn’t the personal advantage of this or that group coincide with what is right? And why shouldn’t particular social structures and duties be conducive to a certain intelligence?

That man seldom develops intelligence when the corresponding outward stimuli are lacking, is proved by the thinking of the average man of today: only very few—generally only those who in their youth experienced a fragment of the “old order”, or who chanced to visit a still traditional Oriental culture—can imagine how much happiness and inward peace a social order that is stratified according to natural vocations and spiritual functions can bring, not only to the ruling, but also to the laboring classes.

In no human society, however just it may be as a whole, are things perfect for every individual; but there is a sure proof as to whether an existing order does or does not offer happiness to the majority: this proof inheres in all those things which are made, not for some physical purpose, but with joy and devotion. A culture in which the arts are the exclusive preserve of a specially educated class (so that there is no longer any popular art or any universally understood artistic language) fails completely in this respect.

The outward reward of a profession is the profit which its practice may secure; but its inner reward is that it should remind man of what, by nature and from God, he is, and in this respect it is not always the most successful occupations that are the happiest. To till the earth, to pray for rain, to create something meaningful from raw material, to compensate the lack of some with the surplus of others, to rule, while being ready to sacrifice one’s life for the ruled, to teach for the sake of truth—these, amongst others, are the inwardly privileged occupations. It may be asked whether, as a result of “progress”, they have been increased or diminished.

Many today will say that man has been brought to his proper measure, when, as a worker, he stands in front of a machine. But the true measure of man is that he should pray and bless, struggle and rule, build and create, sow and reap, serve and obey—all these things pertain to man.

When certain urban elements today demand that the priest should divest himself of the signs of his office and live as far as possible like other men, this merely proves that these groups no longer know what man fundamentally is; to perceive man in the priest means to recognize that priestly dignity corresponds infinitely more to original human nature than does the role of the “ordinary” man.

Every theocentric culture knows a more or less explicit hierarchy of social classes or “castes”. This does not mean that it regards man as a mere part which finds its fulfillment only in the people as a whole; on the contrary, it means that human nature as such is far too rich for everyone at every moment to be able to realize all its various aspects. The perfect man is not the sum total, but the kernel or essence of all the various functions.

If hierarchically structured societies were able to maintain themselves for millennia, this was not because of the passivity of men or the might of the rulers, but because such a social order corresponded to human nature.

There is a widespread error to the effect that the naturally conservative class is the bourgeoisie, which originally was identified with the culture of the cities, in which all the revolutions of the last five hundred years originated. Admittedly the bourgeoisie, especially in the aftermath of the French revolution, has played a conservative role, and has occasionally assumed some aristocratic ideals — not, however, without exploiting them and gradually falsifying them. There have always been, amongst the bourgeoisie, conservatives on the basis of intelligence, but from the start they have been in the minority.

The peasant is generally conservative; he is so, as it were, from experience, for he knows —but how many still know it?— that the life of nature depends on the constant self-renewal of an equilibrium of innumerable mutually interconnected forces, and that one cannot alter any element of this equilibrium without dragging the whole along with it. Alter the course of a stream, and the flora of a whole area will be changed; eliminate an animal species, and another will be given immediate and overwhelming increase. The peasant does not believe that it will ever be possible to produce rain or shine at will.

It would be wrong to conclude from this that the conservative viewpoint is above all linked with sedentarism and man’s attachment to the soil, since it has been demonstrated that no human collectivity is more conservative than the nomads. In all his constant wandering, the nomad is intent on preserving his heritage of language and custom; he consciously resists the erosion of time, for to be conservative means not to be passive.

This is a fundamentally aristocratic characteristic; in this the nomad resembles the noble, or, more exactly, the nobility of warrior- caste origin necessarily has much in common with the nomad. At the same time, however, the experience of a nobility that has not been spoiled by court and city life, but is still close to the land, resembles that of the peasant, with the difference that it comprises much wider territorial and human relationships.

When the nobility, by heredity and education, is aware of the essential oneness of the powers of nature and the powers of the soul, it possesses a superiority that can hardly be acquired in any other way; and whoever is aware of a genuine superiority has the right to insist upon it, just as the master of any art has the right to prefer his own judgement to that of the unskilled.

It must be understood that the ascendancy of the aristocracy depends on both a natural and an ethical condition: the natural condition is that, within the same tribe or family, one can, in general terms, depend on the transmission by inheritance of certain qualities and capabilities; the ethical condition is expressed in the saying noblesse oblige: the higher the social rank —and its corresponding privilege— the greater the responsibility and the burden of duties; the lower the rank, the smaller the power and the fewer the duties, right down to the ethically unconcerned existence of passive people.

If things are not always perfect, this is not principally because of the natural condition of heredity, for this is sufficient to guarantee indefinitely the homogeneous nature of a “caste”; what is much more uncertain is the accomplishment of the ethical law that demands a just combination of freedom and duty. There is no social system that excludes the misuse of power; and if there were, it would not be human, since man can only be man if he simultaneously fulfills a natural and a spiritual law. The misuse of hereditary power therefore proves nothing against the law of nobility. On the contrary, the example alone of those few people, who, when deprived of hereditary privilege, did not therefore renounce their inherited responsibility, proves the ethical calling of the aristocracy.

