Manchester City left facing uphill Champions League struggle

 

Manchester City must feel like a horrible nightmare is in danger of creeping back into their

  minds.

“One or two of the Manchester City side look like they're resting on their laurels”

Mark Lawrenson Football analyst

The wreckage of last season's Champions League campaign remains fresh in the memory and now Roberto Mancini is battling to prevent history repeating itself.

The champions of England were thoroughly outplayed by a rampant Borussia Dortmund side in a 1-1 draw at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday. It was a performance which gave City's hopes of progressing to the last 16 of Europe's premier competition a serious reality check, 12 months after the club crashed out at the group stage.
"One or two of the Manchester City side look like they're resting on their laurels," BBC Sport's Mark Lawrenson said.
"They're not the side they were last season. There is something fundamentally missing from them at the moment."
Mancini must feel the fates are conspiring against him, having drawn Real Madrid, Ajax and Dortmund after playing Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal last season. City's first campaign in the competition ended in disappointment but from the toughest of groups, they claimed 10 points.
It was not a disaster, even with the hundreds of millions Mancini has spent trying to insure themselves against such setbacks, but as they slipped into Europe's second tier competition and prepared for Thursday night football, the club resolved to come back stronger this time around.

City relief and Dortmund agony

• Mario Balotelli's penalty was his 11th in official matches and he has converted them all
• Dortmund were denied a first win in England in more than 15 years - their last was a 1-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 23 April 1997

And yet this season's task is every bit as formidable. This was a difficult group from the moment it was drawn in August, but City have made it even harder for themselves by throwing away a lead with minutes remaining in Madrid and producing an indisciplined defensive performance against the German champions.

City have plenty of room for improvement. Inspired by Ilkay Gundogan's midfield generalship, Mario Gotze's prodigious work on the wings, stellar finishing by Marco Reus and a workrate and ambition that glowed throughout the team, Dortmund were a sight to behold.
Unstoppable as they might feel in the Premier League, City have found life difficult on the European stage.
Difficult, though, does not begin to describe a chastening evening in which Joe Hart had to be at the peak of his powers as Dortmund and their raucous, rowdy supporters simply outperformed the champions of England.
"The Champions League is totally different from the championship," Mancini said.
"If you concede like we concede this evening, it is hard to win. If you don't defend, if you don't run like Borussia Dortmund did this evening, it is difficult. This is my problem - is my job. I will solve this problem."
Mancini must now address the "problems" he referred to at the final whistle. This was a performance that epitomised his team's faltering progress this season: style but no substance, beauty but no brawn, panache but no penetration.
They were outnumbered and occasionally swamped in midfield by opponents who defended far more obdurately and counter-attacked far more proficiently than those they face in the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany looks unrecognisable to the formidable leader he was last season, while there is a worrying lack of width in midfield. The yellow card that the Belgian was shown in the 28th minute, for a cynical block on Reus, will rule him out of the match against Ajax on 24 October.
It would be foolhardy to rule out a team who clinched the Premier League title in the manner City did last May. With their fate hanging by a thread against Dortmund, City salvaged a point they did not deserve thanks to Mario Balotelli's late penalty and Hart's heroics to ensure their hopes of qualifying are still realistically intact.
Mancini will cling to that as he prepares for matches home and away against Ajax before a potentially defining trip to Germany.
Beware the wounded animal. Disappointment does not rest easy with Mancini but there is much to do if they are to prevent the nightmare from becoming a reality.

15 Weird Things Linked to Heart Attacks

Heart attack risk factors

When it comes to heart attacks, most people think a steady diet of greasy food and sedentary living is to blame.

While it’s true that diet and lifestyle play a role (not to mention, family history), there are other, less common factors linked with heart trouble.

Here are some weird things that you would never think could potentially harm your heart.

what is the healthiest way of eating?

