#prince fallow. discuss.

[spireclangen]

Moon 6

[realcatalina]

Catherine of Aragon’s health-Part 2: Sweating Sickness

What exactly happened in late March 1502/April 1502 and was it Sweating Sickness which killed prince Arthur? And what exactly was Sweating Sickness? Let’s find out.

 In late March 1502, Catherine and Arthur both became sick.

Arthur never recovered, and died few days later on 2nd of April. But neither was seriously sick before. I know, I know, Dona Elvira and some others in Catherine’s household later claimed Arthur was very sick right at beginning of the marriage. But that was not the case-as far as i am concerned there are big reasons to doubt credibility of those claims. (I voiced my opinions about other reasons for not consumating in previous posts.)

Also Dona Elvira was in middle of fight with Henry VII over her wage when she said Arthur was impotent and she was overall deceitful person.

As possible cause of Arthur’s death many different diseases were discussed and even other possible reasons. Some more ridiculous than the others.

Poison- Pope Alexander and his son were poisoned in 1503. While son recovered, pope died. There’d certainly be reasons why somebody would wish to assasinate prince of Wales, and his wife could have been just colateral damage, due to sharing eviroment and food with him. This theory is not utterly outrageous, as de la Pole already fled England in 1501 and other logical step for him to get throne would be to get rid of Tudors.(One at the time.) We cannot rule this out as possibility, however royals had tasters, and nobody at time of Arthur’s death thought it was poisoning. Hence they found no signs which would make them suspicious of poison or they knew exactly what else killed him. However the notion that Henry VII killed his heir to get his widow(when he was married himself at the time) or that future Henry VIII(ten at the time) had his brother poisoned to become heir are utter bullshit.

Food poisoning-again they had tasters and food poisoning was known at the time. It also is way more likely to happen in summer than March.

Tuberculosis-doesn’t fit, because it is very lenghtly disease, takes weeks or months to kill person and their health slowly detoriates. Since Arthur died suddenly, everybody was surprised by it  and wasn’t seriously sick before, it is impossible. It’s solely due to false testimonies by Catherine’s household that this is being brought up(again and again), despite strong evidence against it.

Testicular cancer-is not contagious disease, such theory ignores that Catherine too became seriously sick. Utter nonsense.

Plague-while possible, it is unlikely because Arthur’s funeral was large, and with plague they tended to do very small funerals. Even for royalty.

Catherine after Arthur’s death was swiftly removed from Ludlow, despite being still very weak(and would continue to be for weeks that fallowed.)

Catherine’s parents were also relieved that she was removed from the unhealthy place-yet Ludlow at the time was fairly comfortable residence.

So could they mean that place was unhealthy because there was outbreak of disease? 

Most evidence points to it being a disease, including contemporary report:

[Arthur suffered from] the most pitiful disease and sickness that with so sore and great violence had battled and driven in the singular parts of him inward; that cruel and fervent enemy of nature, the deadly corruption, did utterly vanquish and overcome the pure and friendful blood, without all manner of physical help and remedy.

Translation: A violent course of disease has killed him, killed this pure, friendly prince, and there was nothing that people could do to help him.

So could it be the famous Sweating Sickness? Yes. It fits very much. Including that Catherine was removed fast. Of course her household didn’t wish to wait around to catch it, and it wasn’t as if they could just leave her there.

Yet at same time it wasn’t as extremely contagious as Plague(even back then they realised it), so that explains larger funeral.

But how could it be so feared, if it was less contagious? 

The answer lie in how Sweating Sickness acted. 

Up to this day we don’t know what the disease was, what was the cause, exactly how it spread and actually not even how it affected inner organs(nobody did autopsies). It doesn’t show up on bones either.

There is even not agreed date when it first appeared in England. Some say it came to England in 1485 with Henry VII’s troops. But lord Stanley initially excused himself from battle of Bosworth due to Sweating Sickness being in the era. Meaning at least he has seen it before and feared it. 

Now, it might be proof that Stanley had been in touch with Henry VII and might have even personally met him and seen what the disease can do.

Or disease already occured in England before.  If it was case and disease really originated in England, Henry VII’s troops having it would indicate Henry VII met some Englishmen before he embarked for England. We know he did, several English nobles joined his ranks. Besides how could Stanley excuse himself upon disease Richard never seen before? Seems to not fallow common sense.

But back to what the disease did.

I am no expert upon Sweating sickess, I found disertation work of Mr Edwin Del Wollert about Sweating Sickness, and I am taking a lot of details about this disease from his work. (if anybody is interested look it up) 

I had to google some words he used(as i didn’t understand half of those medical terms), so I updated his list for you

-the full list of symptoms include:

·         Sudden onset and violent course of disease

·         Sweating, great thirst and great weakness, including fainting

·         Fever, pains in limbs, head and belly

·         Rapid pulse, rapid breathing, quick heartbeat, flushing

·         Vomiting, bleeding and diarhea

·         Neurological symptoms-confusion, irritation, paranoia

·         Signs of organ failure-resulting in death.

Chills or cold shivers also happened ( likely as last stage of dehydration, signalling body is about to give up.)

Truly unpleasant way to go, and truly violent course of disease+ the sudden onset was why it was so feared(alongside death-rate). It struck often out of nowhere, but struck hard.

Many of those symptoms are signs of severe dehydration, and they occured even before strong sweating began(which was usually 2nd stage). As if person was cooking up from inside right from beginning. (Those are my observations not Mr Wollert’s.) 

If so, the recommended methods of treathing the sick of the time, had actually contributed to patients’ deaths.

Because they recomended to wrap them in warm clothing and not give them anything to drink. (Nor eat, but the drink part is more important here.). 

Which is exact oposite of how we recommend to treat severe dehydration, by giving person plenty of fluids and by keeping them cool.

That might have been why the disease was so deadly in England. 

Wrong treatment!

Idk if cooking of the organs could explain why Arthur’s stomach was collapsing inwards. If you cook meat, it shrinks a bit...so maybe his organs shrunk? But true to be told it could be something else disease did to his organs, creating same effect on outside. While yes, that can also happen during cancer, it would still be impossible for cancer to become contagious and for Arthur’s spouse to catch it. So I am standing behind my statement that it is utter nonsense. 

Mr Wollert also mentions that sweating crisis when person is very weak could last 3-14 days(not hours). I believe he is not saying that is how long one would be severely sick, but how long it took for symtoms to go away. 

(Though I can be mistaken.)

(With flu also you have several days where you feel really sick and then few days, when you’re still bit sick but don’t feel like dying-i believe he means this stage, and then if your disease was bad case, you can still feel weak even after this.)

However the disease could kill you as quickly as in couple of hours, or in just few days(which was case in Arthur.)

Another very important trait of Sweating Sickness was that you could get it more than once! Living through it, didn’t give you imunity to it!

Also, some people even after they survived could suffer long-term consequences. 

That thankfully wasn’t the case with Catherine. But after Arthur died Catherine spent weeks recovering. She probably wasn’t still well when Henry VII started to inquire if she was with child or not. Hence her not being to able to tell him outright, that there was no hope of a child. 

When she was well enough to join the court, negotiations for match with new prince of Wales have already started. 

I hope you have enjoyed it. Please be polite in comments or rebloging.

Update: As I said before people later testified stating Arthur was sick. Either that at beginning of marriage or upon coming to Ludlow he supposedly became sick.