When, in many countries, the aristocracy fell because of its own autocracy, this was not so much because it was autocratic towards the lower orders, but rather because it was autocratic towards the higher law of religion, which alone provided the aristocracy with its ethical basis, and moderated by mercy the right of the strong.

Since the fall, not merely of the hierarchic nature of society, but of almost all traditional forms, the consciously conservative man stands as it were in a vacuum. He stands alone in a world which, in its all opaque enslavement, boasts of being free, and, in all its crushing uniformity, boasts of being rich. It is screamed in his ears that humanity is continually developing upwards, that human nature, after developing for so and so many millions of years, has now undergone a decisive mutation, which will lead to its final victory over matter. The consciously conservative man stands alone amongst manifest drunks, is alone awake amongst sleep-walkers who take their dreams for reality.

From understanding and experience he knows that man, with all his passion for novelty, has remained fundamentally the same, for good or ill; the fundamental questions in human life have always remained the same; the answers to them have always been known, and, to the extent that they can be expressed in words, have been handed down from one generation to the next. The consciously conservative man is concerned with this inheritance.

Since nearly all traditional forms in life are now destroyed, it is seldom vouchsafed to him to engage in a wholly useful and meaningful activity. But every loss spells gain: the disappearance of forms calls for a trial and a discernment; and the confusion in the surrounding world is a summons to turn, by-passing all accidents, to the essential.

----

Titus Burckhardt: What is Conservatism?

gearhead by bob the builder of luv

10 6

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP2to9hP4Fc

"The first historical act is. . . the production of material life itself. This is indeed a historical act, a fundamental condition of all of history"

"Legal relations as well as form of state are to be grasped neither from themselves nor from the so-called general development of the human mind, but rather have their roots in the material conditions of life, the sum total of which Hegel . . . combines under the name of 'civil society.' . . . The anatomy of civil society is to be sought in political economy"

"The political, legal, philosophical, literary, and artistic development rests on the economic. But they all react upon one another and upon the economic base. It is not the case that the economic situation is the sole active cause and that everything else is merely a passive effect. There is, rather, a reciprocity within a field of economic necessity which in the last instance always asserts itself"

"In the social production which men carry on as they enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will; these relations of production correspond to a definite stage of development of their material powers of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society--the real foundation, on which legal and political superstructures arise and to which definite forms of social consciousness correspond. The mode of production of material life determines the general character of the social, political and spiritual processes of life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being determines their consciousness"

"According to the materialist conception of history, the ultimately determinant element in history is the production and reproduction of real life. . . . Hence if somebody twists this into saying that the economic element is the only determining one, he transforms that proposition into a meaningless, abstract and senseless phrase. The economic situation is the basis, but the various elements of the superstructure. . . also exercise their influence upon the course of the historical struggle and in many cases preponderate in determining their form"

"The ideas of the ruling class are, in every age, the ruling ideas: i.e., the class which is the dominant material force in society is at the same time its dominant intellectual force. The class which has the means of production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production"

[We go astray] "if . . . we detach the ideas of the ruling class from the ruling class itself and attribute to them an independent existence, if we confine ourselves to saying that in a particular age these or those ideas were dominant, without paying attention to the conditions of production and the producers of these ideas, and if we thus ignore the individuals and the world conditions which are the source of these ideas"

"The economic structure of capitalist society has grown out of the economic structure of feudal society. The dissolution of the latter sets free the elements of the former"

"No social order ever disappears before all the productive forces for which there is room in it have been developed; and new higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society"

"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"

"The separate individuals form a class only in so far as they have to carry on a common battle against another class; otherwise they are on hostile terms with each other as competitors"

[The major modern classes are] "the owners merely of labor-power, owners of capital, and landowners, whose respective sources of income are wages, profit and ground rent"

"The State is the form in which the individuals of a ruling class assert their common interests"

"Objectification is the practice of alienation. Just as man, so long as he is engrossed in religion, can only objectify his essence by an alien and fantastic being; so under the sway of egoistic need, he can only affirm himself and produce objects in practice by subordinating his products and his own activity to the domination of an alien entity, and by attributing to them the significance of an alien entity, namely money"

"The commodity form and the value relation between the products of labor which stamps them as commodities, have absolutely no connection with their physical properties and with the material relations arising there from. It is simply a definite relationship between men, that assumes in their eyes the fantastic form of a relations between things. To find an analogy, we must have recourse to the nebulous regions of the religious world. In that world the productions of the human brain appear as independent beings endowed with life, and entering into relation both with one another and with the human race. So it is in the world of commodities, with the products of men's hands. This I call the fetishism which attaches itself tot he products of labor, as soon as they are produced as commodities"

"Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of an unspiritual situation. It is the opium of the people"

" The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his "natural superiors", and has left no other nexus between people than naked self-interest, than callous "cash payment". It has drowned out the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedom -- Free Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation

"The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage laborers

"Money is the alienated essence of man's work and existence; the essence dominates him and he worships it"

"The state is the intermediary between men and human liberty. Just as Christ is the intermediary to whom man attributes all his own divinity and all his religious bonds, so the state is the intermediary to which man confides all his non divinity and human freedom"

"Religious alienation as such occurs only in the sphere of consciousness, in the inner life of man, but economic alienation is that of real life. . . . It therefore affects both aspects"

