There is only one solution to infection: quarantine. But by the time you recognize the problem it is often too late. A Lola Montez overwhelms you with her forceful personality. Cassius intrigues you with his confiding nature and the depth of his feelings. How can you protect yourself against such insidious viruses? The answer lies in judging people on the effects they have on the world and not on the reasons they give for their problems. Infectors can be recognized by the misfortune they draw on themselves, their turbulent past, their long line of broken relationships, their unstable careers, and the very force of their character, which sweeps you up and makes you lose your reason. Be forewarned by these signs of an infector; learn to see the discontent in their eye. Most important of all, do not take pity. Do not enmesh yourself in trying to help. The infector will remain unchanged, but you will be unhinged.
There are many kinds of infector to be aware of, but one of the most insidious is the sufferer from chronic dissatisfaction. Cassius, the Roman conspirator against Juslius Caesar, had the discontent that comes from deep envy. He simply could not endure the presence of anyone of greater talent. Probably because Caesar sensed the man's interminable sourness, he passed him up for the position of first praetorship, and gave the position to Brutus instead. Cassius brooded and brooded, his hatred for Caesar becoming pathological. Brutus himself, a devoted republican, disliked Caesar's dictatorship; had he had the patience to wait, he would have become the first man in Rome after Caesar's death, and could have undone the evil that the leader had wrought. But Cassius infected him with his own rancor, bending his ear daily with tales of Caesar's evil. He finally won Brutus over to the conspiracy. It was the beginning of a great tragedy. How many misfortunes could have been avoided had Brutus learned to fear the power of infection.
Understand this: In the game of power, the people you associate with are critical. The risk of associating with infectors is that you will waste valuable time and energy trying to free yourself. Through a kind of guilt by association, you will also suffer in the eyes of others. Never underestimate the dangers of infection.
The incurably unhappy and unstable have a particularly strong infecting power because their characters and emotions are so intense. They often present themselves as victims, making it difficult, at first, to see their miseries as self-inflicted. Before you realize the real nature of their problems you have been infected by them.
Keys To Power
Those misfortunates among us who have been brought down by circumstances beyond their control deserve all the help and sympathy we can give them. But there are others who are not born to misfortune or unhappiness, but who draw it upon themselves by their destructive actions and unsettling effect on others. It would be a great thing if we could raise them up, change their patterns, but more often than not it is their patterns that end up getting inside and changing us. The reason is simple humans are extremely susceptible to the moods, emotions, and even the ways of thinking of those with whom they spend their time.
Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look. He thinks too much.... I do not know the man I should avoid so soon as that spare Cassius.... Such men as he be never at heart's ease while they behold a greater than themselves, and therefore are they very dangerous.
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare, 1564-1616
The infecting character type is not restricted to women; it has nothing to do with gender. It stems from an inward instability that radiates outward, drawing disaster upon itself. There is almost a desire to destroy and unsettle. You could spend a lifetime studying the pathology of infecting characters, but don't waste your time just learn the lesson. When you suspect you are in the presence of an infector, don't argue, don't try to help, don't pass the person on to your friends, or you will become enmeshed. Flee the infector's presence or suffer the consequences.
As is often the case with infection, the problems would only arise over time. Lola's inherent instability would begin to get under her lovers' skin. They would find themselves drawn into her problems, but their emotional attachment to her would make them want to help her. This was the crucial point of the disease for Lola Montez could not be helped. Her problems were too deep. Once the lover identified with them, he was lost. He would find himself embroiled in quarrels. The infection would spread to his family and friends, or, in the case of Ludwig, to an entire nation. The only solution would be to cut her off, or suffer an eventual collapse.
Interpretation
Lola Montez attracted men with her wiles, but her power over them went beyond the sexual. It was through the force of her character that she kept her lovers enthralled. Men were sucked into the maelstrom she churned up around her. They felt confused, upset, but the strength of the emotions she stirred also made them feel more alive.
At the age of forty-one, Lola gave away her clothes and finery and turned to God. She toured America, lecturing on religious topics, dressed in white and wearing a halolike white headgear. She died two years later, in 1861.
In 1853 Lola moved to California, where she met and married a man named Pat Hull. Their relationship was as stormy as all the others, and she left Hull for another man. He took to drink and fell into a deep depression that lasted until he died, four years later, still a relatively young man.
A few years later the man who published Lola Montez's autobiography went bankrupt.
