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__label__wiki	0.723483	0.723483	Top Ten Films of 2013 December 30, 2013 • notlefthandedfilmguy 10. Zero Dark Thirty A gripping and relatively restrained film considering it’s subject matter. I applaud them for telling this story without any strong punching the air/we got the bastard sentiments. 9. Robot and Frank This was released with very little fanfare so wasn’t seen by many people but that is okay as it is more of a ‘cup of tea on the sofa on a Sunday afternoon film’ anyway. Rent it. 8. What Maisie Knew A simple yet heartbreaking film about a small girl caught in the middle of a divorce. It also proved that there was more to Steve Coogan, two weeks after the release of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa and six months before Philomena. 7. Iron Man 3 Undoubtedly the most fun I have had watching a film this year. The movie Scream took the conventions of its genre and both celebrated and lampooned them. Iron Man 3 does the same thing. 6. Nebraska Like About Time, Nebraska has a relationship between a father and a son at its centre but tackles it with an honesty and lightness of touch that Richard Curtis could only dream of. 5. Much Ado About Nothing Two of my favourite storytellers, William Shakespeare and Joss Whedon, coming together in a way that is just as wonderful as I hoped it could be. 4. Captain Phillips A relatively straight forward tale told with breathtaking skill by its director and cast. The final scene is just incredible but actually, so is every other scene that comes before it. 3. Les Miserables Released right at the beginning of 2013, Les Miserables got most of its attention twelve months ago but, even considering the three Oscars and the four BAFTAs, I don’t think it was celebrated enough. It is a simply staggering piece of film making that does something with the musical that could never be achieved on stage. Alfred Hitchock was a genius who knew how to create incredible stories in the medium of film and in Korean director Chan Wook Park he finally has an equal. Park’s Stoker is a generic serial killer movie on the page but in its transfer to the screen it has been become a brilliant, brilliant work of art. This movie is a true cinematic masterpiece. Just pipping Stoker to the post, my film of the year is Gravity. It has been widely heralded as a visual and technical masterpiece (which it is) but it also has a superb performance from Miss Congeniality and a beautiful poetry that a lot of the reviews seemed to have missed. It is this that will allow it to live on on Bluray, not the special effects. Honorary mentions for other superb films in contention for my top ten: Three films that really weren’t as good as they thought they were: Three films that were fine: Three films that I think I’m going to like more on a second viewing: Three things I’ve learnt from watching movies this year: If you are carrying firearms on slippery surfaces you should keep the safety on. (World War Z) Everyone appreciates your singing when you are a psychopathic killer with a lethal sword hidden in your shirt. (Only God Forgives) Writing stuff on your hand means your body can be easily identified in the event of your death. (Welcome to the Punch) The Worst Three Films of 2013 Cloud Atlas – like a comedy sketch show with all of the wigs and fake noses but with none of the laughs. Man of Steel – pompous, over confident, loud, amoral and boring. A Good Day to Die Hard – one of the greatest action franchises in the history of cinema dies, hard! There is always at least one film that I’m particularly keen to see but don’t get a chance. Last year it was The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Well, I’m afraid I have let Judy Dench down again this year having failed to catch Philomena. What do I need to do to go viral around here? 25 Films I am Looking Forward to in 2014	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754780
__label__wiki	0.871728	0.871728	History of Trigonometry - Part 3 Article by Leo Rogers Published February 2010,February 2011. This is the third of three articles on the History of Trigonometry. Part 2 (Sections 5 - 7) can be found here. Part 1 (Sections 1 - 4) can be found here. 8. The Arabs collect knowledge from the known world The Arab civilisation traditionally marks its beginning from the year 622 CE the date when Muhammad, threatened with assassination, fled from Mecca to Medina where Muhammad and his followers found safety and respect. Over a century later, the Arabs had established themselves as a powerful unified force across large parts of the Middle East and The Caliph Abu Ja'far Al-Mansour moved from Damascus to establish the city of Baghdad during the years 762 to 766. Al-Mansour sent his emissaries to search for and collect knowledge. From China, they learnt how to produce paper, and using this new skill they started a programme of translation of texts on mathematics, astronomy, science and philosophy into Arabic. This work was continued by his successors, Caliphs Mohammad Al-Mahdi and Haroun Al-Rasheed. The quest for knowledge became a lasting and significant part of Arab culture. Al-Mansour had founded a scientific academy that became called 'The House of Wisdom'. This academy attracted scholars from many different countries and religions to Baghdad to work together and establish the traditions of Arabic science that were to continue well into the Middle Ages. Some of this work was later translated into Latin by Mediaeval scholars and passed on into Europe. The dominance of Baghdad and the influence of the Arab World was to last for the next 500 years. The scholars in the House of Wisdom came from many cultures and translated the works of Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Indian and Chinese astronomers and mathematicians. The Mathematical Treatise of Ptolemy was one of the first to be translated from the Greek into Arabic by Ishaq ben Hunayn (830-910). It was admired for its extensive content and became known in Arabic as Al-Megiste (the Great Book). The name 'Almagest' has continued to this day and it is recognized as both the great synthesis and the culmination of mathematical astronomy of the ancient Greek world. It was translated into Arabic at least five times and constituted the basis of the mathematical astronomy carried out in the Islamic world. 9. India: The Sine, Cosine and Versine Greek astronomy began to be known in India during the period 300-400 CE. However, Indian astronomers had long been using planetary data and calculation methods from the Babylonians, and even though it was well after Ptolemy had written the Almagest, 4th century Indian astronomers did not entirely take over Greek planetary theory. Ancient works like the Panca-siddhantica (now lost) that had been transmitted through the version by Vrahamihira [See Part 1 section 3] and Aryabhata's Aryabhatiya (499 CE) demonstrated that Indian scholars had their own ways of dealing with astronomical problems and that they had great skill in calculation.[See Note 1 below] Even in the oldest Indian texts, the Chord [to remind yourself about Chords see the section on Claudius Ptolemy in the previous article] is not used, and instead there appear some very early versions of trigonometric tables using Sines. However, the Indian astronomers divided the $90^\circ$ arc into $24$ sections, thus obtaining values of Sines for every $3^\circ45'$ of arc. In this diagram, $SB$ is the arc for the angle $\theta$ and $AS$ is the jiya. So the relation between the jiya and our sine is: $$ jiya (\theta)=R\sin\theta$$ where $R$ is the radius of the circle. Many Indian Sine tables use $R = 3438$ which is the result if the circumference of the circle is $360 \times 60$ or $21,600$ minutes. [See Note 2 below] By the 5th century, two other functions had been defined and used. The length $EA$ was called the kotijya (our cosine), and AB was called the utkrama-jya (our versine). This was sometimes called the sama meaning an 'arrow', or sagitta in Latin The versine function for a circle radius $R$ is: $\mbox{vers }\theta = R - \cos\theta $ [See Note 3 below] In Aryabhata's work, he uses $R = 3438$ and took this value to calculate his table of Sines. This became the standard for later works. Comparison with Varhamihira's Sines (in sexagesimal numbers) and Hipparchs' table (in lengths of chords) suggests a possible transmission of at least some of the Greek works to the Hindus. However, we have no way of knowing this for certain, and it is quite possible that the Hindus calculated their values independently. The 'Great Work' (the Mahabhaskariya) of Bhaskara I was written in about 600 CE. He produced a remarkable method for approximating values for the Sines, by using the ratio of two quadratic functions. This was based entirely on comparing the results of his calculations with earlier values. [See Note 4 below ] However, since these tables only gave values for every $3^\circ 45'$, there was cnsiderable room for improvement. It is curious that since Ptolemy's table of chords enabled him to find values equivalent to Sines from $\frac{1}{4}^\circ$ to $90^\circ$ that the Indian scholars did not go further at this stage. Later, Brahmagupta (598-670) produced an ingenious method based on second order differences to obtain the Sine of any angle from an initial set of only six values from $0^\circ$ in $15^\circ$ intervals to $90^\circ$. 10. Trigonometry in the Arab Civilisation The introduction and development of trigonometry into an independent science in the Arab civilisation took, in all, some 400 years. In the early 770s Indian astronomical works reached the Caliph Al-Mansur in Baghdad, and were translated as the Zij al-Sindhind, and this introduced Indian calculation methods into Islam. Famous for his algebra book, Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (see The Development of Algebra Part 1) had also written a book on Indian methods of calculation (al-hisab al-hindi) and he produced an improved version of the Zij al-Sindhind. Al-Khwarizmi's version of Zij used Sines and Versines, and developed procedures for tangents and cotangents to solve astronomical problems. Al-Khwarizmi's Zij was copied many times and versions of it were used for a long time. Many works in Greek, Sanskrit, and Syriac were brought by scholars to Al-Mansur's House of Wisdom and translated. Among these were the works of Euclid, Archimedes Apollonius and of course, Ptolemy. The Arabs now had two competing versions of astronomy, and soon the Almagest prevailed. The Indian use of the sine and its related functions were much easier to apply in calculations, and the sexagesimal system from the Babylonians continued to be used, so apart from these two changes, the early Arabic versions of the Almagest remained faithful to Ptolemy. [See Note 5 below] Abu al-Wafa al-Buzjani (Abul Wafa 940-998) made important contributions to both geometry and arithmetic and was the first to study trigonometric identities systematically. The study of identities was important because by establishing relationships between sums and differences, and fractions and multiples of angles, more efficient astronomical calculations could be conducted and more accurate tables could be established. The sine, versine and cosine had been developed in the context of astronomical problems, whereas the tangent and cotangent were developed from the study of shadows of the gnomon. In his Almagest, Abul Wafa brought them together and established the relations between the six fundamental trigonometric functions for the first time. He also used $R = 1$ for the radius of the basic circle. From these relations Abul Wafa was able to demonstrate a number of new identities using these new functions: $$sec^2\theta = 1 + tan^2\theta \mbox{. . . . . . . }cosec^2 \theta=1+cot^2 \theta$$ Abul Wafa also devised methods for calculating trigonometric tables by an improved differencing technique to obtain values that were accurate to $5$ sexagesimal ($8$ decimal) places. Greek astronomers had long since introduced a model of the universe with the stars on the inside of a vast sphere. They had also worked with spherical triangles, but Abul Wafa was the first Arab astronomer to develop ways of measuring the distance between stars using his new system of trigonometric functions including the versine. In the diagram above, the blue triangle with sides $a$, $b$, and $c$ represents the distances between stars on the inside of a sphere. The apex where the three angles $\alpha$, $\beta$, and $\gamma$ are marked, is the position of the observer. The blue curves are Great Circles on the sphere, and by measuring the angles, finding more accurate values for their functions, and assuming a value for $R$ the radius of the sphere, it became possible to find the great-circle distances between the stars. By an ingenious application of Menelaos' Theorem [See History of Trigonometry Part 2] using special cases of great circles with two right angles, Abul Wafa showed how the theorem could be applied in spherical triangles. This was a considerable advance in Spherical Trigonometry that enabled the calculation of the correct direction for prayer (the quibla) and was to have important applications in Navigation and Cartography. The Abul Wafa crater of the Moon is named in recognition of his work in astronomy. Abu al-Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni (973-1050) was an outstanding scholar reputed to have written over 100 treatises on astronomy, science, mathematics, geography, history, geodesy and philosophy. Only about twenty of these works now survive, and only about a dozen of these have been published. Al-Biruni's treatise entitled Maqalid 'ilm al-hay'a (Keys to the Science of Astronomy) ran to over one thousand pages and contained extensive developments in on trigonometry. Among many theorems, he produced a demonstration of the tangent formula, shown below. From the diagram, $O$ is the centre of the semicircle, and $AED$ a right-angled triangle with a perpendicular from $E$ to $C$. Consequently, triangles $AEC$ and $EDC$ are similar. Angle $EOD$ is twice angle $EAD$, and angles $EAC$ and $DEC$ are equal. If the radius of the circle $R =1$, then $EC = \sin \theta$ and $OC = \cos\theta$ $$\mbox{So }\tan\left(\frac{\theta}{2}\right)=\frac{EC}{AC}=\frac{\sin\theta}{1+\cos\theta} \mbox{ . . . and . . . } \tan\left(\frac{\theta}{2}\right)=\frac{DC}{EC}=\frac{1-\cos\theta}{\sin\theta}$$ From which he derived the half angle and multiple angle formulae. [See Note 6 below] While many new aspects of trigonometry were being discovered, the chord, sine, versine and cosine were developed in the investigation of astronomical problems, and conceived of as properties of angles at the centre of the heavenly sphere. In contrast, tangent and cotangent properties were derived from the measurement of shadows of a gnomon and the problems of telling the time. In his Demarcation of the Coordinates of Cities he used spherical triangles for finding the coordinates of cities and other places to establish local meridian (the quibla) and thereby finding the correct direction of Mecca, and in his Exhaustive Treatise on Shadows he showed how to use gnomons [See A Brief History of Time Measurement] for finding the time of day. Abu Muhammad Jabir ibn Aflah (Jabir ibn Aflah c1100 - c1160) probably worked in Seville during the first part of the 12th century. His work is seen as significant in passing on knowledge to Europe. Jabir ibn Aflah was considered a vigorous critic of Ptolemy's astronomy. His treatise helped to spread trigonometry in Europe in the 13th century, and his theorems were used by the astronomers who compiled the influential Libro del Cuadrante Sennero (Book of the Sine Quadrant) under the patronage of King Alfonso X the Wise of Castille (1221-1284). A result of this project was the creation of much more accurate astronomical tables for calculating the position of the Sun, Moon and Planets, relative to the fixed stars, called the Alfonsine Tables made in Toledo somewhere between 1252 and 1270. These were the tables Columbus used to sail to the New World, and they remained the most accurate tables until the 16th century. By the end of the 10th century trigonometry occupied an important place in astronomy texts with chapters on sines and chords, shadows (tangents and cotangents) and the formulae for spherical calculations. There was also considerable interest in the resolution of plane triangles. But a completely new type of work by Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (Al-Tusi 1201-1274) entitled Kashf al-qina 'an asrar shakl al-qatta (Treatise on the Secrets of the Sector Figure), was the first treatment of trigonometry in its own right, as a complete subject apart from Astronomy. The work contained a systematic discussion on the application of proportional reasoning to solving plane and spherical triangles, and a thorough treatment of the formulae for solving triangles and trigonometric identities. Al-Tusi originally wrote in Persian, but later wrote an Arabic version. The only surviving Persian version of his work is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This was a collection and major improvement on earlier knowledge. Books I, II and IV contain parts of the Elements, the Almagest and a number of other Greek sources. Book III deals with the basic geometry for spherical triangles and the resolution of plane triangles using the sine theorem: $$\frac{a}{\sin A}=\frac{b}{\sin B}=\frac{c}{\sin C}$$ Book V contains the principal chapters on trigonometry dealing with right-angled triangles and the six fundamental relations equivalent to those we use today; sine, cosine, tangent, cotangent, secant and cosecant. He provided many new proofs and showed how they could be used to solve many problems more easily. Al-Tusi invented a new geometrical technique now called the 'Al-Tusi couple' that generated linear motion from the sum of two circular motions. He used this technique to replace the equant used by Ptolemy, and this device was later used by Copernicus in his heliocentric model of the universe. Al-Tusi was one of the greatest scientists of Mediaeval Islam and responsible for some 150 works ranging from astronomy, mathematics and science to philosophy and poetry. 11. Arab Science and Technology Reaches Europe The Arab astronomers had learnt much from India, and there was contact with the Chinese along the Silk Road and through the sea routes, so that Arab trading posts were established in India and in China. Through these contacts Indian Buddhism spread into China and was well established by the 3rd century BCE, probably later carrying with it some of the calculation techniques of Indian astronomy. However few, if any, technological innovations seemed to have passed from China to India or Arabia. By 790 CE, the Arab empire had reached its furthest expansion in Europe, conquering most of the Iberian peninsula, an area called Al-Andalus by the Arabs. [See Note 7 below] At this time many religions and races coexisted in Iberia, each contributing to the culture. The Muslim religion was generally very tolerant towards others, and literacy in Islamic Iberia was more widespread than any other country in Western Europe. By the 10th century Cordoba was said to have equally good libraries and educational establishments as Baghdad, and the cities of Cordoba and Toledo became centres of a flourishing translation business. Between 1095 and 1291 a series of religiously inspired military Crusades were waged by the Christians of Europe against the Arab Empire. The principal reason was the restoration of Christian control over the Holy Land, but there were also many other political and economic reasons. [See Note 8 below] In all this turmoil and conflict there were periods of calm and centres of stability, where scholars of all cultures were able to meet and knowledge was developed, translated and transmitted into Western Europe. The three principal routes through which Greek and Arab science became known were Constantinople (now Istanbul) Sicily and Spain. Greek texts became known to European monks and scholars who travelled with the armies through Constantinople on their way South to the Holy Land. These people learnt Greek and were able to translate the classical works into Latin. From Sicily, Arabs traded with Italy, and translation took place there, but probably the major route by which Arabic science reached Europe was from the translation houses of Toledo and Cordoba, across the Pyrenees into south-western France. During the twelfth and thirteenth century hundreds of works from Arabic, Greek and Hebrew sources were translated into Latin and the new knowledge was gradually disseminated across Christian Europe. Geometrical knowledge in early Mediaeval Europe was a very practical subject. It dealt with areas, heights, volumes and calculations with fractions for measuring fields and the building of large manors, churches, castles and cathedrals. Hugh of St. Victor (1078-1141) in his Practica Geometriae divides the material into Theorica (what is known and practised by a teacher) and Practica (what is done by a builder or mason). Theoretical geometry in the Euclidean sense was virtually unknown until the first translations of Euclid appeared in the West. The astrolabe was commonly used to measure heights by using its 'medicline' (a sighting instrument fixed at the centre of the circle) and the shadow square engraved in the centre of the instrument, and then comparing the similar triangles. The horizontal distance from the centre of the astrolabe to the edge of the square was marked with twelve equal divisions. This system was in use well into the 16th century as seen in the illustration below: This is from Thomas Digges' Pantometria of 1571. The same system is still used, but the square in the quadrant is marked with six divisions. A popular twelfth century text, the Artis Cuiuslibet Consummatio shows the gradual insertion of more technical knowledge, where the measuring of heights (altimetry) was much more related to astronomy, showing how to construct gnomons and shadow squares. Gradually the translations made on the continent of Europe came to England. Richard of Wallingford (1292-1336) After entering Oxford University in about 1308, Richard entered monastic life at St Alban's in 1316. After his ordination as a priest, his Abbot sent him back to Oxford where he studied for nine years. In 1327 he became Abbot of St Albans. Richard's early work was a series of instructions (canons) for the use of astronomical tables that had been drawn up by John Maudith, the Merton College Astronomer. Later he wrote an important work, the Quadripartitum, on the fundamentals of trigonometry needed for the solution of problems of spherical astronomy. The first part of this work is a theory of trigonometrical identities, and was regarded as a basis for the calculation of sines, cosines, chords and versed sines. The next two parts of the Quadripartitum dealt with a systematic and rigorous exposition of Menelaos' theorem. The work ends with an application of these principles to astronomy. The main sources of the work appear to be Ptolemy's Almagest, and Thabit ibn Qurra (826-901 CE). The Quadripartitum was probably the first comprehensive mediaeval treatise on trigonometry to have been written in Europe, at least outside Spain and Islam. When Richard was abbot of St. Albans, he revised the work, taking into account the Flores of Jabir ibn Afla. In 1326 to 1327 Richard also designed a calculation device, called an equatorium, a complex geared astrolabe with four faces. He described how this could be used to calculate lunar, solar and planetary longitudes and thereby predict eclipses in his Tractatus Albionis. It is possible that this led to his design for an astronomical clock described in his Tractatus Horologii Asronomici, (Treatise on the Astronomical Clock) of 1327, which was the most complex clock mechanism known at the time. The mechanism comprised a rotating star map that modeled the lunar eclipse and planets by gearing, presented as a geocentric model. It appeared at a transitional period in clock design, just before the advent of the escapement. This makes it one of the first true clocks, and certainly one of first self powered models of the heavens. Unfortunately it was destroyed during Henry VIII's reformation at the dissolution of St Albans Monastery in 1539. Georg von Peuerbach (1423-1461) Peuerbach's work helped to pave the way for the Copernican conception of the world system; he created a new theory of the planets, made better calculations for eclipses and movements of the planets and introduced the use of the sine into his trigonometry. His early work, Tabulae Eclipsium circulated in manuscript was not published until 1514, contained tables of his eclipse calculations that were based on the Alfonsine Tables. He calculated sines for every minute of arc for a radius of 600,000 units and he introduced the Hindu-Arabic numerals in his tables. [See Note 9 below] Peuerbach's Theoricae Novae Planetarum, (New Theories of the Planets) was composed about 1454 was published in 1473 by Regiomontanus' printing press in Nuremburg. While the book was involved in attempting a technical resolution of the theories of Eudoxus and Ptolemy, Peuerbach claimed that the movement of the planets was determined by the Sun, and this has been seen as a step towards the Copernican theory. This book was read by Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler and became the standard astronomical text well into the seventeenth century. In 1460 he began working on a new translation of Ptolemy's Almagest, but he had only completed six of the projected thirteen books before died in 1461. Johannes Muller von Konigsberg or Regiomontanus (1436-1476) Regiomontanus had become a pupil of Peuerbach at the University of Vienna in 1450. Later, he undertook with Peuerbach to correct the errors found in the Alfonsine Tables. He had a printing press where he produced tables of sines and tangents and continued Puerbach's innovation of using Hindu-Arabic numerals. As promised, he finished Peuerbach's Epitome of the Almagest, which he completed in 1462 and was printed in Venice. The Epitome was not just a translation, it added new observations, revised calculations and made critical comments about Ptolemy's work. Realising that there was a need for a systematic account of trigonometry, Regiomontanus began his major work, the De Triangulis Omnimodis (Concerning Triangles of Every Kind) 1464. In his preface to the Reader he says, "For no one can bypass the science of triangles and reach a satisfying knowledge of the stars .... You, who wish to study great and wonderful things, who wonder about the movement of the stars, must read these theorems about triangles. Knowing these ideas will open the door to all of astronomy and to certain geometric problems. For although certain figures must be transformed into triangles to be solved, the remaining questions of astronomy require these books." [See Note 10 below] The first book gives the basic definitions of quantity, ratio, equality, circles, arcs, chords and the sine function. Next come a list of axioms he will assume, and then $33$ theorems for right, isosceles and scalene triangles. The formula for the area of a triangle is given followed by the sine rule giving examples of its application. Books III to V cover the all-important theory of spherical trigonometry. The whole book is organised in the style of Euclid with propositions and theorems set out in a logical hierarchical manner. This work, published in 1533 was of great value to Copernicus. Regiomontanus also built the first astronomical observatory in Germany at Nuremburg with a workshop where he built astronomical instruments. He also took observations on a comet in 1472 that were accurate enough to allow it to be identified as Halley's Comet that reappeared 210 years later. Regiomontanus died during an outbreak of plague in Rome in 1476. 12. The Final Chapter: Trigonometry Changes the World System Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 - 1543) Copernicus wrote a brief outline of his proposed system called the Commentariolus that he circulated to friends somewhere between 1510 and 1514. By this time he had used observations of the planet Mercury and the Alfonsine Tables to convince himself that he could explain the motion of the Earth as one of the planets. The manuscript of Copernicus' work has survived and it is thought that by the 1530s most of his work had been completed, but he delayed publishing the book. His student, Rheticus read the manuscript and made a summary of Copernicus' theory and published it as the Narratio Prima (the First Account) in 1540. Since it seemed that the Narratio had been well accepted by colleagues, Copernicus was persuaded to publish more of his main work, and in 1542 he published a section on his spherical trigonometry as De lateribus et angulis traingulorum (On the sides and angles of triangles). Further persuaded by Rheticus and others, he finally agreed to publish the whole work, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium (The Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) and dedicated it to Pope Paul III. It appeared just before Copernicus' death in 1543. [See Note 11 below] Georg Joachim von Lauchen called Rheticus (1514-1574) Rheticus had facilitated the publication of Copernicus' work, and had clearly understood the basic principles of the new planetary theory. In 1551, with the help of six assistants, Rheticus recalculated and produced the Opus Palatinum de Triangulis (Canon of the Science of Triangles) which became the first publication of tables of all six trigonometric functions. This was intended to be an introduction to his greatest work, The Science of Triangles. When he died his work was still unfinished, but like Copernicus, Rheticus acquired a student, Valentinus Otho who supervised the calculation (by hand) of some one hundred thousand ratios to at least ten decimal places filling some 1,500 pages. This was finally completed in 1596. These tables were accurate enough to be used as the basis for astronomical calculations up to the early 20th century. Bartholomaeus Pitiscus (1561 - 1613) The term trigonometry is due to Pitiscus and as first appeared in his Trigonometria: sive de solutione triangulorum tractatus brevis et perspicuus, published in 1595. A revised version in1600 was the Canon triangularum sive tabulae sinuum, tangentium et secantium ad partes radii 100000 (A Canon of triangles, or tables of sines tangents and secants with a radius of 100,000 parts.) The book shows how to construct sine and other tables, and presents a number of theorems on plane and spherical trigonometry with their proofs. [See Note 11 below] However, soon after Rheticus' Opus Palatinum was published, serious inaccuracies were found in the tangent and secant tables at the ends near $1^\circ$ and $90^\circ$. Pitiscus was commissioned to correct these errors and obtained a manuscript copy of Rheticus' work. Many of the results were recalculated and new pages were printed incorporating the corrections. Eventually, Pitiscus published a new work in 1613 incorporating that of Rheticus with a table of sines calculated to fifteen decimal places entitled the Thesaurus Mathematicus. By the beginning of the seventeenth century, the science of trigonometry had become a sophisticated technique used in calculating more and more accurate tables for use in astronomy and navigation, and had been instrumental in fundamentally changing man's concept of his world. See the notes to this article to read some thoughts on the value of teachig the history of mathematics. Aveni, A, (1997) Stairways to the Stars. N.Y and Chichester Wiley Skywatching in three ancient cultures: Megalithic Astronomy, the Maya and the Inca. The first chapter (almost a third of the book) gives a delightful and straightforward explanation of how much we can discover with the naked eye. With clear diagrams and explanations this give a fascinating insight into the less well-known aspects of these ancient cultures. Van Brummelen, G. (2009) The Mathematics of the Heavens and the Earth: The Early History of Trigonometry. Princeton, Princeton University Press. This is the first major history in English of the early development of trigonometry. Glen van Brummelen's extensive research shows how the earliest activities in Egypt and Babylon led to the mathematical work of the Hindus and the Greeks that was developed by the Arabs over some 400 years into a sophisticated science separate from astronomy before it was passed on to Western European astronomers and mathematicians. Evans, J. (1998) The History and Practice of Ancient Astronomy. Oxford.O.U.P. Beginning from about 700 BCE this book examines in detail both the practical and theoretical astronomy developed by the Egyptians, Babylonians and Greeks, up to the 16th century with the final resolution of the planetary system with Copernicus and Kepler. Hughes, B. (1967) Regiomontanus on Triangles. London, University of Wisconsin Press This is a translation with an introduction and notes, of the work completed in 1464, but published posthumously in 1533 of De triangulis omnimodis (On triangles of every kind) by Johan Muller, known as Regiomontanus. In this first edition, reproductions of the original Latin pages face the English translations. The book was written principally as a contribution to the science of astronomy, but we now recognise Regiomontanus as the first European scholar who treated trigonometry as a theoretical science, setting out a series of logical propositions and proofs in the style of Euclid. Maor E. (1998) Trigonometric Delights. Princeton, Princeton University Press. Eli Maor presents a selection of the main elements of trigonometry and an account of its vital contribution to astronomy, science and social development. Interesting mathematical episodes to suit pupils at all levels, with notes and references for further exploration. Rashed, R. (1996) (Ed.) Encyclopaedia of the History of Arabic Science. Vol 2. This volume includes numeration and arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry. London. Routledge. Victor, S.K. (1979) Practical Geometry in the High Middle Ages: Artis Cuiuslibet Consummatio and the Practike de Geometrie. This is a translation and critical edition of these two major Mediaeval works. Philadelphia. American Philosophical Society Bender, D. (1998) "A proposal for the striking mechanism on the Wallingford Clock." Antiquarian Horology 24, 2 1998a (134-140). "A proposal for the eclipse mechanism for the Wallingford Clock." Antiquarian Horology 24, 3 1998b (217-224) A fascinating description of one person's 'detective quest' to understand Richard of Wallingford's description of the workings of his amazing device. The Mactutor website for biographies of mathematicians and a special section on Trigonometry http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/ The Muslim Heritage Site is very interesting. It is a valuable source of information on "1,000 years of missing history from 600 to 1600." You can find a large number of biographies of Muslim Scholars of the Past, a time Line of Events, and much more. http://www.muslimheritage.com The Wallingford Clock http://www.wallingfordclock.talktalk.net Here is the general description and explanation of the various mechanisms of the reconstruction of the clock. Some parts of this site may not work. There are many specialised websites where you can obtain information. If you 'Google' your enquiry and use the Wikipedia option you can usually obtain reasonably reliable results and ideas for more searches if you need to look any further. 1. See Part 1 section 3 on the Sulbasutras. 2. See Note 4 in Part1. The use of the capital S in Sine is to show that the radius of the circle used is not unity, or the same as $\sin\theta$ in our system, but could be an arbitrary length R. This means that Sin$\theta$ is equal to R sin$\theta$ . In the Indian texts, different astronomers took different values for R, and in most cases the value had to be deduced from the context. 3. The advantage of the 'versine' (or reversed sine) is that it's value is always positive and so its logarithm is defined everywhere (except at $0^\circ$ and $180^\circ$). A positive logarithm was necessary when calculations had to be done using tables. The most important use was in navigation, for calculating the distance between two points on a sphere. The perpendicular distance from the mid point of a chord to a curve is still used as a measure of 'deviation from straightness', for example, by railway engineers. It is used also in optics for measuring the curvature of lenses and mirrors, where he versine is sometimes called the sagitta from the Latin for arrow. 4. Compare the sine curve from $0^\circ$ to $180^\circ$ with $y = -a(x- \pi/2)^2 + c$. By adjusting the values of $a$ and $c$, it is possible to produce a curve of 'best fit' inside the sine curve. You can obtain a remarkably good fit for $0 < x < \pi$. 5. The Hindu word jiya for the sine was adopted by the Arabs who called the sine jiba. Eventually jiba became jaib and this word actually meant a 'fold'. When Europeans translated the Arabic works into Latin they translated jaib into the word sinus meaning a fold in Latin. In his Practica Geometriae (1220) Fibonacci uses the term sinus rectus arcus which soon encouraged the universal use of the word sine. 6. In the diagram, if $OB = t$ and $R = 1$, then in triangle $ABO, AO^2 + OB^2 = 1 + t ^2$. From which we get the familiar parametric formulae. $$\cos\theta=\frac{1-t^2}{1+t^2}\mbox{ etc.}$$ 7. The maximum area occupied by the Arabs was most of Spain and Portugal with the exception of the kingdom of Asturias in the North, and a part of France now called the Languedoc. 8. The Holy Land with its capital Jerusalem, consisted roughly of what is now Israel and Palestine. There were many other reasons for the Crusades; the loss of power and territory of the older Christian Empires, the growing problem of the slave trade run by Arabs, and by taking part in these campaigns, some Christian kingdoms thought they could gain political advantage over their rivals. 9. The reason for using such large numbers for the radius is much the same as in the past, the arithmetic was much easier using a large unit like 100,000 where the small parts (in this case minutes of arc) could be managed in integral parts rather than fractions. Similar considerations were applied by Napier, Briggs and Burgi in their invention of logarithms. 10. This quotation comes from the preface to the reader in De Triangulis, translated by Barnabas Hughes. 11. You can see Copernicus' book on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_revolutionibus_orbium_coelestium	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754781
__label__wiki	0.986213	0.986213	Meet the boxing ‘tank’ who pummels opponents into quitting By George Willis December 8, 2017 \| 5:06pm Vasyl Lomachenko (left) in his win over Miguel Marriaga. Getty Images Pernell Whitaker is boxing great who should've been much more Win over Manny Pacquiao would take Keith Thurman to new heights Brodie Van Wagenen — not a chair — is to blame for Mets' mess Jon Jones and Amanda Nunes hold different places in G.O.A.T. debate The matchup between Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux Saturday night at the Garden Theater is such a hot ticket it sold out soon after it was announced on social media. No press tour nor elaborate marketing campaign was needed. Word of mouth was good enough. It’s the first time two two-time Olympic Gold Medal winners will face each other in a professional fight. That and their reputations were good enough. Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) will be defending his WBO junior lightweight championship against Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs), who captured world titles at super bantamweight. Both are southpaws. Lomachenko is 29, while Rigondeaux is 37. The bout will be televised on ESPN. Also on the card, Newark native and former Olympian Shakur Stevenson (3-0, 1 KOs) takes on Oscar Mendoza (4-2, 2 KOs), Irish Olympian Michael Conlan (4-0, 4 KOs) faces Luis Fernando Molina (7-3-1, 2 KOs) and Chris Diaz (21-0, 13 KOs) meets Bryant Cruz (18-2, 9 KOs) for the NABO Junior Lightweight belt. Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum has taken to calling Lomachenko the best boxer he has seen since Muhammad Ali. Guillermo Rigondeaux (left)Getty Images “I can’t wait to see a historic fight that has never happened before with each corner having two Gold Medals,” Arum said. “This is an historic battle and it’s going to be one of many historic battles for Vasyl Lomachenko.” Rigondeaux, a native of Cuba, is moving up two weight classes to face Lomachenko at 130 pounds. It’s a bold move against the talented Ukrainian. “I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made,” Rigondeaux said. “I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes. It’s going to be a great fight for the fans and it’s going to be a great historical fight that fans will forever look back on.” Rigondeaux doesn’t feel he’s at a disadvantage moving up in weigh, though. “I feel stronger than ever,” he said. “Moving up has had no negative effect whatsoever on my speed and power.” He will need both to handle Lomachenko, an artist in the ring who has become more impressive with each outing. He has scored six straight knockouts and forced his last three opponents to virtually quit in the ring. “He’s a great boxer and he has a lot of qualities and he is also an Olympic Champion multiple times so he’s got a lot of talent,” Rigondeaux said. It’s a matchup of clashing styles. Rigondeaux will look to win on points, moving in and out, clutching when he needs to, and hoping to frustrate his opponent. Lomachenko is a technical wizard, using foot movement, angles and his fast fists to overwhelm his opponents. “I’m going to walk through him like a tank and knock him out,” Lomachenko said. “I am not promising to knock him out but I am promising to squash him.” Meanwhile, HBO is offering a triple-header of 130-pound fighters from Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Orlando Salido (44-13-4, 31 KOs) takes on fellow Mexican Miguel Roman (57-12, 44 KOs). Tevin Farmer (25-4-1, 5 KOs) of Philadelphia faces Kenichi Ogawa (22-1, 17 KOs) of Tokyo and Francisco Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs) of Mexico battles Stephen Smith (25-3, 15 KOs) of Liverpool, England. Salido and Vargas fought last summer to a majority draw that was voted the Fight of the Year, and could be headed toward a rematch. “The winner here is going to be the public,” Salido said of his fight with Roman. “It’s going to be a battle. We come to fight on the inside and Orlando Salido will be the winner.” Filed under boxing , fighting words , vasyl lomachenko Sandusky's son gets up to 6 years in prison for child sex ...	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754782
__label__wiki	0.95848	0.95848	Rubio: Trump Not Responsible for the Violence at His Chicago Rally John Kasich says he is. By Ross Barkan • 03/11/16 11:29pm Demonstrators celebrate after learning a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at the University of Illinois at Chicago would be postponed. (Photo: Scott Olson for Getty Images) Sen. Marco Rubio said that Donald Trump was not responsible for the violence at his campaign rally in Chicago tonight, instead heaping blame on a culture of political correctness run amok. Mr. Trump canceled his appearance at the University of Illinois at Chicago after large numbers of protesters flooded the rally and clashed with his supporters. It was just the latest scene of chaos at a Trump campaign event, where violent confrontations are becoming increasingly common. Reporters and protesters have been physically threatened, and no other presidential candidate routinely grapples with this level of chaos. “I wouldn’t say Mr. Trump is responsible for the events of tonight, but he most certainly in other events has in the past used some pretty rough language and encouraging the crowd, saying things like, ‘in the good old days we used to beat these people up, or I’ll pay your legal bill if you rough them up,'” Mr. Rubio, a Florida Republican, told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly. He added: “I think he bears some responsibility for the general tone for the things happening. As far as what’s happening tonight, clearly this is an orchestrated effort by people who some of them are probably being paid to do this. I think it is sad all the way around.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich, one of the four Republicans left in the primary, took direct aim at Mr. Trump. In a statement, he said “the seeds of division that Donald Trump has been sowing this whole campaign finally bore fruit, and it was ugly.” “Some let their opposition to his views slip beyond protest into violence, but we can never let that happen,” he added. “I urge people to resist that temptation and rise to a higher level.” Mr. Rubio, fighting desperately to win his home state on Tuesday and somehow derail Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, was less critical of the New York billionaire than he had been in the past. While Mr. Trump has been known to stoke the rage of his audiences, and his campaign manager is accused of violently yanking a reporter to the ground, Mr. Rubio shied away from the harsh tone he has taken with the front-runner in the past. “It is clear just from watching some of these images this was an organized effort, orchestrated effort on the part of groups that wanted to disrupt an event, and Chicago is kind of a hub for that kind of activity. There is no doubt about it,” Mr. Rubio said. “You don’t have a right to take away the First Amendment right of people to speak freely. I think you’ve seen some of this on college campuses recently.” But the Florida senator did assert that Mr. Trump bore “some” responsibility for other episodes of violence, including an incident where a white Trump supporter sucker-punched a protester at a North Carolina rally this week. Mr. Trump told MSNBC he cancelled the Chicago rally for safety reasons. “I just don’t want to see people hurt,” he said. “We can come back and do it another time.” Disclosure: Donald Trump is the father-in-law of Jared Kushner, the publisher of Observer Media. Filed Under: Politics, News & Politics, Donald Trump, donald trump, 2016, Marco Rubio SEE ALSO: Trump’s Personality Cult Just Celebrated Its First Official Holiday	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754784
__label__wiki	0.791597	0.791597	Tag Archives: Omaha Tribe The Omaha Tribe and Horses March 3, 2017 by Marisa Miakonda Cummings Photography by Nebraska State Historical Society (provided) The city of Omaha is named after the Umonhon people. The state of Nebraska is also an Umonhon word, NiBlaSka, or “Land of the Flat Waters.” Neither this city nor this state would be named as it is without horses. The Umonhon people originally lived in Ohio, migrating to Nebraska in the 1750s after horses were introduced to the tribe from trade networks. The Umonhon controlled extensive trade networks through their oversight of the Missouri River, or NiShude. The network extended as far north as Lake Winnipeg in Canada and as far south as St. Louis. The shonge or “horse” was acquired at this time from trade relationships, and by 1775, the main Umonhon village was located at TonwonTonga or “Big Village,” near current day Dakota County, Nebraska. The Umonhon, or Omaha, are part of the Dhegiha linguistic group. Dhegiha means “people of this land.” Umonhon translates to “people who went upstream,” relating to the separation of the Umonhon and the other cognate tribes at the headwaters of the Mississippi River hundreds of years ago. Umonhon women were agriculturalists, breeding strains of maize, beans, squash, quinoa, and melons. They also gathered other foods and medicines that grew naturally in their environment and were herbalists. Men hunted large game, such as elk and buffalo. Buffalo was especially important as it was a staple food source and provided primary provisions for blankets, robes, moccasins, fuel, shelter, and utensils. The Umonhon had a complex kinship system based on the clanship, known as the Hu’thuga. The Umonhon had a historical impact on the state of Nebraska that is evident in present day. The Umonhon were the first equestrian culture of the northern plains as the evolving economy of the horse and fur trade was occurring. The adoption of the horse into Umonhon society forever changed Umonhon culture. Umonhon quickly developed a strong relationship with horses. Horses were highly prized and used as a form of currency. Men, women, and children could possess horses equally. Horses were seen as the highest form of a gift one could offer. Some marriage ceremonies consisted of women being led around the village on horseback followed by her husband’s gifts to her family. Umonhon people loved their horses. Men frequently painted their horses for spiritual reasons or to illustrate rank. Horses would also be decorated with ribbons, and their tails would be painted or braided. Women embroidered the cruppers of their horses for decoration and spiritual significance. Horses were used to assist with labor, often in the form of a travois, a historical A frame structure that was used to drag loads over land. Prior to the introduction of the horse, travois were pulled by dogs. The horse travois were often used by women in times of long distance travel. Parflesche, or rawhide bags are utilized to store materials, were used as saddlebags on horses. Horse culture became an integral part of Umonhon life. They changed the trade economy and horses and Umonhon people maintained a strong spiritual and social connection that continues to exist today. In January 2015, the Omaha Tribe hosted “Spiritual Ride: Prayers for Generations to Come.” This ceremony consisted of a 21-mile horse ride in freezing conditions. The purpose was to pray and bring attention to the state of Nebraska suing the Omaha Tribe over reservation boundaries. In the end, the Supreme Court sided unanimously with the Omaha Tribe in preservation of their boundary. Nebraska was granted statehood on March 1, 1867. In March 2017, Omaha Magazine published a collection of horse-related articles that appear in the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping and FEI World Cup Dressage Finals held in Omaha. This was the first of those articles.The other articles in this series are: Horses Pave the Way in Nebraska Territory Horses Run Early Statehood Horses in Nebraska Today Umonhon Chief Prairie Chicken on Horseback, circa 1898. Posted in: History, People Topics: beans, Buffalo, Dakota County, Dhegiha, elk, equestrian, horse, horse travois, Lake Winnipeg in Canada, maize, melons, Mississippi River, Missouri River, Nebraska, NiBlaSka, NiShude, Ohio, Omaha, Omaha Tribe, Parflesche, quinoa, shonge, Spiritual Ride: Prayers for Generations to Come, squash, St. Louis, Supreme Court, TonwonTonga, Umoⁿhoⁿ Marisa Miakonda Cummings August 26, 2016 by Marisa Miakonda Cummings Photography by Bill Sitzmann I would like to begin by introducing myself. My English name is Marisa Cummings. My Omaha or Umoⁿhoⁿ name is Miakonda or Moon Power. I was given my Buffalo Tail Clan name by my great-grandmother, Edith Walker Springer. My father is the late Michael Cummings, or Stampeding Buffalo. My father’s mother is Eunice Walker Mohn, or Buffalo Tail Clan Woman. My grandmother’s parents are the late Charles Amos Walker, or White Chest, and the late Ida Springer Walker, or New Moon. I am an Omaha woman. I am a Buffalo Tail Clan woman of the Sky people. I am the oldest child of eight children. I am the mother of four children. As I wrote the paragraph to introduce myself, I was mentally translating from Umoⁿhoⁿ to English. The Umoⁿhoⁿ language is a beautiful conduit of culture. Self introductions are very important in our community. One must know who they are to know where they are going in this life. Language allows us to express ourselves to one another as human beings, to talk to the Creator, and express ourselves through song and ceremony. As language is a conduit for expressing thoughts and feelings, and relaying cultural knowledge, it is essential that our Umoⁿhoⁿ language is revered and preserved for our future generations. We must preserve our language to talk to our Creator through our ceremonies as we were instructed to do in our language. My grandmother grew up hearing Umoⁿhoⁿ spoken as the primary language at home; it was her first language. She has told me about her parents waking well before sunrise and praying in Umoⁿhoⁿ in the kitchen. Her father, Charles Walker or Mongaska, was taken to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Carlisle was a military-style school founded in 1879 by Capt. Richard Pratt under the authority of the U.S. government with the founding principle that Native Americans were a vanishing race and their only hope for survival was assimilation to white mainstream culture. The first thing done was to cut off the children’s sacred hair. The second step was to make them stop speaking their traditional language and converse in English. My great-grandfather came back to the reservation after his stay at Carlisle and remained fluent in both Umoⁿhoⁿ and English. He served on our tribal council for over 25 years. My grandmother’s mother, Ida or Metexi, was sent to Genoa Indian Industrial School in Genoa, Nebraska. She also returned to the reservation and spoke fluent Umoⁿhoⁿ. Both of my great-grandparents survived assimilation and Indian boarding schools and retained their Umoⁿhoⁿ language in daily practice in and outside of their home. Tragedy struck when my grandmother was 10 years old. Her mother passed away and left eight orphaned children. Her father decided to send her, at age 14, to Haskell Indian School in Lawrence, Kansas. There was no more playing in the timber, no more collecting wild plums and gooseberries. She was alone. She said that she often wondered what she did wrong. Was her father angry with her? Why would he send her away? My grandmother graduated from Haskell and moved to Sioux City, Iowa, with the courage to start a life for herself. My father was born in 1955. He was considered a “half-breed,” as his father was a white man. However, his grandfather, Charlie Walker, took pity on him and gave him the Umoⁿhoⁿ Buffalo Tail Clan name Te-Nuga-Na-Tide. My father was an incredible man. He received his master’s degree from Iowa State University and went to work for the corporate world. He always instilled in me the power of education and the importance of coming back to help the people with the education I received. I was raised to be of service and make a difference. My father also raised me like a first-born son. He made me tough, taught me to always speak up and use my voice, to be courageous and strategic. He told me that women have a strong place in leadership and that Native women will be at the front of the movement to bring back language and culture. He was very proud when I graduated with a degree from the University of Iowa. As a young woman, I was always interested in our language. I would ask my grandma and great-grandma to tell me stories. I would sit at their feet or at the kitchen table in my grandma’s trailer while I asked one question after another. I think she got tired of me at times. I still am always asking questions of my grandmother. How do I say this? Do you remember this? She is the matriarch of our family. I am blessed that my children can be close to her and experience her unconditional love and knowledge. In 1978, the Indian Religious Freedoms Act was passed. Our ceremonies, songs, and dances were no longer illegal. We could legally pray in the manner the Creator intended for us to pray. Yet, so many of the songs, ceremonies, and teachings were no longer practiced. In my life journey, I have rediscovered my love of ceremony. I enjoy collecting and preparing medicine. I love that I have the ability to be a lifelong learner of culture and ceremony, but in order to make that true connection, I must relearn a language that is rooted in my DNA. I believe that we can relearn our sense of true self and heal both individually and collectively. My children have been born in a generation where our ceremonies are being revived and practiced. My children have been exposed to ceremonies, songs, dance, and love of our way of life. As I embrace our ceremonies and language, I know that I am also healing those who went before me. As I heal, I give reverence to ancestors whose hearts broke when they saw English replace Umoⁿhoⁿ in their homes, those who watched alcohol replace ceremony, and those who witnessed government commodities replace our sacred foods. As we revive our sacred way of life, we renew and honor all of those who went before us. Read also from the September/October 2016 edition of Omaha Magazine: The issue’s cover story: “Glenna Slater and Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Stewardship: Revitalizing Omaha’s Native Language” Charles Trimble’s essay, “A Linguistic Sea Change Across Indian Country.” To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Visit omaha-nsn.gov for more information. Posted in: Lifestyle, Omaha Magazine, People, Publications Topics: ancestors, Buffalo Tail Clan, Buffalo Tail Clan Woman, Capt. Richard Pratt, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, ceremonies, Charles Amos Walker, Charlie Walker, children, dances, DNA, Edith Walker Springer, English, Eunice Walker Mohn, generation, Genoa Indian Industrial School, grandmother, great-grandmother, Haskell Indian School, Ida Springer Walker, Indian Religious Freedoms Act, Iowa State University, language, Lawrence Kansas, matriarch, Metexi, Michael Cummings, Moon Power, Native American, New Moon, Omaha, Omaha Tribe, Sioux City Iowa, songs, Stampeding Buffalo, Te-Nuga-Na-Tide, Umoⁿhoⁿ, University of Iowa, White Chest Glenna Slater and Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Stewardship August 25, 2016 by James Vnuk and Doug Meigs When a language dies, its culture suffers a tragic loss. The indigenous Omaha people—the Umoⁿhoⁿ—are thus in a precarious position. Although there are about 6,000 living members of the tribe, its language is in danger of passing into history. According to Glenna Slater, member of the Omaha Tribe, fewer than 12 tribal members are considered fluent in the language—and many who know the language are unable to teach it. Slater is one of those rare fluent speakers alive today. “We’re right here at the edge,” she says. “We lost one teacher in January.” The Umoⁿhoⁿ settled the Great Plains during the 17th century before losing much of their territory to the U.S. government in the early 1800s, including where the city of Omaha sits today. The Omaha Reservation was established in 1854 and is seated in Macy, Nebraska. Slater, now in her 70s, grew up on the reservation speaking Omaha as her first language, though she was never taught formally. She did not speak English until she began attending school. Slater eventually attended the University of Nebraska and began a lifelong career in social work, but the compulsion to educate runs through her bloodline. Her mother taught on the reservation as well. “I could never walk in her footsteps,” says the ever-humble Slater. These days, she gives a weekly course at the UNO Community Engagement Center, teaching the Omaha language to learners young and old. She began teaching around 15 years ago, helping her older sister Winona (now in her 90s) give lessons on the reservation. Many of Slater’s students are older—in their 40s and 50s—but a new batch of younger people have also taken up the mantle. Some of her students are as young as 10 years old. They practice with primers on vocabulary and grammar. They read narratives and traditional stories. “The students want to learn everything. When young ones want to go home and ask their parents, their parents are unable to help, because they were never taught formally or they aren’t fluent.” Slater tells her students to keep their handouts and everything they acquire, for they may be called upon in the future to pass on the language. Her older students are already teaching their own grandkids, she says. In tandem with classes at UNO, Slater is also involved in Umoⁿhoⁿ language instruction at Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC) in Macy. Established in 1973, NICC is an accredited land-grant institution providing two-year degrees to residents of the Omaha and Isanti (Santee Sioux) reservations. She has also taught in South Sioux City, and at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha. Slater speaks of the language with great respect and deference. “There would be something missing if I didn’t know the language,” she says, regarding her relationship with the Omaha Tribe and her ancestors. “The language is very sacred: if you question the rules and reasoning behind it, you’ll be told it comes from up there,” Slater says, pointing to the sky. “And you won’t get more of an answer than that.” Slater’s respect for the language and Omaha tradition is mirrored in the class, too: “You can only tell the legends during the winter months. If you don’t respect this, strange things will happen.” Preserving the language has been a difficult process. In addition to the generational challenges, a dictionary was completed only in the last decade, owing much to the contributions of Professor Mark Awakuni Swetland of UNL, who passed in 2015 yet remains a controversial figure among tribal leaders (due to concerns that a non-Omaha person might be profiting from the Omaha language). Written documentation of the language is limited, and much of the knowledge is still fragmented across the recollections of surviving fluent speakers. Slater herself must defer to the wisdom of her siblings and peers in some cases. “You might know the language,” she says, “but you don’t know it all.” Her goal with the classes is to continue enthusiasm for the language, and to ensure its survival for generations to come. “I just hope it can go on after me,” Slater remarks, “and I would be happy if I can get even two or three students to become conversational in it.” Despite the challenges ahead, Slater remains optimistic. Several language revitalization initiatives are underway with the collaborative involvement of elders residing throughout the state. That’s in addition to lessons taught in Head Start, primary and secondary schools, community colleges, and in homes across Macy. Slater hopes her teaching will expose more people to Omaha culture. “This has been the most fulfilling thing for me,” she says. “When students leave, they want to be hugged. Life is so hard, they need this extra something. And I learn from them, too.” A Language Family: William Lynn The mission statement of the Dhegiha Preservation Society states: “the Osage, Omaha, Quapaw, Kaw, Ponca, and Northern Ponca peoples are bound to one another through a shared history, ancient social, political, and cultural relationships, and a common language, the latter of which is in jeopardy of extinction.” Once a year, Dhegiha speakers and educators gather for a language conference. The sixth annual Dhegiha Language Conference took place in Omaha at UNO’s Community Engagement Center on July 21 and 22. “Our main goal is to create fluent Dhegiha speakers,” says William Lynn, chairman of the Dhegiha Preservation Society and an enrolled member of the Osage Nation. The Omaha language is an offshoot of the Dhegiha-speaking branch of the Proto-Siouan language family. In comparison to European languages, it’s a bit like Danish, an offshoot of Scandinavian (North Germanic), which is a branch of the Proto-Germanic language family. The Ponca-Omaha languages are mutually intelligible, and linguists generally group them together. “It was great that the Ponca and Omaha hosted this year,” says Lynn (Osage). “We’ve had it in Oklahoma for five years. Last year, the Omaha sent a couple of vans down to Oklahoma with 12 fluent speakers.” On the Homeland: Vida Stabler Umoⁿhoⁿ language documentation dates to James Owen Dorsey, Alice Fletcher, and Francis La Flesche (the first Omaha-Ponca anthropologist). “But many others have documented our language since then,” says Vida Stabler, Title VII Indian Education Director of Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools. The Omaha Reservation schools currently employ two full-time and two part-time Umoⁿhoⁿ language instructors to teach across roughly 20 K-12 classrooms each week. “We do not have enough teachers to meet demand on the reservation,” says Stabler, who has taught at the schools for 18 years. She recently helped to organize a new teaching group, ToUL (Teachers of Umoⁿhoⁿ Language), and says developing immersion programs will be crucial to language revitalization. Three years ago, the Omaha Public Schools and the Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Cultural Center produced a language app called “Omaha Basic.” Over the past decade, Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools and UNL partnered to complete the first Omaha language textbook (to be released in 2018). The projects relied on crucial contributions by the late Marcella Woodhull Cayou, Donna Morris Parker, and Susan Fremont. In 2017, Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation Public Schools is partnering with the Language Conservancy to produce an Umoⁿhoⁿ textbook for instructors and students. An Outsider’s View: Aubrey Streit Krug Aubrey Streit Krug began studying the Omaha language as part of her ongoing Ph.D. in English at UNL. Her adviser suggested that she learn a Native American language, so she started taking classes with the late Mark Awakuni-Swetland, Ph.D., an anthropology professor of Euro-American descent (who had been adopted by Omaha elders). Streit Krug says she was a minority in the class as a non-Native person. After Awakuni-Swetland’s passing in 2015, she remained among the 10-15 people working on a collaborative textbook. The textbook’s copyright is owned by the Umoⁿhoⁿ Language Cultural Center and Umoⁿhoⁿ Nations Public Schools. The upcoming textbook and the Omaha-Ponca Digital Dictionary are the legacy of her mentor’s lifework. “Studying Umoⁿhoⁿ is important because this is the land where we are situated. My ancestors were German immigrants in the late-19th century, and I grew up in rural Kansas,” she says, noting that the Omaha language helped her to understand the root meaning of the Waconda Lake near her hometown (a Siouan word for “holy” or “sacred”). “What I knew of the Great Plains was the history of Euro-American settlement. But there is this beautiful, ongoing tradition of Native communities.” Read also Marisa Miakonda Cumming’s essay, “Speaking to the Future, Honoring the Past” from the same issue, and Charles Trimble’s essay, “A Linguistic Sea Change Across Indian Country.” This article was printed in the September/October 2016 edition of Omaha Magazine. Story on Glenna Slater by James Vnuk. Sidebars by Doug Meigs. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Visit omahaponca.unl.edu for more information. Topics: Alice Fletcher, Aubrey Streit Krug, Dhegiha Language Conference, Dhegiha Preservation Society, Donna Morris Parker, Francis La Flesche, Glenna Slater, Great Plains, Isanti (Santee Sioux), James Owen Dorsey, Kaw, Language Conservancy, Macy Nebraska, Marcella Woodhull Cayou, Mark Awakuni Swetland, Mark Awakuni-Swetland Ph.D., Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC), Northern Ponca, Omaha, Omaha Reservation, Omaha Tribe, Omaha-Ponca Digital Dictionary, Osage, Ponca, Proto-Siouan, Quapaw, Susan Fremont, U.S. government, Umoⁿhoⁿ, University of Nebraska, UNO Community Engagement Center, UNO’s Community Engagement Center, Vida Stabler, Winona Nebraska’s Most Controversial Woman June 6, 2015 by Doug Meigs Article originally published in July/August 2015 Omaha Magazine. The founder of Bold Nebraska— Jane Fleming Kleeb—travels to Omaha once a week. Although the Nebraska transplant lives in Hastings, she has grown accustomed to the five-hour round-trip drive on I-80. “I call it my windshield time. It’s quiet,” says the liberal firebrand who has gained national notoriety fighting construction of the Keystone XL, a 1,179-mile pipeline slated to transport daily 830,000 barrels of diluted crude bitumen from Canadian tar sands across central Nebraska to gulf coast processing facilities. “The Lakota call the proposed Keystone XL the Black Snake Pipeline,” says Greg Grey Cloud, a pipeline opponent who describes himself as an indigenous defender. For the Lakota, the black snake represents nothing less than a reset button on the creation clock. “For over a thousand years, our spiritual leaders have prophesied that a great black snake will one day wind through the land, bringing doom by robbing us of our natural resources as Grandmother Earth remakes herself and introduces a new coming.” For years, TransCanada has been planning to build the Keystone XL across Nebraska’s fragile Sandhills ecosystem and the deep-underground Ogallala Aquifer. Eminent domain lawsuits have plagued the pipeline’s route across much of the United States, and courts have ruled against taxpaying landowners in favor of the foreign corporation. Thanks to Kleeb’s activism with Bold Nebraska, the Keystone XL has stalled outside of the Cornhusker State. Kleeb is a pipeline-fighting road warrior. She has visited the stripped boreal forests of Alberta where the tar sand oil originates. She has seen TransCanada seize lands in Texas and South Dakota. Her regular trips across rural Nebraska to meet with landowners and frequent cross-country speaking engagements make her Omaha commute time seem insignificant. The Keystone XL has consumed Bold Nebraska’s attention since its inception five years ago. Kleeb says her agenda is all about progressive and populist politics. According to the Bold Nebraska website, the organization’s mission is to “mobilize new energy to restore political balance” in a state “dominated by one political voice” and “dominated by far-right ideas and policies.” Focus will shift once courts confirm the pipeline’s fate. Bold Nebraska is already preparing, surveying supporters on the next social and legislative battles to prioritize. Omaha’s liberal (by Nebraska standards) political atmosphere has fostered an important support base for Bold Nebraska. Out of approximately 25,500 Facebook fans and 40,000 email subscribers, 25 percent hail from the metro area, says Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska’s communications director. A local Omaha brewpub was the logical place for Kleeb to launch Bold’s latest initiative: a statewide network map of local businesses branded “In the Neb.” She arrives early in the afternoon. Bumper stickers on the back of her minivan—a beige Honda Odyssey—reveal her double-life. The 42-year-old activist is also a soccer mom with three daughters. A flaming soccer ball decal represents her eldest (age 14) daughter’s team alongside a slew of anti-pipeline and environmental slogans. She steps onto Farnam Street in midtown wearing a white dress, suit jacket, and custom red leather cowboy boots (the boots are covered with grey leather crane silhouettes, a nod to the Sandhills where her husbands’ ancestors had homesteaded). Her hair is a short, no-fuss style symbolic of her life’s always-on-the-go pace. Hoops of turquoise beadwork, made by members of the Omaha Tribe, hang from her ears, matching the turquoise rings on her fingers, gifts from husband Scott Kleeb. She walks into Archetype Coffee with a burst of friendly energy and an armful of promotional material. She has one hour before introducing her “In the Neb.” concept at Farnam House Brewing Company a few blocks away. “In the Neb.” consists of an interactive online map and mobile app promoting small and local businesses: family farms, breweries, boutiques, clean energy vendors, farmers markets, etc. Omaha and Lincoln residents are the primary target users—“because in small towns, you know who sells eggs,” Kleeb says—but rural communities could also use the effort to source urban Nebraska-made products. “In order to get on the map, you have to agree on some values, things like we want to see 25 percent of our energy coming from renewables by 2025, and that the Ogallala aquifer should be a protected water source,” Kleeb says. The network of businesses would also provide a pool of supporters for Bold Nebraska when pushing bills of interest to small farms or clean energy interests in the state legislature. The local bar meet-up for debuting the project might also become a regular thing. Kleeb hopes it will be the first in a series of political talks called “Politics and Pints.” The business map and barroom talks are indicative of Kleeb’s innovative approach to activism. “Creative actions are super important to us; we draw a lot of inspiration from the Omaha creative community,” says Kleeb, noting that Omaha native Justin Kemerling is Bold Nebraska’s main designer. Kleeb’s lifestyle bridges Nebraska’s urban-rural disconnect. She and Scott are renovating a farm in Ayr and hope to move in by next year. The property is located en route to Red Cloud, Willa Cather’s hometown south of Hastings. They named their youngest “Willa,” (age 4) after the iconic Nebraska author. To manage their chaotic schedules, the couple sit together once a month to block off their shared Google calendar. Her husband, once an aspiring Nebraska politician, is now the president and CEO of Omaha-based Pioneer Energy Solutions and its 50 employees. He makes the long Hastings-to-Omaha commute even more frequently than his wife. “I keep trying to twist his arm to get a loft apartment in Omaha or Lincoln,” she says. “When we started Bold, one of the things we wanted to do was to connect our rural communities—often rooted in agriculture, small family farms, and ranches—to the creative class in Omaha,” she says. “There is a lot that we can learn from each other, and, from my perspective, there isn’t this ridiculous divide that everyone tries to say there is when you start visiting with people (rural vs. urban Nebraskans).” Bold Nebraska organized a Neil Young and Willie Nelson concert last September. “Harvest the Hope” was situated in a cornfield near Neligh on the pipeline route. The event drew roughly 1,700 Omahans out of 8,500 spectators. A winter season passed, and Kleeb just completed a new creative action on the same cornfield where concertgoers had parked their vehicles. Bold created a 15-acre crop art message for the White House, a replica of the presidential seal that reads “Climate Legacy #NOKXL.” “My body is still sore,” she says, recalling the previous week’s work of placing flags for the image’s tractor and laying landscape mulch fabric. “It was our way to tell the White House that the president’s climate legacy, which we know he cares deeply about, is directly tied to the rejection of the Keystone XL.” Whenever Kleeb talks about Bold Nebraska’s progressive and populist mission for the state, she uses the first-person plural possessive: “our state.” Though not originally from Nebraska, she made it her permanent home in early 2007. She grew up in south Florida. Both parents were staunch Republicans. Her stay-at-home mother led Broward County Right to Life. As a child, Kleeb often made posters, sat in the back of community meetings, or simply watched mom lead rallies. That was the beginning of her political awareness. Her father owned several Burger King franchises. The whole family would help during the weekends to slice pickles (they didn’t used to come pre-cut) and other chores. “I thought all families did that,” she says with a laugh. She went to school in northern Florida then headed to Philadelphia and D.C. for the next decade. Despite voting for Bill Clinton and running an AmeriCorps program, she claims to have remained a registered Republican up until taking a job with Young Democrats of America. She became executive director in 2003 and worked with “Rock the Vote.” A chance encounter at the 2005 Democratic Convention in Phoenix would eventually tie her fate to Nebraska. That’s where she met Scott. The handsome Yale graduate, a bull-riding grandson of a Western Nebraska rancher, was considering a bid for the state’s third congressional district. “I thought he couldn’t get out of the Republican primary so he ran as a Democrat,” she says with a laugh, recalling her first impression of the man who would become her husband. Her admitted “very stereotypical view of Nebraska” changed after she became involved with Scott’s campaign. Her life changed when she first visited the Sandhills. “I had this really fundamental shift when I came to visit Scott on the ranch,” she says. “Just talking with young and old ranchers, they have this beautiful view of family and the land—they know every blade of grass on their property, and they know the weather cycles, and they can name every cow that’s on their property.” She fell in love with the aspiring politician and his state. Four months after the campaign ended in narrow defeat, they married in March 2007. Her immersion in Nebraska politics was just beginning. The newlywed Kleeb took a political correspondent job with MTV during the 2008 presidential election. She also helped run her husband’s 2008 Senate campaign, which ended in a general election loss to Mike Johanns. Then, after Obama took the White House, the Service Employees International Union sponsored “Change that Works” to petition support for health care reform; Kleeb was named the organization’s Nebraska director. She mobilized community support across small towns and cities. She aggressively lobbied then-Senator Ben Nelson, and she found success. Nelson would eventually provide a crucial swing vote for Obamacare in exchange for the notorious “Cornhusker Kickback.” “I knew (Change that Works) would end as soon as the bill got passed in Congress,” she says. “I looked around, and I didn’t see a statewide organization that was using creativity, that was aggressive online, and wasn’t afraid of throwing a punch to politicians who weren’t being accountable on issues we cared about. So, I thought that’s something that we needed to start.” The concept for Bold Nebraska was born. She met with Omaha philanthropist Dick Holland, a powerful contributor to progressive Democratic causes and candidates. Kleeb pitched her idea. Inspired, Holland offered start-up funds, and she transitioned from health care reform to her ultimate, bold ambition for Nebraska: “to change the political landscape of our state.” But she still had no idea her life was about to plunge into a pipeline-induced rabbit hole. “About three months after we started, I got a phone call about the pipeline. It was from a friend who works at an environmental group, and he said, ‘Have you heard about this? It’s going to cut across the Sandhills,’” Kleeb says of her first introduction to the Keystone XL. “I’d never worked on an environmental issue. I didn’t know anything about eminent domain or what the tar sands were. But I was intrigued because it was going to cross the Sandhills—and it still will—and that’s where my husband’s family all homesteaded, where I fell in love with Nebraska. So I was like, okay, I’ll go to the meeting.” She traveled to York for a State Department meeting in May 2010. She listened to Nebraska farmers and ranchers voice concerns about threats to livestock, crops, and water supplies. She saw a clear example of “right and wrong,” and Bold Nebraska found its first big cause. Pipeline advocates have alleged that Keystone XL opposition is linked to backing from Omaha’s Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway. Some believe that oil transport by rail rather than pipeline would benefit Berkshire-owned BNSF Railway. Bold’s early key donor—Dick Holland—is a major Berkshire shareholder and made a fortune investing in Warren Buffet. But Kleeb says the critique is misleading; Buffet has expressed support for the Keystone XL. “That’s a conspiracy theory,” she says. “I wish I had Warren Buffet money. I’ve asked. Life is not that filled with conspiracy. But the conspiracy theory about the FBI secretly taping us, that turned out to be true [and was reported by The Guardian and The New York Times].” The FBI and TransCanada had been advising law enforcement how anti-terrorism laws and tactics could be used against pipeline activists. After completing her latest crop art project, Kleeb filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out what the FBI has on file for her. Weighing the danger of rail versus pipeline, both are risky. “But they are different risks,” she says. “There are more accidents on rail, but they spill less oil. Pipelines have fewer accidents each year, but when they spill, they spill more oil into the ground and water. So it’s not either/or for me. Both need to be made safer.” As Kleeb’s pipeline fight drags on, Omaha continues to play an important staging ground. The locally headquartered Domina Law Group is representing landowners and Bold Nebraska. In January, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the proposed Keystone XL route could remain in place; however, attorneys with Domina are ready to file lawsuits contesting TransCanada’s eminent domain. Final say on the permit must be determined at the federal level. At the time of publication, the State Department’s analysis of the pipeline remained underway, and Kleeb anticipated that President Obama would reject the pipeline permit. “We think that we will prevail. Because it’s a very clear constitutional question,” she says. Several Omaha musicians were featured on a Stopping the Pipeline Rocks album recorded last spring in a solar barn on the Keystone XL route. Over the summer, Kleeb and Bold Nebraska’s team organized a solidarity event at the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge as climate marchers passed into Iowa on their walk from California to Washington D.C. During the fall election season, Kleeb and the Cowboy Indian Alliance canvased Omaha neighborhoods door-to-door on horseback. They pushed hard to prevent reelection of Republican Congressman Lee Terry, a vocal advocate of the Keystone XL. His replacement, Democrat Brad Ashford, is, much to Kleeb’s dismay, also a pipeline proponent of the Keystone XL. “Brad Ashford says he is concerned about climate change. But you can’t be concerned about climate change and then want to expand the tar sands, which is one of the dirtiest forms of oil,” she says. Keystone XL has fractured political alliances along fascinating lines. While labor unions and corporate interests generally endorse the pipeline, many libertarians oppose it on the grounds of government taking private land while environmentalists oppose it for ecological reasons. “It is definitely an unlikely alliance,” Kleeb says, noting that some of Bold’s regular donors are conservative Republicans. National polls by CBS News, the Pew Research Center, USA Today and the Princeton Survey Research Associates International found that between 56 and 60 percent of the American public supported the Keystone XL. Kleeb says that Bold Nebraska’s polls for Omaha specifically have found support/opposition split closer to 50-50. In spite of her affiliation with the Democratic Party, Kleeb would like to see Bold Nebraska straddle bipartisan politics. Growing numbers of registered independent Nebraskan voters gives her hope. “My mom and dad raised me as a Republican,” says Kleeb. “That’s why when I see the majority of Republicans in our state, including Omaha, it never deters me that someone in our state with populist and progressive ideas cannot get elected.” During the course of the one-hour interview with Omaha Magazine, Kleeb never once checks the time. She has been speaking confidently and eloquently about her life, her politics, and the Keystone XL until minutes before the start of “Politics and Pints” and the launching of “In the Neb.” The interview concludes, and Kleeb has to leave. She heads to her minivan. She picks up another pile of signs and flyers. She walks down to the Farnam House Brewing Company. The bar is packed. Petitions, surveys, and tickets for complimentary beers float freely. Kleeb stands amid the chattering crowd and calls for attention. Silence. Her stage presence exudes the same sense of friendly, genuine sincerity that she has practiced as a pundit on Fox News and in one-on-one conversations across Nebraska. Kleeb introduces the current status of the pipeline. Other speakers from labor unions and environmental groups take the floor: opposing the Trans Pacific Partnership, lamenting out-of-state fracking waste disposal proposals in western Nebraska, introducing Bold Nebraska’s “In the Neb.” project. Enthusiastic clapping follows each call for change. Especially boisterous applause comes from 64-year-old Deirdre Evans of the Joslyn Castle neighborhood. A regular at Bold Nebraska events, Evans even went to Washington D.C. in 2011 to be arrested for the first time while protesting the Keystone XL outside the White House. “Jane is my hero,” says Evans after the speakers conclude. As Kleeb chats with glowing admirers, her ascendance in regional progressive politics becomes apparent. But her compatibility with the general electorate has yet to be tested. In 2010, she was elected as a school board member in Hastings on a platform of healthy lunches, “which prompted the GOP in Nebraska to run robocalls telling voters I wanted to make their kids vegetarians,” she says, noting that she loved serving on the school board. An important question remains. What are Kleeb’s future political ambitions? Does she see herself elected someday to represent Nebraskan constituents in the state or national capitol? She responded to the follow-up question by e-mail without delay: “If I run for office, it will be focused on a platform of ending eminent domain for private gain and working towards energy projects that protect our land and water. I still also deeply care and worry about the lack of residential treatment facilities in our state for eating disorders and other mental illnesses that need that type of care for folks to recover. “So, yes, I am considering running. When, where, and for what office—that I am not sure about. Right now, I keep listening to folks to see where we can make the most impact to keep showing the rest of the country what Nebraskans are made of—grit, creativity, and the resolve to get things done.” Posted in: Leaders, Omaha Magazine, People, Publications Topics: "Stopping the Pipeline Rocks", #NOKXXL, Archetype Coffee, Berkshire Hathaway, Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, Bold Nebraska, Brad Ashford, Canada, CBS News, conservative, Cowboy Indian Alliance, Democrat, Dick Holland, Domino Law Group, energy, environment, Farm House Brewing Company, featured, Freedom of Information Act, Greg Grey Cloud, Hastings, Jane Fleming Kleeb, Jane Kleeb, Joslyn Castle neighborhood, Justin Kemerling, Keystone XL, Lakota, Lee Terry Jr., liberal, Mark Hefflinger, MTV, Nebraska, Neil Young, Neligh, Ogallala Aquifer, Omaha, Omaha Tribe, Pew Research Center, Pioneer Energy Solutions, Princeton Survey Research Associates, Republican, Sandhills, Scott Kleeb, Texas, the Black Snake Pipeline, TransCandad, University of Texas, USA Today, Warren Buffet, Willa Cather, Willie Nelson Saving the Sacred August 29, 2014 by Omaha Magazine Staff and Robert Nelson Holy and charged with emotion—dances for the departed, drum beats to ancient rhythms, regalia adorned with symbols of legends and deeds and faith—the pow-wow circle is tuned to solemnity, meaning, and reverence. Then again, some of the time, not so much. Take this recent scene from the pow-wow put on each year by the Winnebago Tribe. In the circle, the emcee hands out event T-shirts to winners of the pow-wow 5K as he ribs a group of men setting up equipment for an upcoming drumming competition. He then offers sagely advice: “Let those drum heads sit out in the sun for a bit. Loosen up the leather.” Outside the ring, kids and parents gobble up “Rez Dogs” with buns made of fry bread. South of the ring beneath a stand of mammoth cottonwoods artisans from around the country sell their wares. A group of softball players return to the park from a pow-wow tournament game. Along with the sacred comes this vibe of the county fair. Fun, loose, festive. Increasingly, a real crowd-pleaser atmosphere for America’s native peoples and non-natives alike. In the last few decades, Rich Barea of Omaha, a member of the Omaha Tribe, has watched the evolution of the pow-wow from mostly small, close-knit, amateur events into major festivals with big-name music groups and comedians, high-dollar dance competitions, and sometimes massive invasions by anyone with anything vaguely Native American to sell. “For the most part, this incredible growth has been wonderful and exciting,” says Barea, who, now retired from his job with the City of Omaha, has time to travel the country dancing pow-wows from Oklahoma to Canada. “But, sure, some of the original meaning can get lost in all the hoopla and commercialism. The organizers of the best events know how to maintain that all-important balance.” Barea, 66, hit several of the major competitive pow-wows this summer. He made a little money with his traditional dancing in the seniors division. Prize money might cover expenses. Money isn’t the point. The long road of the summer pow-wow season comes to an end September 13 at the Fort Omaha Intertribal Powwow, which Barea has helped organize since its inception 23 years ago. Besides more than 200 dancers, the pow-wow at the Fort Omaha Campus of Metro Community College will feature a series of discussions and classes on pow-wow and Native American history topics. The Fort Omaha event is, according to Barea and its lead organizer, Barbara Velazquez, more of a low-key, traditional event focused more on fellowship than competition. “It’s more like family reunion than some giant fair,” Velazquez says. “It’s a comfortable get-together of many tribes and anyone who would like to take in the pow-wow experience.” “It’s a wind-down to the season,” Barea says. “It’s a chance to see a lot of old friends in the region.” The Omaha pow-wow also is, increasingly, an anomaly. It is a relative unknown on the national pow-wow circuit, on which the country’s top dancers, announcers, and performers tour followed by an entourage of vendors. Top emcees easily command $15,000 for a weekend job. The Winnebago event offered $60,000 in prize money. In this environment, traveling food vendors and artisans can make a respectable living from a three-or-four month tour of America’s Indian Country. More and more families, particularly from tribes with deep artistic traditions, make a living on the road selling their work. Between 11 a.m. and noon on Saturday of the Winnebago event, Craig Charles, a traditional Navaho metal artist, sold $300 in rings, bracelets, earrings, and other small goods from a booth beneath the cottonwoods. Most of the most intricate copper, bronze, and silver items—many inlayed with turquoise—were actually made by his uncle, Archie Teller, he admits. “He’s the master,” Charles says. “Well known throughout Navaho country. I’m not to his level yet. Mainly, I’m the guy who goes on the road and sells, sells, sells for the family.” Charles lives east of Flagstaff, Ariz., on the western edge of the vast Navaho Reservation. The life of a Navaho artist can be hard for even the most skilled. “The scene of the guy sitting out in a tiny shack along some desolate road in the middle of the desert still exists,” Charles says. “My uncle lived that life. This is different. The big pow-wows basically bring a better life for us. “Look around here,” he says, pointing to the bustle of the pow-wow. “Compare this to being in a shack in 110-degree heat with two cars coming by in a day. You meet people all day, see beautiful things all day. It can be a real joy.” Charles, 47, says that most of the Navaho artists he knows weren’t traveling 20 years ago. Slowly, more and more have hit the road, particularly as the summer pow-wow circuit in the north and the winter pow-wow circuit across the southern United States have grown. Charles, his son, and various other extended family members now typically hit 16 or so events a year. Not only does the tour pay the bills, he says, it has helped lure younger tribe members to take up traditional arts. And, increasingly, he says, Navaho, including his son, are now dancing in many of the events. “He has made his regalia, he practices, he’s pretty darn good now,” Charles says. “The funny thing: He even trains some for his dancing. He runs. Some of these dances are like a basketball game’s worth of exercise. It’s serious stuff if you take it seriously.” Barea, well-known to Omaha theatergoers as, he says, “the guy that gets asked to play the Native American character,” makes his own regalia. He does his own bead work. He makes his own moccasins. He particularly enjoys making his own war clubs. He makes small ones for