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astrognossienne · 3 years ago

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scandalous beauty: athalia ponsell lindsley - an analysis

“Not that St. Augustine citizens went around killing people they didn’t like. But Athalia was not on a level playing field. Nobody liked her, so there was not a big hue and cry when she was killed.” - Sally Boyles, a neighbour of Lindsley’s

For someone so brash, loud, and ballsy, her life, especially her early life, was quite a mystery. Just like her controversial death. On January 23, 1974, former model, dancer, political activist and television personality Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was murdered with a machete by an unknown assailant on the front steps of her home in St. Augustine, Florida. Her murder is notorious more than four decades after it occurred. The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her white mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbour Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities. Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Police arrested only one suspect for Lindsley's murder, which remains unsolved to this day. For someone who was a Leo, I don't think Athalia was a very happy person. I think she tried to bring others down, with her based on her ill-concealed dissatisfaction with the way things were. Unfortunately for her, her demise happened in a town that didn’t care for her.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley, according to astrotheme, was a Leo sun and Libra moon (the moon is speculative). She was born Mary Anne “Athalia” Fetter in Toledo, Ohio in 1917. Her parents were both wealthy New Yorkers; her father was a utilities magnate and her mother a socialite. Shortly after her birth, she and her family moved to Isle of Pines (now known as Isla de la Juventud), Cuba where she was raised until the age of 12. By the time the parents moved to Jacksonville, Florida and enrolled her in parochial school, she was winning beauty contests and pursuing an acting career. After high school, she moved to New York City, where it didn’t take her long to be employed as a fashion model for the celebrated fashion designer John Robert Powers, which helped her land work in some Broadway musicals and as a hostess on a TV game show. By 1949, she was the hottest model in NYC. She was just as hot off the runway as well; the list of Ponsell’s sexual conquests was long, including the likes of actor Tyrone Power and Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. She was reported to have been married three times, one of them to a man named Ponsell, but there is no information on him or her other two spouses. She had a scrapbook of all the celebrities and people she was acquainted. But success had quickly gone to the young model’s head, and by 1954, she’d burned all her bridges at her modeling agency, and her reputation as “the bitch of New York” was well-earned and kept her from earning any more work in the entertainment industry.

Out of work, over the hill, and her looks fading, Ponsell quit her 20-years of modeling and entertainment work and retired to a white stucco mansion in St. Augustine in 1972. By that time, the 55-year-old washed-up model became embittered. From the moment she arrived in St.Augustine, she did her best to position herself at the top of the city’s high society. But the sides of that pyramid were very steep, and to the city’s old-school cultural hardliners, she was an outsider, and an obnoxious one, at that. St. Augustine is known for being a rather cliquish town, and unless you have Spanish, Menorcan, or WASP roots, any newcomer is looked at as an outsider. She was known as a pain in the ass, criticizing everything she thought was wrong with the town and its citizens. Naturally the upper crust didn’t take too well to her. She may have annoyed them, but she did catch the eye of another important person, Mayor James Lindsley, a St. Augustine native who went by the nickname “Jinx”. Jinx was known around the city for his ability to work hard and drink even harder. He was of the generation where if he was wronged, or if there was a problem, he settled his differences with his fists. Despite his passionate love affairs with ass kicking and Jack Daniels, Athalia was drawn to Jinx’s good standing with St. Augustine’s old guard, Jinx was attracted to her still-good looks and fiery personality. The two courted hard and fast, and just a few months after they met, they married.

Their marriage was rocky from the start, providing the town with juicy gossip. In fact, just 3 months into the marriage, the two separated. They wound up living in separate homes, fighting back and forth about possessions and property. She may have treated her husband and the town like dirt, but she was very moved by animals and took in a lot of strays and accumulated a coterie of animals. This didn’t endear herself to the neighbours, and they complained of dogs barking and other noises coming from her makeshift “animal shelter”. One neighbour in particular that took exception to Athalia and her animals was a hot-headed county manager called Alan Stanford. Stanford lived next door to her on Marine Street, and the two clashed from day one. Stanford filed several noise complaints against Athalia and her pets, resulting in her arrest. In revenge, she made Stanford’s life as county manager a living hell. She became a fixture at City Hall, attending every county meeting she could and accuse Stanford of all sorts of improprieties, from the mismanagement of county funds to stealing equipment from the road department. Some of these accusations weren’t entirely unfounded, but it got to the point where her presence was dreaded. She was after his job and wanted him fired. Stanford, in turn, threatened her life. December of 1973, she found out that Stanford lacked the civil engineering degree required for all county managers, and went to the state to report him.

On January 23, 1974 she attended her last city hall meeting, armed with petitions of several citizens calling for Stanford to resign. She exposed the fact that Stanford forged documents and padded his experience and qualifications as county manager. Later that day, to celebrate, she met her estranged husband Jinx for lunch. The day went surprisingly well, going shopping in Jacksonville and running errands. At approximately 5:30 pm, they both went home to their respective houses. As Athalia walked her pet blue jay around in her front yard, an intruder emerged from her back yard, armed with a machete. Moments later, the police department received a call about a murder. The police arrived to the provided address and found Athalia sprawled across the front steps of her porch, nearly decapitated and hacked to death with a machete in broad daylight.

The scene was chaotic, with neighbours trampling all over the grass trying to get a look, contaminating evidence. In their great police work, the cops never thought to rope off the crime scene. When her husband Jinx was notified of his wife’s murder, he took his time getting to her house, making a pit stop to his attorney’s office along the way. A few hours later, the cops find a machete in his pickup truck. But an open-and-shut case this was not. In February of 1974, the rumour was that Jinx killed her in a drunken rage. Even though Jinx had a violent temper and smacked his wife around, in the eyes of local investigators, he was “unarrestable”; they had no real evidence against the mayor and he even passed a lie-detector test. A tip from one of Athalia’s neighbours came in: it seems the neighbour’s 19 year-old son claimed to have witnessed her old nemesis Alan Stanford kill her. There was a trail of blood that led from Athalia’s front porch directly into Allen Stanford’s back yard. More than a few weren’t concerned with Athalia being killed because she was such a bitch that they feel that she deserved what she got.

In March of 1974, there was a blood-stained machete, a watch, and blood-soaked trousers found in a bag in a swamp; the blood on the clothes matched Athalia’s, and the clothes belonged to Stanford. On February 22, 1974, Alan Stanford was arrested and charged with murder. On January 1975, the murder trial commenced. The prosecution had a strong case and a guilty verdict seemed almost certain. Just before closing arguments, Stanford’s defense team called the 19-year old witness to the stand. Despite previously identifying Stanford as the killer, the young man was now unsure of the identity, having never actually seen the assailant’s face. On the day following the killing, a young nurse rode her bicycle as she always did. The police stopped her and questioned her about the murder. The nurse picked out a third suspect, deputy sheriff Dewey Lee, as the killer, further muddling the waters. The jury found Alan Stanford not guilty, despite the mountain of evidence against him. Local authorities were so upset by the verdict that they refused to re-open the case. Even though Stanford was acquitted of the murder, Athalia wound up getting the last laugh in the end, they local county board voted 4 to 1 to fire Stanford due to his lying about his credentials. He wound up leaving town shortly afterward. Today, St. Augustine is different; most who lived on Marine Street during the 1960s and 1970s have either moved away or passed away. Athalia’s house, now a historical landmark, still stands today, a grim reminder of how local resentment can go too far.

the murder of frances bemis

Frances Bemis was a socialite and neighbour of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley who happened to be a close friend of hers. Shortly after Lindsley’s murder, Frances started gathering information in order to write a book about the murder, claiming that she had information on what really happened. On November 3, 1974, she went for an evening walk and disappeared. Her body was found near her house, her skull crushed by a cement block. Her murder has never been solved.

This was the next analysis that I planned to do after the Robert Mitchum one, so I decided to just get this one out of the way.