Majority of these were former or current members of Catherine’s household or people who met them-claiming they heard them say something.

+ some English people also voiced something of the sort around same time.

Two problems I have with these reports:

A)They appeared during Great Matter. During that time, truth didn’t matter that much to either side. It’s time of half-truths, half-lies. 50% of truth and you don’t know which 50%. 

B)Some of these are not even from  primary source(person who was there), but secondary. They heard it from somebody. Or claim to heard it. 

Hearsay is not very credible! 

I am not sure because it has been long since I read up upon this stuff, but I vaguely recall that Catherine’s former physican was dead during Great Matter and instead of him testifying, somebody who met him testified instead. Hence that 2nd person could completely be making stuff up.

(But perhaps my recall is wrong. I am human I do mistakes.)

The primary person was dead already. And it gets misquoted, as if that person himself testified.

I’d  also very much caution against using Suffolk as credible source for Arthur being sick since February. Because credibility of Suffolk is imo 0. He was overall very immoral person and very ambitious. Look up his first marriages, and how he tried to make Margaret of Austria to marry him! How he swore to not marry Mary Rose, and then he did it anyway!

He was exact oposite of honourable and trust-worthy!

That he wouldn’t have reason to lie because he was king’s friend? 

He was married to King’s sister, younger sister true, but if King didn’t have a son and wasn’t allowed to remarry, then perhaps English lords could be persuaded to reject Margaret and her Scottish son, in favour of Suffolk and his wife!

He was certainly ambitious enough for me to believe he’d lie for the throne!

It could also be the case that Arthur caught something very minor during late winter 1502, and while still not 100% recovered, he was unfortunate enough to catch Sweating Sickness, which then killed him. And later people overexagerated his minor sickness to give their version of story more credibility.

Still I believe Queen Catherine was telling the truth. People around her just had tendency to embelish the story beyond recognition.

[yhwhrulz]

Worthy Brief - July 29, 2024

Understand Jerusalem!

Psalms 122:5-7 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces."

Last week, we discussed the significance of Jerusalem in the culmination of the age. Here we'll continue to scratch that surface. The word "Jerusalem" is so rich with meaning, a single devotion will only begin to unpack it, there are so many etymological approaches. But most agree that the root letters at the end, שלם (shalem) spell a Hebrew word requiring numerous English words to fully comprehend including, "perfect", "complete", "sound", "whole", "harmony", "peace", etc. In addition, the concept of payment is present, as לשלם (leshalem), "to pay", also suggests "reward".

There are two options of meaning for the letters at the beginning of the name, Yerushalayim, "ירה" (yara, with the letter "hey" ה at the end), means "to throw, cast, or shoot; to cause (cast) a particular effect or result by means of many small elements or impulses", (e.g. arrows, words, instructions, rain drops, etc.)". From this we infer that Jerusalem is a place where peace, wholeness, fulfillment and completion (shalom), are cast or released (yara) through a patient, repetitive process of instruction, a softening produced by a "rainfall" of God's word, or a piercing of sin and ignorance by "arrows" (of truth), etc. These processes describe the spiritual history and unique identity of Jerusalem, a central place of God's self revelation. Also this name testifies that the first appearance of the Prince of Peace (Sar Shalom) there, was preceded by an extended process of patient and repeated prophetic revelation cast over centuries.

An alternative root beginning the name "Yerushalayim", ירא (yara' with "aleph", (א) instead of "hey" (ה), means "to revere", "to give heed", "to be in awe", or "to fear". In this case the name "Jerusalem" carries an exhortation to heed, revere, or be in awe of, (yara) perfection, wholeness, and peace, (shalom) and therefore, God Himself, who is the Author of all these. Both of these beginning roots express true characteristics of the "Holy City".

Additionally, within "Yerushalayim", we find the Hebrew word “Yerusha", meaning "inheritance", the legal transfer of property across generations. This makes reference to the verses above concerning judgment and prosperity. In Jerusalem there are thrones of judgment set in the house of David; [Ps. 122:5]. Here we see a prophetic reference to the judgment seat of Christ, David's royal successor, Yeshua (Jesus). At His throne all the works of men will be judged, assessed and rewarded with an inheritance in the age to come; [Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10]. Yerushalayim thus holds a promise for prospering, as believers who, understanding its significance, serve faithfully, and endure to become co-heirs with Messiah and reign with Him; [Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:12 ]. Finally, "May they prosper who love you", [verse 6], reaffirms the prosperous reward for all who love and appreciate YHVH's Holy City and its purpose in history and eternity.

So much of the Gospel message of Messiah is found in the name of the city where it happened, Jerusalem. Here, the raindrops, the water of God's Word, repeatedly and patiently fell onto both the fertile and fallow soil of men's hearts. Here YHVH's prophetic "arrows" repeatedly pierced both the tender and hardened hearts of men, in the hope of repentance for acceptance in God's Kingdom. Here, the awesome nature of God Himself was revealed in His Word and Personal Image, Yeshua the Messiah. Finally, in Yerushalayim, perfect redemption and peace with humankind were fulfilled and completed by the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Yet, before this took place Yeshua gave a final word to His beloved Jerusalem; "You shall see me no more until you say, 'Baruch haba b'shem Adonai', ('Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD') [Matthew 23:37-39], a most serious word of warning and hope in light of His rejection by Israel. In this light, praying for the peace of Jerusalem takes on a dimension of significance which includes Israel's final redemption and acceptance of their Messiah, and becomes a "last days" participation in the Lord's eternal purposes, with the expectation of rejoicing with Him for Israel's salvation and the fulfillment of Jerusalem's eternal destiny.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Missouri) (North Carolina)

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. - https://t.me/worthywatch/ Be sure to check it out!

Editor's Note: We are planning our summer Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information. Around the World

[xserpx]

Why isn't there more Ardee: she was left in Adua when West went to fight up North. West told Glokta to look after her, but Glokta got sent to Dagoska, so for a time there was no POV in Adua to see Ardee. Ardee then gets robbed by a guy called Fallow, but when Glokta gets back he manages to - ahem - persuade Fallow to give the stuff back.

What happened with Threetrees: He got killed by Fenris the Feared (Bethod's champion) in the fight with the Northmen.

When was the other prince (Raynault) killed?: His body is found in the chapter Questions, close to the end of the book. He was killed some time that night, as they discuss in the chapter.

Who is the lady with Glokta: Are you talking about Carlot dan Eider, the head of the Guild of Spicers? Or Practical Vitari? He spends some time with Ardee getting her house in order. There's also Shickel, who is a Gurkish slave he rescues in Dagoska and who turns out to be an Eater. I love all of these women tbh.

Why are Logen and Ferro mad at each other?: It's up for debate, but I think for Ferro it's mostly her reluctance to get too close with anyone due to her various traumas, and Logen's at a loose end wondering what to do next. I think they're both kind of frustrated with one another and themselves for being so terrible at love. The idea of settling down for either of them is a total pipe dream, and as the quest for the Seed comes to a disappointing close, they're filled with a sort of post-holiday blues where they know the time is up and that they have to go back to reality.

Who is Shivers?: He is Rattleneck's son. Logen murdered his brother pretty brutally several years back, when Shivers's brother was a prisoner but after Bethod had already planned to release him in exchange for peace with Rattleneck & his followers. Shivers has thus sworn vengeance against Logen for killing his brother.