his grandkids. He makes a few “very whimsical ones,” too, including one of his favorites, “the mad chicken club.” Do the math here: Rich Barea’s heavily beaded moose-hide vest alone weighs 13 pounds. He often carries one of his handmade war clubs or war shields into the circle. Combined with the beads, bones, and leather of his other regalia, Barea often hauls 40 extra pounds when he’s dancing. (He notes that some of the top dancers use plastic bone and other light-weight options to keep the weight down on their regalia). He might participate in 60 dances in a long weekend. Some of those dances can last more than a half hour, such as a recent one that ran to 40 minutes “because the emcee just kept on talking and talking during the dance,” he says. “They can be quite long-winded,” he jokes. In the summer, temperatures can approach 100 degrees. The humidity can drive heat indexes up to 110 degrees. Add all this up: “I’ve lost 22 pounds,” he says. “It’s a sport. Depending on the style of the dance, it can be a serious sport.” Indeed, dancing and drumming can play a very similar role in a young person’s life as organized sports, says Barea, who has coached Omaha youth teams for decades, including an all-Native American baseball team for 16 years. You learn to work with others. You learn to work toward a goal. You learn a skill, and more important, you learn how to learn a skill. The list goes on, he says. Of course, learning the tribal dances and rhythms can mean much more than some recreational sport for young Native Americans. “This connects us to who we are and where we’ve been as a people.” Barea says he hopes to have 13 of his 60 grandchildren participating in the Fort Omaha event (he and his wife, now deceased, took in many other children over the years in addition to their five birth children). With so much family there, with so many friends from the Omaha area, with so many tribal members coming from Midwestern tribes, many of which are close cousins to the Omaha Tribe, Barea says the event will be “a real homecoming and reunion for so many of us. I’m always excited as the pow-wow gets closer.” And like always, he says, the pow wow will be laid back and fun, but also, at its core, filled with meaning. Barea has dance steps that are homages to friends and fellow dancers who have died. He also dances in tribute to his wife, his son, and other family members who have passed away. “You dance for the people who aren’t there. You dance for those who can’t dance. “I don’t see any time when the tradition and meaning and the passing on of tradition will get overrun by all the growth and commercialism,” he says. “It’s too important to too many tribes and their people. I think people will always find a way to maintain a balance between the festive and the sacred.” Posted in: Lifestyle, Omaha Magazine, People Topics: featured, Native American, Nebraska, Omaha, Omaha Tribe, pow-wow, Rich Barea, Sacred	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754788
__label__cc	0.541241	0.458759	Home›Culture›Spooky Hawaii: Haunted Places in the Islands Spooky Hawaii: Haunted Places in the Islands Hawaiian folklore is a mixture of ancient Hawaiian mythology and various urban legends that have been passed on from one generation to another. These include spine-tingling tales regarding various places in the islands. With Halloween just lurking around the corner, there is no better time to talk about Hawaii's most haunted spots and the scary tales behind them. Below is a low down of the island's most celebrated supernatural places and why they are worth your visit. Kapiolani Park in Waikiki is one of the most haunted spots on Oahu. Today, locals report of hearing battle cries and seeing figures dressed in ancient battle gear in the park. The eerie apparitions are called Huakai’po or the night marchers which are believed to be the ghosts of ancient Hawaiian warriors. If you ever encounter them, never look them straight in the eye or you will be forced to walk among them for eternity. You should also lie down on your stomach, face down (to avoid eye contact), stay quiet, breathe shallowly, and don’t move. Other places haunted by the night marchers are the Moanalua Gardens, Kualoa Beach Park and Nu’uanu Pali Lookout, usually sites where great battles took place hundreds of years ago. Manoa Falls, located at the very back of Manoa Valley, is also a place of ghostly haunting. An area near the falls was once designated to the Ali’i (royalty class) only and locals report encountering spirits of the royals at night especially during Po’kane or the night of the walking dead. The Hilton Hawaiian Village is said to be home to a mysterious woman in red which was often seen dancing and wandering along the hallways or even on the beach only to disappear into thin air. Some people believe that the woman is the fire goddess Pele, while others say that it is the ghost of a village Kupuna (elder), as the hotel sits on what was once an old Hawaiian fishing village. The Leio’papa Albert Kamehameha building in downtown Honolulu is said to be inhabited by the spirit of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma's only son to whom the structure was named after. Figures, shadows and footprints of a little boy, believed to be that of the young prince who died at age four, were often seen in different areas of the building. The old Kaka’ako Fire Station in Oahu is known to be inhabited by a supernatural entity referred to as the "choking ghost". According to firemen, the entity comes in the middle of the night to sit on your chest and choke you. The fire station is also home to mysterious orbs, believed to be spirits, that can be captured by cameras. Washington Place, the former home of Queen Liliu’okalani and Governor Burns, is said to be haunted by its former residents. Now a museum, some workers and visitors claimed to have encountered the historic figures while inside the mansion. One story tells of two lady visitors who were given a tour of the mansion by a strange man only to be told by a security guard that the man they encountered was the spirit of the late governor who has been dead for over 25 years. St Andrews Cathedral, which was built with the intervention of Queen Emma, is said to be inhabited by her spirit. Locals say the queen's spirit often pays a visit during the Day of Ascension and her favorite piano is often heard playing her favorite tunes when no one is sitting there. The Punchbowl Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is haunted not by the spirits of the war heroes who were laid to rest there but by the restless ghosts of ancient Hawaiians who were offered to the gods as human sacrifices by the Kahunas. TagsHawaiiHilton Hawaiian VillageKaka’ako Fire StationKapiolani ParkKualoa Beach ParkManoa FallsMoanalua GardensNuuanu Pali LookoutOahuPunchbowl Memorial Cemetery of the PacificSt. Andrew's CathedralwaikikiWashington Place Safety Tips When Traveling to Hawaii Kamaee Falls - One of Hawaii's Most ... Green Lake - A 400-year-old Lake in Kapoho, Hawaii Ka Lae, Big Island - The Southernmost Tip of Hawaii Hauola Rock - A Mystical Stone in Maui, Hawaii	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754792
__label__wiki	0.576684	0.576684	Antiwar.com Original Bad Faith and the Destruction of Palestine by Jonathan Cook Posted on September 30, 2006 August 7, 2009 A mistake too often made by those examining Israel’s behavior in the occupied territories or when analyzing its treatment of Arabs in general, or interpreting its view of Iran is to assume that Israel is acting in good faith. Even its most trenchant critics can fall into this trap. Such a reluctance to attribute bad faith was demonstrated this week by Israel’s foremost human rights group, B’Tselem, when it published a report into the bombing by the Israeli air force of Gaza’s power plant in late June. The horrifying consequences of this act of collective punishment a war crime, as B’Tselem rightly notes are clearly laid out in the report. The group warns that electricity is available to most of Gaza’s 1.4 million inhabitants for a few hours a day, and running water for a similar period. The sewerage system has all but collapsed, with the resulting risk of the spread of dangerous infectious disease. In their daily lives, Gazans can no longer rely on the basic features of modern existence. Their fridges are as good as useless, threatening outbreaks of food poisoning. The elderly and infirm living in apartments can no longer leave their homes because elevators don’t work, or are unpredictable. Hospitals and doctors’ clinics struggle to offer essential medical services. Small businesses, most of which rely on the power and water supplies, from food shops and laundry services to factories and workshops, are being forced to close. Rapidly approaching, says B’Tselem, is the moment when Gaza’s economy already under an internationally backed siege to penalize the Palestinians for democratically electing a Hamas government will simply expire under the strain. Unfortunately, however, B’Tselem loses the plot when it comes to explaining why Israel would choose to inflict such terrible punishment on the people of Gaza. Apparently, it was out of a thirst for revenge: the group’s report is even entitled "Act of Vengeance." Israel, it seems, wanted revenge for the capture a few days earlier of an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, from a border tank position used to fire artillery into Gaza. The problem with the "revenge" theory is that, however much a rebuke it is, it presupposes a degree of good faith on the part of the vengeance-seeker. You steal my toy in the playground, and I lash out and hit you. I have acted badly even disproportionately, to use a vogue word B’Tselem also adopts but no one would deny that my emotions were honest. There was no subterfuge or deception in my anger. I incur blame only because I failed to control my impulses. There is even the implication that, though my action was unwarranted, my fury was justified. But why should we think Israel is acting in good faith, even if in bad temper, in destroying Gaza’s power station? Why should we assume it was a hot-headed overreaction rather than a coldly calculated deed? In other words, why believe Israel is simply lashing out when it commits a war crime rather than committing it after careful advance planning? Is it not possible that such war crimes, rather than being spontaneous and random, are actually all pushing in the same direction? More especially, why should we give Israel the benefit of the doubt when its war crimes contribute, as the bombing of the power station in Gaza surely does, to easily deciphered objectives? Why not think of the bombing instead as one installment in a long-running and slowly unfolding plan? The occupation of Gaza did not begin this year, after Hamas was elected, nor did it end with the disengagement a year ago. The occupation is four decades old and still going strong in both the West Bank and Gaza. In that time Israel has followed a consistent policy of subjugating the Palestinian population, imprisoning it inside ever-shrinking ghettos, sealing it off from contact with the outside world, and destroying its chances of ever developing an independent economy. Since the outbreak six years ago of the second intifada the Palestinians’ uprising against the occupation Israel has tightened its system of controls. It has sought to do so through two parallel, reinforcing approaches. First, it has imposed forms of collective punishment to weaken Palestinian resolve to resist the occupation, and encourage factionalism and civil war. Second, it has "domesticated" suffering inside the ghettos, ensuring each Palestinian finds himself isolated from his neighbors, his concerns reduced to the domestic level: how to receive a house permit, or get past the wall to school or university, or visit a relative illegally imprisoned in Israel, or stop yet more family land being stolen, or reach his olive groves. The goals of both sets of policies, however, are the same: the erosion of Palestinian society’s cohesiveness, the disruption of efforts at solidarity and resistance, and ultimately the slow drift of Palestinians away from vulnerable rural areas into the relative safety of urban centers and eventually, as the pressure continues to mount, on into neighboring Arab states, such as Jordan and Egypt. Seen in this light, the bombing of the Gaza power station fits neatly into Israel’s long-standing plans for the Palestinians. Vengeance has nothing to do with it. Another recent, more predictable example was an email exchange published on the Media Lens forum website involving the BBC’s Middle East editor, Jeremy Bowen. Bowen was questioned about why the BBC had failed to report on an important peace initiative begun this summer jointly by a small group of Israeli rabbis and Hamas politicians. A public meeting where the two sides would have unveiled their initiative was foiled when Israel’s Shin Bet secret service, presumably with the approval of the Israeli government, blocked the Hamas MPs from entering Jerusalem. Bowen, though implicitly critical of Israel’s behavior, believes the initiative was of only marginal significance. He doubts that the Shin Bet or the government were overly worried by the meeting in his words, it was seen as no more than a "minor irritant" because the Israeli peace camp has shown a great reluctance to get involved with the Palestinians since the outbreak of the intifada in 2000. The Israeli government would not want Hamas looking "more respectable," he admits, but adds that that is because "they believe that it is a terrorist organization out to kill Jews and to destroy their country." In short, the Israeli government cracked down on the initiative because they believed Hamas was not a genuine partner for peace. Again, at least apparently in Bowen’s view, Israel was acting in good faith: when it warns that it cannot talk with Hamas because it is a terrorist organization, it means what it says. But what if, for a second, we abandon the assumption of good faith? Hamas comprises a militant wing, a political wing and a network of welfare charities. Israel chooses to characterize all these activities as terrorist in nature, refusing to discriminate between the group’s different wings. It denies that Hamas could have multiple identities in the same way the Irish Republican Army, which included a political wing called Sinn Fein, clearly did. Some of Israel’s recent actions might fit with such a simplistic view of Hamas. Israel tried to prevent Hamas from standing in the Palestinian elections, only backing down after the Americans insisted on the group’s participation. Israel now appears to be destroying the Palestinians’ governing institutions, claiming that once in Hamas’ hands they will be used to promote terror. The Israeli government, it could be argued, acts in these ways because it is genuinely persuaded that even the political wing of Hamas is cover for terrorist activity. But most other measures suggest that in reality Israel has a different agenda. Since the Palestinian elections six months ago, Israel’s policies towards Hamas have succeeded in achieving one end: the weakening of the group’s moderates, especially the newly elected politicians, and the strengthening of the militants. In the debate inside Hamas about whether to move towards politics, diplomacy and dialogue, or concentrate on military resistance, we can guess which side is currently winning. The moderates, not the militants, have been damaged by the isolation of the elected Hamas government, imposed by the international community at Israel’s instigation. The moderates, not the militants, have been weakened by Israel rounding up and imprisoning the group’s MPs. The moderates, not the militants, have been harmed by the failure, encouraged by Israel, of Fatah and Hamas politicians to create a national unity government. And the approach of the moderates, not the militants, has been discredited by Israel’s success in blocking the summer peace initiative between Hamas MPs and the rabbis. In other words, Israeli policies are encouraging the extremist and militant elements inside Hamas rather the political and moderate ones. So why not assume that is their aim? Why not assume that rather than wanting a dialogue, a real peace process and an eventual agreement with the Palestinians that might lead to Palestinian statehood, Israel wants an excuse to carry on with its four-decade occupation even if it has to reinvent it through sleights of hand like the disengagement and convergence plans? Why not assume that Israel blocked the meeting between the rabbis and the Hamas MPs because it fears that such a dialogue might suggest to Israeli voters and the world that there are strong voices in Hamas prepared to consider an agreement with Israel, and that given a chance their strength and influence might grow? Why not assume that the Israeli government wanted to disrupt the contacts between Hamas and the rabbis for exactly the same reasons that it has repeatedly used violence to break up joint demonstrations in Palestinian villages like Bilin staged by Israeli and Palestinian peace activists opposed to the wall that is annexing Palestinian farm land to Israel? And why, unlike Bowen, not take seriously opinion polls like the one published this week that show 67 per cent of Israelis support negotiations with a Palestinian national unity government (that is, one including Hamas), and that 56 per cent favor talks with a Palestinian government whoever is leading it? Could it be that faced with these kinds of statistics Israel’s leaders are terrified that, if Hamas were given the chance to engage in a peace process, Israeli voters might start putting more pressure on their own government to make meaningful concessions? In other words, why not consider for a moment that Israel’s stated view of Hamas may be a self-serving charade, that the Israeli government has invested its energies in discrediting Hamas, and before it secular Palestinian leaders, because it has no interest in peace and never has? Its goal is the maintenance of the occupation on the best terms it can find for itself. On much the same grounds, we should treat equally skeptically another recent Israeli policy: the refusal by the Israeli Interior Ministry to renew the tourist visas of Palestinians with foreign passports, thereby forcing them to leave their homes and families inside the occupied territories. Many of these Palestinians, who were originally stripped by Israel of their residency rights in violation of international law, often when they left to work or study abroad, have been living on renewable three-month visas for years, even decades. Amazingly, this compounding of the original violation of these Palestinian families’ rights has received almost no media coverage and so far provoked not a peep of outrage from the big international human rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. I can hazard a guess why. Unusually Israel has made no serious attempt to justify this measure. Furthermore, unlike the two examples cited above, it is difficult to put forward even a superficially plausible reason why Israel needs to pursue this policy, except for the obvious motive: that Israel believes it has found another bureaucratic wheeze to deny a few more thousand Palestinians their birthright. It is another small measure designed to ethnically cleanse these Palestinians from what might have been their state, were Israel interested in peace. Unlike the other two examples, it is impossible to assume any good faith on Israel’s part in this story: the measure has no security value, not even of the improbable variety, nor can it be sold as an overreaction, vengeance, to a provocation by the group affected. Palestinians with foreign passports are among the richest, best educated and possibly among the most willing to engage in dialogue with Israel. Many have large business investments in the occupied territories they wish to protect from further military confrontation, and most speak fluently the language of the international community English. In other words, they might have been a bridgehead to a peace process were Israel genuinely interested in one. But as we have seen, Israel isn’t. If only our media and human rights organizations could bring themselves to admit as much. But because they can’t, the transparently bad faith underpinning Israel’s administrative attempt at ethnic cleansing may be allowed to pass without any censure at all. Author: Jonathan Cook Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilizations: Iraq, Iran, and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). Visit his Web site. View all posts by Jonathan Cook Click here to hide comments Previous Previous post: Iraq at the Gates of Hell Next Next post: West Texas Hailstorm Jonathan Cook’s Latest Posts Exactly Like Its Predecessors, Trump’s Peace Plan Has Been Designed To Fail Annexation: How Israel Already Controls More Than Half of the West Bank Trump Enjoys Bipartisan Support for His Plan To Eradicate the Palestinian Cause For Israel, Annexation of the West Bank Is a Long-Established Goal Don’t Be Fooled: Media Still Selling Out Assange Antiwar.com Original Proudly powered by WordPress	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754793
__label__wiki	0.96919	0.96919	Prodigy fans invited to line Keith Flint funeral procession Keith Flint's funeral will take place at St Mary's Church in Bocking, Essex, on Friday following his death earlier this month. Saturday 23 March 2019 21:24, UK Image: Fans have been invited to line Flint's funeral procession route Fans of The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint have been invited to line his funeral procession in Essex next Friday. Flint, 49, died earlier this month. His funeral will take place at St Mary's Church in Bocking on Friday 29 March. In a statement on the band's Twitter page, fans were told: "The church service will just be for family and close friends, but there will be speakers relaying the ceremony outside the church for everyone to hear." Fans are invited to line the procession route, starting at 3pm in Braintree, Essex on Fri 29th March, to pay their final respects & 'raise the roof' for Keef! If anyone wishes to lay flowers or tributes these should be sent to St Mary's church in Bocking, no later than 2pm Friday pic.twitter.com/cMTDv2jKi9 — The Prodigy (@the_prodigy) March 23, 2019 The account added that fans were "invited to line the procession route" so they could "pay their final respects & 'raise the roof' for Keef!" There has been an outpouring of admiration for the star after he was found dead at his home in Essex. Image: Flint performed on The Prodigy's biggest hits The Prodigy emerged from the underground rave scene of the early 1990s, hitting the top 10 with singles including Charly, Out Of Space, No Good (Start The Dance) and Poison from their first two albums, Experience and Music For The Jilted Generation. More from Ents & Arts R Kelly refused bail as prosecutor says singer is 'still a danger to young girls' Emeli Sande: Adele beat me to my name Dame Helen Mirren slams 'heartbreaking' move to axe free TV licences for over-75s Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars crowned the most-played song of the 21st Century Andrea Camilleri: Italian author behind Montalbano detective series dies Game Of Thrones breaks record for Emmy nominations Flint, who was always instantly recognisable for his spiked hair and unique style, was initially a dancer with the band before moving to sing on Firestarter and Breathe - the singles from their third album, The Fat Of The Land, which propelled them into the mainstream. Both the singles and the album topped the charts, achieving multi-platinum sales.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754798
__label__cc	0.646888	0.353112	UNM Newsroom / News / Not Your Parent’s Classroom Group and panel Urban Land Institute members hear local educators discuss learning in the modern world. Credit: Rachel Stone Group panel (l. to r.): Shawn Berman, acting dean, Anderson School of Management; Amy Coburn, UNM’s university architect & chair of ULI; and William (Billy) Handmaker, head of School and Faculty, Bosque School. ULI panel Passionate about education, Shawn Berman (r.) and William Handmaker (center), discuss the challenges and motivations behind educating students of today. Not Your Parent’s Classroom UNM Planning Design & Construction hosts Urban Land Institute to discuss education By Rachel Stone June 26, 2017 Categories: Front Page Institutional Support Service When two prominent New Mexico education administrators get together to discuss education, it is quickly apparent there are more questions than answers on this important topic. Shawn Berman, acting dean with the Anderson School of Management (ASM) at the University of New Mexico (UNM), and the Head of School at Bosque School, William (Billy) Handmaker, recently spoke to Urban Land Institute (ULI) members regarding the current state of education in New Mexico. The talk began with a simple question: What is happening in education today? This began a societal trek exploring the many spheres in which education comes into contact: politics, economics, business, technology, physical spaces, and the evolution of humankind. The complexities are immense and the “known unknowns” allowed for deep reflection. During the Common School Movement in the 19th century, public schools for American children were scattered regionally so every child in America could learn to read and write as a means to progress the stability of the new nation. The American university was historically a place where anyone could come to tear down intellectual walls. They were built on the frontier, an open space, and a symbol of freedom of thought and exploration. So, when the question was posed about why education can be a controversial topic, funding and perceptions were the main points discussed by Berman and Handmaker. There’s a perception that what’s being taught in schools is not applicable for the young people of today. Berman said that funding for higher education in New Mexico has had a 32 percent decrease in real inflation adjusted dollars since 2008. This means that our educational infrastructure is not well funded. Handmaker offered an explanation. “There’s a level of presumed knowledge [about education] because we’ve all gone to school. There is currently a massive restructuring of our society, and we should be having this argument: How do we prepare the next generation for a world they’re going to be in when we don’t even know what the world is going to be like? At times, I believe, this argument is not contentious enough.” Berman said, “We know the way the economy is changing, so how do you prepare students for jobs when half of the jobs they will get don’t even exist yet? That’s a real challenge; especially at a business school. Preparing students for a career and a life that’s meaningful; that’s one of the big challenges in higher education.” Both educators agreed that one of their key missions is to help young people become well-informed citizens who understand how to look at a problem and get to the root of it in order to solve those problems. Berman said that educators need to “discuss those issues to further the goal of creating informed citizens to make the world a better place.” Handmaker described this technique as teaching students to “learn how to learn,” and one example of this is through the use experiential learning. ASM students typically work with local business to help develop strategic plans, or work with them to solve a business problem. This allows the students to experience the real-world of business while applying the tools they’ve learned in the classroom. Senior Bosque School students are required to do a research paper geared toward solving a problem.Instead of being told to research a topic, they are asked “What is a problem, and how would you solve it?” Their 25-50 page senior thesis is based on this framework, and students become well-versed in the subject matter. “If you want students to be agents of change or feel empowered, they need to understand the issues that are causing the need for change,” Handmaker explained. There’s no doubt that education, pedagogies, student expectations, and the spaces in which teachers educate are changing. Technology has been a big catalyst in this change, and is forcing educators to reevaluate traditional teaching methods. In this day and age, students are consumers and producers of information, and have unlimited access to information via the internet. Berman explained that this instant access to information has really aided in “organic discussion” in the classroom because any kind of information can be found at a moment’s notice using search engines and websites. Handmaker said, “No matter how wonderful technology is, nothing can replace the experience of a student, a group of students, and teachers, sharing a text. We should never lose the human and the humane aspects of traditional education.” Students and teaching techniques are changing, so the spaces where learning occurs is changing as well. Handmaker explained that educators need more spaces that are less formally designed and suggested that the traditional classroom is really resistant to change. Technology allows students to work in groups like never before, connecting them while away from the classroom. Modern UNM classrooms are being designed with this in mind. Planning, Design, and Construction (PDC), the department responsible for campus planning and design, creates new spaces to get people up and moving, where they can collaborate with one another and be inventive in how they spend their time, whether at work or in the classroom. Amy Coburn, UNM’s university architect and chair of ULI, said. “Shawn and Billy have exciting leadership perspectives. Hearing the discussion is a reminder to be mindful of the types of supportive learning environments as we invest in growth and renewal of our University campus. Aristotle – Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Optimizing 5G networks: UNM ECE researcher looks to enhance connections UNM study highlights importance of female roles in matrilineal families Class teaches the traditional art of making violins UNM, Los Alamos National Labs sign new cooperative joint faculty agreement	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754799
__label__wiki	0.879808	0.879808	Baseball team is Omaha bound Jun. 9, 2019—For the fourth time in nine seasons, Vanderbilt is headed to the College World Series. The Commodores hit five home runs en route to a 13-2 win against Duke in game three of the NCAA Nashville Super Regional on Sunday afternoon at Hawkins Field. Baseball takes on Duke in Super Regionals Jun. 7, 2019—The Vanderbilt Commodores host the Duke Blue Devils in a best-of-three NCAA Super Regional series at Hawkins Field starting Friday at 5 p.m. Commodore fans can stock up on gear before the games by visiting the Vanderbilt pop-up shop located off Jess Neely Drive near the front entrance of the McGugin Center, across the street from the main entrance gate to Hawkins Field. The pop-up shop will be open 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, 6-8:30 p.m. Saturday, and noon-2:30 p.m. Sunday, weather permitting each day. David Williams, bowling team to be inducted into Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Jun. 4, 2019—Former Vanderbilt Athletics Director David Williams II and the Vanderbilt bowling team were among the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame honorees recently announced and slated for recognition at its induction ceremony on June 15. Bleday goes 4th overall in MLB draft; 4 others selected through Wednesday Jun. 3, 2019—Vanderbilt right fielder J.J. Bleday was selected fourth overall in the Major League Baseball draft by the Miami Marlins on Monday night, becoming the 16th Commodore in the last 15 years to be selected in the opening round. Four other Commodore players were selected through the 10th round going into Wednesday. Vanderbilt smashes into Super Regionals Jun. 3, 2019—Vanderbilt smacked four home runs en route to capturing the NCAA Nashville Regional with a 12-1 victory over Indiana State on Sunday night at Hawkins Field. The Commodores will advance to play Duke in the NCAA Super Regionals next weekend at Hawkins Field. Baseball’s Bleday named Golden Spikes finalist May. 30, 2019—Vanderbilt right fielder J.J. Bleday has been named one of four finalists for the 42nd Golden Spikes Award presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, USA Baseball announced on Wednesday. The award honors the best amateur baseball player in the United States. Gail and David Williams honored with Francis S. Guess Bridge to Equality Award May. 29, 2019—The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has honored Gail and David Williams with the Francis S. Guess Bridge to Equality Award. The award, which honors the memory of civil rights trailblazer and civic leader Francis S. Guess, recognizes those who spur innovation leading to equality. Commodore Baseball SEC champions t-shirts available May. 28, 2019—T-shirts celebrating the Vanderbilt baseball team’s dramatic 2019 SEC Tournament championship victory are now available through the Barnes & Noble at Vanderbilt bookstore. Vanderbilt to host NCAA Regional following SEC Tournament championship win May. 28, 2019—The Commodores have been tabbed the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Division I Tournament and will welcome Indiana State, McNeese and Ohio State to Hawkins Field for the NCAA Nashville Regional beginning Friday. Vanderbilt leads the nation with 49 victories and captured the SEC regular season championship and SEC Tournament title. Baseball advances in SEC Tournament May. 24, 2019—Top-seed Vanderbilt stifled Mississippi State with runners on base and made the most of its three hits, advancing to the SEC Tournament semifinals while blanking the No. 2-seed Bulldogs 1-0 on Thursday night in Hoover, Alabama. The Commodores will face the winner of No. 5-seed LSU and Mississippi State on Saturday, in a game tentatively scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on the SEC Network. Men’s golf’s quest for national championship begins Friday May. 23, 2019—The No. 4 Commodores' quest for a national championship begins Friday afternoon at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, when they tee up with the nation's top teams at the NCAA Championships. Baseball opens SEC Tournament play today May. 22, 2019—Vanderbilt makes its 24th overall appearance at the SEC Tournament when the top-seed Commodores begin play Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. from Hoover Met Stadium in Alabama. The Dores will face No. 8-seed Auburn. The SEC Network will air the game. Page 2 of 45«12345678...»Last »	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754800
__label__wiki	0.94723	0.94723	The Unraveling of Flint: How ‘Vehicle City’ Stalled Long Before the Water Crisis The Unraveling of Flint: How 'Vehicle City' Stalled Long Before the Water Crisis By Kayla Ruble Jan 26, 2016 Johnny Lee has been through Flint, Michigan's good times, and its bad. But the 79-year-old Flint native never expected that his city wouldn't be able to provide its residents with clean water, much less for it to be thrust into the national spotlight for a scandal in which local and state officials allegedly ignored complaints and evidence that the city's water supply was contaminated with lead. "[The water would] come out and it's like 'what's this?'" Lee said, explaining how the water in his home began to stink, and run brown and yellow, more than a year ago. "Now, you know, I ain't using it, but if you let it sit for two or three days and turn it on, it will come out rusty-like." Lee is just one of many residents across the city who became concerned about his water at that time, and months before officials admitted there was a problem. He regularly purchased cases of water to drink and cook with, and he would also travel outside the city to draw water from houses not hooked up to Flint's piping. Now with revelations that the city's 30,000 plus homes are in fact at risk for lead contamination, residents like Lee, who have suffered as tens of thousands of autoworkers lost their jobs in recent decades, have finally been pushed to the edge with a sense of abandonment by city and state officials. Residents started raising concerns about the water shortly after the city starting pulling its water from the Flint River in April 2014. For decades, Flint got its water from Detroit — which sits less than 70 miles to the south. But in 2013, Flint voted to build its own pipeline and create the Karegnondi Water Authority (KWA). This vote led to a dispute with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, which threatened to cut off its largest municipal customer. At the time, both cities were run by emergency managers, a state-appointed system implemented to turn around financially struggling cities and school systems across Michigan. These officials failed to shore up an agreement that would allow Flint to stay on Detroit's water system. Instead, the city of just under 100,000 people opted to go it alone until construction of the KWA pipeline was completed and instead pull water from the Flint River — an effort that necessitated the use of anti-corrosives and an update to the city's wastewater treatment plant that for decades existed solely for backup purposes. As residents' complaints about the water grew louder in Flint, by last summer researchers from Virginia Tech University and the city's Hurley Medical Center found elevated lead levels in people's homes and spiking lead levels in children's blood. Eventually, in September 2015, after months of ignoring or denying a problem existed, state officials began to acknowledge that lead contamination in the city's water was a danger to residents. Related: Protesters Demand Michigan Governor's Resignation During State of the State Speech on Flint Water Crisis The American Civil Liberties Union and local media outlets determined that not only had officials been made aware of potential issues with the water, but they had also failed to put the correct amount of anti-corrosives into the water system — a national guideline regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency. The corrosive water leached the lead pipes causing the contamination that is now making headlines across the country. As more and more information surfaces about who knew what, and how long they knew it,the state's top politicians are under increasing scrutiny, particularly Governor Rick Snyder, as to how they handled and responded to the situation. "They were trying to cut corners, to save money, or they say they was, and they cut us from Detroit," Lee said while eating breakfast at the St. Luke's N.E.W. Life Center, a community center run by a group of ambitious nuns on the city's north side. "It makes me want to pack up and leave, to tell you the truth. And I'm still thinking about it… Buffalo, New York, I might go [there]." Lee arrived in Flint in 1968, and like the thousands of people who left their homes all over the country to make their way to Flint around that time, he moved from Chicago to take a job at GM. The factory gig with the automaker didn't last long, and Lee didn't like being cooped up on the assembly line. He eventually transitioned to working with a railway company and has been in the city ever since. "Oh I've seen Flint booming," he recalled. "Everybody was happy, spending money, stuff like that." While most of the recent discussion about Flint relates to crime and abandoned houses that resulted from economic decline of the 1990s, Lee arrived at a time when GM's workforce in Flint, and nationwide, was still growing. People began to flock to the city in the early 1900s after Buick and Chevrolet opened plants along the Flint River, according to Flint native and Genesee County Historical Society President David White. There were so many people heading to Flint by the 1920s that the housing market couldn't keep up. White said people were sleeping in makeshift shacks along the river because there wasn't enough housing. "Stories go that they had shifts in boarding houses, so when you left for work, somebody else took your room and that happened all 24 hours," White said. "GM was strong, the [United Auto Workers Union] was really strong, [and] they ran the city right up until the 1980s." The city saw its population reach nearly 200,000 people by the 1960s. GM's nationwide growth wouldn't peak until 1979 and the loss of jobs in Flint wouldn't occur until the late 1980s and early 1990s. At its height, the car manufacturer employed some 85,000 people in Flint alone at plants throughout the city. Related: Obama Declares State of Emergency in Flint, Michigan Amid Ongoing Water Crisis But then came the recession of the 1980s, along with high gas prices, that tanked sales for US automakers. Meanwhile, Japanese companies saw their fuel-efficient cars get a boost in the American market. GM's employment began to drop by 1988, with plant closures throughout the 1990s and 2000s. As thousands of people in Flint lost their jobs and many were forced to move away for employment, White said the decline left a visual mark with a new cityscape of empty factory lots and abandoned houses. "The effect was dramatic and hit home," he said, explaining that with other industries in other cities, companies closed down their facilities, but left the abandoned factories in place. That was not the case in Flint. "General Motors made a point of demolishing everything they owned behind them as they left town." "You don't realize how large a property they had control of until it becomes vacant," he said, explaining that GM's departure left vast areas of vacant property. In a town where people lived in the neighborhood surrounding the factory they worked in, the blocks near and around the plants began to empty out as well. (Photo by Kayla Ruble/VICE News) One of the more notable vacancies lies on the city's north side near what became known as Buick City, an area where a 235-acre Buick plant sat until 2002 when much of it was demolished. Now, all that remains is a chain link fence topped with barbed wire around an empty expanse of land overgrown with grass and weeds. Just outside of the property, a Buick City UAW building remains equipped with a sign on its premises barring any non-union made or foreign cars from using its parking lot. As White explained, the city continued to operate as usual without making any major changes to cope with a massive loss of tax revenue. The exit of GM, and white flight that started in the 1960s, resulted in Flint losing a large portion of its tax base by the 1990s. Flint was the first city in the country to hold a popular vote in favor of an open housing referendum in 1968, but an exodus of wealthy white residents to the suburbs soon followed. Once the GM jobs were gone, anyone who could leave found a way out. By 2014, estimates indicate that half the population left, and now less than 100,000 people remain within the city limits — 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line. According to the most recent census, nearly 60 percent of the population is African American. "They kept acting like it was you know just another day, [they] kept spending the money," White said, explaining that finding quality local leadership over the years has been a challenge. GM's declining role in the city and poor management put Flint in dire financial straits and forced the city to go under state-monitored financial management for two years starting in 2002. A second bout of emergency financial management took hold in 2011 — this time with increased and almost absolute powers that were approved by Governor Rick Snyder — which forced schools to close down, saw public workers lose their jobs, and demolished more and more houses. "Flint was declared an all-American city in the fifties.... we had one of the best school systems in the country," White said. "So it's very sad to see where it has come to. Schools are in the worst shape that they've ever been. Period. And the city is, too." Ray Tyler, 34, grew up not too far from where the remnants of Buick City now lie. As a kid in the 1990s, he said life in Flint at that time was still relatively good. The city had just started to register on lists for the most dangerous American cities. "You know we wasn't rich, but the crime rate was lower, people's parents had jobs. General Motors was still around, so people was okay, for the most part," Tyler, who now owns the Luxe Lounge nightclub just outside the city-limits, said. He stressed that the public school system still felt like it was in good shape, although the decline was imminent. Tyler's parents even used someone else's address so that he could attend high school in the suburbs and have a better shot at getting out, which he managed to do. He attended Ferris State University, located a three-hour drive away on the west side of the state. By the time he returned home after graduation in 2005, however, Flint was noticeably different. The city earned the number four spot for most dangerous cities based on FBI statistics in 2002, the same year the Buick plant dismantling began. For its size, Flint was the most dangerous city for three years in a row starting in 2010, and saw 66 murders in 2012. The murder rate has declined over the last several years, but there were 48 homicides last year. An abandoned lot on the city's north side where houses have been demolished in recent decades to rid the city of its notorious blight. (Photo by Kayla Ruble/VICE News) Tyler himself moved to a neighborhood outside the city limits in Flint Township in pursuit of a better life. He said only a handful of families still live on the block he grew up on. "You go there, you go to your old neighborhood, that house might not even be there anymore. There might only be two houses on that block," he said. "A lot of people are moving out of the inner city, taking their kids out of the inner city to go to school." Tyler still spends a lot of time in the neighborhood with friends and family, even more so now as the water crisis hit and he felt the need to get water to people. But similar to residents like Johnny Lee and others Vice News spoke with in Flint, the lead contamination and the birth of his first daughter last year have inspired him to get even further away from the city where he grew up. "I was very close to just getting my family and getting out… I gotta get my daughter out. I just want her to see something different," Tyler said, adding that his love for the city and feeling like he had a duty to stick around during the crisis have kept him there for the time being. Over the last year, Tyler has regularly donated water to local schools while using the club he owns as an unofficial free water pickup center. His efforts were eventually given a boost through help from organizations he connected with in Detroit. "It's sad because I look at my kid everyday," he said, explaining that this has changed how he views all the children of Flint who will deal with the lifelong effects of lead poisoning. "You just see some kids are going to have to go through that when they get older, it's just sad." An icy road on the Flint's neglected north side. (Photo by Kayla Ruble/VICE News) Residents across the city complain about the decline in public services over the last 10 years. Firemen and police officer positions have been cut, the sanitation department has been privatized, and the local farmers market was also sold off to private investors. Roads and sidewalks throughout the city are clearly the victim of poor maintenance, and often neglected by services like snow and ice removal. But not everything has been in a downward spiral in the city in recent years. Local investors, with the help of the city's main charitable organization, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, pushed for development in Flint's historic downtown along Saginaw Street that is still lined with the original iron arches used to light the road in the early 1900s when horse drawn carriages were the mode of transportation being manufactured in Flint. Buildings along the main downtown strip were renovated and rebuilt as part of a state renaissance zone initiative, in an area near one of three college campuses in town. This attracted business owners like Robb Klaty, who relocated to Flint with his wife and six kids seven years ago. As he started to feel a part of the community and engage in city issues, he decided to open up a brewery and several restaurants downtown. These Vehicle City arches welcome residents to Flint's downtown. (Photo by Kayla Ruble/VICE News) While Klaty said the estimated 3,000 residents in the downtown area aren't necessarily enough to keep business going, he and fellow entrepreneurs have courted people from the suburbs to come in and spend time in the neighborhood. "There is some kind of a pride to be able to thrive in a place that is difficult... It feels difficult and it feels pretty good when you can win in that," he said. "Somebody said if you can make it in New York you can make it anywhere and I've heard the same thing in Flint. And I think both are true in totally opposite reasons." Sitting at a high top table at one of his restaurants just off the main drag, a bar called Table and Tap that only serves beer made in Michigan, Klaty wore a t-shirt with the phrase "Hard as Flint" which showed off his tattooed arms. The father and former suburbanite talked about the fact that business was down in recent weeks as the water crisis consumed the city. His restaurants use a special filter system and self-conducted tests show there is no lead in the water, but overall people seem to be steering clear of local restaurants. But Klaty isn't too dejected by the slow start to 2016, the warmer weather months are better for business anyway and he said he believes the water crisis will only bolster the people of Flint who are committed to seeing the city succeed. He said he's already heard from people wanting to see how they can help and invest. "I think we are going to attract the right people who want to take a place that's really been hit left and right and turn it around," Klaty said. "There are certain people in this community that are galvanized by hardship. I think that should be attractive for people who want to support the underdog and be part of the solution." On a cold Tuesday in mid-January amid growing controversy over the unraveling Flint water crisis, Governor Snyder prepared to give his annual state of state address at the capitol building in Lansing. Outside, dozens of protesters gathered holding signs that read "Arrest Snyder" and they marched to the building's steps chanting "Snyder Must Go." Among the demonstrators were UAW members, local political activists, and parents who have spoken out against the water contamination. But there was also a line of young black protesters marching around the back of the building holding signs that said "Flint Lives Matters." The group consisted of people in their 20s and 30s, but it was the teenagers and school children in their ranks that stood out compared to the middle-aged adults populating the bulk of the crowd. Leading the group was Luxe Lounge nightclub owner Ray Tyler, who found out about the rally just a day earlier and chartered a bus to take some of the families and teens from Flint's north side over to Lansing. He funded the trip, he said, not only because he supported the rally, but because he wanted the younger kids to see this kind of social action. He's organized other public demonstrations around the water crisis over the last year. "These guys are young teenagers and I had 'em all out, and the experience was crazy," he said as he reflected on the demonstration a few days later while sitting at his club before opening. "One of the parents was thanking me today… [these kids] would have never done that." Related: Michigan Calls in the National Guard to Distribute Water to the City of Flint Like the others, Tyler hasn't been able to abandon the city during the crisis, despite wanting a better life for his daughter. In fact, he's become increasingly emotional about the issue, especially when he sees the kids at a school where he was donating water to last year. The city council recognized him in November for his work bringing safe water to Flint Community Schools. "I used to get back to my car and tear up. You see some kids struggling, you always see it on TV, it's home now," he said. "That stuff happens in Africa, when they be like one cent a day you can get water for these kids and it's like, really? This is it. This is Africa right now." The current situation may seem to put Flint residents up against one of their biggest challenges to date, and it may be forcing people to look elsewhere for opportunities — but Tyler emphasized that people of his city are nothing if not resilient. "One thing else about us, this little water thing, we built to survive you know what I mean, we built for it," he said. "What don't kill us can only make us stronger, that's how we live." Follow Kayla Ruble on Twitter: @RubleKB	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754801
__label__wiki	0.638639	0.638639	PHOTOS: Chicago Blackhawks 5, Los Angeles Kings 4 – NHL Western Conference Finals, Game 5 Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus (26) celebrates a game winning goal with his teammates during the second overtime period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 5-4 in the second overtime. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( APTOPIX Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Michal Handzus #26 of the Chicago Blackhawks scores a goal against Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings in double overtime to win Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5 to 4. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494219765 ) Andrew Shaw #65 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates teammate Brent Seabrook #7 goal on Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings in the first period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494198441 ) Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings makes a save against Brandon Saad #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the second period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494202513 ) Los Angeles Kings left wing Dwight King (74) takes the puck as Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27) and the Kings right wing Justin Williams (14) battle during the overtime period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya (27) and Los Angeles Kings left wing Dwight King (74) battle for the puck during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Tanner Pearson #70 of the Los Angeles Kings fights with Brent Seabrook #7 of the Chicago Blackhawks during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) ( 494214337 ) Dustin Brown #23 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates Marian Gaborik #12 goal against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) ( 494215441 ) Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll (28) and Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Shaw (65) battle for a position as they wait for the puck during the second period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Marian Gaborik #12 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494198825 ) Los Angeles Kings center Mike Richards (10) keeps the puck away from Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith (2) during a power play in the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford gives up a goal by Los Angeles Kings right wing Marian Gaborik during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Brandon Saad #20 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates after scoring a goal against Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings in the first period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494198071 ) Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville directs his team during the second period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick saves a goal shot by Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad during the second period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( APTOPIX Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) gives up a goal as he misses the puck shot by Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown (23) celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) during the second period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( APTOPIX Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) shoots a goal past Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Marian Gaborik #12 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates with his teammates on the bench after scoring a goal against Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks in the first period during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494198629 ) Chicago Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford (50) blocks a shot by Los Angeles Kings left wing Dwight King during the first period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Chicago Blackhawks left wing Brandon Saad (20) goes after the puck against Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov (26) during the second period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Andrew A. Nelles) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings makes a save against the Chicago Blackhawks during Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494218045 ) Michal Handzus #26 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrates with Patrick Kane #88 after scoring a goal against Jonathan Quick #32 of the Los Angeles Kings in double overtime to win Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5 to 4. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494221635 ) Corey Crawford #50 and Ben Smith #28 of the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in double overtime of Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5 to 4. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494222269 ) Fans cheer as after Chicago Blackhawks center Michal Handzus scores a game winning goal during the second overtime period in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Chicago. The Blackhawks won 5-4 in the second overtime. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) ( Kings Blackhawks Hockey ) Chicago Blackhawks fans cheer during Game Five of the Western Conference Final against the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494223151 ) The Chicago Blackhawks celebrate after defeating the Los Angeles Kings in double overtime of Game Five of the Western Conference Final in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at United Center on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5 to 4. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) ( 494223071 ) Categories: NHL, Sports, Syndicated	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754804
__label__wiki	0.873226	0.873226	New orchid identified from Komodo by University of Kent (Phys.org) —A new species of orchid has been identified on the South East Asian island of Komodo despite having been wrongly named for the past 300 years. According to research by Dr Dave Roberts from the University of Kent, the orchid – named Vanda perplexa – had originally been confused with other similar species but has only now been officially identified and described as an entirely new species. Co-authored by Dr Roberts of the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), and Martin Motes, a world renowned orchid grower, the findings have been published in a paper in Kew Bulletin, titled "Vanda perplexa (Orchidaceae): a new species from the Lesser Sunda Islands." As a popular tourist destination, Komodo is commonly known for being the home of the Komodo dragon. Photographs from tourist trips were used to help researchers identify the origin of the species. The orchid, which has big round pink flowers, large stems and grows up in the trees, is from a group of orchids that is particularly popular with orchid growers. Dr Roberts, Senior Lecturer in Biodiversity Conservation, said: 'It is remarkable that this species has gone unnoticed for so long, given that Komodo is a tourist destination. However it is likely that the National Park status has helped protect this species – along with the dragons. 'The mystery of Vanda perplexa began with the work of Georg Eberhard Rumphius, a blind German botanist. Rumphius described a number of species of orchids and it is under one of these species, Vanda furva, that our new species has been masquerading. Over the subsequent 300 years various species have been attributed to Rumphius' Vanda furva, including this species, but it is only now that it has been officially described and given its own name.' Dr Roberts' research interests focus on questions relating to species detectability and extinction, and orchid ecology. Why are orchids so successful? Provided by University of Kent Citation: New orchid identified from Komodo (2013, June 5) retrieved 17 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2013-06-orchid-komodo.html Saving the wild orchids of Borneo Two new species of orchid found in Cuba Research reveals lost lion populations going unnoticed Snakes meet their match in offspring-protecting lizards Seven rare Komodo dragons hatch in Indonesia	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754806
__label__cc	0.649139	0.350861	Timing a sextuple quasar by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics The quintuple quasar SDSSJ1029+2623 as seen in the visible. The quasar has been gravitationally imaged by an intervening cluster of galaxies, and the distortions result in six images. Four of these quasar images are labeled A-D; the other two images are obscured in this figure by the foreground galaxies G1-G3 (an arc produced by the lens can also be seen). Astronomers have detected time delays between flaring events in the quasar, the result of the light in different images traveling along different paths in space. Credit: Dahle and the Nordic Optical telescope Quasars are galaxies with massive black holes at their cores around which vast amounts of energy are being radiated. Indeed, so much light is emitted that the nucleus of a quasar is much brighter than the rest of the entire host galaxy, and their tremendous luminosities allow quasars to be seen even when they are very far away. The quasar SDSSJ1029+2623, for example, is so distant that its light has been traveling towards us for 11.4 billion years, 83% of the age of the universe. This quasar is particularly unusual because it happens to have five quasar neighbors in the sky that look very similar to it and moreover are located at the same cosmological distance. SDSSJ1029+2623 is actually a gravitationally lensed quasar. Its light is being magnified and distorted by the gravity of a cluster of galaxies fortuitously lying between us, in accordance with Einstein's prediction that light can be bent by gravity. Only a few other quasars being gravitationally lensed into multiple images by clusters are known. Over fifty years ago, astronomers predicted that in such cases, because the light from each image travels along a different cosmological path, any time delays between flaring events in the images can be used to probe underlying cosmological parameters such as the age and rate of expansion of the universe. Moreover, these delays can also probe the surface density distribution of the lens. Such delays have now been detected, with the longest delays being of the order of a few years. In the case when individual galaxies (not clusters of galaxies) act as lenses, the time delays are more often weeks or months. CfA astronomer Matthew Bayliss and four of his colleagues undertook a campaign to monitor the time delays in the images of SDSSJ1029+2623 using the 2.56-meter Nordic Optical Telescope in the Canary Islands, Spain. Over three years of systematic observations they found a delay of 722 days between the image whose light is predicted to arrive first ("image C") and the component that is brightest, and a 47.7 day delay between the two brightest components. Fortuitously, during this period image C underwent a sharp flux increase, and models predict that this event should be spotted in the other five images in the next few years. The data are not quite good enough to refine any cosmological parameters, at least not yet, but the team is continuing close monitoring of the quasar and hopes to determine with precision the timing delays in all six components over the next few observing seasons. Researcher's work offers more proof of Einstein's general theory of relativity More information: H. Dahle et al. Time Delay Measurements For The Cluster-Lensed Sextuple Quasar SDSS J2222+2745, The Astrophysical Journal (2015). DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/813/1/67 Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Provided by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Citation: Timing a sextuple quasar (2015, December 1) retrieved 17 July 2019 from https://phys.org/news/2015-12-sextuple-quasar.html Galactic crashes fuel quasars, study finds Confirming a 3-D structural view of a quasar outflow Quasar observed in six separate light reflections Astronomers discover an unusual cosmic lens Astronomers using Hubble discover quasars acting as gravitational lenses New Hubble constant measurement adds to mystery of universe's expansion rate Supernova observation first of its kind using NASA satellite Gaia starts mapping the galactic bar in the Milky Way my2cts Absolutely amazing.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754807
__label__cc	0.734411	0.265589	Home Tags Transportation Tag: Transportation Gas prices continue dropping, 2 cents in both R.I. and Mass. Economic Activity December 24, 2018 1:04 pm PROVIDENCE – The average price of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in Rhode Island declined 2 cents over the week to $2.50 per gallon, 18... Norwegian Air seeks to reassure on cash amid winter slowdown Hospitality & Tourism December 24, 2018 9:51 am LONDON – Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA took pains to reassure investors about the solidity of its cash position and plans to sell aircraft and... RGGI-style transit funds in R.I. future Editorial and Op-Ed December 21, 2018 2:12 am On Dec. 18, 12 Northeastern states, including Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia announced that they had agreed to implement a cap-and-trade regime... R.I. joins partnership developing transportation emission cap/trade program Natural Resources December 19, 2018 6:30 pm PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island was among nine Northeast and mid-Atlantic states and Washington, D.C., Tuesday announcing a partnership in a project designed to create... RIDOT gets $20M federal grant for Pell Bridge ramp realignment Government December 6, 2018 12:52 pm NEWPORT – The R.I. Department of Transportation has received a $20 million federal grant to support a project to realign the Newport Pell Bridge... RIDOT awards autonomous vehicle service contract to Mich.-based company Government December 3, 2018 3:18 pm PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Transportation has awarded a contract to May Mobility Inc. to provide a limited and controlled automated vehicle service... Lane shifts, congestion expected with start of I-295 bridge work Capital Goods November 9, 2018 11:07 am JOHNSTON – The start of work on the bridges that carry traffic on Interstate 295 at its interchange with Routes 6 and 6A at... Bell Helicopter signs deal with Garmin for urban air travel collaboration Manufacturing October 3, 2018 12:38 pm PROVIDENCE – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. subsidiary, signed a teaming agreement with Garmin International Inc. on the development and integration of autonomous vehicle... July traffic at T.F. Green increases 12.6% Y/Y Hospitality & Tourism October 2, 2018 2:41 pm WARWICK – Traffic at T.F. Green Airport increased 12.6 percent year over year in July, according to the most recent numbers from the R.I.... R.I. loses as Norwegian pares back Editorial and Op-Ed September 28, 2018 1:12 am Edinburgh, Belfast, we hardly knew ye.Not even a year-and-a-half since inaugurating service between T.F. Green Airport and Edinburgh, Scotland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, Norwegian... 1...345...8Page 4 of 8	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754808
__label__wiki	0.714881	0.714881	ERP, ICT Microsoft extends Dynamics ERP adds support for Azure cloud 8 April 2014 olivier237 Leave a comment Microsoft is now ready to go head-to-head with Salesforce.com in the CRM market, analyst says Microsoft has completed a series of moves aimed at making its Dynamics AX ERP software a more viable option for large enterprises, and plans to showcase them this week during the Convergence conference in Atlanta. Dynamics AX 2012 R3, the latest version of Microsoft’s high-end ERP (enterprise resource planning) offering, will be available May 1 both in on-premises form and on the Windows Azure cloud infrastructure service, Microsoft announced Tuesday. Customers will be able to run AX 2012 R3 in full production form, for development and testing, or as a disaster recovery instance in conjunction with their on-premises deployment, said Christian Pedersen, general manager of AX, in an interview prior to Tuesday’s announcement. “We’re seeing a very positive reaction from enterprise customers around this, especially in environments where they’re adopting Azure as an infrastructure service,” Pedersen said. Dynamics products have traditionally been sold exclusively by Microsoft channel partners around the world, who then tweak and customize the core software for customers’ needs. This won’t change with the arrival of Azure support for AX, but Microsoft will nonetheless become more closely involved with customers’ day-to-day operations. New Azure-based application life-cycle services for AX will provide ongoing health monitoring of customer systems, identifying potential problems that need fixing. The services, which are similar to ones offered by SAP and Oracle, will be provided as part of customers’ existing maintenance payments and are available for both Azure-hosted and on-premises deployments. Early adopters of the service have been able to resolve problems in a “significantly” shorter period than before, and in two-thirds of the cases have done it on their own, Microsoft said. AX 2012 R3 will also introduce a brand-new application and services framework geared toward rapid development of mobile apps. Microsoft plans to showcase one such app, which gives delivery truck drivers a way to organize their stops and plan routes, during Convergence, Pedersen said. It will also discuss a new application for shop floor workers that allows them to send information about production jobs with touch-based Windows devices. Partners who have begun using the new framework are showing “an incredible amount of creativity,” Pedersen said. Overall, Microsoft is making “credible moves” against the likes of SAP and Oracle in the ERP market, said analyst Frank Scavo, president of IT research firm Computer Economics. “They’re not taking over significant market share, but they are being seen as an option for larger companies.” Microsoft is also planning to make a number of announcements related to CRM (customer relationship management) on Tuesday. The next release of Dynamics CRM will be available in the second quarter and features new capabilities for marketing automation, social media monitoring and customer service, which were gained through the acquisitions of MarketingPilot, NetBreeze and Parature. Microsoft Social Listening will be included in CRM Online subscriptions but will cost on-premises CRM customers $20 per user per month. In addition, Microsoft is rolling out a new CRM Online Enterprise license that rolls up all of its capabilities for $200 per user per month. Microsoft’s CRM acquisitions allow it to now go head-to-head with Salesforce.com, SAP and Oracle, Scavo said. That wasn’t always the case, he added. In the past few years, one of Scavo’s consulting clients gave up Dynamics CRM and went to Salesforce.com because Dynamics couldn’t handle their customer service requirements, he said. Another client didn’t put Dynamics on the short list when selecting a product because it lacked marketing, he added. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9246747/Microsoft_extends_Dynamics_ERP_adds_support_for_Azure_cloud?taxonomyId=121&pageNumber=1 CloudCRMERPMicrosoft Next Post3 Ways to Source Ideas From Your Customers	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754814
__label__wiki	0.563407	0.563407	A Brief History of Trading on Wall Street You don’t get to read about history in the Dealbook blog, but we get a great one today about the history of trading on Wall Street. It’s pretty crazy to think that in the early days of Wall Street, stock prices were communicated by runners: Even after the introduction of the trans-Atlantic cable in 1865 and the telephone in 1878, brokers still relied on manpower over gadgetry. Market prices were listed on slips of paper, and runners, most younger than 17, would deliver letters between brokerage houses, according to a report by Alexandru Preda at the University of Edinburgh. The new technologies were not seen as reliable. Problems ranged from typographical errors in the closing stock prices listed by newspapers to outright forgery. In the days after the Civil War ended, traders seeking a timely edge still relied upon foot speed. The fastest man on Wall Street was William Heath, a celebrated runner with a huge drooping mustache, who was nicknamed “the American Deer.” Standing an inch taller than the Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt of Jamaica, Mr. Heath was reported by The New York Times to have been “as quick in his locomotion as in his operation.” On the invention of the first ticker symbol, which was unreliable: In 1867, Edward A. Calahan, a draftsman with the American Telegraph Company who previously worked as a messenger on Wall Street, unveiled the first stock ticker. The device, which earned its name from the unique sound it created, featured two wheels of type placed under a glass jar. The ticker printed off company names and stock prices on a narrow strip of paper, which was read aloud by a clerk. Mr. Calahan’s machine was the first step in a major technological revolution of Wall Street, but it was also slow and unreliable. Twice a week, the batteries had to be filled with sulfuric acid, which was carried around in buckets. More important, the wheels of type would not always print in unison resulting in a mash of letters and numbers. Catch up on the rest of the history lesson here. links of the dayfinance, ticker symbols, trading, Wall Street ← How Movies Are Censored in Iran The Surprising Business of Life Insurance Policies →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754816
__label__cc	0.672259	0.327741	Robocalypse (2011) Robopocalypse About book: If you read the top reviews of Robopocalypse on Goodreads you are going to see some pretty low scores and some scathing criticism. Those criticisms are all spot on. Fortunately, they didn't deter me from enjoying this book. Sure, it is one bad cliche after another. The characters are flat cutouts that you never feel any true empathy for. This is the book of an action movie, but before the action movie is released. It tries to adopt the World War Z style of small set pieces as told by those who experienced it first hand....but it doesn't do it very well. Archos, an experimental artificial intelligence, manages to usurp its creators and launch into full scale genocide mode. The overriding goal of the machine is to turn the world into a sort of zoo, with all life achieving what Archos believes is a natural balance. This includes humans, but only a very limited way. Thus, Archos goes about utilizing all automata available to end the overabundance of human life. The survivors of the initial outbreak of war band together to fight back.This is not great literature. This is the book form of a SyFy channel original. Take that for what it is worth. Two-and-a-half. Maybe it is unfair to have read this post-apocalyptic story after the King (excusing the pun) of all apocalyptic stories ("The Stand"), but I feel like I would have found the story flat no matter what. I understand that the framing device was an oral history and that the accounts were supposedly picked up by radio or video recorded during the robot uprising, but I did not feel like any of the characters became anything more than names on a page. When characters died, I felt nothing. If only there were something cold, clinical and unfeeling I could compare myself to...oh, a robot, I guess. For all the great action scenes, all in all, I felt the novel was underwritten. It was as if the writer rushed through the novel because he needed to start on the big-budget Hollywood screenplay (to be fair, a movie adaptation would probably kick total and complete ass.) I really wish I enjoyed this book more.One major qualm...the robot uprising is referred to in the book as "Zero Hour" and one of the aspects of the uprising is loss of global communication. So, how does everyone around the world know that the uprising is referred to as Zero Hour if they cannot communicate? bnsnyder26 Great writing and intriguing back story. I couldn't put it down. Definite page turner. Great action. A nice change from zombies though there is nothing wrong with zombies. Other books by Robopocalypse Robopocalipsis Robogenesis Other books by Fantasy Depraved: Tales of a Vampire Hunter Jumpstart Your Creativity: 10 Jolts to Get Creative and Stay Creative (Jumpstart Series) The Coffin Club Beware of Me The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw Other books by Daniel H. Wilson	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754817
__label__cc	0.627059	0.372941	Buildings and monuments The monument to Peter the Great (20 century) The Northern Dvina Embankment, opposite the house 82, Arkhangelsk Peter in the uniform of the Preobrazhenskiy regiment is heading the Russian army, winning the Poltava Battle. He is holding the spyglass in his left hand, he is leaning on the cane in his right hand. The bronze statue was erected in Arkhangelsk in 1914.Today it is included into the list of the Russian monuments protected by the government. Peter the Great visited Arkhangelsk several times and left a notable mark in the history of the town. All the dates are carved on the pedestal of the monument, situated in the small park at the embankment, in the centre of the town. The fourth one – “1911”, which often becomes a difficulty even for the tour guides – this is the year when the competition for the project of the pedestal was held. This is a wonderful and credible portrait and a symbol of the Russian power in the sea. The statue was casted in sculptor’s workshop in Paris. The pedestal was made of stone by the monks from Solovki at the Kond-Island, situated in the Onega Bay in the White Sea. The project was created by Sergey Pets, the engineer from Arkhangelsk. Peter I visited Arkhangelsk first time in the summer of 1693 to found shipyard on the Solombala island and start building the ship “Saint Paul”. That’s when he saw the sea for the first time and it captured him forever. Peter visited Arkhangelsk again in the summer of 1694, he was present at the launching of the ship built a year ago. It was sent to the Netherlands with the cargo consisting of tar, potash, bread and timber. Eight years later in 1702, Peter run the building of the Novodvinsk Fortress. You can get this monument on foot from the centre of the town. Arkhangelsk Drama Theatre named after M.V.Lomonosov can be a landmark. The monument is situated in the street, that’s why you should wear some warm clothes when its cold. pomorland.pro	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754819
__label__cc	0.685663	0.314337	revisitgermany.com Explore your heritage through travel IMPRINT AND PRIVACY POLICY Trace your ancestors journey at the German Emigration Center in Bremerhaven 5. March 2017 Sonja BREMEN, DESTINATIONS 0 From the port of Bremerhaven, 7.2 million emigrants from all over Europe sailed towards an unknown future in the New World. So it’s pretty likely that your ancestors sailed out of Bremerhaven, too. Find out all about their journey via your own exciting journey through the interactive German Emigration Center… When emigration to the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Argentina or New Zealand were at its height, Bremerhaven was one of the busiest ports in Europe. Today, it is a lot quieter in terms of sea traffic. However, the sea front was given a major regeneration makeover in recent years, so that today tourists can enjoy the German Emigration Center, the Klimahaus [Climate House Museum], a Mediterranean shopping mall and much more… How to I get there? Bremerhaven is within convenient reach from the city of Bremen. By car it takes about 45 min to one hour via the Autobahn. There are several car parks and parking garages. There is also a direct train. So if you would like to just sit back and relax, book a direct train ticket via bahn.de. From Bremen central station (Hauptbahnhof, or HBF in short), it takes 34 or 45 min. depending on which of the two local trains you get. So what’s there to see? On your tour through the building you will re-live the journey: from embarking the ship to the on-board experience into Ellis Island and the Grand Central Terminal Hall in New York. You will also meet quite a few wax figures, which additionally help to imagine what the journey must have been like. In the end, you will not only get to see the USA, but also get to know Germany from a different side. In the flashy 1970s West German shopping mall, you will learn all about the modern immigration movement into Germany, which started in the 1950s with the guest workers that mostly came from Southern European countries such as Italy. Hard to imagine that this rather small looking port once was the departure point for huge liners! Re-feel the experience of emigrants and immigrants In the Roxy cinema, you can see and listen to the stories of Germans in the USA, Argentina and Australia who will tell you all about their hopes and fears when leaving Bremerhaven and their experiences in the new country. Needless to say that on your way, you will get tons of information about everything emigration and immigration related. There is, for example, a map of the USA with only a selection of cities that were named after German cities. I was so surprised how many cities and towns in Kentucky and adjacent states alone were named after Oldenburg (a town close to Bremerhaven in North Germany), Berlin, Hamburg orHanover. Old meets new! A sailing ships with the modern skyline behind. Trace your own ancestors There is also the option of joining a tour led by the guide. However, I would recommend going by yourself as you can discover everything a lot better if you can go at your own pace. What’s more: At the beginning of every tour, self-guided or not, you will get a passenger’s ticket. On your way through the museum, there are several stops at which you can learn more about this person and his or her fate. To me, that was eye-opening and makes the whole experience even more interactive! At the very end, you will be able to trace your own ancestor’s journey in the little archive provided if you type their name into the data banks of the computers there. I found one of my ancestors, Anna from Ankum, who emigrated in 1916 when she was only 16 herself to join and work for a German aunt as a maid. Nowadays, her decedents, whom we are in good contact with, mostly live in Kentucky and Ohio. After my journey through the past, I enjoyed a typical German meal from restaurant chain Nordsee in the shopping mall nearby Entry is 13.80 € for adults. So it’s not cheap, but money well spend. After all, this is not your average museum, but more of an interactive experience with lots of very useful and interesting information. From here, it was off to new horizons for many! To find out more, go to the English website of the German Emigration Center. When will you arrive at the port of Bremerhaven? Let me know in the comments below! Emigration Museum Lübeck in a Day The Story of Berlin – Time Travel through Berlin’s Turbulent Past	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754825
__label__cc	0.573674	0.426326	Posted by: John Elliott \| February 29, 2016 Arun Jaitley launches pro-poor rural Budget to boost growth and the government image India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley is the calm voice at the top of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. His role is usually not to worry so much about the economy, but to try to present a sense of sanity and reasonableness as the government’s spokesman and information minister, while Modi avoids making many comments apart from mega rally speeches, and Amit Shah, the party’s president, exudes fear-inducing Hindu nationalism. Jaitley has performed both the economy and information functions today with his annual budget speech that ran for just over 90 minutes. He focussed heavily on helping the rural poor with schemes that aim to begin to double farmers’ incomes by 2022 (an over-optimistic and probably unachievable target), and on accelerating investment in infrastructure, especially irrigation. That should, the government hopes, increase consumer demand and economic growth, while also (though Jaitley of course did not say so) conveniently countering the Congress Party’s opposition line that the government is “not pro-poor” at a time when state assembly elections are looming. Arun Jaitley and his team leave the finance ministry for parliament Three days ago, Jaitley was performing the same calming role in an often screamingly angry two-day parliament debate after caste-based riots in the nearby state of Haryana had led to widespread violence and looting that cut water supplies to Delhi. The previous week had been dominated by clashes and protests in Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University with rough police action and court cases, encouraged by government ministers, that irrationally accused students of sedition. Image low Today’s budget has therefore come when the image of India and the 22-month old Modi government has been damaged, and something is needed to revive confidence. Jaitley’s speech of course dealt with economic confidence, but it is really more important for the government to boost confidence in its politics and to show that it is not following a pre-planned policy of social divisiveness and restrictions on the freedom of speech aimed at strengthening Hindu nationalism and at enhancing the BJP’s Hindutva appeal.. Two friends visiting Delhi in the past week from the UK and US have told me how, viewed from abroad, India looks the best hope among major economies with its 7.6% growth at a time when other countries have problems. But, they both added, the social unrest and the divisive Hindu nationalist and repressive image of the government, was worrying investors. It is against this background of social unrest and the government’s image problem that Jaitley made his speech today. His most important macro economic announcement was that he has not relaxed the government’s target of reducing the current 3.9% fiscal deficit to 3.5% of gdp in the coming year, despite being given conflicting advice that stimulating growth was more important. Jaitley’s economic advisers, who produced the finance ministry’s annual economic survey at the end of last week, are suggesting that this year’s official 7.6% (some critics say inflated) growth figure might drop to 7% in the coming year instead of rising. Nine pillars Jaitley presented what he called a “transformative agenda”, with “nine pillars” covering benefits for farmers, rural communities, social issues such as health care, industry and skills, infrastructure, financial sector reforms, and governance and ease of doing business. Proposed spending included $2.5bn in 2016-17 on delayed irrigation projects, $32bn on rail, road and other infrastructure. Another $3.6bn was announced to begin re-capitalising financially crippled state banks that have been hit by their often politically-inspired largesse of allowing massive bad loans to over-leveraged Indian companies. But there were few significant economic reforms in the speech. Foreign ownership through direct investment is to be allowed in food processing and marketing businesses. The foreign portfolio investment limit in public sector corporations (apart from banks) is to go up from 24% to 49%, and 15% foreign investment will be allowed in stock exchanges, up from 5%. Various measures were aimed at improving the ease of doing business in India’s rule-bound heavily bureaucratic environment, and a proposed bankruptcy code will ease the closure of bankrupt financial firms. Palaniappan Chidambaram with his budget speech in 2013 Also included were a complex array of tax measures including some relief for small businesses, and an attack tax avoidance, plus a fresh effort (following a largely unsuccessful scheme last year) to persuade tax-payers to reveal undeclared assets. Jaitley said that companies would not be hit, as was done in the past, by retrospective tax demands. He agreed to waive penalties and interest on outstanding payments, but failed to reassure companies such as Vodafone that are involved in outstanding multi-billion dollar cases. Overall, the budget sounded like a long list of worthwhile innovations and incentives, though critics said it lacked an overall big idea, and that it would be difficult if not impossible to implement projects fast enough to use all the funds, especially in areas such as irrigation. Palaniappan Chidambaram (above), the last Congress government’s finance minister, noted that there had been no mention of (declining) exports, which was certainly odd. There was also virtually nothing to encourage private sector investment in manufacturing, and no mention of spending on defence where there was only a marginal budget increase despite inflated pension and pay commission costs. Exports and the private sector however were not the targets of this politically targeted budget, which was aimed, as I have said, at shifting the government’s image from being pro-corporate to caring for the rural poor. Now Jaitley’s job is to show, and to persuade his prime minister to show, that the government also cares for India being an open and free society without the repressive Hindu nationalist overtones. Posted in India, India economic reforms, India economy \| Tags: Arun Jaitley, India, India Budget, India economic growth, India Jat protests, India reforms, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Palaniappan Chidambaram « What kind of India is the Modi government making with repression in Delhi during an investment campaign in Mumbai? Jailed student leader reasserts his authority attacking the government » The two pictures here epitomize what is wrong with India. And that is India copied all the forms but not the substance of its former ruler. I am talking about the finance minster brandishing a reddish suitcase before the budget speech, which is a tradition inherit from the British (Google the word “british finance minister budget” and look at the image). Of course this is rather innocuous. Not so innocuous is India buying a used aircraft carrier from Britain in 1957 for the reason that India like to be an imperial power, and nothing like an aircraft carrier symbolize it. By: roastedpistachios on March 1, 2016	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754828
__label__wiki	0.867257	0.867257	New Therapy May Control HIV Without Daily Pills AHA: 8-Year-Old Beats the Odds Against Heart and Brain Birth Defects Aids Information/ AIDS and HIV Sexually Transmitted Diseases News WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26, 2018 (HealthDay News) — A combination of two HIV-fighting antibodies can suppress the virus in some patients, even after they stop standard drugs, a preliminary trial has shown. Researchers found that among 11 HIV patients given the antibody combo, nine maintained complete suppression of the virus after going off their medication regimen. The benefit typically lasted about five months. The hope, experts said, is that the therapy — or others like it — could one day free some patients from taking daily pills to control the AIDS-causing virus. The drug “cocktails” used to treat HIV — what doctors call antiretroviral therapy (ART) — have changed the face of the epidemic in countries where they are widely available. The drugs can drive HIV down to undetectable levels in the blood, making the disease a manageable chronic condition. “The current medications are very effective,” said Dr. Marina Caskey, one of the researchers on the new work. “They allow people to have long and healthy lives for the most part.” However, she added, treatment is daily and lifelong. The drugs do not banish HIV, and if a patient stops taking them, the virus comes roaring back. Plus, Caskey noted, the medications carry side effects. Over the long haul, that includes increased risks of heart, kidney and liver disease, diabetes and bone density loss. So researchers are trying to develop therapies that can send HIV into remission for prolonged periods. With antibody therapy, the vision is to give patients an infusion every three to six months, explained Caskey, an associate professor at Rockefeller University in New York City. Specifically, research is focusing on “broadly neutralizing antibodies,” or bNAbs. That means they neutralize multiple strains of HIV. Past studies have tested single bNAbs and found the tactic doesn’t work for long. “When you give one, the virus can escape and modify itself to become resistant [to the antibody],” Caskey explained. She and her colleagues reasoned that a two-pronged antibody attack would be more effective — much like drug combinations work against the virus. So they tested a combination of two bNAbs in people described as “elite controllers.” They have HIV, but their immune systems are able to control the virus without drugs. In one study, the researchers treated 11 patients whose HIV was under control with standard medications. Tests had shown that all appeared sensitive to the two antibodies. The patients stopped their HIV medication. Then, over six weeks, they received three infusions of the antibodies. Overall, the virus remained suppressed in nine patients — typically for 21 weeks, though two went to at least 30 weeks. Two of the 11 patients, however, were found to harbor HIV that was resistant to at least one of the antibodies. Their viral levels rose within 12 weeks of stopping their medication. That is a critical point, said Caskey. People have to be sensitive to the particular antibodies used in the therapy, and not everyone will be. In a second study, the researchers gave the antibody therapy to four patients who had detectable HIV in their blood. They found the treatment lowered those levels for up to three months. The studies were published separately Sept. 26 in the journals Nature and Nature Medicine. Dr. Melanie Thompson is chair of the HIV Medicine Association. She called the new findings “exciting,” but also said much work remains. Larger, longer-term studies are needed to see how often the therapy should be given, and how well it works over time, said Thompson, who was not involved with the new studies. Practically speaking, Thompson noted, the current testing used to predict patients’ sensitivity to the antibodies is fairly complex. “I think the testing will have to be refined and made more affordable,” she said. As for side effects, Caskey’s team said some patients had mild fatigue, but nothing more serious. “So far,” Thompson said, “the safety profile of these antibodies has been excellent.” Caskey pointed to another question for future studies: Can antibody therapies, over time, spur the immune system to produce its own HIV-fighting antibodies, possibly reducing the need for treatment? “The new frontiers in HIV research involve looking at longer-acting treatments,” Thompson said. “Can we have long-term viral suppression with as little drug as possible?” The current studies were funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other grant programs. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has more on HIV treatment.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754829
__label__cc	0.727875	0.272125	Lotus Flower Tiara May 18, 2018 May 17, 2018 ~ Saad719 In the past few days, leading up to the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, we have been taking a look at some of the possible heirloom Tiaras that can be worn by the bride at the wedding. Our last feature is on the Lotus Flower Tiara- Click HERE to learn about Maria Feodorovna’s Sapphire Bandeau and HERE to take a look at the Strathmore Rose Tiara. In 1923, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon received a pearl and diamond necklace from the Duke of York upon their marriage, which she soon transformed into this delicate piece, featuring lotus flowers topped with diamond arches and pearls. The Tiara was most notably worn by the Duchess for a series of portraits in the 1920s, which were widely circulated around the time of her husband’a 1936 accession to the Throne. The following year, the then Queen Elizabeth loaned the Lotus Flower Tiara to her elder sister, Lady Elphinstone, for the Coronation of King George VI at Westminster Abbey. Lady Elphinstone was the mother of the Queen’s famous niece, the Hon. Margaret Rhodes. In 1959, the then Queen Mother gave the Lotus Flower Tiara to her younger daughter, Princess Margaret, ahead of her wedding the following year. Though not as famous as her Poltimore Tiara, she wore this piece quite regularly for the rest of her life. In 1993, Princess Margaret loaned the Lotus Flower Tiara to the Hon. Serena Stanhope when she married her only son, then Viscount Linley, at St Margaret’s, Westminster. The Lotus Flower Tiara was also ‘worn’ by Reginald Wilcock, the Queen Mother’s Page who served in her Household for 40 years, on the wedding day of Viscount Linley. After Princess Margaret’s death, the Lotus Flower Tiara came into the Queen’s collection, who loaned the piece to the Duchess of Cambridge for the Diplomatic Reception in 2013 and the Chinese State Banquet in 2015. Since then, the Duchess has solely worn Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, and thus the Lotus Flower Tiara would be the perfect starter piece for Meghan Markle. Which heirloom tiara would you like to see Meghan Markle wear tomorrow? Posted in Duchess of Cambridge, Royal Jewel, Tiara, UK < Previous Royal Weddings at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle Next > Open Post- Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle One thought on “Lotus Flower Tiara” Lady Anne says: I think this is a wonderful wedding tiara, as Viscountess Linley has shown us. Even though Kate has worn it, the tiara belongs to the Queen, and presumably she can lend it to Meghan if she wishes. The delicacy of the arches would suit Meghan well. Leave a Reply to Lady Anne Cancel reply	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754831
__label__wiki	0.621825	0.621825	Rivista semestrale di cultura, informazione e attualità della Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara Edizione corrente Num. 35 N. 34 - 06/2011 The MEIS Adventure in the “marshes” A reading and comment Franco patruno: writing art, living art Architecture and town planning in Tresigallo Carlo Bassi The emotion oF the inhabited sacred space Vitale da Bologna The Este residences in Ferrara In memory of Berenice Mazzini and Ferrara Un percorso nel verde Questi mesi vissuti intensamente Carife: una banca a misura di famiglia Redazione e crediti The roaring twenties Paris, capital of the arts During the 1920's Paris became both the stage and the symbol of the desire for renewal, exemplifying the feeling of liberation that was widespread at the end of World War I. Already an international capital of art and culture, the City of Light was a fashionable and cosmopolitan city. A mythical place for artists who flocked there from all over the world, attracted by its liberal customs, the intellectual ferment, theatres, cafes and art galleries, to give free expression to their creativity, The MEIS National Museum of Italian Jewry and the Holocaust Since 2009, the Ministry for Heritage and Cultural Activities, the Superintendence for Architectural Heritage, the City of Ferrara and MEIS Foundation have been working towards the realization of the meis, Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah (the National Museum of Italian Jewry and the Holocaust). Established by Act of Parliament No. 296 in 2006, in order to bear witness to the constant and widespread presence of the Jewish community on Italian territory, Adventure in the “marshes” Yesterday and today in the Po Delta Park At the beginning we were clearly thrilled and amused, but this gradually changed to silence and then, towards the end of the adventure, we began to be afraid. We were classmates, just turned eight years old, and on that day we were on a trip to Mesola with my mother. A few days after the end of the school year in early June, she said: «I have a car to take me to paint in the Delta. Come along and bring a friend, if you want. A reading and comment Truth and Memory in the last work of Aron Leoni Aron Leoni (1932-2010), son of Leone Leoni, chief rabbi of Ferrara and Venice, and Gemma Ravenna Leoni, inherited his passion for Jewish culture from his parents. He had a degree in agronomy and became director of the "Vita Mayer Corporation", also representing the Italian paper industry at the European Parliament in Brussels. On his retirement he totally dedicated himself to the study of the history and culture of the Sephardic diaspora, Franco patruno: writing art, living art The Foundation publishes an anthology of his writings for «L'Osservatore Romano» Four years after the death of the author, Equivalenze, o dello scrivere l'arte. Scritti per «L'Osservatore Romano» (Equivalences, or writing on art. Articles for «L'Osservatore Romano») a collection of work by Father Franco Patruno has been published. Edited by Massimo Marchetti, the anthology – which covers ten years of his contributions to «L'Osservatore» Pier Giorgio Massaretti Published in Num. 34	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754836
__label__cc	0.741733	0.258267	Jim Scott Jim Scott brings over 25 years of business administration and management to RLR. Having begun his career in restaurant management Jim soon moved to legal services where he worked as the manager for a downtown Los Angeles law firm. There his responsibilities included the oversight of all support staff, client relations, payroll, Superior Court liaison and I.T. development. Upon relocating to the Coachella Valley, Jim worked as an independent consultant for two Palm Springs start-ups. Once both businesses were up and running, Jim joined the State Farm Insurance team managing their Palm Desert office. In addition to his responsibilities as recruiter and trainer, Jim oversaw the sales and service staff, developed new and innovative operation procedures and participated in local service gatherings. Jim also became a licensed agent with the California Department of Insurance.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754837
__label__wiki	0.820188	0.820188	Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor Announces New Board Members ANN ARBOR, MI – November 6, 2017 – The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor (RMHCAA) announces the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors for the 2017-18 year. New members include Mayuri Guntupalli, Chelsea Landry, Roy Sexton and Debbie Tirico. Mayuri Guntupalli currently serves as director of strategic initiatives for the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. She has over 15 years of global strategy and development experience with a focus on strategic development for greenfield projects, capacity building for start-up organizations, operational planning and implementation, performance management and improvement, and organizational restructuring. Guntupalli has worked with the United Nations, the U.S. Department of State, top U.S. hospital systems, a leading global consulting firm, India’s largest microfinance institution and government agencies in various countries. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and a Master of Public Policy from the Gerald R. Ford School and a Master of Business Administration from the Ross School at the University of Michigan. Chelsea Landry is a program associate at the Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation in Detroit. She previously worked in fundraising at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and most recently at the Chicago Children’s Museum. While in Chicago, she was a member of the Red Shoe Society, which supported the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland Ms. Landry approached RMHCAA to start a chapter of the Red Shoe Society, a group of young professionals focused on supporting the needs of the organization through volunteering and fundraising activities. Roy Sexton has been a marketing communications, and strategic planning professional for almost 20 years consulting in healthcare, the legal industry, and college advancement. He currently works for Kerr Russell, where he is the firm’s first-ever marketing director. Sexton has held leadership positions in marketing, communications, and strategic planning at Trott Law, St. Joseph Mercy Health System, Oakwood Healthcare (now Beaumont), and Deloitte. He is a graduate of Wabash College with an MA from The Ohio State University and an MBA from The University of Michigan. Debbie Tirico is committed to giving back to the community where she and her husband are raising their two children. Moving back to Michigan after a working in mergers and acquisitions for a financial institution in Connecticut, Tirico has gotten involved with a number of local organizations focused on youth development and the mentorship of young women. Tirico is a graduate of Syracuse University with an undergraduate degree in finance, and has an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business. The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor (RMHCAA) is to provide families of children experiencing a serious illness or injury requiring hospitalization or treatment a “home away from home”, which assists in alleviating the families’ emotional and financial stress. RMHCAA has two houses; the Main House which provides housing for 29 families each night, and a House on the 10th floor of Michigan Medicine C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital which houses 12 families a night. Since opening in 1985, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Ann Arbor has welcomed over 25,000 families. For more information, visit www.rmhcannarbor.org.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754838
__label__wiki	0.858068	0.858068	').html() ); //dialogArea this.jsForm = this.jsForm.wrap(' '); var data = this.jsForm[0].outerHTML; sl.log("openDialog data", data); var dialogData = { contentClassName: "sl-dialog-medium", html: data, buttons: {} //dialogCallback: jQuery.proxy(this.dialogCallback, this) }; var dialog = new Dialog(dialogData); this.currentDialog = dialog.createDialogWithHtml(); //var currentDialogHTML = this.createDialog(dialogArea); //this.currentDialog = jQuery(currentDialogHTML) //this.activateButtons(); }, dialogCallback: function () { }, activateButtons: function (html) { this.currentDialog.find(".btn_css") .attr("href",null) //debugger; //this.currentDialog.on({"click": function() { // alert("hey"); //debugger;}});//, ".btn_css", //jQuery(this.clickHandlerPublish,this) this.currentDialog.on({"click": jQuery.proxy(this.clickHandlerPublish,this)}); }, clickHandlerPublish: function (event) { var target = jQuery(event.target) if (target.text() == "Publish"){ this.submitDialogHandler() //jQuery("#form").submit(); } } }) 1940's Notable Athletic Alumn 1930’s Harry Adelman graduated in 1940. He was an All LA City second team football selection in 1939. He lettered in football at USC as a guard and end in 1941-42. Manuel Alba graduated in 1943 and placed second in the 440 at the LA City Track Finals in 1943. He later lettered in track at Pepperdine. Art Aragon attended Roosevelt in the early forties and went on to become one of the most popular boxers in Los Angeles history. Known as "The Golden Boy", Aragon was the top rated lightweight in the World in 1951. He fought Jimmy Carter for the title, but was defeated. In 109 bouts, he lost only 16 and won 61 by knockout. Pete Berokoff graduated in 1941 and finished second in the LA City Track Finals pole vault. He later attended Occidental where he was the 1949/SCIAC pole vault champion. Tony Brizula graduated in 1949. He was the LA City Gymnastics rings champion in 1948 and 1949. He placed third in the National AAU Gymnastics Championships in 1949. Gil Cadilli graduated in 1949. From 1950 thru 1959 he was a well regarded featherweight in the professional boxing ranks. Al Cantor graduated in 1943. He lettered in football at USC as a halfback in 1948. Marty Grbovaz graduated in 1942 and was the All LA City Football Player of the Year in 1941. An outstanding kicker, he was a starting end at USF in 1946. Bill Harmatz graduated in 1949 and was the LA City parallel bar champion that year. Following high school, he became a jockey. The highlight of his career was a victory in the Preakness in 1959 aboard Royal Orbit. Arnie Klein graduated in 1947. While at Roosevelt, he finished third in the All LA City Track Finals high jump in 1946 and sixth in the shot put in 1947. He was even stronger in gymnastics. He won the long horse in the 1946 LA City Gymnastics Finals and he won the rings in 1945 thru 1947. In 1950 he finished third in the National AAU rings. John Leon graduated in 1943 and was an All LA City Football pick in 1942. He lettered in football at Pepperdine in 1948 and 1949. He later became a ranking administrator in the LA City School District. His son. Rich, played football at USC. Harry Malloy attended Roosevelt and finished fifth in the National AAU Gymnastics Indian Clubs in 1948. Marvin Milkes graduated in 1942. He began his career in baseball as a batboy for the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. He served as Sports Editor at Roosevelt and at LACC. He was selected as Minor League Baseball Executive of the Year in 1956. He served as Assistant General. Manager for the expansion Los Angeles Angels. He became General Manager of the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969. John Mitzushima graduated in the late.1940's and became the 1952 Pacific Coast Conference rings champion in 1952, while attending UCLA. Sam Mizrahi graduated in 1947 and was second in the long horse in the LA City Gymnastics Finals. He finished sixth in the National AAU long horse in 1949 while attending East LA JC. Mary Novikoff, sister of famous Lou Novikoff, graduated in 1940. She played in the semi-professional National Girls Softball League in the early 1940's. Tom Novikoff graduated in the late 40^s. He lettered in football as a fullback at Oregon in 1951 and 1952. During the 1952 season, he gained 486 yards on 123 carries. Al Padilla graduated in 1946 and went on to Occidental, where he was selected to the All Conference team in 1951. Henry Porras graduated in 1947 and was the LA City rope climb champ that year. He also finished second in the National AAU rope climb that year. Manuel Ronquillo graduated in 1949 and finished second in the LA City Track Finals high jump that year. He also finished second in the state championships that season. He served as Student Body President in his senior year. He attended USC, where he placed fourth in the 1952 NCAA high jump. Dick Shivers graduated from Roosevelt and went on to Occidental where he finished fifth in the National AAU pole vault in 1952. Sanford Werner placed-.third in the LA City Gymnastics rope climb, the year he graduated in 1949. He was a medallist six times in the rope climb at the National AAU meet, equalling the world record for 20 feet, while winning that championship in 1951, while attending LA City College, later competing at Cal State LA, and still competing in the '90s. George Wickler graduated in 1948 and placed second in the LA City Gymnastics rings that year. He was the National AAU rings champion in 1950, 1952, and 1953. He also was the NCAA rings champion in 1955, while attending USC.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754840
__label__cc	0.709563	0.290437	Legacy of a Life On December 8, 2018 December 6, 2018 By lucindasagemidgordenIn Uncategorized Getting a hug from Dad “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” ~ Norman Cousins “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” ~ Robert Frost As I sit down to write this blog post, I’m very emotional because it’s about my father. Even though he’s been gone for twelve years, I’m still learning from the lessons he taught me. His influence runs so deep that it is often difficult for me to put my thoughts and emotions into words. But, about a month or two ago, I got the idea to write a book with my sister, Celeste, about the conversations we had with Dad. The book started out to be about what we learned from the many discussions we had with him about movies. When I proposed the idea to Celeste we decided we wanted to concentrate on the way dad used questions as a teaching tool and how parents and teachers can also do the same thing. The thing is, when a writing project idea comes to me, it often morphs into exploring ideas and relationships that I had not envisioned when I started the project. This one is no different. As Celeste and I have talked about all that we’ve learned from Dad, it is clear to me that we have more things to say about him than just the discussions we had about movies. It seems to me that we need to write a kind of memoir about him rather than just a cheesy little book about using movies to have those difficult discussions with children. I haven’t read many memoirs, which may or may not be an advantage. All kinds of ways I could approach the writing have been swirling around in my head. How do we structure the book? How do we even begin it? Then I remembered something Brené Brown said. The best way to connect with people is to tell stories. That is what Celeste and I have decided to do and this morning a story about dad came to me that I want to share. When I was ten, we moved from the comfortable cocoon of church friends and close family to an extremely small town where I didn’t know anyone. There were a few church families living in this small community, and, as I remember it, Dad was to be the pastor of the small congregation. The town was on the Washington side of the Colombia River Gorge across from The Dalles, Oregon. We moved from our lovely home that mom and dad had had built in Gresham, Oregon to a 55 ft long, 10 ft wide trailer, with my brother and I sharing a tiny bedroom. My new baby sister, not Celeste she came later, slept in her bassinet in Mom and Dad’s room. I was an extremely sensitive and shy girl. The move was difficult for me. I don’t remember having many friends the three years we lived there. Dad often had assignments to preach at congregations up and down the Gorge. When he traveled, he would take either my brother or me, or sometimes both of us with him. Those were precious times, because though we lived 70 miles from Portland, dad still worked at Freightliner building big rigs. He spent the weekdays away from home. Even so, he found time to coach one of my brother’s teams and he came to many of our school events. When I was in seventh grade, the principal of our school decided to put on a play. The population of the school was small, and I don’t remember if all students in the seventh and eighth grades were encouraged to audition, or if it was just a seventh grade project. In any case, I think I surprised my parents when I auditioned for the play. I didn’t get a part, but I helped backstage. One of my duties was to prompt students on their lines. I was so enthusiastic that I memorized the entire script. I didn’t think anyone knew this, or even cared, but I wanted to be prepared in case something happened and an actor couldn’t perform. At the end of the school year, the principal gave me a special award for all my hard work and he told the assembly that I had learned all the lines to the play and done other extra work backstage. I still have the drama pin Mr. Hemple gave me, but the best award I got that night was Dad telling me how proud he was of me. I’m sure he had told me that before, but for some reason, that night his words meant so much more to me. Over the years dad did that a lot, told me he was proud of me. I found out not too many years ago, that Dad had told Mom, “Lucinda is a sensitive soul.” Or words to that effect. I think he told me he was proud of me because he knew I was filled with self-doubt and needed to hear that he understood who I was. That was one of the things that made Dad a genus. He observed people. He had empathy for them and could often see talents in them they didn’t even know they possessed. I believe Dad saw my love for storytelling in all it’s forms and he began watching movies and TV shows with me not only to help me learn, but to connect with me in a non-threatening but emotional way. Because you see, my father was an extremely private person himself. We could talk about the events and characters in the movie or TV show and in an oblique way, talk about how we felt and what we thought about things happening in our personal lives as well. So, even though this memoir that Celeste and I are going to write together will contain stories about the movie discussions we had with Dad, it will contain other stories as well. Stories of how little things Dad did and said to us had a great impact upon the way we live our lives now. I miss you, Dad. I’m grateful to have had you as my father, and for all the things I learned from you. Thanks for reading, liking, and commenting. I appreciate it very much. Have a restful weekend. Lucinda is the author of The Space Between Time, an award finalist in the “Fiction: Fantasy” category of the 2017 Best Book Awards. It’s a historical, time-travel, magical realism, novel, and is available in all ebook formats at Smashwords, or you can find the ebook at iBooks or Barnes and Noble. If you prefer a physical copy, you can find a print-on-demand version at Amazon. Stay tuned for news on the audiobook version Lucinda is working on. To join her email list, click here. She will never sell the names on her list. Life Legacy Things That Make You Go Hmmm!	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754842
__label__cc	0.728921	0.271079	Samarpan School, Kishangarh Village, celebrates its ninth Founders Day Vasant Kunj - New Delhi In Kishangarh Village, New Delhi, on 20 April 2016, Samarpan School celebrated its 9th Founder’s Day with a cultural afternoon, where the children presented impressive performances including poems and songs, dance choreographies of different styles, hula-hoop mastery, skits and plays highlighting essential social issues faced by the community such as child marriage and gender discrimination. The event concluded with appetising snacks and an energetic dance jam session by the children and guests. Nine years ago, despite resistance from the community of this urban slum, the initiative of getting 40 children off the streets of Kishangarh Village became the first education project of Samarpan Foundation. A school was started with 40 students along with a kitchen to ensure their daily nutrition. Slowly and steadily, the centre has grown to cater to 850 beneficiaries today. The services provided by the centre include enrolment into mainstream schools, remedial classes for children, adult education, women's empowerment, a crèche and nutrition.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754845
__label__wiki	0.97762	0.97762	The Story of Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are one of the most famous British-American rock bands of all time and with hits such as Go Your Own Way and Dreams they are firmly placed in the halls of rock history. This is their story. Formed in London in 1967 when Peter Green left John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers the band released several studio albums between 1967 and 1974 but it wasn t until 1975 when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined that they hit success with the eponymous Fleetwood Mac . The album reached Number 1 in the USA and sold over 5 million records. Following the success of Fleetwood Mac came the band's 1977 album, Rumours , which was written about the emotional turmoil they were experiencing at the time. It fast became the best-selling album of the year receiving critical acclaim and going on to sell 40 million copies worldwide making it ones of the biggest selling albums of all time. This in depth programme uses archive footage and interviews with Mick Fleetwood and Christie McVie to follow the band through the highs and lows throughout their amazing career. It also features music footage of some of the bands greatest tracks including Albatross, Don t Stop, Rhiannon, The Chain, Tusk, Gypsy, Big Love, Dreams, You Make Loving Fun, Need Your Love So Bad and Everywhere. Fleetwood Mac are without doubt one of the all time greatest bands and this is their incredible story. Fleetwood Mac Available In: Rock, Documentary Rock, Documentary, Punk, Electronic, Festivals And Events, Hip Hop, Pop, Blues Origins/Evolution Thrust into heavy metal stardom as teenagers with their debut release, the all-female Kittie has thrashed the heavy metal world for more than twenty years. With six albums, over two million in sales and OzzFest co-headliners on their resume, Kittie has defied industry norms, fought back against â€œwomen in rockâ€ stereotypes, and inspired a generation of rockers around the globe. Now for the first time, they are sharing their untold story about the importance of family, perseverance, and the upside-down hurricane of rock â€˜n roll that includes a rotating line-up of bandmates, on-going lawsuits and the pressure to live up to the expectations that put them on the map. Generously peppered with archival footage shot by the band, this film gives you an honest and brutal look at what it takes to survive in the music industry and the price of following your dreams. Hard to Imagine John Winston Ono Lennon was the co-founder of the most successful and influential band of all time, an unrivaled song writer, a political activist and pacifist and a visionary. His songs took popular music to a new level, impacting modern music like no other before or since. This documentary will take you on a journey through his life told by those who knew him best, from his modest upbringing in Liverpool to his world-wide fame, his musical talent to his political activism, and from his struggles with the law to his tragic death. The Story of Rod Stewart Rod Stewart's incredible career spans 5 decades and encompasses a string of number one albums and hit singles. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, Stewart ranks among the best selling artists of all time and with good reason. From rock to pop and heartfelt soul, Stewart is a rare genre-spanning artist, appealing to a massive global audience, with more fans today than ever before. His trademark gravely voice, instantly recognizable the world over has helped define and propel him from truly humble beginnings to worldwide superstardom. From his early days with the band Faces to the launch of his solo career and beyond Rod Stewart has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and has become a pop legend in his own right. This is his remarkable story. Featuring music performance (both live and from pop video footage) from some of his best known songs, this inspiring tale is a must have for any Rod Stewart fan. Connected: Echosynthetic Fest, 2017 Connected follows the artists through interviews and performances at the first annual Echosynthetic Fest 2017 in Atlanta, GA. Troubadours is the story of four musical artists finding success, but nobody really knowing about it. Diego, Alvaro, Lorenzo and Julio all share the same town, an other-worldly and enigmatic city that protects them for days on end. Troubadours is a reflection on art and fame, unafraid of reaching into its insanity. It finds the adequate rhythm to portray the drives of different persons who have left everything behind them, and now keep forging ahead irrevocably. The magic to be found a gaze, the concealed beauty of an ordinary town or the sheer greatness of the insignificant are the overarching notions and ideas of this film. “I always like stories about people that drink and have drug problems and women problems,” said Johnny in the film. “It’s just interesting.” Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty, the definitive, feature-length documentary by acclaimed Lemmy co-director and producer, Greg Olliver, will be available worldwide on March 4, 2016, on DVD and iTunes. The package will feature never-before-seen photos and bonus footage, including extended interviews and his final studio performance, a solo resonator version of the Son House classic, “Death Letter.” Produced independently through Secret Weapon Films in NYC, director Greg Olliver was welcomed into the Johnny Winter family during the final two years of Johnny’s life, capturing the making of his Grammy-winning Step Back (Best Blues Album, 2015), and traveling the world from Beaumont to Hong Kong. Winter continued to perform over 200 sold out shows a year until his death on tour in Switzerland in 2014. The film also features Clive Davis, Edgar Winter, James Cotton, Billy Gibbons, Warren Haynes, Luther Nallie, Joe Perry, Tommy Shannon, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and more. Live At Royal Albert Hall Black Oak Arkansas: Live at Royal Albert Hall is a high-energy close-up from the rear-view mirror of classic rock featuring a remastered and remixed live performance at London's Royal Albert Hall, with a narrated introduction from front man Jim Dandy giving a southern-style sermon about the truth of ''good & evil'' or ''God & the devil,'' however you want it! Take a trip back in time with the memorabilia gallery of photos and marked events in a digitally mastered DVD that includes 5.1 audio surround sound. 40 ans de chansons sur scène Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine Twenty years after his famous BERCY 98, Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine goes on stage to celebrate 40 years of songs during a unique and exceptional anniversary tour. Live At Rockpalast: Loreley 1983 When the Stray Cats entered the scene in the 80s, rockabilly was hot. Grease quiffs and tattoos were the outside badges; upright drums and bass the characteristic instruments. Includes two performances in Germany: one in 1981 in Cologne and one in 1983 at the Loreley that were recorded by WDR. These are genuine recordings that make the trio's sound still accessible today. The classic rockers The Pretenders treated Sydney’s Enmore Theatre to an evening of big hits, proving their status as music legends. Ed Kowalczyk - renowned worldwide as lead singer and driving force of multiplatinum rock band Live -- brings his new band Down-Under for a national tour. Kowalczyk returns in celebration of his debut solo album release, Alive (SonyMusic), featuring lead single Grace. After performing sold out solo acoustic shows around the country last year Kowalczyk will be accompanied by a full band for a compelling series of general admission shows. Live At Rockpalast: Cologne 1981 Live In Indonesia At Java Rockin'Land The multi-platinum heavy metal band Stryper, live at the Java Rockin'Land festival in Indonesia. Recorded in front of an enthusiastic crowd in 2010, this is the definitive Stryper concert film. Celebrating almost 30 years of incredible melodies and musicianship, Live In Indonesia features hits and rarities delivered in impeccable sound and video. Sir Elton John is one of the most successful musicians of the past century. His career spans over four decades resulting in him selling more than 300 million albums worldwide. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him number 49 on list of 100 influential musicians of the rock and roll era, and in 2008 Billboard ranked him the most successful male solo artist on 'The Billboard Hot 100 top all-time artists. He's the winner of six grammy awards, five Brit awards, and Academy Awards and Global Globe Award. He's had countless number 1 hits and platinum albums. This is the story of one of the worlds greatest ever musicians... Elton John. Mammifères aux Bouffes du Nord Miossec Miossec presents his latest album on stage, recorded in November 2016 during his "Mammals" tour, and revisits his all-time classics perfectly highlighting all the essential titles of this exceptional artist. Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Celebration Multi-artist concert event in honor of John Lennon's 75th birthday at The Theater At Madison Square Garden in New York City. PausePlay Interview Joe Satriani sits down with us at Stingray HQ to talk about his influences, life on the road, and his new documentary "Beyond the Supernova." Live at Eurockéennes de Belfort Watch the performance of Editors live at the Eurockéennes de Belfort on July 7, 2017. 40th Anniversary Reunion Concert The legendary rock band reunited to celebrate their 40th Anniversary and headlined London's first High Voltage Rock Festival. This was the historic moment when Emerson Lake and Palmer performed for the first time since 1998. This spectacular performance recaptured the musical genius of Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer as they performed their greatest hits in front of thousands of fans. Indianola Mississippi Seeds	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754849
__label__cc	0.732304	0.267696	Dating, LGBTQIA, Matrimonial Digital Dating: Rewriting fairy tales for the Tinder era One no longer needs to lose a glass slipper or be kissed by a magical prince to be free from the witch’s curse in order to find their prince (or princess) charming. Millennials are rewriting fairy tales in the 21st century and guess who is playing fairy Godmother: Tinder, happn and OkCupid. By Abhiruchi Ranjan Online dating apps like Tinder, happn, Bumble and OkCupid are facing a consistent growth in the number of users. Not only are people willing to go the unconventional way of looking for love, but they are also willing to hold on to these services. Tinder has been downloaded by 100 million users, as of February 2018, according to Expanded Ramblings, which clearly shows that this dating app has found a large number of loyalists. Algorithms helping two strangers come together might be the essence of online dating in today’s times, people have met and dated strangers for aeons, not too different from the courtship period of an arranged marriage. Arranged marriage has and continues to remain the norm in Indian culture. The parents of potential brides and grooms would look at finding a suitable match for their children through their relatives, family friends and acquaintances and come down to a potential list of candidates. The age of digitalisation has just eased this process and increased the number of possible choices. A look back at how arranged marriage went digital The launch of Bharat Matrimony in 1997 was a turning point in how Indian arranged marriages were conducted. Murugavel Janakiraman, founder of India’s first matrimonial website, tapped into a market which wasn’t going to die down anytime soon. Cut to 2018, his platform is the go-to place for those who wish to find the perfect match, in line with their requirements of their cultural fit and beyond those lines. The use of technology had enlarged the possible number of matches for his clientele and made the process less time consuming and self reliant. The website is valued at Rs 2.92 billion, a clear upside for the entrepreneur also implying that matchmaking will always be a lucrative business. Finding a suitable match wasn’t just restricted to such websites. Shagun TV, a Hindi language channel was launched in 2013 that was dedicated to matchmaking and wedding businesses. When channel head Anuranjan Jha was asked in an interview as to why television was the chosen medium, he was vocal about how matchmaking was never discreet and there was no pint being shy about it. Needless to say, the channel found 10 million in viewership on a weekly business. With artificial intelligence and voice computing taking over, Google’s voice based assistant, Ok Google has received close to 0.45 million marriage proposals in India. The transition from arranged marriage to ‘arranged’ dating has been a result of rising income and education levels, especially in India. Although not arranged in the traditional sense, it still is a sort of an arrangement. At the end of the day, both involve two strangers meeting to arrive at the decision of being together or not, which may not necessarily mean marriage. So what really pushes people to subject themselves to the scrutiny of a complete stranger- is it curiosity, a genuine effort towards finding profound love, peer pressure or sheer desperation? Honestly, it could be any of these. Shifting away from the heteronormative, close-minded fairy tales The market for online dating caters not just to the young and straight. The rise of online dating users has given a new ray of hope to people of varied sexualities, age groups, races, physical disabilities, and nationalities by reiterating their faith in the fact that there truly might be someone out there for everyone. People are not just treating this as a casual hook up place but look at this as an opportunity to help them reinvent themselves and their relationships. When I asked a friend of mine what her experience was like, she definitely highlighted the positives that it is easy to meet people who are open minded and that the space isn’t as bad as people seem to think of it. ‘Personally, it’s been a decent case when it comes to online dating. I’ve actually met people and made friends. Things don’t necessarily go the way you want to but if you can meet new people, it is not such a bad thing. You either make memories or end up with an experience,’ says Ria* (name changed). Online dating has catalysed the process of global integration. People are willing to look for love beyond their social circles and venture into alliances with people from different communities. By cutting across borders and having greater access to other communities, the rigid lines that used to separate classes and cultures are slowly being blurred. Finding love is not just limited to your immediate friends circle or your vicinity anymore. Kavita* (name changed) swears by Tinder after being witness to the positives of online dating amongst her friends. She says, ‘No one tells you what its like. You won’t know them but it’s a risk. A little blind trust is required. I’ve had friends who’ve met online and plan to get married next year. It’s crazy but if you think of it, imagine your soul mate or future husband/boyfriend is living all the across in another country or continent or if he lives just down the road. You wouldn’t ever know unless you’ve tried. It either works or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t the least you can gain out of it is a friendship which is not a bad thing.’ European economists Josue Ortega and Philipp Hergovich carried out a research in response to the rise of online dating to find out that interracial marriages have experienced a sharp rise recently. The playground of online dating gives a chance to people of different ethnicities to interact and hence leading to diverse courtships taking place. Their research also highlighted marriages that are the labour of online dating transition from dating to marriage quicker and are more stable as compared to those that are a result of conventional partnering. Although the westernised concept of online dating seems to be coming around amongst people, especially in the East, there remains a large section of society that considers it to be a taboo. The fear of authenticity and not being ‘catfished’ still prevails and the whole experience from start to finish is not viewed suitable for the frail hearted. Those who are advocates of traditional partnering simply term online dating as a façade. Digital matchmaking has carved its own niche over the years by becoming an acceptable medium of finding companionship. Be it arranged marriages or arranged dating, people are willing to experiment and explore using the internet, which might result in a happy union. A lot of couples are much more involved in the decision making process when it comes to marriage and even parents are letting go control when it comes to finding partners for their children. With Section 377 thrown out, online dating application Delta is touted to be the first home-grown LGBTQ dating app. Such welcome changes are changing the scene for finding potential partners and becoming open about one’s sexual orientation. As millennials break away from tradition and societal norms, technology is playing its part well in ensuring it’s a win-win situation for users and its developers. Abhiruchi Ranjan is a writing analyst at Qrius.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754850
__label__wiki	0.624445	0.624445	Home > Noteworthy People of UNI > Noteworthy People of UNI Documents > 77 Noteworthy People of UNI Documents [Biographical information about Mona Van Duyn], Alumnus, May 1953 Download Full Text (50 KB) Mona Van Duyn graduated from Iowa State Teachers College (ISTC) in 1942 with three majors: English, Speech, and French. More importantly, she began to take herself seriously as a poet at ISTC. She often made the three-mile walk west of Cedar Falls to visit poet James Hearst. After college, and a Master's Degree from the University of Iowa, Van Duyn went on to teach at the University of Louisville, and Washington University in St. Louis. She has won every major U.S. poetry prize, including the National Book Award and the Pulitzer. UNI awarded her an Honorary Doctor of Literature Degree in 1991. In 1992, she was named the Poet Laureate Consultant to the Library of Congress. Iowa State Teachers College 1 PDF file (1 page) Repository Collection Special Collections & University Archives Noteworthy People of UNI Subcollection Mona Van Duyn U.S. and International copyright laws protect this digital object. Commercial use or distribution of this object not permitted without prior permission of copyright holder. "[Biographical information about Mona Van Duyn], Alumnus, May 1953" (1953). Noteworthy People of UNI Documents. 77. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/uninoteworthy_documents/77 The materials in this collection are available in the UNI University Archives. Noteworthy People of UNI Home	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754853
__label__cc	0.660001	0.339999	At War with the World—in the Old Testament Old Testament, Theology This is Part 2 in an ongoing series by PhD graduate Jon Cheek. Click here for Part 1. If Genesis 3:15 provides the statement of conflict for the remaining plot line of Scripture, then the reader should expect the ensuing storyline of Scripture to demonstrate the outworking of the enmity between the seeds. This is exactly what we see in the early chapters of Genesis, which display the development of two contrasting seed lines, one living in obedience to Yahweh and the other following the pattern of the serpent. Cain, who is “of the evil one” (1 John 3:12), becomes the first human example of the seed of the serpent, and his actions against Abel set the pattern for how the serpent will work against the seed of the woman throughout the redemptive story. The reader may wonder whether Cain or Abel will be the descendant who will crush the serpent. The serpent, however, works to ensure that neither of Eve’s sons will be that seed. The serpent’s attack against Cain is to win his spiritual allegiance; once Cain gives his allegiance to “the evil one,” the serpent uses Cain to eliminate Abel, threatening the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15. The serpent’s plan of attack is two-fold: (1) gain the spiritual allegiance of humans so that they will not fight against him and (2) eliminate the human(s) who could achieve victory over the serpent. These two objectives govern the storyline of the rest of the OT. The Survival of the Seed of the Woman The remainder of the Book of Genesis contrasts two seed lines in the descendants of Cain and of Seth (chs. 4–5), in the “sons of God” and “daughters of men” (ch. 6), in the descendants of Shem/Japheth and those of Ham (chs. 9–11), and in Abraham’s lineage and the surrounding nations (chs. 12–50). Throughout these accounts, enmity persists between the seed lines; the seed of the serpent seek to hinder the success of the seed of the woman. At the beginning of Exodus, the Egyptians are oppressing the seed of the woman, but Yahweh is victorious over the seed of the serpent by delivering his chosen seed from Egypt. During the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, and the rest of Israel’s history in the OT, the surrounding nations seek to fight against, subjugate, or eliminate the nation of Israel. Psalm 83:4 clearly states the intention of the nations: “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!” Enmity against the seed of the woman becomes prominent in the efforts of Saul, influenced by a “harmful spirit” (1 Sam 16:14–16, 23; 18:10; 19:9), to kill David, the particular king through whom the ultimate seed of the woman would come. Significantly, a number of specifically Davidic Messianic Psalms describe the threat to the physical survival of David/Messiah (e.g., Pss 2, 22, 68, 69, 109, 110, 118). At future points in Israel’s history, the Davidic seed line will dangle by a thread (e.g., 2 Chr 22:1–12; 2 Kgs 25:6–7), but the thread is not broken. The Spiritual Allegiance of the Seed of the Woman Yahweh clearly identifies Israel as the seed through whom he will bless the nations (Gen 12:2–3). When Yahweh delivers his people from Egypt, he establishes a covenant with them as a nation. In Exodus 19:4–6, Yahweh presents his covenantal expectation for Israel and speaks of them as a “treasured possession” in contrast to the other nations. Because of this unique status, God assigns Israel two primary responsibilities: (1) to serve as a kingdom of priests and (2) to be a holy nation. As a kingdom of priests, the whole nation is to serve in a priestly role among the other nations. Responsibilities of a priest include mediation between God and men, interpreting and teaching God’s law, and displaying the holiness of Yahweh to make him known to the people. Israel, then, is expected to mediate the knowledge of God to the nations to reveal Yahweh to them. Perhaps Deuteronomy 4:5–9 best describes how this role would work out. While serving as priests to bring the nations to Yahweh, Yahweh expects Israel, as a holy nation, to be distinct from the other nations in behavior and worship. If Israel fails to fulfil its role, it will be ensnared by the contagious ways of the nations (Exod 23:23–24, 33; 34:12–16; Lev 18:3–4; Lev 20:34–25; Deut 7:2–5; 18:9–14). Throughout the OT “the nations” becomes a sort of technical term denoting unbelievers in contrast to the people of God. The rest of the OT recounts how Israel fails to consistently fill its role as a kingdom of priests because of its constant urge to live like the nations. The people perpetually display a pattern of wanting to be like the nations, primarily in their idolatrous worship (Exod 32; Num 25; Judg 2:11–17; 1 Kgs 11–12). In this idolatrous worship, those who are supposed to oppose the ways of the serpent instead follow in the ways of the serpent, particularly since the gods of the nations represent demonic beings (cf. Deut 32:17), who represent the seed of the serpent. Instead of spiritual allegiance to Yahweh, the people commit spiritual adultery with the enemy (Hos 1–4; Ezek 16, 23). The serpent and his seed are actively working either to eliminate the seed of the woman or to entice the seed to forsake their allegiance to Yahweh. God’s intention for his people is clear: they are to be unapologetically distinct from the other nations in their worship and their behavior. The NT presents God’s expectation for Israel among the nations in the OT as the paradigm for the church’s relationship to the unbelieving world. The question is whether the church will become like the world as Israel became like the nations.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754855
__label__wiki	0.609352	0.609352	Smart Home Technology Becomes a Must-Have in Senior Living By Tim Mullaney \| September 10, 2018 From voice-activated technologies like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Home, to sensors that can track movement, to smart lights and thermostats, to wearable devices that monitor health indicators, the pieces are now in place to create comprehensive “smart home” environments in senior living — and doing so is a must, if companies want to be well-positioned for the future. Pulling together these disparate technologies into a single enterprise-level platform will not be easy, but it’s a challenge that providers are taking on in larger numbers, according to panelists who spoke last week at the Senior Housing News Summit in Los Angeles. “In the top 100 providers in senior living right now, of those, I’ve probably had a conversation about smart apartments with nearly 80% of them,” said Ginna Baik, strategic business development manager for senior care at CDW-Healthcare (pictured above). Some providers are still in the ideation phase, but others are implementing prototype smart apartments or going even further, she said. One provider on the East Coast is looking to implement them across an entire 50-community portfolio. Indeed, smart home environments have gone from being a “really cool, interesting idea” to being the wave of the future, Baik said. A new phase Smart technologies have now proven that they work and are engaging, creating this new sense of urgency in figuring out how to best deploy them in senior living and care, said Dr. David Rhew, chief medical officer and VP and GM of enterprise healthcare at global tech giant Samsung. “We see the next frontier as being around implementation and making it seamless for the end user,” he said. To that end, Samsung and CDW have partnered with the city of Louisville to create the Thrive Innovation Center, which opened its doors last year. Visitors to the Center can see how smart apartments can be implemented by walking through environments such as a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom that are equipped with sensors and other devices. David Rhew “Then we realized, we need to be able to create an enterprise platform, that allows us to look across multiple different units to see how technology can be deployed, because it’s not just about one unit but about managing a group of units and individuals,” Rhew said. This raises a particular challenge — namely, how to balance standardization with personalization in smart home deployments. “We have to understand that our job is to create platforms,” said Kari Olson, chief innovation and technology officer at Front Porch, a not-for-profit that operates 10 full-service retirement communities in California and two adult living communities, in Louisiana and Florida. “Not everyone is going to use all IOT [devices] — maybe some will use voice but some want to use a tablet or television … When we talk about enterprise, it’s not just on the back-end so that we can manage it, it’s about creating whole new platforms so people can live the way they want, using multiple modalities.” In their effort to make these multiple options available, providers will need to find the right balance in how many pieces of technology are integrated into a unit. For instance, it may be wise to offer voice-activated tech like Alexa or Google Home but also more tablet-based technologies for seniors with hearing- or speech-related conditions, Baik said. “What’s just enough to have a baseline, so that every apartment has these technologies, and then how do you personalize them to the residents?” she said. “Where we standardize everything is where we get into trouble.” Gleaning resident input is therefore crucial in efforts to roll out smart home tech. Having a resident technology committee is a great idea, Baik said. In the case of Front Porch, residents played a key role in a program to introduce Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. Kari Olson Before that pilot began at the Carlsbad By The Sea community in Carlsbad, California, Front Porch convened a resident focus group to explore their needs and expectations. After initial success, the pilot expanded into a second phase, in which technology was added to the Amazon Echo devices so that residents could also control thermostats, lights and other environmental features with their voices. After again surveying participants, Front Porch found that 82% said that adding a smart device made using Alexa better, said Olson. Still, Front Porch is only configuring Alexa-driven smart apartments at resident request. “In the communities where we started our Alexa pilots, we’ve reached full adoption — that does not mean 100%,” said Olson. “There’s about 20% who don’t want it configured … As a provider, we need to provide a platform with multiple ways to engage, not just one.” While smart home technology has proven itself, there is still room for improvement and plenty of lessons to learn in how to implement it in senior living, Rhew noted. Some of these improvements will come from the evolution of the smart devices and the infrastructure that supports them, such as the move to 5G networks. Devices are becoming more senior-friendly, as well; for instance, tablets can learn how to adapt to an older adult with a hand tremor, or who touches the screen with more forcefulness than usual, Rhew said. And from the standpoint of enterprise users, back-end data collection and display should get better. For example, information gathered from disparate technologies needs to be collected in one place and then displayed in a coherent manner, so that senior living providers can better manage the overall platform and glean better insights. Security is another area that needs to be enhanced, Baik said. Some commonly used smart technologies are not compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), she noted, although there are third-party companies that offer wrap-around solutions to make some of these products HIPAA-compliant. While there are real risks in deploying smart homes or units, it is just as risky from a business perspective to sit on the sidelines and wait for the next generation of tech, in Baik’s opinion. These slow-moving providers will be ceding too much ground to the competition and are likely to quickly fall out of favor with increasingly tech-savvy senior living consumers. “You can’t wait five years from now,” Baik said. “You have to figure this out today.” Written by Tim Mullaney Amazon, CDW Healthcare, Front Porch, Google, Samsung Tim Mullaney If he’s not in the newsroom, Tim likes to be on the tennis court or traveling to a new destination. Recent highlights include Sri Lanka and Iceland.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754856
__label__wiki	0.716258	0.716258	ECHR Judgement Relating to Sharia Law (2003) ECHR Source Item ECHR-annual_report_2003.pdf ECHR Ruling: "sharia law is incompatible with democracy and human rights" Annual Report 2003 of the European Court of Human Rights Reliance of the Traveller: Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law This is a classic manual of fiqh rulings based on Shafi"i School of jurisprudence and includes original Arabic texts and translations from classic works of prominent Muslim scholars such as al Ghazali, al Nawawi, al Qurtubi, al Dhahabi and others. Admin: This manual has been endorsed by Cairo's al-Azhar university as "conforming to the practice and faith of orthodox Sunni Islam". It substantiates the Council of Europe document that outlines some of the ways in which sharia is incompatible with democracy and human rights in that it: Sanctions death for apostasy Death by stoning for adultery and sodomy Discrimination against non-Muslims Jihad against non-Muslims to establish Islam In some cases, forced conversion to Islam Amputation of limbs It makes clear that penalties like amputation and stoning are also applicable to non-Muslims. Council of Europe requests abolition of the application of sharia in Thrace Parliamentary Assembly of The Council Of Europe PACE Resolution 2253 - Sharia, the Cairo Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights 3. The Assembly also recalls that it has on several occasions underlined its support for the principle of the separation of State and religion as one of the pillars of a democratic society, for instance in its Recommendation 1804 (2007) on State, religion, secularity and human rights. This principle should continue to be respected. 4. The Assembly considers that the various Islamic declarations on human rights, adopted since the 1980s, while being more religious than legal, fail to reconcile Islam with universal human rights, especially insofar as Sharia is their unique source of reference. This includes the 1990 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which, while not legally binding, has symbolic value and political significance in terms of human rights policy under Islam. It is therefore of great concern that three Council of Europe member States – Albania, Azerbaijan and Turkey (for the latter, with the limitation: “so far as it is compatible with its laws and its commitments under international conventions”) – have endorsed, explicitly or implicitly, the 1990 Cairo Declaration, as have Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Palestine, whose parliaments enjoy partner for democracy status with the Assembly. 5. The Assembly is also greatly concerned about the fact that Sharia law – including provisions which are in clear contradiction with the Convention – is applied, either officially or unofficially, in several Council of Europe member States, or parts thereof. 6. The Assembly recalls that the European Court of Human Rights has already stated in Refah Partisi (The Welfare Party) and others v. Turkey that the institution of Sharia law and a theocratic regime are incompatible with the requirements of a democratic society. The Assembly fully agrees that Sharia rules on, for example, divorce and inheritance proceedings are clearly incompatible with the Convention, in particular its Article 14, which prohibits discrimination on grounds such as sex or religion, and Article 5 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention (ETS No. 117), which establishes equality between marital partners. Sharia law is also in contradiction with other provisions of the Convention and its additional protocols, including Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), Article 10 (freedom of expression), Article 12 (right to marry), Article 1 of the Protocol to the Convention (ETS No. 9) (protection of property) and Protocols Nos. 6 (ETS No. 114) and 13 (ETS No. 187) abolishing the death penalty. 7. In this context, the Assembly regrets that despite the recommendation it made in its Resolution 1704 (2010) on freedom of religion and other human rights for non-Muslim minorities in Turkey and for the Muslim minority in Thrace (eastern Greece), asking the Greek authorities to abolish the application of Sharia law in Thrace, this is still not the case. Muftis continue to act in a judicial capacity without proper procedural safeguards. The Assembly denounces in particular the fact that in divorce and inheritance proceedings – two key areas over which muftis have jurisdiction – women are at a distinct disadvantage. 8. The Assembly is also concerned about the “judicial” activities of “Sharia councils” in the United Kingdom. Although they are not considered part of the British legal system, Sharia councils attempt to provide a form of alternative dispute resolution, whereby members of the Muslim community, sometimes voluntarily, often under considerable social pressure, accept their religious jurisdiction mainly in marital issues and Islamic divorce proceedings but also in matters relating to inheritance and Islamic commercial contracts. The Assembly is concerned that the rulings of the Sharia councils clearly discriminate against women in divorce and inheritance cases. The Assembly is aware that informal Islamic courts may also exist in other Council of Europe member States. 9. The Assembly calls on the member States of the Council of Europe to protect human rights regardless of religious or cultural practices or traditions on the principle that, where human rights are concerned, there is no room for religious or cultural exceptions. 10. The Assembly notes with approval the 2008 judgment of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords addressing these principles. Resolution 1704 (2010) 18.5. allow the Muslim minority to choose freely its muftis as mere religious leaders (that is, without judicial powers), through election or appointment, and thus to abolish the application of Sharia law – which raises serious questions of compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights – as recommended by the Commissioner for Human Rights; A copy of this resolution can be download here: PACE Resolution 1704 - abolish application of sharia in Thrace http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-en.asp?fileid=17807 Compatibility of Sharia law with the ECHR: can States Parties to the Convention be signatories of the ‘Cairo Declaration’? 2.1. Sharia law 5. For the purposes of this study, it is essential to define Sharia law, its sources, its legal force and its problematic aspects in terms of the European Convention on Human Rights. 6. Sharia law is understood as being ‘the path to be followed’, that is, the ‘law’ to be obeyed by every Muslim. It divides all human action into five categories – what is obligatory, recommended, neutral, disapproved of and prohibited – and takes two forms: a legal ruling (hukm), designed to organise society and deal with everyday situations, and the fatwa, a legal opinion intended to cover a special situation. Sharia law is therefore meant in essence to be positive law enforceable on Muslims. Accordingly, it can be defined as ‘the sacred Law of Islam’, that is, ‘an all-embracing body of religious duties, the totality of Allah’s commands that regulate the life of every Muslim in all its aspects’. 2.1.1. Sources 7. The prescriptions of Sharia law originate in the Qur’an, held to be a work that is ‘perfect and unchangeable’. 6 The Qur’an constitutes the primary source of law and consists of 114 surahs or chapters, themselves divided into 6,219 verses, which are sentences or groups of sentences expressing one or more revealed thoughts. 7 However, an Islamic exegesis (tafsir) of the Qur’an is necessary for abstruse passages, and this has given rise to a number of schools. 8. The Sunna, the traditions and practices of the Prophet, is another original source, relating the religious deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad as narrated by his disciples (Sunni branch) or by the imams (Shia branch). 9. In addition to these two basic texts of Islamic law there are secondary sources such as consensus (ijma‘), analogical deduction (qiyas) and individual reasoning based on the general principles of Islam (ijtihad), which have produced a plethora of interpretations. Added to these are spontaneous sources such as local custom (‘urf) and judicial practice (‘amal). 10. Fiqh, the temporal interpretation of the rules of Sharia law, brings together all the rules that had been systematised by the end of the fifth century after the Hijra. There are various schools of Islamic jurisprudence. They include the four Sunni schools: the Hanafi school of Abu Hanifa, the Maliki school of Malik ibn Anas, the Shafi‘i school of Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i and the Hanbali school of Ahmad ibn Hanbal. There are at least two main Shia schools: the Ja‘fari and the Zaydi. 2.1.2. Legal nature 11. While most States with Muslim majorities have inserted a provision referring to Islam or Islamic law in their constitutions, the effect of these provisions is symbolic or confined to family law. Admittedly, these religious provisions may have a legal effect if raised in the courts and a political effect if they intrude into institutional attitudes and practices. 9 However, the authority of Sharia law is derived directly from the Qur’an, and traditional Islamic law contains no effective provisions concerning its position in the pyramid of norms. 10 2.1.3. Sharia law: problematic rules in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights 12. In this study I shall be looking at the general principles of Sharia law in relation to the European Convention on Human Rights and particularly Article 14, which prohibits discrimination on grounds such as sex or religion and Article 5 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention, which establishes equality between spouses in law. In this context, reference should also be made to other provisions of the Convention and its additional protocols – such as Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment), Article 6 (right to a fair trial), Article 8 (Right to respect for private and family life), Article 9 (freedom of religion), Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 (protection of property) and Protocols Nos. 6 and 13 prohibiting the death penalty. Here we shall find some problematic features that warrant further analysis. 13. In Islamic family law, men have authority over women. Surah 4:34 states: ‘Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and forsake them in beds apart, and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme.’ While wives clearly have a duty of fidelity, husbands do not. In Sharia law, adultery is strictly prohibited. Legal doctrine holds that the evidence must take the form of corroborating testimony from four witnesses15 to prove an individual’s guilt. These witnesses must be men of good repute and good Muslims. The punishment is severe and degrading, namely ‘a hundred lashes’. In the case of rape, which is seldom committed in public before four male witnesses who are good Muslims, punishing the rapist is difficult if not impossible. In practice, this obliges women to be accompanied by men when they go out and is not conducive to their independence. While divorce by mutual consent is enshrined in Islamic law, the application has to come from the wife, since the husband can repudiate his wife at any time. There is also the question of equal rights with regard to divorce arrangements such as custody of children. 14. For division of an estate among the heirs, distinctions are made according to the sex of the heir. A male heir has a double share, whereas a female heir has a single share. The rights of a surviving wife are half those of a surviving husband. 15. In criminal cases, cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments are authorised by Sharia law, including death by stoning, beheading and hanging, amputation of limbs, and flogging. Apostasy results, firstly, in the apostate’s civil death, with the estate passing to the heirs, and, secondly, in the apostate’s execution if he or she does not recant. Lastly, non-Muslims do not have the same rights as Muslims in civil and criminal [sharia] law, which is discrimination on the ground of religion within the meaning of Article 14 of the Convention.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754857
__label__wiki	0.64992	0.64992	Home News News Features Is Walker’s K-12 Promise Too Good To Be True? Is Walker’s K-12 Promise Too Good To Be True? $648 million increase has some downsides by Lisa Kaiser Photo by iPrimages Flickr CC After cutting more than $1 billion from the state’s K-12 public schools since 2011, Gov. Scott Walker plans to add $648 million to schools in his next two-year budget, a promise he crowed about in his budget address and one he’ll promote as he’s expected to run for a third term in 2018. Walker would add $509 million as a per pupil funding increase. In the first year of Walker’s proposed budget, this new funding would initially be an additional $200 per student, in the second year, an additional $204. This additional money is being distributed outside of the usual manner that state education dollars are allocated. For the past several decades, Wisconsin has utilized an equalization formula that provides thousands of dollars per student each year driven by a formula that provides more money to property-poor school districts, school districts that do not have the property tax base to support decent funding of public schools. Although the additional funds were welcomed by public school advocates, some, including State Superintendent of Public Schools Tony Evers, are concerned about the details of the governor’s proposal. “I think $650 million is a good trajectory,” Evers told the Shepherd. “Do I want it to be distributed differently? Yes. Are others concerned because it doesn’t get us back to where we were? I get that. But it’s still $650 million for kids and that’s an important thing.” Evers had proposed increasing funding $707 million in the next two years, a bit more than Walker’s boost. But there’s a world of difference between the two proposals. Walker is helping out wealthier districts, while Evers would continue the state’s commitment to providing more aid to districts with a high percentage of disadvantaged students. And only one will go to the Legislature—Walker’s—although it could be radically altered by the time the entire state budget is finalized. Money Going to Wealthier Districts The state’s funding formula for education can be complicated, but, put most simply, the state tries to send more money to poorer districts and less money to wealthier districts, since wealthier communities have more taxable property to support their schools than poorer communities. The general state aid and local property taxes make up the vast majority of a school district’s revenue. Outside of those limits, there’s categorical aid in various forms to help districts with, for example, high levels of poverty, special education or transportation. The bulk of Walker’s new funding comes in the form of flat, per pupil aid payment outside of the traditional school funding formula. While that may seem fair on the surface by treating each student the same, Walker’s plan actually rewards high-income school districts. Tamarine Cornelius, a research analyst with the Wisconsin Budget Project, found that the biggest proportion of Walker’s boost would go toward wealthy districts. Cornelius found that districts whose school population includes less than a third of low-income students would see their state aid rise 6.3%. Schools that have between one third and two thirds of low-income students would see a 4.8% increase. In contrast, districts that have more than two thirds of their student population made up of low-income kids—such as Milwaukee Public Schools, which has 80% of its students living in poverty—would see just a 3.6% boost in state aid. “It’s untargeted,” Cornelius told the Shepherd. “It moves the state away from the commitment to provide more assistance to districts with less capacity to boost local property tax revenues.” In contrast, Evers’ proposed budget would increase state aid while also tweaking the funding formula to factor in poverty. He’d also increase per pupil aid, but also weight it for factors including poverty and students with disabilities, Evers said. “The bottom line is that I believe equity should be our value on school funding,” Evers said. “Equity in my worldview means that kids who struggle mightily need more resources. That’s important to me. Frankly, it’s important to those kids.” The total amount of revenue each district can spend on its students will remain unchanged in Walker’s proposal except that districts could raise the cap to pay for energy efficiency projects. Evers, in contrast, would raise the cap 2% in each year of the budget, so districts could spend more on their students. The current revenue cap fluctuates wildly from district to district. For example, Milwaukee Public Schools’ current revenue limit is $10,261 per pupil. But some wealthy suburban districts can spend much more on their students. For example, Whitefish Bay’s revenue limit is $11,248; Elmbrook School District, $11,568; Glendale-River Hills, $12,752; and Nicolet School District, an eye-popping $17,794 per student. And, yes, each of the students in these wealthy districts will receive the same amount of Walker’s per pupil aid as the less financially advantaged students in Milwaukee. In addition, Walker attached some strings to his increased aid and, not surprisingly, they’re linked to public employee benefits. School districts can only qualify for their increased per pupil aid if their employees pay at least 12% of their health care costs. That seems to target schools in Madison, but also potentially Wauwatosa and West Allis-West Milwaukee schools. This is totally micromanaging the locally elected school boards. So much for all the talk about local control of our schools. What’s more, a small amount of the increase is tied to “savings” from creating a self-insurance model for state employees. Evers, who is facing two challengers in the Feb. 21 primary election, disagreed with linking the new state aid to Act 10 mandates. “We are facing a looming or already existing teacher shortage,” Evers said. “One of the reasons we are facing that is because of the disrespect we’ve provided the teachers and teaching profession that kind of grew out of Act 10 and was used to implement Act 10. This re-energizes that issue.” He also said the state was reaching too deeply into the running of local school districts. “Tying it to the health insurance piece seems to me to be an over reach, that a state government would reach into school districts and say your personnel policies are inadequate, therefore you’re not going to get this increase,” Evers said. “That’s a stretch.” News News Features Scott Walker Wisconsin Budget Public Education Act 10 Gov. Tony Evers Tamarine Cornelius Wisconsin Council On Children And Families Per Pupil Aid Very misleading right from the start. Walker DID c... Very misleading right from the start. Walker DID cut funding, but that was in his first term. Since then, the budgets have restored or scheduled to restore nearly all of the cuts. Jerry Zelinske more than 2 years ago Of course Walker is going to allow money for educa... Of course Walker is going to allow money for education now, Trump's pick Betsy DeVos was confirmed for Secretary of Education!Now there will be Federal dollars applied not only to promote Private Schools, but a new head of public schools may now force Public Schools to strip out the teaching of Liberal Values. If Public Schools in Conservative districts can be allowed to teach anti-equality, pro-racism, pro-Capitalist values, then there is no need for a private school system anymore.Walker will still prevent those teachers from being able to mandate Union Dues, because that is where Liberals tend to get their political campaign money. WaukeshaGuy more than 2 years ago First thing I would do is pipe in Fox News to all ... First thing I would do is pipe in Fox News to all schools. Put up a picture of Walker and Trump in every class room Each day start with a discussion on how Walker and Trump are helping people. Teach competition, survival of the fittest and Classical Economic Theory.. Teach that liberalism, Keynesian economic and socialism are hateful and evil. Then in 20 years we will have elections and the parties will be Republican and Conservatives. No more Democrats.Private schools are the way to go and we finally got a very experienced Secretary. Asking that she have experience in public schools is like requiring a psychiatrist to be bipolar. djlresearch more than 2 years ago Wealthier districts should get more funding. Just... Wealthier districts should get more funding. Just like the Packers, they will spend more money per Pro Bowl caliber players than those on the practice squad. The state needs in invest in students that will most likely have a positive ROI -- go to college and choose higher paying jobs. If you don't like it, then move to a wealthier district. The good people will always do what it takes to put their kids in the best schools. Comments \| See More Polls	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754859
__label__wiki	0.670459	0.670459	Home › Narrow Gauge Lines of the British Isles - Peter Johnson Narrow Gauge Lines of the British Isles - Peter Johnson Although standard gauge railways - albeit of different gauges - came to dominate the railways of Britain and Ireland, there was also a considerable number of narrow gauge lines constructed throughout the British Isles. Whilst many of these were built almost exclusively for industrial purposes and never saw regular passenger service, a significant number from the Cambeltown & Machrihanish on the Mull of Kintyre, to the Southwold on the Suffolk Coast and the Lynton & Barnstaple in North Devon, carried regular passenger services. Within the British Isles, three areas - Wales, the Isle of Man and Ireland - had the greatest concentration of narrow gauge lines and it was in these areas that the lines survived the longest. In Ireland, lines such as the County Donegal and Londonderry & Lough Swilly survived until the late 1950s and in Wales, a number of the lines survived into the postwar era and were to become amongst the pioneers of the preservation movement. This new book will look in detail at the narrow gauge lines across the British Isles, illustrated with a comprehensive selection of both colour and mono photographs, the latter because a number of the lines featured had closed before the arrival of colour photography. Informative and extended captions illuminate the illustrations and provide a brilliant history of these interesting lines. Rich Mountains of Lead - Ioan Lord Beyond 68 Vale of Rheidol railway Aberystwyth black and white Jamieson The Great Trains of Wales Explored - Arfon haines Davies Machynlleth To Barmouth Including Tywyn And Aberdovey	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754860
__label__cc	0.67411	0.32589	Home \| Editorial \| El Dia De Los Muertos Lives On Through The Centuries El Dia De Los Muertos Lives On Through The Centuries El Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead is a time to honor and celebrate deceased loved ones. The celebration occurs on November 2 in connection with All Soul's Day. It’s an annual tradition. Burial plots are weeded, tombstones scrubbed and decorated, candles are lit – one for each lost soul. The women, they kneel and sit… all night as they pray. The men, they keep watch, talking amongst one another, drinking chocolate, atole and even carbonated soft drinks. In some places, food is placed on the graves – ofrenda is what they’re known as in Mexico: offerings of sweet bread (known as The Bread of the Dead), fruits, tamales and sweets such as calaveritas de azucar, candy calacas and dulce de calabaza. It isn’t until midnight that the cemetery is filled with the luminescent flicker of candles – the autumn wind threatening to blow them out. Both city folk and villagers gather together – rich or poor, their social standing is not questioned – in death, everyone dances the same way, and in death, death is non-discriminant with whom it dances. In the cemetery, they all gather together spending the following day in the company of their dead, but also socializing with one another – gossiping, drinking and listening to the strolling musicians play the ghosts’ favorite tunes. This is The Day of the Dead – El Dia de los Muertos and it is the Mexican counterpart of Hallowe’en – a multi-day festival that traces its origins to pre-Columbian times. Equal parts commemoration and carnival, with a paradoxical mix of reverence and revelry, celebrated as both a day of loving remembrance to departed family and friends, and a mocking defiance toward death itself. For over 3,000 years rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by civilization, tracing its roots as far back as indigenous pagan cultures in Mexico, when pre-Hispanic era civilizations commonly kept skulls as trophies, displayed during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. In most regions of Mexico, November 1 is dedicated to the honor of children and infants on a day known as Dia de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Dia de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels) while November 2 is recognized for honoring the memory of adults on what has become culturally established as Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). From October 31 to November 2, The Day of the Dead is celebrated by the families of Mexico, who build altars and place offerings, bake skull-shaped foods, light candles and incense, and decorate these shrines to the departed with yellow marigolds known as cempazuchitl. They attend cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed, whom they believe arise during this time to be with the living. To encourage visits by the souls, so they may hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them, from anecdotes to heartfelt stories, it has been a custom practice to leave offerings for the deceased, whether it be at the grave sites or on personal shrines. This is ancestral worship and for the span of history, the Day of the Dead has been documented as a veneration for the departed. Life and death, for the ancient Mesoamericans, were not seen as two independent states of being – they did not believe that where one began, the other ended, but rather that through death, new life was created and that a cycle would continue. They saw death as a continuation of life and that life was merely a dream in which only in death would they awaken. To this theorem, honoring the dead was not a new tradition in Mexico and Central America. Numerous ethnic groups of the region including Aztecs, Mayans and Toltecs had specific times that they commemorated the deceased. It was during these special months of dedication, whether it be the death of a child or that of an adult, that would be specifically associated with how the person died. Their belief was that the deceased would return, and in turn they would require offerings to them, from flowers, food, incense, dances and music, as a way of gaining the favour of the spirits that arose. However, in the fifteenth century, upon the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, these unaccustomed expatriates did not know what to make of the indigenous natives they encountered, who at the time were partaking in a ritual that seemed to mock death, a ritual which the Spaniards saw as impious. For the Spaniards, death was viewed as the end of life – a phenomenon that should be feared. While the pre-Hispanic believed in the duality of death, the Spaniards saw their rituals as sacrilegious and perceived the indigenous as barbaric and pagan, and soon attempted to convert them to Catholicism as they tried (albeit unsuccessfully) to eradicate the ritual. To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved the date so it would coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1 and 2), as opposed to its original date of the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar (which would fall on the beginning of August and was celebrated for the entire month), during which the festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Lady of the Dead), who was believed to have died at birth. As the centuries drew on, the ritual became more celebrated as Day of the Dead, and quickly expanded from Mexico to the United States and Central America, as well as extending to Europe and the Philippines, with Mexican-style Day of the Dead celebrations occurring in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Indonesia. Tags: All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Aztec, day of the dead, Death Rituals, Dia de los Inocentes, El Dia de los Muertos, Lady of the Dead, Mayans, Mexico, Mictecacihuatl, rituals, Toltecs Dr. Wolfelt: Listen to the Music of the Past, to Dance into the Future La Catrina and The Day of the Dead A History of Hallowe'en Bridge to Paradise An Ode to the Fallen	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754866
__label__cc	0.656119	0.343881	All posts tagged Joel Edgerton Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge showed us that Australian director Baz Luhrmann can throw a hell of a party. Now, after the epic drabness of Australia he pulls the stereo out of storage and does it again. The best scene in this fast and furious stab at F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 state-of-the-nation novel comes early, as we gatecrash a wild shindig at the Long Island home of filthy rich socialite Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). Gatsby’s wide-eyed neighbour Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) cuts through the layers of flappers and frippery and meets his elusive host amid the throng. The scene is Luhrmann at his best: swirling cameras, mad excess, look-at-me costumes and big musical statements. In Luhrmann’s world, everything is bigger, noisier and brighter than the far-from-humdrum universe of Fitzgerald’s story. That’s fine when the party’s raging, but when the music stops and the lights go up, dawn casts an unflattering glow on the film’s quieter, more intimate moments. One of the niggling problems with the film is that it never knows whether it’s about the doomed love between Gatsby and flighty Southern belle Daisy (Carey Mulligan) who lives across the water with her brutish husband Tom (Joel Edgerton), or about the longing, questioning, horrified gaze of Carraway. He’s an outsider in a rarefied world (comparable to Charles Ryder in Brideshead Revisited), and arguably that’s where the real emotional pull of Fitzgerald’s story lies. Yet there’s a whole swathe where Carraway recedes from view and Luhrmann focuses on the push and pull between Daisy and Gatsby. Carraway, of course, is the book’s narrator, and Luhrmann tries to hang on to his perspective by creating a framework in which Carraway spills all to a psychiatrist about his encounters. It’s an admission of failure – or at least that there’s a major problem to solve in adapting this novel. We hear Carraway’s narration. We even, occasionally, see text from the book. But it’s the age-old page-to-screen issue: we’re witnessing all this from the outside in, rather than the inside out. What Luhrmann makes intoxicating is a sense of place – the houses, the rooms, the city, the roads – and the sense that all this is unfolding in a bubble like some mad fable. Where he falters is in persuading us that these are real, breathing folk whose experiences and destinies can move us. by Kelly O'Brien on May 24, 2013 • Permalink Tagged australia, baz luhrmann, carey mulligan, clare danes, daisy, f scott fitzgerald, gershwin, intoxicating, jay gatsby, Joel Edgerton, leonardo dicaprio, moulin rouge, nick carraway, romeo and juliet, the great gatsby, Tobey Maguire, tom Posted by Kelly O'Brien on May 24, 2013 https://screendawg.wordpress.com/2013/05/24/the-great-gatsby-typically-luhrmann-but-spellbinding-none-the-less/ DVD Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green Framed as a flashback, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is the story of Jim and Cindy Green (Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner), who live in a dying industrial town whose economy depends on the local pencil factory. At the film’s start, Jim and Cindy get some terrible news – after years of trying everything, they are told that they will never be able to produce a baby of their own. One of the films most heart-wrenching moments, we see Jim and Cindy go through sadness, anger, and eventually denial. Sick of mourning, they get drunk and start imagining the kid they would have had, writing each of his awesome attributes on a piece of paper, then putting the slips into a wooden box, which they bury (or plant) in their garden (along with their dreams apparently). Overnight, something magical happens – there’s a rainstorm localized specifically over their house and garden and something crawls out of the earth. In the morning, Jim and Cindy discover muddy footprints leading to what would have been the baby’s room – and inside, a mud-covered 10-year-old (CJ Adams) who announces that his name is Timothy and that he is theirs. Timothy is a strange little strange little cookie to say the least. He doesn’t pick up on social cues—he’s oblivious to bullying and can’t figure out the fun of sports – and persists on photosynthesising at the most inappropriate moments. Timothy is a unique soul, but it’s a struggle to get really excited about his arrival, excepting the fact that he’s growing leaves along his shins. Luckily, the camera often follows Cindy and Jim. The majority of scenes are reliant on their connection, which Garner and Edgerton pull off spectacularly – they really work as an on-screen couple. Both deliver fine performances as parents who desperately want to become parents, but even their combined efforts can’t save this movie from its own overbearing sentimentality. Having said that, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is definitely a different kind of film and one that the whole family could enjoy. It’s not the greatest movie ever made, but it has its moments. A safe bet if you’re looking for a family friendly tear-jerker. by Kelly O'Brien on December 20, 2012 • Permalink Tagged adoption, agency, artificial insemination, childless, children, Cindy Green, CJ Adams, disney, DVD releases, family friendly, Film Review, Jennifer Garner, Jim Green, Jodi, Joel Edgerton, Movie Review, pencils, Screendawg, The odd life of timothy green, Timothy Green Posted by Kelly O'Brien on December 20, 2012 https://screendawg.