Stats

birthdate: July 25, 1917*

*note*: due to the absence of a birth time, this analysis will be even more speculative.

major planets:

Sun: Leo

Moon: Libra

Rising: unknown

Mercury: Leo

Venus: Leo

Mars: Gemini

Midheaven: unknown

Jupiter: Gemini

Saturn: Leo

Uranus: Aquarius

Neptune: Leo

Pluto: Cancer

Overall personality snapshot: She had a prestigious, compelling presence, even when she was just clowning around, and a natural ability to command both respect and affection from her friends and colleagues. In the nicest possible way she assumed the position of the leader because she had a strong independent streak and believed in her lofty, worthy ideals, but she also gravitated towards collaboration and an impartial examination of the facts. She could be bossy and yet her bossiness was so diplomatic that it was convincing, even impressive. Although she wanted esteem and tended to identify with honourable goals and people, she could work alongside others she respected and she really wanted the best for everyone. She had style, and she instinctively knew that ‘manners maketh man’ and that, if for some reason they didn’t, they went a long way in making life worth living. When she came into her own, she developed a strongly aesthetic approach to life and are naturally creative. She needed a very positive, active medium through which to express herself, such as drama, teaching or running her own business.

Anything to do with beauty and harmony interested her, such as decorating, design and painting. Her interest in social equality took her into politics or the law. She had a strong sense of herself and stubbornly followed her own personal code of ethics, yet she also enjoyed being part of a group that had a common purpose or bond. She cherished ideals of liberty and equality, but if there were some distasteful tasks to perform she moved very smoothly into the role of delegating – well, she thought, someone has to give the orders around here or we would have no harmony at all. Although she seemed to enjoy an easy, breezy approach to life, there was quite a serious side to her personality, and she could be surprisingly controversial and provocative. She was willing to stand up and be counted, and perhaps make it look easy. She had a natural appreciation and enjoyment of the good things of life; she assumed that they should be hers by birthright. And through cunning charm, calculated boldness, and intelligent maneuver she managed to have plenty.

She was ambitious, sound at giving orders, carried responsibility well and was a good teacher, especially able to bring out the best in children. She believed in herself and generally knew the right thing to say at the right time, although she could show a stubborn and dogmatic side. She had a high opinion of her mental powers, and it was certainly true to say that he had plenty of mental energy. She was a mentally restless person, both versatile and broad-minded. She experienced personal growth through analysis and using her intellect, although the collection and communication of facts may have been an end within itself. She was a reliable and loyal person. Her will and sense of honour were strong and she was a great organizer. On the downside, her self-assuredness could become dogmatism and imperiousness. Conservatism may have affected her creativity, artistic values and love affairs. This expressed itself as self-imposed restrictions or as selfishness. She often felt inadequate, which created an insidious form of oppression over all her forms of expression. She could also take herself so seriously, that people think that she was older than her years.

She belonged to a generation that could be unpredictable in that it liked to instigate change simply for the sake of shaking things up and providing stimulation. Humanitarian ideals became extremely important, as well as the belief in absolute freedom for every individual. She came up with radical new ideas which she stubbornly followed. As a member of this generation, she may have felt deep spiritual convictions, although she may not have seen herself as religious in the traditional sense of the word. She was part of a very artistically talented and creative generation that wanted to escape from the demands of the world around them into a world of excitement and glamour. Members of this generation loved the theater and the cinema, in fact, any sort of creative self-expression. They also believed in the rights of any individual to express themselves. This generation was both idealistic and romantic, selfish and individualistic. Lindsley embodied all of these Leo Neptunian ideals. Also, as a member of the Leo Neptune generation, she experienced and fully embraced changes in sexual mores and attitudes, changing the way people approach the whole issue of romantic relationships. Changes were also experienced in the relationships between parents and children, with the ties becoming looser. She was part of a generation known for its devastating social upheavals concerning home and family. The whole general pattern of family life experiences enormous changes and upheavals; as a Cancer Plutonian, this aspect is highlighted with Lindsley’s father dying relatively young and her having to care for her mother until she died.

Love/sex life: There is never any question as to the ground rules of her erotic universe: what best served her ego, best served her libido. She had a marvelous capacity for enjoying sex but her pride and self-possession always came first. Some people might have found the egotism of this position offensive but many others hardly noticed. After all, a lover as lively, generous and exciting as she had good reason to be proud. There was always a distinctively theatrical quality about her love making. She wanted sex to be a big event, full of drama and intellectual significance. This grandiose approach to sex can certainly be entertaining but it often made her romantic moments seem less than spontaneous. More importantly, real life sex rarely met her cinematic standards. This is one reason why she often found the idea of love much more appealing than its physical manifestations.The sex in her head was never common or clumsy, and she could always count on great reviews.

minor asteroids and points:

North Node: Capricorn

Lilith: Virgo

Her North Node in Capricorn dictated that she needed to develop the more caring and compassionate side to her personality and try to place less emphasis on the materialistic aspects of her life. Her Lilith in Virgo ensured that she exhibited a Madonna-whore complex; she made her way through the world with her sensational wits and she had no time for constricting judgments. She confronted the grittier facts of life, especially sex. She was good at sex but not as a form of sappy emotional expression.

elemental dominance:

fire

air

She was dynamic and passionate, with strong leadership ability. She generated enormous warmth and vibrancy. She was exciting to be around, because she was genuinely enthusiastic and usually friendly. However, she could either be harnessed into helpful energy or flame up and cause destruction. Ultimately, she chose the latter. Confident and opinionated, she was fond of declarative statements such as “I will do this” or “It’s this way.” When out of control—usually because she was bored, or hadn’t been acknowledged—she was be bossy, demanding, and even tyrannical. But at her best, her confidence and vision inspired others to conquer new territory in the world, in society, and in themselves. She was communicative, quick and mentally agile, and she liked to stir things up. She was likely a havoc-seeker on some level. She was oriented more toward thinking than feeling. She carried information and the seeds of ideas. Out of balance, she lived in her head and could be insensitive to the feelings of others. But at her best, she helped others form connections in all spheres of their daily lives.

modality dominance:

fixed

She wasn’t particularly interested in spearheading new ventures or dealing with the day-to-day challenges of organization and management. She excelled at performing tasks and producing outcomes. She was flexible and liked to finish things. Was also likely undependable, lacking in initiative, and disorganized. Had an itchy restlessness and an unwillingness to buckle down to the task at hand. Probably had a chronic inability to commit—to a job, a relationship, or even to a set of values.

planet dominants:

Sun

Mars

Pluto

She had vitality and creativity, as well as a strong ego and was authoritarian and powerful. She likely had strong leadership qualities, she definitely knew who she was, and she had tremendous will. She met challenges and believed in expanding her life. She was aggressive, individualistic and had a high sexual drive. She believed in action and took action. Her survival instinct was strong. She wanted to take herself to the limit—and then surpass that limit, which she often did. She ultimately refused to compromise her integrity by following another’s agenda. She likely didn’t compare herself to other people and didn’t want to dominate or be dominated. She simply wanted to be free to follow her own path, whatever it was. She brought about complete and profound transformations in her life, good or bad (and it was often bad). She felt the need to let go of what was familiar to her and accept new and different ways of being and doing things. There were areas in her life where she had to accept regeneration, which involved the destruction of the old and the creation of the new.

sign dominants:

Leo

Gemini

Cancer

She loved being the center of attention and often surrounded herself with admirers. She had an innate dramatic sense, and life was definitely his stage. Her flamboyance and personal magnetism extended to every facet of her life. She wanted to succeed and make an impact in every situation. At her best, she was optimistic, honorable, loyal, and ambitious. She ventured out to see what else was there and seized upon new ideas that will expand their communities. Her innate curiosity kept her on the move. She used her rational, intellectual mind to explore and understand her personal world. She needed to answer the single burning question in her mind: why? This applied to most facets of her life, from the personal to the impersonal. This need to know sent her off to foreign countries, where her need to explore other cultures and traditions ranked high. She was changeable and often moody. This meant that she was often at odds with herself—the mind demanding one thing, the heart demanding the opposite. To someone else, this internal conflict often manifested as two very different people. At first meeting, she seemed enigmatic, elusive. She needed roots, a place or even a state of mind that he could call her own. She needed a safe harbor, a refuge in which to retreat for solitude. She was generally gentle and kind, unless he was hurt. Then she could become vindictive and sharp-spoken. She was affectionate, passionate, and even possessive at times. She was intuitive and was perhaps even psychic. Experience flowed through her emotionally. She was often moody and always changeable; her interests and social circles shifted constantly. She was emotion distilled into its purest form.