What's the deal with Morovia?: He's the High Justice of the Union. He hates Glokta's boss, Arch Lector Sult. It was his idea to send Ladisla to the front, and he derided the idea that Glokta could defend Dagoska. Ladisla on campaign was a disaster, and Glokta managed to do a much better job than anticipated, so Marovia is pretty pissed right now.

Why am I not reading a straightforward romance between Ardee and Jezal?: Because in these books no one can ever have nice things for more than 5 minutes.

I managed to forget almost everything that happened in Before they are hanged :/ I checked and I finished it on the valentine's day, so no wonder really. I only remember that i love ardee and luthar, and logen, but absolutely no developments. Bummer.

[thefortyeightlawsofpower-blog]

LAW # 10 : INFECTION: AVOID THE UNHAPPY AND UNLUCKY

JUDGEMENT

You can die from someone else’s misery—emotional states are as infectious as diseases. You may feel you are helping the drowning man but you are only precipitating your own disaster. The unfortunate sometimes draw misfortune on themselves; they will also draw it on you. Associate with the happy and fortunate instead.

TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW

Born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1818, Marie Gilbert came to Paris in the 1840s to make her fortune as a dancer and performer. Taking the name Lola Montez (her mother was of distant Spanish descent), she claimed to be a flamenco dancer from Spain. By 1845 her career was languishing, and to survive she became a courtesan—quickly one of the more successful in Paris.

Only one man could salvage Lola’s dancing career: Alexandre Dujarier, owner of the newspaper with the largest circulation in France, and also the newspaper’s drama critic. She decided to woo and conquer him. Investigating his habits, she discovered that he went riding every morning. An excellent horsewoman herself, she rode out one morning and “accidentally” ran into him. Soon they were riding together every day. A few weeks later Lola moved into his apartment.

For a while the two were happy together. With Dujarier’s help, Lola began to revive her dancing career. Despite the risk to his social standing, Dujarier told friends he would marry her in the spring. (Lola had never told him that she had eloped at age nineteen with an Englishman, and was still legally married.) Although Dujarier was deeply in love, his life started to slide downhill.

His fortunes in business changed and influential friends began to avoid him. One night Dujarier was invited to a party, attended by some of the wealthiest young men in Paris. Lola wanted to go too but he would not allow it. They had their first quarrel, and Dujarier attended the party by himself. There, hopelessly drunk, he insulted an influential drama critic, Jean-Baptiste Rosemond de Beauvallon, perhaps because of something the critic had said about Lola. The following morning Beauvallon challenged him to a duel. Beauvallon was one of the best pistol shots in France. Dujarier tried to apologize, but the duel took place, and he was shot and killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most promising young men of Paris society. Devastated, Lola left Paris.

In 1846 Lola Montez found herself in Munich, where she decided to woo and conquer King Ludwig of Bavaria. The best way to Ludwig, she discovered, was through his aide-de-camp, Count Otto von Rechberg, a man with a fondness for pretty girls. One day when the count was breakfasting at an outdoor café, Lola rode by on her horse, was “accidentally” thrown from the saddle, and landed at Rechberg’s feet. The count rushed to help her and was enchanted. He promised to introduce her to Ludwig.

Rechberg arranged an audience with the king for Lola, but when she arrived in the anteroom, she could hear the king saying he was too busy to meet a favor-seeking stranger. Lola pushed aside the sentries and entered his room anyway. In the process, the front of her dress somehow got torn (perhaps by her, perhaps by one of the sentries), and to the astonishment of all, most especially the king, her bare breasts were brazenly exposed. Lola was granted her audience with Ludwig. Fifty-five hours later she made her debut on the Bavarian stage; the reviews were terrible, but that did not stop Ludwig from arranging more performances.

THE NUT AND THE CAMPANILE

A nut found itself carried by a crow to the top of a tall campanile, and by falling into a crevice succeeded in escaping its dread fate. It then besought the wall to shelter it, by appealing to it by the grace of God, and praising its height, and the beauty and noble tone of us bells. “Alas,” it went on, “as I have not been able to drop beneath the green branches of my old Father and to lie in the fallow earth covered by his fallen leaves, do you, at least, not abandon me. When I found myself in the beak of the cruel crow I made a vow, that if I escaped I would end my life in a little hole. ”

At these words, the wall, moved with compassion, was content to shelter the nut in the spot where it had fallen. Within a short time, the nut burst open: Its roots reached in between the crevices of the stones and began to push them apart; its shoots pressed up toward the sky. They soon rose above the building, and as the twisted roots grew thicker they began to thrust the walls apart and force the ancient stones from their old places. Then the wall, too late and in vain, bewailed the cause of its destruction, and in short time it fell in ruin.

LEONARDO DA VINCI. 1452-1519

Ludwig was, in his own words, “bewitched” by Lola. He started to appear in public with her on his arm, and then he bought and furnished an apartment for her on one of Munich’s most fashionable boulevards. Although he had been known as a miser, and was not given to flights of fancy, he started to shower Lola with gifts and to write poetry for her. Now his favored mistress, she catapulted to fame and fortune overnight.

Lola began to lose her sense of proportion. One day when she was out riding, an elderly man rode ahead of her, a bit too slowly for her liking. Unable to pass him, she began to slash him with her riding crop. On another occasion she took her dog, unleashed, out for a stroll. The dog attacked a passerby, but instead of helping the man get the dog away, she whipped him with the leash. Incidents like this infuriated the stolid citizens of Bavaria, but Ludwig stood by Lola and even had her naturalized as a Bavarian citizen. The king’s entourage tried to wake him to the dangers of the affair, but those who criticized Lola were summarily fired.

In his own time Simon Thomas was a great doctor. I remember that I happened to meet him one day at the home of a rich old consumptive: He told his patient when discussing ways to cure him that one means was to provide occasions for me to enjoy his company: He could then fix his eyes on the freshness of my countenance and his thoughts on the overflowing cheerfulness and vigor of my young manhood; by filling all his senses with the flower of my youth his condition might improve. He forgot to add that mine might get worse.

MONTAIGNE, 1533-1592

While Bavarians who had loved their king now outwardly disrespected him, Lola was made a countess, had a new palace built for herself, and began to dabble in politics, advising Ludwig on policy. She was the most powerful force in the kingdom. Her influence in the king’s cabinet continued to grow, and she treated the other ministers with disdain. As a result, riots broke out throughout the realm. A once peaceful land was virtually in the grip of civil war, and students everywhere were chanting, “Raus mit Lola!”

Many things are said to be infectious. Sleepiness can be infectious, and yawning as well. In large-scale strategy when the enemy is agitated and shows an inclination to rush, do not mind in the least. Make a show of complete calmness, and the enemy will be taken by this and will become relaxed. You infect their spirit. You can infect them with a carefree, drunk-like spirit, with boredom, or even weakness.

A BOOK OF FIVE RINGS, MIYAMOTO MUSASHI, SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

By February of 1848, Ludwig was finally unable to withstand the pressure. With great sadness he ordered Lola to leave Bavaria immediately. She left, but not until she was paid off. For the next five weeks the Bavarians’ wrath was turned against their formerly beloved king. In March of that year he was forced to abdicate.