The Healthiest Way of Eating is eating for maximum nutrition and enjoyment. Eating is one of the few things we do every single day. And since most of us eat 3 or more meals a day we are eating over 1,000 meals a year! That means we have the opportunity to make 1,000 healthy decisions each year to positively affect our health. The Healthiest Way of Eating is designed to help you make decisions that will optimize your health. And it can be done in 3 easy steps:

1. Select health-promoting, nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods
2. Combine them in the Healthiest Way of Eating Plan to fulfill your nutritional requirements
3. Use cooking methods that retain maximum nutrition and flavor

The Healthiest Way of Eating is for those for whom eating is not merely a reaction to "hunger" but for those who want to eat for nourishment and better health. This new Healthiest Way of Eating goes far beyond taking in calories to satisfy your hunger; it is a way to enjoy foods that will nourish your body. If you want to eat healthier, the Healthiest Way of Eating does all the work for you by taking out all of the guesswork and making it creative, fun, easy, and enjoyable.
Nutrient-Richness is the Paradigm at the Core of The Healthiest Way of Eating
Nutrient-richness is the key to the Healthiest Way of Eating. It is the measurement of how many nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, fiber, carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, and phytonutrients) you will receive from your food for the least number of calories.

Nutrient-Rich World's	=	Maximum Nutrients
		Minimal Calories

Your body requires over 50 vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids every day to operate efficiently and keep you healthy. All of these nutrients can be found in the nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods.

Why the World's Healthiest Foods Should Be Your Foods of Choice

The World's Healthiest Foods are among the most nutrient-rich foods in the world and therefore help promote optimal health by providing you with maximum nutrition and taste for the least number of calories. They ensure your body is receiving the necessary amount of nutrients it needs. Along with vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and omega-3 fatty acids they are concentrated in antioxidants and phytonutrients, which combat free radicals that can damage DNA and cellular structures, as well as act as powerful anti-inflammatory agents.
We always recommending selecting nutrient-rich World's Healthiest Foods for our body to function optimally and inspire well-being. The Healthiest Way of Eating may help you enjoy more energy, strong bones, healthy skin, good sleep, and other aspects of optimal wellness. Alternatively, a diet that emphasizes nutrient-poor foods may lead to symptoms of nutrient deficiency: low energy, unhealthy skin, poor heart health, an inability to sleep, and reduced ability to cope with stress.
Our List of World's Healthiest Foods highlights more than 100 foods, which I have selected to be among the world's healthiest after 40 years of traveling around the globe searching for the foods associated with cultures recognized for their exceptional health and longevity.
For each food you will find a description of the food; how to select, store, prepare, and cook the food; its health benefits; and its nutritional profile. The list of World's Healthiest Foods helps you to select which of the nutrient-rich foods fit your personal tastes and nutritional needs. There may also be times when you are interested in increasing the intake of a particular nutrient. In that case click on the link to the -nutrient in which you are interested from our list of Essential Nutrients and find which of the World's Healthiest Foods is most concentrated in that particular nutrient.
And every week we feature one of the World's Healthiest Foods on the home page-a food that is currently in season, a food that is currently in season when it has the best flavor and is the least expensive.

Enjoy the World's Healthiest Foods in the Powerful Healthiest Way of Eating Plan

You will love the foods in the Healthiest Way of Eating Plan: sweet fruit, rich in antioxidants vitamins, minerals, and fiber; great tasting vegetables, rich in immune-boosting nutrients; crunchy fresh salads that are full of enzymes and alive with flavor; great omega-3-rich fish recipes; beans and legumes are rich in folate, protein, and fiber; and nuts and seeds that are great for snacks.
For over 30 years I was told it would be impossible for food alone (without taking supplements) to supply enough nutrients to promote optimal health, but that's what the Healthiest Way of Eating Plan is all about. It supplies it with you with over 100% of most nutrients your body needs. Each nutrient has a specific role to play in the regeneration of the approximately 300 billion new cells created by our bodies each day! For these cells to be healthy, proper nutritional intake is a must. And because nutrients work synergistically, the Plan provides the variety of nutrient-rich foods nutrients to support the synergistic interaction of nutrients. The nutrients concentrated in the World's Healthiest Foods featured in the the Plan also provide anti-inflammatory protection for a healthier cardiovascular system and a stronger immune system as well as protection against the free radical activity that can damage cellular structures and DNA.
The Plan provides over 100% Daily Value of many important nutrients from foods. These include:

• Protein-rich foods that scientific studies have found to promote healthy skin, hair, and nails
• Vitamin K-rich foods that scientific studies have found to promote the absorption of calcium and prevent osteoporosis
• Vitamin A-rich foods that scientific studies have found to help support a healthy immune system, prevent frequent colds and flues, and promote healthy vision
• Vitamin C-rich foods that scientific studies have found to help reduce free radical damage to cells.
• Fiber-Rich Foods that scientific studies have found to help support the health of the digestive system
• Folate-rich foods that scientific studies have found to help support cardiovascular health.