Read more about her under the cut.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was a former model, Broadway performer, actress, dancer and television personality who died in a savage late-afternoon attack at her home on Jan. 23, 1974. Wife of the once mayor of St. Augustine, James "Jinx" Lindsley, who died a few years after her death. Mrs. Athalia Lindsley was very active politically.

She also took in many animals, such as dogs, cats and even two goats. At the time of her murder, she was outside trying to rehabilitate one of her rescue birds, a blue jay named Clementine which had an injured wing. She had rescued the little bird from neighborhood cats.

Athalia Ponsell Lindsley was a very devoted daughter who took care of her mother full time until her mother passed away.

She was 58 years old when her life was brutally cut short.

A neighbor and local politician was the only person ever arrested and tried for her murder, after a very dramatic trial, a jury found the defendant not guilty, and he was acquitted

(x)

#athalia ponsell lindsley #leo #star analyses #scandalous stars #long ass post #mine

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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Unemployment Pay May Again Require a Job Search. Is It Too Soon? A tenet of the American unemployment system has been that anyone collecting benefits, in good times and bad, must look for work. That quid pro quo changed early in the pandemic. Profound fears of contagion and the sudden need for millions of workers to become caregivers led states to lift the requirements for reasons both practical and compassionate. But as vaccinations increase and the economy revs back to life, more than half of all states have revived their work search requirements. Arkansas and Louisiana did so months ago in an effort to push workers off their swollen unemployment rolls. Others, like Vermont and Kentucky, have followed in the last few weeks. The rest may be on the way. President Biden on Monday ordered the Labor Department to “work with the remaining states, as health and safety conditions allow,” to put such requirements in place as the pandemic abates. Employers may welcome the moves as potentially enlarging the pool of job seekers. But for many workers, the search obligation is a premature declaration that the world has returned to normal even as legitimate concerns persist about contracting the virus and about child care constraints. “The work search thing is just a mess,” said Tyler Evans, 34, who lost his job of nearly four years at a restaurant in downtown Nashville early in the pandemic. Mr. Evans’s doctor has not cleared him for work, warning him that he faced extra risk from the coronavirus because he has an autoimmune disease. According to Tennessee, however, Mr. Evans must complete three job search activities a week to remain eligible for unemployment benefits. When he explained his situation to people at the State Labor Department, they suggested that he just say he had looked for work, because the state’s system had no way to account for health cases like his. Instead, Mr. Evans has diligently applied to jobs every week — even though he wouldn’t be able to accept any of them. “I would say one out of four times, someone would give me a call back,” he said. “And I would have to say, ‘Oh, I actually can’t work for you for health reasons, but the Department of Labor asked that I do this anyway.’” Research suggests that work search requirements of some form in normal economic times can compel workers to find their next job and reduce their time on unemployment. But the pandemic has added a new layer to a debate over how to balance relief with the presumption that joblessness is only transitory. Most states cut off unemployment benefits after 26 weeks. Business groups say bringing back work search requirements will help juice the labor market and dissuade workers from waiting to return to their old employers or holding out for remote or better-paying jobs. Opponents contend that the mandate keeps undue numbers of Americans from continuing to receive needed benefits because it can be hard to meet the sometimes arduous requirements, including documenting the search efforts. And they say workers may be forced to apply for and accept lower-paying or less-satisfying jobs at a time when the pandemic has caused some to reassess the way they think about their work, their family needs and their prospects. “I think the work search requirement is necessary as an economist,” said Marta Lachowska, an economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich., who has studied the effects of work search requirements on employment. But she added, “Perhaps given the big disruption we have observed to the labor market, people should be given some slack.” In Washington, the issue has become part of a larger clash over jobless benefits that intensified after the disappointing April jobs report, with Republicans asserting that Mr. Biden’s policies are deterring people from looking for work and holding back the economic recovery. A rising number of Republican governors have taken matters into their own hands, moving to end a weekly $300 unemployment supplement and other federally funded emergency assistance that otherwise isn’t due to expire until September. Mr. Biden has rebuffed the criticism of his economic recovery plan. But his embrace of work search requirements — more than a year after the federal government directed states to waive them — has made the practice a pillar in the effort to revitalize the economy. Tim Goodrich, the executive director for state government relations at the National Federation of Independent Business, said his members had complained that they were having trouble filling open positions — a challenge that restoring work search requirements may help alleviate. “They are seeing a lack of applicants, so a job search is certainly helpful,” Mr. Goodrich said. Job openings rose in March to 8.1 million, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday, yet there are more than eight million fewer people working than before the pandemic. Economists ascribe some of the incongruity to a temporary mismatch between the jobs on offer and the skills or background of those looking for work. They say that in a recovering labor market like the current one, there may not be enough suitable jobs for people seeking re-employment, which can frustrate workers and drive them to apply to positions haphazardly. That has been the case for Rie Wilson, 45, who worked in venue sales for a nonprofit in New York City before she lost her job last summer. To fulfill New York’s work search requirement, which generally makes unemployment applicants complete at least three job search activities each week, Ms. Wilson has had to apply for positions she would not typically consider, like administrative assistant jobs, she said. The prospect of accepting such a job makes her anxious. “There is always a thought in my mind that, ‘Well, what if I do get pulled in this direction just because I’m being forced to apply for these jobs? What does that look like for my career?’” she said. The process has been time-consuming, she said, “and it’s also a mental wear and tear because you’re literally pulled from all angles in a very stressful situation.” Alexa Tapia, the unemployment insurance campaign coordinator at the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group, said work search requirements “harm more than they help,” especially during the pandemic. In particular, she said, such requirements perpetuate systemic racism by trapping people of color, especially women, in underpaid work with fewer benefits. And she noted that people of color were more likely to be denied benefits on the basis of such requirements. With state unemployment offices already overtaxed, she added, work search requirements are “just another barrier being put to claimants, and it can be a very demoralizing barrier.” In states that have reinstated work search requirements, worker advocates say an especially frustrating obstacle has been a lack of guidance. Sue Berkowitz, the director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, which works with low-income South Carolinians, said unemployed workers in the state largely wanted to go back to work. But the information on the state’s website about work search requirements is so confusing, she said, that she worries workers won’t understand it. Before the state reimposed the requirements last month, Ms. Berkowitz sent a marked-up copy of the proposed language to the chief of staff at the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce urging clarifications and changes. One of her biggest concerns was that the language as it stood was at a 12th-grade reading level, while the typical reading level of adult Americans is much lower. She did not hear back. “It was crickets,” she said. More broadly, employees in South Carolina, where the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, can be reluctant to take a job that pays less than the one they had before the pandemic, Ms. Berkowitz said. “It’s not that they are below taking a job that makes a lot less, but their financial needs are high enough that they need to continue to make a certain salary,” she said. Although work search requirements have become a political issue, their restoration does not fall solely along partisan lines. Florida, for instance, where the Republican governor has repeatedly flouted virus restrictions, had kept the work search waiver in place before announcing recently that it would reinstate the requirement at the end of the month. But many other states, particularly Republican ones, have rushed to bring their work search requirements back. That is what Crista San Martin found when they left their job out of health concerns at a dog boarding facility in Cypress, Texas, which reinstated its work search requirement in November. Mx. San Martin, 27, who uses the pronouns they and them, said there were very few job openings near them in the pet care industry, making finding a position onerous. “That made it really difficult for me to log any work searches, because there simply weren’t enough jobs that I would actually want to take for my career,” they said. The first job they applied to was at a Panera, “which is not in my field of interest at all.” Above all, applying to arbitrary jobs felt risky, they said, because there was no way to assess potential employers’ Covid-19 safety protocols. Mx. San Martin has since returned to their old job. “It’s pretty unfair,” they said. “Going out and just casting a wide net and seeing whether a random business will take you is not safe.” Source link Orbem News #Job #pay #require #Search #Unemployment