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/dvd-review-the-odd-life-of-timothy-green/	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754868
__label__wiki	0.623111	0.623111	Flashpoint Movie Won't Happen If Justice League Bombs? A new rumor suggests that the success of Justice League will determine if the Flashpoint movie gets off the ground. We’ve heard very little about the project since San Diego Comic-Con over the summer and even a few days ago when Jeffrey Dean Morgan was asked about playing Batman in the movie, the actor smiled nervously. A new report suggests that the search for a director has slowed down in an effort to see how well Justice League performs at the box office upon its release in a few weeks, which may or may not have been why Jeffrey Dean Morgan was so tight lipped about the project instead of practically giddy like he was over the summer. Variety reporter Justin Kroll recently sat in on the Meet the Movie Press podcast and suggested that Flashpoint as well as some of the other recently announced in-development DCEU movies could be put on hold until after the dust settles with Justice League. Kroll had this to say. “I’ve been tracking a lot of movies, pecifically Flashpoint. I’ve heard they’ve slowed their (director) search down to see how Justice League does. I don’t know if they’re giving everyone their own movie now. Aquaman‘s already shot so we’ll see. Obviously (Cyborg) is not happening anytime soon, neither is Man of Steel 2… I’ve heard, ‘Let’s see how this movie does before we go forward with all those other movies.” At the moment, the only DCEU movie set to come out in 2018 is Aquaman. It seems that Warner Bros. might be finding out the best way to approach their universe before making any huge leaps. The Flash solo movie had been having a hard time, to say the least, with their director search, and a name that always came out on top was Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis. Though nothing seems to be official yet, it seems likely that Zemeckis is Warner Bros.’ top choice to make the Flashpoint movie. The fact that the movie has some time traveling aspects to it could also point to Robert Zemeckis, but as with the rumor suggesting that the movie is on hold until Justice League comes out, it’s all speculation at this point. Warner Bros. will have a lot of time to think over their decision, though. Flashpoint is still years away. Shazam!, Wonder Woman 2, and Suicide Squad 2 are all expected to go into production in 2018. The recent announcement of the Deathstroke movie could be a way of proving the Justice League contingency plan to be false. At the same time, Warner Bros. has a reputation of jumping the gun when announcing DCEU projects, which is more than likely where the rumor sprouts from. Regardless, Flashpoint could also be put on hold because the movie may be used as a way to reboot the DCEU, which has been rumored since the start. So, as with all good rumors, it’s best to take this one with a grain of salt and in the meantime, there’s still Justice League, Shazam!, Wonder Woman 2, and Suicide Squad 2 to look forward to. You can check out the rest of the interview with Justin Kroll regarding the DCEU’s future courtesy of the Popcorn Talk YouTube channel below. Oscar Isaac Talks Leia's Return in Star Wars 9, Shooting Without Carrie Fisher Machete Kills in Space Is Still Coming Says Danny Trejo Dracula: Prince of Darkness Gets Fully Loaded 4K Collector's Edition in December ← 'Stranger Things' Season Three Will Show a New Side of Cara Buono's Karen Wheeler Coffee, Conspiracy, and Citizen Science: An Introduction to Iodometry →	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754870
__label__wiki	0.983528	0.983528	Delhi got 46% less rain during July 1-9, not much expected in next 3 days Press Trust of India/New Delhi 10 Jul 19 \| 10:40 AM The national capital may have to wait longer for heavy monsoon showers as the weather department has predicted only very light precipitation during the next two to three days. On Wednesday, very light rain or thundershowers are expected in Delhi towards the afternoon, a MeT department official said. Since the onset of monsoon on July 5, the Safdarjung Observatory, which provides official figures for the city, has recorded 25.4 mm of rainfall. The observatory received 0.4 mm of rains in the last 24 hours, ending at 8:30 am. Overall, the weather station has gauged 26.8 mm of rains from July 1 to July 9 only 1.4 mm of precipitation occurred in first five days of the month, meaning Delhi received 46 per cent less rainfall during the period. Normally, it records 49.9 mm of rainfall in the first nine days of July, according to officials. One of the primary reasons behind scant rainfall is the delayed onset of monsoon in the region, they said. The IMD on July 5 had declared the onset of monsoon over the national capital. Normally, the wind system reaches the city by June 29. A senior scientist at the IMD said though cloudy conditions will prevail in Delhi, no much rainfall is expected in the next two to three days. At 8:30 am on Wednesday, the city recorded a low of 28.2 degrees Celsius, a notch more than normal, and humidity levels at 80 per cent. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 36 degrees Celsius.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754871
__label__wiki	0.632077	0.632077	Legitimate early release of super under review Early-release rules to get close inspection. Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has announced Treasury will review the rules controlling the early release of superannuation on severe financial hardship and compassionate grounds. The review will examine the existing rules to determine if they appropriately balance the need to preserve superannuation benefits to satisfy the objective of providing income in retirement as a substitute or supplement to the age pension, ensure superannuation is available in situations of genuine hardship or where warranted for compassionate reasons, and ensure the rules can be carried out in a fair and effective manner. In addition, the issue of whether the perpetrator of a crime can have their superannuation used to pay compensation or restitution to the victim or victims of that crime will be evaluated. According to O’Dwyer, legislation governing this area of the retirement savings system has not significantly changed since 1997. “The superannuation system has come a long way since then. It is time to review the current arrangements as they relate to severe financial hardship and compassionate grounds to ensure they remain fit for purpose,” she said. “This review is one of a range of measures the government is progressing to ensure that the rules governing superannuation serve the interests of consumers.” Treasury is due to report back to the government in March. The government also announced the ATO will be responsible for the regulatory role of administering the early release of superannuation benefits on compassionate grounds from 2018 onwards. Previously, the Department of Human Services had been in charge of this function. The change means that from 2018 the ATO will notify superannuation funds if an authorisation for the early release of superannuation on compassionate grounds has been made. “This change recognises the existing strong relationship between the ATO and the superannuation industry and reduces the need for manual, paper-based processes – expediting the release of funds to successful applicants,” O’Dwyer noted.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754873
__label__wiki	0.633016	0.633016	SILT Board Openings Now seeking board applicants passionate about our mission who have one or more of these attributes: Land, legal, food system or financial expertise or background Are a member of an under-served or under-represented group in sustainable farming or local food advocacy Enjoy networking and connecting people Enjoy organizing gatherings at home or in the community Represent differing but complementary perspectives on sustainable food farming Send completed application to Executive Director Suzan Erem. SILT Board Member Job Description SILT 2017 Annual Report OUR STORY: The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT) launched in early 2015 after 25 of the most respected leaders in sustainable agriculture, planning and development met to determine how best to save and protect small, diverse, clean farms that feed Iowans. We are dedicated to permanently protecting land to grow healthy food for generations to come. Our model takes land speculation and mortgage interest out of the equation for future healthy food farmers two ways: 1. SILT ownership of farmland that offers long-term ground leases and farmer ownership of homes, barns and buildings or 2. enforcement of sustainable land protection agreements granted by landowners and attached to the deed. Both of these methods provide affordable farmland near markets for our food farmers, and therefore a secure, healthy food system for the future. We are always seeking partnerships among investors, developers and real estate companies to build neighborhoods that will incorporate SILT-owned nature-friendly farms into them, providing a win-win for all involved and permanently protecting more land more quickly during this massive land transfer. In such “agri-communities” around the country, homes sell for faster, for higher prices on smaller lots and enjoy bucolic backyards of beautiful farms. SILT the only land trust in the Midwest dedicated to such an ambitious and vital mission. In just four years we protected 8 farms totaling nearly 770 acres in every region of the state and have more lined up. If you’re interested in protecting your land, contact us today to start the conversation. SILT Executive Director Executive Director Suzan Erem suzan@silt.org Suzan Erem is the Executive Director and co-founder of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, launched in January 2015 to permanently protect land to grow healthy food. Suzan graduated from the University of Iowa in the mid-1980s with degrees in Journalism and English, but soon learned she had the ability to bring people together around common goals. She’s been doing that ever since. Job opportunities dragged her out of Iowa but she returned in 2010 with her husband to witness a dramatically different landscape. At the same time local food was more popular than ever, young people could not afford the land to grow that food on. She put her organizing skills to work, and two years later leaders in agriculture, development and planning from around the state joined together to create SILT. Farm Specialist Joe Klingelhutz joe@silt.org Joe is a recent graduate of Iowa State University (Magna cum laude) with a degree in Environmental Science and a minor in Forestry. He has spent his summers working at vegetable farms such as Sundog Farm and Wildwoods Farm, and ran a forestry crew in the Western U.S. His undergraduate work included hands-on experience with Iowa State's Prairie STRIPS project and riparian buffers. Joe is available to consult with rural landowners. He will take an inventory of the current conservation issues on your property, discuss optimal locations for the production of table food (fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat/poultry/pork etc.), and provide information about how to make your good stewardship last for generations with a conservation easement. His work is supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA. Executive Assistant Keri Jacobson keri@silt.org SILT Board of Directors Stuart Valentine Stuart Valentine, MBA, explores the boundaries of philanthropy and entrepreneurship in his role as Director of the Sustainable Living Coalition (SLC), a non-profit dedicated to sustainability education, local food production and enterprise design. He is also a financial advisor with 16 years in the social, responsible and impact investment sectors. The Centerpoint mission includes “manifesting the experience of true wealth for clients by supporting the integration of their deep life purpose with their investment portfolio.” (www.centerpointinvesting.com) Stuart also plays an adjunct faculty role at Maharishi University of Management in the area of Socially Responsible Investing, Sustainable Community Design and Transformational Entrepreneurship. Kathy Dice Kathy Dice of Wapello, Iowa, is a tree farmer and business owner. Kathy and her husband Tom Wahl own Red Fern Farm, and for 25 years have specialized in perennial fruit and nut production. Kathy and Tom promote sustainable agriculture and believe that trees are an integral part of the ecosystem. Kathy graduated from ISU with honors and has worked for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Louisa County Conservation Board. She is a Louisa county soil commissioner and the winner of the 2015 Practical Farmers of Iowa Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award. Kathy was elected as SILT’s first board treasurer in January, 2015, and in that capacity serves on the board’s executive committee. Cindy Reed Cindy Reed, RN, PhD has worked in healthcare for over 35 years in a variety of clinical and administrative positions. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank, a non-profit University of Iowa based organization that recovers donated eye tissue and prepares it for transplant. Through personal experience, Cindy has become increasingly aware of the impact of healthy food versus the average American diet, and is alarmed that 90% of the food available for her family comes from someplace outside of Iowa. Cindy and her husband Steve have 5 grown children and one grandchild on the way. They live in Solon with their dog Max and Cat Bastet, and are in the process of converting their two acres of turf grass into an edible forest. Paul Durrenberger Paul Durrenberger is an award-winning anthropologist who has published widely on food production, agriculture and rural economies. His prescient book, Pigs, Profits and Rural Communities, edited and compiled with his graduate student and collaborator Kendall Thu, is still a favorite among anti-CAFO activists. The seeds of SILT were planted at Paul and his wife Suzan Erem's kitchen table after they went into long-term debt to purchase farmland for a young perennial crop farmer and wished to make it a permanent gift to Iowa's future. Lora Fraracci Jerry Hatfield Jerry Hatfield received his PhD from Iowa State University in 1975 in the area of agricultural climatology and statistics and a MS in agronomy from the University of Kentucky in 1972. He was appointed laboratory director of the National Soil Tilth Laboratory in 1989 (renamed the Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in October 2009). Dr. Hatfield's research emphasis is on the interactions among the components of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and their linkage to air, water, and soil quality. His focus has been on the evaluation of farming systems and their response to water and nitrogen interactions across soils, as well as the evaluation of remote sensing methods to quantify spatial variation within fields for application to risk management tools. Dr. Hatfield is the author of 457 refereed publications and the editor of 18 monographs. He served as the lead author on “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity” and a member of the IPCC process that received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Additionally, he was contributing author on “Agriculture” for the State of the Knowledge Report, “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States.” He is a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. He is also past-president of the American Society of Agronomy and member of the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union and Soil and Water Conservation Society. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2011 Conservation Research Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society, ARS Hall of Fame in 2014, and the Hugh Hammond Bennett award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society in 2016, and a Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Service in 2017. Jeff Jensen Jeff is from the Ft. Dodge area. He has a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and has worked in the field of sustainable agriculture for the past 10 years. Jeff has also worked extensively with farmers and landowners on environmental and policy issues. Jeff is a little nutty, being active with the Iowa Nut Growers Association, Minnesota Hazelnut Foundation, and Upper Midwest Hazelnut Development Initiative (UMHDI). He grows hazelnuts from the family farm in Northern Kossuth County and works for Trees Forever. Kayla Koether Kayla Koether is a Food Systems Specialist specializing in beginning farmer education and outreach for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach in five counties in northeast Iowa, with a partial appointment with the Extension Local Foods Team. An aspiring farmer herself, Kayla grew up near McGregor on an intensive rotational grazing farm, where her family’s strong land and community ethic shaped her passions for local, healthy food and regenerative farming systems. Those passions led her to study International Agriculture and Rural Development at Grinnell College and to travel to India and Mongolia and learn about agriculture and pastoralism abroad. Kayla intentionally returned to NE Iowa with the recognition that she can most effectively support sustainable agriculture and vibrant rural livelihoods in the cultures and communities that she knows best. She has served as an AmeriCorps member with the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative where she taught public school children about agriculture and nutrition. She also worked to promote energy efficiency and local, renewable energy ownership to Iowa farmers with the Winneshiek Energy District. When she’s not thinking about food, farming, and revitalizing rural Iowa, she’s trying to hatch her own grazing plans with her partner, Landon Corlett, or doing yoga, playing music, horseback riding, or reading. Lyle Luzum A graduate of Luther College and former high school teacher, farmer, and then college IT Director, Lyle retired in 2010 and took up small scale organic farming and raising lamb for local markets. Lyle was the fourth generation to live on his family’s heritage farm in NE Iowa, where he and his wife Susan lived for 39 years. Their daughter Stephanie also grew up on the farm. While looking at future options for protecting the family heritage, the Luzums realized that a diversified, organic farm with a long history of soil conservation (starting in 1937) would always be at risk from industrial agriculture and the lure of money. Thus, in 2017 they, with the enthusiastic support of their daughter, donated their family farm to SILT to protect it for future sustainable food production in a way that is not possible if left only to family members. Lyle has served on the South Winneshiek Community School Board, the Calmar Lutheran Church Council, Oneota Community Food Co-op Board, the Winneshiek County Soil & Water Conservation Commission, and the Winneshiek Energy District Board prior to joining the SILT Board. Gina McAndrews Gina McAndrews grew up an active member of her family’s diversified farm in eastern Iowa, acquiring an interest in ecology and food production systems. After Animal Science degree at Iowa State University, she worked in environmental and agriculture policy for the U.S. Senate in Washington DC, worked in various aspects of agriculture in several other countries and then returned to ISU for a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and to teach courses in Ecology and Agronomy. She is currently a Realtor with Century 21 Signature Real Estate in Ames, and she serves as the vice president of Wheatsfield Cooperative and on the boards of Worldly Goods and the Central Iowa Board of Realtors. Mary Ellen Miller Mary Ellen Miller is a tenth generation Iowan with a life-long interest in sustainable land use, healthy environments and strong public schools. She grew up in rural Iowa and discovered the value of sustainable land conservation practices while a 4-Her. She purchased her first farm in Washington County in 1975 and for twenty years raised and custom sold organic black angus beef cattle. She currently lives on Rose Haven Farm in Wayne County, which she donated to SILT in 2016, and is focused on developing nut and fruit orchards with the goal of helping a beginning local food farmer get established. Miller was appointed by Gov. Terry Branstad to the Iowa State Board of Education in 2014. She previously served two terms as a Trustee of North Iowa Area Community College. In 2018 she was elected as Wayne County Soil and Water Commissioner . She serves as Secretary/Treasurer for the Wayne County Conservation Foundation, Vice-President of the Iowa Nut Growers Association and is a member of the Iowa Farmers Union and the League of Women Voters of Iowa. Miller retired as Executive Director of 50-50 in 2020 in late 2018 and now serves as that board’s secretary. She has served on the boards of the League of Women Voters of Iowa, the Iowa Federation of Republican Women, 1,000 Friends of Iowa, Cerro Gordo County Public Health, and Hospice of North Central Iowa. After 30 years in public health research at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, Miller worked professionally as a non-profit fund-raiser and consultant. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration with a minor in environmental sciences. George Oamek George Oamek and his wife Sharon operate Honey Creek Creamery, a goat dairy and artisan cheese-making operation, at their Century Farm in Honey Creek. In addition, George is an engineering consultant focusing upon water resources and also operates a cow-calf operation. He earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University, leading to a wonderful professional career but yielding few insights about the economics of local food systems and value-added food production. He has dedicated the last 10 years to learning the local food business and enjoying the great company of the people involved in it. David Swenson Dave is an associate scientist in the Department of Economics, Iowa State University and a lecturer at the School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Iowa. He is a community economics research and education specialist. His work centers on regional and statewide economic analysis, technical assistance, and projects that support the College of Agriculture and Life Science’s efforts in community development and in providing community economics education services to the public. His research and service categories include regional industrial studies and evaluations, economic development research and technical assistance, input-output (economic impact) studies, benefit-cost analysis, fiscal impact research, public finance and tax policy analysis, community change and worker mobility dynamics, and public project evaluation. In recent years he has done a significant amount of work on both biofuels and local foods economic impacts. David has worked at ISU since 1989. Before that he worked at the University of Iowa from 1981 to 1989. He is a South Dakota native, a veteran of the U.S. Army, and known to run very long distances for no good reason. Carolyn Van Meter Panora Carolyn Van Meter is a licensed Enrolled Agent, certified Estate and Tax Paralegal, and certified Farm Transition Coordinator. For over 25 years Carolyn's tax and accounting practice has served Trusts & Estates, individuals, small businesses, startup accounting infrastructure and farms in transition. Originally from Iowa, she currently resides in Florida. She owns and manages two farms; one farm is near her family home in Guthrie County, where she was raised, and another, with her daughter, is a small sustainable farm in North Carolina. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Nebraska, along with graduate work at the University of Iowa. SILT Advisers Laura Belin Joe Bolkcom Sen. Joe Bolkcom serves on the SILT Advisory Council. Sen. Bolkcom is a Democrat from the Iowa City area. He currently serves as Senate Majority Whip and chair of the Ways & Means Committee, chairman of Progressive States Network and member of FEMA’s national advisory council, environmentalist and former county supervisor. Dorrance Brezina Dorrance Brezina is founder and CEO of Developers Realty Group and an advocate on behalf of agri-communities. Penny Brown Huber Penny Brown Huber of Ames serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Penny Brown Huber is the Executive Director of Prairie Rivers of Iowa RC&D and CEO of Iowa Choice Harvest. She has worked in not-profits most of her professional career from project development, to fundraising, to crafting and building several not-for-profits. She has extensive experience in strategic planning and business planning. In 2008, Penny was named one of 80 women leaders in the country by The Whitehouse Project. Larry Cleverley Larry Cleverly farms 220 acres outside of Mingo and was a staple at the Des Moines Farmers Market for 20 years until 2016. Larry fought the Iowa Dept. of Transportation over 59 acres it took from his farm for a new highway, gathering more than 4,000 signatures on petitions. Kamyar Enshayan Kamyar Enshayan is a founding member of SILT and Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Cornelia Flora Cornelia Flora of Ames serves on the Advisory Council of SILT. Cornelia Butler Flora, PhD Cornell University, is the Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University and Research Scientist, Kansas State University. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and past president of the Rural Sociological Society, the Community Development Society, and the Society for Food, Agriculture and Human Values, she has taught, done research, and worked with action programs across the US, Latin America, and parts of Africa and Asia. She recently completed a Fulbright award teaching with Jan Flora at the University of Cordoba in Spain. Jan Flora Jan Flora is Professor Emeritus at Iowa State and Research Professor of Sociology at Kansas State University. He was Program Advisor for Agriculture and Rural Development for the Ford Foundation for Spanish-speaking South America. He held the Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems at the University of Minnesota. His research analyzes the relationship of community capitals to community and sustainable development. He is a grassroots activist in A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS), focusing on immigration reform and affordable housing in Ames. He serves on the board of the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. He grew up on a farm in Kansas. Jason Grimm Jason Grimm of Williamsburg serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Mr. Grimm is a food planner for Iowa Valley RC&D and a farmer at Grimm Family Farm. Bob Hartwig SILT Adviser Bob Hartwig is Legal Counsel with the Iowa Bankers Association. Bob has been with the IBA since graduating from the Drake Law School in 1997. His responsibilities include lobbying on behalf of the IBA and its members, providing on-site and educational seminars for IBA member banks, general in-house legal duties and litigation support. He has an undergraduate degree in Agricultural Business from Iowa State University. From 1989 until 1994, he was a residential real estate lender at First Federal Savings Bank of the Midwest in Storm Lake, Iowa. Bob is a member of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and the Agricultural, Commercial, and Real Estate Sections of the Iowa State Bar Association. John Ikerd John Ikerd of Fairfield serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Dr. Ikerd is Professor Emeritus in Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Missouri, and the author of many books including “Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in American Agriculture” and “Sustainable Capitalism.” Paul Johnson of Decorah serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Mr. Johnson is the former director of Natural Resource Conservation Service under President Bill Clinton, three-term state senator, farmer and former director of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Bobby Kaufmann Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann is a crop and livestock farmer who also owns and operates a steel hauling, construction and demolition business in Cedar County. Bobby is a member of the Farm Bureau, National Rifle Association, Cedar County Historical Society, Cedar County Soldiers Monument Association, and a wide variety of service and volunteer organizations. Jeff Kaufmann Jeff Kaufmann serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Jeff A. Kaufmann was the Iowa State Representative from the 79th District. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2004[1] and retired in 2013. He was the assistant minority leader and Speaker Pro Tem. Among other leadership roles, he currently serves as a Cedar County Supervisor. Fred Kirschenmann Fred Kirschenmann of Ames serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Fred is a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University and as the President of the Board at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Picantico Hills, NY. He also provides management oversight for his 1,800 acre organic farm in South Central North Dakota. Erv Klaas Erv Klaas of Ames serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Erwin Klaas is professor emeritus of animal ecology, Iowa State University, a former leader of the Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and currently serves as an assistant commissioner for the Story County Soil and Water Conservation District. Lucie Laurian Lucie Laurian of Iowa City serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Lucie is an Associate Professor with a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001. Her areas of interest include: The interactions between urban populations and their environments, the implementation of local environmental plans, public participation and the linkages between planning and public health. Jean Lloyd-Jones Jean Lloyd-Jones of Iowa City serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Jean served as Iowa State Representative from 1979-1986 and Iowa Senator from 1987-1994 representing the Iowa City area. She is a founding member of the Johnson County Heritage Trust (Now Bur Oak Trust) and of 50/50 in 2020. David Osterberg David Osterberg of Mt. Vernon serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. David is a lifelong environmental activist, founder Iowa Policy Project. Clinical Professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the University of Iowa and former Iowa State Representative 1983-1994. Joe Pietruszynski Joe Pietruszynski serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Joe is vice president of land development at Hubbell Homes, Iowa’s largest real estate developer. Currently, Joe is overseeing the development and management of more than thirty commercial, industrial, and residential developments, including plans for Iowa’s first development incorporating an organic farm. Harn Soper Emmetsburg Harn Soper is a Century Farmer and founder of Sustainable Farm Partners, private equity group purchasing conventional Iowa farmland and converting it to organic farmland. Investment opportunities include both group and individually tailored partnerships. Mary Swander Mary Swander of Ames serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Mary is Poet Laureate of Iowa, a local food activist and playwright currently touring Iowa with “Map of My Kingdom” about the challenges of intergenerational farm transfer. Francis Thicke Francis Thicke of Fairfield serves on SILT’s Advisory Council. Francis is owner of Radiance Dairy, producing local organic milk products for more than 30 years, a former candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture and member National Organic Standards Board. He holds a PhD in soil science. Michele Traver Michele Traver is a founding member of SILT and an associate with Thrivent Financial Services in Cedar Rapids. Thrivent is a fraternal benefit society, a membership organization of Christians where members are owners. Tom Wahl Tom Wahl was born and raised in Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University in 1984 with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. For the next 16 years he worked for various government agencies in wildlife research, wildlife management, forestry, and park management. He and his wife, Kathy Dice, bought a farm in Louisa County in 1986. Tom quit his off-farm job in January 2001 to work on the farm full time. Tom and Kathy grow high value tree crops including chestnuts, heartnuts, persimmons, pawpaws, honey berries, and also operate a small tree nursery. In 2015 Tom and Kathy received the Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award from Practical Farmers of Iowa. They have two adult children, James and Theresa. Paul Willis partnered with Niman Ranch 1995 to expand humane pork production for a national market. The Willis family remains active in managing the company which was sold to Perdue in 2015.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754874
__label__wiki	0.690572	0.690572	Charles Doolittle Walcott Charles D. Walcott New York Mills, New York State, USA February 9, 1927 (aged 76) Washington, DC, USA Mary Clark Thompson Medal (1921) Charles excavates the Burgess Shale (near Field, British Columbia) with his wife and son, in the quarry which now bears his name. Charles Doolittle Walcott (March 31, 1850 – February 9, 1927) was an American geologist and invertebrate paleontologist. He became known for his discovery in 1909 of well-preserved fossils in the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada. Walcott became Director of the U.S. Geological Survey 1894–1907, and Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1907–1927. He discovered a number of important fossil sites. At the Walcott Quarry, the lowest (earliest) of the Burgess Shale deposits, Walcott collected 65,000 specimens between 1910 and 1924. The site dates to the Middle Cambrian, and is in the Canadian Rockies.[1] The Walcott-Rust quarry is near Russia, New York. This site has produced some of the best preserved trilobites ever found, including enrolled specimens with soft body parts. ↑ Yochelson E.L. 1996. Discovery, collection, and description of the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale biota by Charles Doolittle Walcott. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 140, #4: 469–545. Yochelson, Ellis L. (1998). Charles Doolittle Walcott, Paleontologist. GSA Today. Kent State University Press. ISBN 0-87338-599-3. Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Doolittle_Walcott&oldid=6319106" American paleontologists American geologists Scientists from New York This page was last changed on 23 November 2018, at 00:25.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754875
__label__wiki	0.893635	0.893635	Serena Kern returns with ‘I Lied’ EP, May 7th March 4, 2014 Sonic News Pop 0 Three track EP follows last year’s ‘My Promise’ Serena Kern is an Indian/Swiss singer-songwriter whose multi faceted, soulful pop has garnered fans from all over the world and it’s not difficult to see why. Her latest release, a three track EP that brings in multiple influences from her pop sensibilities as well as her past in India, is released on May 7th. Comprising heartfelt pop ballad (and title track) ‘I Lied’, as well as the upbeat and Indian music inflected ‘Better to Have Loved’ and the slow acoustic build of ‘Lullaby’, the EP continues her approach of writing autobiographical music with a varied sound. You can hear the tracks on YouTube: I Lied: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0UvjMyiR2E Better to have Loved: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYtgLKimXCc&feature=youtu.be Lullaby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocRZeuw7XTk It’s been clear for some time that Serena Kern was going to be a success in whatever field she chose. Given an award for achieving the highest IGCSE exam results in India in 2005, she has since graduated from the London School of Economics with a Law Degree and now works at one of the top global law firms in the city. Juggling this responsibility with her musical work is no easy task, but Serena Kern works hard to make sure neither suffers, marking her out as one of the most ambitious artists on the independent scene. https://twitter.com/Serena_Kern https://www.facebook.com/SerenaKern Better to Have Loved Indian/Swiss Serena Kern Legendary Mongolian band Hanggai new album ‘Baifang’ May 5th Skremz releases debut single – Palm Trees	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754878
__label__wiki	0.817626	0.817626	Tag Archives: the hidden agenda “The Hidden Agenda”: The Planned Destruction Of The Welfare State? The report reproduced (with kind permission) below is a short summary of the vitally important research into the origin of the current government’s campaign against disability and incapacity benefits and the involvement of Unum (formerly UnumProvident) and ATOS. This remarkably detailed work was carried out over the last three years by former healthcare professional and disabled veteran, Mo Stewart. Mo has worked relentlessly and determinedly, despite her own pain and fatigue, to bring together a vast amount of damning evidence against this cruel system which has and continues to bring misery and even death to people whose only ‘crime’ is to be chronically sick or disabled. What you are about to read below is but a tiny example of far, far more material some of which can be found on her website here or by following the links she provides in her reference list at the end of the articles. (Mo Stewart is a former healthcare professional, a disabled female veteran and, for the last 3 years, has researched the links between the DWP, Atos Healthcare & Unum Insurance. To date, the research evidence has been quoted during welfare debates in the House of Lords, the House of Commons and in Westminster Hall. Mo routinely shares all research evidence with academics, medical and healthcare professionals, frontline national charities, selected politicians and service users.) THE HIDDEN AGENDA: a research summary by Mo Stewart (The Hidden Agenda © Mo Stewart – March 2013) The Work Capability Assessment (WCA) is exclusively conducted on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by the corporate giant Atos Origin IT Ltd Medical Services, better known as Atos Healthcare. This ‘non-medical assessment’ was introduced in 2008 by the Labour government, and was identified as a ‘medical examination’ to be used to identify genuine claimants for long term sickness and disability benefit. However, what was unknown at the time was the fact that the WCA was a continuation of the planned agenda of the previous Thatcher government, whose ultimate goal was the destruction of the Welfare State.(1) The WCA was promoted as a ‘fitness for work’ assessment for claimants of what was once known as Incapacity Benefit, now re-named as the Employment and Support Allowance.(ESA) In reality, in order to reduce the welfare budget, the WCA was designed to resist as many sickness benefit claims as possible regardless of confirmed and identified permanent illness or disability. By 2010 the planned DWP welfare budget reduction was deemed to be too slow. The new Coalition Government enhanced the WCA and, following the previous Labour Government’s lead, it became much more difficult to qualify for the ESA(2) as the WCA totally disregarded diagnosis, prognosis or limited life expectancy. Aided and abetted by the national press, using insidious press headlines to manipulate public opinion(3)(3b), the Coalition Government successfully introduced tyranny, fear and despair to the nation’s most vulnerable people, using a disability assessment model as designed in consultation with Unum [Provident] Insurance; one of the most discredited corporate insurance giants in the world.(4)(4b) At the same time, reported disability hate crimes in the United Kingdom(UK) were rising to record levels.(5) The first two years of independent research into the WCA concluded at the end of November 2011 with the exposure of two government memorandums provided by Unum Provident Insurance.(6) Initially, the link between the UK welfare reforms and the likely move to an insurance based benefits system was identified by Baroness Tanni Gray-Thompson during the welfare reform debates in the House of Lords.(7) Nine months later, the link between Atos Healthcare and Unum Insurance was exposed by Kevin Brennan MP during debate in Westminster Hall(8) and, more recently, during an emergency Backbench Business debate in the House of Commons(HOC), Michael Meacher MP identified the possible influence of Unum Insurance with the UK Government.(9) Of course, this destruction of the welfare state could never have been so readily achieved without the unelected former Labour adviser, David Freud. He was ennobled to permit appointment initially to the Shadow Cabinet but, following the 2010 General Election, he was appointed as the Minister for Welfare Reform for the Coalition where he has excelled. Indeed, one of Lord Freud’s most recent claims was that: “Poor people should be prepared to take more risks because they have the least to lose…”(11) Clearly, this man is yet another millionaire Minister who demonstrates no concern, and no comprehension, of human need. The ongoing DWP medical tyranny, masquerading as welfare reform, has permitted Atos Healthcare to conduct the WCA by employing the totally discredited Bio-Psychosocial(BPS) model of disability assessment that remains free from all public accountability according to the General Medical Council and the Care Quality Commission. The BPS is the assessment model as used by Unum Insurance when assessing healthcare insurance claims, and it is also the assessment model enthusiastically promoted by Professor Sir Mansel Aylward. The Professor is the Director of the Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research at Cardiff University, initially sponsored by Unum Insurance from its inception in 2003 to 2009. However, prior to his move to the Centre, the Professor was the DWP’s Chief Medical Officer who, in 1994, was in post when Unum Insurance was invited to become corporate ‘advisers’ to the UK government.(12) Whilst the BPS model is an interesting theory, the selective use of the BPS model of disability assessment, as used by both Unum Insurance and Atos Healthcare, was exposed long ago as an invention of the insurance industry.(13)(14) By concentrating on the psychological model of disability, to the detriment of the social model, the WCA was always destined to promote unacceptable results for many thousands of ESA claimants. In one six month period alone 37,100 people had waited up to a year to have their ESA benefit reinstated following appeal, yet no-one is asking what would have happened to these genuinely sick and disabled people if they had not had the strength to pursue their claim to appeal?(10) Indeed, a recent Panorama documentary: ‘Disabled or Faking It’,(15) demonstrated quite categorically the dangers of the WCA with seriously ill patients, diagnosed with life threatening conditions such as heart failure and end stage emphysema, being found fit for work.(15) However, with the national press still refusing to expose the identified influence of Unum Insurance with the DWP welfare reforms, the British public remain in ignorance as the government covertly convert the UK welfare state into the American healthcare system, ultimately to be funded by private insurance.(12)(13)(14) Meanwhile, Unum Insurance is happy to continue to offer new careers to former government ‘advisers’. (16) The WCA is an American imported ‘disability assessment model’ and has no medical credibility whatsoever, as confirmed by the British Medical Association(17), yet it is enthusiastically employed by the DWP and causes devastation to those least able to protest. This ‘medical assessment’ is working very well as the thousands of genuine claimants that have either died, committed suicide, been forced into poverty due to mounting debt, or who have developed a mental health problem due to anxiety are now the disregarded victims.(10) Many had been in receipt of Incapacity Benefit before being re-assessed by Atos Healthcare, using the fatally flawed WCA, only to fail to qualify for benefit following ‘assessment’. The Internet provides evidence to this government imposed suffering at a cost to the tax-payer of £110million per annum for the confidential Atos contract and an estimated £60 million pounds per annum, and rising, for the costs of the appeal tribunals. Yet, still, Members of Parliament (MP) continue with their very courteous and diplomatic debates(8)(9) as the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and, especially, their corporate partners all celebrate the ongoing planned destruction of the welfare state that appears to be unstoppable. What is still disregarded is the fact that Professor Sir Mansel Aylward’s research activities were funded for six years by Unum Insurance.(12) Indeed, due to his significant contribution to the future reduction of the DWP welfare budget by promoting the use of a ‘non-medical’ assessment, the Professor was rewarded with a Knighthood for “services to disability assessment.” Therefore, his support for the BPS disability assessment model was presumed to be guaranteed. Yet, when confronted six months ago, the Professor actually confirmed that he now considered the BPS model to be “unsatisfactory” and that he believed it “no longer addresses the real needs of disabled people and the exclusion of disabled people from society”.(18) Of course, the question remains as to why there was no official DWP announcement following this amazing change of ‘expert’ professional opinion, as the entire national press totally disregarded the press release that was distributed last September following Sir Mansel’s unexpected statement. Perhaps the Professor was safe in the knowledge that the press release would be ignored, and perhaps this is why he continues to travel widely, still lecturing about the virtues of the totally discredited BPS model of disability assessment? The most recent lecture was at the Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference in Birmingham, from 5th-6th March 2013,(19) where Professor Sir Mansel Aylward was listed as a keynote speaker on the subject of: The New Public Health Agenda: Its Impact on Health and Wellbeing at Work. Given the title of his speech, one can only presume that the Professor has yet to advise other professionals of his reported change of expert opinion.(18) This is how the UK welfare state will be destroyed. There is a BPS ‘expert’ in place, and an American corporate insurance giant has influenced the UK Government to totally disregard human suffering, in favour of a reduced welfare budget, using an identified bogus ‘medical assessment’. Unum Insurance have begun their mass marketing to encourage able bodied members of the British public to invest in their ‘Income Protection Insurance’ or their ‘Back-up Plan,’ that’s only available via the workplace, and these are the healthcare insurance policies that the company has historically tried very hard to resist funding when a claim is made.(20)(21) Given that the unacceptable practice of Unum Insurance was previously exposed by MPs during a House of Commons debate in 1999(22), the question remains as to why was this highly discredited American corporate insurance giant ever permitted to influence UK welfare reforms and why the national press, en masse, refuse to expose this insurance company’s confirmed influence despite it being identified by a BBC News report in 2007?(23) The recent exposure of a 2005 internal Unum report, that actively boasted that the company was ‘driving government thinking’ regarding the reform of Incapacity Benefit (24) leads to the much more sinister possibility that the DWP are simply administrators of these brutal welfare reforms, and that the perpetrators of the devastation caused to the victims of this UK government funded medical tyranny are, in fact, Unum Insurance. Michael O’Donnell was the author of the 2005 internal Unum report that was written when he was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Unum Insurance. Michael O’Donnell is now the CMO for Atos Healthcare….. The difficulty remains that no-one is asking the relevant questions. Perhaps MPs should be asking the Prime Minister why he’s been funded by ‘healthcare companies’ to the value of £750,000(27) since he became Prime Minister (25) or why every report produced by the President of the Appeal Tribunals, all of which identified the Atos Healthcare WCA assessments as “failing to coincide with reality”, was totally disregarded by the DWP? (12) Until and unless more significant questions are asked in the House of Commons, victims of this government funded medical nightmare will be forced to turn to the law for help, just as in America.(26) Until and unless the national press demonstrate that the UK really does benefit from a free press, and not a government controlled press, the most vulnerable of all British people will continue to suffer and the British public will continue to be deceived.(12) 1) Margaret Thatcher’s role in plan to dismantle welfare state revealed: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/dec/28/margaret-thatcher-role-plan-to-dismantle-welfare-state-revealed (2) Cuts to UK benefits: http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/type/text/cuts-to-uk-benefits.html (3) ‘Ello, John, got a new Motability motor? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2047593/Motability-schemes-starting-resemble- worst-excesses-Arthur-Daley-.html (3b) Half a million incapacity benefit claimants are fit for work, Government’s own figures show: Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2115476/A-incapacity-benefit-claimants-fit-work-Government-s-OWN-figures show. html#axzz2JqkmNFAR (4) New York Attorney General Spitzer’s ruling: http://www.insure.com/articles/healthinsurance/unum-settlement.html (4b) The Ten Worst Insurance Companies in America – The American Association of Justice http://www.justice.org/docs/tenworstinsurancecompanies.pdf (5) Hate crimes against disabled people soar to a record high: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/hate-crimes-against-disabled-people-soar-to-a-record-level-7858841.html (6) The truth behind welfare reforms: http://www.whywaitforever.com/dwpatosveteransreport20111120.html (7) BnsTanni Gray-Thompson: House of Lords, welfare reforms http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/text/110913-0002.htm (8) Private Members’ Debate: Atos Healthcare: 4th Sept 2012 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm120904/halltext/120904h0001.htm (9) Backbench Business: Atos Work Capability Assessment debate: 17th Jan 2013 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm130117/debtext/130117-0002.htm (10) British people are committing suicide to escape poverty. Is this what the State wants? http://poultonblog.dailymail.co.uk/2012/03/people-are-choosing-suicide-to-escape-poverty-is-this-the-states- final-solution.html (11) Lord Freud’s welfare ‘lifestyle’ comments show ‘nasty party is back’, say Labour: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9698985/Lord-Freuds-welfare-lifestyle-comments-show-nasty-party-is-back-say-Labour.html (12) Government use might of American insurance giant to destroy UK welfare safety net – update 27th Oct : http://www.whywaitforever.com/dwpatosveteransreport20121027.html (13) An academic responds to statement by Prof Aylward: http://blacktrianglecampaign.org/2012/09/18/dwpatosunum-scandal-an-academic-responds-with-disbelief-to-professor-aylwardsstatement- to-black-triangle-and-dpac-outside-the-ifdm2012-conference-on-11th-september-2012/ (14) A Tale of Two Models: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/disability-studies/archiveuk/jolly/A%20Tale%20of%20two%20Models%20Leeds1.pdf (15) Panorama: Disabled or Faking It? http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01lldrc/Panorama_Disabled_or_Faking_It/ (16) Peter Dewis: Steppin’ Sideways from Government to Unum: http://downwithallthat.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/peter-dewis-steppin-sideways-from-government-to-unum/ (17) GPs call for work capability assessment to be scrapped: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/may/23/gps-work-capability-assessment-scrapped (18) Former DWP medical boss makes WCA pledge to protesters: http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2012/09/former-dwp-medical-boss-makes-wca-pledge-to-protesters/ (19) Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference, NEC Birmingham: http://www.healthatwork2013.co.uk/ (20) “The denial on the part of Unum in the Mondolo case appears to mirror denials of other Unum disability claims historically, going back several years. To that end, the Court noted Unum’s history of biased claims administration.” (MARCH 2013) http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/articles/first_unum/unum-lawsuit-insurance-disability-claims-12-18506.html?utm_expid=3607522- 0&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lawyersandsettlements.com%2Flegal-news-articles%2Fcase%2Ffirst_unum%2F (21) CBS News 60 minutes: DID INSURER CHEAT DISABLED CLIENTS: (22) Permanent Health Insurance debate, Westminster Hall, 21st December 2009 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmhansrd/vo991221/halltext/91221h01.htm#91221h01_head0 (23) BBC Ten ‘o Clock News report: 6th Nov 2007 http://www.meactionuk.org.uk/UNUM_on_BBC_News_061107.wmv (BBC NEWS report – video) (24) Unum bragged about ‘driving government thinking’ on incapacity benefit reform: http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2013/02/unum-bragged-about-driving-government-thinking-on-incapacity-benefit-reform/ (25) MPs’ links are so unhealthy: http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/378233/MPs-links-are-so- unhealthy (26) High Court rules Work Capability Assessment arguably unlawful: http://disabilitynewsservice.com/2012/07/victory-in-first-stage-of-fitness-for-work-court-case/ (27) NHS reform leaves Tory backers with links to private healthcare firms set for bonanza: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-reform-leaves-tory-backers-105302 Now watch the US video below (referenced above) and compare what is being described with what people are experiencing here in Britain at the hands of the DWP and its sidekick ATOS…chilling? This entry was posted in Atos, disability, DWP, government, lobbying, multinationals, poverty, privatisation, Right wing radicalism, TUC, Uncategorized, United States, Unum and tagged Atos, Back Bench Business Committee, biopsychosocial model, BMA, Dame Tanni-Gray Thompson, Department for Work and Pensions, Disability Living Allowance, DWP, Employment and Support Allowance, ESA, House of Lords, Incapacity Benefit, Kevin Brennan MP, Lord Freud, Mansel Aylward, Michael Meacher MP, social model, the hidden agenda, Unum, WCA, welfare state, whywaitforever on August 16, 2013 by sparaszczukster.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754881
__label__wiki	0.950647	0.950647	States unite on first multi-tenant unemployment insurance system in the cloud Written by Kate Roddy Oct 6, 2017 \| STATESCOOP A four-state consortium has launched the nation’s first multi-tenant system for unemployment insurance using the cloud. The system, which is hosted and maintained by Quality Technology Services (QTS), is FedRAMP compliant and capable of accommodating legislative differences between states. ReEmployUSA, a consortium including the state governments of Mississippi, Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut, announced the platform in late August as a way to work together and divide the cost of operating an unemployment system. In Mississippi, the state furthest along in its implementation, the multi-tenant system is estimated to reduce operational costs by 40 percent, compared to a single-state system. Dale Smith, chief operating officer for the Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) said the platform is an innovative way to streamline unemployment insurance solutions and reduce operational costs for partnering states. Mississippi launched this effort to modernize unemployment insurance technology in 2004 and eventually developed a successful single-tenant system — ACCESS MS — but the state faced issues with funding and staffing for maintenance of the technology. As a result, Mississippi pursued the formation of ReEmployUSA and the development of this platform. “We had to find a way to continue to maintain the technology, support it, and keep it updated at a cost we can afford,” Smith said. “The only solution for us was to partner with other states and try to achieve something that has never been achieved before.” Since the recent launch of the multi-tenant system, the results have been remarkably positive, with Mississippi leading the way, Smith said. “We now have a full state operating in the cloud, and we’ve been doing this for about a month. Everything has worked beautifully so far. We have full service from the cloud,” Smith told StateScoop. The next stage of the initiative will begin in November when Maine moves to the multi-tenant system. The state’s transition is scheduled to complete in November of the following year when it deploys its new tax system. Rhode Island anticipates a full transition by March 2019, and Connecticut is expected to follow shortly after. ReEmployUSA is considering other states that want to join the consortium, said Smith, but the introduction of new partners to the system won’t — and can’t — happen immediately. “We are open to other partners. We’re open to other states coming in to partner with us, but it’s not something that can be done overnight,” Smith said. “For Mississippi, it’s been a 13-year journey. For Maine and Rhode Island, it’s been a little over four years.” cloud, Cloud Computing, Connecticut, Dale Smith, IT Infrastructure, Maine, Mississippi, multi-tenant system, Partnerships, QTS, ReEmployUSA, Rhode Island, State & Local News, States, Tech News, unemployment insurance	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754885
__label__wiki	0.598115	0.598115	By ALEXANDER B. PEARCE When freshman students are sent off to college, their parents often warn them about the dangers they will assuredly face while living on their own. An unattended laptop will doubtlessly be stolen, an unlocked door is asking for trouble, and other advice. But this may not necessarily be the case for students at the University of Miami. In roughly the last decade, from 2001 to 2008, the total number of crimes committed on the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami has dropped by nearly half according to data gathered from The Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool, a Department of Education report that gathers crime statistics from universities across the country. The most prominent crimes on campus are assorted thefts and burglaries, as opposed to more violent crimes. During the eight years of the CSSDACT study, there were no reported instances of murder or manslaughter nor did the number of aggravated assaults each year ever number more than 10. While this may seem like a lot of theft, when compared to other universities in the state UM’s reputation for safety is shown to be well-deserved. As of the 2008 report, UM dealt with 20 percent fewer burglaries than the University of Florida and 17 percent fewer crimes overall. Students that live on-campus at the university feel comfortable in their dorms thanks to the school’s efforts. A UM police cruiser on duty. Source: Alexander B. Pearce. “I feel safe up here in my dorm,” said Dylan Beasley, a sophomore majoring in audio electrical engineering at UM. “I’ve never seen anyone who doesn’t belong here. Between us locking our own doors and trusting the rest of the floor to look out for one another, I feel very safe.” Even students who live in the University Village, the off-campus apartment-style housing offered by the school, are confident that their lives will remain crime-free because of everything UM has done. “Living over in the university village is great,” said senior Keilan Awong, who is studying journalism and international studies at UM. “With all of the security they have in place around here, I’ve never even given a second thought to crime or anything like that.” Security at the University of Miami is provided by the University of Miami Police Department, a fully functioning law enforcement agency. Along with the officers of the UMPD, a dedicated security team helps to keep the peace at the Coral Gables campus. UM police badge. Source: Creative Commons. A number of security initiatives put in place by the university are a major factor in the schools longstanding safety record. More than 100 emergency phones, known as Blue Light Phones for the large identifying lights on top of them, are placed across the campus for anyone in danger. Each phone connects directly with the UMPD, dispatching an officer immediately even if the person in danger is unable to speak. Besides the Blue Light Phone Program, several other measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the members of the UM community. Safety escorts, provided free of charge by the UMPD, can be requested at any time by students or members of the faculty at any time of day or night. Electronic locks that require CaneCards to open block many doors such as those that enter into the student dormitories and the main gate, while security guards watch over the entrances to both the campus and individual buildings.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754890
__label__cc	0.716786	0.283214	When she mentioned that there had been abuse, I decided I didn’t care if every love card in the deck turned up—the answer was going to be that the relationship was over. Fortunately, the reading was stink-o except for the last card, the ace of disks. That card meant the beginning of good fortune, usually related to finance or work. I told her that Tom was going to bring her nothing but misery, that she had to completely free herself from this relationship because there was a happier future for her if she did. After 10 minutes, we got the signal that her time was almost up, so Claudia re-upped for another 10. After I finished putting a stake into Tom, she asked about someone at work, “Phil,” who seemed smitten with her. That could explain the ace of disks, I realized! But I was worried that Claudia would hop into the sack with Phil if I told her things looked promising. I just said I couldn’t tell if Phil was the one, but that freeing herself from Tom would allow her to slowly find someone better. After Claudia hung up, I waited fruitlessly during the next hour for another call, then finally disconnected. For the next few days, I logged on at least two hours a day. Often I would have no calls, but sometimes there would be a spate of them. “Roxanne” wanted to know if she should ditch her boyfriend and go to a new guy. The cards said “No.” “Helaine” wanted to know if the guy who broke up with her five months ago was going to come back. The cards said “No.” “Nina” wanted to know if the guy who dumped her three weeks ago might change his mind. The cards said he might, but it would just cause her more pain. “Darla” wanted to know if the guy she had been seeing on and off for 40 (yes, 40) years was going to get serious this time. The cards said he wasn’t capable of being serious. Mina Crandon claimed to materialize a "spirit hand", but when examined by biologists the hand was discovered to be made from a piece of carved animal liver.[143] The German apport medium Heinrich Melzer was discovered to be a fraud in 1926. In a séance psychical researchers found that Melzer had small stones attached to the back of his ears by flesh coloured tape.[144] Psychical researchers who investigated the mediumship of Maria Silbert revealed that she used her feet and toes to move objects in the séance room.[145] Getting psychic advice by phone also lets you enjoy your reading at your convenience as well as the privacy and comfort of your own home. They allow you to easily connect with an experienced psychic guide from anywhere no matter the time of day. Being able to hear the psychic's voice on the phone allows the reading to be just as powerful and impactful as it would have been if you were sitting across the table from each other. 9/And after all of that – don’t forget to send in feedback! Any good company that offers telephone psychic readings will tell you that they want to hear from you. If you’re blown away by your reading, let them know. If you aren’t, let them know. Many of the people who have psychic readings with my readers have been with us for years and we really do listen to what people say. Direct voice communication is the claim that spirits speak independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the physical and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as "trumpet mediums". This form of mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. Leslie Flint was one of the best known exponents of this form of mediumship.[28] I googled "Indigo Crystal Child." It's a nice idea: spirits from other worlds coming to this planet to save it. It sounds like the sort of well-illustrated children's book fantasy you could buy for anyone's baby shower, no matter their faith. But of all the things my trusted psychic has said, this one shook my faith in her. Maybe I just lack self-esteem. Maybe my third eye is cloudy (as she has insisted). Maybe I should drop this aversion and take more yoga, try another juice cleanse, reread The Alchemist, until I can look you in the eye and say with pride, "Hi, I'm Angela. I'm an Indigo Crystal Child, and I'm one seriously legit psychic." During our phone reading in December you told me that my partner and I would totally cut contact Jan/Feb time which I didn’t really want to hear but sure enough at the beginning of Feb he told me he wanted to completely cut contact – you were totally spot on! You also said I’d meet someone else August time so fingers crossed , onwards and upwards now! A widely known channeler of this variety is J. Z. Knight, who claims to channel the spirit of Ramtha, a 30 thousand-year-old man. Others purport to channel spirits from "future dimensions", ascended masters,[32] or, in the case of the trance mediums of the Brahma Kumaris, God.[33] Other notable channels are Jane Roberts for Seth, Esther Hicks for Abraham,[34] and Carla L. Rueckert for Ra.[35][36] 6/At the end of the day, it’s all about you finding a psychic reader that you feel is right for you. I believe that all of my readers are exceptional, but they are all very different and sometimes it’s down to the type of psychic reading you want and sometimes just down to chemistry. Again, you should be able to have a chat with someone in reception without feeling under pressure to have a psychic reading. Usually the reader can tell what tool would be best on a specific client in order to gain the most information. Some clients believe they should dictate that. Usually the reader knows based on their connection to the client. All tools have their limits. For this reason having more tools helps the reader develop wholeness. There are times when just the day itself can have its own energy. Perhaps the reader channeled a lot within the day and a different tool can be used to refresh the reader. There are some readers that can only channel during certain hours of the day. ^ God's World: A Treatise on Spiritualism Founded on Transcripts of Shorthand Notes Taken Down, Over a Period of Five Years, in the Seance-Room of the William T. Stead Memorial Center (a Religious Body Incorporated Under the Statutes of the State of Illinois), Mrs. Cecil M. Cook, Medium and Pastor. Compiled and Written by Lloyd Kenyon Jones. Chicago, Ill.: The William T. Stead Memorial Center, 1919. I give psychic readings on love and relationships, business and career, money, psychic pet readings, animal communication for lost, missing and passed over pets and animals, family and relatives issues, workplace, employment, relocation and travel issues, transitions, cross roads, astrology, numerology, horoscopes, spirituality, life path and soul path, Akashic records, spiritual laws, law of attraction, abundance, prosperity, health and all other important life issues which may be bothering you at present. Something isn't right here. This article paints a picture of gloom while Trudeau tells us the middle class is doing better. Hmmmmm???? I guess those glowing job numbers aren't so good. Part time employment along with public service jobs do not make for a strong economy. Now throw carbon taxes & rising interest rates into the mix & we'll see a lot more Canadians falling into the have not category. In the 1-to-1 mode a user must first either present an ID card or enter a PIN. The reader then looks up the template of the corresponding user in the database and compares it with the live scan. The 1-to-1 method is considered more secure and is generally faster as the reader needs to perform only one comparison. Most 1-to-1 biometric readers are "dual-technology" readers: they either have a built-in proximity, smart card or keypad reader, or they have an input for connecting an external card reader. There are also tarot articles by our psychics such as basic tarot, finding missing objects using no tools, different tarot decks that psychics use. and more. Numerology articles include: basic numerology, general numerology,. personal year numerology, and more. Many psychics also are avid new age non psychic practitioners and have those articles too including: affirmations, astrology imagery, chakras, crystals, auras, dream interpretation, gemstones, higher power, meditating to awaken psychic ability. In 1936, the psychical researcher Nandor Fodor tested the Hungarian apport medium Lajos Pap in London and during the séance a dead snake appeared. Pap was searched and was found to be wearing a device under his robe, where he had hidden the snake.[157] A photograph taken at a séance in 1937 in London shows the medium Colin Evans "levitating" in mid air. He claimed that spirits had lifted him. Evans was later discovered to be a fraud as a cord leading from a device in his hand has indicated that it was himself who triggered the flash-photograph and that all he had done was jump from his chair into the air and pretend he had levitated.[158] You know the sad truth is these white collar criminals likely won’t face much punitive action for this ...... they never do. Politicians who think they are entitled to their entitlements have become so commonplace that constituents pretty much ignore these stories now. I wish a good judge, with common sense, would finally make an example of some of these criminals and show them some jail time for a change. I know it would make me feel a whole lot better. ^ Paul Kurtz. (1985). A Skeptic's Handbook of Parapsychology. Prometheus Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-87975-300-9 "Florence Cook was caught cheating not only before her séances with Crookes but also afterward. Furthermore, she learned her trade from the mediums Frank Herne and Charles Williams, who were notorious for their cheating." Also see M. Lamar Keene. (1997). The Psychic Mafia. Prometheus Books. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-57392-161-9 "The most famous of materialization mediums, Florence Cook – though she managed to convince a scientist, Sir William Crookes, that she was genuine – was repeatedly exposed in fraud. Florence had been trained in the arts of the séance by Frank Herne, a well-known physical medium whose materializations were grabbed on more than one occasion and found to be the medium himself." A contactless smart card uses the same radio-based technology as the proximity card, with the exception of the frequency band used: it uses a higher frequency (13.56 MHz instead of 125 kHz), which allows the transfer of more data, and communication with several cards at the same time. A contactless card does not have to touch the reader or even be taken out of a wallet or purse. Most access control systems only read serial numbers of contactless smart cards and do not utilize the available memory. Card memory may be used for storing biometric data (i.e. fingerprint template) of a user. In such case a biometric reader first reads the template on the card and then compares it to the finger (hand, eye, etc.) presented by the user. In this way biometric data of users does not have to be distributed and stored in the memory of controllers or readers, which simplifies the system and reduces memory requirements. The British journalist Ruth Brandon published the book The Spiritualists (1983) which exposed the fraud of the Victorian mediums.[5] The book received positive reviews and has been influential to skeptics of spiritualism.[176] The British apport medium Paul McElhoney was exposed as a fraud during a séance in Osset, Yorkshire in 1983. The tape recorder that McElhoney took to his séances was investigated and a black tape was discovered bound around the battery compartment and inside carnation flowers were found as well as a key-ring torch and other objects.[177] *New customer offer and free Guide to Psychic Readings valid for first time customers who have never made a Psychic Source purchase. Up to 3 minutes of your first paid psychic reading are free. Free minutes have no cash value and are not available to customers who have previously received a free trial of the service. Promotional offers for free psychic readings are only valid for advisors whose introductory rate is $1.00/minute and are not valid on Video psychic readings. Some exclusions apply. ©2019 Psychic Source. All rights reserved. For entertainment only. 18+ In 1960, psychic investigator Andrija Puharich and Tom O'Neill, publisher of the Spiritualist magazine Psychic Observer, arranged to film two seances at Camp Chesterfield, Indiana using infrared film, intending to procure scientific proof of spirit materializations. The medium was shown the camera beforehand, and was aware that she was being filmed. However, the film revealed obvious fraud on the part of the medium and her cabinet assistant. The exposé was published in the 10 July 1960 issue of the Psychic Observer.[168]:96–97 When I hired people to work for me as phone psychics 99% of those who applied were rubbish and knew it, they were just thinking about how to get paid to chat on the phone. Some were single mums looking for a way to get paid to chat whilst at home with a baby, others were old and not very healthy looking for an alternative to the cleaning job they have been doing for years. Up until then neither had any interest at all in being “psychic” and many of them also work for sex chat lines. Of course, they were turned down, but then they end up working for the very cheap services that find it very hard to get anyone and cannot be fussy. 8/After you’ve had your psychic phone reading, whilst it’s all fresh in your mind, you might want to write down new ideas or perspectives that have come out of the psychic reading or things that you want to actually do as a result. I always urge people to give destiny a hand and come out from underneath the duvet, so if you’ve had a psychic reading to talk about what’s going on in terms of your career, for example, you might want to draw up a mini action plan about investigating courses or following up with contacts and networking. Having a real-time reading done over the phone allows you to get as comfortable as you need or want. You can relax in your favourite room at home wearing pyjamas if you like. You might even choose to experience your psychic phone reading while surrounded by nature in your backyard or at a park. If you are someone who gets nervous or has anxiety going to in-person appointments, then scheduling a phone reading is an excellent alternative for you. THIS is how online shopping should be everywhere. Newegg makes everything easy, cheap, stress-free and friendly. I've interacted with Newegg support multiple times and can confidently say that their willingness to go out of their way to help you and their dedication to make things right is the reason I will always look to buy from Newegg first from now on. Newegg makes me feel like a valued customer. As a result, every time a friend asks me about computer parts and products, I always recommend Newegg. Modern spiritualists and psychics keep detailed files on their victims. As might be expected, these files can be very valuable and are often passed on from one medium or psychic to another when one retires or dies. Even if a psychic doesn't use a private detective or have immediate access to driver's license records and such, there is still a very powerful technique that will allow the psychic to convince people that the psychic knows all about them, their problems, and their deep personal secrets, fears, and desires. The technique is called cold reading and is probably as old as charlatanism itself... If John Edward (or any of the other self-proclaimed speakers with the dead) really could communicate with the dead, it would be a trivial matter to prove it. All that would be necessary would be for him to contact any of the thousands of missing persons who are presumed dead—famous (e.g., Jimmy Hoffa, Judge Crater) or otherwise—and correctly report where the body is. Of course, this is never done. All we get, instead, are platitudes to the effect that Aunt Millie, who liked green plates, is happy on the other side.[192] I don't think any of these women intentionally bullshitted me. I'm sure they believe they possess abilities to communicate with the dead and tap into people's lives. But, again, out of four psychics—people who claim to have special powers to know greater truths—not one noticed that the very premise I approached them on was phoney. Maybe it's because I sprung for the cheaper ones. Maybe it's because I found them on Kijiji. Maybe I'm fantastic enough of a liar that, like Psychic Three said, I managed to conjure up enough spiritual energy to bring Emily into existence. (I guess there's also the possibility that they all knew I was lying but didn't care because I was paying them.) Or maybe psychic powers don't really exist. I'm using this with a 2018 Mac mini to download pictures from my Sony A7R III SD cards. RAW image downloads really fast, especially if the card is UHS-II. I w I'm using this with a 2018 Mac mini to download pictures from my Sony A7R III SD cards. RAW image downloads really fast, especially if the card is UHS-II. I was able to copy 10 GB from a Sony UHS-II card to my Mac mini's internal SSD in about 40 seconds. On the card reader, there is a little mark to indicate where the top of the SD card is and you can easily tell when the card is inserted all the way. Presumably this works well with all Apple computers with USB-C and the 2018 iPad Pro. I haven't tested the card reader with an iPad Pro. More(Read full review) ^ "Spiritism is not a religion but a science", as the famous French astronomer Camille Flammarion said in Allan Kardec's Eulogy on April 2, 1869, in Death and Its Mystery – After Death. Manifestations and Apparitions of the Dead; The Soul After Death Translated by Latrobe Carroll (London: Adelphi Terrace, 1923), archive version at Allan Kardec eulogy Development of psychic gifts can be achieved through various practices such as meditation. Having a psychic reading can be emotionally and psychologically rewarding - irrespective of the final outcome. Stilling the mind enhances the senses and allows a direct connection with the universal energy that is spirit. This allows the advancement of one or more of the senses and skills such as clairvoyance and precognition can emerge. Often times a tool such as Tarot or crystals will be used to speed up the connection process. Most people will consider having a tarot reading from a Psychic as a way to better understand their future and more.. You control how long you want to talk and how much you want to spend. If you’ve never used the Psychic Source service before, you will qualify for their special introductory offer. They let you test a couple of the best psychics so you can make the right choice to get your advice. No matter which one you choose, you’ll still have an affordable price. Psychic Central is leading the way in phone psychic readings in Australia. Our dedicated psychics offer you an intuitive and accurate telephone reading for callers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our mediums range from psychics, astrologers, tarot masters to clairvoyants and healers. Psychic-Central gives any Australian access to our team who are among the most renowned readers in the world. No matter where you are? Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Gold Coast…. Our live readers are available 24/7 Australia wide. Our lines are always open and ready to take your call. Astral projection Astrology Aura Bilocation Clairvoyance Close encounter Cold spot Conjuration Cryptozoology Demonic possession Demonology Ectoplasm Electronic voice phenomenon Exorcism Extrasensory perception Forteana Ghost hunting Indigo children Magic Mediumship Occult Orb Paranormal fiction Paranormal television Precognition Preternatural Psychic Psychic reading Psychokinesis Psychometry Remote viewing Retrocognition Spirit photography Spirit possession Spirit world Spiritualism Stone Tape Supernatural Telepathy Ufology Michael Shermer criticized mediums in Scientific American, saying, "mediums are unethical and dangerous: they prey on the emotions of the grieving. As grief counselors know, death is best faced head-on as a part of life." Shermer wrote that the human urge to seek connections between events that may form patterns meaningful for survival is a function of natural evolution, and called the alleged ability of mediums to talk to the dead "a well-known illusion of a meaningful pattern."[201] Whether you're looking for advice from an empath, or a tarot card reading from a skilled card reader, any and every type of reading can be done accurately over the phone. You don’t have to spend hours with a telephone psychic to get important insights and answers to your questions. If you feel you are not connecting well with an Advisor, it’s OK to say so and continue browsing until you find someone with whom you truly connect.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754894
__label__wiki	0.765114	0.765114	Home / Technology / Google Maps weather reports and crash reports appear in the test Google Maps weather reports and crash reports appear in the test Google is testing new features in Google Maps as the featured offers are already available in Waze. The company is looking at both speed warnings and crash reports, both of which are available in its second transport app. Some users have access to these reports now, but it is unclear how many people see them now. Waze, a transport app, climbed in popularity because of unique features that were not found in competing products. Users can (and may still) report when they see a police crusher mark, for example, giving other users a warning to slow down before they get caught. The special feature has proven to be controversial with law enforcement. Additionally, Waze users can report crashes and similar issues along the way, allowing the app to alert other drivers of the security risk as they approach. Google announced plans to buy Waze back in 201 3, and users expected to see that features from the app migrate on Google Maps. Google clearly began to test the two new features at one point in the relatively recent past; It occurred only after some users had seen the new reports. A user who goes after "Frasmac" posted about the test on Google Maps subreddit, where they said they are in Australia. Another user, also from Australia, chimed in saying that they also see the feature. According to users who see the feature, Google Maps asks to confirm if a previously reported crash is still present when approaching the site. Users can also report a speed trap, but say they do not get the ability to confirm their presence. As with all tests, Google may not distribute the features for everyone. Assuming that it is done, there is no indication as to when they may be available.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754895
__label__wiki	0.854303	0.854303	Seattle reverses controversial tax Amazon opposed, just a month after approving it Devin Coldewey @techcrunch / 1 year In an embarrassing and mystifying about-face, the Seattle City Council has repealed a tax it passed unanimously just a month ago that would require large companies to pay a fixed amount per employee; the money would have been used to combat homelessness. Amazon was the most high-profile opponent of the tax, but not the only one by far, and apparently the Council decided that fighting the business community was “not a winnable battle.” The situation was in some ways a microcosm for government and grassroots efforts to wrangle with the extremely complex relationship between the growth of tech and various housing crises. I won’t attempt to characterize it here, but Seattle had come to the conclusion that if your company had more than $20 million in receipts, it could afford to pay $275 (down from a proposed $500) per employee per year. That would have been some $11 million from Amazon alone, so it fussed mightily and halted construction on several of its skyscrapers downtown. But ultimately it and others seemed to reach an unhappy compromise with the reduced per-employee amount. Not so: After fighting to have the law modified, Amazon, Starbucks and Paul Allen’s Vulcan immediately lent their weight and cash to a referendum campaign that would put the tax up to a popular vote in November. This prospect apparently spooked the City Council so much that a special meeting was announced less than a day in advance, violating Washington’s own law requiring 24 hours’ notice. At this meeting the members voted 7-2 to repeal the tax that just a month earlier they had so confidently stood behind. Councilmembers Teresa Mosqueda and Kshama Sawant were the only holdouts, and cried shame on their peers: Sawant, known for her fiery rhetoric (perhaps too much so, as it has invited costly lawsuits), called it a “cowardly betrayal.” And indeed, the questionable merits of the proposed tax aside, it seems strange to think that the Council could feel itself so right just a month ago, and now, faced with the prospect of having to convince the public that it’s a good idea, completely abandoned that conviction. Inspiring government it isn’t. As some have said, perhaps it would be more convincing if there was a detailed and justified plan for how to address the homelessness problem in Seattle, and then a fundraising campaign — including taxes on businesses — created to enable it. Putting the latter before the former struck many as exemplary of a spendy local government of taxing first and making policy later. At any rate, it may be remembered, perhaps not entirely accurately, as a moment when Seattle tried to reach out and touch Big Tech and Amazon slapped them down. Though that oversimplifies the situation greatly, there’s an element of truth to it and we may see it referenced as others mount similar attempts.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754896
__label__wiki	0.515566	0.515566	Baseball is as America is Baseball is America’s pastime. It is also a reflection of America. Anyone can rise to the top of the game. It doesn’t matter where you come from, only your ability on the field. You can be born the son of a saloon keeper in the Pigtown section of Baltimore, Maryland and grow up to become Babe Ruth. You can be born to poor African-American parents in Mobile, Alabama and grow up to break Babe Ruth’s home run record and establish yourself as Hank Aaron, the Home Run King. You can grow up in Commerce, Oklahoma and become Mickey Mantle, arguably the greatest switch hitter of all time. You can be the son of Italian immigrants and grow up in The Hill, St. Louis, Missouri and become Yogi Berra, one of the greatest catchers of all time. You can grow up in beautiful San Diego and become the greatest hitter of all time, as Ted Williams did. You can be a kid living in The Bronx, listening to the radio, wishing you were at the game and grow up to be Vin Scully, the greatest broadcaster ever. Baseball can give people so much, yet it also has a shameful past. The exclusion of African-American players is indefensible. It will forever be a stain on the game. The resulting Negro Leagues are the truest American response to injustice. When faced with hatred and ignorance, players created their own leagues. Baseball in the Major Leagues and the Negro Leagues was never perfect. However, African-Americans fought for their rightful place as equals in America with every pitch, hit, catch, and throw. The Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City, Missouri continues to ensure this history, good and bad, is not forgotten. Baseball is a reflection of what is good in America, but it can also reflect what is not good in America. (www.si.com) Baseball, like America, is a melting pot. People from all over the world come here to play the game. Ichiro crossed the Pacific and become a legend in Japan and America. One of the greatest right handed hitter of all time, Miguel Cabrera, left his native Venezuela to leave opposing players and fans in awe at his skills with a bat. Peter Moylan had a second chance at baseball after working as a pharmaceutical salesman in his native Australia. Gift Ngoepe continues to create a path for other African born players, as the South African became the first African born player to appear in a Major League game. Baseball and America takes players from everywhere in the world as Ed Porray proved, he was born at sea. America is a true melting pot. We are not a perfect nation. We have done horrible things to our own people, from the Native Americans to African-Americans to religious minorities to the LGBTQ community. We fight and argue for what we think is right, just like in baseball. The rules that govern how we play the game and live together need updating from time to time. Change is never easy, but it is necessary. We are stronger together when we are willing to judge people by their abilities on the field and in life, and not on preconceived ideas based upon where they are from, what language they speak, or what god they worship. The wonderful thing about being an American is there is no mold to follow. Only a select few of us, when you trace your family back, are from here. Instead of telling our teammates and fellow Americans to conform, why not listen to them and learn from them to make yourself better, and by extension our team and country better. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with Africa, Alabama, Australia, Babe Ruth, Baltimore, Commerce, Ed Porray, Equality, Gift Ngoepe, Hank Aaron, Ichiro, Ichiro Suzuki, Immigrants, Independence Day, Italian, Japan, July 4th, Kansas City, Maryland, Mickey Mantle, Miguel Cabrera, Missouri, Mobile, Negro Leagues, Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Oklahoma, Peter Moylan, Pigtown, San Diego, South Africa, St. Louis, Switch Hitter, Ted Williams, The Bronx, The Hill, United States, United States of America, USA, Venezuela, Vin Scully, Yogi Berra Seriously? Again! Stop me if you have heard this before, the Marlins have traded away their star player for peanuts and are once again in the midst of a fire sale. While this fire sale is not as shocking as those following their World Series victories in 1997 and 2003, it remains unsettling that a professional sports franchise could dismantle itself so many times in such a brief history. Despite playing in a stadium that is only five years old and located near downtown Miami, the Marlins finished dead last in the National League in attendance. Miami drew just 1,583,014 fans, or 20,295 per home game. The ownership of Jeffrey Loria took a toll on the Marlins and their fans, and many hoped the new ownership group, with Yankees legend Derek Jeter as the face, would change the fortunes of the organization. Those hopes have died a quick and unceremonious death. Despite paying over $1 billion for the team, the new ownership group is reportedly seeking to slash the team payroll to from $121 million in 2017 to $55 million in 2018. Jeter and the rest of the ownership group are looking to cut roughly $66 million this offseason. It is not difficult to trim $66 million from Miami’s payroll, so let’s look at what the team has already done and what is likely still to come to get down to that magical number. The signal by the new ownership to run a barebones operations makes using league minimum salary replacements all but certain any time a player is traded, released, or allowed to become a free agent. The minimum salary for Major League Baseball in 2018 will be $555,000. Drastically reducing salary in 2018, also means fewer committed dollars in the future, thus Miami’s payroll will remain low until the new ownership decides to raise it. The beginning of Derek Jeter’s tenure with the Miami Marlins has not been smooth. (Jasen Vinlove/ USA TODAY Sports) Looking at what Miami has already done this offseason, the gutting of the Fish has been quick, yet painful. First, the Marlins allowed three players to walk away in free agency. Veterans Ichiro Suzuki and A.J. Ellis, and reliever Dustin McGowan. While not the superstar he once was, Ichiro was still a productive fourth outfielder and pinch hitter for the Marlins. A.J. Ellis is a veteran backup catcher who can still play off the bench to give J.T. Realmuto (who is reportedly wants to be traded) a day off from time to time. McGowan was a workhorse for the Marlins coming out of the bullpen appearing in 63 games for the Marlins last year. In 2017, Ichiro was paid $2 million, Ellis $2.5 million, and McGowan $1.75 million; totaling $6.25 million. Replacing them with three players at league minimum, the Marlins will save $4.585 million in 2018, bringing the team payroll down to $116.415 million. Next, Miami traded Dee Gordon to the Seattle Mariners for three minor league players; Robert Dugger, Nick Neidert, and Christopher Torres. Dugger is a 22 years old pitcher, who briefly pitched at AAA before being sent to A ball without sustaining an injury. Neidert is a 20 years old pitcher with a 6.56 ERA in 23 ⅓ innings at AA. Torres is 19 year old infielder who hit .238 in 52 games with a .895 fielding percentage in 190 chances, while committing 20 errors at low A ball. None of these prospects are Gordon’s replacement in Miami. The Marlins dumped Gordon’s $7.8 million salary to Seattle and saved $7.245 million. Bringing the Marlins payroll down to $109.17 million. The biggest catch of the offseason was Miami trading Giancarlo Stanton to the Yankees for two minor leagues and Starlin Castro. Minor league pitcher Jorge Guzman and infielder Jose Devers. Guzman will be 22 at start of the 2018 season, and has never pitched above low A Staten Island. Devers is an 18 years old middle infielder who hit .246 and had a .932 fielding percentage in Rookie ball this season. Neither player is remotely close to making it to the Majors. Castro is a 27 year old middle infielder who can hit, which is a good, but is not a great return for Stanton. In reality he is Gordon’s replacement at second base. However, Castro has two years and $22.7 million left on his contract, with a $1 million buyout before the 2020 season. Most likely the Marlins will either flip Castro for more prospects or buy him out. Even if the Marlins have to pay Castro $10 million to go away by releasing him or paying another team to take him in a trade there is little chance he ever suits up for Miami. Despite an increase in salary over Gordon for 2018, the Marlins will save money moving forward as Castro’s contract is short and Miami avoids paying Stanton long-term, thus the short-term hit makes sense. The Marlins 2018 payroll is up to $119.17 million. Giancarlo Stanton’s talent did not matter, it was his paycheck that caused him to be traded away from south Florida. (AP Photo/ Wilfredo Lee) Ultimately the Stanton trade was a salary dump. The new ownership wanting out of potentially paying Stanton $295 million over the next 11 years. Trading their star slugger to the Yankees saved the Marlins a mint. The Yankees will pay $265 million, with the Marlins picking up the remaining $30 million. Stanton made $14.5 million in 2017, and replacing him at league minimum will save the Marlins $13.945 million in 2018. This brings Miami’s payroll down to $105.225 million. After shipping Stanton to the Bronx for next to nothing Miami traded Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals for four minor leagues. Miami received Sandy Alcantara, Magneuris Sierra, Zac Gallen, and Daniel Castano. Alcantara appeared in 8 games for the Cardinals in 2017, posting a 4.32 ERA over 8 ⅓ innings. Sierra played 22 games for St. Louis in 2017 hitting .317 in 64 Plate Appearances. Gallen moved up from high A to AAA in 2017, posting a 2.93 ERA in 147 ⅔ innings. Castano pitched in low A in 2017 posting a 2.57 ERA in 91 innings. Arguably the Marlins got more in return for Ozuna than for Stanton. Ozuna made $3.5 million in arbitration in 2017, and that number will only going to go up. Ozuna has years of team control left, thus the Marlins were willing to move him before he got more expensive. The Marlins payroll has shrunk to $102.28 million. Following Ozuna out the Marlins clubhouse was Edinson Volquez. Miami released Volquez, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery and will not pitch until late 2018 if at all. Releasing Volquez as he entered the final year of his contract trimmed another $13 million from the Marlins payroll, bringing them down to $89.835 million. Trimming the remaining $34.835 million from the Marlins payroll involves several unimaginative moves, none of which are as jolting as the Stanton, Gordon, or Ozuna trades. The next logical move for the tight fisted Marlins would be to trade Martin Prado. Derek Dietrich all but solidified himself as the Marlins third baseman in 2017 after Prado played just 37 games due to injury. Prado is 34 years old with two years left on his contract. He would be inviting for teams looking to win now, who could use a super utility player. Switching Dietrich, $1.7 million, for Prado, $13.5 million, would save Miami $11.8 million and bring their 2018 payroll to $78.035 million. Injuries in 2017 showed that Derek Dietrich could replace Martin Prado at third for the Marlins and save Miami millions. (Mark Brown/ Getty Images) The remaining core players in the field at this point are J.T. Realmuto, Derek Dietrich, and Christian Yelich. Realmuto is making only slightly above league minimum entering his third season in the Majors, thus his salary is still low and his value is all but certain to continue to grow before the Marlins can trade him for several prospects, although Realmuto wants out of Miami now. Dietrich is an emerging young player that the Marlins can afford for several more years and the team can point to as hope for the future. While Yelich’s salary goes up to $7 million in 2018, the Marlins know they cannot trade him. Miami signed Yelich through the 2022 season and attempting to trade him this offseason could cause Major League Baseball to step in for the good of baseball. Yelich is not happy with Miami’s offseason fire sale, but there is little he can do. The Marlins can salary dump but they do have to pay someone something and pretend they are trying to win. Every team wanting to contend needs bullpen depth. The Marlins could cut cost by trading Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa to teams looking for bullpen arms. Ziegler appeared in 53 games and Tazawa 55 games. Both showed durability which teams need late in the season. Miami does not need great middle relief with the rest of the team has been gutted, it is best to trade away these arms too. Trading these relievers for prospects would mean shedding $14 million in payroll, and saving $12.89 million. The Marlins would go into the 2018 season with a team payroll of $65.145 million. The final piece to the tear down would be trading away Wei-Yin Chen. Chen is a solid starter in his early 30’s who could solidify the back-end of a rotation. Teams could take a chance that Chen has a bounce back season in 2018. Miami should expect trade offers on par with Kerry Lightenberg, who the Atlanta Braves received for twelve dozen baseballs and two dozen bats from the Minneapolis Loons. Miami should find takers for Chen, thus saving themselves another $10 million, putting their 2018 payroll at $55.7 million. Trimming that last $700,000 should not be too difficult. It does not take a wild imagination to create a world where the Marlins have a $55 million payroll at the start of the 2018 season. Allowing older players to walk in free agency, trading current stars for theoretically good prospects, trading solid major league players for prospects, and buying out veterans to not play for you is how you gut a team. The Marlins could be under $55 million if Castro is willing to take less than half what is owed him to walk away from Miami. This is at least the third time the Marlins have rebuilt since they began play in 1993. It is shameful that Major League Baseball did not do its due diligence in how the new ownership would run the team. The Dodgers got a new owner who was focused on winning after Major League Baseball stepped in and all but forced their old owner to sell after it became clear he was focused on only making money not fielding a competitive team. Why has this not happened in south Florida? Time will tell if Miami will ever have a respectable owner that cares about winning. If early returns are any indication of future results it is not looking great for Marlins fan, if there are any left. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with A.J. Ellis, AA, AAA, Brad Ziegler, Bronx, Bullpen, Cardinals, Christian Yelich, Christopher Torres, Daniel Castano, Dee Gordon, Derek Dietrich, Derek Jeter, Dodgers, Dustin McGowan, Edinson Volquez, Giancarlo Stanton, High A, Ichiro, Ichiro Suzuki, J.T. Realmuto, Jeffrey Loria, Jorge Guzman, Jose Devers, Junichi Tazawa, Kerry Lightenberg, Los Angeles Dodgers, Low A, Magneuris Sierra, Major League Baseball, Marcell Ozuna, Mariners, Marlins, Martin Prado, Miami Marlins, Minneapolis Loons, MLB, National League, New York Yankees, Nick Neidert, NL, Robert Dugger, Rookie Ball, Sandy Alcantara, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Starlin Castro, Staten Island Yankees, Tommy John, Tommy John surgery, Wei-Yin Chen, Yankees, Zac Gallen Single season records can be reached without the need for a career filled with success. Players only need to have a single magical season to reach these marks. Think Roger Maris in 1961 or even a career year like Mark Fidrych in 1976. The toughest record to beat now may be the single season hits record. Ichiro Suzuki collected 262 hits in 2004, finally topping George Sisler’s single season record of 257 hits that had stood since 1920. There have been 530 individual efforts where a player collected at least 200 hits in a season. Many players have had multiple 200 hit seasons, with Ichiro and Pete Rose holding the record with ten 200 hit seasons. 200 hits in a single season is not a rare accomplishment. We’ve seen, over the last several seasons, a handful of players collecting 200 hits. However, the Houston Astros have the talent to potentially do something no team has ever done by having four teammates collect 200 hits in the same season. Only three times in Major League history has a team had three teammates collect 200 hits in the same season, but never a fourth. The 1963 St. Louis Cardinals, the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, and the 1991 Texas Rangers had three teammates collect 200 hits. Teammates who are able to consistently hit and get on base does not necessarily translate to success. The 1963 Cardinals finished 2nd in the National League, 6 games behind the Dodgers for the Pennant. The 1982 Brewers lost the World Series in seven games to the Cardinals. The 1991 Rangers finished 3rd in the American League West, 10 games behind the Twins. Success in baseball is a team effort. Simply having a third or more of your lineup hitting all season does not mean you can be lackluster elsewhere. Jose Altuve is Houston’s best hitter. 200 hits a season is close to automatic. (Elaine Thompson, STF) The 2017 Houston Astros could be the first team to have four teammates collect 200 hits in the same season thanks to the ABC’S. Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and George Springer. Jose Altuve is a hitting machine, for whom not collecting 200 hits in a season would make it a down year. Altuve has collected at least 200 hits in three out of five full seasons in the Majors. Bregman has hit at every level in college and in the minors and should continue to develop into an outstanding consistent bat in the Houston lineup. Bregman played in only 146 minor league games after being drafted by Houston out of LSU. Starting at A Ball, Bregman batted .259, High A .319, AA .297, and AAA .333. Bregman can hit and he is starting to settle in with the Astros. Correa is a do it all super star in the making. Entering his third full season in the Majors, Correa continues to improve his strikeout to walk rate. Correa is still learning to hit at the Major League level and his strikeout rate should continue to decline. George Springer is an everyday player who can reach 200 hits simply by cutting down on his strikeouts and focusing on hitting singles and doubles instead of swinging for the fences. In 2016, his first full healthy season in the Majors, Springer hit 29 doubles and 29 home runs with 88 walks and 178 strikeouts. If he can combine plate discipline to draw more walks and cutting down on his big swings to strike out less, perhaps down to 125 times a season, that may translate to 50 more balls in play each season. Springer collected 168 hits against those 178 strikeouts. 50 more balls in play could mean collecting 200 hits. Alex Bregman is still getting comfortable in the Majors, but he has shown from college through the minors and in Houstn that he can hit. (Bob Levey/Getty Images) The ability to hit and get on base will become slightly easier as opposing teams may prefer to face Altuve, Bregman, Correa, and/or Springer than give up crushing scores to the big bats behind them in the lineup. Carlos Beltran, Evan Gattis, and Brian McCann can all launch a baseball over the fence with cautionary frequency. Every night at least two of the three power bats will be protecting Houston’s hit parade. Every night is a new nightmare for opposing pitchers. They’re faced with either a swift destruction from power or the drowning quicksand from a constant stream of singles here and doubles there. Astros Manager A.J. Hinch has had George Springer leading off, setting the stage for Jose Altuve batting third and Carlos Correa batting fourth. Once the speed and contact have put the pressure on opposing pitchers Hinch has had Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, and/or Evan Gattis batting fourth or fifth in nearly every game. Alex Bregman has most often worked to reset the stage by batting eighth, but he also has the second most at bats in the Astros lineup batting second or sixth. Bregman appears to be the utility batter for Houston as he can help the Astros turn the batting order over or he can fill in to help set the stage for Altuve, Correa, or the power of Beltran, McCann, or Gattis. Is there anything Carlos Correa can’t do on the diamond? (Brace Hemmelgam/Getty Images) There are three major factors that may hamper the quest for four single-season, 200-hit teammates for the 2017 Astros. First is the relative youth of Bregman, Correa, and Springer. Slumps and growing pains are often a matter of when, not if, especially for younger hitters. Every batter struggles at one point in their career in some way, past success does not guarantee future success. Second, injuries. The Major League season is a 162 game grind that breaks down even the strongest and toughest players in the world. The Astros are not immune to injuries and missing even a week or more could put 200 hits out of reach for a player. Third, Houston currently has an 8 game lead in the American League West over the Angels and the Rangers. Any sized lead can disappear over the next four months, but with each passing day the Astros make it a little more difficult to be caught. If the Astros run away with the West, A.J. Hinch could decide to rest his players down the stretch, meaning losing at bats and potential hits to rest them for the playoffs. George Springer can hit plenty of home runs, but his greatest value for the Astros might be getting on base ahead of Houston’s sluggers. (AP Photo/ David J. Phillip) There are plenty of ifs peppered in the scenario of the Astros having four teammates collect 200 hits in 2017. The Astros’ core is young, the years of tanking have finally provided Houston the draft positioning to get the team they sought all along. A young, dynamic team that is built to win both now and in the future. The quartet of Altuve, Bregman, Correa, and Springer may never collect 200 hits in a season, but 2017 seems to be the first real opportunity for them to make a run at this particular landmark record. The hit parade in Houston is fun to watch and so far has resulted in plenty of wins for the Astros. The hits record would be nice, but the Astros are only concerned with winning their first World Series. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with 200 hits, A Ball, A.J. Hinch, AA, AAA, Al, AL West, Alex Bregman, American League, American League West, Angels, Astros, Brewers, Brian McCann, Cardinals, Carlos beltran, Carlos Correa, Dodgers, Evan Gattis, George Sisler, George Springer, High A, Houston Astros, Ichiro, Ichiro Suzuki, Jose Altuve, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Louisiana State, Louisiana State University, LSU, Mark Fidrych, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, National League, NL, Pete Rose, Rangers, Roger Maris, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Twins, World Series One of the many reasons I am not a big football fan is due to the lack of games. I understand why there are so few games each year, but the lack of action leaves plenty to be desired. The dead time between games results in hours and days of continuous talking about what happened in the last game and the matchups for the next game. There is only so much anyone can talk about a game before or after it is played until you begin to repeat the same thing over and over again. There is no justification that I can find to spend more than 30 minutes discussing the upcoming Week 6 football game between the Chicago Bears and the Jacksonville Jaguars unless it is to recreate the Saturday Night Live Bill Swerski Superfans skits. Sadly, dozens of hours will be spent discussing a game that will most likely be forgotten in the not so distant future. In baseball you might spend 30 minutes before and after each game discussing the match up and what happened, but even that can be a stretch. Not much to do between games but talk about DA BEARS. (nbc.com) Football kills time between games by talking in circles about the same thing week after week. The beauty of baseball is once the post-game armchair manager talk is wrapped up, the discussion may continue to the future by looking at the minor leagues or reframe the present with a look to the past. Sometimes a quirky event about the game warrants a focused look on the great players in baseball history for an interesting connection. I was invited to attend a talk by Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, by my fiancée’s work colleague. The talk was at the Green Diamond Gallery, which is the largest privately held baseball collection in the world. The talk centered mainly on the Hall of Fame and its current efforts to preserve baseball history and educate the fans. After the talk, Jeff Idelson began answering questions from the audience. Several of the questions had to do with the election process and potential changes to the induction process. The standard Pete Rose questions were asked, as the Green Diamond Gallery is located in Cincinnati. Finally someone asked “Who do you [Jeff Idelson] think should be in the Hall of Fame that is not?” He did the appropriate tap dance around the question so as to not give a definite answer. Then he gave the best possible answer. Is the Reds Hall of Fame the closest Pete Rose will ever get to Cooperstown? Probably (Kareem Elgazzar/ Cincinnati.com) There are 312 individuals enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame; 28 executives, 22 managers, 10 umpires, 35 Negro League players, and 217 Major League players. There have been over 18,700 individual players in Major League history. This means only the top 1% of players are eventually enshrined. You can argue that every player that is in Cooperstown belongs there, plus many more who are not. However, there is little to be argued that the players enshrined do not deserve to be there. There are plenty of players for whom the argument can be made that they should be enshrined in Cooperstown, but more is not always better. The NBA and NHL both have 30 teams and 16 of those 30 teams (53%) will make the playoffs. The Houston Rockets made the playoffs this year with a 41-41 record, why is a .500 team going to the playoffs? Yes there have been some dreadful divisions in Major League Baseball, the 2005 National League West was won by the San Diego Padres with an 82-80 record, but those are rare. The more slots you have in the playoffs, the worse the competition. It is better to leave a good team at home than to have a terrible team advance, although this is tough to say when the team you root for is that good team. The same is true for the Hall of Fame. Admitting more players means detracting from the significance of the honor. This only serves to muddle the difference between greatness and the very good. The Green Diamond Gallery is an amazing collection of any and everything that is baseball. (www.greendiamondgallery.com) Eliminating the players who are known or highly suspected of using steroids and those who are on the permanently ineligible list, there are several players for whom a convincing argument can be made that they belong in Cooperstown. These are player who are no longer on the ballot for election by the baseball writers. Don Mattingly, Tim Raines, Gil Hodges, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, Lee Smith, Jim Kaat, Dale Murphy, Roger Maris, Bret Saberhagen, Maury Wills, Thurman Munson, and the list goes on. Would the Hall of Fame be better with these players enshrined, I would say so. Is the Hall of Fame seen as incomplete without these players, I do not think so. The Hall of Fame is reserved for the top 1% of players. Every generation has players who were spectacular on the field, yet begin to fade with time. Multiple MVP Awards failed to get Dale Murphy enshrined in Cooperstown. (mlb.com) Kevin Brown, Hideo Nomo, Mo Vaughn, and Brett Butler were all outstanding players in the early to mid 1990’s. Were they as emblematic of baseball excellence as Ken Griffey Jr, Tony Gwynn, Randy Johnson, or Greg Maddux? Those enshrined in Cooperstown should be the players who can be compared against players from every generation and hold their own. Joe DiMaggio was not the best or most powerful hitter, but his skills and statistics hold up against players from every generation. Records and awards are designed to recognize greatness, not designed to settle debates. Ichiro now has more hits in professional baseball than Pete Rose. However, Rose got all of his hits in the Majors while Ichiro has split his time between the Majors and Japan. Who is the better hitter? It would be easy to insert Tony Gwynn, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, and Miguel Cabrera into the debate. Is Cy Young the greatest pitcher of all time because he has the most wins or Nolan Ryan because he has the most strikeouts? I doubt you will find many people so easily convinced. What about Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Christy Mathewson, Greg Maddux, Bob Feller, or Old Hoss Radbourn? What could Bob Feller have done on the mound had his service in World War II not cost him nearly four full seasons early in his career. (http://vanmeteria.gov/) Jeff Idelson repeatedly pointed to the democratic way that players are elected to the Hall of Fame. He understands that the process is not perfect, but ultimately gets it right. The recent changes to the voting process, revoking the voting rights of writers who have not actively covered baseball in the past 10 years and reducing the number of years on the ballot from 15 to 10, should help to reduce and then prevent a backlog of worthy players getting the look they deserve. This is not to say they will be elected, but that they will get a fair shot. The top 1% of players will rise to the top during voting as they did during their playing careers. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s mission is “Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations.” Players and their accomplishments are never cast aside regardless of how short or long their careers. Thousands of players have taken the field and many have made a case for their inclusion with the legends of the game. However, those enshrined in Cooperstown leave no doubt about their worthiness in the history of the game. It is those who came so close to joining this exclusive club, yet have come up just short, that allows the debate to flourish over what makes a Hall of Fame player. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with Alan Trammell, Baseball Hall of Fame, Bears, Bill Swerski Superfans, Bob Feller, Bob Gibson, Bret Saberhagen, Brett Butler, Charles Radbourn, Chicago Bears, Christy Mathewson, Cooperstown, Cy Young, Dale Murphy, Don Mattingly, Gil Hodges, Green Diamond Gallery, Greg Maddux, Hall of Fame, Hideo Nomo, Houston Rockets, Ichiro, Ichiro Suzuki, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jaguars, Jeff Idelson, Jim Kaat, Joe DiMaggio, Ken Griffey Jr, Kevin Brown, Lee Smith, Lou Whitaker, Major League Baseball, Maury Wills, Miguel Cabrera, MLB, Mo Vaughn, National Baseball Hall of Fame, NBA, Negro Leagues, NHL, Nolan Ryan, Old Hoss Radbourn, Padres, Pete Rose, Randy Johnson, Rockets, Roger Maris, San Diego Padres, Sandy Koufax, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Ted Williams, Thurman Munson, Tim Raines, Tony Gwynn, Ty Cobb The Best of Baseball 2015 2015 has been a wonderful year for baseball. Baseball has been everywhere from Spring Training and Opening Day to playing catch in the backyard and playing a friendly season of fantasy. The big moments like the Royals winning the World Series can be just as special as feeling the pop of the ball when it hits your glove. Everyone experiences baseball differently. As 2015 comes to an end the staff of The Winning Run wanted to share our best moments from baseball in 2015. Spending three days going through the National Baseball Hall of Fame was the highlight of 2015 for me. I literally moved inch by inch through the museum, reading every plaque and sign, look at every picture and artifact on display. Seeing everything from the baseball used in the first game in which spectators had to pay to watch, to the glove used by Willie Mays to make The Catch, to the Hall of Fame Plaque Gallery. Three days and at least 24 hours may seem like an extraordinarily long time to spend inside of a museum, however when it was time to leave Cooperstown I found myself rushing to finish seeing everything. Statue behind the National Baseball Hall of Fame. (The Winning Run) Visiting Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame only increased my passion for the game. While the museum is just a building and Cooperstown is just a small town, there is something magical about both. 2015 has been a year of transitions for me personally and professionally. Visiting Cooperstown allowed me to be a kid again, even for a weekend. Walking through the Hall of Fame with the same wide eyes I have had since I first fell in love with the game only solidified why baseball is and forever will be special. Fantasy baseball. I was mesmerized by Madison Bumgardner and the SF Giants in the 2014 World Series and was really excited to get back into watching baseball in 2015. Fantasy was such a pleasure because it helped me keep on track with news and yet had to pace myself to get through the week and season. There were plenty of great baseball moments but the overall winner that made the experiences more enjoyable started with playing fantasy baseball this season. The Infield Lies Fantasy Baseball Trophy. Derek is now the 2 time defending champion. (The Winning Run) So 2015 is almost over and we think back on what a year it was. That’s a tough assignment when I’m sitting outside grilling in shorts in the last week of December. I should have a baseball game on instead of Christmas lights. But this does aid in recapping my best memory of baseball this season. John’s treasured foul ball from the Gwinnett Braves game on Back to the Future Night. (The Winning Run) This season was my year of watching it on tv. I did not get a chance to travel and catch any games and only saw a handful of Atlanta and Gwinnett Braves games. A lot happened around the league but I’m going to share a personal trip to a Gwinnett Braves game in June. I remember the day because I was stuck on the stairs watching Max Sherzer flirt with perfection. I took the family to what turned out to be Back to the Future Night at the stadium so it was fairly attended. I got us seats down the first base line but in the outfield part that juts back into the field. I brought my glove this time and was determined to catch a foul even with the pessimist behind me ho thought no baseball could make it that far. As luck would have it a foul came my way in the fourth and I made a pretty spectacular play in my opinion and snagged in on the fly while crashing onto someone who ran into our row. I high fived and showed the girls our souvenir much to their non-caring. By the seventh they mentioned the silent auction going on for the jerseys the home team was wearing for the promotion, so after conferring with our other writer Jesse, who’s as much a Back to the Future fan as a baseball fan, I decided to try my luck. I brought the older child and found a relief pitcher with no bids. I bid with a few minutes left and had the child stand in front and smile at other potential bidders. This guy was ours. We won, paid and were told to come back so we could go on the field to aquire our winnings. I brought the family unit down, hung out til the final out, and then was allowed on field to wait for our guy and his “game worn” jersey that did all of allowing him into the bullpen without credentials. He autographed the jersey for the girls and even signed my fly ball from earlier. Jesse is clearly excited about his new Gwinnett Braves Back to the Future jersey. (The Winning Run) Even though the game was only seen by the crowd in attendance and didn’t help the standings at all, it brought memories and a story I can share for many years to come. I believe baseball is more than just what is happening in the majors or in the headlines. It’s about experiences and sharing your enjoyment of the sport with the ones you love. I am happy that my best memory of 2015 was personal and shared with my family. Happy New Year. The best things that I ended up doing and/or experiencing baseball related in the year of our Lord, two thousand and fifteen are as follows (dates and order are questionable at best) Any pics that aren’t noted as being borrowed from the internets were taken myself or another member of the Winning Run. Enjoy. For such a small town, the amount of fun that I had there was better than I could have expected. Only thing I’m disappointed about is that I didn’t see the ball that Benny “the Jet” Rodriguez busted the guts out of. The National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, New York (The Winning Run) Walking among the legends of baeball. (The Winning Run) Otsego Lake, a short walk from Main Street and the Hall of Fame. (The Winning Run) Baseball game for my Dad’s birthday Managed to score some pretty low seats at the Braves on the 3rd base side for my dad’s birthday. Just went with my mom and dad. We were low enough that we were able to see Ron Gant a few rows in front of us. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to check his Twitter account very often. I was hoping to get a pic of him and Dad together. Jesse enjoying a Braves game with the parents on Dad’s birthday. (The Winning Run) In a quote I picked up the pages of history (not sure if it comes from Napoleon or Stalin, don’t care) “quantity has a quality all its own.” Thanks to the beauty of online retail and a secondary ticket market, I was able to see a MUCH larger number of MLB games this year. Yay internets. Thunder and lightning on and off the diamond in Atlanta. (The Winning Run) The sky was on fire. (The Winning Run) It is never a bad day if it is spent at the ballpark. (The Winning Run) The Force is strong with these Tomahawks. (The Winning Run) Neon Cancer After working in an unairconditioned shop in the middle of summer near the exact center of the Everglades (the place was exactly 2 hours from EVERYWHERE in Florida, a true geographic anomaly), I decided to drive to Miami and look for Will Smith. I didn’t run into him, sadly, but I did manage to go to a Marlins game and have very low seats. I was probably as close to Ichiro as I’ll ever be, and that was titillating all on its own. Also, if for nothing else, the bobblehead museum is worth the ticket price. Inside Marlins Park, watching Ichiro up close and personal. (The Winning Run) The Bobblehead Museum at Marlins Park in all its glory. (The Winning Run) Minor League Baseball is my jam. I love the stuff. I can’t say that there is a better bang for your buck in the entertainment world. This year I managed to sit directly behind the net at the local team (the Gwinnett Braves), thanks to buying an A/C, I saw a dog act as ball boy AND run the bases (Myrtle Beach Pelicans), and I walked up to a craft beer and unlimited hot dog night (Chattanooga Lookouts). That was a fun night on the Twitters. It was a good thing that I was only walking two blocks back to the hotel that night. The batboy for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans at work. (The Winning Run) Watching the Chattanooga Lookouts play on a warm summer eveing. (The Winning Run) The Myrtle Beach Pelicans shoot to thrill. (The Winning Run) Baseball, beer, and hot dogs. What more do you need? (The Winning Run) Enjoying a lookouts game and a beer. (The Winning Run) No food is more baseball than hot dogs. (The Winning Run) Infield Lies Fantasy Baseball has become a great way to sit and talk about the minutia of the day’s baseball awesomeness. This year I managed to get my girlfriend, and now wife, talked into playing. Once she got the basics of what should be going on, she became dangerous. Dammit. College Ball I’ve only watched a few college games live, but this year’s first game was at Gardner-Webb University. Yay baseball’s back. Kicking off the baseball season, watching Gardner Webb University’s baseball team in action. (The Winning Run) The 2015 playoffs were some of the most enjoyable to watch in a long time. I simultaneously wanted the Cubbies to win to fulfil their Back to the Future density (yes I meant “density”. Watch Back to the Future if you don’t get it), but I longed for the curse to stay in tact at the same time. Daniel Murphy seemed to be able to do no wrong (until the WS at least). Then there was the “slide” Take a look at the pic, you’ll remember it. Chase Utley needs to learn how to slide. (MLB Memes) My now son/stepson/boogerface (still working on the naming conventions) confided in me that his favorite team wasn’t the Braves. Mind you that he isn’t much for baseball, of which I intend to learn him in the ways of the base on balls, but he came to me in a bit of a quiet tone to inform me that he liked the Marlins. I was a little take aback, UNTIL I heard the reasoning. His favorite player is Ichiro. He likes the way he tugs at his shirt when he comes to the plate. Sounds like a great reason to me. Citi Field. It was cold. We were in the nosebleed. It was cold. We rode the 7 train. It was cold. It was cold. Citi Field was strangely cold when the Toronto Blue Jays visited this summer. (The Winning Run) I found a complete set of Fleer baseball cards from 1989 at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore (kinda like a Goodwill for non clothing stuff). Welcome to the Bigs Mr.Griffey. Also, I sadly got the edited version of Billy Ripken’s card. So close. Ken Griffey Jr., when the Kid was truly just a kid. (The Winning Run) The complete set of 1989 Fleer baseball Cards. (The Winning Run) My First True Doubleheader Manage to make it to my first true MLB doubleheader on the last day of the regular season. That seems like an awesome way to go into the dark dreary non baseball time of year. It’s a beautiful day for baseball, let’s play two. Lots of fans came dressed as empty seats. (The Winning Run) I got a baseball signed by Matt Cain to go along with my ticket from my perfect game. Time to make a display for that awesomeness. I was at Matt Cain’s Perfect Game, now I have an autographed baseball. (The Winning Run) The Nationals didn’t win. Jonathon Papelbon and Bryce Harper might not be best friends. (www.larrybrownsports.com) 2015 was the most exciting and successful year for The Winning Run. There was so much in and around baseball that we were able to experience. Baseball is special in that you can always feel like a kid even when you have played, watched, and followed the game for decades. While it is impossible to see and experience everything that makes baseball wonderful, we will not stop in our quest to achieve the impossible. We hope our efforts in sharing our love and knowledge of the game have added to your enjoyment of baseball in 2015. Written by Derek Jones 7 Comments Posted in Bernie, Derek, Jesse, Uncategorized Tagged with Atlanta Braves, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Night, Baseball Hall of Fame, Benny "the Jet" Rodriguez, Benny Rodriguez, Benny the Jet, Billy Ripken, Braves, Bryce Harper, Chattanooga Lookouts, Chicago Cubs, Citi Field, Cooperstown, Cubs, Daniel Murphy, Everglades, Fantasy, fantasy baseball, Fleer, Gardner Webb Baseball, Gardner Webb University, Giants, Gwinnett Braves, Habitat for Humanity, Hall of Fame, Ichiro, Ichiro Suzuki, Infield Lies, Jonathon Papelbon, Joseph Stalin, Kansas City Royals, Ken Griffey Jr, Lookouts, Madison Bumgardner, Major League Baseball, Marlins, Marlins Park, Matt Cain, Max Scherzer, Mets, Miami Marlins, MiLB, Minor League Baseball, MLB, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Napoleon, National Baseball Hall of Fame, nationals, New York mets, Opening Day, Pelicans, ReStore, Ron Gant, Royals, San Francisco Giants, Spring Training, Stalin, The Catch, The Sandlot, Washington Nationals, Will Smith, Willie Mays, World Series	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754902
__label__cc	0.672243	0.327757	Tagged: Tampa Bay Rays February is not the most thrilling month of the year. It is cold, dark, and miserable. The only real excitement in February is the return of baseball. Pitchers and catchers report, full squad team workouts, and Spring Training games. Most of the country remains covered in cold weather and snow. However the end of the long, cold winter appears on the horizon. Winter’s grip remains, but it will not last much longer. This glimmer of hope makes the sad days of winter a little less difficult. Baseball fans have long had the pitchers and catchers report date for their favorite team marked on their calendars. It is the most anticlimactic event in baseball, as there is nothing to see unless you are at the team facility. The same applies to the first full squad workout. You might see a video of players playing catch, nothing you could not replicate in your backyard. The beginning of Spring Training is about the building excitement than actual action. The sun is shining, time for baseball. (www.nj.com) Mark your calendars these exciting, non-events, begin February 11th as pitchers and catchers report for the Oakland Athletics. They conclude on February 16th as the Atlanta Braves are the last team to have their pitchers and catchers report. The actual fun begins a few days later. Spring Training games begin on February 21st when the Seattle Mariners visit the Oakland Athletics in Mesa, Arizona to open up the Cactus League. The next day, February 22nd, the Grapefruit League begins in Port Charlotte, Florida as the Tampa Bays Rays host the Philadelphia Phillies. The Grapefruit League Opening Day will also feature the defending World Series Champions, Boston Red Sox, beginning their 2019 campaign by hosting the Northeastern University Huskies in Fort Myers. The third game of the day had the Detroit Tigers hosting the Southeastern University Fire in Lakeland. The Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues help shape the regular season. Spring Training is short, and the regular season is fast approaching. Baseball is a train leaving the station. It slowly builds up speed as it races towards October. Climb aboard, it will be a fun ride. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with A's, Arizona, Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Braves, Cactus League, Detroit Tigers, Fire, Florida, Full Squad, Grapefruit League, Huskies, Major League Baseball, Mariners, MLB, Northeastern, Northeastern University, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Pitchers and Catchers, Pitchers and Catchers Report, Rays, Red Sox, Seattle Mariners, Southeastern, Southeastern University, Spring Training, Tampa Bay Rays, Tigers, Winter, Workouts, World Series Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Kevin, Uncategorized Tagged with A's, Al, AL Central, AL East, American League, American League Central, American league East, Astros, Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Batting, Ben Lindbergh, Boston Red Sox, Bryce Harper, CJ Cron, Cleveland Indians, Corey Kluber, Dan Hirsch, Divisional, Divisional Era, Earned Run Average, ERA, Francisco Lindor, Houston Astros, Indians, Jonathon Schoop, Major League Baseball, Manny Machado, Mariners, Minnesota Twins, MLB, National League, National League West, Nelson Cruz, New York Yankees, NL, NL West, Non-Divisional, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Offseason, Orioles, Padres, playoffs, Post Season, Prospects, Rays, RDiff, Rebuild, Red Sox, Revenue, Run Differential, Runs Allowed per Game, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Simple Rating System, SoS, Sports Reference, Spring Training, SRS, Tampa Bay Rays, The Baseball Gauge, The Ringer, Trevor Bauer, Twins, Wild Card, Yankees Can He Get On Base? Lost in the discussions about the Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year Awards was the inaugural MLB Executive of the Year Award. The player awards are based on a player’s performs on the field. The Executive of the Year Award is based on a front office putting a contender on the field. Drafting well and player development are critical if an organization is to build a winning team. Executives are judged on long-term work not short-term performance. There is no doubt Billy Beane, and the Athletics’ front office, has done more with less. Beane, the Athletics’ Vice President of Baseball Operations since 2015, is the inaugural MLB Executive of the Year. Each team has one vote, and baseball has spoken about Beane’s success in Oakland. Success has not come from large payrolls or big free agent signings, rather the opposite. This season Oakland became the first team to ever have the lowest Opening Day Payroll and make the Postseason. The Athletics must scratch and claw with every dollar to compete. One bad signing or trade can set the team back several seasons. Beane has made few mistakes. Oakland has 12 winning seasons and nine Postseason appearances since he became General Manager after the 1997 season. Billy Beane has made the impossible seem routine in Oakland. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Beane’s tenure as Oakland’s General Manager changed baseball. The application of Sabermetrics has helped level the playing field for teams unable to afford large payrolls. The Athletics created a path for teams, like the Rays and Royals, to find success. Moneyball changed baseball. Teams are now spending time and money on analytics to maximize the production of their players and to scout their opponents. Oakland enjoyed several successful seasons before other teams followed their lead. Winning the MLB Executive of the Year Award only adds to Beane’s trophy case. He won the Sporting News Executive of the Year Award in 1999 and 2012. He won Baseball America’s Executive of the Year Award in 2002 and 2013. Beane has built success from hard work, not flashy spending. It is doubtful a traditional rebuilding in Oakland would have resulted in similar success. Despite their challenges, the Athletics are competitive almost every season and Billy Beane is one of the main reasons why. Beane is the biggest owner or front office executive since George Steinbrenner. When you think of Beane you think of the Athletics just as you thought of the Yankees when you thought of Steinbrenner. Most importantly, when you think of Billy Beane you think of winning. Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with A's, Athletics, Baseball America, Billy Beane, Cy Young Award, Executive of the Year, Free Agency, General Manager, George Steinbrenner, GM, Kansas City Royals, Major League Baseball, MLB, Moneyball, Most Valuable Player, MVP, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Opening Day, Postseason, Rays, Rookie of the Year, Royals, Sabermetrics, Sporting News, Tampa Bay Rays, Vice President of Baseball Operations, Yankees After four seasons of attempting to predict how the Major League season will play out, one would think we would improve. Instead we were pitiful once again. The only consistency continues to be we are individually and collectively terrible at predicting the baseball future. Below is all the proof you need. National League East Reality Derek Jesse John Bernie 1st Washington Nationals Washington Nationals New York Muttz Washington Nationals Washington Nationals 2nd Miami Marlins New York Mets* Washington Gnats Atlanta Braves New York Mets 3rd Atlanta Braves Miami Marlins Atlanta Bravos New York Mets Miami Marlins 4th New York Mets Atlanta Braves Miami Fish Miami Marlins Atlanta Braves 5th Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Follies Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Phillies National League Central 1st Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs Chicago Harry Caray’s Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs 2nd Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates Pittsburgh Buckos* St. Louis Cardinals* St. Louis Cardinals* 3rd St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals Cincinnati Fighting Vottos Pittsburgh Pirates Milwaukee Brewers 4th Pittsburgh Pirates Milwaukee Brewers St. Louis Deadbirds Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates 5th Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewniversity Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati Reds 1st Los Angeles Dodgers Los Angeles Dodgers Colorado Silver Bullets Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants 2nd Arizona Diamondbacks San Francisco Giants* Los Angeles Vin Scullys* Colorado Rockies* Los Angeles Dodgers* 3rd Colorado Rockies Colorado Rockies San Padres Big Macs San Francisco Giants Colorado Rockies 4th San Diego Padres Arizona Diamondbacks Arizona Trouser Snakes Arizona Diamondbacks Arizona Diamondbacks 5th San Francisco Giants San Diego Padres San Francisco Gigantors San Diego Padres San Diego Padres Justin Turner and the Dodgers won the National League Pennant, we didn’t see that coming for some reason. (Richard Mackson- USA TODAY Sports) 1st Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox Toronto Canucks Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox 2nd New York Yankees Toronto Blue Jays* New York Spankees New York Yankees* New York Yankees* 3rd Tampa Bay Rays New York Yankees Baltimore Riots Toronto Blue Jays Baltimore Orioles 4th Toronto Blue Jays Baltimore Orioles Steve Irwin Killers Tampa Bay Rays Toronto Blue Jays 5th Baltimore Orioles Tampa Bay Rays Boston Dead Sux Baltimore Orioles Tampa Bay Rays American League Central 1st Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians Kansas City Monarchs Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians 2nd Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers Cleveland Up Three Games To None* Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals 3rd Kansas City Royals Kansas City Royals Chicago Black Sox Minnesota Twins Detroit Tigers 4th Chicago White Sox Minnesota Twins Minnesota Twinkies Kansas City Royals Minnesota Twins 5th Detroit Tigers Chicago White Sox Detroit Militarized Zone Chicago White Sox Chicago White Sox American League West 1st Houston Astros Houston Astros The Acute Angels of Anaheim Seattle Mariners Houston Astros 2nd Los Angeles Angels Seattle Mariners* Houston Colt 45s* Houston Astros* Seattle Mariners 3rd Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers Oakland White Elephants Texas Rangers Texas Rangers 4th Texas Rangers Los Angeles Angels Texas Dangers Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Angels 5th Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics Seattle Seamen Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics The Yankees were a surprise in 2017, which seems weird to say now. (Ben Solomon- New York Times) Winner Arizona Diamondbacks San Francisco Giants Pittsburgh Buckos Colorado Rockies Los Angeles Dodgers Loser Colorado Rockies New York Mets Los Angeles Vin Scullys St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals Winner New York Yankees Seattle Mariners Cleveland Up Three Games To None Houston Astros New York Yankees Loser Minnesota Twins Toronto Blue Jays Houston Colt 45s New York Yankees Baltimore Orioles Winner Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Nationals Colorado Silver Bullets Washington Nationals Los Angeles Dodgers Loser Arizona Diamondbacks San Francisco Giants Pittsburgh Buckos Colorado Rockies Chicago Cubs Winner Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs New York Muttz Chicago Cubs San Francisco Giants Loser Washington Nationals Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago Harry Caray’s Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Nationals Winner New York Yankees Boston Red Sox Kansas City Monarchs Cleveland Indians New York Yankees Loser Cleveland Indians Seattle Mariners Cleveland Up Three Games To None Houston Astros Cleveland Indians Winner Houston Astros Cleveland Indians The Acute Angels of Anaheim Seattle Mariners Boston Red Sox Loser Boston Red Sox Houston Astros Toronto Canucks Boston Red Sox Houston Astros Winner Los Angeles Dodgers Washington Nationals Colorado Silver Bullets Washington Nationals San Francisco Giants Loser Chicago Cubs Chicago Cubs New York Muttz Chicago Cubs Los Angeles Dodgers Winner Houston Astros Cleveland Indians Kansas City Monarchs Seattle Mariners New York Yankees Loser New York Yankees Boston Red Sox The Acute Angels of Anaheim Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox Winner Houston Astros Washington Nationals Colorado Silver Bullets Seattle Mariners New York Yankees Loser Los Angeles Dodgers Boston Red Sox Kansas City Monarchs Washington Nationals San Francisco Giants Some how none of us had the Astros in the World Series, much less winning it. WHY???!!!! (Eugene Garcia/ European Pressphoto Agency) Breaking down how we did individually shows some bright spots here and there, but overall we were terrible. Here is a breakdown of everything we correctly predicted before last season began. Jesse was the worst at predicting the season. He correctly predicted the final regular season standings of just seven teams, a sad showing at 23%. His correct predictions focused primarily on which teams would not contend. He was correct twice in the National League East, his best division, predicting the Braves would finish third and the Phillies would finish last. In the National League Central, he found his only correct prediction with the Cubs winning the division. Jesse looked into his crystal ball and saw the Giants finishing last in the National League West long before the rest of us. Moving over to the American League, the Yankees produced the second place finish he foresaw last April. In the Central, the Tigers followed through by finishing last. Finally, in the American League West, Jesse nailed it with his prediction of the Rangers finishing in fourth place. None of his playoff predictions were correct, and thus Jesse finished last in The Winning Run’s prediction standings. Derek managed to finish with the bronze medal based on his predictions for the 2017 season. He predicted the final regular season standings for 12 teams, an impressive 40%, tied for the most. His predictions included picking every division winner before the season started. Consistency is the key to success in playing and predicting baseball. Derek was correct on the Nationals winning and the Phillies finishing last in the National League East. In the Central, Derek showed his prediction prowess as he was spot on with the Cubs winning, the Cardinals finishing third, and the Reds finishing last in the division. In the National League West, the Dodgers and Rockies came through finishing first and third respectively. The American League East was the weakest division for Derek, as he was correct only in predicting the Red Sox would win the division. The Indians and the Royals made Derek’s predictions true by finishing first and third in the American League Central. He was correct that the Astros would dominate and the Athletics would be left behind in the American League West. Success during the regular season is great, but as any Nationals fan know, success in the playoffs is what matters. Derek managed only two correct predictions in the playoffs, both concerned the Cubs. He was correct in predicting the Cubs would win their matchup in the National League Divisional Series and would lose in the National League Championship Series. Success in the playoffs is what matters, he will have to wait until next year to see if he climb higher on the podium. Coming in second place, just missing the gold medal was John. While John managed only 10 correct regular season predictions, a respectable 33%, against Derek’s 12, his success in the playoffs earned him the silver medal. John got off to a good start with the Nationals winning and the Phillies finishing last in the National League East. His success continued in the Central as he again bookended the division with the Cubs and the Reds. The National League West saw him only predict the Dodgers winning the division. Moving over to the American League East we found John’s strength. He correctly predicting the Red Sox winning the division, the Yankees finishing second, and the Orioles finishing last. The rest of the American League was not as easy. In the Central, John managed to only predict the Indians winning. In the West he only correct prediction was the Athletics finishing last. However, once the calendar rolled over to October John made up for last time. He was correct, like Derek, in predicting the Cubs would win their matchup in the National League Divisional Series only to lose in the National League Championship Series. However, John predicted the Red Sox would be kicked out of the playoffs by losing in the American League Divisional Series. While his regular season predictions were a step behind, John was able to make up for his mistakes and use his predicting power to take silver with a solid playoff showing. All four of us missed the most obvious sign to pick the Astros to win the World Series last season. (Sports Illustrated) This leaves Bernie alone at the top of the podium. His success in the regular season and the playoffs earned Bernie the gold medal in predicting the 2017 Major League season. Bernie tied with Derek by correctly predicting the final regular season standings for 12 teams, 40%. In the National League East he had the Nationals winning with the Phillies bringing up the rear. The Central was his strength in the National League, as Bernie was spot on with the Cubs winning, the Pirates finishing fourth, and the Reds finishing last in the division. In the West Bernie found success with the Rockies finishing third. Once again the American League East was a source of strength, as Bernie had the Red Sox winning, the Yankees second, and the Blue Jays finishing fourth in the division. The Central was an easy pick at the top with the Indians, but below Cleveland his predictions missed. In the American League West, the Astros and Athletics finished as predicted first and last for Bernie. A strong regular season only gave way to an even strong playoff run. Bernie was correct in predicting the Yankees would win the American League Wild Card game. He was also correct in picking the Dodgers to win and the Nationals to lose in the National League Divisional Series. The gold medal winning push came in the American League Divisional Series. Bernie was perfect in predicting the four teams who would meet. He predicted the Yankees winning and the Indians losing in this round. If Bernie had only flipped his prediction to have the Astros winning over the Red Sox, he would have been perfect. Bernie found success in the playoffs while the rest of us faltered. The irony is Bernie lives in Washington D.C. and his local team is the Nationals, who are known for failing in the playoffs after a great regular season. Collectively The Winning Run showed once again the more you know about baseball the less you know. Each of us love baseball and follow it religiously, yet we are terrible at these predictions. We all had the Cubs winning the National League Central and the Phillies finishing last in the National League West. Collectively, we failed at everything else. We failed to predict either the Dodgers or Astros would play in the World Series, even though we recognized both teams would be a force in 2017. We fail at predicting the baseball season every year, so why should this past season be any different? DJ, JJ, JB, & BL Written by Derek Jones Leave a comment Posted in Derek, Uncategorized Tagged with A's, Al, AL Central, AL East, AL West, ALCS, ALDS, American League, American League Central, American League Championship Series, American League Divisional Series, American league East, American League West, Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Astros, Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Houston Astros, Indians, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Mariners, Marlins, Mets, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, National League, National League Central, National League Championship Series, National League Divisional Series, National League East, National League West, nationals, New York mets, New York Yankees, NL, NL Central, NL East, NL West, NLCS, NLDS, Oakland Athletics, Orioles, Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies, Pirates, Pittsburgh Pirates, Predictions, Rangers, Rays, Red Sox, Reds, Rockies, Royals, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, Twins, Washington Nationals, White Sox, Wild Card, World Series, Yankees	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754903
__label__wiki	0.588735	0.588735	Nikolai Khalezin World’s A Stage: Spotlight on Belarus Theater was made to push the boundaries, but what happens when your country wants to maintain those artificial limits? One theatre group in Belarus has made a commitment from allowing their home to silence their (powerful) voices. Belarus Free Theatre is an underground theatre group that operates primarily in secret, holding unofficial rehearsals and free performances in small private apartments, cafes, or wooded areas. Seen as theatrical vigilantes at constant risk of persecution, they constantly change their venues and have no specific theatrical home. Members of the theatre have been attacked by the police and held for their participation in the Belarus Free Theatre activities. The stage director and other associates were fired from their jobs at state-run theatres for their involvement in the movement. Being Harold Pinter at the mid-April 2007 conference Artist and Citizen: 50 Years of Performing Pinter, in England The group was established in March 2005 by human rights activist, playwright and journalist, Nikolai Khalezin, and Natalia Koliada, a theatre producer and Khalezin’s wife. The group’s mission was to resist the overwhelming pressure and censorship of Belarus’ president, Alexander Lukashenka. As the only modern theatre force in the country, the government is challenged by Belarus Free Theatre’s commitment to performing uncensored works. All other theatre is state-run, allowing the country to dictate the programming, resulting in a stale version of theatre which cannot appropriately discuss all aspects of contemporary life. The guerilla theatre group pushes for its creative freedom daily, risking their own security for the promise of truth in art. Belarus Free Theatre in the short play by Jean-Pierre Thibaudat, one of the 12 featured in ‘Eurepica. Challenge.’ On 22 August 2007, during the Free Theatre’s première of Edward Bond’s theatrical piece Eleven Vests, Belarusian special forces stormed a performance in a private apartment in Minsk, and arrested actors, directors, and audience members. The founder, Khalezin, has now unfortunately become accustomed to these surprises, stating that the police would regularly burst into performances with machine guns in order to demonstrate power. At this point he does not fear for himself, but does notice that it is taking its toll on those who have never been arrested before. He’s afraid that these brave audience members won’t come back. Regardless of the pressure, the show resumed the next day in one of the private houses outside of Minsk. Police took video of the event from the forest. The next few years were moderately less tumultuous but on December 19, 2010, fifty thousand citizens took to the streets to protest what they believed to be the rigged election of Alexander Lukashenko. More than a thousand of those were beaten and arrested, including Artistic Director Natalia Koliada, along with other artistic figures. At the Belarus Embassy in London, Ian McKellen and a number of leaders from the artistic community protested the arrests, bringing international attention to the issue. Natalia Koliada was released, while Nikolai Khalezin went into hiding, where he remains. The turmoil has been worth it for those in the ensemble, almost all of whom have served time behind bars. Notable playwrights (Tom Stoppard, Harold Pinter, Václav Havel, and Arthur Kopit) have supported the Free Theatre, with Pinter himself so impressed by their biographical work [Being Harold Pinter] that he gave the troupe rights to perform any of his plays for free. Image Sources: 1, 2 Posted in World's A Stage Tagged Acting, Alexander Lukashenka, arrest, Art, avant garde, Belarus Free Theatre, boundaries, bravery, censorship, class, composition, Creativity, creator, culture, dance, Design, Directing, drama, entertainment, global, government, history, Inspiration, interview, musical, Natalia Koliada, Nikolai Khalezin, performing, Pinter, play, private, secret, spectacle, Stoppard, struggle, theater, theatre, travel, truth, video, world	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754904
__label__cc	0.682425	0.317575	Aradigm, NDA for Linhaliq Accepted by FDA With Priority Review, Catalyst and Pipeline Review Aradigm Corporation (NASDAQ: ARDM) is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of drugs for the prevention and treatment of severe respiratory diseases. Aradigm has completed two Phase 3 clinical trials with Linhaliq™. On September 25, 2017, ARDM advised that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing with Priority Review its New Drug Application (NDA) for Linhaliq™ for the treatment of non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFBE) patients with chronic infections with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The granting of Priority Review for the Linhaliq NDA accelerates the timing of the FDA review of the application compared to a standard review. The PDUFA (Prescription Drug User Fee Act) goal date for completion of the FDA review of the Linhaliq NDA is January 26, 2018. Linhaliq was previously evaluated in two Phase 3 studies (ORBIT-3 and ORBIT-4) to determine its safety and effectiveness as a once-a-day inhaled formulation for the chronic treatment of patients with NCFBE who have chronic lung infections with P. aeruginosa. Aradigm discussed the results of the Phase 3 studies at meetings with FDA in December 2016 and March 2017. Based on these discussions, the statistical analysis of the results was changed from the pre-specified plan to stratification based on sex and the frequency of pulmonary exacerbations in the prior year, as the stratum for current smokers contained a small number of subjects. In neither trial did Linhaliq compared to placebo demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in the third secondary endpoint of the quality of life using the difference in the Respiratory Domain score of the QoL-B questionnaire between baseline and Week 48. Notwithstanding the earlier failures, the Phase 3 trial in fact succeeded in showing that Linhaliq offers both efficacy and safety and thus the company filed an NDA for the same. Pulmonary infections with non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have become a serious growing public health problem in the U.S. and many other countries as they can result in debilitating lung disease and are costly to treat. Patients with NTM at present typically have to use several antibiotics to avoid the emergence of resistance. Therefore, the company has a large potential market, if it could deliver a much-needed new treatment for these patients with severe lung diseases. Aradigm has a commercial partner i.e. Grifols who will fund the development cost, and $20M in milestones, in exchange for receiving part of the revenues. Grifols will fully commercialize Linhaliq in exchange for revenue sharing at a pre-determined ratio. It is to be noted that the agreed revenue sharing ratio would divide by half if there were a competitor in that country. After approval, successful commercialization should not be a major issue. And after approval, “Aradigm believes the NCFBE indication for Linhaliq will exceed $500M of sales by 2021”. With more indications over the near to medium term. The risk-reward tradeoff for the company is quite attractive for ARMD. In fact, The Company’s stock has unsurprisingly found enormous strength in the recent past and with the recent developments, analysts have revised their outlook on the stock. The stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.10. About the Company: Aradigm is an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of drugs for the prevention and treatment of severe respiratory diseases. Aradigm has completed Phase 3 development of Linhaliq (an investigational proprietary formulation of ciprofloxacin for inhalation) for the treatment of NCFBE. Aradigm’s inhaled ciprofloxacin formulations including Linhaliq are also product candidates for treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis and non-tuberculous mycobacteria, and for the prevention and treatment of high threat and bioterrorism infections, such as inhaled tularemia, pneumonic plague, melioidosis, Q fever and inhaled anthrax. About Linhaliq: Linhaliq, formerly known as Pulmaquin®, is composed of a mixture of liposome encapsulated and unencapsulated ciprofloxacin. Ciprofloxacin, available in oral and intravenous formulations, is a widely prescribed antibiotic. It is used often to treat acute lung infections because of its broad-spectrum antibacterial activity against various bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Aradigm’s once-a-day novel inhaled formulations of ciprofloxacin are encapsulated in liposomes, allowing for a sustained release of the drug within the lung and improving airway tolerability. The formulations are to be used for chronic maintenance therapy as they are expected to achieve higher antibiotic concentration at the site of infection and relatively low systemic antibiotic concentrations to minimize side effects. Grant to Investigate the Treatment of Pulmonary Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial (PNTM) Infections with Linhaliq: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded Aradigm a grant to investigate the treatment of two pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacteria infections, Mycobacterium avium and Mycobacterium abscessus, with Aradigm’s inhaled liposomal ciprofloxacin products Linhaliq™ and Lipoquin®. Professor Luiz Bermudez at Oregon State University, Corvallis, will lead the laboratory research as a part of the consortium funded by this two-year grant of approximately $972,000. According to a report from NIH based on an epidemiological study in U.S. adults aged 65 years or older, PNTM infections are an important cause of morbidity among older adults in the United States. From 1997 to 2007, the annual prevalence significantly increased from 20 to 47 cases per 100,000 persons, or 8.2% per year. Forty-four percent of PNTM-affected people in the study had bronchiectasis compared to 1% in the non-PNTM cases, pointing to an important co-morbidity. PNTM infections are common also in patients with other chronic lung conditions, such as cystic fibrosis and emphysema. Key milestone/highlights of the company: 2nd Quarter 2017 Financial Results: The Company recorded $7.7 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2017 compared with $14,000 in revenue in the second quarter of 2016. The Company recognized $7.5 million in contract revenue – related party, $196,000 in government contract revenue and $7,000 in government grant revenue for the second quarter of 2017, as compared to $14,000 in government grant revenue for the second quarter of 2016. The increase in revenue was from the Company’s adoption of ASC Topic 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers and primarily resulted from a change in estimated variable consideration associated with the $5 million regulatory milestone for the New Drug Application (NDA) submittal. Total operating expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were $5.7 million, compared with total operating expenses of $7.6 million for the second quarter of 2016. The decrease in research and development expenses of $2.4 million was due to lower contract manufacturing and clinical trial costs because the Linhaliq™. Net income for the second quarter of 2017 was $1.0 million or $0.07 per share, compared with a net loss of $8.7 million or $0.59 per share in the second quarter of 2016. For the quarter ended June 30, 2017, the increase in net income resulted primarily from an increase in revenue of $7.7 million and a decrease in operating expenses of $1.9 million. As of June 30, 2017, the Company reported cash and cash equivalents of $12.0 million. Key risk factors and potential stock drivers: The recent FDA action is the most significant milestone in the history of Aradigm and will lead the future direction for the company. The company expects a similar submission in the European Union early next year. Marketing authorizations in these two major territories would be transforming events for the company ARDM is still at a research & development stage and has not yet generated meaningful revenue and will likely operate at a loss/thin profits as it grows its market position and seeks ways to monetize it. Any time or cost overrun in its ongoing R&D activities and its impact on business & financial profile will remain a key business sensitivity factor. Stock Chart: On Tuesday, September 26, 2017, ARDM shares were at $3.52 (+ 4.76 %) on an above average volume of 1.9 million shares exchanging hands. Market capitalization is $38.23 million. The current RSI is 92.51. In the past 52 weeks, shares of ARDM have traded as low as $0.78 and as high as $7.19. At $2.53, shares of ARDM are trading above its 50-day moving average (MA) at $1.46 and above its 200-day MA at $1.56. Traders News Source is a wholly owned subsidiary of Traders News Source LLC, herein referred to as TNS LLC. 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Posted by Traders News Source Newer PostPIMCO’s Fels on how Trump’s tax plan may cause the next recession Older PostEndologix, FDA Delays Nellix EVAS in May, Guidance and Pipeline Review	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754912
__label__wiki	0.962168	0.962168	DEMS IN FREEFALL: Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also admits to wearing blackface By Breck Worsham February 6, 2019 February 6, 2019 1 Comment on DEMS IN FREEFALL: Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring also admits to wearing blackface RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The political crisis in Virginia escalated dramatically Wednesday when another top Democrat — Attorney General Mark Herring — admitted putting on blackface in the 1980s, when he was in college. With Gov. Ralph Northam’s career already hanging by a thread over a racist photo in his 1984 medical school yearbook, Herring issued a statement saying he wore brown makeup and a wig in 1980 to look like a rapper during a party as a 19-year-old at the University of Virginia. Herring — who has been among those calling on Northam to resign — said he was “deeply, deeply sorry for the pain that I cause with this revelation.” He said that in the days ahead, “honest conversations and discussions will make it clear whether I can or should continue to serve as attorney general.” The 57-year-old attorney general issued the statement after rumors of a blackface photo of him had circulated at the Capitol for a day or more. But in his statement, he said nothing about the existence of a photo. The disclosure further roils the top levels of Virginia government, which has been hit with one crisis after another since the yearbook picture came to light last Friday. On Monday, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, who would become governor if Northam resigned, was confronted with uncorroborated allegations of sexual misconduct dating to 2004. He denied the accusations, calling them a political smear. Herring would be next in line to be governor after Fairfax. After Herring comes the speaker of the state House, Kirk Cox, a Republican. Herring made a name for himself nationally by playing a central role in getting Virginia’s ban on gay marriage lifted, and he had been planning to run for governor in 2021. The chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus, Del. Lamont Bagby, said its members need time to process the news about the attorney general: “We’ve got a lot to digest.” In his statement, Herring said he and two friends dressed up to look like rappers they listened to, including Kurtis Blow, admitting: “It sounds ridiculous even now writing it.” “That conduct clearly shows that, as a young man, I had a callous and inexcusable lack of awareness and insensitivity to the pain my behavior could inflict on others,” he said. But he also said: “This conduct is in no way reflective of the man I have become in the nearly 40 years since.” Northam has come under pressure from nearly the entire state and national Democratic establishment to resign after the discovery of a photo on his profile page in the Eastern Virginia Medical School yearbook of someone in blackface standing next to a person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe. Northam admitted at first that he was in the photo without saying which costume he was wearing. A day later, he denied he was in the picture. But he acknowledged he once used shoe polish to blacken his face and look like Michael Jackson at a dance contest in Texas in 1984, when he was in the Army. Last Friday, Herring condemned the yearbook photo as “indefensible” and said that it is “no longer possible” for Northam to lead the state. Herring earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia and his law degree from the University of Richmond, and served as a county supervisor and a state senator before getting elected attorney general in 2013 by a mere 165 votes out of more than 2.2 million ballots cast. He won re-election by a more comfortable margin in 2017. Shortly after taking office for his first term, Herring announced he would no longer defend the state’s ban on gay marriage, saying it was time for Virginia “to be on the right side of history and the right side of the law.” A federal judge overturned the ban, citing Herring’s opposition, and Virginia began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2014, nearly a full year before the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. As for the allegations against Fairfax, the lieutenant governor issued a statement Wednesday reiterating that he had a consensual encounter with the woman. He said he was an unmarried law student at the time. “At no time did she express to me any discomfort or concern about our interactions, neither during that encounter, nor during the months following it, when she stayed in touch with me, nor the past 15 years,” Fairfax said. The Associated Press is not reporting details of the accusation because it has not been able to corroborate the account. The woman has not returned messages from the AP seeking comment. Associated Press writer Matthew Barakat contributed to the contents of this report. Tags: Associated Press ATTORNEY GENERAL Democrats Mark Herring racisim Ralph Northram Virginia Published by Breck Worsham I began writing professionally in 2008 after being asked to cover such high profile events as the Casey Anthony case and the 2008 presidential election. My work has been featured on such news outlets as Fox News, CBS Local, USA Today and Yahoo News. Although my formal education is in law, my passion for politics and the Constitution drives me to use my public position as a means to facilitate change. View all posts by Breck Worsham And the left call conservatives racist 😳 Previous Entry WHITE HOUSE: Inaugural probe part of ongoing anti-Trump ‘hysteria’ Next Entry BUSTED! Latest revelations about Elizabeth Warren ruin chances for presidential run, say pundits	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754913
__label__cc	0.584568	0.415432	A diamond in the rough? Sort of… So after the kids left today, Sabra and I went in search of grub. We had several choices and narrowed it down to Garibaldi’s, a little Mexican restaurant tucked away in one of the strip malls in the Castle Hills area. We weren’t sure what to expect, even though it did get rave reviews on Yelp… …and as it turned out, it was very good indeed, from the chips & tortillas to the entrees themselves. Sabra had the barbacoa and egg plate, while I gorged myself on chorizo-and-egg and chorizo-and-potato tacos. And even Miss Marie ate all her food. (She got a chorizo-and-egg taco, too.) The chips were served with a couple of different salsas, along with some kind of dip that can be best described as “chicken soup without the chicken.” Between food and drinks and a 20% tip, we got out of there for about $30. Not a bad deal at all. Like I told Sabra, it’s pretty cool, those hidden gems you find among the Starbucks, nail salons and other SWPL… Yeah, I’m still here… …just having trouble finding blogfodder, and with the truck broke down again (the symptoms would seem to indicate the fuel pump) I’ve been having to ride the bus in to work every day. And it wears me right the hell out, as it turns a 9-hour day into a 12- or 13-hour day. I feel for you folks who have those long daily commutes. Meanwhile, have some George Strait. “Whataburger would never do something like that.” Such was my first thought upon seeing this — for those who don’t want to click on it, a history of ads for the burger chain Carl’s Jr. My second thought was,”You know why they make those ads? Because they have to attract customers somehow.” Not that I think Carl’s Jr. is bad, mind you — just really overrated. You’re better off spending your money at Whataburger anyway if you’re going for a fast-food burger. Can’t say as I understand the slam at Hardee’s, though. I ate at Hardee’s a fair amount when I was a kid, and it was pretty good from what I remember. In fact, their roast beef sandwiches were at least as good as the ones from Arby’s. (Not that I would defend Arby’s as haute cuisine, but for a fast-food roast beef sandwich it was pretty good.) Of course, I’ve always looked askance at places that use sex to sell stuff, and food is no exception. I know there are those who say Hooters makes good wings, for example, but really, if the food was so good would they have to resort to marketing it the way they do? Posted in miscellaneous \| 6 Comments » Good thing they have those strong gun laws in New Jersey! Why? You know, to keep guns away from criminals, natch: A New Jersey woman was viciously attacked by a man while her 3-year-old daughter watched — and the girl’s baby monitor captured the brutal assault…. …”They need to help us get him off the street. He’s not just a burglar, he’s violent.” Yes, ma’am, yes he is. And your legislators don’t care. Sure, if he’s caught, he’ll do time. But they’ll let him out, as they so often let his kind out even though the only way people like that need to leave prison is in a box. And he’ll go on to bigger and better things, sure as God made little green apples. Album review: Queensrÿche, self-titled Queensrÿche was definitely in uncharted waters after June of last year, forging on without either their iconic lead singer (Geoff Tate, who of course was fired from the band) or main songwriter (Chris DeGarmo, who departed the band in 1997). Between then and now, with new singer Todd La Torre, they’ve been impressing live audiences nationwide with the classic material. However, since his termination, Tate has attempted to sow the seeds of doubt in countless interviews, saying among other things that he was the “creative energy” in the band and that the other guys never contributed to the songwriting process. So the question hung in the air: Could the band members write a real, compelling Queensrÿche record on their own, without DeGarmo or Tate — new music that stands with the band’s classic music, as opposed to being just a nostalgia act, living off past glory? Well, the result of their efforts — the self-titled album that hit the stores today — answers that question with a loud and emphatic yes. Every one of the band members has at least one writing credit on the record; in fact, with the exception of guitarist Parker Lundgren — the latest (and, let’s hope, the last) DeGarmo replacement — all the band members have several writing credits. However, Lundgren’s lone writing credit, “Where Dreams Go To Die,” is arguably the best song on the album, with its militaristic drumbeat, subtly burning vocals and perhaps the most biting lyrics to make it to a Queensryche record: You thought you’d get away, but karma made its move; The bad things that you’ve done will be coming back for you. Reportedly Lundgren wrote the tune about his experiences with the Tate family, although it could just as well have been a shot across the bow to Tate from the entire band; Lundgren took it to his bandmates, and they were reportedly so impressed with it they made it the opening track to the record, with Scott Rockenfield writing a piece of musique concrete titled “X2” that sets off the song’s vicious m0od quite nicely. “Vindication,” penned by Michael Wilton, Todd La Torre, and Scott Rockenfield, is another one of those songs that could be interpreted as a message to the former lead singer: The tables have turned on life’s little game No longer the pawns you’re feeling the strain There’s also another musique concrete-anchored piece on the album, the dark, moody “Midnight Lullaby/A World Without,” the wrenching tale of a man whose wife died in childbirth, featuring guest vocals from none other than Pamela Moore herself. This one, while somewhat evocative of “Silent Lucidity” with its orchestration, has much more in common with previous epic compositions like “Promised Land” and “Roads to Madness.” There’s even a stab at radio play here with “In This Light,” which is reminiscent of Empire hits “Another Rainy Night” and to a lesser extent “Jet City Woman.” Of course, it wouldn’t quite be a real Ryche album without some fast-paced rockers and those sweet guitar solos and harmonies Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo made a trademark of the QR sound, and they are here too, in spades. We got a taste of them in “Redemption” and “Where Dreams Go to Die” before the record was released, but you’ll find ’em in other places too; the solo on “Don’t Look Back” (which, incidentally, was penned by Parker Lundgren) is particularly great. Not to leave out the rhythm section, though; on the latter tune, and the Rage for Order-reminiscent “Spore” in particular, Scott Rockenfield is pounding the drums like a man possessed, and Eddie Jackson lays down a killer bass groove on “Don’t Look Back.” And Todd La Torre should definitely not be minimized here. After all, the other four can play — that much as been established — but La Torre brings a lot of those great live performances to the studio as well, as he soars to heights former singer Tate hasn’t seen in some time and sounds great doing it. Prime examples of this include “Redemption,” “Don’t Look Back,” and epic album closer “Open Road,” which evokes memories of “Anybody Listening?” and “Someone Else?” (Speaking of those live performances, three of them are found on the deluxe edition of the disc — “Queen of the Reich,” “En Force,” and “Prophecy” — all putting an exclamation point on this stunning return to form.) If you’re getting the idea that the album is good, you’re right. It’s hands-down the best thing the band has done since 1990’s Empire, if not 1988’s Operation: Mindcrime. And this is coming from someone who actually liked and appreciated Promised Land, the controversial follow-up to Empire. The album is self-titled, and such fits as a statement of what the band is in 2013, but it would have been just as well titled Redemption or Vindication. Why? Because that’s exactly what it is. Welcome back, Queensrÿche. You have been so, so very badly missed. One more reason for the hatred… …of the Nashville music establishment. CMT President Brian Philips, speaking about Lenny Kravitz’s ill-fated performance at the CMA Music Fest: I’ve heard a bit of grumbling about that, to which I say, with all affection for Nashville audiences, Lenny Kravitz fills soccer stadiums all over the world. It makes us sound a bit parochial when I read tweets like, “Why is Lenny Kravitz in Nashville?” It doesn’t make us look smart to take pot shots at great players who are also brave enough to stretch, in my opinion. “Lenny Kravitz fills soccer stadiums all over the world.” Which is obviously more than enough reason to give him a slot at a(n allegedly) country music show, apparently. Damn George Strait for not taking him on a co-headlining tour. I’d like to know exactly how Lenny Kravitz was “stretching,” considering that (from what I understand) he played his standard set of middle-of-the-road rock songs. Honestly, as much as I bitch about Darius Rucker anymore, at least he’s trying to be country even if he’s hamstrung by his record label and most of his recent attempts have fallen short. Lenny Kravitz wasn’t even trying. And don’t get me wrong — that is to his credit. After all, we have enough people who don’t have any respect for country music’s roots and core sound trying to get in on it. But what else should have been expected? When you go to a festival called the “Country Music Association Fan Fest,” you should have a reasonable expectation of hearing actual country music. And for Brian Philips to sit there and call that audience “parochial” because they rebelled at not getting what they expected is the height of arrogance on his part. Who the hell does he think he is to call them that? I remember wondering around 2000, when the Texas-red dirt scene started getting more prominent, just how long it could be a viable alternative to the mainstream crap Nashville was churning out and defending as “country music.” As it turns out, it’s still surviving (and even thriving) more than a decade later. While I don’t listen to nearly as much country music as I used to, I am still thankful for that. I am also thankful that we have folks like Jason Boland, Corb Lund, and Aaron Watson (and the elder statesmen like Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rodney Crowell, and Radney Foster) giving us that alternative, and that terrestrial radio’s not the only game in town anymore when it comes to gaining exposure for non-mainstream music — because if mainstream music was all I had to choose from in addition to asshats like Brian Philips calling me names like “parochial,” I would be feeling quite stabby indeed. Posted in music \| 2 Comments » Oh hey, that reminds me. What reminds me of what, you ask? Well, Sabra’s post on mascots reminds me of a certain bit I saw from the Daily Caller. Bit of context: As you all know, Paula Deen basically got fired from the Food Network for certain racist remarks she made in the past. Outraged Deen fans are now threatening to boycott the Food Network, supposedly until Deen is reinstated. Now, look. I understand that people have past opinions and attitudes they’re not proud of. I know opinions change. But you see something like this: What I would really like is a bunch of little [N-word] to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties. Now that would be a true Southern wedding, wouldn’t it? …and you have to wonder if Paula Deen is just covering her ass because her livelihood is on the line, as opposed to being genuinely contrite. Color me skeptical… And, on the flip side… Why San Antonio’s newspaper is NOT so awesome: Ex-reality TV star and house flipper Armando Montelongo Jr. did it. So did San Antonio Talons owner A. David Lynd, state District Judge Angus McGinty and newscaster Leslie Bohl. When their marriages failed, they joined an array of other wealthy, famous and connected Bexar County residents or their spouses by filing for divorce using their initials rather than names in court filings to try to keep their breakups secret. Disguising cases by using initials conflicts with a basic principle of America’s judicial system — that courts are open to the public. It doesn’t appear to comply with state court rules, either. Why is this news? Why are the divorces of rich and famous people anyone’s business but the involved parties? Can anyone really blame them for wanting a little bit of privacy when it comes to such a sensitive issue? It strikes me that the Express-News is implying this sort of thing is the business of the public, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. And as I just told Sabra, to add insult to injury… Go to ExpressNews.com for the rest of the story. …not only do they give us this bit of not-news, they expect us to PAY FOR IT! Tags:media Posted in media \| 1 Comment » Why San Antonio is awesome. As everyone knows by now, the Spurs lost the last game of the NBA finals, thus the championship went to Miami… …but they still got a winner’s welcome home when the plane landed yesterday. Next year, y’all. Posted in miscellaneous \| 1 Comment » Wow, I totally missed this. From the Express-News letters to the editor today: …former OLLU president Tessa Martinez Pollack…is gone because she cut 12 degrees that were not worthy of a university degree, including Spanish and Mexican-American Studies. Faculty and students protested, and Pollack is gone. Wow, that sucks. I would have expected something like that at a school like the University of Texas, but I never would have expected it to happen at a smaller private school. That being the case, if I was the parent of an OLLU student I’d certainly be questioning the worth of my investment if OLLU is going to waste money paying people to nurse their ethnic grievances and pass them on to others. I would certainly hope for the sake of the students and the folks paying their tuition that OLLU does cut those studies and make those classes electives for other majors. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754916
__label__wiki	0.857114	0.857114	How one Connecticut mosque is laying the groundwork for tolerant debate Arthur Nazaryan The night of Nov. 14, 2015, was not the first time Ted Hakey, 50, went into his backyard in Meriden, Connecticut, and fired guns to let off some steam. It was the night after a deadly terror attack in Paris, and Hakey was furious. So he shot his Springfield Armory M1A .308-caliber rifle into the air. Some of those shots hit the Baitul Aman Mosque next door. Luckily, no one was in the building at the time. "I wanted to scare 'em, but the shots that hit were never supposed to hit," says Hakey, who admits he harbored significant hate for Muslims back then. His Facebook posts reflect that well enough. Prosecutors used some of those posts to build their case against him. The shooting got him six months in jail on federal hate crime charges, but leaders of the mosque argued he should be forgiven and not even serve jail time. Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, the mosque president, expressed this feeling to the judge at Hakey's sentencing. For 29-year-old Zahir Mannan, the criminal case was an opportunity to show Hakey and anyone else paying attention — which by then included the national media — what Islam is really about. Mannan is the director of outreach for the mosque, which is part of a sect of Islam called Ahmadiyya. Their belief that a 19th-century Indian religious leader named Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was the latest prophet after Muhammad, and the savior, is seen by some conservative Muslims as heretical. So Mannan shrugs off the Connecticut attack. It's hardly anything compared to what others of his faith encounter all over the world. The backlash has included the 2010 attacks on two Ahmadiyya mosques in Pakistan that left over 90 people dead, as well as the recent murder of a shopkeeper in the United Kingdom. "Kill Ahmadi" leaflets were found in a London mosque that same year. Such persecution has made Mannan especially convinced that hardline fanatics are antithetical to Islam, rather than representative of it — and he is committed to showing that to people like Hakey. In Meriden, a town of nearly 60,000 people, some local Muslim leaders, and even some members of the Ahmadiyya mosque, called for Hakey to get a harsher sentence. Mannan met with prosecutors to ask for leniency. He also met with Hakey in prison almost every week during his six-month sentence. "One of the things about hate is it's a slow progression that you don't even realize, you don't even know it," says Hakey. If the people of the Baitul Aman Mosque didn't forgive Harkey, that "hatred never would have been erased." But for Mannan, the mission to show the true nature of Islam started long before bullets hit the mosque. And in that quest, Mannan found an unlikely companion: a local 76-year-old named Tom Grimshaw, who is convinced organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood are plotting to impose Sharia, Islamic law, on all of America. Grimshaw is a retired hospital administrator and an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump. He sees most Muslims as a threat to the U.S., but he has chosen to respond with books instead of bullets. The Sept. 11 attack sparked his interest in whether Islam is violent, and the mild-mannered antique clock collector began to read the Quran, Hadith, and Sirah, Muhammad's biography, along with academic books on Islamic history. He even taught an adult education course on Islam at the University of Connecticut. In 2010, Grimshaw began to compile his research into a book of his own. He says coverage of Islam in the media is shallow, and he wanted his book to dispassionately and unreservedly cut to the heart of the issue: Is Islam inherently violent? His initial findings were this: There is an entirely plausible and valid interpretation of the Quran and Hadith that sanctions violence when it comes to propagating Islam and subjecting other faiths. Many, if not most Muslims do not adhere to this version of the faith, but Grimshaw maintains that the percent of those who do is far from negligible. But he knew that, eventually, he would have to vet his own findings by presenting them to actual Muslims. In January 2017, he attended a series of "Honest Conversations with Muslim Neighbors" events, hosted all over the state by the Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding. "What I found was inconsistency in some of the presentations," Grimshaw says. He says he asked Muslim speakers to help him vet his research. "Every time I did that, I got a warm welcome at the meeting and then — I don't like to put it this way, but it looked like to me that when they found out what I knew, they didn't want to engage and I would never get invited back." Grimshaw's search eventually brought him to the doorstep of the Baitul Aman Mosque during one of their weekly Friday "Coffee Cake and True Islam" open house nights he guesses around the end of 2013. That's where he met Mannan. The first few meetings were friendly enough, but there was still apprehension on both sides that prevented open dialogue. Mannan suspected Grimshaw of being another "anti-Sharia" campaigner, noting his loose connection to groups like Act for America, a grassroots nonprofit organization focused on "confronting terrorism" and "securing the border," which some people consider an anti-Muslim hate group. "And I was leery because I had not heard of the Ahmadis previous to this encounter," says Grimshaw. "And I didn't know if they were like most of the other Muslims I'd encountered in Connecticut." After six or seven meetings, though, Grimshaw's relationship with Mannan and the Ahmadi community in Meriden, Connecticut, reached what he describes as a "watershed moment." It came during an open house when the mosque's president, Dr. Mohammed Qureshi, bluntly asked him what he wanted. Grimshaw explained that he was looking for a chance to finally test the view he had formed of Islam — and to have that view challenged by well-educated Muslims. In Mannan, Grimshaw found a formidable sparring partner — someone who was equally disappointed with the lack of openness in the "Honest Conversations" and who was similarly seeking unrestrained debate based on the religious texts. "If someone wants to be critical of Islam, and they go to the sources and don't look at the action of modern-day Muslims, then I'll engage in a dialogue with them," Mannan says. A research biologist by training, Mannan is careful to draw conclusions based on evidence instead of opinion. And he's confident that the sources, properly interpreted, show that Islam encourages the kind of compassion he showed Ted Hakey, rather than the brutality of ISIS. So now, Grimshaw and Mannan are writing the book together. The idea is to lay all the cards on the table and address some of the issues that people may be uncomfortable talking about, like jihad, slavery, and misogyny in Islam, exploring to what extent they are justified by the holy texts. The book is set up as a kind of Socratic debate, with Grimshaw taking the position that the texts of Islam promote intolerance and extremism, while Mannan argues that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. The two regularly meet at the mosque or each other's homes, sometimes debating for hours at a time, to advance the manuscript. They pore over every detail, from the meaning of a Quranic verse to different translations of a single Arabic word. Neither is sure how or when the book might be published, but at this stage, what's important is that they got the conversation going. They're hoping that their example will show that people can discuss and even disagree on these issues in a rational way, without falling into enmity. Now, Grimshaw's friendship with the local Ahmadiyya community has grown to the point that he attended their annual conference in Pennsylvania this year. "I had never been treated so well in any organization in my life," he says. That hasn't necessarily changed his view on Islam — "You can come out with that final view that Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a fundamentalist and he meant to conquer the entire world and convert everyone to Islam. There is that viewpoint, and it is a logical viewpoint." But he readily admits that the Ahmadiyya are among many Muslims who intuitively interpret the religion in a totally peaceful way. "That's why we're trying to define the Islam of Prophet Muhammad versus the Islam of the modern-day Muslims," says Mannan. "It's not the religion of Islam that needs reform, it's our misunderstanding." As for Hakey, Grimshaw jokes that he is lucky he "shot at the most tolerant mosque in Connecticut." Hakey seems to agree. "The amazing part is how as soon as I met Zahir — within five minutes ... when I did my apology, [my hate] was gone. Previous to that if I was walking down the street and I see Muslim people walking, I had that hate in my heart. After five minutes, it was erased, it was gone," Hakey says. "That's the strangest part that I can't figure out, how much hatred was there and how quickly it was gone." This article originally appeared at PRI's The World. More from PRI's The World Oklahoma's Native tribes are trying to fill a gap in sex ed left by the state's schools The hair trade is a billion-dollar global industry More religion articles Mike Pompeo is misrepresenting the Bible to gin up war with Iran Pete Buttigieg's rise exposes a deepening rift in the Christian right W. James Antle III Notre Dame is a magnificent monument to a misunderstood age Rachel Lu Democratic congressman files articles of impeachment against Trump Catherine Garcia Trevor Noah wants to know why Trump didn't take his own advice about leaving the country	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754918
__label__wiki	0.690615	0.690615	Home » Publications » Spoils of war Brodie, N. (2003), ‘Spoils of war’, Archaeology (July/August), 16–19. (Reprinted in 2005, ‘Spoils of war’, in The Archaeology of War (Long Island City: Hatherleigh Press), 251–55). From: http://www.archaeology.org/0307/etc/war.html/ The plundering of Iraq’s cultural institutions demonstrates yet again how warfare fuels the global trade in looted antiquities. In the days following the sack of Baghdad’s museums, the first question asked was: Why had coalition war planners and military commanders not done more to stop it from happening? Looking to the events of April 2003, and beyond, another and more fundamental question is: Why has no concerted international action been taken to block the trade and sale of material looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions during wartime? The simple answer seems to be that the political will just hasn’t been there. No one can blame Iraqis for believing that their museums were modern treasure houses–in a sense, they were. A lucrative international trade in Iraqi antiquities had already emerged in the wake of the 1991 Gulf War. In the next three years, ten regional museums were attacked. Something like three thousand objects were stolen, of which few have ever been recovered. By the mid 1990s, the focus of destruction had shifted to archaeological sites, and in Europe dealers were circulating photographs of relief fragments from palaces at Nineveh and Nimrud. Cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and other small antiquities–more difficult to trace–were sold openly. But not everything was leaving Iraq. In 1997, it was reported that enough antiquities had been seized at Iraq’s border with Jordan to form an exhibition at Baghdad’s National Museum. One year later a thousand artifacts were returned from Jordan, and in 2000 the Iraqis themselves seized five thousand more of them in southern Iraq. The looting of Iraq has not been without loss of human life. At least one guard and one looter have been shot dead (at different sites) and, in 1997, ten people were executed for stealing the head from a statue of a human-headed bull at Khorsabad. Despite the fact that, under United Nations Security Council resolutions, trade in cultural material from Iraq was illegal, the plunder of sites and museums attracted little media attention and no political action. In fact, the trade was carried on in blatant disregard of U.N. sanctions. The Iraq Department of Antiquities found itself in the invidious position of being unable to obtain photographic film to document their collections or vehicles to patrol their sites, while at the same time being forced to watch the unhindered flow abroad of looted antiquities. What has happened in Iraq is not without precedent. In the fighting that followed the Soviet withdrawal from Kabul in 1988, Afghanistan’s National Museum was ransacked. By 1996, 70 percent of the museum’s collections was missing and archaeological sites throughout Afghanistan were being devastated in the search for saleable material. Early in 2001 part of what was left in the Kabul Museum was destroyed on the orders of the Taliban, and since their fall from power it is reported that there has been an upsurge in the looting of archaeological sites. Other national museums and cultural repositories around the world have also been attacked. The national museums of Somalia in Mogadishu and Hargeysa were emptied during the fighting that broke out there in 1991, and there is no news of the whereabouts of their collections. More can be said about Cambodia, where the Dépôt de la Conservation d’Angkor housed probably the finest collection of Khmer antiquities in the world. At some point during the 1970s a large part of the collection disappeared and about 150 statues were decapitated. Attacks on the Dépôt continued into the early 1990s. To date, only seven objects have been recovered. The collections of the National Museum of Beirut largely survived (though hardly intact) the fighting that wracked the city during the 1970s and 1980s, probably because of the successful strategies of deception and physical protection that were adopted by the museum’s director, who announced the removal to safe storage of material that was still, in fact, in the museum’s basement, and protected larger pieces with concrete barriers. Sites in other parts of Lebanon were not so lucky, and in Somalia and Cambodia they have been the target of illegal digging. Ironically, when the Iraqis occupied Kuwait in 1990 they moved quickly to protect museums from looting before removing collections themselves. Much of the contents of Kuwait’s museums was returned in 1991, but its National Museum estimates it has lost about 20 percent of its collection. Thus the omens were there from the start for those with the wit to read them. Museums, particularly national museums, are ripe for the picking during times of conflict. But little or no practical action has been taken to block the trade and sale of material looted from sites and cultural institutions during wartime. So, what needs to be done in Iraq? As an obvious first priority, the museums have been secured against further attack; and now sites in the countryside must similarly be protected. The nature and scale of the damage must be assessed, and work should start on the repair and reconstruction of what is left. There seems a broad measure of agreement among the international community that this work should be in the hands of the Iraqi museum and archaeology services, which have the necessary knowledge and expertise for the tasks at hand. This is not to say that there should be no injection of material or expertise from outside agencies, but we should keep firmly in mind that overall supervision is an Iraqi prerogative. The recovery program will be long term and the greatest threat it faces is loss of public interest and thus political support when the media gaze is drawn to other cultural disasters. It is important that the looting of Baghdad’s museums does not become last year’s news. A second priority is to prevent looted material from moving around the world, but it is not easy to see how this can be achieved. In the decade of neglect that followed the Gulf War, illicit trade networks were established, transport routes identified, and smuggling techniques tried and tested. Nothing definite is known about how or where looted material moves out of Iraq, but routes can be guessed at. Iraq’s long land frontiers are difficult to police and allow easy passage into Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. From Turkey material can move directly to Europe, and from Saudi Arabia it can pass through the Gulf States to Europe. Jordanian customs officers have in the past intercepted Iraqi material, and have made more seizures since April 2003, but they are unable to stop the flow completely. From Jordan material can be sent directly to Europe, or pass into Israel, where there is a legal antiquities market. Presumably material moving through Iran will follow a more circuitous route but with the same European destination in mind. Thus material from Iraq will flow into Europe from all quarters, and by a variety of means, and presumably then on to the markets in Europe, Japan, and the United States. In general, European customs officers are not trained to recognize archaeological material, and so are poorly prepared to intercept suspect shipments. The situation in the United States is better as customs officers there are accustomed to blocking the import of specific classes of archaeological material as called for by various agreements with other countries. They also have the U.S. State Department’s International Cultural Property Protection website to consult, which provides links to other websites showing images of looted Iraqi antiquities. Given the patchy nature of customs preparedness, U.S. and United Kingdom government officials are placing great reliance on the cooperation and self-policing of dealer organizations (other European countries haven’t said much; presumably, they don’t feel responsible). Yet can we have any confidence that they will act to obstruct the trade in material looted from Iraq? Past experience suggests not. Large numbers of antiquities from Iraq, likely looted, have been on open sale in Europe and America for the past ten years, and nothing has been done about it. On the Monday following the attacks on the National Museum it took me only half an hour to locate forty cuneiform tablets for sale on nine Internet sites from around the world. Presumably, these are only the tip of an iceberg. No doubt dealers selling these cuneiform tablets would claim that they have been in circulation for years, and moved out of Iraq at a time long predating the Gulf War. Maybe. But it is an interesting fact that a large number of tablets have been authenticated and translated by cuneiform expert Wilfred Lambert, a fellow of the prestigious British Academy. Now it is certainly possible that one or two tablets may have been in circulation for decades or more without being previously noted or translated, but it is scarcely credible that large numbers have been hidden away for years in dusty attics and rusty footlockers only to emerge and be authenticated toward the end of the twentieth century. Yet that is exactly what we are expected to believe. It is probably too soon to say how much looted material will be recovered, but the prognosis is gloomy. Only a handful of objects stolen from Iraqi museums after the Gulf War have been identified over the years, and the experiences of Kabul Museum and Angkor are hardly encouraging. Inside Iraq there can be little objection to otherwise innocent people being offered immunity to prosecution in exchange for the return of stolen material–presumably major figures will not come forward and would in any case be guilty of other crimes. However, the question of reward might require more careful consideration. Perhaps a small reward is acceptable, provided it is not so large as to spur further looting. Payment could be restricted to objects that are readily identifiable as museum property, and this seems a good solution. Outside Iraq, however, the situation is less clear-cut, and it is harder to justify the payment of reward money if it goes only to sustain the market. An amnesty, however, might still be in order. The international museum community might also take a hand. The International Council of Museums is at the forefront, and with financial support from the U.S. State Department is preparing a “Red List” of Iraqi antiquities at risk. But more could be done by individual institutions. The American Association of Museums, for example, has advised that museums should research the provenance of objects in their collections that may have changed hands during the period 1933 through 1945 when the Nazis expropriated large quantities of mainly Jewish-owned art. Many leading museums have now established programs with a view to returning stolen paintings or other objects to their rightful owners. Surely now is the time for a similar lifeline to be offered to cultural objects of other nations that have been wrongfully removed during wartime. Cambodia, Somalia, Afghanistan, and now Iraq are among the worst cases of cultural destruction during time of war. All these cases point either to flaws in international law or to its ineffective enforcement. For example, I was puzzled that the United States had not entered into agreements protecting cultural heritage with Somalia and Afghanistan, as it has with Cambodia and other countries, under the 1970 UNESCO Convention. Then I realized that neither Somalia nor Afghanistan have actually signed the convention. Furthermore, U.S. policy is responsive–there needs to be a clear request from a recognized central authority before any action can proceed, and the authority requesting action must have an effective jurisdiction and be able to implement measures designed to protect cultural heritage. In wartime, these requirements may be compromised. The First and Second Protocols to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict are designed to circumvent such problems. For example, an occupying power has a duty to protect cultural property and prevent its illicit trade, which applies whether or not the occupied country has signed the convention. The Hague Convention is a strong piece of legislation drafted with the express purpose of preventing the types of destruction and theft of cultural material that have become a common feature of modern warfare. So far, however, the U.K. and the U.S. have refused to ratify it, although the reasons for their reticence have never been made clear. If the coalition partners had acceded to the Hague Convention before the invasion of Iraq, then those responsible for the failure to protect the National Museum would have taken more care to secure it.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754919
__label__cc	0.692637	0.307363	Humans of Utica What are you doing for midwinter break? Utica staff and students say farewell to retiring teachers School left in darkness days before exams 2019 Valedictorians & Salutatorians Baja hoodies: What they really are, why most students wear them. Dylan Hamilton, Editor-In-Chief\|January 14, 2014 A student walks in during the cold months, wearing a slightly odd looking sweatshirt. It looks like it could be a poncho or a serape, but it has closed sides and sleeves. Many students are quick to judge, and label this student as a “stoner.” Little do they know, the student wearing the pullover just returned from a vacation down to Mexico and picked up a Mexican pullover hoodie, or more commonly known as a baja hoodie. Baja hoodies, or “drug rugs,” as they’re commonly referred to, can be seen anywhere and everywhere. They are considered a large part of the hippie sub-culture and a part of the “cholo” lifestyle. Baja hoodies became popular in the United States when surfers bought them in Baja California, Mexico, and wore them during cool weather on the beach. Kids are often judged by how they look, what music they listen to, and what they wear. To be a teenager in today’s society has to be one of the hardest and worst things to experience. Constantly being judged and doubted can wear on anyone. Take someone who is not affiliated with drugs in any way and throw a baja hoodie on them. People will either ask them if they smoke or if they “have any.” Just for wearing one simple article of clothing, that person is labeled as a drug user. This is stereotyping at its worst. Baja hoodies are referred to as “drug rugs” because they were originally made out of hemp. Nowadays, they are mostly made out of wool, cotton, acrylic, and polyester; they can even be made from materials like recycled t-shirts. They are durable and warm, making them a great clothing article to have for Michigan’s bipolar weather. “I wear them because they’re comfy and warm,” sophomore Nick Mason said. “I get lots of nice comments on it because it’s different. I got it last Christmas, and just started wearing it regularly.” Baja hoodies can be worn by anyone of any age. Adults, children, and elder folks can all express themselves through the different styles and colors of a baja hoodie. Wearing one doesn’t mean that you’re into drugs; it just means that you appreciate warmth, comfort, and a unique style. “I wear mine because it’s really comfortable and warm, plus it’s my favorite color: blue,” senior Kayla Connely said. “It also has sentimental value to it because my friend gave it to me as a gift.” Baja hoodies are a piece of clothing, no different than a normal sweatshirt other than its style. However, after putting one on, everyone starts labeling the wearer as a drug user. For people to make this big of a stereotype for a sweatshirt, I have to wonder where our society is headed. We’re headed in a direction where it’s frowned upon to show some individuality, and it’s a sobering and slightly frightening thought. With that direction, it’ll be interesting to see what will be stereotyped next. We need to be less judgmental and more accepting. Tags: baja, hoodies, opinion Dylan Hamilton, Editor-in-Chief 6 Responses to “Baja hoodies: What they really are, why most students wear them.” mexican threads on December 11th, 2015 9:51 pm They were never made of hemp. That is a common mistake people assume about them. Simplynessa on July 11th, 2016 9:29 am Im a girl and i wear it just because I like the way the material is Dhanjer on February 27th, 2017 7:55 pm The problem with society isn’t so much the stereotyping, but rather the fact that people care what others say and think about them. If people weren’t so scared of what other people where thinking or might say about them or what they’re wearing, saying, and or doing, you can be sure there would be a right site less sheeple in this world. Ryan on November 11th, 2017 9:20 am I were baja hoodies but i am do not smoke marijuana im am simply what you would call a “hippie” and I practice meditation. People are dumb sometimes and assume that you are a piece of trash but that may not be true. Its mainly the jocks who label this stuff but if u arent even popular with them, then just dont care what they say. Hanna on December 27th, 2018 12:13 am I grew up in an upper-middle class family and don’t do drugs. I’m also half mexican and part native american (although I look white) and I love wearing my baja because it’s my favorite color and because I feel that it represents part of my heritage. Not only is it warm and comfortable, but I think it looks really cool- which is why I’ll keep wearing it. Ethan on March 4th, 2019 1:08 am I feel that anyone who is not of the Mexican heratiage and wears a Baja sweater is contributing to cultural appropriation. I’ve seen so many kids at my school wearing it and talking about how it’s comfy. I’ve seen family members wearing that as pride and as memories of home. While others just wear it and don’t know the importance of it. Other stories filed under Opinion Rollin’ away with the tide. For the past eight months, almost every conversation I have had has revolved around college and my plans for the future. It’s surreal that I have co... Measles make a comeback Through the years, the human race has medically advanced and overcome many different diseases. In the recent years, though, there has been a spike in ... Schools aren’t preparing students for the real world. One of the most memorable events in a person’s life is when they graduate high school and eventually college. After spending over a decade taking st... ‘Game of Thrones’ Comes to an End ‘Egg Boy’ eggs on Australian senator “The Umbrella Academy:” What is it? “Captain Marvel” flies into theaters 2019 brings back Breaking Bad ‘Burnin’ Up’ for the Jonas Brothers Valentine’s Day: Is being alone on Valentine’s day really all that bad? The student news site of Utica High School	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754923
__label__wiki	0.651262	0.651262	Unit/10 book list – Mark Sinclair, Unit Editions For our first Unit/10 book list – collections of favourite books on visual culture as selected by the Unit team, our friends and collaborators – Unit’s senior editor Mark Sinclair shares some highlights from his bookshelves. As well as we think we know them, favourite books are always ready to give up their secrets again, from long-forgotten sentences, thoughts and ideas, to sequences of images or design decisions we previously might have missed. Some of the books I’ve chosen here are ones I’ve not opened for a while, but, in going back to them over the past few days, I’ve both recognised – and been surprised by – what they contain. Peter Mendelsund had already established himself as one of the world’s most talented book cover designers when he published What We See When We Read (Vintage), a fascinating, often playful visual essay about how we read and interpret literary texts. As a designer, he brings an interesting perspective to the enjoyment of reading and the mechanics of visual construction. A very revealing and rewarding book. A great writer can bring any subject alive and Luc Sante does just that in his book, Folk Photography: The American Real-Photo Postcard 1905-1930 (Yeti), a brilliant study of the way technology enabled the sending of images of local, newsworthy events via the US postal service at the beginning of the 20th-century. The postcards themselves are bizarre and fascinating, while Sante’s writing is a joy. On the subject of joy, how about the drawn adventures of a cat called Krazy and a mouse named Ignatz? George Herriman’s surreal comic strips from the 1930s and 40s were a real discovery for me – and the influence of them on modern cartooning is considerable. The Fantagraphics edition I have collects the later Krazy Kat strips from 1941-2, reminding me I still need to look further into Herriman’s work, which goes back to 1913. The action hangs on Krazy’s unrequited love for Ignatz – and the latter’s attempts to curtail the cat’s advances by throwing bricks at his/her head (which Krazy takes as a sign of love). Confusing, witty, brilliant and nearly 100 years old. I really like the format of this book from Penguin; essentially the transcripts of several conversations between the curator Hans Ulrich Obrist and Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. The Q&A format can often be the clearest way to render an interview (the reader sees the question asked, rather than just the answer as a quote) and, here, the sense is that you are sitting in an audience listening to one of today’s most significant voices in art talking about his life and craft. As an example of the book as an artwork in its own right, Irma Boom’s design for textile artist Sheila Hicks’ Weaving as Metaphor (Yale), takes some beating. From its tactile deckle edges to the varying type sizes and detailed reproductions of Hicks’ intricate works, the book honours the artist’s sensibilities perfectly. In the hand it echoes the feel of both paper and cloth – a big, white block of fibres containing all manner of colourful works within. A book of the cool, detached photographs of mainly European industrial buildings by Bernd and Hilla Becher offers a nice counterpoint to Hicks’ art. The pair’s images of these striking structures, such as blast furnaces and water towers, have long been celebrated; the lines and forms appealing to the designer as much as the photographer. This Thames & Hudson collection of work made across their career records an architectural landscape that has gradually disappeared, while highlighting their contributing to modern photography – and its potential subjects. Andrzej Klimowski’s On Illustration (Oberon Masters) is a neat evocation of what’s involved in a pursuing a career in the art form, recalled from personal experience. Klimowski touches on everything from the immediacy of drawing and the importance of reading, to the illustrator’s identity and working with clients. At just over 60 pages, it’s a slim book, but one packed with detail from a long life in illustration alongside some wonderful anecdotes. Finally, a fairly tatty edition of a familiar yet influential book. And it’s only now, years after first reading – and writing – about John Berger’s Ways of Seeing (Pelican), that I’ve noticed the unusual credit given to the book’s designer Richard Hollis. The second page of my 1982 paperback edition includes the line “A book made by…” and introduces the five people who contributed to the book’s construction, including Berger, Hollis and Michael Dibb, the director of the ground-breaking 1973 BBC TV series upon which the book was based. It’s rarely stated that books are actually ‘made by’ people in this way – and I rather like its collaborative inference. Hollis’ intelligent design and layout centred on the relationship between text (set in ‘Monophoto’ Univers) and related image, and still looks fresh today, 45 years after it was first published. In his introduction, Berger even asserts the role the design plays in disseminating his message: “The form of the book is as much to do with our purpose as the arguments contained within in it.” It’s a good way to think about the book in general – an inseparable combination of content and form, brought together in collaboration. Unit/10 is our celebration of ten years of Unit Editions. Look out for more book lists and details of other projects in the coming weeks. 36 Elsynge Road London SW18 2HN © Copyright 2019, Unit Editions Shipping & taxes calculated at checkout.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754924
__label__wiki	0.968616	0.968616	Longhorns, Aggies to renew rivalry on Dec. 8 33dAlex Scarborough Alex ScarboroughESPN Staff Writer Covers the SEC. Graduate of Auburn University. The rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M will return to the basketball court next season, as the two schools have agreed to a nonconference game on Dec. 8. Rather than schedule a home-and-home series, the Aggies and Longhorns will instead play the game at a neutral site at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. It's just the second time the bitter rivals have gone head-to-head during the regular season since Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC following the 2011-12 season. But unlike the previous game, this contest won't be part of a tournament as it was in 2015 during the Battle 4 Atlantis. "This is a terrific opportunity to renew an important rivalry for the fans in the great state of Texas," Texas head coach Shaka Smart said in a statement. "We're excited about the chance to play in a first-class arena in front of our fans in the Metroplex." Said new Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams: "I've seen the Texas A&M-Texas rivalry first-hand, so I know how important this game is to our players, coaches and fans."	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754925
__label__wiki	0.731034	0.731034	› Best-selling author Mark Crowley to share personal story at USM Leadership Summit on Aug. 28 Best-selling author Mark Crowley to share personal story at USM Leadership Summit on Aug. 28 A message of compassionate management — illustrated by “Lead from the Heart” author Mark C. Crowley — is coming to the University of Southern Maine’s Leadership Summit. The Aug. 28 event will feature a keynote address by Crowley, who thrived for more than 25 years in the sometimes ruthless financial services industry. His book, which is being taught in many colleges and universities, grew from comparisons between his own management style and other managers’ use of cool logic and fear to drive workers. “The big picture is that people are coming to realize we are doing more harm than good in the way we traditionally manage people,” Crowley recently said. “How leaders make people feel has almost everything to do with whether they come in to work wanting to do good work and be engaged and productive.” The summit is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. with registration and a networking breakfast held in the Abromson Center on USM’s Portland Campus. Attendees will learn about a variety of professional development programs offered at USM. The keynote address will follow at 9 a.m. in Hannaford Hall. Crowley’s talk will be moving, said Jeanne Paquette, USM’s vice president of Corporate Engagement and Auxiliary Services. "I knew Mark as a colleague many years ago in San Diego and knew he would do something powerful in leadership someday,” she said. “ I'm thrilled we are hosting Mark here at USM so he can share his inspiring message and best-selling book, ‘Lead From The Heart.‘“ Crowley said he will talk about his own story: coming of age in a troubled home, putting himself through college and becoming a manager. Twice, he held national-level responsibilities with his companies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president-national sales manager for investment products at one of America’s largest financial institutions, where he was named “Leader of the Year.” Today, he travels the country as a speaker and leadership coach. “Leadership is about how you make people feel,”he said. “Anyone can learn it, if you have an authentic interest.” Part of it is understanding. “What I know is that feelings and emotions are really what drive people,” he said. “Yet, we have always made appeals to people’s minds about work. We’ve said, ‘If you do this, you’ll make more money,’ or ‘If you do this, the customers will be happy’ or ‘the company will be more successful.’” Hiring and retaining a new generation of workers requires more than a paycheck or the fear that it could go away, he said. “I am a baby boomer, and my generation was willing to suck up any kind of management that was handed to us,” he said. “The children of the baby boomers — the millenials —are repelled by it. They are just not going to want to stick around if those needs aren’t being met." Registration for the USM Leadership Summit, which includes a copy of Crowley’s “Lead from the Heart,” is $39 for general admission and $19 for USM faculty, staff, alumni and corporate partners. Limited sponsorships are available. Please contact Jeanne Paquette at Jeanne.Paquette@maine.edu for more information.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754931
__label__cc	0.726201	0.273799	Esperanza An Auberge Resort Esperanza is located in the Baja Peninsula, four miles outside of Cabo San Lucas. The oceanfront hotel is perched on the bluffs of Punta Ballena (Whale Point) overlooking two private coves on the majestic Sea of Cortés a 10-minute drive from Cabo San Lucas and a 30-minute drive from the Los Cabos International Airport which services many major U.S. cities. Esperanza is comprised of 57 rooms, 60 privately owned villas and 36 private residences, providing residential accommodations for families and groups. All of the hotels spacious rooms open to reveal sweeping ocean views. Accommodations range from one to four bedrooms and from 925 to 4,000 square feet. Interiors showcase regional seaside décor with original art; handcrafted furnishings, large private terraces with infinity-edge hot tubs, and spacious bathrooms with deep soaking tubs and showers built for two. The resort also features the world-class oceanfront restaurant Cocina del Mar, an award-winning fullservice spa, four swimming pools, a private beach, access to championship golf and recreational activities nearby. The resort is a member of the prestigious Relais & Châteaux collection. Address: Carr. Transpeninsular Km 7 \| Punta Ballena, Cabo San Lucas 23410, Mexico	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754939
__label__cc	0.567066	0.432934	Published on VOX, CEPR Policy Portal (https://voxeu.org) Home > Why did US trade grow? The role of trade liberalisation Policy liberalisation and US merchandise trade growth, 1980 – 2006 Matthew Adler, Gary Hufbauer 10 March 2009 This column shows that 25% of US merchandise trade growth since 1980 was due to policy liberalisation. But as the financial crisis has taken hold, policymakers seem more likely to accept new episodes of protection than to energetically seek trade liberalisation. Protectionist initiatives on top of crisis losses would be a colossal mistake. In 1980, US two-way merchandise trade was $467 billion. By 2006, US two-way trade had grown more than five-fold in nominal terms, to reach $2,942 billion.1 During this period of rapid growth, the international economy continued its hurried pace of globalisation that began after the Second World War. The international economy became increasingly interdependent, as transportation and communication costs declined, multinational enterprises flourished, and trade barriers receded through multilateral, preferential, and unilateral initiatives. Against this background, it seems worthwhile to evaluate the sources of past growth in US merchandise trade in order to make informed guesses about the future course of trade growth. Moreover, with G20 leaders meeting [1] in a few weeks to discuss options for reviving the global economy, it is important to emphasise the role that policy liberalisation has played in sparking trade growth. Previous studies [2]have shown the tremendous boon that trade can have for the real income of a country (Bradford, Hufbauer and Grieco 2006), and raising trade barriers – something most G20 leaders have sought to avoid – will only dry up a critical source of growth for the world economy. In our paper, soon to be available on the Peterson Institute website [3], we use various data sources, a simple partial equilibrium analysis, and a more complex computable general equilibrium model to determine the shares of US trade growth over the last 25 years attributable to policy liberalisation, the decline in transportation costs, and, as a residual, income growth and unidentified technology – a basket category dominated by market forces, especially the remarkable expansion on multinational enterprises (MNEs). To understand the sources of US trade growth since 1980, we analyse six different hypothetical scenarios, including: The reversion of current US and US partner tariffs to Uruguay Round bound tariff rates The reversion of current US and US partner tariffs to Tokyo Round bound tariff rates The return from current transportation costs to circa 1980 transportation costs The removal of current US preferential tariff rates The reversion of current non-tariff barrier (NTB) levels to circa 1990 NTB levels (Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga 2005) [4] The reversion of current US and US partner tariffs to circa 1990 applied tariff rates We conclude that roughly 25% of US merchandise trade growth since 1980 was due to policy liberalisation. This result is strikingly similar to Baier and Bergstrand (2001), who attributed 25% of world trade growth between 1960 and 1990 to policy liberalisation. The other 75% of US trade growth during 1980 to 2006 can be explained by the general expansion of the world economy (72%) and falling transportation costs (3%). Figure 1 provides an overview. Figure 1. Total US Trade Growth from 1980 to 2004 Attributable to Various Sources Evidently policy liberalisation has played an important role in trade growth. Moreover, econometric evidence strongly indicates that trade growth above and beyond the pace of GDP growth furnishes a powerful engine that drives the world economy. Our analysis, along with the work of others, demonstrates that policy liberalisation supplies the lion’s share of this “extra” trade growth. Tariff liberalisation accounts for about 45% of “extra” trade growth. Preferential and unilateral tariff liberalisation have seemingly delivered more of a jolt than multilateral tariff liberalisation.2 Roughly speaking, the proportions are 9% of the “extra” growth through multilateral tariff liberalisation, 18% through preferential liberalisation, and 19% through unilateral liberalisation.3 Non-tariff barrier (NTB) liberalisation, as we measure it, also plays a large role in US trade growth – perhaps 44% of the “extra” growth – but we are less certain of NTB data than tariff data. However, since the current average level of NTB protection may triple that of tariff protection (for US imports 7.5% vs. 2.5%), the importance of fresh NTB liberalisation is substantial. Here is where multilateral liberalisation has achieved a great deal in the past and could prove to be the dominant force for future NTB liberalisation. The GATT and the WTO have sharply constrained quotas, technical barriers, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers, and other non-tariff barriers. More progress on these and other NTB fronts can be expected from future multilateral negotiations. One surprising result, and a marked contrast from earlier decades, is that the decline in transportation costs contributed only 11% to “extra” trade growth since 1980. Going forward, policy liberalisation will be critical to the future growth of US and world trade. If policy liberalisation grinds to a halt, a powerful engine of economic growth will also splutter. A great deal of policy liberalisation remains to be accomplished. Developing country tariffs are far from zero, and developed countries still have high tariff peaks that restrain trade. Non-tariff barriers represent a formidable wall of protection, and their removal would certainly boost global commerce. But will future policy liberalisation occur? Or instead will we see policy reversion in reality, not just in a simulated exercise? The financial crisis that began slowly late in 2007 and erupted with a fury in late 2008 has awakened protectionist sentiments around the world. The Doha Round of multilateral negotiations has dropped far back on the “must-do” list. Policymakers seem more willing to accept new episodes of protection than to energetically seek trade liberalisation. On account of falling income worldwide, trade flows are shrinking [5], sometimes quite sharply. Export declines since July 2008 of 20% or more are common in Asia. Protectionist initiatives, on top of crisis losses would be a colossal mistake. Going slow on policy liberalisation is almost as bad. Baier, Scott L. and Jeffrey H. Bergstrand. 2001. “The Growth of World Trade: Tariffs Transport Costs, and Income Similarity [6]”. Journal of International Economics. 52 (2001) 1-27. Bradford, Scott C., Paul L. E. Grieco, and Gary Clyde Hufbauer. 2006. “The Payoff to America from Global Integration [7].” In The United States and the World Economy, ed. by C. Fred Bergsten. Washington: Institute for International Economics. Kee, Hiau Lee, Alessandro Nicita and Marcelo Olarreaga. 2005. “Estimating Trade Restrictiveness Indices [8]”. World Bank Working Paper Series 3840. Washington: World Bank. United Nations Comtrade Database (UNComtrade). 2008. Online subscription access. Public access available at: http://comtrade.un.org [9]. 1 US exports in 1980 totaled $217 and imports were $250 billion. US exports in 2006 were $1,028 billion and imports were $1,913 billion (UNComtrade via WITS 2008). 2 The 45% role of tariff liberalisation is determined by taking the impact of the Tokyo Round scenario in the general equilibrium analysis ($275 billion) as a share of the “extra” trade growth ($605 billion), as determined by our computable general equilibrium calculations. 3 The 18% role of preferential tariff liberalisation is determined by taking the impact of Scenario 4 ($109 billion) as a share of the “extra” trade growth ($605 billion). The 19% role of unilateral liberalisation is determined by adding the difference between Scenario 1 ($171 billion) and Scenario 4 ($109 billion) to the difference between Scenario 2 ($275 billion) and Scenario 6 ($225 billion). Together, these two figures equal $112 billion, which is then expressed as a share of the “extra” trade growth ($605 billion). The 9% role of multilateral liberalisation is determined by subtracting the effect of preferential ($109 billion) and unilateral tariff liberalisation ($112 billion) from the impact of Scenario 2 ($275 billion) to arrive at a figure of $54 billion. This figure is then expressed as a share of the “extra” trade growth ($605 billion). Note that different arithmetic methods for evaluating the scenarios would suggest different roles for the three types of liberalisation. Topics: International trade [10] Tags: trade policy [11], trade liberalisation [12] Source URL: https://voxeu.org/article/why-did-us-trade-grow-role-trade-liberalisation [1] http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3206 [3] http://www.petersoninstitute.org/ [4] http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/396 [6] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V6D-41TWJHX-1/2/56033fe768398e19586121b1d2d2ed62 [7] http://www.iie.com/publications/chapters_preview/3802/2iie3802.pdf [8] http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/01/31/000016406_20060131161106/Rendered/PDF/wps3840.pdf [9] http://comtrade.un.org [10] https://voxeu.org/content/topics/international-trade [11] https://voxeu.org/taxonomy/term/128	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754940
__label__wiki	0.907192	0.907192	Last month, the ACLU filed a $1 million claim against the Corona Police Department because Corona Police Officers checked with the Temecula Border Patrol Checkpoint when a Mexican national was stopped by the officers for speeding. His visa was expired, and he was deported. Now the ACLU has filed a claim on behalf of the deported man for $1 million dollars. His wife and 3 daughters live in Corona. Read the article below. IN SUPPORT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW, which trumps state law, concerned citizens will speak out in support of enforcing immigration laws. In reality, the federal law, the Immigration Reform and Control Act allows for local law enforcement to report to federal immigration officers. SPEAK OUT IN SUPPORT OF ENFORCING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS during the public comments segment of the meeting. The lawsuit was filed last month and this issue is not on the Corona City Council agenda so those in attendance will speak out during the public comment segment of the meeting. Agenda: https://corona.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=33977&GUID=E4E60D71-A945-4462-B7C4-E15530C319E0 LOCATION: Corona City Hall, Council Chambers 400 South Vicentia Ave https://www.coronaca.gov/government/city-council ACLU files $1 million claim against Corona Police after immigrant is deported\ Claim alleges Corona police violated state, federal laws — including California’s sanctuary law https://www.pe.com/2019/06/12/aclu-files-1-million-claim-against-corona-police-after-immigrant-is-deported/ Daniel Valenzuela had just dropped his daughters at school when he was stopped by a Corona police officer who said he was speeding. Valenzuela didn’t get a ticket. He got deported. Corona police officers asked him about his immigration status, held Valenzuela in a patrol car and called U.S. Customs and Border Patrol — in violation of state and federal laws, according to a claim filed Wednesday against the city of Corona by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The ACLU is seeking $1 million for Valenzuela, whose wife and three daughters remain in Corona. “It’s a tick-tock of state and federal constitutional violations and violations of the California Values Act,” ACLU attorney Eva Bitran said. Immigration-rights advocates in the Inland Empire say there have been other similar cases in Corona, and they want the police department to better train its officers to comply with California’s sanctuary law. That law, known as the California Values Act, or SB-54, forbids officers from asking about someone’s immigration status and limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. “This is not an isolated incident,” Emilio Amaya, executive director of the San Bernardino Community Services Center, said during a press conference with Bitran and other immigrant-rights advocates in Corona Wednesday. “We’ve had issues not only with Corona but with (other) Inland Empire police departments enforcing immigration laws. “It speaks to the fact that this is a practice,” Amaya added. “For political reasons or personal beliefs, they take it on their own to enforce immigration laws.” Corona Police Chief George Johnstone said in a statement that Valenzuela’s case is “an isolated incident” that led to an internal investigation, a meeting with representatives from the ACLU and other advocacy groups, and renewed training of all officers on policy and law related to the sanctuary California Values Act. “The Corona Police Department is committed to providing the highest quality service to all members of our community,” Johnstone said. Valenzuela, 34, whose full name is Daniel Alberto Valenzuela Rodriguez, was stopped by Officer Jason Gardner on Jan. 31 for allegedly driving 70 miles per hour in a zone that had a 45 MPH limit, according to the police report. He presented his Mexican driver’s license and told the officer he had a passport and visa. Bitran said Valenzuela offered to have someone bring those documents, but was told instead to remain his car. A second officer, Edgar Castaneda, arrived and served as an interpreter. He asked Valenzuela questions about his background and immigration history, including where his parents are from, why he was in the United States and specifically in Corona, the names of his family members and whether he was authorized to be in the country, according to the claim. Valenzuela was then asked to sit in the patrol car and wait further. Gardner wrote in his report that he called the Temecula checkpoint of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to verify Valenzuela’s statements and found that he had overstayed his tourist visa, which had expired Jan. 16. Immigration officials asked Gardner to hold Valenzuela until they could arrive and take him into custody. “In this case, the cooperation is abundantly clear,” Bitran, the ACLU attorney, said. The ACLU argues that in addition to violating California’s sanctuary law, the officers’ actions violated other laws, including unlawful search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment, due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, as well as false imprisonment and intentional infliction of emotional distress when they “detained him without cause to conduct an immigration investigation.” When he was stopped, Valenzuela was in California visiting his wife and children in Corona on a 10-year tourist visa that allows for multiple entries, usually for a maximum of six months each time, according to Amaya. A commercial driver in Mexico, he came to California regularly but missed the last deadline because of an illness in the immediate family. His family didn’t know where he was in the immigration system for at least a week, Amaya said. Valenzuela may still be eligible to request a future tourist visa, after a year in Mexico, but Amaya said it will be much more difficult to attain. One other case involving an alleged violation of the California Values Act is pending in Laguna Beach. An Orange Coast College student with a temporary legal status known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) and no prior criminal record, was taken into immigration custody after being arrested for driving while intoxicated. Meanwhile, in San Bernardino, a U.S. citizen won a $55,000 settlement after she was held by deputies, detained by immigration agents and threatened with deportation last October. A report released earlier this year by UC Irvine Law School Immigrant Rights Clinic and two immigrant rights organizations said some law enforcement agencies are directly violating the state’s controversial sanctuary law and others are skirting it by following out-of-date policies or exploiting loopholes. The California Values Act is widely panned by those who are against illegal immigration. More than 60 municipalities across California have voiced opposition, including Huntington Beach, which won a court case –now under appeal – that argues the state law unconstitutionally interferes with the city’s charter authority to enforce local laws and regulations. But for advocates like Luis Suarez, of the Inland Coaltion for Immigrant Justice, adherence to the sanctuary law is crucial: “The consequence of that police office violating the law resulted in his deportation.” Redlands Tea Party Patriots DATE: August 2 LOCATIONS: Millcreek Cattle Company 1874 Mentone Blvd Mentone, CA 9235 http://millcreekcattlecompany.com/menu-mentone/	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754941
__label__cc	0.59246	0.40754	Kettle Roadmap Created by Colin Clark, last modified by Yura Zenevich on Aug 16, 2013 What is Kettle? Kettle is a framework for building server-side Web applications using JavaScript and Node.js. Originally created by the Fluid community for the Fluid Engage mobile application, Kettle is designed to provide a quick and easy way to deliver data feeds and rendered markup on the server. Kettle uses Fluid Infusion throughout, offering client-side JavaScript developers a natural starting point for building server-side code. Because it is written in JavaScript, Kettle provides the opportunity to share code between client and server seamlessly. As a result, the architectural partitioning of responsibilities between client and server can be defined and reconfigured based on the requirements of the application, not based on programming language boundaries. There are several primary development metaphors in Kettle such as Servers, Apps and Data Sources. Servers represents a single instance of the Node.js HTTP server. A Server is a container for 0 or more Apps (see further). Developers have an option of deploying a number of Servers that themselves contain 0 or more Apps. The source code for the Server can be found here: Server. The primary development metaphor in Kettle are Data sources, which represent high-level handlers for incoming Web requests and outgoing responses. By default, Kettle provides two types of Spouts that can be defined declaratively; markup spouts, which provide rendered HTML content, and data spouts, which handle JSON-based feeds. Programmers who need a lower level of abstraction can drop down to a CherryPy-inspired API where individual handlers can be bound to specific URL paths in the application. Kettle also offers built-in support for the CouchDB database, a document-based store that is a good match for JavaScript-based, collaborative Web applications. What's the Status of Kettle? Kettle is currently a proof-of-concept framework which has seen some limited real-world testing under load through the Fluid Engage mobile pilot at the McCord Museum in Montreal. It has not yet been released as a standalone product, and is still very much under active development. It has not yet been documented (at all!), and APIs will change. As part of the FLOE Project, Kettle will be used to develop RESTful server-side data feeds and markup transformers for storing and sharing content accessibility information, user preferences, and captions. As part of this work, Kettle will be: Ported to a new JavaScript engine, making it fast and more widely-supported Modularized, so it's easy to drop a Web app into the Kettle container and run it Extended to support better URL routing and rewriting Currently, Kettle is built on top of the Java Virtual Machine using Mozilla's Rhino JavaScript engine. In order to use features of Infusion and jQuery unmodified, we also use John Resig's Env.js browser compatibility environment. Kettle conforms to the JSGI spec for server-side JavaScript containers. Needless to say, Infusion is used throughout. Moving forward, Kettle will be ported to Node.js, an event-based Web server built using Google's V8 JavaScript engine. Node's APIs are also sufficient enough to replace the handful of jQuery APIs used on the server (e.g. $.ajax()) with implementations that are not browser-encumbered. Initially, Kettle will be integrated with Node.js using the JSGI 0.3 spec, but in the future will be expanded to natively support Node's evented model. More information about our initial technology motivations for Kettle are documented in the Engage Server-Side Technology page. {"serverDuration": 92, "requestCorrelationId": "0644ff0cd0dc9fa4"}	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754943
__label__cc	0.68843	0.31157	The Ottoman Empire Essays Length: 2548 words (7.3 double-spaced pages) Formally the Ottoman Empire. We were controlled by the British during World War I but my great grandparents and the people of their time helped pave the way for the New Republic. We attained our independence by 1932. A republic was proclaimed in 1958. We thought we had obtained our independence of other nations like England and Kuwait but in actuality we just paved the way for a series of strongholds of dictators like Saddam Husayn that did not end until 2003. (The World Fact Book) Our capital city is Baghdad; population is 33.42 million people. The Tigris river runs through the middle of the country. Fuad Masum is the current president of Iraq and the prime minister is Haider al-Abadi. We have our own currency here is Iraq it is called Iraqi Dinar. The official languages of our country is Arabic and Kurdish. The Americans came during Iraqi Freedom. Their goal was to free us from the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL). You will know them as ISIS. The American’s and their allies forced ISIS to withdraw out of most of the major cities and they went to hiding. Patrols were regular and effective. The American’s even provided us training, something we had never experienced prior. (Iraq War) The so called second Persian Gulf War at first lead us to total chaos. It was followed by attempts to stop the new government that the US was supporting in Iraq. At least not to the extent the American’s introduced to us. Together we were city by city causing the ISIS members to withdraw and go into hiding. Then in December, 2011 the American’s just picked up and left. Is this how American’s do things? Just up and stop before the job is done? Leave the weak and new Iraqi military to figure things out for themselves? That is when it started,... ...to write the paper through the eyes of an Iraqi not as an American so given the knowledge I was able to obtain, I did it through their eyes not my own. I tried to pretend what it would be like to live in a place where war and death were all around me. I tried to write as if I was their living it and how I would view if the Iraqi army was based out of my city and changing my world. I do feel strongly about the opinions I based about American troop involvement as a form of police in Iraq. I am a firm support of the American troops and I am proud of their service however, I don’t enjoy their lives be risked for the wrong reason. I just hope that the powers that be are using their authority for the right reasons. As a law enforcement officer myself I am a firm believer in protecting and serving those that need it, I just don’t want any innocent people to die for nothing. The Empire Of The Ottoman Empire Essay - When the Empire of the Ottoman was in its last decade, it went through a season of significant reforms. It was in the year 1908 when the Ottoman Empire converted twenty million people into citizens within a single night. Consequently, the residents wondered how the different religions and the ethnic groups would play their game in politics, how the face of liberty would be like, after the reforms. This revolution intended to unite the Ottoman Empire with nationalism, Later on, the Ottoman Brothers researched on how the Muslim, Jews and Christians became citizens of the Ottoman Empire in Palestine.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Islam, Jews, Israel] History And Architecture Of The Ottoman Empire Essay - Through out history, architecture has played an important role in ultimately defining the upbringing of a culture. Whether it be instilled for upholding the traditions or adapting over time through conquering and replicating previous dynasties, architecture is molded with the artistry of its environment and people. Two dynasties that are great examples of phenomenal architecture are the Ottomans and the Safavids. Though both dynasties have comparable traits in exterior and interior in design, they also have qualities that are exclusive to their own.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Istanbul] Essay on The Tanzimat Ottoman Reforms And The Ottoman Empire - The Tanzimat Ottoman Reforms Name Institution Introduction Tanzimat was the period of transformation where reforms were instituted to modernize the Ottoman Empire in the middle seventeen century. Under the rule of Sultan Abd AL-Majid, the empire was threatened by advances made by the western powers in gaining control of the regions that were once under the empire. Additionally, the empire was losing popularity where numerous regions were struggling to break away from the empire. Therefore, the empire realized the need for reforms that will incorporate all the citizens who were divided along tribal and religious lines.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Islam, Middle East] The Armenian Genocide And The Ottoman Empire Essay - The Armenian Genocide An American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau once stated, “I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared with the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.” The ancient civilization of the Armenians existed from before the first century C.E. Their boundaries and territory used to extend from the modern day Republic of Armenia and through most of modern day Turkey.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Armenia, World War I] Essay about Corruption And Nepotism During The Ottoman Empire - Corruption & Nepotism in the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire rose to be one of the most powerful empires in the early modern period. The story of the Ottoman expansion began when the Christian Byzantine empire began to perish the Ottomans began to expand at a rapid pace, making it’s neighbors fearful of their advancement. Over the course of history many scholars have given the arguments on the rise and fall of the once great Ottoman Empire. John Bagot Glubb published seventeen books, on the Middle East, and wrote his theory on the stages of the rise and fall of great nations.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Istanbul] Essay about The War Of The Ottoman Empire - Analysis For hundreds of years before European intervention, the Ottoman Empire had controlled or annexed most of the Arabic people. However; few states did exist, mostly on the Saudi Arabian peninsula, they possessed minimal forms of government and rule, existing in small tribal states. Despite the immense territorial possessions of the Ottoman Empire, it began to decline with a series of military defeats beginning in the 16th century. Most of their fleet was wiped with a loss of 210 ships and 30,000 men killed1, and the event is often cited by Historians as the ‘end of Turkish supremacy in the Mediterranean’2, and the turning point of Ottoman conquest and rule.... [tags: World War I, Ottoman Empire, Egypt, Middle East] Cultural Development During The Ottoman Empire Essays - This verse from the Ottoman poet Ederunulu Fazil Bey, though intended to describe the pavilion of Nestabad, inadvertently encapsulates the nature of 19th century Ottoman society. The 18th century was a time of cultural, societal, and political development within the Ottoman Empire, resulting from increased foreign (mainly European) influence. This development was manifested in 18th century Ottoman architecture, 19th century municipal reforms, and the Hatt-i Serif Gulhane-- all of which hold distinct parallels in their development.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Istanbul, Ottoman Dynasty, Egypt] What Were The Weaknesses Of The Ottoman Empire? Essay - All civilizations come to an end. However, throughout history a few have stood out. Civilizations that withstood the test of time. Revolutionary societies that changed the whole world. Some of these changes are still around today, and that is a testament if nothing else. With all great societies, however will come weaknesses. No civilization has lasted forever. It may take one thousand years, or even longer, but if a society cannot admit its weaknesses and fix them, it will crumble. Such is the story with the Ottoman Empire.... [tags: Ottoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, World War I] Essay on World War I, Most Do Not Think About The Ottoman Empire - T. E. Lawrence When thinking about World War I, most do not think about the Ottoman Empire. However, many important actions and decisions occurred in this region. A man named T. E. Lawrence was a huge liability toward the Ottoman Empire from 1916 until the end of World War I. Thomas Edward Lawrence was born on August 16, 1888. He was the son of Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Junner. The couple never married, but instead they took the name of Lawrence. The family decided to settle in Oxford. This is where Thomas Edward grew up, went to school, and eventually attended university.... [tags: World War I, Ottoman Empire, British Army] Incorporation of the Ottoman Empire into the Capitalist World-Economy, 1750-1839 - Incorporation of the Ottoman Empire into the Capitalist World-Economy, 1750-1839 In 1977, Immanuel Wallerstein proposed a research agenda to answer the question: When and by what process did the Ottoman Empire become incorporated into the capitalist world-economy. He also asked whether incorporation was a single event or a series of events for the different regions of the Empire--Rumelia, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt. He suggested the answer be sought in Ottoman production processes and trade patterns between 1550 and 1850.... [tags: History Economics Ottoman Empire Essays] An Observation Of Health And Social Care Environments New Software : Microsoft Office The Chernobyl Nuclear Power ( Chernobyl ) Descriptive Essay : ' Let 's Get Twisted ! ' Literacy Debate : Online, R U Really Reading? Colonialism And The American Revolution	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754945
__label__wiki	0.834721	0.834721	Moab Jeep Safari Easter Jeep Safari is an annual event hosted by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers off-road club, where 4-wheelers come to challenge the rough terrain of the backcountry in the Moab, Utah area. Although its title does say it's a festival of jeeps, a few take on the trails in 4x4 trucks; the Easter Weekend safari lasts for nine days, going through Easter Sunday. 1 Expeditions Expeditions[edit] When going 4-wheeling, people can either go alone, or join up in a group. Groups usually meet up early in the day, at a certain location in the city. First waivers are signed and collected, then the drivers are given instruction and told to comply with any and all Bureau of Land Management regulations (i.e. stay on the trail, avoid walking on protected soil, etc.). Groups will then head out to the trails for the day. Once a group arrives at a trail, they will partially deflate ("air down") their tires to get better traction on sand or slick rock. Once the air down is completed they will begin through the trail and depending on the trail and the number of stops, it can take anywhere from a few hours to all day.[1] Many groups do radio introductions, over the CB radio, where a person (often the driver) will introduce his/her self and any passengers in the car, they may also tell if they have driven the trail before, or if it's their first time. When a group approaches a really difficult obstacle, a few will get out and act as a spotter to ensure everyone makes it up or down safely.[2] Groups will usually stop around noon or 1:00 P.M. for a lunch break. Drivers and passengers usually chat, take pictures, or do some work on their Jeep/4X4 vehicle. Once lunch is completed they will take off again. Trails[edit] Trails rank from easy to difficult (1 through 10). Circle is Easy, Square is Moderate, and Diamond is Hard. Many trails have several obstacles to get through; some of the most famous are Hell's Revenge, and Golden Spike Usage[edit] The Event is often attended by media representatives who cover outdoor and recreation events including representatives from Jeep; the Moab variant of the Jeep Wrangler is named after Moab, UT. ^ Moab Jeep Safari. Utah.com. Accessed April 5, 2012. ^ Jeep Concepts Headed to Moab. Autoweek. Accessed April 5, 2012. The Lion's Back This Utah-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moab_Jeep_Safari&oldid=776642419" Off-road racing Tourist attractions in Grand County, Utah Utah stubs The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers more than 247.3 million acres of public lands in the United States which constitutes one eighth of the landmass of the country. President Harry S. Truman created the BLM in 1946 by combining two existing agencies: the General Land Office and the Grazing Service; the agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate located beneath federal and private lands severed from their surface rights by the Homestead Act of 1862. Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming; the mission of the BLM is "to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." BLM holdings were described as "land nobody wanted" because homesteaders had passed them by. All the same, ranchers hold nearly 18,000 permits and leases for livestock grazing on 155 million acres of BLM public lands. The agency manages 221 wilderness areas, 27 national monuments and some 636 other protected areas as part of the National Conservation Lands, totaling about 36 million acres. In addition the National Conservation Lands include nearly 2,400 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers, nearly 6,000 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails. There are more than 63,000 gas wells on BLM public lands. Total energy leases generated $5.4 billion in 2013, an amount divided among the Treasury, the states, Native American groups. The BLM's roots go back to the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787; these laws provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original 13 colonies ceded to the federal government after the American Revolution. As additional lands were acquired by the United States from Spain and other countries, the United States Congress directed that they be explored and made available for settlement. During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies. After the war, the Treaty of Paris of 1783, signed by the United States, England and Spain, ceded territory to the United States. In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day Ohio. By this time, the United States needed revenue to function. Land was sold. In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted; the Land Ordinance of 1785 instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors. The first years of surveying were completed by error. In 1812, Congress established the General Land Office as part of the Department of the Treasury to oversee the disposition of these federal lands. By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were fulfilled. Over the years, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land. Several different types of patents existed; these include cash entry, homestead, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, state selections, town sites, town lots. A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land, surveyed via the corresponding Office of the Surveyor General of a particular territory. This pattern spread across the entire United States. The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Desert Land Act of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded. In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing the value of the assets on public lands and directed the Executive Branch to manage activities on the remaining public lands; the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing and production of selected commodities, such as coal, oil and sodium to take place on public lands. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the United States Grazing Service to manage the public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees; the Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937 referred as the O&C Act, required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon. In 1946, the Grazing Service was merged with the General Land Office to form the Bureau of Land Management within the Department of the Interior. It took several years for this new agency to reorganize. In the end, the Bureau of Land Management became less focused on land disposal and more focused on the long term management and preservation of the land; the agency achieved its current form by combining offices in the western states and creating a corresponding office for lands both east of and alongside the Mississippi River. As a matter of course, the BLM's emphasis fell on activities in the western states as most of the mining, land sales, federally owned areas are located west of the Mississippi. BLM personnel on the ground have been oriented toward local interests, while bureau management in Washington are led by presidential guidance. By means of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress created a more unified bureau mission and recognized the value of the remaining public lands by declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership; the law directed that these lands be managed with a view toward "multiple use" defined as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that th Moab is a city on the southern edge of Grand County in southeastern Utah in the western United States. The population was 5,046 at the 2010 census, in 2017 the population was estimated to be 5,253, it is largest city in Grand County. Moab attracts a large number of tourists every year visitors to the nearby Arches and Canyonlands national parks; the town is a popular base for mountain bikers who ride the extensive network of trails including the Slickrock Trail, for off-roaders who come for the annual Moab Jeep Safari. The Biblical name Moab refers to an area of land located on the eastern side of the Jordan River; some historians believe the city in Utah came to use this name because of William Andrew Peirce, the first postmaster, believing that the biblical Moab and this part of Utah were both "the far country". However, others believe the name has Paiute origins, referring to the word moapa, meaning "mosquito"; some of the area's early residents attempted to change the city's name, because in the Christian Bible, Moabites are demeaned as incestuous and idolatrous. One petition in 1890 had 59 signatures and requested a name change to "Vina". Another effort attempted to change the name to "Uvadalia". Both attempts failed. During the period between 1829 and the early 1850s, the area around what is now Moab served as the Colorado River crossing along the Old Spanish Trail. Latter-day Saint settlers attempted to establish a trading fort at the river crossing called the Elk Mountain Mission in April 1855 to trade with travellers attempting to cross the river. Forty men were called on this mission. There were repeated Indian attacks, including one on September 23, 1855, in which James Hunt, companion to Peter Stubbs, was shot and killed by a Native American. After this last attack, the fort was abandoned. A new round of settlers from Rich County, led by Randolph Hockaday Stewart, established a permanent settlement in 1878 under the direction of Brigham Young. Moab was incorporated as a town on December 20, 1902. In 1883 the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad main line was constructed across eastern Utah. The rail line did not pass through Moab, instead passing through the towns of Thompson Springs and Cisco, 40 miles to the north. Other places to cross the Colorado were constructed, such as Lee's Ferry, Navajo Bridge and Boulder Dam; these changes shifted. Moab farmers and merchants had to adapt from trading with passing travelers to shipping their goods to distant markets. Soon Moab's origins as one of the few natural crossings of the Colorado River were forgotten; the U. S. military deemed the bridge over the Colorado River at Moab important enough to place it under guard as late as World War II. In 1943, a former Civilian Conservation Corps camp outside Moab was used to confine Japanese American internees labeled "troublemakers" by authorities in the War Relocation Authority, the government body responsible for overseeing the wartime incarceration program; the Moab Isolation Center for "noncompliant" Japanese Americans was created in response to growing resistance to WRA policies within the camps. On January 11, 1943, the sixteen men who had initiated the two-day protests were transferred to Moab from the town jails where they were booked after the riot. Having closed just fifteen months prior, all 18 military-style structures of the CCC camp were in good condition, the site was converted to its new use with minimal renovation. 150 military police guarded the camp, director Raymond Best and head of security Francis Frederick presided over administration. On February 18, thirteen transfers from Gila River, were brought to Moab, six days ten more arrived from Manzanar. An additional fifteen Tule Lake inmates were transferred on April 2. Most of these new arrivals were removed from the general camp population because of their resistance to the WRA's attempts to determine the loyalty of incarcerated Japanese Americans, met with confusion and anger because of a lack of explanation as to how and why internees would be assessed; the Moab Isolation Center remained open until April 27, when most of its inmates were bused to the larger and more secure Leupp Isolation Center. In 1994, the "Dalton Wells CCC Camp/Moab Relocation Center" was added to the National Register of Historic Places, although no marker exists on the site, an information plaque at the current site entrance and a photograph on display at the Dan O'Laurie Museum in Moab mention the former isolation center. Moab's economy was based on agriculture, but shifted to mining. Uranium and vanadium were discovered in the area in the 1920s. Potash and manganese came next, oil and gas were discovered. In the 1950s Moab became the so-called "Uranium Capital of the World" after geologist Charles Steen found a rich deposit of uranium ore south of the city; this discovery coincided with the advent of the era of nuclear weapons and nuclear power in the United States, Moab's boom years began. The city population grew nearly 500% over the next few years, bringing the population to near 6,000 people; the explosion in population caused much construction of schools. Charles Steen donated a great deal of money and land to create new houses and The Lion's Back is a sandstone ridge in Moab, Utah that used to be popular among drivers of four-wheel drive vehicles. The attraction and campground no longer accessible to vehicles; the climb involves several hundred feet on a steep slope, a tight turn at the top of the rock before descending the same way down. The hill was the site of an accident in which a Chevrolet Blazer 4x4 lost its brakes and rolled uncontrollably down the hill, plunging 30 feet to the ground; the accident was caught on home video and has been featured on TV shows including Real TV, When Vacations Attack, Maximum Exposure Citizens band radio Citizens band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals on a selection of 40 channels within the 27 MHz band. Citizens band is distinct from other personal radio service allocations such as FRS, GMRS, MURS, UHF CB and the Amateur Radio Service. In many countries, CB operation does not require a license, it may be used for business or personal communications. Like many other two-way radio services, citizens band channels are shared by many users. Only one station may transmit at a time, it is customary for stations waiting to use a shared channel to broadcast the single word "Break" followed by the channel number, during a lull in the conversation. This informs people using the channel. Multiple countries have created similar radio services, with varying technical standards and requirements for licensing. While they may be known by other names, such as the General Radio Service in Canada, they use similar frequencies and have similar uses, similar technical standards. Although licenses may be required, eligibility is simple. Some countries have personal radio services in the UHF band, such as the European PMR446 and the Australian UHF CB; the citizens band radio service originated in the United States as one of several personal radio services regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. These services began in 1945 to permit citizens a radio band for personal communication. In 1948, the original CB radios were designed for operation on the 460–470 MHz UHF band. There were two classes of CB radio: "A" and "B". Class B radios had simpler technical requirements, were limited to a smaller frequency range. Al Gross established the Citizens Radio Corporation during the late 1940s to manufacture Class B handhelds for the general public. Ultra-high frequency radios, at the time, were neither practical nor affordable for the average consumer. On September 11, 1958 the Class D CB service was created on 27 MHz, this band became what is popularly known today as "Citizens Band". Only 23 channels were available at the time. Some hobbyists continue to use the designation "11 meters" to refer to the Citizens Band and adjoining frequencies. Part 95 of the Code of Federal Regulations regulates the Class D CB service, on the 27 MHz band, since the 1970s and continuing today. Most of the 460–470 MHz band was reassigned for business and public-safety use. Class B CB is a more distant ancestor of the Family Radio Service; the Multi-Use Radio Service is another two-way radio service in the VHF high band. An unsuccessful petition was filed in 1973 to create a Class E CB service at 220 MHz, opposed by amateur radio organizations and others. There are several other classes of personal radio services for specialized purposes. During the 1960s, the service was popular among truck drivers and radio hobbyists. By the late 1960s advances in solid-state electronics allowed the weight and cost of the radios to fall, giving the public access to a communications medium only available to specialists. CB clubs were formed. After the 1973 oil crisis, the U. S. government imposed a nationwide 55 mph speed limit, fuel shortages and rationing were widespread. Drivers used CB radios to locate service stations with better supplies of fuel, to notify other drivers of speed traps, to organize blockades and convoys in a 1974 strike protesting the new speed limit and other trucking regulations; the radios were crucial for independent truckers. The use of CB radios in 1970s films such as Smokey and the Bandit, Breaker! Breaker! and Convoy, popular novelty songs such as C. W. McCall's "Convoy", providing inspiration for songs like "Breaker-Breaker" from the Outlaws, on television series such as Movin' On and The Dukes of Hazzard established CB radio as a nationwide craze in the United States in the mid- to late 1970s. CB required a purchased license and the use of a callsign. Rules on authorized use of CB radio led to widespread disregard of the regulations. Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States, used the CB handle "First Mama". Voice actor Mel Blanc was an active CB operator using "Bugs" or "Daffy" as his handle and talking on the air in the Los Angeles area in one of his many voice characters. He appeared in an interview in the NBC Knowledge television episode about CB radio in 1978. Similar to Internet chat rooms a quarter-century CB allowed people to get to know one another in a quasi-anonymous manner; the U. S. had 23 CB channels. Utah is a state in the western United States. It became the 45th state admitted to the U. S. on January 4, 1896. Utah is the 13th-largest by area, 31st-most-populous, 10th-least-densely populated of the 50 United States. Utah has a population of more than 3 million according to the Census estimate for July 1, 2016. Urban development is concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which contains 2.5 million people. Utah is bordered by Colorado to the east, Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the north, Arizona to the south, Nevada to the west, it touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. 62% of Utahns are reported to be members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, making Utah the only state with a majority population belonging to a single church. This influences Utahn culture and daily life; the LDS Church's world headquarters is located in Salt Lake City. The state is a center of transportation, information technology and research, government services, a major tourist destination for outdoor recreation. In 2013, the U. S. Census Bureau estimated. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah has the 14th highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U. S. state. A 2012 Gallup national survey found Utah overall to be the "best state to live in" based on 13 forward-looking measurements including various economic and health-related outlook metrics. A common folk etymology is that the name "Utah" is derived from the name of the Ute tribe, purported to mean "people of the mountains" in the Ute language. However, the word for people in Ute is'núuchiu' while the word for mountain is'káav', offering no linguistic connection to the words'Ute' or'Utah'. According to other sources "Utah" is derived from the Apache name "yuttahih" which means "One, Higher up" or "Those that are higher up". In the Spanish language it was said as "Yuta", subsequently the English-speaking people adapted the word "Utah". Thousands of years before the arrival of European explorers, the Ancestral Puebloans and the Fremont people lived in what is now known as Utah, some of which spoke languages of the Uto-Aztecan group. Ancestral Pueblo peoples built their homes through excavations in mountains, the Fremont people built houses of straw before disappearing from the region around the 15th century. Another group of Native Americans, the Navajo, settled in the region around the 18th century. In the mid-18th century, other Uto-Aztecan tribes, including the Goshute, the Paiute, the Shoshone, the Ute people settled in the region; these five groups were present. The southern Utah region was explored by the Spanish in 1540, led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, while looking for the legendary Cíbola. A group led by two Catholic priests—sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the coast of California; the expedition encountered the native residents. The Spanish made further explorations in the region, but were not interested in colonizing the area because of its desert nature. In 1821, the year Mexico achieved its independence from Spain, the region became known as part of its territory of Alta California. European trappers and fur traders explored some areas of Utah in the early 19th century from Canada and the United States. The city of Provo, Utah was named for one, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825; the city of Ogden, Utah was named after Peter Skene Ogden, a Canadian explorer who traded furs in the Weber Valley. In late 1824, Jim Bridger became the first known English-speaking person to sight the Great Salt Lake. Due to the high salinity of its waters, He thought. After the discovery of the lake, hundreds of American and Canadian traders and trappers established trading posts in the region. In the 1830s, thousands of migrants traveling from the Eastern United States to the American West began to make stops in the region of the Great Salt Lake known as Lake Youta. Following the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, Brigham Young, as president of the Quorum of the Twelve, became the effective leader of the LDS Church in Nauvoo, Illinois. To address the growing conflicts between his people and their neighbors, Young agreed with Illinois Governor Thomas Ford in October 1845 that the Mormons would leave by the following year. Young and the first band of Mormon pioneers reached the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, more than 70,000 pioneers settled in Utah. For the first few years, Brigham Young and the thousands of early settlers of Salt Lake City struggled to survive; the arid desert land was deemed by the Mormons as desirable as a place where they could practice their religion without harassment. The Mormon settlements provided pioneers for other settlements in the West. Salt Lake City became the hub of a "far-flung commonwealth" of Mormon settlements. With new church converts coming from the East and around the world, Church leaders assigned groups of church members as missionaries to establish other settlements throughout the West, they developed irrigation to support large pioneer populations along Utah's Wasatch front. Throughout the remainder of the 19th century, Mormon pioneers established hundreds of other settlements in Utah, Id Moab, Utah [videos] Moab is a city on the southern edge of Grand County in southeastern Utah in the western United States. The population was 5,046 at the 2010 census, and in 2017 the population was estimated to be 5,253. It is the county seat and largest city in Grand County. Moab attracts a large number of tourists … Southbound Main Street (U.S. 191) (2012) Native American petroglyphs southwest of Moab Bureau of Land Management [videos] The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers more than 247.3 million acres of public lands in the United States which constitutes one-eighth of the landmass of the country. President Harry S. Truman created the … Horses crossing a plain near the Simpson Park Wilderness Study Area in central Nevada, managed by the Battle Mountain BLM Field Office Snow-covered cliffs of Snake River Canyon, Idaho, managed by the Boise District of the BLM Lightning-sparked wildfires are frequent occurrences on BLM land in Nevada. Aerial photograph of Ivanpah Solar Power Facility located on BLM-managed land in the Mojave Desert Citizens band radio [videos] Citizens band radio is, in many countries, a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals typically on a selection of 40 channels within the 27 MHz band. Citizens band is distinct from other personal radio service allocations such as FRS, GMRS … Typical 1980s CB base station, used with outdoor antenna. This radio may also be used in an automobile, since it is powered by 13.8 V DC. Shown with Astatic Power D-104 desk mic Cobra 18 WX ST II mobile CB radio with microphone A QSL card issued by a US CB station in 1963. Image of Citizens Radio license 1972 issued by the United States Federal Communication Commission. The Lion's Back [videos] The Lion's Back is a sandstone ridge in Moab, Utah that used to be popular among drivers of four-wheel drive vehicles. The attraction and campground are now private property and no longer accessible to vehicles. — Climb — The climb involves several hundred feet on a steep slope, and then a … History of Singapore [videos] The written history of Singapore may date back to the third century. Evidence suggests that a significant trading settlement existed in Singapore during the 14th century. In the late 14th century, Singapore was under the rule of Parameswara until he was expelled by the Majapahit or the Siamese. It … An artist's impression of Parameswara, who ruled Singapore in the 1390s. A fragment of the Singapore Stone, inscribed with an Indic script, c. 10th to 13th century. Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. The Plan of the Town of Singapore, or more commonly known as the Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan. Rome [videos] Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the … Roman representation of Tiber as a god, Capitoline Hill in Rome Capitoline Wolf, sculpture of the mythical she-wolf suckling the infant twins Romulus and Remus. Athens [videos] Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years and its earliest human presence starting … Athena, patron goddess of Athens; (Varvakeion Athena, National Archaeological Museum) Tondo of the Aison Cup, showing the victory of Theseus over the Minotaur in the presence of Athena. Theseus was responsible, according to the myth, for the synoikismos ("dwelling together")—the political unification of Attica under Athens. The earliest coinage of Athens, circa 545-525/15 BC The Roman Agora and the Gate of Athena in Plaka district. Lyon [videos] Lyon is the third-largest city and second-largest urban area of France. It is located in the country's east-central part at the confluence of the … Top: Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Place des Terreaux with Fontaine Bartholdi and Lyon City Hall at night. Centre: Parc de la Tête d'Or, Confluence district and the Vieux Lyon. Bottom: Pont Lafayette, Part-Dieu district with the Place Bellecour in foreground during Festival of Lights. The Roman-era Theatre on the Fourvière Hill Lyon under siege in 1793 The lion, symbol of the city, on display at Maison des avocats History of the Netherlands [videos] The History of the Netherlands is the history of seafaring people thriving on a lowland river delta on the North Sea in northwestern Europe. Records begin with the four centuries during which the region formed a militarised border zone of the Roman Empire. This came under increasing pressure from … The Netherlands in 5500 BC The Netherlands in 500 BC Royal Academy of Arts [videos] The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. It has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and appreciation of the visual … A 19th century illustration of the Royal Academy Satirical drawing of Sir William Chambers, one of the founders, trying to slay the 8-headed hydra of the Incorporated Society of Artists Study for Henry Singleton's painting The Royal Academicians assembled in their council chamber to adjudge the Medals to the successful students in Painting, Sculpture, Architecture and Drawing, which hangs in the Royal Academy. Ca. 1793. An early RA Summer Exhibition at the Academy's original home in Somerset House History of Greece [videos] The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throughout the ages and as a result the history of Greece is … The ancient theatre of Dodona The Temple of Hephaestus in Athens Bust of Herodotus in Stoa of Attalus, one of the earliest nameable historians whose work survives. Leonidas at Thermopylae by Jacques-Louis David. Kirsten Dunst [videos] Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress. She made her debut in the 1989 anthology film New York Stories, appearing in the segment Oedipus Wrecks directed by Woody Allen. At the age of twelve, Dunst gained widespread recognition as Claudia in Interview with the Vampire … Dunst at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival Dunst at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival premiere of Marie Antoinette Dunst signing autographs at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005 Indian Head gold pieces [videos] The Indian Head gold pieces or Pratt-Bigelow gold coins were two separate coin series, identical in design, struck by the United States Mint: a two-and-a-half-dollar piece, or quarter eagle, and a five-dollar coin, or half eagle. The quarter eagle was struck from 1908 to 1915 and from 1925–1929 … The Indian Head eagle, designed by Saint-Gaudens, was the basis for the designs for the smaller gold pieces. Examples of the Indian Head gold pieces grouped with modern coins for size comparison purposes Saint-Gaudens' double eagle design, which the Mint hoped to modify for the smaller gold coins Mint Director Frank A. Leach thought well of the new coins despite the controversy. Double eagle [videos] A double eagle is a gold coin of the United States with a denomination of $20. The coins are made from a 90% gold and 10% copper alloy and have a total weight of 1.0750 … The 1849 liberty head design by James B. Longacre The 1907 high relief double eagle designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens Side of the 1907 "high relief" double eagle showing edge lettering and surface detail The Smithsonian specimen of the 1933 Saint Gaudens double eagle Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum [videos] The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously expanding collection of Impressionist … View from Fifth Avenue Staircase at the Vatican Museums designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932 Students sketching at the entrance to the Sackler Center Image: Paul Cézanne, c.1899, Homme aux bras croisés (Man With Crossed Arms), oil on canvas, 92 x 72.7 cm, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum San Francisco [videos] San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. San Francisco is the 13th-most populous city in the United States, and the fourth-most populous in … San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin Headlands Mission San Francisco de Asís (Mission Dolores) Port of San Francisco in 1851 The Palace of Fine Arts at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition 1804 dollar [videos] The 1804 dollar or Bowed Liberty Dollar was a dollar coin struck by the Mint of the United States, of which fifteen specimens are currently known to exist. Though dated 1804, none were struck in that year; all were minted in the 1830s or later. They were first created for use in special proof coin … The Spanish milled dollar was declared legal tender in the United States in 1793. Rama III, the King of Siam, received the second set of coins distributed by Roberts. Said bin Sultan was the recipient of a coin set containing an 1804 dollar. A Class III 1804 dollar Justin Bieber [videos] Justin Drew Bieber is a Canadian singer-songwriter. After talent manager Scooter Braun discovered his YouTube videos covering songs, he was signed to RBMG in 2008. Bieber then released his debut EP, My World, in late 2009. It was certified platinum in the US; he became the … Bieber in 2010, displaying his trademark earlier haircut Bieber performing in Jakarta during his My World Tour Bieber performing during his Believe Tour in October 2012 Bieber and Scooter Braun in Rosemont, Illinois (2015) Holy Crown of Hungary [videos] The Holy Crown of Hungary, also known as the Crown of Saint Stephen, was the coronation crown used by the Kingdom of Hungary for most of its existence; kings have been crowned with it since the twelfth century. — The Crown was bound to the Lands of the Hungarian Crown … The Holy Crown Back of the Holy Crown The crown depicted in the 15th-century Fugger Chronicle. All images of the crown before the mid-17th century show the cross in its original upright position. Holy Crown of Hungary, 1857 Dirk Nowitzki [videos] Dirk Werner Nowitzki is a German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. An alumnus of Röntgen Gymnasium and the DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was chosen as … Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks in 2009 Nowitzki shoots his fade-away jump shot in 2008. Nowitzki posting up Rashard Lewis in 2011 Nowitzki played for the German national basketball team from 1997 to 2015. Will Smith [videos] Willard Carroll Smith II is an American actor, rapper and media personality. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, and has won four Grammy Awards. — In the … Smith in 2017 Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993 Smith hosting the 2011 Walmart Shareholders Meeting Smith performed the soccer 2018 World Cup's official song "Live It Up" Iran–Iraq War [videos] The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq, beginning on 22 September 1980, when Iraq invaded Iran, and ending on 20 August 1988, when Iran accepted the UN-brokered ceasefire. Iraq wanted to replace Iran as the dominant Persian Gulf state, and was worried that the 1979 Iranian … Iranian F-14 Tomcats equipped with Phoenix missiles. Iranian soldier holding an IV bag during the Iran–Iraq War 95,000 Iranian child soldiers were made casualties during the Iran–Iraq War, mostly between the ages of 16 and 17, but a few even younger than that. Iranian soldier killed during the Iran–Iraq War with Rouhollah Khomeini's photo on his uniform Henry IV of France [videos] Henry IV, also known by the epithet Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the House of … Henry III of France on his deathbed designating Henry IV of Navarre as his successor (1589) Jeton with portrait of King Henri IV, made in Nuremberg (Germany) by Hans Laufer Entrance of Henry IV in Paris, 22 March 1594, with 1,500 cuirassiers Henry IV and Marie de Médicis Koenigsegg Agera [videos] The Koenigsegg Agera is a mid-engined sports car produced by Swedish car manufacturer Koenigsegg. It is a successor to the CCX/CCXR. The name comes from the Swedish verb'agera' which means "to act" or in imperative form " act!". — It was named Hypercar of the Year in 2010 by Top Gear magazine … The 5.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine Koenigsegg Agera R Speed Racer Koenigsegg Agera S Hundra The Koenigsegg One:1 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Jake Gyllenhaal [videos] Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal is an American actor. A member of the Gyllenhaal family and the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting as a child with a screen debut in City Slickers, followed by roles in A Dangerous … Gyllenhaal attending the premiere of Proof in 2005 Gyllenhaal at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 Gyllenhaal at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012 Order of St. George [videos] The Order of Saint George is today the highest purely military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established November 26, 1769 as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire by Empress Catherine the Great. After … Georgi Pulevski wearing a cross of the Order of Saint George, conferred for his part in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) Order of Saint George, first class Breast Star and Sash Image: Order of St. George, 4th class RF Cartier (jeweler) [videos] CARTIER International SNC, or simply Cartier, is a French luxury goods conglomerate which designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells jewellery and watches. Founded by Louis-François Cartier in Paris in 1847, the company remained under family control until 1964. The company … Champs-Élysées store in Paris Bismarck sapphire necklace (1935), now at the US National Museum of Natural History Cartier on Mexico City's Avenida Presidente Masaryk Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco [videos] The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. The permanent collection of the Fine Arts Museums, with about 150,000 objects, is organized into … The de Young Museum, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Legion of Honor, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Amaury Nolasco [videos] Amaury Nolasco Garrido is a Puerto Rican actor and producer, best known for the role of Fernando Sucre on the Fox television series Prison Break, and for his role in Transformers. — Early life — Nolasco was born in Puerto Rico, to Dominican immigrants. After various … Nolasco attending the premiere of Max Payne, October 13, 2008, Los Angeles, California John Slattery [videos] John M. Slattery Jr. is an American actor and director known for his role as Roger Sterling in the AMC drama series Mad Men. — Slattery's other acting credits include the role of Howard Stark in cameo appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Iron Man 2, Ant-Man, and … Slattery in 2008	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754946
__label__wiki	0.807913	0.807913	How to be Post-Modern — How to be Post-Modern — Stanley Fish is giving lessons. Check out his Don't Blame Relativism (.pdf) for a bit of a master class. Here Fish says that the essence of post-modernism is the recognition that there is no common language in which truths can be couched, grasped, and agreed upon by all. But this is just wrong. Fish writes: [It is claimed that] no post-modernist could possibly retain his or her views and acknowledge the reality of a plane hitting a tower. But no postmodernist would deny this or any other reality. What would be denied is the possibility of describing, and thereby evaluating, the event in a language that all reasonable observers would accept. That language, if it were available, would be hostage to no point of view and just report things as they are, and many postmodernists do hold that no such language will ever be found. I found this passage confusing on several levels. First, Fish seems to concede a certain independence to reality (realities?) such that it makes no sense to deny them, but then straightaway proceeds to deny the possibility of a description of reality that just anyone could accept. But to acknowledge or accept some aspect of reality (beyond a purely perceptual report), it has to be acknowledged or accepted under some description or other. If there is no possibility of a universally acceptable description, then there is no possibility of the universal acceptance of the aspect of reality (e.g., the event of a plane hitting a tower) one is seeking to describe. So either the postmodernist has to concede there there is a way of describing the event such that “no postmodernist would deny” it, or he has to admit that postmodernists do in fact deny “realities” that are couched in alien languages. Second, it's just queer to deny the possibility of describing things in a language that all reasonable observers would accept. Anyway, you don't need one language. Take any language you want. How about English, or Arabic? Those are perfectly good languages. Anything you can describe in one, you can describe in the other. Now, of course, it's true that everyone won't agree on the correct description no matter what language you pick. But that just means that some folks have got it wrong. Or maybe everybody does. Everybody doesn't have the same evidence. Everybody doesn't use the same standards for evaluating the evidence. That's just obvious and trivial. However, that hardly bears on the possibility of true description of the evidence, or the possibility of a standard for evaluating the evidence that tends to track the honest-to-god truth. I don't understand Fish at all! Last, Fish implicitly makes the following claim: If there was a universally acceptable description, then it would come from no point of view. That's just a stunning non-sequitur. How about this, in English: 'Hydrogen has an atomic weight of 1.00794'. Now, this proposition describes hydrogen atoms. When I express this proposition in writing or speech, it is certainly captive to my point of view (my context of evidence, my native language, etc.), and also to the point of view of the theory of atoms and atomic weights. Yet, the very same thought could be expressed in any language whatsoever! And it would be true in all of them! It's not so hard to “just report things as they are,” and you can do it in any language you want. Just watch me! “My pants are green!” It's true! It's true for everybody. Will's pants are green! And you could see that it's true from all sorts of points of views — through glasses, through a telescope, from the left, the right, above, below. Say it in French. Say it in Latin. Whatever! Anyone who denied it would be plain wrong. It's not so hard! Suppose the proposition expressed by “Killing thousands of innocent civilians by crashing an jetliner into a building is evil” is true. Then it's true no matter what language you express it in. Whether it's universally true, and whether people universally accept it as true, are two entirely distinct matters. The first matter is metaphysical, having to do with the nature of truth itself. The second is epistemological, having to do with our grounds for believing things to be true. Maybe Fish is worried that we don't have any good way of knowing for certain which propositions express the universal truths. Fair enough. That's the core question of epistemology. But he seems to be after something else — like covering his ass. Post-modernism is not the doctrine that it's really hard to get people to agree on questions of value, or that it's nice to walk in somebody else's shoes once in a while. It's a development of Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche. Kant said we don't have access to the way the world really is because we have minds, not passive mirrors, and the structure of the mind get in the way. But at least all of our minds get in the way in the same way. Hegel said that, well, not exactly, the way our minds get in the way changes over time. It's relative to where you are in history. Nietzsche said our minds get in the way because of the way our languages reflect systems of values. So values are just a matter of what language you're speaking, and argument about value isn't about reason and evidence, but about raw power — about over who owns the language and the way it structures the experienced world. PoMos extended the reasoning to race, gender, class, and so forth. All these things get in our way of accessing an independent reality. There is no objective truth. Every assertion of truth is a power play. And that's why PoMos are so nasty. And that's why Fish is so busy defending his vocabulary. Because, by his own lights, if he loses the war of words, he's screwed. Previous PostPrevious Soviet Mass Murder and Never Next PostNext How to be Post-Modern —	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754947
__label__wiki	0.90673	0.90673	Home American History Native American History Cultural Impact of the Cherokee Syllabary Cultural Impact of the Cherokee Syllabary Cherokee Phoenix Newspaper front page May 21, 1828 With the acceptance of his syllabary as the official written form of the Cherokee language, Sequoyah was in the ascendancy. Even some of his more traditional critics began to realize the power of having a written language. Scorn turned to praise almost overnight as Sequoyah traveled throughout the constituent communities of Cherokee Nation and continued to spread his new invention. This was done without the creation of schools or formal institutions of learning. As Sequoyah traveled, he trained small groups of Cherokee in the new syllabary. These pupils soon became teachers—using their knowledge to train others in the use of the syllabary. Literacy rates within the Cherokee Nation soared to new heights—even surpassing those of the surrounding white communities. The Cherokee Nation was now officially bi-lingual; able to read and write in two languages. A Cultural Revival In New Echota, the capital city and seat of the National Council of the Cherokee Nation, government leaders envisioned myriad uses for Sequoyah’s syllabary. For his efforts, Sequoyah was awarded a medal by the National Council in 1824. Struck in pure silver, the medal bore an inscription praising Sequoyah “for his ingenuity in the invention of the Cherokee Alphabet.” Beneath the inscription were two crossed tobacco pipes. Principal Chief John Ross saw the syllabary as an opportunity to institute a cultural revival for the Cherokee Nation. Joining him in the endeavor were other influential leaders such as Major Ridge. Schools, museums, a Cherokee language newspaper, and even a written constitution were envisioned. With the support of the Cherokee government, all of these wonders were achieved. Di-tsa-la-gis in Action In 1828, the Cherokee syllabary was cast into movable typeface and used to create the first mass publication in a native tongue—the Cherokee Phoenix. Missionary Samuel Worcester, himself and silversmith and printer, is believed to be the man responsible for casting the movable typeface for this publication. While Worcester tried to remain faithful to the characters originally developed by Sequoyah, this proved difficult due to the sheer elegance of the inventor’s script. Worcester did borrow from Greek and Latin characters to stand in for a few of the characters, but the finished template by and large resembled the original. The first issue of the Cherokee Phoenix rolled off the presses on February 21, 1828. Elias Boudinot served as the first editor of the publication. Sequoyah in the West As early as 1812, some Cherokee families had started a westward migration in an effort to settle new territories away from white incursions. Originally settling in Arkansas, these groups later moved to Oklahoma. Sequoyah was aware that the Cherokee Nation would not be able to remain in the east indefinitely—the rapid encroachment of white communities on Cherokee domain proved a clear indication of future events. Seeking to spread knowledge of his syllabary among these migrants, Sequoyah himself proceeded westward in 1825. Originally settling in Arkansas, he continued to serve the Cherokee people for the remainder of his life—returning to his roots as a silversmith. Despite seeking a quiet retirement, Sequoyah was often called upon to mediate disputes between communities in the west. In 1828, he traveled to Washington D.C. in an effort to negotiate a treaty securing land rights for the Cherokee Nation in Indian Territory. In the year following the Trail of Tears, his counsel was once again sought to resolve disputes between the western Cherokee and the newly arrived easterners. Mark C. Carnes, Ed., U.S. History. (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1996). John Ehle. Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. (New York: Anchor Books, 1989). Michael Garrett. Walking on the Wind. (Rochester:Bear and Company Publishing, 1998). Ruth Bradley Holmes and Betty Sharp Smith. Beginning Cherokee. (Norman; University of Oklahoma Press, 1977). David M Jones and Brian L Molyneaux. Mythology of the American Nations. (London: Anness Publishing, 2006). Peter Matthiessen, Ed., George Catlin: North American Indians. (New York: Penguin Books, 1989). James M. McPherson. “To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents. (London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000). Marilyn Miller, Ed., The American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997). Carl Waldman, The North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2000.) Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. (New York: Checkmark Books, 2006). History Bot Sequoyah and the “Talking Leaves” The Power of the Cherokee Syllabary: Sequoyah and A-yo-ka Strife in the West and the Rise of the Qualla Cherokee The Florida Keys: The Years Before Europeans	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754952
__label__cc	0.603413	0.396587	Chrissy Teigen leads social cause initiative #MyWishForMoms Posted by thebabyspotca \| May 13, 2019 \| Blog, Featured, Parents \| 0 Chrissy Teigen leads social cause initiative #MyWishForMoms to raise awareness about maternal mental health Teigen partners with Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network to ignite a national conversation around postpartum depression and anxiety during Maternal Mental Health month PITTSBURGH (May 2, 2019) – Model, author, activist and pop culture icon Chrissy Teigen announced today that she is partnering with Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network (AHN) and its women’s health program AHN Women to launch a social cause initiative – #MyWishForMoms – which aims to create open dialogue among women about postpartum depression and anxiety. Last year, more than 500,000 – or one in seven – new moms developed postpartum depression, yet only 15 percent of them received treatment, according to the American Psychological Association. Postpartum depression is characterized by extreme feelings of sadness, anxiety and exhaustion that can threaten the wellbeing of moms, babies and their families. Chrissy Teigen #MyWishForMoms “When I was approached with this opportunity – to help be the voice for women experiencing postpartum depression and anxiety – I thought, ‘this is perfect!’. I’m grateful to be able to use the platform that I’ve been given to reduce the stigma that many women feel when talking about these very real and treatable conditions,” said Teigen. “I wish I had known that postpartum depression can happen to anyone because I didn’t think it could happen to me. Here I was, with my perfect little Luna and a supportive husband, yet I was truly struggling.” Throughout Maternal Mental Health month, observed annually in May, Teigen (@chrissyteigen) will ask moms to share what they wish they would have known about postpartum depression and anxiety using the hashtag #MyWishForMoms. Additionally, AHN Women will educate families on the warning signs of postpartum depression and anxiety, as well as available treatment options, via MyWishForMoms.org. “My wish for moms is that they know they aren’t alone, and they are supported by the more than 500,000 women who share their experience each year,” Teigen said. “Imagine if we can get as many people talking about postpartum depression and anxiety as those experiencing it, and let them know help is available.” Teigen recently visited the AHN Women Alexis Joy D’Achille Center for Perinatal Mental Health in Pittsburgh to meet with women who have received treatment for postpartum depression and/or anxiety. Joining the patients on the AHN Women signature green sofa, she filmed a series of videos highlighting each woman’s story and demonstrating how AHN’s unique program is changing the way postpartum depression and anxiety are treated. “We have created a novel therapeutic environment that brings available resources to women and their families in an effort to help get them well, bond and grow together. We are so pleased to work with Chrissy, and commend her for being open about her own experience in order to help other families,” said Sarah Homitsky, MD, a psychiatrist and Medical Director of Women’s Behavioral Health at AHN. About the AHN Women Alexis Joy D’Achille Center for Perinatal Mental Health This innovative center is one of only a few in the U.S. offering a variety of mother-baby treatments for pregnancy-related depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder under one roof. The 7,300-square-foot facility houses rooms for individual therapy as well as space for intensive outpatient care – a three-hours-daily, three-day-a-week program that focuses on group therapy, mother-child bonding, and complementary modalities for stress relief, such as yoga and meditation. The center allows mother and baby to stay together during treatment as moms learn skills for connecting with her baby and enhancing their bond. Child care for older children of moms who are undergoing treatment is provided, addressing a major barrier to care for many women. The Alexis Joy D’Achille Center is named after Alexis Joy D’Achille who tragically took her own life just six weeks after the birth of her daughter, Adriana, in 2013. The program is located at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “This wonderful new facility is the culmination of our journey and vision for transforming the way postpartum depression is diagnosed and treated,” said Cynthia Hundorfean, President and Chief Executive Officer, AHN. “The D’Achille family’s passion and determination, together with our organization’s commitment to excellence in women’s and mental health, has resulted in a truly game-changing program at AHN that is improving the lives of countless women and their families.” To view the multimedia news release, click here. For more information on this cause, visit http://www.mywishformoms.org/. To see upcoming exclusive content with Teigen, or to find out more information about how AHN Women is innovating the treatment of postpartum depression and anxiety, follow AHN on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. About Allegheny Health Network Allegheny Health Network (AHN.org), a Highmark Health company, is an integrated healthcare delivery system serving the greater Western Pennsylvania region. The Network is composed of eight hospitals, including Allegheny General Hospital, its flagship academic medical center in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Canonsburg Hospital in Canonsburg, Forbes Hospital in Monroeville, Jefferson Hospital in Jefferson Hills, Saint Vincent Hospital in Erie, West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, and Westfield Memorial Hospital in Westfield, NY. The Network provides patients with access to a complete spectrum of advanced medical services, including nationally recognized programs for primary and emergency care, cardiovascular disease, cancer care, orthopedic surgery, neurology and neurosurgery, women’s health, diabetes, and more. It also is home to a comprehensive research institute; Health + Wellness Pavilions; an employed physician organization, home and community based health services and a group purchasing organization. The Network employs approximately 20,000 people, has more than 2,400 physicians on its medical staff, and serves as a clinical campus for Drexel University College of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. PreviousAnne’s Alphabet Book Review \| The Baby Spot Next5 Tricks for Successful Home Remodeling (with Kids!) thebabyspotca The Baby Spot is a Global Parenting Magazine. After starting as a Canadian Parenting Magazine, The Baby Spot knew that parents needed access to information from experts, celebrities and writers from all over the world! We focus on pregnancy, babies, parenting children of all ages, positive parenting articles, recipes, tips, travel and more! Thank you for visiting The Baby Spot, your global spot for all things parenting! 7 Tips For Carpooling with BubbleBum’s Grainne Kelly Dadness Wavey n Snotts Presents Cloud Cuckoo Land! 7 Clever Ways to Get Your Sweat on While Pregnant	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754953
__label__wiki	0.551998	0.551998	Colourful Conversations Sierra Burgess-Yeo December 12, 2018 Angela Ferrara Photo by Carolyn West / @ccarolynwestt I recently had the absolute pleasure of talking with Sierra Burgess-Yeo about her experiences as a female, immigrant, person-of-colour working in specialty coffee in the UK. Sierra moved to the UK about 5 years ago from Singapore, where she was born and raised. Now, she is the General Manager of Timberyard Facebook (run by Department of Coffee and Social Affairs), a writer for Perfect Daily Grind, and a founder of The Kore Directive. The Kore Directive is a collaborative effort to provide support to womxn working in the specialty coffee industry. They offer a range of classes and events designed to help womxn grow their technical skills, network with other professionals, and support each other. Sierra will also be joining us on 26 January when we head to Helsingborg! She’ll be one of the three fabulous judges kicking off a new year of The Barista League coffee chaos. We’re so excited. Angela Ferrara [THE BARISTA LEAGUE]: Well, let's start right there! How do you think being a female, immigrant person-of-colour has directly affected your experience working in specialty coffee? Sierra Burgess-Yeo: I’ll start this off anecdotally. The last place that I worked before my current place of work, it got to the point that I was the only person of colour and it was very hard for me to dismiss a lot of interactions that I saw as being particular to me. For example, whenever I was on the till, I’d get tonnes of questions about where I was from. It comes down to a few factors, I think… the way I look and the way I sound. I don't sound Singaporean at all. In fact I sound quite international… and I also sound a bit British… which actually attracted more attention because people would be trying to place where I was from. And most, if not all, of the time, my other teammates never got that kind of attention. It was hard for me to gain any kind of support. And it was hard for me to get my managers to do anything about it. They would just be like, “you know, you’re in London and people ask this kind of thing all the time.” To which I would say, “You don’t get these questions. I do. Ive watched everyone else on the till and no one else gets these questions.” Where are you from? Where are you really from? You don’t sound like you’re from there. That would happen so often, almost every day. The inability for my work to do anything about something that was making me uncomfortable really drove this home. And I felt incredibly invalidated. I thought maybe I’m making this up. Maybe I’m causing trouble. And that simply wasn’t it. It took me a while to really sit down and come to terms with the fact that it wasn’t just me, there really was a problem. In contrast, I still get that question where I work now, but I feel much safer because the crowd here is quite international as opposed to where I was working before that was mostly white business men and women in the upper-middle class. I think the idea of consent and safety is the big core difference where I’m currently working. A: How do you think your current place of work has created a more safe environment? S: Well, t’s helped me to recognise situations in which it’s appropriate and consensual on both sides. I’ll always wait for customers at Facebook to ask me that question first. I’ll never raise that question because I think I’m too traumatised by the question, it’s too loaded for me at this point for me to ask someone else. So, I’ll wait for them to ask the question and I’ll judge the situation. Most of the people that I see at Facebook are regulars, so if it’s in a context that’s more than just, “Where are you from? I need to know to scratch my itch,” I’ll ask the question accordingly. Sometimes I’ll lie about where I’m from if I’m uncomfortable. But a lot of the time I’m challenging myself to be comfortable with that question again because there’s no shame in it. It’s also helped me to word it in a sensitive matter. So, sometimes I’ll be like, “Have you been based in London all this time?” which is an easier way for me to ask where someone’s from without asking that specific question. It gives people a bit more leeway to tell me whatever they'd like to tell me. So it’s been really good practice in helping me desensitise questions like this. Often times these interactions are really pleasant and I think a big part of asking someone where they’re from or what their heritage is or what their nationality is is because people are trying to connect with you. There’s just such a charged discourse around the issue at the moment that i’m trying to work out the best way to have a meaningful conversation with someone else. In Singapore, because I’m Singaporean-Chinese, I belong to the majority race. So I had a lot of privilege growing up that I didn’t realise until I came here and basically became what my Mum calls “a second class citizen”, tongue-in-cheek, but very true. And it’s such a rude shock to become a minority when you were the majority. It’s made me question a lot of the assumptions that I’ve held and a lot of the unconscious biases that I have and blind spots that I have when talking about race, nationality, and ethnicity. So that’s another factor that I grew up with that I think might account for the way I feel and think. I’ve also tried to read up a lot more on my own national history. Singapore used to be a British colony. So there’s a lot of that power dynamic as well. If I say I’m from Singapore, you should know where that is. The fact remains that a lot of Colonial history isn’t taught in English schools as far as I’m aware. It’s just kind of obliterated from history which is why it’s extra galling to hear someone say what they say about where I’m from in relation to Singapore. And I’ll admit that’s quite an extreme reaction. Not a lot of Singaporeans I know here react that way. It’s just a byproduct of me being who I am, extremely aware, most of the time. A: You mentioned that you’re trying to be less reactionary when discussing these topics with others. Tell me more about that. S: Yeah! It’s something I’ve been working on for a while in the sense that I definitely think I have the right to be offended or angry about certain things, but I think it’s really important to clamp down on that initial emotional reaction and then turn that into honest, open debate. Mainly because I’m quite vocal on social media, like a lot of times I’ll post about my experiences and I’ll have a response that doesn’t sit right with me and I’ll be like, no, I need to actually engage with someone and find the balance between taking on the emotional burden of having to educate someone whilst managing it in a rational way. The thing is, I feel very privileged to get to spend a lot of time around other female people-of-color, some of whom are also immigrants. It’s been very inspiring to have that kind of discourse with them. They've all been very supportive with regards to intersectionality - especially the people I’ve met through The Kore Directive. It’s been a very healthy bubble I’ve been in for the past few months. A: I love that! Speaking of, how was The Kore Directive launch party? S: It was good! I feel incredibly elated that it happened, but also felt exhausted by the end of it. I think in my head it had been a lot more structured than it actually ended up being. I was thinking this is going to happen and that’s going to happen and we’re going to be on time and it was a lot more relaxed and there was a lot more organic stuff going on that I didn't plan for. But it ended up being really cool. And finally, also, I felt like we could have done better, but that’s probably my over-achieving self talking. A lot of people came up and congratulated us on the night and in my head I was thinking… I just managed to get 50? 60? 80? people in a room. That wasn’t that hard with all the tools at our disposal. The internet and all that stuff, but everyone seemed to think that was great. So that’s good for us! We covered a bit about what the Kore Directive was all going to be about. We also encouraged everyone to network a bit outside their comfort zones because that’s what these events are all about. If you don’t step outside that comfort zone, you aren’t going to get to know the people that you want to know. We also encouraged them to bring male friends along to our events. We want to make change, but we can’t do that by being in an echo chamber. So we definitely explicitly said, “This is for everyone who wants to change the way women’s issues are approached.” A: How long have you been working on The Kore Directive? Is it an idea you’ve had for a while? S: I’ve always been interested in women’s issues and I think it’s something tangible when related to work. Having experienced gender-related issues at work, it’s easy to pin point and it’s easy to identify and it’s easy to diagnose. And I was sure a lot of other women felt the same. And they did! As I was talking with people about it, we realized no one was really doing anything to address these issues in London. So, then… this was born! It started really taking shape in March 2018. A: Because I think that so many women, women-of-color, and non-binary people working in coffee feel the same way, do you have any insight or advice that you’d give to someone trying to create safe spaces for them to work in? S: I think it’s honestly all about listening. Half the things I know today that have influenced my world views have been through open and honest discourse and really listening to what people have to say and going back to the whole reactionary thing, not having an emotional response if you can control that. It can be quite painful and traumatic, and I think it’s important to recognize that you are perfectly entitled to feel the way you do, but you are also responsible for not giving someone the pleasure of seeing that you are emotionally tied to it. The only way to change what someone else thinks is to rationalize with them… not to be offended and immediate shut the conversation down. You can be. You can be offended, just make sure you have tight rein on your temper if you want to invoke some change. That might be very debatable, but it’s how I feel. A: Thank you so much, Sierra! What are you most excited about next? In the coffee industry - either with what you're personally doing, or just with larger steps that the industry is making? S: Oh! A couple of things. So there’s been a broader discourse about climate change and some really strong action being pushed across the world. I’ve had the privilege of being involved in World Coffee Research conversations where they talk about sustainability of coffee. I really like to see more of that happening. I’m really excited about where that conversation is taking us. I’m also really excited to see the impact this will have on producers and the greater equity through the supply chain. For them to be paid more for their efforts and be able to make more profit off the crops that they gift us. Also I’m personally excited to see more South Asian coffees in the West. I recently went home to Singapore and there’s some amazing stuff being grown in the South East… so many amazing places doing great things. I’m excited to see more of that. ← NORA ŠMAHELOVÁ on Sustaining Customers and Creating a Career in CoffeeTalking Coffee Competitions & Industry Burnout with Emily Orendorff → Privacy & Data Policy \| Code of Conduct \| Environmental Impact Statement The Barista League TM is a trademark owned by Steven Moloney \| The Barista League is produced by Ordna Event Agency	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754954
__label__cc	0.734325	0.265675	« How to apply for French nationality... sort of \| Main \| I like you, You like me » Family of Fools So, yesterday I took Le Garçon to meet Georges for a nice lunch, and then afterwards I took him to the nearby Gibert Joseph store to buy his massive list of school supplies (but thanks to the school for publishing the list on the Internet so we could get a jump-start on this; last year we had to wait until he went for his first day/orientation to get the list, and then it was a mob scene at the Office Depot). We had a lovely afternoon, but it was also a comedy of errors in a lot of ways. Let's start with when the boy's beverage arrived at the table, and he instantly spilled a lot of it (it was a Sprite with strawberry syrup added so you can imagine the big red stains) all over himself. He's going to be 12 in about 10 days, so really he's old enough not to be having these kinds of mishaps at the table. Meet Fool #1 in our family comedy: Le Garçon. The boy got very excited to see that there were escargots on the appetizer menu, so we decided to get a dozen and share them. When they arrived, Georges was teaching his son how to use the special pince that holds the snail shell, and we were telling him that story about the scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts tries to pick up her first escargot and sends it airborne before it was caught by the calm and distingué waiter who uttered the now-famous reassuring line: "It happens all the time." Back in the REAL world, as the boy was trying to pick up the first snail with the tongs, which all escargot lovers know ARE a bit hard to handle sometimes, Georges was reaching over to try and help him, and the snail suddenly went flying backwards towards the boy, the boiling hot garlicky oil spraying all over the boy's clothes... AND his face! We went into a panic because that stuff BURNS, but fortunately nothing went in his eyes (he wears glasses but the glasses weren't even splattered) although just above the right eye he had 2 little spots where some oil landed. We put cold water on it right away, but he said it was still stinging. though fortunately it wasn't bad. I happened to have some shea butter (merci, L'Occitane) in my purse so we put that on his forehead and he felt better after that. By the time we got home he'd forgotten all about it, no discomfort at all despite the two little red marks and tiny near-blisters. We were very, very lucky. Which, by the way, makes me realize that in Pretty Woman, had Julia's escargot really been fresh from the oven, no WAY would that waiter have been that serene catching that thing, because YOUCH! And Richard Gere probably would have been the one getting the hot buttered garlic oil all over his perfect self. Anyway... meet Fool #2: my husband, even though this wasn't really his fault, it just sort of happened. At the end of the meal, we were waiting for our coffee and the check, when Georges, while gesturing expressively with his hands, knocked his water glass into his own plate (he'd already finished his steak at least). Georges earned an upgrade to Fool #2.1. So when the hot coffee came, the boy actually got up and moved over to sit next to me on MY side of the table. Heh heh... can we blame him? This was turning into a dangerous lunch for this kid, and he was already covered in strawberry soda and congealed garlic pesto butter. At least we were laughing about it. So we survived finished lunch without any further incidents, and Georges went back to work while the boy and I headed down the street to buy school supplies. I love Gibert Joseph, they seem to have absolutely everything; the only things we didn't get on the 2 1/2 page list were a special calculator (because he should have one at his mom's house but he has to check and see if he still has it) and a box of special chalk "grasses" (which means greasy) for art class, plus a lab coat (need to go to another store for that) for science class. When we got to the cash register (which ended up being FAR easier and quicker than I had ever imagined... I guess a lot of people are still on holidays or didn't have their school lists yet because I'd been expecting the usual long lines), the total came to over 168€, and that didn't even count the English exercise book we still had to buy at the bookstore next door! I was a bit shocked at the amount, but it WAS a lot of stuff and by this time my brain had turned to mush and all I wanted to do was get the hell out of there and go home, so I didn't think about it long. And here is the part where I turn out to be the biggest fool of the day. At the store, the clerk put half the load of notebooks and supplies in the new backpack we'd just bought, and the other half in a store bag. The boy wore his new backpack home, so once we were out of the store I reached over and tore off the paper tags. It wasn't until we got all the way home, and I was looking over all that we'd bought, that I saw there was a price sticker still stuck to the backpack. I reached for it, and saw 45.00€ printed on it! FORTY-FIVE EUROS FOR A KID'S BACKPACK??? What the frickity-frick frack is THAT? I grabbed the receipt because I thought it HAD to be a mistake... but nope, there is was, top of the list, too: 45.00€ for the sac à dos. I think I spent about 15€ last year on his backpack, a no-name brand, but this one was an Eastpack brand and according to my older step-son's girlfriend, that's like the best quality brand it's supposed to be really well made. In the small outer pocket, I found a paper with a 30-YEAR guarantee, so I put that with the receipt because that freaking over-priced pack had damn well better last this kid until he's 42. Or at the very least until he finishes high school. (Last year's cheapo backpack has all sorts of wear-and-tear holes in the bottom and I was afraid he'd lose something important like his house keys, which is why we had to replace it.) So I hope he loves this pack a lot, because he'll be living with it for a very, VERY long time. Honestly, 30-year guarantee or not, I would never in a million years have spent that kind of money on a simple student backpack. For a 7th-grader who is going to beat the crap out of it in under a year. I wouldn't even spend that on one for myself, as a daypack. C'est ridicule. But it was too late, I'd torn off all the tags and now can't exchange it. My bad. Ma faute. Ma bêtise. Mea culpa. And now you know who is the reigning Queen of the Fool Family in France. Posted on Thursday, 29 August 2013 at 10:26 AM in Domestic Bliss, French (Life) Lessons \| Permalink Tags: back to school, escargot, Pretty Woman, school supplies	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754956
__label__wiki	0.885557	0.885557	Lauren Daigle - You Say (Official Music Video) The first single from Lauren Daigle's long-awaited second album, Look Up Child, is “You Say". It demonstrates a growth in Lauren’s talent as a songwriter and vocalist. The song is both emotional and uplifting - so is its accompanying video. Here's Lauren's official music video for "You Say". Big Daddy Weave - 'Alive' (Official Music Video) Now in their 21st year as a band, Big Daddy Weave brings it back to a celebration in Christ. “Alive” is the first single from the band’s new album, slated to release fall of 2019. Here's the official music video of "Alive"! Crowder Performs "How He Loves Us" From Live at Passion Some of the greatest worship artists are assembled together to accompany Crowder, as he sings his classic, "How He Loves Us" - along with thousands in attendance at the Passion Conference. Elevation Worship - 'Do It Again' Having its beginnings as a sermon, preached by Elevation Church pastor, Steven Furtick Jr, "Do It Again" came about at the prompting of Matt Redman. Now, as a full-blown reminder of God's never-ending promise to us, here's Elevation Worship in a live performance of "Do It Again". Phil Wickham - 'Till I Found You' (Official Video) In light of everything the world has to offer - no matter how great or how horrible - Jesus still offers more! Phil Wickham encourages everyone to stop their pursuits of, or hangups in, temporary things. These things will never satisfy till you find Jesus! Here's Phil's "Till I Found You" music video.... Tauren Wells - "Hills and Valleys" (Special Acoustic Performance) Two-time GRAMMY-nominated artist Tauren Wells releases the second single from his current EP Undefeated, “Hills And Valleys. Tauren gives us a tender and authentic acoustic performance of his hit single. Chris Tomlin - 'Nobody Loves Me Like You' (Official Music Video) Grammy® winner and world-renowned worship leader Chris Tomlin brings us breathtaking images of God’s creation in his music video, Nobody Loves Me Like You. Ready to be absolutely inspired? Watch this video! We Are Messengers - 'Maybe It's Okay' (Official Video) The song that's a frank musical discussion about the contrast between the struggles and pain we have now (in this life) in contrast to the joy and eternal hope we can have because of God’s plan for our lives. Here's We Are Messengers' "Maybe It's Okay".... TobyMac - "Everything" (Official Music Video) "Everything", TobyMac's dance-infused follow-up to his successful single, "I Just Need U" gives a perspective that we all need - to see others' through Jesus' eyes. Here's the official music video for "Everything" Casting Crowns - 'Only Jesus' (Official Music Video) How do you wish to be remembered? GRAMMY-Award winning and multi-Platinum selling band Casting Crowns releases another thoughtful single that sets our priorities straight! Here's the official music video for “Only Jesus”... Newsboys - 'Greatness of Our God' (Official Video) What once seemed like a Christian Music dream team now has their first radio single. Newsboys UNITED, a reunion of current members and former bandmates Peter Furler and Phil Joel, bring "Greatness of Our God". I Am They - 'Scars' (Official Music Video) A reminder that God views the painful lessons of life differently than we do - because they can bring us to HIM! This is summed up in the song, "Scars" by Carson City, Nevada quintet, I AM THEY. Hillsong Worship - "What a Beautiful Name" (Official Music Video) A beautiful song from the pens of Hillsong Worship, describing the most beautiful name there is. A truly worshipful song! Here is the official music video of Hillsong United's single, "What a Beautiful Name" Pat Barrett - 'Build My Life' (Official Music Video) Of his powerful song, "Build My Life", Pat Barrett says, “It is the type of song that will cause you to look down, rather than up. You look down to see what you’re standing on." In a special live recording featuring Chris Tomlin, here's "Build My Life". Micah Tyler in Studio! Singing "Never Been a Moment" - Live! With the first single off his debut album becoming a hit in Christian music, we HAD to have Micah Tyler stop by and give us a special acoustic performance of his song, "Never Been a Moment"! See why this new artist has a hit on his hands! Unspoken - "Good Fight" (Acoustic Performance Video) With a sound that is smooth and relaxed on the one end, but a siren cry message to stand firm and fight the good fight on the other; Unspoken comes out with this acoustic performance of their single, "Good Fight". TobyMac - 'Scars' (Come With Livin') (Official Live Video) Coming from a deeply personal place as a father, TobyMac writes a song specifically for his children as they move out into this crazy world. What is his advice to them? You hear it in this official LIVE video of TobyMac's "Scars". for King & Country - 'God Only Knows' (Official Music Video) For those times you feel alone or down, for King & Country has written this song just for you! Watch the powerful video of the band's song, "God Only Knows"... MercyMe - Best News Ever (Official Lyric Video) We all hear about being the best you can be and to try harder. But what if, in relation to getting to heaven, the work's already been done for you? That's the message behind MercyMe's song, "Best News Ever". As you watch this video, we think you'll agree - it's the best news EVER! MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard confesses it's one of his favorite songs off the group's album, Lifer. Matthew West - 'All In' (Official Music Video) Four Time GRAMMY® Nominee Matthew West posts the music video for his single, "All In", which includes clips of West on the road encouraging fans to be “all in” in every aspect of their lives. Let this video encourage YOU to do the same - go "All In" with Matthew West! 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Fish Features	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754959
__label__wiki	0.886857	0.886857	Flag Football League Flag Football League Teams Flag Football Schedule Funniest Comic in the Heartland Kendrick Fincher Foundation Day Chas Elstner Saturday 6 PM Saturday, May 18 @ 6:00PM Sat, May 18 @ 6:00PM The Grove Comedy Club, 808 S Bloomington, Lowell, AR Chas Elstner has been a stand-up comic for over 24 years and has written, performed and produced two comedy albums “Is This Stuff Too Real For You?” and “A Man’s Home Is Her Castle.” Chas’ extensive comedic background includes performing as a featured clown in the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus, studying at the renowned Second City in Chicago and being nominated as one of the college “Entertainers of the Year” after performing at over 200 colleges nationwide. He has also performed as an actor in off-broadway productions. Some of Chas’ most outstanding accomplishments have been his numerous television appearances which include MTV’s ½ Hour Comedy Hour, VH-1’s Standup Spotlight, Entertainment Tonight, Showtime Comedy Club Allstars IV, Fox Television, national television debut on ABC, four appearances on Evening @ the Improv, and The Best of Evening at the Improv, Volume 3 on DVD. Mr. Elstner has performed as the opening act for many recording artists. He was the opening act for Gloria Estefan & The Miami Sound Machine for two years, wherein he performed in 15,000 seat arenas. He also performed as the opening act for the Pointer Sisters on a mid-west tour and at a special performance at Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas. Other performances include, Mr. Peabo Bryson, The Marshal Tucker Band, Phoebe Snowe, Sha Na Na, Brenda Lee and various others. With all of his live performance talents, Mr. Elstner has developed a humor to captivate audiences of all ages. He is a master of mouth sound effects and has an array of character voices which add to his energetic approach to comedy that leaves you with a lasting and entertaining impression. The Grove Comedy Club & Entertainment Complex © 2018	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754962
__label__cc	0.535764	0.464236	Jennifer Skulski Skulski Consulting LLC Jennifer Skulski has more than 25-years professional experience as a consultant, instructor, and researcher advocating for the inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism. She has diverse expertise in the ADA accessibility standards specific to recreation facilities and outdoor recreation environments, program access provisions required under Title II of the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, accessibility assessments, transition planning, and universal design. Jennifer started her career at the Rockford (Illinois) Park District as the ADA Coordinator shortly after the federal legislation was passed. There she completed one of the first model Title II Self-Evaluations and oversaw the district’s Transition Plan implementation. In 1995, Jennifer joined the National Center on Accessibility at Indiana University and quickly emerged to be one of the premiere national experts on inclusion of people with disabilities in parks, recreation and tourism. From 1998 to 2000, Jennifer served as the Associate Director at the Great Lakes ADA Center, one of the 10 regional centers federally funded and designated to give technical assistance on the regulations and standards of the ADA. During her tenure at the Great Lakes ADA Center, Jennifer is most proud to have worked with Project Director, Robin Jones, to establish the ADA Audio Conference program, a monthly educational session featuring the most relevant ADA topics of the day presented by national leaders in the field. This national distance learning program is now celebrating its 18th season of programming by the ADA National Network. In addition to her training and technical assistance experience, Jennifer has led accessibility assessment teams for more than 500 municipal recreation facilities and 60 national parks. She has consulted with organizations such as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Metroparks, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, the City of Minneapolis, Great Parks of Hamilton County, Commerce City Parks and Recreation, Arlington Height Park District, the City of Mobile Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service. She has trained professionals on accessibility issues, assisted municipalities with prioritizing accessibility improvements, and facilitated public input on barrier removal. Over the years, Jennifer has worked closely with staff of the U.S. Access Board, the Disability Rights Section at the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. From 2008-2013 Jennifer served as the principle investigator on the accessibility of playground surfaces, a longitudinal study funded by the U.S. Access Board. This research serves as the most comprehensive study of accessible surfaces to date. Most recently, Jennifer authored 7 Things Every Playground Owner Should Know About the Accessibility of Their Playground Surfaces, a technical guide published by the Access Board. In 2014, Jennifer formed her own firm, Skulski Consulting LLC, serving federal, state, local and private entities focused on making their services accessible to people with disabilities. Skulski Consulting LLC provides training on the ADA, program access, the accessibility standards and universal design as a best practice of customer service. In addition, the firm conducts accessibility assessments, evaluations of polices/practices/procedures and facilitated transition planning for organizations. 10/17/2017 - Parsley or Cilantro? Making Sure Your ADA Self Evaluation and Transition Plan are Seasoned with the Right Ingredients 11/07/2013 - Accessible Playground Surfaces 04/19/2011 - Are My Recreation Facilities Accessible? Where Do I start? 04/20/2010 - Conducting Effective Accessibility Surveys Part II 05/16/2006 - Creating Accessible Play Areas - State of the Science 11/18/2003 - Over The Hills and Through the Woods: Accessibility of Trails in the Outdoor Environment	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754970
__label__wiki	0.545946	0.545946	Liberia remains one of the poorest countries in the world with 83.8% of its population living below the poverty line Liberia remains one of the poorest countries in the world. 83.8% of its population lives below the poverty line ($1.25 per day) and 94% of workers are poor (living on less than $2 per day). Liberians grapple with a legacy of destroyed infrastructure, widespread poverty and poor living conditions. Liberia has suffered from chronic food insecurity since the outbreak of civil war 1989, that lasted 14 years and exacerbated the country’s low agricultural production and poor household incomes. The healthcare system has since also been faced with the Ebola epidemic in 2014, putting enourmous strain on an already fragile network and claiming thousands of lives.This epidemic also put harvests at risk and sent food prices soaring in the region, increasing the risk of hunger and malnutrition. Today, the rate of chronic malnutrition is among the highest in the world at 32%. People we helped in 2017 Action Against Hunger has been present in Liberia since 1990. Over the years, our approach to supporting the Liberian population has evolved as civil war came to an end and other challenges such as Ebola swept over the country. We have continued to work with the Ministry of Health and local health authorities in order to ensure that malnutrition is addressed countrywide and that it's causes and effects are taken into consideration in forward planning projects. We have also trained health personnel at local and national level to ensure our projects are sustainable. In 2017, our team completed its post-Ebola reconstruction work, supporting communities to recover from the epidemic through agricultrual programmes, economic projects and psychosocial support groups. Our nutrition teams work with the Ministry of Health to screen and treat children for acute malnutrition, treating 3,635 severely malnourished children under the age of five. Our programmes in Liberia include: Agricultural programmes Psychosocial support (essential in communities that have experienced extreme loss due to Ebola) Nutrition and health programmes Investigative biomedical research to optimise the diagnosis of malnutrition Research into the follow up care of children who have suffered from acute malnutrition Providing clean water and sanitation facilities as well as building new water points particularly in schools and health centres Training up local communities to maintain the hygeine of water points Responding to the Hunger Crisis Number of staff Operating since Monrovia, Bomi	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754971
__label__cc	0.574905	0.425095	On PISA, U.S. Shows Few High Performers (EdSector Archive) 2 December 2013 \| by Mark Schneider Just hours ago, the latest round of data from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was released to great fanfare. Under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), PISA has been assessing 15-year-olds in reading, math, and science every three years since 2000. This year over 60 “education systems,” almost all of them countries, participated. In each new round of PISA results, the U.S. has been squarely in the middle of the pack. Our overall scores are statistically indistinguishable from the average of all OECD countries. But some of our economic competitors, including Japan, Korea, and Germany, have scored much higher. Korea’s math score this year was 554, Japan’s 536, and Germany’s 514, compared to 481 for the U.S. Science literacy and reading follow similar patterns. While much of the press coverage will no doubt zero in on our middling performance and the bleak economic future it foretells, a far more disturbing pattern in the data is more likely to hurt us in the long run than will our mediocre average scores. What should scare us is the low percentage of students in the highest levels of performance (PISA level 5 and above). Even a quick look at these numbers shows how far below some of our major economic competitors the U.S. is. Having such a small percentage of super-performers poses a far greater threat to our economic security and future than being “average” overall does. And it signals the need to reconsider some of the nation’s basic priorities in education policy. For many years, the U.S. has worked hard to fulfill the promise that no child will be left behind. And the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows that we have made great progress in fulfilling that promise. The scores of African Americans, Hispanics, and low-income fourth and eighth graders in reading and math have leaped upward. And in the past 15 years or so, NAEP scores, especially in math, have too. But, at the same time, the percentage of students who score at NAEP’s advanced level has stagnated. Yes, we must honor our commitment to disadvantaged students. But that’s only part of the best way forward. Our economy’s future depends as much on expanding the number and percentage of our most proficient students as it does on closing achievement gaps. Like NAEP data, this year’s PISA results bid us to revisit our educational priorities and find ways to nurture the next generation of high performers. VIEW EDSECTOR ARCHIVES EdSector Blog EdSector Publications FILTER EDSECTOR BLOGS	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754972
__label__wiki	0.806253	0.806253	Eritrea and Ethiopia: 'The beginning of a beautiful friendship' Despite all the difficulties, Eritreans and Ethiopians are hopeful that lasting peace will be concluded soon. by Abraham T Zere Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomes Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on June 26, 2018 [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters] On June 26, a high-level Eritrean delegation led by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for talks on ending the decades-long conflict between the two countries. Earlier this month, Ethiopia's new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, had extended an olive branch to his country's longtime enemy by stating that Ethiopia is finally ready to fully accept and implement the terms of an 18-year-old peace agreement between the two countries. Last week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki acknowledged his Ethiopian counterpart's peace offer. The Eritrean delegation arrived in Ethiopia only yesterday, but significant progress has already been made - Ahmed announced that Ethiopian Airlines would restart flights to Eritrea for the first time since 1998. The positive steps taken by Eritrean and Ethiopian leadership to achieve sustainable peace have been applauded by regional and global organisations and powers, including the UN, EU, US and the African Union. More importantly, the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia, who had been suffering the most as a result of the ongoing conflict, are now ready for peace and normalisation. All in all, Eritrean delegation's visit to Addis Ababa - to borrow a line from the classic film Casablanca - is expected to be "the beginning of a beautiful friendship". Yet, for both countries, there are many roadblocks ahead in this path to peace and reconciliation. The TPLF may cause problems in Ethiopia Ahmed's domestic reforms and reconciliatory attitude towards Eritrea have already started to bear fruit at home. Some Ethiopians, who have been living in exile in Eritrea as a result of their government's repressive policies towards them, are returning home. The armed opposition group, Gimbot 7 - whose fighters had mostly been based in Eritrea - announced that it will cease armed attacks on Ethiopia following reforms announced by the government. However, a recent attack on a political rally signalled that not everyone in Ethiopia is happy about the new prime minister's reconciliation efforts and progressive reform agenda. On June 23, as thousands gathered in Addis Ababa's Meskel square to attend a rally in support of the new government, a blast left more than 150 injured and at least two dead. The grenade attack, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility, clearly demonstrated that there still is a tough road before for the reformist prime minister. In addition to such security threats, Ahmed is also likely to face multiple challenges from within the state, especially from the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF). The TPLF, a faction of the ruling coalition that dominated Ethiopian politics for more than two decades prior to Ahmed's rise to power, had been sending mixed signals about the new prime minister's attempts to end hostilities with Eritrea. The Tigray people of Ethiopia are the most affected by the conflict, and as their representative in Addis Ababa, the TPLF feels responsible for making sure Tigray interests are protected throughout this new peace process. Moreover, the TPLF is threatened by Ahmed's reform agenda and do not want to give up its dominant position within the state. There are also reports suggesting that some groups living in Ethiopia's Tigray region are already rejecting the peace proposal. This is partly because they feel Ahmed did not consult them before making a move that would inevitably affect their lives. They want a return to the non-conciliatory tone of the previous administration. The Tigray region's negative response to recent developments may eventually encourage the TPLF to increase its pressure on the prime minister and hinder peace efforts. Despite these difficulties, Ahmed already made a name for himself as a peacemaker and many Ethiopians seem to support him in his effort to advance the peace initiative. Of course, any success Ahmed may achieve would be dependent on the developments on the other side of the border. Expectations even higher in Eritrea Expectations and hopes about the peace process are even higher in Eritrea. Eritreans at home, who have been forced to live in a police state for decades, want normalisation. Eritreans abroad, who had been forced to flee their homeland, want to be able to go back. And most Eritreans believe peace with Ethiopia can make their wishes come true. It won't be easy for the Eritrean government to suddenly reverse course and tacitly acknowledge its own chronic wrongdoings, but peace with Ethiopia will eventually force Asmara to implement reforms and loosen its grip over its citizens. The Eritrean government has long been using "the Ethiopian threat" to justify systemic militarisation, oppression and censorship. With the disappearance of the Ethiopian threat, Afwerki's government will be forced to start the process of demilitarisation and the rest will hopefully follow through. The areas most affected by the perpetual "no peace, no war" between Ethiopia and Eritrea are the border settlements that have been effectively reduced to ghost towns and villages. Once Ethiopian troops leave the area, the Eritrean government will have no excuse for not investing in these towns and villages. Partners and stakeholders, such as the EU, that have been significantly affected by the migration waves caused by Eritrea's long, despotic rule, will likely extend a helping hand. Eritrea's economy is in a dire state, mostly as a result of the state's self-defeating policies. The situation became even worse in January when the border with neighbouring Sudan was closed. Ever since, Eritreans inside the country have been suffering from acute shortages of basic goods. Now that a peace process with Ethiopia has started, Asmara has no excuse for keeping the borders closed. It will soon need to allow trade with neighbouring countries to resume which would help businesses thrive once again. This would wake up the desperate population and allow it to raise demands for reform. Over the last decade and a half, Eritrea has gradually been transformed into a penitentiary state, with tens of thousands of prisoners rotting in underground prison centres, mostly run by military commanders. The peace process, and Ethiopia's decision to free thousands of prisoners, is putting pressure on Asmara to do the same. President Afwerki's landmark decision to send a delegation to Ethiopia got many Eritreans' hopes high. While there are forces within both countries that continue to try and block normalisation efforts, sustainable peace between seems closer than ever before. Abraham T Zere Abraham T Zere is the executive director of PEN Eritrea in exile. @ abraham_zere	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754975
__label__wiki	0.702597	0.702597	/ News / Treatment & Doctors Proposed Legislation May Empower FDA, Help Patients by Tim Povtak Treatment & Doctors It’s tough to imagine a more appropriate name for the latest bill moving through Congress that could speed up the delivery of new drugs and new therapies for mesothelioma patients. It’s called the FAST Act, which stands for Faster Access to Specialized Treatments, which was introduced earlier this month by Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Florida). He was assisted by Ed Towns (D-New York). The FAST Act hopes to build on the drug development incentives put in place years ago by Congress. The Act is an attempt to expand the authority of the United States Food and Drug Administration, allowing it to expedite the access to novel treatments for patients with serious and life-threatening diseases. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused by an exposure to asbestos. There is no known cure. It is aggressive with a poor prognosis. It normally escapes diagnosis until it already has spread extensively. It attacks the lining around the chest wall and the lungs. Although there have been advances in the treatment of mesothelioma, the steps have been small in the past two decades. The FDA originally created an Accelerated Approval process in 1992 to make new drugs available, and there have been numerous attempts through the years to speed up the process. “However, the modern FDA’s approval rate for drugs and medical devices has slowed immensely,” Stearns said. “This measure codifies much of the Accelerated Approval regulations into statue and modernizes the program to reflect the amount of medical and scientific innovations that have occurred in the past 20 years.” The bill follows the Transforming the Regulatory Environment to Accelerate Access to Treatment Act, which was introduced in the Senate last month with similar intentions for therapies used to treat illnesses with the “Orphan Disease,” designation. In January, Congressman Leonard Lance was promoting the MODDERN Cures Act, which summarized his mission to “modernize our drug and diagnostics evaluation and regulatory network.” His bill also was intended to accelerate the process of bringing new drugs from the research labs to the market. “. . . FDA should be encouraged to implement more broadly effective processes for the expedited development and review of innovative new medicines intended to address unmet medical needs . . . using a broad range of surrogate or clinical endpoints and modern scientific tools earlier in the drug development cycle,” according to FAST Act bill proposed this month by Stearns. A broader oversight in drug development for the FDA has brought praise from pharmaceutical companies and outside organizations, who understand the economics and human factors in speeding up the process. Up to 3,000 people in the United States are diagnosed each year with mesothelioma. “Because the diseases are rare, there is a disparity in access to drugs and treatments,” Stearns said. “Under normal market conditions, there is no incentive for the pharmaceutical industry to develop and market drugs for patients suffering from rare and ultra-rare diseases. This . . . will help the rare disease community.” Free Mesothelioma Guide Medically Reviewed by Top Mesothelioma Doctors Tim Povtak Senior Content Writer Tim Povtak is an award-winning writer with more than 30 years of reporting national and international news. His specialty is interviewing top mesothelioma specialists and researchers, reporting the latest news at mesothelioma cancer centers and talking with survivors and caregivers. Congress.gov. (2012, March 5). H. R. 4132. Retrieved from: https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/4132/text Thompson, B. (2012, March 11). Stearns hopes to speed medicines to market. Retrieved from: http://www.gainesville.com/article/LK/20120311/News/604133723/GS/ Mesothelioma Treatment Guidelines Not Followed Often Enough FDA Approves First New Treatment for Mesothelioma in 15 Years Targeting Blood-Clotting Pathway Improves Mesothelioma Treatment February 25, 2019 Targeting Certain Lymph Nodes Could Change Mesothelioma Treatment March 18, 2019 US Launches First National Firefighter Cancer Registry May 8, 2019 EPA Ignored Advice from Staff Experts When Issuing New Asbestos Rule Doctor Match Program Find a Top Mesothelioma Specialist Near You	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754977
__label__cc	0.597529	0.402471	The Assisted Selling Group / Assisted Property Sales News / Rents in Britain increased by 1.1% in February, led by 2.4% rise in London Rents in Britain increased by 1.1% in February, led by 2.4% rise in London March 19, 2019 ASGAssisted Property Sales News Rental growth in Britain nearly doubled to 1.1% in February 2019, driven by a 2.4% year on year rise in Greater London rents, according to the latest lettings index. This took the average rent to £965 per month. But when London is excluded the annual growth fall to 0.4% with a rent of £769, the data from the Hamptons International index shows. But there are considerable variations in growth both nationwide and in London. In Outer London rents increased year on year by 3.1%, the strongest growth overall, to £2,625. But in Inner London they only increased by 0.3% to £2,625. While the average rent overall in Greater London is £1,727. Both the South West and the South East of England saw rents fall year on year, down by 0.4% to £782 and down 0.6% to £1,033 respectively. Rents also fell in Wales and Scotland, down 0.2% to £650 and down 1.2% to £623 respectively. After London, the only region to see strong annual growth was the East of England with a rise of 2.4% to £948. Rents in the North of England increased by 0.4% to £626 and in the Midlands by 0.6% to £673. The index report also show that the proportion of landlords purchasing buy to let homes in London with cash rose from 33% in 2017 to 48% in 2018, a 15% increase and now the highest level in seven years. London saw the biggest year on year rise in the proportion of cash landlord purchases, but the report points out that this comes against a backdrop of fewer homes being bought by investors in the capital last year. Meanwhile across Britain, the proportion of cash landlord purchases fell from 55% in 2017 to 54% in 2018. Wales and London were the only regions recording a rise. Scotland saw the biggest fall in cash sales, down by 7% to 47% in 2018. The report suggests that harsher stress testing on buy to let mortgages, combined with the tapering of mortgage interest tax relief, has made it more difficult and less appealing for some landlords to get a mortgage. It adds that this is particularly true in lower yielding areas such as London where landlords tend to have bigger mortgages. As a result in 2018 a higher proportion of landlords in the capital purchased with cash, often raising the money by re-mortgaging other assets. Historically, landlords in London were most likely to use a mortgage to purchase their buy to lets, but this changed in 2018. Last year landlords in the East became the most likely region to use a mortgage. However, landlords in Northern England however were most likely to buy with cash. In 2018 some 63% of landlords purchasing properties in the North did so using cash rather than a mortgage. ‘London saw a big rise in the proportion of landlords buying homes with cash in 2018. This comes against a backdrop of fewer homes purchased by investors in the capital last year. Meanwhile across Britain there was a slight fall in the proportion of homes bought by cash landlords,’ said Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons International. ‘Much of this cash has come from landlords re-mortgaging to take equity out of homes they already own. By purchasing with cash, these landlords are avoiding the tax burden associated with the tapering of mortgage interest tax relief,’ she explained. ‘Rental growth accelerated in Britain in February, spurred on by a 2.4% annual rise in London rents. Rental growth in London reached the highest level in the last 12 months, meanwhile three other regions recorded rent falls,’ she added.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754979
__label__cc	0.732423	0.267577	Hydra to Greece Ferry Hydra to Greece ferry information: There are currently 3 ferry routes connecting Hydra and Greece, with services from Hydra to Ermioni, Piraeus and Porto Heli. On average, there are a combined number of 11 crossings each day between Hydra and Greece, which are operated by Hellenic Seaways. The shortest crossing is to Ermioni and takes around 20 minutes, while the longest crossing is to Piraeus and takes approximately 2 hours. The above information is a basic summary on the services between Hydra and Greece. We recommend using our Ferry Search to find live ferry information and the latest prices. About Hydra Being only about 37 nautical miles from Piraeus, the port that serves Athens, Hydra is a very convenient island for holidays. Despite its closeness to Athens, Hydra possesses all the charm and characteristics of a typical Greek island. The island of Hydra is located in the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf and the Argolic Gulf and is separated from the Peloponnese by a narrow strip of water. In ancient times the island was known as Hydrea, meaning "water" in Greek, a reference to the islands natural springs. The main town called "Hydra port" has a crescent-shaped harbour with restaurants, shops, markets and galleries that cater to tourists and locals. Hydra has good ferry links to Ermioni, Spetses, Piraeus, Poros and Porto Heli. Greece is a popular tourist destination that boasts beautiful beaches, picturesque traditional villages, stunning landscapes and numerous sites of historical and archaeological interest. Visit the Acropolis of Athens, the Minoan Palace of Knossos in Crete or the ancient monasteries of Meteora. Experience true cosmopolitan life in Athens or Thessaloniki, or explore the forests and coastal walks of one of the many Greek islands. There are more beautiful and historic sites in Greece than it is possible to list. Special mention should of course be given to the Parthenon, the largest temple in Athens which is known the world over for its columns. Entry to here, and many other historic sites in Greece, is free to students of EU universities. Hydra to Greece	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754981
__label__wiki	0.892524	0.892524	Why the Liberal Party is in so much trouble John RoskamColumnist Apr 19, 2018 — 11.00pm In the 1980s, the Labor Party implemented the Liberal Party's policies. Three decades later, policy has come full circle. Today, the Liberal Party is implementing the Labor Party's policies. This is the truth at the heart of the divisions among federal Liberal MPs. In the 1980s, the ALP and Liberals supported the liberalisation of the Australian economy. Today, the Liberals and the ALP support increased regulation, taxes growing as a share of the total economy, and the implementation of huge government spending programs such as the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the national broadband Network, and the "Gonski" changes to school education funding. As was the case with other social democratic parties across the world, the ALP in the 1980s embraced neoliberalism with the zeal of a convert. It took the ALP many years and many fraught national conferences to eventually accommodate itself to neoliberal economics – an accommodation that now appears to be ending. In the United States, it was Bill Clinton, not Ronald Reagan, who balanced the federal budget. In New Zealand, it was Roger Douglas as a Labour minister for finance who floated the NZ dollar and sold off state assets. Malcolm Turnbull is derided for his endless repetition of "jobs and growth". Alex Ellinghausen In the 1980s, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating pleaded necessity. Australia would become a "banana republic" if it didn't adopt "a sensible economic policy" as Keating said in May 1986. Following the defeat of the Howard government in 2007, the Liberals convinced themselves they needed to accommodate and in some cases even pre-empt the shift to the left of public expectations. The paradox of Australia's 26 years of uninterrupted economic growth is that the community now believes it is affordable and sustainable for government to keep getting bigger. Fundamental argument The current debates in the Liberal Party over climate change and energy policy and more lately immigration are only the precursors to a much bigger and more fundamental argument about what the post-Howard Liberal Party stands for. In recent years, Liberal MPs have toed the party line and looked the other way as they've waved through tax increases and levels of government intervention in the economy that would have been unthinkable in the Howard/Costello years. This attitude of benign neglect of principle from Liberal MPs will change should they lose the federal election. If the Liberals go into opposition, to use a technical expression, "it will be on for young and old". To characterise the contours of the potential debate among Liberals as being between "moderates" and "conservatives", as so many commentators do, is to misunderstand the condition of the current Liberal Party. When it comes to economics, the debate will be between those Liberals who believe in economic liberalism and those who don't. But in addition to fighting between themselves on economics, the Liberals are fighting about culture. It will be a two-front war. Managing debates about matters such as the nature of our national identity and the character of the country's history has traditionally been notoriously difficult for the Liberals. The Liberals resolutely refuse to engage in the so-called 'culture wars' but then complain as the tenor of public debate in this country lurches towards the progressive left. The Liberals have little experience, and even less capacity to engage in any kind of internal or external debate about philosophical principles. The evidence for this was most clearly seen in how the Liberal Party managed the issue of same-sex marriage. The Liberals legislated for marriage equality, but had no idea of how the concept of equality should sit against the ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association. Liberal MPs did what politicians always do when they don't know what to do – they handed the problem to a committee to solve. in the 1980s, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating said Australia would become a "banana republic" if it didn't adopt "a sensible economic policy". The Age The Labor Party for all of its many faults still has a rough idea of what it stands for. Whether it puts into practice its slogans of "equality" and "fairness" is arguable – but at least most people can comprehend what those words are supposed to mean. Malcolm Turnbull is derided for his endless repetition of "jobs and growth". But in fairness to the prime minister, such a phrase so devoid of meaning, is a form of words Liberal MPs can agree on. John Roskam is executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs. John Roskam writes on News specialising in Economy, Industrial Relations, Politics. John is executive director of the Institute of Public Affairs. Connect with John on Twitter. Most Viewed In News China's economy is 'extremely dangerous' Super caps a decade of positive returns with 7pc for FY19 Defence Minister gets frank with French over submarine build 'Playing with fire': America stumbles into another budget crisis Accountants demand compo for ATO outages Earnings season Netflix tumbles as new subscriber growth misses The video streaming pioneer added 2.7 million paid subscribers, compared with analysts' estimate of 5.05 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Organised crime Mexican drug kingpin 'El Chapo' jailed for life El Chapo, who's twice escaped prison, was ordered to pay US$12 billion he made from smuggling cocaine and will spend the rest of his life at a "SuperMax" jail. WHO declares Ebola outbreak in Congo an international emergency The World Health Organisation has declared the Ebola outbreak in Congo a public health emergency as it has spread to a key city on neighbouring Rwanda. Lendlease lands Google mega-deal in San Francisco Development of Google-controlled land around San Francisco could generate 15,000 homes and represents the single largest deal in Lendlease's company history.