And many more. . . .

The Healthiest Way of Eating Plan Promotes Synergistic Interaction of Nutrients

Nutrients do not work alone but in concert (synergistically) with other nutrients in foods. The Healthiest Way of Eating Plan works to promote beneficial nutrient interaction and allows for the synergistic reactions between nutrients essential for optimal health. The benefit of deriving nutrients from eating fresh whole foods such as those included on the list of the World's Healthiest Foods is that they provide not only an abundance of individual nutrients but also the variety necessary for their optimal function.
One good example of how the synergistic interaction between nutrients in foods works is in regards to bone health. The importance of calcium is almost always featured as the nutrient necessary for maintaining strong, healthy bones. The reality is that strong bones also need vitamins D and K, magnesium, and trace minerals like boron. All of these nutrients are not concentrated in one foods but in a combination of foods. Of course, milk and yogurt supply are great sources of calcium, green leafy vegetables provide you with vitamin K, and salmon is a wonderful source of those hard-to-find omega-3 fatty acids. So, as you can see by eating a range of delicious foods you'll enjoy great taste and promote better bone health.
The Healthiest Way of Eating Plan was designed to take the guesswork of healthy eating and make it fun, easy, and enjoyable. It provides a menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks for 7 days. After following the Plan, you'll become a master on how to mix and match recipes so that you can enjoy delicious meals that will help you take control of your health. And you won't feel deprived or hungry because nutrients like fiber help keep you feeling satiated and satisfied.

The Healthiest Way of Eating Plan Can Help Save You Money

The Healthiest Way of Eating can save you money since it will inspire you to prepare more of your meals at home rather than buying take-out food or eating out at restaurants. By purchasing food on sale or sold at local farmers' markets you also save additional money. You can therefore purchase these powerful health-promoting foods for no more than what you are spending on food now if you eat healthy and even less if you regularly eat out. And they are much less expensive than supplements. Also when you take into consideration all of the health benefits derived from the Healthiest Way of Eating and the Plan you actually get more for your money because it provides you with health insurance that really works!
In the Healthiest Way of Eating Plan you will learn how to get over 100% of most nutrients.

The Healthiest Way of Eating Includes the New Healthiest Way of Cooking

The Healthiest Way of Cooking is an integral part of the Healthiest Way of Eating. George was inspired to develop the Healthiest Way of Cooking (link to cooking) when he found that traditional cooking methods could lose up to 50-80% of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients found in food! To George that meant that even if he was purchasing the most nutrient-rich foods available, it was possible that he was not enjoying many of their health-promoting benefits because if the foods were not cooked properly he was not enjoying the full range of their nutrient potential.
The new Healthiest Way of Cooking will take you out of the dark age of traditional cooking. You will discover how great vegetables can taste and how tenderizing their fibers by cooking them al dente helps release their naturally wonderful and complex flavors.
We have long been aware that no matter how good a food is for you, no one will eat it if it doesn't taste good. That's why George placed equal importance on maximizing nutrition and taste when developing his Healthiest Way of Cooking. And because the Healthiest Way of Cooking is quick and easy, it is a perfect fit in today's busy lifestyle.
To put George's cooking methods into practice WHFoods.org website provides you with at-home cooking demonstrations, WHFoods Kitchen, and an extensive library of hundreds of recipes , many of which you will find in the Healthiest Way of Eating Plan. From breakfast to dinner, soups to salads, vegetable side dishes to vegetable entrees, you can find delicious recipes that will entice your whole family and save you time and money. Most recipes can be prepared in 5 minutes or less using 3 or fewer ingredients! Using these recipes-such as 15-Minute Salmon, dinner salad with Mediterranean Dressing, 5-Minute Broccoli, and Blueberry Parfait - you can even learn how to prepare a 4-course meal in just 15 minutes!
If you don't want to worry about what to prepare for a meal, we recommend you sign up for our free Weekly Newsletter and Daily Tips on the home page. Each day you will receive a Recipe of the Day that provides you with great ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snacks. You will also receive a Q&A about a food or nutrition topic to help you learn more about The Healthiest Way of Eating.
You can also learn more about our Healthiest Way of Cooking from George's new Healthiest Way of Cooking DVD and cookbook.