"The object produced by labor, its product, now stands opposed to it as an alien being, as a power independent of the producer. . . . The more the worker expends himself in work the more powerful becomes the world of objects which he creates in face of himself, the poorer he becomes in his inner life, and the less he belongs to himself"

"However, alienation appears not merely in the result but also in the process of production, within productive activity itself. . . . If the product of labor is alienation, production itself must be active alienation. . . . The alienation of the object of labor merely summarizes the alienation in the work activity itself"

"Work is external to the worker. . . . It is not part of his nature; consequently he does not fulfill himself in his work but denies himself. . . . The worker therefore feels himself at home only during his leisure time, whereas at work he feels homeless"

"This is the relationship of the worker to his own activity as something alien, not belonging to him, activity as suffering (passivity), strength as powerlessness, creation as emasculation, the personal physical and mental energy of the worker, his personal life. . . . as an activity which is directed against himself, independent of him and not belonging to him"

"What is true of man's relationship to his work, to the product of his work and to himself, is also true of his relationship to other men. . . . Each man is alienated from others . . .each of the others is likewise alienated from human life"

"The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and

has reduced the family relation into a mere money relation"

Follow the leaders by Isaac Cordal

13 1

This installation is part of my work for Beaufort04 (

Villa Le Chalutier, Bortierlaan 25.

De Panne, Belgium from 31/03 until 30/09/2012)

ISAAC CORDAL

Waiting for the Climate Change

The Spanish artist Isaac Cordal has been living and working for several years as a street artist in Brussels. By working on a small scale the artist creates an enormous freedom of movement for himself. He sometimes sets off with up to twenty sculptures in his rucksack, to spread them about in the area. For this he rarely uses sculptures that are more than 25 cm high. The underlying idea is that the town degenerates into decor for these little sculptures, and that they find protection behind, under and between the street furniture. Cordal is interested in the fact that the involvement is by nature temporary and that each passer-by can become an involuntary viewer. In his installations he often expresses a concern about our problematic relationship with nature in town and about the passivity and distressing lack of interest towards the hopeless state of the environment. This concern is also present in the installation Waiting for the Climate Change on the beach of De Panne. The small sculptures - as yet high and dry and with a buoy tied around their waist - are located on a pole, waiting for the consequences of global warming. They seem to be passively waiting for the sea to drag them away. Cordals installation in Villa Le Chalutier is a further elaboration on this theme.

More info: www.beaufort04.be

Available works: nonewenemies.bigcartel.com/

i wish can downhill this by Ariff Budiman Abdul Halim

11 20

I do not believe that a good photograph can be made without recognising that the landscape will always be more important than either you or the photograph you plan to make of it. Of course it has to be helped and supported by all the techniques of photography, but, when taking a photograph I know to be good, the sensation I always have is a modest one. It is an inner "ah", the knowledge that something is right. When this understanding is there, something strange happens to me. The heartbeat slows down, the whole metabolism seems to come down to the rate of the landscape itself, and the mind, almost as if coated with an emulsion itself, starts to soak up the meaning of the place. There is nothing casual about it. It is not a snatch.

Understanding grows as you allow the landscape to come into you. Passivity, not acquisition, is the key to this. A good photograph is a received photograph, an exchange between you and the landscape, in which - however unlikely this may seem - there is a dialogue between the two of you. It is simply courtesy to allow the landscape to speak. - Charlie Waite -

Grain elevators á la Becher. 16/26 by nancy brown

3 10

For Studio 26, Low graphic style

An overcast day in Greeley Colorado ... and a treasure trove of old and weathered grain elevators there!

- Naturally muted and grey colors with grey skies and weathered buildings. I left a hint of bland color in some of the photos

- Balanced and symmetrical allowing for the shape of each structure

- Cropped 8 x 10 instead of square because so many of the structures were tall and lent themselves to a vertical rectangular crop.

- Feeling of passivity; it being Sunday morning there was not activity and they are grain elevators

- Horizontal and vertical lines - some repetition in each photo

- 35 mm to 70 mm focal lengths depending on how far away I was standing

Pamphobeteus spec. platyomma Häutung einer männlichen Vogelspinne/ molting of a male tarantula by Thomas Pieper

11

Die Häutung ist für Spinnen, wie für alle anderen Arthropoden auch, eine äußerst sensible und Kraft raubende Phase im Leben. Sie sind während der Häutung bis zur anschließenden Aushärtung des neuen Exoskeletts schutzlos Fressfeinden ausgeliefert.

Bei großen Vogelspinnen kann der Häutungsvorgang bis zu 10 Stunden dauern und die anschließende Aushärtung 1 – 2 Wochen in Anspruch nehmen.

Die Häutung kündigt sich in der Regel durch eine zunehmende Passivität und Nahrungsverweigerung an. Beutetiere werden nicht mehr gefressen, sondern vertrieben. In dieser Zeit wird unter der alten Haut eine neue Cuticula angelegt, die noch stark gefaltet ist.

Vogelspinnen legen sich dann, wenn es an der Zeit ist, zum Häuten auf den Rücken. Die meisten Arten spinnen vorher Häutungsteppiche auf denen der Vorgang statt findet. Diese Art kleidet die Ränder des Teppichs noch zusätzlich mit Brennhaaren aus, die sie vom Hinterleib abstreift. Das bietet einen zusätzlichen Schutz.