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netunleashed-blog · 6 years ago

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How Jeff Bezos took Amazon to the top

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=26052 How Jeff Bezos took Amazon to the top - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=26052 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Jeff Bezos in 1997, the year Amazon became a public company Perhaps Jeff Bezos had a crystal ball. Two decades ago, he foresaw a future when a click would conjure anything from pet food to caviar; malls would fade in popularity; and shops would have to offer entertainment or convenience to survive.Then he built an empire in that image.Amazon, which he founded in 1994, is now vying to become the world's first trillion dollar company, having transformed from niche second-hand book seller to global jack-of-all trades.But Mr Bezos, now the world's richest person, claims higher aims than just reshaping the world's retail market. Image copyright Blue Origin Image caption Mr Bezos started his aerospace company Blue Origin in 2000 He privately owns the Washington Post newspaper. His aerospace firm, Blue Origin, plans to sell tickets for space travel next year. He has also hinted he will announce philanthropic plans this summer.Years ago, his high-school girlfriend told Wired that she had always expected him to make a fortune, tracing his drive to an early dream of exploring outer space."It wasn't about money itself. It was about what he was going to do with the money, about changing the future," she told the magazine.Space coloniesSigns of Mr Bezos's ambitions emerged decades ago.The child of teen parents who quickly divorced, he was raised largely in Texas and Florida by his mother Jackie, and his step-father Mike Bezos, an Exxon executive who had fled Cuba as a teenager after Fidel Castro came to power.He displayed an early inclination for engineering and science, dismantling his crib with a screwdriver at the age of three, according to a 2013 biography by Brad Stone. In a high school graduation speech, he outlined a vision for establishing colonies in outer space. Image copyright AFP/Getty Image caption Jeff Bezos met his wife MacKenzie when they were working at a New York hedge fund. They have four children At Princeton University, Mr Bezos studied engineering and computer science, later using his skills at financial companies in New York, where he met his wife MacKenzie, now a novelist, at the hedge fund, DE Shaw. Jeff Bezos: Five things you may not know about Amazon's founder Amazon's Jeff Bezos beats Bill Gates in new rich list At the age of 30, he quit after coming across a statistic about the rapid growth of the internet.In a 2010 speech at Princeton, Mr Bezos recalled his decision to head west and start Amazon as the "less safe path"."I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn't think I'd regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all," he said.Cybercommerce kingMr Bezos's gamble, funded with more than $100,000 in personal and family money, quickly paid off. Within a month of Amazon's 1995 launch, it had already shipped orders to all 50 states and 45 countries, according to Mr Stone's book, The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.In Amazon's first five years, customer accounts jumped from 180,000 to 17 million. Sales skyrocketed from $511,000 to more than $1.6bn.Big-name investors flocked to the company amid the first wave of dot com enthusiasm. It went public in 1997, raising $54m and turning Mr Bezos, who once helped to box up the book orders, into one of the world's richest men before the age of 35.In 1999, Time Magazine named him one of its youngest ever 'People of the Year', dubbing him the "king of cybercommerce". ExperimentalKnown for being an exacting boss, Mr Bezos has guided Amazon with what he describes as a long-term strategy and "heads down" focus on the customer.In practice, that has meant the firm is willing to spend money to make money, foregoing annual profit for 10 out of 23 years as it cut prices, offered free shipping and spent years developing new devices like its Kindle e-reader. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media captionAmazon boss Jeff Bezos discusses the Kindle Fire HD with the BBC in 2012 But Amazon also hasn't hesitated to save where it could, making headquarters employees pay for parking, battling with suppliers, opposing efforts to organise labour unions at its warehouses, and avoiding taxes as much as possible.The firm experienced some failures, like early investments in sites like Pets.com that later lost money. But today even those look like a sign of its relentless competitive spirit and willingness to experiment.Amazon reported nearly $53bn in sales in the three months ended in June, with record quarterly profit of $2.5bn. The firm is expected to account for roughly half of all online shopping sales in the US this year - and nearly 5% of the country's overall retail market, according to research firm eMarketer. Amazon delivers record quarterly profit Amazon deal shakes healthcare sector It employs more than 575,000 people - a force nearly the size of Luxembourg's population.It provides logistics, storage, loans and a selling platform to hundreds of thousands of third-party merchants and its profitable cloud computing division, which hosts huge swathes of the corporate world on its data servers, is the industry's global leader.Nor is Amazon's thirst for new ventures sated. Last year, it purchased upmarket grocer Whole Foods. This year, it announced the takeover of an online pharmacy. Executives say they are scouting for other deals.BacklashAmazon's rise, as former retail stalwarts like Sears, Toys 'R' Us and Barnes & Noble struggle, has drawn critics concerned about its monopoly power, its tax and labour practices - even its responsibility for driving up housing costs in its hometown of Seattle. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Trade union members and other activists at an Amazon protest in Germany When the firm announced last year it would build another major campus in North America, local officials scrambled to win the firm's commitment, even as protesters, angry about the prospect of tax incentives going to one of the world's most successful companies, mounted anti-Amazon campaigns. Amazon workers on strike in Italy and Germany Google, Amazon, Starbucks: The rise of 'tax shaming' In the face of those critics, Mr Bezos has started to cultivate a more public presence on Twitter, where he shares photos of his parents and videos of dog sledding in Norway.Amazon has also fought back with cash, more than doubling its spending on lobbying since 2014 to about $13m last year, according to OpenSecrets.org.Twitter targetDespite those efforts, the company has a high-profile critic: US President Donald Trump, who has accused Amazon of winning unduly low shipping rates from the US Postal Service and kept alive the threat of regulation by attacking it on Twitter as a monopoly.Mr Trump also frequently ties Amazon's activities to that of the Washington Post, although the newspaper is an independent, private investment by Mr Bezos, who purchased it in 2013.With a fortune worth about $150bn, the 54-year-old Mr Bezos has also faced questions about his relatively limited philanthropic activity.He recently hinted he will increase his giving, with an announcement expected later this summer. Last year, while soliciting ideas, Mr Bezos said he expected to approach philanthropy differently than he does his businesses, focusing on immediate impact, rather than the long-term. The world will be waiting to see if the new strategy still means success. Source link

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rdubaton · 7 years ago

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Meet soon-to-be #adoptable Opal. Opal (or “dopey Opie” as she has become known around our home) is a 7-year-old American bulldog/hound mix who has taken temporary residence with us by way of @hopeanimalrescue. Hope Animal Rescue started as a mother-daughter passion project here in Durham in 2013, and has grown in the last five years to be one of the largest rescues in the Triangle, seeing more than 300 pets from intake to adoption each year. My wife @skomos and I discovered @hopeanimalrescue right after the rescue’s first anniversary, when we moved in together and began to consider dog adoption. With her on a bare-bones graduate stipend and my looming student loan debt, we thought we could use some extra time to make sure we had the budget and emergency funds for a pet— but fostering seemed like a fun opportunity until we were ready to adopt our own pup. We fostered 7 dogs over the course of 9 months before deciding to adopt one of our foster pups, Kai. When we started, the plan was only to foster until we adopted...but we loved fostering and volunteering with the group so much that we never really stopped. In fact, we’ve only dug our heels in deeper. As foster manager, I work with a team of foster leads to ensure our foster parents have all that they need and that our foster pups are happy and healthy. In the time since we decided to keep on truckin’ with the rescue, we’ve fostered 33 more until adoption (including our second “foster fail,” Clementine) and many more temporarily while their foster families needed respite care. One of the best things about #hopeanimalrescue is its special focus on dogs that might otherwise be overlooked or not given a chance to find their new home. This year alone, we’ve had parvo puppies, leg surgeries, super seniors, mangy mutts and more. Opal is the perfect example of a great dog who just needed a second chance- she was an anxious, heartworm-positive old lady bully mix with pressure sores and all kinds of skin issues, but with good medical care and some patience and love in foster care, she is proving she has lots of life left. [📸 by @_mwillis ] / on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/p/Biw-ea5HgcL/

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thain1982 · 7 years ago

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Gene Wolfe's address to ReaderCon 1987

This is the transcript of a speech Gene Wolfe gave at ReaderCon in Boston, 1987, regarding what he dubs the "New Illiteracy." It is an exceptional read.