Lola Montez moved to England. More than anything she needed respectability, and despite being married (she still had not arranged a divorce from the Englishman she had wed years before), she set her sights on George Trafford Heald, a promising young army officer who was the son of an influential barrister. Although he was ten years younger than Lola, and could have chosen a wife among the prettiest and wealthiest young girls of English society, Heald fell under her spell. They were married in 1849. Soon arrested on the charge of bigamy, she skipped bail, and she and Heald made their way to Spain. They quarreled horribly and on one occasion Lola slashed him with a knife. Finally, she drove him away. Returning to England, he found he had lost his position in the army. Ostracized from English society, he moved to Portugal, where he lived in poverty. After a few months his short life ended in a boating accident.

A few years later the man who published Lola Montez’s autobiography went bankrupt.

In 1853 Lola moved to California, where she met and married a man named Pat Hull. Their relationship was as stormy as all the others, and she left Hull for another man. He took to drink and fell into a deep depression that lasted until he died, four years later, still a relatively young man.

At the age of forty-one, Lola gave away her clothes and finery and turned to God. She toured America, lecturing on religious topics, dressed in white and wearing a halo-like white headgear. She died two years later, in 1861.

Regard no foolish man as cultured, though you may reckon a gifted man as wise; and esteem no ignorant abstainer a true ascetic. Do not consort with fools, especially those who consider themselves wise. And be not self-satisfied with your own ignorance. Let your intercourse be only with men of good repute: for it is by such association that men themselves attain to good repute. Do you not observe how sesame-oil is mingled with roses or violets and how, when it has been for some time in association with roses or violets, it ceases to he sesame-oil and is called oil of roses or oil of violets?

A MIRROR FOR PRINCES. KAI KAUS IBN ISKANDAR. ELEVENTH CENTURY

Interpretation

Lola Montez attracted men with her wiles, but her power over them went beyond the sexual. It was through the force of her character that she kept her lovers enthralled. Men were sucked into the maelstrom she churned up around her. They felt confused, upset, but the strength of the emotions she stirred also made them feel more alive.

As is often the case with infection, the problems would only arise over time. Lola’s inherent instability would begin to get under her lovers’ skin. They would find themselves drawn into her problems, but their emotional attachment to her would make them want to help her. This was the crucial point of the disease—for Lola Montez could not be helped. Her problems were too deep. Once the lover identified with them, he was lost. He would find himself embroiled in quarrels. The infection would spread to his family and friends, or, in the case of Ludwig, to an entire nation. The only solution would be to cut her off, or suffer an eventual collapse.

The infecting-character type is not restricted to women; it has nothing to do with gender. It stems from an inward instability that radiates outward, drawing disaster upon itself. There is almost a desire to destroy and unsettle. You could spend a lifetime studying the pathology of infecting characters, but don’t waste your time—just learn the lesson. When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don’t argue, don’t try to help, don’t pass the person on to your friends, or you will become enmeshed. Flee the infector’s presence or suffer the consequences.

Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much.... I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius.... Such men as he be never at heart’s ease whiles they behold a greater than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.

Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare. 1564-1616

KEYS TO POWER

Those misfortunates among us who have been brought down by circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive actions and unsettling effect on others. It would be a great thing if we could raise them up, change their patterns, but more often than not it is their patterns that end up getting inside and changing us. The reason is simple—humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time.

The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense. They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of their problems you have been infected by them.

Understand this: In the game of power, the people you associate with are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others. Never underestimate the dangers of infection.

There are many kinds of infector to be aware of, but one of the most insidious is the sufferer from chronic dissatisfaction. Cassius, the Roman conspirator against Julius Caesar, had the discontent that comes from deep envy. He simply could not endure the presence of anyone of greater talent. Probably because Caesar sensed the man’s interminable sourness, he passed him up for the position of first praetorship, and gave the position to Brutus instead. Cassius brooded and brooded, his hatred for Caesar becoming patliological. Brutus himself, a devoted republican, disliked Caesar’s dictatorship; had he had the patience to wait, he would have become the first man in Rome after Caesar’s death, and could have undone the evil that the leader had wrought. But Cassius infected him with his own rancor, bending his ear daily with tales of Caesar’s evil. He finally won Brutus over to the conspiracy. It was the beginning of a great tragedy. How many misfortunes could have been avoided had Brutus learned to fear the power of infection.

There is only one solution to infection: quarantine. But by the time you recognize the problem it is often too late. A Lola Montez overwhelms you with her forceful personality. Cassius intrigues you with his confiding nature and the depth of his feelings. How can you protect yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they give for their prob-Image: A Virus. Unseen, it lems. Infectors can be recognized by the misfortune they draw on them-enters your pores without selves, their turbulent past, their long line of broken relationships, their un-warning, spreading silently and stable careers, and the very force of their character, which sweeps you up slowly. Before you are aware of and makes you lose your reason. Be forewarned by these signs of an infec the infection, it is deep inside you. tor; learn to see the discontent in their eye. Most important of all, do not take pity. Do not enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged, but you will be unhinged.

The other side of infection is equally valid, and perhaps more readily understood: There are people who attract happiness to themselves by their good cheer, natural buoyancy, and intelligence. They are a source of pleasure, and you must associate with them to share in the prosperity they draw upon themselves.

This applies to more than good cheer and success: All positive qualities can infect us. Talleyrand had many strange and intimidating traits, but most agreed that he surpassed all Frenchmen in graciousness, aristocratic charm, and wit. Indeed he came from one of the oldest noble families in the country, and despite his belief in democracy and the French Republic, he retained his courtly manners. His contemporary Napoleon was in many ways the opposite—a peasant from Corsica, taciturn and ungracious, even violent.

There was no one Napoleon admired more than Talleyrand. He envied his minister’s way with people, his wit and his ability to charm women, and as best he could, he kept Talleyrand around him, hoping to soak up the culture he lacked. There is no doubt that Napoleon changed as his rule continued. Many of the rough edges were smoothed by his constant association with Talleyrand.

Use the positive side of this emotional osmosis to advantage. If, for example, you are miserly by nature, you will never go beyond a certain limit; only generous souls attain greatness. Associate with the generous, then, and they will infect you, opening up everything that is tight and restricted in you. If you are gloomy, gravitate to the cheerful. If you are prone to isolation, force yourself to befriend the gregarious. Never associate with those who share your defects—they will reinforce everything that holds you back. Only create associations with positive affinities. Make this a rule of life and you will benefit more than from all the therapy in the world.

Authority: Recognize the fortunate so that you may choose their company, and the unfortunate so that you may avoid them. Misfortune is usually the crime of folly, and among those who suffer from it there is no malady more contagious: Never open your door to the least of misfortunes, for, if you do, many others will follow in its train.... Do not die of another’s misery. (Baltasar Gracián, 1601-1658)

REVERSAL

This law admits of no reversal. Its application is universal. There is nothing to be gained by associating with those who infect you with their misery; there is only power and good fortune to be obtained by associating with the fortunate. Ignore this law at your peril.

[gracedman]

March 9 ~ The Breeding Ground of Marriage

Before we talk about anything else that God desires for our lives and for our marriages, we need to establish the overall concept and understanding that marriage is a breeding ground. Most people will immediately think of children and offspring. And as important as they can be, there is something far more important than that. I have in mind something that far surpasses, outlasts and outreaches physical children. Marriage is a breeding ground for mercy, forgiveness and grace. It is an environment where these qualities are planted, nourished and matured.