Durch die Erhöhung des Hämolymphdruckes im Vorderkörper (die Hämolymphe ist das Spinnenblut) reißt er an Sollbruchstellen auf und trennt den „Vorderkörperdeckel“ (Carapax) vom Unterteil. Der Riss zieht sich seitlich weiter bis zu den Spinnwarzen des Hinterleibes. Der weichhäutige Hinterleib erscheint nun faltig.

Durch alternierende Bewegungen schieben sich nun langsam alle Extremitäten von den Kiefernklauen, über die Taster bis zu den Beinen aus der alten Haut heraus

Nach der Beendigung der Häutung bleibt die Spinne noch eine Weile auf den Rücken liegen und macht Gymnastik. Dadurch bleiben die Gelenkhäute geschmeidig und härten nicht aus.

Die adulten Männchen dieser Art sind ausgesprochen bunt gefärbt und haben eine Körperlänge von 4 – 5 cm. Die Weibchen sind deutlich größer, bis zu 9 cm Körperlänge (ohne Cheliceren) und einheitlich hell- bis dunkelbraun befärbt.

Weibliche Vogelspinnen können je nach Art und Gattung bis zu 25 Jahre und älter werden. Die Kerle haben nur eine geringe Halbwertszeit. Nach der Geschlechtsreife leben sie noch (je nach Art) ein halbes bis zu einem Jahr, selten länger.

English:

For spiders, as for all other arthropods, moulting is an extremely sensitive and powerful phase in life. During the moulting process until the new exoskeleton hardens, they are at the mercy of defenceless predators.

For large tarantulas, the moulting process can take up to 10 hours and the subsequent hardening takes 1-2 weeks.

The moulting is usually announced by increasing passivity and refusal to eat. Prey animals are no longer eaten, but driven out. During this time, a new cuticle is applied under the old skin, which is still strongly folded.

Tarantulas lie down on their backs when the time comes to skin them. Most species spin skin rugs on which the process takes place. This species additionally coats the edges of the carpet with burning hairs, which she wipes off from the abdomen. This provides additional protection.

By increasing the haemolymph pressure in the front part of the body (the haemolymph is the spider blood), it tears open at predetermined breaking points and separates the "front part of the body" (Carapax) from the lower part. The tear continues sideways to the spinal warts of the abdomen. The soft-skinned abdomen now appears wrinkled.

Through alternating movements, all extremities are now slowly sliding from the jaw claws to the palpebars and beyond the legs out of the old skin.

After the skinning has ended, the spider stays on its back for a while and does gymnastics. As a result, the joint membranes remain supple and do not harden.

The adult males of this species are markedly coloured and have a body length of 4 - 5 cm. The females are clearly larger, up to 9 cm body length (without chelicerene) and uniformly light to dark brown colored.

Depending on the species and genus, female tarantulas can grow up to 25 years and older. These guys only have a low half-life. After sexual maturity, they still live (depending on the species) half to one year, rarely longer.

Iron Pillar at Qutub Minar by Swaminathan

9 34

The interesting thing about the pillar is its not rusted for so many year .

The Delhi iron pillar is testimony to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian iron smiths in the extraction and processing of iron. The iron pillar at Delhi has attracted the attention of archaeologists and corrosion technologists as it has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years. The several theories which have been proposed to explain its superior corrosion resistance can be broadly classified into two categories: the environmental and the material theories. Proponents of the environmental theories state that the mild climate of Delhi is responsible for the corrosion resistance of the Delhi iron pillar. It is known that the relative humidity at Delhi does not exceed 70% for significant periods of time in the year, which therefore results in very mild corrosion of the pillar.

On the other hand, several investigators have stressed the importance of the material of construction as the primary cause for the pillar's corrosion resistance. The ideas proposed in this regard are the relatively pure composition of the iron used, presence of Phosphorus (P) and absence of Sulphur/Magnesium in the iron, its slag-enveloped metal grain structure, and passivity enhancement in the presence of slag particles.

Other theories to explain the corrosion resistance are also to be found in the literature like the mass metal effect, initial exposure to an alkaline and ammoniacal environment, residual stresses resulting from the surface finishing operation, freedom from sulphur contamination both in the metal and in the air, and surface coatings provided to the pillar after manufacture (barffing and slag coating) and during use (coating with clarified butter).

That the material of construction may be the important factor in determining the corrosion resistance of ancient Indian iron is attested by the presence of ancient massive iron objects located in areas where the relative humidity is high for significant periods in the year (for example, the iron beams in the Surya temple at Konarak in coastal Orissa and the iron pillar at Mookambika temple at Kollur situated in the Kodachadri Hills on the western coast). It is, therefore, obvious that the ancient Indians, especially from the time of the Guptas (300-500 AD), produced iron that was capable of withstanding corrosion. This is primarily due to the high P content of the iron produced during these times. The addition of P was intentional as iron produced during earlier times does not show the presence of P.

To understand the precise reason for the corrosion resistance of the Delhi iron pillar, we analysed the composition of the rust on a Gupta period corrosion resistant iron clamp and also the rust on the Delhi iron pillar. Archaeometallurgical studies form a small component of our research activities. It is clear that referring to the Delhi iron pillar as rust-less is misleading as the iron pillar derives its corrosion resistance from the passive surface film (i.e. rust) that forms on the surface. We undertook a detailed rust analysis using modern sophisticated characterization techniques like Mössbauer spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). We summarize below some of the exciting results of our study. The present study also provides valuable insight into the corrosion resistance of steels.