I would like to begin by asking you to contemplate a statistic and a quotation. The statistic is that in America today one person in seven is completely illiterate--unable to read "IN CASE OF FIRE BREAK GLASS," for example. Let me admit immediately that this figure--which was given me by a nurse who is involved in adult education--may be considerably in error. The fact is that no one really knows what proportion of the U.S. population is illiterate; any figure that may be quoted to you is an estimate. And if you are given a Government estimate, you should keep in mind that no government is really proud of its illiterates. However, the Adult Performance Level--APL--study funded by the U.S. Department of Education estimated that 27 million U.S. adults were completely illiterate; that is roughly one in five.

The quotation is Mark Twain's: "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." [emphasis mine]

One of the reasons it is so difficult to get good figures on illiteracy is that illiterate people are ashamed of it, even though in nine cases out of ten it is not their fault. Thus the Census Bureau cannot simply ask whether this person or that cannot read. It would be told that he or she certainly can; and although it would know the answer was often untrue, it could not know how often.

The people Mark Twain spoke of are, if anything, rather more difficult to detect. Let me give you an example. A few years ago, I came across a remarkably fine two-volume set of what I think is one of the best books of fantasy ever written--Washington Irving's The Alhambra. This edition had appeared in 1891, and its marvelously florid white and gold bindings were still protected by dust wrappers of thick black oilcloth. If its paper was not acid-free, it had certainly acted like it: the pages had not yellowed, and their decorative borders of bronze and vermilion could almost have been printed the year before. The two volumes were $7, and I bought them at once.

Halfway through the first volume, I began to hit unopened pages. I was forced to read with a letter-opener in one hand, separating them as I went. No one had read more than the first half of the first volume, though the books had been in existence for nearly a century. I ask you to consider, please, just why the owner of those books had bought and kept them.

Of course it is notorious that some rich people buy books merely to decorate their rooms. I have been told--and I'm sure it's true--that many interior decorators offer to supply up to so many yards of gold-tooled red or blue leather bindings. And though I hesitate to disillusion you, I fear that it's equally true that there is a stage set in the basement of the Senate Office Building made by cutting away everything but the spines of hundreds of good books. It permits a senator to face the cameras against a background as false as his own.

The original owner of this set--let's assume him male--was clearly not that sort of man. He had kept its white-and-gold bindings hidden beneath their oilcloth jackets, remember; and in those jackets the two books are as dismal, and as plain, as you will ever see. What's more, he had begun to read them.

That he never found the time is the conventional guess, to be sure. But when books published nearly a century before are discovered in near-mint condition, it's generally safe to assume that they have spent most of the century in the possession of a single owner. And since he bought them well before the advent of modern labor-saving machinery, he presumably had a good deal of leisure time. It's hard to imagine how decade after decade might roll slowly by without ever an illness or a vacation, a layoff, a summer Sunday, or a blizzard that would have allowed him to read.

We are left, then, with the books themselves; and we must consider whether they are dull or overly complex. I very much regret that I didn't mark the exact point at which the previous owner ceased to read. But I remember the approximate place:

In one of my visits to the old Moorish chamber where the good Tia Antonia cooks her dinner and receives her company, I observed a mysterious door in one corner, leading apparently into the ancient part of the edifice. My curiosity being aroused, I opened it, and found myself in a narrow, blind corridor, groping along which I came to the head of a dark winding staircase, leading down at an angle to the Tower of Comares. Down this staircase I descended darkling, guiding myself by the wall until I came to a small door at the bottom, throwing which open, I was suddenly dazzled by emerging into the brilliant antechamber of the Hall of the Ambassadors; with the fountain of the Court of the Alberca sparkling before me.

Now I admit that is not utterly thrilling. A certain young American enjoying a holiday in Spain has decided to explore a ruined palace inhabited by beggars. He visits the beggar queen (whose friendship he has secured in an earlier chapter), opens a door that has piqued his curiosity, goes down a dark hall and an even darker stairway, and finds himself in the room in which the representatives of foreign powers once waited the pleasure of the Moorish king.

But it is not without interest. One wonders what the young American will find next, and dreams--as he himself does at times--of ghosts and hidden treasure.

Nor is it very difficult reading. There are three foreign words, but two of them are place names, and the third is part of a proper name. A reader who does not realize that tía is the Spanish word for aunt is free to assume that the lady's name is Tia-Antonia and get on with the story. Irving's sentences are somewhat long, but they are so filled with familiar words and words of one syllable--in, one, of, my, to, the, old, where, the, good, Tia, cooks, and so on--that they make easy reading. That darkling seems a little strange to us; it is the sort of word William Hope Hodgson and H. P. Lovecraft revived as a mannerism; but it is not a mannerism in Irving, and would not have seemed strange to a reader of 1891.

Why, then, did the original owner stop? Why did he not go down that darkling staircase in an angle of the Tower of Comares with Irving? I think I know.

It has to do with the history of literacy, and particularly with the history of mass literacy. People have been reading and writing for four thousand years and more, but for ninety percent of that time we readers and writers have been a very small fraction of the population. My mother once worked for a man named Appleby who made serious and protracted efforts to trace his own descent in the male line. He had an easier task than most of us would, because these ancestors had been English. Furthermore, he was lucky enough to strike a line of parsons that carried him back almost to the 1500s. But there the trail of ink ended, and no expenditure of time or money--and Mr. Appleby was a rich man--could turn it up again.

Widespread reading began, as most of you surely know, with the desire to read the Bible; Still more with the desire that others should read the Bible. When William Tyndale said, "I will cause that a boy that driveth the pow shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost," he created thousands of teachers and preachers (then often the same person) whom we have since forgotten.

They made it okay to learn to read. It was a staggering accomplishment. The boy was needed for plowing and sowing and chopping wood and a hundred other labors. The girl was needed to cook, mend, wash, and sweep, to make pickles and jelly, to watch the stove and her small brothers and sisters. All this not just because the wealth of the family depended on it, but because the very survival of its members depended on it. These people were subsistence farmers, as were nineteen twentieths of the population; and subsistence farmers need a good harvest each year with nothing wasted, particularly time. One crop failure may mean starvation. The boy's father and grandfather could not read a word; nor could the girl's mother, nor her grandmother.

But God came first.

The question was whether anything came second. Reading the Bible was all right--very much so. Reading a book like Pilgrim's Progress was probably okay too. But what about all this other stuff?

As you might have expected, there were two answers. The old educated classes, brought up on Virgil and Homer, said yes. The newly literate or semiliterate class said NO!

"I skip forty years," said the Baker,in tears,

And proceed without further remark

To the day when you took me aboard of your ship

To help you in hunting the Snark."

But I really mean to skip a lot more than that. Tyndale died in 1536, and I'm going to jump to 1850, or so, with another quotation most of you are sure to recognize:

Each in her turn stepped forward to the edge of the platform, cleared her throat, held up her manuscript (tied with a dainty ribbon) and proceeded to read, with labored attention to "expression" and punctuation. The themes were the same that had been illuminated upon similar occasions by their mothers before them, their grandmothers, and doubtless all their ancestors in the female line clear back to the Crusades. "Friendship" was one; "Memories of Other Days"; "Religion in History"; "Dream and"; "The Advantages of Culture"; "Forms of Political Government Compared and Contrasted"; "Melancholy"; "Filial Love"; "Heart Longings," etc., etc.