China and Japan have reached an agreement over the release of wastewater from Japan’s destroyed Fukushima nuclear power center. The deal prepares the way for China to restart Japanese seafood shipments it banned because of concerns over the wastewater.
Representatives from both countries announced on September 20 a deal had been reached. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the agreement had established a level of “mutual understanding” on the issue.
China’s government began banning sales of seafood coming from Japan more than a year ago. Officials said they were concerned the wastewater – which was treated to remove radioactive material – might poison seafood products sold in China.
Japan has repeatedly said its testing and monitoring efforts have shown the treated wastewater presents no risk of radioactive poisoning to humans.
Operators of the Fukushima center announced in June 2023 that they had begun testing the process of releasing treated wastewater into the sea. The water first passes through equipment designed to remove harmful materials. Japan’s government says the processed water is considered “treated,” not “radioactive.”
But experts say it is impossible to remove all radioactive material from the wastewater. Government officials have said tritium – a radioactive form of hydrogen – is the only substance that cannot be removed from the water. However, they say the material is not considered harmful in small amounts.
The water release program began in August 2023. Officials said it was a necessary part of cleanup efforts at the Fukushima center. Three reactors there suffered meltdowns after a 2011 earthquake and huge ocean waves destroyed the plant’s cooling systems. The disaster forced 160,000 people to flee surrounding areas that were affected by radioactive material.
The agreement itself does not immediately remove China’s ban on Japanese seafood imports. Kishida told reporters Chinese negotiators said the deal begins the process for China to “revisit its import restrictions” on the seafood products.
The agreement calls for Japan to establish a long-term program in which international experts will carry out independent testing and monitoring. Kishida told reporters the government agreed to additional monitoring methods on the treated wastewater.
A Chinese foreign ministry official said his country still has concerns about the safety of Japanese seafood products. Chinese and Japanese experts are expected to come together in the coming months to work on China’s safety concerns. The official noted the ban will likely be lifted on products over time.
Before the ban, China was Japan’s biggest market for seafood exports. In the first half of 2024, Japanese exports of agriculture, forest and fish products fell for the first time since 2020. The decrease is blamed partly on China’s seafood ban.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has worked with Japan on its monitoring efforts involving the released wastewater. The head of the organization, Director General Rafael Grossi, welcomed the latest agreement between China and Japan.
Grossi praised Japan’s government "for its continued engagement with the IAEA.” He also thanked the Chinese side for taking part in “constructive” negotiations with IAEA officials leading up to completion of the deal.
Lola Montez moved to England. More than anything she needed respectability, and despite being married (she still had not arranged a divorce from the Englishman she had wed years before), she set her sights on George Trafford Heald, a promising young army officer who was the son of an influential barrister. Although he was ten years younger than Lola, and could have chosen a wife among the prettiest and wealthiest young girls of English society, Heald fell under her spell. They were married in 1849. Soon arrested on the charge of bigamy, she skipped bail, and she and Heald made their way to Spain. They quarreled horribly and on one occasion Lola slashed him with a knife. Finally, she drove him away Returning to England, he found he had lost his position in the army. Ostracized from English society, he moved to Portugal, where he lived in poverty. After a few months his short life ended in a boating accident.
By February of 1848, Ludwig was finally unable to withstand the pressure. With great sadness he ordered Lola to leave Bavaria immediately. She left, but not until she was paid off. For the next five weeks the Bavarians' wrath was turned against their formerly beloved king. In March of that year he was forced to abdicate.
While Bavarians who had loved their king now outwardly disrespected him, Lola was made a countess, had a new palace built for herself, and began to dabble in politics, advising Ludwig on policy. She was the most powerful force in the kingdom. Her influence in the king's cabinet continued to grow, and she treated the other ministers with disdain. As a result, riots broke out throughout the realm. A once peaceful land was virtually in the grip of civil war, and students everywhere were chanting, "Raus mit Lola!"
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,to the praise of his glory.
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Back in July, we were authorized to acquire five boxes of green letterhead stationery. That amount should be ample fo the entire year. Kate took a quick jet to Phoenix, Arizona, to enjoy the weather and to have time to begin fall duties with the Girl Scouts of America. Please just fix the copier quickly so that we can minimize our downtime and get productivity back in shape. We have to meet our monthly quota.
Earth scars Earth because Earth earthquakes Earth wind, surface. however, that Earth.
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had."