More details www.iitk.ac.in/infocell/Archive/dirnov1/iron_pillar.html

Varanda oscuro by Christian

8 2

Alfama / Lisboa

...

"The Art of Dreaming is difficult because it is an art of passivity, in which we focus our efforts on not to strive".

Fernando Pessoa...`The Book of Unrest´

Bob Woodward (after Watergate) by David

12

Home of:

Bob Woodward (Journalist, Author)

Located: 3027 Q Street NW

Robert Upshur "Bob" Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is one of the best-known journalists in the United States, thanks largely to his work in helping uncover the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation, in a historical partnership with Carl Bernstein, while working as a reporter for The Washington Post. He has written twelve best-selling nonfiction books and has twice contributed reporting to efforts that collectively earned the Post and its National Reporting staff a Pulitzer Prize.

Woodward was discharged from the Navy in August 1970. He had applied to several law schools, but had also applied for a job as a reporter for the Washington Post. Harry Rosenfeld, the paper's metropolitan editor, hired him on a two-week trial basis, a tryout that failed because of his complete lack of experience as a journalist. Still interested in becoming a reporter, he got a job with the Montgomery Sentinel. A year after his on-the-job training at the Sentinel, he left that paper and joined The Washington Post in August 1971.

Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein / Watergate

He and Carl Bernstein were assigned to investigate the June 17, 1972 burglary of the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in a Washington, D.C. office building called Watergate. Their work, under editor Ben Bradlee, led to the uncovering of a large number of political "dirty tricks" used by the Nixon re-election committee during his campaign for reelection. Their book about the scandal, All the President's Men, became a #1 best-seller and was later turned into a movie. The 1976 film, starring Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein, transformed the reporters into celebrities and inspired a wave of interest in investigative journalism. The book and movie also led to one of Washington D.C.'s most famous mysteries: the identity of Woodward's secret Watergate informant known as Deep Throat, a reference to the title of a popular pornographic movie at the time. Woodward said he would protect Deep Throat's identity until the man died or allowed his name to be revealed. For over 30 years, only Woodward, Bernstein, and a handful of others knew the informant's identity until he revealed himself to Vanity Fair magazine as former FBI Associate Director W. Mark Felt in May 2005. Woodward has confirmed his identity and published a book, titled The Secret Man, which detailed his relationship with Felt.

George W. Bush Administration

Woodward has spent the most time of any journalist with President George W. Bush, interviewing him four times for more than seven hours total. Woodward's most recent two books, Bush at War (2002) and Plan of Attack (2004), are detailed accounts of the Bush presidency, including the response to the September 11 terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Woodward is at work on another book about Bush's second administration.

In a series of articles published in January 2002, he and Dan Balz described the events at Camp David in the aftermath of September 11. In these articles, they mention the Worldwide Attack Matrix.

Woodward has been accused by some critics of being too close to the Bush administration, and some say his relationship with the current administration is in stark contrast to his investigative role in Watergate. Others disagree, however. In 2004 both the Bush campaign and the Kerry-Edwards campaign recommended his book Plan of Attack, and The New York Times said the book contained “convincing accounts of White House failures... presented alongside genial encounters with the president.”

Involvement in the Plame scandal

On November 14, 2005 Woodward gave a two-hour deposition to Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald. He testified that a senior administration official told him in June 2003 that Iraq war critic, Joe Wilson’s wife (later identified as Valerie Plame), worked for the CIA. Woodward therefore appears to have been the first reporter to learn about her employment from a government source. The deposition was reported in The Washington Post on November 16, 2005, and was the first time Woodward revealed publicly that he had any special knowledge about the case. Woodward testified the information was given to him in a “casual” and “offhand” manner, and said that he does not believe it was part of any coordinated effort to “out” Plame as a CIA employee.

Woodward said the revelation came at the end of a long, confidential background interview for his 2004 book Plan of Attack. He did not reveal the official’s disclosure at the time because it did not strike him as important. Later, he kept it to himself because it came as part of a confidential conversation with a source. He said he did not want to be subpoenaed by Fitzgerald, who by then was threatening journalists who did not reveal confidential sources with civil contempt.

Woodward said he testified after his source contacted Fitzgerald and requested Woodward to cooperate. However, the source did not agree to modify the confidentiality agreement to allow Woodward to identify the source publicly.

In his deposition, Woodward also said that he had conversations with Scooter Libby after the June 2003 conversation with his confidential administration source, and testified that it is possible that he might have asked Libby further questions about Joe Wilson’s wife before her employment at the CIA and her identity were publicly known.

Woodward’s revelation was controversial because he had not told his editor at the Post about the conversation for more than two years, and also because he had publicly criticized the investigation. He had referred to Fitzgerald as a “junkyard dog prosecutor” on Larry King’s television show, and said he believed that when “all of the facts come out in this case, it's going to be laughable because the consequences are not that great.". On another occasion, he said of the investigation that he thought there was “nothing to it,” and that Fitzgerald’s behavior had been “disgraceful.” In later interviews after his deposition, Woodward said he had meant by his “junkyard dog” comment to suggest colorfully that Fitzgerald was a tenacious prosecutor, and that the “disgraceful” comment concerned the tactic of putting journalists in prison to coerce them to reveal their confidential sources.