A prevalent feature of these compositions was a nursed and petted melancholy; another was a wasteful and opulent gush of "fine language"; another was a tendency to lug in by the ears particularly prized words until they were worn entirely out; and a peculiarity that conspicuously marked and marred them was the inveterate and intolerable sermon that wagged its crippled tail at the end of each and every one of them. No matter what the subject might be, a brain-racking effort was made to squirm it into some aspect or other that the moral and religious mind could contemplate with edification. The glaring insincerity of these sermons was not sufficient to compass the banishment of the fashion from the schools, and it is not sufficient today; it never will be sufficient, perhaps. There is no school in all our land where the young ladies do not feel obliged to close their compositions with a sermon; and you will find that the sermon of the most frivolous and least religious girl in the school is always the longest and the most relentlessly pious.

The scene is, of course, Tom Sawyer's school. We see that religion as a justification for literacy has lasted more than three hundred years. And we sense that its reign is about over. Here was one of the greatest turning points in its history. Was literacy to become a good in and of itself? An end, and not a means? Or was it to become no more than a fading customer that had lost its justification? (Notice, by the way, that Mark Twain carelessly supposes that village girls were writing themes in the Middle Ages, though he must have known better.)

I think that Mark Twain saw the beginning of the change, and that the original owner of my set of The Alhambra was born in the period of transition. I think he stopped reading because he liked it too much.

I realize that's an outrageous statement; but I think that it is true, like so many other outrageous statements. Consider what a set of books like those must have cost in 1891--only a few dollars, to be sure; but this was still the era of the five-dollar gold piece. Consider too that though he never finished those books, he preserved them beautifully for year after year.

He lived, probably, somewhere in the Middle West. It's a raw and corrupt country even now, and it was a far more raw and corrupt one then. If he lived in Chicago--which is where I got his books--it was the Chicago of slums and packing houses, of Colonel McNeery and Jane Addams. But he had read of the Tower of Comares and the fountain of the Court of the Alberca, and there was no one he could tell about them.

This, then, is the new illiteracy, the illiteracy of those who can read but don't. Mark Twain saw it coming, and we have spent our whole lives living in its shadow. Long ago it lost its own justification, of course; it had lost it before Mark Twain was born. And reading has found new ones even while retaining its old one--for reading's original justification was never really lost, only for a time "entirely worn out."

Now for my own little sermon: This new illiteracy is more pernicious than the old, because unlike the old illiteracy it does not debar its victims from power and influence, although like the old it disqualifies them for it. Those long-dead men and women who learned to read so that they might read the Bible and John Bunyan would tell us that pride is the greatest of all sins, the father of sin. And the victims of the new illiteracy are proud of it. If you don't believe me, talk to them and see with what pride they trumpet their utter ignorance of any book you care to name.

The old illiteracy is with us still, and indeed is growing; but its victims hate it, and escape it when they can. The new illiteracy, though it is so easily escaped, is escaped far less often. It is a jail so good that its doors need not be locked. The prisoners sit staring at the screen--or at the wall--or at of the window at the cell across the way; and they never try the knob.

I suspect that many of you recognized this new illiteracy before I did, and that many of you have despaired of fighting it--as I, too, despaired for so long. For years it seemed to me that the only way to reach the victims of the new illiteracy was through television; and television was and is beyond our reach. But at least I realized that there is a more powerful medium than television, and that it is available to every one of us. It is speech--talk, if you will. Conversation.

We can do two things.

The first is what we're doing right here at Readercon. We can gather together specifically as readers. In Mark Twain's time a statesman said, "Books are a delightful society. If you go into a room filled with books, they seem to speak to you, to welcome you." That is so; and yet the pleasure of reading is doubled at least when you can share it.

The other is simply to talk of books even to those who have not read. It exposes us to their contempt, indeed; and it may be that though they watch us enter their prison a hundred times, and leave it a hundred too, it will suggest nothing to them. But the opening and closing of the doors is bound to let in free air, and who knows what that may do?

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buynewsoul · 7 years ago

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Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events?

The rise of the treating pets like family members means an increase in the number of dog events, such as pet parades, canine sporting events, holiday celebrations and other social K9 happenings in communities across the country. While these popular events are enjoyable and promote socialization among dogs and their owners, they are also a means of spreading dog diseases. To combat illnesses, pet owners and event organizers need to take precautions to protect pets.

Studying the Spread of Canine Diseases at Dog Events

Dog events are fun, but be careful! If you’re not, your dog may contract a disease. Photography ©WilleeCole | Thinkstock.

According to Jason Stull, VMD, MPVM, PhD Diplomate ACVPM, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at the Ohio State University, “bringing dogs together for play dates and events, as well as having them visit dog parks, daycare and boarding facilitates, training and socialization classes and dog shows, can increase the risk of exposure to many infectious diseases that can affect you and your pet.”

To help dog owners and event organizers better understand and prevent transmission of infectious diseases in dogs and beyond, the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation (CHF), in collaboration with the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA), funded a study with Stull as lead researcher and co-author to provide practical guidelines to reduce the risk of diseases spread in the canine population.

A large number of reported parvo cases in late 2012 and early 2013, with exposure to the virus believed to have taken place at dog shows, motivated OFA to suggest and fund the study.

Eddie Dziuk, Chief Operating Officer of the OFA, entered his beagle, Miss P, the 2015 Westminster Best in Show, at her first Westminster Annual Kennel Club Dog Show in 2013. A month before the show, she was at another show where several dogs subsequently became sick. Even though she was fully vaccinated, Dziuk believes she was exposed to the virus, and didn’t want to risk her, in turn, infecting any other dogs.

“This led to the realization that there was a need for better documentation regarding risk mitigation and easily understood information regarding infectious disease, the symptoms, severity, shedding timelines, etc.” notes Dziuk.

Managing Infectious Dog Diseases

Rather than generate new data, researchers from a variety of veterinary disciplines (pathobiology, internal medicine, nutrition, veterinary public health, wildlife biology and management and more) analyzed existing information, utilized surveys and conducted focus groups to provide recommendations for managing infectious disease.

The outcome of the study produced: a canine infectious disease risk calculator (a 10-minute quiz to bring awareness and to keep dogs safe); a layperson’s white paper with a summary of infectious disease transmissions and a checklist to help dog owners and canine event organizers; a frequently asked questions (FAQ) to review infectious pathogens and general disease concepts for dog owners; and, an open-access article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, providing an in-depth discussion of the infectious disease risks, supporting evidence and resulting recommendations by the research group.

Since we live in a world of existing and emerging infectious disease threats, the material is a must-read for any pet owner. Stull and his team identify and review how disease is spread (direct contact, airborne transmission, oral transmission, contaminated surfaces, vector-borne diseases, etc.), identification of diseases and health threats, cleaning vs. disinfecting, animal and human hygiene, facility design and more.

From the study, pet parents and dog event organizers should consider these recommendations:

Make sure your pup is up to date on his vaccines. Photography ©cynoclub | Thinkstock.

Take special care with puppies and other dogs with weaker immune systems.

Dogs should be kept clean and cleaned up after.

Ill dogs should be kept away from dog events or other group settings with dogs.

Pet owners should prohibit dogs from sharing leashes, toys and water bowls.

Dogs should have up-to-date core vaccinations to protect them at all life stages and lifestyles. These include distemper, parvovirus, adenovirus, parainfluenza, Bordetella and rabies — all highly contagious diseases that can lead to severe disease and death. Pet owners may also want to consider non-core vaccinations such as Lyme, leptospirosis and canine influenza.

Recognize the role of preventive medications and topicals to control the spread of diseases.

People who touch dogs in group settings like judges, handlers, pet owners and others should wash their hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Dog event organizers should not consider holding events in areas with ticks, fleas and other disease-carrying parasites.

Surfaces should be regularly disinfected

Efforts should be made to keep rodents and wildlife out of areas where dog events take place.

Organizers should control event numbers and not engage in the overcrowding of dogs.

Every group setting should have on-site or off-site access to veterinarians who can help with disease-prevention guidelines.