A Lifestyle Change to The Healthiest Way of Eating

Modern science now concurs that among all lifestyle factors, no single factor is more important to our health than the food we eat. According to healthcare experts, our best bet in avoiding chronic preventable disease rates does not lie in more expensive medical procedures, or in more sophisticated technology, or in further specialization with respect to testing and medication. Our best bet, experts agree, lies in the simple, everyday practice of a lifestyle change in the foods that we eat.
We could be saving millions of lives and several hundred billion dollars in healthcare costs related to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer if we would eat more health-promoting, nutrient-rich foods like the World's Healthiest Foods-foods that the peer-reviewed medical research has already suggested may help prevent these diseases. Instead of spending more money and having more disease (our current situation), we would be spending less money and having less disease!
What's also remarkable about the chronic preventable disease patterns described above is the degree to which they overlap when it comes to dietary prevention. Based on current research, we do not seem to need one diet for preventing heart disease, a second diet for preventing diabetes, a third diet for preventing obesity, and a fourth diet for preventing cancer.
What seems to be needed in the case of all four chronic preventable diseases is that the changes in the foods we eat move in the same general direction: decreased intake of sugar, salt, animal fat, and processed foods, and increased intake of health-promoting, nutrient-rich foods like the World's Healthiest Foods. Dietary prevention in the case of all four chronic preventable diseases calls for a greater focus on health-promoting foods and a healthier way of eating that can be followed and enjoyed day after day, year after year.
Nutrient-rich foods like the World's Healthiest foods are the keys to a healthy lifestyle. It is the source of good health and energy. Following The Healthiest Way of Eating can benefit all of us. Eating more nutrient-rich foods, cooking them properly, and learning about how to create a better way of eating by following the Plan will help you feel stronger and healthier. You can have more energy, enjoy better sleep and less stress, and promote general optimal health.
We have created this website to serve as a comprehensive resource that leaves you with no guessing about what you have to do to eat healthier. It offers you all the tools you'll need to make eating healthier an integral part of your healthy lifestyle.
Testimonials about the Healthiest Way of Eating:
I discovered your site and your list of the healthiest foods a few years back. It has been my blueprint for my Healthiest Way of Eating since then. - Annie
I really enjoy your site and your Healthiest Way of Eating so much info in a concise form. I have little time to surf the web. You provide so much up to date info. I am in and out of the net, armed with knowledge to keep myself and my family healthy. You are a true blessing. Thanks. - Mary
Thank you: Hi, I just wanted to tell you how I appreciate You, your Healthiest Way of Eating website, recipes and tips that you send. I just had the most delicious lunch that I have had in along time, thanks to your ideas. Thank you, I am also shedding those pounds. - Rosemarie
From all the books and materials I already studied on the Healthiest Way of Eating specific for kids, I found "The World Healthiest Foods" to be the best of the best related to what people need to know and implement into their life. You inspired me when I design the program on nutrition for kids, and I believe you need to have all the credits. - Mario
I have been using your website as a tool for me and my family for the Healthiest Way of Eating. I have lost approx 7 pounds in 3 weeks along with exercise. I feel great and just wanted to thank you for all the work that goes into your website. Just knowing the benefits of the different foods has motivated us to eat better. Thanks again. - TI
I recently stumbled upon your website (and soon after ordered your amazing book The World's Healthiest Foods!). I have fallen in love with your foundation's wonderful approach to the Healthiest Way of Eating. - Raychel
Thanks for sharing your passion with the world and making it easy for some of my friends who have never even thought of the Healthiest Way of Eating to transition into getting their 'power' back. - EL

Chick-fil-A is Bad For Your Political Health

I am open to hearing good arguments for why fast-food consumers like me should continue to eat at Chick-fil-A despite the offensive politics of its founder. This, however, is not a good argument, and it’s taking over my social media streams to the point I can’t help but point out its main flaw.
Here are a few lines from the piece. I’m plucking them from context because I want to show a thread that weaves throughout:

I’m flummoxed that so many consumers are so quick these days to call for boycotts of any company that deviates from their personal or political views.
But my bigger question is this: In a nation that’s as divided as ours is, do we really want our commercial lives and our political lives to be so wholly intermeshed? And is this really the kind of culture we want to create?
On both sides of our latest culture war divide, we must learn to have level-headed disagreements without resorting to accusations of hate speech and boycotts. As Josh Ozersky argued on TIME Thursday, “businesses should be judged by their products and their practices, not by their politics.”
I agree: I don’t care how my dry cleaner votes. I just want to know if he/she can press my Oxfords without burning my sleeves. I find no compelling reason to treat sandwiches differently than shirts.

The premise is that politics and economics are separate realms, and we are “creating a culture” of division by dragging politics into such things as economic transactions. One could hardly better encapsulate the reality we live under, where economics have completely replaced politics. That’s pretty much the definition of classical liberalism: true politics, where human values are disputed, are expected to be sublimated by economic transactions. The winner is the corporation, which can now reap the profits of a society where no human value is allowed to be more important than a business deal. (If you question that orthodoxy, you’re likely to be labeled a “radical” or a “partisan,” or better yet, just “too political.”) This ideology owes its entire existence to the need for capitalists to keep human values out of the way of the market. Above all, it must keep politics a dirty word, because people who know what politics are and how to use them can cause trouble for capitalists very quickly.
So, to Jonathan Merritt, I would start by pointing out that our commercial and our political lives are already completely intermeshed, because under the current regime we basically only have commercial lives. The only political power to be had in the United States is money, and even if you don’t have enough to make a corporation hurt, how you consume is one of the few expressions of political will open to the average citizen. They may not have enough money to shake the economy, and may not even when pooled with a large group of like-minded people. But a visceral awareness that money is politics is an excellent first step toward the average person realizing his or her political agency and taking responsibility for it.
If it baffles Merritt that people expect the corporations that live off their support to reflect their political views, it baffles me that a religious person would be admonishing people to submit to a system that works aggressively to suppress any realization that economic transactions have profound implications on human values. Even if the corporatization of our society is so complete that it is objectively impossible to avoid giving money to entities that are at that very moment working to undermine our political freedoms, every religious and ethically-minded institution should be urging those under its influence to be aware and resist wherever possible. You can agree or disagree with Chick-fil-A’s stance on the rights of gay citizens to get married, but you cannot pretend it is irrelevant.
In sum, you should absolutely be supporting corporations that put human values ahead of profit, and doing your best to keep your dollars away from ones that exploit workers and try to obstruct democracy, whether directly by stripping workers of their rights or indirectly by supporting the exclusionary social fantasies of religious reactionaries. The market-ideology-generators in the media will always be there to pooh-pooh genuine political efforts, to remind Americans how powerless their protests and boycotts are to stop the almighty economy. They will call you angry and partisan and disaffected and closed-minded and illiberal. Above all, remember that when they tell you to “keep politics out of it,” they are telling you to throw away your selfhood as a citizen. When they whiningly demand if really, you have to make even this little thing political? The answer is yes.