Woodward apologized to Leonard Downie, the editor of The Washington Post for not informing him earlier of the June 2003 conversation. News of his deposition sparked the latest round of debate about his status at the Post. One reporter described Woodward on an internal Post message board as the “800-pound elephant among us,” adding: “I admire the hell out of Bob, but this looks awful.”

Other professional activities

Woodward has continued to write books and report stories for The Washington Post, and serves as an assistant managing editor at the paper. He focuses on the presidency, intelligence, and Washington institutions such as the U.S. Supreme Court, The Pentagon, and the Federal Reserve. He has also written Wired, about the Hollywood drug culture and the death of comic John Belushi.

Awards and recognitions

Woodward has twice contributed to collective journalistic efforts that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In 1973, The Washington Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Though the Prize was awarded to the entire Post staff, the citation specifically named his and Bernstein's reporting on Watergate as exemplary work. In addition, Woodward was the lead reporter for the Post's articles on the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks that won the National Reporting Pulitzer in 2002. He also was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2003.

Woodward is widely regarded as one of the top reporters of the last half-century, and has earned trust and accolades from government officials and journalists of all political persuasions. In 2003, Al Hunt of The Wall Street Journal called Woodward "the most celebrated journalist of our age." The Weekly Standard called him "the best pure reporter of his generation, perhaps ever." In 2004, Bob Schieffer of CBS News said "Woodward has established himself as the best reporter of our time. He may be the best reporter of all time."

Style and commentary

In writing his books, Woodward collects detailed records, including interviews, documents, transcripts, and recordings. He then uses them to describe events as a story with an omniscient narrator, present tense and dialogue. His books read somewhat like fiction, and are often very visually descriptive.

While this style may have earned Woodward commercial success, many literary critics consider his prose awkward and his approach inappropriate for his subject matter. Nicholas von Hoffman complained that "the arrestingly irrelevant detail is [often] used" while Michael Massing thinks the books are "filled with long, at times tedious passages with no evident direction." Joan Didion said Woodward finds "[nothing] too insignificant for inclusion," including such details as shirts worn and food eaten in unimportant situations.

The narrative, reporting-driven style of Woodward's books also draws criticism for rarely making conclusions or passing judgment on the characters and actions that he recounts in such detail. Didion concluded that Woodward writes "books in which measurable cerebral activity is virtually absent," and finds the books marked by "a scrupulous passivity, an agreement to cover the story not as it is occurring but as it is presented, which is to say as it is manufactured."

Some of Woodward's critics accuse him of abandoning critical inquiry to maintain his access to high-profile political actors. Anthony Lewis called the style "a trade in which the great grant access in return for glory." and Christopher Hitchens has accused both Woodward and George F. Will of acting as "stenographer[s] to the rich and powerful."

Woodward has said that his books "really are self portraits, because I go to people and I say — I check them and I double check them but — but who are you? What are you doing? Where do you fit in? What did you say? What did you feel?" Critics complain that this style allows the biases and beliefs of his sources to steer the narrative and that those who talk to Woodward are painted more favorably than those who don't. The Brethren, for example, painted a picture of the Supreme Court based on the comments of its clerks; some believe that, as a result, the book suggests that the Supreme Court Justices do little of the actual work. Brad DeLong says that accounts of the evolution of Clinton's economic policy in Woodward's books The Agenda (presented from Clinton's point of view) and Maestro (presented from Alan Greenspan's) are so inconsistent that the reader will "collapse to the floor in helpless laughter".

Woodward's dual role as journalist and author has opened him up to occasional criticism for sitting on information for publication in a book, rather than presenting it sooner when it might affect the events at hand. In The Commanders (1991), for instance, he indicated that Colin Powell had opposed Operation Desert Storm, yet Woodward did not publish this information before Congress voted on a war resolution, when it may have made a difference. And in Veil, he indicates that former CIA Director William Casey personally knew of arms sales to the Contras, but he did not reveal this until after the Congressional investigation.

Woodward has also been accused of exaggeration and fabrication by other journalists, most notably regarding "Deep Throat", his famous Watergate informant. Before he was revealed to be W. Mark Felt, some contended that Deep Throat was a composite character based on more than one Watergate source. Martin Dardis, the chief investigator for the Dade County State Attorney, who in 1972 discovered that the money found on the Watergate burglars came from the Committee to Re-elect the President, has complained that All the President's Men misrepresented him. Woodward was also accused of fabricating his deathbed interview with Casey, as described in Veil; critics say the interview simply could not have taken place as written in the book. Finally, an investigation by the New York Review of Books found that Woodward fabricated a sensational story about Justice William J. Brennan in The Brethren, among other issues.

Despite these criticisms and challenges, Woodward has been praised as an authoritative and balanced journalist. The New York Times Book Review said in 2004 that "No reporter has more talent for getting Washington’s inside story and telling it cogently." The publication of a Woodward book, perhaps more than any other contemporary author's, is treated as a major political event that dominates national news for days.

Personal

Woodward was born in Geneva, Illinois to Alfred Woodward, a judge. He was brought up in nearby Wheaton. He now lives in the Georgetown section of Washington. He is married to Elsa Walsh, a writer for The New Yorker, and has two daughters, one with Elsa and one with his first wife.