 I heard a wonderful message last night on these verses:

  Ecclesiastes 7:21–22 (ESV)

21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

 Love believes the best and ignores the rest. When we take our lives and minds and fill them with mercy, forgiveness and grace from God, it is easy to not be affected by things people say. I know people who have kept negative voicemails they have received from others and replayed them over and over again. As fallen creatures everyone of us has a problem with our mouths, we all have said things we later regret. Some more than others perhaps, but we all have thought things and cursed others. Solomon said "that many times you yourself have cursed others." But when we are focused upon breeding mercy, forgiveness and grace, we can't be bothered to invest our thoughts and words upon anything that doesn't line up with what will allow these divine blessings to truly grow and mature in our lives. Marriage is the perfect breeding ground for these godly characteristics.

 How quickly do you and I forgive and give mercy? In marriage, we will be given the opportunity to learn the blessing of being quick responders and fast dispensers of mercy, grace and forgiveness. Some are really great at it. Others are not so fast giving it out and others never ever get there. Marriage must have a constant supply of fresh mercies, forgiveness and grace. If it doesn't, it can wither and die.

 We have seen videos of various bird breeding colonies. Safe havens where vast numbers of birds flock together and raise young birds from eggs to maturity. When I watch these types of presentations, I think of what God wants to cultivate and bring to life and maturity in our marriages. Each colony faces certain challenges and problems. There are the challenges of feeding and caring for the young chicks. Then there are the problems of predators and the weather, etc. But these animals exercise tremendous care to ensure the survival of the hatchlings. Mercies, forgiveness and grace must be given the space and protection to grow in our lives. Marriage should be a breeding ground for such hatchlings in our hearts and lives. May I say it. Marriage doesn't do so well without them. The faster and more completely we can see we will see a grace momentum grow in our lives. Otherwise, we can be reduced to simply marking transgression. Several verses come to mind:

  Lamentations 3:22–26 (AV)

22 It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

  Psalm 130:3–6 (ESV)

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. 5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

 In the breeding ground of marriage, we should be waiting upon the Lord. For him to bring mercy, forgiveness and grace in fresh portions into our lives. More than any other expectation, we must be actively seeking God to nourish these small seeds from faint hopes into mature expressions of his life in our lives. We must focus on the divine processes and their growth and take no heed or take not to heart things said in anger, reaction and fear. Words said so quickly that become energized by the prince of the power of the air. By the time they hit our ears and hearts they have become fiery darts, aflame with deadly impact. They threaten to destroy, fragment and consume the breeding ground of marriage and stir up murderous intents instead. How Satan hates the marriage that is becoming a breeding ground for God. How he will try to destroy and turn its purpose to his designs instead. How we need to have the Lord as our portion for our souls and our marriages as a breeding ground for mercy, forgiveness and grace. If we don't we will be consumed. Our own reactive natures will eat us up. We will bite and devour one another.

 There is a verse that has been an indispensible tool for my life. It has helped me to relax before the Lord as an individual. It has kept me from consequences that I don't even want to discuss. I've been married for 37 years. My wife is a woman of high integrity and much grace. She loves me every day in an unconditional way. I love her to death. If we ever have had a problem, I'm most likely the one who is at fault. This verse has come countless times from heaven to break up the fallow ground and the unfruitful areas of my life:

  James 2:13 (ESV)

13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

 Simply put the word "triumphs" means to "have a cause for boasting because of advantage in power". Mercy is more powerful than judgment.

 Lord Jesus, help our marriages to be a breeding ground. A place where mercy grows. A place where forgiveness flourishes. A place where grace enter, abounds and reigns in our lives. A place where our capacity to love is transformed and lifted into everything yours has always been and will ever be. Amen!!!

[mirkwoodoutcastocrp]

Legolas met his fathers greeting with his own then once he was sternly told to leave the elves to tend to the strange woman. "Yes ada." Legolas fallows Azirafell and the king as they walk. Azirafell calmly removes the hood from her head exposing her long red hair and pointed ears. Picking a few webs from her hair she sighs and simply says. "I mean no trouble your highness. My name is Azirafell. I am Gandalf the whites apprentice and adopted daughter. I was cought in the storm last night in laketown. By morning I began feeling a strange magic coming from deep within this forest. It was a magic that caused an u ease within nature. I had to investigate. As I got closer to the source I found the strangely clad female human. She had been stung by the spider. Before today I had never seen her nor did I intend to intrude upon your kingdom. I apologise your highness." She bows respectfully as they stop in the kings throne room. Azirafell is covered in spider webs and spider guts and blood. Other elves give her plenty of room and look disgusted a bit. She herself grimaces as a bit of spider slime drips down her cleavage. Legolas snikers a bit seeing howhehimself is slightly covered in the stuff himself. "Father, may I suggest we discuss this elves intentions on intruding here after we are allowed to freshen up a bit. I believe we are both starting to smell like orks."

Azirafell looks at legolas as if she was insulted then catches a wiff of her cloaks smell and scrunches her nose a bit. "Oh how humiliating. My apologies your highness. I fear the prince is correct." She holds her cloak out a bit away from her body disgusted. She blushed slightly.

(Roleplay with @theswordfighterteacher )

Stranger out of time

Its mid day in early summer in Mirkwood when a storm pops up out of nowhere. All of Mirkwood and laketown take cover. Unknown to all the storm was happening at the exact same moment in the future. Suddenly an old abandoned magical ruin is struck by lightning at the same moment in past and present and causes a rip in time to appear. It sounds like a grate tree falling at the same time thunder strikes shaking the woods. Once the storm passes the rip shines like a mirror in the forest.

Azirafell spent the night in laketown hiding from the storm and when the storm passed she assists with some clean up and repairs before leaving to head for the forest of Mirkwood. Something strange pulled her towards it. A magical pull that she did not like. Azirafell finds herself quietly walking threw old spiderwebs hoping the spiders are gone.

Meanwhile in Mirkwood not much damage has been done so the king sends his son out to servant the damage to the forest itself. He takes a small group of warriors with him and they rush threw the trees surveying the fallen limbs on any of the traveling paths and any upturned trees that may expose there defences.

[mikemortgage]

As a Saudi prince rose, the Bin Laden business empire crumbled

JEDDAH/RIYADH — Soon after Prince Mohammed bin Salman became second in line to the throne of Saudi Arabia, he turned his sights to the sprawling empire of the Saudi Binladin Group.

In 2015, the prince, then 29, approached Bakr bin Laden, chairman of the family-owned construction giant, and told him he wanted to become a partner in the firm, according to six people briefed on the exchange.

The prince pitched his offer as a patriotic opportunity to help transform the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy. It would also, he said, ease the financial strain on the company as the government reined in infrastructure spending to cope with a drop in oil prices.

As head of the Saudi royal family’s favoured building contractor, Bakr bin Laden was accustomed to obliging royal requests. But he hesitated at the prince’s approach, these sources said. The construction mogul replied that he needed time to consult other family shareholders.

In the months that followed, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known by many simply as MbS, grew more powerful, rising to crown prince in June 2017. He championed economic reform and took aim at widespread corruption.

The Bin Ladens, in contrast, experienced a dramatic fall from grace.