Mark Noll’s evangelical mind

Nearly 20 years ago Mark Noll published The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, a clarion call for evangelical Christians to re-examine their attitude towards the life of the mind. Noll wanted to understand why contemporary evangelicalism seemed to ignore the life of the mind in preference for a more affective faith, and how this fact could be explained historically. In so doing Noll also alerted readers to the sometimes sophisticated intellectual life of evangelicals in the past. Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind extends these aspects of the Scandal’s aims by outlining more concretely the resources upon which evangelicals might draw in order to cultivate the life of the mind as an integral part of their faith.
In brief, Noll thinks that the evangelical mind should be rooted in the historical creeds of Christian orthodoxy – the Apostles’ Creed, the Council of Nicaea, the Council of Chalcedon. Noll contends that these doctrinal statements provide a “place from which to stand” as well as the motivation and the means by which to approach the world through the life of the mind. For instance, the Triune understanding of the Christian God can provide motivation for philosophical inquiry (the Being of God), for the study of language (the Son as the Word), and for the writing of history (God’s providential action as the Holy Spirit). Similarly, the doctrine of Creation can inspire evangelicals to seriously study the natural universe as God’s work, while the doctrine of Incarnation provides motivation for the study of the situated human personality (i.e. the humanities and human sciences). Furthermore, Noll sees an evangelical interpretation of Scripture and the concomitant Scriptural-providential reading of history as grounded in practices which can serve evangelicals well in today’s academy. For example, the “doubleness” of Christ’s nature (man/God) as understood by Trinitarians can be extended to analogous situations in Scripture and in history in which an alteration in perspective yields a new and different understanding of a given event. Likewise, Noll suggests that the contingency and particularity so often evident in the narratives found in Scripture can be a model for similar approaches to the human sciences and humanities.
Each of these points is of course open to question. However, Noll does not attempt to present an apology for evangelical belief in Jesus Christ (no pun intended!), but rather to show how evangelical belief can integrate a cultivated intellectual life. To someone raised in evangelicalism and who has spent the past decade in the academy, this is approach is understandable but somewhat unsatisfying – for in cultivating the life of the mind, isn’t it likely that questions will arise about the very basis of evangelical belief and practice? In contrast to his Notre Dame colleague Alasdair MacIntyre, Noll does not answer the question of how the evangelical mind fits within the philosophical orientation of universities and colleges in North America and Europe today. Whereas MacIntyre has put forward a trenchant critique of what he sees as the rival philosophical approaches to the question of truth – most recently in God, Philosophy, Universities – Noll simply outlines a portrait of the evangelical mind which can find a place in today’s institutions of higher learning. In other words, Noll’s book doesn’t really address the question of how to navigate the truth of belief – an omission which might be regarded as glaring given the fact that many young evangelicals are likely to find their beliefs challenged at university or college.
A related problem arises with the historical side to Noll’s outline. Echoing his method in the Scandal, Noll writes in Jesus Christ of past evangelicals who serve as exemplars of what an engaged evangelical mind might look like. These include W. B. Warfield, an evangelical who fruitfully engaged with and appropriated Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, as well as the Canadian historian George Rawlyk, a committed Baptist and socialist. Noll seems to be suggesting that present evangelicals can look to their past and reclaim an intellectual heritage which might free them from present-minded constraints – in this case, Creationism or capitalism. Yet, quite obviously, the past is as full of non-evangelical, non-orthodox, and non-Christian possibilities as well. Elsewhere, in books such as Turning Points: Decisive Moments in Christian History, Noll has attempted to teach the historical nature of what he sees as Christian orthodoxy through its controversies. In spite of this scholarly care, however, Noll’s is still a much smoother, far less complicated account than can be found in other general histories written for a public audience, such as Diarmaid MacCulloch’s Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. (On the subjects of the Councils of Nicaea and Chalcedon, this narrative difference is quite telling.) It isn’t clear from Jesus Christ how Noll would advise his evangelical readers to navigate this apparent historical pluralism or what it might imply about evangelical belief. These questions only get murkier when Noll insists on the legitimacy of providential history without ever specifying what this might look like – how exactly does a historian read the hand of God in the affairs of humankind today?
Another of Noll’s historical insights offers what seems to me to be a more fruitful way forward. In The New Shape of World Christianity Noll revises David Bebbington’s “evangelical quadrilateral” – four characteristics which Bebbington argues has defined the evangelical identity – by adding appropriationism to bibliocentrism, crucicentrism, conversionism, and activism. That is, Noll suggests that evangelicals have displayed a readiness to forsake tradition in the name of appropriating their faith in new circumstances. To Noll, the adaptability of evangelicals in many historical circumstances has enabled them to remain “true” to the other four characteristics in Bebbington’s formulation.
This strikes me as a potentially interesting revision. One of the things Noll calls for in his examination of the evangelical life of the mind is a reconsideration of Jesus Christ. Stated baldly, this seems like a rather well-worn trope. But if we turn Noll’s “reconsideration” of Christ into the “realization” of Christ, perhaps we get closer to his more interesting intention. We might rephrase Noll by saying that evangelicals already possess the intellectual resources which can help them remain faithful to their beliefs, so long as that faithfulness is understood as an appropriation and not as the literal imposition of a particular image of the past. To realize the past anew, as Paul Ricoeur argues in Memory, History, Forgetting, is much more than a restoring or a re-actualizing of the past, it is “a matter of recalling, replying to, retorting, even of revoking heritages. The creative power of repetition is contained entirely in this power of opening up the past again to the future.” Perhaps the evangelical appropriation of faith in today’s circumstances, in keeping with a continued (though modified) emphasis on the centrality of the Bible, the Crucifixion, the experience of conversion, and practical action, can open itself up a new future. Noll has certainly provided further impetus for a renewed evangelical future, joining a growing chorus of scholars such as Christian Smith and Peter Enns arguing for much the same thing. The challenge, of course, will be whether or not this new future is seen as sufficiently “evangelical” enough for those who continue to identify as such. As Ricouer notes, one of the powers of history lies in its ability to recall past heritages, what Noll calls “a place from which to stand”; yet critical history can also  retort and revoke that same heritage in the name of truth and justice. If Noll is right, and evangelicals have displayed a willingness to forsake tradition in the name of appropriating the gospel anew, there is reason to hope that they can be enabled by their history, rather than constrained, to a wider possible future.