Books

Woodward has co-authored or authored ten #1 national best-selling non-fiction books, more than any other contemporary American writer. They are:

All the President's Men (1974) about the Watergate scandal;

The Final Days (1976) about Nixon's resignation;

The Brethren (1979) about the Supreme Court in the Warren Burger years;

Wired (1984) on the death of John Belushi and the Hollywood drug culture;

Veil (1987) about the CIA's "secret wars" during the reign of William J. Casey;

The Commanders (1991) on The Pentagon, the first Bush administration and the Gulf War;

The Agenda (1994) about Bill Clinton's first term

Shadow (1999) on the legacy of Watergate and the scandals that faced later Presidential administrations;

Bush at War (2002) about the path to war with Afghanistan following September 11;

Plan of Attack (2004) about how and why President George W. Bush decided to go to war with Iraq.

Other books, which have also been best-sellers but not #1, are:

The Choice (1996) about Clinton's re-election bid

Maestro (2000) about Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan

The Secret Man (2005) about Mark Felt's disclosure, after more than thirty years, that he was Deep Throat. The book was written before Felt admitted his title, as he was sickly and Bob expected that someway or another, it would come out. Since he still had some finishing to do, the book was done 10 days after.

Newsweek has excerpted five of Woodward's books in cover stories; 60 Minutes has done segments on five; and three have been made into movies.

Pop Culture References

On The Simpsons episode Whacking Day in the fourth season, Bart reads a book called "The Truth About Whacking Day", written by Bob Woodward.

In the movie The Skulls, starring Joshua Jackson as Lucas McNamera, Lucas' best friend Will Beckford (played by Hill Harper) tries to compare himself to the great Bob Woodward while reading the publication of his column in the school newspaper. Will was subsequently killed for pursuing his journalistic curiosities.

In the movie Dick, which is about Watergate, Woodward is played by actor/comedian Will Ferrell. In the film Woodward and Carl Bernstein, are depicted as two petty, bickering, childish near-incompetents who are small-mindedly competitive with each other.

Quotes

"I called my father and said I'm not going to law school, but have this job at a newspaper he had never heard of. And my father said probably the severest thing he has ever said to me. He said, 'You're crazy.' So he didn't think it was a good idea."

"You won't achieve understanding of a person or an issue in a day. Take your time, dig, go back."

So What's Your Definition of "Keeping" a "Secret"? by Tom B.

10 18

Sarah and I just finished watching a Disney Vacation Club webcast (no, we aren't adding on, we just wanted the free lithograph they mail you if you watch it), and I have to say that while I love the experience of being DVC Owners, I think the marketing is becoming more and more disingenuous (possibly a byproduct of the poor economy--Disney can no longer retain its passivity compared to other pushy Timeshare sales practices? I don't know).

The things that I really found obnoxious were the supposed testimonies by current owners at the end. One, from a purported accountant, stated that after crunching the numbers, he determined DVC ownership was a financially savvy investment (not his exact words). Unless you are terrible at making investments, this is not the case. It's especially not the case if you purchase directly from Disney. The second testimonial was from a family claiming that, besides their house, their DVC ownership was their only asset that had appreciated in value. Unless they're living in some bizarro world, Timeshares do not appreciate in value; they are a diminishing asset. I know these comments are supposedly made by customers, but Disney is holding them out as true by including them in the webcast, and to me, they cross the line from mere puffery to a misrepresentation. I could easily see customers who fail to do their homework relying on statements such as those to make their purchase.

Obviously I understand that Disney wants to sell these units, and it has chosen to adopt a more aggressive strategy than in days past, but I still don't think it's necessary to be deceiving in the process. I certainly don't fault Disney for saying it's a "great incentive" to give me a 7-night cruise for four if I add on 200 points at $112/point, when I know I can head to the resale market and find a 200 point contract for $65/point, a difference of $9,400, which is far more than the cost of a 7-night cruise for 4... ;-P

modern christianity002 by bob the builder of luv

9 5

Bible Study ToolsBible VersionsNIVJohnJohn 6John 6:1-14

John 6:1-14

1 Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the miraculous signs he had performed on the sick. 3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish Passover Feast was near. 5 When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?" 6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Eight months' wages would not buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!" 8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 9 "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. 12 When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." 13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. 14 After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world."

feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-f acts/hunger-...

Hunger & Poverty Statistics

Although related, food insecurity and poverty are not the same. Unemployment rather than poverty is a stronger predictor of food insecurity.

Poverty [1]

In 2009, 43.6 million people (14.3 percent) were in poverty.

In 2009, 8.8 million (11.1% percent) families were in poverty.

In 2009, 24.7 million (12.9 percent) of people ages 18-64 were in poverty.

In 2009, 15.5 million (20.7 percent) children under the age of 18 were in poverty.

In 2009, 3.4 million (8.9 percent) seniors 65 and older were in poverty.

Food Insecurity and Very Low Food Security[2]

In 2010, 48.8 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32.6 million adults and 16.2 million children.

In 2010, 14.5 percent of households (17.2 million households) were food insecure.

In 2010, 5.4 percent of households (6.4 million households) experienced very low food security.

In 2010, households with children reported food insecurity at a significantly higher rate than those without children, 20.2 percent compared to 11.7 percent.