Lastly, those in charge and those who participate in dog events should avail themselves to the new online risk calculator to help determine the potential for the spread of dog diseases.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Shows

According to Wayne Ferguson, the President of the historic Kennel Club of Philadelphia, which attract hundreds of participants at the club’s National Dog Show that airs on Thanksgiving Day, “one way to combat disease at our dog show is to keep the waste areas as clean as possible.” Although participants clean up after their dogs in the waste pens, Ferguson has designated pen attendants to clean and change the shavings a few times a day during this tremendous event.

Although Stull notes that dog shows happen almost every weekend in North American, he also reminds us that diseases and threats of diseases affect the growing multitude of pet events, too.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Justin Rudd’s Annual Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade in Long Beach, California, is one of the largest Halloween pet parades in the country. Rudd, whose non-profit produces many dog events, believes that dog safety and the prevention of spreading diseases is a priority. On the website, it states “rabies and vaccination must be current” and “no puppies under 4 months or without vaccinations.”

Rudd even has a vet onsite in case of emergencies.

While Dr. Stull’s study did produce relevant information, he feels that more pet owners and canine organizers could benefit from his work. He encourages pet owners to spread the word.

Recently, Sarasota, Florida’s Candace Botha, publisher and editorial director of Suncoast Pet Magazine and creator of local canine celebration Jingle Paws Jubilee 2017, was asked about how she controlled disease at her events. She mentioned keeping the potty areas clean. Botha knew about the recent spread of canine influenza in Florida, but Stull’s study interested her in learning as much as she could to reduce disease at her event because she believes that preventive action can contribute to a successful event.

A Final Note on Preventing the Spread of Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Pet parents, as well as dog event organizers, should become acquainted with Stull’s work and the risk calculator to assess their particular situations. They should also discuss potential disease threats with local veterinarians to promote health and wellness at pet events.

Asked if he could share just one tip to help reduce disease, Dr. Stull says, “Wash your hands frequently to protect both your dog and yourself.”

Thumbnail: Photography by Holly Hildreth Photography.

Read more about dog health on Dogster.com:

New Research for Dog Bloat

5 of the Healthiest Dog Breeds Brag About Their Good Genes

Why Is My Dog Vomiting Yellow?

The post Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events? appeared first on Dogster.

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daddyslittlejuliet · 7 years ago

Text

Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events?

Studying the Spread of Canine Diseases at Dog Events

Dog events are fun, but be careful! If you’re not, your dog may contract a disease. Photography ©WilleeCole | Thinkstock.

A large number of reported parvo cases in late 2012 and early 2013, with exposure to the virus believed to have taken place at dog shows, motivated OFA to suggest and fund the study.

Managing Infectious Dog Diseases

From the study, pet parents and dog event organizers should consider these recommendations:

Make sure your pup is up to date on his vaccines. Photography ©cynoclub | Thinkstock.

Take special care with puppies and other dogs with weaker immune systems.

Dogs should be kept clean and cleaned up after.

Ill dogs should be kept away from dog events or other group settings with dogs.

Pet owners should prohibit dogs from sharing leashes, toys and water bowls.

Recognize the role of preventive medications and topicals to control the spread of diseases.

People who touch dogs in group settings like judges, handlers, pet owners and others should wash their hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Dog event organizers should not consider holding events in areas with ticks, fleas and other disease-carrying parasites.

Surfaces should be regularly disinfected

Efforts should be made to keep rodents and wildlife out of areas where dog events take place.

Organizers should control event numbers and not engage in the overcrowding of dogs.

Every group setting should have on-site or off-site access to veterinarians who can help with disease-prevention guidelines.

Lastly, those in charge and those who participate in dog events should avail themselves to the new online risk calculator to help determine the potential for the spread of dog diseases.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Shows

Although Stull notes that dog shows happen almost every weekend in North American, he also reminds us that diseases and threats of diseases affect the growing multitude of pet events, too.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Rudd even has a vet onsite in case of emergencies.

While Dr. Stull’s study did produce relevant information, he feels that more pet owners and canine organizers could benefit from his work. He encourages pet owners to spread the word.

A Final Note on Preventing the Spread of Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Asked if he could share just one tip to help reduce disease, Dr. Stull says, “Wash your hands frequently to protect both your dog and yourself.”

Thumbnail: Photography by Holly Hildreth Photography.

Read more about dog health on Dogster.com:

New Research for Dog Bloat

5 of the Healthiest Dog Breeds Brag About Their Good Genes

Why Is My Dog Vomiting Yellow?

The post Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events? appeared first on Dogster.

0 notes

jeffreyrwelch · 7 years ago

Text

Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events?

Studying the Spread of Canine Diseases at Dog Events

Dog events are fun, but be careful! If you’re not, your dog may contract a disease. Photography ©WilleeCole | Thinkstock.

A large number of reported parvo cases in late 2012 and early 2013, with exposure to the virus believed to have taken place at dog shows, motivated OFA to suggest and fund the study.

Managing Infectious Dog Diseases

From the study, pet parents and dog event organizers should consider these recommendations:

Make sure your pup is up to date on his vaccines. Photography ©cynoclub | Thinkstock.

Take special care with puppies and other dogs with weaker immune systems.

Dogs should be kept clean and cleaned up after.

Ill dogs should be kept away from dog events or other group settings with dogs.

Pet owners should prohibit dogs from sharing leashes, toys and water bowls.

Recognize the role of preventive medications and topicals to control the spread of diseases.

People who touch dogs in group settings like judges, handlers, pet owners and others should wash their hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Dog event organizers should not consider holding events in areas with ticks, fleas and other disease-carrying parasites.

Surfaces should be regularly disinfected

Efforts should be made to keep rodents and wildlife out of areas where dog events take place.

Organizers should control event numbers and not engage in the overcrowding of dogs.

Every group setting should have on-site or off-site access to veterinarians who can help with disease-prevention guidelines.

Lastly, those in charge and those who participate in dog events should avail themselves to the new online risk calculator to help determine the potential for the spread of dog diseases.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Shows

Although Stull notes that dog shows happen almost every weekend in North American, he also reminds us that diseases and threats of diseases affect the growing multitude of pet events, too.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Rudd even has a vet onsite in case of emergencies.

While Dr. Stull’s study did produce relevant information, he feels that more pet owners and canine organizers could benefit from his work. He encourages pet owners to spread the word.

A Final Note on Preventing the Spread of Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Asked if he could share just one tip to help reduce disease, Dr. Stull says, “Wash your hands frequently to protect both your dog and yourself.”

Thumbnail: Photography by Holly Hildreth Photography.

Read more about dog health on Dogster.com:

New Research for Dog Bloat

5 of the Healthiest Dog Breeds Brag About Their Good Genes

Why Is My Dog Vomiting Yellow?

The post Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events? appeared first on Dogster.

0 notes

stiles-wtf · 7 years ago

Text

Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events?

Studying the Spread of Canine Diseases at Dog Events

Dog events are fun, but be careful! If you’re not, your dog may contract a disease. Photography ©WilleeCole | Thinkstock.

A large number of reported parvo cases in late 2012 and early 2013, with exposure to the virus believed to have taken place at dog shows, motivated OFA to suggest and fund the study.

Managing Infectious Dog Diseases

From the study, pet parents and dog event organizers should consider these recommendations:

Take special care with puppies and other dogs with weaker immune systems.

Dogs should be kept clean and cleaned up after.

Ill dogs should be kept away from dog events or other group settings with dogs.

Pet owners should prohibit dogs from sharing leashes, toys and water bowls.

Recognize the role of preventive medications and topicals to control the spread of diseases.

People who touch dogs in group settings like judges, handlers, pet owners and others should wash their hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Dog event organizers should not consider holding events in areas with ticks, fleas and other disease-carrying parasites.

Surfaces should be regularly disinfected

Efforts should be made to keep rodents and wildlife out of areas where dog events take place.

Organizers should control event numbers and not engage in the overcrowding of dogs.

Every group setting should have on-site or off-site access to veterinarians who can help with disease-prevention guidelines.

Lastly, those in charge and those who participate in dog events should avail themselves to the new online risk calculator to help determine the potential for the spread of dog diseases.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Shows

Although Stull notes that dog shows happen almost every weekend in North American, he also reminds us that diseases and threats of diseases affect the growing multitude of pet events, too.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Rudd even has a vet onsite in case of emergencies.