Energy efficiency – saving resources

Efficient energy use helps to safeguard valuable energy resources for the future.

A continuously rising energy demand combined with increasingly limited natural resources are challenging energy suppliers, industry as well as consumers to rethink how we produce and use energy. Energy efficiency, smart energy use, and energy savings are keys to meeting this challenge in a sustainable way.

Energy efficiency involves the entire chain of energy conversion – from effective generation to transmission and distribution of electrical energy to economical use in industry, transportation, buildings, and other consumers. Especially in the hot and sunny countries of the Gulf region, renewable sources like solar energy can play a key role. The reuse of water in this dry region is also crucial.

As a region that is building its future on some of the most advanced technology, Siemens holds the solutions to forward deliver highest efficiency. Siemens is the only company worldwide that supports customers with its own products and solutions along the entire chain of energy conversion. At the Wetex Exhibition 2012, held from March 13 to 15 in Dubai, we featured highlights from our portfolio of energy-saving products.

The company has entered a long-term strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy initiative “Masdar”. Furthermore Siemens is a founding member of the Desertec Initiative to supply sustainable power for Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa based on renewable energy sources.

Increasing Solar Energy Awareness in El Paso

With nearly 300 sunny days a year, El Paso, Texas, is an ideal location for solar energy installations, which is why the city recently launched its first Renewable Energy Education Project using solar energy.
Located in downtown El Paso’s Calvary Man Triangle, the project’s centerpiece -- the Aztec Calendar Pavilion -- is a domed-shaped public gathering and performance space made with a combination of steel, concrete, solar panels, light condensers and crystal prisms. It incorporates Aztec designs, paying homage to the civilization’s impressive architectural accomplishments. The pavilion provides four 110V AC solar-powered outlets where visitors can charge their electronic devices using clean solar energy, and excess solar energy will be fed back into the city’s power grid. Visitors to the pavilion will be able to have a unique educational experience -- learning how solar energy works and seeing a real-time digital readout displaying current energy usage statistics.
Growing the local solar PV industry is a key component of the city’s economic development plan. The pavilion’s interactive display helps the community better understand how solar energy is created and its potential for residential and commercial public building owners. A new minor league baseball park will be built adjacent to the pavilion, which will help increase the number of visitors to the pavilion who can learn about the benefits of solar energy.
The city used $250,000 from the Energy Department’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program to complete the pavilion. Last week, the city hosted a ribbon-cutting event in Calvary Man Triangle to showcase the renewable energy education project and highlight the variety of community-wide projects supported by EECBG funds.

Forex Tutorial: Introduction to Currency Trading

The foreign exchange market (forex or FX for short) is one of the most exciting, fast-paced markets around. Until recently, forex trading in the currency market had been the domain of large financial institutions, corporations, central banks, hedge funds and extremely wealthy individuals. The emergence of the internet has changed all of this, and now it is possible for average investors to buy and sell currencies easily with the click of a mouse through online brokerage accounts.