Three Bin Laden brothers, senior executives in the family firm, were among more than 200 businessmen, royals and officials detained in November 2017 in an anti-corruption drive ordered by the prince. Bakr and two of his brothers, Saleh and Saad, eventually transferred their combined 36.2 per cent stake in the family firm to the state in April 2018. Bakr, in his late 60s, is still in custody, although no charges have been made public.

Reuters spoke to more than two dozen Saudi Binladin Group employees, family friends, government officials, bankers and businessmen to tell the story of the fall of the Bin Ladens. Few of the sources would go on the record, citing the Bin Ladens’ long-standing preference for privacy and restrictions on public criticism of the Saudi government. These sources charted the family’s reversal of fortune, starting with that 2015 exchange between Bakr and Prince Mohammed and ending with the state taking management control of the family firm.

The Bin Ladens’ undoing exposes the contradictions in Prince Mohammed’s plan to build a modern economy, some economists say. He has embraced privatization, hoping to inject dynamism, yet the state has intervened in firms such as Saudi Binladin Group. He has tackled corruption, yet there has been little transparency around the process. One Saudi businessman said the Bin Laden saga had become a “symbol of what’s happening between the government and the private sector — a breakdown of trust.”

Asked to comment, a senior government official said Prince Mohammed did not seek a stake in Saudi Binladin Group in 2015. The Saudi government, he added, had saved the company from collapse after it experienced financial difficulties “coupled with extensive supervisory and governance weakness.” Saudi Binladin Group was “a vital Saudi commercial entity,” he said. The Bin Laden family and its representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

New king, new rules

The Bin Laden clan has known trouble before: The black sheep of the family, Osama, masterminded the attacks on America of Sept. 11, 2001. But the Bin Ladens, led by Bakr, survived that storm. Their reckoning began with King Abdullah’s death in January 2015.

Saudi Binladin Group had grown from humble beginnings in 1931, nourished by the Bin Laden family’s good relations with successive rulers. Royal contracts were arranged informally, sometimes scribbled on paper over coffee.

“It was the ‘inshallah bukra’ [God willing, tomorrow] way of doing business, with a meeting that might have been scheduled for 11 a.m. in the office, rescheduled to 4 p.m. and then actually taking place at 2 a.m. at the palace,” said Thomas Fallows, an American banker who worked in Riyadh for eight years.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz

In the last months of King Abdullah’s life, oil prices tumbled to US$60 a barrel from above US$100 at their peak, slashing the kingdom’s revenues. By the time 79-year-old King Salman acceded to the throne, projects commissioned in the boom years were becoming a burden. These included a Riyadh financial district, an airport in Jeddah and an economic city on the Red Sea coast.

Salman quickly appointed Prince Mohammed, a previously little-known son, as deputy crown prince. Mohammed also took control of the kingdom’s important economic and defense portfolios.

As a teenager, Prince Mohammed had regularly attended meetings with his father, Riyadh’s governor at the time, but left little impression, said a former senior Western diplomat. But Salman saw in the boy qualities he prized, according to Saudi and Western sources. “Clever, rugged, understands the locals,” said one Western policy adviser. Other princes went abroad, but Prince Mohammed stayed in Saudi Arabia, earning a law degree and investing in the Riyadh stock market. By the time Salman became king, the young prince was sitting in on meetings with foreign officials and silently communicating with his father via iPad, the former Western diplomat said.

Reform-minded and ambitious, Prince Mohammed was keen to challenge the status quo. He introduced changes to streamline government, diversify the economy and cut costs, including slashing construction spending. One of the new government’s first moves in 2015 was to order a review of state contracts, with a focus on the big projects on which Saudi Binladin Group depended, said two sources.

Asked about the results of this review, the senior government official said, “The government is keen to review all projects, including those contracts that may have a suspicion of corruption or negligence in their sites.”

Prince Mohammed encouraged Saudi Binladin Group to sell shares in an initial public offering, according to seven sources familiar with the discussions, part of efforts to develop the kingdom’s capital markets. The Bin Ladens had previously shelved IPO plans begun in 2011, worried that they would not get a good price in a stock market battered by low oil prices, and put off by the red tape involved in a share issue. The family was reluctant to revive the idea in 2015, when market conditions were worse, these seven sources said.

Asked to comment, the senior government official denied that Prince Mohammed had promoted the idea that Saudi Binladin Group should sell shares in an IPO.

Muslim pilgrims at Mecca’s Grand Mosque in September 2015.

Then, in September 2015, a construction crane owned by Saudi Binladin Group collapsed in Mecca’s Grand Mosque, killing 107 people just before the start of Islam’s annual haj pilgrimage. The government moved against the company, suspending it from receiving new state contracts and barring its board members and senior executives from traveling abroad. It also ordered the Finance Ministry to review the firm’s existing projects, citing unspecified “shortcomings.”

A senior Saudi Binladin Group executive and a source close to the family said the crane accident gave the government an opening to act against the firm. The executive said Saudi Binladin Group wasn’t responsible for the site at the time — the work fell under the supervision of local authorities in Mecca. The senior government official disputed this, saying it was standard practice that the contractor supervised the site. A legal case over the incident was still pending, he added.

The Bin Laden family “took the slap on the hand and accepted it,” the executive said. “They would never speak out against the king or the crown prince. They are loyal servants.”

The family tried to limit the damage. Bakr sent a letter to brother Saleh formally handing him responsibility for the company, hoping that a change of management would placate the government, according to two people who saw the letter. But the plan didn’t work. As payments from the state dried up, Saudi Binladin Group’s finances deteriorated and it stopped paying tens of thousands of its workers, leading to riots. By mid-2016, much of the group’s construction work was stalled, including at projects essential to Prince Mohammed’s reform plans.

Again the Bin Ladens tried to defuse the situation. Saudi Binladin Group hired dozens of finance and management professionals from overseas, including former Morgan Stanley banker Klaus Froehlich as chief financial officer. Froehlich, who remains CFO, came armed with years of experience in Saudi deal making. He also had ties to Mohammed al-Jadaan, who would soon be appointed finance minister, two sources said. Al-Jadaan did not respond to a request for comment.

Creditors who had been struggling to reach Saudi Binladin Group during its crisis said communication improved after Froehlich arrived. Government payments started coming through again. Financial pressure eased. The company also put plans for a public stock offering back on the table, bowing to state pressure to “recycle” some of the money it had made over the decades back into the kingdom, according to six people familiar with the plans. It appeared that relations between the Bin Ladens and the government were on the mend.

But the detente would not last long. Saudi Arabia was careening toward a recession, and market conditions for a listing were worsening. To the government’s irritation, the stock offering plans stalled again because of this deteriorating environment. “The rulers and MbS saw [the Bin Ladens] as a leech sucking the lifeblood out of Saudi Arabia but offering nothing in return,” said one person who had worked on the company’s restructuring. “They ran out of patience.”

In June 2017, Prince Mohammed replaced his cousin, security chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, as heir apparent, further centralizing the levers of power. More than ever, Prince Mohammed was in a position to do something about the Bin Ladens.

Downfall

On the night of Nov. 4, 2017, Saudi authorities detained Bakr bin Laden in Jeddah along with more than 200 other members of the Saudi elite, in what officials said was a crackdown on corruption. Dozens of Bin Laden family members, including the brothers’ children, had their bank accounts frozen and were banned from traveling abroad, said associates of the family. Brothers who were abroad at the time were recalled to the kingdom.