While Dr. Stull’s study did produce relevant information, he feels that more pet owners and canine organizers could benefit from his work. He encourages pet owners to spread the word.

A Final Note on Preventing the Spread of Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Asked if he could share just one tip to help reduce disease, Dr. Stull says, “Wash your hands frequently to protect both your dog and yourself.”

Thumbnail: Photography by Holly Hildreth Photography.

Read more about dog health on Dogster.com:

New Research for Dog Bloat

5 of the Healthiest Dog Breeds Brag About Their Good Genes

Why Is My Dog Vomiting Yellow?

The post Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events? appeared first on Dogster.

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grublypetcare · 7 years ago

Text

Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events?

Studying the Spread of Canine Diseases at Dog Events

Dog events are fun, but be careful! If you’re not, your dog may contract a disease. Photography ©WilleeCole | Thinkstock.

A large number of reported parvo cases in late 2012 and early 2013, with exposure to the virus believed to have taken place at dog shows, motivated OFA to suggest and fund the study.

Managing Infectious Dog Diseases

From the study, pet parents and dog event organizers should consider these recommendations:

Take special care with puppies and other dogs with weaker immune systems.

Dogs should be kept clean and cleaned up after.

Ill dogs should be kept away from dog events or other group settings with dogs.

Pet owners should prohibit dogs from sharing leashes, toys and water bowls.

Recognize the role of preventive medications and topicals to control the spread of diseases.

People who touch dogs in group settings like judges, handlers, pet owners and others should wash their hands or use sanitizer frequently.

Dog event organizers should not consider holding events in areas with ticks, fleas and other disease-carrying parasites.

Surfaces should be regularly disinfected

Efforts should be made to keep rodents and wildlife out of areas where dog events take place.

Organizers should control event numbers and not engage in the overcrowding of dogs.

Every group setting should have on-site or off-site access to veterinarians who can help with disease-prevention guidelines.

Lastly, those in charge and those who participate in dog events should avail themselves to the new online risk calculator to help determine the potential for the spread of dog diseases.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Shows

Although Stull notes that dog shows happen almost every weekend in North American, he also reminds us that diseases and threats of diseases affect the growing multitude of pet events, too.

What Organizers Are Doing to Combat Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Rudd even has a vet onsite in case of emergencies.

While Dr. Stull’s study did produce relevant information, he feels that more pet owners and canine organizers could benefit from his work. He encourages pet owners to spread the word.

A Final Note on Preventing the Spread of Dog Diseases at Dog Events

Asked if he could share just one tip to help reduce disease, Dr. Stull says, “Wash your hands frequently to protect both your dog and yourself.”

Thumbnail: Photography by Holly Hildreth Photography.

Read more about dog health on Dogster.com:

New Research for Dog Bloat

5 of the Healthiest Dog Breeds Brag About Their Good Genes

Why Is My Dog Vomiting Yellow?

The post Could Your Pup Be Picking Up Diseases at Dog Events? appeared first on Dogster.

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orbemnews · 4 years ago

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He spent his stimulus cash on 30,000 masks for the homeless and others in want Anybody under a sure earnings degree — $75,000 for people and $150,000 for married {couples} — acquired a test for $1,200 final spring, and one other spherical of $600 checks are being despatched out now. However one criticism of the funds is that they aren’t concentrating on those that need assistance most. And never everybody wants the cash. CNN Enterprise heard from many readers who say that since they continue to be financially steady, they’ve chosen to make use of their stimulus funds to assist these in want. And a few, no matter their very own monetary state of affairs, say they really feel an ethical obligation to assist others. This is how they’re paying it ahead. Jeff Suchon of Highland Park, New Jersey, lives on a low fastened earnings and is not working because of well being considerations. Whereas the stimulus cash may permit him to reside with higher ease for a short time, he determined final spring he needed to make use of it as a substitute to purchase masks for the homeless and indigent. To this point, he says, he is bought greater than 30,000 masks together with his financial reduction funds and a few of his earnings. He is gotten assist distributing the masks by means of the soup kitchen Elijah’s Promise, homeless shelters, church buildings and meals pantries. “I reside on fumes after shopping for the masks, however I be ok with it,” Suchon mentioned. His reasoning: By offering one particular person with a masks he is not solely serving to that particular person keep wholesome, but additionally the those that particular person is available in contact with. “We’re all on this collectively. I simply need different folks to copy it. If I can do it, you are able to do it,” Suchon mentioned. “Good begets good.” Offering assist for homeless seniors Stephanie Woods-McKinney, who works for a union pension fund, feels very fortunate that she has been capable of work from her house in Bronx, New York, all through the pandemic. She has even managed to avoid wasting more cash consequently. Plus, she hasn’t needed to pay her scholar loans since Congress authorized an automated deferral for debtors because of the Covid disaster. “I have been donating cash as a result of I am nonetheless working,” Woods-McKinney mentioned. “Having the ability to assist these in want has mentally helped me.” One in all Woods-McKinney’s charities of alternative is 100 Fits for 100 Males. In regular occasions it supplies enterprise apparel for underprivileged women and men trying to find work. However through the pandemic the group has been, amongst different issues, distributing meals to seniors in homeless shelters, based on the group’s website online. Serving to low-income folks within the LGBTQ group Sheldon Joseph, who works at a credit score union within the Seattle space, determined to reap the benefits of his employer’s three-for-one match when he donated his stimulus checks to a neighborhood meals financial institution and the Lavender Rights Mission, which supplies authorized and different companies for low-income folks within the LGBTQ group. Working at a credit score union, Joseph says, has made him all too conscious of the truth that numerous folks do not have sufficient in emergency financial savings. Since he feels financially steady proper now, he mentioned, he felt his stimulus cash ought to be put to good use. “It is my accountability to donate it and get it out into the group to those that want it,” Joseph mentioned. Supporting struggling pet homeowners Carolyn Alonzo, who owns a Fetch! Pet Care franchise in Chicago, has seen her enterprise take an enormous hit through the pandemic. And to make issues worse, two of her canine died. To counter her emotions of grief on each counts, Alonzo determined to create the nonprofit Obi’s Pet Pantry to assist people who find themselves having a tough time financially offering for his or her pets. She retains it stocked with meals, blankets, collars, shampoo and different pet provides partially together with her stimulus cash and with the donations the pantry receives. “It is out there for folks in want, no questions requested, and all the gadgets are free,” Alonzo mentioned. “I really feel like I am serving a goal and if it wasn’t for this, I do not know what I might be doing proper now.” Serving to animal shelter workers Bryan Kendall and his spouse, Sally, reside in Waterloo, Illinois, not removed from St. Louis. They’re each retired and volunteer at a neighborhood animal shelter. They used their final stimulus test and can use their present one largely to offer cash to the hourly staff on the shelter. Kendall, who labored as an electrician, is completely happy to have a safe retirement because of a pension and having at all times lived inside their means. However he mentioned he and his spouse each “got here from nothing” and know what it is prefer to wrestle. “My complete profession was working by the hour. If I did not work, I did not receives a commission. And the minimal wage would not go very far,” Kendall mentioned. Shopping for meals for underprivileged children Matthew Pierce grew up in a low-income family and is aware of what it is prefer to not find the money for for the fundamentals. Now that he is a instructor on the Milton Hershey Faculty in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which supplies a free training and on-campus housing for low-income children, he’s keen to assist his college students each time he can. That is why Pierce selected to make use of his stimulus funds to purchase Uber Eats present playing cards for a lot of college students and their households. “This one is private for me. Having been in want … I do know what would remedy sooner or later’s value of issues,” he mentioned. And as each good instructor is aware of, it is vital to set a great instance for teenagers. “We have now to mannequin good civics. It isn’t one thing we’re born with,” Pierce mentioned. “We have to give again in occasions of want.” Supply hyperlink #000masksforthehomelessandothersinneed-CNN #Hespenthisstimulusmoneyon30 #homeless #Masks #Money #spent #Stimulus #success

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