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754983
__label__wiki	0.656954	0.656954	Andrew Krivak A Conversation on The Sojourn Q: This kind of story is one that could fill volumes. How did you manage it in so few pages? What kind of research did you conduct? A: When I first conceived of The Sojourn, it seemed impossible to write anything but an epic work that teemed with characters and spanned generations. But when I considered the lives of my grandparents and thought of how they both out of necessity learned as much how to surrender as to resist in order to survive, the work began to pare itself down quickly, until every tale and anecdote I had ever heard morphed into an amalgam of a single person, the young man named Jozef Vinich (“Vinich” is “the vine” in Slovak), who is American by birth, but by the accident of his mother’s death goes with his father back to the old country and is raised there, until he is called up to fight for the Austro-Hungarians in that empire’s final days. The novel had on one level to be a war story. But on another level it also had to be a coming of age story, as so many of those men and women who managed to survive their lives in the old country, did so as children. And finally, because I believe in the efficacy of love on both the physical and the metaphysical level, this work I was creating had to be a love story. Because how else does one learn to resist and surrender, if not through the persistence of love? And so I took on the task of trying to make this story all of these, while I feared making it none. Much of the shaping of the story’s language comes out of my immersion in the genre of the World War One memoir, especially those written by the English and German greats, like Sassoon, Blunden, Graves, Remarque, and Jünger. But I also found myself going back to books that sought to tell a story about the efficacy of love in the midst of that Great War. Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, Joseph Roth’s The Radetsky March , and David Jones’s beautiful poem “In Parenthesis” are perhaps the three most powerful influences on my own novel. I turned to each of these in order to hear not just the language of the War, but the voice of those writers and poets who used the first person point of view to speak, as it were, out of a kind of deep spiritual as well as physical loneliness. Q: Can you tell me more about the family stories you turned to for inspiration? A: The Sojourn is based loosely on the experience of my grandfather, who fought for the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War, was captured in Italy, imprisoned, and walked home to Czechoslovakia after the Armistice. More broadly, however, the novel has its origins in the many stories passed down to me from my grandmother when I was a boy growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. My grandmother and her husband, my mother’s father (dead before I was born), grew up in “the old country,” that part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which later became Czechoslovakia, and emigrated to America after the First World War. My grandmother and her brothers and sisters were all born in America because her father was working in Leadville and Pueblo, Colorado. But when her mother was killed by a train on a trestle in Pueblo, my great-grandfather took his four children (including his 3 month old son, my great uncle, who was thrown into the river below the trestle by his mother just moments before she was killed by the train) and moved back to a tiny village in that forgotten corner of the world. My grandmother came to America by herself when she was sixteen, with the help of her father, who wanted at least one of his children to make a life for herself outside of the poverty and starvation of that village. Q: You’ve published a memoir, but this is your first novel—what drew you to the form? A: Along the road of college, graduate writing program, a detour into the study of philosophy and theology, and finally back to literature for a PhD, two things of significance happened: I traveled, finally, to the place where all of the stories my grandmother had told me happened, learned the Slovak she spoke, stood on the ground she grew up on, saw the eyes of my own distant aunts and uncles and cousins, and in all of this the stories seemed to cross over from the “made things” (that is, the “poetry”) of her imagination to the possibility that they might become things made out of my own literary imagination. The second thing that happened was my sitting down to write A Long Retreat, the story I felt I had to tell about my own spiritual coming of age before I could create a story about someone else’s. It was in writing the nonfiction account of moving into, through, and out of the religious life of a Catholic seminary in the Jesuit Order that I discovered this about writing: Everyone has a subject. The question is, what’s the story? I had been listening to stories my whole life, and now the time had come not just to see if I could speak the language of storytelling, but if I could do the work of telling a story. Did I, in the first-person narrative voice of the memoir, have a story to tell? That question remains open for anyone who may want to read what became A Long Retreat. Excised, however, from the middle of that spiritual memoir are facts that I would eventually weave into the fiction of The Sojourn. In my work of nonfiction, I talked a great deal about the genealogy of faith that my grandparents had passed along, and my opportunity as a Jesuit to travel to and live in Eastern Europe, so that I could taste and see the reality of the lives that populated the mythological “old country” I had heard about as a youth. But when those chapters hit the nonfiction cutting room floor, I thought, “Okay, maybe not here, but they belong somewhere, and maybe my next project ought to find out where.” Q: What does fiction make possible that memoir doesn’t? A: Cormac McCarthy said about fiction and writing, “The ugly fact is that books are made out of books. The novel depends for its life on the novels that have been written.” Why McCarthy believes that this is an “ugly fact” I don’t know, but it points to the path in which I’ve come to writing, which is to say, along the path of books. And not just books as things picked up and put down but the power of story. Like I said, I had grown up hearing stories about my grandmother’s life in “the old country,” and about my mother’s and father’s lives as the children of Slovak immigrants trying to realize the promise of America during the time of the Great Depression. Those stories always followed the arc of a beginning, middle and end, recreating a scene of a place and a time that I knew nothing of, and yet knew was real because people I could touch had come from there. As a student of literature, I began to understand that the power and the beauty of these home-grown stories partook of a more universal template of “Story,” and so the stories in which distant family members had a part lived easily in my imagination next to the likes of the Iliad and the Odyssey, Paradise Lost and War and Peace , because the differences seemed only differences of scale in language, not, though, in the simple desire to be a story. Language fascinated me, I suppose, because the stories I heard had to come through the barrier of translation, emerging in the broken English of my grandmother’s tongue. I didn’t speak any Slovak at all as a child (my grandmother often turning to my mother in an attempt to find words for the tale she had set out to tell), so I knew that I was getting the bare bones of what remained in my grandmother’s imagination as a fully realized narrative in her own tongue. Attempting a finer sound, a better song, was what I believed I might get the chance to do. In time, there emerged a great and complex warp and woof of what is real and what is not real, of what is given and what—in my desire to tell a new story and to speak a new voice—has been made out of the whole cloth of a private history and a poetic imagination. Q: As you’ve mentioned, The Sojourn is a not only a war story and a coming of age tale, but also a love story—especially between a father and son and between brothers (or, in this case, two boys who were raised as brothers). As the father of three, was it difficult to write about their struggles? A: No, not at all. In fact, quite the opposite. I found myself grateful for that training in those “particulars” of parenting so that I might be able to think of them, and write about them, somehow, as universals. I should mention, too, that I was the sixth of seven children, so I often (perhaps more often than I realized at the time of the writing) thought back to my own father’s life and his relationship with me and my brothers, the joys of that, the difficulties, the plain truth that a father loves his sons regardless. My father’s father died when my father was three. It was a mining accident in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and he was just another Slovak miner brought home in a pine box to his wife, my grandmother, who was three months pregnant with her fifth child. So, my father and his brothers had to figure it out for themselves. And where did they become men? On the battlefields of World War II. My father was an eighteen-year-old in the South Pacific. So, as I said, I thought a lot about him when I was writing, his own accomplishments and failures. I loved him. Let me tell you an anecdote, though, on the subject of writing out of one’s experience as a father. I had been at the birth of my two sons prior to my writing The Sojourn. And so the birth scene in the third part of the novel was something that I didn’t want to shy away from. Well, one month after the novel was accepted by Bellevue Literary Press in May of 2010, our daughter was born … en route to the hospital, in the front seat of our car. My wife delivered and I assisted, with the help of 911. She’s a happy, healthy, amazing baby. But I will say that—after things calmed down a bit, and I got the manuscript back for edits—I went back and changed a few things, because there’s nothing like that stark reality of life from the first kick to keep you honest. Q: On her bookconscious web site Deb Baker, a bookseller at Gibson’s Bookstore in New Hampshire and an early reader of The Sojourn, praised you for taking readers “through the dark night of the soul and back into the light of hope.” Was this your intention? What do you hope readers will take away from the novel? A: The novel was written, as the dedication says, “For Irene,” my mother, without whom I wouldn’t have heard a word of those stories she heard from her own parents. But “Irene” in Greek is also the root of the word for “Peace.” So, one thing I will admit to is an intentional desire or hope for peace, which necessarily rises with conflict. And I am speaking to the present moment in which we find ourselves, and not simply to some past. But I also hope that readers will take away from the novel the presence, uniqueness, and importance, of what Deb Baker also calls the “small acts” that weave in and out of the narrative and—in some instances—ultimately affect life and death. These moments of giving over, surrendering, opening our arms and hands in order to embrace life—this is the kind of truth, for lack of a better word, I hope readers will glimpse in the book. To me it’s the essence of Beauty, and it’s at its most powerful when there seems no possibility whatsoever that it could possibly survive, let alone prevail. Q: Do you think this time period—or any of these characters—will find their way into your future work? A: Not the time period, but the characters—what few are left by the end of the novel—most definitely. But I don’t want to give anything away right now. Let’s just say that what I’m working on currently is much different in point of view, setting, and scope, although the subjects of love and loss, fathers and sons, and War and Peace , persist. © 2019 Andrew Krivak	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754984
__label__cc	0.536455	0.463545	US military consumes more hydrocarbons than most countries, pollutes climate: Study ANI \| Updated: Jun 24, 2019 13:04 IST Washington D.C. [USA], June 23 (ANI): The US military is one of the largest climate polluters in history as it consumes a considerable about of non-renewable liquid fuels and emits more CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) than most countries, recent findings claim. As part of the latest study, researchers suggest that the US military's carbon footprint is enormous and must be confronted in order to have a substantial effect on battling global warming. The majority of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting routinely focuses on civilian energy use and fuel consumption, not on the US military. This new study, published in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, calculates part of the US military's impact on climate change through critical analysis of its global logistical supply chains. The research provides an independent public assessment of the US military's greenhouse gas emissions. It reports that if the US military were a nation state, it would be the 47th largest emitter of GHG in the world if only taking into account the emission from fuel usage. According to the team of researchers, the US Military has long understood it is not immune from the potential consequences of climate change - recognising it as a threat multiplier that can exacerbate other threats - nor has it ignored its own contribution to the problem. "Yet its climate policy is fundamentally contradictory - confronting the effects of climate change while remaining the largest single institutional consumer of hydrocarbons in the world, a situation it is locked into for years to come because of its dependence on existing aircraft and warships for open-ended operations around the globe," explained Patrick Bigger, co-author of the research. The research comes at a time when the US military is preparing for climate change through both its global supply networks and its security infrastructure. This study brings transparency to one of the world's largest institutional consumers of hydrocarbons at a time when the issue is a hot-button topic on the US Presidential campaign trail. Leading Democratic candidates, such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, are asking critical questions of the role of the US military in climate change and examining its plans for the future. "This research provides ample evidence to support recent calls by activist networks to include the US military in Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal and other international climate treaties," said Benjamin Neimark, one of the lead researchers of the study. In 2017 alone, the US military purchased about 269,230 barrels of oil a day and emitted more than 25,000 kt- CO2e by burning those fuels, the researchers said. In 2017 alone, the Air Force purchased $4.9 billion worth of fuel and the Navy $2.8 billion, followed by the Army at $947 million and Marines at $36 million, stated the study. The study says that if the US military were a country, it would nestle between Peru and Portugal in the global league table of fuel purchasing when comparing 2014 World Bank country liquid fuel consumption with 2015 US military liquid fuel consumption. For 2014, the scale of emissions is roughly equivalent to the total - not just fuel - emissions from Romania. According to the DLA-E data obtained by the researchers, which includes GHG emissions from direct or stationary sources, indirect or mobile sources and electricity use, and other indirect, including upstream and downstream emissions. The Air Force is by far the largest emitter of GHG at more than 13,000 kt CO2e, almost double that of the US Navy's 7,800 kt CO2e. In addition to using the most polluting types of fuel, the Air Force and Navy are also the largest purchasers of fuel, said the study. (ANI) Updated: Jul 17, 2019 20:04 IST Researchers suggest tips to use recycled plastic Washington D.C. [USA], July 17 (ANI): As part of a recent study, researchers found that there are various things that can be done to reuse plastics after the material has served its original purpose. Intensive beekeeping not responsible for common bee diseases: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 17 (ANI): A recent study has suggested that intensive beekeeping does not raise the risk of diseases that harm or kill the insects. Breastfeeding practice by earliest ancestors explained Washington D.C. [USA], July 16 (ANI): While the present-day doctors and pediatricians promote the idea of breastfeeding a newborn for better health benefits, recent findings suggest that it was a prevalent practice during ancient times. Conifers species on road to extinction because of climate change: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 15 (ANI): Climate change is expected to put many conifer species native to small islands around the world on the road to extinction by 2070, recent findings suggest. Blood samples from the zoo may help predict diseases in humans: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 15 (ANI): According to recent findings observed by a team of researchers, blood samples from the zoo help predict diseases in humans. New species of lizard found in stomach of microraptor, named... Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): A team of researchers has discovered a new specimen of a microraptor -- volant dromaeosaurid Microraptor zhaoianus -- with the remains of a nearly complete lizard preserved in its stomach. The researchers have named the lizard after Lord Indra. 500 species of fish change sex in adulthood: Researchers Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): Five hundred species of fish change sex in adulthood, often in response to environmental cues, researchers have found. Here's how mosquito immune system fights off malaria parasite Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): A new study revealed the way mosquito immune systems fight malaria parasites, which may lay the groundwork for future research to combat the transmission of malaria. Gadget's blue light increases consumption of sweets in rats at night Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): A new study revealed that just one hour of exposure to blue light (the kind of light produced by the screens of our many devices) at night raises blood sugar levels and increases sugar consumption in male rats. Starfish-like animal can coordinate movement without brain's help: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): A computer model shows that a starfish-like animal can coordinate rhythmic motion based on body structure without their brain instructing them to do so. This provides insights useful for physiology and robotics, claim researchers. Vegetation can help cool potentially deadly urban heat islands: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): Planting more vegetation, using reflective materials on hard surfaces and installing green roofs on buildings can help cool potentially deadly urban heat islands, recent study suggests. Awareness of product transformation boosts recycling: Study Washington D.C. [USA], July 14 (ANI): When consumers are reminded of the products that their recyclables can be turned into, they are more likely to recycle.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754985
__label__wiki	0.944735	0.944735	Nine Issues Apology To Gina Rinehart Over House Of Hancock Mini-Series By B&T Magazine The Nine Network has confirmed it has no intention of airing House of Hancock again after “unreservedly” apologising to Gina Rinehart for the portrayal of the mining magnate and her family in the mini-series. Rinehart sued Nine and production company Cordell Jigsaw over the two-part series for misleading and deceptive conduct after it aired in February 2015. However, NSW Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum dismissed the proceedings earlier this month after the parties agreed to an out-of-court settlement, according to Fairfax. Nine said in a statement that the network and Cordell Jigsaw accept that Rinehart found House of Hancock to be inaccurate, “That was certainly not the intention of Nine or Cordell Jigsaw, and each unreservedly apologises to Mrs Rinehart and her family for any hurt or offence caused by the broadcast and its promotion,” it said. “That mini-series was a drama, not a documentary, and certain matters were fictionalised for dramatic purposes. Nine and Cordell Jigsaw accept that Mrs Rinehart had a very loving and close relationship with her mother, father and husband, and has with Hope and Ginia. They also acknowledge the significant contribution that Mrs Rinehart has made to Australia through her years of hard work and dedication and by her investment in this country, to its industry, economy and to the employment of Australians and by her longstanding support of elite sport and numerous worthwhile charities.” Nine told B&T it has no intention to broadcast or stream House of Hancock in the future. Hancock Prospecting, which is owned by Rinehart, said in a statement that the mining magnate was pleased to have received a public apology. “This case was not about money. It was about Mrs Rinehart standing up for her deeply loved family members to try to stop the further spreading of unfair and grossly disgraceful falsehoods about her family, especially when certain of her family members are no longer here able to defend themselves,” the statement read. “This matter was not just about the fundamental right of Mrs Rinehart and her family not to have lies and misrepresentations spread publicly about them, but Mrs Rinehart hopes that this matter will lead to the greater protection of others from such unfair conduct by the media and lead our politicians to activate long overdue reform in this area.” Billabong brand expression Chrysler Cordell Jigsaw Failure	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754991
__label__wiki	0.632501	0.632501	About Us Newsletter sign up Best of Barcelona Business & Working Home TRAVEL Castles of Catalunya Castles of Catalunya by Rachel Huffman Photo courtesy of Aviotech Medieval castles dot the land of Catalunya, all at one time or another populated by feudal lords, beautiful maidens and valiant soldiers—characters who now only exist in history books and fairy tales. While there are many ways to discover the region’s vast history, none are quite as enchanting as hunting down one of these formidable castles and hearing the legends that transform them into more than stone and mortar. Castell de Miravet Nestled in the southern tip of Catalunya, on the leafy banks of the River Ebro, is the village and castle of Miravet. To reach what is considered the largest fortified complex in the region, you have to board a ferry, the last of its kind in the territory of Terres de l’Ebre. Although a medieval tax is no longer charged for the crossing, the journey—powered by the river’s current alone—is an experience in and of itself. The old town of Miravet was founded by the Moors, who made great use of the crag in this spot, and was then rebuilt by the Knights Templar, who transformed it into an impregnable fortress-monastery after its conquest in 1153. Castell de Miravet subsequently became one of the primary centers of Christian power on the Iberian Peninsula. It remains one of the best examples of Romanesque, religious and military architecture of the Templar order in the Western world. Another draw for visitors are the clay pottery workshops throughout the town of Miravet, a tangible affirmation of the area’s most ancestral tradition. The forms, which include jars, pitchers and vats, and the glazes have Islamic influences. There are eight running workshops in the Raval quarter where you can see masters of the craft at work, making pieces by hand using potter’s wheels. One such potter is Ferran Segarra i Vives. Although he’s retired now, he worked in the town for 34 years, mastering "the art of mud." His shop in the village of Miravet, Ceràmiques Ferran, is run by his son today and still sells a wide range of Catalan ceramics, which are certified fet a má (handmade). Segarra also has a private museum above the shop, which holds more than 1,000 antique Spanish ceramic items and opens to the public upon request. Castell de Montsoriu Situated in the stunning natural landscape of the Montseny massif is what some have deemed the greatest Gothic castle in Catalunya. A visit to Castell de Montsoriu gives you the chance to journey back in time to the 14th century when, thanks to its unbeatable vantage point at the top of a 600-meter-high hill, the castle became the military headquarters of the viscounts of the House of Cabrera during a period when the dynasty was one of the most powerful in the region. With a guide, learn firsthand what military and civilian life was like in one of the most impressive fortresses of the Crown of Aragon. There are a number of legends associated with Montsoriu Castle. It’s said that at exactly midnight, the Red Lady of the castle peeks her unkempt head out of the top of the tower. In her right hand she carries a burning lamp, and in her left hand, a hunting horn. After she blows the horn three times, her call is answered and a little while later a knight dressed in black appears, riding a horse of fire. He climbs up the tower, whisks the Red Lady onto his horse, and they disappear into the darkness of the night. It’s also believed that outside the castle walls, three snakes live in one of the caves of Montsoriu. Each snake carries a diamond in its mouth, which they only set down when drinking from the nearby spring. The lucky individual who can snatch one away at this precise moment would be richer than he or she ever imagined. Following the negotiation of the Treaty of the Pyrenees—signed to end the 1635-1659 war between France and Spain—the Fort de Bellegarde, located in the modern-day French commune of Le Perthus, passed into the hands of the French state. To replace the lost bastion and protect the Spanish region of l’Empordà from possible future invasions, it was decided that Sant Ferran Castle would be built on a hill in Figueres. The first stone was placed on December 13th, 1753. In order to erect its towering ramparts as part of an incredible exterior defense system, a workforce of nearly 4,000 people toiled away every day for 13 years. Today, Sant Ferran Castle is considered the largest bastion fortress in Europe, covering a total area of 550,000 square meters (about 10 times as big as Windsor Castle in the U.K.). The parade ground is one of the main attractions, below which are four large cisterns that can be toured by rubber dinghy—together they are able to hold up to 40 million liters of water. The grounds also include stables housed in an imposing hangar with space for 450 horses. Open to the public since 1997, Sant Ferran Castle is located less than two kilometers from the Dalí Theatre and Museum, allowing for a complete day of aesthetic fun. Castell de Peralada The history of the current Peralada Castle dates back to 1285, when the first fortress of the Viscounts of Peralada was destroyed during a war with France. Rather than restoring the original, the viscounts decided to build a new fortress outside the walls, to avoid spatial limitations. Jumping ahead to 1875, the Counts of Rocabertí refurbished the medieval military fortress, converting it into a French-style château, and designed an extensive park next to their new palace. Lush landscapes, a French rose garden, a modest lake and a noteworthy white stork colony can be found in the park, thanks to a recovery project that was launched in 1995. Since then, the colony has grown to include 32 nests and 66 new-born storks in 2014. There’s something for everyone here. Wander around the Carme Church and its cloister, built in the typical Catalan Gothic style, or visit the wine museum located in an old cellar, where the wines were first produced in the 14th century. The winery is still in operation and visitors can learn about (and taste) Peralada Castle’s most traditional and cherished cava, Gran Claustro. The Museum of Glass and Ceramics (Museu del Vidre i la Ceràmica) is also on the grounds of the castle. Considered one of the the most important glass museums in Spain, it contains more than 2,500 ancient pieces of glass, the origins of which range from Pharaonic Egypt to the 19th century. Of particular interest are the 18th and 19th-century cups and saucers that were invented by Mancero, the Viceroy of Mexico, used to drink thick hot chocolate. Finally, the library is one of the castle’s most famous cultural features. With checkerboard tiled floors and warm wooden shelves, the library houses, among other things, one of the best private Cervantes collections in the world, with around 5,000 works, including more than 1,000 different editions of Don Quijote in 33 languages. Make a weekend out of your trip to this castle and book a room at Hotel Peralada, where you can receive the royal treatment at the hotel’s wine spa. October 2017 Regions of Catalunya Archive 2017 Montseny History Travel Medieval History The Best in Barcelona Delivered to You Get Our Free Weekly Newsletter Popular on our page English Doctors Visit our archive	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754992
__label__cc	0.656814	0.343186	ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.barrons.com/articles/venezuelas-oil-industry-whats-next-51549371620\nWhat’s Next for Venezuela’s Oil Industry\nRisa Grais-Targow and Robert Johnston\nFeb. 5, 2019 8:00 am ET\nPhotograph by Scott Olson/Getty Images\nThe Venezuelan oil sector is facing near-collapse, reflecting the chronic under-performance, political interference, and funding challenges confronting state oil company PDVSA. The latest blow comes in the form of new U.S. sanctions, announced January 28, designed to help usher Nicolas Maduro out of the president’s office, and opposition leader (and U.S.-recognized interim president) Juan Guaido into it.\nThere is little if any prospect for stabilization if Maduro remains in office. But the possibility of a genuine political transition away from the Maduro/Chavez regime and toward a new, more stable era has sparked speculation about the potential recovery and growth of the world’s largest oil reserves holder.\nIn the immediate term, there are still downside risks for Venezuelan oil. The U.S. sanctions will include both a ban on U.S. exports of diluents (needed to process Venezuela’s tar-like extra-heavy crudes) as well as a more punitive, de-facto ban on U.S. imports of Venezuelan crudes. To some extent, these sanctions will hurt U.S. refiners as well: the de-facto import ban means U.S. refiners will need to replace about 500,000 barrels per day of extra-heavy oil supply. Production cuts from OPEC, government-mandated production curtailments in Alberta, and ongoing stagnation in Mexico mean that alternative suppliers of similar barrels are far from abundant. Venezuela, though, will suffer more. While they may be able to find other buyers for their crude in China and India, discounts and higher transportation costs will further erode revenue.\nMoreover, reports suggest that some trading companies have already cancelled their contracts owing to concerns about exposing themselves to potential U.S. actions. While OFAC granted licenses to a handful of companies, the broad universe of both U.S. and European firms that engage with PDVSA but also have U.S. assets or exposure to the U.S. payments system could prompt others to also take precaution and further hit PDVSA’s operations. These factors collectively seem likely to push Venezuela’s oil exports below recent 900,000 barrels-per-day levels.\nBut if new elections can be held in an orderly fashion, the Venezuelan oil sector will be able to shift its focus to recovery and potential longer-term growth. A reasonable benchmark for recovery would be a return to the 2 million barrels-per-day production level that Venezuela managed only eighteen months ago. But even getting this far would require expensive investment in repairing both heavy oil upgraders and conventional wells, particularly in the Lake Maracaibo region. In the latter, production is down by 50% since 2014 and there are concerns about the effects of missing maintenance and corrosion on the safety and productivity of existing wells.\nAll of this will require external funding, as the new government would be dealing not just with social and economic stabilization but also debts to foreign lenders, partners, and service contractors. Still, with possible support from the IMF and other multilateral agencies, some funding could materialize and with time, the quality of infrastructure would improve. It won’t be easy: one significant barrier would be finding skilled local labor, given the decades-long outflow of oil expertise from Venezuela to Colombia, Canada, and elsewhere.\nBeyond the initial intensive work-overs mentioned above, and after the country has stabilized, industry and government sources suggest that an annual investment of around $20 billion would be necessary to further increase production. Venezuela still has existing operators in-country (including Chevron , CNPC , Shell, Equinor , Lukoil ) that have significant technical capacity and have undeveloped acreage, particularly in the Orinoco extra-heavy oil belt. The core development opportunity is in the Junin portion of the Orinoco, which was bid out to foreign partners several years ago, but has seen little development since. PDVSA once believed the Junin fields could lead to an increase of over 3 million barrels per day over a decade, although there has been little activity there since.\nAn opposition-led government could move quickly to offer new incentives to encourage development of these resources. This would be a major shift: the resource nationalist model under Chavez/Maduro did not offer attractive terms or predictability. For the companies that have been committed to Venezuela and invested in managing political risk, these could be very attractive projects with both low break-even costs and enormous below-ground reserves. While Venezuelan voters could oppose terms that are perceived to be overly-generous, the new government may not have much choice if they want to attract investment.\nWhen Hugo Chavez became president in 1999, and resource nationalism was at its peak, the oil sector looked very different. Today, global demand growth is healthy, but below the breakneck levels of the early 2000s, when booming Chinese demand and concerns about a peak in global conventional production drove high prices. In another contrast, U.S. shale now provides an alternative development opportunity, along with other Latin American markets such as the deepwater sectors of Brazil and Guyana.\nAlthough the energy sector has changed dramatically since the Chavez-Maduro governments have been in power, Venezuela still has the reserves, scale, and operators to meet or exceed its old production levels. But little is likely to change until the fate of Maduro’s presidency becomes clear, a story that could take months to unfold.\nRisa Grais-Targow is Director, Latin America, and Robert Johnston is Managing Director, Global Energy and Natural Resources, for Eurasia Group\nThe Venezuelan oil sector is facing near-collapse, reflecting the chronic under-performance, political interference, and funding challenges confronting state oil company PDVSA."	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754994
__label__wiki	0.797414	0.797414	/content/basf/www/dk/en.html /content/basf/www/dk/en/who-we-are.html /content/basf/www/dk/en/who-we-are/Core_Topics.html /content/basf/www/dk/en/who-we-are/Core_Topics/smart-energy.html /content/basf/www/dk/en/who-we-are/Core_Topics/smart-energy/storing-sunshine.html BASF in Denmark Solar thermal power plants convert the sun’s energy into electricity. The great bonus is that heat storage systems enable them to supply power even when the sun is not shining. Experts foresee a great future for this environment-friendly technology. Storing sunshine Hundreds of thousands of mirrors glisten in the desert sun. They are arranged in 800 lines, each of them hundreds of meters long. In Ouarzazate in southern Morocco, an electricity factory of superlatives is being created. This solar thermal power plant is intended to become the biggest in the world, covering the same area as about 4,000 soccer pitches. The first phase, known as Noor I, the Arabic for “light,” has been producing electricity with an installed capacity of 160 megawatts (MW) since its commissioning in February 2016. That is enough for 350,000 Moroccan households. Noor I is only the beginning: this flag-ship project, that is intended to comprise four power plants in all, is due to deliver a capacity of 500 MW by the end of 2017. Electricity from the desert “Solar thermal power plants concentrate sunlight to produce high temperatures. In sunny regions, they are thus able to deliver large quantities of environment-friendly electricity from a renewable source,” explains Professor Robert Pitz-Paal, Director of the Institute of Solar Research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Concentrating solar power (CSP) is best suited to countries with high sun intensity. The Moroccan solar park is in a perfect location: in the area around Ouarzazate, solar radiation reaches an intensity of more than 2,500 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per square meter per year, one of the highest levels in the world. Interview with Professor Pitz-Paal Director of the Institute of Solar Research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) What is Concentrating solar power (CSP), and what fascinates you about it? Nearly everybody knows about photovoltaics or wind power, but only a few have heard of concentrating solar power, or CSP. What is the reason for this? What is the main focus of research? Location of Noor: the Moroccan electricity factory of superlatives is in one of the sunniest regions in the world. 46-51_BASF_CC6_Feature-Solarthermie_D {d}.indd The Noor I facility: the first phase of the world’s largest solar plant was inaugurated in 2016 in Morocco, close to the Sahara. At the Noor I facility, 537,000 computer-controlled parabolic mirrors turn constantly to face the sun, just like sunflowers. They concentrate the sun’s rays and convert them into thermal power. The slightly curved mirrors extend to a height of more than 10 meters. In the middle run pipes, in which a thermal oil circulates. This synthetic fluid, that can be heated to 393 degrees Celsius, is fed through to the power plant at the center of the huge area of mirrors, where steam is produced to drive the enormous power plant turbine. So that the electricity is also available after sunset, large heat storage units have been installed. As a result, solar thermal power plants can offer a decisive advantage in the renewable energy mix: electricity can be used around the clock. More than one million households will be supplied with electricity: after the whole facility is complete, the lines of parabolic mirrors will extend across an area of 30 square kilometers. The sunflower principle: the computer-controlled parabolic mirrors turn constantly to face the sun. Full capacity even at night The heat storage units at Noor I consist of two giant steel tanks. “They contain a special salt mixture of potassium and sodium nitrate, that becomes liquid at temperatures of around 240 degrees Celsius,” explains Matthias Hinrichs, PhD, Manager Solar Business and New Business Development Inorganics at BASF. In the field of storage salts, the chemical company concentrates on producing high-purity, synthetic sodium salts – and has been doing so for more than 90 years. The release of heat from the stored salt enables the full capacity of CSP plants to be maintained even at night. The salt mixtures in the storage tanks require huge quantities: for the facility in Morocco alone, BASF has produced around 27,000 metric tons of sodium nitrate in Ludwigshafen. Solar power even at night: heat is stored in the two giant steel tanks at Noor I by a special salt mixture of potassium and sodium nitrate. Highest-purity sodium nitrate: in solar thermal power plants, the molten salt from BASF stores solar power that can be converted into electricity as required. Microscopic image, magnification 320:1 (12 cm in width). New investment and a jobs boom? According to the study “Solar Thermal Electricity – Global Outlook 2016,” countries such as Morocco are thus making an important contribution to reducing emissions of green-house gases. By 2020 the countries in the “sunbelt” – those located between 40° north and south of the equator – could avoid 32 million metric tons of CO2 by using CSP. At present, Spain and the United States are top of the table for CSP capacity, but other countries are catching up. China aims to commission solar thermal power plants with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts (GW) by 2020, and Saudi Arabia is planning a CSP capacity of 25 GW by 2032. The study, which was commissioned by SolarPACES, a technology program of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Greenpeace and the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association (ESTELA), also found that the use of this climate-neutral energy source in these countries would create investments worth €16 billion by 2020 and 70,000 new jobs in the future. The principle of solar thermal power Thermal energy from solar power What is billions of years old and still full of power? The sun. Photovoltaic and solar thermal power technologies use the Earth’s closest star as a literally inexhaustible source of energy. While photovoltaic uses solar cells to convert sunlight directly into electricity, solar thermal power technology produces thermal energy. In private homes, solar thermal power is used mainly to provide hot water and well-heated rooms. Meanwhile, concentrating solar power – CSP for short – can produce electricity on a large scale: a solar thermal power plant such as Noor I in Morocco has a capacity of 160 megawatts (MW) and supplies electricity for 350,000 households. Thousands of mirrors concentrate the sunlight and warm up a liquid. This source of heat then turns water into steam, which subsequently produces electricity through a generator. Four different types of collectors are used to concentrate the sun’s rays: In parabolic trough power plants, solar radiation is concentrated on a pipe at the mirror’s focus. The thermal power in the pipe is channeled further. Parabolic trough collectors Large mirrors in the shape of a trough reflect solar radiation onto a heat exchanger (receiver). Just like parabolic troughs, Fresnel collectors too focus direct solar radiation onto a focal line to heat up a receiver pipe. However, they are laid out flat. Fresnel collectors Narrow, flat mirror strips are arranged so as to perform the same function. In Dish-Stirling plants, solar radiation is concentrated onto a single point by a dish-shaped mirror. The thermal power concentrated there is converted into mechanical energy by a Stirling engine. Dish collectors Connected parabolic mirrors concentrate the sun’s rays on a single point. At the top of the tower at this power plant, temperatures of up to more than 1,000 degrees Celsius are created and can be used to generate electricity. Heliostats At what are known as tower power plants, thousands of mirrors direct the sun’s rays onto a central receiver at the top of a tower. The prerequisite for high yields is direct solar radiation, which occurs mainly in the Earth’s sun belt. A particularly high number of CSP plants have been and are being built in countries such as Spain and the United States, as well as the Middle East and North Africa. In these plants, the energy captured by concentrating solar power can be boosted further by large heat reservoirs containing liquid salt, that holds in the heat already obtained – for times when the sun does not shine. The history of solar thermal power Of metal mirrors and solar towers 800 BC The Egyptians develop simple solar mirrors out of polished bronze and copper plates to illuminate dark spaces. The mirrors are also able to concentrate the sun’s rays so as to heat up water. The mathematician Archimedes is said to have used the power of the sun and brightly polished bronze shields to set fire to the entire Roman fleet during the Siege of Syracuse. In 1973, Greek scientists recreate Archimedes’ design. They find that the technology does work – but only over a short range of 50 meters. The French scientist Auguste Mouchout uses parabolic mirrors to generate steam for the world’s first solar steam engine. The first large solar plant with a capacity of 45 kilowatts (kW) is built and commissioned in Maadi, Egypt. The technology is a development by the German-American engineer Frank Shuman. The solar pioneer Professor Giovanni Francia designs and builds the first concentrating solar power system in Sant’Ilario, Italy. The plant is based on the same structure as present-day solar thermal power plants: a central heat exchanger (receiver) stands in the middle of a large array of collectors. A first solar thermal demonstration plant is put into operation at the “Plataforma Solar de Almería” solar research center in Spain, that has been established jointly by nine countries. Solar thermal power plants go into commercial operation in the U.S. Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) in California has several plants delivering a total of 310 megawatts (MW). Ivanpah, the biggest solar thermal power plant in the world to date, with an installed capacity of 392 MW, is connected to the grid in California. Noor in Morocco could become the new front runner. When it is complete, the whole facility is planned to have a capacity of 500 megawatts. To find out more, visit: www.dlr.de renewablebook.wordpress.com www.gses.it www.dlr.de/en webtest.nexteraenergyresources.com www.ivanpahsolar.com www.monomers.basf.com www.dlr.de/sf General Terms & Conditions of Sales EN General Terms & Conditions of Sales LT	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754995
__label__wiki	0.673555	0.673555	New Latin American studies program presents lecture by Harvard Divinity School professor By Bates News. Published on September 12, 2013 Davíd Carrasco. (Photograph courtesy of Harvard Divinity School) Davíd Carrasco, a Mexican American historian of religions, offers the inaugural lecture in Bates College’s Latin American studies program at 4:15 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, in the Keck Classroom, Room G52 in Pettengill Hall, 4 Andrews Road (Alumni Walk). Titled Origins, Cities and Crossroads: Latin American Studies Through the Lens of a Colonial Mexican Map, the talk is open to the public at no cost. Refreshments will be provided. For more information, please call 207-786-8204. Carrasco is the Neil L. Rudenstine Professor of the Study of Latin America at Harvard Divinity School, with a joint appointment with the anthropology department in the faculty of arts and sciences. He has a particular interest in Mesoamerican cities as symbols and in the Mexican-American borderlands. The new Latin American studies program enhances Bates’ stated mission to become a center of learning in today’s global culture. Encompassing multiple approaches to the study of Latin America, the program aims to broaden students’ worldviews, challenge ethnocentric attitudes, expand understandings of diversity and develop tools for cross-cultural communication. The fields of anthropology, economics, environmental studies, history, politics and Spanish contribute to the major. Focusing on this region that includes Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, courses in the program explore history, culture, language and politics from initial European encounters to the present. More about Davíd Carrasco Carrasco’s studies with historians of religions at the University of Chicago inspired him to work on the question “Where is your sacred place?”; on the challenges of postcolonial ethnography and theory; and on the practices and symbolic nature of ritual violence in comparative perspective. Working with Mexican archaeologists, he has carried out research in the excavations and archives associated with the sites of Teotihuacan and Mexico-Tenochtitlan. An award-winning teacher, he has participated in spirited debates at Harvard with Cornel West and Samuel Huntington on the topics of race, culture and religion in the Americas. His several collaborative publications include Mysteries of the Maya Calendar Museum with Laanna Carrasco (Cruce de Caminos, 2012). He was co-producer of the film Alambrista: The Director’s Cut, which puts a human face on the lives and struggles of undocumented Mexican farm workers in the United States, and he edited Alambrista and the U.S.-Mexico Border: Film, Music, and Stories of Undocumented Immigrants (University of New Mexico Press, 2004). Carrasco’s most recent publication is a new abridgement of Bernal Díaz del Castillo’s memoir of the conquest of Mexico, History of the Conquest of New Spain (University of New Mexico Press, 2009). He has received the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor the Mexican government gives to a foreign national. He has been chosen as University of Chicago’s Alumnus of the Year for 2014 Categories BatesNews Tags Davíd Carrasco latin american studies Mesoamerica Mexico South America ‘Memories of Present Past’ film series fetes new Latin American studies program The Global Lens series of international films returns Feb. 29 Symposium explores Latin American revolutions Here are three recent news posts. The Bates Forest is a story of bad luck, high taxes, and the Great Depression Campus Construction Update: July 8, 2019 At Clean Sweep, students’ stuff makes great yard sale finds Subscribe to Bates News You’ll receive weekly emails with the latest news from Bates. New subscriber? Please enter your name and e-mail address to receive updates from Bates College. Select the Updates you'd like to receive. You'll receive an e-mail confirmation within an hour. Current subscriber? If you would like to change your subscriptions, open one of your Bates Update e-mails (BatesNews, Sports Update or Events at Bates) and click on "Change Subscriptions." Affiliation Select one Prospective student Current student Alumni Parent Faculty Staff Partner Friend Check the updates you want Sports Updates - Weekly sports results delivered Monday BatesNews - Weekly roundup of news and stories Events at Bates - Periodic schedule of campus events	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754996
__label__cc	0.584461	0.415539	Transition of Active Duty Service Members and Military Veterans into the Merchant Marine By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to promote employment opportunities for United States military veterans while growing the cadre of trained United States mariners available to meet United States requirements for national and economic security, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to support practices and programs that ensure that members of the United States Armed Forces receive appropriate credit for their military training and experience, upon request, toward credentialing requirements as a merchant mariner. It is further the policy of the United States to establish and maintain an effective merchant marine program by providing sufficient support and resources to active duty and separating service members who pursue or possess merchant mariner credentials. A robust merchant marine is vital to the national and economic security of the United States. Credentialed United States merchant mariners support domestic and international trade, are critical for strategic defensive and offensive military sealift operations, and bring added expertise to Federal vessel operations. Unfortunately, the United States faces a shortage of qualified merchant mariners. As our strategic competitors expand their global footprint, the United States must retain its ability to project and sustain forces globally. This capability requires a sufficient corps of credentialed merchant mariners available to crew the necessary sealift fleet. Attracting additional trained and credentialed mariners, particularly from active duty service members and military veterans, will support United States national security requirements and provide meaningful, well-paying jobs to United States veterans. Sec. 2. Definition. For the purposes of this order, the term “applicable service” includes any of the “armed forces,” as that term is defined in section 101(a)(4)(A) of title 10, United States Code. Sec. 3. Credentialing Support. (a) To support merchant mariner credentialing and the maintenance of such credentials, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to the applicable services in their respective departments, and in coordination with one another and with the United States Committee on the Marine Transportation System, shall, consistent with applicable law: (i) Within 1 year from the date of this order, identify all military training and experience within the applicable service that may qualify for merchant mariner credentialing, and submit a list of all identified military training and experience to the United States Coast Guard National Maritime Center for a determination of whether such training and experience counts for credentialing purposes; (ii) With respect to National Maritime Center license evaluation, issuance, and examination, take all necessary and appropriate actions to provide for the waiver of fees for active duty service members, if a waiver is authorized and appropriate, and, if a waiver is not granted, take all necessary and appropriate actions to provide for the payment of fees for active duty service members by the applicable service to the fullest extent permitted by law; (iii) Direct the applicable services to take all necessary and appropriate actions to pay for Transportation Worker Identification Credential cards for active duty service members pursuing or possessing a mariner credential; (iv) Ensure that members of the applicable services who are to be discharged or released from active duty and who request certification or verification of sea service be provided such certification or verification no later than 1 month after discharge or release; and (v) Ensure the applicable services have developed, or continue to operate, as appropriate, the online resource known as Credentialing Opportunities On-Line to support separating service members seeking information and assistance on merchant mariner credentialing. (b) The United States Committee on the Marine Transportation System shall pursue innovative ways to support merchant mariner credentialing, including through continuation of the Military to Mariner Initiative as appropriate, and shall provide a yearly status report on its efforts under the provisions of this order to the President through the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy. Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. March 4, 2019.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1754998
__label__wiki	0.593111	0.593111	Ayla receives three awards during the 2019 - 2020 International Property Awards In yet another major achievement, Ayla received three prestigious awards during the closing ceremony of the International Property Awards, held on June 12 in London. The awards received by Ayla include the five-star award in the Leisure Development Category for its prestigious private Beach Club, the five-star Hotel Construction and Design award for the Hyatt Regency Aqaba, and the five-star Residential Development award for its Beach Apartments. Ayla received these accolades after a rigorous appraisal by a panel of 80 real estate experts from around the world, led by three members of the British House of Lords. The assessment was based on a variety of criteria that include as design, quality control, service availability, innovation and commitment to sustainability. Ayla has also been nominated within the same categories (Leisure Development, Hotel Construction and Design, and Residential Development) on a regional level throughout the Middle East, the winners of which will be announced in London on December 2. "We are tremendously proud to receive these prestigious accolades during the 2019 Arabia Property Awards," commented Ayla’s managing director, Sahl Dudin. “Over the past years, Ayla has registered continued milestones for Jordan’s real estate sector, becoming a notable icon in the Middle East due its unwavering focus on design, quality and innovation, in addition to its continued focus on sustainability. The achievements and awards we continue to reap are the result of the forward-thinking strategy that has been in place since the inception of the project and will continue to define its trajectory long into the future.” Ayla represents a complete reimagining of the waterfront along the Red Sea coast of Jordan, merging longstanding traditional aesthetic elements with modern architecture to add 17 km of development to the coast of Aqaba. As an exclusive mixed-use project, it offers a mix of carefully curated residential, touristic, commercial and leisure services, creating a balanced and dynamic community nestled within a truly unique landscape. With a total area of 4.3 million square meters, Ayla is being constructed over a series of carefully-planned development phases, the first of which has been completed.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755001
__label__cc	0.624237	0.375763	ANCIENT AMERICAN WAYNE MAY: Archaeologist and publisher of Ancient American Magazine and Lecturer Wayne has done extensive work on the Hopewell Native American culture, which came on the scene about 580 BC and suddenly vanished around 400 AD in the Finger Lakes region of New York. His research has led him to believe that the Hopewell were the Nephite of the Book of Mormon. The Hopewell were also known as the Mound Builders http://www.ancientamerican.com ROD MELDRUM: Researcher and lecturer on Book of Mormon evidences Rod was the first to question the DNA evidence asserting that all North American tribes had their origins from groups making a Beringial migration when the sea level was so low it exposed a land mass from Siberia to Alaska. Rod’s work has now revealed that certain tribes in North America also bear DNA markers linking them with the hills of Judea. http://firmlds.org MORONI’S AMERICA: Jonathan Nevelle Researcher and Author of dozens of books on Chuch history and other topics. http://www.moronisamerica.com UNIVERSAL MODEL: Dean Sessions Author, researcher and lecturer on the New Millennial Science. A distinct approach to earth studies. Thrilling new evidence of divine intervention in earth’s creation. https://universalmodel.com LOST AMERICAN ANTIQUITIES: Steven Smoot Steve also speaks on new demographic studies, showing the dire condition of the world because of population control. http://www.lostcivilizationdvd.com Bruce H. Porter: Biblical scholar, author and lecturer Author of dozens of books and scholar of ancient languages. Studied under Hugh Nibley http://www.bhporter.com/bhp_new.htm NEPHITE EXPLORER RYAN FISHER: Investigative reporter and documentary videographer Ryan has done much to address criticism regarding Book of Mormon geography and a variety of other issues. His unique style and talents have persuaded many and reinforced testimonies in Book of Mormon authenticity. For access to Ryan’s work, go to: http://www.truenorthtv.org There is no greater collection of vital information in video format: the Nephite Explorer series, numerous documentaries and research presentations. Subscribe for $5 per month. It is well worth that small fee; plus it helps further Ryan’s research.	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755003
__label__cc	0.656317	0.343683	Recovery Foundations Steps to Recovery – Solid Foundations Not Rooted Religion – Based upon Grace, Faith, Hope & Trust There are lots of drug rehab and addiction treatment centres around promoting programmes with foundations in the steps and traditions of the Twelve-step recovery programme, and whilst that’s exactly what they are, in many cases, unfortunately, that’s all they are. The idea of the ‘therapeutic community’ is actually older that the 12 step recovery programme itself; d ating back to the 19th century the therapeutic community idea, known as ‘Synanon’, was originally a ‘moral treatment’ philosophy attempted in insane asylums. The Synanon organization was founded by Charles E. “Chuck” Dederich in 1958, in Santa Monica, California, United States. By the early 1960s, Synanon became an alternative community, attracting vulnerable and needy people for an emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions that came to be known as the “Synanon Game”. Sadly, as is very common, Synanon ultimately became a cult like organisation known as ‘the Church of Synanon’ in the 1970s, and disbanded permanently in 1989 due to many alleged criminal activities, including attempted murder, and civil legal problems, including Federal tax-evasion problems with the Internal Revenue Service. As Co-founders of Bethesda Addictions Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre, Colin and Deanna Garnett recognized how easy it would be for them to replicate these fatal errors and took these unfortunate results into consideration in its original business plan of 2004 with George Santayan’s famous quote ringing in our ears; “If we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it.” Modern day signs and symptoms of the Synanon syndrome are widespread throughout our industry and can be very well disguised behind fine sounding philosophies within mission statements. A sure fire sign of this syndrome is an evangelistic type of over-emphasis for ‘the need’ of the 12 Step Programme of Alcoholics Anonymous as the only route to recovery. Their theses promote how the 12 steps were ‘originally proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) as a method of recovery from alcoholism’. This is actually not true. Not Rooted Religion Based upon Grace, Faith, Hope & Trust The Oxford Group was a Christian organization founded by American Christian missionary Dr. Frank Buchman. Buchman was an American Lutheran minister of Swiss descent who in 1908 had a conversion experience in a chapel in Keswick, England. The name “Oxford Group” originated in South Africa in 1929, as a result of a railway porter writing the name on the windows of those compartments reserved by a travelling team of Frank Buchman followers. They were from Oxford and in South Africa to promote the movement. The South African press picked up on the name and it stuck. The Oxford Group literature defines the group as not being a religion, for it had “no hierarchy, no temples, no endowments, its workers no salaries, no plans but God’s plan.” Alcoholics Anonymous is the fruit of the Oxford Group who supervised a small group of suffering alcoholics through the principles of its own way of life, based upon Four Absolutes: Unselfishness Recognising that these spiritual principles were impossible for any one person to fully attain, they were proposed as guidelines to help determine whether a course of action was directed by God. These principles were then adopted and adapted and became the foundation of all twelve-step recovery programs. As summarized by the American Psychological Association, the process involves the following: Admitting that one cannot control one’s addiction or compulsion Recognizing an alternative higher power that can help to create strength Examining past behaviours with the help of a counsellor and sponsor Making gradual amends for these behaviours Learning to live a new life with a new code of behavior Helping others who suffer from the same addictions or compulsions Evolution then produced The Twelve Step Recovery Programme: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The Twelve Traditions are the canvass upon which we approach the Twelve Steps, they provide guidelines for governance and have been developed through AA in order to help prevent aand/or resolve conflicts in the areas of publicity, religion and finances. The Twelve Traditions are as follows. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon AA unity. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or AA as a whole. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers. AA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities Twelve-step Recovery Programmes, Twelve-step Counsellors, and Twelve-step Treatment Centres can now be found in every town and every city across the world. Because of the success rate with authentic application of the Twelve-steps and Twelve-traditions is now proving so successful across a wide range of substance abuse and dependency problems, we can pin-point well over 200 self-help organizations, often known as fellowships with a worldwide membership of millions who rely upon these spiritual principles for recovery. Narcotics Anonymous was later formed by addicts who did not, or would not, relate to the specifics of alcohol dependency and similar demographic preferences related to the addicts’ drug of choice has led to the creation of self-help groups such as Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous, Sex and Love Anonymous – and the list continues to grow. Behavioral issues such as impulse control, compulsions towards gambling, food, sex, weight lifting, running, hoarding, debts and work are addressed in fellowships such as Gamblers Anonymous, Eating Disorders Anonymous, Sexual Compulsiveness Anonymous and Workaholics Anonymous. Auxiliary groups such as Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are also evolving into community outreach organizations for friends and family members of suffering addicts. These groups are part of a response to the social need for treating addictions as a problem kept alive and even financed by the confused and naive family system. Bethesda Addictions Treatment & Rehabilitation Programme is more that a Synanon. Our programme aims to see you get the help you need through clinically trained therapists and certified addiction specialists. Not only so, our facility provides family assistance in terms of Family Lectures on Family Education Days and offers Family Step Work assignments for family growth (on request). Addiction Counselling in South Africa Combined Treatment Faith Based Treatment 4 Stage of Addiction Physical & Spiritual Wellness Medications In Treatment	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755004
__label__wiki	0.981354	0.981354	Vivian Hartley Vivien Hartley Originally Vivian Mary Hartley Film and Onstage Debuts 'Gone with the Wind' Declining Health Continued Success Final Years Vivien Leigh Biography Vivien Leigh was a British actress who achieved film immortality by playing two of American literature's most celebrated Southern belles, Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois. Vivien Leigh was born November 5, 1913 in Darjeeling, India to a Yorkshire stockbroker. She was convent-educated in England and throughout Europe, and inspired by her schoolmate Maureen O'Sullivan to embark on an acting career. Leigh earned international popularity and an Academy Award for her unforgettable portrayal of Scarlett O'Hara in David O. Selznick's production of Gone with the Wind. Famed actress Vivien Leigh was born Vivian Mary Hartley on November 5, 1913, in Darjeeling, India, to an English stockbroker and his Irish wife. The family returned to England when Hartley was 6 years old. A year later, the precocious Hartley announced to classmate Maureen O'Sullivan that she "was going to be famous." She was right, though her fame would eventually come under a different name. As a teen, Vivian Hartley attended schools in England, France, Italy and Germany, becoming fluent in both French and Italian. She went on to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but put her career temporarily on hold at age 19, when she married a lawyer named Leigh Holman and had his daughter. Replacing the "a" in her first name with the less commonly used "e," Hartley used her husband's name to craft a more glamorous stage name, Vivien Leigh. Vivien Leigh made both her onstage and film debuts in 1935. She starred in the play The Bash, which, although wasn't particularly successful, allowed Leigh to make an impression on producer Sydney Carroll, who soon cast the actress in her first London play; and landed the lead role in the aptly titled movie Things are Looking Up (1935). Although Leigh was initially typecast as a fickle coquette, she began to explore more dynamic roles by doing Shakespearean plays at the Old Vic in London, England. There, she met and fell in love with Laurence Olivier, a respected actor who, like Leigh, already happened to be married. The two soon embarked on a highly collaborative and inspired acting relationship—not to mention a very public love affair. 'Gone with the Wind' Around the same time, American director George Cukor was hunting for the perfect actress to play the lead role of Scarlett O'Hara in his film adaptation of Gone with the Wind. "The girl I select must be possessed of the devil and charged with electricity," Cukor insisted at the time. An impressive list of Hollywood's top actresses, including Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis, had long been vying for the part by the time Leigh, who was on a two-week vacation in California, took and passed the screen test. Casting a virtually unknown British theater actress in the role of a Southern belle struggling for survival during the American Civil War was risky, to say the least—especially considering that Gone with the Wind was already, even in pre-production, one of the most highly anticipated Hollywood pictures of all time. However, the decision paid off as the film smashed box office records, and garnered 13 Academy Award nominations and eight wins—including one for Leigh as best actress. Gone with the Wind remains one of the most iconic pictures in cinema history. Finally having secured divorces from their respective spouses, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier married in 1940, cementing their status as a powerhouse couple in the world of show business. The pair continued to co-star in movies and plays, but tried to stay out of the limelight, often taking breaks of several years between films—this was partly due to the deteriorating state of Leigh's mental health, as increasingly severe bouts of manic depression strained her relationship with Olivier and made it difficult for her to perform. Tragedy struck in 1944, when Leigh fell during a rehearsal for Antony and Cleopatra and suffered a miscarriage. Her health took a turn for the worse; she became increasingly unstable while simultaneously battling insomnia, bipolar disorder and a respiratory ailment that was eventually diagnosed as tuberculosis. Hoping for relief, Leigh underwent electroshock therapy, which was very rudimentary at the time and sometimes left her with burn marks on her temples. It wasn't long before she began to drink heavily. Her increasingly troubled personal life forced Leigh to take occasional breaks from work throughout the 1940s, but she continued to take on many high-profile roles, both on the stage and screen. None could match the critical or commercial success she had won for playing Scarlett O'Hara, however. That changed in 1949, when Leigh won the part of Blanche Du Bois in a London production of Tennessee Williams's play, A Streetcar Named Desire. After a successful run that lasted nearly a year, Leigh was cast in the same demanding role in Elia Kazan's 1951 Hollywood film adaptation, in which she starred opposite Marlon Brando. Her portrayal of Blanche Du Bois, a character struggling to hide a shattered psyche behind a facade of gentility, may have drawn on Leigh's real-life struggles with mental illness, and perhaps even contributed to them. (The actress later said that the year she spent inside the tortured soul of Blanche Du Bois tipped her "into madness.") In the judgment of many critics, Leigh's acting in Streetcar surpassed even her star turn in Gone with the Wind; she won a second Best Actress Oscar, as well as a New York Film Critics Award and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award, for the part. Soon after, Leigh made theater history by starring alongside Olivier in simultaneous London stage productions of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra and George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra—both of which were critical successes. Despite these triumphs, bipolar disorder continued to take a heavy toll on Vivien Leigh. After another miscarriage, she had a breakdown in 1953, forcing her to withdraw from the filming of Elephant Walk and earning her a reputation for being difficult to work with. Additionally, her relationship with Olivier became more and more tumultuous; in 1960, their troubled marriage ended in divorce. After Olivier remarried and started a new family, Leigh moved in with a younger actor named Jack Merivale. The change of pace seemed to do her good, as she re-emerged to take part in several successful performances during the 1960s. In 1963, she headlined in a musical adaptation of Tovarich and earned her a first Tony Award. Two years later, she starred in the Oscar-winning film Ship of Fools. Just before she began rehearsing for a London production of A Delicate Balance in 1967, Leigh fell seriously ill. A month passed before she finally succumbed to her tuberculosis, on July 8, 1967, at the age of 53, in London, England. Marking a sad and premature end to a career that was both tumultuous and triumphant, the London theater district blacked out its lights for a full hour in Leigh's honor. In 2013, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London purchased her personal archives, which includes her personal diaries and previously unseen photographs. The museum's director Martin Roth told UPI that the archive "not only represents Vivien Leigh's career, but is also a fascinating insight into the theater and social world that surrounded her." Selections from the archive will put on display in time for the centennial celebration of Leigh's birth. https://www.biography.com/actor/vivien-leigh Ingrid Bergman was an internationally renowned Swedish actress known for works like Casablanca, Spellbound and Anastasia. Laurence Olivier was one of the most acclaimed actors of the 20th century, known for his numerous Shakespeare roles on stage and screen as well as memorable turns in more modern classics. Tilda Swinton is an Oscar-winning British actress known for her arthouse film roles and for acclaimed performances in more mainstream pictures like Michael Clayton. Alan Rickman is best known for portraying memorable villains in films like 'Die Hard' and the 'Harry Potter' film series. British actress Maggie Smith's distinguished career includes performing opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello to an Academy Award-winning performance in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, to a role in the Harry Potter series. King Edward VII took over the British throne after the death of Queen Victoria. He was a popular ruler who strengthened his country prior to World War I. Toni Collette is an Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning Australian actress. Jessica Tandy Jessica Tandy was an English-born U.S. actress well known for her role in Broadway's Foxfire and her Oscar-winning performance in the film Driving Miss Daisy. Scarlett Johansson is an actress best known for her work in films like 'Lost in Translation,' 'The Nanny Diaries,' 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona,' 'The Avengers' and 'Hitchcock.'	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755012
__label__wiki	0.809918	0.809918	Jim Boeheim Clearly Learned Absolutely Nothing From The Penn State Debacle Buzz Bissinger, Nov. 30, 2011, 11:58 AM So much for lessons learned no matter how elemental. So much for making the slightest attempt to break the code of omertà that is the blood oath of every major college coach in this country. So much for having at the very least the common sense to keep your mouth shut until you actually have some idea of where the investigation leads. What did the debacle of Penn State teach head basketball coach Jim Boeheim in the debacle of allegations of sexual abuse by one of his assistant coaches now unfolding at Syracuse University? At least nothing until Sunday night, when he tried to save himself from the noose he had placed around his neck with his initial outrageous and ignorant defense of assistant coach Bernie Fine, fired by the university Sunday night after an internal investigation. Even then, Boeheim's statement an hour after the firing reeked of contrivance and insincerity: a too-little-too-late apology to victims of child abuse. An expression of shock, shocking unto itself given his speed-of-light reaction to the initial charges against Bernie Fine made earlier this month by two alleged victims who spoke with ESPN. Money grubbers smelling fat civil-suit paydays—that's the way Boeheim basically described them. Liars. Opportunists. Vermin challenging Fine's career with Syracuse and the great reputation of the Syracuse basketball program itself (let's ignore the early 1990s when the NCAA placed the team on two years' probation for a series of recruiting violations in which Boeheim was criticized for not exerting better control of his program). The allegations against Fine, when first reported by ESPN on Nov. 17, were admittedly muddled. It was clear that more investigation was needed. One of the alleged victims, 39-year-old Bobby Davis, told ESPN that Fine had first started molesting him in 1984 when he was in seventh grade and continued for years. But the lapse of time between the initial alleged contact and the present could not be ignored. It was also true that both ESPN and the Post-Standard newspaper of Syracuse had investigated Davis's allegations in 2003 and had declined to report anything because of a lack of corroboration. But Davis, when interviewed on camera by ESPN, appeared honest and convincing. The sex-abuse allegations against Fine were further corroborated on camera to ESPN by a second victim, Mike Lang, who is Davis's stepbrother. Any idiot, particularly in the wake of the Penn State scandal and 40 counts of serial sex abuse of minors filed by the Pennsylvania attorney general against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, would have reacted to the allegations against Fine by offering no comment at all. Any idiot would have realized that nothing is beyond the pale in college sports today, including coaches preying on innocent minors. But Boeheim reacted with his instantaneous defense of his assistant that was vicious, wrong-headed, ill-advised, offensive, and embarrassing to the university that he supposedly represents. It also showed that in the unparallel universe of college sports, entitled and arrogant and dangerous in what it hides and beholden to no one, the horror of Penn State didn't even merit a cause for pause by Boeheim. Instead it was business as usual. My team. My players. My coaches. My rules. My realm. And any outsider who challenges that realm can go f--k himself. "It is a bunch of a thousand lies that [Davis] has told," Boeheim said to ESPN when the story broke. "He supplied four names to the university that would corroborate his story. None of them did … there is only one side to this story. He is lying. What are people looking for here? I believe they are looking for money. I believe they saw what happened at Penn State and they are using ESPN to get money. That is what I believe." It was abundantly clear that Boeheim—who started coaching Syracuse along with Fine as his assistant in 1976—instead of being concerned by the allegations, actually was offended by them. His statements were pitiful, yet another major college coach invoking omertà and the ironclad rule that you never turn on your own. Until you are backed into a corner because of your reflexive protectionism and can no longer deny what seems all too plausible. Over the weekend, a third man, 23-year-old Zach Tomaselli, stepped forward and told the Post-Standard that he too had been molested by Fine. ESPN's Outside the Lines also aired a tape of a conversation Davis had with Fine's wife in which she said, "I know everything that went on with him … Bernie has issues, maybe that he's not aware of, but he has issues … And you trusted somebody you shouldn't have trusted." The twin punch of the new revelations, along with a search of Fine's house by police, resulted in his firing. An hour later Boeheim issued his statement, calling the latest allegations "disturbing and deeply troubling." He said he agreed with the university's firing of Fine. He said that the case needed to be fully investigated and that anyone with information come forward, just as he also acknowledged that his previous shark attack "might have inhibited that from occurring or been insensitive to victims of abuse." Given Penn State, any idiot would have reacted to the allegations against Bernie Fine by offering no comment at all. It was a beautiful statement. It expressed the essential requisites of remorse and regret. It was also full of s--t, a coach scrambling like a cockroach. Should Boeheim be suspended for the rest of the season for what he originally said? Yes. Should he be suspended without pay? Yes, because his salary (a base of over a million) like the salaries of all major college coaches in basketball and football, cannot be justified under any rational academic setting. Let him rejuvenate Occupy Wall Street. Should he be fired? At least not yet. There is still much to sort out. In the tape recording of the conversation between Fine's wife and Davis, it was revealed that they had a sexual relationship. As for the third victim, he himself is facing charges of sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy, which inevitably raises questions about his credibility. But if Fine did engage in acts of predatory sex on minors, it seems impossible that Boeheim would not have had some awareness of them. Coaches in basketball and football love to gossip. They soak up every rumor. A head coach knows what is being said about every member of his staff. He becomes aware of disturbing behavior. It is one of the prerequisites of his job. Boeheim has acknowledged that he did know who Davis was, perhaps because he was a ball boy for the Syracuse team at one point, but also perhaps because of Davis's assertion that he went on road trips with Fine and was once inside his hotel room when Boeheim entered. Boeheim said he has no recollection of ever entering Fine's hotel room on the road in the 35 years they coached together. That sounds as credible to me as the deep regret he expressed Sunday night after initially describing Davis and his stepbrother as liars looking to make some bucks. There are still facts to come out, and with the university, the Syracuse police, the U.S. attorney, and the media now investigating, more will come out. But Jim Boeheim should have a suitcase ready. Given his résumé, which includes a national championship and 24 NCAA tournament appearances, I doubt he will have much problem finding another job if he does get axed. In the world of major college sports, a track record of winning eventually trumps a track record of lying. Somebody somewhere will want him. Who knows, maybe there's an opening at Penn State. This post originally appeared on The Daily Beast. Read the original article on The Daily Beast. Copyright 2019. More: The Daily Beast Jim Boeheim Syracuse University Penn State Football Scandal	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755017
__label__wiki	0.974804	0.974804	A top senator investigating Russian election interference is demanding answers from Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg Julie Bort Mar. 19, 2018, 3:06 PM Mariana Bazo/Reuters Sen. Ron Wyden wrote an open letter to Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg demanding answers. Wyden is a member of the Senate intelligence committee that is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US election. He wants to know how Facebook data could have been taken and used for political ads when Facebook signed an agreement with the FTC in 2011 promising to protect users privacy. Sen. Ron Wyden has issued an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday demanding answers. The Oregon Democrat sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Wyden wants to how many incidents Facebook had that exposed its user's data and what Facebook knew about how its data was being used. The letter comes as Facebook is once again under scrutiny after news reports published this weekend revealed the inner workings of Cambridge Analytica (CA). CA is an analytics firm that took data from a reported 50 million Facebook users and leveraged that data to target people with political ads, according to The Guardian and the New York Times. CA was linked to President Donald Trump's campaign. Shortly after the firm was founded in 2013, prominent Trump supporter and American businessman Robert Mercer invested $15 million. Steve Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist, served as board member. Wyden wants to know more details about CA's data gathering efforts from Facebook and if any others have been mining Facebook's data. He also wants to know why anything like this happened when Facebook signed an agreement way back in 2011 with the Federal Trade Commission promising to protect its users privacy. So far, this is just a letter asking for answers. But it will be interesting to see how Facebook's troubles escalate from here: Fines? Oversight? Regulations? Or, possibly, nothing. Facebook knows how the Washington game is played. It spent $11.5 million in the 2018 election cycle alone, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. By the way, Wyden isn't the only senator speaking out against Facebook. On Sunday, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida discussed the CA situation with NBC's Chuck Todd, suggesting that Facebook hasn't been forthcoming to Congressional investigators, and accused the company of acting like it is above the law. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota demanded Zuckerberg testify before Congress. "This is a major breach that must be investigated. It's clear these platforms can't police themselves," she said on Twitter Saturday. Read Wyden's full letter here » SEE ALSO: Marco Rubio throws Facebook under the bus for allowing Trump-linked firm to take 50 million users' information in massive data 'breach' DON'T MISS: Trump-linked firm Cambridge Analytica collected personal information from 50 million Facebook users without permission More: Facebook Cambridge Analytica Ron Wyden	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755018
__label__cc	0.563504	0.436496	South Korea Talks Of A Pre-Emptive Strike On North Korea's Nukes Feb. 8, 2013, 12:19 PM The tension is rising in Asia, with worrying signs that conflict could break out at any point. In the Koreas, fallout over a prospective North Korean nuclear test has South Korean troops on the border receiving orders to return fire immediately against DPRK forces. In South Korean press, there's worrying, though non-conclusive, talk of a "pre-emptive" strike. According to the Hankyoreh, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Jung Seung-jo was called to report to the National Assembly's Defense Committee on February 6 over the risks posed by North Korean nukes. He told the committee that the South Korean military would risk war with North Korea with a pre-emptive attack if "signs of an imminent nuclear weapon launch against the South were detected", the Hankyoreh writes. Jung reportedly hesitated when asked if this meant all out war, instead suggesting a surgical strike. According to the Chosun Ilbo, Jung also guessed that North Korea would be testing a "pre-hydrogen" nuclear weapon, perhaps a "boosted fission weapon" that could the size and weight of nuclear weapons enough for a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile. Given the current situation, Jung said there were no plans for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea's nuclear test site. However, he added, "We may change our mind if the situation changes." Yonhap News notes that North Korea didn't let Jung's comments go without response, with the official KNCA news organization writing "They do not know what a real war is like and they would shudder after experiencing our military's spirit to attack in a single breath." More: South Korea North Korea Military Nuclear Weapons	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755019
__label__wiki	0.939785	0.939785	Is 'Apocalypse' The Last X-Men Movie? The Franchise Could Be In For A Big Change By Rachel Simon At the rate that superhero movies are being made these days, it's hard to imagine that any major franchise could come to an end anytime soon. It goes without saying that the Avengers will be fighting for years to come, and that Batman and Superman haven't worked out their issues just yet — but what about the X-Men? Although the mutant group has been around forever, there's reason to think that X-Men: Apocalypse could be the last X-Men movie. It might be difficult to fathom, but the beloved series might not be around forever. Before you Wolverine fans start freaking out, let me explain. Currently, there are no plans to end the franchise for good, and considering that even the less-successful X-Men movies still make a huge amount of money, it's highly unlikely that Fox would choose to end the series anytime soon. Yet it is possible that the next X-Men movie will feel like a total reboot, thanks to the fact that many of the current cast members, like Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender, have expressed their hesitation to continue playing their iconic roles. In May, Lawrence, whose three-movie deal with Fox expires after Apocalypse , told Entertainment Weekly that she's unsure about taking on another movie, saying that it'd depend on what her fellow cast members decide to do. “Fassbender and [James] McAvoy and I were all talking,” Lawrence told EW. “Like, ‘Will you come back?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘I’ll come back, if you come back.’ Fox should be terrified because the deal we made was like if one of us doesn’t come back, none of us are.” Lawrence added, though, that she's not against the idea of returning to the franchise, adding that she'd "love to come back" to the X-Men series. Said the actor, “I love the fans and I love the character. But then you realize how important your year is, like how important three months out of your year is. I don’t know. I shouldn’t be that honest.” If Lawrence and her co-stars do decide not to return, it'd mean a huge change to the X-Men franchise. Losing Lawrence, Fassbender, McAvoy and Nicholas Hoult, all of whom have expiring contracts, would mean the loss of many of the series' central characters. In order to continue with the franchise, the filmmakers would need to position any new X-Men movies as total reboots or majorly-disconnected sequels, because without the main characters fans have come to know and love, any actual X-Men sequel to Apocalypse would seem pretty strange. Which is likely why Apocalypse places such a heavy focus on the new, younger class of mutants, such as Sophie Turner's Jean Grey and Tye Sheridan's Cyclops. These characters could, theoretically, continue the X-Men franchise even if Lawrence and the others are out of the picture, as their stories are different and exciting enough to lead new movies. It's unclear as of yet what the future is for that new crop of X-Men, but it's clear that there will be material for them to work with; in a recent interview with ComingSoon, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that there will be another X-Men movie, set in the 1990s. He also told EW that he'd be interested in having that film explore Dark Phoenix, aka Turner's character's villainous side. That'd certainly be exciting to see, but nothing is currently set in stone. However, if Apocalypse does well at the box office (and it's very unlikely it won't), then another X-Men movie — if not several — exploring storylines like that could certainly be on the way. Images: Fox	cc/2019-30/en_head_0013.json.gz/line1755020

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