For Bakr, it was the beginning of a detention that has lasted more than 10 months. Like many others, he was first held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. So were his brothers Saleh and Saad, fellow major shareholders. Other Bin Laden brothers — Omar, Ahmed, Mohammed, Abdullah and Yehya among them — were brought to the hotel for shorter periods, according to four family associates.

The Ritz-Carleton in Riyadh

The purge affected royals, ministers and business leaders. The Bin Laden family’s hometown of Jeddah, once the economic capital of Saudi Arabia, was particularly hard hit. Many of the city’s merchant families had maintained close relationships with previous kings; few of them were spared in the crackdown.

The government publicly has not said precisely why the Bin Ladens — or any of the other individuals caught up in the anti-corruption campaign — were detained. King Salman said at the time the purge was in response to “exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest, in order to, illicitly, accrue money.”

Two sources said the Bin Laden brothers received little attention in the hotel and were left alone in their rooms watching TV and eating room service. One family associate said a younger brother told him he was never informed why he was there, had no access to a lawyer and was barely visited by interrogators. Like others in the Ritz, they were made to keep the doors to their rooms open and a doctor came to check on them regularly. Authorities also employed a notary to facilitate the changing of power of attorney on assets. One brother described it bluntly to a friend upon his release: “It was a shitty experience.”

Asked to comment, the senior government official referred Reuters to statements issued at the time by the kingdom’s Attorney General. These statements said suspects had “the same rights and treatment as any other Saudi citizen.”

“Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and everyone’s legal rights will be preserved,” Attorney General Sheikh Saud Al Mojeb said on Nov. 5, 2017.

The Ritz was cleared of prisoners in late January but Bakr is still in detention in Riyadh, able to receive visits only from his immediate family members, according to five people familiar with the situation. Asked about Bakr’s whereabouts and the status of the investigation, the senior government official referred Reuters to the Attorney General. The Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment.

The other brothers are at home in Jeddah, but keeping a low profile. Saleh, the most gregarious, has returned to playing card games with friends, said one acquaintance. Stripped of many of his assets, including a palace in Jeddah bestowed by King Abdullah, he has been visiting banks to ask for help, according to one lender. “He’s putting a brave face on,” the lender said.

Authorities seized the title deeds to the homes of senior brothers, including Bakr’s villa overlooking the Red Sea, as part of settlements for their release, four sources said. The state also took private jets, cash, jewelry and Saad’s $90 million automobile collection, which included limited edition Ferraris and other rare Italian cars, said two sources. Bakr’s son Nawaf was relieved of every Maserati in his personal showroom.

Asked to comment, the senior government official referred Reuters to the Attorney General’s Office. It did not respond. In a statement at the time of the Ritz detentions, Attorney General Saud Al Mojeb estimated that corruption and embezzlement had cost Saudi Arabia at least $100 billion over several decades. In Dec. 2017, he said most detainees faced with corruption allegations had agreed to a “settlement,” involving assets including real estate, cash and securities.

The takeover

The core of the Bin Laden family’s settlement with the government involved the conglomerate itself.

On April 23, the government finalized the transfer of 36.2 per cent of the company, representing the shares held by Bakr, Saleh and Saad, to an entity called Istidama Holding Company, according to a Commerce Ministry document reviewed by Reuters. Two people who have dealt with Istidama said it was set up by the Ministry of Finance to park the proceeds of settlements agreed between the government and individuals detained in the corruption purge. The senior government official confirmed to Reuters that the Ministry of Finance owns Istidama. There are no public filings about Istidama because it is not a listed firm, and Reuters was unable to contact the company.

The government established a five-man committee to oversee the running of Saudi Binladin Group. Its members include Abdulrehman al-Harkan, a former chief executive of Riyadh-based developer Dar Al Arkan; Khaled Nahas, a board member of petrochemical producer Saudi Basic Industries Corp; and Khalid al-Khowaiter, chief financial officer at Advanced Electronics Company, a state-established technology firm. These government appointees are considered by many close to the company to be a front for the rulers. “The bottom line is that the government has taken over,” said one banker in Jeddah.

Harkan, Nahas and Khowaiter did not respond to requests for comment. The senior government official said the supervisory committee was “an independent committee that represents the interests of all partners.”

The remaining two-thirds of Saudi Binladin Group are still held by 15 younger Bin Laden brothers, according to the Commerce Ministry document. Two family representatives were appointed to the oversight committee — Yehya, who ran the back office, and Abdullah, a Harvard-educated lawyer who handled the conglomerate’s interests in the United States. Several sources interpreted their inclusion as a token gesture by the government. The brothers and their representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

The void left by the family’s diminished role was filled by Harkan, the developer, who reports to the royal court and to Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, according to the group executive. As chairman of the committee and the effective head of Saudi Binladin Group, Harkan was involved in securing an 11 billion riyal (US$3 billion) loan from the Ministry of Finance in April. He has also met with creditors, primarily local banks, to offer reassurances about the group’s future. Harkan told those present that the company was a “mess and hopelessly insolvent,” but that he had been appointed by King Salman to lead its turnaround, said one attendee. To the incredulity of some of those listening, Harkan also explained the brothers were “relieved to be absolved of their responsibilities.”

Despite those assurances, the company’s future remains uncertain. As Harkan has told creditors, plans drawn up after Froehlich was hired will be dusted off. The estimated 537 companies that make up the conglomerate, from construction to energy, will be broken up and the name of the company changed to distance it from the Bin Laden legacy.

Also at issue is money owed to Saudi Binladin Group. After the Ritz detentions, what one source described as an “army of accountants” began combing through the company’s books, trying to make sense of the government’s liabilities to the firm. A person close to the family gauged it at nearly US$40 billion. A company director estimated the amount was smaller. The senior government official said the government had no liabilities to the firm, but there were “some disputed payments among several government agencies that are being addressed.”

Life after the Bin Ladens

Saudi Binladin Group has 93 projects in hand and ties to 1,400 subcontractors, but most of its work is on hold. The company is focusing its efforts on delivering one massive project, commissioned by Prince Mohammed. The project is NEOM, a $500 billion business zone on the Red Sea coast that is the centerpiece of Mohammed’s vision for a modern, dynamic Saudi Arabia. The city will have its own legal system designed to attract international investors in high tech industries such as biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and tourism.

But the first buildings commissioned at the site were more traditional — opulent seaside palaces. These included a replica of the palace that Saudi Binladin Group completed for King Salman in Tangier, Morocco, said three sources, one of them working at the site. According to a project design document reviewed by Reuters, the site has palaces for the king, Prince Mohammed and his brother Prince Turki, as well as smaller villas for other royal brothers and “family princes.” Landscaped with fountains and flowering trees, the complex will also feature three helipads, a marina and a golf course.

Contracts for the palaces originally went to other Saudi construction firms. But according to the source at the project site and two other sources, those companies were unable to handle the scale and speed of the project.

Tens of thousands of Binladin workers were diverted from other projects around the country. They worked 24/7 at breakneck pace to deliver, toiling through the sweltering summer months, said three sources. Grass planted outside the palaces did not grow quickly enough for the Aug. 1 deadline, so the workers had to replace it with artificial turf before the royal arrival. The senior government official confirmed that a subsidiary of Saudi Binladin Group was involved in the building work.