In 2010, households that had higher rates of food insecurity than the national average included households with children (20.2 percent), especially households with children headed by single women (35.1 percent) or single men (25.4 percent), Black non-Hispanic households (25.1 percent) and Hispanic households (26.2 percent).

In 2009, 8.0 percent of seniors living alone (925,000 households) were food insecure.

Food insecurity exists in every county in America, ranging from a low of 5 percent in Steele County, ND to a high of 38 percent in Wilcox County, AL.[3]

Nine states exhibited statistically significant higher household food insecurity rates than the U.S. national average 2008-2010:1

United States 14.6%

Mississippi 19.4%

Texas 18.8%

Arkansas 18.6%

Alabama 17.3%

Georgia 16.9%

Ohio 16.4%

Florida 16.1%

California 15.9%

North Carolina 15.7%

Use of Emergency Food Assistance and Federal Food Assistance Programs

In 2010, 4.8 percent of all U.S. households (5.6 million households) accessed emergency food from a food pantry one or more times.2

In 2010, 59.2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.2

Feeding America provides emergency food assistance to an estimated 37 million low-income people annually, a 46 percent increase from 25 million since Hunger in America 2010.[4]

Among members of Feeding America, 74 percent of pantries, 65 percent of kitchens, and 54 percent of shelters reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites

conagrafoodsfoundation.org/child-hunger/child -hunger-stat...

Child Hunger is a Major Issue in America

More than 16 million, or almost one in five, American children are at risk of hunger. Each child facing hunger potentially goes to bed hungry at some point in the year due to a lack of household resources to secure an adequate food supply.

In 40 states and Washington, D.C., 20 percent or more of the child population is living in food insecure households.

The District of Columbia (32.3%) and Oregon (29.2%) had the highest rates of children in households without consistent acces to food.

The top five states or districts with the highest rate of food insecure children are Arizona, Arkansas, Oregon, Texas and Washington, D.C.

For more information about where hunger in America lives, visit Feeding America’s Hunger Map

Food insecurity exists in 14.5 percent of all U.S. households:

35.1 percent of all single-mom households.

40.2 percent of all households at or below the poverty line.

When children are in school, they have access to breakfast and lunch through federal programs like the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program, but there is a significant gap in participation for programs that feed children when they are not in school.

During the 2009-2010 school year, 20 million children received free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program, but only 2.3 million children received meals during the summer months of 2009 through the Summer Food Service Program.

Only 14 percent of households with children served by Feeding America participate in the Summer Feeding Program.

Nearly 230,000 children participated in the BackPack™ Program in 2009, which fills the need over weekends and short breaks.

23,618 children participated in the Kids Cafes program in 2009, which feeds children afterschool.

Hunger Means Children Rely on Support from Food Banks

Hunger disproportionately affects children—nearly 40 percent of the people who turn to charities for hunger relief are children, although they represent only 25 percent of the U.S. population.

Households with children experience food insecurity at almost double the rate of households without children.

Nearly 1 in 5 children in this country is served by Feeding America, the nation’s largest network of food banks.

Nearly 14 million children are estimated to be served by Feeding America.

More than 3 million of those children are ages five and under – representing nearly 13 percent of all children under age five in the United States.

Feeding America clients with children in their households were often faced with the tough decision of providing food for their family and paying for other necessities. For example:

More than 35 percent had to choose between food and medical care.

Nearly 55 percent made trade-offs between food and utilities.

More than 46 percent had to choose between food and paying rent or the mortgage.

Children Also Rely on Federal Programs to Ensure Access to Nutritious Food

59.2 percent of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the three major Federal food assistance programs –Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly Food Stamp Program), The National School Lunch Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, in 2010.

31.2 million children participated in the National School Lunch Program each day during the school year through more than 101,000 schools and residential child care institutions; and 11 million students in more than 88,000 schools and residential childcare institutions received a free or reduced-price breakfast.

The Summer Food Service Program provided meals to 2.2 million children in summer 2009.

Consequences of Child Hunger

Preschool and school-age children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children with no hunger.

Moderate nutritional vulnerability, the kind often seen among children facing hunger in the United States, can hinder cognitive development and impair young children’s abilities over a lifetime.

Children who struggle with hunger face additional problems, such as:

Slower growth and inhibited brain development

More illnesses, including stomachaches, headaches, colds, ear infections and fatigue

Greater susceptibility to obesity and its harmful health consequences

Lower concentration and alertness in school

Lower academic achievement

Increased likelihood of developing psychosocial and behavioral issues, such as:

More aggressive behavior

Higher levels of hyperactivity, anxiety, and/or passivity

Greater need for mental health services

Less energy for social interactions

Unable to adapt as effectively to environmental stresses

Individuals who face hunger as a child struggle even after their childhood years:

They are not as well prepared physically, mentally, emotionally or socially to perform effectively in the contemporary workforce.

Collectively, they have lower levels of educational and technical skills which reduce the overall competitiveness of the workforce.

Chronic undernutrition can also lead to greater health care costs for not only families of children experiencing hunger, but for future employers of those individuals who faced hunger as a child.

Who have you help feed today? which programs do you want to see the feds cut to balance our budget this election season?

Pamphobeteus spec. platyomma Häutung einer männlichen Vogelspinne/ molting of a male tarantula by Thomas Pieper

9