Daily currency fluctuations are usually very small. Most currency pairs move less than one cent per day, representing a less than 1% change in the value of the currency. This makes foreign exchange one of the least volatile financial markets around. Therefore, many currency speculators rely on the availability of enormous leverage to increase the value of potential movements. In the retail forex market, leverage can be as much as 250:1. Higher leverage can be extremely risky, but because of round-the-clock trading and deep liquidity, foreign exchange brokers have been able to make high leverage an industry standard in order to make the movements meaningful for currency traders.

Free Currency Trading eBook From Forex.com

Extreme liquidity and the availability of high leverage have helped to spur the market's rapid growth and made it the ideal place for many traders. Positions can be opened and closed within minutes or can be held for months. Currency prices are based on objective considerations of supply and demand and cannot be manipulated easily because the size of the market does not allow even the largest players, such as central banks, to move prices at will.

The forex market provides plenty of opportunity for investors. However, in order to be successful, a currency trader has to understand the basics behind currency movements.

The goal of this forex tutorial is to provide a foundation for investors or traders who are new to the foreign currency markets. We'll cover the basics of exchange rates, the market's history and the key concepts you need to understand in order to be able to participate in this market. We'll also venture into how to start trading foreign currencies and the different types of strategies that can be employed.

U.S. futures little changed ahead of ADP report; Dow Jones up 0.03%

Forexpros - U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open on Wednesday, as investors eyed the release of key U.S. employment data later in the day, while global growth concerns continued to weigh on market sentiment.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.03% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.01% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.13% increase.

Market sentiment weakened after Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday ruled out a bailout request before this weekend, despite persistent speculation that Madrid was moving closer to requesting external financial aid.

Investors were also cautious after weak service sector data out of Europe and China fuelled concerns over the outlook for the global economic recovery.

Earlier Wednesday, official data showed that growth in China’s service sector moderated in September, underlining concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.

The tech sector was expected to be active, as Hewlett-Packard was to hold an analyst day meeting and investors were expected to grill Chief Executive Meg Whitman on how she plans to reverse a share price that has lost more value this year than almost any other major technology company.

Meanwhile, Google subsidiary Motorola Mobility reportedly dropped a complaint of patent infringement against Apple without explanation. Shares in the iPhone maker were up 0.56% in pre-market trade.

Retailers were also likely to be in focus, after Reuters reported that Best Buy founder Richard Schulze and at least four private-equity firms are looking at the company’s finances with a view to a possible USD11 billion buyout. Shares in Best Buy surged 5.19% in pre-market trade.

Supervalu also gained ground, with shares jumping 1.75% pre-market, after people with knowledge of the matter said the company has attracted interest from billionaire Ronald Burkle and buyout firms KKR & Co. and TPG Capital.

In addition, financial stocks were slated to move, as JP Morgan continued to attract media attention after New York’s attorney general filed a fraud lawsuit against the U.S. lender earlier in the week.

Other stocks in focus included Monsanto, the world's largest seed company, as well as Marriott International and retailer Family Dollar, due to report quarterly earnings.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.29%, Germany's DAX inched up 0.01%, while Britain's FTSE 100 eased up 0.03%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.23%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index declined 0.45%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce a report on ADP nonfarm payrolls and the Institute of Supply Management was to produce data on U.S. service sector activity.

IMI is Presenting at Digital World Expo 2012 in Las Vegas

We are excited to announce IMI’s strong presence at Digital World Expo 2012 in Las Vegas later this week September 27 – 29.  One of our resident data scientists, Justin Goodman, will be presenting on Friday and Saturday about attribution analytics modeling!

More information about the conference can be found a  Below is a description of Goodman’s presentation:

Finally!  Over the last year, few tools have been uncovered and finally available for real-world attribution modeling.  Everyone knows the “last click” concept is out the window when it comes to areas that influence consumer purchasing decisions.  Take this hour to review the best tools available in the marketplace for companies to start attribution assessment and take the next step!

Key takeaways include:

• Service tools for attribution modeling (demos)
• Expectations and cost-of-entry
• How to implement your new-found knowledge
• Budgeting and internal report management
• Re-educating clients and senior management
• Upper and lower funnel perceptions and assessment
• Which engagements are the most effective / impactful