Prince Mohammed took regular flights around the project to survey its progress, according to four people familiar with the matter. Two of them said he has taken charge of marketing NEOM himself, bringing in prospective investors for official tours and alcohol-free parties. At the end of July, he and the king moved to the unfinished complex for their summer holiday. With no other structures on site, trailing cabinet members and business leaders stayed on yachts or in the nearby town of Sharma.

Once again, the kingdom needed the knowhow of Saudi Binladin Group.

Reuters

from Financial Post https://ift.tt/2IkL3Ex via IFTTT Blogger Mortgage Tumblr Mortgage Evernote Mortgage Wordpress Mortgage href="https://www.diigo.com/user/gelsi11">Diigo Mortgage

[delicatelysublimeforester]

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, West Swale Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, West Swale Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area. West Swale Saskatoon, SK, CA

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area, Saskatoon, SK, CA

Climate change is being tackled by reducing the use of fossil fuels, limiting and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to mitigate atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Changing to clean, renewable energy sources does indeed, reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Reducing emissions is just one side of the equation. Why do climate change discussions focus on reducing CO2 emissions, and not the carbon harvest effected by trees?

This report looks at the method of alleviating climate change by increasing carbon sequestration. Tree planting is an option as afforested lands can sequester between 2.2 and 9.5 metric tons of CO2 per year!Gorte

“The dynamics can be understood using a bathtub analogy in which the water level represents the stock of atmospheric CO 2. Like any stock, atmospheric CO2 rises only when the inflow to the tub (emissions, E ) exceeds the outflow (net removal, R ), is unchanging only when inflow equals outflow ( E = R ) and falls only when outflow exceeds inflow ( R > E ).”Sterman Reducing E Emissions or “the inflow into the bath tub” is truly important to affect climate change as can be seen from the “bath tub analogy.” Yet, it is vitally important to consider the “outflow out of the tub” or R, the net removal, which is expressed in the quantity of trees, forests, oceans, wetlands, marshes which act to absorb atmospheric carbon.

“Trees help by removing (sequestering) CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis to form carbohydrates that are used in plant structure/function and return oxygen back into the atmosphere as a byproduct. Roughly half of the greenhouse effect is caused by CO2. Therefore, trees act as carbon sinks, alleviating the greenhouse effect”UFN

“Afforestation, reforestation and other forms of conservational forestry methods are often thought to be used for stopping the effects of climate change by reducing atmospheric carbon.”Pomerantz

“The Kyoto Accord on climate change requires developed countries to achieve C02-emissions reduction targets, but permits them to charge uptake of carbon (C) in terrestrial (primarily forest) ecosystems against emissions. Countries such as Canada hope to employ massive afforestation programs to achieve Kyoto targets.”van Kooten

“The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change commits Canada to reducing its CO2 emissions to levels that are 6% below those in 1990. In addition to reducing industrial emissions, biologically-based carbon sinks can used to meet this target.”Johnston

“The Kyoto Protocol is an international environmental treaty and requires ratified countries to commit themselves to an appropriate reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG), which contributes to global warming and potentially impacts human society in many ways. In contrast to reduce GHG by industrial sectors, afforestation on fallow farm land has obviously become an important alternative method to expand the potential pool of carbon stock in terrestrial ecosystems.”Lin

” Carbon sequestration is one of many benefits of planting trees on land that has not been forested in a long time. Others include ecosystem health, economic health, and ultimately human health”Bird

As a result, an answer is found for how is it possible to better climate change locally?

” We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees.   As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today.  The  only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives. ~Richard St. Barbe Baker.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Bird, Neil D. and Eric Boysen. The Carbon Sequestration Potential from Afforestation in Ontario Climate Change. Research Information Note. Note Number 5. 2007

Dabas, Manoj and Shubhra Bhatla. Carbon Sequestration through Afforestation: Role of Tropical Industrial Plantations. Vol. 25, No. 5 (Aug., 1996), pp. 327-330 Published by: Springer on behalf of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Stable URL

Gorte, Ross W. U.S. Tree Planting for Carbon Sequestration. Specialist in Natural Resources Policy. Congressional Research Service. 7-5700. R40562/ May 4, 2009

Johnston, M., S. Kulshreshtha, and T. Baumgartner. The potential for carbon sequestration through afforestation in Saskatchewan: An ecological-economic analysis. Forest Ecosystems Branch. Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management. Prince Albert, SK. Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Saskatchewan, Forest Ecosystems Branch, Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management, Regina, SK.

Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC. IPCC, 2000 – Robert T. Watson, Ian R. Noble, Bert Bolin, N. H. Ravindranath, David J. Verardo and David J. Dokken (Eds.) Cambridge University Press, UK. pp 375 Available from Cambridge University Press, The Edinburgh Building Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge CB2 2RU ENGLAND Summary for Policymakers. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. pp20. Available from IPCC Secretariat in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian. The Nobel Foundation.

Lin, Chinsu and Chun-Hsiung Lin. Comparison of carbon sequestration potential in agricultural and afforestation farming systems National Chiayi University. Department of Forestry and Natural Resourcs. Taiwan. Scientia Agricola. Print version ISSN 0103-9016. Sci. agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.) vol.70 no.2 Piracicaba Mar./Apr. 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-90162013000200006

Ni, Yuanming et al. The Global potential for carbon capture and storage from forestry. Carbon Balance Management. 2016. Dec. 11 : 3 2016 Feb 6. doi: 10.1186/s13021-016-0044-y.

Pomerantz, Celeste and Jason Donev Afforestation. Energy Education. University of Calgary.

Schopfhauser, Wolfgang. Chapter 3 Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of Carbon Dioxide Mitigation through Forestry and Wood Industry. 3.1 World Forests: The Area for Afforestation and their Potential for Fossil Carbon Sequestration and Substitution. Confederation of European Paper Industries. Belgium.

Sigurdsson, Bjarni D. and Arnor Snorrason. Carbon sequestration by afforestatin and revegetation as a measn of limiting net-CO2 emissions in Iceland. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 200 4(4), 303-307.

Sterman, John D. and Linda Booth Sweeney. Understanding public complacency about climate change: adults mental models of climate change violate conservation of matter. Climatic Change (2007) 80:213-238 doi 10.1007/s 10584-006-91074-5. January 9, 2007. Springer Science and Business Media B.V. 2007.

Trees Improve Air Quality Urban Forestry Network (UFN).

van Kooten, G. Corenelius, et al. Economics of afforestation for carbon sequestration in western Canada. The Forestry Chronicle. Natural Resources Canada. Government of Canada.

Williams, Jeremy,et al Tree Canada Afforestation and Reforestation Protocol. Version 2.0. April 2015. Tree Canada.

“When the trees go, the rain goes, the climate deteriorates, the water table sinks, the land erodes and desert conditions soon appear”.~Richard St. Barbe Baker

For more information:

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, SK, CA north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map Facebook: StBarbeBaker Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area Facebook: South West OLRA If you wish to support the afforestation area with your donation, write a cheque please to the “Meewasin Valley Authority Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area trust fund” (MVA RSBBAA trust fund) and mail it to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area c/o Meewasin Valley Authority, 402 Third Ave S, Saskatoon SK S7K 3G5. Thank you kindly! Twitter: St Barbe Baker Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Climate Change and Afforestation Climate change is being tackled by reducing the use of fossil fuels, limiting and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases in an effort to mitigate atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.